“He doesn’t need the job done now. James and other celebrities have time to grow before they are necessary. Plus, after everything he is doing to groom you and get you into the right position, this isn’t the only job that you will be required to do.

“That…those things wouldn’t be difficult to achieve. I already passed his test.” Rain banged his fists on the floor.

Zach raised an eyebrow at Theo. This was far too easy, and it probably had something to do with what Theo was doing to him before Zach came here. He received a smile in response. Zach shivered. It was easier to get along with people who were similar to you, but because you understood them well, it was hard to be near them.

Theo lifted a hand to his mouth and tilted his head back in a drinking motion. If Zach didn’t dislike Rain as much, he might have felt sorry for the predicament the actor found himself in. It would have been better if he landed in anyone else's hands. Theo, who cared about Cain, would never be lenient. 

Those thoughts only crossed his mind for a moment. Zach cared about Tynan. He was willing to be as cruel as Theo, if not worse. “How did you think this would work out? Cain might have been willing to overlook it, but do you think Tynan would be satisfied with you sleeping with other men? He would have abandoned you faster than he did this time.” 

“No. No. I only did that once. He promised that he wouldn’t ask me to do that again.”  Rain clawed at the floor. His nails chipped and broke, but he didn’t seem to notice.

Zach had to wonder what Theo was feeding him. He didn’t have anyone to torture at the moment, but it seemed useful to have around. 

“You were paid for your services. When you are paid in full, you don’t have the luxury of turning down the requests from your employer. Is Brad Maxwell the type of person whose words you want to take at face value?”

“We were meant to be. We would have been happy.” Rain’s voice broke, and he repeated his words. His head swayed from side to side. His expressions were colorful. He muttered Tynan’s name and cursed at Zach.

They were losing him, but that wasn't unusual. His mental state was precarious. Pain would have to be applied to focus him. Zach wasn’t interested in being a part of that process. He would write a list of questions for Theo to ask. 

He’d gotten most of what he wanted. It could be misinformation on Brad’s end, but it was a place to start looking. Zach didn’t know much about B Country. He didn’t go there often in either of his lifetimes. 

Theo pushed off of the door. He sauntered over to Rain, raising his foot, he stomped down on his hand. “I will take things from here.” 

Zach nodded. He stood and stretched. “Can you get back to the house without the cart, or should I wait for you?”  

“Wait for me. I don’t plan to do anything now. He gets too riled up when you are involved.” Theo used his foot to push Rain over until he was on his back.

Zach turned away. He picked up his pace as he walked along the corridor. It was a relief when he stepped out of the cabin. He reached into his pocket, but his fingers came up empty. He quit smoking. This body had never picked up the habit of smoking a pack a day, but he still craved it.

He didn’t have to wait ten minutes before Theo joined him. Zach ignored the bloodstains on his shoe. They instructed Theo to be gentle since Brad might want Rain back, but now that Brad made it clear he had no further use for Rain, Theo’s restraint disappeared. 

“How much time do you need to get everything out of him?” They piled back into the cart. Zach slumped in his seat and closed his eyes. 

“I’m certain that the information I got during the last week is most of it, but I will use other means to double-check it before I pass it on to you.” 

The ride back to the house appeared shorter than the ride going to the cabin. This time, Cain was there to meet them. He was smiling at them, but the look in his eyes made it clear that it was fake. He looked tired. Zach worried about what would happen when he cracked. Tynan also had some misplaced guilt about this situation. It would be exacerbated if Cain's mental state deteriorated more. 

Zach threw a concerned glance at Theo.

“I’ll be with him.”

Zach didn’t bother pointing out the potential problem that might create. 

“It’s only been a week, but it feels like a lifetime. How are you, Zach?” Cain fell in step with Theo as they entered the house. 

Since Cain was going to ignore where they’d been and what they were doing, he was more than happy to play along. “Nothing’s changed. You?”

“I integrated your code into my game and also briefed my team on your idea of having the player be able to completely customize their characters.”

The conversation slipped into talk about game development and the release dates they were aiming for. Theo volunteered some of the actors from his company to voice the character for cut scenes and event scenes in the game. 

The conversation stayed light until Cain had to leave for another meeting. It seemed that he was running away because Ron said that he would be coming over.

“He’s in denial.” 

“That’s expected. It’s only been two weeks. What I am worried about is when he starts bargaining. I don’t know what he will ask for and how he will react when I tell him no.” 

Zach didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t know the man well enough, but it seemed like Cain had been in denial a lot longer than that. “Is that why you are trying to get rid of Rain quickly?”

Zach pretended not to see the smile on Theo’s face. It was time for him to practice some denial of his own. He would monitor the situation and see how he could help for Tynan’s sake. 

