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“But I didn’t do anything,” Tristan said. “I found out what Eddie was doing and got away from him.”

“Bull isn’t blaming you,” Harry said, and then he turned to Bull. “Are you?” He added a little more force to his voice than usual.

“No.” Bull stepped back as a pounding sounded on the back door. “Go on and let them in. I’ll explain what we know. Could you pull the security tapes for Carlos’s earlier business dealings? They’ll need them.”

“Okay. I’ll also make sure that there’s nothing we don’t want them to see.” Harry was an expert on giving the police what they needed and no more. He didn’t want them to see Bull beating the crap out of Carlos’s men. Protecting their turf at the club came with the business.
They didn’t need to get in trouble for it. “Come with me if you want,” Harry offered, and Tristan nodded. Harry went to the office and got the security tapes. He checked them over, making sure they ended at just the right moment. Then he removed the disk from the burner and asked Tristan to stay there. He ran the disk down to Bull. The police were asking questions. Harry let Bull deal with them and returned to the
office.

“Do you want to tell me why Eddie wants you so badly?” Harry said as he sat down and motioned for Tristan to do the same.

“I wish I knew. I don’t know anything about his business. I never really did. I didn’t know what he was doing for a long time, and then I got the hell out as soon as I found out. Then his rivals bugged my apartment to try to get to him through me. I still don’t really know why. But anything to do with Eddie smells of shit.” Tristan trembled slightly. “I really thought he would just go away. There are lots of people after him, and I’d hoped he’d leave town and leave me alone after he got off the hook. It’s been months since I heard from him, and now suddenly he’s back and sending people in here to get me? This makes no sense. I was just some guy who thought he’d found someone, but it turned out the guy was a slithering drug dealer!” Tristan jumped to his feet and began pacing the floor. “I told the police everything I know months ago. They had evidence, and they were supposed to keep his ass off the street, and now the fucker’s back and after me.” Tristan’s stride faltered. “Fuck, he knows I’m the one who helped the cops. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why in the hell am I so freaking stupid? I should have kept my mouth shut and said nothing to nobody.”

“You know that wouldn’t have done anything,” Harry soothed. He wasn’t a fan of the police any more than Tristan was. They tended to come down pretty heavy-handedly on businesses like his and Bull’s, especially in a conservative area like this. “The police underestimated Eddie’s reach, and they got burned as well, you know that.”

The office door opened, and Zach, Jeremy, and Kevin filed in, then closed the door after them. Then all three of them swarmed around Tristan, encasing him in protective friendship.

“The police took all three of them away, and Bull said you needed us,” Zach explained.

“I’ll be all right, guys,” Tristan protested. “But I think it’s time we go home.”

Jeremy hugged Tristan tight. The two of them had been roommates until Jeremy had moved out and in with Spook, so Tristan and Kevin were now sharing an apartment.

“Bull said it might be good if you and Kevin stay someplace else. We need to find a place for you where no one would think to look,” Jeremy said to Tristan. Then he turned to Kevin and said, “Kevin, you can stay with Spook and me. We have the sofa, and it’s comfortable enough.”

“Is that really necessary?” Kevin asked, looking around at the group.

“I think so,” Jeremy said. “Eddie probably knows where you live. Remember how those guys found our place? If he doesn’t already know where you live, he’ll figure it out really soon. What if he decides to pay you a visit and it’s just you and Tristan?”

Harry watched the exchange with interest. These guys all knew each other so well. If something happened to one of them, the others closed rank faster than a sprung bear trap.

“No. It’s better if you spend some time away. Spook will protect you.” Jeremy turned to look at Zach expectantly.

Zach said. “Bull’s mother is coming to visit tomorrow morning.” He scratched his head. “But I suppose Tristan could come and stay anyway.”

“Tristan can come home with me if he likes,” Harry volunteered before he could really think about it. “I have room, and I can’t imagine anyone would expect to find him there.”

“Thanks, but I think Tristan would be safer with Bull and me,” Zach said.

