With Caution

Remi.
    Fuck. If the bastard denied Sterling the opportunity to play… “It’s not a problem. I’ll pay—”
    “You saying I don’t have enough money to take care of my family?” Dirk came closer, bumping Remi with his chest.
    Remi backed away, out of reach again. “No, Dirk. I didn’t want you to be bothered with it. Honest. I was only trying to help.” If Sterling enjoyed it and he got a scholarship, he could go to college and get away. Not that it mattered. Remi would scrounge up the money to pay for Sterling’s college.
    “I don’t need your money, Remington.” Dirk’s cool tone never changed, but the snarl he made was downright nasty, letting Remi know he’d been insulted.
    “No, of course not, I—I’m sorry.”
    Grinning, Dirk nodded. “That’s what I thought.” He lifted his hand toward Remi’s face.
    It was a mean, nasty grin and Remi recoiled, waiting for the blow.
    Dirk patted his cheek, hard, making it sting a little. “Nevertheless, if you wanna pay for the brat to play ball, I’ll let you. It’s a waste of money in my opinion. I wasted enough letting you play. And we all see how well that turned out.”
    Remi nearly sighed in relief. God, he hated the son of a bitch. The man got some perverse pleasure out of making Remi squirm.
    Sterling’s attention darted back and forth between them, all the while inching his way closer to Remi.
    46
    www.samhainpublishing.com

    With Caution
    Dirk cleared his throat. “Let’s go, boy. Your mother has dinner going.” He walked away.
    Bending close to Sterling’s ear, Remi whispered, “Do not mention football to him again. Just let it go. I’ll take care of it, okay?”
    Nodding, Sterling squeezed Remi’s arm. “See you tomorrow.” He ran to catch up with their father.
    Dirk turned around, coming back.
    Damn, damn, damn. What did he want? Remi tried not to fidget. His heart was racing, and his palms were so sweaty the ball kept slipping. He pressed it against his leg.
    “Who’s the new friend of yours?” Dirk cocked a brow.
    “Excuse me?” Remi stiffened. “What friend?”
    “The big guy. Drives a black Tahoe.”
    How did he know about Jake? He couldn’t possibly know about the other night. No, of course not. Chill bumps raised on Remi’s arms.
    “Jake?” Sterling asked.
    Dirk looked toward Sterling. “Jake, huh? What’s he do for a living?”
    “He’s a security guard or something,” Sterling answered without missing a beat.
    Remi didn’t know whether to kiss him or kill him. If Dirk found out Sterling had lied— Fuck, Remi’s hands were shaking.
    Apparently satisfied for now, Dirk nodded. Moving back around, he walked off.
    Sterling shrugged, his eyes wide, then followed their father to the car.
    Remi tried to breathe normally. Even though Dirk was leaving, the panic was still there. He hated himself for letting the man affect him like this. When would he outgrow the feeling of helplessness?
    A sense of peace overcame Remi, his lungs taking in air again. His hands stopped quivering and suddenly everything felt all right. It was the same calm that came over him at the diner the other morning.
    “Remi?” A hand touched his shoulder.

    www.samhainpublishing.com 47
    J.L. Langley

Chapter Five
    As Dirk Lassiter drove off, Jake rubbed Remi’s back with one hand and tried not to let his anger show. Watching his normally cocky, self-assured mate cower gave Jake a real uneasy feeling. It took every ounce of energy he possessed to stand back until Dirk left. What had Remi endured when he lived at home?
    Amazingly, when Jake had showed up, the fear dissipated from Remi’s scent in seconds. He was beginning to suspect that Remi was reacting to his presence. It must be a mate thing, their bodies responding to one another, although he’d never heard of such a thing. Lust? Sure, it was pretty common for mates to react to one another’s arousal, but this… Jake knew darn well Remi’s mind was still in turmoil, he could see it on his face.
    “You okay?”
    Remi leaned into Jake’s touch a little, not quite enough to bring their bodies in contact. “Yeah. I hate letting Sterling go with him, knowing there’s a chance something bad might happen.”
    “We’re going to fix that.”
    Remi’s head whipped around, his gaze meeting Jake’s. “We are?”
    “Yes, but we need to talk.”
    Remi looked skeptical, but dipped his head toward the apartments. “You want a beer?”
    “Yeah.”
    Flipping the football to Jake, Remi