Page 12 of Slam Dunk
Jathan shook his head. He looked truly shaken. Of course, as he had said, no one should be able to get into this garage.
That thought led to another. He set the flowers on the hood of the truck. “Go back into the house, baby.” His eyes scanned the hundreds of places a person could hide. He didn’t mean to scare Jathan, but it was best to be careful.
His words had the opposite effect. Jathan seemed to snap out of it. “I’m not leaving you out here unprotected.”
Quince pulled open the driver’s side door of his truck and grabbed the gun he kept in a hidden compartment under his seat. “I’m good, but I’d feel a lot better with you in the house.”
Jathan gave him a jerky nod. “Okay.” He headed inside, leaving Quince behind.
Quince automatically fell into his old self. That training fit like a second skin. He took his time and searched each vehicle and every corner. Quince didn’t relax until he was positive Jathan was safe.
Jan poked her head out the door. “Are you still alive out here? Jathan won’t let me call the police.”
Quince’s shoulders relaxed. “Yeah. Everything seems secure. As much as I hate to delay your breakfast, I think you should make a report. A paper trail matters.”
Jan leaned against the doorframe and eyed him. “I remember now. You’re that bodyguard. Jayda’s bodyguard.”
Quince moved to his truck and put his gun back in its holster. He couldn’t and wouldn’t talk about this. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll grab you breakfast before I head to work.” He didn’t look her way as he moved the flowers and card to a nearby work table. “He asked me to take these with me, but the police will want to look for fingerprints or whatever.”
“I know you’re not leaving without saying goodbye.”
Despite everything, Quince smiled at Jathan’s sudden appearance. The guy just made his life better. “Of course not. I’m going to grab you two breakfast before I head out, so you can eat while you wait for the police.” He held Jathan’s stare, silently daring him to argue.
“Stay. We’ll order food.”
Quince didn’t look to see if Jan was still there. He snagged Jathan’s hips and hauled him in so he could kiss him. He fought a wave of disappointment as he pulled away. “As much as I hate it, I really have to get to work.”
Jathan nodded. He looked incredibly sexy—like always—but there was also something else about him today. Damn. Quince didn’t want to leave, but he couldn’t stay. “Be careful driving home.”
“I will.” Quince stole another quick kiss before forcing himself to climb into his truck. He didn’t look Jathan’s way again. Quince was too weak. If he looked, he would stay.
For the entire morning, Jathan felt sick to his stomach. The thought that someone had magically been inside his garage was driving him insane. After filing a police report, it had been too late for breakfast, so he had taken his mom to lunch. The meal had been… eye opening. She had gone into talking about Quince’s past—like Jathan already knew everything about the man he was sleeping with. Which, fair. Jathan had just rolled with it, told his mom Quince never talked about it, and then sat back to hear all the tea. Her story explained Quince’s hermit-like lifestyle. Not that Jathan had ever questioned that. He had just assumed Quince was too busy to leave the ranch often.
Back home, he had practically run through the house, gathering things and peeking around every corner. He couldn’t even bring himself to drive the Hummer. Jathan chose a car he rarely drove—his Lamborghini Huracan. For some reason, his stupid garage door didn’t want to open, slowing him down. Once he got past that hurdle, he drove straight to Quince. Truthfully, that was his intention, but he also figured he could claim to be there forArtem, if necessary. No doubt Quince had already told him what had happened.
It was a two-hour drive to get to the ranch, which gave him too much time to think. Artem and he made this drive to each other all the time since Artem’s move. How long would it take Quince to get tired of making it? Jathan couldn’t do it all the time. He had to focus on anything. Jathan had no idea why everything was so under his skin today. Maybe it was just nerves. This next game had everything riding on it, and damn. That was a lot of pressure. He didn’t need anything else weighing on him. When the ranch came into view, Jathan forgot everything. He automatically strained to see any sign of Quince. His truck sat parked near the humongous barn, housing Tip and Artem’s many horses. As he pulled into the driveway, a guy he didn’t recognize stepped from the barn. It was obvious he waited to find out who Jathan was. Jathan parked behind Quince’s truck and stepped out.
As he neared the barn’s entrance, the guy moved his way. “Can I help you?” He was all smiles and good looks. Jathan would put him close to his age. His strawberry-blond hair whipped in the breeze and his light green eyes were all good humor. Truth be told, he looked like a player. His eyebrows rose before Jathan had time to respond. “Oh, wow. You’re Jathan Dexter.”
Jathan smiled. “I am.” He had always been a bit uncomfortable with the fame part of his career. Jathan just wanted to play ball. “Is—”
Quince appeared behind the man. “Hey. I didn’t know you were coming.”
The guy between them turned slightly, giving his attention to the entire exchange.
Jathan only had eyes for Quince.
Again, before anyone let him truly talk, Artem and Tip came from the direction of the house.
Artem bounced like a kid. “Jathan! I didn’t know you were coming.” He rushed Jathan and hugged him.
Jathan immediately felt the weight of the world lift from his chest. From the first time they met, Artem had brought something to his life Jathan had been missing for a long time—real friendship.
“Hey.” He hugged Artem back. “Yeah. Sorry for not calling.”
Artem waved off his words. “You never have to, but we are—unfortunately—on our way out.” He motioned the stranger’s way. “Tip’s brother, Sterling, is in town. We’re on our way to our first and likely very disastrous dinner with Tip’s mom since they started talking again.”
Neither brother looked upset by Artem’s words. In fact, they both smiled like they adored Artem.
