Chapter Two

Ezra

Ezra carried the three large trash bags down the dreaded hall while keeping his eye out for anyone else in the area. Dom hadn't been feeling well and Ezra had demanded that his friend go home early. Tony was handling the coffee shop and Ezra could leave as soon as the trash was taken to the dumpster.

Tony had offered to do it later, but he'd have his own trash to take out and Ezra could handle the trip down the hall and out to the alley. He couldn't let one bad moment leave him scared for the rest of his life. Ezra was an adult and with that came adult responsibilities.

Before he reached the exit door, the light above his head flickered. Ezra shuddered. Someone needed to figure out how to make this hall less creepy. Ezra was not a fan of horror movies or scary things. This had all the hallmarks of a serial killer jumping out at him.

Dump the trash and grab his stuff. He could be out of there within fifteen minutes. The small cheap apartment that he was currently renting on a month-to-month basis was only a few blocks from the casino. It was not in a good area. Nothing right off the Strip was but it was all Ezra could afford as he caught up on bills. It was home though and Ezra kept the place clean.

Every day he woke up and thanked his lucky stars that he'd run into Dom, literally, and had gotten a job with Lambert Entertainment. Even if Ezra had never planned on being a full-time barista at a coffee shop in the middle of a huge casino, fate had a funny way of changing one's life. Ezra knew better than anyone how quickly life could screech to a halt or change drastically.

That thought brought a smile to his face. He'd been two years into the first semester at the state college when his life had veered off course. Off course was an understatement. Ezra's life had skidded off the track, down a dirt embankment, and landed in a pond. Not literally. And Ezra would never regret one moment since he made the decision that college would have to wait. Not with how blessed he turned out to be by making one decision.

Ezra hit the bar across the heavy metal door that led to the alley hard. The door opening echoed around the quiet hall. God, Ezra hated that sound.

He hurried over to the large blue dumpsters then dropped the bags to the ground. He cursed his five-foot-four height as he had to jump to push the covers back. The lids clanged as they hit the top but nothing Ezra could do about that.

Ezra threw the three bags inside the dumpster then moved back and jumped to knock the lid down into place. Embarrassing it took three tries. He smacked his hands on his jeans, proud of a job well done when he heard the door open.

No! Terrified, Ezra peeked around the side of the dumpster. Fuck! How did that asshole always know when Ezra was alone?

"Hey, pretty boy!" Joey Collins said as he closed the door and leaned against it.

There was no way that Ezra could get past him now. Joey was a big guy, huge, and mean. Ezra had never understood how someone like Joey could get such a high position for Jesse Lambert.

Having no other choice, Ezra stepped from around the dumpster. "Oh, hey, Joey."

Joey grinned at Ezra with perfect white teeth, but the smile didn't make it to those dark glittery eyes. Ezra's stomach rolled.

"I told you to let me know when you need to come out here. I would have escorted you." Joey leered. It was not a pretty sight. "You never know who you might run into in this deserted area."

Ezra had to play it cool. He'd been around Joey enough to know that the asshole got off on seeing his prey scared. He shrugged. "It's no big deal. Just had to take out the trash before I leave."

"You're off for the night?" Joey pushed off the door to stand at his full height.

Not good. Not good. "Yeah, headed out now. I need to just check in with Tony and grab my stuff." Damn, Dom wasn't there to walk him out.

Joey grinned again. "How about a drink? I can take you to my place—"

Ezra was already shaking his head. "I can't tonight." Or ever.

Joey scowled at him before striding forward. "I'm getting tired of you turning me down."

You'd think the asshole would get the message then. "I'm sorry, Joey. I'm just not in a place to date right now."

Joey laughed as he stopped in front of Ezra. "Who said anything about dating? I just want to fuck that pretty ass."

Nice. Not. Ezra's instincts had him stepping back just as Joey reached for him.

"Don't be that way," Joey said. "I'm getting tired of this. I never have to work this hard with anyone. Your ass better be worth all my trouble."

"I'm really sorry. I just…I'm not comfortable—" Ezra edged around Joey to get closer to the door.

Joey growled.

