Lawrence
Lawrence pulled his lips away,whimpering as he stepped back from Raiden and Cash. The flashing disco lights cast shadows over their corner of the dance floor, and Raiden slung his arm casually over Cash’s shoulder, while Lawrence gave them a good look up and down.
“What?” Cash asked. “You want another cocktail?”
“Just two tonight,” Lawrence replied. “You both said you like me better when I’m fresh.”
“The freshest,” Cash teased. He and Raiden swayed their hips to the electronic music, which made Lawrence feel giddy. “You want to dance some more?”
“Or we could just keep making out in the corner,” Raiden added. “That works, too.”
Lawrence laughed, then took them each by the hand. He walked backward, dragging them toward the middle of the dance floor. If he was going to go and jump into a relationship with two guys as hot as Raiden and Cash, Lawrence definitely intended to show them off.
And that night, even Raiden indulged him. He danced in a funny way, kind of pumping his fists and throwing his head back sometimes. It was probably more appropriate for a mosh pit, but it was hot as hell, and it weirdly worked with the thumping, pulsing music. Beside him, Cash was all hips and shoulders, and he writhed up easily between Raiden and Lawrence, pulling them all together and then spreading out again.
They were surrounded by other men, Lawrence realized, but their eyes were only on each other.
He’d spent so many nights out dancing and chasing strangers, but it was much nicer knowing who he would go home with. The three worked up a slow steam, and Lawrence grinded himself against Raiden and pressed his body between the two men while he rode the waves of the music.
The night was a long, edging tease, and Lawrence was desperate for it to go on forever.
Finally, he tore himself away and headed off to the restroom. Lawrence’s heart pounded, and his cheeks hurt from smiling so much. While his father’s crooked company crashed around them, Lawrence’s world felt like it had finally come together. Even his friends had approved of the guys, which was kind of like passing the boyfriend LSAT.
He let out a puff of breath. Sweat was dripping down his neck from dancing so hard, and he remembered how the temperature had dropped. Catching a sight of the bathroom line, he decided to step out onto the street first and catch a breath of the cool night air.
The night was quiet, and Lawrence let out a relaxed laugh as he felt the relief of the fresh air. He thought about running back in, grabbing the guys, and calling it a night right then, but he wasn’t quite done dancing yet. Instead, he closed his eyes and used his clear head to appreciate the evening. When he was done, he spun on his toe to head back inside, but a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder.
Lawrence yelped.
A cloth covered his mouth, and a chemical smell invaded his nostrils.
And then, on what Lawrence thought had been the best night of his life, the world went dark.
CASH
Raiden pushed through the crowd on the dance floor, then hurried over to Cash. “I can’t find him anywhere,” he shouted above the music.
His heart beating fast, Cash nodded. “We’ll do another loop,” he said. “Check the bathrooms again. The street around the club. It’s a big place, and he’s just—”
“Cash, we’ve done three fucking loops,” Raiden spat out. “What do you think, he’s hiding? He’s gone, and something is very wrong.”
Cash buried his face in his hands. “Fuck.” He hated this. He hated this so goddamn bad it hurt the inside of him. He’d actually found a way to feel normal, or at least his version of normal, as fucked up as his story was. And now? Now everything was at risk.
And in his gut, Cash knew it was his fault.
Raiden grabbed him by the bicep. “Let’s go.” They headed out onto the street, the thumping club quiet as the door swung shut. “We’ll just have to work together. You can hack his phone and trace him, and I can start running sweeps of the area. People don’t usually travel far, you know?” His voice was tense but still low, like he was dragging it through the dirt. “Right, Cash? Come on, you hit the computers. I’ll hit the street. We can’t waste anymore fucking time.”
Cash caught the look in Raiden’s eye, a fiery mixture of pain, fear, and anger. It made him feel like absolute shit. “Just give me one second,” Cash managed to say. “Just one second, okay, Raiden?”
He took out his phone, then headed off walking down the street with long strides. His heart racing, he pulled up Reed’s number.
“Cash,” the man answered right away. “That was quick. We just made our move five minutes ago.”
Cash stopped in his tracks. “You took him? You fucking took him?”
“It’s not even your fault, Cash. Sure, I was going to fire you. But things started moving well above my pay grade. The client I represent insisted we make a move tonight, and I knew you were too busy chasing ass to do it for me.”
Cash almost tossed his dinner in the gutter. “Where is he, Reed? Tell me where the fuck you took him, now.”
