Sleight of Hand by Charlie Cochet

Seven

It was latewhen they got in, and Gio looked about ready to collapse, but first, he wanted a shower. Joker couldn’t blame him. It had been one hell of a night.

Jack was on his way with Chip, so Joker ignored Gio’s griping and instructed Saint to stand outside Gio’s bathroom suite door while he showered in case he got dizzy or passed out. Since he’d had a bad episode, the doctor insisted Gio not do anything alone that might leave him in a vulnerable position or without someone within hearing distance.

Tomorrow Joker would pick up Gio’s new medication and make damn sure he started taking it, though after tonight, with everyone on his ass, Joker would guess Gio wasn’t going to be taking any more stupid risks with his health.

Since Gio was occupied and Jack hadn’t arrived yet, Joker took the opportunity to do a quick scan of the perimeter. For possible threats, not because he was nosy and wanted to have a good look at the house. He planned on making a closer inspection in the morning when he could see everything properly.

Gio didn’t spend a lot of time at his house, and Joker couldn’t figure out why. The place was amazing and huge, as Joker had expected. The guy was obscenely wealthy, after all. However, Joker hadn’t expected Gio’s house to be smaller than Colton’s.

“What the—” Joker stood outside on the patio and stared up at the house. “It’s fucking pink.” Not just any pink. He squinted at the wall next to the bright wall sconce. Salmon pink. “Of course it is.” Joker shook his head, amused. It should have been tacky, but instead it was charming, with its white shutters, white windows, white trim, and a pale gray roof.

The house was a three-story luxury oceanfront property with two garages, a pool, spa, and firepit. A private walkway led down to the quiet beach. Everything about the house screamed Gio, from the property’s pristine landscaping and impeccable paint job to the interior’s eclectic decor and comfortable-looking mismatched furniture.

This was the house of a man who’d traveled far and wide and brought back with him a little piece of his experience. Each room was painted a different color—the dining room a pale salmon pink, one guest room a light blue, another a light yellow. The only white rooms were the living room, foyer, and halls.

Artwork from various parts of the world hung in each room, along with framed photos of Gio smiling wide with the many people he’d helped. The entire house burst with color, inside and out. Anyone who didn’t know Gio and went on outward appearances might be confused, but it all made perfect sense to Joker. For Gio, the places he’d visited, the people he’d met and those he’d helped were more than a job; they were a part of his life.

Joker had discovered a small elevator inside the house on the main floor, but the doorbell rang, interrupting his exploration. After checking who it was, Joker opened the door for Jack and Chip.

“Here’s your rotten brat. He wouldn’t shut up the entire ride over here. You didn’t come pick him up like you were supposed to, so he made his displeasure known.”

“Aw.” Joker knelt to give Chip some love. “Were you a pain in the ass for your uncle Jack? Who’s my good boy?”

Chip howled and barked, letting Joker know he was mad and he had words for him about it. After an acceptable amount of scritches had been given, Chip turned his nose up at Joker and trotted off to explore.

“Good luck with that,” Jack said, laughing. “Your dog is such a diva.”

“He’s fine. He’ll ignore me and give me the side-eye for the rest of the night. I’ll give him his you-know-what in the morning and all will be forgiven.”

Jack nodded and handed Joker Chip’s bag, along with Joker’s beat-up Army backpack. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Joker peered at his best friend. He looked a little smug for some reason. Jack shrugged and glanced around the expansive living room.

“So… pink house.”

Joker shoved his hands into his pockets with a heavy sigh. “Salmon pink, yes.”

“It’s nice.”

“Why are you telling me?”

Another shrug. “Chip’s gonna love running on the beach.”

“What’s with the shrugging? You got a tic or something? Cut it out.” And of course Chip would love running on the beach. It wasn’t exactly a new experience for him. Why did Jack make it sound so weird?

“Hi, Jack.” Gio appeared, and Joker almost swallowed his tongue. He must have made some kind of noise, because his asshole best friend laughed while Gio looked at Joker with concern. “You okay?”

“Yep. Just, uh, feeling a bit parched. Need some water.”

“Parched?”Jack mouthed, and Joker flipped him off when Gio had turned away.

“There are bottles of cold water in the fridge,” Gio informed him, his smile huge as Chip barked, howled, and danced excitedly around his feet.

Joker headed for the kitchen, ignoring the thin white pajama bottoms hanging low on Gio’s hips, the fabric of which left nothing to the imagination. His hair was wet from the shower, his feet bare, and the white V-neck tee he wore accentuated every muscle of his strong arms, chest, and flat stomach.

