plik

A Fluffy Tale

Ann Somerville

These stories are a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s
imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons,
living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

‘A Fluffy Tale 2: Warm and Fuzzy’ Copyright © 2011 by Ann Somerville
Cover image © ginvin2010 - http://us.fotolia.com/id/23006627

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For more information please visit my website at http://logophilos.net

Smashwords Edition 1, January 2011

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Published by Ann Somerville

Chapter 1

As Daniel opened the front door, Kani popped his head out of Daniel’s pocket and

chirped.

“You smell pizza too?” Kems never ate but for some strange reason Kani found the

scent of cooking pizza irresistible. To Daniel, it meant food, and he was starving.
Something healthier for supper might have been better, but the relief of not having to
cook after an exhausting day, and knowing Dee would have just pulled out one of the
frozen ones they’d made in bulk last week, made it difficult to feel really guilty.

“Go find Veen and Lili. Go play,” he said, putting his kem on the ground and patting

his little grey bottom. Kani squeaked and scampered off up the stairs.

He opened his mouth to tell everyone he was home, but Dee bounced out of the

kitchen before he could make a sound. She came to a halt and put her hands on her hips.
“Well?” Her kem, Lili, perching on her shoulder, put her head up with an identical
expectant expression on her furry little face.

“I start next Monday.”
Dee yelled and ran for him, Lili jumping off with a squeak before she was squished

in a sibling sandwich. Daniel caught Dee up and swung her around. “You did it,” she
bellowed into his right ear. “Proud of you!”

“Thanks, Dee. Where’s Alex?”
“Alex!”
Daniel stuck a finger into his now deafened ear and let her go so she could shout up

the stairs. “Daniel got the job! Come down.”

Alex thundered down the stairs and jumped straight at Daniel. “Really? Are we

going to be rich?”

Daniel grinned and ruffled his brother’s red hair. “Not quite, squirt. Who’s hungry?

I’m starving.”

“We’re having pizza,” Dee confirmed. Veen, Lili, and Kani tumbled down the stairs,

and Kani squeaked excitedly as the magic word ‘pizza’ was mentioned. Dee bent and
picked up her kem. “Daniel, you should call Grandma.”

“I will, but after I eat. I didn’t have lunch.”
She pulled a face that reminded Daniel achingly of their mother. “That’s a bad

habit.”

“Nag, nag,” he said, tugging on her ponytail, then scooping up Kani and putting him

on his shoulder. “Come on.”

As they ate the pizza, Daniel vowed that some of his new salary would go towards

better food. The pizza was delicious but the household budget was tight, and he hated

opening the fridge and seeing all the discount stickers on the new items, meaning Dee
had been scouring the bargains again. It took her time which she didn’t have to spare,
between her studies, her archery, looking after Alex while Daniel had searched fruitlessly
for a job that an unqualified would-be engineer with no experience could do, and
spending a tiny number of hours of week socializing with her friends—something Daniel
was determined she should continue to do. He didn’t want her turning into Alex’s
‘mother’—or his own.

“Maybe we should hire a cleaner once a week,” he said after he wiped his mouth,

burping a little.

“We can’t afford it,” Dee snapped.
He did a double-take, her outrage as uncharacteristic as it was shocking. “It was just

an idea, DeeDee. We can afford it with me working—”

“No way. We can manage. The house is clean, right, Alex?” Her little brother

nodded vigorously.

“Yes, it is,” Daniel said, patting her arm. “But your exams are coming up, and I’ll be

out of the house all day—”

“No. You’re not working to pay for someone to do what we can do ourselves. Mum

would have hated that.”

“But she had a cleaner for a couple of years when Alex was smaller....” He shut up,

as the mulish set to his sister’s jaw became something sadder, and her eyes started to fill.
“It was just an idea, Dee. I’m worried about you doing too much.”

“You too.”
“I’m fine. We’re all fine, right, Alex?” His brother nodded again. “There you go. I

better go phone Grandma. Alex, dishes.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Alex grumbled, climbing off the stool.
“No, I don’t. You’re a good kid. You’re both good kids.”
“Huh, you’re not exactly an old man,” Dee said, smiling a little.
“Maybe not, but I have to fake being a responsible adult now. Why don’t you go up

and talk to Susan?”

“She’s got a new boyfriend.” She made it sound like ‘herpes’. “Natalie wanted me to

go online though, when I finish my assignment.”

“Need any help with it?”
“No, big brother, I do not need you to do my homework. Go call Grandma and tell

them I send my love.”

He grinned and went to his parents’ office to make the call. He couldn’t call it ‘his’

office in his head, and never would. His parents’ books and papers, their desks, were just
as they’d been left, and though Daniel had cleared a small space for his own laptop, he

couldn’t bring himself to disturb the rest of it more than absolutely necessary. If he’d had
any inclination to, it would have disappeared after coming in one afternoon and finding
Dee curled around one of their mother’s medical books, sobbing her heart out in their
mother’s chair. It was too soon to think of changing anything. It probably always would
be.

His grandmother took a long time to answer the phone and even though this wasn’t

unusual, Daniel’s chest still tightened with anxiety. He couldn’t help having bad
associations with people not responding to his telephone calls. He wondered if he would
ever react normally to perfectly ordinary things like building sites and unanswered calls
again.

Finally his grandmother’s voice came on the line. “Daniel? How are you, dear?”
“I’m fine, Grandma. I just wanted to let you know I got a job.”
“Oh, wonderful. Which one?”
“Personal assistant in a company which works with job creation charities.

Microloans and that kind of thing.”

“Oh goodness. I didn’t know you knew about that kind of thing, dear.”
“I don’t. But the guy I’ll be working for says all that matters is that I’m smart and

willing to learn, which I am.”

“Well, I hope it goes splendidly for you.” She paused to cough and Daniel’s chest

got tight again. “How are the children?”

“All good, and sending their love. How’s Grandpa?”
She paused and Daniel had a horrible feeling she was preparing to deliver bad news.

“He just finished the chemo today. He’s tired, but holding up. He’ll be so pleased to hear
about the job.”

“As soon as Alex and Dee finish school this year, we’ll come up. At least, they will.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to get holidays so soon.”

“That’d be lovely, dear. Alex knows not to be too noisy, doesn’t he? Joseph hasn’t

been sleeping well.”

“He’ll be good, Grandma. They’re great kids, you know that.”
“You all are, dear. I wish we could have you here to stay. It’s so worrying that

you’re all so far away.”

“I know. Can’t be helped. I’ll call you again after I start work next week, let you

know how I’m getting on. And you’ll let us know how Grandpa is?”

“Yes, of course. He’s doing as well as we hoped. You mustn’t worry about us, dear.”
Some hope of that. “Tell Grandpa to get lots of rest. Love you.”
“You too, Daniel. Love to you all.”
He hung up. He often wished he hadn’t felt it so important to keep the family house

and stay here, instead of moving across the country. He hadn’t wanted to disrupt Dee and
Alex’s schooling, not on top of all the other changes in their lives, and, selfishly, he
hadn’t wanted to deal with the hassle. When Grandma had the heart attack and then they
heard about Grandpa’s cancer, he’d felt paralysed by fresh grief and worry, and that had
made making a decision to move even more impossible.

Too late now, after he’d spent months looking for a job and finally got one. Now

he’d have to make the best of it, earn and save enough to give them security, let Dee and
Alex have the freedom to do the things their parents had wanted them to do. If he could at
least afford to send them to their grandparents for the long hols, that would be something.
It would be good for all of them, and if he’d be a little lonely for two months, it didn’t
matter so long as the kids had a much needed break and his grandparents had company.

Kani licked his face, and Daniel smiled at the gentle touch. He patted his kem, who

nuzzled affectionately under his chin, reminding Daniel was still wearing his tie. He
tugged it off with a sigh. No hope that his new job would be relaxed about such things.
Anthony—“Call me Tony,” he’d said—Noble, his new boss, had explained that the
company had a strict dress code to inspire professionalism in their clients and confidence
in their wealthy sponsors. Daniel hated ties with a passion. But he hated denying his
sister and brother security and little luxuries even more. So ties were in, at least until the
bank account was a little healthier.

“Come on you, let’s go help Alex and Veen.” Kani chirped, jumped down and

scampered off towards the kitchen. If only Daniel could feel so much innocent
excitement about his new job. Once he settled in, it would all be easier. He just had to get
through the first few weeks.

Chapter 2

“Spencer, have you time to come and meet my new assistant and talk about the

project?”

Spen patted Myko away from his mobile phone and wagged his finger at his kem as

he listened to the call through his earpiece. “Sure, Tony. I’ll be along in ten minutes.”

Tony closed the call, and Myko made an odd little hiss as Spen took his earpiece off

to rub the spot behind his ear. “What’s the matter with you?”

Myko sniffed but declined to give any more clues. Spen could guess. His kem didn’t

like Tony Noble for some reason, and the signs of disapproval had only increased in the
six months since Noble had joined the company. Spen didn’t have strong feelings one
way or the other, except he wished the high and mighties had picked a more IT literate
manager to supervise the implementation of the software designed to coordinate
communications between the company, trainers and trainees. Although a more IT literate
manager might have interfered more, which would have been definitely unwanted. Spen
had very strong ideas about managers stomping all over his department and his team.

He lifted his head and caught the eye of his deputy manager, Jyoti. “Off to a meeting,

number two. You have the conn.”

She saluted with a grin. “Aye aye, captain.” Spen’s team was one big geek hive, and

he loved it.

Myko rode on his shoulder, chirping happily in greeting to other people and their

kems as Spen walked through the corridors and rode in the lift. It reminded Spen again
that he’d never seen Tony Noble’s kem. Some people, strange to say, didn’t care for their
kem’s company during the working day—or at all—and Noble seemed to be of that
mind. Stroking Myko’s fluffy tail, Spen couldn’t imagine enduring the office day without
his little friend. Myko, apparently reading his thoughts, gave his cheek a lick.

“Yes, I was thinking about you, you nuisance. Now behave and don’t hiss at anyone.

Not even him, okay?” Myko squeaked, but the mischievous glint in his golden eyes
didn’t reassure. Kems did what they wanted in the end. Their humans could only hold
their hands up and say “Wasn’t me, honest”.

He knocked on Noble’s office door and walked in. A young man stood as he entered.

Spen’s first thought was to wonder if the school kids on work experience had started
early this year.

“Ah, Spencer, thanks for coming,” Noble said, without rising. “This is Daniel

Walkinshaw, my new PA. Daniel, Spencer Reardon.”

So, not a kid. Spen shook Daniel’s hand, but still couldn’t wrap his mind around the

idea that this was a man in his twenties, or so he assumed. Girlish features, large green

eyes and a shy expression all contributed to the disconnect. “Hi, I’m Spen.”

“Nice to meet you.” Daniel’s grip with a callused hand was firm enough, and his

voice was definitely a man’s. Not girly at all. His eyes did travel up and down Spen’s
body before he remembered his manners, but Spen was used to that. After all, when you
were six and a half feet tall, you had to get used to it.

Spen forced himself to stop staring. Myko, who’d been rather tense until now,

suddenly chirped in enquiry, his tail flicking towards the little grey kem on the back of
Daniel’s chair. “And this is Myko.”

“Oh, hello, Myko. Kani, say hello.” The grey kem jumped onto Daniel’s arm and ran

up to his shoulder, where he chirped excitedly at Myko above him on Spen’s shoulder.
Spen could feel Myko’s need to join the other kem, but he stroked Myko’s tail and sent a
silent wish for him to behave, a wish Myko granted.

Noble cleared his throat somewhat impatiently. “Take a seat, Spencer.”
Spen obeyed. Myko hopped down to the floor, where Kani joined him for a discreet

cuddle and licking session. Daniel shot his kem a tiny smile, then looked down as if
worried that he’d offended someone by doing so. New employee nerves, Spen diagnosed.

“Daniel, Spencer is our IT manager, and in charge of implementing the Cross-

Channel  project in  this  location  under my supervision. You and he  will be working
closely   together   to   ensure   that   the   software   is   installed   and   activated   smoothly,   and
handle the feedback from our people. If it goes well, we’ll be presenting a report at the
national conference in two months’ time. It’s very important to me that this project is a
success, so I’ll be depending on you two to work together to make it happen. Spencer, I
thought   you   could   introduce   Daniel   to   your   people   and   give   him   a   more   technical
overview. I have, of course, given him the broad outline of the goals and features of
Cross-Channel, but I thought I’d leave the nuts and bolts to the technicians.”

Spen made himself smile, and stopped himself rolling his eyes. Managers tended to

notice when he made it clear, silently or otherwise, that he thought they were manifestly
unqualified on a particular subject. Most of the managers in the company weren’t that
tech literate, but since Spen had heard from a reliable source that when Noble joined the
company, he’d asked his PA at the time how his track pad worked, it had been a surprise
to learn he’d been selected to oversee the rolling out of a large and complicated IT
project. Still, he’d apparently recognized his own limitations and knew when to leave
Spen to get on with it. Spen only hoped this kid he’d hired had some basic computer
knowledge, otherwise he’d be wasting a lot of time bringing two non-techs up to speed.

“Shall we do that now, Tony?” Daniel asked.
“Yes, yes. Take however long you need. Be back here at two though, as I want to

prepare for that meeting tomorrow.”

“Yes, I will. Kani, come on.” Daniel’s kem ran over and up to his shoulder—his

favourite perch, obviously. Myko did the same with Spen.

“We’re in the basement,” Spen said as they walked out together.
“Yes, I know. I read it in the manual.” Daniel flushed. “Um, I didn’t mean to be

rude.”

“You weren’t. You read the manual? Tony gave you time to do that already?”
“I, um, took it home. I wanted to make sure I knew all the office procedures and key

personnel.”

O...kay. Actual technical manuals, Spen could understand. But the office manual?

He’d been in the company two years and he’d never actually read the thing, though he’d
written the section on the IT department. But then he’d been headhunted so he felt secure
in his new job. PAs were easier to replace—fortunately for Tony Noble, since Daniel was
his third in six months.

He waved his ID card at the sensor. “You’ll need access too, I guess. I prefer IM and

emails but I guess face-to-face is unavoidable in this kind of thing.” Daniel smiled
hesitantly, but didn’t comment. Spen would have thought after a week he’d have lost
some of his new boy nerves, but apparently not. “Come on in, we don’t bite. Much.”
Daniel’s eyes widened as if he believed Spen was serious. Good grief.

“Guys? Meet Daniel, Tony Noble’s new assistant. He’s going to work with us

implementing Cross-Channel.”

A chorus of “Hi, Daniels” broke out and the kid went red again, although he waved

back and said “Hi” in a reasonably confident tone. His kem squeaked and jumped down
to the floor, having spotted a bunch of new playmates, and all the office kems, including
Myko, rushed over to begin the traditional love-in. Daniel started to move towards them,
but stopped.

“Sorry—do you mind Kani doing that?”
“Can hardly stop him, can we? Don’t worry about the kems. Come meet everyone.

This is Jyoti, my deputy. That’s Devi, Luke, Amanda, Wendy, and Joshua. I have a
couple of people off sick so I want to wrap this up pretty quickly this morning. I can give
you all the documentation to read and you can come back with any questions. Is that
okay?”

Daniel nodded and took a seat where Spen indicated. “Right. Not sure what Tony

told you?”

“Um, he said Cross-Channel would make it easier to keep track of training projects,

and trainees to get feedback and access training materials online. The trainers would
build up a dataset of documents, which any of them could edit and refine, and become a
resource for the entire company. It sounded like a great idea.”

“It is, but we’re working with a notoriously IT-illiterate group, not to mention

trainees with their own problems. Did Tony mention our target clients?”

“A bit. You’re working with the long-term unemployed?”
“And people with drug problems, disabilities, language difficulties—anything and

everything. So one,” Spen checked the points off on his fingers, “we have to get our
people trained. Two, we have to make sure access and security are as we want them.
Three, we have to get the software installed and configured. Four, we have to train the
people training the trainees. And five, we must keep Tony’s ego stroked.”

That forced a laugh out of Daniel, though he looked down quickly, long pale

eyelashes brushing reddening cheeks. “He did mention a few times how important this
was to him.”

“Yeah, I bet. But anyway, let me show you a demo. It’s all accessed in a normal

browser. Which one do you prefer?”

“I don’t really have a preference.”
Spen frowned. “Okay. Which one do you use at home on your computer?”
“Uh.”
Jyoti caught Spen’s eye and raised her eyebrows. “You do use the internet at home,

don’t you? Which operating system do you run?”

“Redbird.”
“Redbird?” Spen leaned back in his chair. “Are you sure? That’s not something you

find on most home computers.”

“No, I know. I was using it in my course at Uni, and I like it. It’s easy to program

in.”

Spen’s brain did a one-eighty. He’d been thinking this kid was too dumb to even

operate a simple web browser, and now he found he was comfortable programming in a
high-level, highly specialised OS with its own rarefied language and uses. “So the
browser...?”

“Wrote it myself,” Daniel admitted. “I don’t really use the commercial ones, but I

know how to,” he added earnestly.

“I bet. What did you study at Uni?” Spen asked, mentally revising his estimate of

Daniel’s age again.

“Electrical engineering, but I dropped out last year.”
Something in the set of his jaw as he said that, warned Spen not to ask why. “Uh,

right. Okay, then, you might find some of what I’m saying a bit simplistic—”

“No, no...I mean, you’re writing web applications and interfaces for general users in

an open environment and I haven’t done much of that at all. Just treat me like I’m an
idiot.” He gave a deprecating smile as he said that.

“I will if I have to,” Spen agreed, but smiling too. “Okay. Demo.”
For the next hour and a half, Daniel watched intently, played with the demonstration

site under Spen’s supervision, and asked a few but pertinent questions. Maybe he didn’t
know much about writing user interfaces, or the database language they were using, but
he knew data, and he understood the issues of security and access Spen had to address.
Spen gave him the manual, apologising in advance for the simple-minded writing which
he’d pitched at the level of their IT-phobic employees.

“That’s fine. It’ll be a quick read then.” Daniel’s smile had become much more open

and ready as the morning had worn on. “I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”

“Don’t read the damn thing at home. Life’s too short.”
Daniel clutched the folder to his chest, and his smile disappeared. “Yes. Yes, it is.

But I can read it on the bus. Thanks for taking the time. I know you’re busy.”

“Not a problem. I’ll arrange your ID to have access for this section, and send you an

email confirming. There’s a meeting on Thursday at eleven.”

“Yes, Tony told me. I’ll be there. Thank you.” He bobbed his head and rushed out of

the room, stopping only to scoop up his kem and pop him up on his shoulder.

As the door closed behind him, Luke came over to Spen’s desk. “What the hell is

someone like that doing working for a tit like Tony Noball?”

“I have no idea, but I intend to find out. At least we didn’t end up with a moron as

our liaison.” Spen raised his arms over his head and cracked his spine. Myko took that as
an invitation to hop into his lap for a petting and cuddle, which Spen delivered without
even needing to think about it. “Right. Who’s going to lunch?”

Chapter 3

Daniel rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the headache that had been sitting in his

frontal lobes all day. He had redone this presentation three times now, and hoped this
time Tony wouldn’t decide to radically rewrite it, as he had with the three previous
attempts. The presentation was for a key meeting, and Daniel didn’t begrudge the time
spent, but he worried it was his own incompetence which made the previous versions so
lacklustre. He didn’t want Tony to start questioning the decision to hire him. Not this
soon anyway.

“Got those graphics Tony wanted.” A folder slammed down in his desk as Linda’s

sulky voice penetrated his attention.

He looked up. “Uh, do you have the digital versions?”
“You mean the original files?” She said it as if he was a total moron for not using the

correct office term. “Couldn’t find them. They’re lost, apparently.” The look on her face
made Daniel doubt the truth of that, but it also told him it was a waste of time to argue.

“Okay, thanks.” He made a special effort to smile in as polite and friendly a manner

as he could, but Linda sneered and flounced off. Effort wasted, clearly. She didn’t like
him. None of the other PAs did. In fact the only people in the entire office who treated
him as something higher in the evolutionary scale than bacteria were Spen’s team. Daniel
took a guilty pleasure in the frequent visits he had to make to the IT section, and
wondered what he would do when this rollout was finished and the meetings with Spen
and his people were no longer necessary.

The printed graphics weren’t good enough to use in a slideshow, so Daniel resigned

himself to a couple of hours trying to recreate them using software designed for idiots.
No lunch for him again. There was a strict “no eating at the desk” rule, so apart from
quick cups of plastic coffee in the kitchen, he had to manage until he got home in the
evening. He didn’t dare tell Dee. She suspected he ate badly, and he did. Had done as a
student, and now as an office worker. He just did what he had to do, to get the work done.
That was what his job was. Bring in the income, keep the family going. There was no one
else now to do that.

At half past two he knocked on Tony’s door. “Finished the redo.”
His boss smiled approvingly. “Terrific. Let me look.”
“It’s on the server. I’ll just call it up—”
“No need. I can come and look on your computer. Let’s see.”
So Daniel opened the file up again, and Tony leaned over him, his hand casually on

Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel didn’t find the position comfortable in any sense of the word,
but Tony was a touchy-feely kind of boss, and since Daniel had zero experience with an

employer in this situation, he realised he would have to adjust. He did his best not to
squirm or indicate in any way that Tony’s hand bothered him, but he wished Tony
wouldn’t wear such sickly cologne.

“Good thing Legal found those graphics.”
“Uh, they only had print outs, so I remade them. Hope they’re okay.”
Tony looked at him. “They’re wonderful, but I didn’t realise you’d have to...I mean,

those pictures were done ages ago.”

“They lost the original files, Linda said.”
“Right.” Tony frowned. “Did you have lunch today?”
“Not yet. I wanted to finish—”
“Did you have lunch yesterday?”
Daniel flushed. “Not exactly.”
“Rest of the week?”
“No. There was so much to do.” He realised after he said it that it sounded like a

complaint. “I mean, I’m still getting used to things so I’m slower—”

Tony held up his hand. “No, this isn’t good enough.” Daniel’s heart sank. He’d

failed already. “I don’t want my staff burning out, and I certainly don’t want them
starving. Now you go home early, have a good, restful weekend, and I expect you to take
a proper break in the middle of the day. Employment laws and all that, you know,” he
added, wagging his finger sternly. Kani meeped and patted it with a paw. Daniel hastily
picked his kem off his shoulder and set him down on the floor. “Close this down, and I’ll
see you Monday.”

“But what if it needs changes?”
“I’ll have to ask someone. It looks fine, Daniel. It’s on the server, you said.” He

squeezed Daniel’s shoulder, and smiled. “Off you go, and thank you.”

“Uh...you’re welcome. Are you sure?”
“Daniel....”
“Okay. Thank you. See you Monday.”
Tony smiled again and went back to his office. Daniel did a quick check to make

sure he’d left his desk in a tidy state, that the files for the presentation were clearly
marked and easily locatable, then he scooped up Kani and his jacket, and headed for the
lift. Linda came around the corner, but pretended not to see him. Suited Daniel—he
didn’t want to have to explain why he was leaving early because he wasn’t at all sure it
didn’t make him look like a lame duck PA. Two secretaries from Dennis Obi’s team
joined him in the lift, but ignored him. Maybe they could tell he was gay and
disapproved? He had no other explanation to offer himself as to why he was almost
universally despised, and he certainly wasn’t going to ask. He just had to do the job. That

was all that mattered.

The secretaries got off at the fifth floor, leaving Daniel and Kani to ride the rest of

the way alone. Kani wormed his way back onto Daniel’s shoulder and licked his face,
giving out quiet little chirps of concern.

“I’m okay,” Daniel said, petting Kani’s tail. “Just tired. And starving.” Kani chirped

louder. “You’re hungry too, I bet. Sorry, kiddo. You should make more fuss.” Kani
responded by sticking the end of his tail into Daniel’s ear, making him laugh as the lift
doors opened. An array of bemused and slightly disapproving looks from waiting
passengers greeted the two of them. Kani squeaked and disappeared, and Daniel scurried
away from the lift area as quickly as he could. He didn’t want a reputation as a lunatic.

Kani reappeared seconds later, just as Daniel spotted Spen’s unmistakeable figure

striding towards them. His heart gave a queer little lurch, half panic, half relief. Since
Spen was one of his few allies, Daniel was terrified of doing anything to diminish the
goodwill between them, but his growing crush on this handsome, funny,
clever...incredibly tall...guy made conversations torture. He lived in fear of opening his
mouth and letting some utterly gauche or stupid comment fall out, which would either let
Spen know about Daniel’s secret feelings, or make him think Daniel was a total dork. It
always took a little while before Spen’s easy charm let him relax and talk normally.

Spen was dressed as usual in a sharp suit, his slim tie knotted loosely and letting the

hollow of his long neck show, the crisp whiteness of his shirt setting off his dark skin
nicely. Even in a suit, he looked utterly relaxed. Daniel had no idea how he managed that.
Spen spotted them—or rather Myko spotted Kani and the two kems running towards each
other gave Spen the tip—and waved. Daniel smiled, but hoped Spen would be too busy to
stop and chat.

No such luck. “Hi, Daniel. Off to late lunch?”
“Uh, no. Going home.”
Spen’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you sick?”
“No, no...just been working through my lunch hours and Tony didn’t approve. He

sent me home.” God, that sounded awful. “I mean...he thought I’d been working too hard
and wanted me to have a break.”

“Now that’s something I agree with. You don’t want to burn out. I know all about

wanting to impress a new boss, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about there.
Shame you’re heading off. I was about to give you a call and ask if you wanted to come
along with us to the pub this evening.”

“Us?” Daniel squeaked.
“The IT lot. No one scary,” he added with a big grin. He had a lovely smile, Daniel

thought. “You still could come along....”

Daniel was tempted because he hadn’t had an evening out since...well, not since

Uni...but put the temptation aside. “I can’t, sorry. I should get home. There’s stuff to do.”

“Oh, okay.” Spen sounded truly regretful. “Next week, maybe.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“See you next week. Seriously, you shouldn’t stress so much. You’re good. You

have no idea how much easier having you to liaise with has made my job.”

Daniel’s face heated up with embarrassed pleasure. “Uh...thanks. I try.”
“You do. Have a good weekend...and look after yourself, okay?”
The warm concern in Spen’s voice and his kind brown eyes made Daniel want to

cry. “I will,” he managed to say. “You too. Kani, come on.”

Kani and Myko gave each other one last nuzzle of affection, then Kani bounded over

and up Daniel’s body onto his shoulder. He chirped at Spen, and Spen reached over to pat
Kani’s fuzzy head. “You look after our boy, squirt. See you both later.”

Myko climbed his human’s leg and Spen strode off, the only man in the whole

company who could make a suit look cool, an imposing sight never likely to be lost in the
crowds. Daniel watched until he disappeared around a corner, then sighed. “We better go,
Kani. Time to feed both of us.”

Kani squeaked in delight, and his easy joy put a reluctant grin on Daniel’s face. A

kem’s life was so damn simple.

~~~~~~~~

Spen had been looking forward to talking to Daniel outside the office, but it was a lot

to ask, expecting him to hang around for hours just to have a pint. Spen couldn’t
begrudge him an early start to the weekend. Strange that it was Tony suggesting it, since
the guy had a rep for asking a lot of overtime from his assistants and pushing them hard.
Maybe he didn’t want to scare the kid off. If Spen had someone on his team as bright and
helpful as Daniel, he’d do almost anything to retain them. Damn shame Daniel didn’t
have a formal qualification, or Spen would poach him without a twinge of conscience.

Friday afternoons were for winding down everywhere but in IT, which all too often

had to deal with a last minute panic by one or other of the managers over projects for the
next week, new employees, and equipment failures. But at six, Spen stood and whistled.
“Okay, boys and girls. Close it down, lock it up, and get your party on.”

“My man Spen,” Luke called approvingly, already logging out and switching off

non-essential equipment.

Ten minutes later they were in their favourite local pub, Spen making the first round

of orders as was traditional. Bearing a pint of his favourite real ale, he nabbed prime
position in the corner, while his people spread around and took greedy slurps of liquid
refreshment. An almost choreographed sigh, and then a ripple as everyone relaxed.

“Fuck, this week sucked,” Jyoti said with a groan. Her kem nuzzled her cheek in
sympathy.

“Just like every other week,” Luke said. “Hey, I heard a bit of gossip about our boy

Daniel. Seems HR weren’t at all happy about recruiting him, and the prevailing wisdom
is that he’ll be gone before his probation is up.”

Spen frowned, not liking to encourage this kind of thing, but Jyoti had already seized

on the morsel. “Why would HR object? He’s bright, really sharp.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t have a degree, and there were a few noses out of joint since

they had so many internal candidates. Noball really pushed for him. Looked a bit funny,
apparently.”

“Managers do that all the time,” Spen said. “I pushed for you.” He gave his tech a

quelling look. “Nothing strange about that.”

“No, of course not.” Jyoti took the hint, and turned the conversation to suggestions

being floated for team building outings. Luke didn’t bring Daniel up again, to Spen’s
relief.

But Luke and Spen had to wait at the same bus stop for their ride home, and despite

Spen’s distaste for the subject, Luke had something on his mind that he had to express.
“It isn’t just Daniel’s recruitment that’s weird, you know.”

“I don’t think this is a good—”
“No, wait, Spen. I like Daniel, that’s why I want to tell you. You know how we were

all told that Jan left for a better job and that’s why he resigned in such a hurry? Well,
Alison in Logistics said she ran into him two weeks ago, and he’s unemployed. As in,
still unemployed. He didn’t have a job to go to—he just left without giving notice.
Alison’s since found out that HR knew about it but were happy to spread the fake story.”

“Maybe he had personal reasons. Wasn’t his mum sick?”
“Yeah. She died a couple of weeks before Jan left. Alison said he was happy to talk

about his mum, but clammed up tight when she mentioned Noble. There’s something
funny about Noble, Spen. Two males PAs in a row, which is unusual in itself, lasting less
than three months each? And now a new one he’s recruited against everyone’s advice?”

“Sorry, I’m still not seeing why this is a worry. Noball is an egotistical pain in the

arse, so maybe people just don’t like working for him.”

Luke folded his arms and looked seriously at Spen. “Lots of our managers are pains

in the arse, and their people stick at it for years. I reckon it has to be something else.”

“Like?”
“Work it out. Jan was young, pretty and gay. Daniel is young and pretty, and if he’s

not gay, I’m a baboon.”

“Noble’s married with kids.”

“Yeah. Perfect cover.”
“So why does he still have a job? Come on, Luke. You think the company would

keep him on if this was true?”

Luke shrugged. “Maybe Jan didn’t want the hassle. Or maybe the company paid him

off. Why would they lie about him? They wouldn’t want word to get out that Noble’s
sexually harassing his staff. The work we do, the clients we have? Can’t afford the
publicity.”

“Sounds like bollocks to me. You don’t have any proof of this. You really don’t want

to spread this around.”

“I won’t, but I wanted to tell you. The knives are out for this kid, at least among the

admin assistants, and that’s no rumour. Someone needs to keep an eye on him. He likes
you. We like him. I don’t want him to lose his job.”

“You’re making this very personal. And that’s your bus.”
“Shit, yeah.” Luke stuck his hand out to hail it, and the bus pulled into the stop.

“Look him up on the net and you’ll see why.”

“What?”
“On the net. You’ll find him. See you Monday.”
Spen waved distractedly as the bus pulled off. His own bus arrived a minute later,

and he settled down in his seat, disturbed by Luke’s odd news and his strange obsession
with Daniel’s safety. If true, it certainly was worrying, but Luke implied that it was more
than Daniel’s youth and inexperience that might make him vulnerable.

Annoyed at himself for giving into the urge, he pulled out his smartphone and typed

in “Daniel Walkinshaw”. There were too many results to make sense of, so he just
searched for images. The very first page of results showed their Daniel, pictured of him
with his family, some showing him holding some kind of prize or certificate. Spen
clicked through and discovered that Daniel had won prizes at his secondary school for
Chemistry and Computing, and a part-scholarship for his tuition fees. So he was bright.
This wasn’t in dispute.

Puzzled as to why Luke thought this was relevant, Spen went back to the search

results, and clicked on one of the pictures of a somewhat younger Daniel with a brother
and sister and his parents. Spen assumed it was to do with his academic achievements. He
couldn’t have been more wrong.

This was what Luke had been talking about. Daniel’s parents had died last year in a

freak accident involving a collapsing crane and a horrifyingly large block of concrete,
leaving Daniel and his siblings orphaned. There were dozens of reports focussing on the
misfortune of the people killed and what had caused the accident, and a certain amount of
attention to the fate of the three children. But with Daniel being an adult, and with living

grandparents, the assumption seemed to be that the two younger kids would manage. The
press had moved on, though a coronial enquiry had been held just three months ago,
deeming the deaths to be unlawful, and a recent news report said the company
responsible for the crane’s maintenance was to be prosecuted for manslaughter.

So that explained the interrupted degree, which was a damn shame. But it also

explained why someone with his obvious technical talent was stuck in an office working
for Tony Noble. Did it also explain why Noble had been so eager to hire him? Young,
pretty...and responsible for an orphaned brother and sister. Gay or not, Daniel had
flashing signs all over him saying “prey”. The question was, was Noble a predator or was
that accusation purely based on the office gossip machine, never particularly charitable or
accurate?

Myko put his paw on Daniel’s picture. “What do you think, eh? Worried too?” Myko

looked up at Spen and it really did look like he was concerned, especially when he patted
the photo again and gave a sad little chirp. But maybe Myko was only reacting to Spen’s
mood. Hard to know, with kems.

He nearly missed his stop, he was so absorbed in his thoughts, and only Myko

nipping his ear saved him from a long walk back. Even when he got back to the house, he
couldn’t stop thinking about it. His mum came out as he rummaged through the fridge.

“Hello, love. Had a nice time?” Myko squeaked in glee and jumped from Spen’s

shoulder to his mother’s, so she had Vira, her kem, on one side of her head, and Myko on
the other. Myko spent near as much time on his mum’s shoulder as Spen’s when he was
home.

“Same as usual. How was school?”
“Same as usual.” She grinned. “Let’s just say that I’m glad retirement is only three

years away.”

“You’d be bored.”
“I’d love a chance to be bored. There’s a couple of chops if you want them.”
“No, thanks. I’ll just make a cheese sandwich.”
“I was just going to have a cup of tea. Want one?”
“Oh, thanks. Where’s Dad?”
“Asleep in front of the telly. I thought I’d wake him up when I was off to bed.”
Spen nodded. His dad was often exhausted by the end of the week. He worked for

the city as an engineer, and budget cuts meant there was always more work than there
were people to do it.

His mum made the tea while Spen made his sandwich, and they sat together in the

kitchen while he ate. “Mum, what do you know about orphaned kids? Do they get much
help?”

“Depends on their age. If they’re under sixteen, then they go into foster care.”
“What if one of them is an adult?”
“Then I think the government only steps in if there’s a problem. Thinking of

someone in particular?”

“Sort of. I don’t really know the full story.” Nor did he know if Daniel was really the

only adult looking after his siblings. Spen knew very little about his situation, and Daniel
was very close-mouthed about it. Which was a hint, if Spen needed one, that it was none
of his business.

“Something bothering you, Spencer?”
He shook himself. “No, not really. Someone at work was talking about a new

employee, and got me thinking.”

“Someone in trouble?”
“Not that I know of. Not yet.”
His mother, no fool, peered at him. “But you’re worried.”
“I don’t know if I need to be. I’ll just keep an eye on things.”
She patted his hand. “You do that, love. Can’t do any harm to watch out for someone

who might need help.” She yawned. “Oh heavens. I think I better wake your father and
go to bed. See you in the morning.”

She lifted Myko off her shoulder and set him down on the table, then bent over and

kissed Spen. “You have a good heart, Spencer. It’ll always steer you right.”

“Thanks, Mum. Sleep well.”
He was tired too, and should really find his own bed, but he couldn’t stop thinking

about Daniel. About what it would be like to lose his parents so young, so suddenly. And
about Daniel and Tony Noble, and what, if anything, was behind the departure of
Noball’s previous PA.

Spen was no innocent and had seen a few things he couldn’t even tell his mother

about, open-minded as she was. Even so, he found it hard to get his head around the idea
that a self-important idiot like Tony Noble—someone in the same company as Spen,
someone he saw on an almost daily basis—would cold-bloodedly target an orphaned
young man just to get his rocks off. Yet worse things happened every day, and all too
often by someone described by neighbours and friends as “such a lovely quiet person”.

On the other hand, Luke did occasionally get worked up about things which turned

out to have no basis at all. Like the time he became convinced the new office drinking
water bottles leached cancer-causing chemicals into the water, and tried to organise a
petition to get the company to change suppliers again. Jyoti finally got in touch with the
lab that did the quality control testing and asked them to email Luke directly to allay his
fears, at which point he gave up his campaign, and Spen could stop worrying about how

he’d replace an important team member who’d been fired for stupidity. Luke was
sincerely worried about Daniel, but that didn’t mean there was anything to worry about.

Spen finished his cup of tea, then washed up the plate and other things. He couldn’t

do any more about this without more information, and he couldn’t get that until next
week, so there was no point in fretting over it.

“Maybe I should get you to talk to Kani and ask him about it,” he said to Myko. His

kem tipped his head and appeared to be seriously considering the idea, and not for the
first time, Spen wondered exactly how much kems understood about human affairs. “We
can both keep an eye on him, okay?”

Myko chirped and lifted up a paw. Spen shook it, smiling at his kem’s strange

gesture. “Right, off to bed for the two of us. And no waking me up at dawn, you hear?”

Myko’s wide-eyed “Who, me?” expression was entirely fake, Spen knew from

experience. But a very convincing fake.

Chapter 4

A weekend’s reflection on the subject of Daniel and his boss didn’t bring any great

enlightenment. If Spen could have talked to his mother about it, it might have helped, but
he didn’t like the idea of spreading rumours any further than Luke had already done, and
he felt uneasy about making assumptions about Daniel’s home situation.

The obvious thing would have been to talk to Daniel himself, but that was

surprisingly difficult to arrange gracefully without revealing that Spen already knew
more than he really should do. Daniel clearly liked Spen’s team, but he was rather
hesitant and overawed by Spen himself, though he tended to relax once he’d been in the
section for a few minutes. There was just no opening where Spen could casually say, “So,
I hear you’re an orphan”, or “You know your boss? We think he might be a bit of a
creeper”. How could you say that to anyone?

So all he could do was wait, be friendly, watch Daniel—which wasn’t a hardship,

because the kid was ridiculously cute—and hope like hell Luke was wrong. Spen didn’t
even have much chance to keep an eye on him the next week, as he only saw Daniel
twice, and that only in passing. Daniel looked harried and worried, but he nearly always
did. One thing Luke had definitely pegged right was the hostility towards him. Spen saw
the looks and noticed the comments now he was alert to them. He overheard two
secretaries at the photocopier sneering about Noble’s “hopeless assistant”. Infuriating,
when Spen knew how far from the truth it was, but jumping down these bitchy women’s
throats wasn’t likely to improve Daniel’s reputation. Spen didn’t know there was much
he could do, since Daniel didn’t work for him. Yet. He had some vague ideas about
poaching Daniel for his own team, but as yet, they hadn’t resolved into something solid
he could put to upper management. He needed more time to observe Daniel and his skills,
and it was a political battle that would need careful planning.

He could at least chase Daniel up for the Friday pub outing. One of the perks of

being the manager of a team in a secure area was access to real-time security logs which
tracked the movement of individuals’ passes through RFID checkpoints. This meant he
could check if anyone had come into the IT section behind an authorised individual. So
far he never had to worry about it, but the access was occasionally useful to locate
members of his team who’d wandered off, without the hassle of calling and checking on
them. Now it came in handy to let him know where Daniel was taking his lunch break—
in the Legal and Donor Management staff kitchen.

Spen took the lift to the fifth floor, and found his quarry. “Hey.”
Daniel looked up in shock, nearly spilling his tea. “S-Spen. What are you doing

here?” Kani, lying curled up on the table, uncoiled and squeaked. Myko jumped down for

a cuddle.

“Looking for you. Calm down. You’re not in trouble.” Spen swung into the chair

opposite him. “How’s things?”

“Fine. Busy. Did you want something? I thought the project was in client testing.”
“Yeah, it is. I just wanted to ask you to come along tonight. It’s Friday.” At Daniel’s

confused look, he added, “Pub night.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I can’t.” He shot a glance in the direction of his office. “I’ve been

working late most of this week and I have to get home on time tonight. It’s not fair.”

“Fair on...?”
Daniel flushed. “My sister. She’s looking after my little brother.”
“Parents away?” Spen felt like a bastard for pretending he didn’t know, and Myko’s

glance at his words only increased his guilty feelings.

“No. Um, there’s just the three of us. My sister’s taken on so much work since I

started here and she’s studying for her exams. I have to get home tonight.”

“I understand. Don’t stress it. Does, uh, Tony know about your home situation?”
Daniel looked down at his sandwich. “Yes,” he mumbled. “But there’s a big meeting

of donors coming up and there’s a lot to do.”

“Right. You realise that this company has a very good reputation for supporting staff

with family commitments, don’t you?” Daniel looked up, but his glum expression didn’t
change. “Just saying that Tony should take them into account.”

“I’m still on probation. There are plenty of people with kids and commitments here

and they don’t ask for special treatment.”

“Yes, but—”
“Spen, please? I’m fine.” He stood and smiled, but there was no happiness behind it.

“Tony’s a good boss. I want to do a good job. I’ll try and make it to the pub next week,
okay?”

“I’ll remind you. Daniel...if you....”
“What?”
“You know...need advice about how the place works. You can ask me. Or Jyoti. Any

of us.”

The smile was less tense this time. “Thanks. I’m fine, really. I have to go. You

should see my desk.”

“If you can see your desk, then you’re one ahead of me.”
Daniel gave a little chuckle. “Uh, yeah, see what you mean. Thanks for the

invitation. I wish I could...you understand.”

“I do. Catch you around.”
Daniel dumped the dregs of his tea and picked up his plastic lunch container. Kani

climbed up on his shoulder, Daniel gave Spen one last shy smile, then disappeared into
the corridor.

Myko ran after them. “Myko, no.”
His kem turned to look, chirping a little. “No, squirt. He has to work.”
Still Myko hesitated, so Spen went over and picked him up, nuzzling the top of

Myko’s head with his chin. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on him, okay?”

Myko trilled, affectionately wrapping his tail around Spen’s wrist. His kem’s trust

and approval were lovely, but Spen wasn’t at all sure he knew what was going on here.
One minute Noble was worried Daniel was burning out, next minute he had him working
overtime on multiple nights. All the managers used overtime when they had big meetings
and projects, so it wasn’t strange of Noble to do that. Just...the inconsistency.

Maybe Spen was making something out of nothing, like Luke was prone to doing.

He really was busy and if he wanted to get away on time himself, he should shift his butt.
He wished Daniel could come along tonight. It would be good for him—but only if he
wasn’t stressing about home. Still, now the subject had been broached, Spen could pry a
little more out of the kid, see if he could do anything.

He smiled ruefully. Now he was doing it—making it personal, like Luke. He

couldn’t help it. Daniel had the touch of the lost puppy about him, yet he seemed
determined to do it all by himself. Spen had worked with young people for too long not to
be affected by that.

Right now, Daniel was okay. Spen couldn’t do anything for him until he asked for

help, which he might never do.

