16. Zane

Chapter 16

Zane

‘Guys, I've got something to say,' Zane said, marching into The Tap House with Keith firmly in his iron grip. ‘Or rather, this down low sonofabitch does. Talk, Keith.'

Zane knew he couldn't let Keith steal Axel's truck, no matter what that might mean for him personally. Zane was loyal, honorable, and would never let a friend or loved one suffer just to make things easier for himself. And if that meant that his reputation in Eagle Ridge ended up going down the drain, then that was a price he was willing to pay.

‘I said talk,' Zane growled, his grip tightening on Keith's scrawny arm.

‘Fuck. Fine. Just let go of me,' Keith complained. ‘I was trying to steal a truck. Whatever. Call the cops. I don't care.'

‘More specifically, he was trying to steal your truck, Axel,' Zane said, happy that Keith had at least owned his actions. ‘And he was attempting to blackmail me too. You see, we know each other from jail. The difference between us being that I never want to go back there again, and Keith apparently is going to keep on doing things his way and no doubt end up locked behind bars again very soon indeed.'

Zane felt a real sense of relief as he made the situation clear to Axel and Trey. And he could tell by the looks on their faces that they were glad of his honesty. But that didn't change the fact that Keith might indeed now make it his mission to drag Zane's name through the mud…

‘Blackmail?' Axel asked, arching his eyebrow. ‘That's a criminal offense in itself. And on top of attempted theft, I'm pretty sure that the sheriff will want the full lowdown from us three.'

‘I'm thinking we strike a deal,' Trey said, exchanging a look with Axel and Zane. ‘You interested in hearing it, Keith?'

Zane looked at Keith and could see that he was thinking things over. As much as Keith couldn't be trusted, it was clear that he no longer held any cards. A single call to the sheriff would mean that Keith's plan of spreading dirt about Zane would have to wait until after he was released from whatever jail sentence he was given.

‘I'm interested,' Keith replied, not exactly sounding happy but clearly willing to listen.

‘Okay, so if Zane and Axel agree, I say that you work in my kitchen washing pots and pans for a week,' Trey said, his voice firm. ‘I'll pay you an hourly wage, in cash. You show up on time and don't slack off. At the end of the week you'll have enough money to take your ass out of town. No need to get the law involved as long as you don't try and screw me, or my friends, over. '

Zane nodded his approval, and Axel did too.

The reality was that Keith would probably return to a life of crime, but by working in The Tap House's kitchen for a week, he'd at least have a taste of hard work and earning an honest living.

‘Fine,' Keith said, his eyes betraying a sense of relief at the offer.

‘Good,' Trey said. ‘Now head into the kitchen and my chef will get you started. I'll follow in a minute.'

As they watched Keith walk away, the three Daddies knew that they had done the right thing. It wasn't a guarantee that Keith still wouldn't try and steal or cheat, but at least they were giving him a chance to make amends and see another way of living his life.

‘Hey, who knows, he might love it so much he stays for a second week,' Axel chuckled. ‘I mean, I doubt it. But…'

‘You're a good man, Trey,' Zane said, fist bumping his two friends. ‘And you too, Axel. I don't know if I'd have been so kind in your positions.'

‘I think you would have,' Axel smiled. ‘You're a great guy too. So you made a mistake a couple of years ago and did some time… hell, we all screw up sometimes. The people of Eagle Ridge will only judge you on who you are now, not your past.'

Zane could tell that Axel meant every word he was saying. It felt good to feel so wanted and respected. The truth was that during his career in finance, Zane had always felt like an asset, a totally disposable one too. But things were different now. Zane was valued – and it had nothing to do with how much money he earned or what contacts he had.

‘You know guys, I need to make peace with Marshall. I was kind of an asshole earlier…'

But before Zane could leave, he saw the bar door open and Max step in.

‘Zane, we need to talk,' Max said, his tone deadly serious and momentarily making Zane think that he might need to get ready to fight right there and then. ‘It's Marshall…he needs our help. And he needs it right now.'

Zane felt every inch of his body go into high alert.

The very thought that Marshall might be in trouble or danger was setting off his Daddy alarm at maximum volume.

‘Okay, let's go,' Zane said, nodding at Trey and Axel before striding out of the bar with Max by his side.

Whatever the problem that Marshall was facing, Zane was determined to make sure that he was there for his boy and be the Daddy that he needed more than anything else in the world…

After hurrying back to Marshall's apartment along with Max, Zane wasted little time in making things right with Marshall. No amount of macho pride was going to stop Zane putting his darling boy at ease and helping him to get Tag Rackvill out of the equation .

‘Boy, I screwed up,' Zane said, taking a seat on Marshall's couch and inviting his gorgeous young man over to sit with him. ‘I spoke with Max. He was just being a friend to you. I overreacted.'

‘Yeah, you did,' Marshall replied, taking a seat next to Zane. ‘And you didn't even give me a chance to explain.'

‘I'm sorry,' Zane said, feeling like crap but knowing that he needed to battle through and show Marshall that he could be his Daddy in good times and bad. ‘I can't say it won't ever happen again, but I'll try. This whole thing is still so new to me. But I think the reason I lost my cool so much was because of how much you mean to me. I know this started as a tryout on my side and a bit of fun for you, but the truth is…'

Zane took a minute to compose himself. He knew that this moment was more about helping Marshall, but at the same time he had so much that he wanted to say. It was all about finding the right balance, and Zane decided to keep it short and sweet so that he could focus on the more immediate issues at hand.

‘The truth is that my feelings for you are very real,' Zane continued, placing his hand on Marshall's knee. ‘But we've got business to get down to. We'll come back to my crazy-possessive Daddy side later. The reality of the situation is that your mom and pop's house is under threat. And there's no way in hell that I'm going to let that happen. And nor is Max, or any of the other Daddies.'

‘That's damn right,' Max said, walking over toward Zane and handing him a bottle of warm milk he had moments ago heated up. ‘Here, I think your boy needs some special Daddy and Little time. I'll catch up with you both later.'

With that, Max made his exit and left Zane and Marshall together.

‘So what do you say, baby boy?' Zane asked, holding the bottle in his hand. ‘Milk time with Daddy?'

Zane's heart then filled with joy as Marshall shifted over on the couch and snuggled himself in his lap and looked up at him with his beautiful hazel eyes. Zane could tell that what Marshall needed now was the love and affection of his Daddy. The specific plans for how they were going to kick Tag Rackvill out of their lives could wait. This was all about a Daddy giving his darling boy his milk.

‘Milkies, milkies,' Marshall said, his pupils dilating as Zane gently lowered the milk bottle toward his mouth, the yellow teat soon disappearing inside Marshall's mouth as he began to glug the milk down with gusto.

‘That's my boy,' Zane said, gently cradling Marshall and making sure that he was secure as he eagerly drank his perfectly warmed milk. ‘Not too quick though. Just let it flow into you. Now close those eyes and let yourself fall asleep.'

Marshall did as Zane instructed and soon enough he was happily suckling on the milk and gradually drifting off to sleep with a look of contentment on his face.

Zane knew though that as happy as Marshall and him might have been in that moment, there would be challenges and difficult times ahead. Vanquishing the threat of Tag Rackvill wouldn't be easy. Tag had money, political influence, and potentially would stoop to any level to get what he wanted.

But Tag Rackvill didn't have one very important factor on his side…

He didn't have a group of Daddies who were willing to do anything to protect their boys and the community that they cherished so much.

As Zane gently took the empty milk bottle out of Marshall's hands and put it on the side table, he felt a steely determination come over him. Zane had made mistakes in his past, but this was going to be the moment where he put everything right once and for all…