Ch9 is McDanno
Danny woke several times over the next few hours, and the world came to him in glimpses of movement and snatches of audio that his mind couldn't quite fix on.
He was cold to the bone, could hear the waves crashing on the beach nearby, two fuzzy voices and two sets of hands lifting his jacket and wrapping around his arms. He struggled, but was too weak to fight anything.
He was in the back of a moving car, something soft under his head and the cool, worn leather of the seat sticking to his equally cool skin. His brain just had the capacity to inform him that this wasn't Kono's car – she didn't have leather seats – but not what to do with that information. So he slept again.
Car doors being opened and closed, voices outside the windows. Then he was left alone for a time while he dozed, woken only by those same voices and the nearby roar of a more familiar engine.
Then the vehicle he was in was moving again while a soothing male voice spoke to him, simultaneously anchoring him and lulling him back to darkness. Sleep won out.
So when he woke up again, still-fuzzy mind finally beginning to fully engage with his surroundings and enable him to take control again, and he was in someone's bed in his boxers and strong male arms were wrapped around him, he had a momentary panic.
Where the hell was he? Where was Kono? And who was at his back, body heat restoring his own?
Familiarity flooded back to him as he focused on the scene. He was in a very comfortable bed, surrounded by soft sheets which smelled recognisable and safe, with dappled sunlight filtering through the cream curtains. He vaguely recalled the room, but his brain wasn't quite clicking into gear, still struggling a little more to engage than was normal.
He had a headache and felt dehydrated, but there was a bottle of water waiting for him on the side table, and the clock there told him it was eleven am.
As he shifted, the arms around him tightened a little and there was a soft huff of breath on the back of his neck.
"Danny?" Steve's voice was rough from sleep, but full of concern.
The blonde grunted in response and turned onto his back so he could look up into bleary hazel eyes when his lover leaned up over him.
"Steve... what am I doing here?" His own voice was raw, throat dry, and he brought his hands up to rub at his face and push his hair back from his forehead. He felt the dull pain in his cheek when he touched it.
Steve reached to uncap the water bottle and held it out for Danny, and he leaned up to take a few greedy gulps of the cool liquid before settling back into the tattooed man's arms. His body seemed to be a mass of stiff, aching muscles, and vague memories of the previous night flickered through his brain.
Alexei. The knife. The beach. The last thing he could fully recall was Kono telling him she was on her way, so why the hell was he in Steve's bed now?
"Do you remember us coming to get you? You were really out of it, we were so worried..." the brunette's voice went soft, "I was so worried..."
Danny squeezed his eyes shut. "I called Kono..."
The tattooed man nodded. "Her car wouldn't start. She and I swapped numbers on Thursday night so we could arrange to go surfing, and she called me and asked me to take her to Kahuku, told me you were in trouble. Why didn't you call me?"
He sounded more concerned than annoyed, but guilt still stabbed at the Jersey man's chest. He had his reasons, he certainly hadn't wanted to worry Steve. He just hoped his lover would understand.
"I couldn't throw that at you, Steve. That would be unfair..." Danny looked away from him, the softness in the man's eyes was almost too much to bear, especially combined with the way he was gently stroking circles against the blonde's temple with his thumb.
"What are you talking about, Danny? Of course you can throw that at me. It's why I'm here..." The taller man was keeping his tone soft, despite the insistence in his voice.
"We're still so new, babe. I couldn't make you drive across the island and rescue me from some shitty situation when we've barely even worked out what we are... you put pressure on delicate things and they break..." That was the last thing the Jersey man wanted, to destroy something so new and tender.
Steve smiled down on him. "Do I look delicate to you?"
Danny finally met his gaze again. "You know what I mean... us, this," he motioned between the two of them to indicate their relationship, "It's so important, and I... I didn't want to scare you away..."
A memory of the previous evening flashed through his brain, him on his knees in front of Petrov, blade at his throat, thinking of the man who now lay by his side. Holy shit, he was pretty sure he loved him. Really loved him. Not some passing infatuation or little crush; he'd known him for just over a week and he was already head over heels, cannot risk it, cannot lose him, painfully in love.
