Backward (13 page)

Half an hour later, Bull confirmed that everyone was ready and opened the doors. The first people through were Zach, Jeremy, Tristan, and Kevin, along with Bull’s mother, Helen. Harry had met her a few times, but he wouldn’t have recognized her if he hadn’t been expecting to see her. Her skin was radiant, hair shining, and an excited smile graced her lips. Gone was the almost perpetual frown she always seemed to have worn in the past, and her clothes looked nothing like the severe pantsuits and business clothes she’d always seemed to hide behind.

“You look gorgeous,” Harry said as he greeted her, and she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Another first.

“I got something of a makeover from Zach and his friends.”

Zach swished with his hand. “We just spruced you up a bit. The fabulousness was always there. We just helped you let it out.”

Harry grinned and looked around for Bull, who turned from the door and seemed to see his mother for the first time. He looked stunned as well, and Helen stood taller under the attention. Harry excused himself to let them talk a minute and circulated through the club. He was restless for some reason and found himself watching Tristan as the pack scoped out a larger and quieter than usual table and went to the bar for drinks.

The crowd seemed to be arriving early, with a steady stream entering almost from opening. Bull sat with his mother for a few minutes and then went to take his usual station near the door. Spook sat at the bar nursing a glass of water, made to look like vodka. It was his usual routine. Harry didn’t often see him, but when he did, he looked like a clubgoer and never had the exact same appearance.

“Harry.” He turned and saw Officer Douglas, out of uniform.

“Glad you could come,” Harry said. “Are you off duty? Would you like a drink?”

“A beer would be nice, thanks, and please call me Ken.”

Harry got a good beer and motioned Ken toward one of the tables. He saw Tristan looking at him, and then he came over. “Ken, this is Tristan,” Harry said by way of introduction as Tristan slid into the booth next to him. He slipped his arm around Tristan and tugged him a little closer.

“Our conversation earlier has me intrigued,” Ken said, and then he sipped from his glass.

Harry caught Bull’s attention, and he made his way over. They weren’t going to have a lot of time to talk, so they needed to get to it. Bull sat next to Ken, where he could keep one eye on the door.

“Harry told me of the brief conversation he had with you, and at first I wasn’t too keen that he’d said anything, but now I’m hoping it was for the best,” Bull said.

Harry did his best not to react. He’d known Bull long enough to know that he could stretch the truth in order to get the information he needed.

“I’m not sure what he was hinting at,” Ken said and set down his glass.

“Yeah. Well, we have come into possession of some information, and while we don’t think you’re involved….” Bull paused. “I was in the Marines, and the code of conduct comes above all else. But there are times when you must make hard decisions that may hurt the ones you love for the greater good. Do you understand?”

“I think so.” Ken took another sip of the beer. “Is this your way of asking about my integrity?”

“Possibly.” Bull motioned to one of the servers, and he hurried toward the bar. They all knew what Bull drank—iced tea—and the server returned right away with the glass. “Thanks, Freddy.” Harry knew that had been for effect, to give Bull a chance to study the other man.

“I’m a police officer, and so was my father. That’s what I’ve wanted to be since I was a child,” Ken said. “My father was in the Corps before he joined the force, so I had those values drilled into my head from the time I could walk.”

Tristan leaned over and asked what was happening. Harry whispered back for him to just listen. This affected him, and Harry didn’t want to cut him out. He also didn’t want to interrupt Bull with an explanation. “I’ll explain it all later,” he added.

“Good,” Bull said to Ken. “Then we understand each other, because you have a leak in the department.”

Ken nearly dropped his beer. “No way. What sort of leak?”

“We believe that Eddie Menendez has someone in the department working for him.” Bull glanced toward the door and then back at Ken. “The only reason we’re having this conversation is because we believe you aren’t involved.”

“Well, that’s good, but how do you know?” The bemused smile had slipped from his lips.

“One thing is the security video that went missing of one of Menendez’s associates. You can’t tell me that happens a lot. The second is the evidence that disappeared in Menendez’s own case a little while ago. Also, Harry and I shared an uncomfortable lunch with him at the café where Tristan works,” Bull tilted his head slightly. “And he hinted at such. It wouldn’t have meant anything if we hadn’t already suspected there was something going on. Besides, the man has an ego the size of Montana. It’s important for him to show he has power, and a cop in his pocket is power.”

