Mum continued to search in vain as Tim glared at me through narrowed eyes.
“And Tim, I did go have fun just like I was told to. It just wasn’t a story that was parent appropriate.”
He sat up like a meerkat, immediately interested. “Ooh, well done. What was he like?” he asked, looking like he had a hundred questions.
“They were hot as fuck.”
“They singular or they plural?”
“Plural.”
Tim blinked. Silence. Mission accomplished. And suddenly I was remembering exactly how much fun.
He blinked again.
I jolted back to the present when Tim stood and flicked me on the ear, then leaned down and kissed the back of my head.
“At least you look like shit because you have been out having fun. Beats looking like shit because of work.”
I smiled through my exhaustion before climbing to my feet and heading towards the door.
“And Rhiannon, sweetheart, threatening me with the lounge seems a bit pointless. You love what I do to you on that lounge.”
Ughhhh.
Damn it. Point, Tim.
Chapter Six
Alex pushed the keyboard away from himself and grabbed the water bottle, finishing it off.
“Did you see the emails?” Alex asked me.
“I saw the text, not the attachments. He said they were bad, but I haven’t had a chance to check.”
“I want you to have a look. Hang on.”
Alex motioned for me to move around where I could see the screen, scrolling through a couple of Ant’s emails. I had already seen the first two. Basic, non-specific threats. Then some more specific, more personal ones. The escalation was definitely concerning. One email referred to a guy named George. There was a photo attached: a young man, African descent, in his late teens. Sort of twinkish. I was pretty sure I had never seen him, but I didn’t know the rest of Giles and Owens’s businesses, so he could have been anyone. Then Alex opened the last email. It claimed the sender was owed a significant amount of money for goods stolen.
Jesus. What the hell are they involved in?
I’d always had the impression Giles and Owen were legitimate businessmen. Nightclubs, members-only clubs, and the website Ant had mentioned, like a rich man’s kinky Grindr. I was silently cursing them. If they got Ant involved in anything dangerous, there would be hell to pay.
The email mentioned an attached insurance policy. When Ant opened the attachments, there were dozens of photos of what was obviously the same man—or boy, I guess. He looked even younger in these shots, and I had to turn away from the screen. The shots all showed George clearly, but the other men were blurred. What wasn’t blurred was what they were doing to him and the pain on George’s face.
“Are any of them Giles or Owen?” I asked, still facing away from the screen.
Alex shrugged, chewing absently on his thumb. “Not sure. I can’t do much with the software I have access to at the moment. But the other photos with George are clearly them, and he doesn't look happy”
I turned back to the screen: Giles leaning over, talking into the ear of a clearly terrified George.
Ant walked back into the room just as Alex was closing the file. “So?”
Alex shrugged again. “I’ve left bait on a few message boards and forwarded them to myself so I can start tracing them back. I can’t do much more for you, Ant, especially not from a system that’s about as secure as a barbie camper. Maybe once I get back to my gear, I can find something else.”
Ant frowned but didn’t say anything else.
“Ant. Those pictures…”
“Don’t. Stop, okay. I know what you are thinking, but I know Giles and Owen, and I trust them. I believe them when they say they never had any kind of inappropriate relationship with George. They swear George was scared and looking for work. They offered him some, only he was scared of someone. They helped him disappear, but he was perfectly safe last time they had contact. They like young for their third. They also like consensual. There is no way they did what those photos are implying. No way.”
I looked at Ant for a moment longer. Happy there were no signs of deception or that he was holding anything back, I nodded.
After my less-than-stellar behaviour two weeks ago, I had called and apologized the following night, and he said we were cool, but I hadn’t come back to the club or seen Antony again until that night.
“About the other night, I really am sor…” I started.
Antony put his hand up to silence me. “I know, and we have finished with this topic. Petey said you apologised, and he is fine. Maybe if you and Nicholas had stopped eye-fucking each other every time you thought the other wasn’t looking long enough to actually have a conversation, you wouldn’t have been acting like a bear with a sore… erection that wouldn’t behave.”
Alex barked out a laugh, which he tried to turn into a cough. I raised an eyebrow at Antony, and he smirked. “Well, the pain wasn’t in your big head, was it? Now come and have at least one drink before you go.”
“Fine, one.”
It was Ant, so one drink turned into two. The second drink had just been poured when a man I didn’t recognize came up to Ant and wrapped his arms around him from behind, lifting him off the ground. I was about to step forward when I realized Ant was smiling.
“Beej! Put me down!”
The smiling man placed Ant back on the ground and spun him around. “How about a blowjob to say hello? I’ve missed you.”
Ant chuckled and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You couldn’t afford me.”
“Wanna make a bet?”
I clear my throat, and Ant apologised. “Sorry, Ky. I can’t believe you two have never met. Ky, this is BJ. BJ, Ky and his friend Alex”
Recognizing his nickname from some of Ant’s stories, I reached out to shake his hand, and he threw his arms around me, startling me. I politely gave him a quick hug before pulling back.
“Oh my God, Ant. I always thought you were exaggerating, but holy shit, he is yummy.”
I felt myself blush and turned to the bar to pick up my drink as Ant subtly shook his head and muttered “Beej” in a warning tone.
Alex chuckled beside me, and BJ only stood there looking at me, making me self-conscious. I felt like a piece of meat he was trying to decide what price tag to put on. Once I took a sip of my drink, I looked back at BJ.
“So, Ky, I’m setting up a business in Sydney.”
“What? I thought you were just here for a visit,” Ant interrupted.
“Yep. I decided to make the move, and Angel came with me.” Then to me, he said, “So my question is, would you be interested in talking to me about a business opportunity that could make you a lot of money?”
“Ahh, Beej, I don’t think Ky is the right fit for your business.”
Beej smiled warmly at me. “I disagree. I think he would fit perfectly.”
Ant tried again. “Um, Beej. Ky is a cop now.”
BJ’s eyes darted straight to Ant’s with a moment of panic, which he quickly covered.
“Well, that’s lovely. I’m glad you and Ant have kept in contact. He always spoke very fondly of you.”
I wondered briefly what the job offer was but knew dropping it was wiser.