Vann hummed as he stepped into the elevator and hit the button to Drayton’s floor. He didn’t have a clue what Drayton needed when he’d called him up to his office, but his tone definitely implied Vann needed to drop everything and head upstairs. He bit his lip, thinking back on their first weekend. Maybe Drayton couldn’t wait two more days until quitting time on Friday to jump back on that sexy train. He was totally on board for an office quickie if that was the reason for this spontaneous meeting. He had left the packages off to the side in the mailroom, ready to sort. He was usually ahead of schedule on getting those ready for pick up, so he could certainly work on that later today without missing a beat.

He clasped his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth, humming as he waited.

The doors finally slid open and he impatiently squeezed between them to step out of the elevator.

Mia spotted him and covered the receiver of the phone. “He’s waiting for you. Go on in,” she said, returning to her conversation.

He nodded and walked down the hall to Drayton’s office. He knocked and pushed open the door, not waiting for a response. He stilled, wondering why Drayton and Aidan sat on the couch, both staring up at him, quieting when he entered, as if in the middle of some personal discussion.

A quickie is definitely not on the table.

“What’s going on?” Vann asked, swallowing heavily. He wished his mind didn’t automatically jump to a worst-case scenario situation.

Drayton patted the spot on the couch next to him, urging him to sit. “We need to talk to you about something. We want to know how you prefer to handle a situation.”

He sat, rubbing his palms up and down his thighs. Drayton covered his hands, stilling the motion.

“Everything’s fine.” He gave Vann a steady look. “You’re fine.”

Vann nodded stiffly and glanced over to Aidan. If everything was fine, then why the hell was the detective sitting with them on the couch with a scowl on his face?

“I’m going to cut to the chase,” Aidan said.

Thank fuck.

“Your father was arrested last night.”

Vann straightened in his seat. “What for?”

“DUI.” Aidan leaned back into the couch and shrugged. “He should know better than to be drinking and driving.”

Drayton ducked his head, rolling his lips into his mouth as if trying to bite back a grin.

Vann looked between them, their body language revealing a hell of a lot more than their words. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“C’mon, Aidan. You’re stressing him out.” Drayton turned toward him, stretching his arm along the back of the couch and reaching up, resting his hand on the back of Vann’s neck. “After the other night, Aidan decided to keep tabs on your father.”

Vann lowered his brow, looking back to Aidan. “Why would you do that?” For me.

“’Cause he’s an asshole and I wanted him off the streets.” Aidan crossed his legs, laying his hand on his ankle and tapping his thumb against his boot. “After that shit went down at HH, I stopped by the precinct to see him.”

“And?” Vann prompted, his heart beating quickly.

“And,” Aidan said, wrapping his fingers, one at a time, around his ankle as he took a deep breath. The gesture subtle, but definitely controlled. Vann easily imagined the detective using that same motion to wrap his fingers around someone’s throat. “I wanted to strangle the rude fucker.”

So he is picturing his fingers around someone’s neck.

“What did he say to you?” Vann swallowed heavily, knowing his father had a talent for finding a person’s hot buttons.

Aidan inclined his head, his eyes cold and his expression hard. “He spit on me and called me a pussy.” He inhaled a slow breath, a look of disgust twisting his features. His jaw muscles flexed as he clenched his teeth. “That fucker is going down. But I’m leaving it up to you to decide how it ends.”

“What do you mean?” Vann stilled when that hazel stare pierced him. The message received, loud and clear.

“You have carte blanche. Just tell me how you want this to end. Julian pressed charges, so he shouldn’t have been out on the road. But some dumb fuck released him and his first stop was a bar. So we busted him the moment he drove out of there. I sicced Jessie on him, and we’ve got enough stuff to keep your father locked up for a while.”

“How long?” Vann blurted out, his heart thundering. He glanced over to Drayton. He looked away at his curious stare, not really comfortable with his scrutiny. Drayton would never judge him, but if Vann could avoid any future drama with his father, he would.

Drayton grabbed his hand, drawing his attention.

Vann swallowed heavily. He wasn’t going to hide anything from him. He refused to let the worry suffocate him, and he sure as shit wasn’t going to give his father that power over him. They’d get through this together. “He said he was going to hit you up for money.”

Drayton tightened his hold on their clasped hands. “He’s not getting a fucking dime. From either of us. So he can go fuck himself.”

“It’s not that. It’s…” Vann shook his head, hating the worry crawling up his throat. “He said he was going to let people know about me. About…what I did. And he said he’d tell people about us.”

“And?”

Vann sharply turned toward Drayton. “What do you mean and? It could affect the business.”

“So he thinks he can blackmail us by putting the fear in me of losing money because…what? We’re gay?”

“No, because…of what I did.”

“Because you defended me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Dray. Say what it is. Because I killed your father.”