He had to force that feeling to one side, though, because it was way too early for any of that.
"You don't scare me..." the brunette shook his head and smiled, "And we are going to have a serious chat about what boyfriends do for each other, but you can always call me, Danny. Always, you understand?"
The Jersey man snorted, finding the word funny when applied to two thirty-plus men. "Boyfriends?"
Steve smirked and blushed a little. "Well, that's what it is, right? Boyfriends, partners, lovers, whatever you wanna call it. It means we're here for each other, right?"
"Yeah," the blonde smiled, and lifted his head to kiss the other man, "it does."
Wow, that felt great to hear. He slipped his hands around the taller man and pressed his forehead to his collarbone as he was squeezed gently again.
There was a quiet knock at the bedroom door, and Steve turned his head toward the sound. "Come in!"
The door crept open and Kono's face appeared around the edge. "Aw, I was hoping to catch you two making out at least! The walls in this house are really thin, but all I could hear was you two talking and that's so boring!" She grinned and moved to the foot of the bed, "How you feeling, Danny?"
She was wearing men's sweatpants that were way too big for her and tied up at the waist, and a baggy blue t-shirt.
He shrugged. "You might have to fill me in on some details babe, I don't remember much after I called you," he dragged himself to sit upright against the headboard and drink some more from the bottle, and remembered he was only in his boxers, "Maybe start with who undressed me?"
Kono's face broke out in a cheeky grin. "You're heavy... Steve needed a bit of help."
He couldn't help but laugh at that, feeling a bit more human now he was hydrated and the fuzziness was fading. As Steve settled in to sit up next to him, slipping his arm around his back, Danny patted the space next to him on the mattress. The Hawaiian woman rounded the bed and slipped under the sheets to add her body heat to the mix. He still felt cold, having spent so long unprotected on the beach, and having his two friends close felt warming for body and soul.
Kono produced Danny's phone from her pocket and placed it on his leg for when he wanted it, cuddling into him and resting her cheek on the Jersey man's bare chest.
"Chin called you back this morning when he got your missed call. I told him what happened and he's on his way over. I unlocked the front door for him if that's okay, Steve?"
"That's fine," the brunette answered, "How was the spare bed?" The two of them seemed very easy with one another, like they'd bonded through some shared experience, and it left Danny curious.
"Very comfy. I had to stay and make sure Danny was alright," she squeezed him carefully, "plus one of you will need to drive me home."
"Is anyone actually going to tell me about last night?" The blonde sighed in mock exasperation, and Kono and Steve exchanged a cautious look.
"We found you on the beach," his lover's voice tightened a little, unhappy with having to think about the events of the previous evening, "You were freezing cold, and you weren't making much sense... We had to get you in the back seat of my car and then find the Camaro in the parking lot. Kono followed me and drove it back here."
Danny's eyes fell on his bag, which was sitting on the dresser in the corner with the cuddly dolphin next to it that he'd left in the Marquis. It was the bag he always stashed in the hotel room so he could collect his things easily in the mornings.
"I left that in the room," he said suspiciously, pointing at it, "when I ran, I didn't have time to get it."
His two friends shared another guilty look across his body.
"We um..." Kono mumbled, "We may have found your key card in your jacket and... paid your client a visit..."
He processed that information for a moment. "How did that go?"
"He didn't receive a particularly pleasant wake up call," Steve offered vaguely, "I politely asked him what happened, and it got about as far as him referring to you as a cheap slut before I saw red..."
The blonde tugged his lover's hand put from under the covers and saw the evidence of bruising across his knuckles. "What the fuck did you do, Steve?" He wasn't angry, just a little worried about his friends and what danger they might have gotten themselves into.
"Uh, turns out I was just the back up," he gave their native companion the side eye.
Kono chuckled. "What can I say? I'm quick off the mark when someone pisses me off..."
