Page 80 of Devil's Kiss

“I got him an appointment for Friday.”

Alan didn’t have to saywhohe was talking about. They both knew, and if his brother wanted the conversation to continue, it was best to leave it unsaid.

“So?” Derek said, not giving a shit one way or another.

“I gotta work Friday. So you’ll have to take him.”

“Fuck you, Alan. I’m not coming back there.”

“Derek—”

“No,” he snapped. “The last time we talked, I agreed that he could use my insurance, and that was it. He should be fucking grateful I’m doing that much.”

Alan coughed, and the sound was so repulsive that Derek looked at the cigarettes on his dash and decided right then he would never touch one again.

“How’s he supposed to get across town?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t care. Tell him to look up a bus timetable, because I’m not taking that piece of shit anywhere. Got it?”

“Yeah, whatever, dude. Must’ve been nice to just walk the fuck away like you did.”

Derek’s hand hurt from how hard he was gripping the phone, and when he could finally find the words to actually speak, he said, “I didn’t walk away, Alan. I fucking ran and he still found me. So why don’t you tell himthatas he crawls to the closest bus stop.”

He hit end on the call and his hands shook as his stomach clenched, and for a minute he thought he was going to see his breakfast again. When he finally got his breathing under control, he squeezed his eyes shut and cursed the hold that asshole still had over him.

Derek hated that his father still had the power to instill fear in him. To make him feel weak. And out of everything the man had done to him over the years,thatwas the one thing he loathed the most.

Fuck, there was no way he was fit for work today.

When he finally felt able to drive again, he put the Jeep in reverse and headed back the way he’d come. He needed to go somewhere where he could think. Where there was nothing but him and his own thoughts, and he knew the perfect spot.

Somewhere he’d been going for years.

DATE TWO.JORDAN had thought of little else all day, and he had the perfect idea. As he pulled into a parking spot at the local grocery store, he debated whether to call Derek now or to make dinner and then surprise him by going and picking him up. Either way, he was going to kidnap the guy, bring him back to his place, and feed him until he was so full he couldn’t eat another biteorfind the energy to leave.

After last night, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Derek’s final words on respect. Derek didn’t know it yet, but for the past few months Jordan had been working on something that he hoped would show Derek just how much he admired and,yes, respected him.

He’d been waiting for the perfect time for a while now. Originally, he’d wanted to tell him when he began working on the idea, but that was the night Derek had first told him he loved him, and after Jordan had sat there stunned into silence, everything had changed and he hadn’t had a chance since.

That had all changed, though, in the last couple of days, and now it was time. He knew that it was. He wanted Derek’s opinion on this. Wanted to share it with him, and was excited to see his reaction.

He reached for his phone and hitHe-Manin his contacts with his palms sweating, the equivalent of a twelve-year-old with a crush.

When the call connected and Derek’s less-than-enthused “Hey” came through the line, Jordan’s all-day smile slipped a notch.

“Hey?” he joked, settling back into the car seat. “Don’t sound too excited. My ego won’t stand for it.”

“Oh,” Derek said, and he sounded so distant that Jordan’s smile completely vanished. Maybe this had been a bad idea, him calling. Maybe he should’ve waited. Maybe?—

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m just… It’s been… Well, it’s been a really shit day, to be honest.”

Jordan thought of how wonderful his had been, and wondered what had made Derek’s so miserable. “I’m sorry. Is there something I can do to help? Are you okay?”

He heard the sound of Derek taking a deep breath, then he let it out and sounded stressed.

“I’m okay,” Derek said, then gave a mocking laugh. “I mean, I’m not hurt. It’s just, my brother called, and…”

That right there was a shocker. Jordan hadn’t been aware that Derek still talked to his family.