1. Gavin

ONE

gavin

December

I DIDN’T KNOW how long I’d been up here. Long enough for darkness to fall, and for the once-roaring fire to simmer down to crackling embers.

I stared at the dwindling flames absently and curled my legs beneath me on the cream velvet couch, but the move sent a wave of pain through my body and I flinched. The ache in my head, my arms, and my back lingered, even after popping a few pain pills, which was why I’d skipped out on going out with the guys. There was no way I’d be able to mask what happened today, and no way in hell were they finding out.

So I’d hidden away in my favorite spot in the Towers where I lived, a place called the Secret Garden, where very few residents ever ventured. Definitely not any of the Park Avenue Princes, as my friends and I were often called. The space was too quiet for their loud personalities, and without the promise of a fully stocked bar or the opportunity to meet a hookup, they ventured to other, more entertaining spots.

That suited me just fine. I liked having a place to escape to when I needed it, and the cozy garden lounge, with its lush greenery and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, was perfect.

Tearing my eyes away from the fireplace, I looked down at my laptop and tried yet again to focus on the building codes and inspection regulations of my current interior design assignment. The words only blurred together on the screen, a jumble of nothing that made sense, but when a tear escaped down my cheek, I realized it wasn’t the lines on the page that were the problem.

It was me.

Sighing, I wiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt and willed the stupid tears back. Joey wasn’t worth them, and I refused to let him have any more power over me or my emotions.

If I hadn’t been so in my head, I would’ve noticed I wasn’t alone anymore. I would’ve been able to hide my tear-streaked face before Daire caught me and made up some lie. But his footsteps were quiet, and it wasn’t until he was standing in front of me that I even knew he was there.

With his arms crossed over his leather jacket, his dark eyes roved over me in the pissed-off, assessing way that was all Daire, and when he met my gaze, his scowl deepened.

He didn’t have to say a word and already I was looking away, cursing the fact that out of all my friends, it had to be Daire that found me. The most volatile, hotheaded one, my soon-to-be roommate and the one who would lose his shit the most if he knew what happened today.

“Aren’t you supposed to be out?” I said, trying for nonchalance as I shifted my focus back to my laptop.

A long silence passed, and when he still didn’t say anything, I glanced up.

Apparently, that was what he’d been waiting for, because he said, “I was.”

Oh.Had I been up here that long? “What time is it?”

“Late.”

“So, what, you’re here to make sure I get to bed on time?”

“You been crying?”

I blinked at the abrupt change in direction and swallowed. “No.”

“You’re a shit liar.”

“I’m not lying.”

Daire narrowed his eyes, seeing right through me, and I knew I needed to get a handle on this before he made it a big deal. I shut my laptop and stood up to leave, but the sudden movement made me wince.

“What the fuck’s wrong?” he said.

“Nothing. My…leg’s asleep, that’s all.”

“Bullshit.”

I met his stare, turning my chin up defiantly. “You sit like that for hours and see if your legs don’t go numb.”

I went to brush by him, but Daire reached for my arm to stop me⁠—

Bad move.

His hand landed on the tender spot on my upper arm that I’d been trying to forget about, and the stab of pain that lanced through me wasn’t something I could hide.

Daire dropped his hold immediately, looking down at where I’d covered myself with an oversized sweater. His jaw visibly clenched, and I felt my pulse begin to race as I tried to come up with a good excuse, one he wouldn’t question.

When he opened his mouth again, his words were practically a growl. “Tell me.”

“Daire, it’s—” I tugged at the cuff of my sweater to make sure it was in place.

There was no way he could see what was under it. No way he could see evidence of any crime. But Daire’s scowl only became more murderous, and it was clear he didn’t need evidence—he already knew what had gone down.

“What did he do to you?”

“I don’t know what you’re⁠—”

“Gavin.” Daire took a step forward, and my words got stuck somewhere in the back of my throat. “What did Joey do to you?”

My pulse pounded as I stared up into Daire’s determined face. There was no way he was going to let this go until he got the answer he wanted, and I didn’t want any part in whatever kind of vengeance I could see swirling in his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter.” I carefully picked up my laptop.

“The fuck it doesn’t. He put his hands on you. I wanna know why.”

“And I don’t want to tell you,” I snapped back, straightening to my full height. “If I wanted that I would’ve come and found you. Just leave it, Daire. We broke up. It’s over. The last thing I want or need is you tracking him down and making everything worse.”

I went to step around him and leave, but Daire held up a hand. “Wait.”

“I really don’t⁠—”

“Please?”

That one word had my feet freezing in place. I couldn’t remember ever hearing Daire say please or thank you to anyone.

His eyes were on my sweater, as though he’d be able to somehow see through it if he stared long enough.

“Talk to me.” He gestured to the couch and moved over to it.

My first instinct was to say no and head back to my place. No good could come from telling Daire, or anyone, about what had happened with Joey.

