He could've lost Jayden.

Lucas cursed himself. Lost. He didn't have Jayden! But with a hot, hard body under him it was all too easy to remember what it was like being balls-deep in Jayden's ass, and that was really not what he needed right now.

Yeah. Maybe taking this job was a dumb idea after all.

Lucas pushed himself off Jayden. The threat was gone, the motorcycle's engine reverberating away into the city and lost to the rest of the noise. What remained was screaming. Crying. And Jayden, quiet, but gently shaking.

With a sweep of his gaze, Lucas assessed the situation. Other people were slowly getting off the ground, so by some miracle nobody else seemed to have taken a bullet, but then this part of town was pretty sparse for foot traffic. If they'd been somewhere like Times Square this could've been a bloodbath.

He hit his earpiece and then ordered his cell to dial 911. As he waited to be connected, he offered Jayden his hand.

Jayden took a few moments to grasp his fingers, by which time Dispatch had picked up, so Lucas hauled Jayden up to his feet while he gave their address and a run-down of the events to the cops.

Jayden didn't let go of his hand, and Lucas didn't shake him free. He told himself it was because he was concentrating on his phone call.

Sure. That was all it was.

The moment he hung up, he looked Jayden in the eye. The client's glasses were missing, still on the sidewalk.

"Deep breaths," Lucas advised him. "Are you hurt at all?"

Jayden raised his free hand and unfurled his fingers. His palm was red, scraped as he fell. "Just this," he whispered.

"Okay. We'll need to clean that up." He raised the hand he was holding and examined that, and it was just as scuffed. "If that's the worst of it, we're lucky."

Jayden nodded numbly.

Lucas felt a flare of anger, and he quashed it immediately. He knew exactly what it was. He'd felt it plenty of times before. He took a slow breath himself so that, when he spoke, he could do so calmly. "May I remind you that when I tell you to do something, such as get into a car, you are more likely to go unharmed if you do it."

"Yeah," Jayden said thickly. "I know. I know, I just..." He shook his head, and there was a helpless frustration to his gaze. "I froze. I feel so stupid. I just... I couldn't move!"

Lucas gave a faint nod and gripped Jayden's shoulder. "Okay. I understand. It happens." He pursed his lips and glanced around for a double-check, but there definitely wasn't any blood on the sidewalk. "Listen to me."

Jayden met his gaze again, and squinted a little.

"People think that when you get into danger, there are two responses: fight or flight. But there's actually a third. Freeze. The whole deer in headlights thing? It's real, and it happens to people. So don't feel ashamed or stupid. Don't. It's perfectly natural, and you didn't get hurt, okay?"

Jayden finally crouched down to pick up his glasses, and he held them up toward the sky as he straightened up. He peered up at the lenses, turning them slightly as he scrutinized them. "Urgh," he breathed. "These are screwed."

"Do you have spare?"

"No. I'm gonna need replacements." Jayden folded them and stuffed them into his pocket, then crossed his arms. "Thank you. I mean, I still feel like an idiot, but... That does make sense."

"We can't help what we feel," Lucas grumbled.

Jayden gave him the oddest look then, like Lucas had said something that resonated with him.

Lucas clenched his jaw slightly. He had no chance, did he? Not with Jayden. Not with what they'd already done together. And not with how he looked up at Lucas as though Lucas meant something to him.

No, he had to be imagining it all. It was the adrenaline, the sudden action, the threat. Whoever sent Jayden the note meant every word of it, and now they were following through on their promise. Jayden's life was in very real danger now, and Lucas couldn't leave him. Not this smart, sassy Brainiac who seemed ready and willing to fight the whole world for what he believed in. And it was something Lucas believed in too. God, did he ever.

He'd misjudged Jayden Deus based solely on the guy's surname. He owed it to stick by his side and make sure he got his damn company back.

Only then would he really see what kind of a man Deus was. Would he stick to his word, or would he suddenly have a world of excuses for why he couldn't do a thing about prices now that he was in charge?

Lucas sighed and tapped his earpiece again, this time telling his phone to dial the office.

Ranjit needed to know about this.

They had to wait around for the cops to arrive, but Lucas insisted they wait in the lobby rather than out on the sidewalk, and the cops insisted on dragging them back outside for questioning. Jayden let his lawyer know the nature of the hold-up, and Lucas went through step by step everything possible about the assassination attempt with a detective who half looked like he didn't really believe a word Lucas said. It took almost an hour before they were able to even think about going anywhere, by which time Jayden had let the car leave without them.

"What do we do now?" Jayden asked. He looked like he'd been through the wringer, exhausted after the adrenaline crash. Lucas couldn't blame the poor guy. He wasn't a trained soldier, and civilians had a right to respond poorly to being shot at in the street.

"We go get you something to eat and drink. Water," he added, in case Jayden thought he meant anything stronger. "You need to rest a while, let yourself recover. And we can clean those hands at last."

Jayden looked down at his upturned palms, and sighed. "Yeah," he admitted. "I don't really want whatever's on the sidewalk to be infecting open wounds forever. That could lead to all kinds of nasties." Then he looked to Lucas. "I guess your boss is gonna send a full detail, right?"

