Page 6 of Doubling Down

Dom joined the hug, so Ezra adjusted his arm so that he was holding both his friends. The three of them all had different reasons why they had joined the team there, but the struggles of everyday life made them family.

Tony patted their backs before drawing away. “I’m fine.” He wiped the tears that had fallen. “Just happy.”

“We should celebrate!” Dom declared.

Ezra and Tony groaned.

“What?” Dom asked. “It’s been forever since we’ve all been to the club.”

There was a reason it had been so long. Ezra couldn’t get away often. He’d been to the club twice but hadn’t really been able to relax fully. “Dom—”

“No!” Dom set his jaw. He stared at Ezra.

His friend knew why Ezra couldn’t just go to clubs. Go out in general. It wasn’t just about the money. Ezra was working on getting out of the cheap dingy apartment, but he had savings now. He shouldn’t. Ezra really shouldn’t. He wanted too though.

“We deserve one night,” Dom told him.

Tony was nodding.

“Maybe next weekend,” Ezra hedged. That would give him several days to come up with an excuse.

Dom laughed. “Don’t even try to get out of it. We’ll make sure everything is covered, and you can get a few hours to yourself”

That was easier said than done. There was a kernel of hope that Dom would help figure out how to manage his promise, but life usually had other plans for Ezra.

* * * * *

Eric

He waited until he was in the employee parking garage before Eric dumped the full coffee into the trash as he passed. It was too late for him to drink caffeine and get any sort of sleep. Already the late nights were starting to catch up with him.

Eric hadn’t been able to resist making his nightly visit to the coffee shop. Not when he had passed by and spotted Ezra working the counter. As busy as Eric had been, he’d made damn sure that he got to talk to the sweet soft-spoken boy.

He climbed into his SUV and buckled up before starting the engine and his ride home. Eric was tired but it was a good tired. He felt a sense of accomplishment for the night.

The investigation that had him undercover had finally heated up.

Eric had narrowed down his suspects and pinpointed the group dealing drugs from the casino. It had taken longer than Eric had wanted but he had his proof that the head of security was running drugs. That made his undercover role as part of the security team even more dangerous. Eric had failed to get close to Joey Collins, the man who currently held the head of security position, but some of the other security guards weren’t as paranoid.

From what Eric had seen, Collins had a reason to be paranoid. The amount of product that he was moving would get him decades in jail.

It was smart of Jesse Lambert to contact the Las Vegas Metro department with his suspicions. As soon as Jesse had suspected something hinky was going on at his businesses, he’d contacted them.

Used to working with a team, Eric was finding this undercover assignment difficult. He couldn’t really make friends with anyone since he was technically lying to them. And they were all on the suspect list.

Well not all of them. His LT and close friend Remi North had taken on running background checks on every single employee for Lambert Entertainment Inc. All of Jesse’s business fell inside that corporation. While Eric used his instincts and brain to try to narrow down the search, Remi had been backup on the computer. Luckily, the entire staff at the coffee shop had quickly and easily been ruled out of having any involvement with drugs. Eric did not have to worry about his small crush on the cute barista.

His brother would give him hell if he knew the thoughts that Eric had been having about the younger man.

All his research into Daddy kink so Eric could make the house comfortable for his brother had now bled over into other aspects of his life. Ezra always looked so tired. Dark circles under his chocolate eyes were permanent as far as Eric could tell. Ezra blushing and stammering anytime he was embarrassed had Eric wanting to pull him into his arms. Eric wanted to wrap Ezra up and hold him close. Not a feeling that he was familiar with, but Eric was also not unhappy about it.

Thriving as a good big brother was giving Eric more value in his life than he’d experienced previously. Even all the years of working as a cop didn’t compare to how good caretaking his brother made him feel.

Of course, most of what Eric had read, watched, and researched hadn’t been implemented in real life. He could act as a big brother to Brandon, but he couldn’t be the Daddy that Brandon needed. Not full-time anyway. Ezra…he probably wasn’t even a little. Had most surely never heard of the kink. That didn’t stop Eric’s imagination.

He pulled into the drive of his house and peered through the front windshield.

Eric loved his new house. Brandon had taken to finishing up the decorating, including furniture. Eric’s prior tiny apartment hadn’t been nearly enough to fill the large house. Every new item, whether it was a rug, pillow, or vase that Brandon added, gave the house the feeling of a real home. Something that neither he or Brandon had ever had before.

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