~~~~~~~~

“Mr Godwin? I’m Mr Noble’s assistant.”
The pleasant-faced, sharply suited young man in the foyer stood and smiled at

Daniel. “Julian, please. And you’re...?”

“Daniel. Daniel Walkinshaw.”
Julian held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Daniel. This is Pyon,” he said. The black

kem on his shoulder squeaked at the sound of his name.

“This is Kani. Say hello, Kani.” Daniel’s kem jumped across from his shoulder onto

Julian’s. Daniel reached out for him. “Gosh, I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologise. Pyon loves company, don’t you?” Pyon chirped and changed

shoulders so he could perch precariously and cuddle Kani. Julian simply adjusted his
stance to accommodate the lop-sided load. Daniel tried not to look as amazed as he felt.
None of their other clients had been this relaxed. “So, shall we go meet your boss?”

“This way.”
Still bearing both kems, Julian followed Daniel to the lifts. “You’re new, aren’t

you?” he said as they waited. “I think when Leo...that’s my boss, Leo Underwood...first
got me to look into this, someone called Jan was working for Tony.”

“Yes, he left. I’ve been here two months. Still learning the ropes.” Though the

thrilling question was, would he ever finish learning them?

“I’m sure you’re doing fine.” They stepped into the empty elevator and Daniel

pressed the button. “Kani’s a sweet little fellow, isn’t he?” Julian gave Kani a pat and
earned an earlick.

“Is he bothering you? I can—”
“Oh, please don’t. He’s keeping Pyon out of mischief.” Pyon looked up and gave his

human an indignant squeak. Julian laughed and stroked the swaying black tail. “Just
teasing, brat. Here we are.”

Daniel liked Julian, but he wasn’t the client—his boss was. Maybe the boss was a lot

less pleasant, if he couldn’t even bother to come along and see where his money might be
going. Daniel wondered if Julian liked his job and his boss, or if he wished he could be
doing something completely different, like Daniel did, but couldn’t. At least not now.

Daniel knocked at Tony’s door. “Mr Noble? Julian Godwin for you.”
Tony stood, smiling broadly. “Oh, Julian, please do come in. Nice to meet you

finally.” They shook hands. “Tea? Coffee? Water?”

“Green tea would be nice if you have it.”
“Daniel, would you?”
Daniel left to fetch the tea. Rather to his surprise, Kani stayed put, grooming a

quietly trilling Pyon as if his life depended on it. Nice for him to have someone new to
play with. Kani didn’t like the office much, except when they visited IT. None of the
office kems seemed inclined to play with him, though they weren’t as unfriendly as their
humans were to Daniel. If it were possible, Daniel would have left Kani at the house, but
to be honest, without Kani’s company and the occasional visits to Spen’s lair, Daniel
would have gone a little crazy from loneliness by now.

When he returned, Pyon and Kani had moved to the floor and were tumbling around

in a play fight. The sides of Tony’s mouth were drawn down disapprovingly as he
glanced at the kems. Daniel could have picked Kani up and asked him to behave, but
Julian showed no signs of being bothered, listening with apparent attentiveness to Tony’s
spiel about the company’s current projects.

Daniel set the tea down on front of Julian on Tony’s desk and was about to leave

when Tony broke off. “Ah, Daniel, would you stay please? I’d like you to liaise with
Julian over Mr Underwood’s participation.”

“Possible participation,” Julian said. “Leo’s very keen to invest in young people and

start-up business, but he hasn’t made a decision. We’re looking into several options.”

“Yes, of course. Forgive the presumption. Sit down, Daniel, please.”
Daniel obeyed, and immediately found himself with a lapful of kems. He gave them

both scritches between the ears and Pyon trilled in delight. “He likes that, keep it up,”
Julian stage-whispered. Daniel grinned and did so.

Tony cleared his throat. “As I was saying, Julian, if Mr Underwood chose to work

with our company, he would have the assurance of an organisation established over
twenty years ago, with a national presence and a glowing international reputation. I
personally bring ten years of investment experience, and I’ve won a number of awards
for my achievements.” He swept his hand towards the wall where his certificates and
trophies were displayed. Daniel knew them all by heart as he had to dust them every
week. “Some of our so-called competitors haven’t been in business for more than three
years.”

“No, but I find it a bit strange that a company that specialises in startups would be so

rude about other startups.” Julian smiled as he said it, but Tony’s expression grew even
more strained. “Don’t worry. I’ll present all you’ve said to Leo and your proposal will
receive fair consideration. If Leo wasn’t interested, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Daniel almost sighed in relief. Losing Leo Underwood’s investment would be a slap

in the face for Tony, as he’d been boasting about hooking “the big one” ever since Julian
had arranged the appointment.

“I appreciate that. If there’s any more information you need, or assistance, I or

Daniel will be happy to provide it, any time at all. Daniel.”

Daniel jerked up, wondering why Tony had said his name in that way, then realised

Kani and Pyon had jumped up on Tony’s desk. Julian hadn’t made a move to stop his
kem, so Daniel didn’t know what he should do. “Kani,” he said quietly. “Come down.”

His kem ignored him. Pyon batted at Tony’s kinetic sculpture, making the balls

swing back and forth. Kani sniffed at them, and then wandered off, apparently
uninterested in them.

“Daniel,” Tony said tightly. “Would you mind?”
“Kani, please?” He reached out for his kem, but Kani dodged his hand, scampering

across the desk—and straight for the teacup. Before Julian could save it or Daniel catch
his errant kem, Kani hit the cup, sending it flying across the desk.

Tony lifted his laptop out of the way of the slowly spreading tea. “Daniel!” His face

was bright red with anger.

Daniel made a grab for Kani and finally caught him. “Gosh, I’m sorry, let me—”
“Look, I think I should go. Pyon,” Julian said, calmly picking up his kem. “I’ll show

myself out.”

“No, no. Daniel, please show Julian out while I’ll clean this up.” Tony picked up a

bundle of papers and shook them. Fortunately the cup was nearly empty but it was still a
mess.

Daniel made a run for it before Tony changed his mind. Julian appeared utterly

unconcerned as Daniel joined him in the corridor. “I’m so sorry,” Daniel said. “Kani—”

Julian smiled and shook his head. “It’s okay, honestly. You wouldn’t know it to look

at him now, but Pyon could be a right little terror when he wanted to be. Still can, can’t
you,” he added, nuzzling his kem’s head.

“But Kani’s usually so well-behaved. It’s the first time he’s ever done something like

this.”

Julian frowned. “Really?”
“I swear. He’s usually so quiet and good.” Kani squeaked, and despite the flipflops

Daniel’s stomach was doing over what Tony would say when he came back, he petted his
kem reassuringly. After all, he’d only been playing.

“Huh.” Julian grew rather thoughtful. Daniel didn’t know how to take this.
They rode down the elevator in silence, but when they arrived at the ground floor

Daniel felt he had to try and put this right. “Look, Julian...you won’t let this influence
your decision over investing, will you?”

“Don’t be silly. Anyway, it’s not my decision. Leo doesn’t let mischievous kems

decide how he spends his money.” Julian reached out and petted Kani. “He’s lovely.
Don’t fret. I’m more worried about you and your boss.”

Daniel tried to smile, but he couldn’t make it genuine. “I guess he’ll be cranky.

He’s...um...not a big fan of kems.”

“Really? What a stupid man.” Daniel gulped. “Look, don’t worry, okay? Now,

before you go, I have a favour to ask. Can you take me to Spencer Reardon’s office? He’s
expecting me.”

Daniel’s anxiety express derailed. “You know Spen?”
“Oh yeah. We go way back. I can ask someone else if—”
“No, no, it’s fine. It’s in the basement. This way.”

Chapter 5

“Hey, Beanie.”
Spen looked up and grinned at Julian, with Daniel hovering behind him. “Come in

here, you ratbag. Where the hell have you been? That husband of yours keeping you
locked in a cupboard?”

Daniel’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the mention of a husband, but Julian’s smile

only broadened. “Not the cupboard, Beanpole. Anyway, what’s wrong with you? Did
your phone break at the wedding or something?”

Spen held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, point taken. You’re looking fantastic.

Nice suit.” Pyon had draped himself over Julian’s right shoulder like a scarf. The little
guy looked as sleek and happy as Spen had ever seen him.

“Birthday present from Leo. Er...sorry, Daniel. Don’t mean to hold you up.”
“That’s okay,” Daniel said, misery clear in his voice. What had happened, Spen

wondered. “You’re close friends?”

“Since Uni,” Spen confirmed. “Haven’t seen him since he got married to Mr

Gorgeous, though.”

“That’s Mr Sexy and Gorgeous, thank you,” Julian purred. Spen couldn’t get over

how much Julian had changed since university, or the luck of him hooking a fantastically
good-looking, rich guy who adored Julian as much as Julian adored him. “You’ve got
Rob, so you can’t talk.”

“Er, no. Not any more. Not since not long after I saw you last, actually. That’s why I

wasn’t in touch.”

Jyoti was the only other person in the section just then, and though she already knew

about Spen’s break up with his boyfriend, she still winced in sympathy. Daniel’s eyes
went wide. Had he not realised Spen was gay? Did he have a problem with that? Spen
guessed he’d find out soon enough.

“Oh man, I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Julian’s brown eyes were full of sympathy. “I’d

have called....”

“Don’t stress, Jules. It wasn’t horrific. We just decided we wanted different things

from life. Are you ready for lunch? You’re a little earlier than I was expecting.”

Julian grimaced and behind him, Daniel made a face. “Uh, yeah. Pyon incited

Daniel’s kem to riot and there was a small accident with a teacup and Tony’s desk. Time
for me to run away. Maybe we should hide Daniel down here until his boss calms down.”

“No, no...I should get back actually. Don’t want to make it worse. It was nice to meet

you, Julian.”

“You’d be welcome—” Spen started to say, but Daniel shook his head.

“No, you two need time to catch up. Thank you, though. Uh...bye.”
Daniel left before Spen could think up an argument why he should stay. He

shrugged. “Oh well. Come on, Jules. Jyoti?”

“Got the conn, cap’n.”
“Good woman.”

~~~~~~~~

Daniel was practically puking with stress by the time he knocked on Tony’s office

door. “Come in,” Tony said.

“Uh, Tony, look, I’m really so sorry about—”
“Just have a seat, Daniel. Close the door.”
Oh god, this was serious. He was about to be sacked, he knew it. “Can I just—”
“No, hold on. I understand the...situation...with your kem wasn’t your fault. You’re

not in trouble, so please relax.” Tony smiled, and Daniel’s stomach unclenched a little in
relief. “However, as you notice, I don’t allow my kem to come out at work because
there’s always the risk of such situations. It’s not the first time one of them has caused
unwelcome disruption.”

“Kani’s normally so good.”
“I’m sure. But from now on, I want you to keep him out of sight while at work.”
Kani squeaked in alarm, and Daniel patted his tail. “Shhh, it’s okay. Go inside,

Kani.”

With a miserable chirp, Kani obeyed. Daniel already felt colder. “Thank you,” Tony

said. “You’re doing very well. If you continue to impress, there won’t be any problem
about your passing your probation.”

“Thanks. I want to do well.”
“I’m sure. Your willingness to learn and try is an asset. So let’s not talk about this

again. Oh, the quarterly figures from Head Office will be in after five, so I’ll need that
presentation done tonight for the meeting Thursday.”

“Tonight?” It was Alex’s birthday. Daniel had promised faithfully to be home on

time, and he’d thought he was safe. The figures weren’t supposed to be coming in until
tomorrow. “Um, it’s just....”

Tony looked at him over his reading glasses. “You do realise this is a critical

meeting, Daniel. I really don’t want you to let me down.”

Daniel nodded, heart sinking. “I won’t. I just need to call home.”
Tony shuffled some papers on his desk, his mind clearly on the next task. “Whatever

you need. Could you find the Warbell file and bring it in?”

Daniel got up to fetch it from his desk. Alex would never forgive him. Daniel would

never forgive himself. But he didn’t dare risk making Tony angry over this, and

especially not when he’d overlooked what was probably a sacking offence. Alex would
understand...eventually.

~~~~~~~~

Julian swallowed the chip he’d been eating. “So, tell me about the cute redhead who

lights up like a Christmas tree when I say your name.”

“He does not. That’s Daniel, our enigma. Genius level IQ, a year short of getting his

bachelor’s degree, then his parents were killed in an accident.”

“God, really? The poor kid.”
Spen remembered then that Julian’s husband, Zachary, had also been orphaned.

“Yeah. Left looking after two younger siblings, I think. I’m not exactly sure what his
home situation is. Kid doesn’t talk about it.”

“Whatever it is, he’s miserable. And I don’t like his boss.”
“I don’t like his boss either, but he’s supposed to be good at massaging clients.

Didn’t work on you? Maybe because you’re not the real money man?”

“Oh, he did his best, but he’s patronising, and he doesn’t like kems. Zachary would

write him off for that alone.”

“It’s not a good sign, no.” Spen patted Myko, curled up asleep in his lap, his tail

coiled around Pyon’s foot, as Julian’s kem lay on the seat between the two humans.
“Daniel’s great at the job, but the job’s bad for him. I don’t know what to do.”

Julian grinned as he picked up a bit of lettuce. “You’re already making him a rescue

project. I recognise the symptoms.”

“Hah, you’ve known him all of an hour and you’re taking an interest too. He just has

that effect on people. Actually, Julian...there’s something else I want your advice on.
About Noble and his past PAs....”

~~~~~~~~

Spen returned from lunch with Julian considerably more sombre and thoughtful than

when he’d left. Julian understood his concern, and certainly didn’t think he was
overreacting. He was adamant that he wanted to help—Daniel’s situation and his
husband’s being so similar, he felt instinctively protective, he said—so Spen had told him
what he knew. Julian said he would check some things out, and ask Zachary’s advice, as
well as that of his boss, Leo Underwood. Spen thought well of both men, and thought it
couldn’t hurt.

But now he wished he hadn’t deterred Luke from sniffing around, because while

Spen was friendly with a lot of the staff, he had never encouraged gossip or participated
in it. Unfortunately, without actual facts or access to private HR files, gossip was all he
had to go on.

Well, almost all. Security logs showed that Daniel was still working overtime at least

three nights a week. Spen decided that he could do something about that at least. He
called his mum and told her he’d probably be late home, then settled down to work on
some non-urgent reports that he’d been avoiding. He’d set up an alarm to let him know if
Daniel left the building. Five o’clock passed. Six o’clock passed, and the alarm didn’t
trigger. At seven, Spen checked the logs, then stood. Daniel still hadn’t left. Time to carry
out a little intervention, but first, he had to check there was any need for it.

He strolled up to the security desk on the ground floor. “Hey, Bob, how’s it going?”
Bob grinned, and ran his hand over his short grey curls. “Slow, man, slow. You’re

here late. Someone blow up their computer again?”

“Not tonight. At least, not that I know of.” Spen crossed his fingers exaggeratedly,

and Bob laughed. “Can you do me a favour? I’ve got a report for Tony Noble, and I think
he’s still in his office. Do you know if he is?”

Bob was used to Spen occasionally asking him to find someone in the building—

someone he was chasing to talk to, or a team member, so he showed no surprise at this
request. He fiddled with the controls at his console, then leaned back. “Yeah, he’s in.
That kid of his is there too. The ginger ninja.”

Spen smiled at the description, but what he saw as he casually glanced at the monitor

Bob indicated, was anything but amusing. Noble and Daniel were at Daniel’s desk.
Daniel was seated, Noble leaning over Daniel in a way that would have got Spen slapped
if he did it to a female employee—or even a male one. That was too damn close, and no
way was it normal for an office interaction. Myko made a worried little noise when he
saw Daniel. Spen kept a gentle hand on him to make sure he didn’t jump down for a
closer look.

“Thanks, Bob. I’ll just pop up and drop these off.” He waved the folder of reports

he’d brought up as cover. “Do you keep those recordings? I can’t remember what they
said when they installed them.”

“Yeah. Have to, in case we have to call the police in. Didn’t used to, but now it’s all

on some hard disk somewhere. I think they copy it off and store it. Don’t know the
details. That’s your area, not mine.”

“Only when they break, man. So don’t go breaking it. Catch you around.”
Bob waved him off in a friendly fashion, hopefully unaware of Spen’s real purpose.

He’d already picked up the newspaper he’d been reading when Spen interrupted, so Spen
hoped he wouldn’t pay any attention to the monitors unless an alarm went off. Spen had
no intention of doing anything to warrant an alarm, but the more discreetly this was
handled, the better it would be for all concerned.

There was no one about on the fifth floor that he could see, and all was quiet. The

door to Daniel’s office was shut, but Spen didn’t knock. After all, he wasn’t supposed to

know Daniel was there. He threw the door opened, making the two men at the desk
straighten up in shock. The reactions were tellingly different. Daniel was simply
surprised, but Noble was angry too...and a little afraid?

Spen played it casual. “Oh, hi, Daniel. Wasn’t expecting you to be here. Just had

some reports for Tony, and thought I’d drop them off before I went home.”

Noble snatched the folder from him. “Couldn’t this have waited, Spencer? Why on

earth would you think I was around at this time of night?” He backed further away from
Daniel, and Spen didn’t think he imagined the relaxation in Daniel’s features as he did so.
Relaxation—and relief too.

“Oh, I checked at Security.” Spen pointed casually up at the corner of the office’s

ceiling. “The new system. The in-office cameras. Don’t you remember? Head Office
authorised them after we had those laptop thefts.”

“Ah, yes, of course.” Noble straightened up and cleared his throat. “Right. Fine.

Thank you. Daniel, I think we’re finished here. You should get on home.”

“Thanks, Tony. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Spen had never seen anyone logoff that fast

before, and Daniel had picked up his coat and shot out of the office before Spen had a
chance to offer to walk him out.

Noble made a show of collecting papers from the desk, ignoring his departing PA

and Spen. His lips thinned as he looked up and realised Spen was still there. “Anything
else, Spencer?”

Spen pretended he couldn’t hear the chill in Noble’s tone. “No. I should get home

too. Don’t believe in overtime as a rule. Leads to burnout.”

“Good night then. Don’t let me hold you up.”
Spen grinned to himself as he made his way to the elevator, while Myko trilled in

approval. Message delivered and point made, he hoped.

~~~~~~~~

Relieved beyond words at his unexpected early escape—and thanking Spen for

prompting it, though it had been a rather odd thing to do—Daniel sprang for a taxi in the
hope of getting back home even faster. Kani, allowed out once more, perched on his lap
and gave constant squeaks of frustration as the taxi encountered red lights or slow
drivers. Finally, they were at the house. Daniel ran up the path and flung the door open,
startling his brother and sister in the living room. He immediately realised that however
quickly he’d managed to return, it wasn’t fast enough. Alex gave him a cold stare before
running out of the room, while Dee stood with her arms folded, her expression as sullen
and angry as Daniel had ever seen it.

“You promised.”
“I know. I let you know, and I tried to—”

“Doesn’t matter. You promised. You said things would get better when you got this

job, but it’s only got worse. We hardly see you in the evenings, and you’re so tired the
rest of the time. It’s not worth it, Daniel.” She bit her lip, clearly fighting back tears, but
when Daniel went to put his arm around her, she pulled back. “No. Go to Alex.”

“I’m sorry, DeeDee. Did you have supper?”
“Sort of. He was too upset to eat, and he didn’t want the ‘stupid cake’ I made for

him.” The lip wobbled again. “Go!”

Daniel went, because there was only one of him to go around two upset siblings.
Alex was lying on his bed on his stomach, petting Veen. He didn’t look at Daniel as

he came in. “Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“I know. Happy birthday anyway.”
“Don’t be stupid. It sucked. You suck. This job sucks.” He rolled over and glared at

Daniel with red eyes. “You don’t even need to work. Dee says there’s plenty of money in
the bank.”

Daniel sat on the end of the bed. “That’s got to cover a lot of things, Alex. You and

Dee going to university, our bills, house repairs, emergencies—that kind of thing. It’s not
that much, and there’s no more to come. Not for a while, anyway,” he amended, thinking
of the protracted legal battles, and the obduracy of companies denying liability. “If I can’t
look after you, then social services will have to take over. I have to prove I can manage.”

“They won’t take us away. Not when you’re around.”
“They might. I can’t risk that. Look, I’m really, really sorry. I let you down, and I

knew you’d be mad at me. But we’ve been through worse, right? Got through it?” He
reached out and stroked his brother’s carroty curls. “It’s just the three of us, kiddo. We
can’t fight with each other.”

“Can’t you find another job? You never said you’d have to work late all the time.”
“I didn’t know. Give me a little while longer. Once I have a bit more experience, I

can apply for other jobs.”

“I wish I was older, then I could get a job instead.”
Daniel ruffled his hair and tried to smile. “I wish you were too. You’d be better than

me, I bet. Um...Dee has a cake.”

“Don’t want anything. Not hungry.”
“Alex, she’s crying. I know it’s my fault, but I don’t know what to do. It would mean

a lot to me if you came downstairs and helped me cheer her up.”

“You spoiled my birthday.”
“It’s not over, though. And I’m home now. Can we have some cake and see if that

helps? I’ve got a birthday present for you somewhere.”

Alex’s mouth moved as if he was about to say he didn’t want any stupid present, but

he didn’t actually say it.

“Please?”
“Okay. But I still hate your job.”
“I don’t like it much either. We just have to hang on a little longer. We can do it, if

we do it together.”

Alex screwed up his face. “You sound like a TV commercial.”
Daniel grinned. “Sorry. Come on. I’m starving.” Kani squeaked. “So is he.” He

reached over to hug his brother. To his relief, Alex let him. “We’ll get through this, Alex.
Just hold on.”

“It’s so hard. I miss Mum and Dad.”
“Me too. All the time.” He kissed his brother’s head. “But at least I have you and

Dee.” Kani chirped and leapt up onto Alex’s shoulder to lick one side of his face, while
Veen nibbled Alex’s ear on the other side. “And you too, fuzzballs.”

Chapter 6

Spen kept a close eye on the security logs for the next two weeks, and enjoyed a little

burst of satisfaction every time he saw Daniel’s ID register his departure by six every
evening—sometimes even as early as five. He wondered how Noble explained the
sudden drop off in overtime requests to Daniel. Maybe he hadn’t bothered, expecting his
PA to accept management oddities as part of the job.

Spen didn’t really care so long as Daniel wasn’t being pressured into working long

hours and being perved over by a creepy boss. The other change in behaviour he did care
about, since it meant Daniel no longer came down to IT, limiting his communications to
email and rare phone calls. Spen didn’t know if it was by Noball’s orders, or whether
Daniel was angry about his intervention. He figured eventually he’d find out, since the
Cross-Channel project was  still  on-going, and likely to be rolled out across all their
offices after the national conference. Unless Noble handed it off to someone else—which,
Spen judged, an egotist like him would never do—he would have to keep working with
IT, and since Noble was still technologically inept, he would need Daniel’s help. Spen
gave   it  another  week  before   Noble  stopped  sulking,   and  he  doubted   Daniel’s  gentle
personality could sustain rage for anything like that long. The emails  and calls were
polite enough, so no change there. Maybe he’d make another attempt to entice Daniel out
to the Friday pub night soon, now he couldn’t use the overtime as an excuse.

The chance to have a drink and a chat came sooner than Spen expected. He left a

little later than planned on Tuesday and almost knocked Daniel over as he came around
the corner from the stairs. “There he is. Hello stranger.” Daniel’s big green eyes stared
wildly, not really seeing him at all. “Daniel? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t...just leave me....” He pushed past Spen and bolted for the men’s toilet.

Sensing it wasn’t a sudden bout of nausea which had sent him running, Spen gave chase.

He found Daniel sitting on the floor at the far end of the room, next to a urinal. “Hey,

kid, you can’t sit there. It’s dirty.”

“Don’t care.” He looked up at Spen, his face glistening with tears. “Leave me alone.”
“No, don’t think so.” Spen crouched down and hoped like hell no one else would

come in. “Did something happen? Something at home? Tony get mad about something?”

“I can’t...you wouldn’t understand. I just have to...but I can’t.”
Spen frowned at him, then stood, pulled some paper off the roll and wet it. He

crouched again and handed the wetted towel to Daniel. “Wipe your face, then stand up.
You need to get out of here. Well away from here.”

Daniel obeyed, accepted Spen’s help to stand up, and threw the screwed up towel at

the bin with unnecessary force. “I’m okay now,” he said, voice as flat as a computer

simulation.

“Yeah, right. Look, do you have time for a quick drink? We can talk.”
Daniel’s eyes darted about in panic. “I can’t...I have to get home.”
“Half an hour? Give them a call? Daniel, I’m worried about you.”
“Half an hour?”
“An hour max. Just call who you need to.”
He shook his head. “It’s okay. They don’t count on me being home early any more.”
Spen didn’t comment on that, though he could strangle bloody Tony Noble. “Come

on, it’s only around the corner.”

Wednesdays were quiet in their local. It was usually quiet anyway, being more of a

lunchtime crowd type of place. “Do you drink? Want a beer? My shout.”

Daniel looked about to protest, then his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Half of bitter,

please.”

Spen ordered the same, and some crisps to soak it up. He guided Daniel over to a

corner and made him sit. “Where’s Kani?”

“Kani? Oh...here.” A grey head suddenly popped out of the middle of Daniel’s chest,

and gave an interrogative chirp. “It’s okay, you can come out now.” Kani jumped out and
onto the table, taking a sniff at Daniel’s beer glass. Daniel stroked him gently, though
rather distractedly.

“What’s going on? Why are you keeping Kani out of sight? And drink that. You look

like you need it.”

Daniel took a sip, then a longer slurp. “Tony told me to keep Kani inside at work.

Says it’s unprofessional.” He said it as if it was of no importance, but his eyes went red
again. Kani gave an indignant squeak, even stamping his little feet to make the point.

“He’s the only person in the whole damn office who thinks that. That’s

unreasonable, and unfair on Kani.”

“Yeah. But he’s my boss. I can’t lose my job over that. Only I’m going to lose it

anyway.”

Spen opened the crisps and set the bag in front of Daniel. “Eat those, and drink that

beer. No way is Tony going to fire you. You’re too good at your job.”

Daniel picked at the crisps but didn’t eat one. Kani snuffled about in the packet, then

stuck his nose in Daniel’s beer. Daniel waved him off and took another long slurp. “He’s
going to fire me because I can’t go to the national conference. He says I have to go to it
or it’s my job.”

Spen blinked. “Wait a bloody minute. He can’t say things like that. You told him

why? Is it your family? Does he know about that?”

“He knows. I thought he understood.”

“Understood what, exactly?”
“I’m...sole guardian for my brother and sister. She’s sixteen. He just turned eleven.

Mum and Dad...died. Last year, in an accident.”

“I’m sorry. That’s a lot to handle.”
“Yeah.” Daniel’s voice still held no passion or anger, just a dull misery that made

Spen ache to hear. “I can’t leave them on their own for a week. There’s no one I can ask
to look after them. No one I would trust. Dee might cope on her own, but not with Alex,
and it would be a shitty thing to do to them anyway. They get so lonely.” He looked up,
and added quietly, “We all do.”