“Yeah. To protect me. To defend me. Why don’t you ever say what it is? There are two sides to every story. Period. I wish you’d see my side of things.”

Vann scowled. He wasn’t going to let his father ruin his second chance at a happy life, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let that son of a bitch hurt Drayton. He turned to Aidan, determined to not let his father continue to limit his chances of being the man he could be. He had lived with so much hate and fear for so long he was more than ready to let that part of his life go and move on without that shackle holding him back. “Do whatever you can do within the law.”

A slow, twisted, wicked grin spread across Aidan’s face. “I can do a lot.”

“I’m sure you’re…creative.” Vann had heard enough from the others to know Aidan had a special brand of justice. “All I know is that I don’t ever want to see or hear from him again.”

“Just one question.” Aidan watched him carefully, waiting for some sign from Vann to speak, as if he needed his full attention. “Dead or alive?”

A chill spread throughout Vann’s body, leaving his speechless. Is he fucking serious? The detective was one man he couldn’t get a read on.

“Alive then.” Aidan stood when a text message arrived. “I’ve got to go. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of things and he won’t bother you again.” He left the office, closing the door behind him.

“He’s one twisted motherfucker,” Vann said, shaking his head. He was definitely thankful the detective was on his side.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Drayton gave Vann’s leg a comforting tap and stood. He walked over to his desk and picked up the phone. “Mia, can you please get a hold of that car magazine that’s been after me for an interview? And the science one too. Hell, anyone who’s asked for an interview lately, go ahead and schedule it.”

Vann shot up from the couch and stalked over to Drayton’s desk. “Mia, please don’t do that.” He recognized that challenging spark in Drayton’s eyes.

“Drayton?” Mia asked, waiting.

“I’ll call you back.” Drayton’s nostrils flared with the controlled rage obviously brewing. “There’s no way in hell that fucking asshole father of yours or my mother are ever going to have me by the balls.”

“But, he’s not going to bother us anymore.”

A determined fire burned in Drayton’s eyes. He jabbed a finger toward Vann. “You’re always going to worry about someone holding your past or our relationship over our heads. Whether it’s your father or my mother or some random person you haven’t met yet, you will always worry about this. So I’m nipping it in the bud.”

“But, Dray—”

“You’re not the only one with history here. Remember, my mother is currently serving multiple sentences for being a corrupt politician. So anyone can assume I’m guilty by association.”

Okay, that sucked. He never wanted Drayton to experience the shady or dark side of things. And here he was, son of a dirty politician and partner to an ex-con. “But she disowned you.”

“And you were released, and had it not been for my mother pulling strings, you wouldn’t have served any time at all. That’s why our legal team has been pushing for you to get a pardon.”

“You…what?” Vann said, his voice barely above a whisper. He stilled, letting his arms slowly drop to his sides.

“I’m tired of you beating yourself up over this. You never should have gone to prison for what happened. You lost ten years, Vann. Ten fucking years and I’m not going to let that hold you back any longer. You’re not a criminal. And you won’t believe that until someone other than me proves that to you. So you bet your ass I’m pushing for that to happen. I will file every fucking application, get whatever petition, and push for every hearing necessary just so you can finally see you’re not some violent criminal who deserves to be punished.”

Vann remained quiet, but his heart thumped and slammed against his chest.

Drayton raked a hand through his hair. “Vann, I’m not hiding our relationship or history. Most people don’t give a shit about company or owner details, they only care about first impressions. You know that better than I do. They will see the car. They will see the motor. They will focus on getting a car that’s different from everyone else’s and most won’t care about our lives. And if they are curious enough to poke around into our backgrounds, then… So. Be. It.” His jaw clenched with each spoken word as the fire of conviction burned bright and hot in those pale gray eyes “They’ll see our determination. They’ll see our commitment to each other. Because, don’t ever forget, you will always be the right answer for me. And I don’t give a shit what it costs to prove that to you. So, are you finished?”

Vann shook his head and planted his hands on his hips. Damn this man and his special words. He swallowed heavily, fighting back the emotions clamping down on his throat. No one had ever fought so much or so hard for him.

He grabbed the back of Drayton’s neck and pulled him in for a fiery kiss mixed with all the love, promise, and appreciation he could capture in each possessive swipe and suck. He finally released Drayton, leaving him breathless.

“Now I’m finished,” he said, before walking out of Drayton’s office.

∞ ♥ ∞

“So, does this mean you’re giving Sean a chance?” Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I think he’s exhausted his chances. But until I have an answer, he’s it.” Drayton needed to buy himself some time. He wanted Vann to head up the department, but until he was ready, he needed to find another designer who could get things going to try to salvage this model year’s production.

“I’m sure the little shit is all excited now and thinks he’s got a chance. I bet he daydreams about you throwing him across this desk and pounding into his ass.”

