Page 69 of Rock Bottom

I knew the answer before Boone even spoke. I’d known it before walking into the room, and I couldn’t blame him for pulling me from the job. I’d fucked up and it could’ve cost Dante his life. I deserved to be reprimanded. He should’ve fired me.

Boone drummed his fingers on the table, looking straight at me. “If those jackasses in LA had their way, you’d never have any contact with Church again. However, I told them you’d already formed a bond. You trusted him. When your support system is so fragile, I think it’d be wrong to remove one of the few faces you trust. However, Church will no longer be the lead on your file. I’ll be taking over effective immediately.”

I closed my eyes and lowered my head. “Yes, sir.”

“What about Oscar?” Leo asked. “He’s still a threat, and he’s still out there. Maybe he can’t get to Dante while he’s in the bunker, but once he’s out…”

“Once he’s out of our care, he’s not our problem.” Wattson looked over at Dante. “No offense.”

Dante shrugged. “None taken.”

“Have we ever left a job half done, boys?” Boone asked with a cocky smirk. “Leo, call your boyfriend and get him to take the case.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Leo said firmly, but nobody listened. We all knew that was bullshit, anyway.

“If this kid leaves a digital fart in the cloud, I want to know about it. I want to know about his great-great-grandfather’s farts. You get the metaphor. By the end of the week, I want to know everything there is to know about Dante’s number one fan. Then we track him down, bring him in…”

“You can’t hurt him,” Dante said, rising to his feet. “I know he stalked me and tried to kidnap me, but he’s just a person. It’s not like he’s got a collection of severed heads in his basement.”

“You don’t know that,” Bowie said, deadpan. “This guy could be digging up bodies to build a flesh doll of you to put in his basement shrine and you wouldn’t know.”

“Relax,” Boone said. “We’re not murderers. Which is why you’re under strict orders to make sure none of the other Laskins get word of this, Leo. Oscar just needs to go away for a long time to get the help he needs.”

Dante looked at me with a frown. “If this is what you think is best…”

I rubbed my hand over my face. My gut said this was a bad idea, but I couldn’t trust my gut when it came to Dante. My feelings were getting too mixed up to be reliable. I had to stick to reason, and Boone’s reasoning made sense. I’d never been through what Dante was enduring, but Boone and Wattson had. They’d know better than anyone how to get him what he needed, and what environment he’d be safest in, even from himself.

“I trust Boone with my life,” I said. “You can trust him with yours.”

Dante sighed. “All right, then. Let’s do it.”

“Good.” Boone stood, pushing his chair back. “Then all that’s left is for you to go pack your bags, and I’ll get you checked into the bunker before nightfall tonight.”

The drive back was full of awkward silence. Dante was angry, or maybe scared. I couldn’t tell which because he wouldn’t talk to me. He sat in the front seat with his arms crossed, staring out the window. He hadn’t said a word to me since Boone handed down the order for us to go pack and vacate the cabin, and I couldn’t figure out what I’d done wrong.

Maybe he doesn’t want to stay in the bunker. He hadn’t seemed all that keen on the cabin at first either, but the bunker meant he’d be even more trapped than before. At least the cabin still gave him the illusion of freedom. It must’ve felt like we were forcing him into a prison.

“The bunker’s not that bad,” I said, hoping to soothe him. He glanced over at me. “It’s got Netflix and Wi-Fi. Of course, you probably won’t be allowed on that…But you’ll hardly notice that you’re underground. You’ll have all of us at your beck and call, like room service. Think of it as a five-star hotel. Just one without any windows.”

“I don’t want everyone else at my beck and call, Christian.”

I liked the way he said my name entirely too much, especially considering we’d only known each other for a few weeks. Was I mad for being so attached to him after so little time? Maybe. I should’ve been taken off the case entirely. If Boone knew what was really going on, that was exactly what he’d do. My judgment was compromised when it came to Dante. I could no longer be objective, and a good bodyguard would be.

I stared at the mud caked bumper of Bowie’s ugly Ford Ranger. The bright red dirt bike strapped down in the bed was the only thing clean on the whole truck.

I should break things off with him before I get even more attached. The thought made my chest ache, and I reached up to rub it. I didn’t want this to end, but what choice did we have? We’d have two weeks at best before he had to go back to his life, and even then, it was unlikely we’d ever be alone again. Boone would keep two of us on shift at all times while he was in the bunker, and there were cameras everywhere.

“We should stop this,” I said, and winced at my own words.

“Stop what?”

“Me. You. Us. This.” I gestured between us. “Whatever this is.”

We went over a rough patch of road, jostling us in our seats.

“I don’t want it to end,” Dante said. “Do you?”

I sighed. “No, but…Let’s be honest. There’s no way this ends well. If Boone finds out, I lose my job, and if your label finds out, they’ll make sure I never see you again. Even if neither of those things was true, you’re a famous rockstar from L.A. and I’m a nobody who lives in Ohio.”

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