Page 10 of Fatal Temptation

“Nothing,” Akio mumbled.

“That wasn’t nothing?”

“It’s just um… I haven’t seen you be allFBI agentin a while.”

His brows drew together in a frown. The last time Akio had seen him in FBI mode, he’d just escaped his father’s tyranny. He’d just shot him.

“Did it bring back bad memories?”

Akio snapped his head up, pupils flaring as he stared at Lucas.

“No.” Akio cleared his throat and averted his gaze again. “No. Not at all.”

Before he could ask what Akio meant, Holland returned and unlocked the cell door. He handed Akio the few things he’d had on him when he’d been arrested. A wallet, phone, and a set of keys.

Lucas only offered Holland a dark glare before putting a hand on Akio’s back to lead him down the hallway.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Akio

LUCAS’ HAND on his back was the only thing he could think about as they passed all the other holding cells in the police station. His heart was thumping in his chest, his hands getting clammy around his phone and keys.

He shoved his keys into his pocket, and it was as if the movement brought Lucas out of whatever trance he’d been in and the hand disappeared from Akio’s back, taking the warmth with it. He swallowed against the lump of disappointment in his throat and kept walking as if his heart wasn’t trying to beat its way out of his chest.

His phone was low on battery, but he managed to send a text to Maggie before it succumbed. There was one missed call from her but nothing else. He wasn’t sure if she’d been arrested or not. Maybe they’d arrested her later?

He was quiet as he followed Lucas out of the police station. He wasn’t sure what to say. Lucas had caught him looking at him and it certainly hadn’t been thoughts of his father going through his head.

Lucas led the way to a black SUV and opened the passenger side door for Akio who crawled in and promptly fastened his seatbelt.

Lucas got in the driver’s seat and backed out of the parking spot. Once they were on the road, Akio turned to the man whose knuckles were white from how tight he was squeezing the wheel. Lucas had never once been mad at him before so he figured it was Holland he was stewing over.

“Where are we going?”

“Your place. We’ll go grab a bag and then you’re staying with me. I have the next two weeks off anyway and I don’t like the way that asshole looked at you. I think this is far from over.”

Akio gulped and hurried to nod when Lucas glanced at him.

He was back to tapping his foot though Lucas didn’t seem to mind. He had never been to see him at his dorm and yet he knew exactly where to park. He hesitated as he stepped out of the SUV. Mostly because he knew his room looked like a bomb of clothes had exploded in there, though also because knowing that Lucas had cared enough to find out where he was staying had his heart speeding up.

Logically, he knew that it was probably just because Chris had told Lucas so he could keep an eye on him since they were in the same city, but his stupid heart would have none of it.

He quietly led the way through the dorm building until they reached his room. He took a breath before pulling out his keys and unlocking the door. He stepped inside first, holding the door for Lucas, and as he ran his gaze across the room, he decided that it didn’t look as bad as he’d thought. Yes, there were clothes on his bed, but everything else seemed to be in the right place.

He grabbed his duffel bag. The one he’d just emptied after having spent the weekend at home. Now he was filling it again and he had no idea which clothes to pack. He had no idea what was really going on.

“What do I…?”

He looked up at Lucas and he knew from the look of pity in the man’s eyes that he had to be looking like a lost puppy.

Lucas stepped closer and grabbed Akio’s hand, tugging him down on the bed to sit with him.

“It’s gonna be alright,” Lucas said and that conviction in his voice was making it hard not to believe him, but there was a part of him that had been through indescribable things and had learned the hard way that things very rarely ended up being alright. He’d gotten lucky once. There was no guarantee that it would happen again.

Lucas wrapped an arm around him, and he buried his face in Lucas’ shoulder, drawing in a deep breath, the man’s cologne filling his nose and making him feel safer instantly.

“Grab enough clothes for a week if you can.”

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