I limp my way towards the kitchen where I can hear Corey moving about. I’ve been here for two days now, and it’s the first time I've managed to get this far unaided. Hopefully that means that the lame dog impression will stop soon because every day I can’t move properly is a day I miss searching for any information that might be here.

“Good morning.”

I look up to see a smiling Corey serving some bacon onto two plates. Our usual routine is for him to bring my meals into my room, and we eat together in there. I didn’t expect to feel so comfortable with Corey, but it’s been really difficult not to like him. He has that kind of personality that pulls people out of themselves, and I’ve found myself telling him more than I planned to. “Morning.”

“I see that you finally got your arse out of bed. About time.”

I give him the finger along with my smile and take a few steps before collapsing onto the stool at the breakfast bar. I forgot how much hurting yourself could take it out of you. I remember once I was hurt on the job, chasing a suspect down an alley. When he got the jump on me and tackled me to the ground, I inflamed my ACL and hadn’t been able to walk for weeks. This feels like that, but to a lesser degree. At least this time without the hardcore painkillers I can get myself to the bathroom. “I still can’t believe I hurt myself so badly.”

“It is a pretty impressive bruise, I actually thought you’d broken it for a while there. You were getting one more day before I was dragging you to the hospital kicking and screaming.”

“Shit, can you imagine the look the doctor would’ve given me? ‘What happened, Mr Morrison?’ Oh nothing, I was just attacked by a deer. They would have spent the whole time laughing at me.”

Corey looks at me strangely, and I wipe my face in case I forgot to wipe all the toothpaste off my mouth or something. I'm about to ask him what’s wrong when he shakes his head and picks up the plates before joining me at the breakfast bar. He sits close to me, almost close enough that I can feel the heat of his body against mine. My skin prickles with pleasure, and I hold in a moan that threatens to escape. Being here with Corey has been nice, but him being so close is becoming my own personal hell. Two days was all it took to realise that I was attracted to Corey. I didn’t mean to get to know him, but being stuck in this house with no way to escape has led me to that mistake. He’ll only ever be a way to find Drake, and my head understands that, I just need my body to get with the programme too. Every time that Corey’s next to me I get hard, really fucking hard, and it makes for a really embarrassing problem. It tells me I need to get the information and get out before he gets under my skin more.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I shake my head when I realise that Corey is talking to me. I have no idea what he was saying, and I feel my cheeks blush with embarrassment. “I'm sorry. I was just thinking about how I ended up in the ditch.” It’s easy to lie to him, especially when the alternative is to tell him about my embarrassing reaction to him.

“I asked if you wanted to come into town today. I need to go and pick up a few things, and I thought you might want to get out of the house for a little while.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say that I’ll go with him, but my brain catches up with me before I make a huge mistake. I can’t go into town with him because I'm not the stranger passing through like I'm pretending to be. People know me there or have seen me around, and if he goes into the café, my whole cover will be blown. I mean no harm to Corey, but he would never believe if he found out my lie, and for some reason, I can’t stand the thought of breaking his trust. “I think I’ll stay here. I don't want to run before I can walk and all that.”

He picks up a bit of bacon and bites into it. There shouldn’t be anything remotely erotic about the move, but my dick twitches in my shorts anyway. God, I really need to get out of here and get laid. He chews a few times, and I try to distract myself by drinking some coffee. “Do you need anything while I'm there?”

I think of all my belongings in my car and the clothes I left behind so I could travel light. I could really do with them since the one change I packed is currently soaking to try and get rid of all the mud that got in my backpack. I'm not sure how the mud got in there, but two washes later, and they’re still stained. “I’m fine. I shouldn’t be here much longer so I can get anything I need on the road.”

Corey just nods his head and goes back to eating his breakfast, his leg pressing up against mine. I don’t know if he realises he's doing it, but the need to lean into the touch is almost overwhelming, so I do the only thing I can think of and get up to hobble my way to the coffee machine. I’ve always scoffed when I’ve heard people say that the moment they laid eyes on their significant other they knew they were the one. It’s not possible that you can feel something for someone that quickly, yet here I am, only a few days after meeting Corey, and it’s taking everything in me not to bend him over any available surface and fuck him senseless.

The sound of Corey putting his plate in the sink pulls me from my musings and I realise that I drifted off again. This is becoming a really bad habit. “I left my mobile number on the fridge in case you decide you need something. Just text or call.”

