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“I never lied. I took care of the problem and swept everything under the rug. I never said I erased everything, though,” David shot back.

“Uh, please tell me this doesn’t involve a dead hooker,” Christian said with a nervous glance toward David.

“Not even I would have covered that up. But it does involve a hooker, a few actually, quite alive. And it also involves Philip with them and enough cocaine to fuel a week-long bender between the four of them,” David explained.

Christian blinked. “Uh, three...hookers?”

“Three. I’ll spare you the intimate details, but I’m not the only one foolish enough to allow someone to bring a camera. And unlike me, Philip got caught, not by someone snooping or trying to blackmail him, but because he’d made such an awful fuss that the hotel had no choice but to call the police. So here’s the man in charge of operations, caught with hookers, enough sex toys to open a shop, and cocaine.”

Christian whistled. “Damn, Phil, you, uh, really knew how to have a good time.”

“You should have seen him the following day in my office, after I got him out of jail. It was a pitiful sight, and I, like an idiot, took pity on him. It took a great deal of convincing and pulling a few favors, but we had the whole thing swept under the rug. Philip promised to behave, and all was good.”

“Until now,” Christian added.

“You’re lying. You don’t have shit,” Philip finally hissed.

“Oh, I haveeverything. Want to know what I had to pay the hotel for them to hand over the footage from that night? Do you want to revisit all those pictures? I still have the camera one lovely lady was willing to give me, so long as I gave her enough money to live off while she found a much safer job.”

Christian looked at Philip, wrinkling his nose. “Oh. Please, don’t share those.”

“I won’t have to if, and this is a big if, Philip here does a few things for me,” David continued, leaning forward so he was closer to the other man.

Philip’s jowls shook. “I can only imagine.”

“Obviously, you’re going to drop this entire thing, and you’re going to forget all about it. And then, you’re going to request a transfer,” David told him.

“To where?” Philip asked.

“I...honestly couldn’t care less. So long as you’re not on my base, running my operations, and trying to stab me in the back. I’d hoped to find you somewhere nice before all this, but you can scoop shit out of a private’s latrine for all it matters to me. I want to find your request for reassignment on my desk within two weeks. I want you out of my sight and out of my hair,” David told him.

“You can’t bully me out,” Phillip shot back.

“I can, and I will. I might be stripped of almost everything if you release what you have, but let’s be honest, I’veearnedwhat I have. And a little dalliance? I might even get away with onlylosing a little, especially in the face of what they’d have to deal with when it comes to you. I bet you have a sealed history, don’t you, Philip? That’s probably why you never got higher than you are, and they let me have you because they knew I’d be fair to you. Well, now I’m being fair to everyone.”

Philip looked down at his hands, shaking his head. “All this time, you’ve kept it all this time. I don’t believe it.”

“Tell you what, Philip, I’ll show it to you tomorrow when I’m back at work. I might be a ‘noble and honorable man’, but that doesn’t make me a fool. I always felt a little guilty for keeping hold of that file, but now? I see it was just good instincts.”

Philip’s hands balled into fists against the counter. David could see everything crumbling down around the man. There would be many questions about why Philip needed such a rapid transfer, and the whispering would begin. Anytime a transfer request was put in, and the superior officer supported it, it was usually a bad sign of internal problems. If Philip really did have the history David suspected, it would undoubtedly come up in the minds of Command when they caught wind. It would hurt Philip, but at least it was better than having everything confirmed.

David wrinkled his nose, tapping the counter. “I’m glad we understand one another. Come to my office tomorrow if you don’t believe me. I’ll make a believer out of you. Now get the fuck out of my house before I throw you out.”

Without a word, Philip stood up, glaring hatefully at him and Christian before stomping out. The slam of the front door echoed through the house as Philip left, and David grinned as he heard the man’s heavy steps going down the front porch.

He turned, stopping as he caught sight of the look on Christian’s face. “What?”

Christian leaped forward, wrapping his legs around David’s waist and hugging his neck. Without a word, Christian kissed him soundly, taking the wind from his lungs with his intensity.

“Oh, hello,” David said with a smile.

“Fuck, that was hot,” Christian told him.

David chuckled. “I’m glad you approve.”

“And then some!”

David wrapped an arm around his waist, holding Christian against him. “Well, let’s get your coffee, and then we can talk, just like I promised.”