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By midday, Dare still hadn’t called Grant. He’d spent the morning getting back to work again—reminding himself where he was in all his current projects, and what still needed doing before the two vans would be ready for sale. But visions of Grant kept leaping up behind his eyes. It didn’t help that the vans still held a faint niff of sex in the air.
God, Dare was horny. He was just contemplating having a wank, when his phone beeped. A text from Jase.
Uh-oh. What the hell had happened now?
U better get round here. Now. Was all it said.
Fuck. What’s happened? You and Rain okay?
We’re fine. This is about you.
Dare rang the cryptic little bugger, but he wasn’t picking up.
Bleedin’ hell.
Grant would have to wait. Whatever this was, Dare needed to deal with it first.
––––––––
DARE WAS STILL EXPECTING some kind of disaster to greet him when he reached the house, but Rain gave him a huge smile and a hug when she opened the door.
“What’s going on?” Dare demanded.
“Blimey, look at you!” Rain giggled. “It’s nothing bad. Come on through. I’ll get the kettle on.” She led him into the living room, and that was when he was greeted by disaster.
Grant. Sitting on the sofa. Drinking tea.
Dare stared, trying to make sense of his two worlds colliding. What the hell was Grant doing here, in one of his natty suits, sitting there next to Jase like it was some kind of polite little middle-class tea party?
“Hello,” Grant eventually said, giving him an awkward little wave.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Grant frowned, and although a part of Dare screamed at him to stop, he was angry and confused enough to keep going. “This is my private life. My family. What the hell gave you the idea you were welcome here?”
Grant plonked down his tea and got to his feet. “I apologise,” he said to Jase. “I didn’t realise I’d be causing this kind of a problem. I’ll be on my way.”
“The fuck you will,” Jase replied and turned to glare at Dare. “Chill, bro. Thought this was the bloke you were into, an’ all. He is, isn’t he? Talks like he’s well into you too.”
Rain took hold of Dare’s arm and steered him to his dad’s old recliner. “That’s no way to talk to our guest, now, is it? Why don’t you just sit down and hear him out? Me and Jase’ll just go out in the garden.”
“We will?” Jase squinted suspiciously.
“Yeah, we’ve got stuff to do out there, haven’t we? Weeding and shit.”
“First I’ve heard about it,” Jase complained, but he let himself be led out of the room.
Leaving just the two of them.
Dare crossed his arms. “Well?”
The look Grant gave him was distinctly sheepish. “I know you’re probably wondering all kinds of things right now, but please believe me, I wouldn’t have come here if it hadn’t been urgent.”
“What I’m wondering is how the fuck you even knew there was a here to come to in the first place.”
“This place is hardly a secret. We’ve had it on our records as your home address ever since I was handed your file.”
“My file?”
“For the land bid,” Grant explained, bringing back memories of their first meeting at the yard.
“Right. So that explains how you know about it. But what the fuck made you come here? I thought I’d made it bleedin’ well clear, my family is none of your business.”
Grant’s lips thinned. “There’s no need to be like that about it.”
“Like what? I’m not being any different to you. I didn’t notice you rushing to introduce me to your daughters.”
“I already explained about that. And besides, this isn’t about your brother or anything like that. I needed to get in touch with you, and you haven’t been at the yard or answering your phone.”
“So you thought you’d come snooping around my family?”
“No! I just... I thought you were here, okay?”
“Why, exactly?”
Grant developed a sudden fascination with the carpet. “It’s not how it sounds. I had to hire a private investigator to look into you. Not my idea, but Cecil insisted.”
“Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.” Dare got to his feet. “So now we’re seeing your true colours, are we? So you’ve just been pretending to like me, when all you wanted was my land. I might have known it was too bleedin’ good to be true.”
Grant looked stricken, but Dare already knew he was an accomplished con man, so he wasn’t going to let himself care about that.
“You’re not listening to me,” Grant insisted.
“Give me one good reason why I should.”
“Because Cecil knows about you living at the yard! He’s going to try to force you into selling by threatening to shop you to the council.”
“And how the fuck did he find out about that, eh? I told you in confidence. I don’t fucking well believe it.” Dare shook his head, letting the anger rise, bitter in his throat. “To think I was starting to really care about you, and all the while, you were busy telling tales to your boss. Bet you were both laughing at me behind my back, weren’t you? Bunch of overprivileged cunts who think you’re better than the rest of us pond scum.”
“It wasn’t like that.” Now Grant was raising his voice too, anger overtaking the desperation. “If you’d just listen for a moment. I was protecting you. I had to give him something, or he was going to send round some heavies to make you sign.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dare spat out. “You don’t work for some kind of gangland chief.”
“No, but he’s friends with someone who is. Could call in a favour. And I couldn’t bear that.” Grant moved towards him and grabbed Dare’s shoulder. “Couldn’t bear the idea of someone hurting you.”
“So you thought you’d do it yourself instead.”
Grant shook his head. “No. I’ve just been trying to protect you. And to keep your private life out of it. I could have told Cecil about your brother to get him off the case—he’d have had a field day with this place being little better than a crack den—but I respected your privacy. I wanted to keep your family situation a secret.”
“Yeah, you were so full of respect. Sneaking around with your private investigator and poking your nose where it wasn’t wanted. I can’t believe—” Dare choked on raw emotion. “Just get out. Now. I don’t want to ever see your lying face again.”
“Dare, please—”
“What part of get out didn’t you understand?” Dare walked right up to Grant, so worked up the smell of Grant’s aftershave inflamed his rage rather than his lust. “Get the fuck out of here. Now.” He shoved Grant in the chest.
Grant staggered, and for a moment, Dare thought he was going to fall. Good. He deserved a whole lot more than that, but it would be a start.
But Grant just raised his head and fixed Dare with a look that made his heart scream. “Say what you like. I know you’re angry right now, and I understand why. But please, don’t throw all this away.”
“All what?”
“What we have. You know, this thing we started.”
“There’s nothing to throw away, because we’ve never had anything. You were just a fuck, and not a particularly great one at that.”
“You care about me,” Grant insisted.
Fury made Dare cruel. “Nah, I just made it look that way because I wanted your arse. And I’ve had it now, so there’s no point you hanging around for more. I’m moving on to the next conquest. So unless you want me to carry you out of here kicking and screaming, you’d better clear off.”
“Fine.” Grant didn’t look fine. He looked every bit as hurt and angry as Dare felt. Good.
“Wish I could say it’s been nice knowing you,” was Grant’s parting shot, before he slammed the front door.
And Dare’s heart must have been trying to rush after him, because he could have sworn that door crushed the life out of it.
He collapsed onto the sofa and tried to remember how to breathe.