Darius and Rowan Holt are officially back from their honeymoon! (Darius Holt spotted at Falville University)
Falville police force gets massive donation from local politician Diego Paolo.
There was a knock on his door that startled him out of his focus on the lines of code marching across his screen. Marlowe got up from his chair, glancing at the time. It was past midnight. Who would be knocking on his door at this time? Nobody good, that was for sure. He grabbed a knife out of the kitchen and then walked over to the monitor that displayed the feed from the camera he had set up above his door.
The person standing outside seemed like a normal guy, but he had his hood pulled up and was looking around nervously.
Marlowe unbolted the door and held the knife ready, keeping it hidden behind his sleeve as he pulled the reinforced door open. To his surprise, he recognized the guy. "What the hell is your twink ass doing on my doorstep after midnight, Sario Holt?"
Sario grinned like the two of them had not been at each other's throats the moment they met a few days ago. "Aw, come on. I'm not a twink. Do you know how many hours I spent in the gym for these muscles?"
Marlowe scowled at the affected hurt in Sario's voice. "I don't care. What the hell are you doing here? Answer the question or I'll shut this door on your fingers."
Sario blinked, like the threat had actually gotten to him. "Damn, man. Did I wake you up from a nap or something?"
"I'm working," Marlowe snapped. "Now answer the question before I break every bone in your hand, dumbass."
Sario rolled his eyes. "Fine. My friends ditched me and my phone's dead."
"And you memorized where I live after one visit?" That was creepy. Stalker-like, even.
"Nah, I might be smart, but I'm not that smart. My phone was at like two percent so I mapped my way here before it died."
Marlowe wanted to beat the hell out of this rich kid. "And you couldn't have used that two percent to call your brother?"
Sario flushed, looking ashamed for once. "He'd kill me. And then resurrect me to kill me again for disturbing his husband's beauty sleep."
Marlowe tipped his head, conceding the point. "That he would." After a deep sigh, he stepped aside and held the door open for Sario. "You can spend the night here."
"Yay," Sario said as he entered Marlowe's apartment. That was cute. And entirely beside the point.
"But you're calling your brother first thing in the fucking morning to come get you out of my hair." Marlowe bolted the door behind Sario and returned the knife to the kitchen. "You'll sleep on the couch. And I swear to God, if you touch a damn thing, I will personally strangle you."
"Geez." Sario held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I'm not here to cause problems. I won't touch any of your precious technology. Thanks for letting me stay. I really appreciate it."
Marlowe cocked an eyebrow, but Sario's expression stayed genuine. He sat back down at his desk and found his spot in the code again. "There's some extra blankets in the closet next to the bathroom," he said over his shoulder. "And you can borrow one of the robes in the bathroom for the night. You will not be sleeping on my couch in your underwear."
Sario chuckled like he had been thinking about doing exactly that and headed over to the closet. He tossed a folded blanket onto the couch and then went into the bathroom. After a minute, he came out with a robe draped over his arm. "I thought you said you were a beta."
Marlowe's head snapped up. What the– His gaze settled on the bottle Sario was holding up. Shit. He had forgotten that he left his medicine out on the bathroom counter. No one ever used his bathroom, and he always kept the door shut when clients came over, which was a rare event. He shot up from his chair, which sent it spinning, and snatched the bottle from Sario's hand. "Who the hell gave you permission to go through my stuff?"
Sario frowned. "I didn't go through your things. It was just out on the counter. It's not like you were trying to hide it or anything. Unlike the way you seem to be hiding who you are." His forehead wrinkled. "Does my brother know?"
Marlowe felt his fingers trembling around the bottle of suppressants. "Fuck off," he hissed. "You don't know anything."
Sario shrugged, and for a moment it seemed like he was going to let it go. "Yeah, sure. I have no idea that my brother's hacker is lying about being a beta…for what reason exactly?"
Marlowe wanted to strangle Darius' brother. He could not trust this kid with his secret. Darius had caught him in enough compromising situations that he knew by now that the CEO was a trustworthy man. "It's none of your fucking business," he snarled.
Sario moved in, forcing him back against a wall. "It's my fucking business now," he replied in a dangerous voice, pinning Marlowe with a strong hand. "Why are you lying to my brother?"
"I'm not," Marlowe bit out, looking for a way to get around Sario without getting caught and yanked back.
Sario raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Then why did he say you were a beta?"
Was he really going to have to tell the truth? The thought made him cringe. No, please, anything but that. But there was no other way to get Sario to let him go. "He knows, you fucking dumbass. He knows what I am. He's just agreed to keep my secret. Are you happy now?"
Sario scowled. "So why was I left out of the loop?"
"Because I've met you twice, asshole! I don't fucking trust you!"
"But you're telling me everything now," Sario said, both sounding and looking very confused. How stupid was this kid?
"Because you have me fucking pinned to the wall!" Marlowe snapped, hoping the bite in his voice was enough to keep Sario from abusing his advantage.
Sario removed his hand with an expression that said he had not realized what he had been doing.
Marlowe was not sure if he was glad to be let go or if he hated the way Sario was looking at him now. He picked the latter. Hatred was easy, after all. "I'm not a beaten puppy!" he snarled. "Stop fucking looking at me like that!"
Sario blinked, obviously taken aback. "I–I didn't say that."
"Everyone thinks it when they find out I'm an omega!" Marlowe clenched his fist around the bottle in his hand. "They think I'm weak and helpless and needy!"
"I'm not–"
Marlowe cut him off brutally. "So, you're going to what? Wait for your chance to pounce on me? I should have stabbed you when I had the chance."
Sario held up his hands, fear rising into his eyes. "Woah, hold on! I'm not thinking any of that! I'm not the kind of guy who hurts other people because I find it fun. I don't." He added in a smaller voice, "Please don't stab me."
Marlowe pointed to the couch. "Go to sleep and don't come anywhere near me. I will slit your fucking throat if you so much as breathe on me."
Sario nodded quickly and sat down on the couch.
Marlowe shut himself in the bathroom, slamming back all of his nighttime suppressants and shoving all the bottles into one of the drawers.
When Marlowe came out, Sario was wrapped in the robe he had taken from the bathroom and was facing the back of the couch, the blanket draped over his body.
Marlowe shut down his computer and locked himself in his bedroom. After a few minutes of panicked breathing while leaning against the door, he stumbled over to his nightstand and snatched up the bottle that he kept there for moments like this. Seconal was one of the only drugs that did not interact with his suppressants, so it was often what he took to stave off nighttime panic attacks to help himself sleep through the night. He took four of the tablets inside, screwed the lid back on, and collapsed onto his bed. It was only ten minutes or so before the drugs took effect and turned off reality.