“No, you can’t leave them. Tony can’t force you to either. It’s totally against

company regulations, and you should tell him that. Tell HR too.”

“No, no, I can’t.” For the first time, he became a little animated, his cheeks flushing.

“I can’t lose this job. I’m still on probation. He can fire me at will, no need for a reason,
though I’m sure he has plenty of reasons he can come up with. He could even use what
happened with Kani and Julian.”

“If he tries that, Julian’s boss will eat him alive.”
“Maybe, but I’ll still be gone. I need this job, Spen. If I push back, I’ll still end up

losing it, only with a worse reference than what he’ll give me anyway. I’m so fucked.”
He finished his beer in a long swallow. Spen silently pushed over his untouched glass.
“Thanks. Look, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t have a choice in this. You can’t help.
I’ll have to tell him no, and then I’ll have to leave. My family are everything to me. I’m
all they have.” He rubbed his eyes. “God, Mum and Dad would be ashamed of me not
coping with this.”

“I think they’d be proud as hell of you, and furious with Tony, who’s an A-grade

prick. He can’t give you a bad reference because you complained to HR.”

“Want to bet? I don’t have any work experience outside this. I mean, usable

experience. All he has to do is write a bland, unenthusiastic reference and the message
will get through. I don’t have an employment record to set against it.”

“You’ve got amazing IT skills, though.”
“But no degree. That’s why it took forever to get this job. I’m still amazed I got it,

considering. Now I’m going to lose it anyway.”

“There’s really no one you can ask to help? No relatives? Friends?”
“No.” Daniel started on Spen’s glass, staring down at the table and Kani patting a

crisp without really seeing either. “Mum was an only child, and Dad’s sister lives
overseas. Aunt Lisa offered to have us move out to her but I thought it would be too
much for us to deal with. Our grandparents live on the other side of the country, and
they’re both frail. Grandma had a minor heart attack when she heard the news about the

accident, and then Granddad was diagnosed with cancer two months later. They want to
help but....”

“You don’t want to put any pressure on them.”
“Yes, exactly. Besides, Dee’s about to sit exams. I can’t uproot her to send her to

stay with them. No one else lives close, and people...well, let’s just say we weren’t
exactly deluged with offers to help,” he said bitterly. “Maybe I could hire a nanny or
something? Do they have people like that for older kids? But it would have to be
someone Dee and Alex liked, or it would be worse than nothing. There’s no time to
organise it.”

“I’d offer to help, but I’m going to that stupid conference too...hang on.”
“What?”
“Where do you live?”
Daniel named a suburb not that far from Spen’s parents’ house—a fifteen-minute bus

ride at most, less in a car. “Why do you want to know?”

“Because my mum’s a teacher—”
“Aren’t you lucky.”
Spen ignored the uncharacteristic sarcasm. “No, you’re lucky, I hope. Were you

serious that Dee and Alex don’t expect you home early?”

Daniel frowned in confusion. “Mostly, though I should call them soon. Why?”
“Because I think you need to meet my parents. They might be the answer to your

problem.”

“Spen, that’s nice of you but I can’t—”
Spen held up his hand. “Yes, you can. Unless you really want to start job hunting

again?”

“No, but—”
“Then drink up, go wash your face, and I’ll call Mum.”

~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Daniel could barely remember the utter despair which had swamped

him after the terse, unfriendly conversation with his boss just before he’d left work. Like
a force of nature, Spen had swept him up and carried Daniel along in his own optimism,
depositing him in the warm, friendly kitchen of his warm and friendly parents. Spen’s
mother had barely let her son explain Daniel’s dilemma before exclaiming, “Well, that’s
easy, child. Why can’t we keep an eye on them while you’re away?”

“Mrs Reardon, you don’t even know us.”
“Of course I don’t, but that’s easily fixed. You and Spencer go fetch your brother

and sister and we can talk about this. Good heavens, Daniel. You’ve been struggling on
your own all this time? You poor children.” She stroked his hair, and a few tears leaked

out in sorrow as he remembered his own mother doing the same thing. “Now, don’t cry,
dear. Have you had supper? Have they? Then you call them right now and invite them
over. Spencer, you and Daniel take the car.”

“Yes, Mum,” Spen had said, grinning at Daniel. “Go on, call them.”
Daniel had, and fifteen minutes later, they were at Daniel’s house. Alex threw open

the door, and took in the entire length of Spen’s figure. Veen bounced up and down in
excitement on his shoulder. “Gosh, you’re....”

“Black?” Spen said, winking at Daniel who was both horrified and close to laughing

out loud.

“Enormous!” Alex exclaimed. “Dee! You won’t believe this!”
“Alex, don’t be rude,” Daniel chided. “Dee? Are you ready?”
She came running down the hall but stopped short when she saw Spen. “Wow. I wish

I was that tall.”

“Spen, this is my sister, Dee,” Daniel said. “Who usually has more manners.” She

made a face at him. “Everything locked up?”

“Yes, and the stove’s off, so don’t worry. Are you all huge in your family?” she

asked Spen.

“I’m a bit of a freak,” Spen said, apparently not bothered at all by the kids’ obsession

with his height, “but we’re all pretty tall. Hope you’re hungry. Mum was unloading the
freezer when we left and I think she thinks there are ten of you.”

“I’m starving,” Alex said.
Daniel ruffled his hair. “You’re always starving.”
“I’m a growing boy. Oooh, he’s cute.”
For a startled moment, Daniel thought his brother meant Spen, but then realised that

he’d spotted Myko. “Yes, he is, but we can make introductions later. We don’t want to
keep the Reardons waiting.”

“This way,” Spen said, leading Dee and Alex to the car while Daniel locked the front

door. Daniel didn’t want to stop and think about all this because then he’d be overcome
with embarrassment and find a way of talking himself out of the answer to his problem.
He had to resist that because this could be so good for Dee and Alex. Their excitement
was a sign of just how limited their lives had become since their parents had died. To be
able to share the burden for even a few days...it was selfish to impose on a stranger, but
Mrs Reardon had been so instantly likeable, he couldn’t resist. He didn’t want to resist.

He held his breath as Spen ushered Dee and Alex into his mother’s kitchen. This

wouldn’t work if they didn’t like her or trust her. Dee hesitated as she entered the room,
taking it all in and looking worried. Mrs Reardon smiled. “Come in, dear. We don’t bite.
At least, not since Spen was six, we haven’t.”

Spen smiled seraphically at the reminder of past misdeeds. Daniel had trouble

imagining him ever biting anyone, even at six years old.

Dee grinned. “Alex bit me when he was eight.”
“Did not!”
“You so did. Mum had to put a bandage on my arm.”
“It was an accident. My teeth slipped.”
Daniel’s face hurt from hiding his amusement. Spen looked at Dee. Dee looked at

Mrs Reardon. They all looked at Alex, turning red. “Well, dear, I hope your teeth are
under control now,” Mrs Reardon said, her voice shaking a little from suppressed
laughter. “Care to apply them to a steak and kidney pie?”

Alex glanced sideways at her. “Does it have mushrooms? I don’t like mushrooms.”
“No mushrooms,” Mr Reardon said. “They’re the work of the devil and make my

bowels unhappy.”

His wife tsked. “Richard, don’t mention your bowels in my kitchen, or you’ll put us

all off our food. Alex, there are no mushrooms in it, but if you don’t like the pie, I can
find something else.”

“The pie’ll be fine, Mrs Reardon.” Daniel gently shoved his brother towards the

table. “Come on, squirt. I thought you were starving.”

“I am!”
Mrs Reardon’s wonderful savoury pie—and Mr Reardon’s fruit salad for dessert—

destroyed any lingering hesitation, not that Daniel had seen much from his siblings. Dee
was delighted to have a sympathetic adult to talk to about her impending exams, and
listened appreciatively to Mrs Reardon’s advice on the subject. Mr Reardon and Alex
discovered a mutual love of building model engines, and spent much of the meal off in a
world of their own. Daniel and Spen were the only ones who had trouble finding
something to talk about. Daniel didn’t want to discuss work or his boss, or Spen’s
obvious disapproval of Tony, and Spen was thankfully too tactful to raise it himself in
front of the kids.

The truth was, there were lots of things Daniel wanted to talk to Spen about, but his

tongue tangled up every time Spen turned his kind eyes on him. His crush had only
grown worse in the weeks since Daniel had met the man, and with this unexpected act of
generosity towards Daniel and his siblings, it now threatened to turn into full-blown hero
worship. Spen was everything Daniel could ever hope to be. He wished so much that
circumstances had allowed them to meet as equals, instead of as a bumbling newcomer
desperately trying to find his feet with the help of a calm, successful professional.
Daniel’s boss was the only person at work he’d told about his home situation before, and
that was only to explain why he hadn’t finished his degree. He hadn’t wanted people to

see him as a charity case, but he hadn’t had much choice once Spen had cornered him.
Now Spen would just view him as a nice but helpless kid in need of rescue, and not as a
potentially attractive adult. Not that Daniel had had much hope of catching Spen’s eye in
the first place.

“Is your house the one your parents owned?” Spen asked as they helped clear the

plates.

“Yes. We all grew up there, and moving was more hassle than we could deal with.

You’ve always lived at home?” Daniel flushed, wondering if that was too personal a
question, but it was out now.

“Oh no, only since I broke up with Robert a few months back. I was living in his

apartment until then.”

Alex’s head swivelled. “Are you gay, Spen?” Dee smacked his arm. “What?” he

said, giving Dee a hurt look. “Mum said there was nothing wrong with being gay. Daniel
is.”

Daniel closed his eyes and prayed to disappear into the floor. Even Kani meeped and

went inside in sheer self-defence.

“Yes, I’m gay,” Spen said casually. “And of course there’s nothing wrong with it.

Are you gay, Alex?”

“I don’t think so,” Alex said thoughtfully. “How can you tell?”
Mr and Mrs Reardon, smiling benevolently, kept quiet through all this, letting the

young people handle things. Daniel relaxed a little. They didn’t have a problem, at least.
“Maybe we can talk about that later,” Daniel suggested. “It’s nearly nine. Spen and I have
to work tomorrow and you have school.”

“Wish I didn’t,” Alex grumbled. “Can’t wait until the long hols.”
“Only a few more weeks,” Daniel said. “Help us finish clearing, and then if Spen

could give us a lift back?”

“You go now, dear,” Mrs Reardon said. “We’ll sort this out. Now, we’ll finalise

things over the next few days but I’m happy for Dee and Alex to stay here, or I can pop
over in the evenings. In any event, they’ll have us as an emergency contact, or even if
they’re just a bit lonely in the evenings and want some company.”

Daniel took her hand. “You’re a lifesaver. Thank you so much.”
“Not at all, child. It’s a pleasure. You’re all so lovely, and it’s such a shame what

happened. I want to help. We all do.”

Spen came up behind Daniel and put his hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, we do. I just

wish I was going to be around. Looks like I’ll have to babysit you at the conference
instead.”

Daniel’s face felt hot enough to convert water into steam. “I don’t need a babysitter,”

he muttered.

“Then you can babysit me. Okay, kids, got your coats and kems? I won’t be long,

Mum. Thanks.” Spen kissed her cheek, and she hugged him. The stone in Daniel’s chest
got a little more painful and cold. Their relationship was so like Daniel’s had been with
his parents. Would he ever be over losing the two of them?

Spen shooed Dee and Alex down the hall, but as Daniel followed them, Spen put his

hand back on his shoulder. “Must be hard,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t be able to bear
losing mine.”

Daniel turned and looked up at Spen’s face through tear-blurred vision. “Sometimes

I don’t think I can either.”

Spen squeezed his shoulder. “You’re strong. You’ll make it.”
Daniel tried to smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Come on, let’s get you all home.”

~~~~~~~~

Dee and Alex chattered happily to Spen as he drove, but even with answering their

cheerful questions and concentrating on the road, Spen was conscious of Daniel’s silence
as he sat slumped in the front passenger seat, staring blank-eyed out the window. Now
Spen had seen how close to the surface his misery was, no matter how good Daniel was
at hiding it, he was sorry he hadn’t found a chance to somehow bring up Daniel’s home
situation before. But maybe Daniel wouldn’t have thanked him for exposing his sorrow.
The wonder of it was how well they all coped. Dee and Alex were so normal, so ready to
accept happiness, and even though Daniel obviously carried the greatest burden, he did so
with grace Spen doubted he could have managed.

But that grace wouldn’t be enough unless Spen—or someone with more power than

he had—pulled that bastard Noble off Daniel’s back. Sure, it looked like this crisis could
be managed, but if Noball was prepared to pull a dirty stunt like threaten Daniel’s job
over attending a conference, then there was no limit to what he might try. Spen had also
noticed that Daniel hadn’t mentioned Spen’s ‘accidental’ interruption of Noble’s late
night activities, nor had shown any resentment over it. Maybe Daniel would never come
right out and thank Spen for it, but it looked more and more as if Spen’s intervention
hadn’t been unwelcome—at least by Daniel.

He really needed to involve HR but without Daniel’s cooperation, there would be

little point. Maybe Spen could work on him while at the conference.

“Here we are,” he said, pulling into a space in front of Daniel’s house.
Daniel roused. “Oh. Thank you, Spen. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”
“It’s a pleasure, honest.”
Dee and Alex thanked him too, then ran up the path to the house. Lights went on

seconds later. Daniel went to open his door, but Spen said, “Hold on a sec.” Daniel
looked at him, puzzled. “They’ll be asking who wants to share rooms at the conference. If
you don’t want to share with Tony, I haven’t arranged anything yet.”

In the light from the street lamp, Daniel’s expression slid rapidly from surprise to

relief. “Oh. I’d like that, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course not. I hate these damn things and at least I won’t have to worry about

some boring junior manager sharing with me.” Daniel smiled a little. “You know...you
can ask for help. It’s not a sign of weakness.”

“I didn’t have anyone to ask before. I got used to...you know...not asking.”
“Now you have me. And my parents.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Oh, and Kani can play in IT anytime. Don’t keep him locked

away all day. Kems hate that.”

“I know. I’ll send him down. I know he’ll love it.”
“So will we. Sleep well, and no more stressing about Tony fucking Noble.”
Daniel gave him the first truly happy smile of the night. “No more stressing, I

promise. ‘Night, Spen.”

Spen watched him walk up the path, and waited until the porch light went out. It

probably wasn’t a good idea to encourage the warm glow of happiness that encounters
with Daniel so often gave him. If there was one thing that kid didn’t need, it was another
‘admirer’. But there was nothing wrong with feeling glad he could help, or the righteous
pleasure at stuffing Tony Noble’s greasy tactics, so Spen would enjoy those without guilt.
With any luck, he’d have the satisfaction of watching Daniel grow in confidence, and
move on from working for Noble into a job more suited to his talents and intelligence.

Spen sighed and started the engine. Myko popped out to chirp quietly in concern.

Spen patted his head. “I’m okay, fuzzball. We don’t always get what we want, right?”

Myko squeaked and rubbed against Spen’s hand. Nice to have someone who

understood, and who would always keep his secrets.

Chapter 7

Two weeks earlier, Daniel had had no prospect of enjoying his enforced attendance

at the company’s national conference. Even this afternoon, as he said goodbye to Dee and
Alex after he and Spen left them at the Reardons’ house, he couldn’t muster any more
than resignation as he contemplated a week in a dull chain hotel, stuck making
presentations and handouts for Tony, and sleeping in what would probably be a hard and
uncomfortable bed. He’d stayed in a couple of similar hotels on family holidays, and the
novelty had long since worn off.

But now, sitting across from Spen on the train heading north, he felt something close

to cheerful. Dee and Alex were in safe, kind hands—and in the care of people who would
make sure their schoolwork wouldn’t suffer. Spen’s offer to share a room had given
Daniel a perfect answer to Tony’s assumption that he and Daniel would be sharing. And
now he had the company of a man he liked a lot, maybe more than he should, and a break
of sorts from the grind of the office, and the disapproval of the other PAs.

“The only part about this I’m looking forward to is the food,” Spen said, pulling a

face at the train’s approximation of coffee. Daniel hadn’t even bothered, sticking to fruit
juice. “The expense budget is pretty generous. Just watch out for the boozers. Some of
the managers drink like camels.”

“I can’t imagine what could induce me to want to drink with anyone except you.”

Spen grinned at Daniel’s declaration. “Oh you know what I mean.”

“I do. They’re not all bad. The IT guys from Northern are fun, so long as I don’t

spend too long around them. I’m too old for that kind of thing now.” Daniel lifted an
eyebrow at that statement. “No, it’s true. I like a quiet pint or two. That was one of the
things that did for me and my ex. He was a party animal. Me, not so much.”

“You were together a while, though?”
“Four years. I still care a lot about him. He’s a good guy, smart. But he didn’t want

to settle down, and I got tired of acting like a kid.”

“Not every kid drinks until they puke.”
“What, never?”
Daniel’s face grew warm. “Maybe once,” he mumbled. “But I don’t like being

drunk. I really hate hangovers. Such a waste of study time.”

Spen’s grin slipped a little. “Are you planning to go back to the degree when things

settle down?”

Daniel shrugged, but tried not to let the pain in his chest show in his expression.

“Maybe. Might take a while. I can’t go back to where I was enrolled, not while Alex is
still young. They need me at home. The degree’s not important, set against everything

else. If the prosecution is ever finished, the lawsuit is over, we win a payout, Dee gets
through her exams, and Alex finishes school.... My study’s pretty low down the list.”

“So you keep working for Tony Noble or someone like him, when you could be

working on power stations and water treatment plants and...what is it you guys build?”

“Just about everything,” Daniel admitted, the pain growing sharper. “Yes, if I have

to. At least until Dee and Alex are independent. I’m their parent now. Their needs come
first.”

“Yes, I know.” Spen smiled at him, a thousand watts of kindness that shone on the

hidden stone in Daniel’s chest and warmed it a little. “You’re quietly amazing.”

“You’d do the same for your brothers.”
“Maybe. But I’m the youngest, so it wouldn’t come up. It’s not just that you’re doing

it, it’s that you’re doing it so well. Dee and Alex are so well-adjusted.”

Thinking back to a month ago and Alex’s miserable birthday, Daniel couldn’t agree.

“Mum and Dad did all that. I’ve had it easy.”

“And you could still have fucked it up. Give yourself credit, kid.”
“If you insist.”
Spen smiled again and shook his head. It was nice to have someone who thought so

well of him, but Daniel didn’t like praise for what he couldn’t claim proper credit for.
Still, it wasn’t worth arguing about. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Then countdown until we can escape. Why can’t they have this damn thing

somewhere warm, and by a beach?”

“Because we’d all skive off and not do any work?”
“See? Told you that you were smart.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. Yes, if he had to be here against his will, he could be worse

off than in Spen’s company. It might even be fun. He wasn’t sure if he remembered what
fun was like, but he hoped he’d know it if he had the chance.

~~~~~~~~

He was right about the bed, and the room was as bland and uninspiring as he’d

expected. But there was more space than he expected, plenty of room for their bags, and
fast internet access, which was all he needed. Tony wouldn’t arrive until late that
evening, so tonight was a little like a holiday—at least Spen decided to make it one. He
encouraged Daniel to explore the hotel’s dinner menu and not worry about the cost
—“You won’t be able to come up to half of what some of the managers will spend, so
enjoy”—and enjoyed a pint of decent beer with him.

Later, after they’d showered and Daniel had called Dee as he’d promised to do every

night, Spen chose a science fiction movie from the subscription channel. They watched it
lying on their beds in their underwear, while the two kems curled up on Daniel’s

stomach, disdaining any entertainment than each other. The two humans spent the next
two hours cheerfully picking apart the bad science and logical idiocies, while Daniel
gained a new appreciation of just how big a nerd Spen was.

“It’s ridiculous,” Daniel said as the movie ended. “You can’t reverse engineer an

alien operating system or write a virus when you don’t even share an alphabet or
numbering system.”

“No, wait, you’re forgetting the secret government research.” Daniel looked at Spen

with maximum scepticism. “Remember that throwaway line about whathisface spending
years looking through the archives when he had clearance. So if you assume the
government had its best and brightest working on translating the alien data and decoding
the systems—”

“A big ‘if’, Spen.”
“Oh come on. What else would they be doing with it?”
“Scratching their heads and wondering where to start? Where’s your Rosetta Stone?

How do you start?”

“What if the aliens were studying us and had begun to translate one Earth language

into their own?”

“So...in your theory, even if there was a usable dictionary, and by some miracle our

hero had a comprehensive understanding of the operating system, he still has to get past
the security system of a culture capable of building force fields and organic spaceship,
and somehow discover and exploit a weakness in an as yet unknown routine, one which
has to be critical for the power generation of this hitherto invulnerable vehicle.” Daniel
folded his arms and dared Spen to rebut his argument. “It’s utterly implausible.”

“I never said it was easy.” Daniel hooted in derision. Spen pretended to be offended.

“Hey, I wrote a paper on it at University.”

“You wrote a paper on this movie.”
“Well, yeah. The lecturer told us to analyse the use of IT in popular culture and

discuss the plausibility of techniques and solutions. I got an A.”

“You win. No one is nerdier that you.”
Spen punched the air. “Yay, I win. Wouldn’t that be the coolest job in the world?

Decoding alien programming?”

“No, building alien spaceships would be the coolest.”
“You build the spaceship, I’ll write the code.”
“Deal,” Daniel agreed. The pang was still there, but, relaxed and comfortable with

two kems steadily sending out gentle pulses of affection, he didn’t feel the hurt as much
as he normally would. Maybe one day it wouldn’t hurt at all.

Spen yawned. “Okay, that’s my limit. I’m going to order breakfast to be delivered

and I suggest you do too. You don’t want to be ambushed by corporate types before
you’ve had your coffee.”

“Good idea.”
“You fill out the card while I use the loo, then I’ll stick it outside. Myko?”
His kem gave a delicate yawn of his own, but declined to move. “Lazy brat,” Spen

said, grinning as he reached down and scratched behind his kem’s ears. “He likes you.”

“It’s mutual. Kani likes him even better than Veen or Lili. Weird.”
“Yeah. Kems are a mystery.” Spen tossed the breakfast card over to him. “There. Go

wild.”

“So much excitement for one day. Can I bear it?”
“You’ll survive.”
Daniel suppressed a sigh of admiration at the sight of the long, smooth-skinned back

as Spen disappeared into the bathroom. It was a little like sharing a room back at Uni
with Asif, something Daniel missed along with so many other things. But though Asif
was handsome and attractive in a totally straight way, Daniel had been too caught up in
his studies to be distracted by unrequited lust. Even now, his many worries tended to
keep his libido well below nuisance levels. Didn’t stop him wishing, in full knowledge of
how hopeless it was, that Spen would see him differently, or that they had started a
friendship outside work.

When he returned from cleaning his teeth, Myko and Kani had decamped to Spen’s

bed. “Fickle,” he muttered. Kani chirped and flicked his tail, but stayed right where he
was on Spen’s chest. “Fine, you made your bed, now you lie on him.”

Spen grinned at him around the ball of fur. “Do you get the feeling we’re being

played?”

“I think we could be. Good night, Spen.”
“Sleep well, Daniel.”
He might even do that.

~~~~~~~~

Daniel had reason to be glad of that lazy evening come Monday morning. Tony

called while they were still eating breakfast, and gave Daniel half an hour to finish his
meal, shower, dress, and come to his room on the floor above. From then until six that
evening, he didn’t have a moment to call his own. Even lunch was spent listening to Tony
network with his fellow managers, so he could help Tony fine tune his handouts for the
big presentation about Cross-Channel on Wednesday afternoon. The rest of the time he
had to help Tony rehearse his talk and slide timing, prepare additional graphs and
graphics, run back and forth to the printers two blocks from the hotel to order and collect
materials for the audience, and somehow also handle the usual office emails, calls and

enquiries because Tony was adamant that his door was never closed. Telling the clients
he was “away” was unacceptable.

Daniel had his own presentation to give jointly with Spen on the day after Tony’s, on

some of the practical issues of the national rollout of Cross-Channel. He wasn’t nervous
—it wasn’t any more challenging than delivering a paper to his class, and Spen would
handle the hard stuff—but there were materials to print for that as well. Tony had insisted
on leaving it all to the very last minute so it could be as up-to-date and relevant as
possible. Spen, unsurprisingly, had not been complimentary about that plan. Daniel
personally tried not to dwell on whether Tony was effective at his job or not, because he
was afraid that if he went down that line of thinking, his discontent with his job would
grow to the point where it was impossible to continue. He chose to concentrate on his
own tasks and performing them to the limit of his ability. Spen had the luxury of
criticism. Daniel didn’t.

Finally Tony set him free so he could wine and dine with the national office people

—Daniel was far too lowly to attend, much to his relief. Spen found him in the foyer and
announced, “Room service”, in a tone that brooked no argument. Not that Daniel had one
to offer, or wanted one. Spen had, through his regional colleagues, obtained copies of two
hard to find films Daniel had mentioned wishing he had seen—Spen waved the thumb
drive in triumph as they rode the elevator up to their floor. They ate their room service
supper while sitting cross-legged on Spen’s bed, watching the first film on his laptop. The
kems delivered their verdict on the entertainment by refusing to sit still, romping around
the room, returning to one or other of the humans’ laps for cuddles and scritches, before
heading off to explore the bathroom or the closet again.

“Good special effects,” Daniel said politely.
“Yeah, but crap acting and toilet paper plot. It’s okay. The second one is awesome.

You just need to see the first one for set up.” Spen cracked his spine. The position was
more awkward for him because of his greater height, forcing him to hunch over the
computer. “You comfortable there? You can lie down. There’s room for two. I’ll keep
my hands to myself, I swear.”

Daniel saw his face slowly turn scarlet in the mirror on the wall opposite him.

“Um...okay. Just let me...wash my face.”

He splashed cold water on his burning skin until the colour turned back to its usual

paleness. Spen had an advantage in that way—even if he was prone to blushing, which he
probably wasn’t, every passing mood or embarrassment didn’t show itself on his dark
face the way it did on Daniel’s.

Oh God. There was no way to refuse Spen’s innocent invitation without looking as if

Daniel was reading much more into it than there was, but was his self-control up to it?

Would Spen even care if it wasn’t?

Fortunately Kani came to his rescue. The little nuisance, after behaving like a terror

during the first movie, lay demurely on Daniel’s lap all through the second one, and
didn’t move even when Myko joined him from time to time. Daniel gave him lots of
petting and scritches in gratitude, and was able to concentrate on the film—which was, as
promised, much better than the first—rather than on Spen. He could even feel
comfortable stretched out next to Spen like this, almost like he would if he was watching
a movie with Alex.

Almost. Spen’s long legs and endearingly enormous feet distracted Daniel more than

they should have. But he didn’t disgrace or embarrass himself, and managed to enjoy the
movie in all its mindless theatrics. The plot was beyond absurd, but the pace was fast
enough that it hardly mattered.

“High concept to the max,” Spen rightly summarised. “Good fun though. Another?”
Daniel took the chance to gracefully escape from the heavenly torment of Spen’s

bed. “I’d love to, but Tony’s going to be at me first thing again.”

“Tell him to fuck off. You don’t start at eight in the office.”
“Right, and after that I won’t have to worry about starting at all. You’d love it if

Luke or Jyoti told you to screw off.”

Spen grinned. “They do it half a dozen times a day. But then I have a sense of

humour and Noball doesn’t.”

“Oh thanks. Now I have to look at him with a straight face and remember you calling

him that.”

Spen made a little bow. “You’re welcome. You should lighten up, Danny.”
Daniel growled. “I’ll lighten up when the world stops sucking.”
Spen sat up, and his expression turned suddenly serious. “Did it suck tonight?”
“No. No, it didn’t. Thank you. You know what I mean, though.”
“Yes, I do. I can’t fix the rest of it, but if I can give you a little break from the misery

sometimes....”

Daniel turned away a little to hide the effect Spen’s kind words—the warmth in his

eyes—had on him. He did not want to cry in front of him again. “Thanks. I’ll use the
bathroom, if you want to fill out the breakfast card, okay?” He hurried off before his
voice betrayed him. Damn it, Spen was so bad for his control in so many ways. But
without Spen, Daniel didn’t know that he would cope at all right now.

Chapter 8

When Daniel’s mobile went off again as they were eating breakfast, Spen cursed

Tony Noble in his mind a lot more fluently than he dared let fly in front of Daniel. Not
that his feelings were a secret, but it made Daniel’s job more difficult, and wasn’t very
professional either. He considered Noble to be abusing the privilege of having his PA at
the conference, and treating Daniel disrespectfully. Ironically, Spen’s regard for Daniel
stopped him complaining to Noble directly, even though, since they were both the same
managerial grade, he was perfectly entitled to do so. However, complaining was all he
could do, and Noble would only take it out on Daniel. Spen was waiting for Noble to
unequivocally cross the line in a way that didn’t compromise Daniel, and then he planned
to raise holy hell. It wasn’t right that a manager in a company working with vulnerable
people should treat a vulnerable employee like shit, especially if he’d done it before.

But Spen had to be discreet, so for now he did what he could to protect Daniel and

bolster his confidence. The kid had positively bloomed away from the pressures of the
office and looking after his brother and sister, even with his boss being a prick. If he took
even a little bit of that self-assurance and happiness back home, Spen would consider his
efforts a success, and a pleasure. He liked Daniel’s smile and his company. He’d enjoy
those as long as he could, without a twinge of conscience.

He saw little of Daniel during the day, and when he did, it was usually as Daniel was

rushing out of the hotel or into the lift, carrying bundles of papers, or talking on his
phone. Noble was the only manager at his level to have his PA with him, a concession
because of the importance of the Cross-Channel project. Spen’s regional colleagues had
commented unflatteringly on that fact during their informal meetings. Spen didn’t know a
single person who held Noball in high regard and yet he was senior management’s fair-
haired boy. Spen could easily run the IT department for a company a hundred times the
size of the one in which he worked, but he would never understand that kind of business
politics.

Finally Wednesday afternoon arrived, and the presentation to all the regional

managers and the national office was held. Daniel and Spen sat at the back, managing the
audiovisual. Noble spoke apparently extempore, though Spen knew from Daniel how
carefully rehearsed the speech was. The act worked, and Spen had to grant the man a
grudging admiration for talking with apparent fluency about a topic on which he was
hardly an expert, making it sound like he had skilfully initiated and guided the project,
when all he’d really done was throw the right people at it. Which, of course, required a
talent too, though it wasn’t the one Noble wanted to display.

Spen handled the more technical questions during the Q&A, but Noble coped with

the rest pretty well, Daniel having moved to his side to hand up this or that sheet of facts
and figures. They appeared like a well-oiled machine, even if in reality Noble was the
squeaky wheel and the lubricant was more like Daniel’s blood, sweat...and tears.

At the end Noble sat down, flushed with pleasure at the applause. Daniel smiled,

more relieved than delighted. Spen understood why—the pressure was off for a little
while, and Noble’s good mood could only be a bonus.

As the room cleared, Noble clapped his hand on Spen’s arm. “Come for a drink. That

went very well.”

“Thanks, but I’m meeting Eastern for drinks and then dinner. Sorry.”
“Ah, never mind. Daniel? I owe you a glass of something expensive, I think.”
“Oh, it’s okay—”
“Now, Daniel. You have to let me crow a little. Perks of the position. I insist.”
Spen wanted to kick the bastard in the knee, but Daniel gave Noble a sickly smile.

“Sure, why not. I’ll see you later, Spen?”

“I won’t be late. No way can I keep up with Eastern. Take it easy, Daniel.”
Daniel waved him off, before Noble firmly steered him in the direction of the hotel

bar. At least two other managers caught up with them, which eased the sudden worry
Spen felt. Noble wouldn’t try anything in front of his colleagues, and the worst Daniel
would suffer would be terminal boredom. Sorry, kid. Can’t rescue you tonight.

~~~~~~~~

The trick with dealing with Eastern—and Northern, and Southern and Isles—was not

to get into buying rounds, which was harder than it sounded. The idea of someone quietly
nursing a pint of bitter while the rest were downing tequila shots and vodka mixes was
anathema to twenty excitable, loud and slightly drunk nerds who could make a lot of
noise when they wanted something. Spen bought a round early, held up his nearly full
glass as an answer to “Do you want another?” for as long as he could, and ignored extra
pints arriving unwanted by his elbow. He wasn’t the only one taking it easy—the older
veterans of the national conference had learned their lesson years ago as he had, and since
they were the ones he most wanted to talk to, it was natural enough to move away from
the louder, larger group to chat.

Spen was deep in a raging debate about the merits of server architecture when he felt

his phone vibrate. “Sorry, I should get this,” he said to his companions. The call was from
his mother. “Hi, Mum. Hang on, I can’t hear you.” He moved outside and closed the
glass door behind. The damp weather meant he was alone out on the deck. “What’s up?”

“Spencer, Dee’s been trying to call Daniel for half an hour or more. His phone keeps

going to voice mail. Is he there with you?”

“No, he was having a drink with his boss and some other people. Supper too, I

guess,” he added, looking at the time. “Let me see if I can track him down and get him to
call. He probably just forgot how late it was.”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s what it was. But the child is worried and I thought I’d see if I

could help.”

“No problems, Mum. I’ll call you back as soon as I find him.”
The presentation had been over for nearly two hours. Daniel was either having

dinner with Noble or up in their room. Spen called his mobile, but immediately went
through to voice mail. Daniel never turned off his phone, he said. Dee or Alex might need
him. Was he talking to someone? For half an hour? Unlikely, but not impossible.

He went back inside the bar and found his friends. “Sorry, guys. I just need to duck

out for a bit. I’ll find you at the restaurant if you’ve gone by the time I get back, okay?”

He headed back to the hotel. The hotel bar was largely empty—certainly no Noble or

Daniel. The restaurant was also quiet, and the bistro was closed.

He returned to the bar, and caught the attention of the bar attendant. “Hi. I’m looking

for a friend of mine—young man, red hair. Would have been with an older man, maybe a
few of them, an hour or so. All guests of the hotel.”

“About twenty, wearing a suit and tie? They all left an hour ago.”
“Did you notice if they went out or upstairs?”
Her forehead wrinkled in concentration. “Uh, three of the older men went out the

front. The young guy and another older guy went towards the lifts. I can’t be sure they
didn’t follow the others out though. The toilets are that way too.”

“Thanks.”
“No problem. Did you want a drink?”
“No, I’m fine.”
She nodded and went down the other end of the bar to empty the glass washer.
Spen bit his lip, thinking. Myko jumped onto the bar and meeped in distress. Spen

patted him. “Where’s Kani, squirt? Do you know?”

Myko squeaked, jumped down, and ran to the lifts. Did that mean he thought Kani—

and Daniel—were in the hotel? Spen had nothing else to go on, so he followed his kem
and took the elevator to their floor. He tried their room—empty. He tried Noble’s mobile
—no answer.

Okay, now he was worried.
Myko climbed up onto his shoulder and bit his ear. “Ow! What did you do that for,

you menace?” Myko jumped to the floor and stamped his foot. “All right, I’m listening.
Where?”

Myko ran back to the elevators. Spen followed, confused as to what his kem wanted.