“I better get going,” Jack said, his lips quirked in a smile. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Thank you.” Gio walked him out, Chip on his heels like he was afraid Gio was going somewhere. Gio locked up after Jack, then headed back into the living room. He dropped down onto the end of the gray L-shaped sectional. Chip didn’t waste any time jumping up to sit next to Gio, making him laugh.

“Just tell him to get down if you don’t want him on your furniture.” Joker shook his head at Chip as he came around the counter of the open-plan kitchen. “He knows better.”

“Furniture is meant to be used,” Gio replied cheerfully as he scratched Chip behind his ears.

“He sheds,” Joker warned him. “A lot.”

Gio shrugged. “That’s what lint rollers are for.”

“Mind if I use your shower?” Joker asked. He wasn’t about to ask where he’d be sleeping, but he assumed it was one of Gio’s many guest rooms. “Where’s Saint?”

“Of course you can use my shower. And Saint’s in his room. I told him I’d be heading off to bed soon and would let him know if I needed him.” Gio sighed. “It’s strange, having a bodyguard around all the time.”

At some point, Gio would have a whole team around him. The time for him to decide on live-in protection was coming up fast. He was simply too much of a target not to have a small team watching his six at all times, and he knew it. Someone out there wanted to get their hands on Gio, and whether it was the same men who’d kidnapped him in Sri Lanka or someone entirely different, Gio was in danger. He couldn’t afford to act like a regular guy anymore.

“Let me show you to the bathroom.” Gio stood, and Chip jumped off the couch to trail after Gio like his furry shadow.

Joker followed Gio up two flights of stairs to the third story with the master suite. Good God, his entire apartment could fit in here. The room was terrific, with the far wall made up of three floor-to-ceiling windows offering a breathtaking view of the ocean. The room was painted a soft blue with white accents and looked incredibly inviting, from its lush white-and-blue bedding to the plush couch and footrest in front of the windows.

“This is my bedroom.” Gio shifted awkwardly, his gaze on the vast king-sized bed. “I haven’t slept a full night in my bed since I bought it.”

Joker knew the feeling well, and it squeezed his heart. “How about we sleep in it tonight?” He waited with bated breath as Gio turned to him, his eyes searching Joker’s.

“What if I wake you up with one of my nightmares?”

“Then you wake me up.”

Gio looked uncertain, and Joker gently placed a hand on his arm.

“Nothing is going to happen to you while I’m here, Gio.”

“You’ll protect me?” Gio’s smile reached his dark eyes as he brought Joker into his embrace.

“Pft. What do you think?”

“I think you’d do almost anything for me.”

Joker barked out a laugh. “Whoa, hey now. Someone’s feeling bold.” He wasn’t about to tell Gio how stupidly happy his words made him, because, yeah, he would. As terrifying as the thought was, Joker realized he was okay with it. Gio was nothing like Joker had first imagined.

“Tell me you wouldn’t do almost anything for me.”

Joker pretended to think about it. “I’m not eating okra for you. That’s a dealbreaker. Or eggplant. I might consider beets if the incentive is good enough.”

“Oh, well, I mean, okra. That’s understandable. Pretty sure I can make you come around on the eggplant.”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

Gio brushed his lips over Joker’s. “Face it. You like me.”

“Hm. I find you tolerable at best.”

“Well, that’s okay, because I only want you for your dog.”

Joker gasped. “Oh, you fucker!” He laughed. “I see how it is.”

“I mean, you’re cute, but not Chip-cute.”

“Ass.” Joker couldn’t help his stupidly happy smile. How could he resist a guy who seemed to love his dog almost as much as he did? Speaking of, Chip trotted past them like he owned the joint and jumped up onto the bed.

“Excuse you,” Joker said, gaping at Chip as he circled several times in the center of the bed, then dropped down all curled up in a ball. He lifted his head and stared at Joker like, “What?”

Gio laughed and kissed Joker’s cheek. “Well, now you have to sleep in my bed.”

“Unbelievable.” Joker shook his head at Chip as he headed for the bathroom. “Make yourself comfortable. People are going to think I didn’t teach you any manners.” Chip laid his head on his paws, his big eyes looking up at Joker. “Don’t you give me that I’m-just-a-cute-puppyface. I’m immune to that face.”

“But I’m not,” Gio said, throwing himself on the bed and laughing when Chip rolled over onto his back and wriggled so he could attack Gio with his tongue.

