“I’ll be fine,” Alan promised.
They both knew it might be an empty promise, but neither of them said anything about it.“I know you will be.”
Matthew squeezed Alan’s hand one last time before stepping away.It would be useless to prolong the inevitable, so he quickly made his way towards Teddy, who was patiently waiting.He looked Matthew up and down with an understanding expression on his face.“How are you coping?”
“I don’t think that I am.”
“They’ll keep him safe,” Teddy promised.
They would.Teddy, Matthew, and Moore would stay with most of the enforcers’ team at a distance.Hansen wouldn’t, though.Using his cloaking ability, he would shadow Alan and stay close enough that if Victor tried anything, he’d be able to stop him within seconds.If anything did happen, Teddy would also shimmer to Alan and get him back to Matthew.Matthew hoped his own ability wouldn’t be needed during this meeting, but if he had to, he wouldn’t hesitate to use it to protect his mate.
Even though Alan would be facing Victor alone, he’d be surrounded by people to whom he mattered.Everything would be all right.It had to be.
* * * *
WORKING WITH ENFORCERSmeant that they knew where Victor was at any moment.Apparently, they had people spying on him, so they were able to tell Alan that Victor was still at the office and had been there for a few hours already.That meant that Alan was able to get to the coffee shop early enough to find a seat and for Hansen to get into position.
Alan was a little freaked out at the thought that someone he couldn’t see was standing by him.Hansen had explained what he could do and how he’d use it to protect Alan, and Alan was glad to have Hansen there, but it was unnerving.Even though he had no idea where Hansen was or what he was doing, he could feel the man watching him, and it was weird.
Alan had grabbed coffee on his way in, which probably hadn’t been a smart decision because he didn’t need the extra caffeine.He bounced his knee and glanced at the door.Would Victor even come?Would he believe that Alan might go to the authorities with what he knew?Well, that wasn’t hard to guess.It was the kind of thing Alan would do.If anything, Victor would have a harder time believing that Alan would blackmail him.It wasn’t something Alan would normally do.
But they didn’t need Victor to believe that Alan was here for that.They just needed him to talk.Alan hoped that seeing a friendly face would help with that, but there was no way for him to know.
He tensed every time he heard the door open, which was stressing him out.At least Victor wasn’t late.When he stepped in, Alan couldn’t help it.His body went rigid, and he considered running away.The coffee shop had to have a back exit, right?
A hand brushed against Alan’s elbow.He couldn’t see it, so he knew who it was.It was kind of freaky to know that Hansen was there, watching, but it helped.Even if Alan couldn’t defend himself, Hansen would defend him.Alan wasn’t alone.
Victor took his time.He always did.He’d once told Alan that he didn’t like being rushed because there was no reason to be, and Alan had found it quirky.Now, he found it annoying, and he scowled at Victor when the man finally made his way toward his table.
He’d stopped at the counter to get one of his complicated coffees first.He took a sip as he slid into the chair on the other side of the table, and Alan stared.
This man had been his friend just a week or so ago.Alan didn’t have a lot of those, and he’d been happy when he’d grown closer to Victor, even though Victor was his boss.He’d thought it meant something to the man.
It had meant something to Victor, all right.It had meant that he could use Alan to get rich from the torture and pain of other people.
Alan briefly considered throwing his coffee in Victor’s face.He wanted to watch that smug expression on Victor’s face disappear.He wanted to get the man’s white shirt dirty.Instead, he wrapped both of his hands around his cup.
“You wanted to see me?”Victor asked.
“Not particularly, considering the last time I saw you, you tried to kill me.”
Victor looked around, but Alan hadn’t spoken loudly.No one had heard what he was saying over the noise in the coffee shop.Still, Victor leaned closer.“Did I?”
“You drove my car off the road.What were you trying to do if not kill me?”
“It was an accident.I was worried about you, Alan.I saw you run out of the office like someone was after you, and I worried because you wouldn’t stop.You know I care about you.”
Alan glanced down at his coffee.Did he really need to drink it?It would looksomuch better on Victor’s shirt.
Alan sucked in a breath.He couldn’t afford to make a scene.He didn’t think Victor would hurt anyone in the coffee shop, but he couldn’t be entirely sure.He couldn’t be entirely sure about anything when it came to Victor.
Victor wasn’t the man Alan thought he knew.He wasn’t a friend.He wasn’t a nice person.
He was a monster.
Alan was here for a reason.He was supposed to get answers, and he’d get them.He wasn’t sure how he’d do it yet, but he’d find a way.
“We both know you don’t care about me,” Alan said.“So don’t even try to act like you’re in the right here.”
