“That’s all fine and dandy, Detective, but we can’t take the word of a vigilante over actual evidence. And right now we got no evidence pointing at Ludgate other than one eyewitness who won’t come forward himself. We need something else. We have enough to hold Ludgate at least. Justfindhim.”
That’s what Danny was trying to do, but whether as Danny Grant or Zeus, he was no closer to any answers. Andre and Lynn could only do so much on speculation. They didn’t even really know what Ludgate’s powers were. The only option left was to team up with Cho, but what if that’s what Ludgate wanted? What if that’s why he’d been lying low ever since the diamond heist?
You’re safer without me around,Danny texted Cho when the man continued to push.
You can’t run scared from this guy, Sparky.
Dannywasscared. He was terrified. Terrified of what he could lose. Of what he could become—again.
Finally, on Thursday, it seemed like Cho had given up. Until a new set of text messages started to come in.Could use a little TLC on these wounds. Why not come over?
Lip’s about healed now. Need to test out how much give it can handle. Wanna help?
Keep thinking about you in my duster. Care for a repeat without the underwear?
Still need to use my tongue sometime, remember? Well I’d start by…
Danny could hardly hold down his blushing at work when the texts got dirtier the longer he avoided replying. And the worst part was, he wanted everything Cho described. He wanted to play the game back. Wanted to tell Cho how much he missed the feel of his tongue. The slide of his hips. His hands.Godthose hands and their elegant fingers…
It was Friday now, Cho would not leave him alone, and Danny had exhausted all of his excuses.
Final offer, Sparky. My place. Dinner. 1 hour.
Leaning back in his desk chair, Danny stared at his phone and considered his response. The feeling of eyes on the back of his neck made him shiver. He spun around—but nothing was there. Just his reflection in the window behind him. Staring at it, he waited for his eyes to flash black, for some sign that this reflection was more than it seemed, but no matter how long he looked at it, if Ludgate was watching him, he wasn’t playing his hand just yet.
Danny returned to his phone. Try as he might, he couldn’t do this alone.
R
Final offer, Sparky. My place. Dinner. 1 hour.
Mal was through with being patient. It had been four days.Four days.He could have lasted longer without seeing Danny if the kid had actually responded to his texts with more than a handful of clipped words. Staying focused on Ludgate with his messages had only resulted in Danny saying he needed more time. Mal had switched tactics to outright flirting yesterday, but the most that had garnered him was one hastily sent message in all caps.
OMG IN PRECINCT MEETING STOP!!!
To be fair, Mal had gotten a little overly detailed with his descriptions about what he’d like to do to Danny the next time he saw him. He wouldn’t have pushed like that, but at this point he feared it was the only way to get a reaction. If Danny was through with him, then Mal wanted him to look him in the eyes when he ended it.
His stomach roiled at the thought as he reached his apartment, carrying a bag of groceries on one arm while he finished texting Danny with his other hand. He’d nearly tripped up the stairs trying to juggle both. While he waited for Danny’s response, he switched out his phone for his keys and slipped into his apartment.
Mal didn’t get nervous like this. Over some guy. A good lay. A fun time.
A kind ear…
Danny was so much more than all of that, and a challenge to boot. Mal had been certain they were on the same page when he discovered Danny disposing of evidence for him. Not that he’d ever ask Danny to compromise himself like that—beyond their original deal that Danny never turn Mal over to the police as long as he kept the identity of Zeus secret. This though, it meant something that Mal hadn’t asked and Danny had still thought to protect him.
But then Mal’s messages kept going unanswered or answered with choppy deflection. He felt the end coming and couldn’t accept it. Hewasnervous. And planning to make dinner to freakingwooZeus, leaving himself far too vulnerable to be torn down.
His phone buzzed in his pocket as he set the bag on the kitchen counter next to the toaster. He’d uncovered all the reflective surfaces from Danny’s careful work days ago. Mal couldn’t live like that. If Ludgate was watching him, so be it. The Elemental had more than enough ammunition against Mal; he couldn’t learn anything more incriminating than what he already knew.
Okay. 1 hour.
Excitement and anxiety fluttered inside of Mal like dueling combatants. Finally. He didn’t care if they didn’t have a plan for Ludgate yet. He just needed to know where he and Danny stood.
The uncertainty had robbed Mal of his appetite, but he still planned to make dinner. His hands shook as he set his phone aside and took everything out of the bag, his throat dry and tight.
“Get a grip,” he growled at himself, clutching the edge of the kitchen island and taking in a long, slow breath. His bruises were fading little by little, his lip only sporting a slim cut now, perfectly accessible for whatever he and Danny might get up to later.
Mal missed the way Danny felt beneath his fingers, craved him like an addiction—the connection, the way Danny pushed away the loneliness Mal found around every corner. Danny knew him and didn’t care about the parts that were broken. Didn’t care that Mal was a scoundrel and a thief. Believed Mal could be more when no one else had ever…