Drayton sighed. “You’re pushing my patience.”

“Well, that’s because you’re being an ass. Just tell everyone who you’re fucking and that’ll kill their hopes and fantasies.”

A slow, steady thrum of anger began to build at the pit of his stomach. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Taylor raised a stopping hand. “I’m not slamming Shaw. Don’t short-circuit that electrical brain of yours. You’re great at the business end of things, and I don’t have a clue how you come up with this engineering stuff, but the people-related messages always get lost in translation for you.”

“Then what the hell are you saying?” he asked through a clenched jaw.

His attorney friend crossed his right ankle over his left knee. “Maybe I should let you seethe for a little bit. Get your mind going with all kind of scenarios so you pound your fist against your chest and jump up on a desk to make the announcement so everyone in this company knows.”

Drayton closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. Sometimes, it was as if his friend spoke in a foreign tongue. He knew several languages, but he barely survived Taylor-speak when the man decided to talk about anything other than business contracts. “Plain English, please.” He finally opened his eyes when his friend chuckled, hoping to deliver a death glare that would disguise his discomfort with the situation.

Taylor cocked his head. “You’re being serious?”

One thing his friend should have learned after all this time was that he rarely joked at the office.

“Sometimes, I really worry about you.” Taylor frowned and straightened in his seat. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. “You’re smart, but sometimes, you’re really thick.”

“And yet, I know you’ve just insulted me.”

“It’s not an insult. It’s a concern. You stay in your office all day, solving some freaky math stuff on your board or working on your next invention. There’s an entire world out there you don’t interact with.”

“You make it sound as if I’m a hermit.”

“Well…”

Drayton narrowed his eyes when Taylor tightened his lips, holding back a grin.

“You only leave your white palace when you’re going to the research lab or testing department or…off to see some other car guy.”

“And?”

“For one, that’s not healthy. But more importantly, you’ve isolated yourself from your staff. And that’s never a good thing. If they all knew you and Shaw were together, maybe you would seem more real to them. I hear Shaw’s making friends left and right in here.”

“He wants to keep it quiet for now and I’m respecting that.” If it were up to Drayton, he’d post a billboard across from the building so everyone would know the moment they walked into the office. “He’s getting along with the staff?”

Taylor nodded. “Apparently the ladies love the fact that he actually asks about their kids and whatever hell else is going on in their lives. He even remembered to ask that lady on the fifth floor about her fucking ferret. I mean…who the fuck cares about a fucking ferret?”

Drayton bit his lip and covered his mouth to hide his smile. Vann cares. It was the one trait most people misunderstood about him. They saw his hard-edged facade and assumed his heart was just as tough.

“But the women on the eighth floor are the worst. And they’re going to give me an ulcer. They ask him to move boxes and shit. I’m going to have to remind them that forcing the man to flex his arms and ass translates to sexual harassment. Maybe that will get them to simmer down a bit.”

“If it makes them happy and he doesn’t mind, what’s the big deal?”

“I’m trying to avoid a lawsuit.”

“Vann probably enjoys people asking him to help.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Taylor crossed his arms and scowled. “It can’t happen.”

Drayton couldn’t control the chuckle that escaped when he saw Taylor pouting. “Are you jealous the women aren’t rallying around you?”

“Shut up.”

Now Drayton was bent over laughing. In all the years he’d known Taylor, few things seemed to faze him.

“I’ll tell Mia you’re unhappy about the women showing Vann so much love. Maybe she can…talk to them.”

Taylor’s focus snapped back to Drayton. His eyes rounded, and he slowly uncrossed his arms. “Don’t…uh, bother Mia with any of this.”

Drayton raised an eyebrow. He might not know people all that well, but that didn’t necessarily mean he missed all the cues. “Maybe if you toned down all this other stuff you’ve got going on, she wouldn’t say ‘no’ to you as often as she does.”

“She’s…tough.” A smile slipped from Taylor’s lips. “But I love riling her up.” He glanced at his watch and cursed under his breath. “We’ve got to go. Meeting with the racing team in an hour.”

Drayton stood and grabbed his wallet and keys from the drawer. “I thought it was later on today.”

“I figured you’d prefer an afternoon meeting so you can spend your evening with Shaw.” Taylor met him by the door and bumped his shoulder. “I already know how pissy you get when you’re stuck with me for an evening meeting. Apparently having you jet off with me wasn’t impressive enough for you.”

“It’s my jet.”

Taylor rolled his eyes. “You couldn’t let me have my moment, could you?”

Drayton chuckled and shook his head. He probably wouldn’t have survived all these years without Taylor’s friendship. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Are you following me?”

Drayton held out his keys between his thumb and index finger. “You can drive.”

A huge smile split Taylor’s face as he snatched the keys. “Now we’re talkin’.” He darted out of the room before Drayton had a chance to switch off his office lights.