Then, of course, there was Ryan’s sister, Marissa. She’d spent years running from a man who’d wanted to silence her, and they’d all opted for the easy way out—stashing her rather than finding the man responsible. Ryan knew he’d failed her on every count. If it hadn’t been for Trace Kogan and his desperate need to protect Marissa, she would likely still be on the run. Or dead. Thankfully, with a little help from Max Adorite, the leader of the Southern Boy Mafia and now the husband of Trace’s sister, Courtney, they’d managed to take the bastard down. And the death of that double-crossing ATF agent didn’t cause Ryan to lose a minute of sleep.
Dialing his father’s number, Ryan bent over, resting his elbows on the wooden railing that separated him from the sand several feet below, and put the phone to his ear. While listening to it ring, he thought back to swimming with Z in that big ocean earlier. It’d been…interesting.
Sort of.
If it hadn’t been for Ryan’s unflagging desire for the man, he probably would’ve said it had been relaxing.
“Hey,” Bryce greeted in a fatherly tone. “Everything good?”
“So far,” he replied. Then he got right to the point. “Was there somethin’ you forgot to mention about this place? Like the fact that you own it?”
Bryce chuckled. “It was…a recent acquisition.”
Leave it to his father to make buying a prime piece of beachfront property sound like a business deal.
“For?” Ryan inquired.
“Your mother and I thought it’d be a good investment. Something we could all use. What do you think?”
“It’s nice.” Ryan continued to peer out at the ocean. “Really nice.”
“Glad you like it,” Bryce replied. “So y’all settled in? Ready to get to work?”
“Yeah. We’re settled in. Anything exciting happenin’ up there?” It was difficult for Ryan not to be in the thick of things, but he relied on his father and Casper to fill him in when necessary.
Ryan should’ve been sharing the reins of Sniper 1 Security with one of Casper’s offspring, but unfortunately, the Kogan clan didn’t seem to be as keen to take on the task as Ryan was.
Ryan didn’t have the luxury of shirking his responsibilities, which meant that left him and him alone for the time being, and truth was, he was fucking tired. As much as he wanted to tell the Kogans he could certainly use the help, that wasn’t in his nature. Instead, he continued to plow forward, taking it all on himself. Eventually he’d burn out, but until then, he didn’t have time to think about it.
“Hunter’s back for good,” Bryce told him now. “He’s gonna settle back in.”
Ryan stood up straight. “Is he gonna take over?”
“No,” Bryce answered solemnly. “But Casper and I are gonna talk to Conner again. It’s time they address this one way or another. Casper and I can’t fully retire until you’re comfortable.”
Ryan knew better than to argue with his father. The Kogans were as much his family as his own brothers and sister, but that didn’t mean Ryan wasn’t irritated with their lack of enthusiasm when it came to running the family business. But if Bryce wanted to address the issue again, who was he to stop him?
“Anything else?”
“Not yet. What about you? You discuss the case with Z yet?”
“I’ve got him goin’ over the file, hoping he can pull something out of there that I didn’t. Something that’ll help us get an in with Ardent.”
He didn’t bother mentioning that he’d already caught on to Bryce and Casper’s plan. Putting Ryan with Z wasn’t the smartest move—for personal reasons. At least as far as Ryan was concerned. Either his father knew the attraction that Ryan had for the man or he was merely playing with fire. Not that it mattered. Ryan knew that this stunt wouldn’t work.
When Z had mentioned that he was all for the plan—pretending to be a couple—Ryan had been surprised. It wasn’t a completely terrible strategy. It merely wouldn’t work. Yes, in theory, if he and Z could establish a cover as a couple interested in art, perhaps they could get close enough to figure out a way to get the original painting out of Ardent’s possession. They wouldn’t pose a threat, and if they could befriend the guy, not only pretending to work for him, they had a chance of pulling this off.
“What does he think about it? He give you any input?” Bryce asked, a subtle hint reflected in his tone.
“A little,” Ryan lied. They’d discussed it thoroughly, and Z was already on board, but he told his father, “We’re still tryin’ to work it out.”
“Well, what if…”
“What if what?” Ryan asked his father, knowing exactly where this conversation was headed.
“What if you and Z were to pretend to be a couple?”
And there it was. Rage stirred in Ryan’s veins. He hated that his own father had set him up like this. Biting back the immediate retort, Ryan managed to maintain his composure. “Not a good idea.”
“Why not?” Bryce countered, sounding genuinely confused. “It’s not like you haven’t played a role for a job before.”
Ryan caught the slight edge of irritation in his father’s voice.
“Not to mention, the two of you appear…compatible.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” He couldn’t hold back any longer. “Compatible? Because we’re both gay? It doesn’t work that way.”
Bryce was silent for a moment, but then Ryan’s father’s voice filled his ear. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Sure, it’s not a secret that you’re gay. So is Z. But I’m not some misguided dumb ass who thinks that simply because you have that in common you should be together. Jesus, Ryan. Give me a little fucking credit.”
Ryan didn’t respond.
“I’m heterosexual, kid, in case you hadn’t noticed. So is something like ninety-six percent of the population. Doesn’t mean I’m attracted to them. I didn’t have some foolish agenda here. I didn’t make the suggestion merely because you’re gay.”
A wave of guilt crashed over him. Deep down, Ryan had known that.
Ryan had always had the support of his family. He knew a lot of people who wouldn’t be having this conversation with their parents because their parents didn’t support them, hadn’t come to terms with the fact that they were different than the norm. His family wasn’t bothered by the fact that Ryan was gay, never had been. Not even when he’d come out to them when he was fifteen years old. For that, he was grateful. And maybe he took that for granted.
Truth was, he didn’t believe his father and Casper had made the suggestion for that reason alone. But he damn sure wasn’t going to confirm to his father that he was attracted to Z and that this setup could very well be a disaster. The last thing Ryan wanted was for things to go bad between him and Z, their past mistake notwithstanding. His family’s company was at stake. They couldn’t afford to lose Z, and when—not if, because it was inevitable—they had a fallout, it would be a disaster of epic proportions.
Ryan had no misconceptions on the matter. First, it was a job. Second, he knew that Z wasn’t long-term relationship material. The guy disappeared every night and every weekend, sometimes not coming home until it was time to go to work. It was a subject that Trace had ridiculed Z about for years, which was the only reason Ryan knew of Z’s extracurricular activities.
Ryan wasn’t looking for a one-night stand, despite the fact that he knew if he and Z did get together again, it’d be just as explosive as the last time. That was a given. There was an undeniable chemistry between them, but that didn’t mean it was right.
Which was why Ryan opted to tell his father exactly how he felt. “Face it, Dad,” Ryan said. “I’m a good actor because that’s part of my job, but when it comes to a situation like this—pretending with Z—I’m not sure I’m that good.”
And Ryan wasn’t talking about pretending to want to be with Z. That was a no brainer.
No, he was referring to his inability to pretend that it wasn’t real, when he knew without a doubt that he would wish it were, from the very first touch.
But Ryan decided to let his father decipher that statement however he wanted.
ELEVEN
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Z WAS up before the sun. Not wanting to bother RT, he ventured out to the pool. Because it was dark, he ditched his underwear and slipped into the warm water naked, his gaze continuing to stray to the horizon, where the faintest hints of the sun were just breaking free, brightening the otherwise inky black sky.