SafetyInNumbers-Final (27 page)

The way Chris and Red both stiffened sent the tension in the room through the roof. Green Eyes backed up until she banged into the wall and dropped her bag. Liam didn’t begrudge them their reaction, but it was impossible to think that this tiny little bit of a woman could pose a danger to any of them.

“Did I hear my name?” Owen asked from behind them and Liam thought the girl was going to pass out. Before Owen could step further into the room, Chris was dragging him back into the garage. Their not-so-whispered conversation ended with an ominous,
‘she weighs like ninety pounds soaking wet, you could crush her by looking at her,’
and Liam stepped forward just in case she went over.

“Okay, let’s try this again.” Owen came back in the room, Chris hot on his heels and hotter under the collar, and held out his hand. “I’m Owen Connor, and you are?”

“Uh…Wendy. Wendy Maples.” She looked from Owen to his hand to Chris and shook her head.

“Right, well, it’s nice to meet you, Wendy Maples. How about we sit down and one of these nice men will get you a glass of water. Then you can tell me what I can do for you. Okay?” When no one moved, Owen glared at them over his shoulder. “Water? Anyone?”

It was bordering on ridiculous and nearing hysterically funny, but Liam really didn’t want this woman passing out in their front office. While Owen urged her into a chair, he grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and passed it over. Wendy took a few sips, but never looked away from them.

“It’s gonna help a lot if you just look at me,” Owen said when she continued to stare. “There, see, not so scary.”

“You’re kinda cute.” Deer-in-the-headlights turned a little awe-struck and Liam grabbed Chris before he could lunge at his diminutive competition. Owen blushed on cue and Wendy started spilling her guts. “Owen, can I call you Owen? So, Owen, I’m hoping you can help me find my brother. He’d be about twenty-eight with blondish hair like mine.”

“And you think me or my brother Jon would know him?” Owen looked to them for help, but the vague description could describe a quarter of the men on South Beach at any given moment.

“Yes, sir, I do.” Wendy thrust the papers she had originally dug out of her backpack at Owen. “Says here that you own the Fork in the Road, the halfway house, and that’s where my brother is supposed to be staying. I went down there, but the man in the office said he couldn’t give me any information on any of his guests.”

Owen eased the papers aside and tried to let her down gently. “That’s very true. The halfway house has to adhere by state guidelines and we take the privacy of our guests very seriously. If your brother is staying there, he would have to ask for authorization for family to visit and the man in the office would know to expect you. Until then, there’s nothing I can tell you.”

“Please, just look at the paper.” When Owen just shook his head, Wendy started sobbing and threw herself against him. “I have to find him! Please, please. Our parents were killed in a car accident when we were little and we got adopted separately. I’ve had to jump through so many hoops to get our records unsealed and spent so much money on investigators. I just want to know that he’s okay. Is he okay? Please, why won’t you help me find Stephen?”

The only sound in the room was Wendy’s sobbing as they all fought the natural instinct to turn and look at the new hire currently working with Jacky. This wasn’t the halfway house, but there were terms a business agreed to when it hired a resident of the FTR. Not that they were big on adhering to the rules. Unfortunately for Wendy, unexpected visits from long lost relatives didn’t have a good track record in Bull’s Garage.

Owen tried to disentangle himself as gently as possible and Liam could see how hard he was trying not to give in. “Wendy, I know how hard this must be for you, but my hands are tied.”

“You have no idea how hard it is to know that your brother is out there somewhere, but if you passed him on the street you wouldn’t even recognize him!” Wendy shoved Owen and Liam tightened his grip on Chris. “I need to know if he had good adoptive parents and that they took care of him. I need to know if he looks like what I remember our father looked like. I need to know if he remembers me at all and if he missed me as much as I missed him. How can you tell me you know how that feels? He’s my brother and no one will help me find him. You’re my last hope, the last name on the list. If not you, who will help me?”

Wendy turned wild eyes on them and flung the papers. “Will one of you tell me or are you all trapped under this privacy rule?”