The door was getting closer and closer. Just a few steps away.

"Fuck this!" Joey stomped toward him.

Ezra squeaked as he threw himself back. He windmilled his arms just as he heard the door open behind him. Ezra lost his footing and had barely enough time to brace himself for what could be a hard fall.

A strong arm wrapped around his waist before Ezra hit the ground.

He stiffened, disgusted with the thought of Joey touching him. Although Ezra was shocked that Joey would even care to catch him.

"Hey, there. You okay?"

That was not Joey's voice. Ezra looked over his shoulder as he was set gently back on his feet.

Eric.

Gorgeous. Sweet. Strong. Eric Smith.

It was the first time the other man had ever touched him. Was still touching him. Eric's eyes were sharp as he glanced from Ezra to Joey. "What's going on out here?"

Ezra's knew his eyes had to be huge. How could he answer that?

"Don't worry about it," Joey said. "Shouldn't you be on the floor? Or up in the camera room?"

Oh yeah, Eric worked under Joey. If Joey said to leave them alone, then Eric wouldn't have another choice. Joey had fired people for less. Could Ezra make it through the door before Eric left?

"I'm actually off for the night," Eric responded to Joey. His hand tightened on Ezra's hip. "I was just looking for Ezra."

Joey sneered. "This is why you turned me down? For him? Just couldn't wait to get on your knees for the new security? What a slut."

Ezra's mouth dropped open in shock. What? How would Joey even come to that conclusion? Ezra had never had a relationship with anyone from work. Hell, he hadn't had a relationship in almost four years.

"What the fuck!" Eric said in a cold voice.

Uh-oh, two big guys arguing, and Ezra was right in the middle of them. They were going to squish him.

Eric squeezed Ezra's hip before releasing him. He moved where he blocked Ezra from Joey's view although Ezra wasn't certain how he managed it. Eric had barely moved at all, but Ezra was suddenly staring at Eric's broad shoulders in his light gray suit.

He dropped his gaze. The tail of the jacket was hiding Eric's ass, which was a damn shame. This was the one time that Ezra could get his fill checking Eric out but—oh damn! The raised voices drew Ezra's attention back to the issue at hand.

"Mind your fucking business," Joey growled out.

"Ezra is my business," Eric replied. "From this moment forward, you don't come near him. Don't touch him. Don't talk to him. Don't go near him."

"You have forgotten your place, newbie," Joey threatened. "I could fire you for this."

Eric snorted. "No, you can't. And I won't allow you to bully or harass anyone."

There was a beat of silence. Could Joey not fire Eric? How did that make sense? Eric worked security. Joey was head of security. Ezra had so many questions.

"He could have told me no," Joey said.

Ezra had said no. More than once. He had witnesses that heard him tell Joey no. But Joey could make Ezra's life hell. He might even be able to get Ezra fired and Ezra couldn't lose his job. It wasn't all about him.

"Well, I'm telling you no for him. Leave him alone or it will be you that's out of a job," Eric said.

"Fuck you both."

Ezra grabbed the back of Eric's suit jacket. He pressed himself against Eric's back as Eric turned. Most likely keeping his eye on Joey. Ezra didn't let go of Eric's jacket even when he heard the door being wrenched open or slammed closed.

"Are you okay?" Eric turned.

It would have probably been easier if Ezra had let go of his jacket. Ezra did not.

"Hey." Eric cupped Ezra's cheek. "He didn't hurt you, did you?"

Wow, Eric's palm was so warm. Calloused but it didn't hurt. It felt good in fact. How long had it been since someone had been so gentle with him. He loved his friends and they were pretty touchy-feely but this was different. Ezra peered up and into Eric's eyes.

Oh damn, stupid fingers. He'd let go of Eric's jacket. It had been soft. But Eric. Ezra liked the way Eric was looking at him. The anger that Ezra had seen earlier was gone, replaced by warmth.

"Ezra, baby, I need to know if he hurt you. Please?"

"I'm…" He licked his suddenly dry lips. "I'm okay. He didn't touch me."

Eric's shoulders relaxed.

Ezra hadn't realized how much tension Eric had been holding.

