“Uhm, about that.” Dean smiled broadly, showing all his teeth like a shark. “It could be I heard where he’s staying when Richard talked to Martin about that dinner Jasper invited you to.”
Curtis lifted a brow. “Could be?”
Dean shrugged. “This seemed like something I wanted to stay on top of. Though I was thinking more along the lines of Leeland and me going there, not you. I wanted it to be a nice surprise for you.” He pouted.
Curtis abandoned his ice cream to hug Dean tightly. “Thank you. Thank you very much. But I think I have to do this on my own.”
Dean nodded. “I figured as much. Worry not. We’re going to watch your ice cream for you.”
“So kind of you, my noble friend.” They both snickered.
“Personal empowerment aside, I’m going with you.” Leeland’s tone left no room for arguments, for which Curtis was grateful. Having the MMA fighter by his side was a huge relief.
“Thank you, Leeland. Shall we go?”
Leeland stole one more spoonful of his macadamia nut brittle ice cream before he handed it to Peyton. “Let’s do this.”
Each of the men gave Curtis a hug and some encouraging words, Peyton’s being the most aggressive—“Destroy that asshole and feed his bleeding carcass to the vultures!”—and Collin’s the sweetest—“Don’t let him get to you, because he’s totally not worth it, and once you’re done with him, you can stash the memory in one of those rooms you never enter because there’s nothing in there worth the trouble.”
“You’re such a doll, Collin. Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” Curtis pressed a kiss on his young friend’s forehead.
“Oh, I can’t not worry about you, Curtis, because you’re family to me, but we’re all going to wait here and eat the ice cream and watchBaywatchbecause right now we need something light and funny, and you have to tell us the moment you’re done, because then we can celebrate, promise?”
“I promise, Collin.”
Curtis followed Leeland outside to his Volvo, Dean coming along to give them Jasper’s current location. It was a rather cheap motel, something Jasper would have never set foot in when he still had his money. Knowing his snobbish ex had to sleep in a place he probably viewed as a rat-infested shithole made Curtis’s steps lighter than it should. Being vindictive was not nice, but it sure felt good.
Leeland started the car as soon as they both had their seat belts securely fastened. “How do you want to do this? Shall I smack him around a bit, just to get his attention?” Leeland sounded more aggressive than usual. Curtis eyed him from the side.
“If possible, I’d like to try and talk some sense into him first. When he doesn’t listen, I’m open to more, uh, hands-on measures.” He hesitated a moment. “You seem to take this almost personally. Don’t get me wrong—I love your support, and I’m more than grateful. I just get the feeling there’s more to this?”
Leeland sighed. “You’re right. I’m angry on your behalf, of course. I hate irresponsible Doms who hurt their subs out of sheer incompetence.”
“You think that’s what Andrew’s doing? Or do you think another Dom is doing this to someone else you care about, and now you’re mixing both situations up?”
Curtis knew he had hit a nerve when Leeland’s shoulders slumped. “I actually think Andrew should take a refresher course in ‘Being a Suitable Dom 101,’ but from everything you told us, he’s at least trying to do his best. With Master Garrett, I’m not so sure.”
Ah, so that was the problem. Leeland had been chewing on Emilio’s relationship with Garrett Kiernan since before he went pro for one year in the UFC. Now he seemed ready to talk about it, which was progress and would keep Curtis from worrying about the impending meeting with Jasper.
“What do you think the problem is? Emilio seems to be thriving.”
“On first glance, yes. And every time I ask him, he assures me he only does things he wants to do. Still….”
“Do you think Garrett is abusive?” That would be Curtis’s main concern.
“What? No? At least not deliberately.” Leeland sighed, set the blinker to turn left. “Which is my problem in a nutshell. I think there is some kind of abuse going on. Call it a hunch. A gut feeling. I’m also pretty sure neither Garrett nor Emilio are aware of it. I mean, Garrett is Mister One Hundred Percent when it comes to consent. Given how he likes to play, he has to be. No, I think there is something deeper going on, and I just can’t put my finger on it and it drives me nuts because I want to protect Emilio.”
Curtis nodded. He could see where Leeland was coming from. “Now that you mention it, Emilio does seem a bit strange sometimes. I’ve never thought much of it, though. Could it have to do with his family?”
They both knew Emilio’s family had been abusive, even before they kicked him out when he was barely fifteen. Emilio didn’t like talking about that time in his life, understandably so, and as far as Curtis knew, he had never had any kind of counseling.
“Could be. He never had it easy.” Leeland turned right this time, into the parking lot of the motel. “The problem is, he doesn’t want to talk. Every time I try to hint at it, he assures me everything’s fine and that he would tell me if he needed help. I know I should let this go. It’s just…. He’s one of us, you know?”
“I know. And I promise I’ll help you any way I can. As soon as I’m done with my own problems.”
Curtis looked darkly at the motel. Leeland parked the car, killed the engine. “You can do this, Curtis. I have no doubt.”
“Thank you, Leeland. Let’s go.”
