Still, he got out a small pan, put the chicken on it, and slid it into the oven, doing what the man in the store said. After that, he started preparing the rest of his simple dinner.

  He jumped at a knock on the door, nearly cutting his finger with the knife he was using to slice up a tomato. Setting it on the cutting board, he went to the door and checked who it was before unlocking it and letting Lucy come inside. “Powers went to change his clothes,” Devon explained, closing and locking the door behind her.

  “You’re cooking?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I figured I’d foist my skills off on him. Have you eaten?”

  Lucy shook her head, and Devon returned to the kitchen to pull out the other half of the cucumber and the lettuce from the refrigerator to add to the salad. He only had so much chicken, but he could stretch the rest. He wished he’d bought some pasta or potato salad when he was at the store, but this would have to do.

  “Need some help?” Lucy picked up the knife and went right to work. “I can’t cook worth a damn, but I know how to make salad.”

  “Cool.” He let her finish it up and went in search of something else to add. He found some cheese that he set on the counter. It was a pretty basic salad, but it would work. At least he had a couple kinds of dressings to choose from.

  Powers returned, and Devon let him in, once again locking the door. “I see you put her to work. Not on anything important, I hope.”

  Devon scoffed. “Between us, it’s the blind leading the blind.” He didn’t know if he should kiss Powers in front of his sister or not, but Powers answered the question with a gentle peck on his lips.

  “Awwww, aren’t you two cute.” She locked gazes with Powers. “I knew it.” Dang, she could do a self-satisfied grin better than just about anyone Devon had ever seen.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Powers said as Devon went to get out plates, silverware, and glasses for water. Then he pulled out the chicken and asked everyone what they wanted. Lucy took a breast, and Powers a thigh. “I like the drumsticks too.”

  “Wings,” Devon said happily, and divided the rest of the chicken before sitting at the counter. “So, what do we have?” he asked, figuring he might as well get things started.

  Lucy turned to him. “Everyone in your damned office is so squeaky clean, they could be on The Brady Bunch. I have never seen a group of people who are more dull and uninteresting in my life.”

  That didn’t surprise Devon. “We all have background checks and drug tests done when we are hired on. It’s part of the process that we agree to. I suspect you’ll need to dig into finances and who’s in debt to get anything useful.”

  “Why do you say that?” Powers asked as he bit into one of the drumsticks.

  “Money is the root of all evil. It sounds cliché, but it’s true. People will do just about anything for it. And if someone is stealing the system to sell it, then there’s money involved… lots of it.” It made perfect sense. “Not that I know how to get that kind of information, though.”

  Powers turned to Lucy, who nodded.

  “Already working on it.” Lucy dug into her chicken like she hadn’t eaten all day, and when she finished the first breast, he offered her the second. That girl could eat.

  Devon ate slowly, finishing his chicken and licking his fingers before getting some salad.

  “We also have a computer security guy we’re meeting with tomorrow, but I spoke with Mr. Mauer, and they are working with the software development company to upgrade the security on the control systems and development libraries. He’s called in some favors, and people are working through the night tonight to get the job done. We’re hoping it isn’t locking the barn door after the horses have gotten out, but we’ll see.”

  “Good.” Lucy set down her piece of chicken and pointed to her bag before wiping her hands. Powers pulled out her computer and opened it. She tapped the keys and smiled, turning it around. “That’s where the envelope is right now. It never left the office. I put a small tracker on the inside. They wouldn’t discover it unless they ripped the envelope apart. I thought I was being clever, but nope. I suspect it’s in the trash.”

  Powers growled. “Everything turns into a dead end.” Frustration rolled off him, and Devon wished there was something he could do to help. Powers pushed his plate away, wiped his hands and mouth on a napkin, then crumpled it in his hand. “Just when we think we might get a break, it fizzles out.”

  “I know.” Devon hoped Alexander could help. Maybe if he thought he could, Mr. Mauer would hire him as a consultant or something. “I wish I could do more.”