The girl under his arm may look slight and innocent, but he knew she could take a guy down if she wanted. Danny remembered his friend's penchant for Brazilian Ju Jitsu, and spared a thought for what Alexei had probably suffered through. And then he chuckled to himself.
"Well it's good to know I have a couple of bodyguards at my beck and call," Danny teased and hugged them both close, "Just please tell me he's still alive and breathing? I don't want to be party to a murder..."
"Like I said, D... wild boar have their uses..." Steve mumbled darkly.
The blonde's mouth dropped open and he stared at the man with wide eyes. He wouldn't... he couldn't...
Kono snickered. "Don't look so scared, Danny. The bastard's still alive, not that he deserves to be..."
It was at that point that Chin's voice floated into the room. "Guys?"
"Upstairs!" Kono yelled, and thirty seconds later her cousin entered the room with his hands full and stared at the trio. All three of them were under the covers, Danny bare-chested and the other two appearing fully clothed, but he gave them a shifty look anyway.
"Should I be worried about this?" he joked.
Steve gestured to the space on his other side. "You may as well join the party. It's lucky I have a queen sized bed..."
For the next hour, the four of them sat in the tattooed man's bed and shared out the comfort food – take out coffees, malasadas and coco puffs – that Chin had brought with him. He was filled in on Danny's evening, and all of the blonde's friends fussed over him until he felt the need to inform them that he was neither a damsel in distress, nor was he a wilting flower, and he didn't need to be treated as such.
He was, however, unbelievably grateful that his friends had come to his aid, and he promised them he would go to Top Class that afternoon to report Petrov and what had happened to the firm.
He may have been forced to move over the ocean and away from his family so he could continue to be a father to his little girl, but somehow he'd managed to find a new little family right here.
Three hours later, Danny slammed the front door to his apartment behind him and stomped through into his bedroom.
He was so fed up. He couldn't believe Top Class and their attitude towards him. He'd always told everyone how great his employer was, that they only got the best clients, had the highest standards and the best quality of escorts on the island... how wrong he had been.
When he'd arrived and let the girl at the front desk know about Alexei, he'd been immediately dragged off into an office by the manager so no one else overheard their conversation. Petrov had already called in, apparently informing them that Danny and his friends had beaten him and robbed him, and whereas they didn't believe the guy they had seemingly decided that they had no choice in the matter.
"We're sorry Danny, but we have to protect our reputation. Alexei Petrov has high standing in his circles, and we can't take the risk," his boss's words still echoed in his head, "we have to let you go, as a gesture of goodwill."
A gesture of goodwill. He snorted derisively. His employment, his way of supporting himself, had been taken away from him as an apologetic move to pander to a rapist so he didn't destroy the good name of Top Class? It was more than pathetic.
His boss had been sad, but the blonde got the impression it was more to do with the revenue she'd be losing out on from one of her most popular escorts than the human element. She could see the damage on Danny's face plain as day, but she just didn't care enough to take his side...
He leaned heavily against his bathroom counter and stared at himself in the mirror.
A bruise had blossomed on the right side of his face, along the cheekbone, and the two inch long cut under the left hinge of his jaw looked a little more stark amongst his golden stubble in the artificial light. His hair was smoothed out now after showering at Steve's, but he had shadows under his pale blue eyes.
He looked horrendous, and under the anger he just felt numb. How had everything gone downhill so quickly?
He needed to feel something. He needed to feel better.
He needed Steve.
The Jersey man steeled himself, knowing he had to let his boyfriend know what had happened. If their conversation that morning had taught him anything, it was that Steve was understanding and dependable. He was a good man, and he was in this for the long haul – his words.
And Danny felt like an asshole, because once again he was about to test him on that. After all, it was always a great way to start a relationship; get yourself beaten up, force your lover to take care of you, and then become suddenly and unceremoniously unemployed all within less than a seventy-two hour period. Boy, he was a catch...
The Jersey man changed into a t-shirt and jeans so that he was more comfortable, having dropped Kono and Chin home, and gone to the agency in last night's suit pants and one of Steve's spare shirts that had been a little too tight over his shoulders. The he picked up his keys and headed for the Camaro again.
