“Ah, surely you’re not judging the man before you really get to know him,” Sam cut in. “Are you, Lamar?”
“Sure, on the surface, you’re complete opposites,” Yuma agreed. “That doesn’t mean you don’t have other things you might have in common.”
“Like what?” Lamar griped. “Think he’ll suddenly turn into the biggest fucking peacock ever?”
Sam snorted before giving him a hard look. “You know better than to second guess Fate.”
“You guys are right.” Lamar sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I… This is the last thing I expected,” he admitted.
Vail shrugged, then winked. “You never know when you’re going to meet that special someone.” He rose and held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go for a run. It’ll help clear your head.”
Lamar nodded. That really did sound like a good idea.
Chapter Three
Rueben wanted to growl at the loss of the little man in his arms, barely resisting the impulse to grab the dude and keep him by his side. That didn’t stop him from watching the guy’s sweet little bubble butt as he disappeared—all right, practically sprinted—out the door.
Several of the other men rushed out after him as Kontra cleared his throat, drawing Rueben’s attention. “Lamar is a rather…private fellow. That was quite a demonstration for him.”
“Oh,” Rueben mumbled. Damn, did I embarrass the guy? He’d seemed so into it. “He, uh, he is single, though, right?” He might be a player and enjoyer of men, but he didn’t poach. It was about the only rule he lived by in life. Maybe it had something to do with his cheating father, who’d fucked anything with tits. Damn, he was glad he was gay.
Draven chuckled. “Yes.”
“You don’t want to date him, though,” Ricky said.
His brother’s comment returned Rueben’s focus to why he was there in the first place. Sort of. His dick—hard as a railroad spike—really wanted to track that guy down to play. Lamar. Mentally, Rueben rolled the name around his tongue.
“Rueben,” Ricky snapped.
Pulling his head out of the gutter, at least for now, Rueben frowned at his brother, then hobbled forward and dropped into the seat Sam had vacated. Setting the crutches aside, he stretched out his legs. He looked between the men quickly, then settled his gaze on Draven. For some reason, he figured the ex-detective would probably be the straight shooter.
“Okay, fire away. What the hell is going on around here?” Rueben asked.
“We can’t tell you that,” Kontra stated.
At the same time, Ricky pointed at the two men and accused, “They’re not human.”
“Oookay.” Rueben drew the word out slowly, glancing between them.
Draven rolled his eyes, then looked at Kontra. “Ricky’s not gonna keep his mouth shut. I’ve known him for a couple years and he’s a bit of a conspiracy theory nut.”
Rueben frowned. That much was more than true. His brother loved delving into conspiracies. Growing up, he’d been a geek, formulating his own hypothesis to any number of conspiracies, from Area Fifty-One and aliens to the real uses of the KGB. It was one of the reasons he’d become a detective in the first place, so he could delve into confidential files.
Kontra grumbled. “Damn it all. I hate being backed into a corner.” He pinned a chilling gaze on Ricky. “If I prove to you the danger in allowing our existence to become public knowledge, will you keep your damn mouth shut?” he snarled.
The big biker’s tone sent a shiver down Rueben’s spine. Damn, I’m glad he’s not mad at me. Rueben couldn’t give a shit about conspiracies, and would happily keep his mouth shut. Better yet… He lifted his hand and glanced between the men. “Look. Obviously I’ve stumbled into the middle of something that doesn’t concern me, so just tell me this.” He glanced between them. “Am I and my brother safe? You don’t plan on killing us in the night, right?”
“No,” Kontra immediately stated, actually looking offended.
Rueben heaved to his feet. “Good enough for me. I’m going back to my room to shower.” And maybe jerk off.
“What? You’re just leaving me here?” Ricky squeaked, finally getting to his feet.
Shrugging, Rueben nodded. “Yup. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. You are, so that’s good enough for me.” He paused halfway to the door and looked at Draven. “You really ought to contact Ricky’s chief and let her know he’s fine. There’s a missing person’s report out on Ricky. That’s why I was contacted,” he admitted.