“You two are ridiculous.” Joker held back a smile. They were also going to make his heart explode. Seeing Gio rolling around the bed laughing with Chip barking and wagging his tail happily as he lavished Gio with doggie kisses was something Joker had no idea he’d been missing in his life. If he wasn’t careful, he could quickly get used to having Gio around.

Leaving the two dorks to it, he walked into the enormous en-suite bathroom. He closed the door behind him, then dropped his bag onto the marble counter. The bathroom had a fancy shower big enough for two with one of those giant rainfall showerheads he’d seen in Colton’s house. Next to it sat a jacuzzi-style bathtub, also big enough for two, not that he was getting any ideas. Probably best not to look at it too much.

After turning on the shower, he reached into his backpack and grabbed the toiletry bag that Jack had packed for him. Was he actually here in Gio’s house using his shower? How the hell had that happened? More importantly, had he just started a relationship with the guy? Getting into the shower, he dropped the toiletry bag onto the shelf at the far end, then stilled. Holy fuck, he was in a relationship!

With Gio.

He had a boyfriend. As in, he was seeing one person, sleeping with one person, and having sex with one person. Oh fuck.

Sticking his head under the hot spray, he let the water sluice over him, relaxing his muscles. He leaned against the expensive tiled wall and willed himself to breathe. What the hell had gotten into him? Dumb question. He knew exactly what had gotten into him.

When those masked men had shown up, a fear he’d not felt in a long time took charge. Knowing they were there to take Gio, to hurt him, sent rage flaring through him, and he’d beaten the shit out of those guys. They’d been lucky to get away from him.

Seeing Gio taken away on a gurney, then sped away in an ambulance had his heart trying to beat out of him, so when he showed up at the hospital, and the nurse asked who Joker was to Gio, he’d said the first thing that had come to mind—that he was Gio’s boyfriend. The rest of the guys, including Laz, hadn’t arrived, and there was no way he was going to leave Gio in there all alone. The hospital didn’t care for bodyguards, so Saint had to wait outside.

“Fuck.” Joker grabbed his shampoo and started washing his hair. The terrifying part of all this was how declaring himself in a relationship hadn’t scared him as much as it should have. He loved kissing Gio, loved the taste of him, the feel of his body against Joker’s. Loved…

Nope. Enjoyed. He enjoyed kissing Gio. Enjoyed the taste of him and the feel of his body. No L words involved.

Images of him on his knees for Gio flooded his mind, and he quickly pushed them down. How the hell was he supposed to sleep in the same bed with Gio after what they’d done in the club?

“Easy,” Joker told himself. “Tonight isn’t about you, so you do whatever he needs you to do.”

Finishing up his hair, he quickly washed and got out. After drying himself with one of the soft, fluffy white towels, he dressed in the checkered blue-and-green pajama pants and blue tee Jack had stuffed in the backpack for him.

It was oddly quiet out in the bedroom. Could Gio have fallen asleep? Stepping out of the bathroom, Joker stilled. Gio lay on his side facing Chip, who lay stretched out on his back tucked against Gio, his face against Gio’s shoulder as Gio murmured at him and slowly rubbed his belly. Chip wasn’t just out for the count; he was snoring.

Sensing he was there, Gio lifted his gaze, his smile stealing Joker’s breath away. This man was hazardous to his heart. He looked so soft and comfortable, so damned happy, like there was nowhere else in the world he would rather be than right here with Joker and his dog.

“I can tell him to get off the bed,” Joker said quietly as he dropped his bag off on the couch by the window before heading toward the bed.

Gio stared at him. “Where would he sleep?”

“Um, the floor?” Joker tried not to laugh at Gio’s scandalized expression, as if he’d suggested Chip sleep out in the cold rain or something.

“Absolutely not. He’ll sleep here with us. I’m assuming he sleeps with you on your bed?”

“Yeah, though I need to warn you to be careful when you go to the bathroom, because if he gets hot, he likes to lie down on the tiles to cool off, so just look for the big hairy black blob on the floor.”

Gio chuckled, and Chip wriggled, twisting his body so he could see Joker approaching the bed, some of his teeth visible, making Joker laugh.

“You’re such a butt.”

Chip’s tail thumped against the comforter in response.

“All right, move your big furry ass. This is my spot.” Joker tugged at the covers, and Chip grumbled his displeasure. “Don’t make me move you.” With a huff, Chip rolled over and pushed himself to his paws, then gave himself a good shake, nearly whacking Joker in the face with his tail. He took his sweet-ass time on his way to the foot of the bed, then dropped himself down with the most dramatic sigh to ever come from a dog. Gio pouted at Joker.

