AFTER dinner, Luke was pleased when most of Marty’s extended family came up to say how glad they were to meet him and that they hoped to see him again real soon. Although he’d see them at the wedding, after that he’d be a memory in the minds of the Valdez clan.
That thought disappointed him.
It had been far too long since he’d been a part of a family. He’d forgotten how warm it made him feel. It was a connection he deeply missed, and it was one he didn’t enjoy reliving. It reopened old wounds best forgotten.
He took a deep breath and hardened his heart to the surging emotions.
After they said their good-byes and Mrs. Valdez hugged him for the hundredth time, Luke made sure to hold Marty’s hand all the way out of the restaurant. He wanted to put on a good show for Marty, but he also wanted to stick it to that jerk Christian one more time.
Luke wanted that piece of shit to eat his cheating heart out.
“You were wonderful,” Marty said, practically beaming. “I don’t think anyone suspected anything.”
Luke wasn’t too sure about that. “The asswipe you call your ex-boyfriend wasn’t a true believer.”
Marty shrugged off the comment as if it wasn’t a problem. Luke wasn’t so sure it wouldn’t be. His entire life revolved around lying to others and assessing whether they bought what he was selling. He’d become particularly adept at the art of reading body language and looking for tells that gave off distrust or suspicion.
Christian might be a jerk, but he was also a lawyer, and a shrewd one at that. Plus, he wasn’t like Marty’s family. They wanted him to be happy and have a boyfriend, so it was easy for them to believe.
The same couldn’t be said for Christian. He clearly wanted Marty to be miserable and still pining for him.
He was definitely going to be a problem.
“I think we better up the ante,” he said as they made their way to where they’d parked the car a few blocks over.
“What’s that mean?”
“We need to put on more of a show. Probably do more than just hold hands.”
Marty grinned. “Is that your way of saying you want to kiss me?”
“Yes,” he answered, but when Marty waggled his eyebrows at him, Luke knocked his shoulder into Marty’s, causing him to stumble. “You know what I’m talking about. To get everyone to believe we’re a couple and so Christian will shit that brick you want.”
“Right,” Marty said. A smile teased its way across his full lips. “For Christian.”
“I’m being serious,” Luke insisted. Why was he being so adamant about this? Marty was clearly teasing, but what if he wasn’t? What if he was buying their performance and forgetting it was an act? Luke couldn’t live with himself if he wound up hurting Marty. He was a good guy and deserved better. “This is what you brought me here to do, right? Pretend to be your boyfriend.”
Marty shook his head as if clearing some fog from his brain. “Right. Pretend,” he said with a nod. “But I don’t expect you to kiss me. That’s above and beyond the call of duty.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“My family’s not a fan of PDA anyway, especially my mom. She thinks kissing should be done in the privacy of one’s home and not where everyone has to watch as you swallow each other’s faces.” He stood before the driver’s side door and pressed the button on his fob to unlock it. “So you’re in the clear.”
Marty flashed Luke a smile before ducking inside the car.
Luke stood there for a few moments, feeling as if the biggest jerk of the night hadn’t been Christian after all.
ONCE again, they drove in silence. Luke felt the need to apologize, but he didn’t exactly know what he’d be apologizing for. All he knew was that he hated to see the droop in Marty’s previously wide eyes or the slump in the shoulders that had, for a few hours at least, been squared and straight. He hadn’t meant to burst Marty’s bubble, but that was exactly what he had done.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said.
Marty glanced over at him briefly before turning left onto the highway. “For what?”
“For being an ass.”
Marty blew out a lungful of air. “No. I’m the one who’s sorry. I got too wrapped up in our act. I’m the dumbass.”
“You’re not a dumbass.”
“I really am,” he said with a firm nod. “I mean, come on! I’m the one who talked you into this crazy scheme a few hours ago. More than anyone else, I know what this is and what this isn’t. Only a dumbass would forget that.”
What could Luke say? Marty was at least partially right. The problem was, Luke was a dumbass too. For the briefest of moments back at the restaurant, he’d forgotten he was playing a role, and that had never happened to him in all his years with the FBI.
It had started when he witnessed the way Christian was trying to force himself on Marty. It had pissed him off more than it should. It was like Christian was a thief trying to steal something precious, and that didn’t make a damn bit of sense.
