“Have Lucky escort him from the property,” Colton said, but Laz shook his head.

  “Wait, please. Let me just talk to him.”

  Colton fought the urge to argue with Laz and nodded at Ace, who tapped away at his phone, most likely texting Lucky. Within seconds a commotion outside caught their attention, but before any of them could investigate, Bryan stormed into the room. “Oh, I see how it is.” He glared daggers at Red.

  Laz groaned and closed his eyes. “Bryan, please, not now.”

  “The second my back is turned, you’re getting into bed with another guy?”

  “What? Are you insane? I almost drowned!”

  “My God, it’s a scratch. When did you turn into such a whiney little bitch?”

  “That’s enough,” Red growled. “You need to leave.”

  “No. I’m his boyfriend. You need to leave.” Bryan turned to Laz and thrust a finger at Red. “Get rid of him.”

  Laz’s eyes turned cold. “No. Red stays. You go.”

  “What?”

  “You have some nerve accusing me of cheating when you’re the one who cheated over and over.”

  Bryan scoffed and folded his arms over his chest. “I already told you, they’re rumors. Someone’s trying to start shit to mess with my rep.”

  “The only one ruining your reputation is you. And it’s not a rumor when I see it happen.”

  Bryan’s face paled, and his arms dropped away. Not the expression of an innocent man. “What?”

  “I saw you in the back room with those two guys! They were fucking your brains out! I kept hoping you’d confess, talk to me, but instead you kept doing it. I’d hear all these rumors of you sleeping with anyone who could get you what you wanted, so I needed to see for myself, and I did. They weren’t rumors. You looked me right in the eye, and you lied to me. You’ve been lying to me for years, and I’m tired of it. I’m done. It’s over. We’re over.”

  Bryan laughed. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m so very serious.”

  Bryan pouted as he took a step forward, but he stopped in his tracks when Ace took position at the foot of the bed, his deep frown menacing.

  “Baby, please. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I made a mistake. A huge mistake. It’ll never happen again. I swear.”

  The waterworks started again, but Laz was having none of it. Colton was so damned proud of him. It seemed Laz hadn’t been as oblivious to Bryan’s behavior as they’d all believed.

  “Save it.”

  The tears dried up fast. “Do you really think you’re going to get anywhere without me?” Bryan snarled. “You were a nobody when I met you! You couldn’t even afford the equipment you needed without big brother and his rich friends to help you. I made you, and I can easily break you. When I get through with you, you’ll be lucky if you can get a wedding gig!”

  “Maybe. Or I could leak the pictures to the press.”

  The color drained from Bryan’s face. “What pictures?” Realization seemed to dawn on him, and he flinched as if he’d been struck. “You didn’t.”

  Laz’s gaze turned hard. “Did you really think I’d walk away without insurance? I know you, Bryan. You’re petty, vindictive, and mean. I’ve seen you ruin people’s careers on a whim. I wonder what Elena Vicente would do if she saw the pictures of her supposedly straight husband with his dick buried in your ass in the bedroom of the apartment he bought you with her money. I bet after she kicked the bastard to the curb, she’d make sure no designer ever worked with you again. That clothing line you’ve been dreaming of? Never going to happen.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “I worked damned hard to make it where I have, and I’ve made it this far because of me, not you. You try to take that away from me, and I swear I will take you down with me.”

  “Fine.” The truly malicious look that came into Bryan’s face had Colton bracing himself. “Let’s see if your big, strong man still wants you when he finds out what a little whore you are. At least I did it on my terms. You let him use you like a cheap hooker!”

  “You son of a bitch! I confided in you!” Laz launched himself out of bed and tackled Bryan to the floor, the two of them thrashing around. Bryan managed to clip Laz in the head before Laz punched him in the face. The guy was going to have one hell of a shiner. Red grabbed Laz, and held him tight against him, as Ace held a kicking and screeching Bryan away from Laz.

  “Get him the fuck out of my house,” Colton snapped. “I want him and his friends gone.”