"Yep." Lucas took him by the elbow and began to gently steer him back toward his home. Jayden didn't resist. "Don't worry, though. I'll be your single point of contact. If there's anything you need from the team, you speak to me. It cuts out any potential for crossed wires. Crossed wires can get you killed, so I don't like them."

"Got it." Jayden leaned into him slightly as they walked.

Lucas escorted him back through the lobby, casting Tony at the front desk a grateful nod. Tony had fetched security footage for the cops without red tape or complaint, and Lucas appreciated how much quicker that should make things for the detectives working the case. With any luck this would get wrapped fast, but he suspected it would take luck.

Unless their would-be killer was an amateur.

Lucas wasn't a career criminal, but he knew how to take out a target and get away again without being caught. Any killer worth their payment wasn't gonna ride around on traceable plates using a legally-purchased gun. He could be uptown in two minutes from here, ditch the bike and switch to the subway, a bus, a waiting car, or even just walk away. By the time the cops found the bike their guy could be in another state, or even another country.

Yeah, it'd take luck.

He got Jayden into the elevator and pressed the penthouse button, then exhaled softly once the doors were closed.

"They're gonna try again, aren't they?" Jayden had steadied his voice by the time he spoke again.

"Depends."

"On whether I do what they want?" There was a flash of teeth, a soft snarl. "So yeah, they're gonna try again."

Lucas raised a hand to rub at his chin. It was a motion he could hide behind, cover up the unprofessional smirk that had just broken out.

Jayden had had a death threat. He'd been the target of a shooting. And here he stood, ready to fight whoever was out there trying to stop him. He might be a civilian, but he had balls of steel, and a level of dedication worthy of any SEAL.

He smothered the smirk, and once he was sure it was safely gone, dropped his hand. "You've got spirit," he admitted.

"Oh, man. You missed a golden opportunity there."

Lucas lifted a brow slightly.

"You could've said 'you've got spunk,' and then we could've segued into dirty talk. You know, dudebro banter." He play-punched Lucas' arm so lightly that Lucas had to see it to believe it. "Like, uh. Oh. 'Sure, I got spunk! You want some?' Stuff like that."

Lucas snorted at him. "You think that's dudebro banter?"

The elevator dinged, and Lucas automatically shifted to stand in front as the doors opened. It only took a second to be sure that the lobby to Jayden's apartment was clear, but it wasn't a step he'd skip.

"You got anything better?" He heard the steps as Jayden followed him out.

"Probably." Lucas pulled the key from his pocket and slid it into the lock, but Jayden grabbed his wrist before he could unlock it, so he turned to face his client. "What is it?"

Jayden's grip moved. From Lucas' wrist to his jacket. He pulled as he raised himself up slightly.

He was close.

And getting even closer.

Lucas figured maybe Jayden was trying to kiss him, but that would be stupid. What the hell could a pretty rich boy see in the likes of him?

Jayden's lips stopped so close to Lucas' that Lucas could feel the heat from them, the breaths Jayden took, the invisible barrier which was more than just status or wealth or client or bodyguard. It was all those things rolled into one, but then even more, too.

"Can I?" Jayden whispered.

Lucas blinked slowly. This situation was well beyond his experience. Clients didn't try and kiss him, or if they did they sure didn't ask permission.

If he said yes, he was complicit in every rule that it would break. Did Jayden do that deliberately, or was he only thinking about consent?

Shit. Knowing Jayden, this wasn't any kind of trap. The guy was too forthright, too open.

Too passionate.

This wasn't a trick to make Lucas the one to break that barrier down or to make him at all complicit in what Jayden wanted to do.

What Lucas wanted to do, too.

He sucked in a deep breath and pulled back an inch. "I don't know," he said slowly. "This is a bad idea. You're the client, Mr. Deus."

"And letting me kiss you won't make me any less so," Jayden murmured. "But if you don't want me to, I'll respect that." He, too, withdrew an inch, and his grip on Lucas' lapels lessened.

The sight of Jayden pulling away tugged on him, and Lucas swayed on his feet like there was a vacuum between them.

When Lucas was in training, they all went through hell week. It was grueling. Punishing. It pushed every last man well beyond their limits, and burned the ability to quit right out of them. Their most frequent mantra to get through the pain was can't quit, not dead!

Lucas had what he wanted right up in his personal space, and he wasn't dead, so he sure as hell shouldn't quit.

He leaned in and grabbed Jayden's crumpled shirt, then tipped his head aside and pressed his lips hard against Jayden's.

Jayden's breath rushed from him, and he flung his arms around Lucas' neck. His lips were hot and soft, urgent and demanding, and he curled his fingers into Lucas' hair even as his back arched.

Lucas turned. He pushed Jayden back against the door to his suite and pushed his lips apart at the same time. His tongue invaded Jayden's mouth and was welcomed with a soft suckle that unraveled Lucas' thoughts and left him utterly helpless.

God, yeah.

This was a really bad idea.

But he didn't want to stop.

Ever.