“Oh my God, you’re such a sucker.” Joker climbed into bed with a laugh. “He’s got you smitten.”

“He’s not the only one,” Gio said softly, his dark eyes filled with affection and… something else as he met Joker’s gaze. Thankfully, Gio didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, he got up to turn off the bedroom lights. “Will that bother you? Because I can close the blinds.” He motioned to the windows at the end of the room overlooking the beach where the ocean and night sky seemed to stretch on forever. “You can’t see in from outside. I made sure to have a special film installed for privacy.”

“I’m good with it if you are. It’s quite the view.”

“I love the ocean,” Gio admitted, climbing into bed. “There’s something so calming about it; even when a storm is raging, it’s soothing somehow.”

“I get that. It’s why we all decided to move to St. Augustine Beach, to be near the water. Well, Red’s therapist suggested it, so the rest of us joined him. It definitely helps.”

Gio turned onto his side, facing Joker. “Thank you for staying here with me.”

“It’s not exactly a hardship.”

“Have you always been so brutally honest?”

“Yep.” Joker thought about it. “Actually, not always.” He rubbed at his chest over his heart. Fuck. He was not going to get all sentimental and sappy.

“Oh?”

“I used to be quiet and shy.”

Gio stared at him, and Joker laughed.

“I’m serious. When I was little, I barely spoke.” His smile faded at the hazy memory. It was a lifetime ago. “I was too scared to talk.”

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t speak English.”

“What?”

Joker nodded. “I spoke Russian. I was told no parents would ever want a Commie kid. If I wanted to get adopted, I needed to speak English without an accent.” His heart warmed at Gio’s horrified expression.

“That’s outrageous!”

“Yeah, well, it was the eighties, and I was an orphan, so…” Joker shrugged. “Anyway, for some reason, they kept Sacha, but they changed my last name. They taught me to speak English, had me work on getting rid of the accent. It took a while, but I did it.” No trace of his heritage remained, but then what heritage could he have salvaged when he’d been so young and had no idea where he’d come from?

“How old were you?”

“Almost four. All I know is that my mother fled to the US when I was a baby. I barely remember her. When I was old enough to ask about my parents, they told me my mother was dead and they had no idea who my father was. Years later, I found out my father had died in some Russian prison, and an asshole boyfriend had killed my mother. The neighbors heard a kid screaming nonstop and called the cops.” Joker wrinkled his nose. “He was long gone by then.”

“He just left you there?”

“Yeah, but then again, he was a murderer, so, you know, probably not the best babysitter.”

Gio brushed his fingers down Joker’s jaw. “I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago. I remember being alone in a tiny room, maybe a closet? There was a lot of screaming somewhere, then silence. I don’t remember much of it, which is probably a good thing.”

“Did you get adopted?”

Joker shook his head. “I spent a lot of time in foster homes. By the time I was seven, I wasn’t all that quiet and shy anymore. My accent was long gone, and I was angry. I was a cute kid but small, so I got picked on a lot. Plus, my name was Sacha. You can imagine how well that went down with the other kids.”

“Is that why you don’t like to be called by your name?”

Joker shrugged. “It reminds me of who I used to be, as opposed to who I became when I found my real family.”

“I didn’t know that. I’m sorry. I can stop calling you Sacha.”

Joker thought about it. At first it had bugged him, but now it was different. He didn’t mind it so much. And it wasn’t all bad. Jack still occasionally called him by his real name. “No, don’t stop.” It occurred to him that he liked Gio calling him by his name. Like he was somehow helping Joker reclaim something of his that had been lost. “I like it when you say it.”

Gio’s smile was beautiful. “Okay. Back to you being shy.”

“Yeah, well, that didn’t last long. I learned real quick how to hold my own, but I hated everyone, so I got into a lot of fights. Then when I was eleven, I ended up with the perfect family. They were like one of those TV families from back in the day. Everyone was good-looking with perfect hair and perfect smiles. They dressed in fancy labeled polo shirts and drove expensive cars. Magnolia was a former beauty queen; Thatcher was a college professor.” His jaw muscles tightened, and he sighed. Jack was the only one he’d ever talked to about his past. Jack and the therapist Joker had seen when he and what was left of his brothers-in-arms came home for good.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Gio whispered, his eyes filled with heartache for Joker. The moonlight that filtered in from the wall of windows was enough to cast an ethereal glow across the bed, making it easy for Joker to make out the softness of Gio’s face.

