9. Chase

The next day, Chase slipped out of the mansion and headed into the city to meet with Marc and Alex. He wanted to give them a recap of his first day at the chateau and give them the heads up that he would be staying for the remainder of the weekend as Matteo's guest.

Marc wasn't too pleased with the number of questions Matteo had asked Chase, especially those questioning the validity of his backstory. It appeared that Matteo was not just another ignorant fool who was only focused on making money and getting his dick sucked. The man was intelligent and knew how to sniff out bullshit when he heard it.

"You're going to have to be more careful around the man. Try to avoid giving him specific details when answering his questions, and if you ever get stuck, try switching the conversation back toward the topic of naked men and sex. Most guys who visit that place are there just for the cocks, not to chat with the owner. So, he shouldn't be too suspicious if you keep changing the focus of the conversation."

"Don't forget I worked homicide. I know how to talk my way out of a corner and keep a cover. You hired me for my skills, remember?" Chase reminded Marc.

He was coming to realize that his boss was a bit of a control freak and overanalyzed everything. If Marc hadn't been so busy with all the names in the journal, he probably would have tried to handle all these cases on his own.

Raising his hands in defeat, Marc nodded. "Yup, sorry. You're right. Alex keeps telling me I need to step back and start trusting people and their abilities."

And that was how they left off. It wasn't until mid-afternoon when Chase finally returned to the chateau. He used the excuse that he had done a bit of sightseeing before changing into his barely-there swimsuit and making his way out to the pool. Another afternoon of sunbathing was perfect. He found most men were chatty when relaxed and had a drink in their hands.

For the remainder of the day, he chatted with guests, spoke with dancers, and even roamed the hallways when no one was looking. The place was massive, and Chase began wondering just how rich Matteo really was. Was this all inherited family money, or was there a buttload of money in selling your body for sex, and he was just too stupid to take the easy street? He had the body. He had the dick. If this thing with Marc doesn't work out, perhaps he should see if Matteo is hiring.

As the sun began to set and Chase enjoyed his five-star dinner, he kept scanning the room, hoping to spot… him. That bashful smile masked behind that cocky attitude. He was beginning to realize that there were many layers to Levi—a sweet, vulnerable young man who liked to bake cookies and share with his friends and a confident, striking Vixen who owned the stage and ruled the night.

At around eleven p.m., he ducked into the main entertainment room and scanned the crowd. It didn't take Chase long to spot Levi, who was dancing on a riser, wearing skimpy black briefs with a hot pink mesh top.

The boy was a vision made in heaven. His body moved to the beat of the music while his hips thrust with long, deep purpose. If it was possible to fuck alone onstage, Levi had it down to an art form.

Watching as the boy played with his ass onstage, Chase discreetly palmed the boner tenting from his own pants. It was hard not to press down on your dick when the finest piece of ass known to man was up on stage, teasing you and all the other men watching in the room.

Speaking of other men, it wasn't long before Chase decided to head back to his room for everybody's safety. Repeatedly, he watched as horny older gentlemen eagerly tucked cash into Levi's briefs before gingerly grazing the back of their hand along the boy"s silky-smooth skin. Some men caressed his abs, while others skimmed his thighs. Then there were others who were bold enough to grab Levi's ass before shoving another fifty down his underwear.

Levi gave each patron a devilish smile, while Chase wanted nothing more than to stab each man in the eye. As he said, it was safer for everyone if Chase retired to his room for the evening. These were feelings and thoughts he should not be having, especially for someone involved in his case.

Watching as the shadows cut across the ceiling, Chase picked up his phone and glanced at the time.

Two a.m.

Good enough.

He hopped off the bed and peeked out the bedroom door. There didn't appear to be anyone around in the hallway. Perfect.

Pulling his cell from his pocket, Chase quickly fired off a text to his boss.

CHASE: We're on.

MARC: Give me two mins.

Chase stepped back into his room and waited in the darkness.

MARC: Security is set. You got thirty minutes.

With that, Chase shoved his phone back in his pocket and pulled open his bedroom door.

The hallway was still empty.

Chase carefully slipped out of his suite and crept silently down the hallway. He had to wait until most of the foot traffic had retired for the evening before he could go exploring. This was his chance. He had to take advantage of every opportunity to figure out who the author of the journal was and how to locate the psychos written about in the pages.

Last night had been a bust. Well… a good bust. A bust in the eyes of his employer but a blast in the eyes of his.

He got to spend time with one of the sexiest men on the planet, but he also lost an opportunity to investigate and gather evidence. He didn't want to tell Marc about his shortcomings, so he simply told him that there were too many people around to go snooping last night. Marc seemed to buy it. Shit happens, you need to adapt.

