Page 10 of Salacious

“Wait,” Zane shouted into the phone, “what did you mean by you’ll fill him in when he gets home?” Shit, Ross really didn’t mean to spill the beans about him and Leo being together. It wasn’t public knowledge yet. He promised to give Leo two months to come out and here he was, outing him to their best friend.

“I don’t suspect you’d be willing to forget that I said anything,” Ross asked, hoping like hell that Zane would agree.

“Nope,” Zane said, “I’ve been waiting for you two to admit that you had feelings for each other for years now. Hell, you two have been dancing around each other since we were teenagers. When you both were in the same room together, I could feel the tension, and it was damn uncomfortable.”

“It was not,” Ross shouted. “Listen, I’ve been out for some time now, but Leo hasn’t come out yet, and I’ve promised to give him two months to figure out how he wants to do it.”

“You think he’ll do it?” Zane asked.

“God, I hope so, because I’ve wanted him for years now. Can we just keep this conversation between the two of us? I don’t want to spook Leo when we’re just starting to figure things out,” Ross said.

“Sure, but for the record, I’m good with both of you being gay,” Zane admitted. “It won’t change the way that I feel about either of you.” Ross had a suspicion that was because Zane liked guys too, even though he was always out with women, but he’d wait for Zane to admit that truth to him.

“Thanks, man,” Ross breathed.

“No problem, but I was wondering if you could do me one favor?” Zane asked.

“Name it,” Ross agreed.

“Can you give me your sister’s number? I’d like to ask her out,” Zane said. Ross didn’t hold back his growl of displeasure at the thought of Zane dating his little sister.

“Dakota is off limits,” Ross shouted. “We made that rule when we were just kids, remember?”

“So, does that mean you won’t give me her number?” Zane asked. Ross knew that he was probably joking, but he wouldn’t put it past his friend to ask Dakota out and not give a fuck about Ross’s rules.

“Go fuck yourself, Zane,” Ross grumbled. His friend laughed into the other end of the phone, and he wanted to punch the guy. If Zane was trying to upset Ross, it was working.

“I won’t take that personally,” Zane insisted. “I’ll be in touch soon.” He ended the call before Ross could remind Zane to keep his hands off Dakota and a part of him worried that he already had his sister’s number. He made a mental note to talk to Dakota and warn her to stay away from Zane, not that she listened to him, but he had to try. For now, he was going to concentrate on finding Tony and his future with Leo, because that was all that mattered.

Leo

It had been just over two weeks since his father had disappeared and no one in the office seemed to know anything about it. He questioned the security team, and no one could tell him who was with his father the night he went missing. Ross was right—it wasn’t like his father to go anywhere without an army of guards, so why was that night different?

A part of him felt bad about the fact that his father was taken while looking for him. If he had just reported in after his meeting with Ross, none of this would have happened. He wouldn’t be worried sick about his dad, and his mother wouldn’t show up at the office hysterical about not being able to find him. But most of all, if his father hadn’t been abducted, Leo wouldn’t have had to prematurely take over the business. He hated it almost as much as Ross did, but he had no choice. Like Ross, Leo needed to keep the family business going for his mother’s sake, and the employees who were counting on him for a paycheck.

Leo had been moving his things over to Ross’s place slowly, testing the waters to make sure that they were both ready for such a big step. He knew that moving into Ross’s place might be a bit premature, but it was a good way to keep their new relationship a secret from the rest of the world. Sure, his mom knew but he wasn’t ready to come out to the rest of the world, and especially his father if and when they found him.

It felt good to come home to Ross waiting for him in the kitchen. His guy did most of the cooking and Leo loved the way he seemed to like to spoil him. When they were back at Ross’s, they could be themselves with no prying eyes on them. Even at the club, they had to use private rooms or risk someone who knew them walking in to find them playing. The thought of Leo’s father in the Kink Club made him sick to his stomach, but he knew that his dad wasn’t the most faithful husband. It wouldn’t surprise him at all if buying the club had been his idea since his parents’ relationship was strained at best.

His mother knew that his father fooled around on her, but Leo wasn’t about to sit down and discuss all the dirty details with her. He hated that his father was capable of doing something like that to his mother, but he was. His father was a powerful man—he craved it and when it came to his family, he expected them all to fall in line when he commanded them to.

Leo was just about finished unpacking his last suitcase when his cellphone rang. He rushed over to the nightstand, where it was charging, and answered it before the call went to voicemail. “Hello,” he said, sounding a bit out of breath.

“Hello, Leo,” a man’s voice answered.

“Who is this,” Leo asked.

“That’s not important,” the man insisted, “what you need to know his this.” He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like what the man had to say next, but if it had anything to do with his missing father, he’d hear him out.

“Go on,” he spat, feeling impatient. The guy chuckled into the other end of the phone and Leo wished that he could reach through the phone and strangle him.

“I’m getting to it,” the guy assured. “I have your father.”

“And you want money for his return, right?” Leo asked.

The guy made a tisking noise into the other end of the call. “So impatient,” he taunted. “And no,” he said, “we don’t want your money. We want you to come to your father’s office, alone,” he insisted.

“And if I refuse?” Leo asked, sure that he already knew the answer to his question.

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