Unhinged (Necessary Evils #1)

Adam chuckled. “To be fair, you did steal his backpack full of cash and guns.”

He threaded his fingers into Noah’s hair, turning his head for a kiss that lingered. He couldn’t keep his hands off him. He wanted to taste every part of him, touch every part of him, crawl inside him and live in his skin.

When Noah whined into Adam’s mouth, their lazy kiss turned dirty, his hand sliding up Noah’s thigh to run his thumb along the rigid outline of his dick in his jeans. “Fuck, you’re already hard,” he growled against his lips. “I can take care of that for you if you just quit your job. I have a whole list of things I want to do to you. Unbutton your pants and we’ll start right now,” he vowed.

Noah ground himself against Adam’s palm briefly, but then tore his mouth away. Adam was undeterred, biting at his jaw, his ear, anyplace he had access to.

“No. No. No,” Noah said, pushing his palm into Adam’s face and physically pushing him back to his side of the vehicle. Adam licked Noah’s palm as he said, “You cannot seduce me to get what you want.”

Adam frowned. “Why not?”

Noah gave him an exasperated look. “You know, you don’t have to tell anybody that you’re a rich kid. You’ve clearly never heard the word no.”

Adam scoffed. “Of course, I have. I mean, never in reference to sex with me, but I’m familiar with the concept.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “You’re so weird. I’m getting out of this car now before I let you convince me to do something stupid, like quit my job and be your full-time rent boy.”

Adam huffed out a sigh. “I don’t see what’s so wrong with being my full-time rent boy. I would offer you a very generous compensation package.”

Noah’s gaze dipped to Adam’s crotch. “I’m very familiar with your generous ‘compensation package’ but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline your offer at this time.”

Adam groaned. “Fine, but I’m picking you up after work and you’re coming home with me.”

Noah swayed forward and smacked a kiss on Adam’s pouting lips. “I’m off at ten. Could you try to drive a less conspicuous car to pick me up? People are going to think I’m banging a drug dealer and try to roll me in the alley.”

The idea of Noah getting beat up caused a strange feeling to fill his chest. “I will disembowel anybody who so much as messes up your hair.”

Noah pretended to swoon. “Who says romance is dead?”

Adam narrowed his eyes at Noah. “I feel like you’re making fun of me, but I can’t tell.”

Noah smiled big enough for tiny wrinkles to form on his nose and at the corners of his eyes. “If you’re ever unsure, just ask. But, in this particular case, I’m definitely making fun of you. But in a good way.”

“There’s a good way to make fun of somebody?” Adam asked, dubious.

“Of course.” Noah grabbed the handle on the door, but it wouldn’t give. “Can I get out, please?”

“No.”

“Adam.”

“Fine. Have a good night, I guess.”

Noah kissed him once more. “You’re ridiculous. Try not to miss me too much.”

“Impossible.”

Noah climbed from the car, giving Adam one last wave before bounding up the tiny staircase to his door and disappearing inside. Adam didn’t like Noah living in that flimsy trailer. He wondered if he could convince him to just move in or at least buy him a nicer trailer. That thing looked like it cost less than a month’s rent on Adam’s place. Though, he honestly had no idea how much his rent was. His father’s bookkeeper paid his bills.

He pulled out of the lot and was just heading onto the freeway when his phone rang.

Calliope.

He jabbed the button on the steering wheel, saying, “Tell me you’ve got something I can work with.”

There was a sigh of disappointment all around Adam before her voice poured from the Bose audio system. “Hello, Calliope. How are you? I’m well, Adam. Thank you ever so much for asking. And you?” Her voice was saccharine.

Adam sighed. “Hello, Calliope. How are you?” he asked dutifully.

She gave a put upon sigh. “Terrible. The store was out of my favorite Arctic Fox hair color—Poison in case you were wondering.” He wasn’t. “Then I broke a nail trying to open my Diet Coke, found a screw in my tire, found out my ex-husband died, and got a paper cut opening my mail just to find out it was some company asking about my car’s extended warranty.”

Adam blinked. One of those things was not like the others. “I’m sorry to hear your ex-husband died?” he asked.

She scoffed. “Me too. I thought the son of a bitch died five years ago. Guess I should have checked for a pulse before I left.”

Adam had no idea whether she was joking or not. It really was a crap shoot with Calliope. “This is why I never ask how you are,” he said, voice flat. “In case you were wondering.”

Calliope gave a delicate sniff. “You’re a rude and ungrateful child. Your father should have quit while he was ahead.”

Adam laughed. “You know you don’t mean that. Do I not buy you all the best Pop Funko dolls for your collection?”

Calliope gave a deeply bothered sigh. “I suppose.”

Adam shook his head, changing lanes to avoid getting stuck behind a minivan with a stick figure family getting eaten by zombies. “Calliope?”

“Yes, Adam?” she said, as breathlessly as if she thought he was about to propose.

“Did you find anything?”

There was the sound of a chair spinning. “No. Well, nothing related to Noah’s pervert party guest list. This Gary is no choir boy. He’s been in and out of prison for numerous petty crimes. Has a couple of domestic violence collars. The Secret Service is investigating him for money laundering, and his club has received numerous violations from the health inspector.”

“Yet, he has NSA-level encryption software.”

“All the most depraved losers do,” Calliope said.

“There has to be something on those hard drives. Something that proves what a piece of shit he is.”

“Proves to who? We know he’s a perv. You said Noah was one of his victims. Why not just put him down and be done with it?”

Adam shook his head. “Because he wasn’t the only one.”

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