“When I started high school, I was the smallest kid in school. I thought my foster parents would yell at me, hit me, whatever, for all the fights I got into, but they never did. I couldn’t help but be suspicious. No one could be that perfect, certainly no one who wanted me.

“But the more I tried to find something wrong, the more I couldn’t. I had my own room with my own stuff. They fed me, bought me clothes, equipment, gadgets, took me to the movies and county fairs, introduced me to all their country club friends. I started wondering if it felt too good to be true because I’d never had a real family. When I met Jack’s family, I realized there were good people out there. His family wasn’t perfect by any means, but they loved one another. Maybe if I stopped trying to find what was wrong with my foster parents, I’d discover I’d found a good thing.”

Joker rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “I thought I’d put them to the test, so I came out to them when I was thirteen. I told them I didn’t just like girls and boys, but everyone. They hugged me and said they didn’t care. For the first time in my life, I started thinking maybe I’d finally found a home and people who loved me.” He felt Gio’s hand in his hair, and Joker closed his eyes. “When I turned sixteen, I discovered I’d been right the first time.”

“What happened?” Gio’s voice was hushed and shaky, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“When I was sixteen, Magnolia climbed into bed with me one night and tried to have sex with me while Thatcher masturbated. I managed to shove her off the bed, grab my backpack, and run the hell out of there. It wasn’t until I got to Jack’s house that I realized I wasn’t wearing any shoes.”

The room filled with silence, and Joker opened his eyes. He turned his head, staring at Gio, who was deadly still. He opened his mouth to say something when Gio shot up out of bed. Joker bolted upright.

“Gio?”

“Where are they now? I will fucking murder them!”

“As sweet as your offer to commit homicide on my behalf is, they got what they deserved. Someone hacked into a storage facility where they happened to have a unit. It was shortly broken into, and that very night the cops got an anonymous tip about the child porn Magnolia and Thatcher were hiding.”

Gio turned, his fists balled at his sides and his eyes narrowed. “I have connections, you know. Accidents happen.”

“All right there, Punisher.” Joker patted the mattress. “Get back here.”

With a grumble, Gio climbed back under the covers. He was practically thrumming with unsettled energy. Considering how calm and collected Gio always was, Joker was pretty positive that if he asked Gio to rain down retribution on his behalf, Gio wouldn’t so much as hesitate. He’d be on his fancy phone, calling in all kinds of favors like he was some kind of mafia don. Who knew Gio had a dark side to him? Wanting to ease Gio’s anger, Joker tugged him close, smiling when Gio shifted and moved down so he could lay his head on Joker’s shoulder.

“Before they went to prison, I spent every minute I could with Jack. His mother got suspicious and even dropped by the house on the pretense of meeting the foster parents of her son’s best friend. I could tell she was confused, but my guess is some kind of real motherly instinct kicked in, and when she got back, she told me I could stay over whenever I wanted. I moved in with them after that.”

“What did thosemonsters say?”

“They couldn’t say a word, and they knew it. I just wanted to be as far away from them as possible. When the Army recruiters came to our school, I talked at length with them. I thought real hard about it. Jack had the chance to do something great with his life, but what the hell was I going to do? My grades weren’t good enough for any kind of scholarship. I had no support system other than Jack and his family, and there was only so much they could do when they weren’t my legal guardians. I wanted to do something with my life, get away from all the shit I’d grown up around. So I talked about it with Jack and told him I was going to join the Army. I never expected him to join up with me. His family wasn’t happy, but they accepted his decision.”

The room went silent again, but this time it was a comfortable silence. Joker rubbed his cheek against Gio’s hair, wondering how the hell he’d ended up here. When had this happened? When had he gone from disliking the guy purely on principle to lying in bed with him smelling his shampoo while Chip snored at their feet?

“I just want you to know that I’m in awe of you.”

“Of me?” Joker frowned. “What for?”

“You’ve been through so much hardship in your life, and you could have given up, but you didn’t. You kept going; you found yourself a new family, one worthy of you. You pushed yourself and became a Green Beret, risked your life for others, for your country, and even after everything you lost, you came home and built an amazing career for yourself. You’re an inspiration, Sacha Wilder.”

Joker didn’t know what to say. No one had ever said anything like that to him. Yeah, life had dealt him a shit hand, but he’d done what he’d always done—survive. Though now, with Gio in his arms, he wanted more than survival, more than his career. When had he gone from being perfectly happy with sex to wanting a happy ever after?