In the elevator car, he picked Myko up. “Okay, where?” Myko went to bite his finger in

frustration, but Spen yanked it out of the way. “No, you don’t. Wait.” He held his kem
near the buttons for the floors. “Which one?” Myko nudged the one for the floor above
with his nose. “Noble’s room?” Myko squeaked. “Shit.”

He pressed the button and as soon as the car arrived, bolted out and down the

corridor. Myko ran ahead of him, squeaking in distress, and at Noble’s door, actually
disappeared through it. Spen banged on the door—no answer. “Tony? Are you in there?”
Still no answer.

Myko reappeared through the door. “He’s not there—” Spen started to say, but

stopped. Behind Myko, a small grey form appeared. “Kani?”

The little kem squeaked faintly and fell over. Myko meeped in distress, licking

Kani’s face and nudging him. Spen picked them both up. Kani was conscious, but
severely disoriented.

The only way to do anything to a kem was to hurt its human. Which meant....
He cuddled the kems with one arm, and used his free hand to bang on Noble’s door

again. “Daniel! Tony! Open this door!”

No response, even though he kept it up for over a minute. He turned, intending to

look for a manager, only to discover a manager—and a burly porter—had found him first.

“Sir, you’re disturbing our guests,” the manager said. Behind her, the big porter

flexed his impressive biceps.

“Yeah, too bad. My friend’s in there, and he’s sick. Look at his kem.” He held Kani

out. The lolling head and panting told the story better than he could. “I know he’s in
there, but I can’t get anyone to open the door. Please—he’s probably unconscious.”

The manager’s expression changed from annoyance to concern. “I have a master

key. Let me.” She knocked once on the door. “Sir? If you’re in there....”

The door opened before she had a chance to pull her keycard out of her pocket.

Noble stood there, somewhat untidily dressed. “Spencer? I was just about to call
someone.”

Spen pushed past him. “Where’s Daniel...shit.” He ran over to the bed where Daniel

lay face down. “Daniel? Wake up, kid. What the fuck did you do to him, Noble?”

“Nothing—don’t be ridiculous. I was just about to call an ambulance. He turned up

ten minutes ago in a confused state, said he felt unwell, so I let him lie down since he
wasn’t in a fit state to return to his room. I only realised he wasn’t simply asleep a minute
or so ago when you knocked.”

Spen didn’t believe a word of it, but it wasn’t important right now. “Call an

ambulance, now,” he snapped at the two hotel staff, then he turned Daniel into the
recovery position. He was breathing, albeit slowly, and his pulse was also rather slow. He
was also much paler than normal, which meant he looked practically transparent, and

Myko’s worried squeaks and Kani’s condition confirmed that this wasn’t right. “Hurry!”

The porter went to the room phone. The manager called someone on her mobile.

Noble went outside. Spen ignored them all, concentrating on Daniel. He didn’t seem to
have any injury, and was dressed, though his shirt was untucked and misbuttoned, and his
fly wasn’t fully closed. He also smelled of something that Spen found familiar but
couldn’t place. “What happened to you?” Spen murmured, brushing his hand through
Daniel’s fine red hair. “Where’s the ambulance?”

The porter answered. “Coming, sir. Let me have a look—I’m a first aider.”
So was Spen, but it never hurt to have a second opinion. While the porter checked

Daniel over, Spen turned to the manager. “Where did Noble—that guest—go?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Outside somewhere. Where is Daniel’s room?”
“It’s mine,” he said and gave the room number. “I’m Spencer Reardon, his colleague

and his emergency contact at the moment, as his family are staying with my parents.”

“Then you should go with him to the hospital. I’ll arrange that when the ambulance

gets here.”

The paramedics arrived five minutes later and attached a scary number of leads to a

still unconscious Daniel. “Has he been drinking?” one of them asked while he fastened a
blood pressure cuff to Daniel’s arm.

“Yes, but not to excess that I know of. His boss was with him, and some other

managers. He wouldn't get drunk in front of them.” And just where the fuck was Noble
now? “His kem is acting weird too.”

Spen held Kani out so the paramedic could take a long look. “That’s not alcohol,” he

said, though he didn’t say what else it was likely to be. Spen could guess though. He
looked around the room. Everything was tidy—no cups or bottles, not even in the trash.
Had Daniel ingested something in the bar?

The paramedics put Daniel on oxygen and inserted an IV port, before loading him

onto a gurney. “We’ll be taking him to Central,” the other paramedic said. “Is anyone
going to come there with him?”

“Me,” Spen said. “I’ll follow.”
“A taxi should be waiting downstairs, Mr Reardon,” the manager said.
“We’ll let them know at the hospital,” the paramedic told Spen.
The paramedics rolled Daniel out. Kani gave a faint squeak and disappeared. Spen

had never seen a kem in that state before and didn’t like what that might mean for Daniel.
“I’ll head off now,” he told the manager, “but if Tony Noble returns, can someone ask
him more about what happened this evening? And could you ask the bar staff if Daniel
seemed drowsy or ill to them? This is my number.” He handed the manager his card. “If
his family calls, can you ask them to call me instead? I don’t want them getting bad news

without an explanation.”

“Certainly, Mr Reardon. Leave it to us. Jim, please escort him downstairs and make

sure the taxi’s there.”

The porter went with him to the lift, and whistled up the taxi to pick Spen up from

the front door. “Hope your friend is all right, sir.”

“Thanks.”
With nothing to distract him from the worry, his thoughts raced through some

distinctly horrible possibilities. What if Daniel was seriously ill? What if he died? What
had happened in the hotel room, and why had Noble taken such a long time to answer the
door? Spen now wished he’d asked the manager to call the police as well, but on what
basis? Now Noble had plenty of time to dispose of any evidence, if there was any to
dispose of.

But maybe Daniel had just reacted badly to a couple of strong drinks. It wasn’t

impossible, or even all that unlikely considering he didn’t drink much. Spen hoped for
Daniel’s sake that this was the explanation. The alternatives were horrifying.

He remembered his promise to call his mother, and rang the house. “Did you find

him, love?”

“Yes, Mum. Is Dee there?”
“No, in her room. Shall I fetch her?”
“No, no...Mum, we’re taking Daniel to hospital. I found him unconscious in his

boss’s room.”

“Oh my lord. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want you to tell Dee either. Not yet. Could you tell her that

Daniel’s been taken ill, and he’s asleep. I’ll call her in the morning with an update. I
should know more then.”

“I don’t like lying to the children, Spencer.”
“I know, but do you want her getting hysterical with worry when there’s nothing she

can do? Look...just say he’s unwell. That’s no lie. I don’t think he’s in serious danger. At
least, I hope not. There’s nothing she can do there for him.”

“All right, I’ll do that. That poor boy. What could it be?”
“I don’t know. I’ll call tomorrow when I do know. Dee can call me if she needs to,

but Mum, please try and keep her calm.”

“Don’t tell me how to mother a child, love.” Spen smiled a little. “Are you all right,

Spencer? This must be a shock.”

“I’m trying to concentrate on what needs to be done. I’m just glad I found him

sooner rather than later. You and Dee might have saved his life.”

His mother gasped. “I don’t know what Dee and Alex will do if anything happens to

Daniel.”

“Well, then, we won’t let anything happen. Don’t worry too much, Mum. I’ll handle

it here.”

“Good night, love. He’s in good hands with you.”
If that had been true, Daniel wouldn’t have been struck down in the first place. Still,

recriminations could wait until he had his hands around Tony Noble’s cowardly neck.

The taxi dropped him at the Emergency entrance, and when he enquired at

Reception, he discovered he was only behind the ambulance by a couple of minutes.
“He’s still being assessed,” the clerk told him. “Take a seat and you’ll be called. Are you
family?”

Spen had given this some thought on the ride over, and answered calmly, “He’s my

boyfriend. His parents are dead and his siblings are both minors. They’re staying with my
family at the moment.”

The clerk made a note and didn’t comment. Spen figured it was the kind of statement

no one was likely to argue with, unlike claiming to be a brother—unlikely, given their
decided lack of resemblance to each other—or a spouse, which he couldn’t backup.
Daniel would understand, and it made things easier without needing to drag Dee into this,
or worse, Daniel’s elderly and infirm grandparents.

Myko wouldn’t settle, meeping and moving restlessly from Spen’s lap to the floor

and back again. He didn’t wander far, not even to talk to the other kems in the waiting
room. Spen gave him what comfort he could, which wasn’t much, and took what he could
from Myko’s company.

He waited nearly an hour before his name was called, and he was ushered through

the doors separating the waiting room from the treatment cubicles. He asked where
Daniel was but before he could go where he’d been directed, a young doctor came up to
him. “I’m Dr Ali. Are you here for Daniel Walkinshaw?”

“Yes. I’m Spencer Reardon. How is he?”
“Stable for now. I need to talk to you, Spencer. Come this way.”
She took him away from the nurse’s station. “Are you close to Daniel?”
“Pretty close, yes.”
“Do you know what happened this evening? What he ate, or drank?”
“Not exactly, no. I was with work colleagues. He was in the bar with his boss and

other managers. I don’t think he ate anything down there, but I don’t know what
happened after he and his boss returned to his boss’s room.”

“So he was drinking?”
“I believe so. That was the intention. He’s not a big drinker at all. Is it just alcohol?”
She grimaced. “I don’t think so, but without knowing what he ingested, it’s hard to

say. Does he take drugs?”

“No.” Spen didn’t have any proof of that other than his knowledge of Daniel as a

person, but he was as sure of that as he was of his own sobriety. “Has he been drugged?”

“We suspect he’s taken something.”
“Or been given it.”
“Possibly. Where’s his boss? Is he ill too?”
“I don’t know where he is, and no. He was fine. Claims Daniel turned up at his room,

and fell asleep on his bed. I don’t believe him, for what it’s worth.”

“Hmmm. There’s signs of Daniel having had anal sex as the receptive partner very

recently. Would that be with you?”

Spen’s hands curled into fists. “No,” he said tightly. “And I can assure you that

having sex with his boss is the last thing he would do. He doesn’t like him. We should
call the police, doctor.”

“Yes, I agree, and we can do that when he wakes up. But Daniel’s still unconscious,

and the drug tests won’t necessarily be conclusive. If Daniel can’t remember what
happened this evening, as is likely, then the police won’t be able to prove he didn’t take
something voluntarily, or have sex involuntarily. There’s no physical evidence of force.”

Spen felt sick. Noble, I’ll kill you with my bare hands. “Can I see him?”
“Yes. At this point, we’ll keep him in here until he wakes up and is normal again.

That will probably be a few hours. You can take him home then, provided someone keeps
an eye on him. He’s likely to feel fairly sorry for himself, just warning you.”

“I won’t let him out of my sight, I swear.”
She smiled. “Good. Through here.”
Daniel lay on his side wearing a hospital gown and covered with a sheet. He still

wore the oxygen mask and was attached to a machine monitoring his blood pressure and
heart rate. Spen sat by him and took his hand. Daniel didn’t move. His hand was very
cold, and his breathing still slow. “Oh Danny, Danny, you’re a worry.” Spen stroked his
pale cheek. “Kani, where are you, squirt?”

Daniel’s kem popped out and crawled slowly onto Daniel’s shoulder, wobbling back

and forth, though looking a little more alert than before. Myko pulled him down onto the
bed in front of Daniel’s head and began to delicately groom his woozy friend. Spen
stroked them both, wishing Myko’s attentions to Kani would somehow stimulate Daniel
to consciousness. But Daniel didn’t wake or even twitch. Spen settled in to wait, keeping
hold of Daniel’s hand, determined to not to leave his side for a second.

Nearly two hours later, Daniel roused fully, blinking green eyes open and staring

uncomprehendingly at Spen. “Hey. How do you feel?”

“‘m I?”

“Hospital. What do you remember?”
“‘bout what?”
“Having drinks with Tony?”
“Um...I don’t.” He struggled to sit up, but even with Spen’s help, it was beyond him.

He sank back down. “Feel crap.”

“I know. Just going to find the doctor.” Daniel’s hand gripped Spen’s and his green

eyes widened in panic. “It’s okay. Myko’s here. Back in a minute, I promise.” He gave
Daniel’s hand a pat. “Promise.”

Daniel let go. Myko licked his face, and Kani, now much brighter and with it,

cuddled against his chest. Daniel gave his kem a dozy pat. “Don’t understand,” he
mumbled.

“I know. Just wait.”
Dr Ali was attending to another patient, but Spen caught her eye and she came out to

see him. “He’s awake. He doesn’t remember anything. Not yet.”

“I’m not surprised. The tox results show almost no blood alcohol content, but GHB

is present.”

That was an acronym Spen hadn’t heard since his student days. “The date rape

drug?”

“One of them, yes. Doesn’t prove how it got into him, though. I’ll just go and speak

to him. Would you like to wait out here?”

Spen hovered outside the cubicle, while the doctor spoke quietly to Daniel. He tried

not to eavesdrop but it was hard not to get most of it, and understand that Daniel was
adamant that he didn’t want the police involved, and he refused to consent to a rape kit.
When the doctor came out, she shrugged at Spen. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“But you’ll keep the drug results on record?”
“Yes. But the police won’t attend unless he makes a complaint. If he changes his

mind, he can contact them at any time.”

“Can he go home?”
“I’d rather he stayed an hour or two but he’s determined to leave. GHB leaves the

body fairly fast so he’ll probably be all right. You’ll stay with him?”

“Yes, and get him back here if he seems to be worse.”
“Then he can leave.” She went to the nurses’ station and picked up a leaflet, which

she handed to Spen. “He might need this.”

Spen looked at it. “Rape counselling?”
“It’s likely, yes.” She looked up at him. “Take it easy with him, Spencer.”
“I will.”
She nodded and went off to another cubicle. Spen stared at the leaflet then shoved it

into his pocket with a shudder. Someone had assaulted Daniel tonight. More than
assaulted. The police should be involved.

Inside the cubicle, Daniel, now detached from his leads and the oxygen, was making

a fairly futile attempt to get dressed.

“The doctor thought you should hang around for a little bit, Daniel.”
“I’m fine. I just want to get out of here. Help me, will you?”
Spen helped him into his trousers and shirt. Trying to identity the odd smell on them

was driving him nuts.

“Where are my shoes?”
“Here, don’t panic.” He bent to help Daniel put them on. “You should really speak to

the police.”

The foot jerked out of Spen’s grip. Spen looked up and found its owner glaring at

him. “No. Not now, not ever. I won’t get my family into more crap.”

“Daniel, someone drugged you.”
“Maybe. But I’m fine and I don’t want to think about this any more. I’ve got a

headache, I’m tired, and you know as well as I do the police won’t be able to do a damn
thing. I’ll end up spending hours at a police station for no reason.”

“What about stopping whoever it was doing it again?” Spen ached to mention Noble

by name but he didn’t want to contaminate Daniel’s evidence, if he did manage to
convince him to make a complaint.

“We don’t know who it was, and I can’t give them anything to find him. I just want

to get out of here. You haven’t spoken to Dee, have you?”

“No. I asked Mum to let her know you were unwell, but not to worry. You can call

her in the morning.”

Daniel sagged. “Thanks. Look...I know what you’re saying, and why. But I can’t. I

just can’t. It’s too much. I haven’t got the energy to deal with this on top of the rest.”

“Okay.” Spen finished with the shoes, and helped Daniel stand. Daniel picked up

Kani, who squeaked and licked him. “Whatever it was, made him sick too.”

“Sorry,” Daniel said to his kem, kissing his head. He looked up at Spen. “You found

me?”

“Good thing too. It was really Myko and Kani.”
“Right.” Daniel ran out of determination around about then, and sat back on the bed.

“I really do feel like crap.”

“You can stay—”
“Please? Can we just...go?”
“Sure. Here.”
He took his hand and helped him up again. Daniel held his hand longer than he

Chapter 9

Daniel leaned on the taxi’s window, not really seeing the passing scenery. Spen’s

face was reflected in the glass, so Daniel knew he was being watched. Not surprising
Spen was worried. Daniel wanted to be alone, but he couldn’t bring himself to wish Spen
wasn’t there.

His stomach churned and his head throbbed. He still felt out of it, unsettled. Nothing

like being drunk or hungover. Someone had drugged him. Someone had had sex with
him, the doctor said. He knew what those two things added up to, but he couldn’t make
himself admit it in so many words.

“Where did you find me?” He immediately regretted asking.
“In Tony’s room. On his bed. He said you turned up in a confused state.”
Daniel’s stomach heaved and he covered his mouth. He couldn’t ask the next

question. He was afraid Spen would answer it.

“Do you need to throw up?” Spen asked.
“No. Leave me alone, please.”
“Sure.”
Kani sat in Daniel’s lap, meeping quietly from time to time. Daniel should try and

comfort the little guy but he couldn’t find the energy. Oh god, how was he going to tell
Dee? He couldn’t. He’d have to lie. But first, he had to pull himself together.

The hotel was deserted, thankfully. He didn’t know what he’d do if he ran into one

of the managers. Or Tony. How was he supposed to....

Was this where he had to give up? How could he work for someone who...but he

didn’t know that Tony had. Why would Tony take such a risk here, among his peers and
superiors? Tony was married. Maybe it was nothing like it looked at all.

Spen guided him up to their room, and locked the door behind them. “I’m taking you

home in the morning. I’ll email Noble and whoever needs to know that our presentation
is cancelled because of illness.”

“I can’t—”
Spen took him by the arms and made Daniel look at him. “You’re in no state, and I

refuse to do this while you’re in this condition. No argument, Daniel.”

Daniel shook him off. “All right,” he said irritably. “But I’m fine.”
“You’re a crime victim.”
“I’m not a victim. I won’t be. I refuse to be involved in this. All I want to do is do

my job, look after Dee and Alex, sort out our messes without anything else. Do you
understand?”

“Yes, but I don’t agree.”

“Tough. It’s not your life, not your decision. Leave me alone.”
Spen stepped back. “Whatever you want, kid.”
“And stop calling me that. Maybe if you realised I’m as adult as you, you wouldn’t

be trying to nanny me.”

“I’d do this for anyone in your situation.”
“There is no situation. I’m going to use the loo.”
Nausea washed over him as he fled into the bathroom, so he sat on the closed toilet

lid and held his head in his hands. He had to get his act together here. If he couldn’t
convince Spen he was all right, he’d never convince Dee and Alex. How would he
explain coming home early? Maybe the best thing was not to tell them...but if they came
back from Mrs Reardon’s house for some reason, they’d discover the lie. He’d have to
come up with something.

What a bloody mess.
Kani crawled up onto his lap and meeped into his face. Daniel stroked his back right

down to the tail, the way he liked. “I’m sorry, kiddo.” Kani squirmed closer and Daniel
held him tight. “Help me. I need to be strong.”

Kani wasn’t enough though. Daniel had to find it from inside, somehow, but he

didn’t know how much he had left.

~~~~~~~~

Spen sent a short, barely civil email to Noble, and a more polite one to his line

manager regarding the cancelled presentation. He didn’t much care whose noses were put
out of joint, and would be delighted if Noble was annoyed. The creep hadn’t even called
to find out how Daniel was. Not that Spen had any intention of telling him what they
really knew. He also sent emails to Jyoti and Julian, because Daniel might be feeling
disinclined to pursue the criminal angle right now, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t
change his mind. Or be persuaded to.

Daniel was taking a long time in the bathroom. Spen tried not to worry but finally

gave in. He knocked on the door. “You okay in there?”

“Leave me alone.”
Spen shook his head and sat down again. If Daniel was cranky, at least that meant he

was alive. Myko squeaked and shoved his nose under Spen’s hand. Spen put him on the
floor. “You go keep an eye on him, squirt. Let me know if he’s in trouble.” Myko ran off
and disappeared through the closed bathroom door.

What could he do for the kid? He understood Daniel’s objections to talking to the

police—hell, gay men got a hard enough time normally, and rape cases weren’t taken half
as seriously as they should be, no matter what sex the victim was. But if the police talked
to Noble....

There was no proof. Just Noble’s word against a drug test, and proof that Daniel had

had sex. Even though Spen would bet all his savings that Daniel would never go out
looking for quick, anonymous sex, or take drugs like GHB, he couldn’t prove he hadn’t.

So how could he help? Should he give Daniel that leaflet on counselling? Should he

recruit his mother to help? Or should he let Daniel live in denial, if that helped him cope
with all the stress his life held?

Finally the bathroom door opened. The kems raced out ahead of Daniel. “All yours.”

His sullen expression didn’t do much for him, but the improved colour did.

“I won’t be long.”
“Whatever. I’m going to sleep.”
“Look, I’m on your side, you know. I just don’t know what to do.”
Daniel sat on his bed and looked up. “I’m sorry. I feel...like I could fly into a million

pieces if I’m not careful. If you push me too hard. I have to hold it all together.”

Spen sat on the bed next to him. “You don’t have to do it alone.”
“I do. There’s only me. I can’t ask Dee and Alex to help.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But I’m here. I won’t go away, and I won’t let you down. Just

let me be there, even if you don’t think you need me.”

Daniel’s green eyes shone with tears. “I’m scared,” he whispered. “I can’t fail.”
“You won’t. We won’t let you.” Spen patted his shoulder, wanting to hug him but

not wanting to violate Daniel’s space right now. “Are you hungry? Do you want coffee,
or water? Anything?”

“No. Just sleep. You know I could do this presentation just fine.”
“Too late, already cancelled. You and I are checking out tomorrow morning and

you’re going back home because you shouldn’t have been here in the first place.”

“What will I tell Dee and Alex?”
“We’ll work something out.” Spen gave him a gentle shove. “Hop into bed. I’m

going to get Myko to keep an eye on you in case you relapse or something.”

“I’m fine.” The crankiness was back.
“Good. Bed.”
He waited until Daniel was under the covers, then he turned the room light down and

set Myko on the end of the bed. “You know what to do,” he whispered. Myko chirped
and ran up to sit on Daniel’s chest next to Kani.

“Great, now how am I supposed to sleep?” Daniel groused, glaring at the kems

looking back at him with bright-eyed enthusiasm.

“Carefully,” Spen said, and grinned at the scowl. Anything was better than sullen

depression.

~~~~~~~~

Their journey back on the train was largely a silent one. Daniel let Spen deal with

checking out, and they’d avoided any contact with any of the conference attendees. Noble
had responded to Spen’s email with one that was even less diplomatic, saying that he was
disappointed in the cancellation and that he expected Daniel back at work the following
Monday. Not a word of concern, the bastard—but at least he’d spared Spen the
hypocrisy.

Daniel texted his sister to say he was fine, had just been unwell and was coming

home early. Spen suggested that he ask the kids to stay one more night with his mum, to
give Daniel a chance to get his balance, but he refused. “It’s their home, and I’m fine.”

Spen gave up on that line, but he insisted on calling the office to remove the redirect

from Noble’s line to Daniel’s mobile, and actually took the phone off him to stop him
answering anything other than calls from his brother and sister. Daniel put up surprisingly
little fight. After the brief burst of determination over Dee and Alex, he’d slid back into
apathy, paying little attention to the journey, Spen, or even Kani. He’d eaten very little
breakfast, and refused tea from the train’s galley. Spen wondered if he was afraid of
being drugged again. Maybe his stomach was still upset. Asking was more than he dared
do, seeing the faraway look in Daniel’s eyes as he stared through the dirty glass out to the
rain-sodden railway cutting.

When they arrived, Daniel looked at Spen in surprise as he climbed into the taxi with

him. “I’m coming with you,” Spen said.

“Why?”
“Because.”
Daniel shrugged, and gave the driver the address.
He finally roused to question Spen’s actions once he’d unlocked his front door and

set his bags down. “I’m okay now. You should go home.”

“House is empty until Mum gets home. I thought I’d keep you company until the

kids come back from school.”

Daniel frowned. “Why?”
“Do you want to be alone?”
Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it. “No,” he said in a small voice. “But I

shouldn’t impose.”

“You didn’t. I offered. Is there anything to eat? I’m starving.”
Daniel sat in the kitchen and watched Spen as he rooted around looking for edibles.

The fridge was bare, since they house was supposed to be empty for a week, but he found
a tin of soup, and that with toasted bread from the freezer, a pot of tea and some biscuits,
made a warming if not particularly healthy meal. Spen watched Daniel’s colour improve
with every mouthful, and concluded at least some of his bad mood was down to low

blood sugar.

“Feeling better?” he asked as he collected the dishes to dump in the sink.
“Yes. Thank you. Spen...I’m sorry for being such an arsehole.”
“You need to try harder. I didn’t even notice. You forget who I work with.” That

raised a smile. “What do you want to do now?”

“Um...I should do some shopping. You don’t want to do that with me.”
“Try me.”
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Nope. I’m on leave until Monday. Besides, I never get to shop properly any more

since I moved back home.”

Daniel looked like he was about to tell Spen that was the most ridiculous statement

since the Big Bang, but the words never actually came out. Instead he shrugged. “If you
really want to.”

The rain had stopped but it was still cold and windy, so people crowded into the

shops. Weaving around damp, cranky people wasn’t Spen’s idea of fun, but Daniel
seemed to barely notice, filling his trolley methodically, checking unit prices and always
choosing discounted or sale items. Spen hadn’t had to do that since he was a student—his
salary and living rent-free with Rob had spared him from having to watch his budget too
carefully. Daniel might have been doing it out of habit, but then he wouldn’t be working
for a wanker like Noble if the family finances were secure.

Myko and Kani thought the shop was a playground set up for their pleasure, and

chased each other along the shelves, weaving in and out of the cans and bottles with
breathtaking heedlessness. Myko was normally pretty well-behaved in shops, but Spen
saw Daniel’s smile at their antics, and carefully did nothing to rein in his naughty kem.
Myko and Kani were trying to help—and it was working.

Daniel reached for a packet of discounted cheese. “I thought I’d make a couple of

dishes to freeze this afternoon, maybe roast a chicken for supper.”

“You cook?”
“Yeah, we all do. Mum insisted. I like it. Made life easier at Uni.” His mouth turned

down. “Dee does most of it now, but I try and make up for it at the weekends.”

“Mum does the cooking at home. I can cook but she enjoys it. I do the heavier

housework, washing and vacuuming, that kind of thing.”

“Ooh, where can I find your twin? I wish we had an extra pair of hands. Dad—”
He stopped. Kani meeped and ran over to him, jumping up to his left shoulder. Spen

put his hand on Daniel’s right, but didn’t know what to say. All he could do, after a few
seconds, was to gently nudge him to carry on, which Daniel did, walking along in silence,
picking out items with the same concentration as before. The kems no longer made him

smile.

With the trolley loaded, they headed for the checkouts, only to find long queues

everywhere. Daniel appeared resigned to it, but Spen found it almost intolerable. “We’ll
get there eventually. Stop fidgeting.”

“But it’s boooring,” Spen whined, just to make Daniel roll his eyes.
“And you call me a kid...Kani, what’s wrong?”
On his shoulder, Daniel’s kem stood on his back paws, his fur erect, snarling. Myko

turned to look where Kani was pointing, and likewise bristled and snarled. “What the
hell?” Spen said. “They’re just looking at mineral water.” The only offensive thing he
could see about the green bottles was the price, since it was that fancy, rather salty, fizzy
stuff that restaurants like to serve. There had been smaller versions in the hotel mini-bar,
but like everything else in the mini-bar, they cost about three times what they would from
the supermarket.

Myko squeaked and nipped Spen’s ear. “Ow, you little bugger.”
“Kani, stop it.” But when Daniel lifted him down, Kani squired free and jumped onto

the display of bottles, hissing and spitting. People were starting to stare at him.

“What’s wrong with you two? Why would you—” Spen stopped. Daniel’s widening

eyes registered his realisation at the same time Spen came to it. “Oh God. Kani knows. It
was in—”

Daniel turned his back on the kems and the display. “I’m not talking about it,” he

gritted out. “Look, go home, leave me to deal with this.”

“No way. At least let’s get this to your house before you go postal.”
Daniel glared. “You’re more upset than I am.”
“Yeah, right.”
Daniel pursed his lips and concentrated on dumping his groceries out onto the

conveyor belt. Spen helped pack while ignoring the dirty looks. It was pure defence on
Daniel’s part.

Over Daniel’s objections he paid for a taxi back to the house, and helped carry the

bags into the house. “Thank you,” Daniel said, sounding anything but grateful. “Maybe
you should go now.”

“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want me to leave?”
“Because....”
“Because I might talk to you about why Kani and Myko freaked out about bottles of

mineral water?”

Daniel grabbed the bag with the cold goods and stomped into the kitchen. Spen

hefted the rest and lugged them in behind. He found Daniel hurling stuff into the fridge.
“Slow down, squirt. Don’t break something because you’re pissed off with me.”

“I’m not.” The cheese hit a shelf with a resounding thud.
“Then who are you mad at?”
“No one. Me. Just...no one.”
“Not even the person who drugged and raped you?”
Daniel stiffened. “I don’t—”
“Want to talk about it. Okay. Then don’t. But you can’t make it not have happened.

So either face it, or face your brain ambushing you all the time.” He pulled the leaflet out
of his pocket. “The doctor at the hospital gave me this.”

He laid it on the countertop. Daniel moved back from it like it was a bomb with the

counter down to ten seconds. “I don’t need that.”

“You need something. You can’t live in denial forever.”
“Just watch me. If you’re going to lecture me, please go, Spen. Otherwise, you’re

welcome to stay and help me cook. That’s as much entertainment as I can offer, sorry.”

“Well, since you’ve made such a tempting offer, I’ll stay. What do you want me to

do?”

Daniel flicked a finger at the leaflet. “Throw that away for a start.” Spen put it in his

pocket without protesting. “I need a stack of cheese grated. Feel like doing that?”

“I’m the world’s best cheese grater. Let me at it.”
Daniel sighed in exasperation. “Don’t you ever get annoyed?”
“Why, do you want to see it?”
Daniel went to the fridge, pulled out the cheese, and found the grater and a bowl.

“Stop when you’re fed up or run out of cheese. Or you decide you’ve got better things to
do than babysit me.”

“Try harder, squirt, if you’re trying to see what I look like pissed off.” Spen counted

it a victory that Daniel bothered to flip him off, before returning to the bags of groceries
for his cooking supplies.

Despite that unpromising beginning, the afternoon went peacefully. Once finished

with the cheese, Spen was set to cutting up carrots and onions, and washing up dishes and
pans to keep the volume down. Daniel worked like a demon, cooking up mountains of
mince for lasagne, cottage pie, and to put on toast with baked beans. “You certainly know
how to stretch your budget,” Spen said, calculating that Daniel had made at least half a
dozen meals out of what many people would spend on one.

“Something else Mum taught us. She said we would need to save our money for

important things when we left home. I guess she never figured it would be because she
died.”

“Are you really that badly off?”
“No. But there’s no income coming in other than what I make, and there’ll be a lot of

expenses soon. Already are. Having a salary gives us a cushion. It’s the difference
between mince and beans, and chicken and fish occasionally. I don’t want Dee and Alex
to go without, or miss out on any chances because we haven’t got the money. Mum and
Dad worked hard to provide for us, and wanted us all to go to University.”

“But now you’re not.”
“No. Not at the moment.”
Spen wiped his hands. “Daniel, try not to get angry with me—but maybe you should

consider not going back to work on Monday. Tony’s not doing right by you, regardless of
what happened last night.”

Despite the plea, Daniel’s jaw set hard. “You can’t prove he did anything. I don’t

think he did. Why the hell would he? Why there, for God’s sake? It’s the riskiest place
possible.”

Spen had to admit he had a point. “You were only there because he forced you to be

—against company regulations. You could do so much better.”

“Not now I can’t. Give me two more months. That’ll be nearly six months that I’ve

been there, and I can look around for more office work with that experience.”

But you shouldn’t be getting that experience. You’re an engineer, damn it. Spen

didn’t say it out loud. There was no point...yet. “Noball’s a terrible boss.”

“Yes. I know that. He’s not the worst thing I’ve had to put up with by a long way.

I’ll be fine.”

“I’d like to see you happier, that’s all.”
Daniel laid his knife down and stared at Spen. “Why? Why take so much interest in

me? You don’t do this to Luke or Jyoti or anyone else who works with you.”

“Because I like you. I’d like to be friends. And I think you need a friend.”
“Spare me.”
“You’re a hard sell, Daniel. Do I annoy you so much?”
Daniel flushed. “No,” he muttered. “I don’t like pity, that’s all.”
“It’s not pity. It’s...hell, can’t a guy want to be your friend?”
“You’ve got friends. And a family.”
“So? Is there a quota? Maybe I’m short a redhead and I need to make up the set.”
“That’s better than feeling sorry for me.”
“I do not feel sorry for you. I worry about you. It’s different. I like you and I don’t

want to see you hurt and I don’t like to know that friends of mine are being attacked
when they should be safe. It wouldn’t matter if you were Jyoti or Luke or anyone else. I
can’t help wanting to help. I get it from Mum.”

The first smile in hours crossed Daniel’s face. “She’s wonderful. They both are. I’m

so jealous it makes me sick, and then I feel bad because I had wonderful parents too. I
was just as lucky...for a while.”

“Still are, if you’re in good shape because of their planning. Because of the man they

made you.”

“Yeah. Um...I don’t really want to talk about....”
“I know. Is that lasagne ready?”
Daniel cleared his throat. “Uh, ten minutes. I’m done now. The kids should be home

in an hour.”

