15. Jordan

15

JORDAN

After lying in bed with Hartley and Vail for hours, unable to sleep, I finally got up and left the room. Anger still coursed through me. I didn’t blame Marlie for what happened. She didn’t know it was Gil’s cabin, or that he used a false name to donate it to the auction.

He was alive. That motherfucker was still slinking around. He was breathing, eating, no doubt thriving in whatever space he was in. The man had money. Who knew how much he took or what other identities he used. Slimy, no good piece of shit.

The elevator doors opened, and I exited onto the fourth floor where the security command center was. Multiple rooms had been converted into one large space. Not many had the access code to get in. At four in the morning, I didn’t expect Barry to be inside. He worked during the day. But there he was, sitting behind the desk with another guard by his side on his normal shift.

Screens lined the wall, each showing a different room, hallway, outside of the building. But there were more than that. We had cameras on certain locations I owned throughout the city. Not my legal businesses. Those had their own security systems run by companies I hired. My home I didn’t trust to anyone but my own men.

“Sir, what are you doing up?” Barry asked.

“I couldn’t sleep.” At least I didn’t put on a suit. Hartley and Vail were slowly changing me in multiple ways. I slid my hands into the pockets of the heather gray lounge pants and rocked back on my bare heels as I surveyed the screens. “Why are you awake?”

“This whole thing with Gil.” Barry raked his hand through his hair. “We’ve been scouring all over, had your men and private investigators looking for him. Now we know he’s alive, but where the fuck is he?”

“He could be anywhere. Lawson tried to trace the number, but he didn’t get anywhere. Gil’s not an idiot.” If he was, he would have been behind bars. Instead, he was smart enough to get in with the right people and keep his freedom.

“I hate to point out the obvious, but he wants Vail any way he can get him. He’s going to keep trying until he succeeds.” Barry held up his hand before I could interrupt him. “I know Vail won’t ever go, but Gil is sick in the fucking head. He thinks of Vail as his property and is using any mind tricks he can to fuck with him.”

“It works,” I muttered, my shoulders slumping. I hated how Gil could affect Vail with a simple text or well-placed reminder Gil wanted him.

Barry used his foot and pushed one of the rolling chairs toward me. I sat, leaning back so I could focus on the screens. Everything was quiet except for Sheldon walking through the hall.

“He doesn’t sleep,” Barry said. “Every night he gets restless and paces. He’s quiet as fuck too. No noise, just his movement tripping the sensors. One night, I saw him climb out of an air duct. When I asked what he was doing, he said he was looking for a place to nap.”

“Sheldon is a mystery we won’t solve anytime soon.”

Just then, Sheldon stopped, turned to peer up at the camera, and blew it a kiss. He was gone a second later.

“There’s nothing more for us to do than we already are,” I told Barry, going back to Gil “We’re going to have to wait for Gil to make his next move. When? Who the fuck knows? All I can do is keep Vail well-guarded.”

“He’s working at Untouchable tonight, right?”

“Yes, he’s on the dinner shift. Dexen hired another full-time cook to shorten Dana’s hours and Vail’s when he’s there. Vail likes working though. He likes to be busy, which reminds me… Are there any vacant rooms we could remodel?”

Barry cocked his head. “What are you thinking?”

“Vail likes to work with his hands, whether it’s to do manual labor or cooking. Maybe we could put in a commercial-grade kitchen. Vail can cook for more than Hart and me, if he wants to, that is. He could design it, pick out the appliances. Hell, I’ll even put him on the payroll.”

“He’d never let you pay him.”

“You’re right.”

Barry rubbed his chin. He opened his mouth to reply when the click of the lock disengaging had us turning toward the door.

“Morning,” Sheldon said, walking in. He was in a pair of navy sweatpants and a long-sleeved gray shirt. “What are we talking about? It’s rare I get others to chat with in the early morning hours.”

Barry toed a chair to him. The other guard still monitored the screens, staying silent while we talked.

“I mentioned having a commercial-grade kitchen put in for Vail,” I told him.

“Can’t kill his ex, so you want to build him something pretty?” I hadn’t thought of it that way. “He still won’t let you hunt Gil down?”

“No, but he relented and said if Gil threatened imminent death on another, I could kill him.”

“Take the win for what it is. A kitchen, huh?”

“Do you think he’d like it?” I hated the vulnerability in my voice, the fucking softness. I almost growled but held it back. Vail and Hartley were the men I loved. I’d drop to the floor and worship at their feet, but that love was bleeding into other areas. It made me expose more of my jugular to those around me.

“Yes, but he’s going to want to help pay for it, or at least do the work.”

