The four of them—James, Kit, Darius, and Bishop—were gathered in James’s kitchen. Darius was across the island, looking unfairly calm and handsome in the warm interior lighting. Bishop lounged next to Kit, his own coffee still untouched next to the pot. The pair of them looked good together, James had to admit. Not as good as Kit looked with James, of course. But Kit was bundled up in an oversized pink sweater, and Bishop had on one of his usual rumpled tan jackets over a blue shirt, and they just looked unusually comfortable together. Like a sappy holiday card, except with murder and a size kink.
Very cozy and domestic, considering this meeting’s agenda.
Darius had a meeting point and date set to deliver the doctored photos of Kit to the client. Four days from now, in an unused warehouse outside of town. The plan was pretty simple, a normal stakeout plus or minus a splashy ending, with a slight extra complication that they needed Kit to identify the target if he could. Which meant only selectively jamming communications in the area, since fuck if James was letting Kit along for the job.
They might disagree on the rest of this, but Darius and Bishop were surely in agreement about that.
“If you didn’t want me along, you shouldn’t have told me.” James let his voice rise slightly. “I’m either riding with you or I’m following you. Don’t think you can move anywhere in this city without me watching.”
If someone wanted to kill Kit, James was going to handle them. He could follow a plan, but hopefully killing them would be necessary.
“No offense, but this?” Darius pointed at James. “This is exactly why I don’t want you along. You’re too unstable for a job this precise.”
Oh, that was rich. Now James couldn’t argue without looking even more unstable. “I’m not unstable. I just express my emotions. You should try it sometime.”
“James,” Bishop said. “Darius.”
Everyone turned as Bishop finally grabbed his coffee from next to the pot.
Kit pouted from behind his own mug. “No, don’t stop them. This is great. Can you guys arm wrestle to work it out?”
‘‘Bring it,” James said immediately. He would do anything for Kit pouting.
Darius just raised an eyebrow.
“Or naked oil wrestling?” Kit proposed hopefully.
Bishop sipped his coffee. “No need for that.”
“It’s not about need,” Kit said. “It’s about extremely manly ways to settle arguments.”
James sized up his competition thoughtfully. Without weapons, James could take Darius in a fight. If they could have guns, James wasn’t stupid enough to think he had a chance. Butoil wrestling? Neither of them had experience in that—probably—so James could likely—
“It’s a moot point,” Bishop said. “I can’t go with Darius anyway.”
Everyone turned towards Bishop again.
“Excuse me?” Darius asked.
Bishop shrugged, poorly concealing his amusement. “The SCU case is too hot right now. I can’t disappear for three days.”
Oh, perfect. James beamed at Bishop, then at Darius.
“Christ.” Darius scrubbed his hand over his face. The look of defeat was sweet. “Okay, fine. But James is following the plan to the letter.”
Kit set his coffee down, the slight movement drawing everyone’s attention even before he spoke up. “What do you mean, three days?”
“I start stakeouts early,” Darius explained. “I like knowing everything about the area and having control over the scene.”
“One day would be enough for that, except Darius is always afraid his opponent willalsoget there early,” James added. He crossed the kitchen, relishing the way moving closer forced Kit’s eyes up. But he was greedy, so he touched Kit’s chin and forced his face up even more. “Don’t worry. I won’t be able to call, but I’ll still text you naughty things.”
Kit wrinkled his nose. “Oh, good, I was totally worried about that.”
James enjoyed pressing Kit against surfaces. Beds, walls, counters. Pinning him roughly, or just standing in front of him, knowing Kit could wiggle away if he wanted. Because Kit never really wanted to escape.
Apparently, it was even better with other men’s eyes on them. Bishop’s gaze was no less intent than Darius’s.
James met Bishop’s eyes. “Since I assume Darius intended me to guard Kit, that leaves you to take up the task. Do you want my guest room, or should Kit sleep over at your place?”