“Then time for a cup of tea, and even a biscuit. Mum’s cure for everything.”

~~~~~~~~

Daniel was ashamed to admit to himself how grateful he was to Spen for hanging

around until Dee and Alex came home, and helping him dodge difficult questions about
why they’d both come back early. Spen made it all sound perfectly routine, and reassured
Dee that Daniel hadn’t put his job at risk at all. Which might not be true, but she believed
it.

Watching Spen climb into a taxi to go home hurt more than he would have guessed.

With Spen, he could feel something other than lost and rather scared. Spen made him
angry, made him laugh, exasperated him. Without him, the clouds descended again. Dee
noticed immediately. “Are you still not feeling okay, Daniel?”

“No, I’m not. Sorry. In fact, if you guys don’t mind serving yourselves, I think I’ll

head to bed early. I’m exhausted.”

“Maybe you should see a doctor.”
“I did, and it’s nothing to worry about. Just a reaction to something I ate or drank. A

good night’s sleep would help.”

She kissed his cheek. “Yes. I could make you a boiled egg?”
“No, I’m okay. I’ll drink some milk.” He made himself straighten up. “Did you have

a good time at Mrs Reardon’s?”

“Oh yes. She’s really nice. She makes me miss Mum even more, though.”
He patted her arm. “Yeah, I know what you mean. See you in the morning.”
He hadn’t lied to Dee. He could barely keep his eyes open—until he lay down. Then

sleep fled from him, leaving him rolling from side to side, willing his eyes to grow heavy
and his mind to empty without success. Downstairs he heard the quiet bumps and clunks
of his brother and sister having supper, arguing briefly, then ascending the stairs to use
the bathroom and go to their respective bedrooms. From Alex’s room came the
occasional beeps and bells from his laptop, from Dee’s, the sounds of her typing
furiously. Nice reassuring sounds, none loud enough to keep him awake. And yet he

couldn't sleep.

Kani was infected by the same restlessness, roaming up and down the bed,

occasionally jumping to the floor and giving a miserable squeak. He missed Myko,
Daniel guessed, though why he didn’t go and play with Veen or Lili, Daniel didn’t know.

He turned over again. Unbidden, the memory of the leaflet Spen had placed on the

kitchen counter came to him. Then that of Kani hissing at the bottles of mineral water. He
covered his eyes with his arm. It wasn’t that they stirred other memories in his brain. It
was that they exposed the horrifying nothingness between sitting in the bar, sipping wine
with Tony and the other managers, and waking up in the hospital and seeing Spen’s
concerned expression. The line was sharp. On one side, he could remember quite a lot of
things—how nervous and uncomfortable he’d felt, how the wine was crap, and feeling
amazed at how fast the others were drinking whisky. On the other, there was nothing.
There was an...absence. He knew something was missing, like seeing a hole, but having
no idea what it had looked like before the hole was there.

He knew what the missing memories had to be about, but he couldn’t make himself

fill in the gaps, put the visuals together. He literally had nothing to reference. He didn’t
know why this had happened to him, or who had done it to him. Or what, exactly, they
had done.

Spen wanted him to face up to it. But if in facing up to it, those missing visuals made

it all so much more horrific, would he be any better off? He didn’t think so. He didn’t see
any point in forcing himself to see himself as a victim, to imagine in details what had
been done. Better to keep it off in the distance, as if it had happened to someone else.
Regrettable, awful, but not something that touched him personally. Not something like
that visit from the police, telling him the world as he had known it for twenty-one years,
was over for good. He remembered every second of that day, and the days afterwards, in
perfect, gut-churning detail. He wished he could forget them. He never would. He didn’t
want more memories like that in his head, not even by proxy.

The quiet noises in the house stopped. His bedside clock told him it was eleven.

Normally he would be soundly asleep by now. He’d never felt more awake, yet too tired
to get out of bed and find something to do. If only Spen was—

No. He couldn't go there either. What was the chance Spen would ever view him as a

competent adult now, especially with him resisting Daniel’s every attempt to resist
victimhood? Obviously seeing Daniel as anything but pitiable didn’t fit Spen’s internal
narrative. Too bad Daniel wanted him more than ever now. Like his parents coming back
from the dead, Spen was something Daniel could never have.

From the end of the bed, Kani mewed pitifully. “Come here, kid,” Daniel whispered.

His kem picked his way delicately up Daniel’s body, and nestled under his chin. Kani’s

Chapter 10

“Well, Daniel, are you now completely recovered from your overindulgence?” Tony

took his glasses off. “Please sit down.”

Daniel obeyed, glad to be able to hide his shaking knees. “Yes, I’m fine,” he

muttered, not able to meet Tony’s eyes.

“Good. It was quite disappointing to have to tell people that the seminar was

cancelled. It left quite a gap in their knowledge.”

“I’m sorry.”
“Yes, I believe that. Such a shame to spoil such a satisfactory work performance up

to then by getting carried away with alcohol.”

“It wasn’t—” Daniel stopped. Admitting it was drugs—however administered—

sounded much worse. “Um, it was probably something I ate.”

“Ah. Well, I suppose that’s something we could all fall prey to. However, we still

need to fill that information gap, and quickly. So I expect you and Spencer to turn your
presentation into a detailed handout by the end of this week, and you and I will attend the
meeting of Northern’s managers at the end of this month to give them the final rundown.
It’ll be an overnight trip on the twenty-eighth, with the meeting in the morning next day.
Make your arrangements as you need to.”

“Yes,” Daniel mumbled.
“A lot rides on this, Daniel. National roll out is expected to be underway by the end

of the year, beginning with Northern. I depend on your support, and if you don’t feel
you’re up to it, then I’ll have to find someone who can give it to me.”

Daniel swallowed. “No, I can do it. I just ate something that made me sick.”
“Very well. There’s a backlog of messages to attend to, and I want the Underwood

file. That needs to be followed up.”

“Yes, Tony.”
Back at his desk, Daniel stared at the list of emails but didn’t really register them. He

hadn’t expect this hostility from Tony, though maybe it wasn’t surprising since he must
have lost a bit of face when Spen had cancelled with so little warning. Daniel had tried so
hard to be the model employee, to give more than expected at every turn, but now his job
was threatened by something that wasn’t his fault and he had no control over. A wave of
anger rushed through him, and for a few mad seconds, he contemplated throwing his
laptop to the floor or through Tony’s window.

The rage left him just as quickly as it came on, and was replaced by a depression so

profound, his eyes filled with tears that no amount of wiping could remove. He went to
the men’s loo to wash his face. Was Spen right, he asked himself as he stared at his

mottled complexion in the mirror? Should he give this up now, instead of persisting for
however long it took to find another job?

But if he left now, Tony would have every excuse to write an unflattering reference.

Leaving before his probation was completed couldn’t ever look good, even without a bad
or carefully neutral recommendation. Daniel didn’t know if he could face months of job
hunting again, especially now he realised how little he’d enjoy the jobs he’d be applying
for. Maybe beans on toast for supper every night weren’t so bad. For his own sake, he’d
rather live frugally than take another office job. He couldn't ask Dee and Alex to do that
though, and it still didn’t answer the problem of a long-term income. The lawyers had
warned him it could be years before the various criminal and civil actions were settled.

So he’d better bloody well get on with it, and stop feeling sorry for himself, hadn’t

he? He was the head of the family. Mum and Dad had never whined about their
responsibilities, so neither would he.

He returned to his desk, and sent a brief email to Spen telling him what Tony

wanted. It wasn’t the politest thing he could have done—Spen had texted him several
times over the previous days to ask how he was, but Daniel hadn’t answered. Spen’s
company would have been so very welcome, but Daniel hadn’t dared give into his
desires, and didn’t want to give Spen more reason to believe in his inability to cope. He’d
taken refuge in housework, cooking, doing a few odd jobs, and the rest of the time,
designing a prototype for a remotely controlled artificial hand. It had been his last project
at Uni, one he’d barely started before he’d had to leave to deal with his parents’ deaths.
He would never hand it in, and he wouldn’t produce anything that wasn’t being done
bigger and better by appliance researchers, but robotic devices were one of his interests,
and it kept his mind off other things.

The nights had been tough. He would rather die than admit that to Spen...or anyone.

Talking about it would make it worse, he knew that in his heart.

He scrolled through the list of emails, marking those that needed attention, deleting

those that didn’t, as a way of procrastinating until he found the energy to actually deal
with the damn things. So many of them were actually for Tony to answer, but instead of
them going direct to him, they were sent to Daniel, who would then have to ask Tony
how to answer them, then sit down and transcribe his thoughts. Why this was supposed to
be more economical than Tony dashing off a quick answer, Daniel had no idea.
Increasingly, he found office affairs meaningless and staggeringly inefficient, offensive
to his engineering instincts almost past toleration.

His phone pinged to tell he had a text message from Spen. “Meet me 4 lunch 2day,

12:30.”

Daniel texted back, “Sorry. 2 busy.”

Seconds later, “Make time or will sic Myko on2 u.”
“U wdnt dare.”
“U sure?”
Daniel sighed. “Wnker. OK.”
He got a “;-)” as his only reply.
He really didn’t want to talk to Spen because he was bound to bring up the...thing.

But he also missed the big guy, and had been so very lonely over the weekend even with
Dee and Alex around. Spen looked at the world, analysed problems in almost exactly the
same way Daniel did. They were always finishing each other’s sentences when they
talked about Cross-Channel or anything else remotely technical. Daniel had no one else
in his life like that any more. If he could just persuade Spen not to keep bringing up the
other matter, they could be friends again.

If Spen hadn’t texted him ten minutes before their lunch ‘date’, Daniel would have

completely forgotten. As it was, he rushed into the pub five minutes late. Spen looked at
Myko. “Told you,” he said to his kem. “Where’s Kani? Myko’s jonesing.”

“Aren’t you all butch and forceful today? Kani? Come out, squirt.” Kani’s head

appeared with a joyful chirp, then he leapt down to be greeted ecstatically by Myko. “I
wish Tony would back down on this one.”

“Force it. He has no right asking you to hide him. I ordered some of that veggie

lasagne you liked so much, and got you a juice. Figured you’d be pushed for time.”

Grateful as he was for the forward thinking, Daniel was just a teeny bit pissed off at

being managed. Okay, a lot pissed off. “You don’t have to nanny me.”

“I’m not. It’s just efficient. If you want something else....”
But just then the food arrived and it smelled delicious. Kani took a long sniff, his tail

shivering with delight. Daniel nudged him away and loaded up his fork. Suddenly he was
starving. “No, it’s okay. Why did you want lunch?”

“Missed you, that’s all. Wondered how you were. You look tired.”
“Yeah. But I’m fine.”
“I’m sure,” Spen said, taking a long sip from his beer. “So, Tony’s got his nuts in a

tangle this morning? He sent me the pissiest email. I nearly sent it off ‘accidentally’ on a
round office list.”

“He’s um...not happy. I told him it was something I ate, so he’s less cranky at me

directly. He thought I’d drunk too much.”

“Yeah, right. Are you okay on that score? No headaches or anything?”
“No, Nanny Spencer. I’m just fine, I keep telling you.”
“Good. What’s this about you going to the Northern meeting?”
“Oh yeah, I need to ask your mum if she can mind Dee and Alex for one night—the

twenty-eighth. Tony says it will be an overnight trip.”

“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why is it an overnight trip? Northern’s head office is a two-hour train trip away,

and Tony gets a vehicle allowance. You could easily drive up and down in a day.”

Daniel frowned. “I don’t know. He just said it was and I wasn’t going to argue, since

he was already so worked up. Does it matter? If your mum can’t do it, I think Dee and
Alex can manage one night on their own, so long as they have her to call.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine with it but that’s not the point.”
Daniel swallowed the bit of lasagne he’d been chewing, lay his fork down and

looked directly at Spen. “Then can we stop talking about it? It’s my business, not yours.
I’m about this close to being thrown out on my ear and like I’ve explained to you, I need
to keep the job a little longer.”

“So you said,” Spen muttered, eating some of his salad. “So, do you want to watch

some more movies some time?”

“Uh, don’t you have better things to do with real friends?”
“You’re a real friend, and no. God, Daniel, you have such low self-esteem. You can’t

imagine anyone enjoying your company.”

“Sorry. My friends were either at Uni or from school, and when Mum and Dad died,

they kind of...evaporated. I think they thought they would catch bad luck.”

“Idiots. Look, if you think I’m bothering you, just say so. I don’t want to be a pest.”
Daniel flushed, and looked at Kani, utterly blissful as Myko groomed him. “No,

you’re not a pest. But I’m not a kid. So long as we’re clear on that.”

Spen held his fist up for Daniel to bump. “Totally clear. So, what did you get up to?”

~~~~~~~~

Spen managed to smooth the hackles of his prickly friend, and even raised a smile or

two on his weary face. Despite Spen’s worst fears, Daniel’s strategy of denial seemed to
be working for him, at least for now. As a long-term tactic, it sucked, but only Daniel
could take the next step. But Spen hadn’t given up on the police angle, and what Daniel
had told him about an overnight trip—an entirely unnecessary overnight trip—with his
sleazeball boss, had sent all the alarms bells ringing. So while he carried on a pleasant
conversation with Daniel, his mind was busy turning over how best he could find the
evidence he needed, and work around Daniel’s refusal to bring the law into it. Denial was
all very well but he didn’t think it would survive a second attack—and if it wasn’t Daniel,
it would be someone else.

“I need to get back,” Daniel said, wiping his mouth. “Thanks for the meal. My turn

next time.”

“You’re on. I’ll ask Mum about the twenty-eighth.”
“Thanks. I’ll draft up something for the handout and you can comment.”
“That’ll save me some time. I’ll walk back with you.”
He’d have done it anyway, but he had an extra reason today. Luke had heard about

Daniel’s ‘bender’ before Spen had mentioned it, and the gossip wasn’t flattering in the
least, he reported. Some of the speculation came far too close to the truth for Spen’s
comfort. He couldn’t stop people talking, but he could at least show that Daniel had the
support of at least one senior manager, for what that was worth. People stopped and
looked as they passed. Daniel didn’t seem to notice. Spen wasn’t naïve enough to believe
he would remain oblivious.

Daniel waved goodbye and headed for the lift, while Spen walked to the stairs. Ten

minutes after he sat down, he received an email from Daniel to say Noble had explained
that he was going to Northern’s office early on the twenty-eighth, and he wanted Daniel
to be available for a breakfast meeting the next day. It sounded completely plausible, and
yet Spen was at the point that if Noble said grass was green, he’d have to stick his head
out the window to check for himself.

He tried his best to concentrate on his work, since he wasn’t being paid to be

Daniel’s minder, but his thoughts kept going back to his friend—and his friend’s boss. He
didn’t like what those thoughts were coming up with it.

“Spen, do you have a moment?” Jyoti motioned him over to her desk. “There’s

something you need to look at.” Spen come over to stand behind her. She pointed silently
to the relevant part of the print out in her hand. Myko squeaked and jumped up and down
on Spen’s shoulder.

“Shhh, calm down, squirt. Jyoti, come with me.” Spen took her to the section’s small

meeting room that doubled as storage for dying computers on their way to recycling.
What she had in her hand was too explosive—and too important—to discuss in the office.
She’d found the smoking gun he’d suspected. Now he had to work out the best way to
use it.

Chapter 11

Coming into work knowing Tony would be away all day at the Northern office—

even if he and Daniel would be meeting up later—was a relief. His boss had been, not to
put too fine a point on it, an absolute shit to work for since the conference disaster. One
minute he was praising Daniel extravagantly over something he’d done satisfactorily, and
half an hour later he’d be tearing him down over some minor error, even if it wasn’t
Daniel’s mistake. Daniel went home each evening with his guts in a knot, too tense to eat
or sleep.

He hoped all the nastiness resulted from Tony’s anxiety over the Cross-Channel

rollout. If not, and this continued, it barely mattered how long he stuck it out at his job—
his reference was going to suck. He’d already started looking at job advertisements, but
without any sense of hope, or belief he could push himself as being competent and
employable. He did his best to hide his worries from Dee, but his sister knew something
was up. He palmed her off with excuses about the rollout, but he couldn’t do that forever,
and she was too smart to be fooled for long.

He wasn’t looking forward to this visit to Northern, but it did mean he would have

the rest of tomorrow off, and then it was the weekend. If he could just get one solid
night’s sleep, he would feel much better. Maybe he could take Spen up on his offer of a
movie night. Spen had completely stopped commenting about the events at the
conference, so Daniel could relax in his company again. It had been great to have an
excuse to drop down to IT again. Kani had been making the most of it. And today Daniel
could let him out without upsetting his boss.

Spen had arranged to have lunch with him again. The handout had gone to Northern

already so there was nothing left for them to do, yet Spen was unusually tense, drinking
his pint with a determination that bordered on the disturbing. “Something wrong?” Daniel
asked.

“No. How are you?”
“Glad to have a boss-free day.”
Spen smiled but the expression disappeared too quickly. “Never trust a manager

who’s shitty to his underlings. He sucks up to the clients and the bosses pretty well, but
the test is in how he treats you.”

“Yes. I know he’s crap. Do we have to talk about this again?”
“No, we don’t. How are Dee and Alex? Mum was so pleased they were staying over

again.”

“So were they. They really like your parents.”
“You’d be welcome over there too, you know. Any time. Doesn’t have to be when

the kids need to stay.”

“Thanks. There’s just always so much to do at home.”
“Is it me? Because Mum would love to see you and I can go somewhere else.”
“Don’t be silly, Spen. I’m having lunch with you.”
“Yeah.” Spen laughed a little. “I guess that answers me. What time are you leaving?

And what’s the hotel? A nice one?”

“At four, and I have no idea. ‘Lilyvale’, it’s called. I’m meeting Tony at seven.”

Spen grunted. “I’ll be back here by lunchtime tomorrow. Half day for me.”

“Good for you.” He checked his watch. “Bugger. I’ve got to run. No, don’t rush. I’ll

catch you soon. Good luck tonight.”

“And tomorrow.”
Spen stopped. “Yeah. Tomorrow too. I’ll see you.” He squeezed Daniel’s shoulder, a

gesture from that Daniel secretly adored as much as he hated the exact same thing from
Tony. Unfortunately, Tony did it a lot more often than Spen did.

He had very little to do when he returned from lunch—nothing compelling or

important, for sure—so he played with Kani and did some web-surfing to kill time before
he had to catch a taxi to the train station. He felt very little guilt about skiving, another
way this job had changed him. He even understood why some of the other PAs were so
disgruntled. You had to have a particular personality as well as intelligence to do this job,
and he now knew he wasn’t PA material. Unfortunately, he wasn’t engineer material
without the requisite degree. He wondered if he’d ever find a niche in which he felt
comfortable and qualified.

At five to four, he picked up his overnight bag and headed for the lifts. He garnered a

few disapproving looks from the usual suspects. He had learned to ignore them, though
the unfairness of the hostility never failed to sting. He kept his head down as he walked
across the foyer, hoping to avoid any more company staff.

“Daniel?”
He looked up and recognised the voice’s owner. Kani squeaked with excitement

when he saw Pyon, his erstwhile partner in crime. “Julian? Hi. Are you here for a
meeting?”

“Yes. With you. Come over, I’d like you to meet someone.”
“Uh, Julian, I have a—”
“Yes, I know. Don’t worry, it’s all been sorted out. Daniel, this is my boss and good

friend, Leo Underwood.”

Julian indicated a quite elderly gentleman with smiling eyes and a cute little white

kem in his lap, sitting on one of the leather armchairs. Kani chirped in greeting and the
little kem sat up and meeped. “Hello, Mr Underwood. Nice to meet you.”

“Same here, young man. Julian told me so much about you.”
Daniel flushed. “Oh. Nothing bad, I hope.”
“Of course not,” Julian said. “And this is my husband, Zachary Ledbetter.”
One of the most extraordinarily handsome men Daniel had seen outside—or inside—

the pages of a glossy magazine, stood and held out his hand. “Daniel.”

Daniel shook his hand. “Mr Ledbetter.” The man’s enormous tawny kem, draped

around his shoulders, yawned delicately. Kani chirped, and won a lazy tail flick from the
big kem.

“Zachary’s my nephew and legal advisor,” Mr Underwood said. “Julian?” Julian

helped the man stand. He leaned heavily on a stick once he was upright, but despite the
frailty of his body, there was nothing weak about his voice or his intent gaze. “Daniel,
I’ve arranged with Mr Stern for you to go over some of the details of the projects your Mr
Noble showed Julian.”

Mr Stern was the head of the office, and his word was law. “Yes. Uh, but I was just

—”

Mr Underwood held up his hand. “Yes, you have a meeting. Don’t worry. You won’t

be late. I’m afraid this can’t wait.”

As the man was an important potential client, Daniel hoped Tony would understand.

“Uh, there’s a room near Mr Noble’s office where we can talk.”

“That would do splendidly. Here, take my arm. Julian does like to cling to Zachary.

Can’t understand the appeal myself.”

Julian grinned, and Ledbetter’s icily gorgeous features admitted a small smile. “Leo,

you’re awful,” Julian chided.

“Quite so. Daniel? Lead the way?”
Still confused by all this, and wondering why on earth Mr Stern hadn’t told him

anything about it, Daniel took them all up to Tony’s office, and ushered them into the
interview room. “Would you like tea or coffee, Mr Underwood?”

“Water, please, and call me Leo, dear boy. Zachary and Julian will have green tea, if

you don’t mind.”

Kani stayed behind to play with friends old and new, while Daniel prepared the

drinks. He found his unexpected visitors chatting with each other and petting kems when
he returned. “Thank you,” Julian said. “Leo would like to see the financial reports for the
last three years, and if I could see the updates on the city projects Tony mentioned last
time? I believe he said he was expecting them any day.”

Daniel went to fetch the files. All of this could have been done anytime. What was

the tearing hurry about four pm on a Thursday afternoon?

Leo went over the financial reports carefully, passing each to Zachary and Julian for

their perusal too. Daniel had to do nothing but pass over the occasional folder, and once,
fetch another file. Mr Stern or his secretary could have done this just as well, and often
did so. Half past four went, then five. That was his train missed then. “Excuse me,” he
said. “Would you mind if I just made a call to Tony? To let him know I’ll be late.”

“Now Daniel,” Leo said, pinning him with his sharp eyes. “I told you not to worry. I

assure you what we’re doing here is much more important than meeting Mr Noble on
time. Or do you think you know better than Mr Stern?”

“No, sir. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted. Now, tell me about the company. How do you like working

here?”

Daniel did his best to sound positive. Leo wanted to know about his background, his

education, and without even trying, managed to elicit the facts about Daniel’s parents.
Zachary Ledbetter listened intently as Daniel told that part of his story, nodding with
apparent sympathy from time to time. When Daniel was done, Julian took his husband’s
hand. “Zachary lost his parents when he was seven.”

“I’m sorry,” Daniel said.
“So am I,” Zachary said, sadness briefly clouding his brilliant green eyes. “You’re

one of the few people who knows the truth of that, I’m sure.” He looked at his watch, and
something passed between him and Julian. Julian looked at Leo.

“Not long now,” Leo said, apparently apropos of nothing. “Perhaps another cup of

tea, Julian? Daniel, I would love a fresh glass of water.”

After half past five now. Daniel suppressed a sigh. “Certainly. Tea, Mr Ledbetter?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Even with the fresh drinks consumed, and all the files gone over in minute detail, his

visitors were still in no hurry to leave. It was now after six. Daniel began to wonder if
Leo was a little dotty, or if he’d been set up for a particularly elaborate practical joke.
“Will Mr Stern be joining us?” he asked.

“Yes. In fact, now, I believe. Edward, how nice to meet you finally.”
Daniel scrabbled to his feet as the company head walked in. “Leo, you too. Sorry

about the circumstances though. Daniel.” Daniel jerked, not expecting to be addressed. “I
need you to come with me.”

“And that’s our cue to depart, Julian. Daniel, Zachary will stay a little longer for

reasons that will become clear.” Julian helped Leo stand, then Leo laid his hand on
Daniel’s arm. “I want you to know that you have my full support, and that of my family.”

“Thank you, sir, but support for what?”
“Daniel, this way, please.”
For tuppence, Daniel would have stamped his foot and yelled “No!” He really didn’t

appreciate not being told what was going on, or being ordered about like cattle. But with
Mr Stern in front of him, and Zachary Ledbetter behind him, he had no choice but to let
himself be taken up two floors to Mr Stern’s office, and into the adjoining meeting room.
Another shock awaited him—a man he didn’t know stood there, along with Spen. Kani
squeaked excitedly when he saw Spen and Myko, but Daniel made him shush.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. “Spen? Why are you here?”
“Daniel, this is Detective Inspector Shah,” Mr Stern said. “He needs to talk to you.

Spencer will explain, and Zachary has offered to be your legal advisor if you so wish it.”

“Legal....” He gripped the back of a chair because his knees had gone weak. “Am I

under arrest?”

“Absolutely not,” Detective Shah said. “Please, Daniel, do sit down. Mr Reardon

will explain. Thank you, Mr Stern.”

“I’ll be in my office,” Mr Stern said. “Daniel, you are not in trouble.”
“Thank you,” Daniel whispered. He slid into the chair he’d been using as support,

and held Kani protectively close to his chest. Everyone else took a seat, then Zachary
spoke quietly to his beautiful kem who then disappeared. “Has something happened to
Dee and Alex? Spen?”

“No, no. Daniel, everyone’s okay. Dee and Alex are perfectly safe with Mum and

Dad. This is about Tony and the conference.”

Daniel started to stand, but Zachary placed his hand on his arm, so he stopped. “I

told you I didn’t want to pursue that,” he growled.

“I know, but things have moved on. Inspector?”
Shah coughed. “Daniel, Tony Noble’s just been arrested at the hotel where you and

he were to meet.”

“What? Why?”
“Because he’s been buying GHB over the internet, using his office laptop,” Spen

said. “I asked Jyoti to check the disk image backups and it’s all there. Not just his internet
searches, but also the emails confirming purchases. He’s a fucking techno-idiot, thank
god.”

“We found a Class C substance in his home,” the inspector added, “and doctored

bottles of mineral water in the hotel room which we suspect also contain this drug. We
also, uh, found pictures on his phone. Pictures of you. Naked.”

Daniel covered his mouth, wanting to puke. Kani meeped in concern, nudging his

arm. “I’ll get some water,” Spen said, rising to fetch it from a metal jug standing on a tray
at the side.

“Daniel, I just need to ask this to rule it out,” Inspector Shah said. “Are you in a

sexual relationship with Tony Noble?” Daniel shook his head. “Have you ever had sex

with him? Did you give him permission to take photos of you naked?”

“No, never,” Daniel whispered. “It was him?”
“Yes, we believe so. Security footage at the hotel doesn’t back up his version of what

happened that night. We’ve got him on the drug charge, no question. We can get him on
administering a toxic substance and sexual assault, if you give a statement.”

“I don’t remember anything.” Spen returned with the water, and nudged the glass

towards Daniel when he ignored it. Daniel took a sip, but nearly gagged on it.

“I understand. All we need from you is what you do remember, and whether or not

you consented to photographs and the sex.”

“I can’t. I don’t want to drag my family into this.”
“Daniel,” Spen said. “He’s done it before. His last PA left because Tony pressured

him into sex and took photos of him. The one before him left because Tony made
advances. They didn’t want a fuss either, which is why you were victimised. Do you want
this to go on and on? Another young man who needs a job badly enough to ignore what’s
been obvious for some time?”

Daniel glared with the full force of his sick betrayal. “You lied to me. You said

you’d drop it. I told you I didn’t want to pursue it.”

“Yes. But I wanted you not to be drugged and raped tonight more than I wanted you

to like me.”

Zachary interrupted the staring match. “Inspector Shah, I believe you need Daniel to

make the statement at the station. Daniel, if you consent to this, I can sit in with you to
advise you or answer any legal questions you may have.”

“I haven’t consented.”
The inspector sighed. “At the moment, Daniel, the drug charges will probably result

in a fine. Mr Stern is prepared to sack Noble for that alone, but he’ll just move on to
another post and carry out his harassment elsewhere. With your statement, and the
supporting evidence we have, we might be able to make sexual assault stick, and that puts
him on the register. He won’t be able to find another job without disclosing his record.
No more victims.”

“My duty is to my family first, not strangers.”
“What if it was Alex in his first job?” Spen said.
Daniel stood, holding his stomach. Kani, who’d been very quiet all this time, licked

his cheek to comfort him. “My brother and sister. The publicity. They’ve already been
through so much.”

“Your name will be kept out of the media,” Detective Shah said. “That’s standard in

a sexual assault case.”

“What if he gets off?”

“He’s still on our radar. And he’ll still have a conviction. I want this guy, Daniel.

He’s a rapist. Don’t let him walk.”

Daniel turned to Zachary. “What do you think?”
“He’s correct about your identity being protected. I can’t promise Noble would be

convicted of assault charges, but Mr Stern is certainly going to fire him. He was simply
waiting for confirmation of the drug purchase. He’s formally suspended without pay, and
I believe the usual disciplinary proceedings will proceed quite quickly.”

“You knew,” Daniel said, staring at Spen. “This afternoon, you knew what was

going to happen.”

“Yes. We had to lull him into a false sense of security. Daniel, there was no breakfast

meeting. He had drugged mineral water waiting for you. He was going to do it again. He
was going to attack you. He’d do it as often as he could get away with it.”

Daniel sat again, not sure if he could prevent himself from vomiting. He shook his

head as Zachary offered him the water.

“Perhaps we could leave it until tomorrow?” Zachary said.
“If necessary. Noble will get bail if we do. He won’t on a sexual assault charge, not

without conditions. We can make sure he stays away from you and your family.”

Daniel chewed his lip. He’d wanted to avoid all this, but maybe his objections didn’t

amount to much now. “I’ll do it,” he said. “But for the record, I really hate you for doing
this,” he said to Spen.

“I’m sorry.” Spen stood. Myko gave Daniel a strangely disappointed look, his tail

drooping. Kani squeaked at his friend, but Myko’s human didn’t look at him. “Mr Stern
will want a quick word, and then I’ll head off. Thank you, Zachary.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve done good work.” Daniel gave his ‘informal advisor’ a

glare for that, but Zachary didn’t blink.

Spen sent one last look of appeal Daniel’s way, but Daniel didn’t soften, so he left,

and shortly after, Mr Stern came in. “Daniel, I’m very sorry to hear what’s happened.
You and I will have to talk about your future here, but for now, I want you to take
tomorrow and the next week off on paid leave. I believe the police have to confiscate
computers and so on, so you’ll need to stay out of the way. If Noble attempts to contact
you—”

“You tell us,” Inspector Shah said. “I have a car downstairs. Thank you, Mr Stern.”
Daniel felt too numb, too betrayed, to even look at his boss as the officer led them

out to the lifts. “Who knows?” he asked Zachary. Inspector Shah was talking on his
phone, paying them no attention.

“Myself, Julian, Leo, Spencer, his assistant, Jyoti, and Mr Stern. Mr Stern is very

anxious to keep this quiet for now. If and when Noble is charged, there will likely be

media coverage. A regrettable amount of gossip will inevitably follow, if my own office
is any indication.”

“Wonderful. I guess this job is toast anyway.”
“Why would you want to continue working for a man like that?” Zachary asked.
“I don’t. But I need a job.” He didn’t feel like explaining all the issues involved in

that need. He didn’t want to be here at all.

“You need friends more,” Zachary said, still with the stiff formality that coloured

everything he’d said so far. “I learned this from Julian.”

“The only friend I’ve got just stabbed me in the back.”
The inspector turned. Apparently he had been listening after all. “That friend just

saved you from sexual assault, maybe even death, if Noble had got his dose wrong.”

“He has a point,” Zachary said. “I believe Spencer acted from the finest motives.”
Daniel didn’t know what to say to that. Spen had lied to him. Spen had saved his

bacon, maybe his life. Spen had just lost him a job he needed to prove he could look after
Dee and Alex. Spen had just saved him from a job that was ruining his life. “I don’t want
to talk about it,” he muttered.

The process of making the statement was easier than he expected. He thought he’d

have to sit in one of those horrible interview rooms like they used on TV cop shows, but
instead Inspector Shah took them all to a room with ordinary sofas, offered him tea, and
took him carefully but not unsympathetically through the events of that evening, and his
relationship with Tony. Zachary asked his kem to come out, and Kani’s respectful
playing with the lovely creature offered some welcome distraction at points of stress. The
inspector was considerate about breaks too, and everyone was remarkably patient. Still,
Daniel had a headache and a stomach that still wanted to turn inside out by the time he
was asked to sign the statement the inspector had typed up for him.

“Is it enough to convict him of rape?”
The inspector grimaced. “It’s always difficult to prosecute that, Daniel, and with you

being the only witness and having no memory of the event, that’s not going to help.
However, we do have a good deal of solid circumstantial evidence supporting your
version of events and directly contradicting his, so I’ll push hard for it. The drugs and the
pictures are definitely going to get him into trouble. The final decision on the exact
charges isn’t up to me. You haven’t wasted your time here, I promise you.”

Daniel shrugged. “Can I go now?”
“Yes, of course.” The inspector turned and fetched something from the table behind

him. “Ah, you might want to look at this too. I’ll have Victim Support contact you, and
they can give you more information about counselling and so on. Medical tests as well.”

It was the same damn pamphlet Spen had offered him. Daniel shoved it into his

pocket with a muttered “thanks”, and looked at Zachary. “Thank you, inspector,” Zachary
said, getting to his feet. His kem positioned himself gracefully along Zachary’s shoulders
again. “I’ll advise you if Daniel decides to engage another legal advisor.”

“That’s fine. Thank you, Daniel. It took courage to come here tonight.”
No, just a pushy ‘friend’, he thought. Zachary called Julian, and then ordered a taxi.

They stood outside the station to wait. “How much will this cost me?”

“Nothing, for now. You’ll be told if you need to incur any costs.”
“Why? You don’t know me.”
“As a favour to Julian, and because I don’t need your money.” His features softened.

“I realise the job situation makes it awkward, but I believe you’ll look back in a few
months and be grateful to Spencer, and that you took this step.”

“Maybe. I guess they’ll have to fire me. I mean, if Tony’s getting the boot. I haven’t

even finished probation.”

“Very likely they will want to let you go just to draw a line under this episode, and

frankly, I think it’s the best for you. However, there’s no reason at all we can’t make that
departure as favourable to you as possible. When Mr Stern contacts you, I would suggest
you have me attend the meeting with you, if you permit it. At the very least, I strongly
advise you not to accept anything he offers until you discuss it with me or another
solicitor, and make sure it’s all put in writing. Your company put you at risk, and you
suffered directly as a result. I don’t see why they shouldn’t pay handsomely for that.”

“Sue?” Daniel’s voice came out in a squeak. Kani copied him, which only made it

more mortifying.

“I doubt that will be necessary. Mr Stern is very embarrassed about this, and what

Julian discovered regarding the other staff members. At the very least, we can obtain a
cushion for you while you look elsewhere, and very likely the cost of any counselling you
wish to undertake. If you spend any money at all regarding this, keep receipts.”

“Okay.” Daniel couldn’t think about this at all. He barely cared. He just wanted to go

home...oh but Dee and Alex wouldn’t be there. He’d be in the house alone. Just great.

Zachary had the taxi drop him off at home first. “Here’s my card, and on the back is

Julian’s number. He asked me specifically to tell you to call him if you want any help at
all. He and Leo have taken this very much to heart, on my account, and on Spencer’s.”

“No need,” Daniel mumbled.
“I’ve learned arguing with either of them is a waste of time,” Zachary said with a

slight smile. “Good night...and good luck.”

“Thanks.”
The taxi drove off. Daniel walked up the dimly lit path. The porch light came on as

he took his key out.

Chapter 12

“You should talk to him.”
“He’s furious with me, Jules. I went behind his back.”
“Yeah but...talk to him, Beanie. The poor sod needs a friend. Even Zachary noticed.”
“You dissing your husband?”
“Hey, I love him more than life but he doesn’t exactly do nuance, you know? Beanie,

go over there. The worst thing that can happen is that he’ll yell at you again, and maybe
he needs to. You know you did what you had to do. So...be strong for him.”

“Why don’t you talk to him, Julian? He likes you.”
Spen’s friend sighed. “He likes you more. That’s why he’s upset.”
“He’s upset because I lied to him and lost him his bloody job. And you know, I don’t

blame him.”

“Then tell him.”
Spen’s turn to sigh. “Okay. I should check on him anyway.” He walked towards the

stairs, and down them, still holding the phone to his ear.

“You do that. And Leo wants you both to come for supper. He wants to talk to

Daniel about his future, and he wants you to back him up.”

“Your boss is really making him a project, isn’t he?”
“He feels a little guilty at tricking him. But mostly he hates to see talent wasted, and

Daniel is that in spades.”

