Raiden grinned. “I’m glad we settled it before we started working together.”
“Settled what?”
Raiden stood, then mussed up his hair. “Who the better fighter is.”
Cash swatted his hand away. “I wouldn’t go that far,” he muttered under his breath.
“I’m sure you’ve still got a few tricks up your sleeve. After a bruising like you took, most people would be laid out in bed, moaning and groaning.” Cash waggled his eyebrows at Raiden again, and Raiden grunted in what seemed to be a failed attempt to ignore him. “That’s why I’m going to pull rank here and insist you take care of a few other things before you get to work.”
“Pull rank?” Cash asked, frowning. “You think you’re in charge?”
Lawrence giggled. “Sure he does. So do you!”
Cash supposed that was true, and he shot Lawrence a quick wink.
“I know you won’t wear a sling,” Raiden said, “but I’m going to go pick you up a shoulder brace, at least while you’re healing. And you should hop in the shower, wash your scratches carefully, and take some Tylenol for the swelling.”
Cash sighed. He knew that Raiden was right. And clearly, the man had been through plenty of his own injuries. He was just so used to ignoring self care and using obsessive work as his therapy.
Lawrence caught Cash’s eye, then smiled softly. “It’s probably a good idea,” he said.
Cash mumbled under his breath but nodded. That was the risk of letting someone in his life, after all.
They might actually start to care about him.
LAWRENCE
Lawrence sat at the desk, light streaming through the dirty old windows. Cash had left him with a pile of printed emails from the senator’s office, and he fanned through the papers the best he could. Most of them made no sense to Lawrence, referencing committees and hearings and pending legislation, but every now and then a glimmer of something he recognized came through, like the name of a ski resort his father frequented or the tiny island off of Panama where he sometimes went for business retreats. He pulled those ones from the stacks, queasy as he wondered what his father was scheming now.
Pushing the stack aside, he let his thoughts drift back to the night before. Lawrence was shocked when Raiden invited the men to spend the night, and he didn’t totally buy the excuse that they needed to keep an eye on Cash. After Raiden had resisted his flirtations for weeks, Lawrence thought he had a heart of stone. But the second they all started hooking up, something different reached through, and Lawrence realized that Raiden was feeling the same primal draw that he was, like the three of them needed to be together.
It was a ridiculous thought, but then again, Lawrence was sitting there and reading through stolen emails from a senator’s office, so the normal rules were pretty much out of the window.
And now that he’d had a taste, he was desperate for more. Sighing, Lawrence pulled his phone out of his pocket, then sent a quick text to Tyler, Mayer, and Derrick.I’m going to need a whole month of brunches to process the sex I had last night.
Cash walked back into the main area, and Lawrence shoved his phone in his pocket. He had changed into a fresh pair of chinos and a white oxford shirt with a spread collar, neatly tucked in at the waist, and his damp hair was combed back. “You having any luck?”
Lawrence shrugged and tried not to stare at how handsome he was. “A few things make sense to me. I’m not sure how helpful they will be, though. Like, does it matter that the senator and my dad share the same personal trainer?”
Cash shrugged. “Anything could end up helping.” He arrived at the table, then leaned over, scanning the pages. “Cute romper, by the way.”
Lawrence felt his cheeks pink. “Thanks.”
Cash took a seat across from him, and the chair squeaked when he leaned back. “Hey, while Raiden is still out at the pharmacy, I wanted to apologize one more time. You know, for not being truthful with you before.” He dropped his voice, almost like he was confessing a secret. “It felt shitty when I was doing it, especially when I was picking the lock on your father’s office door. I just get a little obsessed with my mission sometimes and lose track of everything else. But I never wanted to hurt you, Lawrence. And for that, I’m honestly, deeply sorry.”
It was true that Cash had been lying from the start, although the more Lawrence learned about him, the more he thought he understood why. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose your parents and to know their deaths didn’t have to happen,” he said. “I don’t like that you were lying to me, but I do like that you’re standing up for what is right. And you’re being truthful now, right?”
Cash scratched the back of his head, and his eyes turned to the papers that were taped to the brick wall.
“Are you still lying to me?” Lawrence asked, suddenly alarmed by Cash’s expression.
“It’s not like that,” he said quickly. “It’s just…” He drummed his fingers on the table, obviously troubled by something. “There’s more to the story, you know?”
Lawrence laughed, then gestured to the old woodworking studio with a wave of his hand. “No shit. Your house looks like some kind of maniac genius villain lives here. You’ve obviously got something else going on. I’m not expecting you to tell me all of your deepest secrets, but just promise you won’t try to trick me again?”
Cash leaned forward. “Sweetheart, it’s a promise.”
A warm feeling bubbled up in Lawrence’s chest, and he laughed nervously, pushing it away. “I think that’s the most serious commitment I’ve ever asked a guy to make.”
