Page 18 of Xtasy

Wallace answered. “Afraid not. Indigo ditched him because he was being “too clingy” for a male escort. Apparently when Clay falls, he falls fast and deep. Grocery shopping. Bodyguard. Cuddling.”

There was a knock on the door and Journey stuck his head inside once Wallace indicated it was okay. “Sorry to bother you, boss, but we’ve got a tie in the shooting range competition. Everybody knows what that means.” He smiled in Atlas’ direction. “I thought Hawk’s man might enjoy a good laugh.”

“What does a tie mean?” Atlas asked, not wanting to stop the conversation he was already involved in but unable to keep his curiosity at bay—Journey looked pretty excited.

“Dance-off, of course,” Journey answered with a laugh. “Egypt and Braxton.”

Hawk nodded toward Wallace. “You go get things set up while I catch Atlas up-to-date on what happened to Indigo—what led to the clusterfuck we are dealing with now. We’ll be out in a few minutes. Definitely don’t start without us.”

“Copy that,” Wallace answered.

As soon as the door closed, Hawk said, “Please tell me you don’t hate me for what’s going on. I wanted to bring you over to meet my friends, wanted you to like them the way I do. I didn’t get Wallace’s call until you were already on your way over.”

Atlas frowned. “Of course, I don’t hate you. I don’t agree with anything that’s happened, or at least the parts I heard, but it doesn’t reflect negatively on you. Wallace said you didn’t have anything to do with it, that you didn’t even know what this Clay was doing.”

“I didn’t. I swear. Almost two years ago, the men were on a mission in the jungle—retrieving a diplomat’s granddaughter that had been kidnapped. Things went wrong and Indigo ended up too close to a bomb Braxton had set as a diversion. Indigo lost his eyesight from the injuries due to the explosion.”

“Shit. That’s horrible, Hawk.” Atlas whispered. “I’m so sorry. This makes me hate that Clay guy even more!”

“If you’re going to hate him more, you have to level some of that anger at me. Hell, Atlas, I’m not blind. I knew Clay had the hots for Indigo—thought the kid felt the same way. It was fun to watch them dance around each other, testosterone flying everywhere. Indigo would get pissed at himself, because you know how every gay man gets accused of trying to “convert” the straights. Clay would get pissed at himself because he couldn’t understand why he felt the way he did. Fuck, I’ve watched Clay rake Indigo over the fire for the slightest infraction just because he was too damn stupid to understand his own feelings.”

“How in the hell does that make you responsible?” Atlas demanded.

“Because I allowed Clay to be part of the team to go after Indigo, Atlas. To be honest, I thought if anybody had a chance to bring Indi back, it would be Clay…and Clay only. I never once predicted the male escort scenario in any of my ideas, plans, imaginations, or wildest dreams. I guess I’m acting like both Clay and Indi—mad at myself for being foolish enough to accidentally set a trap that they both fell in to.”

Atlas frowned and nibbled on his bottom lip, not sure how to ask his next question.

“Just ask me, babe. I can hear the wheels turning in your head. You ask me and I’ll be truthful, no matter how bad it makes me look.”

“Did…did you fire Indigo because of his injury? Surely there would have been something else he could have done? Looking at the rest of these men out there, if you took this away from them, they probably wouldn’t have much of a life. You can tell they eat this up.”

“Absolutely not,” Hawk answered quickly. “Indi fired us. Once he had healed enough to survive, he disappeared and completely ghosted all of us. The guys had hired a specialist to train Indi’s canine partner, Sky, to be a guide dog. We were doing everything possible to make him understand he would always have us, and we’d always be there to take care of him. Indi is our family—then and forever!”

“Did you even hear what you just said, Hawk? Would you want to hear your friends saying they’d take care of you for the rest of your useless life?”

Hawk opened his mouth and then slammed it shut. After a few seconds, he said, “You know that’s not what I meant. No way would Indi ever be useless.” He dropped his head. “Fuck, we coddled him too much, didn’t we? Made him feel fucking useless while we were trying to reassure him.”

“Bingo. You got it in one.” Atlas leaned in and kissed Hawk, a tender kiss that he hoped showed his lover how much he loved and trusted him. “I think if you all try a different angle with him, you might be able to bring him home…unless he decides to kill all of you. What in the hell was that Clay guy thinking?”

“Have you never thought with your dick before, pretty boy?”

Atlas laughed. “Every minute of every day since I met you,pretty boy.”

Hawk looked through the window of the conference room. “Come on. They are ready. Neither one of these guys can dance worth a fuck. It’ll be hilarious. After that’s finished, I’m talking to Wallace about what you said. I’ll make this right, Atlas. If Indi will let me, I’ll fucking fix this.”

Atlas paused in his chair while Hawk opened the door. When his gorgeous man looked at him, he asked, “Are you the jealous type, Hawk?” Ambrose gifts kept rolling around in his head…his own betrayal.

“Uh…I’m not the crazy, stalker, jealous type, but I’ll fuck anybody up if they try to take what I consider to be mine, and as long as you agree to keep putting up with me, you’re mine. Come on, babe. They’re starting.”

Of course, he would be the jealous type. That was just Atlas’ luck. What in the hell would Hawk do when he found out about the gifts and flirtatious notes from Ambrose? Atlas didn’t want to put him in a position to have to choose—not only was that unfair, he was certain he would lose. Atlas plastered on a smile and met Hawk at the door. It would work out, it had to.

CHAPTER SIX

“Honey! I’m home!” Ambrose called loudly as he let himself into Hawk’s place. “What’s for dinner?”

Atlas felt himself cringe as soon as he heard Ambrose’s voice. They were both in the hot tub, recovering for a three-hour sex-a-thon. Hawk must have felt him tense because he looked at him immediately.

“Are you okay? I felt you tense.” Hawk whispered.

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