“He is. Let me know when, but don’t be surprised if he says no.”
“I won’t. Leo won’t let it go, though. He doesn’t know the word.”
“Hah, makes two of you.”
“Taught me all I know. Talk soon, Spen.”
“Thanks, Julian. For everything.”
“You’re welcome. Now go!”
“Going, going....” He snatched up the keys to his mother’s car as he disconnected in

the kitchen. “Heading over to Daniel’s,” he told her as she looked at him. Dee and Alex
were in the living room, talking to Spen’s Dad. Both his parents had known well in
advance what was likely to happen this evening, and their support had helped Spen
through this. “Do you need your car in the morning?”

“No, love, I can take the bus in, if you pick me up in the afternoon. Stay with him or

bring him back, Spencer. The child shouldn’t be alone.”

“No, he shouldn’t. Thanks, Mum.” He kissed her cheek. “At some point, the kids

will have to be told. He might need our help for that.”

“Of course. He doesn’t have to do this on his own. You make sure you tell him.”

“I will.”
Spen pulled up near the front of Daniel’s house just a minute or so before a taxi

stopped outside. He wasn’t completely sure it was Daniel and Zachary’s, until Daniel
climbed out and walked up the path. His shoulders were hunched, and he looked defeated
and tired as he approached the front door. Spen climbed out of the car and walked
quickly to catch his friend up. “Daniel?”

He’d assumed Daniel would have heard his footsteps, but mentally slapped himself

for stupidity as Daniel turned in fright, dropping his key ring. “Who’s there? Come out!”

“It’s only me. Calm down.”
Daniel collapsed against the front door. Spen picked the fallen keys and handed them

to him. Daniel snatched the keys away. “What the hell are you doing here, Spen?”

“Checking on you. Why don’t you let yourself in?”
“Why don’t you bugger off?” Daniel said, but without any great force behind it.
When he opened the door, and Spen followed him in, he didn’t actually protest. “I’m

going to change. You’re not welcome, you realise.”

“Yeah, I do. I’ll make something for you to eat while you change.”
Daniel made a face and headed towards the stairs. So far things weren’t as horrible

as they could be, but there was plenty of time for them to deteriorate. Spen didn’t really
have a plan, or know the first thing about how to handle someone in Daniel’s situation.
Or how to get past the fact that he’d been hiding and lying to the kid about some
important stuff, and now Daniel would know just how far those lies and omissions went.

There were proper meals in the freezer, but Spen decided scrambled eggs were as

inoffensive and easy to digest as anything else in the fridge. He was just serving up as
Daniel came back, now dressed in T-shirt and jeans. Kani ran over and jumped up onto
the kitchen counter so he could lick Myko, but Kani’s human was a lot less friendly. “I
don’t need you to cook for me. I’m not hungry.”

“Too bad.” Spen set the plate in front of him. “Eat. If you want to be angry, at least

do it with food in your stomach.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes at him, and stabbed the eggs with a fork. “Why are you

here?”

Spen sat down. “You eat, I’ll talk. Then you can yell. Deal?” Daniel gave him a

disgusted look. “There’s a lot to talk about. Eat. Please, Daniel.”

Daniel rolled his eyes, but ate a forkful of food. He winced a little, but a second

forkful followed. Spen got up and poured him some milk, which went down easily too.
After a few more mouthfuls, Daniel muttered, “Okay, talk.”

“First of all, I’m sorry. I knew you’d be angry, and you’re right to be. I lied to you,

we tricked you, and I screwed things up so far as working there is concerned. I don’t

blame you a bit. But,” he added, folding his arms, “I wouldn’t change a damn thing.
Noble’s a dangerous criminal, and he needs to be stopped.”

“You already said all this,” Daniel said, before drinking more milk. “I’m not stupid.

But now I have to deal with the mess you left me in.”

“Yes, but not alone. We all want to help. Julian, Leo, Zachary, Mum, Dad....”
“You?” Daniel finally asked when Spen didn’t continue.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Why? I’m nothing to you.”
“Didn’t we already have this conversation?”
“Yeah. You lied to me. You already had Tony’s number. You were already

investigating him. I was just...collateral damage.”

“You think this is about him?” Daniel shrugged. “Why would I give a damn about

him if it wasn’t for you?”

“Why wouldn’t you trust me with the truth if sticking it to him wasn’t the most

important thing? You hurt me because I might damage your lovely set up. Well, nice
work. Now the world knows my business, I have to dump a load of crap on my sister the
week of her exams, every man and his mutt wants to inspect my arse and counsel my
poor victimised mind, and...that’s all I am to you. Poor little orphan rape victim Daniel.”

Spen sat there, stunned by the volume and ferocity of Daniel’s complaint. Daniel’s

cheeks had high spots of colour in them, and his green eyes blazed with fury. “You’ve
got it all wrong,” Spen murmured.

“Really. I don’t care. I’ve managed just fine without anyone’s help since Mum and

Dad died, and I’ll get through this too. Everyone wants me to fall apart because Tony
stuck his dick up my arse without permission. I’m telling you, that’s nothing compared to
getting a call from the police to tell you your parents are unrecognisable smears of bloody
meat under three tons of concrete. Nothing.”

“Daniel—”
“Shut up. My turn.” He pushed his plate away. “Why didn’t you tell me you were

investigating him? About the drugs?”

“Because you’d made it clear you didn’t want to know. I didn’t know what we had

until we had it, and then I didn’t have a choice any more. I had to go to the police.”

“And today? With Julian? Why not just tell me what you were doing, what the police

were doing?”

“Because...we didn’t want you to accidentally tip him off.”
Daniel’s lips thinned dangerously. “And why the hell would I do that to someone

planning to rape me, Spen?”

“I...didn’t think you were acting all that rationally. You were in denial. You were,”

he insisted as Daniel glared. “You wouldn’t bring the police before....”

“For perfectly good reasons.”
Spen made a “well, okay, then” gesture. “What do you want me to do? What can I

say to make it better?”

“You can’t.”
Daniel took his plate and glass to the sink and started to wash them up with what

seemed like a good deal more splash and noise than was strictly necessary. Spen waited,
out of his depth and not at all sure coming over hadn’t made it worse.

When Daniel finished, he threw the tea towel at the hook and turned around to glare

at Spen. “Okay, you apologised. I think you’ve done enough for one night, don’t you? Go
home.”

“What about you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Mum said I should bring you back.”
“No thanks. I’ve been coping on my own, and I can keep on doing that.”
He scooped up Kani and walked out. Since he didn’t come back after five minutes,

Spen figured he was dismissed. Okay, so now things were as horrible as they could be.
He hadn’t done enough. He hadn’t done anything like enough. He couldn’t leave Daniel
like this, so brittle and furious and with so much hurt in his eyes. He wasn’t the right
person to help but there wasn’t anyone else who could. Julian would be better than this.
His mum would be better. But they weren’t here.

So, knowing he wasn’t wanted, he went in search of his friend. He found him in the

living room, on the sofa, his knees under his chin and giving the world a thousand yard
stare. Kani lay alongside Daniel’s thigh, ignored but refusing to abandon his human. Spen
sat down beside the two of them. Myko climbed down his arm and gave Kani a cuddle.
Spen wished he could do the same for Daniel.

“You’re wrong about one thing, you know. I don’t see you as a victim. Not just as a

victim.” Daniel didn’t react. “You really are a friend. I’d do this for anyone I thought was
being set up for assault. But I wouldn’t be so upset that they were angry at me.”

Daniel glanced sidelong at him. “Only what you deserve.”
“I guess. So, how have you been, really?”
“None of your business.”
“For God’s sake, Daniel. Throw me a bone here. You’re behaving like it’s been a

ball of laughs for me to find out what Noble’s been doing to you and the others.”

“You never liked him.”
“No. But that’s different from knowing he was drugging and raping people.”
Daniel buried his chin lower. “Poor Spen.”

“Yeah, poor, poor, pitiful me. And now someone I really like, who my mother really

likes, who one of my closest friends really likes, thinks I’m a shit because I give a damn
about him. Sucks to be me.”

“Yeah, doesn’t it.”
Spen shook his head. “Right. Well, when you’re ready to talk, you know my number.

I want to help you, but I guess you really don’t need it. See you around, Daniel.”

He stood up. Myko protested, and kept his possessive hold on Kani. Daniel said

nothing, didn’t even move. “’Night,” Spen said, and headed towards the door. Myko
didn’t go with him, but Spen trusted him to do what was right, even if no one else knew
what it was.

He heard Daniel say something. “What?” he asked without turning.
“I don’t hate you. I just...wish....”
Spen turned. Daniel was still in the curled up position, face half-buried by his knees.

“What do you wish, kiddo?”

He half-expected Daniel to gripe about the nickname, but he didn’t. “I wish I could

go back to before.”

Spen came closer. “Before...?”
Daniel looked up, his eyes brimming with tears. “To when I didn’t know,” he

whispered.

Spen knelt in front of him, and put his hands over Daniel’s. “I know. Damn it, I

wanted to be wrong. I wanted not to find what we did. I wanted...it almost sounds
worse...but I wanted you to have slipped out of the hotel for an anonymous shag or
something. I knew that wasn’t likely, but the truth was worse.”

“Yeah.” Daniel wiped his eyes on his knees, then looked up again, not really at Spen,

but something in his inner thoughts. “He seemed so kind. I mean, annoying, but he
seemed to care about...you know. I wanted to believe it wasn’t him, but part of me must
have known. When you told me what they’d found, I wasn’t really surprised. I was just
angry.”

“At me.”
“Yeah. But I should have been angrier at him. I can’t seem to get that angry at him.

I’m numb. I believe it was him but I don’t....”

“Know it?”
“No. I wasn’t there. I didn’t see it for myself.”
“No.” He squeezed Daniel’s hands. “Want me to hang around for a bit?”
Daniel shrugged, so Spen climbed up on the sofa. He kept a small but distinct space

between them, not wanting to appear intrusive. “Daniel, there are people who can—”

“I don’t want people. I don’t want to tell some stranger about this. I don’t want to

talk about it at all. I want to get past it.”

“Pretend it never happened?”
“If I have to.”
“That’ll be hard with the court case coming up.”
“Maybe they won’t charge him with rape. The inspector said they might not be able

to.”

“Right. What did Zachary say?”
“The same. He wants the company to pay compensation for putting me in danger. I

don’t really care.”

“You might later. Listen to his advice. They want to help.”
“Yeah. Now people want to help. Where were they—” He stopped short and covered

his face with his hand. “Sorry. Wrong tragedy.”

Instinctively, Spen reached for Daniel’s unoccupied hand. “It’s all wrapped up

together, Danny. Noball targeted you because you were vulnerable and needed the job. If
your parents hadn’t died, you wouldn’t have been there.”

Daniel jerked his hand away. “Don’t you dare blame them!”
Fuck. “I’m not. I just mean...you can’t separate the two like that. You don’t have to.

Noble’s a predator. He looks for young guys like you. Jan’s mother was dying of cancer
when Noble hired him. The one before that? Had been in a car accident in which his
boyfriend was killed.”

“Lovely.”
“Yeah, only not. So if you need to talk about your parents—”
“I don’t. I don’t need anything. I manage just fine.”
Spen’s temper snapped. “Did it ever occur to you that the reason people didn’t help

you when they died is because every time someone tries, you slap them away? I keep
telling you there are people who want to help you—people like Mum and Dad who aren’t
just offering, but who are doing—and still you’re whining about no one helping you.
Even a saint would get sick of that shit after a while.”

Daniel gave him a teary, startled look. “I never...no one offered, except our

grandparents. Not practical offers we could use. You and your Mum...you’re the first.”

“And the last, if you keep pushing me away. Danny, I’m here. I want to help. I care.”
“You think I’m a pathetic kid.”
“No. I think you’ve had a hell of a lot of bad luck, but you’ve done more than most

could have. You’re not pathetic. Annoying, ungrateful, rude and contradictory, yeah, but
not pathetic.”

Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, I’m really feeling the sympathy.”
“You don’t want sympathy. You want it all to go away. Well, I can’t make that

happen. I can talk, I can sit with you, even all night if you want. I can listen to you yell or
cry or talk or whatever you want. I can make you coffee or cocoa or tea. I can get you
drunk, or keep an eye on you while you sleep. I can do a lot of things, Danny, but making
the bad shit not happen isn’t one of them. I don’t think you’re weak or pathetic or stupid
or that you did anything to bring this on yourself, but it happened, and pretending it
didn’t won’t work.”

“No, I suppose not.” Daniel rubbed his eyes again. “I’m so tired,” he murmured. “It’s

funny. I’d almost been looking forward to going to the hotel because I might sleep.”

“Not sleeping here?”
“No. Not in my bed. Down here sometimes.”
“Nightmares?”
“No. Something...something worse. I lie in bed and...I don’t want it to happen, but it

just does. I start replaying what I remember of what happened just before...in the bar, I
mean.”

“When you went for drinks with him and the others?”
“Yeah. I get to a certain point and then there’s this...nothing.” He shivered. “I feel

like I’m falling into the hole where the memory should be. Being swallowed by the
nothing.” He shrugged. “Then I get up and come downstairs, read until I sleep.
Sometimes it takes a while to happen.”

“You could have taken time off.”
“Yeah, right. I thought I’d already labelled myself a drunk. I didn’t know the man I

was trying to prove something to was behind it.”

Spen touched his shoulder, then remembered why that was a bad idea. He pulled his

hand away. “Sorry.”

“Why? I don’t mind.” As if to prove the point, Kani climbed up onto Daniel’s

shoulder and looked at Spen, as if to ask him why he couldn’t make such a natural
gesture of comfort. Spen patted Kani, but was careful not to touch Daniel again. Daniel
turned to look at him. “What’s wrong, Spen?”

“I don’t want to be...you know, like him. Always patting you.”
Daniel grimaced. “That I won’t miss. I hated that. I thought he was just friendly, but

I guess he was feeling out the territory.”

“Yes, he was. Softening you up. I hated seeing him do it.”
“That night! You saw him on the security video, didn’t you?”
Busted. “Yeah. And while I’m being honest...I knew about your family before you

told me. Luke, uh, had been investigating. Because he’d heard rumours not everything
was on the up and up with your recruitment.”

“Oh great. More people to avoid. But I suppose I don’t have to worry about that now.

I mean, since I won’t be going back.” He said it without any nastiness in his tone, just the
resignation of someone used to hearing bad news.

“Doesn’t mean we have to lose touch,” Spen said.
“Oh sure. We can get together and reminisce about how Tony hired me to be his

boyfriend, and how you thwarted his evil rape plans. Yeah, a barrel of laughs for young
and old.”

Kani meeped at Spen, and batted at his hand. When Spen lifted it away, thinking it

was annoying the little guy, Kani stamped his foot—and so did Myko. What the hell? He
put his hand gingerly on Daniel’s shoulder, and Kani trilled, stroking his fingers with his
tail. Ah, that’s what he wanted. Not subtle at all, kems.

“That’s not all we can talk about.”
“Maybe,” Daniel said, leaning ever so slightly into his touch. “I can’t think, Spen.

Look, I’m just going to try and sleep down here. You should go home.”

“I can stay. Mum doesn’t need the car in the morning, and I wasn’t planning to go

into work.”

“You shouldn’t....”
“What?”
“Rearrange your life for me.”
Spen squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “I’m not. I’m helping a friend out. You shouldn’t

be on your own, Danny.”

Daniel’s eyes closed. Spen thought it was in pleasure, but it might have been pure

exhaustion. “Why do you call me that?”

“Dunno. You just look more like a Danny than a Daniel. Not a Dan, though.”
“Never. Dad called me Danny.”
“You want me to stop?”
“No. Unless you’re being sarcastic, I don’t mind.” He unfolded his legs and leaned

back against the sofa cushions. “I don’t mind if you stay, but where will you sleep?”

“Here? On the armchair? Or next to you? What would you like?”
“Here,” Daniel murmured. “S’nice. Really, really tired....”
“Get comfortable then. I’ll fetch a blanket.”
“On the chair,” Daniel said, a massive yawn half-swallowing his words.
Spen looked around and noticed two neatly folded blankets and a pillow on the

armchair near the window. He rose to fetch them. Myko stayed where he was, lying
against Daniel’s thigh, Kani cuddled in his arms. So sweet. And too tempting an idea.

He draped a blanket over Daniel, and shoved the pillow under his unresisting head.

He curled up at the other end of the sofa, but his long legs weren’t made for that kind of
position. Try as he might to discreetly arrange himself, he couldn’t get comfortable.

“Maybe we should move up to your bed,” he grumbled.

Daniel’s head snapped up, and Spen realised what it had sounded like as those green

eyes bored into him. “Shit, I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.”

Daniel continued to stare. He was starting to freak Spen out a little. “Daniel? I said

forget it.”

“What if I don’t want to?”
“Look, don’t you think I’ve apologised enough—”
“I think it’s a great idea. If you don’t mind.”
“I wasn’t really thinking.”
Daniel sagged back. “Oh. Okay. I guess you think it’s a bit skeevy, with me being

the poor rape victim and everything.”

Spen spat out a curse which made Kani squeak and Myko bat at Spen’s leg with a

clawed paw in reproach. “Will you lay off with that shit? I was trying to be considerate!”

“So was I. You’re never going to sleep down here like that, Beanpole.”
The use of Julian’s nickname forced a laugh out of him. “Watch it, squirt.” Daniel

smiled a little. “All right. If you’re okay with us sleeping upstairs and you think it’ll help,
then sure. But if you don’t want me to be here....”

Daniel reached out from under the blanket and clutched at Spen’s arm. “Stay?

Please?”

The raw need in Daniel’s voice plucked at heartstrings Spen didn’t even know he

owned. “Okay,” he said, his voice gone a little gravelly with emotion. “Why don’t
you...um...go brush your teeth and stuff? I’ll clear up here. Is there a spare toothbrush
anywhere?”

“Yeah, Mum keeps them...I mean, kept them in the bathroom. I’ll leave one out for

you.”

“Thanks.” He ruffled Daniel’s hair, aiming for casual, but he couldn’t miss the way

Daniel pushed against his fingers, as if looking for more contact. When had anyone last
held the guy?

“See you upstairs. Come on, Kani.” He disentangled himself from the blanket and

stood.

“You go with him, Myko. Be a chaperone.”
Daniel turned around and stuck his tongue out at him, while Kani crossly stamped

his foot. Myko made the most peculiar noise, almost like a real growl. It sounded
disapproving, for sure. “That’s me told then,” Spen said, amused as hell at the display of
childishness.

“Yes, it is. Come on, you guys.”

~~~~~~~~

Spen took his time wiping down the kitchen counter, putting away dishes, waiting

until he could hear nothing from the upper floor before climbing the stairs. He used the
toothbrush left there for him, and washed his face. Shit, he looked nearly as wrecked as
Daniel, but then he hadn’t been sleeping too well either. Keeping secrets from his friends
and worrying about whether the police would really nail Noble as they hoped, hadn’t
been good for him, or fun of any kind at all. Even if Daniel hadn’t forgiven him—he had
forgiven him, hadn’t he?—Spen would feel better just because he no longer had the
burden of those secrets. Of course it wasn’t over, and he wasn’t naïve enough to believe
the next few weeks and months would be a ball of laughs for Daniel as he waited for
Noble’s prosecution. But now, they could talk about it.

That was if he didn’t screw up tonight. God, did Danny boy have any idea what he

was asking? But Spen had suggested it and he only had his own big mouth to blame.
They’d shared a room, even shared a bed watching movies. He could do this, play the
good buddy, keep the scary emptiness from descending for one night at least. Daniel
didn’t want more, and even if he did, now was so not the time to give it.

Okay, he admitted it. He was out of his depth. Completely. He was running on

instinct, but his instincts had never had to deal with this situation. What if he did screw it
up? He’d already hurt Daniel, risked losing his trust forever, even if there hadn’t been
any alternative. This could be much, much worse.

He sighed. Nothing for it now, he supposed.
He left the bathroom and entered Daniel’s bedroom, which was opposite. Daniel was

curled up under the covers, facing away from him on the far side of the wide single bed.
Spen couldn’t see the kems which probably meant they were cuddling against Daniel’s
chest.

Oh, hell. What should he wear? Jeans were buggers of things to sleep in.
“I’ve already seen you in your underwear,” Daniel muttered, reading his mind.
“Okay. This is a little weird for me, just so you know,” Spen said, shucking his jeans

and folding them over a chair. He kept his T-shirt on, not having a vest on underneath.

“If you think I’m going to jump you, you’re so far off track you have no idea.”
“Of course not. You’re being a bit of a prick.”
He heard a tiny chuckle. “Yeah. Get into bed, Spen. I just want to sleep.”
“Me too.” He switched off the bedside lamp, then climbed into the bed and under the

covers, trying very hard not to touch Daniel. An effort wasted by the fact that Daniel
immediately rolled over and snuggled up to him.

“Whoa. You little shit, you’re testing me.”
Another laugh. “Not really.” He looked up at Spen. “I need to feel you’re here. I

don’t want to be alone.”

Spen stroked the hair back off Daniel’s face, and maybe fell in love just a little

harder than he had before. “You’re not,” he whispered. He put his arm over Daniel, and
Daniel sighed. “Go to sleep, Danny. We’ve got you.”

Daniel nodded, moving in a little closer. The kems decided now was a good time to

emerge and crawl up onto the pillows, sitting on their humans’ heads—only Myko sat on
Daniel’s, Kani on Spen’s. I know what you little brats are up to. Myko opened one eye to
look at him, then pretended to go back to sleep. Not fooling me, squirt. A tiny pink
tongue emerged from Myko’s mouth to give his opinion of Spen’s thoughts.

Daniel was already asleep—really asleep, not faking. Poor sod must really have been

sleep-deprived. Spen relaxed. This was what he was here for, to help the kid get some
rest. Even the kems had settled down and if they were too tired to play, then sleep was a
damn good idea. He closed his eyes, and dropped off before he had time to wonder if he
would.

He woke with a heart-stopping jerk, instinctively reaching out to protect his

companion. He met Daniel’s arm, and feeling down, realised Daniel had his T-shirt fisted
in a death grip. He wrapped his arms around Daniel and hugged him tight. “It’s okay.
You’re safe. I’m here, Danny.” He spoke quietly, his thumbs stroking Daniel’s back to
soothe him. In the dark he couldn’t see the kems, but one of them brushed against his
hand so he knew they were doing their bit.

“I’m okay now,” Daniel mumbled after a minute or so, letting go of Spen’s shirt.

“Sorry.”

“No problem. Nightmare?”
“No. Panic, like I said. Fear of falling. I don’t have nightmares. I have dreams

of...nice things that I can’t have any more.”

Spen kept up his soothing thumb massage. “Sucks.”
“Really. I’m okay, honest. You don’t have to....”
“Want me to stop?”
“No. Yes. I mean....”
“I like doing it. Does that bother you? I’ll stop if it does.”
“No. I like it.”
Daniel went still. Spen kept on, but he sensed something had shifted. With anyone

else, in any other place, he would know where this could go. But with Daniel....

“Danny?”
“Yeah?”
“Danny...uh...look....”
“Spen, if I wasn’t a poor pathetic orphan rape victim...would you be here now?”
“No. But only because...well, we work together. We wouldn’t even do that if...uh....”

“I wasn’t a poor pathetic orphan?”
“Come on, kid, knock that off. I just meant we wouldn’t have met. It’s not a fair

question.”

“No.” Daniel moved closer, his face against Spen’s chest, his breath warming his

skin. Spen tried to think of designing security routines, data capture screens for teachers,
anything boring and annoying enough to stop his body reacting to the gentle, tormenting
sensation. “Spen, if I tell you something now, here...would you be prepared to forget it in
the morning and never mention it again?”

“I can’t promise to forget, but I won’t ever mention it unless you do. Uh...it’s not

about him, is it? I mean, it’s nothing to do with the police—”

“No, no. I don’t think so.”
“Because I can’t hide stuff from them. Not if it affects that.”
“I have a crush on you. Like, the world’s biggest. Supernova-sized.”
Spen’s laugh of pure relief escaped before he could choke it off. Daniel tried to pull

away, obviously hurt, but Spen held him tight. “No, Danny, don’t. I’m not laughing at
you. I thought you might tell me you had a crush on...well, you know.”

Daniel shivered. “I couldn’t. He gives me the creeps.”
“I bet.” Spen reached up to find Daniel’s hair, and tangled his fingers in it. “You

don’t want me to mention it?”

“No. Because...you’ll treat me differently. You’ll think I wanted you to stay because

of that and I didn’t. I just...I needed someone to be with me so much. I feel like I’m
losing control.”

Despite himself, and knowing he was letting more of his real feelings show than he

really ought to, Spen kissed Daniel’s head. “I know why you wanted me to stay, Danny
boy. I offered first, remember?”

Daniel relaxed a little. “Yeah. But I want us to be friends, so I never said anything. I

never would have said anything, because we worked together, and because I need you to
be my friend. I don’t need more.”

Spen hugged him harder. “What if I wanted to offer you more?”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“I’m really not. You’re always telling me how I feel. This is how I really feel.” He

kissed Daniel’s hair again, then bent lower and found his mouth, so he could kiss him on
the lips. Daniel sighed against his cheek. “Totally lousy timing though.”

“I’m sorry.”
“Not you, kiddo. Me. Last thing you need is someone else you looked to for help,

taking advantage.”

“Are you?”

“Trying hard not to.” He stroked Daniel’s hair. “This is such a bad time to be talking

about this. We’re tired and the situation is....”

“Horrible.”
“Yeah, it is. So let’s sleep on it. In the morning, if you don’t mention, I won’t. I

never will unless you do. I’ll be your friend, and helping through all this, whatever you
say. You’re in control.”

“I’m a mess.”
“Now you admit it. You’re doing pretty well, Daniel.”
“Now you admit it.”
Spen chuckled and kissed Daniel’s hair again. “Yeah, I do. Go to sleep, kiddo.”
“Don’t call me that, Beanie.”
“Okay. Think you can sleep now?”
“Maybe. I did better this time. I actually fell asleep for a while before it hit. I think

having Myko here helped.”

Spen’s kem chirped cheerfully at his name. Spen growled. “Oh, well, if it’s only

Myko you need....” He pretended to get off the bed, but relented at Daniel’s desperate
grasp. “Hey, only joking.” He wrapped his arms around Daniel again. “Not going
anywhere, squirt. Now sleep.”

“Thank you.” Daniel buried himself against Spen’s chest. A few quiet squeaks later

and their kems had squeezed themselves into the small remaining space between Spen
and Daniel’s bodies. Then all was silent and peaceful once more.

Spen rested his cheek against Daniel’s head. In the morning, Daniel would probably

die of embarrassment thinking about this conversation. That was okay. Mutual attraction
wasn’t life and death stuff. What Daniel was coping with every day, and this shit with
Noble—now, that was important.

Still, nice to know Daniel could still feel something for anyone after what Noble and

life had done to him. And it was nice to be one he had feelings for. Spen wouldn’t get his
hopes up. He’d enjoy a little cuddle, a little company, not think too much about Rob and
missing being with a guy he’d cared for. Not thinking, that would be good for a while
too.

Chapter 13

Daniel woke when a bored Kani decided he had slept long enough, and began

nibbling his chin. He swatted his annoyed kem away, and his hand brushed someone’s
shoulder.

That woke him up properly. Then he remembered. Spen. Just to confirm it, Myko

peeked over Spen’s shoulder and gave a tiny chirp, answered just as discreetly by Kani.
The kems obviously thought Spen needed more rest than Daniel did. Or maybe they
wanted to punish him for being such an utter prat.

He slid carefully out from under the blankets and bolted for the bathroom to pee and

berate himself for stupidity. Spen would hate him for being such a needy little bastard. So
much for trying not to be pathetic, and look like a competent adult.

A knock on the bathroom door made him jump. “If you’re in there freaking out,

Danny boy, wait until you have a cup of tea before you make any big decisions. I’ll go
put the kettle on.”

“I’m fine!”
“Great. I’m still putting the kettle on.”
Daniel’s face flushed hot as much from amusement as embarrassment. Spen’s dry

sense of humour had been all that had kept him sane at times over the last few months,
and it had saved them from undying enmity over Daniel’s horrible behaviour last night.
He wouldn’t have blamed Spen if he’d never spoken to him again. But he hadn’t just
spoken to him, but had held him. And more.

He washed his face again, and when he ducked out, found the bedroom empty, so he

could pull on his jeans. Downstairs, Spen stood watching the kettle, still not at boiling
point. He was fully dressed, and wearing an apron. It barely cleared his hips, which was
both ridiculous and endearing. Kani and Myko chased each other around the living room,
clearly bored with human company for the moment.

“Hi,” Daniel ventured.
Spen turned and gave him a wide smile. “Hey, kid. How did you sleep?”
“Better. Um.” He came closer, and on impulse wrapped his arms around Spen.

“Don’t hate me?”

He felt Spen chuckle, then he put a hand under Daniel’s chin and made him look up.

He bent and kissed him on the lips. “Easiest thing anyone ever asked me to do,” he
murmured, stroking his hand down Daniel’s hair. Daniel wished he could do the same
back. He wanted to know what the short crinkly curls would feel like under his fingers.
He wanted to touch Spen’s dark, warm skin, stroke him from top to toe.

But then Spen pushed him back carefully. Daniel’s heart sank. “Now, Danny, don’t

get worked up.” Spen leaned over and kissed him again. “Tea?”

“Please. I think there’s bread for toast, and Alex likes cereal.”
“Tea for now. Sit and I’ll pour.” Another caress to Daniel’s hair eased his anxiety.

He sat and enjoyed the simple pleasure of having Spen all to himself, with nothing more
pressing than what to eat for breakfast.

Spen knew how much milk to add to Daniel’s mug, and did it without checking

before putting the tea before him. That sort of cosy, domestic touch could be dangerously
easy to grow used to. Spen took a seat and a long slurp of tea, before regarding Daniel
with a serious expression. “I had a thought, just before.”

“About us?”
“Yeah. I told you, don’t get worked up, kiddo.”
“How many of your fingers do I have to break to stop you calling me that?”
“Three?” Daniel made a face at him. “Look, just drink your tea and listen, okay? I

know how I said you were in control here...and you totally are....”

“But you don’t really like me that way, right?”
Spen set his mug down with a heavy sigh. “Apply that scientific mind of yours to the

available evidence, Danny boy. Do I look like someone who’s gone off you?” He reached
over to stroke Daniel’s wrist, smiling kindly. Daniel’s heart fluttered a little. He’d always
thought that was just a saying, but no, he felt it in his chest.

“No,” Daniel managed to get out. “But...?”
“But, you suspicious sod, I was thinking about the court case.”
Daniel made a face and pushed his mug of tea away. “Oh thanks. I was almost

feeling okay.”

Spen increased the pressure on Daniel’s wrist, using his thumb to massage the back

of his hand. “Hang on a little longer, kid. All I was thinking is that I’ll have to give
evidence against Noball, and they might ask me why I got involved. About what my
relationship is with you.”

“And...you want....”
“To be able to answer truthfully that we’re just friends.”
Daniel sagged. “Oh.”
“Friends who hug a lot.”
Daniel grinned. “Kissing too?”
Spen’s smile spread like a sunrise. “Maybe now and then.”
“Well, if it’ll help put the bastard away....”
“I think it might. I don’t want to give them any wriggle room.”
“I understand. Um....”
Spen held his hand up. “How about more tea and maybe toast before any more big

stuff, okay?”

“I’m not five, Spen.”
“Wasn’t talking about you, Danny boy. I’m a growing lad.”

~~~~~~~~

Good intentions and sensible reasons couldn’t stop Spen patting Daniel’s shoulder

when the kid bumped hips with him, or letting their hands stay in contact a little longer
than they needed to when they reached for the honey at the same time. “Just friends?”
Daniel said, a ginger eyebrow cocked cheekily.

“Yes, you brat. Knock it off.”
Daniel’s good mood lasted until they cleared up the breakfast things, and while they

sat on the sofa, watching the kems and enjoying being together with no demands on
them. But just as Spen wondered if he should make another pot of tea, Myko, who’d been
chasing Kani across the room and around the bookshelves, knocked a piece of paper off
the coffee table. When Spen bent to pick it up, he realised it was the pamphlet about
counselling. It couldn’t be the one he had from the hospital, because that was sitting on
his bedside table, back at his parents’ house.

He went to put it back on the table, but Daniel stopped him, taking it from his hand.

“No, let me have it. This is what I wanted to talk about before.”

“Danny?”
Daniel smoothed out the pamphlet. “I’ve been thinking...maybe you were right.

Wouldn’t hurt to talk to these people. I mean, rather than put it all on you. It’s not fair.”

“It’s not that it’s not fair, kiddo—”
“Grrrr.”
“Sorry.” He kissed Daniel’s cheek. “Don’t worry about ‘fair’. The point is, they’ve

got more experience than I do. I’m dead scared I’ll hurt you out of ignorance. I don’t
know what to expect. Neither do you. You’re strong, Danny. But knowledge is power.”
He touched the pamphlet. “I could go with you. I mean, I’ve got questions and I don’t
know who to ask. This prosecution could take months, Shah said. It’s just how the courts
work.”

“Yeah, I know. I watch television too.”
“Oh well, then. No surprises for you.” Daniel punched him lightly on the arm. Spen

pretended to be mortally wounded, but Myko spoiled the effect by jumping into Spen’s
lap and whacking him in the face with his tail. Spen picked his kem up and brought him
nose to nose. “Watch it, fuzzball.” He put the pest down on his lap again and wagged his
finger at him. Myko batted it with a paw. It was simply impossible to reprimand a kem.

“Would you really come along with me?”
“Sure. When?”

“Today? This morning?”
“Why not? The kids get back this afternoon. What are you going to tell them about

your job?”

Kani leapt up onto Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel pulled his kem down onto his chest so

he could pet him properly. “I’ll have to lie. Dee can’t afford distractions. But I’m rubbish
at lying to them.”

“So tell them part of the truth. Tell them Fuckface is suspended because he’s been

buying illegal drugs, that they’re investigating him further, and you’re on leave so the
police can strip the office. No need to say more. After all, the police haven’t charged him
with more than that at the moment, so it’s not a lie.”

“No. I’ll have to try and be convincing. I should get changed, I suppose.”
“How about I call them while you dress, see if we need an appointment or

anything?”

Daniel thanked him. Spen couldn’t help but notice the burst of energy which had

propelled him to make the decision about the rape centre, had disappeared. Still, he
hadn’t changed his mind yet, so Spen would encourage him as long as Daniel didn’t
actively resist the idea.

The centre did require appointments for counselling, but strongly advised Daniel to

come in and talk, get information, and arrange to meet someone later. “Has he been
tested? For STDs?”

“Not yet,” Spen said.
“We can help there too. Please, do bring him down.”
Daniel came in five minutes later, neatly dressed in an ironed linen shirt and sharp

trousers. Spen felt distinctly grubby next to him, but Daniel didn’t seem to care. He came
over, his stance inviting a hug, so he got one.

Spen told him what the centre said. “I’m not doing anything about tests until next

week.”

“I’m sure that’s okay. Are you? Okay, I mean?” Spen tilted Daniel’s head up and

searched his face for any sign that he was freaking out.