What made even less sense was that Luke wanted to keep Marty by his side, not just to protect him from Christian but because he liked being around him. He enjoyed the way Marty leaned into him at the table and how comfortable his body felt against Luke’s whenever Luke pulled him close.
Being with Marty felt natural, like they’d known each other for years instead of just one afternoon.
Luke had to be losing his fucking mind. Sure, Marty was a good guy, but Luke had food in his refrigerator he’d known longer than Marty.
He had to focus on something else. Anything else.
“I’ve just got to know,” he said, turning in his seat to face Marty. “How the hell did you end up with a jackass like Christian?”
Marty groaned. “You’re not really going to make me tell you this story, are you?”
“I am.” He rubbed his hands together in delight. “And I bet it’s a good story too.” Even if it wasn’t, it was just the kind of diversion he needed.
“It’s my meddling sister’s fault,” Marty answered with a sniff.
“I take it she set the two of you up?”
“If you mean that she nagged me for weeks until I agreed to go out on a date with her boyfriend’s best friend, who she just knew was the man for me, then yeah.” Marty glanced over at Luke and rolled his eyes. “Shows you how much my big sister doesn’t know.”
“Why did she think Christian was the man for you?”
Marty shrugged. “Who knows? I’m guessing she was tired of seeing me alone all the time, but it never bothered me. I’ve kept to myself my whole life and never really had any friends or relationships of my own outside of my family.”
“Until Christian,” Luke pointed out.
“Yeah, thanks for reminding me.”
“What I mean was, there had to be something you saw in him after that first date that made you stay with him for a year.”
“Yeah, it’s the best reason in the world to be with someone,” he said with a snort. “He was fucking hot.”
Luke snickered. “Well, you wouldn’t be the first man to stay with someone for that reason. I’ve been guilty of that too. There was this one guy a few years ago, Jared Logan. Gorgeous smile, killer bod, but no brighter than a toothpick. He thought Fleetwood Mac was a new burger at McDonald’s.”
Marty barked in laughter. “Are you shitting me?”
“I wish I was,” Luke said with a sigh and a shake of his head. “So don’t be too hard on yourself for staying with someone you knew was wrong for you just because he looked good naked.”
“How about for staying with someone who treated you like shit and cheated on you not once but at least three times?”
Luke had to admit that was pretty damn bad. “Why do you think you did it?”
“I’ve asked myself that question for a few months, and the only thing I can come up with is that I’ve never really learned how to cope with unpleasant situations. Instead of dealing with it, I create this fictional person to pull me out of the conflict.”
“So I’m, well, Tim isn’t the first imaginary boyfriend of yours?”
“Imaginary boyfriend, yes. Fictional person, no.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It started in high school.” He dipped his chin to his chest and a blush spread across his cheeks. “There was this party that pretty much everyone at school got invited to. Well, everyone except me. When people asked me if I was going, I lied and said I couldn’t, that I had to take care of my little sister because my parents were going out of town. It was better than admitting I was the only person in our entire class that hadn’t been included. After that, Stephanie became my reason for not going to parties, for why I went straight home after school, for really anything that might embarrass me.”
“Your get-out-of-jail-free card,” Luke said with a nod.
Marty gaped at him. “Exactly! That’s what I keep telling Sophia.”
“So when Christian started dating after you broke up—”
“Right after we broke up,” Marty corrected. “Like, the next day.”
“So when Christian started dating the day after you broke up, you created Tim to show him that you were out there playing the field too?”
Marty shook his head and tucked his long hair behind his ears, exposing his smooth, tanned neck. “No, Tim was born a few weeks after. I didn’t care that Christian was dating. I really didn’t,” he said, fixing his gaze on Luke. Marty clearly wanted him to believe he was speaking the truth, so when Luke nodded, Marty continued. “It was more that I wasn’t dating. The first time I ran into him and one of his dates at Sophia and Danny’s, I brushed it off. I figured he was now this guy’s problem and not mine. But then I’d see him with someone else and then someone after that while I was always—”
“Alone,” Luke said. Now that was something he could relate to. He’d been by himself for most of his life too.
“Right,” Marty replied. “Sophia thought I did it because I was jealous, but I wasn’t and I’m not. I just didn’t want to give Christian the satisfaction of knowing that after him I’ve been with no one else.”
