Page 5 of Remote Access

"I'm not his lover if that's what you're getting at.” The thought made him nauseous. “I'm the security guard."

The frown that turned down his mouth held confusion. "Hayrick doesn't use a home security guard here."

"He does now."

The thief slowly nodded, but he kept his eyes narrowed, obviously skeptical. "Well, I'm an employee of his, too, so it's okay that I'm here."

Quincy grinned. "No, it's not. He would have told me about you. Would have told me to expect someone while he's out of town. I've worked for him for months and have never seen you before."

"He's in Japan and due back in seven days. Does that let you know I know him?"

"Nah. You could have found that information easily enough. Plus, I doubt friends or employees of his would be going through his files. Watcha looking for, pretty boy?"

The flare of his eyes let Quincy know the kid thought he'd slipped up. Again. But he knew how to play a situation like this as well. This kid had spent years working the con, even if his expressions occasionally gave him away. As Quincy watched, the sexy, wide shoulders lost tension and a sort of fluid movement showed in the man's next step closer. He thought he had something to use.

Amused and a little turned on, Quincy waited to see what he'd do next. It wouldn't matter. He had no intention of letting the kid out of here without calling the cops. Even if it would be a pain in the ass when they showed up. Most were not friendly these days.

He paused in thought. But then, Letsen would come home and he needed this week to search the house.

He eyed the boxes.

Or he had.

The kid crossed his arms. "I need to figure out where one of the items went and it's going to take me time considering I'm used to digital files."

The hair on his arms stood up. "What do you mean byone of the items?"

Dark eyebrows lowered. "You don't know what your employer does?"

He knew, but he wasn’t about to give that away now. "I only handle his security. Which brings me to the next question—how did you get past the system I've set up here? It's new on the market and the best I've ever seen, so I didn't expect some kid to break it."

"I'm not a kid. I'm twenty-four."

Quincy snorted. "That's still a kid to me."

"Oh yeah? How old are you?"

Quincy took a step closer, still gripping the gun, and still amused that those gray eyes kept dropping to it. "As old as I should be. How did you get through the security system?"

"I'm not telling you. How do I know you're really who you say you are?"

"You think some random—what was it—oh yeah, half-naked guy just happened to be wandering past this house? Barefoot?"

"You left off the gorgeous part." Those full lips twisted. Then all amusement left his face. "You have no reason to believe me, but please just give me a couple of minutes to show you something. Show you why the man who owns this house made my life a living nightmare."

"How did he do that?"

He was silent for several long moments, probably unaware that an array of volatile emotions passed over his face. Including grief. Quincy watched him closer, with a pang of sympathy for the kid. Grief, he knew. Way too intimately.

"Because Hayrick Letsen has been blackmailing me since I was fourteen years old. And I'm not the only child he forced into breaking the law."

Quincy stared, the knot rebuilding in his gut because this guy was speaking the truth. Quincy had been a cop a long time and had a knack for knowing when a person was lying. He realized what he'd already needed to do had just taken on a whole new spectrum of layers. Especially if kids were involved. He'd never been able to resist the cases with them as a cop before and he sure as hell wouldn't be doing that now. And Gareth…well, he may be one of the largest guys Quincy knew, but he was also the biggest softie on the planet when it came to kids. Planned to have half a dozen when he finally found the right guy to settle down with.

"Give me a reason to believe you."

"Keep the gun down, okay? I'm going to show you something." He turned and looked at the row of boxes, then knelt and opened one. Again, his supple movements made Quincy take closer notice. He was like a dancer. Or a circus performer. Quincy was suddenly picturing him in all sorts of bendy positions and was faintly ashamed of himself for it. It really had been too long since he'd gotten laid.

It only took a couple of minutes for the guy to find what he was looking for. He stood and held out a piece of paper.

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