Joker jumped to his feet, his fists at his sides. “He what?” The no-good son of a bitch! Granted, Joker had pretty much hated the guy the moment he’d laid a hand on Gio, but now he wished William was in front of him. He’d show the guy what a real soldier could do.
“It was so unexpected I was dumbstruck. I hadn’t anticipated him to come at me, much less when my back was turned. Fighting isn’t exactly my area of expertise, so I managed to fracture my wrist when I punched him, which led to him breaking my arm. I was able to fend him off long enough to call the authorities. Not that it helped. By the time I was out of the hospital, the charges I’d pressed had disappeared, and so had William.”
Joker dropped back onto the couch. “And he had the fucking balls to show up tonight?” This guy was officially on Joker’s shit list.
“He was trying to convince me to have dinner with him and discuss the proposal. My guess is things with his business partners aren’t going well.” Gio’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “What a surprise, he hasn’t been able to find any more investors.”
“Talk about a piece of work.” Joker shook his head at the nerve on the guy. Then again, he knew little about the investment world. Just enough to know where money was concerned, it could get ugly.
“Knowing William, he’s spent money that’s not his and doesn’t know what he’s going to do to get it back. I don’t doubt he’ll find a way, though. He’s resourceful like that.”
If William knew what was good for him, he’d get resourceful somewhere else. The guy had already assaulted Gio once. No way was Joker letting William anywhere near Gio again.
“What are you thinking?” Gio asked.
“I think we need to teach you some self-defense.”
“Are you going to teach me how to throw someone over my shoulder?”
“You want me to teach you?”
Gio looked confused. “Why not? You may not be my bodyguard, but you were a Green Beret, same as the others. You’re a big part of Four Kings Security, same as the others. I trust you.”
Joker refused to acknowledge how those words made him feel. “Yeah, okay,” he replied, his voice rough. He was often overlooked when in the company of his brothers-in-arms. When faced with the Kings, all of whom were muscled and over six feet tall, no one ever questioned them being Green Berets, and for the most part Jack, but most looked skeptical when Joker was included. Gio had never treated him as anything but equal to his brothers. A lump formed in his throat, and he quickly pushed it down.
“I’m sorry,” Joker muttered.
“For what?”
Joker shrugged. “That you had to go through all that shit with William. You didn’t deserve that.”
“Thank you.”
A knock sounded on the front door, and Joker stood to answer it. “Yeah?”
“Mr. Wilder,” one of their security agents called in. “Room service is here.”
Joker motioned for Gio to stay seated. He went over to the doors and greeted the waiter as he wheeled in a cart carrying several dishes covered with big silver domes. Everything was set up on the dining table, and Gio thanked the man as he signed the receipt.
Once the waiter was gone and the doors were closed, Joker dropped down into his chair. “Thanks for dinner.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Gio’s smile did something weird to Joker’s stomach, but he chose to ignore it. He was still trying to wrap his brain around his earlier revelation of finding Gio attractive. Not just attractive, but hot. Really fucking hot. Not that he planned to do anything about that. It was only an observation. He’d found plenty of people attractive or hot as fuck over the years. It didn’t mean he pursued them.
Even if Joker was wrong about Gio, which wasn’t outside the realm of possibility—he could be wrong on occasion—nothing would come of it. Outside of his brothers-in-arms and now the Boyfriend Collective, Joker didn’t do attachments. Romantic relationships were nothing but a pain in the ass, and in the end, they always turned ugly. They always wanted to change him, turn him into someone he wasn’t. When their expectations didn’t match up with reality, they bailed.
Joker lifted his gaze to Gio, who sat with him in comfortable silence as he ate, his mind seeming to be preoccupied. Would Gio try to change him, like so many of the others? Of course he would. How else would Joker fit into Gio’s world? Maybe not at first when things were new and the heat was all they could think about, but eventually he would, and unlike the others, who Joker had dropped and left without so much as a phone call, leaving Gio would be… complicated, and that was without considering their family circle.
Nope. The best thing for both of them would be to ignore the attraction and carry on as they were. They were finally getting along, so why rock the boat? Should be simple enough.
Gio sat back and ran a hand through his tidy hair, loosening the curls so they fell roguishly over his brow. His evening stubble had grown in, and he smiled at Joker, the corners of his eyes creasing, making him look so fucking happy. Like just being here with Joker made him happy. No. Nope. This couldn’t—can’t…
“I’m glad you’re here,” Gio said quietly, his near-black eyes intense. “No one has ever made me feel as safe as you.”
Well, shit.
Joker was fucked.
Four
Distracted.
A word Gio had never associated with himself. For the first time in a very long time, he wanted to be somewhere else—or more accurately, be with someone else—and he didn’t quite know how to feel about it.
Every day Gio woke up eager to get the day started and dive into his work, organizing like-minded people, attending events, having long chats about upcoming projects and the various ways he could make a difference in the world. He loved to lose himself in discussions with his peers, people who contributed to bettering the lives of others. It gave him a rush like nothing else. He was passionate about what he did and couldn’t picture himself doing anything else. He’d always been a people person and loved making new acquaintances. Attending social events energized him.
An old colleague of his, Ada Young, was hosting tonight’s charity auction, the proceeds of which were going toward the resources needed for a small village in Africa to start sustainable businesses. The hotel ballroom holding the event was decorated elegantly in a black-and-white theme with pops of color, courtesy of the exquisite centerpieces of bright orange orchids, sugarbushes, monstera leaf, and fan palms. Several three-tiered gold-and-diamond chandeliers glittered from the ceiling as a live band dressed in white tuxedos played a lovely tune from a bygone era.
Hundreds of guests mingled in their finest suits or cocktail dresses, champagne flutes or glasses filled with expensive whiskey in hand. Instead of being swept away by the conversation, instead of getting inspired or excited to start his next new project, Gio was scanning the room for a certain grumpy former Green Beret and his furry companion. He seemed to be doing that more often than not these days.
Since Sacha wasn’t his bodyguard, he wasn’t around Gio the same way Saint was, but knowing Sacha was somewhere close put Gio at ease. If he needed Sacha, he’d be there without hesitation. Why Gio was so sure of that, he had no idea, but he was, and the times he’d spotted Sacha, Gio had been thrilled to see him searching Gio out.