Red knelt down and picked up her papers with shaky hands. Owen may not know how she felt, but he saw how things unfolded with Red and Craig and that was more than enough knowledge for any of them. Had Craig felt this way when he found his mother’s journals and realized he had a brother out there in the world? One he knew for certain hadn’t been adopted by good parents.

When Red stood, those shaking hands meticulously organizing the paperwork, they all saw Owen’s resolve break. “There’s one thing I can do for you, but I need you to calm down and listen to me.”

Wendy grasped onto that like a lifeline and promised, “Anything. I’ll do anything.”

“Write down your contact information for me. If your brother is at the FTR, I will give it to him personally and tell him what you said. I’m not making guarantees, Wendy, you have to understand that.” Owen paused long enough to take the notepad Red offered. “I don’t run the FTR, the man you met in the office does, so I don’t know for sure if your brother is there or not.  And if he is there, then it’s his choice if he wants to meet you or not.”

“I understand, I really do. I just…he’s my brother.”

“Yes, and you have to let him decide what he wants.” Owen waited until she wrote everything down before adding, “There are a lot of conditions when a man is released to a halfway house. Please don’t risk his freedom by doing something stupid. Loitering outside the house will have my manager calling the cops on you. Making unauthorized contact on the street could very well get him sent back to jail. Do you understand all that?” Wendy nodded fast, probably too fast, but Owen said everything he needed to say. “If Stephen is there and he does want to meet you, someone will call you to arrange it.”

Silence reigned as she stuffed her papers back in her bag and headed for the door. Even when it whooshed shut behind her, no one moved. It was Chris who finally broke the tension. “You handled that really well. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you.” Owen’s legs wobbled a little when he stood. “Are you okay, Red?”

“Yeah.” The answer was distracted and Red glanced back at the corner he once hid in. “I need to get upstairs. I have a conference call soon.”

With Saul dialing Bull and Chris leading Owen into the back to talk to Stephen, he was left standing with Javier in the aftermath. With the security Saul provided every second of every day and the help of a really amazing therapist, he was no longer the timid man they first met. A year ago, the encounter with Wendy would have taken an emotional toll on Javier. Now, he was the one holding it together while Liam felt his own resolve shaken.

“You were afraid things were going to change so much that we wouldn’t need each other anymore.” Javier rubbed a comforting hand down his back—something Liam had seen Saul do for his lover so many times—and swore, “It’s never going to happen, my brother. Never.”

After Javier walked away, Liam made his way across the parking lot and the safety of his bear’s arms. His heart hurt for Red and he didn’t envy the task Owen set for himself. Yes, there was solace in knowing their family always stood together, but he could have prayed for a hundred other ways to learn that lesson.

Chapter 23

Chris

“Hey, I think your high school diploma’s here.” Owen stood in the bathroom doorway waving a large envelope and leering suggestively. That green gaze burned a path over Chris’s skin, making him instantly hard. “Hmm, what you do for an orange towel should be illegal.”

“I’m all for sex games, baby, but there’ll be no handcuffs in our future.” Chris tucked the end of the towel so it sat low on his hips and crossed the small space to tug on Owen’s tie. “This might be an option though.”

He loved the way Owen’s breath hitched when he teased and couldn’t resist nuzzling his lover’s throat as he loosened the tie. Just like that, Owen was putty in his hands and Chris planned to take full advantage. Once the tie was hanging open, he made short work of the white dress shirt and black slacks, leaving Owen in nothing but the tie and tiny briefs.

“Did you get the project?” Owen and Colin had pulled another late night working on adjustments for Alaric’s friend’s office and were scheduled to present them that afternoon. Chris was a little disappointed that Owen hadn’t texted him as soon as the meeting was over, but he knew Owen often stopped himself from reaching out because he didn’t want to be clingy. “I was expecting your text hours ago.”

