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.He has neverbothered with me in all this time.Why would henow? James knew his voice bordered on begging,but he couldn t imagine why his own brother, somany years later, would threaten him. I don t know, baby, Seth answered. Butwe need to look at all possibilities.Maybe Ty isthe one actually behind this.He was pissed when Ihad him thrown out of the restaurant after he triedto force you to leave with him. Does Ty have a last name? Rhys asked. His name is Tyler Webbs.He doesn t livelocally, though.He was only in town for aconvention, so I doubt it s him, James answered. I might agree, Rhys said. But, he is theonly link we know of between you and the onlyperson on record as having accessed the case thatphoto came from.I know it s frustrating, James, butlet us do our job.That s not to say we don t wantany information you have, but your brother is localso it could still be any of them.They are all friendsafter all.Chase bristled at Rhys s words. Has anyonethought that the actual target might be Seth, notJames? he snapped, glowering between thebrothers. I mean, sure James has had trouble withguys attacking him, but that s always been aphysical thing with someone he was involvedwith. At James s huff, he amended, Even if hewas not willingly involved.Happy? Sorta, James replied but gave a smallsmile.Seth stilled, then looked at Chase. You thinkI have something to do with the threats againsthim? His brows drew up, voice confused. Yes and no.I think it s awfully strange thatJames has never been the target of death threatsbefore and now the latest threat mentions him beingaround kids.Your daughter is the only kid whohe s really around, right? Well, yes. Right, so what if the threat is from thegrandparents, not Jamie s ex? I, um, Seth mumbled.He faced Rhys again. Is it possible that they could have this OfficerDelanco in their pocket? I mean, I knew they weredesperate to find a way to cause trouble so theycould get Danni from me but He paused againto think. It s too risky for them to do somethinglike this, Seth finally concluded. Not if they don t know you have an in withthe cops, Dal countered. With your status andwealth, many would assume you would rather notrisk your reputation especially with the custodycase looming.There are also many who assumethat love between men can t be real or binding likehet love.So, threaten your lover, get you to dumphim, move back into your condo or whatever, andthen it s you alone and they can try to claim thatyou bounce from man to man and that you drag yourpoor, already heartsick child into unhealthy, short-term relationships. That s vile! Seth snapped, disgust drippingfrom his words. I agree but I ve seen it happen.Chase s eyes widened. Oh, Seth.Think of itlike a corporate takeover.I mean, you re a CEOand all&.You find ways to put pressure on thecompetition, to unbalance them in negotiations toget what you want, right? Not me personally, but yes, that is whathappens usually.Sometimes other companies evenget dirty to get what& they& want&. Seth svoice trailed off, his eyes wide. So then the threats aren t real? Jamesasked, a desperate tinge to his words. While what Chase and Seth are discussing ispossible, don t assume they are right or that thedanger isn t real&.IT HAD been one hell of a day Okay, the last 48hours sucked.Between the drama of the previousevening and the threat, visit, and everything thatwent with it, James was exhausted.He wished hecould go paint, or maybe take a nap, but he knewDanni would be home shortly with Britt.Theywere only stopping for a few minutes as it wasslumber-party-night at Britt s, but he still wantedto be available.Plus it was dinnertime, so wherewas he? In the kitchen cooking for his lover.Notthat he minded.Not at all.He loved cooking,especially for Seth. Unca James? Danni called as she boundedinto the kitchen, startling him.James put down the spoon he was using to stirthe sauce on the stove, moved the pan to an emptyburner, and turned to face her. Yes, my littlepixie? Are you having fun with Aunt Britt? heasked with a smile.He didn t want to share hisfear or stress with her; she was only six. Uh-huh, she squeaked and nodded her headin quick, tight movements. But, um& Aunt Brittand Unc Daddy are outside fighting.He sent meinside, like I m too little to know they re fightin ,she added with a pout on her adorable little face.James started to smile at the face she wasmaking when her words managed to sink in.Fighting? What do you mean, sweetie? Daddyand Britt are friends, so it can t be all that bad. Harrumph! Danni crossed her little arms. She called him a& coward. She nodded toherself as if pleased to use the last word. But,Unca James, Daddy s not like that.He s not scaredof anything. Her matter-of-fact tone andconfidence in Seth warmed his heart even as hiscuriosity and nerves were piqued. Okay, pixie.How about I go find out whatthey re up to and you go grab your things to takeback to Aunt Britt s? James smiled as he sentDanni off to her bedroom.Now, what are thosetwo doing arguing in front of Danni? Really!James made it to the foyer before he couldhear Seth and Brittany, and yes, they were arguing. I cannot believe you would do this to me,Britt! You know how much stress he s alreadyunder, but no, you decide that helping Mother setup a surprise visit was the right thing to do.Andworse, James is in there cooking dinner for me.You know they will expect us to go outsomewhere.They probably already havereservations.Seth s deep smooth voice was agitated in away James had never heard before, not evenearlier when they discussed the threats and thetheories about who it might be.James froze at thethought of meeting Seth s parents.He knew theyspoke on the phone often.Seth always seemedpleased after their talks, so he didn t figure itwould be too unreasonable to think they might wantto visit.But now? And with no warning?James closed his eyes as he fought to controlhis breathing.No way would Seth s affluent, jet setparents want him as their son s partner.He wasjust an artist, not even a famous one.He remindedhimself that Seth said they accepted his being gayback in high school and never showed anything butpride in him and his life.He knew he was jadedthanks to his own family, or those that weresupposed to be his family.But still&.James went to turn and head back in, unsureof how to address what he d heard, when the frontdoor flew open and Seth stomped inside. I amstill not amused with you, Britt. Seth paused andlooked at James with wide eyes, shock clear on hishandsome face
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