  Ace nodded, speaking quickly and quietly into his microphone. Within seconds, Bryan was being dragged from the room.

  “You’re going to regret this, Lazarus! I swear you’re going to pay for this!”

  “Asshole,” Laz mumbled, climbing back into bed under the covers Red held up for him.

  “Are you okay?” Red asked softly, brushing Laz’s hair away from his face.

  Laz nodded, his arms wrapped tight around himself. He couldn’t seem to meet any of their gazes, especially Red’s.

  When it was only the four of them again, Colton closed the door, and Laz burst into tears. He covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking hard from his sobs. Red brought him into his arms, and although Laz hesitated at first, he soon gave in and buried his face against Red’s chest.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Red said gently, murmuring quiet words Colton couldn’t hear but knew were intended to soothe Laz. The big man all but enveloped Laz’s smaller frame, and Laz curled up as close to Red as he could possibly get, his knees drawn up.

  Colton ran a hand through his hair. What a damned mess. He was considering leaving the two alone since Laz was obviously distressed and felt comfortable with Red, but as he turned for the door, Laz pulled away from Red.

  “He’s telling the truth. I let someone fuck me to keep my job.”

  The words speared through Colton’s heart. “Laz, you don’t—”

  Laz shook his head. “It was my first trip to Europe. Bryan asked me to go with him on a shoot in London. He said he was going to introduce me to a big fashion photographer who could show me the ropes. The guy was nice, and he seemed genuinely interested in helping me. He let me shadow him and even let me step in a few times to take some shots. The second day of the shoot, he invited me back to his studio. I thought it was for another shoot, but it was just the two of us.” A tear rolled down Laz’s cheek, and he brushed it aside.

  “He came onto me, and I politely told him I’d rather keep things professional between us. He said he could introduce me to some important people who could help me with my career. I thanked him and was going to leave when he grabbed me. He said everyone had to start somewhere and how that usually meant on their knees. When I told him no, he said if I didn’t, I’d never make it. That my career would be over before it started. I’d never been so scared. And alone. I didn’t know what to do. When he started kissing me… I let him. I… I let him… fuck me. I confided in Bryan because I thought he loved me and could help me make sense of what I was feeling, but he acted like it was no big deal. Like it was par for the course if I wanted to advance my career. For a while, I believed him, but deep down I knew the truth. Bryan’s right. I’m no better than he is. Actually, I’m worse. Bryan wanted to sleep with those men. I was a coward. I let someone fuck me so I could keep my job.”

  “Hey, you’re not the one to blame here,” Red said gently. “That asshole took advantage of you, threatened you. Just because you didn’t fight him, doesn’t mean you consented. You were young, vulnerable, and he abused his position to abuse you. I hate to say it, Laz, but you probably weren’t the first, or the last.”

  “Oh God.” Laz sobbed against Red’s chest, and Colton felt helpless.

  “The man should be in jail,” Red said, rubbing soothing circles across Laz’s back. “You did nothing wrong.”

  Laz pulled back and gazed at Red with tearful eyes. He looked so damned young and vulnerable, and it killed Colton. Laz had always been strong and more world-weary than any kid his age had a right to be. He hadn’t always been the most confident, but he was a survivor, a fighter, and now he looked so… broken. “You really believe that?”

  “I do.”

  Colton was going to crawl out of his skin. He couldn’t stand here, and do nothing. “Laz, get some rest. If you need anything, you let me know. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?” Colton turned to Ace, speaking quietly. “Would it be okay for Red to keep Laz company? I don’t want to leave him alone, and he clearly feels safe with Red.”

  Ace nodded. “Yes, of course.” He turned to face Red. “Hey, big guy, why don’t you take the couch tonight,” he said motioning to the pullout couch on the other end of the room. “If that’s okay with you, Laz.”

  “Yes. Please,” Laz said, sniffing. “I’d really like him to stay.”