“Where are you going to put me—in that room in the basement? I don’t think so,” Tristan said. Zach had the decency to look sheepish, and Harry knew Tristan had hit the nail on the head. “Don’t worry about me—I’ll figure out a place to go if I can’t go home.” Tristan sank into the chair. “This really fucking sucks. I really know how to pick them, don’t I?”

“It isn’t your fault. You didn’t know what kind of person Eddie was,” Zach said, comforting him. “I’m sorry you have to go through all this.” Tristan didn’t look comforted, and Zach turned to Harry. “I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk.”

“You care about your friend,” Harry said. “But my offer stands. I have an extra room, and as Tristan can attest, I know how to take care of myself. Bull taught me a number of things over the years.”

“Can I sleep in a real bed?” Tristan asked and smiled.

Harry wanted to say that Tristan could stay in his bed, but that wasn’t his style and was way too forward. Tristan had had a rough night. He didn’t need Harry horndogging all over him.

“Yes,” he said simply. He checked the clock on his computer. It was approaching one in the morning. The club would be closing soon, and then they could get everyone home.

Bull joined them in the office.

“Tristan is going home with Harry, and Kevin is going with Jeremy and Spook,” Zach informed him.

“Good. We can arrange to get things from the apartment in the morning. Don’t try to go back there tonight. It’ll be safer during the day.” Bull turned to Tristan. “It could be that we’re overcautious, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Carlos is one nasty piece of work.” Bull turned to open the door. “I better get out there.” He left the office, and the others did as well, with Tristan bringing up the rear. Harry did another quick check around, figuring he might as well help get the club closed for the evening so everyone could leave as soon as possible.

When he returned to the dance floor, the crowd had visibly thinned. It was still a weeknight, and those who needed to work tended to leave early. The crowd at the bar had thinned out as well, and Harry spent some time helping the bartenders restock.

“You don’t have to do this,” Rodney said as Harry pitched in.

Harry lifted his gaze out of the bar cooler and saw Rodney staring earnestly at him.

“Are you being nice, or is there something you wanted?” Rodney gave him a little smile and clenched his chest to show it off.

“It’s been a busy evening, and I thought I would help so everyone could go as soon as we close,” Harry answered lightly. He should be flattered by Rodney’s advance. Rodney was a hot guy whose attention guys vied for all night long, and he was a dynamo in bed, that was for damn sure. It was hard as hell for Harry to turn away, but he forced himself to.

“Are you sure that’s all?”

“Hey, Rodney,” one of the patrons said as he leaned over the bar. “We were going to get something to eat after closing and were wondering if you’d like to join us?” Another man joined the first. Harry returned his attention to the task at hand and let Rodney have some privacy to set up his entertainment for the rest of the night.

He finished up and retreated from the bar. He figured it was best not to make a big deal about Rodney and let things simmer down on their own. It wasn’t as though they’d had a relationship. They’d been together once, and that was all. Harry wanted to leave it there.

“Last call,” Rodney shouted through the club, and the lights came up. That was the signal that people were to get their final drinks and the bar was about to close. A few diehards hurried to the bar while everyone else began making for the exit. By two, the club was mostly empty. The bar was serving coffee to anyone who needed it, and Harry poured himself a mug. He certainly needed it, as did most of the other employees.

The staff went through the closing routine. Harry collected all the cash from the registers and got it locked in the safe. The waiters sat at the bar, counting their tips and filling out their tax sheets while others washed tables and chairs before turning them up onto the tables. Finally, it was time to close, and Harry saw everyone out before he, Bull, and the fab four left for the night.

Bull watched the entire area around them and seemed coiled as tight as a spring. Harry watched as well, but he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. In the parking lot beside the club, Harry unlocked his BMW and opened the passenger door for Tristan.

“Call us in the morning,” Zach called as the rest of the group headed for their vehicles.

“I will,” Tristan said.

