Promises: Part I (Bounty Hunters Book 1) (3 page)

Duke went into the kitchen to grab another soda from the refrigerator. His head was pounding and all the caffeine probably wasn’t helping, but it was giving him a boost since he’d gotten very little sleep the night before. Quick got in around ten and was all smiles, singing Vaughan’s praises like he was up for sale at an auction.

He looked around for Charlie, but didn’t see him at his desk. Their spacious office was a gutted-out warehouse that they’d had renovated. Now each guy had his own workspace sans any walls. Only Duke’s office was closed off in the back. Quick was at his desk going over a contract with another bail bondsman that they sometimes hired as an outside contractor to retrieve their bail skippers.

Duke walked over to him. “Hey. Where’s everyone at?”

Quick took off his reading glasses and looked up at him. “Dana, he’s sick. Called off this morning. A couple of the guys are out doing surveillance and Charlie went to County to bail out Ricardo and his girlfriend again.”

“Again?” Duke barked a laugh.

“Yep. They got picked up last night on 13th street for disturbing the peace and indecent exposure.” Quick laced his hands on top of his head and reared back in his chair, his thick arms bulging underneath his white Polo, Duke’s logo on the breast.

“Damn. Those two can keep me in business by themselves.”

“Tell me about it.” Quick yawned. “At least they show up for court, though.”

“True.” Duke got up and headed back to his office. “You look worn out, buddy. Why don’t you head out, start an early weekend? I got this covered.”

“That actually sounds pretty good. But….”

Before Quick could finish his sentence their front door opened, and Duke almost dropped his soda when his eyes feasted on the gorgeous male specimen that had just stepped through it. Just about the same height as him, but decked out like a GQ model. Even his aviator sunglasses looked expensive. Who the fuck was this guy? His lip was turned up in a half-smile, half cocky smirk as he stared just as hard back at Duke.

Duke finally pried his eyes off the man to look at Quick for an explanation. His friend was shaking his head at him like he’d lost his mind. “It’s been that long since you seen my boy, Duke?”

Shit. Boy, my ass. “There’s no way that’s Vaughan,” Duke said, more so to himself.

Not realizing he’d said it loud enough for anyone to hear, Vaughan began walking towards him. His gait was full of masculine confidence and maturity. Duke swallowed when Vaughan completely ignored his father’s work area and came straight in his direction. He pulled off his sunglasses and Duke just controlled his gasp. Beautiful, bedroom hazel eyes framed by long, dark lashes, locked solely on him. His beard was perfectly trimmed, but still gave his beauty a bit of ruggedness.

Fuck.

“Hello Duke.”

Oh shit. There was that voice. The same one from the phone. Only there was no background noise and no filter from the phone lines. Duke didn’t think it possible for Vaughan to sound any sexier than he did the night before. He was wrong.

Instead of Vaughan giving him the handshake Duke was expecting, Vaughan gathered him in his arms and pulled him in tight. Duke instinctively brought his arms up and hugged him back. He refrained from closing his eyes, although the smell of fresh, clean-scented cologne assaulted every one of his senses. When Vaughan spoke again, his deep voice was right at the base of his ear, and Duke was that he felt his lips tickling the fine hairs on his neck. “It’s really good to see you, Duke.” The words were spoken so wistfully they made him want to moan. Vaughan’s strong hands rubbed down his back, lingering before squeezing right above his hip. Duke forced a step back, remembering the kid’s father was in the room with them. Chancing a peek over Vaughan’s broad shoulder, he saw that, sure enough, Quick was watching them, his expression unreadable. Duke dropped his arms and put some distance between Vaughan and himself, backing almost into his office.

“Yeah. It’s good to see you too, Vaughan. It’s been a long time. I hardly recognized you.”

Vaughan unbuttoned his suit jacket and tucked one hand inside his pants pocket. He nodded his head, his eyes boring into him. He needed to say something, anything, to clear the tension in the air. Duke turned and looked back in his office at the black box with the gold ribbon sitting on his desk. “I, uh. I got you something.” Duke nervously ran his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “A sort of belated graduation gift.”

Vaughan’s smile was downright sinful. “How sweet of you.”

Duke tried to shrug nonchalantly. “I’ll get it for you.” He turned and walked into his office, had just reached his desk when he heard his door shut behind him. With the small box in his hand, he spun around and saw that Vaughan had closed them inside. He took his time looking around at the books and picture frames on the wall-to-wall shelves. Long, graceful fingers skimmed the bindings of one of Duke’s favorite books: To Kill a Mockingbird. “I’ve read this too many times to count.” Vaughan finally spoke. “We seem to have similar taste.”

Ignoring that statement, Duke chose to talk about something else. “Your dad said you had an interview this morning. How’d it go?”

“Looks like I’m gonna be working in the DA’s office. It was my first choice after passing the bar, so I’m happy about it.”

“Wow. Congratulations. You must be….” Duke’s voice tapered off as Vaughan walked over to him. His rear was against his desk so there was nowhere to go. He held the box in front of him, thinking again that it was boxed like a diamond bracelet was inside and wrapped like something you’d present to a lover. Vaughan stood only a few inches away, so Duke extended the box to him.

Vaughan’s gaze never wavered from his as he pulled gently at the bow until it unraveled, and slowly lifted the lid off. When Vaughan finally looked down in the box, a soft, genuine smile appeared on that beautiful face. “This is great, Duke. I like it. A lot.” Duke watched Vaughan remove the monogramed, Parker Duofold black ballpoint executive ink pen and read the elegant cursive script along the side, Vaughan Webb, Esquire.

With his eyes back on Duke’s, Vaughan took the pen and slid it easily inside his suit coat pocket. “My only graduation gift. I’m glad it was from you.”