“Mostly. It’s going to suck but I need to do it.”
Spen bent and kissed him. “Good for you. Come on.”

~~~~~~~~

Without Spen beside him, Daniel would probably have never made it inside the rape

crisis centre, let alone allow a strange woman talk to him about intimate matters. It felt
like he was making something he hardly believed had happened, into reality. Spen held
his hand, and asked questions when it became too much for him. Even with that, Daniel
felt like a used dishrag by the time they stepped out into the sunshine.

“A pint?” Spen suggested.
“You’re driving. Coffee and early lunch? On me, no arguments.”
“None from me, Danny.”
Daniel wished he could show Spen how much he loved being called by that name.

Loved it even though it made him sad too. A good sad though.

Spen knew a coffee shop not too far away that served reasonable food, so they left

the car in the carpark and walked. It didn’t feel right to be here on a working day, men of
leisure only because someone had tried to carry out an attack on him. The sunshine felt
good on his face, though. “Is it wrong to feel good that I might never have to go back to
that office?”

“No,” Spen said. “You were mad enough about that last night though.”
“I really need a job. But I think I might die if I had to do that one again, even if it

wasn’t working for him.”

“Danny, you’re a clever, wonderful person, but Myko would make a better PA than

you.”

“Hey!” Daniel’s indignant protest matched Myko’s irritated squeak.
Spen grinned, and ushered him into the coffee shop. He managed to distract Daniel

by asking him to order, but after they had ordered and paid, and found an outside table,
Daniel pinned him with a glare. “What do you mean about me being a bad PA?”

“I never said that. But it’s like asking a dolphin to power a motorboat. It’s a pointless

waste of your talent, and there are people who would do it just as well and enjoy it more.”

“I’ve explained this to you.”
“Yeah, yeah, the qualification thing. There has to be a way we can sort that out for

you.”

“‘We’?”
“I’d like to help.”
“I don’t see how you can.” Daniel’s mobile rang. He didn’t recognise the number. “I

better get this. Daniel here.”

“Daniel? It’s Inspector Shah. How are you doing?”
“Fine, thank you. Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I’m calling to say that we’ve charged Tony Noble with rape as well

as the other charges we discussed.”

A prickle of adrenaline ran across Daniel’s scalp. Spen reached over and took his

hand. Daniel was grateful for that. “Uh, okay.”

“He’s still in custody, but he’ll probably be bailed tomorrow.”
“But you can keep him away from me and my family, right?”
“Yes, you and any other witnesses. We’ll insist on that as a condition of bail, and the

magistrate won’t have a problem with that. Then there’ll be a committal hearing in a
couple of months.”

“What if he, uh...comes near me?”
“You call the police. He can be thrown back into custody if he tries that.”
“My brother and sister?”
“If he approaches them, we’ll see that as an approach to you. We can arrange for

police patrols to swing past your house randomly and you should make sure your brother
and sister know what to do if they’re the least bit worried. I can arrange for an officer to
chat to them if you want. We also made it clear to Noble that the case doesn’t rest on
your testimony, so that means attacking you would be pointless. I think it’s unlikely he’ll
harass you. It would hardly help his case.”

“No. Uh...thanks for letting me know.”
“No problem. If you have any questions about the case, you can call me.”
“Thank you.”
Daniel hung up. “They’ve decided to go with the...you know...charge.”
Spen squeezed his hand. “That’s good.”
“He’s going to get bail.”
“Okay, well, that’s not too unexpected. He won’t come near you, Danny.”
“How do you know?
“Why would he? Your testimony isn’t the only evidence against him, and the police

have enough to get him on some serious shit without it. If he tries to threaten you, then
the police will haul him in.”

“He might not stop at threatening. I’m worried about Dee and Alex.” Daniel’s chest

was tight with unwelcome familiar rising panic.

“Okay, I understand. Daniel, calm now.”
Daniel gulped. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting...they did mention bail, but it’s all sooner

than I expected.”

“Yeah, same here.”
The waitress set their food and drinks down. Daniel thanked her, but his appetite had

fled, though Kani as usual found the food fascinating. Spen was watching Daniel. Maybe
waiting to see if he was going to melt down, Daniel thought sourly. “I’m okay,” he
snapped.

“Oh...sorry, I was just thinking. When do Dee and Alex start the summer break?”
“Week after next. Why?”
“Well, if you’re not working, you can keep an eye on them, but didn’t you say

something about your aunt offering to have them?”

“I am not sending my brother and sister away!”

“Shhhh. God, Daniel, calm down.”
Daniel looked at his plate, where Kani was nosing under a spinach leaf. “This isn’t

up for debate, Spen.”

“I know. I wasn’t suggesting that. But maybe they could go stay with her over the

holidays. By the time the break is over, the committal hearing might even be over.”

“I don’t know if Aunt Lisa would agree. But the trial will be months and months

after that.”

“Yeah, but if he’s going to try anything, he’ll probably do it sooner rather than later.

Worth thinking about, anyway.”

Daniel nodded. He’d grown so used to not considering his extended family in his

plans, other than worrying about whether he should send the kids to their grandparents or
not, that his overseas relatives hadn’t even entered his thoughts. “I guess it would let me
look for a job without worrying about them worrying about me.”

“That too,” Spen said, a little distractedly.
“I do need another job.”
“Yes, I know. One step at a time, squirt.”
“Kani, bite him.”
Myko lifted his head from where he’d stuck it into Spen’s fruit juice and squeaked at

Daniel, whether in encouragement or disapproval, Daniel didn’t know. Kani ignored
them both. Spen just grinned. “No respect,” Daniel muttered.

Spen ruffled his hair. Daniel pulled away and frowned at him. “Not in public, you

thug.”

“Oh sorry, your majesty. Eat your food before Kani distributes it to needy people.”

Kani squeaked in annoyance.

Daniel poked at the salad. “Maybe I should hold off on the job hunting for a month

or more. I don’t feel like I can sell myself right now.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”
“No, but I still feel like damaged goods. Guess I’ll end up with a generic reference

after all.”

“Wait until you speak to Mr Stern, and don’t do anything until you clear it with

Zachary. Julian says Zachary is a brilliant lawyer. If anyone can squeeze a good deal
from those tightwads, he can.”

Daniel nodded again. His life was on hold. Waiting for Tony to be tried. Waiting for

the company to fire him. Waiting for Spen....

Spen said Daniel was in control, but then he’d gone and decided that they would just

be friends, without even asking. Okay, he had good reasons but...a trial could be a year or
more away. Maybe he was using it as an excuse. Daniel hadn’t exactly given him a lot of

room to manoeuvre.

“Danny? You okay?”
“I’m fine.” He picked up a forkful of food and ate it. “So what will happen to Cross-

Channel now?”

“I’m sure I don’t give a flying fuck. I’m more worried about you.”
“Well, don’t be. Things are under control. I’ll email my aunt tonight and see what

she says. I’ll call Zachary, tell him about the new charges, and ask him about the bail
thing. And next week, I’ll talk to Stern.”

“And get tested.”
Daniel shrugged. “Yeah. You don’t need to worry.”
Spen cocked his head like Daniel had said something he didn’t understand, then

shrugged. “Okay.”

They ate the rest of the meal in silence, to the obvious confusion of the kems who

kept giving them worried little chirps and squeaks as they nosed around the table. They
wanted to play, that much was clear, but they wanted to stick close to their humans too.
Finally, Kani and Myko both climbed into Daniel’s lap, forcing themselves up under his
arms so they could peer into his face with identical expressions of concern. Spen laughed,
and Daniel couldn’t help smiling.

“What do you mischiefs want, hmmm?” He petted them both, and Myko snuggled

into his hand. Kani snuggled into Myko instead.

“They don’t want you to be sad,” Spen murmured.
“Neither do I, but I can’t just click my fingers and make it all go away. I wish I

could.”

“No, you can’t, but you don’t have to do it on your own, either.”
“I do at least until the trial is over.” Spen frowned and looked about to say

something, but Daniel cut him off. “Look, I really should get moving. You need to pick
up your mum, I need to do some shopping and cooking. And cleaning, because I don’t
want Dee to think she has to lift a finger before Monday or the whole of next week. I
should call my grandmother, email my aunt—”

“I understand. You’re busy. So let’s go.”
Perversely, Spen’s brusque efficiency, walking out of the café ahead of Daniel,

taking the lead on the walk back to the car, hurt. Daniel was only trying to prove that he
didn’t need a nanny, and that he wasn’t expecting Spen to solve all his problems.

They were back at Daniel’s house in twenty minutes. “Uh, do you want to come in?”

Daniel asked.

“Not if you’re busy. There’s a few things I could do for Mum and Dad since I’m

around.”

“Oh.”
Spen turned to look at him. “Danny....”
“Yeah?”
“I, uh...um...let me know if you hear from Shah again, okay?”
“Sure. Guess I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah.” Spen reached over. Daniel thought he was after something in the glovebox

and by the time he realised it was his hand Spen was after, the moment had passed. “You
look after yourself, kiddo.”

“Bye.” Daniel got out of the car before the conversation got tangled up again. He

waved cheerfully as Spen drove off, and wondered why, if he was supposed to be in
control of this situation, he felt so lost.

~~~~~~~~

“Shit,” Spen cursed softly as he drove up to the intersection. What had gone wrong?

One minute all was fine and cheerful and friendly with Daniel, next minute the kid closed
up tight. What had he done, or not done? Or was it nothing to do with him at all?

This was what he’d tried to tell Daniel before—about not knowing what he was

doing. But he thought it had been going pretty well up to...well, up to when it stopped
going well.

He needed advice, so when he arrived home and parked the car, he called the only

person he could talk freely with about Daniel and his situation. “Beanie! How did you get
on last night?”

“Uh, that’s kind of why I called, Julian. Are you free this afternoon?”
“No, sorry. Leo’s got appointments. Why don’t you come over for supper?”
“Will Zachary be okay with that? I don’t want to intrude.”
“I’ve got him trained. He hardly ever kills and eats visitors now.”
Spen grinned. “That’s reassuring. Six?”
“Yeah. Zachary won’t be home but we can talk while I cook.”
“You’re cooking? Wow.”
“Remind me why I like you?”
“My charm and extreme height?”
“Must be. See you at six, Beanpole.”
The prospect of talking to Julian, and maybe even Julian’s canny boss and his scarily

smart husband, helped ease Spen’s anxiety slightly. So did throwing himself into cleaning
the bathroom, mopping all the linoleum floors, and doing a thorough vacuum on the
carpeted surfaces. When he finished, it was time to pick up his mother. She knew as soon
as she saw him something was wrong.

“Oh, love, what happened?” she said as he set off.

“I really don’t know, Mum. He’s up and down. Maybe that’s normal.”
“I think so, Spencer. He’s not had very long to adjust.”
“No.” Spen thought about telling his mother about the added emotional component,

but he didn’t know he wanted to violate Daniel’s privacy to that extent, when his mother
was still involved in caring for Daniel’s siblings. Since he wasn’t sure exactly how
Daniel felt about him now, and how to describe his feelings, there was a certain amount
of cowardice in that discretion.

He did tell his mother that Noble was to be charged with rape. “And how does

Daniel feel about that?”

“He’s worried about Noble coming after the kids. I can’t say it’s totally not going to

happen.”

“You hear some terrible stories. Can we help? I’d hate anything to happen to those

children.”

“He’s looking into some ideas, but if you can offer to keep an eye on them, I think

he’d be grateful. The risk is probably small, but Noble is a real creep. A really dangerous
creep.”

His mother shuddered. “And a man with a wife and children. Do they know, do you

suppose?”

“They do now. Frankly, I think she should pack the kids up and run like hell, but

who knows what she’ll do. I’ve got more than enough to do worrying about the people I
know and care about.”

His mother didn’t say anything, but she patted his knee sympathetically. He didn’t

want to burden her too much with the ugliness of this business. For two weeks, he’d been
struggling to cope in secret with what he’d learned about Noble and his predatory crimes.
What he’d learned had been done to Daniel, and to two other young men he’d worked
with, had given him nightmares. He didn’t want to inflict that knowledge on his mother
more than was absolutely necessary.

She was delighted at the clean floors, protesting he shouldn’t spend his day off doing

housework. He didn’t tell her that it was either that or go nuts worrying about Daniel and
the whole clusterfuck. Instead he just kissed her cheek. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do it.
Anyway, it’s not a favour, because I live here too.”

“Glad to have you, love. Are you here for supper, or are you going back over to

Daniel’s?”

Spen hid a wince. “Actually, Julian invited me over, so I thought I would go. I’ll take

a taxi though.”

“That’s nice of him. Daniel’s with the children, I suppose. I wonder what he’ll tell

them.”

“No idea. We talked about it, but I don’t know what he finally decided. So I’ll, uh,

go shower and change, and see you in the morning.”

Spen hadn’t been over to Julian’s new digs, though he’d heard about them. He

appreciated the swish neighbourhood and architectural beauty of the building where
Julian and Zachary lived, but on the whole, he wouldn’t want to live there. His parents’
place was a nice, comfortable, middle-class home, and he’d never wanted more. Still, he
was happy for his friend, moving up from a fairly grotty flat to a lovely apartment with a
great friend and boss, not to mention the stunningly handsome, if somewhat reserved
spouse.

Myko and Pyon immediately ran off to make mischief elsewhere in the apartment.

Julian handed him a glass of chilled white wine, and told him to sit on the other side of
the counter while he did things to vegetables. “Okay, what’s made those brown eyes blue,
Spen?”

Spen ended up spilling everything—what had happened the night before, the

revelations about their mutual feelings, the visit to the rape crisis centre, lunch, the call,
everything. Not long after he started, Leo wandered in, accepted a somewhat smaller
glass of wine from Julian, and made himself comfortable in an armchair near the kitchen,
petting his little white kem while listening without comment to what Spen was saying.
Neither he nor Julian looked all that surprised when Spen admitted that he and Daniel had
been nursing mutual crushes, and when Spen said that he didn’t know why Daniel had
turned all stiff and unfriendly over lunch, Julian just shook his head and grinned.

“What’s so funny?”
“You were with Rob too long, I think. This is how it goes when you’re still feeling

each other out. You’ve just forgotten. Right, Leo?”

Leo smiled. “Well, dear boy, it’s a while since I’ve had to deal with this kind of

thing too, you know. But Spencer, Julian’s right. Even without the complication of this
terrible affair with his employer, love is surely a terribly confusing business for a young
man like Daniel, especially one who seems to have been rather sheltered and devoted to
study. I’d be surprised if he’s experienced in such matters at all.”

“Love? We’re not talking about that,” Spen said.
“Not yet,” Julian said, still grinning. “Relax, Beanpole. Sounds to me like he has way

too many things going on in his head. He really likes you—blind Freddy could tell that—
and you really like him. Give him more than twenty-four hours to adjust.”

“Oh.” It hadn’t even been that long, actually. It had just felt like longer.
“Not to mention,” Leo said, “if he has been nurturing these feelings for some time,

especially over what has to have been a most trying period, he’s probably terrified of
making a mistake with you. Just as you are, for different reasons. As the more

experienced partner in this relationship, you may have to make allowances and take
control of things for him.”

“I said he was in control. I don’t want him to feel like I’m pressuring him, like Noble

was.”

“But, my dear fellow, if you back off now, having declared your affections, he might

see that as a lack of enthusiasm. His self-confidence is rather low, I noticed. Not
surprising, when he was doing a job for which he was ill-suited, which ended so
disastrously, and now he’s being forced by the judicial process to see himself in the role
of victim—for the second time, since he’s involved in this tedious suit against the crane
company. You and I may know that he has a multitude of fine talents and has done rather
well at keeping his family together despite the tragedy of his parents’ death, but he needs
time to recover and see himself more positively.”

“See, I’d like to help there too, but I don’t know what to do. He’s ruled out going

back to finish his degree and without that, he can’t work as an engineer.”

“Ah,” Leo said. “Actually, this is something Julian and I have discussed today, but

we need Zachary to give us the benefit of his legal experience before we can come up
with a proper plan.”

“Zachary?”
“Don’t worry, Spen,” Julian said, drying his hands on a towel. “Leo’s on the case.

You don’t need to worry about a thing.”

~~~~~~~~

The kids had gone to bed an hour ago. They’d taken the news about Tony and the job

more calmly than Daniel had feared, swallowing the half-truth as complete truth because
it was so awful, they didn’t need to imagine anything worse. Dee was still worried about
the finances, of course, but Daniel was able to wave that away by saying things weren’t
settled with the company yet, and he thought they would have another position there he
could fill, at least temporarily. Not a lie, exactly—it was always possible they did, even if
Daniel would rather chew off a foot than work there any more. The most important thing
was not distracting Dee from these crucial exams. He thought he’d managed to avoid that
pretty well.

Suggesting a trip to Aunt Lisa’s rather than a summer visit to their grandparents—

which, from the conversation Daniel had had with his grandmother earlier, looked
unlikely anyway on account of his grandfather’s condition—had thrilled Alex, while Dee
was torn between worrying about the cost, and growing excited about a possible overseas
trip. Daniel had emailed their aunt hours ago, and now sat in front of his computer half
waiting for an answer, while doing everything he could to avoid going to bed.

He’d mucked things up again, hadn’t he? Spen was trying to give him space and not

mess up the court case because he knew how much it mattered to Daniel, but Daniel had
reacted like a brat, hurt his feelings, and made him feel unwelcome just when Daniel
needed him most. If Spen never came over again, it would only be fair punishment.

Kani meeped at him from his lap. Daniel stroked him. “You guys are so much

smarter than me. Kems always know what we’re thinking.”

Kani squirmed out of his light grip and jumped onto the desk. “Careful. Some of

that’s fragile.” Kani turned and gave him an old-fashioned look, as if to say that Daniel
didn’t need to remind him about something so obvious. Thinking back, Daniel wondered
if the spilt tea in Tony’s office had been as accidental as it looked. Kems were, apart from
all their other many talents, excellent judges of character. Kani and Myko hated Tony
from the start. Daniel should really have paid attention to that.

“What are you up to now?” Kani was nosing around with a little more intent than

usual among the models and notepads. “No food in the bedroom, squirt. You know that.”

Kani ignored him. Daniel shook his head and went back to surfing the net, looking

for statistics on rape cases and the effects of GHB. Not the happiest topics, but he found
it hard to think about anything else.

The incoming email chime made him jump, but when he saw it was a reply from

Aunt Lisa, a little bit of tension eased. She was enthusiastic, as he hoped she would be
given her grand but unrealistic offers after the accident, and was offering to pay all the
costs of the flights and expenses while the kids were there. She had even offered to buy
whatever clothes the kids needed for the different season, which was probably
unnecessary, but it meant packing didn’t have to be too stressful. He didn’t care if such
generosity resulted from a guilty conscience or not—all that mattered was that Dee and
Alex would be safely out of harm’s way for nearly two months. He emailed back to say
he was delighted at her offer, and asking how she wanted them to arrange flight bookings
and so on.

Two months in the house alone. It would be hard, but since he could hardly tell Dee

or Alex what was really behind his insomnia lately, losing their company was less
important than ensuring their safety. He’d just have to cope. There was always....

Except maybe there wouldn’t be Spen. Daniel hadn’t given him much incentive to

put up with his nonsense, and whatever mild affection Spen felt for him, might already
have evaporated now he’d had to deal with the reality of Daniel’s crazy life.

Kani squeaked. “What’s up, squirt?” Daniel went to pick him up, but his kem fought

furiously to be left alone. “Okay, okay, calm down. What’s wrong?” Kani squeaked again
and pushed something out from under the notes Daniel had been making. His phone. “It
wasn’t lost, Kani. Thanks for finding it though.”

Kani squeaked again, and stamped on the phone, actually pushing one of the keys.

Fortunately the keypad was locked. “Stop that,” Daniel said, picking the phone up and
putting it on the other side of the computer. “What’s up with you, hmmm?”

Kani jumped across the keyboard and started stamping on the phone again,

squeaking like a crazy thing. “Bloody hell, what’s got into you?”

Another stamp. “Is the phone annoying you? I’ll turn it off.” He went to pick it up

but Kani nipped his hand. “Now that’s really not on, squirt. What?”

Kani walked over to the keyboard and began banging on it. Daniel was about to lift

him off and scold him properly when he realised what key Kani was hitting. ‘S’.

Daniel stared at his kem in astonishment. “You’re trying to tell me something?” Kani

squeaked, his tail lashing. “‘S’ for...Spen?”

Kani meeped and did a somersault. Daniel had never seen his kem do anything like it

before. “What about Spen?”

Kani jumped back over to the phone and nudged it towards him. “I can’t, squirt. It’s

late.”

Kani put a foot on the phone and squeaked angrily, his tail erect and stiff with

annoyance. “God, you’re persistent. He doesn’t want to hear from me, and not at this
time of night.”

Kani pushed the phone over to Daniel at such speed he had to catch it before it fell

off the edge. “Look, I’ll text him, okay? Will that suit your highness?” Kani meeped and
nodded. Not for the first time in his life, Daniel wondered just how damn smart kems
really were. Probably a lot more than anyone gave them credit for.

It was after eleven, and even though it was a Friday night, calling someone whose

routine he barely knew at this time was not acceptable, whatever tantrum Kani threw. But
Spen’s text message tone was pretty discreet, Daniel recalled. It was unlikely to wake
him up, so he could risk that, he supposed.

But what to say? “Sorry for being a dickhead?” Or maybe, “Thanks for suggesting

the thing about my aunt?”

Neither was the kind of thing which justified a late night text. Or, for that matter,

Kani’s weird behaviour.

His kem watched him intently with bright, mischievous eyes. He stamped his foot

again as if to say, “Get on with it.”

“You’re a pain, you know that?”
Kani lay down, head resting on his paws, like butter wouldn’t melt in his terribly

maligned mouth. “You’re not fooling anyone.” Kani’s tail flicked disdainfully.

Daniel stared at his phone. The only thing he really wanted to say to Spen was the

one thing that would probably drive him away. Maybe he should say it anyway, get it
over with. Better now than when he had come to rely even more on Spen. When losing

Spen’s friendship would become a wound too great to bear.

~~~~~~~~

Spen was staring at the ceiling, trying to stop his busy brain from cycling over the

events of the day and the last week, when his phone gave a quiet ‘tink’. He was tempted
to ignore it, but Myko reached over from the pillow and batted the phone with his paw.
Spen had to catch it to stop it falling on the ground, and the screen told him the incoming
message was from “Danny”.

He opened it. All it said was, “I don’t want to wait.”
The kid had to be awake. Spen called his number.
“Hey. I thought you’d be asleep.” Daniel sounded completely alert.
“I’d like to be, but my brain has other ideas. Um...Danny, I don’t want to wait

either.”

A pause, then Daniel said slowly. “So what about the trial?”
“I was over at Julian’s tonight, and I asked Zachary about what would happen if—in

theory—our relationship changed before the trial started. He said so long as I was sure
none of my actions were motivated by or appeared to be motivated by malice, and I told
the exact truth in court, it should be okay. I should tell Inspector Shah too, in case he
needs to know. He also said that so far as he could tell, my evidence was a very minor
part of the case.”

“Really?”
“Yeah, really. So I don’t want to wait, and I don’t need to wait. The only question

left is...what do you want?”

“You,” Daniel breathed into the phone, and Spen smiled, his heart lighter than it had

been all day. “Is that all right?”

“Better than, Danny boy. How are you doing? How did it go with Dee and Alex?”
“Okay. They accepted the story. Oh, and my aunt is happy to take them over the

holidays. We just have some details to sort out and then they can fly out.”

“Oh that’s great. Uh...but that means you’ll be on your own.”
“Will I?”
“Only if you want to be.”
“I don’t want to be.”
“See, that was easy.” He heard Daniel laugh. “Want me to come over now?”
“Um, yeah, I do, but it’s not a good idea. Dee will wonder and I don’t want to

distract her. But if you’re not busy tomorrow, I said I’d take Alex down to the skate park,
and then out for lunch, so Dee can have peace and quiet.”

“I’d love to come. But will you sleep tonight?”
“Hang on.” He heard the phone being set down, and the distant sound of Kani

chirping. A few more seconds, then Daniel was back on the line. “Okay, I’m in bed now.
Can we talk until I’m sleepy?”

“Sure. Unless I fall asleep first.”
“Myko can turn the phone off.”
“Kems can’t use phones, Danny.”
“Don’t you be too sure about that....”

~~~~~~~~

The kids greeted the news that the trip was on with shouts and hugs, but almost

immediately, Dee began to fret. “Visas—”

“Electronic and already applied for. Your passports are up to date, and you don’t

need vaccinations or anything like that.”

“I won’t have time to pack!”
“Yes you will, I promise. You just take what clothes you have, your normal toiletries

and stuff, and Aunt Lisa will buy anything else when you get there.”

“But—”
“Nope, you’re not going to let this distract you from your prep. Leave it to me. I

promise it’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry, DeeDee,” Alex said. “Me and Daniel will sort it out. Trust us.”
Dee smiled ruefully. “Okay. I don’t have a choice. Oh this is going to be wonderful!

I wish you were coming along, Daniel.”

“Me too, Dee, but there’ll be other chances. Oh, by the way, Alex, Spen’s coming

with us today. Is that okay?”

“Sure! That’ll be great.”
“And me stuck revising.” Dee’s mouth twisted miserably. “I like Spen too.”
“Well, he’s going to stay over tonight and help me cook one of his mum’s recipes, so

you can take the night off and relax. You need that too.”

Her expression changed in a flash. “Yay! I love his mum’s food. But hang on....”
Oh, so she had noticed. “What?”
“He’s staying over? Why?”
“Because I want him to.”
“Daniel, are you going out with Spencer?”
“I just told you, DeeDee, he’s going out with Alex and me this morning.” Daniel ate

his toast and tried to keep an innocent expression on his face. Lili looked at Kani, and the
two kems chirped knowingly.

Dee punched his arm. “You know what I mean. Is he your boyfriend?”
“We’re...working on it. Do you mind?”
“Are you kidding? I love Spen.”

Alex nodded. “He’s really cool. And tall. I like tall people.”
Daniel grinned. “He’s definitely tall. So, you’re okay with it? Good, because I really

like him. Please don’t tease him.”

“We won’t,” Dee said, pouring herself tea and sipping it demurely. “We’ll tease you

instead.” She ducked his mock-smack and danced away from the table. “Got study to do.
See ya!”

Daniel shook his head, though secretly he was delighted at how well his brother and

sister had taken his news. If they’d objected—not that he’d expected them to—there
would be no future with Spen. No way would he put anyone before Dee and Alex, no
matter what he felt about them.

But he didn’t have to worry now. Alex leapt on Spen as he came through the door.

“Hello, Daniel’s new boyfriend!”

Daniel hid his face in his hands. “Shoot me now.”
“It’s okay, Danny,” Spen’s voice was full of amusement, not irritation, fortunately.

“Alex, you’re embarrassing the life out of your brother.”

“Yeah, isn’t it great? Are you going to kiss?”
Daniel put his hand on his brother’s head and forced him to face the wall. “Yes, and

you’re not looking.”

Spen, grinning so wide his face looked about to split, bent and dropped a kiss on

Daniel’s cheek. Daniel, still making Alex look away, raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

“No.” Spen took him into a hug, and kissed him on the mouth, long and deep. Daniel

rose up on his toes to meet the embrace, and didn’t mind that releasing his grip on his
annoying brat of a brother meant Alex could turn around, fold his arms and watch them,
grinning in satisfaction.

“Enjoy the show?” Spen asked over Daniel’s head, still holding him in a hug.
“Dee is going to be so jealous.”
“Keep this up and it’s a Saturday morning in front of the cartoons for you,” Daniel

threatened.

“You promised!”
“That was before you started being a royal nuisance. Scoot. Skateboard, helmet and

guards, or we’re not going.”

Alex thundered off up the stairs to his bedroom, leaving Daniel blissfully alone with

Spen. “Sorry about that. They were pleased when I told them, but you know what kids
are like.”

“Don’t worry. If I can survive Luke and the others, Alex is no challenge.” He stroked

the hair off Daniel’s face. “How are you? Sleep well?”

“I did, and in my bed too. Thank you. Did you?” Spen didn’t look as tired as he had

done lately. Daniel realised rather guiltily that he’d been so absorbed in his own misery
that he’d been oblivious to Spen’s feelings.

“Better. Wish I’d been with you. Are they okay with me staying over tonight?”
“Are you kidding? Dee practically sent up fireworks. Um, you might have to play up

to expectations. She deserves a nice night off.”

“No problem. I like her, and I want to help. I might be slightly fonder of her brother,

though.”

Daniel hugged him again and claimed another kiss. God, holding him, being with

him, was sweet. “Good. Is that your pack? Just dump it in the living room. I promised
Dee we’d cook that pork and apple thing your mum makes. We can pick up the makings
on the way home.”

“Fine by me. I’m just happy to be with you.” Spen looked into Daniel’s eyes. “I’m

glad you sent that text. I was bloody miserable before that.”

“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, Danny. It all came right in the end. Where’s that brother of

yours?”

“Alex! Hurry up or we’ll go without you!”
Alex’s answer came floating down the stairs. “You’re a mean sod, Daniel!”
“Mind your language, or I’ll hide your skateboard!”
A few seconds later, Daniel’s phone told him he had a text. From Alex. “(_*_) <--

Daniel”

“Well, that’s a new one on me,” Spen said, struggling not to grin.
“I should make him stay home for that. Where does he pick up this kind of thing?”
“Relax, Danny. The longer he takes, the more kissing time I get with you.”
“Well, now you mention it....”

~~~~~~~~

The weather was as dry and bright as anyone could want, after weeks of on and off

rain and showers. The skate park was full of kids, and Alex quickly hooked up with his
friends. Spen spotted a seat under a tree where he and Daniel could keep an eye on Alex,
without hovering too close and making Alex look ‘uncool’ to his crowd. The shade was
important because Daniel was the whitest white person Spen had ever seen, and less than
ten minutes in full sun turned him bright pink. Their kems took off to play with the leaf
litter, apparently deciding their humans could be trusted not to mess things up again.

“What would you be doing if you weren’t here?” Daniel asked. He’d cuddled right

up to Spen’s side and taken his hand as soon as they sat down. He was a lovely weight
against Spen, fitting perfectly. He and Rob had been great together in bed, but Rob hadn’t
been much for public cuddling. Shame, really.

“You mean apart from worrying about you?” Daniel poked him in the side. “Stop

that, brat. Not much. I try to stay offline on the weekends, give my brain and eyes a
break. If Mum and Dad are going somewhere, sometimes I head out with them. Or I find
a coffee shop and read the papers. Go for walks. Visit friends. You know, ordinary stuff.”

“What about when you were with Rob?”
“You really want to talk about that, Danny?”
Danny looked up into his eyes. “Um...maybe not. I, uh...haven’t been with anyone

before. This is all new.”

“Hard to believe when you’re such a cutie. Ow.”
“I am not a ‘cutie’.”
“You definitely are. All that lovely hair, and those big green eyes, and that pretty

way you walk. Ow! Stop it.” He rubbed his side. “Can’t a guy compliment his
boyfriend?”

“‘Pretty walking’ isn’t a compliment, you prick.”
“Maybe not. You didn’t hook up with anyone at school? What about Uni?”
“No. I was always busy. There were other gay guys around, and some of them were

friends, but...they were nerds, which was great, but other than that, and the fact we were
all gay, I didn’t have a lot in common with them. None of them....”

When he realised Daniel wasn’t going to finish, Spen poked him. “What? None of

them...?”

“Made me feel like you do,” Daniel said in a rush, then turned pink.
Spen grinned, then decided the only response to that was to kiss him. Daniel’s arms

went around Spen as he threw himself into the kiss. For someone who claimed he hadn’t
done it before, he was a fast learner.

“Guys, can you knock it off? You’re embarrassing.”
Daniel didn’t even turn around to look at his brother. “An hour ago you couldn’t get

enough of this and now you’re complaining?”

“Yeah, cos it’s outside now. People can see. It’s so not cool.”
“Spen, shall we stop?” His lips tickled Spen’s neck as he spoke.
“Hmmm, I don’t think so. Go play with your friends, Alex. We’re busy.”
“I hate you,” Alex said. “You’re horrible.” He stomped off.
Daniel chuckled. “And before it was all, ‘ooh, Spen’s so great, he’s sooo tall and we

love him sooo much’.”

“I’ll try to struggle on with my disappointment. Now where were we?”
They kissed a little longer, but mindful that Alex wasn’t the only person who might

find a couple pashing on a park bench a little much on a Saturday morning, Spen eased
back to just holding Daniel. Daniel didn’t seem to mind, and when Kani and Myko came

back for cuddles and petting, he held them on his lap while Spen kept his arm around
him. “I wasn’t really expecting you to be so comfortable with me,” Spen said, smiling at
Myko splayed out on his back along Daniel’s thighs, inviting a tummy rub while Kani
groomed his tail. “Not after what Fuckface did in the office.”

“You don’t remind me of him in anyway. You look different, sound different—smell

different. If I never had to smell that stinky cologne of his again, I’d be grateful.”

Spen froze. That was what that smell had been that night. The smell on Daniel.
“Is something wrong, Spen?” Even Myko had sat up to look at him.
He made himself relax, and nuzzle against Daniel’s hair. “No, nothing. But I can

promise you I’ll never wear anything like it—I’ve never even liked aftershave.”

“Good. I think I’d be sick if I smelled it again. Shoo, you two. Go find Veen and

pester him.” He put the two kems on the ground and they ran off in search of Alex’s kem.
Alex himself had apparently recovered from the shame of his brother’s public display,
and was attempting a jump which made Spen wince a little in concern. Daniel didn’t
seem too bothered though.

“Um, Spen?”
“Yes, Danny.”
“Does it bother you that I, uh, haven’t...you know...been with someone before?”
“No, why should it? I’m more worried that you might think we have to do stuff

before you’re ready. Which you really don’t. Now what’s wrong?” Daniel’s smile had
disappeared and he was now staring off into the distance. Spen stroked his hair.
“Danny?”

“I don’t know how I’ll feel. This is lovely, being with you. I could do this all day.

But I don’t know what’ll happen if we...I mean, when we sleep together.”

“We already did and it was fine.” Spen kissed him again, and held him closer.

“Nothing will happen until you want it, and nothing will happen that you don’t agree to.
We have plenty of time, and I’m in no hurry. It’s not like I don’t know what it’s like.”

Daniel flushed. “What if I suck? Compared to Rob?”
“He sucked quite often, actually.” Spen watched Daniel’s face until he got it, and

grinned when the poke arrived on cue. “You don’t have to be the world’s greatest lover to
make me happy. Or the other way around, I hope. I just want to be with you, hold you, let
things happen when they’re ready to. Neither of us know how much what happened to
you will affect things, so we need to take it slow and easy. I’m all for easy.”

Daniel smiled, a little tremulously for sure, but he looked less miserable. “I don’t

want to be the poor pathetic—”

“Yeah, yeah, orphan victim blah blah. I don’t want you to be either because I’m not

really into sleeping with pathetic people. Be yourself, Danny, even if that means being

neurotic or uncertain or scared or whatever. I like you. All of you, even the sad, bad parts.
Okay?”

