[The City 03] • Hell on Wheels

Cory Dylan takes his job as bartender at Ice Water in Hell very seriously. As far as he's concerned, he's the only person drawing the line between having a few drinks with friends and getting dangerously drunk. Refusing to serve a customer who had already imbibed too much has landed him a punch to the face more than once, but that doesn't deter him. When a customer attacks Cory on his way home from the club, his first reaction is to play the episode off as another quirk of his job. However, it soon becomes apparent the beating had nothing to do with his job and everything to do with his past.

Tao Kemoeatu works as the doorman and bouncer at Ice Water. His size often scares people away, including the one man he wants more than anyone. Watching Cory put his neck on the line every night has eaten at Tao. The sprite-like bartender barely speaks to him, yet Tao knows he'd walk through fire for the young man. He vows to protect Cory at all costs, but first he has to find a way to prove size really doesn't matter when dealing with the heart.