“That was part of the equation. I could pay for the materials, and he could make it his own. Hell, he could run a fucking catering business for all I cared.” He couldn’t offer personal lessons here though. If he wanted to do that, I’d find him a different space. He still used his home for now, as long as I had men with him.

“It’s a good idea. This will show him you listen when he talks and understand his needs and desires.”

“He already knows that.” I did growl that time.

Sheldon held up his hands. “It’s four in the morning. No need to get pissed at this hour.”

“I’ve been angry since the auction. I want Gil dead, chopped up in tiny bits and fed to the fucking otters.” Why I chose otters was completely up to how pissed I was and them being the first animals I could think of.

“I don’t think they come into the creek. They’re river otters, not creek otters.”

I glared at him until he pressed his lips together and shut the fuck up about the location of the damn otters.

“Sir?” the guard monitoring the screens said, drawing our attention. “There’s a man walking around the back of the building.”

We leaned forward as he zoomed in on the screen. Barry picked up his phone and told three of my men to go see what the person wanted. He was carrying something, but I couldn’t tell what.

The camera stayed with him as my men approached. The guy shrank back before handing them something and turning to run. He wasn’t fast enough.

I stood from the chair so quickly it rolled into the wall. Barry and Sheldon were on their feet as well. We went to the elevator and took it down to the lobby where we arrived as the guy was brought in.

“What did he give you?” Barry asked.

“A letter.” A guard handed it over. Barry skimmed it quick then gave it to me.

Vail,

I wasn’t sure how else to get word to you. I was ignored when I tried to contact you. I had to send an early morning courier in the hopes you’d get this. The cabin is yours, darling. I signed it over to you. The deed’s being transferred. It’s a show of my love. The cabin held so many memories. I’d love to create more with you.

You’re mine, Vail. Not Jordan’s. Not Hartley’s.

Mine.

Enjoy the cabin.

Until we meet again,

Gil

P.S. I know you’re reading this, Jordan. Release Vail. He belongs with me. All you’ll do is cause him pain.

“What in the ever-loving fuck?” I shouted.

When I lifted my gaze, the man who brought the letter was visibly trembling. I handed the letter to Sheldon and stalked closer to the messenger. “Who the fuck are you?”

“N-no one, sir. I’m j-just a courier who was hired to deliver this. I do t-this all over the city. My clients s-send requests and I fulfill them.”

“If this person contacts you again, I want you to call me immediately.” Barry produced one of my cards and handed it over. I didn’t ask why he had it on him. “If you provide me with valuable information, I’ll make it worth your while. If you fail to inform me of contact, well, I don’t need to say what will happen.” I bared my teeth, the threat clear.

“Of c-course. I’ll do that.” The card shook in his hand. “Can I g-go now?”

I nodded. He was escorted outside.

Sheldon held up the letter. “This is a game. You know that, right? He’s fucking with Vail and you. Vail is his prey. He’ll use whatever tactics he can to frighten him.”

“Once the sun rises, I want a call made to Lana,” I told Barry. “I need to know if Gil turned the property over to Vail. If so, I’m fucking bulldozing it.” Turning, I strode toward the elevator. Barry and Sheldon followed.

“What if Vail wants to keep it?” Sheldon asked as he handed me the letter back.

“I won’t kill his ex, but I will burn that fucking cabin to the ground, whether Vail likes it or not.” There were a lot of things I’d do for the men I loved. Saving a cabin where he spent time with Gil wasn’t one of them. I didn’t care what the fuck was inside it. My anger had reached its boiling point and was spilling over. Someone had to pay for this. With Gil still in the wind, I could level the fucking cabin he took Vail to.

The elevator let Sheldon and Barry off on their respective floors while I continued to my home. Reghan waited for me, keeping watch over Vail and Hartley while I was gone. He’d return downstairs to where he was previously.

Striding into my office, I set the letter on my desk, hating the sight of it. As much as it would upset Vail to see it, I wouldn’t hide it from him if he asked to read it. While I wanted to buffer Vail from Gil, I wouldn’t keep things from him. Vail was a grown man who knew his limits. If he wanted to read it, he could. If not, I could give him the gist. Then I’d tell him I was removing any trace of the cabin. He could do as he wished with the property after.

I was an understanding man. Hell, I was fucking soft because of Vail and Hartley. Some things weren’t happening though. Vail visiting a place where Gil probably beat him, raped him, and whatever other god-awful things, wasn’t a house that should remain standing.

If I had to go one by one to every location Vail was hurt in and destroy every inch of the memories they held, I would. Vail deserved better than being dragged back to the hell he lived through. No man of mine would be subjected to that kind of terror. Not as long as there was air in my lungs. I would fight day and night for Vail and Hartley, until my dying breath.