  Colton pointed to the smaller of the doors in the room. “There’s extra pillows and bedding in there. If either of you need anything, please ask.” He left the room with Ace, who closed the door behind them. Colton quickly made his way down the hall to his room, then stopped beside his bedroom door. He leaned against the wall with a heavy gasp.

  “Colton? Are you okay?”

  Colton shook his head as Laz’s words replayed in his head. “I knew something was wrong.” He ran a hand over his face and let his back hit the wall. “Fuck. I was there. I was in London, and…. Oh God.” He ran his fingers through his hair as he paced when Ace blocked his path and took hold of his face.

  “Hey, it’s okay. Breathe. Just breathe.”

  Colton shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “I was there, Ace. We were in the same damn city, and I had no idea he was—” He closed his eyes, his chest constricting.

  “Exactly. You had no idea. How could you know? You can’t blame yourself for not knowing, Colton. Look at me.”

  Colton forced his eyes open and took hold of Ace’s arms, needing to feel his solid, steady strength. “I knew something was off. I knew it. I couldn’t pinpoint it. We had lunch one afternoon, and he was so… distant.” He started to shake involuntarily, and Ace pulled him into his arms. Colton held on tight, his face pressed to Ace’s shoulder, allowing the man’s warmth to seep into him and spread through his body, pushing out the cold that threatened to cripple him. Some asshole had taken advantage of Laz, and he couldn’t do a damned thing about it. Fuck, this would shatter Gio. He’d been taking care of his little brother since their dad passed away. He’d sacrificed so much to give Laz the best life he could, and together the two had weathered one storm after another, but they’d made it through. Colton admired them, and he hated that his friend would blame himself. A thought occurred to him, and he pulled back.

  “Can the Kings find out who the photographer is?”

  “Colton, you need to talk to Laz about this. He’s the only one who can bring charges against this man. From what I’ve seen, you need to understand that Laz may not want to. That could change, but right now he’s hurting.”

  “The man took advantage of him,” Colton growled. “He should be arrested. He’s probably out there hurting more people!”

  “I know, and I agree, but it’s not your decision to make. All you can do is offer Laz help. He feels ashamed of what happened, and he blames himself. Your priority right now is helping him heal. Until Laz understands he’s not to blame and that his going through with the act doesn’t mean he consented or excuse what happened to him, he’s not going to want to seek justice. It’s frustrating and heartbreaking, but sometimes all we can do is offer our support.”

  “You’ve seen this before.”

  Ace nodded, his gold-green eyes darkening. “The thing about our line of work is that we’re usually invisible to most people, and that’s often the goal, but there are times when people forget we can see and hear everything. Not everyone who does what we do shares our moral code. There are companies with personnel who are paid to look the other way, to side with their clients no matter what. Our clients come first, but we won’t deal with clients who expect us to break the law, ignore it, or be passive to illicit activities. That’s not who we are. We won’t stand by and allow a client to assault someone in any way. We’re not without sin, but we won’t be a part of someone else’s.”

  Colton released a heavy sigh. Ace was right. Laz was what was most important, and Colton would do everything in his power to help his friend. When, and if, he was ready to seek justice against that predator, Colton would be ready. He still felt miserable about it. “What do I do now?”

  Ace went thoughtful. “Let me talk to King and see what he says. I won’t mention Laz. That’s between us. If there’s a route we can take that doesn’t involve Laz, maybe we can do something to help. Right now, you’re going to tell me if you want us to send people home. We can smooth things over with the guests. Then we’re going to go for a walk on the beach.”

  “How did you know?” For Colton, the beach had always been more than fun in the sun. The ocean soothed him, comforted him, gave him peace.

  “We’re not so different in that respect,” Ace said quietly, and Colton remembered what Ace had told him about walking down to the beach when he had nightmares. “What do you think?”

  Colton smiled, touched by Ace’s intuitiveness. “I’d like that.”

  “I’ll meet you out there in ten minutes, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Ace turned to go, but Colton grabbed his arm, and Ace gave him a questioning smile.

  “Thank you, Ace. For everything. It really means a lot.”