When he arrived at Steve's, he headed straight into the house when he found the door unlocked. He called out for the taller man, and when he received no answer he walked out onto the lanai, hands stuffed in his pockets, to see if the brunette was out there. Further down the beach, Steve was standing in a pair of blue trunks, drying himself with a towel.
The tattooed man spotted him and waved as he approached.
"Hey," Danny smiled at him, and his lover turned to drop his towel over the back of a wooden chair.
Ocean water dripped down his tanned skin from his damp hair in a ridiculously tempting manner, and Danny forgot everything else that was on his mind as his gaze was drawn to one droplet in particular that was navigating down the tall man's spine towards his waistband.
"How did it g-oh my god!" Steve's question was interrupted by the blonde's tongue catching the drip and licking up his back. Danny's hands dug into the other man's hips as he pushed him gently against the chair back and nipped over the width of his shoulders. "Holy shit..." he whispered breathlessly.
That gorgeous skin tasted of salt and heat and Steve, and it was all the Jersey man wanted right now. Everything else could wait.
He slid his hands around Steve's waist and caressed his abs, one hand travelling up his stomach to brush over a hardening nipple with the other set of fingers dipped into the waistband of his trunks. The brunette's hands slipped over his and pressed them to his skin while Danny's mouth continued to investigate his back with lips and tongue.
Steve pushed his ass back against the Jersey man's crotch and drew a growl from his chest.
"Fuck, Danny..." he whispered, successfully distracted.
The blonde tugged on him to turn him around and ground their hips together while he brought the taller man down into a hot kiss.
"You're so fucking gorgeous," the Jersey man mumbled against his lover's lips, "I want you now. Upstairs."
Steve smiled into the kiss and licked into Danny's open mouth, deepening the contact and wrestling for dominance.
The shorter man took the brunette's hand and broke the kiss to drag him up the beach and inside the house without another word, and Steve happily followed without argument.
They'd reached the end of the bed before he spoke again. "So I take it everything went okay?"
Danny stripped his t-shirt over his head and tugged eagerly at his pants fly. "We'll talk about that later. Right now I need my boyfriend to be naked..."
The taller man grinned. "Okay, I can work with that!"
It wasn't long before they were both completely undressed and running their hands over each other's bodies, and Danny's teeth began to nip up the stubbled column of his boyfriend's throat.
"Mmm you know how you're my own personal bodyguard now?" He ran his tongue over Steve's collarbone as he spoke.
The brunette chuckled and tilted his head to provide access while he mapped out the shorter man's back with his hands. "Uh huh?"
"Well, I'm guessing as a talented escort, you're aware of the sexual position which is also named-" he purred the words darkly into his lover's ear, "-The Bodyguard?"
"I am fully aware of that position, yes," Steve captured his lips with his own again, eventually pulling back and biting at the lower one, "Would you like me to show you how well I know it?"
The blonde pulled the tattooed man forward, their cocks gliding together and providing delicious friction. "Very much so, Steven... because I want you to take me, and fuck me hard..."
The brunette moaned into his mouth and manoeuvred him backwards until they were at the head of the bed, where he turned Danny so he could kiss and nip over his shoulders and neck. He had apparently memorised every one of the Jersey man's weak spots, because he now proceeded to use them against him in a strategic assault that left him gasping and weak at the knees.
"Oh holy fuck, Steve..." The blonde dug his nails into his lover's ass cheeks as he reached behind him to pull their bodies together.
He was nudged towards the bed, and he got his trick knee up onto the mattress and spread his thighs. The taller man had to tear his mouth away for a moment to reach into his bedside drawer and grab the lube and a condom, spreading it over his fingers before tracing them delicately down the cleft of Danny's ass and teasing at his hole. He rolled a condom down his shaft before snaking his other arm around the Jersey man's stomach to hold him in place.
"I can't wait to have my cock inside you," he whispered as he slid one finger into his boyfriend.
