Page 23 of Finders Keepers
Savard waved toward Wesley’s single wide. “I’m going to walk through your home and make sure it’s clear. Have you been inside? Disturbed anything?”
“No, sir,” Nate replied. “As soon as we saw the open door, we called 9-1-1.”
“Do I know you?” Officer Savard asked, eyeing Nate.
Wesley held his breath. It was bad enough Nate was going to be on this police report. It would be worse if the officers realized who he was before the case was filed away. He should have sent Nate home. A pang of guilt for involving him skittered through Wesley, but an overwhelming sense of exhaustion had already crept up on him.
“No, sir. We haven’t met. I’m new to town.”
Officer Savard harrumphed but, with a hand on his weapon, headed for the front door.
“Once Savard finishes, we can go inside and sit down, and you can give me the rundown.”
A few minutes later, Officer Savard clomped onto the small square front deck. “All clear. A back window was jimmied open.”
* * * * *
The officers left the trailer with a promise to call when the processing was done, and Wesley dropped his head into his hands. What the hell was going on? He could no longer ignore the issue of the thumb drive. Whatever was on it must be dangerous or incriminating or something. But he’d never ever even seen a thumb drive that didn’t belong to him—how could he have it? What the heck was he supposed to do about the request to turn it over?
In the meantime, the start of the school year was three and a half weeks away, and he had to be ready. Had to get in the last of his training, had to finalize his lesson plans. Had to sort all the worksheets he’d printed and then trim everything he’d laminated last week.
With a deep breath, he slapped his hands to his knees, rising. “I’m gonna pack up some stuff and stay at the hotel up on the highway until they’ve finished processing my place.” He heldout a hand to Nate. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done. I’ll owe you until the moon turns green. Don’t be a stranger once the season starts. If you want to come down for a home cooked meal or meet somewhere in between to grab a bite to eat, just shoot me a text.”
Nate stood and swatted his hand away, color high on his cheeks, blue eyes a bit buggy. “Are you kidding me right now?”
Wesley bristled. Nate had been nothing but kind and amiable the whole time they’d known each other. A little aloof that first night in the club, which was understandable, all things considered. But now, angry vibes filled the space between them. But with all the crap he was dealing with, he didn’t have the patience to put up with Nate’s anger. Wesley could be angry, too.
“No. I’m not kidding. I have no desire to involve you in whatever’s going on. It’s not your problem. It’s mine. And I’m not going to be your problem any longer.”
“You’re not staying at some fucking hotel off the fucking highway. If they could find you here, they can find you there. Pack up whatever you need. You’re staying with me for the foreseeable future.”
A bubble of laughter wanted to burst out of Wesley. He swiped a hand down his face to hide whatever it looked like as a result. Nate was definitely indignant and wouldn’t appreciate his amusement.
But then Wesley sobered. He was in danger. He realized that now. And the threat wasn’t going away. He certainly wasn’t going to allow Nate to inveigle himself and end up a target. “Look, Nate,again, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I do. We’ve already established that I can’t ever repay you for that. But I can’t keep racking up this debt. And I certainly don’t intend to put you or your secret in jeopardy. Besides, I’ve got a life; you’ve got a life. And—”
Nate yanked him forward by the upper arms and covered Wesley’s mouth with his own. Then Nate released his arms and cupped his head all without breaking the kiss. He cocked his head and swiped a tongue across Wesley’s lips. Wesley parted them immediately. His arms twined Nate’s neck as Nate devoured his mouth, tongue curling around his in a kiss so thorough he probably wouldn’t need to see his dentist anytime soon. Heart pounding and knees weak, Wesley absorbed every moment of closeness and passion Nate poured into him.
When the kiss ended, Wesley resisted the urge to lick and touch his now-buzzing lips. He was breathless and light-headed and ready to drag Nate off to bed, but that didn’t change matters. Nate was now in the crosshairs just by being associated with him. And even if that wasn’t the case, as soon as Nate experienced the real Wesley, he’d want nothing to do with him.
Nate blinked, his mouth parting slightly, as if he were about to say something—only to close it again and step back.
Wesley’s stomach dropped. What was that? Second thoughts? A moment of realization? Of course.
The real Wesley wasn’t the confident Dom persona Nate was most familiar with. The real Wesley chafed in traditionally masculine clothing ensembles. He preferred wearing soft things, colorful things. Clothing that could be categorized as feminine. He spent so much time putting on a show of being a “normal” man, gay or otherwise, that when he was alone, he just wanted to let his femme flag flap in the breeze.
As a matter of fact, he very much wanted to pull on his favorite white cotton gown and hunker down with a bag of powdered donuts and some hot cocoa—summer heat be damned—but he couldn’t do that if he went home with Nate.
The sooner they parted ways for good, the better off they’d both be. Wesley wouldn’t be rejected, and Nate wouldn’t get dragged into a mess that wasn’t his to deal with.
“Look…” He cleared his raspy throat. “I appreciate the offer, but whatever’s going on, I don’t want you to get dragged into it and end up on the news again.”
Nate huffed. Raked a hand through his messy pearl blond hair. “I appreciate your concern. But you don’t know what’s on that thumb drive or what those guys are involved in. At least, at my place, they can’t get into the building without a keycard and even if they did, they won’t know which unit’s mine. It would take them a while to reach the twelfth floor and hopefully, by then, someone would have called security.” Nate stuck out his bottom lip. “Please?”
Wesley’s heart fluttered with delight. Damn Nate’s charming self.
Taking Nate up on his offer was a bad idea. He knew it. He should send Nate home, find a cheap hotel with lukewarm water and a lumpy mattress, and remind himself why being alone was better. Going with Nate put Wesley in danger, too. Going with him meant exposing everything he’d spent years hiding—things far worse than the threat.
But instead of saying no and sending Nate on his way, he let out a hiccupping laugh, as his will toppled like a pillow fort. After that kiss, after that plea and the pouty face, how could he resist an opportunity to play house until the structure collapsed? He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. You win.