Harry heard the nervous break in his voice. “It’s going to be okay, Tristan.” Harry hurried around to the driver’s side and slid into his seat. He closed the door and started the powerful engine. “Everything will be fine. In the morning we’ll go over to your apartment with Bull and Spook so they can check things out and make sure no one has been there.” Harry pulled out of the parking lot and began the familiar late-night drive home. He had been making this drive for years, so he did it on autopilot.

“Okay,” Tristan said. Harry glanced over at him. Tristan looked as though he was trying to curl into a ball as close to the door as possible. Shit, that wasn’t good. Tristan really didn’t know him that well. The idea that Tristan might be afraid of him shot through his mind. He’d been watching and crushing on Tristan for months, but it was likely that Tristan hadn’t even noticed him. To him, Harry was just Bull’s business partner, the guy who worked with Bull.

“You can use the guest room at the house,” Harry said and tried to remember if the bed was made up. He came to the conclusion that it was and breathed a sigh of relief. They crossed the bridge to the west shore without much conversation, Tristan still looking incredibly tense. Harry wanted to help him, but he wasn’t sure what to do. If he was part of the reason Tristan was nervous, then he didn’t want to make things worse. “I have plenty of room, and I’ll engage the alarm system, so if anything happens, we’ll know it.”

“Thanks,” Tristan muttered. “You didn’t have to do this. I mean, you hardly know me, really.”

Harry swallowed the scoff that threatened its way upward. That was just it—he did know Tristan. He knew he had this way of turning his nose up just slightly when he didn’t like something, and he knew Tristan’s smile—not the fake one when he was being polite, but the real one that seemed to go all the way to his ears when he was truly happy. Harry also knew the way Tristan’s foot shook, just like it was now, when he was upset and nervous. He’d been watching him for a long time, way too long. Harry forced his attention off Tristan and onto the road. He had to get them to the house in one piece, and he was really starting to feel like a weird stalker. It wasn’t that he meant any harm to Tristan; he’d never do that. It was simply that he couldn’t take his eyes off Tristan, no matter what. There was something about him, and Harry wished to hell he knew what it was so he could exorcise it or something, because it was very plain that Tristan wasn’t interested in him.

“I know you need a little help, so don’t worry about it.” Harry pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned into the driveway of his well-lit house. He hated coming home to a dark, empty house. He couldn’t do anything about the empty part right now, but the dark part he had fixed a while ago. He had installed floodlights that lit the front of the two-story Tudor-style stone house.

“Wow, you have a nice house,” Tristan said as he sat up. He seemed to unwind a little.

“What were you expecting?”

Tristan shrugged as Harry pulled the car to a stop. “I guess something like what Bull and Zach live in. This is, like, a mansion or something.” Tristan got out of the car and walked around to the front of the house. “You live here all alone?”

Harry closed the car door behind him and followed Tristan as he walked across the yard. “When I bought the house, it didn’t look anything like this. The yard was a wreck, and the house needed a lot of work. The yard stuff I did myself, and the rest I had done over time. The house was solid enough. It just hadn’t been taken care of.”

“But it’s so big for just one person,” Tristan whispered.

“I bought it when I was dating a man named Reed. He and I had been seeing each other for almost two years, and I thought….” Harry cleared his throat. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. I bought it because I didn’t figure that I would be living here alone. We’d talked about living together and having children, even….”

“So you bought a house to start a family in but lost the family?” Tristan asked.

Harry nodded. “I love the house and didn’t have the heart or the money to just sell it again, so I decided to stay and fix it up for me.” It had been a hard decision, but Harry had concluded that he was worth it. “I had the kitchen and bathrooms redone, painted everything, and took down wallpaper until my arms ached. I dug, weeded, and chainsawed my way through the yard and then planted everything a few years ago. The bushes and shrubs are just coming into their own now.” He was proud of his home and what he’d done. “I guess it was my way of… I don’t know… not giving up hope.” At first he’d hoped Reed would come back to him. Now he was hopeful that he’d eventually find someone to share his home with. But that was no longer a requirement. It was his home now, his place of safety and warmth. “Let’s get you inside.”