His words combined with the sensation tightened something in the blonde's stomach and made him whimper. Okay, so apparently he really had a thing for Steve's dirty talk...
"Sweet Jesus..."
A second finger joined the first and pumped slowly into him, stretching the ring of muscle, while his voice remained low and full of sensual promise. "I'm gonna fuck you so hard, Danny. I wanna make you scream my name..."
"Oh god, yes Steve... fuck, I need this, I need you..."
He really did. He wanted to forget everything else, the shit of last night and this morning; he needed to get lost in Steve, let him take him and own him and claim him. This man couldn't only block out the world, but he could become Danny's world. And that's exactly how the blonde wanted it, now and for the foreseeable future.
Teeth closed gently over the muscle that joined his neck and shoulder, and he closed his eyes tightly and released an explicit moan, the feeling of danger adding a thrilling edge to his arousal. Steve growled in response and moved his hand up from the shorter man's abs to lay across his chest and grasp his jaw to expose his throat more, and Danny arched back into him.
"I'm ready," he sighed, not even bothering to keep the desperation out of his voice, "C'mon, I need you..."
He hadn't let his lover prep him fully, and going straight from two fingers to the girth of Steve's dick would be intense, but it was what he needed right now; to be fully immersed in the feeling of his lover having him and owning him.
The tattooed man didn't question him, just followed his request implicitly, trusting that he knew what he wanted. The head of his cock pressed against the blonde's entrance, and Steve released his bite to lick a wet trail up the side of Danny's neck and kiss the nape where he was most sensitive.
The brunette flattened both palms over Danny's chest to counter his angle, the bend of his elbows fitting perfectly under the Jersey man's ribcage like they were moulded to fit one another this way, and pushed up into him slowly. The burn of his invasion was exquisite, sending sparks of pain and pleasure throughout the Jersey man's body and arresting all of his senses at once. He cried out, breathing deeply and harshly, sweat beading on his forehead and down his spine as the sharp sensations made his muscles tense up, but his iron grip on Steve's hip behind him continued to pull his boyfriend in.
The brunette groaned against the back of his neck. "Oh Jesus, Danny, so fucking tight! Fuck fuck fuck..." His fingers dug into the shorter man's pecs as he seemingly put all of his control into maintaining his slow pace until his hips were flush with Danny's ass.
He stopped still so that the blonde could adjust to him, mouth and hands working over the trembling muscles in his shoulders and abs until his panting slowed.
Danny marvelled at how amazing this man was; that he didn't question why his lover needed it this way today, just did as he asked and took him to the place he needed to go. As the pain ebbed away and the pleasure fully took hold, the Jersey man twisted his neck so that Steve could dip down and kiss him. It was awkward and sloppy and just perfect.
And then he was pulling almost all the way out and sliding back into the blonde's channel, and the electricity that travelled along his nerve endings when the head of Steve's cock glided over his prostate was sensational.
"Oh god, right there... fuck me..."
On his command, the taller man wrapped his arm solidly around his boyfriend's chest, dug the fingers of his other hand into his hip, and began to thrust up into his body. Danny gasped and moaned lasciviously, and the louder he became the harder and faster his lover began to pump into him.
Steve's dick felt wonderful; thick and hot and unrelenting in its targeting of his sweet spot, hitting it every time like a bull's eye. The blonde shouted out, his words a heady mix of curses and his boyfriend's name and unintelligible erotic noises, and the tattooed man was nipping at his shoulders in between his own litany of "Danny... God... yes, so hot... mine, you're all mine..."
Those words curled around the blonde's consciousness, dug in and took hold at the base of his spine, because yes he was Steve's. All his, no one else's.
"Steve, take me, fuck me harder... I'm yours, c'mon fucking own me!"
The brunette practically roared in response to his challenge, throwing himself forward into Danny and taking him down to the mattress to hold him down while he pistoned into his ass, knees astride his spread thighs. The Jersey man clawed at the sheets, and Steve's hand on the bed next to his shoulder, at anything he could grip hold of. The feeling of the man above him holding him down and filling him while his own cock found friction against the bed below, the weight of him pressed on his back, his grunts and moans of effort as he fulfilled Danny's darkest wishes, was indescribable.
