Page 35 of Boy Toy Not Included

Kuba:Tomorrow?

Diesel:That’s fine.

Kuba:Salty Pete’s at noon?

Diesel:I’ll be there.

Kuba:See you then.

Everything weighed heavily on Diesel’s mind. He had lain awake the entire night, looking at his time with Kuba from every possible angle. Kuba’s explanation made everything so much clearer. That still hadn’t given Kuba the right to humiliate Diesel the way he had. Knowing the truth didn’t lessen the hurt. But Diesel got it, and love didn’t die overnight. That was why he sat in front of Jayme’s place waiting for his crew to unload their equipment. When Timber gave him the thumbs-up, Diesel climbed out of the Jeep. Clipboard in hand, he headed for the door. Jayme jerked it open before Diesel got the chance to knock.

“What in the fuck are you guys doing?” His open rage gave Diesel the last drop of fuel he needed to be the total asshole he intended to be.

“We’re here to retrieve our surveillance equipment. Seeing as you’re no longer an employee of the Svoboda family, you’re no longer entitled to their security. Don’t worry about the days you’ve used the system since you were fired. I won’t charge you for that, but I have to make sure all equipment is accounted for and nothing is damaged. You will be responsible for any missing or broken equipment.”

“Have you lost your fucking mind, mate? I still work for Kuba. We’re just having a tiff.”

Diesel focused on Jayme with all the rage in his heart. “I assure you that you don’t still work for Kuba,mate. You see, I got to thinking about something and realized a few things. We totally forgot about that camera running. It had to have run the entire night and day. This really had me baffled, because how did you turn on the TV and have that clip right where it would do the most damage? Not to mention that camera is controlled by an app on Kuba’s phone. Oh boy, that really had me baffled, especially since that clip was from a total different angle than Kuba’s camera. With that in mind, my team did a sweep of the warehouse late last night, and do you know what they found?” He held his hand up. “Don’t bother answering because I know you know exactly what they found. Not only have you been spying on Kuba, but you purposely waited until you had crewmen there that you knew would spread the word. After all, you had paid them to get that footage of Dread. I wouldn’t even be surprised if you paid them to spread the word as quickly as possible. What I can’t figure out is why. No matter the reason, I can assure you I absolutely will smash your fucking face in if you ever show yourself anywhere near Kuba again.”

“He’s supposed to be mine!”

The explosion of fury that spewed from Jayme with that one shout had everyone’s attention. They all looked braced to jump in if Jayme attacked. He likely would because Diesel had no intention of taking a single log off the fire.

“There it is. The truth. You never cared about Kuba. You were just hanging around so you could live whatever sick little fantasy you had going on in your head. I’ll give you this: you’re quite an actor. You had me fooled into thinking you were his friend.”

“I am his friend. You don’t know shit about me or us. I know Kuba better than he even knows himself. It was only a matter of time before he would have broken and the truth would come out. He couldn’t hide who he is forever. But I saw him, and I was there, waiting in the wings. I can’t fucking tell you how many times I baited him, talking about how hot some guy was or some other shit. It was supposed to be me.” Jayme stabbed his chest with his finger.

Diesel rocked back on his heels. “Oh, so you were just waiting for him to realize he was madly in love with you. I see. For the record, that’s not a friend. That’s a predatory presence.”

To his surprise, Jayme didn’t explode again. He deflated. “You know what, mate. Never mind. You wouldn’t understand. All your equipment should be fine. The door’s unlocked. Just lock it behind you when you leave.” Jayme stepped around him and headed for his truck.

Timber moved to flank him. “How much do you bet he’s going straight to Kuba? Give me this.” He took the clipboard from Diesel. “Go. Someone who’ll put cameras up to spy on someone is definitely crazy enough to harm them.”

Just the thought of someone hurting Kuba had fear shooting through Diesel. “Thanks, man. Kuba can take care of himself, but you know.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Diesel jumped inside his Jeep and headed straight for Kuba. They were meeting for lunch later, but this was too important. It took him longer than he liked to get to the warehouse. Jayme pulled in from a different direction, but they arrived at the same time.

Jayme made it to the door first. Like always, he didn’t knock. Diesel was hot on his heels.

“You’re not stopping me, mate. I have every right to be here.”

Kuba was in his recliner, playing on his phone as they came through the door. He looked over his shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

The anger in Kuba’s voice couldn’t be missed. Diesel immediately felt like scrambling away. “Following this fool to make sure you’re safe.”

Kuba looked at him. His features softened, and Diesel melted. “Not you, babe. You’re allowed to be here.” He focused on Jayme, and his face hardened again. “I meant you.”

Jayme sat in the other recliner and focused on Kuba. “I’ve come to make my confession, and then you can do whatever. Have your man kick my ass, if that’s what you need.”

“I don’t need anyone else to kick your ass, but I’ll support his decision if he chooses to do so.”

No one corrected Jayme about Diesel being his man.

“Fair enough. I purposely showed that clip with those guys here. Diesel was right about that.”

Kuba’s eyebrows shot up. It was obvious that thought had never occurred to him, especially since Timber hadn’t told Kuba about the cameras they had found. He had left the news for Diesel to break. “Go on.”