“I have a question. Why do you wear orthopedic shoes?” Theo didn’t hide his look of disgust as he stared at Zach’s feet. 

Was he being exposed for being an old man? Zach ignored Tynan’s questioning looks when he opened the closet and saw his comfy sandals next to Tynan’s dress shoes. There would be a trend to wear shoes that were good for your feet. It would lead to more stylish shoes.

“They're comfortable.” He hated close-toed shoes with a passion and would never wear another one if he could avoid it. He only made exceptions for sneakers and formal events. When his standing in Lor City was better and he didn’t have to care about the impression he gave people, he would wear sneakers or sandals to formal events.

Theo seemed to read his mind. “You can’t be serious.”

Zach gave him a full smile that showed all his teeth. It was a smile designed to make the person seeing it uncomfortable. 

“Poor Tynan.” Theo’s words and expressions didn’t match. He was almost in tears from laughing. 

“What the joke?” Ron came into the room. He was wearing gym clothes and his knuckles were bandaged. When Theo filled him in, his eyes stayed glued on Zach’s feet for a long time. He gave a sad headshake. “No one’s perfect. Poor Tynan.”

Ron was that guy in school who was really popular, but you couldn't help hating them. Zach had the urge to throw something heavy at his head. “Jokes on you. Tynan doesn’t care what I wear as long as he can take it off easily.” Zach felt a level of satisfaction when their laughter died, and twin looks of constipation distorted their face. 

“Why did you come here?” Theo asked. It was time to change the subject. Tynan had already told them that Zach was a handful, and he didn’t have any moderation when it came to certain topics. 

“I’m meeting Liam, and I don’t want him to know where I live.” 

Zach was curious to know more about Liam. Ron acted like he was heading to the guillotine. Zach never managed to break into the upper echelon of Lor City society and didn’t often rub shoulders with politicians and important figures in the military. He knew of Liam but never met him.

“Give in.” Theo wasn’t understanding of Ron’s plight. Ron already slept with Liam. They had an on-again, off-again relationship that stemmed mostly from Ron’s unwillingness to be constrained. Zach wouldn’t know any of this. So Theo did the helpful thing and filled him in. Ignoring the loud protest coming from Ron.

Zach kept his features neutral and laughed at the point where he should. At any other time, this would have been hilarious. There were few things he liked more than taking joy in other people's misery. It was all good fun. 

Ron would die in a terrorist attack. The knowledge ate away at him. If he was going to warn Tynan, he would have to confess how he came to have that knowledge. The coward in him wanted to wait and see what happened because he’d already changed many things. The future might be different. Even if the bombing happened, Ron might not be there. 

Then there was the flip side. What if he kept quiet and something did happen, how would he face Tynan?  

It also didn’t account for the fact that Ron’s parents would die. Ron’s father was a politician. The whole family was at a summit on the war against terrorism when the hotel they were in was bombed. He could call the authorities and warn them of the bombing, but chances are he would be disregarded as playing a prank. In a year or two, all calls reporting a bomb threat were taken seriously, but that wasn’t the case yet.

Thankfully, Liam arrived and distracted Zach. No one noticed there was something wrong with his reaction. 

“Ron, it’s good to see you.” Liam looked similar to Cain, but his face was more angular, and his body was more muscular. His presence was also more commanding. He didn’t have the emotional frail quality that Zaach had come to associate with Cain.

“Liam.” Ron kept things curt. He kept to the other side of the room.

Liam appeared amused rather than offended. Zach assumed it was a weird form of foreplay and resolved not to get involved.

Liam’s eyes narrowed on the bandages on Ron’s hands. His gaze intensified, but he didn’t say anything. “What can I help with?”

Zach found it strange that he didn’t ask about his brother. Cain also didn’t make an appearance to greet him. “We ran into a bit of an issue with Rain and his involvement with Brad Maxwell.”

After he spoke, Zach had Liam’s full attention directed at him. Coffee brown eyes stared at him and seemed to want to see through him. That gaze dissected him, and he had the feeling he was found lacking. 

“You must be Zach.” 

“Yep. That’s me.” Zach wiggled his toes in his orthopedic sandals and wondered what kind of impression he was giving off. 

Liam came closer, and his actions became more threatening. “I have heard a lot about you.” It didn’t sound as if he liked what he was hearing. “As the big brother of the group, I’m a bit overprotective. You can understand why I was shocked when I started to investigate you. It’s funny how you don’t seem to exist. Even your birth certificate is fake.”

Zach’s mood got worse as he listened to Liam, but it was his last words that shocked Zach. “Wait, what?”