Page 34 of Wanted
Shane whistled, and the dog ran back to him. “Okay. I see. So you’re the one whoproposes.”
Judging by his tone, there was a double meaning to his words. Good thing that Liv could fix this car in his sleep, because focusing would have been a struggle right now. But as he started tightening the cover that had gotten loose and might be the cause of the sounds Shane had described, it occurred to him thatthis was the perfect opportunity to gain information one-on-one. While it was embarrassing as hell to talk about private stuff with this stranger, Liv had leverage as long as his hands were on Ros’s car. So he’d take his sweet time.
“You know, this whole gay thing is a bit new to me. I feel like there’s something you’re trying to say, but I’m not sure what that is.”
Shane gave him a quizzical glance as he scooted to pet his dog’s muzzle. It made Liv wonder if he baby-talked to Cerberus when they were alone, because tough guy Shane would probably not want to be seen doing that.
“Okay… I was suggesting you top?”
This term Liv was familiar with. “Well, yeah. I just don’t know much of the terminology, since me and Knox, we… have known each other forever but only gotten together recently.”
“Young love. How cute,” Shane said as if he were at least a hundred, not somewhere in his thirties. “Breaks so easily. Then again, give him a good dicking, and he’ll stick around. Can’t really put your face on Grindr when you’re a fugitive.”
That was… unnecessarily hostile. Not to mention that Liv hadn’t managed to exchange words with Knox since their hot dry humping sesh, so everything about this hung in the air, evading his grasp. “Is that how you keep your boyfriend in a place with dead bodies planted everywhere around him? Dating guys sounds way easier than dating girls,” Liv said, not even attempting to remove doubt from his voice.
Shane threw the ball again and shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. Never had any interest in girls. As for my boyfriend, yeah, it can be quite effective.” He gave Liv a cocky wink, yet it didn’t feel genuine. Maybe gay guys liked to talk big just as much as any other dude.
“Thought so. I bet this newly improved car will get him in the mood,” Liv said, placing the tools back in the box and wipinghis hands on a rag. “A cover was loose. It shouldn’t make any unnecessary noise anymore. Just the sweet rumble of the engine that we know and love.”
If only working out Knox were this easy. Liv used to think he knew Knox inside out. His moods and sense of humor. What he liked to eat, and what pills he needed to take. But now it seemed he’d been missing vital pieces of information.
“Thanks. I think we deserve a beer,” Shane said as ifhe’ddone anything, but in fairness, it was a nice gesture on his part. Especially since the day was coming to an end, and Liv deserved some rest.
As soon as Shane turned to get beers from his home, Liv leaned against the hood of the car and checked his phone. He and Knox had exchanged a few messages throughout the day, but it was their typical shit about being tired. Or that Frank got a fancy packed lunch. Or that Liv’s T-shirt had gotten so dirty he had to get another one, and his new one was some vintage Harvard college top. Or that Knox wished they had a TV, because he didn’t want to die without knowing howNarcosended. An hour later he’d sent Liv a photo of several broken TVs in a pile of junk with the annotation:RIP.
So he wasn’t ignoring Liv.
He just didn’t say that he couldn’t wait for Liv to come on his abs again. He was acting as if it hadn’t happened, even though he’d been just as aroused as Liv had.
The newest message from Knox said:
[You wanna go to that biker party tonight?]
Another excuse to be around other people. Liv might not be a brainiac, but he saw Knox’s attempts at avoiding him for what they were, and it was starting to grate at his confidence. If Knox wasn’t happy about what they’d done, then he should fucking be a man about it and say so rather than dance around the subject and flee any opportunity they might have at talking in private.
So no, Liv did not want to go to the party.
[Too tired. We should have an early night. Found out some stuff and want to share,] he said, hoping that would be enough of an incentive to lure Knox home.
But he wasn’t sure how he’d feel if Knox told him he didn’t want to experiment anymore. Especially when they slept together in a single bed and had acted touchy-feely in front of the other guys. It wasn’t like they could suddenly stop.
Liv stared at the screen but seeing the wordtyping…linger for a while only to disappear was making his hair bristle. He’d never been with a woman who could get him into this state of anticipation. He’d always been chill, charming, didn’t give a fuck, and found hooking up with new women easy, especially since there were plenty of ladies who were up for an affair or a one-night-stand and didn’t want to overcomplicate things.
But this fucked up situation with Knox? Even the stakes of leaving behind a dead body in California felt less pressing.
By the time Shane handed him a cold beer, Liv’s messages were still onread. The fuck was Knox playing at?
Shane leaned against the hood next to Liv, which meant that the phone needed to go back into his pocket. Not out of courtesy, but because Liv didn’t want Shane to get a glimpse of his screen. Their conversation and successful car repair seemed to have put the other man in a better mood, and he clinked his bottle with Liv’s as they looked at the sun setting over piles of rusting junk and covering everything in an orange glow.
“You mentioned dead bodies planted all around,” Shane started on his own. “It’s not really like that. This is a working junkyard, not a cemetery. We have connections with a few people who need a bit of an extra service, and it helps prop up the place’s finances, but most days we do what you did today. Dispose of rotting furniture, take apart computers for scrap, or refurbish a fridge.”
“Do all the workers know?” Liv asked, putting the icy bottle against his forehead after having a sip from it.
“Yep. More or less. Everyone who lives on this land, and this is a big area. Plus Dex, Frank’s nephew. He used to live here. Him and the bikers from the Demon Brethren MC know. For Jag, it’s his natural habitat, he doesn’t leave much.” Shane snorted and shook his head.
“He’s the weird guy? In the armor, right? What’s his deal?” Liv asked, jumping on the opportunity to get more information out of his new drinking buddy.
“He’s…” Shane drifted off and had more beer, as if he needed time to put his thoughts into words. “Jag didn’t grow up in a normal place. His family was some kind of self-sufficiency prepper cult in the woods. I don’t know all the details, but I’m pretty sure him running away had something to do with him being gay. He got here on foot from fuck knows where. He doesn’t even know which state his family lived in. But when he made his way here, he was half-dead, half-feral. Frank told me, because I was locked up when that happened. Frank took him in and gave him a place where his… let’s say ‘skills’ are of use.” Shane smirked and pointed to the horizon filled with piles of junk. “This is Jag’s kingdom, and I have to give it to him that he knows this place better than even Frank. And… he’s okay, when you’re not a trespasser.”