“You should report what you —”

Bull raised his hand to stop him. “No. We have all we can handle to manage our club and protect the people we care about from this asshole. Tristan dated Eddie and left once he found out who and what he really was. We’re keeping him safe, and that’s what we’ll continue to do. You need to investigate this quietly and see if what we think is true.”

“I have to report this….” Ken sighed and stared at his beer. “Dammit. Do you have any idea who it is?”

“No. I’ve never heard a name, and the only reason we’re talking to you is because we figure since you got the replacement video and were concerned enough to make sure Carlos Garcia was prosecuted that it couldn’t be you. But other than that, who the hell knows?” Bull stood up. “This conversation is the extent of our involvement. We have a business to run. If we hear anything, we’ll get word to you.” Bull turned and left the table. Harry saw Ken’s gaze follow him as he went.

“Damn,” he said under his breath, and Harry stifled a smile. “Is he…?”

“Bull is seeing my friend Zach,” Tristan said.

“Oh,” Ken said, and Zach scowled in their direction. “I take it that’s Zach.”

“Yeah. They’re amazingly protective of each other.” Harry was starting to understand just how they felt. “Excuse me. I need to check on a few things. Please feel free to stick around.”

“You can join us if you like,” Tristan offered with a wicked smile. “I promise to protect you from Zach.”

Harry loved that Tristan was teasing and could make jokes.

“Thanks, but I think I can take care of myself. I’ve been in a few knife fights and bitch-slap contests. I can hold my own.” Man, this guy was going to fit right in with that group. Harry watched as they joined the group, and then he made his rounds of the floor, watching and greeting patrons—it was his chance to glad-hand and stay in touch with the clientele. If they were unhappy, he needed to know. Once he’d gone through the room, he settled along the wall near the office and remained out of the way, simply watching as the boys danced. A short while ago he would have been entranced by the way they moved. Now he saw them as dancers, almost faceless, as his gaze continued to wander to where Tristan sat with his friends. More than once he saw him looking back, and they exchanged smiles across the room.

Tristan made his way across the floor, and Harry watched, enthralled with each step as he moved to the music. Tristan wasn’t dancing as much as swaying as he made his way over.

“Will you dance with me, Harry?”

“You want me to?” Harry began, and Tristan took his hand. “I don’t really dance.”

Tristan laughed, deep and throaty. “You own a nightclub, and you don’t dance. That makes as much sense as a teetotaler owning a brewery.” Tristan tugged, and Harry went along with him, unable to find the willpower to stop. At the edge of the moving mass of men, Tristan stopped and moved closer to him. “Just go with the beat,” Tristan instructed, moving that lithe little body of his. Harry stood stock-still, gaze glued to the gyrations of Tristan’s hips. Tristan moved closer, placed his hands on Harry’s hips, and moved them back and forth. Without thinking, Harry mirrored Tristan’s movements.

“I feel kind of silly,” Harry confessed. “I was never very good at this.”

Tristan moved even closer. “Think of it as making love standing up and with your clothes on. It’s supposed to be sexy and intimate. Even in a room full of people, the only one who matters is the person you’re dancing with.” Tristan continued dancing, throwing his entire body into the motion.

Harry groaned as images of Tristan in bed, rolling his hips and throwing his head back in unabashed passion, ripped through his mind. He nearly faltered. Hell, he wanted to watch Tristan dance all night, and yet he desperately wanted off the floor, but he couldn’t have both, so he moved as best he could, tugging Tristan to him.

“That’s it,” Tristan said.

“I still don’t think I’m good at this.”

Tristan leaned in close. “Oh, I think you’re a fucking natural.”

Harry closed his eyes and tried to will away images of him showing Tristan just how fucking natural he could be. Damn, Harry’s willpower was faltering, and the reasons for waiting seemed so much less important now. It had to be his lust-addled mind, but he kept telling himself that Tristan was hurt and scared. “Tristan…,” he growled, doing his best imitation of Bull. He hadn’t really meant to, but it just came out. “What are you doing?”

