Chapter Five

 

“That’s what you’re wearing to work?” Conrad asked, flipping his hand toward Lucas.

Lucas glanced down at himself. “Yeah. What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s a Superman T-shirt.”

“What’s wrong with Superman?”

“He’s not the problem. I thought you were doing the CEO-managing the company-stepping into your father’s shoes thing. Shouldn’t you be in a suit and tie?”

Lucas laughed. “No. From day one, my dad kept Green Hart as a casual dress company. He’s always said he wants his employees to feel comfortable, relaxed, and happy. There are some dress code stipulations, but they’re common sense things, like not wearing pajamas to the office.”

Conrad stared at him, glowering. “Then why the hell am I wearing a suit and tie?”

Lucas tossed up both hands. “Beats me.”

Hooking a finger over the tie’s knot, Conrad roughly worked it back and forth until it was loose enough to pull over his head. He threw it into a nearby chair. “Fuck that.” He glanced down at himself. “I guess I’ll keep the rest of the monkey suit on. At least the jacket conceals my guns.”

Lucas let his gaze roam down Conrad’s body. The slate gray suit was immaculate, the jacket tailored perfectly to accentuate Conrad’s torso, the dark blue dress shirt adding a flash of color. And it wasn’t some cheap off-the-rack suit. A glance at it was all it took to note how fine it was made. Designer, for sure. He was surprised by Conrad’s fashion sense, though it was obvious he didn’t like wearing the suit, even if he did look smoldering in it.

Still, Conrad being in a suit meant one thing; he was going to work with him and that was not an ideal situation. At dinner the night before, his father announced that since he would be staying home, Conrad’s services would be best put to use shadowing Lucas as a bodyguard. He’d protested, laying out reasons why it wasn’t necessary, but his father’s tenacity—or bullheadedness—won out in the end. Through the debate, Conrad kept eating his steak and baked potato, sipping his beer, and looking thoroughly amused.

He even tried appealing to Conrad, telling him there was no way he could want to go to work with him. Conrad’s response was, “Of course I don’t. But since your dad is streaming money into one of my bank accounts, he’s the boss, so I go where he tells me.”

And that ended the conversation.

Now he was stuck having to be around him all day. Not that he didn’t want to, and that was exactly the problem; he wanted to be around him. He wanted to get to know him, listen to his smooth, deep voice, admire his body, his strong hands, his gorgeous face shadowed in dark blond stubble, watch him take his hair down again…

Lucas took a quick breath and turned for the door to the garage. It was going to be a long day. “You ready.”

“I guess,” Conrad grumbled from behind him.

Lucas opened the access door to the garage and hit a button to lift the garage door. He jogged down the steps, aiming for his red Mercedes. Opening the rear door on the driver’s side, he set his leather bag holding his laptop in the backseat on the floor, then shut the door and reached to open the driver’s door. He paused, glancing back at Conrad, who stood in the garage with a look of distaste on his face. “Are you coming?”

“We’re taking…that?” Conrad moved his hand in a sharp flick toward the car.

Lucas huffed in impatience. “It’s my car, so yeah, we are.”

“That has to be the frumpiest Mercedes I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s not frumpy! It’s the all-electric B-Class.” Lucas gave the crossover style vehicle an affectionate pat on the hood. “It might have a bit of a limited range on its charge, but for around town and getting to the office, it’s perfect.” He held his hand out toward Conrad, dangling the car key. “Do you want to drive?”

“Hell no, I don’t want to be seen behind the wheel of this thing. It’s great that you guys live what you preach, but I think you take it a little too far.” Conrad’s gaze moved to a sleek black sedan. “What about that Mercedes? Is it electric, too?”

“Yeah, it’s the electric S-Class and my dad’s. This one’s mine.”

“Your dad has better taste.”

“Get in the damn car!”

Grinning and looking far too pleased with himself, Conrad sauntered toward the passenger side. “You’re really fun to annoy. I think it’s going to become my new hobby for the rest of this job.”

“That’s just great.” Lucas opened the door and dropped into the seat. Seeing Conrad was settled in, he started up the car and backed out of the garage. He turned the car in the driveway and cruised down to the gates, hitting the remote for them to open, and passed through, closing them behind him. He turned onto the road, heading toward work…ten…long…minutes…away, with him being acutely aware of Conrad’s presence in the close confines of the car.

