Chad hated the idea of having a whole team of Peter’s people following him around, but he knew when to pick his battles. Chad was actually a little surprised that Peter wasn’t just ordering him to stay in the apartment until things were taken care of. Chad wouldn’t have accepted that, but he would have expected Peter to ask it.
He appreciated the show of restraint.
“I’ll be careful,” he promised. Then, something occurred to him. “What about your parents?”
“What about them?” Peter asked.
“What if someone goes after them?”
Peter shrugged, and Chad furrowed his brow. He knew that Peter didn’t have a good relationship with his parents, but he couldn’t imagine him being callous or indifferent to their safety.
“They both have pretty extensive private security, so I’m not too worried,” Peter explained.
“Why?” Chad asked.
“Why what?”
“Why do they have security?”
Peter shrugged again. “They’re rich. People try to kidnap them often enough that they have a permanent security team assigned to them.”
“From Tank Security?” Chad asked.
The question made Peter bark out a laugh. “Hell no. My father would rather die than acknowledge that Tank Security exists. As far as he’s concerned I’m living off my trust fund and refusing to join the family business.”
Chad blinked, shocked at this particular revelation. What Peter had accomplished with Tank Security was impressive, and Chad couldn’t imagine why his parents wouldn’t be proud of him.
“What do they have against Tank Security?” he asked.
“Back when I was first starting out I took some pretty questionable jobs. My father found out about one of them and didn’t approve.” Peter ran his fingers through his hair, smiling ruefully. “He wants me to settle down in a corner office at T.I. and prepare to take over the company when he retires. It’s not going to happen, and he knows it, but he still keeps pushing.”
Chad mulled that over. He could understand why Peter’s father wanted him to take his place in the family business—thus becoming the fifth Tank to do so—but it also seemed patently silly to expect Peter to change his mind. Didn’t they know him at all?
“I guess that’s okay. Have you warned them, though? That someone might try something?”
“Merchant gave their security team a call. Don’t worry about it.” Peter leaned over and kissed his cheek, wrapping an arm over his shoulder and pulling him flush against his side. “How’s your ankle?”
The change in subject was as obvious as it was forceful.
“It’s fine,” Chad said. He lifted his feet up on the coffee table and looked at Peter with a grin. “My ass hurts way worse.”
Peter smiled, self-satisfied and infinitely smug, and leaned in and kissed him again. When he pulled back his grin was practically wolfish.
“Want me to kiss it better?”
Chad laughed, throwing his head back against the seat cushion. He didn’t say no.
***