One of our group’s unspoken rules was: fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us. Revenge was something we all thrived on. But usually it was in response to gossip or blackmail. How would that revenge look against someone getting physical with one of us? I had no idea, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

I worried my lower lip with my teeth, trying to decide what the smart move was here. Did I want to talk to someone about this? Yes. But could I trust Daire to keep it just between us? I wanted to say yes. It wasn’t as though he was tight with any of the other guys. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t hunt down Joey and⁠—

“Gavin.”

“Okay.” I walked back to the couch and gingerly took the seat beside him. “But if I tell you, you have to promise to keep it here. You can’t tell the rest of the guys. Not even Van.” He said nothing. “Daire.”

“Okay, whatever, I won’t tell them. Now what the fuck happened?”

He lounged back in the corner of the couch with a booted foot propped up on his knee, and to an undiscerning eye he looked cool, calm, relaxed. But when I saw his clenched fist resting on the arm of the seat, I shook my head.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I don’t want Joey’s death on my conscience, that’s why not.” I went to stand again, but a hand on my leg stilled me.

That was the second time tonight that Daire had touched me, and probably the fourth time in all the years we’d known each other. But the warm fingers resting lightly on my leg were enough to make me pause.

“I won’t kill Joey.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. Now talk.”

I settled back into the couch and tried to think of the best place to start. “He was jealous.”

“Because you have a prettier face than him? That ain’t breaking news.”

My lips twitched despite myself. “No, he got upset because I told him about you and me.”

I waited for Daire to clue in to what I was telling him. That Joey had not been happy at all to learn that I would be moving in with him now that my brother, Donovan, and his boyfriend, Kelly, were about to shack up.

“What the fuck are you talkin’ about? We aren’t⁠—”

“Moving in together?” I cocked my head to the side. “It’s still okay for me to move in tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Daire blinked as though his brain was catching up with what I’d just said, then he sat forward to rest his hands on his knees, his eyes pinned to the marble floor. “You’re telling me that shithead laid his hands on you because you’re moving in with me?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Daire slowly turned his head, and his dark hair fell across his hooded eyes. “Prove it. Pull up your sleeve.”

“No, I⁠—”

“Gavin, I’m not gonna touch you after whatever you’ve been through. But if you don’t pull up that fucking sleeve, so help me God…”

I reached for my sleeve and tugged it up my arm, and as five very distinctive reddish-purple welts came into view, Daire cursed and shot to his feet. I sucked in a sharp breath as he began to pace back and forth, muttering under his breath, and all I could think was thank God he couldn’t see my back. Hell, I couldn’t either, but I could feel the way it stung from my being thrown up against the bureau in Joey’s room.

“How long?” Daire bit out. His hands were fisted by his sides, his back to me as though he didn’t trust himself to look my way for the answer.

“Just this once,” I said quietly.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I swear I’m not. This was the first and last time.” It was the truth, and something that still shocked me hours later. Joey had always leaned more on the mentally controlling side, and he’d never physically hurt me before. That wasn’t something I would endure with anyone, and I’d ended it right then and there. His surprise and hesitation when I said we were over gave me the time I needed to get the hell out of there and not look back.

I’d blocked his number. His email. Taken away guest privileges here at the Towers. There was no way he could get to me, so here I was safe.

But the way Daire’s body vibrated with rage told me that Joey wasn’t.

I got to my feet, but he was already turning around and heading for the door, like his mind was made up about something and he had a singular focus.

“What are you doing?” I said, and even I could hear the panic in my voice.

Daire didn’t stop, and when I reached for him, his leather jacket slipped through my fingers.

“Daire, stop. You promised you wouldn’t do anything.”

“You’re too good for that piece of shit,” he muttered, coming to a stop to wait for the elevator doors to open.

“You’re right. I am. That’s why I broke up with him.” I stepped in between him and the elevator, and when he wouldn’t meet my eyes, I said, “Hey. Look at me.”

The stubborn set of his stubble-lined jaw made me think he wouldn’t, but then eyes so dark they were almost black looked down into mine.

“I told you this in confidence, which means this stays between us,” I said. “It’s been handled. I don’t need you doing anything on my behalf, D. You promised.”

He stared down at me and then cocked his head. “I know. I’m going up to the roof for a smoke.”

The elevator dinged behind me, and I stepped aside so Daire could go in. For a second, I wondered if I should join him, but he wasn’t the type of guy who wanted others around, and my presence might only piss him off more.

Daire pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his jeans pocket, and as the elevator doors began to close, he said, “You should go to your room. Get some sleep.”

The doors closed, and I watched and waited to see which direction he was actually going. When the car did indeed go to the roof, I felt a weight leave my chest. Daire could be so unpredictable, and the last thing I wanted was for him to get involved in all this. But he seemed to be keeping his word, and if he wanted to cool off, literally, on the roof in the freezing, middle-of-the-night winter temps, then that was better than the alternative.

But Daire was right about one thing—I needed to get some rest and soak my body in a salt bath. Maybe then I’d be able to forget about what happened and put it all behind me.