Sebastian
With all thepieces of the puzzle laid out on the laboratory counter, the picture was finally crystal clear.
“Unbelievable,” Alexandria muttered, a hand on her hip. “Your father is such a dog, Seb.”
“A snake,” Seb whispered. Anger, frustration, and fear all chilled his body at once. When Alexandria placed her hand on his back, he startled and tensed away before recovering himself. “I’m sorry,” he said, stepping back and under Alexandria’s arm. “He’s just such an asshole.”
In that moment, Seb wasn’t at all surprised that his father had broken their contract and mined every bit of research that had passed between them for his corporate projects. Certainly, the man had a building full of lawyers somewhere, fully capable of tearing the contract apart, sentence by sentence. It had been naïve of Seb to assume it would go any other way, he realized, and he tightened his hands into fists, furious with himself for making such a mistake.
But the evidence was there, undeniable. Horizon Zed had profited off of Seb’s work from the very start.
“It’s not your fault,” Alexandria said, reading his mind. “You took all the precautions. Your father just doesn’t play by the rules.”
Seb snorted. “To say the least. It’s more like he gets some sick pleasure out of breaking my trust. Look at this! My research went directly into the hands of the exact people I wanted to keep it away from! His weapons manufacturers must have made a fortune by misapplying my data at this point!”
Alexandria patted Seb’s back, and her slow rhythm helped to calm him down. He took in steady breaths and fought to steady himself as the world swam and wobbled.
“Everything I’ve done is tainted,” he said with a sigh.
“That’s not true. But this does mean that it’s time for a serious change in your relationship with your father.”
The lights flickered, letting them know someone was coming up the drive. Seb puffed out his breath. He was just barely starting to process what the information meant. It was so disorienting, a part of him wanted to find Declan and cling to the older man, but just as urgently, he wanted to stay strong himself and to show Declan who he really was.
“There’s still so much to sort through,” he said to Alexandria, glancing back down at the papers they’d printed. “Will you stay the night?”
“Duh,” she said, then took a swallow from her bubbly water. “I’ll have you know I already canceled my club plans.”
Seb groaned. “I’m always keeping you from the cool parties.”
“Just like I’m always keeping you from your work,” she said with a wink. “Although I’m glad I’m not alone in that anymore.”
Ellie barked at the door as Declan stepped in. He crouched enough to pet her head for a minute in the doorway and let her nip at his fingers. “Alexandria,” he said with a nod. “Glad you’re still here.”
“How are the diners in this part of New York?” she asked.
“Good coffee,” Declan answered, rising back up to full height. “Pie wasn’t that great, though.”
Alexandria laughed warmly, and for a brief moment, Seb started to step forward, to greet Declan by embracing him. Just as quickly, though, Declan crossed the room, casting his eyes out on the yard.
Seb frowned, torn between craving his touch and feeling overwhelming gratitude that Declan was there in the first place.
Maybe, Seb considered, he was needing Declan to be too many things at once. Seb lived alone in the woods, after all. It was unreasonable of him to think one man could satisfy everything he needed out there.
Although it did explain why every inch of his skin came suddenly alive with desire the second Declan entered the room.
“We made some progress,” Alexandria said, pulling Seb from his thoughts. “Big progress, in fact.”
“Yeah,” Seb said. “You’ll never guess what we found.”
“Reed is in on it,” Declan said, crossing to peer out the windows in the other direction. His voice was raspy, like he was pissed.
“How’d you know?” Alexandria asked, then turned to Seb. “How’d he figure that out?”
Declan finally turned back to them. “Doesn’t matter. I haven’t figured out much more than that. Have you?”
Seb nodded, then stepped forward, proud to show Declan what he’d accomplished. “Horizon Zed hired Reed’s company to provide security, but someone else was paying Reed off behind the scene. Reed had copies of a bunch of corporate documents, all stolen from Horizon, and it looks like the intruders were trying to their hands on more of the Horizon Zed research. Those documents showed the existence of my laboratory, as well as the projects my father was using my research for.”
“Projects?” Declan asked.