“And there hasn’t been anyone?” Luke asked. “In over a year?”
Marty chuckled. “Will you look at me?”
Luke did. He saw smooth caramel skin, delicate yet strong features, and a pair of the juiciest lips he’d ever laid eyes on.
“Who’d want to be with me?” Marty asked.
Luke furrowed his brow. What the hell did Marty see?
“I live with my parents and want to draw comic books for a living. I’m not exactly what most guys would call a catch.”
“Maybe that’s the mistake you’re making.”
Marty glared at him as if he were speaking in tongues. “What do you mean?”
A strand of Marty’s hair fell in front of his face, and Luke tucked the long, soft hair back behind his ear. “You’re a good guy, Marty. Much too special for most guys, but to the right guy, you’d be perfect.”
“You really think I’m a good guy?” Marty asked, as if that was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.
“Of course,” he said. Who else would agree to let Luke stay at his place without a good explanation about the trouble he’d gotten himself into? For Christ’s sake, Marty thought he was a criminal, and he still agreed to provide him the sanctuary he so desperately needed.
For some strange reason, Marty trusted him, and Luke had really done nothing to earn that trust. That was why he had to make sure he didn’t hurt Marty. It was also why Luke had to remember the truth about their situation.
He might be here to help Marty, but that wasn’t Luke’s ultimate goal. Finding the suspected leak in his department and bringing down El Dragón were his primary goals, and he couldn’t forget that. He’d already focused too much energy on being Tim Drake and had spent too much time out in public, where it was dangerous, instead of holed up at Marty’s, where it was much safer.
Luke had to figure this out and soon. The longer he waited, the more dangerous it became, not just for him but for Marty too.
“Are you okay?” Marty asked.
“What?” Luke asked as he struggled to pull himself out of his thoughts.
“You haven’t said anything for a while, and you had a strange look on your face. I thought maybe you’d changed your mind about me being a good guy.”
“No. Of course not.” Luke took a deep breath, trying to shake off the dread that snaked through his insides. Was being with Marty placing him directly in the line of fire?
Marty stared at him out of the corners of his eyes. “You’re worried, aren’t you?” he asked. “About the trouble you’re in.”
The only answer to give was to deny it as adamantly as he could. So why then did Luke nod instead? He couldn’t lie to Marty, not after he had just bared his soul to Luke.
“Why don’t you tell me about it? Maybe I could help.”
“Don’t you worry,” he said, forcing a smile across his lips. “I’ll figure it out. I always do.”
“I don’t mind,” Marty insisted. “You’re helping me out. It’s the least I could do.”
Luke smiled, and this time it wasn’t forced. “You are helping me. You’re giving me a place to lie low for a few days. That’s the biggest help of all.”
Marty mulled that over for a few moments, chewing on his bottom lip. It was like he was trying to force free the words that desperately clung to his lips.
“I need to ask you something,” Marty finally said. He darted his gaze to Luke before returning it to the road. “And it’s something I really need to know. I won’t ask for details or anything, because that’s your business. I don’t want to be an accessory or anything. That’s the last thing I need in my life, and you certainly don’t need me all up in your private affairs. I get that. But—”
Luke placed his hand on Marty’s shoulder and squeezed it. If Luke didn’t stop him, Marty would ramble until he hurt himself. “What do you want to know?”
Marty inhaled and forced his question out in one breath. “Are you running from the cops?”
“No.”
Marty’s sigh of relief revealed he accepted the answer as the truth. “So you must be running from some pretty bad guys, huh?”
Luke nodded. “Yes, I am.”
Marty turned to him, his eyes wide with concern. “Are you in danger?”
“Believe me when I tell you it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Are my family and I in danger?”
“I’d never let anything happen to you or your family,” Luke answered. “That’s a guarantee.”
“How can you guarantee that?”
“I can’t answer that without telling you more than you should know,” he said. “I’m just going to have to ask you to trust that I will keep you and your loved ones safe.”
Luke meant every word. He wouldn’t let any harm come to Marty or any of the Valdezes. The thought of the danger they might be in because of him turned his stomach.
He didn’t understand these strange emotions that surged within him again, and he wasn’t even going to attempt to interpret them. Marty wasn’t the only one who didn’t know how to cope with things that didn’t make sense.
All Luke cared about was that he would keep his promise no matter what it cost.