With Caution

ahead of Remi. There were only two rooms and the bathroom, so he had a fifty/fifty chance. He’d already been in the bathroom, so he knew that door was not it. Pushing open the first door he came too, Jake flipped the light next to the door and peeked inside.
    The room was small. A big, dark wood sleigh bed that had seen better days, and an old, beat-up dresser with peeling white paint were the biggest pieces of furniture in the room. There was a small desk—with a laptop on it—and chair next to the bed. The one window was covered with an old quilt. A raw wooden crate, doubling for a nightstand, sat next to the bed. On it was the ugliest lamp Jake had ever seen. It looked like the vase Peter glued back together in The Brady Bunch crossed with the lamp from I Dream of Jeannie . The base was shaped like Jeannie’s bottle, only it was brown. There were two different colored orange oval-shaped facets on the top of the rounded bottom part. The long stem led to a plain white cone-shaped shade. Aside from the awful lamp, it was a man’s room, decorated with hand-me-downs, but not unpleasant.
    “That’s mine. Sterling’s is the door on the left.”
    Flipping the light off, Jake made a mental note to buy Remi a new lamp. He opened the other door and turned on the light. Taking a brief look around, he shook his head. The kid’s room was nicer than Remi’s. The furniture, while not expensive, was new. The 30
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    With Caution
    curtains and bedspread matched. There was even a small TV with a video game console opposite the bed.
    Jake pulled the dark blue comforter and sheets back and stepped out of the way.
    When Remi laid Sterling down and reached across him for the comforter, Jake’s attention zeroed in on Remi’s butt. Fuck, the man made baggy jean shorts look good. Of course, it could be because they stretched tight across his ass when he bent over.
    As Sterling rolled to his side and snuggled into his pillow, Remi straightened and headed toward the door.
    Leaving Remi to turn off the light and shut the door, Jake went to the living room and sat on the old plaid couch. He waited for Remi to do the same, but instead of joining Jake on the couch, Remi removed the empty pizza box and the bottles from the table and took them to the kitchen.
    Jake was certain it was a delay tactic, but he let it go. Obviously, Remi needed to gather his thoughts. Talking about family issues was never easy, especially when abuse was involved.
    Chay had mentioned Remi’s dad had slapped him around as a kid without being too specific. Jake was beginning to suspect the abuse hadn’t ended with Remi moving out.
    Things just didn’t add together. Sterling seemed to think Remi had kicked up a fuss over Chay and Keaton because he was afraid of their father. How the man got to Remi was not a surprise. From what Jake witnessed today, Remi would do anything to keep his brother safe.
    Remi came back into the living room with two beer bottles in hand. Giving one to Jake, he sat on the couch with a leg underneath him.
    “Thanks.” Jake took a swig of beer and turned his body to more easily see Remi.
    Dipping his head in acknowledgment without ever making eye contact, Remi fiddled with the label on his bottle. He smelled uneasy. Not upset exactly, but nervous. Why?
    Did he think Jake would condemn him for his father’s sins?
    “If you want my help, you have it, but I need to know what’s going on.”
    Remi glanced up, his eyes solemn. “I don’t even know if I can afford to pay you.”

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    J.L. Langley
    Jake started shaking his head as soon as the word afford left Remi’s lips. “I’m not worried about it. You’re my”— mate —“my friend. If you feel like you have to pay me, we can work something out. I’m not agreeing to help you for money. I keep getting the hint that you think Sterling is in danger of being hurt by someone and I want to help if I can.” Not to mention that helping—protecting—his mate was his job and made him feel good.
    “Okay.” Taking a sip of his beer, Remi pulled his other foot onto the couch, bending it in front of him and resting his arm on it. He watched the beer bottle dangling between his fingers for a few moments and nodded, like he’d made up his mind. “It’s Dirk. He’s never hurt Sterling before. This is the first time, but…”
    “But it probably won’t be the last,” Jake finished for him. Fuck. Even Remi called him Dirk. The