Page 199 of The Blame Game

Dom nodded. “I remember that. We were both desperate to get our hands on each other. We didn’t even make it to the bedroom.”

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Dom.” Shea sounded anguished and Dom looked into his eyes, realizing that Shea blamed himself.

“It’s not your fault. We both got caught up in the heat of the moment.”

“It was my job to protect you,” Shea said. “Protect your privacy.”

The microwave beeped and Dom stepped away, pulling his food out. He wasn’t hungry anymore but he needed to eat.

“So what we do we do about it?” Shea asked.

Dom sighed, pushing at the food on his plate. “That I don’t know. I think we need to talk to Kate.”

The queasy feeling in Shea’s stomach grew as he and Dom walked to the park early the following morning.

It was a gorgeous June day and the sky was blue and nearly cloudless, the air warm and a little humid. It would have been a lovely morning to stroll in the park with his boyfriend, enjoying the fresh breeze off Lake Ontario and the coffee they’d gotten from a nearby stand.

Unfortunately, they were here to meet with a blackmailer.

“I wish we’d come here for different reasons,” Dom said quietly as they approached the area where they’d agreed to meet Joe.

“I was just thinking that,” Shea said with a sigh, glancing over.

Dom was tense, his brow furrowed. He’d tossed and turned all night, barely speaking at all this morning.

Shea swallowed thickly. He could hardly blame Dom if he didn’t want to go through with the plan they’d made. It was so risky.

Could Dom really live with the idea of their private lives being splashed around the internet?

Because if they went this route, if their bluff didn’t work, this would make the papers. Not just gossip blogs but legitimate news sites.

Everyone would know that Shea had been an escort and that Dom had hired him.

They reached the meeting spot a few minutes before the agreed-on time, and Joe appeared a moment later, smiling.

Shea felt a weird little shiver run down his spine at the sight of him. The guy was so … bland and ordinary looking. He could have been anyone. The kind of guy Shea would never notice in a crowd.

It was the perfect cover.

“I half expected you to send someone else,” Joe said.

Dom smiled tightly. “No. We’re here. What do you want?”

Joe grinned. “That depends. What are you offering?”

But rather than answer, Dom shook his head like he couldn’t even believe it. “You’re scum, you know that?”

“Gotta make a living somehow.” He shrugged.

“So you peddle people’s secrets to the highest bidder?”

“Usually it’s just photos to sell to JockGossip, because they pay the best, but when something particularly juicy lands in my lap, I’m going to make sure I get my money one way or another.”

“Your money?” Dom lifted an eyebrow.

“Sure. I put the leg work in.” Joe shot them a smug look.

Dom crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, let’s cut through the bullshit then. Tell me what proof you have and what you expect me to pay for it.”

---