Page 27 of Sprite

He shrugged, “Don’t act so surprised,” Zane defended. “I can help out here to give you and Leo a break. I’m sure that you both could use a night off, right?” he asked. The idea of finding a couple who was willing to play, and having his two best friends around to watch, wasn’t his thing. The less Ross and Leo knew about him, the better. Hell, the less they saw him naked, the better.

“We’re good, but if you want to hang out, we’re about to order pizza and chill in the office,” Ross said.

“I’m not sure that sounds like my kind of night,” Zane said. “You and Leo have become a boring, domesticated couple, haven’t you?” He knew that he was poking the bear, but he didn’t care. He, Leo, and Ross had grown up together and he couldn’t think of two guys who knew him better. They were his best friends. Scratch that—they were his only friends, and since Leo and Ross had gotten together, he often felt like a third wheel, even though they insisted that he wasn’t. Zane knew thatif he stuck around for pizza with them both, he’d end up leaving pissed off that he hadn’t found someone to spend his life with. Or in his case, two someones.

“Shut the fuck up,” Ross grumbled. “Leo and I are not an old married couple if that’s what you were insinuating,” he said.

“Sure,” Zane agreed, “I was just being an ass. I don’t think I’m going to stick around for pizza tonight, but I appreciate the offer. Tell Leo that I said, ‘Hey’.” Zane turned to run out of there as though his ass was on fire when he ran straight into a tall blond man who practically wrapped his arms around him to steady Zane.

“Shit, sorry, man,” the guy said. He released Zane and he wasn’t sure if he was happy or upset about the man’s withdrawal.

“No, it was my fault,” Zane insisted. “I should have watched where I was going, but I was in a hurry to leave.”

“Yeah, he was in a hurry to get out of here before I roped him into having pizza with Leo and me. Zane, this is Crew,” Ross introduced. Crew held out his hand to Zane and waited for him to shake it.

Zane slipped his hand into Crews and felt an instant attraction that he couldn’t explain. Hell, he had no idea why his dick was suddenly paying attention to the new guy, but it was. The new guy was just his type. God, he loved blonds with muscles in all the right places, and judging from Crew’s tight T-shirt, he had biceps for days and if he had to guess, a six-pack under there somewhere.

Zane cleared his throat, trying to coax himself back to the present to stop imagining the poor guy naked. “Good to meet you,” he breathed. Jesus, he sounded like a breathless schoolgirl who had just been asked to prom.

“You too,” Crew said, releasing his hand. He smiled at Zane and all he could think about was sticking his tongue in the guy’s dimples. He turned to Ross and flashed that same smile at him,making Zane realize that he wasn’t as special as he was feeling around Crew.

“I hate to interrupt pizza night, but I really need to talk to you and Leo,” Crew said.

“Absolutely,” Ross agreed, “in fact, why don’t you hang out and have pizza with us?” Ross looked around Crew’s big body and smirked at Zane. He wanted to knock that look right off his friend’s face, but he needed to remember that violence wasn’t always the answer. It was his father’s number one rule.

“You sure you don’t want to stick around for pizza?” Ross asked.

“Um, I would appreciate it if you did,” Crew said. Zane suddenly felt hope that Crew’s smile at him meant something, but he knew better than to get his hopes up since that usually ended badly for him.

“Why do you want me to stay?” Zane asked.

“You’re part owner in this club, right?” Crew asked.

“I am,” Zane said, suddenly feeling a bit less hopeful about his chances with Crew.

“Great, then you should probably stay for this meeting,” he said.

“Wait, this is a meeting now?” Ross asked.

“I’m sorry,” Crew breathed, “I’m fucking this all up. I’ve been ordered to go undercover to find out more about the murder that took place here about a year ago. It’s a cold case, but the girl’s parents have been circling the precinct, and my boss has been forced to reopen the case.”

“A girl died here last year?” Zane asked. “Did you know about this?” he asked Ross. If his friends knew about the murder taking place at the club and still asked him to become a partner, he’d fucking kill them. Then, Crew would have to investigate him—which all in all, didn’t sound like a bad idea to him.

“I had no clue,” Ross insisted. “When exactly did it happen?” he asked.

“On June 29thof last year. I believe that your father was one of the owners back then.”

“Shit, yeah, he was,” Ross admitted. “Leo’s dad owned half the club too.”

“I’d like to ask you three a few questions if you don’t mind,” Crew said.

“I’m not sure how much help we can be, but we’ll try to help you out,” Ross agreed. He looked over at Zane again, cocking an eyebrow at him. “Right, Zane?” he asked. Zane knew that it was pointless to argue with Ross. As the oldest in their little group, he was also the bossiest and usually the one in charge.

“Sure, I’ll answer some questions,” Zane agreed, pasting on his best fake smile. Only Ross would know that he wasn’t being sincere, but he didn’t give a fuck. He wanted to answer Crew’s questions and go home to sulk. The hottest guy he’d seen in a damn long time wanted to talk to him about a murder that took place over a year ago when all Zane wanted to discuss was if Crew would give him his number. He had a feeling that he already knew the answer to that question.

Crew

Crew wasn’t sure that opening up the cold case was a good idea, but who was he to argue with his boss? He was a nobody, but that worked for him. As an undercover detective, he needed to be inconspicuous and fly under the radar. That was exactly what he planned to do about this case, and if he was lucky enough to find anything to take back to his boss, then great.

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