Zach stroked his chin, looking at the message that Tynan sent him. Chances were high Rain was the one who bugged Tynan’s office.

Rain was a sensitive topic for Tynan. He knew that after Tynan’s mother died, he’d left home and lived with Rain and his family for a while. He wondered how much it took to wear their relationship down to this point.

He already had the information on Rain; he just needed to sort through it. Changing his plans for the afternoon, he ordered the driver to bring him back to the mansion. Rain was a wild card. He didn’t like him running around.

For his peace of mind, he needed something to muzzle that bitch before it tried to bite him.

It didn’t take long before he was behind his computer. The more he read, the more concerned he got. Rain had loose morals. He didn’t have a line he wouldn’t cross to achieve his goals, and sex was his favorite weapon.

To say he was cheating on Cain was an understatement. Despite being hot and bothered for Tynan, he didn’t think Rain understood the word commitment.

If that was all, Zach would say more power to him and move on. What made him angry was that Rain was investigating Tynan. He was smart with the information, but he was sending it to someone.

There was also information coming in. Some of it was about Zach, but not a lot. Most of it was about Tynan. There was some about Cain and a few other people Tynan mentioned.

There was also the source code for Exona, along with concerning emails to other gaming companies.

Emails to reporters. Chat room messages.

There was too much to find. He had years of information. He hadn’t been expecting to collect this much. He prioritized everything within the year.

‘If I wanted to send something to you and ensure that no one saw it, who should I give it to?’ Zach hated to be the bearer of bad news, especially when it was about one of his lover's oldest friends. He was coward enough to avoid giving it to Tynan in person.

‘Mrs. Brown. Why?’ Tynan sent back.

He saved everything he found on a hard drive. He printed the most recent information.

Everything went into an envelope.

He was washing his hands of this. If the choice was his, he’d put Rain down. Muzzling a dog that already bit the hand that fed it wasn’t smart. Still, it was Tynan’s choice. He could only be supportive and help clean up the mess if things went to hell.

‘I’m sending you something in a sealed envelope.’ Zach sent back, going in search of Mrs. Brown.

When he knew Tynan had gotten the envelope, he sent, “I’m here when you're ready to talk.” he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get a reply.

***

Tynan accessed Golden Pixie through the private underground entrance. Only five people could use the elevator. They used this venue if the meeting was off-the-record. They’d laughed when Ron proposed the idea. Years later, they couldn’t believe how often they used it.

It used to be six of them meeting at the Dimond Dragon. He forced the memories away. Rain made his choices.

He took deep breaths to control his anger. There were bruises on his knuckles from where he’d punched the wall. It had been years since he felt a loss of control like that.

He stood outside the door, the hum of conversation in the room soothing. He didn’t want to have to talk to Cain. He’d been walking on cloud nine for the last six months.

Tynan could imagine Ron's explosive anger and Theo’s cold fury. Morris would be upset but not surprised, having given up on Rain years ago. Morris had tried to warn them.

The was a lull in the conversation as he opened the door.

“This had better be good. I canceled my date to be here,” Ron said as a greeting.

There was a round of laughter, but something in his expression must have unsettled them. The laughter died down.

“What happened?” Theo put his drink on the table.

Morris grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured him a glass neat. He drank everything in a single shot.

“This is about Rain.”

There was a round of sighs and expletives. This wasn’t the first meeting they’d had about their wayward friend, but it would probably be one of the last.

“I know he had a bad reaction to you dating Zach, but I have spoken to him about it. He promised it wouldn’t happen again.” Cain was speaking into his cup. He said the words, but he didn’t seem to believe them either.

“If it was only that, I could let it go, but this is much worse.” He handed out the duplicates of the information Zach sent him. He hesitated before giving Cain his copy.

He took his seat. Resting his elbow on the table, he buried his head in his hands and waited.

The sound of glass shattering on the wall broke the silence. Ron had thrown his glass into the wall. He cursed a series of expletives before storming out of the room.

Theo sat back, his leg crossed over his knee. He tapped an uneven rhythm on the table. He didn’t make a sound, but his eyes were terrifying.

Morris just sighed.

Cain let out a tortured sound. He dug his hands into his scalp, and his face reddened. He banged his fist on the table. Once, twice. He clutched his chest over his heart before he started crying.

Morris got a bottle of vodka and poured each of them a shot. “Theo, go and get Ron. Cain, are you good to continue?”

Cain nodded, but he didn’t stop crying.

Theo shot Cain a concerned look before leaving the room.

Tynan downed his shot of vodka. He wished it could wait, but they needed to sort this out now.

When Ron and Theo were back in the room, he spoke. “Rain came to my office this morning. We’d had an altercation yesterday, so his visit wasn’t unexpected. He was in my office without permission, but I didn’t think much of it. Later that day, Zach came to visit me. He found listening devices in my office.”

Tynan rolled the class between his fingers. He knew they were all wondering if Rain had bugged them before. He continued, “I asked Zach to look into what he could find about Rain. This is some of what he sent me.”

“I’d like to see the rest.” Cain was the first to break the silence.

Tynan handed over the hard drive Zach sent.

“I’m bringing him in.” Theo didn’t ask.

They looked to Cain to see if he would oppose. He kept his head down.

“Can Zach find out where Rain was sending the information?” Morris topped up their glasses.