  “You’re helping a lot,” Lucy said. “Powers gets like this sometimes. This is hard work, and answers don’t always come easy.” Devon wondered if this was for him or for Powers. “We stick with it and keep trying until we catch a break. Everyone makes a mistake. Their first one was putting the materials in your bag. Maybe we need to wait for another one.” She sat back, emptied her glass of water, and then slid off the chair.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Playing a hunch,” Lucy said, pulling a kit out of her bag and going to the door. She opened it from inside and began dusting the lock and handle. “It just occurred to me that you thought someone was picking the lock. That’s delicate work, so maybe….” She smiled and pumped her fist. “Yes. Come to mama, you little stinker.”

  “I should have thought of that,” Powers grumbled as he turned back to his dinner.

  “No, you shouldn’t. The door handle had so many overlapping prints, it’s useless. But the lock itself isn’t touched anywhere near as often, and the door near the lock….” She grinned even more as she hurried back, grabbed the computer, and pulled a small device out of the bag. Lucy sat near the door and began fussing. “Okay. This is interesting.” She continued talking as she worked. “Come on, work, dang you.”

  “She talks to her equipment all the time,” Powers told him. “Just let her work. Sometimes it scares me the things she comes up with.” There was definite pride in his voice. Powers took some salad and added the Vidalia onion dressing, which was one of Devon’s favorites.

  Devon half watched Lucy as he ate, and by the time they were done, she had shut the door.

  “Okay. The guy who was here isn’t one of the people from your office, and it doesn’t match the print on the envelope either. I was hoping we’d get lucky.” She put her things away. “I’m going to check it against some databases and see if we get a match.” She winked, and Devon wondered what that was about. “Thanks, Devon, for dinner. I appreciate you including me.” She bumped her brother’s arm and slipped something into his hand before heading for the door.

  Powers groaned once she closed the door, slipping his hand in his pocket.

  “Let me guess….” Devon hit Powers with his best stare, which he’d admit wasn’t very intimidating.

  “Yeah. That was her way of telling me to be safe.”

  “She passed you a condom?” He tried not to gape as Powers nodded. “I knew I liked her.”

  That sent Powers into a sputter, and he nearly slipped off the chair. “What?”

  Devon rolled his eyes. “Like I haven’t been lying in my bed with you out here on the sofa, wondering what it would be like to—” He wasn’t usually so forward. “You have to know you’re hot, like sizzling-oil hot. And I was in there with you out here. That first night I lay awake for a while, wondering if you were going to come into the room. Then you didn’t, and I figured it was because I was too nerdy.” He shrugged. “I’ve been told I was a lot of things over the years: geeky, nerdy, a fish kisser.”

  “Who were these people, and why did you listen to them?” Powers asked forcefully. “Whoever they were, they were full of crap. Being smart doesn’t make you nerdy. Maybe you’re a little shy, but not all of us are extroverts. And you aren’t a fish kisser.” Powers grinned and slid off the chair and came to where he sat. “You’re a great kisser, and you seem to throw yourself in whatever you do. That’s pretty hot. Most people phone in a lot of their life. You don’t seem to.” Powers came even closer. “You’ve had my attention since that night at the gala. I kept watching you all night.”

  “That was because you thought I might be mixed up in this mess.” There had to be an explanation. It wasn’t like Powers could be interested in his “charms.” He smiled as the word floated through his mind.

  “Maybe a little. But I was supposed to be there watching everyone, and instead a certain dark-haired beauty caught my attention and didn’t let it go.” Powers held his gaze with such intensity that Devon couldn’t look away even as his insides quivered under the intensity. It was nearly overwhelming. “But, Devon….”

