Havoc (Tattoos and Ties 1)

If that were the case, enough time had passed for Keyes to come to terms with the idea that Alec could slum it while riding his dick. He chuckled to himself. Whatever bullshit internal issue he had regarding Alec would be dealt with later, or better yet, not at all. He could move on, live his life, and stop fantasizing about the blond lawyer once he got him out of his system.

Keyes dropped the kickstand in place, pulled off his helmet, and went for the box close to the gate. He rang the buzzer a couple of times, got no answer, then entered the number code from the note. The gate opened right up. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy. He went back to the bike then drove up the driveway toward the back of the property. He probably stood out like a sore thumb in that neighborhood—being “out of sight, out of mind” might be the best approach as he waited for Alec to show.

For some reason, the house seemed bigger up close. He pulled closer to the garage and parked his bike there. He looked all around. Damn, the spread didn’t stop. There was a huge-ass backyard too. Lots of flowers and trees everywhere, a badass swimming pool with a waterfall and lounge chairs right inside the pool. Getting his fill of the backyard, Keyes walked toward the back door of the house, knocking first, before finding a side window and looking inside. The house was spacious and open, really nicely decorated and dark. He didn’t think anyone was home. Keyes went back to the door and gently twisted the doorknob. Locked.

He took several steps backward. Five of the houses in his neighborhood could fit inside this one home. What the hell did Alec do here alone all the time? Probably wasn’t alone now that he thought about it. Hmm. He’d come all this way. If Alec wasn’t alone, he could tell Keyes to get lost. And he would. Maybe.

Instead of getting too wrapped up in the what-the-hell-was-going-on moment, Keyes went back to his bike, parked dead center of the driveway and reached for his hairbrush. He gave a reasonable attempt to brush out the tangles, cursed the gods for making the shit so painful, then looked in his side mirrors. His hair seemed okay enough. Then he checked his teeth and didn’t see anything stuck anywhere it shouldn’t be. Keyes discreetly checked his breath, cupping his hand over his mouth and nose. Everything good there, but he grabbed a breath mint from his saddlebag anyway.

Aviators shielded his eyes from the sun as Keyes parked his ass against the side of his seat and waited for Alec to arrive. He’d stop all the assuming and wait to see where things went from there. It was four thirty in the afternoon. Wouldn’t be too much longer.

=?=

Alec pulled to the gate in front of his house. After the day he’d had, his only plan was to crack open one of Blaine’s IPAs and spend some alone time with the snapshots he’d taken of the surveillance photos of Keyes Dixon. From there, well, he’d have to figure it out. He’d definitely be drinking more, then maybe swipe right on a dating app. He wasn’t necessarily sold on that idea, but something had to give. He needed some relief.

Fucking Child Protective Services.

His heart couldn’t take even the idea of working those kinds of cases. The men and women of that department were saints. Somehow, they managed to keep their perspective while continually fighting for justice. Alec didn’t see himself as anywhere close to being able to stand in their shoes.

Maybe he’d call in sick tomorrow. How much time off had he accumulated? Which of his physician friends would write him out for a while? Wait. That was a good idea. Alec’s gaze focused on the gate while it opened. Maybe he could get months off, some sort of extended leave of absence until he could sort out his life. Maybe he should take Blaine up on his offer.

Alec’s shoulders slumped in defeat, much like they had all day. Playing around with Blaine sounded like its own kind of torture. He’d grown so bored of that life. Alec drove through the gate, lifted his gaze to the rearview mirror until the gate started to close and drove up the drive, pushing the garage door remote.

What he really wanted was to be back in DC, working with Reed Kensington. That was where his heart wanted him to be.

To calm his life down, Alec might have to acknowledge that he had taken “normal” too far in the wrong direction. He’d bought this house thinking of neighborhood parties, friends coming from out of town, work gatherings or holiday parties when his friends had nowhere else to go. But not one of those things had happened since he had arrived. He hadn’t developed any new friendships in the area. He didn’t know his neighbors, work was a competitive environment, and no one ever seemed to want to hang out for much more than a beer after work. Maybe it was just him—they didn’t want to hang out with him. Either way, he hadn’t acclimated to the suburban lifestyle like he thought he would.