They rode in silence, Conrad seeming perfectly content to not make an attempt at small talk. One minute passed. Two. And coming up on three, Lucas couldn’t take it anymore. “So, do you live around here? In the Naples area, I mean.”

“No.”

Lucas waited for Conrad to offer more, but was only given silence. “Where do you live, then?”

Conrad rolled his head to look at him. The dark sunglasses Conrad wore prevented Lucas from being able to look into his eyes, but Conrad’s expression spoke enough that he wasn’t inclined toward answering personal questions.

“Oh, come on,” Lucas said. “It’s not like I’m going to go running with that info to…whoever would want it. I don’t even know who whoever is or where I’d find them.”

Conrad sat quietly for another moment. “The Bahamas.”

Lucas snapped his head to the side. “No shit? Really? You live in the Bahamas?”

Conrad nodded. “Not far from Nassau. It’s easy enough to catch a private plane back to the States when I need to.”

“And to get beyond the reach of U.S. authorities.” Lucas glanced from the road to Conrad, and the smirk Conrad was giving him spoke that his thought was correct. He focused back on the road, not sure what to think about that. Conrad said he wasn’t on any most wanted lists, but that didn’t mean his actions were legal. It meant he’d never been caught or connected to anything illegal.

Ahead and on the right were the offices, manufacturing facility, and warehouse for Green Hart, sprawled over a large field. A steel statue of a tall, proud stag painted green stood sentinel at the entrance. Streamlined steel windmills churned the air, generating electricity that helped supported the facility. The tops of the buildings were dotted in solar panels, but panels mounted on thick poles also lined and ran through the parking lot.

“I’m assuming like your dad’s house, this place is mostly self-sufficient, too,” Conrad said.

Lucas swung the car into the parking lot, aiming toward the lot for the offices. “More than. It generates enough power to sustain itself and feed back into the system. And as of our last quality checks, it’s ninety percent waste free. We recycle, reuse, and repurpose most everything. It’s one of my goals in the next three years to get it up to ninety-five percent, then ninety-eight by five years. After that, we’ll assess what needs to be done to get it up to one hundred, if that’s possible. Unfortunately, some of the manufacturing processes create waste from the chemicals that are used, so one hundred percent might not be realistic, but who knows what new technologies will be available by then.”

When he only got silence for a reply again, he glanced at Conrad, seeing him smiling. But not the arrogant smirk or wicked grin that he was already used to. Rather this smile was softer, warmer.

“You think I’m geeky, don’t you?”

Conrad shook his head. “No. You’re passionate about all of this stuff and you’re cute when you talk about it, getting all excited, like you can’t wait to put into action the things you want to do.”

“I can’t. I’ve spent my entire adult life studying environmental engineering. Now it’s time for me to put everything I’ve learned to work, and to keep learning while I’m doing it.” Lucas paused, his mind snagging one thing Conrad had said. “Wait. Did you say I’m cute?”

Conrad laughed. “Yeah, I did. You don’t get out much, do you?”

Lucas pulled into his private space near the front doors of the offices and put the car in park, switching it off. “Not for a while. I’ve been really focused on my studies, and even before that, I guess you could say I’ve always been more in my own head. At least, that’s what my dad and other people say to me.”

Nodding thoughtfully, Conrad said, “Is this your first real job?”

Lucas let out an offended cough. “No! I worked a few jobs through school. They were all part-time, but regardless, they were work. And during the summer, I’ve worked here for years, from high school on, doing several odd jobs in all the departments.”

“Uh huh. Well then, let me be one of the first people to welcome you to the real world. Hope it doesn’t kick your ass too much.”

Lucas reached across the car and shoved a snickering Conrad on the shoulder. “You’re not funny.”

“And yet you’re smiling.” Conrad opened the passenger door. “Guess we better get this day started.”

Following his lead, Lucas climbed out of the car and collected his computer bag from the back. He shut the door, locked the car, and started toward the tall, wide glass doors leading into the office building. He shouldered his computer bag as he walked, but nearly as soon as the weight of it dipped his shoulder down, it was lifted off. He glanced at Conrad, stunned to see him carrying the bag for him. “Thanks.”

“I’m nothing if not a gentleman.”

“That’s not exactly the first word that’d come to my mind when describing you, but okay.”