  “You’re welcome.” Ace’s smile squeezed at Colton’s heart. He was such a handsome man, but as they stood there, the seconds ticking by as they gazed at each other, it became clear how much more Ace was. He dropped his gaze to those lips, unable to stop himself from wondering what they tasted like. Would they be soft and warm against his? When he moved his eyes back to Ace’s, he inhaled sharply at the fire in those gorgeous eyes.

  “Ace….”

  “I better go,” Ace said, tenderly pulling out of Colton’s grip. “Ten minutes.”

  Colton didn’t reply, simply watched him walk down the hall until he’d disappeared downstairs. He snapped out of it and ran a hand through his hair. Shit. Once he was in his room, he closed the door and leaned against it. His heart was beating so fast he was afraid it would burst from his chest. This couldn’t be happening. He was not falling in love. It was ridiculous. Being with Ace day in and day out at all hours was messing with his head, giving him a sense they were more.

  “You’re overreacting.” Not surprising, since it seemed to run in the family. He put it down to his feeling vulnerable and exhausted from today’s events. He’d needed someone, and Ace had been there for him, which he appreciated to no end, but that didn’t mean he was falling in love with the guy. They were only having some fun, right? If anything, they were friends. Now if he could only get himself to believe that.

  Chapter 9

  Once the guests were gone, and Ace had checked in with the team, he picked Colton up outside his bedroom door. They’d both changed into more comfortable clothes. Colton looked handsome as always, in a deep blue short-sleeved button-down shirt, and a pair of white linen shorts. He had on flip-flops that matched his shirt, and although he looked tired, his smile when he saw Ace had Ace’s pulse picking up.

  Ace had gone with one of his charcoal-gray T-shirts and a pair of loose black workout shorts. He put on his running shoes, just in case.

  “Ready?”

  Colton nodded but paused to look off toward the room Laz was in, concern etched all over his handsome face.

  “He’s in good hands,” Ace promised, placing a hand to his lower back. “Red was our medical sergeant, remember? There’s no one better to be at his side right now. He’s the gentlest guy there is.”

  “Unless someone tries to hurt someone he cares about I’m guessing.”

  “Oh, then he’s fucking terrifying,” Ace assured him, leading him toward the stairs. “That’s the thing about nice guys. You don’t want to mess with them. Red’s a big teddy bear until there’s a threat.” They headed downstairs, through the living room to the glass doors at the back of the house.

  “I have a feeling the same could be said of all the Kings.”

  Ace winked at him. “You’re not wrong. Except for the nice guy part.” The air outside was muggy, but the breeze coming in from the ocean was nice. The skies were clear, and the beach was empty, with a few torches lined up in the sand across Colton’s property.

  “You don’t think you’re a nice guy?”

  Colton’s question caught him off guard, and Ace smirked. “Maybe you’re not remembering the first few days of our meeting.”

  “You were reacting to my being an asshole.”

  “Okay, we were both being assholes.”

  Colton laughed, and Ace once again made note of how much he liked the sound. He turned his attention to their surroundings, greeting members of his team as they made their way to the private walkway that led down to the beach. The darkness made it feel later than it was.

  Together they headed for firmer sand, and they walked in companionable silence along the beach, Ace far enough from the water not to get his sneakers wet, and Colton ankle-deep in the waves, a contented smile on his face. He stopped and looked down into the water, his hands shoved into his pockets. With an almost bashful smile, he looked up at Ace.

  “Join me?”

  Why not? Ace toed off his sneakers and tossed them in the sand so the rising tide wouldn’t get to them, and then he joined Colton in the shallow water, the tepid water feeling good against his skin. Man, he loved the ocean. Loved how infinite it felt, how small it made him feel in the grand scheme of things when he looked out at the horizon, all that water stretching on for miles and miles. During the day it glittered beneath the sun, and at night the moon’s reflection danced in the water.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Ace.”

  Ace returned Colton’s smile. “I’m glad we could help.”