There isn't a missing chapter. NSFW scene was before this and is available on Patreon.

 

Tynan stroked Zach’s hair, shifting it off of his forehead. He leaned down to press a soft kiss on the sleeping man's head. He didn’t know what he enjoyed more. The soft moments when they sat together and talked about whatever was on their minds or the explosive passion when their bodies connected.

Sex with Zach might kill him. He was already addicted, and they hadn’t gone all the way yet. “What are you hiding?” He always felt that Zach knew more than he was letting on. Tynan watched as the soft hair slipped through his fingers.

He couldn’t fight the feeling that Zach would disappear at any moment. Tynan sighed. He’d seen the signs with Rain, all of them had, but no one wanted to look too closely. It was a lot to accept.

The betrayal was worse when Tynan thought about their childhood and how close they were. Despite what he said, he had at one point seriously considered dating Rain. They were in high school, and their friendship seemed like something more at times, but the feeling had passed.

By the time he reached university, he had multiple partners and wasn’t in the frame of mind to have a relationship. It was different from the desire to monopolize that he felt with Zach from the moment they met.

Sleepy blue eyes blink up at him. “Morning.” Zach’s voice was scratchy, and there was a dopey smile on his lips.

Tynan imagined that it was the same look that was on his face. “Morning.” He leaned down and captured those sweet lips in a soft kiss. Neither he nor Zach tried to deepen it.

Zach pulled back. “Don’t you have work?” He rolled onto his back and stretched. The blanket slipped down, exposing his chest. His were discolored bruises from hickeys and bite marks.

Reaching over, Tynan smoothed his hand over the exposed flesh admiring his handy work. Going to work was the last thing on his mind. He didn’t want to have to sit in his office and be careful of what he said.

They did routine monthly sweeps for listening devices. He was curious to see if they were still there when it happened. By that time, Rain would be neutralized. If the listening devices were gone, it meant there was another spy in his organization. It was upsetting, but corporate spies were a reality in any industry.

“I don’t want to.” Tynan rolled over and buried his neck in Zach’s neck. A soft giggle sounded near his ear, and it made his heart sing. He was curious about all of Zach’s life experiences. He acted older than his years and had a maturity that even Tynan lacked.

“Nonsense.” There was a swat on his back. It was light and tickled more than it hurt.

Tynan nuzzled his nose into fragrant skin, peppering small kisses on warm skin. Zach wiggled beneath him.

Even though he didn’t want to go to work, it didn’t mean he could just not show up. He put more of his weight on the squirming body beneath him. They needed to stop before they got too heated.

“What are you doing today?” A hand slapped at his side, but he didn’t feel like moving.

Sharp teeth nipped at his shoulder. “Get up.” Zach tried a few more times before giving up with a huff. “I’m organizing the information on Rain, and I have work to do for the cooperation with Cain.” Zach hesitated. “Is he okay?”

Tynan didn’t have to ask what he was talking about. He couldn’t forget the lost look on his friend's face. “Don’t know.” Tynan wished he could say something else. However, Cain was devastated by the betrayal. If Cain was a different man, Tynan might have worried about Cain betraying him.

Instead, he had to worry about his friend's mental state and if he would recover from the blow. He took a deep breath. He might suggest that Cain find someone to speak with.

“We can only support him.” Tynan rolled off. He saw the disbelief and concern in Zach’s eyes. “What else can we do?”

Zach shook his head, reaching out to hold Tynan’s hand. “I don’t know him well enough to answer that. How are you?”

Tynan couldn’t answer that question any better than the previous one. Maybe it would have affected him more if Zach wasn’t with him, but he’d been upset and disillusioned with Rain for a while now.

He could imagine the consequences and losses he would have faced if Zach hadn’t found out about his betrayal. Tynan didn’t want to imagine that future. It was hard enough to restrain his uncle as it was. If the information Rain had ended up in his hands it would be a disaster.

“Should I consider you a lucky star?” Tynan leaned over to give the black-haired imp in his bed a kiss on the cheek. Zack gave him a cheeky smile in return.

“You have to remember that when I start to give you problems?”

There was something in the way he said it which made Tynan think Zach wasn’t just joking around. “What kind of problems?”

Zach shrugged before getting out of bed. Pale skin was revealed inch by inch, and it did an excellent job of distracting him. It also made him willing to accept any problem Zach brought his way.

His hand rested on the black sheet where Zach was laying before. The warmth under his palm seemed to seep into his heart. He wouldn’t mind spending every day like this. A simple conversation when they woke up and before they started their day.

He watched as Zach disappeared into the bathroom. Scrubbing hands down his face, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face, even as his worries burrowed deeper in his heart.

Tynan wasn’t an idiot. Zach kept hinting at something. It was almost as if he wanted Tynan to figure it out, but also that he didn’t want it known.

Other than Zach’s secret, Tynan had some of his own. He wasn’t in a position to determine when Zach shared when he wasn’t ready to share his. He got out of the bed and went to the guest bedroom. He needed to get to work, and he didn’t trust himself to join Zach.

