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more in front of Zeke and Brendon. Sev turned his back on the men again.

Laineā€™s laughter brought Sevā€™s shaft to attention. ā€œThat should be, uhm, entertaining, to say the least, but tell him Iā€™ll bring them even if I have to cuff ā€˜em and drag ā€˜em in.ā€

ā€œEntertaining?ā€ Sev felt his forehead scrunch as he thought about what Laine meant. ā€œDo they not get along or something?ā€

ā€œOr something.ā€ Laine laughed again and murmured something to Rich. ā€œWeā€™ll be there after we finish at my place and get Rich a room. You be careful, all right?ā€

The way Laineā€™s voice had went warm and low there at the end had Sev feeling like heā€™d drunk a bottle of champagne. Light and bubbly, and a little woozy as well.

ā€œI will. You, too.ā€ Sev disconnected the call and peered over his shoulder at Zeke and Brendon. He wasnā€™t going to turn around until his erection was under control. As hard as he was, that could take a while.

ā€œHere.ā€ Sev tossed the phone to Brendon and, in what he considered a very mature manner, ignored the laughter from the two men. ā€œI think Iā€™ll just go lay down for a while.ā€

Their laughter echoed down the hall as Sev headed to the guest room, tempting him to laugh at himself, too. Then he thought of Laine, and the police officer who had stalked him, obsessed about him for years, and Sev discovered that he didnā€™t need to go wait for his hard-on to abate. It withered immediately as fear chased off his good mood.

* * * *

Once Rich had stowed his bags in the hotel room, Laine led the way to Zeke and Brendonā€™s, Rich behind him in his sporty little carā€”Laine had warned him that car might get beat to pieces, but Rich insisted on driving himselfā€”and Matt pulling up the rear in his truck behind them both. He wasnā€™t surprised that they hadnā€™t found anything new today, other than what they thought was McAlisterā€™s escape route. It could have been a deer trail. Tracking wasnā€™t one of Laineā€™s talents, and Rich and Matt didnā€™t fare any better at it, either. McAlister had either covered his tracks with a skill Laine lacked, or heā€™d taken a different path away from the house.

A conversation heā€™d had with Rich after Matt had left the office kept niggling at Laineā€™s brain. It was a little thing, and didnā€™t have anything to do with McAlister, but it puzzled Laine nonetheless. Heā€™d wondered about something Rich had said and had finally worked up the nerve to ask him about it. Laine let the conversation replay in his mind, trying to nail just what was bothering him.

ā€œHowā€™d you know?ā€

Rich had looked up at Laineā€™s question, seeming puzzled since it came out of nowhere.

ā€œHowā€™d I knowā€¦what?ā€

ā€œYou said you knew about me and Conner before he was murdered.ā€ Laine had watched Richā€™s cheeks darken, his gaze turning from Laine to stare off in the direction of a clump of scrub. Rich had tucked his hands into the pockets of his slacks and studied the ground, toeing a rock like a nervous kid before finally answering.

ā€œI just did. I saw yā€™all out once, at a basketball game.ā€ Rich had shook his head. ā€œThere wasnā€™t anything obvious, really, I just knew. And when Connerā€¦ Jesus, Laine, Iā€™d have had to be blind to miss the pain in your eyes. I never heard a whisper of a rumor before then, but I knew.ā€ Rich had turned, and Laine had wished he could read the man as well as Rich had read him. ā€œI wish you had told me. You could have, you know.ā€

The conversation had seemed almost surreal, and it bothered Laine that he felt like he was missing something there. He thought about Richā€™s expression, the look in his eyes and felt a flicker of guilt. Rich was trying to tell him something, and Laine wasnā€™t sure he wanted to hear it.

Or maybe he was letting his imagination run away with him. Laine mulled over it until he pulled into the bumpy drive leading to Zekeā€™s place. As soon as he saw Sev standing on the porch, sandwiched between the two bigger men, everything else faded into the background. Heā€™d worried that heā€™d feel awkward with Rich and Matt being around his lover for the first time, worried that he might not be able to keep from reverting to the stoic, private man he had been.

Yet as soon as Laine saw Sev, he knew Sev was the most important thing in his life, and he wouldnā€™t be able to pretend otherwise, ever. The smile on his loverā€™s face was enough to do that, and the sweet look in his big, beautiful eyes had Laineā€™s heart filling to overflowing. Laine got out of his truck and hadnā€™t taken two steps before he had one sexy, hard man leaping at him, arms wrapped around his neck and lips pressed to Laineā€™s. Nothing had ever felt so perfect before, and Laine knew heā€™d fight with everything in him to keep this feeling and this man for the rest of his days.

* * * *

ā€œThat wasā€¦an experience.ā€ Sev stood on the porch with Laine, Zeke and Brendon having gone back inside after Rich and Matt had left. Saying dinner was an experience was being polite. Rich and Matt had bickered and sniped at each other throughout their meal. Once, Sev had thought they would come to blows when Rich had made a comment about Matt tampering with reports, but Laine had calmly and authoritatively shut both men down. Sev had been sporting a decent hard-on ever since.

Laineā€™s gaze seemed to be riveted to the tail lights of the departing vehicles. ā€œYup. Those two remind me of a couple of tomcats thrown together in a pillowcase. Guess they just rub each other the wrong way.ā€ Laine paused, one big hand massaging the small of Sevā€™s back. ā€œIā€™ll admit, I was worried about how theyā€™d handle seeing you,

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