“You haven’t known me long enough to make that assessment. I’m chivalrous as fuck.”

Lucas laughed and nodded in greeting to the two women behind the large, semi-circle reception desk. He waved and greeted a few people who spotted him on his way to the elevators. Stepping into the elevator, he waited for Conrad to cross inside, then hit the number three button for the top floor. The elevator zoomed them up with gravity-defying speed to the third floor, and he stepped out to the executive offices. Turning down the burgundy-carpeted hallway, he aimed for his office at the end.

A growl of disapproval came from behind him. “Being in places like this always makes me itch. I can feel myself slowly being suffocated by all the political correctness.”

“Yeah, I can see where you might feel like a fish out of water here, not being able to whip out your gun and shoot someone if they take the last of the coffee in the break room and don’t start a fresh pot.”

“I’d never shoot anyone over something like that. Throat punch them, yeah. But not shoot them.”

Laughing softly, Lucas neared the reception area for his office, his administrative assistant, Margaret behind her desk. He noticed his office door was open, and as Margaret glanced up at him, he gave her a questioning look. She opened her mouth to speak, stopping as a man stepped through his office door.

“Oh, there you are, Lucas. I was wondering where you were.”

Lucas fought down the urge to growl like Conrad. Richard Albrecht. He’d been his father’s right-hand man with Green Hart for twenty-three years. Richard was actually a decent enough guy, and he’d grown up knowing him, but since he started to take over his father’s position, he felt like Richard had become a second shadow. He understood Richard wanted to watch out for both him and the company, but he had his dad for that. Running for the Senate didn’t mean his father was going to abandon him and Green Hart. Anytime he had a question or needed guidance, all he had to do was pick up the phone and call him. Not to mention, his dad still came in once in a while, checked up on things, talked to employees. He wasn’t completely hands off with the company and he probably never would be.

“Yeah, I’m a little late,” Lucas said. “Someone didn’t like my car.” He aimed a look at Conrad.

A teasing grin curved Conrad’s lips. “It’s not your car I had a problem with. It’s how slow it goes. It’s nothing but a roller skate on steroids.”

“Hey, it can go faster. I was doing the speed limit.”

“Ah, then it was a driver problem. I’ve driven faster in Mario Kart.”

Margaret laughed behind them. “My grandson loves that game.” She looked at Lucas over the tops of her glasses. “And he’s right. I’ve seen you drive. You drive slower than an old lady, and that’s coming from an old lady.”

Laughing through his words, Lucas said, “I do not, and you’re not an old lady.” He turned his attention back to Richard, who was smiling, but didn’t seem to find the conversation humorous. He nodded toward his door. “I guess I forgot to lock up before I left.”

“I have a key,” Richard said. “I was putting some documents on your desk that need reviewed right away.”

Margaret spoke up, her voice sharper. “I told him he could leave them with me.”

“And I didn’t want them misplaced or forgotten about,” Richard retorted. He turned away from Margaret. “But who’s your friend here, Lucas?”

Conrad stepped forward before Lucas could reply, offering his hand to Richard. “Conner Lanceton. Lucas and I were in the same graduating class at MIT, even if I did start a few years before him. Had to work my way through, but I made it.”

Giving him a vigorous handshake, Richard nodded his approval. “Very admirable to have worked your way through. What are your degrees?”

“Understudy in chemistry and chemical engineering, with my PhD in chemical engineering.” Conrad nodded toward Lucas. “He’s giving me the grand tour today and letting me hang around while I’m in town in an attempt to sweet talk me into working here. He thinks I might be able to help devise some solutions to help reduce the chemical waste of your manufacturing processes and maybe some alternatives to the chemicals being used. But I’ve got another potential opportunity on the line, so we’ll see.”

“Oh? With who?”

“Sun Co. out in L.A.”

Richard’s bushy gray eyebrows rose. “One of our biggest competitors in solar panels.” He gave Lucas a good-natured clap on the shoulder. “Better get him on our payroll.”

Lucas let out a single laugh, trying to work through his stunned shock at how fast and smoothly Conrad rattled out the lies. “Yeah, I’ll try.”

“Well, I’ll let you get to showing him around.” Richard turned, walking down the hallway, and called back, “And don’t forget those documents.”

“I won’t.” Lucas spun around, finally letting some of his frustration out. “He drives me crazy sometimes. Always trying to micromanage everything I do.”

