1. Vail

1

VAIL

Jordan had feared getting into a relationship with Hartley and me. He didn’t want history to repeat itself.

First, there was Ella, Jordan’s wife. She went to a competitor of his, had an affair with the competitor’s adult son, then hatched a plan with him to kill Jordan and their only child so she could take everything he had and combine it with the son’s family empire.

That never happened, because Jordan ended her life before she could do the same to him and their son, JJ.

Second, there was Malik, Jordan’s second-in-command in all his illegal ventures. Malik did everything for Jordan. In return, Malik had access to Jordan that no one else did. They fell in love, but Jordan never told Malik how he felt, nor did Malik tell him. Jordan worried the same fate would befall Malik that did his wife.

Then Malik put a gun to JJ’s head. There was only one way to handle this in Jordan’s mind—kill Malik. So, he did, after telling Malik he loved him.

Once Jordan was deceived, there were no second chances. There were no three strikes. It was one and done.

Guilt sat heavy on his shoulders. He took the life of his wife, the mother of his child, and didn’t even tell his son the truth of what happened until recently. JJ grew up thinking his father was the bad guy. Jordan didn’t want to tarnish his son’s memory of his mother.

Add on the guilt Jordan had from killing Malik, only to find out at the reading of his will that Malik had an adult son he told no one about, I wasn’t sure how Jordan could stand upright.

Never mind what he did was to save his son. The guilt remained, self-imposed, a weight he carried daily. Two men were without one of their parents. The thing was, Malik’s son didn’t love him. Malik was absent from Romeo’s life. The guilt shouldn’t have sat on Jordan’s shoulders, yet it did.

Jordan didn’t want to have another romantic relationship for fear of what could happen.

Then Hartley and I came along, and Jordan couldn’t resist us.

The fear was there for a while. It took us telling him and proving we weren’t after his businesses, money, or his son. We were only there for him. He trusted us and wanted to give us everything.

We moved in, shared his bed, and while I couldn’t speak for Hartley, I was in love with him, though the words never left my lips. Most of all, we trusted him with every part of ourselves.

I had one request. Jordan wasn’t to go after my ex. Ever.

Jordan had a man watching Gil’s movements and so did I. To my knowledge, Jordan didn’t go near my ex.

But the cops showed up to arrest Jordan in connection with Gil’s disappearance, while we were at JJ’s house for dinner. He was arrested in front of Hartley and me. In front of JJ and his partners. And there was nothing any of us could do outside of calling attorneys.

My knees hit the driveway as the cruiser drove out of sight. More cops talked to us, but I ignored them. They weren’t going to listen to what we had to say. Gil was nothing to me. I didn’t care if he was dead.

What mattered was if he was deceased, who did it? If he was alive, where was he? Did Jordan have anything to do with it? So many questions swirled inside my head.

It was Oleander who crouched in front of me, the guard who was assigned to me. His dark hair hung loose to his shoulders. Concerned brown eyes met mine. “Vail, stand up and go through the motions. I know you don’t want to, but the quicker you talk to them, the quicker they leave.”

“He said he wouldn’t?—”

Oleander shook his head, then his eyes flicked to someone behind me. He was right. I had to pull myself together and talk to the police. I wouldn’t offer anything.

Standing, I turned to find Hartley being questioned. Tears shimmered in his eyes. The raw need I had to go to him, to comfort him, was so strong it took everything in me to stay put. Instead, I focused on the cop waiting to talk to me.

When the cop started asking questions about Gil’s abuse, I told him I wouldn’t say anything without a lawyer present. I wasn’t charged with a crime. I didn’t know where Gil was. But I refused to give them anything they could hold against Jordan. It didn’t matter how upset I was; they weren’t getting shit from me.

It took Sheldon coming over, talking in that super calm voice of his, to get the cops to finally leave. They said they’d be in touch. Sure, whatever. Jordan wasn’t the only one with an attorney, though mine dealt with much different issues than Jordan’s did. I’d rely on his for the current situation.

As soon as the driveway was empty, except for those who were supposed to be here, I sought out Hartley. He sat on the stairs just inside the house. Tears slid down his cheeks, shattering my heart. I never wanted to see him in pain.

Kneeling in front of him, I said, “He’ll be out soon.” I didn’t doubt it for one second. Jordan had enough money and power that he wouldn’t stay in there. They might have had evidence to bring him in, but if they truly thought he hurt Gil, they wouldn’t have said in connection with Gil’s disappearance. Which meant there was no Gil and no idea where he was.

“You’re going to leave, aren’t you?” Hartley asked.

“Not right now. I won’t without hearing from Jordan first. I hope he didn’t go behind my back and do something I explicitly asked him not to.”