“Okay. Wow, you’re really good at this, aren’t you? Being a boyfriend, I mean.”
“I took a class and everything.”
Daniel grinned, and Spen stole another kiss. There would probably be rocky times

ahead, but Julian was adamant that talking about things was much, much better than not
talking about them in a relationship with an inexperienced partner. The clincher came
when Zachary agreed with him. Even Leo had sat up and given his nephew a startled look
for that admission. Spen would bet half his savings that Zachary had started out a lot
more fucked up than Daniel would ever be, and now he was comfortable and happy in a
stable, loving marriage. There was plenty of reason to hope Daniel would cope with this
new change in his life, even with the crap life kept throwing at him. Spen planned to do
his best to keep the crap levels down. Daniel could do with the break.

Just as Spen was thinking a nice cup of tea would be nice, Alex came over, flopped

onto the bench and declared he was “starving”.

“You had breakfast two hours ago,” Daniel said.
“Three,” Alex corrected, his bottom lip drooping. “And I’m thirsty.”
“Water fountain over there. Off you go.”
“You’re mean.”
“Yes. Go get some water, and then we’ll find somewhere cheap for lunch. Which

means back on the High street, not here because they charge a fortune in the park.”

Alex heaved a sigh but did as Daniel said.
“I’d be happy to pay for—”
Daniel held up his hand. “Thanks, but no, Spen. Alex knows I don’t have a job and

we have to adjust our budget until I find another one.”

“But I—”
“Besides the food here is all fried rubbish. We’ll have a better, cheaper choice

outside.”

“Oh. See, that’s why you’re the parent, not me.”
Daniel sagged. “I don’t know how Mum and Dad did it. Thinking about all this—

what they should eat, where they should go, are their friends safe, and so on and so on—
wears me out. And that’s before I wonder if that weirdo over there who’s been watching
the kids for the last half hour is a spy for Tony or not.”

Spen hadn’t even noticed. The guy wasn’t a tramp but he was wearing the kind of

eccentric clothes that indicated either a mental disorder or other incapacity. “I think he’s
harmless.”

“Yeah, so do I. But I don’t know.”

“Did you warn them?”
Daniel nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t explain about all the charges, but I said I would be a

witness and Tony has a screw or two loose. Dee got it without needing any more
explanation. Alex was happy enough when I said all I wanted him to do was make sure
he was always with his friends, and not to go off with anyone unless they were a police
officer with proper ID, or you, me or your parents. He’s pretty sensible, though it doesn’t
always look that way.”

“He’s sensible compared to most adults I know. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
“I’d be happier if I knew Tony wasn’t being set free some time today. Why can’t

they keep him in jail?”

“Because he doesn’t have a criminal record, he’s not a flight risk and he hasn’t

threatened anyone. I asked Zachary. He said intimidation is pretty rare, and it’s more
common in violent offences. Anyway, sending them away for a while will be good for all
of you.”

“For them, for sure.” He climbed to his feet. “Come on, Alex. I thought you wanted

lunch.”

Alex hopped on his skateboard and propelled himself over to them on the pavement,

the three kems giving chase. “Edward asked me if I could come back this afternoon.
Please, Daniel?”

“When?”
“After one? Just for two hours. Please?”
“Do you mind, Spen?”
“Me? No. I’m all yours.”
Daniel kissed him. “I told you to stop that,” Alex said, folding his arms and glaring.

“It’s girly.”

“Hmmm, Spen, do you want to tell Dee he said that, or shall I? Alex, if I were you,

I’d start running now.”

“Girly girly girly!” he shouted as he made his escape through the trees.
Daniel did nothing whatsoever to chase after him, though he did begin to walk at

normal speed in the same direction. “I have no idea what my parents would say to him
right now.”

“Something like what you did,” Spen said. “The more fuss you make, the more he’ll

play up to it. He’ll get tired of it eventually, and I have no intention of not kissing you in
public because your little brother might be slightly bothered.”

Daniel put his arm around Spen’s waist. “Good because I have absolutely no

intention of letting you stop.”

~~~~~~~~

By three o’clock, Alex’s friends had grown tired of skateboarding, and wandered off

to other pastimes. Alex clearly wanted to go with them, but to Daniel’s relief, he didn’t
put up a fight when Daniel told him they needed to go home instead. He had got over his
snit about Spen’s remarks in the morning, and he and Spen walked together a little ahead
of Daniel, talking about skateboarding—about which Spen knew a lot more than Daniel
—and about powering up some of his mechanical models, about which Daniel knew a lot
more than Spen. Daniel didn’t interrupt. He wanted his brother and Spen to get on, so
Alex could see Spen as a trusted friend in case anything happened to Daniel himself. He
also, selfishly, wanted Spen to get on with his brother and sister because that would bind
him to them, and to Daniel.

Spen didn’t resist the process at all. He listened to Alex as seriously as he would to

any adult, while happily teasing him like the kid he was when Alex left him an opening.
He could say things that would lead to sulks and badly hurt feelings if Daniel said them,
simply because Daniel shared so much history with Alex. Spen didn’t have that, so Alex
looked afresh on what he said, assessing them without prejudice. Alex had eagerly seized
on Spen’s father as a wise, objective adult he could bounce ideas off. Spen offered
someone else, someone closer to his age, Alex could use as a sounding board.

They gathered up the ingredients for the cheap but delicious pork and apple bake,

Spen insisting on buying the cider which wasn’t strictly necessary but which would add
an extra fillip to the meal. Some reduced price custard and half price bananas would
make a tasty dessert for after. Daniel grabbed some other bargains, and refused to allow
Spen to pay for any of it. “After all the meals your mother’s made for Dee and Alex, you
must be joking.”

Spen held his hands up. “Just trying to be polite.”
“Thank you, but so am I. You can help me carry the bags, though.”
“I thought that was why you brought Alex.”
Alex’s kem squeaked in amusement as his human pouted at the remark. Still, Alex

grabbed two bags without being asked, and Daniel ruffled his hair, thankful there wasn’t
an ounce of real meanness in his body.

Though Daniel and Spen insisted they were preparing the supper, Dee came in to

watch. “My brain’s full. I keep looking at the words, and nothing’s going in.”

“Then stop,” Spen said. “I get like that at work. I stare at code and it’s gibberish. The

only thing to do is go home, try it again the next day with a fresh brain. You can’t force
it.”

“You know the stuff, DeeDee,” Daniel said. “You’ve had good results in these

subjects for two years. So it’s in your head. Spen’s right.”

“I know. It’s about psyching myself.”

“Even top athletes rest the day before a big competition,” Spen said. “Can’t do your

best if you’re tired. So you shouldn’t work so long tomorrow. Stop earlier, do something
different, go to bed early.”

“You sound like Mum.”
“There’s a reason for that. She was right and so’s Spen.” Daniel put his arm around

her shoulders. “Why don’t you make some tea, and watch how this is made so you can
remind me next time.”

She glanced in the direction of the stairs. “I should be packing....”
“Next weekend. Relax. Talk to Spen. Poor guy’s had to listen to me and Alex

bending his ear all day.”

She grinned at them, before picking up the kettle to fill at the sink. “Oh like that’s

such a hardship. I bet Spen could listen to you talk all day and all night.”

“Not true,” Spen said, waving the paring knife at her. “I need to sleep too.”
“Oh right. That’s why I heard Daniel talking in his bedroom until one in the

morning. Talking to himself, was he?”

“Oh, burn, Daniel,” Alex said, grinning madly. “You’ve got it bad.”
“You don’t have any idea what that even means,” Daniel said, resolutely ignoring the

teasing, even though his face was heating up again.

“I do. I had to watch you two kissing all day. Smooching.” He made an exaggerated

kissing sound until Daniel swatted at him to stop.

“And I missed it,” Dee said, sighing dramatically.
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Spen, do you want to go out for supper?”
“Oh toughen up, kid.” Alex hooted with laughter, until Spen smacked him on the

arse. “And you knock it off too, brat. Leave your brother alone. We don’t exist for your
amusement.”

“Well, what good are you?”
Dee put her hands on her hips. “Alex, do you want to eat on your own? Beans on

toast?”

Daniel and Spen looked at her in surprise. Alex wrinkled his nose. “You can’t make

me, duh.”

“No, but I can ask Daniel and Spen to not give you any of this lovely meal they’re

making, and we can all go out over to his place and eat it there. Right, Spen?”

“Absolutely. In a heartbeat. In fact, Danny, we should pack it all up. Mum won’t

mind.”

Daniel pretended that he was indeed going to do this. Alex wailed, “But I’m

hungry!”

“Then you better choose. Food or fun,” Spen said.

“Food!”
“Dee? What’s your decision?”
“Going to behave, Alex?”
“I was only teasing,” he muttered. “Okay.”
“Fine, then we can keep on cooking,” Daniel said. But then he hugged Alex. “We’re

only teasing you too,” he whispered, before kissing his brother’s head. “Just lay off Spen
a little, for me, okay?”

Alex nodded. Dee continued her tea-making as if nothing had interrupted her at all,

and by the time she set out mugs and a couple of biscuits apiece for everyone, Alex was
back to normal, and Spen chatted to him cheerfully as he had done all afternoon.

The food met with everyone’s approval, and there was enough for a second meal,

which was a nice bonus. After supper, they sat on the floor in the living room, while Alex
hauled out one of his interactive games for them all to play on the TV. It was now sadly
outdated, with no prospect of newer ones to replace it until Christmas, but Spen declared
it to be one he hadn’t played before, so he and Dee took one side, Daniel and Alex took
the other. Daniel didn’t really like computer games much, but he found himself getting
into this one. The two teams ended up being fairly evenly matched, Daniel and Alex
losing the first three rounds, until finding their stride and running away with the game in
the end. He gave Alex a high five and grinned at Spen and Dee. “Looks like brains beats
beauty every time.”

Dee launched herself at him, knocking him over. “Grrrr, are you calling me dumb,

brother of mine?”

“Well, compared to me and Alex.... Ow, you little...Spen, help!”
“What’s that? Alex, did you hear something?”
“No, don’t think so.”
“Alex, help me or I’ll tell her what you said this morning.”
Alex grabbed Dee around the waist and hauled her off. “Careful, Dee, he’s the only

Daniel we’ve got.”

“So he’s got the goods on you, huh? Men.” She stood up and dusted herself off.

“Took two of you to beat me.”

“Only because I didn’t want to hurt a girl,” Alex said.
“Ooops,” Spen murmured.
“Better start running, Alex.” Daniel grinned as Dee chased him into the kitchen.

“Don’t suppose you could make us a cup of tea while you’re up?” he called after them.
“Don’t kill each other!” No reply. “Oh well.”

“They’ll be fine.” Spen crooked a finger at him. “Hey, come here.”
Daniel raised his eyebrows but obeyed. “What?”

“Haven’t kissed you in ages.”
“Oh. Well, get on with it.”
Spen tasted like apples and pork and cider and cheesy toast. Daniel liked it.

“Mmmm, yummy.”

“So are you. How are you doing?” He pulled Daniel against him, arm around him

possessively as they leaned against the sofa.

“I’m...happy. I’ve had a wonderful day, thank you. Supper was lovely.”
“You bought it and made it. I just helped. I had a great day too.” He kissed Daniel’s

temple. “Think you’ll sleep all right tonight?”

“If you’re with me, I will. Don’t know about when I’m alone.”
“We’ll have to see how it goes. No reason I can’t be with you whenever you need

me, at least in the short term.”

What did he mean by that? “Are you going to stop coming over?”
“No, Danny. I just meant, sometimes I might not be able to come over, or you’re

busy or whatever. We don’t have to live in each other’s pockets. Not that your pockets
aren’t a lot of fun,” he added, tickling Daniel a little and making him squirm. “I’ll be here
as much or as little as you need me. As you want me. Okay?”

“Okay.” They kissed again, Daniel running his hand lightly over the back of Spen’s

head, enjoying the feel of hair so very different from his own. “Things have gone awfully
quiet in there.”

Spen sniffed the air. “No blood, no smoke. It’s always possible they’ve strangled

each other....”

“At least that’s quiet. Spen, don’t let me take up all your time. I don’t want to be one

of those clingy boyfriends.”

“I thought you didn’t know about boyfriends.”
“I said I hadn’t had one before. I’ve seen plenty of people with them, girls and boys.

Some guys are dopey.”

Spen laughed. “Yes, they are. I promise I’ll tell you if I have something else I need

to do, or even if I just need to be alone for a bit—so long as you promise not to take that
as a hint that I’m trying to break up with you. If I feel I don’t want to be with you, I’ll tell
you to your face. I want you to do the same. I don’t do messing about or passive-
aggressive bullshit. Can’t stand that kind of thing.”

“I’ll try to be straight with you.”
“Not too straight,” Spen said deadpan. Daniel poked him for the terrible joke. Spen

had hundreds of them, and he wasn’t afraid to use them.

Chapter 14

Spen stayed the rest of the weekend, though they all came over to the Reardons’

house for supper at Mrs Reardon’s invitation. Despite all the advice she’d had, and
despite Daniels reassurances, Dee had worked herself up into a bit of a state by four on
Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, Mrs Reardon had raised three sons through the stress of
exams, and had dealt with hundreds of students, so she knew exactly what to do, taking
Dee in hand, distracting her, and giving her tired, overloaded brain a chance to refresh
and rest.

Spen came over every night that week too, eating with them, sometimes cooking,

sometimes bearing a dish he’d made at home. Daniel couldn’t believe how quickly they
fell into an easy, relaxed routine, and how readily he became part of their evenings. It
helped Dee, having someone to take her mind off the pressure she was facing, and Alex
calmed down too. Their little brother was worried about Dee, and about Daniel’s job, but
Spen had a way of putting things that made it all seem reasonable and bearable.

Each night they climbed into Daniel’s bed and held each other. Things hadn’t gone

any further than that, and cuddling, and kissing. Daniel didn’t yet want any more. He
worried sometimes that Spen wanted more than he was getting, but Spen gave him not
the slightest hint that he did, and seemed to be perfectly content as they were. Kani and
Myko were the biggest clues that Daniel didn’t need to fret—they settled down together
every night at the head of the bed, curled around each other in a tight furry ball, and every
morning they jumped on their humans to wake them up in good time to get on with the
day. He had no doubt the hints if Spen wasn’t happy, would be as unsubtle as kem hints
tended to be.

And then it all changed, because it was suddenly time for Alex and Dee to fly away

to their aunt. Spen took the morning off to drive them to the airport, though Daniel had
said it wasn’t necessary, and then waited with him until it was time for the kids to head
through security. Dee was crying. “I’m going to miss you, and be so homesick.”

“For about a day,” Daniel joked, though his eyes were full too. “Then you’ll be

having such a great time, you’ll forget about us completely.”

She threw her arms around him. “Never ever,” she insisted. “I’d never forget you.”
“That’s good, DeeDee,” he murmured in her ear. “Now wipe your face and cheer up,

for Alex. I’m counting on you, remember.”

“Won’t let you down, I promise.” She scrubbed her face on her sleeve, and tugged

on Alex’s shirt. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” Alex launched himself at Daniel. “You won’t die while we’re gone, will

you?”

“No, squirt. I promise. Spen’ll look after me.”
“He better or I’ll...I’ll hurt him!”
Daniel squeezed him. “None of that, Alex. You have a good time, look after Dee,

and I expect an email once a week.”

“Once a day!”
“We’ll see. Now, off you go. Have a wonderful time.”
Spen hugged Dee and ruffled Alex’s hair. “I’ll watch him for you, kids, don’t worry.

He’ll be here in one piece when you get home.”

“Promise?” Dee said.
“Cross my heart and hope to be reborn a tapeworm if I’m lying.”
Dee laughed, and that allowed Daniel to gently nudge her and Alex towards the

security line. “Go on. Give my love to Aunt Lisa and Uncle George, and the cousins.”

“Bye, Daniel. Bye, Spen.”
Daniel and Spen watched until they passed through the metal detector, and were

swept along by the crowds of waiting passengers behind them. Then Daniel wiped his
eyes, and blew his nose. “God, I’m going to miss them.”

Spen hugged him. “Yes, but it’s not forever. We better get going if you’re to have

time to change and come back into town with me.”

Today was the day when one of the several pending boots in Daniel’s life finally

dropped. Mr Stern had called the previous week to talk to him about his employment, but
on learning that Zachary was acting as Daniel’s legal advisor, the situation became much
more formal. Letters and emails had been exchanged between Zachary and the
company’s solicitors, and today was the meeting, at the company’s solicitors’ office,
where Daniel’s future would be decided. He knew what had been offered, what had been
counter-offered, and most of what had been rejected. What he didn’t know was what was
the final offer on the table. He’d find that out today.

He and Spen had a quick early lunch at the house, then Daniel changed into a suit,

and they dropped the car back at Spen’s place before catching the bus into town. Daniel
was grateful the meeting wasn’t to be at the company’s offices. He could imagine how
nasty the gossip had become there since the report in the papers the week before about
one Anthony Winton Noble, aged forty-nine, office manager, being charged with a range
of offences including sexual assault and rape. Though Daniel’s name had been kept out
of the reports as promised, the office rumourmongers would be able to piece things
together without much help. Spen refused to confirm or deny what he’d heard. He said
Daniel was well out of that situation and what a bunch of small-minded idiots thought, no
longer mattered. He was right, of course, and on one level, Daniel didn’t care. On
another, he hated that people who didn’t know him and didn’t like him, were making free

with his private life, as if they had any business with it. It felt more violating in some
ways than what Tony had done to him.

The meeting was at two. Zachary met him in the foyer. As usual he looked cool,

superior and gorgeous. Daniel felt rumpled and gauche next to him. “Your brother and
sister departed safely?”

“Yes, thank you. Uh, is this going to be awful?”
Zachary gave him one of his enigmatic smiles. “Have more faith in my abilities,

Daniel. Why is Kani not out?”

Linis was, as he nearly always was, draped regally across Zachary’s shoulders. “I

thought he might, uh, give the wrong impression.”

“On the contrary. Not showing your kem indicates insecurity and fear.”
“Then that’s accurate.”
“Come now, Daniel. You’re in a position of strength if only you’d realise it. Call

Kani out, and let him ease your nerves.”

Daniel did as he suggested, and damn the man, he was right. Kani’s presence on his

shoulder, the gentle encouraging chirps in his ear, did help. “Are we ready?” he said after
he gave Kani a prolonged petting and cuddle to apologise for misreading things so badly.

“Of course. I’m always ready. This way.”
Julian was a lucky man, Daniel thought. But Daniel was luckier.

~~~~~~~~

Daniel was already in the pub when Spen arrived at five. The kid was nursing a half

pint of bitter, although he’d barely touched it. Did the alcohol mean things had gone
badly, or did the fact that he hadn’t drunk much mean it was just cover? Kani sat on
Daniel’s shoulder, but Spen couldn’t read anything from the little kem’s posture, and
Myko’s greeting didn’t indicate anything either.

Spen slid in on the seat beside him. “Hi.” Myko hopped down onto the table and

Kani joined him to be groomed. Still no sign of distress. Had to be a good sign, right?

Daniel smiled tiredly. “Hi. Why don’t you get yourself a drink?”
“In a minute. Well?”
“It’s good. Really good. Get your drink and then I can tell you.”
Spen waited impatiently for his pint to be poured, then came and sat next to Daniel

again. “Spill.”

“Oh, before I start, Zachary says we’re to go over to his place for supper. I gather it’s

more of a command than an invitation.”

“He just tends to put things like that. Julian called. It’s okay with me—you?” Daniel

nodded. “Right, no more delays. Tell me.”

“Well, the company were being bastards until Zachary started making serious noises

about a sexual harassment suit—and he’s working with Jan to seek compensation too, did
you know? Anyway, once he started talking about the figures he’d be seeking on my
behalf, their solicitors got worried. So the upshot is that I get a favourable agreed
reference, four months’ salary and pension contributions, plus fifteen thousand as
compensation for the ‘pain and suffering’,”—he made the quotes with his fingers while
rolling his eyes—“Zachary’s legal fees to be paid, and all medical and counselling costs
to be covered, no matter when they come up.” He took a long slurp from his beer while
watching Spen over the rim of his glass.

Spen sagged in relief. “That’s great! Is that what you wanted?”
“Considering they were only talking about a reference and a month’s salary before,

yeah. Zachary said we’d get more if we sued and won—”

“But you can’t guarantee you’d win, and the stress would be awful.”
“Exactly. He said the case was as strong as he and his colleagues had ever seen, but

sexual harassment suits are often hard to predict. Most are settled before they come to
court. He’s pleased. I’m pleased because it means Jan’s position is stronger now. They’ll
have to offer him something similar, and he needs it, poor guy. Zachary says he’s actually
more screwed up than I am about it because he couldn’t tell anyone. Apparently he cried
all over Julian, did he tell you?”

“Yeah, he said. Oh good.” He lifted his glass. “And you never have to go back to the

company again.”

Daniel touched his glass to Spen’s. “No, thank God.” Kani chirped happily and

Myko did a somersault. Spen stared at his kem in amazement. “They approve.”

“Yeah, they do. I’m so pleased, Danny.”
“Oh, and get this. Stern wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement but Zachary

told him to bugger off because we were talking about criminal acts, and I couldn’t be
forced not to disclose details of a crime. So in theory I can go to the press and make a big
stink but there’s no way in hell I’m going to. Jan might, though. Wouldn't blame him at
all.”

“He’ll probably want to keep it quiet too. Even if he’s in the right, companies can be

really old-fashioned about hiring staff who sue employers.”

“Yeah. It was more the look on Stern’s face and his solicitors when Zachary faced

them down. He’s awesome.”

“He really is.”
“Linis just yawned at Stern and he went white. It was like he thought Linis was

going to eat him.” Daniel grinned. Seeing his boyfriend happy made Spen smile,
especially when Daniel had been so miserable that morning. “Zachary said six.”

“Yeah, that’s cool. We can finish our drinks and walk over. It’s not far from here.

Just across the park.”

Daniel suddenly reached up and loosened his tie, then tore it off and stuffed it into

his pocket. “I never want to wear one of those damn things again. Reminds me of going
to Mum and Dad’s funeral far too much. And Tony.”

Spen stroked his hand. “We need to get you back to what you really love. No, don’t

say it. Plenty of time to plan and talk about it.”

“Okay. Right now, this takes the pressure off for a little bit. It’ll take me forever to

get another job so this helps a lot.”

Spen wished he was rich enough to say to Daniel, “You don’t need to worry about a

thing, I’ll look after you,” but he wasn’t, and besides, Daniel wouldn’t accept. He was
fiercely determined to support himself and his family on his own, which Spen couldn’t
exactly fault him for.

“Drink up. It’s a lovely evening and the park’s cool and shady. Kani and Myko will

enjoy it.”

The kems did love the park, with all the places they could nose around, the leaves

they could play with, and the occasional greetings they could deliver to other kems,
whose humans were also enjoying the green peace. Spen loved it too, but for different
reasons. He could walk holding Daniel’s hand, and even kiss him occasionally, without
worrying too much about what the idiots at the office thought. Sure someone might see
him, but the risk was greater at the pub. Not that he cared for his own sake, but it
bothered Daniel, and he didn’t want to give the gossip mill more fuel than absolutely
necessary.

“It’s still hours and hours before the kids land. I wonder how they’re finding it. They

were a lot younger when we flew last time.”

“I suspect they’ll find it all a huge adventure and have a great time. Don’t worry.”
“Not even about plane crashes?”
Spen stopped and took him into a hug. “Not even about them,” he murmured against

Daniel’s ear. “Statistically, it’s the safest form of travel.”

“Actually—”
“Danny.”
“All right.”
Spen kissed him and they walked on. He should get out into this space more often,

he thought. The pub was fine but fresh air and trees were better. Probably better for his
eyes too.

“I was thinking....”
“About what?” Spen prompted.
“Would it be awful of me to take over Mum and Dad’s bedroom? I mean, it would

be more comfortable with you staying over, but it’s...well, it’s their room.”

“Which they don’t need, Danny. I don’t think they’d want you to keep half the house

as a shrine.”

“Dee would be upset if I threw out their stuff. I’d be upset, I think.”
“Then don’t. Just use the bed, keep your things in your room. That way you don’t

have to commit one way or the other, and you can still use that room as a guest room if
you really need to. But it’s your home, Danny. Your mother and father would want you to
use it as best you can, and enjoy it. You can tell they wanted it to be for all you kids, a
place where you felt loved and happy.”

“They did. Dad always said he would never move unless he had to go into a nursing

home.” Daniel smiled rather wanly. “Guess he managed to avoid that, at least.”

Spen kissed Daniel again and wiped the moisture off his cheek with his thumb. “Not

really much to set against losing them.”

“No. But you’re right. They wouldn’t want us to make the house a shrine. I won’t

disturb the closets and things, but we can use the bed. Uh...if you want to.”

“You can see the size of me and you wonder if I’d like the idea of sleeping in a

bigger bed?”

Daniel grinned. “See your point. So where’s their place?” They’d reached the edge

of the park. Kani and Myko ran back and climbed up onto their shoulders, because clever
kems let their humans negotiate hot road surfaces and busy traffic for them.

Two minutes later they were riding in the elevator up to Zachary and Julian’s

apartment. Not Julian and Leo’s apartment, which was on the floor above. Apparently
Julian bounced happily between the two. Spen didn’t fully understand the arrangement
but then he didn’t need to.

Zachary opened the door. “Welcome, Spencer, Daniel. Please come in.” His

dignified greeting was spoiled somewhat by the way his kem, Linis, squeaked in delight
to see Kani and Myko. The three of them jumped down onto the floor for a cuddle, joined
in seconds by Pyon and Leo’s little white kem, Nuji.

Zachary stared at the kem ball in amazement, and Daniel burst out laughing. “He’s a

kem, Zachary. Some things are hardwired.”

Zachary recovered. “Indeed. Do please take a seat.”
From the kitchen counter, Julian waved in greeting. “Hey, Beanie. Daniel, thanks for

coming. Sorry for the short notice but I wanted to wait until this crap with your bosses
was sorted out.”

“That’s fine, and thank you.”
“Go and sit with Leo. I’ll be about an hour with food, because Leo wants to talk to

you. Zachary too. Zachary, wine would help, I think.”

“Of course.” Spen smiled at the way Zachary took the chance to give Julian a quick

kiss as he went to the fridge, but then noticed how worried Daniel looked. Fuck. Spen
had an idea what Leo wanted to chat about, but Daniel didn’t. He slung his arm around
Daniel’s waist. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Go sit.”

Daniel gave him a queasy smile, then headed over to the sofa near the armchair

where Leo was waiting for him. “Come and sit, dear boy. Forgive me for not standing. I
had a double hip replacement a month and a half ago and I have to confess, I find it a
nuisance to keep getting up and down, even if I’m supposed to stay mobile.”

“Listen to him,” Julian said. “The damn man wears me out walking all over the

place. I’m grateful when I can get him to sit still for five minutes.”

“Such a disrespectful fellow,” Leo said, though his smile was affectionate. “And, ah,

I should also ask your forgiveness for that trick we played on you the other day. I
believed it was necessary, but I would understand if you were angry.”

Spen joined Daniel on the sofa but carefully didn’t say anything. Daniel shook his

head. “No, I’m not angry. I understand it now. It was all just...horrible.”

“Yes, it was, and I’m so sorry, dear boy. You should never have been in that

position, and it’s utterly disgraceful that Edward Stern allowed that situation to develop
not just once, but three times, right under his nose.”

“I think he’s got the message now, thanks to Zachary.” Daniel accepted a glass of

wine from Zachary and toasted him with it. “You da man.”

“Oh. Thank you, I think.”
“It’s a compliment, Zachary. Thank you from me too.” Spen lifted his glass to

Zachary too, and grinned as a flush crossed the man’s pale chiselled cheeks.

“Come and sit, Zachary,” Leo said. “Well, now we’re all comfortable, I can start.

Daniel, I asked you over partly so I could apologise—”

“Really no need....”
Leo held his hand up. “Perhaps not, but I felt it should be said. But my main purpose

was to talk to you about how you ended up in that terrible man’s clutches in the first
place. Spen tells me that prior to your parents’ sad death, you were a brilliant student with
a glittering future in engineering ahead of you.”

“He exaggerates.”
“I do not,” Spen insisted. “You won prizes and everything.”
Daniel shrugged. “I told you why I dropped out.”
“Yes, you did,” Leo agreed, “and you had excellent reasons at the time. But things

have changed, and I firmly believe it’s time you returned to your studies, gained that
qualification, and got on with the career for which you are manifestly more suited than
working as a PA. Just as Julian makes a superb assistant and doubtless a fairly mediocre

engineer, the reverse is true for you.”

“There are two reasons I can’t do that, Leo. One, I can’t leave my brother and sister

to go back to the place where I was studying, and two, I can’t afford the fees or to be out
of work for so long. What?” Daniel looked around and saw the grins on the other three
faces. “Okay, Spen, what have you been cooking up behind my back?”

“Nothing, I swear. It’s all Julian, Leo and Zachary. They told me to butt out.”
“Nothing so vulgar,” Leo said, but his smile only became more devilish. “Daniel, the

university where you were studying isn’t the only place in the country which offers that
degree, is it?”

“No, but—”
“Nor, as I have since discovered, is it the only institution which offers modules in

your particular fields of interest. Were you aware that in the coming year, Bentall
University here is offering an electrical engineering degree with a major in robotics and
prosthetics, and in fact the lecturer who will be taking charge of that is the same one who
taught you at your original place of learning? He’s been recruited and offered a
professorship. Quite the feather in his cap, I understand.”

Daniel stared. “Dr Woolley?”
“Yes, indeed. I have also had Julian investigate, and late enrolments for mature

students are still open for another week. I know it wasn’t your first choice four years ago,
but things have moved on.”

Daniel turned to Spen. “I could study here? Without leaving the kids alone?”
“Yep. Even do some of it by evening study if you want to. Danny, you just need to

enrol on that course, then you can apply for summer internships and job experience. Dad
says the council offers a few places and he’d be happy to put a good word in for you.”

“And I have one or two useful contacts in that line, Daniel,” Leo said. “I have one

firm promise of a summer placement if you enrol, based on your existing results, and I
can probably arrange others.”

Daniel’s dazed expression was beginning to worry Spen. The kid had had to deal

with a lot of shocks recently and maybe this was one too many. “Danny? What do you
think?”

“It’s great...but I still can’t afford it, or to support Dee and Alex.”
“Ah, this is where I come in, if Leo doesn’t mind,” Zachary said. His uncle waved

him on. “As a mature student with dependents, you’re eligible for grants and allowances
that you weren’t eligible for as a dependent student. You have this settlement from your
employer, which will give you a cushion for six to eight months. Further, with your
permission, I contacted your solicitors handling the case against the construction
company, and enquired as to the progress of the case. There is no dispute that the

company is liable at least for some damages—the main point of contention is the
apportionment of blame between them and their subcontractors, and how much, if any,
will be awarded in punitive damages. However, there is an agreed minimum that they
will certainly be liable for, and your lawyers agree that should you instruct them to do so,
they could ask the defendants to make a small interim payment, on account of what they
will have to ultimately pay. Even ten percent of the agreed minimum would easily cover
your living costs and fees.”

“And should all that fail,” Leo said, “I would insist on offering an interest-free loan

to assist you. Because, Daniel, nothing saddens me more than young people not reaching
their potential, and when their potential is so great...well, it’s shocking.”

“Before you refuse that help,” Spen jumped in to say, because Daniel had that

stubborn look on his face, “you should think about the fact that you can earn a lot more as
an engineer, and so you’ll be in a much better position to support Dee and Alex when
they want to go to University themselves.”

“Precisely,” Zachary said in his cool voice. “It would be selfish to deny them out of

some misguided principle.”

“Now don’t bully him, Zachary,” Julian said, coming to sit by his husband. “It’s

more important that it’s the career that will make Daniel happy, and what makes him
happy, will make Dee and Alex happy.”

Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it. “Drink some wine, dear boy,” Leo said.

“And please don’t let any of us, including my nephew, force you into anything. I know
it’s a lot to think about.”

“And he’s not used to the Underwood method,” Julian said, grinning at his boss. Leo

lifted his glass in salute. “Anyway, why don’t we talk about something else, give Daniel a
chance to digest it all? Daniel, I have a folder of information for you which you should
read. The only really urgent deadline is the enrolment on this course if you want to do
that.”

“I do. If I can afford it, I really want it. Dr Woolley is brilliant. I really enjoyed his

classes.”

“Well then.” Leo beamed at him. “Just do it, as they say on television. You have

enough money in the bank to go ahead. Even if you refuse all help and your savings take
a hit, in the long-term, it’s an investment in your future you simply cannot afford not to
make.”

“Spen?”
Spen took Daniel’s hands. “I agree with them. Damn it, Danny, it’s what needs to

happen. Dee and Alex will agree with me. Dee’s told me a few times how sorry she is
that you had to give up your studies. Alex just wants you to be happy. So do I.”

Daniel tried to smile but his lips trembled. Spen took him into a hug and let him hide

his face against his shoulder. “Thank you,” he mouthed to the others.

“You’re welcome,” Julian mouthed back. “Zachary, I need a hand with the meal.

Would you mind?”

Zachary frowned at his husband for the few microseconds it took for spousal

telepathy to kick in. “Of course not.”

“Ah, and I believe I forgot something in my apartment. Julian, if you would help me

up? Thank you.” Leo picked up his cane. “How long to supper?”

“At least half an hour.”
“Then that gives me time to find what I forgot.” Leo winked at Spen. “Take your

time,” he said quietly.

Left alone by his considerate friends, Spen could push Daniel back so he could look

into his eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” He wiped at his eyes. “It’s just been....”
“Tough. I know. You’ve done a brilliant job looking after them. Now it’s your turn.”
“Can I really enrol this late? What about prep reading?”
“Enrol, then talk to Dr Woolley. Don’t tell me he wouldn’t be sympathetic.”
“He would. He offered to help when I told him I had to drop out but at the time, there

was just no way I could stay.”

“Well then. And with the kids away, you’ve got time to yourself to read up. I can

help.”

“You already do. You did go behind my back though.”
“Nope, I swear. All them. I hoped they could find the answers, but without Julian

and Zachary doing the research, I wouldn’t have had a clue.”

Daniel buried his head in his shoulder again, his arms going tight around Spen. Kani

and Myko abandoned their friends and came over, squirming into Spen and Daniel’s laps,
squeaking and meeping for attention. Spen freed a hand to pet them both. “It’s okay,
squirts. It’s more than okay.”

Daniel leaned back. “You know, everyone keeps going on about how terrible it was I

ended up in that job and being targeted by Tony. But since I’d never have met you, never
got together with you...maybe it wasn’t so unlucky.”

“Oh Danny. I wouldn’t want to be with anyone at that price.”
“No, I get that. But since I didn’t have any choice...I’m glad things turned out this

way.” Kani, who’d managed to make his way up to Daniel’s shoulder, chirped. “He
agrees.”

From Spen’s lap, came another chirp. “So does someone else.” He leaned in and

kissed Daniel. “I think I might just love you quite a bit.”

Daniel grinned, his eyes shining. “I think I might love you too.”
A clatter of something dropped in the kitchen reminded them that they weren’t alone.

Spen smiled and moved back. “We’ll talk about this later. Let’s go help.”

“Aye aye, cap’n.”
Kani and Myko did somersaults, then ran over to the kitchen area to cause whatever

mischief they could find. Which, with kems, was always going to be a lot.

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