Evan crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, but quickly curled into a ball. He was moving and wasn’t screaming. Somehow Rick’s bullet had missed him. That might have been the most surprising moment of the night. Rick was the best marksman I knew. He didn’t miss on accident.

What game is he playing?

“There you are,” I shouted. “I knew you had to be involved in all of this somehow.”

Before Rick could answer, someone groaned near me. Risking a glance, I saw one of the dicks who’d been kicking me, lying on the ground, writhing in pain. Rick’s bullet had taken him down.

The other two men jumped behind me as if they had something to worry about with Rick and hoped I would be their shield. Knowing that Rick had plenty of bullets to take me and them all out, I wasn’t sure their plan had much merit.

Confused, but not one to look a gift horse in its mouth, I tried to decide if I had a chance to get to Evan’s side. I wasn’t sure what I’d do once I got there, but I couldn’t think of a better place to be as long as we were trapped in the club anyway.

Rick hadn’t lowered his gun, which was aimed over Evan’s body and just off my left shoulder. Turning just my head, I saw O’Brian. His gun was pointed back at me.

No, not me. At Rick. What’s going on?

Having Evan stuck between O’Brian and Rick, both with their guns leveled at each other, made me really uneasy. Given the choice between the two, I couldn’t say which one I trusted more anymore.

I wished I had more concrete info about them both.

I wished any two other cops were inside The Firehouse instead. Or even better, the whole SWAT team.

As Evan started to slowly rise up onto his knees, their guns were aimed entirely too close to the man I loved, but I was powerless to do anything. Even if I had a gun, I wouldn’t have been able to take a shot for fear that mine would make the others flinch and pull their own triggers.

Why are the two of them aiming at each other? Are there two groups of bad cops in Augusta? Is this some kind of power play move within their gang? Is anyone clean around here?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that one of my earlier attackers was moving. When I turned, I saw that they two still standing had flanked me.

I had no idea what to expect out of O’Brian and Rick. I couldn’t take out two cops with guns, but they didn’t seem to be paying me much attention anyway.

I might be able to do something about the other two thugs. My confidence quickly faded when they both pulled long knives from somewhere behind their backs. My trigger finger twitched, but my gun was locked up at the station.

All I could do was try to buy time and keep them distracted until help arrived. It was a long shot, but it was the only shot we seemed to have. I dropped into a crouch and watched for one of them to make a wrong move.

Evan’s voice called out like an angel, a stupid angel that should be shutting the hell up and finding somewhere to hide. When I glanced over my shoulder to tell him so, I saw that he’d moved. Instead of hiding, though, he’d moved to his DJ booth which would have been a great idea if it had walls rather than just being a raised platform with a wooden railing.

“James, remember how we were talking about you being my bodyguard someday?” he asked as if we were still eating ice cream by ourselves without a care in the world.

“I don’t think this is the right time,” I said, resuming my defensive stance and turning my attention back to the two men with the shit-eating grins who were still holding their knives aimed in my direction.

The two men were completely ignoring both O’Brian and Rick. Why not? No matter what was going on between Rick and O’Brian, all four of them were probably on the same payroll. I was just their plaything to torment while their masters worked through their own issues.

“I know you don’t, baby,” Evan said. “But sometimes you’re too macho for your own good. Just move a little bit to your right like a good bodyguard.”

Evan made no sense, but my feet moved anyway. My back was to the DJ booth and the two men were spread out a few feet apart from each other and about six feet in front of me.

“Wouldn’t it be just great to be watching every movement in the crowd while I dropped the beats and the lasers danced overhead?” Evan asked.

The men in front of me looked at each other and chuckled.

At any other time, Evan’s storytelling would have swept me away. It was so much fun imagining a future between us. But we had real immediate problems that I wished Evan would let me focus on.

But he didn’t seem able to stop. He was just processing through his own panic, but I needed to tune it out and try to survive, for the two of us.

“I can’t wait until I get those lasers,” he continued. “My crappy lights are useless for anything except blinding the dancers, you know,” he continued rambling.

Only he wasn’t rambling, I realized. He was planning something. Something with his lights. The shitty lights off on the sides of the DJ booth that faced out toward the dance floor. With my back facing him, I wouldn’t even notice the lights.

