“Wasn’t that door locked?”
Dixon startled, then turned to Lawrence. “Oh, hey! No, it was open. I was just looking for another bathroom. The downstairs one was occupied.”
Lawrence frowned. His father’s office was always locked, especially when guests came by. “Why would you look for a bathroom in an office?”
Grinning, Dixon winked. “I wasn’t. I already found the bathroom. This time, I was looking for the stairs.” He took Lawrence’s hand, then pecked the back of it. “But thank you for looking for me. You’re a very gallant date.”
Laughing, Lawrence accepted the compliment, and the two of them returned to the dinner table. They kept joking around as the main course made its way toward dessert, and Dixon seemed as relaxed as ever. Still, though, Lawrence couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he had been in his father’s office. That place was practically a fortress, and Lawrence had never been beyond the door himself.
And why did Dixon go upstairs in the first place? No one else had left the table, so the downstairs bathroom shouldn’t have been occupied.
He pushed the thoughts aside the best he could, and shortly after dinner, he found a reason to excuse himself and Dixon and call it a night. They shared the elevator down with the senator, who refused to chat with them, and then headed out into the warm, quiet night.
“So how did I do?” Dixon asked, smoothing back his hair. “Do you think your grandmother will invite me to Christmas this year?”
“You, with the sides of your head shaved?” Lawrence teased. “She’d be horrified to be seen with you at church.”
“Invitation lost in the mail again. Damn.”
They were walking into Central Park, and the trees were filling out for spring, casting large shadows across the path. Lawrence paused by the fence. Dixon hadn’t responded when Lawrence tried to pull him up to his apartment for a quick hookup, but maybe a proper date would have done the trick. So when Dixon turned to see why he paused, Lawrence stepped forward and caught him by surprise in a kiss.
Like the first time, Dixon’s body responded instantly. One of his hands found Lawrence’s curls, and his tongue slipped between Lawrence’s lips as they met. Lawrence whimpered into the kiss, warm pleasure washing over him, then pushed his hands up against Dixon’s chest, roaming for a second before bumping into something hard in the jacket pocket.
Dixon stepped back abruptly, breaking the spell of the kiss. Tipsy from wine, Lawrence grabbed at the object, and a small external hard drive clattered to the sidewalk beneath them.
Lawrence stared at it, then up to Dixon again. “What’s that?”
Dixon swept it up. “Nothing, just a little hard drive I forgot I had with me.” But as he went to tuck it back away, Lawrence spotted the label on the side, with his father’s initials and a date written in sharpie.
His head spinning, Lawrence reached for it again. “No it’s not,” he objected. “You took that from my father’s office.”
Dixon smoothed his hair back and flashed Lawrence a smile. “You must be confused, Lawrence. I brought this with me.”
The truth crashed down on Lawrence, like a storm cloud had broken up and soaked him. Dixon broke into his father’s office and stole a hard drive. Had that been his intention in going to the dinner party in the first place?
Lawrence’s gut tightened. Had every one of their meetings been intentional, a setup just to get to his family? Anger and frustration bubbled up inside of him. He had let himself believe some silly fantasy where a man would be interested in him for something other than his father’s wealth and power, just to have reality smack him in the face all over again and remind him of who he actually was.
He shoved Dixon in the chest, but the man didn’t move. “What the hell!” Lawrence objected, tears in the corners of his eyes. “What the hell, Dixon?” He shoved him again, then again. “You don’t care about me at all!”
Dixon winced, pain in his gaze. “That’s not true!” he objected, but when Lawrence dove to grab the hard drive from his hand, he pivoted, and Lawrence went tumbling to his knees on the pavement.
“That’s enough!”
Lawrence jerked his head to the side just in time to see Raiden, charging out of the shadows. Dixon looked just as surprised, and before he could react, Raiden sent him flying backward with a hard shove. Dixon scrambled, then swept his leg, knocking Raiden onto his back.
Lawrence gasped and scrambled back from the fight. Had Raiden been following him?
Dixon turned as though he was about to take off, but Raiden landed a hard kick against his back first, sending the man tumbling with a grunt. Raiden jumped on top of him, fury in his eyes as he yanked his arm back, ready to clobber the smaller man. His fist came down so hard, Lawrence thought for sure Dixon was done for, but he somehow managed to spin to the side just in time.
Raiden howled as his fist landed with a hard crunch on the pavement, and Dixon used the moment to attempt another escape. Raiden came after him again, swinging hard and fast, but Dixon managed to dodge each one, dancing to the side. Lawrence’s heart cried out for each of the men, terrified of what they might do to each other even as he tried to make sense of the fact that Dixon had betrayed him and that Raiden had appeared from the dark night.
“What the fuck is going on here!” Raiden roared.
Dixon swooped backward. “A misunderstanding, I’m afraid,” he said. “And after such a pleasant evening.” He jumped to the side, then landed a quick jab on Raiden’s chin, although it didn’t slow down the bodyguard’s momentum. “A shame, but I must be going.”
Dodging one more punch, Dixon spun to the side, then took off as though he were about to jump the fence and sprint into the trees. Raiden, however, spun all of his forward momentum, leapt straight ahead, and landed a direct blow to the back of Dixon’s head, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Lawrence and Raiden stood there in silence, Lawrence’s heart in his throat as Dixon lay on the path, still and unmoving.
“Are you okay?” Raiden asked. There was spit in the corners of his mouth and a wild anger in his eyes. “Did he hurt you?”
Lawrence shook his head quickly, staring at Dixon’s body. “Is he okay?”
Raiden bent down and inspected him with a grunt. “He’s fine, just knocked out. He’ll come to soon enough.”
All the anger and confusion and fear hit a peak, and Lawrence rushed forward and threw himself into Raiden’s arms. The strength of his bodyguard’s embrace held Lawrence up as he gasped and sobbed, his face buried in Raiden’s chest. “I don’t understand,” he whispered.
Raiden stroked the back of his head slowly, almost tenderly. “Neither do I. But I guess it’s time to get some answers.”
