“Maybe he can minimize the coverage, though.”
Luke scoffed. “Maybe, but I doubt it. The more media coverage, the more opportunities to get Asher’s side of the story to the public.”
“Do you have to be so cynical?” Nico demanded.
“I’m not being cynical. Just realistic.” Luke tilted his chin up and glared back at Nico, full of self-righteous defiance. “I’ve lived through this once before, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Nico’s voice rose with every word, and a vein in his forehead had started to throb. “Christ, you are fucking impossible!”
“Me?” Shoving up from the sofa, Luke jabbed his index finger at Nico’s face. “You just can’t stand it that I might actually know more about something than you. I have never met a bigger jacka—”
“Okay!” Cameron called loudly, interrupting what he was sure would have been a very colorful examination of everything Luke found distasteful about Nico. “Guys, come on, not now. This isn’t helping.”
Luke dropped both hands to his sides and sighed. “Right. Sorry.”
“Yeah,” Nico mumbled, hanging his head and rounding his shoulders. “Sorry, Cam.”
Resuming his seat beside Cameron, Luke clasped his hands together between his knees with a shrug. “Have you heard from Talon Andrews? Is he still in Chicago?”
Cameron rocked his head from side to side while he chewed his bottom lip. He hadn’t personally spoken to the representative from Platinum360 Public Relations, but he did know that the man was back in Dallas.
“Becca called him earlier after everything went sideways.” He glanced at the clock over the mantle, sighing when he noticed it was already after midnight. “I guess things wrapped up with that musician faster than he’d anticipated, and he was able to catch a flight back earlier today. We’re meeting with him tomorrow afternoon.”
“Wow, she works fast.” Settling back into the plush, leather cushions, Nico drew his fingers through his hair, pushing the long, inky strands away from his face.
Luke sniffed, and his sea-green eyes narrowed. “What’s so special about this guy anyway?”
Shifting in his seat, Cameron glanced over his shoulder toward the corner of the den where Asher was deep in conversation with the head of his security team. “Becca says Talon Andrews is the best, and she wants him working on this. That’s all I really know.”
Nico sank deeper into the sofa, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes. He looked almost as drained as Cameron felt. “So, what do we do now?”
A hollowness formed in Cameron’s stomach as his gaze danced to Asher again. He didn’t have any answers. Every cell in his body wanted to wrap Asher in a bubble and protect him from what was coming. As it stood, there really wasn’t much he could do besides wait, and he hated feeling so damn useless.
“For now,” he said, his voice quiet, dull, “we do whatever Asher needs us to do.”
“I can’t believe this is happening again,” Luke murmured, his tone devoid of its usual sarcasm. “I really hope this isn’t like last time.”
“It won’t be.” The well of information would dry up quickly, the public’s attention would wane, and everything would go back to normal. Cameron had to believe that. “Everything is going to be fine.”
~
“There are two guardson the gate, and two more patrolling the perimeter.” Ozias Benton, head of security for the party, held the tablet up for Asher to see. “Those red dots? Those are my guys.”
Asher stared at the screen without really seeing it. It seemed impossible that just a couple of hours ago, he’dbeen laughing, drinking, and trying his damnedest to coax Cameron upstairs and out of his clothes. Now, he was just trying to keep his head above water when every minute felt like he was drowning.
From the moment Oz had informed him that the sidewalk in front of his house was crawling with reporters, he hadn’t stopped moving. He hadn’t even wanted to step away long enough to shower, afraid that his entire life might crumble around him while he bathed. He’d ditched the blond Tarzan wig and the loincloth, but without a lot of hot water, there wasn’t much he could do about the baby oil.
His black V-neck clung to his back and shoulders uncomfortably, and there were dark patches on his faded jeans where the oil had soaked through the denim. He just couldn’t find it in himself to care.
“Mr. Dare?”
Shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind, Asher clapped the security lead on the back and gave him a tired smile. “Call me Asher. I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other for a while.”
“Okay, Asher.” The glow from the pendant lights above them reflected off Oz’s shorn scalp when he nodded. “I can’t really do anything about everything else that’s happening, but I can promise that you’ll be safe here. We’ll make sure of it.”
Dropping his hand back to his side, Asher gave him a genuine smile this time. “I know you will.” He’d been with Watchdog Security Solutions for years, and they’d never let him down. “I don’t know how bad this is going to get, but I want someone with them when they leave here.” He nodded sideways toward the leather sofa where Cameron sat with Luke and Nico. “At least for the first couple of days.”
Oz swiped his finger across the tablet and began tapping at the onscreen keyboard. “I was going to suggest that myself.” His eyebrows drew together, creating a deep valley over the bridge of his nose. “I can have someone here in half an hour.”