My beautiful bastard has a plan!

“The hardest part of being your bodyguard will be reminding myself to focus on the crowd instead of dancing,” I said, causing confusion to spread on the faces of my attackers. Confusion was good. “I’d take a step to the left or to the right or maybe just a step backward and spin around.”

“Well, we could set up times for you to dance during a break. It would all be choreographed, of course,” Evan said. “You’ll always lead with your left foot when I give the countdown to start the song. Like this. Three, two, one.”

The stage lights flared to life. The man standing to my left got it the worst, just like Evan had hinted.

I channeled all of my pent-up rage, frustration, and fear and sprang toward him. My uppercut hit him squarely in the jaw before he even saw me moving. He dropped his knife. I wanted that knife, but knew I didn’t have time. I dropped onto his chest and punched him three times in the face, hoping I’d hit him hard enough to knock him out.

When I hopped back to my feet and dropped into a defensive stance to search for the other man, he wasn’t there.

The light worked against me as I searched for the other assailant.

“Don’t you dare move, asshole!” Rick shouted.

Rick would be coming for me next. No matter what else happened, Rick would be the last man standing. I wouldn’t stop, though. While I still drew breath, I had to just keep focusing on doing what I could.

Nearby, but somehow so far away, Evan shouted, “Help!”

I ran straight toward the DJ booth, wishing the bright lights were off so I could see what was happening.

“Whoa there, cowboy!” a man said.

Shielding my eyes from the light, I saw that the guy had his arm around Evan’s neck. He’d dragged him to the far half-wall where I’d kissed Evan what felt like years ago. The man’s eyes were wide open and his head was practically spinning around trying to make sure no one was sneaking up on him. A panicking criminal is one of the most dangerous. They always do such stupid shit.

I would have charged if his knife wasn’t pressed against Evan’s throat. He flinched every time he saw Rick and me.

How deep into the criminal organization must Rick be to instill that much fear in one of his own men, and how badly must that guy have screwed up his orders?

Or are they competing gangs?

I don’t give a shit right now. I need to get Evan out of here and then we can try to piece together what is happening in this city.

Evan smiled ruefully at me. “This is some pickle we’ve gotten ourselves into, isn’t it, James?”

I nodded, trying to look angry, intimidating and confident.

My only real option was begging, though, and I wasn’t too proud to do that if it meant Evan might have a chance of getting out of there safely.

“Rick,” I said, not taking my eyes off Evan. With my back turned to Rick, my shoulders tensed in expectation of him shooting me. “Just let Evan go, okay? You can do whatever the hell you want with me. Call your goon off, and let Evan walk.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, you idiot?” Rick yelled back. “If you’d just shut up and tell your boyfriend to stop squirming, I might be able to do something without hurting him.”

Not really processing what Rick said, I replied, “If you want to shoot Evan, you’ll have to do it through me.”

“I’m not trying to shoot Evan. You’re dumber than I thought. Look around, dumbass.”

Following Rick’s order, I saw that O’Brian now had his gun pointed at me. Rick, though, had his pointed at O’Brian.

Rick was one of the good guys.

And O’Brian wasn’t. My oldest friend. He’d turned bad without me even noticing. What kind of friend was I?

Well, for starters, not one who abuses his power and kills innocent people. O’Brian was almost certainly messed up in the killings. I couldn’t figure out why. The answer was on the tip of my tongue, but my attention was focused on more pressing matters.

I decided that I needed to trust Rick for the next few minutes. If Rick was fucking with me, I would kill him. No amount of bullets would stop me from charging across the room and tearing his head off his fucking shoulders if he let anything happen to the one beautiful thing I had to look forward to each morning. Without Evan, what would be the point in even bothering?

“Hey, asshole!” Rick shouted. Not at me this time. His gun jerked to the right and clearly, cruelly, and unflinchingly trained on the man holding my Evan.

Be careful, Rick. Don’t you dare harm a hair on Evan’s head just because you think you’re a superhero.

The other man jerked Evan up higher to shield as much of his body as possible.

I flinched when I heard a gunshot, but it wasn’t Rick. O’Brian had taken advantage of Rick’s gun finding another target. I had no idea what he’d been trying to hit, but his bullet hadn’t found me.