“He needs to retire and go walk a golf course,” Margaret mumbled behind her coffee mug. “Or off the end of a pier.”

Lucas chuckled, but his humor faded quickly. “Why does he have a key to my office?”

Margaret held up a hand, expressing her annoyance about that, as well. “I have no idea. I didn’t realize he had one until I got here a couple minutes before you and he was already in there. I asked him what he was doing and he said putting documents on your desk for you. I told him to give them to me, and he said he had it under control and he was going to wait for you in there to talk to you about them.”

A noise of disapproval rumbled in Lucas’s throat. “I don’t like that. Can you call a locksmith and see about having a new lock put on my door?”

“I’ll get right on it.”

“Thanks.”

Margaret nodded, her gaze moving to Conrad. “And it’s nice to meet you, Conner.”

Conrad offered his hand to her. “And you, also.”

Lucas turned to go into his office. “I better look at those docs that Richard is so uptight about. You can come in, Conner.” He tried not to put emphasis on the strange name, but his mind was reeling at how in the span of a heartbeat, Conrad had transformed himself. Conrad strolled into the office, Lucas closing the door behind him. “I’m not sure if I should be impressed or disturbed by what I saw out there with you talking to Richard.”

His hands clasped behind his back, Conrad roamed around the large office. Tall windows ran along half of the back wall. To the left, a door was open leading into the private restroom. Lining the office walls were framed posters of comic book artwork featuring several different superheroes. “Told you I had a diverse resume.”

“Right. How’d you know about Sun Co.?”

“I read.”

Lucas gave him a flat look.

Conrad relented with a grin. “I did a little research on your industry when I took the contract. But I do like to read, too.”

“Makes sense.” Lucas walked up to him, taking the strap of the computer bag and pulling it off Conrad’s shoulder. “Since I’m already getting hit with work, I guess you might as well make yourself at home.” He went to his desk and sat down, gathering the papers from Richard and setting them aside. He’d get to them when he’d get to them. He pulled his laptop out of his bag, set it on the docking station, and fired it up. Peering over the screen, he looked at Conrad standing in front of three posters, gazing up at them.

“Spider-Man, Superman, and the Flash.” Conrad turned his head to the right, where another poster hung. “Iron Man.” He looked left. “Batman. Wonder Woman. You like your superheroes, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I got hooked on comics and graphic novels when I was a kid. Drove my dad crazy that even in college, I didn’t give them up, and he still shakes his head at me every week when I come home with a bag from the comic book store. He thinks I should grow out of them, but he doesn’t really understand them because he’s never read any. You should’ve seen the look on his face when I was moving into his office and I had two of the maintenance guys helping me hang those posters.”

“Nothing wrong with being into them. I always believe anyone who tells someone else that they need to grow out of something, or should stop doing something they enjoy, should be slapped in the damn mouth.”

“I agree with that…short of smacking my dad. Do you read comics?”

“No, but I’ve seen pretty much all the movies based off of them. Not the same, I know.”

“But that’s cool and it’s a good start.”

Conrad nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “Doesn’t look like you’re more of a Marvel or DC fanboy either way.”

“No, not really. I know to some people that’s kind of blasphemous, but I like a good story and a character I can get into. I’d be short changing myself some great stories if I only read one or the other.”

“And since you gave these guys the place of honor right across from your desk where you can look at them all day, I’d say you like the true blue, good guy hero types the most.”

“For the most part, yeah, but I like cool anti-heroes, too. Those types who are inherently good, but they push the line and when it’s called for, will cross it to see the ultimate good win over evil.” Lucas rested his chin on his fist, his elbow propped on his desk as he looked at Conrad’s back and the posters. “But Supes, Spidey, and Flash are my favorites. My first comic was a Superman one, so he’s got a special place for me.”

“So what is it about these guys,” Conrad nodded toward the posters in front of him, motioned outward with both hands to the others on the walls, “that draws you to them?”

“I guess, because they stand for something, you know. Comics have always taken issues of the times and tackled them in a captivating way. I know some people think they’re drivel, but that’s probably because they’ve never given them a fair shot. Political issues, social issues, environmentalism, racism, even homophobia, some of them take on some pretty heavy issues and do it very eloquently. Sure, some of the storylines are pure fantasy and fun, they’re supposed to be entertainment after all, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a poignant message mixed in sometimes. And a lot of the characters themselves are reminders of greater ideals just by who they are.