They met back in the room. Tynan was dressed while Zach was still shirtless. “Theo wants to talk to you.” Tynan wanted his friends to get along with his lover. If things continued the way they were going, Zach would be in their life for a long time.

“What does he want?” Zach ruffled a tower through his hair.

Tynan was distracted by the dip of his hip, disappearing into his shorts. A towel snapped at him. He smiled when he saw the annoyed look on Zach’s face. “A business opportunity.”

Zach raised an eyebrow, pulling a polo shirt over his head. “Too vague.” Walking over, Zach started straightening his tie.

He tipped his head back, giving Zach better access. “Background checks. Not something you usually do.”

“Why bring it up, then?” Zach smoothed a hand down his chest. Zach tapped him lightly on his stomach before stepping back.

Tynan reached out to snag a hand around his waist, pulling him in for a kiss. “Talk and get closer.”

Zach didn’t have friends. He basically confessed that he cut ties with most of the people he considered friends in Eve city. Zach summed it up as having outgrown them, but Tynan imagined that there was more to the story than that.

“Why do I have to work with him to do that?”

Tynan was going to be late if they kept dallying about like this. “Theo hides his personality. It’s only when working with him will you understand the type of man he is.”

Zach didn’t look convinced, but he nodded his head anyway.

He took out his wallet and handed the card to Zach. The other man would have been able to find the information on his own, but there was no reason to make it more complicated than it had to be.

“Let’s have breakfast.” Tynan grabbed Zach’s hand and led him out the door.

***

Tynan sat at his desk. It felt uncomfortable knowing that he was under surveillance, but he didn’t act out of the norm.

There was a knock on the door. “Enter.” He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers together. The new secretary that Morris found tottered in on too high black stilettos. She was professional and competent, but she wouldn’t last long. It was easy to tell the overly ambitious ones. They wore a little too much make-up, spoke too much, and did their best to show up in front of you as much as possible.

It was hard to find good help. The smartest persons turned into fools when they convinced themselves that an opportunity was presenting itself. That applied to both men and women. Climbing into his bed seemed more important than doing their work well.

Morris tapped on the door, stepping to the side when the woman scuttled past him. “The last one was decent.”

“If she lets one person in my office, chances are she will do it again.” No one should enter when he is not in his office. If she couldn’t follow that simple rule, then he had no reason to keep her. No matter how well she did her job.

Morris pushed off the wooden frame, closing the door behind him. “I’ll start looking again.”

Tynan nodded. “I doubt you came all the way here to talk about that.”

“I didn’t. Let’s grab lunch. We can talk about it on the way.” This was a normal routine for them. It wouldn’t raise the suspicions of the person on the other end if they knew the group's habits well.

“Let me check with Zach.” Tynan sent a quick message asking if Zach had any plans to bring him lunch. He was disappointed when the answer was no despite expecting it. He needed to find time to bring Zach out on more dates. “Let’s go.”

“He’s busy?” Morris seemed to be taking joy in his misery.

Tynan couldn’t wait until this friend of his found a partner. He would repay the teasing he was getting.

They got in the car before Morris brought up the subject that he came to discuss. “I need you to look over the crew we put together to rob your uncle.”

It took him longer than expected to get everything in place, but he couldn’t wait any longer. Tynan needed to take care of Julius before the information Rain collected ended up in his hands.

“Good. When the team is finalized, I will start making noise overseas so that my uncle is distracted.” Tynan clenched his fists. It was time he started removing his uncle's hands and legs.

“Are you prepared on your end?” Morris pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Tynan knew he was talking about more than just the robbery or confronting his uncle. This would stir up a lot of secrets within the Black burn family. Secrets his mother had died to keep hidden. “I’m ready.” He’d been ready for years, he just wasn’t in a position to act. He didn’t care if the entire family fell.

Morris nodded. “What about Zach?”

The car sat in traffic. It gave him the time to look at Morris. “What about him?” He didn’t think the bespectacled man was worried about Zach betraying him, but the question wasn’t asked lightly.

“Have you spoken to him? Prepared him for what might happen?” Morris did his best to keep his gaze outside the window.

A car honked behind them, and Tynan had no choice but to move forward. He never explicitly discussed it with Zach, but since the other party was the one who gave him the information concerning his uncle, he assumed Zach knew what was coming.

“He might be more prepared for it than me.” Tynan remembered the lazy blue eyes that watched the world with calm detachment. Zach’s life was well ordered. The more they talked was the more he realized that the younger man never factored him into his plans. That is why Zach had a problem adapting to their relationship in the beginning.

“He’s a little terrifying.” Morris brushed his hands down his pant leg.

Tynan smiled. Zach was more than a little terrifying. He couldn’t decide if it was a blessing or a curse that the younger man was disinterested in most things.

“What do you think about this morning's headline?” Morris picked up a newspaper that was on the dashboard.

Tynan snorted. He didn’t think much of it when he saw Rain’s confused face splashed across this morning's paper. He was the running topic on most talk shows. If Tynan had to comment, he would commend Theo’s efficiency. “Is Theo with Cain?”

It was Morris’ turn to snort. “He should have done this in the first place.”