“I would have to ask.” Tynan wanted to go home a cuddle with Zach. “From what I can see, his patron is careful. There is no mention of his identity. Rain isn’t that careful. He mentions and names several other people he is in contact with.”

Theo pulled out his phone. He sent a series of texts. “Does Zach take commissions?”

“For what?” Tynan asked.

“I want him to do a background check on me and the artists in my agency.” Theo lit a cigarette.

The veins in Ron’s neck bulged. “How does your boyfriend think we should handle this?”

Tynan didn’t like Ron’s tone. He knew the other man was angry, but it wasn’t Zach’s fault.

“Ron, don’t.” Cain cleared his throat. “We should check with Zach. If he is going to track down the other party, he might have a suggestion as to how we handle Ra…, how we handle Rain.”

“I agree,” Morris said.

Tynan called Zach. “Hey. Have you had dinner?” he laughed at the answer he got. “This isn’t a social call. I need your help with something. I’m going to put you on speaker.”

“Hello,” Zach said.

There was a chorus of greetings.

“How can I help?”

“Can you find out who Rain was giving the information to?” Morris cut straight to the chase.

“That depends. It might be faster if Rain told us, or at least, gave me a place to start looking. His history told me he printed or saved the information, never sending anything digital. The exchange was face to face.”

“I don’t think Rain will volunteer that information,” Ron sneered.

“No, I don’t think he will.” Zach agreed.

Tynan glared at Ron. “If you needed a place to start, what would it be?”

There was a beat of silence. “Neutralize Rain. Leak a set of photos online. Have him and his agency give a response. No one will get suspicious if he doesn’t show up in public. It’s also a decent setup for suicide.”

“Should you be saying this over the phone?” Tynan didn’t want Zach to get implicated in this.

“My call logs don’t get recorded or saved. I have scraper bots that search for my voice online and change or delete the recording.”

There was silence and a round of shared looks.

“Where the fuck did you find him?” Ron asked staring at the phone.

“How easy is that to replicate?” Morris asked, contemplating the possibilities.

“Impossible to do,” Zach lied.

“The software would already be written. It would have to be duplicated and maintained,” Cain supplied.

“Zach, don’t be lazy,” Tynan said, not able to stop his laughter. The tension in the room eased.

“You will have to be more specific. I don’t understand what you mean. Anyway, get Rain first. I have to talk to him.”

“I will handle the media release. The pictures will be at least two years old.” Morris started typing away on his phone.

“I already sent his manager to pick him up. He will be brought to my home and kept there.” Theo crushed the cigarette butt.

Cain took a shot before refilling his glass and taking another one. “I will organize and categorize the rest of the information Zach sent to see if anything stands out.”

Ron clapped Cain on the back. “Most of the information was targeting Tynan. I will see if anyone has been making any suspicious moves.”

“Next week I have a meeting with my uncle. Once he’s out of the way, the situation in Blackburn Industries will stabilize. We figure out the person behind Rain before then.” Tynan massaged the back of his neck. This wasn’t how he planned to spend the first few days of Zach's visit.

“If you didn’t meet me, how long would it have taken to sort out the situation with your uncle?” Zach asked.”

“Six months to a year.” Tynan could only slowly weaken his uncle's hold on the company.

“If the information Rain has ended up in your uncle’s hand, how long would it take?”

Tynan didn’t like where these questions were going. “Rain wouldn’t do that.” There was a lot to be desired in Rain’s personality, but even he wouldn’t collude with Julius Blackburn.

“Leaving aside Rain’s moral compass, we can agree that he is just a pawn. There is no telling what the person receiving the information would do with it.”

“Wouldn’t Rain have placed some conditions when he handed over the information?” The anger had bled out of Ron’s voice. Now he just sounded tired.

“Rain wants Tynan. He knows that Tynan doesn’t have romantic feelings for him but is willing to be bound by an obligation. He already has proof that it works. Tynan has been putting up with his nonsense for ten years. If it was me, I would weaken Tynan’s company’s position and then offer support when he needed it.” Zach reasoned out. The confidence in his voice had everyone pondering his words.

Cain started to cry. “He’s convinced that if Tynan gave their relationship a try, it would work out. That Tynan just needs to give him a chance, and then he will fall in love.”

“Ron, is it?” Zach asked.

“Yeah?” Ron was startled at being singled out.

“Tynan doesn’t feel like the end goal. It feels like Tynan is Rain’s payment for a job. Can you check who Rain has been trying to get close to?”

“Isn’t that a lovely thought? I am coming home. I will talk to you when I get there” Tynan hung up the phone. “We will continue another day.”

Ron stood. “Next time, you should bring Zach.”

Tynan looked around the room. He saw that everyone agreed. This wasn’t how he wanted to introduce Zach to his friend, but it worked. Tynan felt proud of how Zach handled the situation.

“My brother’s birthday is on the weekend. There won’t be any elders, but most of our generation will be there. It’s as good a place as any for his debut in the capital. As a bounce, he can talk to Rain without raising suspicion.” Theo walked to Cain. Taking a firm hold of his arm, he half carried–half dragged the other man.

“Let's call it a night. Rain’s scandal will be front-page news tomorrow.” Morris topped off his glass one last time before standing to leave.

Cain clung to Theo. “I should have known it would come to this when the five of us needed a separate meeting place that Rain didn’t know about.” His words slurred as he started to cry.

Tynan agreed. He’d just held on to the hope that it wouldn’t happen.