Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

digging into Sebastian's back and in the dim light from the streetlamp that snuck under the curtains he could make out the reflection of tears on Daren's cheeks, but in Daren's voice there was the man he was rapidly becoming; a man strong enough to lead an empire, or tear one down. Sebastian was hopelessly turned on. "So what is the plan?"
    "Same as before. Trade the data for new ID, pay for a private jet in cash to get us somewhere neutral. From there we regroup. Get me put back together. We find resources and allies. Then... We find out what it will actually take to make my grandfather cry, and we do it. I'm thinking a bank balance that reads zero would be a good place to start."
    Sebastian nodded, doing his best to hold himself in check. He wanted to crush his lips to Daren's, only inches away. He wanted to throw him to the bed and rip off those new pajamas. "Let's hope tomorrow goes well, then."
    "I think it will. I guess we should probably both try to sleep some more."
    "Yeah."
    Daren got himself back under the blankets, and if he noticed Sebastian's aching erection, he was good enough not to mention it.
    ****
    Sebastian sat on a park bench and took in a bit of sun. He was an hour in the opposite direction from the first park. Instead of small children playing in a sandbox under the watchful eyes of their mothers, here older children crashed into each other on blacktop basketball courts, pretending they were NBA stars despite being half the size of one.
    Sebastian gave one last look around, and when he was satisfied that no one was at least obviously looking at him, and pulled out a phone. This time it picked up on the first ring.
    "Hello Agent Kim."
    "Hello again."
    "Brian Williams delivered your memo."
    "Good. Those agents told me Sebastian had backed out and run off. I didn't believe it at the time, but when I investigated, I couldn't find enough evidence that they were lying. They rolled over on some AUSAs pretty quick. We're working on them right now."
    "Good to know, but you can't tell me you've fixed every leak."
    "I know I haven't, which is why this call isn't being tracked and no one knows I'm taking it."
    "Forgive me if I still keep this quick."
    "Of course. Can I talk with Gerald?"
    "Do you honestly think I am anywhere near him?"
    "No. I want to talk with someone face-to-face, though."
    Daren had told him Agent Kim would want face time. "There's a bar called the Blue Dragon. Tomorrow night. Eight o'clock. Get a booth. If I see anyone else there who isn't a regular..."
    "I get stood up, and you don't return my calls. Copy that."
    "See you tomorrow, Agent Kim."
    Sebastian hung up, deleted the call history, ran a factory reset and popped out the SIM card. He left the phone on the bench for one of the kids to find and maybe sell. Then he took two hours driving home.
    When he got home, Daren was firmly planted in front of his laptop, which was attached to one of the slick little silver hard drives.
    "Should I ask what you are doing?"
    "Checking some accounts. I know they're camped out waiting to see if I try to access my trust fund or any other major family account, but while I was digging up dirt I found some other little accounts that aren't monitored as closely. I'm seeing if they still exist and if I can use them as backdoors into other money." Daren gave a frustrated grunt at whatever he was looking at and closed the laptop. "So, what did Agent Kim have to say?"
    "That the two agents who were watching you rolled over on some AUSAs. And that he wants to talk with you. And you were right, he wants face time."
    "What did he agree to?"
    "We're going to meet tomorrow at eight at the Blue Dragon."
    "The Blue Dragon?"
    "I wanted home turf advantage. I guess this means you should write up your list of demands so we can negotiate a swap. You still want to go through with this?"
    Daren flipped the laptop back open and brought up a news story. Some judge had ruled against a class action law suit involving defective birth control pills. "Subsidiary of a subsidiary of a subsidiary of us. Ten-to-one we own the judge. And a few months ago I would not have given a flying rat's ass about it. You're the one walking into danger first, so really, I should be asking you if you want to go through with this?"
    "What other plans have I got for the weekend?" Sebastian joked, despite the sweat already forming on his palms. "I'll bring Rachael up to date."
    Got a date tomorrow night at 8. Could use babysitter
    Less than thirty