Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

be left alone, Sebastian thought, but refrained from saying. That had really been the main factor in his decision.
    "I was thinking," Daren began, as Sebastian ran a comb through Daren's conditioner-slick hair. "We could contact Agent Kim."
    Sebastian's hands froze. "You think we can trust him now?"
    "I've got to trust someone. The longer I sit here, the more the case against my family falls apart."
    "You know there must have been some sort of leak, for your cousin to find out where you were?"
    "I know. But there were a whole team of agents and lawyers putting the case together. Even when I realized what was happening, I couldn't believe that Agent Kim had sold me out. He always had too much righteous anger. He had a kind of white-collar avenging-angel vibe going."
    Sebastian didn't comment that in his experience, the ones who came across as the most righteous were often the most guilty. "Well, we can't just call him up and invite him over for coffee." Sebastian grabbed the hose and started rinsing Daren's hair. "Got a plan?"
    "Not yet, but I'm sure we can work something out; it's probably going to be a bit clandestine."
    "I'll get my suit back out if I have to; I've got your back, but we're not running into this half-baked."
    "I know." Daren stood and turned to face Sebastian. The look on his face was a bit confused, but terribly sweet. Before Sebastian could say anything else, Daren leaned in and put a small kiss at the corner of his mouth. "Thank you." Daren whispered.
    Daren spent the better part of his twentieth birthday bouncing ideas for complicated clandestine schemes off of Sebastian. Some were patently ridiculous, and Daren knew it, even as he was describing them he had a smile on his face. Others had possibilities, but they kept running into the same problems: Daren's lack of mobility, his refusal to wait while he healed, and the reality that with the Delaware money and ties there was certainly more than one leak.
    Sebastian spent the rest of the day quietly fretting about the idea of going to anyone in the FBI or any branch of law enforcement. His run-and-hide instinct was doing its best to shout down any suggestions of Daren taking any risks. He could still barely walk. But Daren was right, the case was falling apart fast.
    Sebastian also spent much of the day, although he tried not to, thinking about that little kiss. It had sent a warmth through him that even after the night before had taken him by surprise. He'd quickly balled up his hands to keep from reaching up, catching Daren's face, and bringing it in for a proper kiss, soft and sweet.
    Sebastian spooned pesto ravioli and chicken into a couple of bowls and sprinkled them with parmesan. "Do you think Agent Kim knows the agents guarding you were gotten to, or do you think he thinks you just ran for it?"
    "I honestly have no idea."
    Sebastian put the bowls on the table. "Do you think he believes you are actually dead?"
    "No. He'd want to see for himself, or run his own lab tests."
    "That could be a bonus. You know, the more we talk about this, the more it's going to come down to me having a face-to-face with him somewhere?"
    Daren savagely speared one of the ravioli. He had yet to get the hang of eating with his left hand. "And if you're out, then I'm vulnerable. We could pull that off to get the money, but…"
    "I know. I don't suppose I could talk you into just dropping a hard drive into the mail and making a run for it?"
    "I would rather make sure it gets directly into Agent Kim's hands."
    "We could talk to him about witness protection."
    "'Cause that turned out great last time."
    "But that wasn't official, change-your-identity, make you live in Missoula, Montana, protection."
    Daren shook his head. "I'm all for changing my identity, I am dead after all, but… Even if there isn't a leak in Witness Protection, it'll just take one person sending a tweet going 'there's a guy next to me on the bus who looks just like Gerald Delaware. Hash-tag creepy', and my family will be all over me."
    "So what you're saying is we need to get out of the country."
    "It's a viable option."
    Sebastian had been thinking of that himself, and had also thought through the problems with it. "Great idea. Except have you tried to get on a plane lately? It's damn near impossible even with real ID. Getting on an international flight involves a day and a half of pat-downs and suspicious looks, and they don't exactly let you buy international tickets with cash. It's a good way