“Thanks, Corey.”

He smiles sweetly at me before leaving me standing there on my own.

* * *

Ten minutes pass before I feel confident enough to go searching. I need to make sure I cover my tracks because the last thing I want is for Corey to notice anything out of place.

I look out the windows as I walk past them making sure that I’m truly alone. The only person I’ve seen since arriving has been Corey, but it doesn’t mean I will take that for granted now. I stand in front of the office door and stare at it for a few moments. This is the moment that I’ve spent months trying to achieve. I could be minutes away from finding out where Drake is, and my heart is racing at the possibility, or at least that's what I'm telling myself. I refuse to acknowledge that it might be because I'm about to betray Corey.

I push down the handle and open the door, refusing to let the nerves win. It’s so fucking stupid. I will not put knowing Corey for two freaking days before Drake who I’ve known for years. With determination, I hobble into the office and look around. There isn’t actually much in here, which doesn’t surprise me when Corey hasn’t mentioned work since I arrived. I go straight to the desk and sit in the chair while I look around. The room is actually quite bare, and my hopes start to fade. I don't know what I expected, but I doubt I'm going to find an address and phone number just lying around.

Twenty minutes later and I’ve searched every single possible place. It’s official. There’s nothing here that’s going to be any help in my search for Drake. I knew it was a lot to ask, but I was hopeful. I need to get a move on now though because I’ve wasted more time than I wanted to and I still want to check the main bedroom before Corey gets back. I get up, making sure to leave the room exactly like I found it, and head towards Corey’s room. My first stop is the side of the bed closest to the window. I ease open the drawer on the unit next to it, and I freeze instantly. Tucked under some magazines, I see the barrel of a gun sticking out. I gently lift everything covering it and put them to the side so I can lift out the gun. It’s a 9mm Sig and fully loaded. One important thing you learn when you work on the tactical response team is always to respect guns. I carefully place it on the bed before checking the rest of the drawer.

There’s nothing else of interest in the drawer, so I take the gun, rub my t-shirt over where I’ve touched, and put everything else back in place before making my way around the other side of the bed. My mind goes back to the gun, and I can’t help but wonder why Corey and Niko would need one now. Are they still involved in something illegal or is it just left over from their time in Blue Diamond? It’s a common choice for people who want to carry a concealed weapon, but I'm pretty sure if I checked it wouldn’t be registered. I'm still thinking about it when I pull open the new drawer, freezing again, but for a different reason this time. My dick instantly hardens and aches behind the material of my shorts. Holy fuck, this has to be Corey’s side of the bed. Inside there is an assortment of sex toys and accessories, butt plugs of varying sizes, lube, handcuffs and a vibrator that I'm sure would make my arse burn taking it. I close my eyes and take a fortifying breath, but it’s a huge fucking mistake. All I can picture is Corey spread out on the bed as I stretch his arse with one of the butt plugs. I can almost hear him moaning as it slips in through the tight muscle, his body eager to accept the smooth rubber.

I need to get out of here. I slam the drawer shut and rush from the room. These feelings for Corey are becoming a bigger problem than they should, and I need to get as far away from him as possible. I’ll just pack everything I can and get to the woods. Once I'm there, I can get lost amongst the trees and make my way back to town. My car is there with all my belongings in it since I checked out of the B&B. I just need to get there and drive away. Simple.

I grab the phone Sam gave to me, not that it was any use. It had been destroyed in my fall, but I can’t leave that behind. There is nothing else in the room that I can take since it’s all still being cleaned, and I'm going to have to leave in Niko’s clothes, but there’s nothing I can do about that. I sit on the bed and put my trainers on, wincing when I force my still-swollen ankle into shoes for the first time in days.

“Grant?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I was hoping that I would be able to get out of here before Corey got home because I don’t have a good excuse for leaving. The time we’ve spent together has been fun, and suddenly I want to leave with no warning. I hear his footsteps getting closer to my room, and I grab my bag and put it on.

“I got us some pork chops. I thought we could put them on the barbecue …” He trails off as he comes to the bedroom door and sees me standing with my bag ready to leave. He just stares at me, but I can see the disappointment in his eyes, and my heart aches at the sight. I've told myself over and over that Corey is nothing more than a stepping stone to get to Drake, but seeing that look on his face hurts. “You’re leaving?”