“Take Superman. Setting aside some alternative storylines and looking at the heart of the character, he’s got all this power, he could make the world his if he wanted to, but instead he lives a humble life as Clark Kent, and as Superman fights for truth, justice, and freedom. Really, I don’t even think it’s just his powers that make him super. It’s who he is as a man, his compassion, selflessness, and kindness, how he stays his course to do good and help others whenever he can, no matter who they are. Those are ideals I can respect and relate to, and they’re things everyone can do and cultivate within themselves. And it’s the same with Spidey, and Flash, and…” Lucas paused, his gaze moving off the posters to Conrad, who was staring at him. “Aaaand I sound like a giant geek.”

Chuckling softly, Conrad shook his head. “No, you don’t. You sound passionate again and you’ve surpassed cute to fucking adorable.” He nodded toward the posters. “And I don’t think liking these guys and what they represent makes you a geek.”

Lucas lowered his gaze to his computer. “It does by a lot of people’s standards, judging by how often I’ve been called one…and worse.”

“That’s their problem then, isn’t it? You’re the one who’s happy and enjoying something you like, and they’re the miserable fucks who don’t have anything in their lives that does that for them. The only thing that makes people like that happy is dragging down others, and how pathetic is that?”

Lucas looked up at him again. “I never thought about it like that. I didn’t have a lot of friends in middle school or high school, just a few close ones, and I got picked on a lot in school. Between me being a bit of a math whiz and winning the science fair every year, combined with preferring to read my comics to gossiping about the latest perceived social faux pas, then add being openly gay in high school, I was a walking target. When I did get involved with the cool kids, it was to tell them to knock off their shit when they were bothering some other poor kid.”

“So you stood your ground, didn’t bend under pressure, and stayed true to who you are.” Conrad smiled at him. “Good job.”

Gazing at him, drinking in Conrad’s smile, Lucas’s heartbeat quickened. But it was more than Conrad’s smile and handsome face leaving him speechless in that moment. It was his words, his acceptance, his support for him being…him. Conrad had asked about his interests, he’d listened to him. Actually listened. And he didn’t seem bored, but genuinely interested in learning about him. He couldn’t remember the last time a guy showed that much interest without getting that glazed overlook of boredom, or who worked to change the subject as quick as possible. Looking at him, in that moment he realized, everything about Conrad was different than anyone he’d ever known…in so many ways.

Replaying Conrad’s words through his mind, he caught something he’d missed before. “Wait…I just caught…you called me adorable.”

Conrad burst out laughing. “I called you fucking adorable. It’s a damn good thing I’m blunt, otherwise you’d never notice when I’m flirting with you.”

Unable to help it, Lucas laughed with him. “I’m not used to it!”

“You better get used to it when I’m around.” Turning away, Conrad walked toward the long, brown leather sofa on the right-hand side of the office. “What about Deadpool? Ever give him a try?”

“I’ve read some Deadpool stuff.” A smile rose to Lucas’s lips. “Might be feeling some motivation to read more now.”

Conrad slipped off his suit jacket and tossed it over the back of the sofa. The sight of his two shoulder holsters, the black handles of his guns sticking out of them, brought Lucas back to full reality. Conrad wasn’t just some cute guy talking comics with him. He wasn’t the prospective new employee, Conner Lanceton. He was a mercenary, a hired gun, and he was there for one reason.

And yet, it was so easy for Lucas to forget that. It was Conrad himself who made that happen. Maybe it was that Conrad always seemed at ease wherever he was, but he was comfortable around him. He felt like he could be himself with Conrad, with no judgment from him, and that in of itself was comforting.

Conrad dropped onto the sofa and stretched out on his back, resting his head on the sofa’s arm. “Too bad we’re stuck in this office. You could show me your favorite comics and movies and shows based off them.”

Touched by the thought, Lucas’s voice left him soft. “I’d really like that. Raincheck?”

“Definitely.” Conrad laid one arm over his eyes. “This is going to be a long day.”

“You don’t have to stay. This is probably the second safest place in the world I can be other than home.”

“I’m not sure on that, and yes, I do have to stay. Daddy’s orders. This wouldn’t be my first way of doing things, but he’s calling the shots and wants me near you.”

“How would you do it?”

