Page 33 of With the Stars

“Something I’ll rectify in time but this…” Minho glanced around the room. “No CCTV in here?”

“Yes!” Peter strode into his office and sat behind the desk. Minho came to stand beside him as Peter pulled up the CCTV feed. “Here it is.”

“Go back until he appears.”

Peter nodded and rewound the feed until he appeared then disappeared. “I’ll play it now.”

“I’ll need a copy of this but let’s watch it first.”

Peter pressed play and he watched the feed along with Minho, seeing the man appear directly behind him. He stood for a minute before Peter saw himself jerk. A full minute and he never noticed. Anything could have happened to him in that time. Anything. Pausing it, he rubbed his chest, his breathing fast and shallow. “Shit. He could have killed me. I never knew he was there.”

“He’s good. Been taught well.”

“No that’s not it. I never even felt his presence. Not for one second. I only knew he was there because he spoke. I could be dead, Minho. Dead before I was even aware I was in danger. Shit.”

Minho spun him around and placed a hand on the back of Peter’s head. “Legs spread, head down low. Take deep breaths. Come on, Peter. You can do this.”

Peter closed his eyes, taking long deep breaths until he felt like he had some control again. “Shit.”

“You back with me?” Minho ran his fingers through Peter’s hair. “I can watch the rest on my own if you don’t want to watch it.”

“I shouldn’t have reacted like that. He did nothing to me, but realizing he could have and I wouldn’t have known until it was too late? That’s overwhelming.” Peter sat up and stared into Minho’s hazel eyes. “You need to teach me how to be aware of my surroundings.”

“This is a safe place to you, so why would you be on guard here? He came to warn you, not harm you, but I will show you whatever it is you need to know. I won’t have you defenseless either.”

“He knows about me, and he knows about the boys. So they need to know too.”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Minho leaned down and kissed Peter. “Want to watch the rest?”

“Yes and no, but I will because I have to.” Peter inhaled deeply then slowly released it. “Let’s do this.” Pressing play again, he leaned closer to the monitor and watched the man place his hand on Peter’s back. A few seconds later he was gone. It was another few seconds before Peter left the room. Pressing stop, Peter leaned back in his chair and looked up at Minho. “What are your thoughts on this?”

“Exactly what he said. He came to warn you and to let you know Maxim knows of your existence. The question I have is why? Why would he risk being exposed to warn you? Maxim isn’t known for showing kindness to anyone under him. This man risked torture and abuse, maybe even death.”

“Maybe my coffee is just that good.”

Minho snorted. “It is very good coffee. Let’s get this place locked up then go home. We can talk more about this there, and we need to give Gray or Key access so they can copy and do their research into this man.”

“Not that we captured his face. Bit like that kid who we’ve seen around here.” Peter looked at Minho. “Could they be one and the same?”

“Gray and Key will do all of that. It’s what they get paid for. What do you have left to do?” Minho asked as he pulled his phone free.

“A little bit of cleaning, then checking the stock.”

“I’ll call Gray now so he can run a search on what you have here. They’ll find details we won’t see.” It took less than a minute for Peter to give Gray what he needed and for Gray to access Peter’s system. Watching the cursor move around without Peter doing it felt a little strange, but he knew it had to be done.

Minho pulled him up from the chair and gently moved him from his office. “Let them deal with this now. Show me what needs doing and I’ll help you.”

Peter shook his head. “I can do this tomorrow. I’ll come in early and finish off. I want to go home now, Minho.”

Minho kissed and softly. “I’ll help. Lock up and I’ll take us home.”

Peter made sure everywhere was secure then took the hand Minho held out to him. A second later he stood in his kitchen and sagged against Minho, who held him tight. He stood and let the other man take his weight, knowing Minho wouldn’t let him fall.

“Can’t you two get a room?”

Peter stiffened in Minho’s arms then straightened. “Hello Rex.”

“Dad. Like get some privacy? Do I have to see you two mushing faces?”

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