"Good. I'm sorry that I didn't get here in time to stop him from following you."

"How did you know?" Ezra asked. The one time that Dom had found Joey harassing him had been pure coincidence. Ezra had left one bag of trash and Dom had grabbed it and brought it out as Joey had cornered Ezra against the dumpster.

"I was signing out of the cameras when I spotted you in the hall. On the monitor next to that one I noticed that Joey was heading in the same direction. I thought it was suspicious."

"Oh." And Eric had come to his rescue. Damn, there were so many fantasies that Ezra could play later in his head. A real knight in shining armor. Ezra had always loved playing the prince that was locked up waiting to be saved. Yes, he had always wanted a savior. No judgment needed. It was a thing. He'd checked.

"I'm glad you weren't hurt. He won't come near you again. I'll make sure of it."

Ezra smiled. "I appreciate it but he—"

"No," Eric said sharply. "You don't have to put up with that."

"I can't afford to lose my job. We all know how Joey is, and we need to be careful being alone with him."

"What the hell? This is happening to more than you?"

Ezra shrugged. It was mostly him but some of the others had been harassed before Ezra had arrived. It was just in the six months that Ezra had been there that Joey had decided to target him.

"Fuck!" Eric lowered his head until his lips pressed against Ezra's forehead. "I'm going to fix this for all of you. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." Ezra found himself wanting to comfort Eric for some unknown reason.

"It's not but someone should have been watching over all of you better." He sighed. "Jesse needs to know."

"No!" Ezra grabbed the front of Eric's shirt desperately. "I need my job. Please!"

"You aren't going to lose your job."

Ezra was shaking his head. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! "I'm begging you. Please don't tell Mr. Lambert. Please!" Tears start to gather in the corner of his eyes. Had he ruined his entire life just because he had trusted some hot guy?

"Woah, woah." Eric hugged Ezra to his chest. It was nice there. Eric smelled like spice and coffee. Ezra might have taken a big breath just to pull that scent in deeper. "I won't say anything. Not yet. I swear. And you won't lose your job."

It was too late to do anything else but trust Eric's words.

Ezra had gotten burned before trusting someone else to do the right thing, but hadn't he thought that Eric was different? He might not know him well but in Ezra's heart, he wanted to believe everything that Eric was promising. "You swear?" He tried to make his voice firm.

"Yes, baby. I swear."

Baby? Eric had said that earlier. Did this mean… What did this mean? Ezra was confused.

His watch blared out his alarm.

Ezra jerked back. Shit! He'd lost track of time. "I have to go."

Eric scowled. "But—"

"Sorry." Ezra was already backing toward the door. No matter what, he always left at the same time. He had to keep a schedule or there would be a massive meltdown. "I really do need to go."

"Wait!" Eric snagged his wrist. "At least take my phone number. Just in case. It would make me feel better until I can deal with Joey. I don't want you hurt."

That was a good idea. Ezra was a big fan of not being hurt. "Okay." He pulled his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans.

"Here. May I?" Eric held his hand out.

Ezra unlocked the screen before passing the small device over.

"I'm going to send a text to myself and that way I'll have your number as well," Eric said.

"That was sneaky," Ezra teased. Wow, look at him. All it took was one incident of riding to the rescue and Ezra could flirt with Eric. Dom was not going to believe this!

"No bad intentions," Eric promised as he gave Ezra's phone back.

Ezra laughed. "You better not have any. I'll sic Dom on you."

Eric winced. "Yeah, I've heard him put a few people in their place. Please don't sic him on me."

They both knew that Eric wasn't joking.

"Then you better behave." Ezra waggled his finger playfully.

Eric caught Ezra's hand before bringing it to his lips. "I swear."

Oh! Oh damn! Ezra might have whimpered.

"Are you sure you have to leave? I can't buy you dinner or anything?"

"Shit!" Ezra yanked his hand away. "I have to go!" He stressed the word have. Would he have liked to go to dinner with Eric? Hell yeah! Would he love to do more? Fuck yes! But responsibility. "Bye!"

"Bye, Ezra," Eric said but Ezra was already throwing the door open and running.