“I would’ve scoped out this place yesterday and found a place with a nice vantage where I could watch you and monitor those around you without anyone knowing I was there.”

“That’s kind of creepy.”

“Then I guess you’d think it’s creepy for me to watch you swim your morning laps without you knowing it.”

Lucas stared at him. “You’re not serious. …Are you?”

Conrad shrugged. “Gotta have something to think about in the shower.”

“Okay, now it’s gotten creepy. And a little flattering.”

Conrad peeked out from under his arm at him, giving him a grin.

Shaking his head, Lucas focused on his computer again and started going through his emails. So many damn emails. “Since it looks like you’re not going anywhere and I’ve got you trapped with me, at least I can get to know you better now.”

“Or, I could take a nap. Which sounds better, since I had to get up at the ass crack of dawn to get ready to come here, and I’m really not a morning person.”

Lucas flicked another glance at him. Sprawled on the couch, he couldn’t help but think of Conrad as being like a big, lazy guard dog, ready to spend most of his day sleeping, but when called to action, could be ferocious. “Come on, it’ll be fun. We’ll play twenty questions.”

“What?”

“It’s a game. I ask twenty questions about you, and you have to answer.”

“That doesn’t sound like a game. It sounds like an interrogation.”

“Stop being difficult. It’ll be fun.”

“I’m not sure our definitions of fun are the same.”

“We’re playing.” Lucas clicked on an email to open it. “Is Conrad Dane your real name?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-six.”

“Did you go to college?”

“Tried, but couldn’t find one that offered a degree program in wet work, so I took an internship.”

Lucas chuckled, but then it hit him there might be some truth to Conrad’s statement. Not about him looking for a degree program, but about finding a mentor to help him learn his way as a mercenary. “Do you do a lot of…hits?”

“Ah, now we’re getting into the things you really want to know. And no, I don’t. Not anymore. That was earlier in my career. I mostly do protection work now.”

Lucas let out his held breath, relief and some surprise that Conrad had answered washed through him. But Conrad hadn’t said he’d never done assassinations. He assumed Conrad had, but it hit him full force that the man in his office with him, laying on his sofa, who playfully teased him and flirted with him, had taken lives. And yet knowing that didn’t change how much he liked him. And what did that mean about him, if he could still like Conrad knowing the things he’d done?

“Why?” Lucas asked. “Why do you do it?”

“The pay’s good.”

“But you’ve obviously got skills. Why not put them toward better use? Work for the CIA or FBI?”

Deep laughter left Conrad. “Oh, you sweet innocent thing, you. The government’s more crooked than the people who hire me. At least with the people who hire me and who I’m connected with, I know what I’m getting with them, and they’re up front that they’re not always good guys.”

“You might be right on that. Then, you don’t usually get hired by people like my dad?”

“I do more these days since I’m backing out of the underworld, but usually, no.”

Lucas swiveled his chair away from his computer to face him. “Then for one job, you could be protecting someone like my dad, then for your next, you could be protecting someone like a murdering drug kingpin?”

“Something like that.”

“Don’t you care that you’re protecting a horrible person? Someone who kills innocent people?”

“Innocent people die every day and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. And in my line of work, an innocent person is never a target. If they’re a target, it’s because they’re the opposite of that.”

“You’re a real soldier of fortune, aren’t you?” Lucas caught that his tone was disapproving, but it didn’t seem to bother Conrad.

“That’s me, living the dream.”

Lucas turned back to his computer. “I think I’m going to put the game on pause for a while and get some work done.”

Conrad rolled to his side, facing him, his eyes closed. “Good. I can finally take my nap.”

Silence filled the office, broken only by the clicking and tapping of his computer keys as he replied to emails…his movements slower with his thoughts continuing to drift back to all Conrad had told him.

Conrad’s voice broke the silence. “I didn’t mind it, playing your game with you. And talking to you.”

Lucas paused. Slowly, he turned his head toward him. Conrad’s eyes were still closed, his face betrayed no emotion, but somehow he knew that wasn’t an easy confession for Conrad to make. He had a feeling it was probably one of the most heartfelt things Conrad had said to anyone in a long time. “I’m glad. I liked it, too.”

The slightest smile touched Conrad’s lips.

A smile of his own rose to Lucas’s as he turned back to his computer, and as strange as it was, he felt safe with his dark protector close to him.