Duke went to open his mouth but Vaughan inched in closer, his eyes appearing to be obsessed with Duke’s lips. His voice was raspy and low when he spoke again. “I’ve traveled all over Europe for two years, Duke. In Eastern Europe, they kiss on every occasion. They kiss to say hello, goodbye, to congratulate, to comfort, and especially to say thank you.”

Duke’s eyes fluttered slightly as Vaughan’s chest barely touched his. That damn scent was causing his dick to quickly take interest. He should’ve pushed Vaughan back, but he didn’t want to overreact. He wasn’t even sure Vaughan was gay. There was nothing wrong with saying thank you for a gift, right?

Next thing he knew, Vaughan’s soft hand was on his neck, his grip light but controlling. He pulled Duke in and at the last second before their lips could touch, Vaughan averted his head and grazed Duke’s cheek with his own beard stubbled one, pausing to place a gentle, lingering kiss there. His lips were as silky and smooth as satin. Still keeping the contact around his neck, Vaughan pulled back just enough to leave a ghost of hot breath over Duke’s mouth to get to the other side. He kissed him there too, but this time he lingered even longer. Whispering a warm, “Thank you,” against his ear.

A breathy, “You’re welcome,” was all Duke could muster.

No sooner did Vaughan step back and put some much-needed space between them, than Quick’s abrupt knock sounded right before he came through the door. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

Duke quickly got behind his desk and sat down, hoping to avoid anyone noticing the considerable bulge in his pants. “No, Quick. I was just giving Vaughan his gift.”

“Uh-huh. Well I’m gonna head on home now. Vaughan, I’ll see you when you get there.”

Vaughan didn’t take his eyes off Duke, even when he responded to his father. “Sure thing.”

Quick gave Duke a conspiratorial wink which he had no clue to the meaning of before he closed the door. Looking back at Vaughan’s sexiness wasn’t an option, so Duke pushed around a few files on his desk.

“Why don’t you come over to my father’s place tonight? We’re gonna watch a movie or something. Just chill out.”

“I don’t want to impose on you and your dad’s time, kid.” Duke moved around some more files until the dead silence in the room finally made him look up. He didn’t like the look on Vaughan’s face. It wasn’t an angry one, but a look that clearly displayed irritation and annoyance. Duke tried to recall what he’d just said. “Your dad’s been waiting a long while to have this time to spend with you. I just want to give y’all some space. I’ll probably hang out tomorrow. Who knows?”

Vaughan buttoned his suit jacket and turned to leave. Before he got to the door, his back went ramrod straight, and he turned and strode back over to Duke, walking around his desk, bending until their faces were inches apart. His eyes were like fire, blazing a searing path over Duke’s face. “I’m not a fuckin’ kid, Duke,” Vaughan hissed. His eyes softened for a second. “The sooner you realize that, the happier you’ll be.”

Duke watched Vaughan walk out the door, leaving that amazing scent to linger in his office. He spun in his chair, leaning back to take a deep breath. What did he mean? The happier I’ll be? No. He can’t be saying that. Why would he be interested in some old man when he could clearly have anyone he wanted? When Charlie stuck his head in Duke’s office door, he had no clue how long he’d been staring into space.

“Boss, you wanted to see me?”

Duke sighed tiredly. “Yeah, Charlie. Come on in and close the door, buddy.”

“Everything went fine down at processing this morning. Sorry it took me a while to get back; I had a doctor’s appointment and then stopped to pick up my prescriptions. They gave me a hard time down there again.”

“You’re not having any problems with your insurance are you?” Duke leaned in.

“No. No. They just need to get a newer system.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Cholesterol’s a tad high and my knee still locks up every now and then. Side effects of getting old, boss.”

“Tell me about it.” Duke huffed.

Charlie waved him off, looking at him like he was crazy. “Old, my aching ass. You’re in your prime, buddy. Man. I was something else in my early forties. Still could turn a gal on the dance floor like it was no one’s business. Your dad and I pulled all the honeys in our day.”

Duke smiled while Charlie reminisced. He never minded hearing Charlie’s stories about him and their other friends. That’s why it was killing Duke to have to do what he was about to.

“I’m glad you called me in here, Boss. I believe it’s time to hang up my hat. I’ve done this job for almost fifty damn years. I come in whenever my old bones can get me out of bed, and you’ve been real understanding.”

“You’re family, Charlie.”

“No. You’re the boss. But you’re also your father’s son. He was the loyalist, most dedicated man I’ve ever had the honor of calling a friend. You are a spitting image, Duke. That’s why you’ve humored this old bird as long as you have. But I hear what the guys are saying about me.”

“Damn that! I run this place. You can stay as long as you want to, Charlie.”

Charlie laughed. “There’s the Duke, Sr. I miss so much. Maybe I hung around as long as I did because I miss your father a lot and you remind me so much of him.”

Duke stood and came around his desk. Charlie rose and they embraced for a moment. “You’re welcome here anytime. You know that.”

“Yeah. I do know.”

“I’m gonna put together the best damn retirement package you’ve ever seen. So good, you’ll be able to retire in the Caribbean if you want to.”

“Alright then. I ain’t gon’ complain about that.” Charlie clapped Duke on his shoulder. He couldn’t believe how fate had worked it all out. He didn’t have to switch Charlie to light duty. He’d decided on his own that he was ready to retire. Now Duke needed to contact his insurance company to make sure Charlie kept his coverage and then he’d get his retirement benefits ready. But first… Duke had a retirement party to plan.

Duke sat at a gay-friendly bar a couple blocks from Quick’s house, undecided if he was going to accept Vaughan’s invitation. He’d felt so much better when he finally left the office, he didn’t want to go home and be alone. It was nearing seven, it wouldn’t look that pathetic if he popped up, he did all the time before Vaughan came home. Vaughan. Jesus.