The blonde's words were a series of demands and challenges as he lost himself in the need to be taken. Harder, faster, deeper, fuck me, own me.
Steve growled into the sweat-slick skin between his shoulder blades, hips snapping sharply while he fucked his boyfriend with every ounce of strength he had, driven by the blonde's wanton desires. Both of his arms curled under Danny's shoulders to grip solidly as he pounded his hole, and his teeth closed on the curve of the Jersey man's shoulder.
Danny came so hard his vision went momentarily white, and he bucked under Steve and shouted his name.
The brunette hammered into him, his own release imminent, and he climaxed with a wordless yell before collapsing into his lover as his muscles gave out, heaving in precious oxygen.
Danny's breathing slowly returned to normal as he floated on a sea of bliss and endorphins, safe in the knowledge that it would probably be a day or two before he could walk normally, and more than happy with that outcome.
The taller man pulled out of him and rolled to the side with an exhausted huff, and they each lay still while they recovered from their violent session.
"Holy shit..." Steve peeled his eyes open, "What the fuck was that?"
Danny chuckled. "That... was fucking amazing..." He winced as he shifted onto his side to lean over the brunette and take his lips in a kiss.
"I don't think I've ever come that hard," Steve sighed and reached down to remove the spent condom, flinging it onto the floor to deal with later, "You are the devil, Danny Williams. You have a filthy mouth and I will never get enough of you telling me to fuck you like that..."
"I don't think I'll survive if we do it like that all the time, but that's definitely my new way of celebrating things..." He trailed gentle kisses up Steve's throat to his ear.
"And what are we celebrating?" the tattooed man enquired.
"My freedom," the Jersey man smiled, "and new beginnings..." Because once the flood of blissful endorphins had subsided, suddenly everything was a lot clearer. He wasn't angry anymore, there was a new determination in his bones, and all the ideas were slotting together in his mind. A place for everyone, and everyone in their rightful place, if they were willing. And it felt good.
Steve looked at him curiously, humour dancing behind his eyes and in his voice. "What are you on about? You look like you're planning something and it's scaring me..." He didn't look scared though, more intrigued.
"I will explain all in good time," the Jersey man leaned over his boyfriend and pressed their lips together, "but tonight is going to consist of several things..."
"Oh yeah?" Steve grinned hopefully, beginning to recover already from their exertion.
"Shower first," the blonde kissed his shoulder and he made an agreeing noise, "then food..."
"Uh huh?"
"Then whisky..." His lips pressed against Steve's solar plexus.
"Sounds good..."
"And then the fun really begins..." Danny wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Sounds sexy..." Steve purred.
"Oh yeah..." His boyfriend kissed his stomach and smiled, "And it's going to involve Kono, Chin and Adam..."
The brunette took a second to process this before his eyes shot open and he raised himself onto his hands. "It what?"
"That's insane," Chin said firmly, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.
The cousins, Steve and Danny all sat in the ex-SEAL's living room and three of them were having a bit of a problem processing their blonde friend's proposition.
"How is it insane? Think about it," Danny clapped the native man on his shoulder, "Every business has to start somewhere. Between us, we've got a spectacular manager, three workers and, when he shows up and if he agrees, an investor!"
The two escorts stared at him incredulously, but the smile spreading across Kono's face told him he was gaining ground.
"So I'd be your boss?" She gestured to the three men.
Steve's shock continued to silence him, and Chin's terrified "No!" was drowned out by Danny's "Exactly!"
In response to the other two guys' expressions he clarified. "Well sorta. We'd all be partners in this. C'mon guys, think of the possibilities!"
There was a knock on the door, and the Jersey man shot to his feet and opened it to welcome in his most regular client.