I take a deep breath to try and compose myself. I need to sound confident so he believes me. “Yeah, now that I can move properly, I think it’s maybe time to get back on the road.” Agree with me, Corey. Just let this be easy because I need to get out of here. It’s obvious you know nothing about Drake, so there is no point being here.

“Oh, but you don’t have all your clothes.”

I look at the floor, wishing that it would just open up and swallow me. “It’s fine. I will uh …” I realise I can’t tell him that I have more clothes in my car, so leaving without them makes me look like I’ve lost the plot. Shit, I’m stuck here until my clothes are ready or when he next leaves. I let out a small laugh and finally look up at him. If I walk away without everything I own, alarm bells will ring and I don’t know what his boyfriend is capable of. From what even Corey has admitted, Niko is dangerous. “You're right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Corey smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Okay, well, I’ll go and get the barbecue set up. Don’t want to eat too late.” He doesn’t wait for me to respond as he walks away with his head dropped down. I don’t know why he would be acting like this. My leaving shouldn’t be such a big thing to him. He has a boyfriend who will be coming home to him soon, and from the way he’s spoken about missing him, I think that would be the best thing. Maybe that’s what this is. Maybe he wants company until Niko’s back. That reasoning should make me feel better, but strangely, it makes me feel worse. I rub at the sudden ache in my chest as I turn and head to my room to dump my bag.

I follow the noise of clattering that’s coming from the kitchen. I reach the corner but don’t enter, afraid that my presence won’t be wanted right now. Corey is slamming plates down on the worktop and I'm sure if he throws one more thing in the sink, something is going to break. I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the doorframe so I can watch him. He seems angry and I can’t work out why he is so mad.

Corey throws a glass into the sink, and I hear it shatter before he curses loudly. His hand disappears into the sink, and a second later he cries out in pain. I'm moving instantly, grabbing his wrist and seeing the blood drip from his fingers. “I'm fine.”

“Uh huh.” I don’t let go of him as I run the tap, ignoring the broken glass in the sink. I’ll sort it out after I deal with Corey’s hand. I let the water wash the blood away as I reach to the side and grab a few sheets of kitchen roll. I wrap his fingers in the towels and get him to put pressure on them. “Where’s your first aid box?”

“Bathroom.” He keeps looking at his fingers as I leave the kitchen and retrieve what I need. When I come back, he is sitting at the breakfast bar with his arm raised in the air. He looks so defeated sitting there, and I don’t like it. I sit next to him, my thigh resting against his, and pull out antiseptic and cotton wool.

“Let me see.”

He holds out his hand and I unwrap it, paying careful attention in case there’s still glass in the cuts. I'm happy to see that it isn’t bleeding too badly now. It means I should be able to deal with it myself instead of having to take him to hospital.

“I'm sorry.” Corey’s voice is so quiet I barely hear him when he speaks.

I press the antiseptic-soaked cotton wool to the smallest of his cuts and he hisses in pain. “You had an accident, nothing to be sorry about.” I throw the cotton wool onto the kitchen roll and prepare another piece, systematically cleaning his wounds until they are all done. Thankfully I was right that there was no glass in his cuts so I can bandage him up without having to dig it out with tweezers.

“I was angry.” His voice comes out stronger this time.

“I could see that. Did I make you angry?”

“Yes and no. I didn’t want you to leave, but then I realised that I was being selfish. I'm just … I'm enjoying your company, and I wanted it to last a little longer.”

I snort a laugh and instantly feel my cheeks heat at the unattractive noise. “You must be really desperate for company, Corey. Why not just call Niko and ask him to come home?”

He looks down again and plays with one of the unused cotton pads. “I can’t ask him to do that. He's doing something … important.”

My mind starts racing at what he might be doing. I haven’t put much thought into where Niko is, my primary focus has been Corey, but maybe Niko is with Drake and Ryden.

He looks up with a small smile on his lips. “And your company is better than none.” I look up at him, and he winks. “I'm kidding. I was a little worried when I brought you to the cabin, I mean I knew nothing about you, but I'm glad I stopped that day. You’re a really nice guy, Grant, and I'm happy that we met.”

“I would have been happy to meet you without being attacked by the crazed wild animal.” The memory of the deer still haunts me. It really did make me lose a little of my manliness by scaring the shit out of me.

“Oh, Honey, you haven’t met the crazed wild animal yet.”

The evil glint in his eye has me wanting to rethink my plan to stay. I'm not sure I'm going to like this Niko guy.