Page 20 of Headcase
“My bladder is fine,” Zane snarked, too tired to even give Asa a proper glare.
He grinned at Zane, giving him a thorough once-over. “I’m happy to hear it. But that’s not why I’m here.”
Zane had to look like shit. He’d changed his clothes in the car, throwing on jeans and a faded t-shirt from his high school marching band days. He always kept a bag in the back with the basics. Working for the tabloids meant always being ready. If somebody got the jump on your story, you didn’t have a career left afterwards. He hadn’t had time to clean up, though. His hair was curly from sweat, and he was certain he was as covered in grime as his clothes.
Asa wore jeans that clung to his ass and thighs and a shirt that left little to the imagination. When he moved just right, Zane could glimpse a bit of skin and the deep vee of his hips. His hair was wet and his feet were bare. Nobody should look that good. It really wasn’t fucking fair.
“So, why are you here? Did you change your mind? Are you here to kill me?” he asked warily.
Asa studied him for a long moment, then sat on the side of the tub like he’d done earlier, crossing his arms over his chest. “It seems I’m in need of a detective. And while you don’t exactly fit the bill, you’re probably way more qualified than me.”
Zane blinked at him. “You can’t be fucking serious.”
Asa crowded into his space and, for a split second, Zane was sure Asa was going to kiss him again. His stomach fluttered nervously. But he was actually unlocking his handcuffs.
“Sure I can. Dead serious, even. See what I did there?” he asked, acknowledging his own bad joke.
Asa didn’t move, just took Zane’s wrists in his hands and worked the blood back into his fingers. Zane fought the urge to moan. Everything hurt but Asa’s hands were the good hurt, like the weird satisfaction from pressing on a bruise. And he was bruised, inside and out.
Yeah, because of Asa.
Zane yanked his hands free, earning another grin from Asa, who didn’t return to the tub but sat across from him on the floor with his back against the door. Zane rolled his shoulders with a grimace. He couldn’t believe this was the same man he’d let hunt him through a house just a couple of hours ago. Was it a couple of hours ago or had more time passed? He didn’t even know. “No, thanks. I’ll take my chances.”
Asa chuckled. “You haven’t even heard my proposal.”
Zane scoffed. “The last time I heard you out, I ended up face down in your playroom.”
Asa’s responding grin was salacious. “Yeah, you did. But let’s not veer down that memory lane just yet.” He looked him over. “I might get distracted.”
Zane sneered. “You really think I’d ever let you touch me again?”
The smile slid from Asa’s face, his hunger making Zane’s mouth dry. “Sugar, I think I could have you on your knees begging for my cock in less than twenty minutes, if that’s what I wanted. But, first, let’s talk about our deal. And your lack of options.”
Zane gave Asa a smug smile. “I have more options than you think. I sent my friend the coordinates to your cabin before I went there. By now, the cops are probably swarming the place.”
He’d thought that might spook Asa, but he just waved it off. “Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t, but my family is exceptionally good at what we do, and by the time anybody makes it back out there, my brother-in-law will have that place clean enough to eat off the floors. They’ll find nothing except a small little hunting cabin my family legally owns.” Whatever. Zane still had the video. “And if you’re sitting there thinking you can just show them the video you took, it’s long gone, as is anything you might have sent to the cloud. Money buys a fantastic IT department.”
God fucking dammit. His lip curled in disgust at himself and at Asa. He racked his brain, trying to think of any other viable offer. How long would it take Blake to convince police something nefarious had happened to him? How long would it take to hunt him down? Blake didn’t even know which Mulvaney he’d left with.
“What’s your offer?” he finally muttered.
Asa spread his legs out, his thighs falling open, his bare feet now slotted between Zane’s legs. “It’s a good one. I think you’ll like it. It’s far more generous than you deserve.”
Zane rolled his eyes. “Get on with it.”
Asa’s foot was distractingly close to Zane’s upper thigh. He had to force himself to concentrate on Asa’s words.
“You and I work together to find answers for my family. In exchange, I answer any question you want about me and my family. At the end of our time together, if I haven’t convinced you that my family does far more good than harm, I’ll let you go and you can try to convince the world that we’re all a bunch of psychopathic murderers.”
“You are a bunch of psychopathic murderers,” Zane said, exasperated. Why did Asa not get that?
“We kill bad men. And women,” he added hastily. “We’re equal opportunity vigilantes.”
“You’re fucking crazy.” There was no heat behind his words, only a strange sense of awe.
“So I’ve heard.”
Zane shook his head, rejecting the very idea that Asa could be serious about this deal. “Yeah, right. I’m supposed to believe that you’ll just let me blow up your family.”