“Stop it, O’Brian, or I’ll put a bullet in your ugly forehead,” Rick said.

In the middle of the chaos, my eyes locked with Evan’s.

“James,” Evan said, back in storytelling mode. He sounded sad, though, as if resigned to an unthinkable fate. “I think if we ever met for the first time again, I’d still fall for you. Would you be there to catch me?”

“Of course, I would,” I said, hoping to keep him talking. I had a plan of my own for once. “But you wouldn’t need to fall. I’d come get you wherever you were. All you’d have to do is stand there and wait for me.”

“Oh yeah,” Evan said.

I needed to get Evan to shut up so the other guy would focus on Rick’s gun instead of me. “Rick, what are you waiting for? Take the shot. You never miss.”

I knew he wouldn’t shoot unless he took out O’Brian first. Even with O’Brian out of the picture, Rick wouldn’t have been able to pull the trigger without a much clearer shot, but when Rick shifted his stance, it sure got the other guy’s attention. He didn’t even glance my direction when I started taking small, slow steps to get behind him. The DJ booth was elevated a little too high for me to get a good grip if I reached out for them.

I needed to climb up on the outside so I could grab his hand with the knife first to make sure Evan didn’t get stabbed when the guy realized what I was doing. Knowing I needed to move fast, I grabbed the rail with one hand and pulled myself up onto the platform of the booth while reaching for his knife hand with the other.

The railing wiggled, making me lose my balance. Desperate to protect Evan even as I was starting to fall backward, I made one last grasp at the guy’s hand and pulled it backward.

The pain was immediate. Instead of a hand, I’d grabbed the knife itself. There was no way I was letting it go, though. Not while it was still in the bastard’s grasp.

Under the added weight of Evan and the man holding him, the rail gave way. Blessedly, the knife flew free as we all braced for impact.

I landed on my back with an “oof!” as the impact knocked the wind out of me.

Another shot exploded in the club. I had no idea who had pulled the trigger. Either way, that would be a problem for later.

Before I caught my breath, the attacker and Evan both landed on top of me.

With catlike quickness, the attacker spun, sending Evan rolling to the side. He started punching at my face, forcing me to protect it.

The only reprieve was when Evan hopped onto his back and pulled him off me to give me a little space to move.

It was all I needed.

I raised my knee straight into his nuts, not giving one flying fuck about whether I was fighting fair or not.

He fell off me, bent in half holding his crotch, and trying to catch his breath.

“Rick!” I shouted. “If you’re still alive, handcuffs.”

Rick had already closed the distance, though. He spun the perp face-down on the ground and pinned him with his knee. While reading him his Miranda rights, Rick slapped the handcuffs onto his wrists.

When Rick finished and pulled the criminal to his feet, he said, “Are you guys done needing me to save your asses?”

The only thing that stopped me from punching his smug face was knowing it would only extend my suspension, and that he was right. He had saved our asses.

The stupid prick.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, pulling Evan to me to make sure he was okay.

Blood was everywhere and it was getting worse. It was on his face and shirt and—

“Knock it off, James,” Evan said. “Your hand’s cut and bleeding like crazy. You’re getting it all over me. Let’s get out of here and get you some help.”

I had to actually look at my own hand to remember my injury before I could believe that Evan really was okay. “I’ll be fine,” I said. “Wait. What happened to O’Brian?”

“He should be okay,” Rick said. “I hit him in the shoulder. Probably passed out from the shock.”

I nodded. “Fine.” Turning my attention back to Evan, I said, “Fuck yeah, let’s get out of here.”

I threw my good arm over his shoulder and we started for the door. Together.

“That was really smart with the lights back there,” I said. “I’m pretty lucky to have such a smart, sexy boyfriend.”

“Are you kidding?” Evan replied. “You literally took a knife for me. I’m the lucky one.”

“Take it outside,” Rick growled.

Rick was still the same dick I knew and hated. But I had to acknowledge that we’d never have survived without his help. He’d never let me live it down, but it didn’t matter as long as Evan was safe and we’d be able to be together.

I looked forward to questioning him and figuring out exactly what he knew and how he knew it. I had a feeling that I knew something that he might not and couldn’t wait to rub it in his face.