Adam entered and paused to take in the room. "Um, okay... now I'm really confused..." He'd received a text from his favourite escort asking him to come over regarding a business opportunity, so he probably hadn't really known what to expect. Finding a room full of people in varying states of confusion was probably not at the top of the list, though.
Danny closed the door and hustled him to the easy chair, pouring him a glass of whisky. "I know this is going to be a lot to take in, but hear me out," he smiled reassuringly, and began to reel off his idea.
Ten minutes later, the Japanese man was gazing pensively into his half full glass. "Your own agency? And you need an investor?"
"An investor-slash-partner," Danny clarified.
Adam nodded thoughtfully, and looked up at the Hawaiian woman opposite him for a moment before meeting the blonde man's eyes. "And it will be run by Kono here, and you three will be the main workers?"
"We can get more people," Steve finally piped up, and Danny looked at him, his spirit lifting even further.
They made eye contact, and he could see the beginnings of that spark of excitement, the sensation he was feeling in his own belly, behind the hazel-blue.
"The firm I'm with at the moment suck, if I'm honest," the brunette shrugged, "They don't pay well and don't get enough work in... If we ever wanted to expand, we can poach good escorts from them."
"I couldn't work against KK," Chin said firmly, "They're family, it would feel wrong."
Danny raised his hands. "No, I was thinking about that... Kelly-Kalakaua has mainly native escorts, and if we specialised in... imported goods-" Kono giggled at his phrasing, "-then we could maybe find a way to work in tandem. We could put excess business their way and vice versa, pool resources? Like you and I have always done, Chin, but official."
The Hawaiian man creased his brow, and then nodded. "Yeah... I can see that really working, actually..." He leaned forward to clink his glass against Danny's, "I'll talk to our uncle, but.. I think I'm in."
"The whole point behind this is that we build something where our employees are valued, and customer satisfaction is key. We vet the clients properly so no one like Petrov slips through the net, and we protect our escorts in the event that something goes south..." His experience of the previous night still fresh in his mind, Danny was determined to never have one of their own treated the way he had been by Top Class.
"We all have good previous clients that we can contact, get the word out," he continued, "We can make this work!"
Danny looked at Steve, a silent question in his eyes. The tattooed man smiled. "You know I'm in, Danny. Like I said, I'm in this for the long haul."
They shared a soft smile, and then the Jersey man's eyes flicked to their female companion.
Kono grinned at him. "You had me at 'Hi babe, here's some whisky' to be honest," she laughed, "but seriously, yes Danny. I'm in for sure."
All their eyes turned to Adam. The blonde had instantly thought of the Japanese man when realising they would need solid investment; he knew the Noshimuri family had money, and that Adam was a good man with a great eye for an opportunity. He was intelligent, resourceful, dependable, and through getting to know him over the last year he honestly considered him a friend.
"No pressure..." Danny gave him a hopeful grin.
The Japanese man put his glass down. "As a partner, what would be the policy on... sampling the goods?"
They all chuckled and the blonde reached forward to squeeze his knee, though Adam's eyes seemed to flick to the young woman in the room as well as Steve and his regular escort.
"I'm sure arrangements can be made," Danny smiled.
Adam looked at them all in turn, and placed his glass down on the coffee table.
"Where do I sign?"
The five of them chatted and joked into the night, ordering pizza and drinking more whisky, and at some point in the proceedings Adam had managed to swap seats with Danny and focus his attentions on Kono. The native woman did not seem at all upset by this development, despite her cousin's wary glances, and Danny was amazed at how he hadn't seen that the two of them would suit one another quite so much.
The blonde got up to head for the kitchen and find more alcohol, and Chin called out to him across the room.
"Hey, ha'ole! We're gonna need a name for this little mess you're dragging us into!"
Danny looked back at the misfit little band of friends. They were an odd group, and had the makings of something really special. Ohana, as the cousins called it.
He remembered the previous afternoon and what Steve had said about choosing to be a part of something, a family beyond blood, and he glanced back at the photograph on the wall behind him and then grinned at his friends.
His eyes met with his boyfriend's from across the room.
"How about Five-0?"