“Thank you for trusting me. I understand now why it’s so difficult for you to put your trust in others.”

“It’s why I struggled with trusting you,” Joker admitted. “You seemed too good to be true.”

“And now?”

“Now I know you’re not perfect. Far from perfect. Very imperfect.”

Gio chuckled. “I could have told you that.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit stubborn. I needed to see for myself.”

“And now that you have?”

“I guess I’m not totally opposed to you.”

“Oh good,” Gio said, sounding amused. He shifted onto his side and propped himself on his elbow, his expression filled with affection. “Thank you for everything. For sharing your heart with me, for looking after me, for letting me be a part of your life.”

What the hell was he supposed to say to that? Nothing. And with Gio, he didn’t feel like he had to say anything. At least not with words. Instead, he cupped Gio’s cheek and kissed him.

Their kiss was sweet and slow, with Joker savoring the taste of him, the softness of his lips, the warmth of his mouth. He took his time in a way he never had with anyone else. With Gio, Joker was content to simply let himself get swept away by everything Gio made him feel, by the multitude of emotions coursing through him. Never had he felt like he’d go out of his mind if he didn’t touch someone, breathe in their scent, or put his mouth on them. And Gio seemed as content to just kiss Joker as if he couldn’t get enough of him.

The distant crashing of waves provided a soothing soundtrack as they kissed unhurriedly. Joker caressed the smooth skin of Gio’s neck, his fingers trailing down to his collar while Gio’s fingers found Joker’s skin beneath his T-shirt. When was the last time he’d done anything like this? Had he ever done anything like this? No. In the past, his sexual encounters had been about that, sex, about getting off and finding release, not about taking the time to enjoy every dip and curve of his partner.

Gio moved his lips from Joker’s, brushing them over his cheek and peppering the softest butterfly kisses over Joker’s skin. Then he lay down, his head on the same pillow as Joker. He slipped his arm around Joker and held him tight.

“Get some rest. We’re right here,” Joker murmured, kissing Gio’s forehead. “You’re safe.”

Gio hummed softly, and within several heartbeats, his breath evened out. He had a peaceful expression on his face, the lines on his forehead smoothed out, his lips slightly parted. Joker’s thoughts went back to their conversation in the hospital, and a low, thrumming white-hot rage flowed through him at the knowledge someone had kidnapped him. Gio had been extremely lucky. Joker guessed they’d been after money. They’d discovered who Gio was, and most people in Gio’s position had some kind of kidnap insurance. They would have collected the money, and Gio would have ended up dead.

For all of Gio’s talk of being in awe of Joker, he had no idea how inspiring he was. Gio wasn’t a Green Beret. He had no training, not even self-defense training, and yet he’d fought for his life. Twice. The man had no fear, going off into unknown territories to help others have a better life. After the death of their father, he’d raised his little brother and worked several jobs to send his brother to college and provide for him. He’d made smart investments, worked damn hard for his fortune, and what did he do with it? He gave it away. The more money he made, the more he gave away.

For years Joker had heard about Gio from Laz, Red, and the others, but Joker had made up his mind about the guy without even meeting him, believing no one could be so selfless or perfect. He’d been convinced something was up, and technically, he’d been right. Gio wasn’t perfect. No one was. But Gio’s imperfections didn’t make him sinister; they made him human. He was a regular guy who happened to have a shit ton of money and wanted to do something good with it.

One of these days, he’d ask Gio why. That was one question he’d yet to figure out—why Gio did what he did. For now, he’d enjoy the man. Enjoy the warm closeness that came from being with someone he trusted.

Not long after Joker fell asleep, he was woken up by a jolt in the bed. Gio was having another nightmare. It didn’t appear to be as bad as the one he’d had the night at Colton’s, but his brow was beaded with sweat, his eyebrows drawn together, and his lips pressed tight. He shivered and moaned. Joker didn’t move. He didn’t have to.

Chip crawled up the bed and stuck his nose against Gio’s cheek. When Gio didn’t wake up, Chip licked his face and nudged him under his chin. Gio groaned and opened his eyes; he blinked at Chip, and then a slow smile spread across his face. With a soft chuckle, he scratched Chip behind the ear. Another doggie kiss later and Chip wedged himself between Gio and Joker, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep. Gio met Joker’s gaze, his smile reaching his eyes. He mouthed, “Thank you,” and Joker nodded. When Gio closed his eyes and fell back asleep, Joker knew what he needed to do. It scared the hell out of him, but it was the right thing to do, and he couldn’t think of anyone else more deserving.