“I don’t want you to go, Vail. Please.”

“Hart…” I leaned forward and put my arms around him.

Hartley held on to me with such strength, his fingers were going to leave bruises.

There wasn’t much I could say to comfort him. Would I leave if I found out Jordan had something to do with this? I would, because if I couldn’t trust him, I couldn’t stay in a relationship with him.

I could look past the shit he did when it didn’t pertain to Hartley and me. Maybe because I could section that part of him away from us. That side didn’t touch us. It could have been foolish and completely unhealthy, but I didn’t care. Trust was a huge thing for me though.

After finally getting away from Gil for good, I told myself a lot of things. I hadn’t been in a relationship since him, until Jordan and Hartley.

Jordan wanted to give me the world. What he didn’t understand was the world wasn’t necessary. He was. Hartley too. Money could buy a lot of things, but it couldn’t give me what was important. The thought of him breaking my trust shattered me inside.

“Lana’s going to meet us back at the building,” Sheldon said, coming in. “She wants to talk to you, Vail.”

Leaning away from Hart, I stood and mentally prepared myself. There was a long story that needed to be told. If Lana was going to defend Jordan properly, she should know what I went through. To do that, I had to pour my soul out in a terrible way in front of not only her, but Hartley too.

“Did she say anything about him?” Hartley asked.

Sheldon shook his head. “She won’t until she talks to him. I doubt he’ll be in there long. Without concrete evidence, they can’t hold him.” His eyes met mine. “He didn’t do this.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “How do you know?”

“I hear everything, remember? I know what goes on and I’m always awake. Jordan spends his time working or with the two of you.”

“He could have had someone else…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. As much as I hated Gil, I meant it when I said Jordan had to stay away from him.

“Think about what you just said. Do you think Jordan is going to hand off the death of the man who hurt someone he cares about as deeply as he does you two? No, he wouldn’t. Jordan would kill him with his own hands.”

My stomach rolled. I knew what Jordan did. How he killed people, tortured them. My imagination was healthy when it came to Jordan. More visuals weren’t necessary. Sheldon had a point though. Jordan would want to take care of Gil. Making him disappear also wasn’t his style from everything I’d overheard since I started seeing him. They set the stage with bodies and a perfectly crafted tale of what occurred. They had evidence to back it up. An expertly orchestrated crime, pointing away from Jordan and his guards.

Still…

Turning, I ran to the closest bathroom. Luckily, I knew where it was. I dropped to my knees and pitched over the toilet to empty the contents of my stomach. Tears burned my eyes as thoughts assailed me.

Jordan sitting in a jail cell, probably more worried about Hartley and me than about himself.

The sheriff and other officers giddy with excitement that they might have finally nailed Jordan for a crime.

JJ was distraught about what he’d witnessed tonight. They’d just gotten on somewhat good terms. They were rebuilding their relationship.

Hartley, who lost his grandfather not that long ago, and now had someone else he cared about pulled from his life.

Gil, dead and covered in blood.

My body heaved again. When it finally calmed, I wiped my mouth with some toilet paper, flushed, and sat on the floor with my back against the wall. My eyes fell closed as I breathed through the burning still in my throat and the pain in my chest. The latter had nothing to do with me being sick and everything to do with Jordan being taken out of here in handcuffs.

A warm hand pressed to my cheek. My eyes fluttered open to find Hartley sitting on the floor, facing me.

He placed a damp cloth on my forehead. “Did it help?”

“Throwing up?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Not at all.”

“Okay, then I guess I don’t need to try it.”

My lips started to curve, but I couldn’t muster a full smile. “I don’t recommend it.”

“I know you want to sit here, but we have to leave. We shouldn’t keep Lana waiting.”

I nodded and slowly stood.

Dexen was in the doorway with a cup in his hand. “To rinse out your mouth.”

“Thanks.”

Hartley moved the cloth to my neck as I braced my arms over the sink, letting the mouthwash swish around. It had been so long since someone cared for me the way Hartley did. Jordan did as well, but Hartley had a gentle touch.

I spit and turned, bringing Hartley into my arms again. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“Always, Vail.”

When I leaned back, I took his cheeks in my hands. The urge to kiss him was strong, but I wouldn’t until I could thoroughly brush my teeth. “No matter what happens, I want you to remember something.”

“What?”

It wasn’t the time or the place, but I couldn’t move without saying the words. “I love you.”

His bottom lip trembled. “You do?”

“Yeah, Hart, I do.”

“I love you too.”

He pushed up on his toes so he could wrap his arms around my neck. I held him while he cried softly against me. Words of comfort wouldn’t leave my lips. There was no way for me to know if everything would be okay. But one thing was certain: I had a man I loved to hold me together when I felt like I was falling apart.