  Devon bit his lip. He’d heard that tone before, and it always meant bad news. He could already feel the jolt of confidence that he’d managed to pull together withering by the millisecond. After all, what was he thinking? He and Powers might watch each other, but what did he have to offer a high-powered, interesting, hot guy like Powers? Devon worked to escape the fact that he was too scared to go out and get a real life. “Yeah… I know….” He turned away and started gathering up the dishes, took them to the sink, and ran hot water. He hated having things sit, and it gave him something to do without looking like a stupid, hopeful fool.

  “What do you know?” Powers asked, his voice a little deeper, rumblier than it had been.

  “I’ve been through this before….” Devon didn’t even want to talk about it. “It’s okay, Powers. You don’t owe me anything. In fact, I owe you plenty of thanks for the last few nights and stuff.” He wished Powers would just go now. It would be easier than having his ridiculous, jump-to-conclusions and hold-out-hope heart dashed yet again. He squirted a little dish soap into the water and started scrubbing the plates. Devon washed all the dishes and let the soapy water drain away, keeping busy. He reached to turn on the water to rinse the dishes as heated hands gently slid around his waist.

  “I don’t know who hurt you, but I could see it in your eyes. Someone fed you a real line of goods about who you are.”

  Devon stiffened and closed his eyes. He thought of pinching himself to make sure this was real. “I’ve dated before, and….”

  “It sounds to me as though you dated the wrong kind of guys,” Powers whispered.

  Devon nodded. He couldn’t deny that. “I spent a lot of time alone….” He didn’t dare turn around or the words would die in his throat. “I don’t usually fit in a lot of places. I had a few friends in college, but I never seemed to make the good kind of friends, the ones who last.” He finished the dishes and turned off the water, not wanting to move. Being held like this was nice, and he leaned back, pressing against Powers’s firm chest. He was solid and strong—the kind of guy Devon had always gravitated to. “I feel like I spend half my life being afraid.” He swallowed and got himself back on track. He hated that he got a little scatterbrained when he got nervous.

  “There’s nothing to be afraid of here,” Powers rumbled softly.

  “But there is. I used to seek out guys like you—strong and confident men—because I was neither of those.”

  Powers held him closer. “Was it one of those guys who said you kissed like a fish?” The growl in his voice sent a ripple through Devon that he tried to stop. This wasn’t good, no matter how much he fantasized about Powers.

  “He told me lots of things. He was a wrestler and really in the closet. His dorm room was one floor below mine. I met him at one of those ‘get to know each other’ gatherings the beginning of junior year.” Devon stiffened and then turned around. If he was going to do this, he might as well look Powers in the eyes instead of hiding. Devon had done too damned much of that.

  Powers let him go and slipped away. Then he took Devon’s hand and led him over to the sofa, where he sat down and patted the seat beside him. “Go ahead and tell me whatever you want to. I’ll listen.”

  Devon was afraid. If Powers found out how big a loser he really was, he’d probably go running for the door and never look back. “His name was Jacob Hoover, and he was a star. All the girls loved him and hung on him all the time. I think it was because they were safe. On the surface he was a nice guy, and I thought I was pretty lucky when he wanted to spend time with me. At first I thought he really liked me and wanted to be alone with me. But it didn’t take very long to figure out he was way in the closet. Like, turning-green-with-fear in the closet.” Devon shook his head and raised his gaze to meet Powers’s. “But that was about the only thing he was afraid of… well, that and anything he saw as weak. So he kissed like the guy he was, hard and powerful. I wasn’t as strong as him and wanted something more gentle, but that was kissing like a fish. He hated anything that was the least bit feminine and….”

  “He told you you were a nerd because you worked hard at your schoolwork?” Powers asked, and Devon nodded.

  “Yeah. He didn’t get much time to himself between his roommate and practices, and I was supposed to drop what I was doing so he could get his rocks off. At the time I was so buffaloed that I thought he actually cared for me.” Devon shrugged. “The shitty thing was that he was just the first. Senior year I picked a guy who treated me the same way. Jacob was hard like you, and Keenan was a blond god of epic proportions. He wasn’t in the closet the way Jacob was, but he treated me the same way. At least the second time, I could recognize it for what it was and got out before I got my insides so twisted up that I wanted to stay in bed for a week.”

