he grabbed and left marks on.” Tristan stuck out his arm, pulling up his sleeve. “When I started seeing him, he was a nice guy, and I fell in love with him. I don’t see that person any longer. I think that he’s gone. Maybe he’s using the product he’s selling, I don’t know, but I’m scared to death of him.” Tristan tried his best to keep from trembling. “You made it seem like I was your boyfriend at lunch today. I know you meant well, but….” Tristan stared at Harry. “What if you only made him mad?”
Harry swallowed. “The last thing I wanted to do was cause trouble for you. I was hoping if he saw that someone strong was interested in you and willing to fight for you, he’d back away and realize you were more trouble than he wanted to take on. I….” Harry’s voice faltered. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“How can you promise that?” Tristan asked, his heart pounding fiercely in his ears.
“Eddie is a coward, and what he’s doing is illegal. That makes him vulnerable, and he knows it. He may go out for lunch at a restaurant, but there are plenty of his associates, like Carlos, who make him vulnerable, and he knows that too. The police have Carlos now. They have evidence, and he isn’t going to walk. Guys like that make deals to save their own skin, and if not Carlos, then someone else will give him up.”
“But what if I don’t have that long? What if he comes after me, or….” The thought scared the hell out of him. If Eddie got his hands on him, what would he do? What would happen? Tristan had been with Eddie intimately. In bed he was just as much a control freak as he was in the rest of his life. Eddie liked to dominate; he needed it, and sometimes….
“It’s going to be okay.” Tristan hadn’t heard Harry come out from behind his desk, but now he took Tristan’s hand and sat down next to him. “I have no intention of letting Eddie get anywhere near you.” Harry glanced up at Bull.
“What are you going to do? Watch over me for the rest of my life?” Tristan said. “You have a life and a job here. Are you going to ferry me back and forth to work and watch everything I do? You can’t. I don’t want that from anyone. I just want my life back, and I want Eddie to leave me alone.” How could he have known that his search for a boyfriend would turn into a complete nightmare?
“I’ll be here for you for as long as you need me,” Harry told him earnestly.
Tristan wondered what that meant. People had made him lots of promises over the years, but he knew very few people who were in anything for the long haul. They might help for a day or two, but their interest would fade, and he’d be on his own… again. He should be used to it by now.
“You two go on,” Bull said. “The club will open soon. Spook and I can handle things tonight. Get some rest and be careful.”
“We will,” Harry said without looking away from Tristan, who wondered what was going on. “Let me put things away in here, and then we’ll go.”
Tristan didn’t look away from Harry’s warm eyes. He heard Bull leave the office, but couldn’t look away from Harry. The door clicked closed, and Tristan still sat, enraptured by Harry’s gaze. He’d watched Harry before—heck, he’d stared at him when he thought no one was looking. But he’d also seen him go home with guys from the club, bartenders.… Harry spent his time going from man to man. Tristan couldn’t be with someone like that, not even once.
“I just want to go home,” he said softly. Someplace familiar and warm where he could lick his wounds and figure out what he was going to do next. Maybe leaving town and moving somewhere else was the answer. He was only a waiter, and he could get another job somewhere else. He didn’t think Eddie would follow him that far. But that would mean leaving his friends. Zach, Jeremy, and Kevin were like his family. What would he do without them? He’d be all alone and have to start
Harry swallowed. “The last thing I wanted to do was cause trouble for you. I was hoping if he saw that someone strong was interested in you and willing to fight for you, he’d back away and realize you were more trouble than he wanted to take on. I….” Harry’s voice faltered. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“How can you promise that?” Tristan asked, his heart pounding fiercely in his ears.
“Eddie is a coward, and what he’s doing is illegal. That makes him vulnerable, and he knows it. He may go out for lunch at a restaurant, but there are plenty of his associates, like Carlos, who make him vulnerable, and he knows that too. The police have Carlos now. They have evidence, and he isn’t going to walk. Guys like that make deals to save their own skin, and if not Carlos, then someone else will give him up.”
“But what if I don’t have that long? What if he comes after me, or….” The thought scared the hell out of him. If Eddie got his hands on him, what would he do? What would happen? Tristan had been with Eddie intimately. In bed he was just as much a control freak as he was in the rest of his life. Eddie liked to dominate; he needed it, and sometimes….
“It’s going to be okay.” Tristan hadn’t heard Harry come out from behind his desk, but now he took Tristan’s hand and sat down next to him. “I have no intention of letting Eddie get anywhere near you.” Harry glanced up at Bull.
“What are you going to do? Watch over me for the rest of my life?” Tristan said. “You have a life and a job here. Are you going to ferry me back and forth to work and watch everything I do? You can’t. I don’t want that from anyone. I just want my life back, and I want Eddie to leave me alone.” How could he have known that his search for a boyfriend would turn into a complete nightmare?
“I’ll be here for you for as long as you need me,” Harry told him earnestly.
Tristan wondered what that meant. People had made him lots of promises over the years, but he knew very few people who were in anything for the long haul. They might help for a day or two, but their interest would fade, and he’d be on his own… again. He should be used to it by now.
“You two go on,” Bull said. “The club will open soon. Spook and I can handle things tonight. Get some rest and be careful.”
“We will,” Harry said without looking away from Tristan, who wondered what was going on. “Let me put things away in here, and then we’ll go.”
Tristan didn’t look away from Harry’s warm eyes. He heard Bull leave the office, but couldn’t look away from Harry. The door clicked closed, and Tristan still sat, enraptured by Harry’s gaze. He’d watched Harry before—heck, he’d stared at him when he thought no one was looking. But he’d also seen him go home with guys from the club, bartenders.… Harry spent his time going from man to man. Tristan couldn’t be with someone like that, not even once.
“I just want to go home,” he said softly. Someplace familiar and warm where he could lick his wounds and figure out what he was going to do next. Maybe leaving town and moving somewhere else was the answer. He was only a waiter, and he could get another job somewhere else. He didn’t think Eddie would follow him that far. But that would mean leaving his friends. Zach, Jeremy, and Kevin were like his family. What would he do without them? He’d be all alone and have to start
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