Before the reproach could register, he slipped his hand inside Owen’s briefs. Grabbing Owen’s dick just before his brain went into overdrive was the surest way to keep the negative thoughts away. Instead of stammering out unnecessary apologies, all Owen could muster was an, “Uh huh.”

“You make me so proud, do you know that?” Chris stroked and squeezed, loving that dazed response just as much as the cock in his hand. “There are so many stars on the chart right now, you’re gonna be cashing in rewards for months.”

The design had been flawless and the tweaks so minor, he figured the client was just trying to play hardball. There was no doubt in his mind that they would get the job, but Owen never had that much confidence. Even getting the job wouldn’t really give him a boost, it would only give him another thing to worry about, but those imaginary stars on his imaginary chart and the promise of a very real reward usually did the trick.

Owen eased forward, his lips parted and eyes bright with excitement, as he tried to get as close as their flimsy barriers would allow. “Really?”

“Really and truly. I had to deduct one for no text, but you’re rolling in them so you’ll never feel it.” They both knew he wasn’t really counting anything, but Owen believed he was making mistakes so if Chris didn’t occasionally deduct, the effect would be lost.

“I’ll do better with the texting.” The response was smooth as honey instead of sharp with nerves, giving him the promise he wanted and the reaction he craved. Who knew a hand job and imaginary stars would be so magical?

“Thank you, baby.” He stroked from balls to tip, drawing Owen up on his toes to keep from losing that touch, and encouraged, “Are you ready to pick your reward?”

With Owen looking at him like he wanted to eat him for dinner, Chris felt his own hitch of anticipation kick in. “I want to be inside you. You said that was an option, right? Can that be my reward?”

They had had that conversation, but so far Owen had shied away and Chris wasn’t sure if it was just a preference for bottoming or performance anxiety. Having Owen ask for that as his reward had another hitch of anticipation rolling through him. “That can definitely be your reward.”

Beneath the shy, often bumbling persona beat a seductive heart, and Chris loved drawing that forward. With the reward established, sure fingers were quick to dispose of his towel, leaving Chris bared to Owen’s appreciative gaze. “You won’t be needing that.”

Chris tightened his grip, letting Owen feel his own appreciation. Owen leaned up for a quick, teasing kiss, as he tugged Chris’s hand from his dick. Once free, he slipped his open tie around Chris neck and grabbed the loose ends in both hands. “Looks like you caught me.”

“My very own sex god.” Owen walked backward toward the bed, pulling Chris along with him. Not that he needed encouragement.

“You gonna tie me up and hold me captive?” They hadn’t tried that before and, while it wasn’t without its appeal, Chris honestly didn’t know how he would react to being restrained.

“That’s very tempting, but sex gods don’t get restrained.” The tie slid away, the silk teasing his skin before fluttering to the floor. “Only the very best, most skilled sex slaves get restrained if they sufficiently please their sex god.”

Now the idea of restraining his very willing, very best, most skilled sex slave had a lot more appeal. Just the idea of Owen at his mercy had his balls drawing up tight and those glowing green eyes said they were definitely on the same page. With that new goal in mind, he schooled his features and said in his deepest voice, “Then my personal sex slave needs to start pleasing me.”

“Oh fuck, yes, yes, right now.” Owen pushed him onto the bed, shucked his briefs, and pounced. There was a frantic kiss as Owen tried to get as close as possible and a shocked yelp when Chris pinched his ass. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Someone had to slow the freight train down, baby. All that rubbing and wiggling was gonna make us both come before you got your dick in my ass.”

There was a real chance that was going to backfire on Chris, but instead of getting embarrassed, Owen flipped around and pointed to the pinch mark. “It was a good save, but now you need to make it better.”

He grumbled for about five seconds before grabbing Owen’s hips and planting sloppy, wet love bites all over his ass. Instead of trying to get away, Owen straddled his head, leaving him spread and vulnerable to anything Chris wanted to do to him. But if Chris thought he was being given the upper hand, Owen slithering down his torso and swallowing his cock quickly took it away. “Fuck, baby!”