  “You know, one of the things you learn in the business I’m in is that you make mistakes and learn from them,” Powers said gently.

  “Yeah, and I decided the same thing. That I was going to date guys like me and stop going for the ones who were so far out of my league….” Devon sighed. “Anyway, so that’s the story of my love life, one sucky decision after another.”

  Powers shook his head. “It wasn’t you who had the problem. Other than maybe wanting someone to care for you. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We all deserve to be loved and to have someone in our life who cares for you most of all.” He paused for a second. “But I’m not those guys. And I’d never treat you that way.”

  Devon had heard that before. “That’s what Keenan said after I told him about Jacob, but I ended up in the exact same place.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat.

  “Well.” Powers smiled and opened his arms. “I’m going to prove I’m not like them.” When Devon moved closer, Powers encircled him in his arms and hugged him close. “Why don’t you find something on television that you’d like to watch.”

  Devon rolled his eyes. “Is that how you intend to prove it to me? Television?”

  Powers chuckled and held him a little nearer, a bubble of warmth surrounding him, sending a jolt of heat and want racing through Devon. “Look, would either of those two guys have spent an evening with you like this, just watching television and relaxing?”

  “Maybe.” Though it was unlikely. The guys he had dated were always more interested in getting to the action than they were with spending quality time. That had been another lesson that had been hard to take.

  “Okay,” Powers said as he shook his head.

  Devon got comfortable, leaning against him, being held. The low-grade buzz sizzled between them like a soft current. Devon knew it was there, but as they watched episodes of Frasier on TBS, Powers made no additional move. Jacob or Keenan would have gotten through about one episode before they’d gotten antsy and started pressing their advances.

  “Is this some sort of marathon to see how long you can keep me wondering when you’ll make a move? Or am I supposed to do it?” Devon asked.

  “No moves,” Powers told him, gently stroking his cheek. Devon turned slightly so he could watch him better. “I like spending time with you. You’re energetic, if a little nervous. I’ve tried to remember the last time someone cooked for me to be nice, and I don’t think I can.”

  “It was just chicken I bought at the store,” Devon protested.

  “It was the thought.” Powers leaned forward and kissed him. It intensified, but only to a point, and then Powers pulled back, still holding him but not making any additional advances. “You could have ordered takeout, but you put some effort into it.”

  “You were nice enough to cook for me. I’m not as good as you are, but I didn’t want to serve you Chinese again.” Devon yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. “Sorry.” He turned his attention back to the television, trying to figure out what was going on. “Can we change the channel?”

  Powers handed him the remote, and Devon flipped through the stations. He had basic cable, so he didn’t get a huge variety, but he did find a showing of Grease and hummed along with the songs.

  “You sing?” Devon asked when Powers did the same, a gorgeous, resonant baritone tickling his ears.

  “I used to when I was in high school. I haven’t in a long time. In college I had enough activities and gave it up. You?”

  “Church choir with my mom. She loved music of any kind. Singing, dancing, musicals on television—she adored them, and she took me along with her. Not that I was complaining too much. It was like the thing she and I did together.” Devon grew quiet, missing her as he watched Danny lament Sandy leaving him at the drive-in.

  “It must have been nice to have had that connection with her,” Powers said.

  “Are you close to your family? I mean, other than Lucy?” Devon snuggled closer, loving how Powers held him a little tighter. Maybe this snuggling and cuddling thing was what he’d always hoped it would be.

  “We are and we aren’t. Mom and Dad are retired. Mom has had breast cancer, but she’s healthy now. It took a lot out of her and was a long time for her to come back. Dad retired from his job a year ago, and since then, they’ve been on the road in a motor home, seeing all of the country that they can. Right now they’re in Oregon and plan to drive on up to Alaska for the rest of the summer, then come back before the snow flies up there.”