To help with his snooping, Marc hacked into Matteo's security feed and downloaded footage from a few nights ago. He then worked his magic, looping the footage into tonight's security feed so that Chase was able to roam the hallways undetected.

At this hour, most guests had either left La Maison de M or retired to their suites for some after-hours fun with whichever companion they had chosen for the night.

As he walked past each door, music could be heard, drowning out the sounds of muffled moans and groans and whatever other sinful activities were taking place. It seemed that the wicked never slept. Especially in this place.

The sound of a doorknob turning had Chase diving around a corner. He listened as two men said their goodbyes before one of them walked past Chase hiding in the shadows. Once the man passed, Chase peeked around the corner just in time to see the naked bum of Shawn disappearing back inside his bedroom.

Shawn was one of the bartenders who Chase had met earlier in the day. It appeared that dancers were not the only one's getting their cock's drained by the guests of the Maison.

At the end of the hallway, he came to a large door that led to Matteo's private office. It was one of the many rooms Levi had pointed out during his tour of "Hard-on Castle."

Chase approached the office door, taking a second glance at the camera pointed straight at the door, hoping that the video feed was still looped. Otherwise, this was going to be a very short investigation.

He double-checked his phone.

No new messages.

Well, this was it. Chase pressed his ear up against the door and listened.

Silence.

He reached for the knob on the door and tried it.

Locked.

He would have been severely disappointed if a man like Matteo had not locked his office door.

Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out an item that resembled a set of tweezers. He placed both of the metal picks into the keyhole, then began fiddling with the locking mechanism.

He was now glad that Marc had insisted that he practice picking locks. You never know when that skill will come in handy. Chase had gone his whole life without ever having to pick a lock, yet in the past few months since he had met Marc and Alex, he had to pick locks three times already. What did that say about his life?

Hearing that tiny little click, he released the breath that he didn't even realize he was holding and pushed the door open slightly. He stuck his head in cautiously, glancing around to confirm what he already knew to be true—the room was empty.

Marc would have notified him if anyone was inside the room ahead of time. Even though the video was looped with the old footage, Marc was still monitoring the live feed.

As it turned out, before Marc started hunting down bad guys with his husband, Alex, he worked as a security expert for the uber-rich and powerful. He would test out companies' security systems, find their weaknesses, and recommend changes to enhance their personal as well as technological security protocols. While Marc was off getting them lunch one day, Alex mentioned that Marc had kidnapped a CEO once in order to show the stubborn man how his personal security detail was flawed. After being locked in his trunk for a few hours, the CEO implemented Marc's recommendations right away.

Yes, his boss had a mean streak in him that seemed to amplify whenever someone didn't listen to what he had to say. Except for his husband. Alex was the one calling the shots in their relationship. The look in Marc's eyes as he watched his love move across the room was inspiring. Knowing that someone would burn down the world just because you asked was intoxicating.

Would Chase ever find that level of love and passion?

Perhaps.

He slipped into the room, then walked over to the sizable desk that sat in front of a large bay window that looked out into the magnificent gardens below. The perfect view for the master's office.

Matteo's desk was glass with black chrome around the edges and drawers. It was an elegant, modern piece of furniture in an otherwise classically furnished decor.

Chase took a seat behind the desk and ran his fingers over Matteo's laptop. The screen came to life, asking for a password, of course.

Chase pulled a small device out of his pocket and slipped it into the USB port of the laptop. He watched as the indicator on the device turned yellow. Marc had advised that once the indicator turned green, that meant that the device had finished cloning Matteo's laptop.

Nervously, he tapped his foot on the floor, scanning the office at the same time. The room was every bit as impressive as Chase would have expected for someone like Matteo. To the left, there were wall-to-wall books standing neatly on display. Just in front of that sat a small two-seater sofa with a tiny coffee table—perfect for those one-on-one, private meetings Matteo no doubt held with important customers or when negotiating high-powered business deals.

Chase glanced down at the sofa and wondered how safe it really was to sit on. Would he accidentally get pregnant? Should he take a black light to it?

After two minutes, the indicator turned green, and Chase yanked it from the laptop. He still had approximately twenty minutes before the cameras began recording live footage once again.

With that done, he walked over to a cabinet and began riffling through drawers, hoping to find any indication that Matteo was a bad man and possibly the author of the journal.

He flipped through files, not sure what he was looking for. It's not like evil villains marked their folders "Secret Bad Guy Stuff." He moved as fast as he could, searching through every drawer and cabinet and shelf he could find.

Nothing incriminating.

Chase finally stopped and looked around the room. He needed to know more about this place and what everyone did around here. That might give him more of a focus when looking for clues.

Deciding that he wasn't going to press his luck, he headed back to his room to call it a night. He had already scored big by cloning Matteo's laptop. He would have to get it to Marc tomorrow so that he could try and access the drive.