Without stopping the smooth sway of his hips, Tristan backed up and turned around. Harry groaned, a sound loud enough that it cut through the music and reached the people around him as Tristan put on a show, swinging his little butt back and forth like a sex-driven metronome. Tristan swung around, using his hips for momentum, and Harry could barely breathe. When their gazes met, Harry saw Tristan roll his eyes and then move closer once again.

“If you can’t figure it out, then there isn’t much hope for you,” Tristan said. He slipped his arms around Harry’s shoulders and pressed against him.

The man was sex on a stick, and all thoughts of going slowly flew from his mind. He had been trying to back away for Tristan’s sake, in an attempt to ensure he wasn’t taking advantage of him and that what seemed to be happening between them wasn’t just the excitement of everything with Eddie. But it hit him like a thunderbolt that he’d really been protecting himself. He could say what he wanted about staying away for Tristan’s sake, but in reality he was afraid that beautiful, hot, and amazing Tristan would realize just how ordinary and boring Harry was.

Tristan turned in his arms. Harry’s desire, which had been on high simmer, kicked over to a boil. He tugged Tristan to him, grinding his raging erection against Tristan’s butt, and did his best to match his movements. He slipped his arms around Tristan’s chest, holding him closer, breathing in his scent.

He let Tristan guide their movements, the smaller man grinding back against him. It took him a few minutes to realize that a small space had formed around them. Tristan seemed to realize he was putting on a bit of a show and ramped it up. Harry wanted to step off the floor, but Tristan moved faster, lifting his arms over his head, touching Harry’s hair. Then slowly, without lowering his arms, he turned, grinding their hips together, hard and furious. Harry groaned low and deep because if Tristan kept this up, he was going to need to tug Tristan into the office, and he did not want the first time they were together to be Tristan splayed out on top of his desk. He deserved better than that, but, damn, the image of Tristan lying on his desk, legs in the air, eyes shining with passion, body covered in sweat as he—Harry stopped the thought like a needle on a record. He grabbed Tristan’s hips, stilling them, their movement finally coming to a stop. “You have to stop, sweetheart.”

“Why?”

Harry leaned closer, holding Tristan tight as he breathed into his ear. “Because two more seconds, and I’m going to fuck you right here, right now.”

“What if that’s what I want?” Tristan retorted breathily.

Harry pulled him closer, moving his hips slightly in order to fully demonstrate what Tristan had done to him. “No. You deserve better than that.” Harry stopped, and the lust-induced fog lifted from his mind. “I deserve more than that.” He locked his gaze on Tristan. “Is that why you’re doing this, just for the sex?”

Tristan stepped back and gaped at him. “But I thought….”

Harry glanced around and tugged Tristan toward the door to the office area. He stepped inside the back hallway and closed the door, blocking out most of the sound from the club. “You thought what?”

“That you… I saw the way you go home with guys from the club. I figured that’s what you wanted, so I don’t understand why you don’t want to be with me. Am I not the kind of guy you like?”

They’d had this conversation before, but obviously he hadn’t gotten the point across. “The only reason I went home with those other guys was because you weren’t available. I’ve watched you and wished I could approach you almost since the first day you came in the club with Zach.” He rested his hands on Tristan’s shoulder. He sighed. “I used to sit in my office sometimes and watch you dancing on the cameras because I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

Tristan smiled slightly. “So you really care about me and don’t think of me as another of those club boys?”

Harry scoffed. “You are anything but another club boy. I haven’t wanted to rush into anything because you deserve to be treated better
than that. I want our first time together to be special, and if that’s tonight, so be it.” He paused to make sure he didn’t mess this up. “But I don’t want it to be because you’re just looking to get laid.” Maybe if that was what Tristan wanted, he should just do it and take what he could get. But Harry really wanted it all and was willing to wait for that.

“Of course I want more than that,” Tristan said, as though Harry had just uttered the stupidest thing possible. “Jeremy and Zach are super happy, and it’s hard to be around them because they have it all. I want that too.” Tristan turned away. “I thought I had that once.”