Order (Tattoos and Ties Duet #2)(50)

Maybe Clyde knew that same recipe. How had he never thought to ask?

Keyes opened his eyes and lifted his gaze, staring out at the darkened front yard. He wanted to leave this all behind. He’d done what he came to do. His mind drifted to Alec and his anxiety evened out. This was what Alec did for him—made him see the world with hope. Alec showed him everyone had value. Alec gave Keyes value.

He pushed off the railing, looking back at the broken-down home he hoped to never see again. The sorrow radiating off this piece-of-shit house was all he now saw. His gaze went to the corner of the porch, the exact place he’d cower for wetting the bed. Who did that to a scared little boy? The flash of sudden anger built so quickly Keyes fisted his hand and drove it into the siding before he even knew what he was doing.

He seethed, his breath coming in hard gasps. He was losing it over something that shouldn’t hold power over him any longer. Keyes forced himself to take a huge mental step backward. What the fuck was he doing?

Clyde told him to be done, and damn it, he needed to be fucking done. As he ate up the distance between the house and his bike, he shed the anger as fast as it had appeared. His heart regained the steady beat of anticipation, hope, and a brighter future. That was what he had waiting on him at home. At home. The words echoed in his head. With a promise to himself, Keyes mounted his bike. From that day on, he was only going to allow himself to look forward. He was going home to Alec. Jesus, that felt good to say.

=?=

Alec sidled up to the bar, sliding between two of his work colleagues, one dressed as Wonder Woman and the other as Spiderman. He lifted a hand toward the busy bartender, snagging his attention before lifting his glass. He got the nod that let him know his drink was on its way, so he downed the remaining vodka tonic as he turned back to the crowd of costume-clad partygoers.

When he lifted the glass to his mouth and ended up getting nothing but ice, he realized how much he’d had to drink this evening. Alec had driven to the masquerade party, only planning to stay for a short time before returning home and pouting because he hadn’t gotten his way. Key hadn’t come with him. But this little get-together had turned out to be a far better time than he had anticipated. He truly missed socializing, and all those warm feelings led him to drink more than he should have if he planned to drive home after the gathering.

What he couldn’t get past was Janice’s superior party planning skills. This little bar in the Uptown area of downtown Dallas was a great place to just be. Alec was super comfortable and looked down at his watch to check the time, only to be reminded he wasn’t wearing one this evening. “Robin…right? Where’s your Batman?”

His gaze shifted to the Wonder Woman beside him, and he grinned, running a hand down the tight-fitting bodysuit. He wasn’t a hundred percent certain anyone would know who he was supposed to be since he’d ditched the face mask and cape over an hour ago.

“He got called to the Batcave. I’m solo this evening.” He’d made that comment over and over since he’d arrived. He probably should have gone with Key’s Batman costume instead of sticking with the Robin one, but he’d been in full-on fit mode and purposefully chosen to go without his counterpart.

The guy she was with, who was dressed as a Dallas Maverick basketball player, was also grinning at him, and he happily stuck out a hand toward the man. “I’m Alec Pierce.”

“Jack,” the guy said, cocking a head toward Wonder Woman. “I’m Eva’s husband.”

Ah, Eva. Yup, maybe he knew that. She was one of Janice’s friends. They worked together in Janice’s division. Eva’s hand came up when Alec released Jack’s handshake. “We haven’t officially met. I’m Eva Covington.”

“I’m Alec.”

“I know. Janice talks about you all the time. You’re being nominated for a federal judge seat, right?” Eva asked, turning her head between Alec and her husband as though filling him in on the big news.

Alec’s happy slipped a notch, and his grin faltered as the bartender placed his drink in front of him. “That, I unfortunately am.” He grabbed the glass, taking a hearty swallow.

“He’s part of the Pierce family. His father is a congressman, right?” Eva continued, letting her husband in on all his dirty little family secrets. Any remnants of the grin he’d held for the last hour fell away.

“Unfortunately, that’s the case,” he said, mimicking his last words with an exaggerated nod. Luckily, a hand came to rest on his shoulder before running down the length of his arm. He turned, again lifting the glass to find Janice had come to stand beside him.

“You’re having a good time.”

The smile instantly slid back in place. “I am. Officially met Eva and Jack here.”

“Well, that’s good.” Janice laughed and shared a look with Eva that Alec interrupted to mean “Men, what do we do with them,” before she turned to the side, revealing the sombrero wearing Spanish hottie behind her. “I want you to meet my neighbor, Sean Romero.”

A tipsy Alec must be a friendly guy because he stuck his hand straight out again as the room wobbled just a bit at his full body turn. The dizziness was a little unexpected. It might be in everyone’s best interest for him to switch to water. A drunk Alec hated clothing, and there wasn’t much more to remove from the one-piece bodysuit. “It’s nice to meet you.”