Rocky took a slow, steady breath. “Fuck.” He handed the clipboard back to the cop. “I’m not pressing charges. We’ll deal with him.”
“Whatever you want. If you change your mind, just give us a call.”
It wasn’t a matter of changing his mind. Rocky already didn’t want to deal with this, but he couldn’t go back to his warm bed and even warmer man with this on his conscience. He waited until they uncuffed Cooper to join him in the office. Once the cops cleared out, he motioned for Cooper to stand. “Let’s go.”
Cooper stood, grabbing a dirty duffle bag.
Rocky held up his hand. “No. That has to stay behind.”
“Fuck you. You’re not stealing my stuff.”
Rocky rolled his eyes. “Nobody wants your stuff, but you’re not taking that dirty—likely lice-infested—shit in the house.”
Cooper’s light green eyes flashed with anger. “My shit isn’t lice-infested.”
“I can call the cops back.”
Cooper eyed the bag and then Rocky. Finally, he stepped over the bag and followed Rocky outside. Rocky waited for him. They walked side by side to the house. “Are you an addict?”
“Fuck you. I ain’t no junkie.”
Rocky sighed. “Do you have any other retorts?”
Cooper didn’t respond.
Rocky took the silence as an opening to ask more questions. “Have you ever held a job?”
“Nobody’s gonna hire someone like me.”
“I was thinking about it if you could drop the attitude for half a goddamn minute.”
Cooper snorted. “This isn’t your house. Your pants cost forty dollars at best.”
Rocky couldn’t argue. “No. It’s not my house, but this is my security team and I’m free to hire anyone I want. The pay is good, and you’d have a roof over your head and food in your stomach, as long as you do your job and everything you can to protect the people living here.” Rocky would never take this risk if Zayn and Spencer were in town. Luckily, they had taken a year to tour the world. There were three months left in their trip. If the kid didn’t work out, Rocky would replace whatever he stole. Rocky risked his whole ass on this. He bet a lot on Cooper being loyal for a home.
“I’d be living here? What would I have to do, for real? No one offers something like this for nothing.”
Rocky got it. He had felt the same when Zayn had made the same offer to him all those years ago. At the time, Rocky would have done anything. If Zayn had been taking him in to be his personal dick sucker, Rocky would have signed on the dotted line. He had been looking at years in prison if Zayn filed charges against him for auto theft. It was better to be a free and paid whore than an incarcerated one.
“It’s as I said. You’d be a guard. The owner here offered me the same deal when I was a few years older than you and I stole his car.”
Cooper looked his way. “No way you stole anyone’s car.”
A chuckle burst from Rocky at Cooper’s surprise. “I definitely did, and it was the only time I got caught. It was the dumbest luck ever that I got busted by Zayn. That dumb luck has passed to you. I’m hoping you’re as smart as I was and take the deal. It’s easy work, unless you have to tackle a trespasser. Otherwise, it’s pretty boring, but you’d have an amazing life.”
Cooper looked around. Rocky could tell he was trying not look excited, but Rocky felt the hope rolling off him. “Does this place get a lot of trespassers?”
Rocky nodded. “Mostly press, trying to get a picture of Zayn and Spencer.” Rocky led Cooper through a service entrance so he wouldn’t immediately spot Zayn’s overabundance of wealth.
Cooper eyed everything as they passed. “Who are Zayn and Spencer?”
“The owners.”
Cooper shoved his hands in his pockets, as if afraid to touch anything. “Why does everyone want their pictures?”
Rocky led Cooper into the closest furnished bedroom. If Cooper planned to run the moment Rocky left him alone, he didn’t want the guy running past a hundred things to steal on the way out. “I’ll tell you all about them when you start work in the morning. For now, you can have this room. Hang out here for a few minutes, and I’ll grab you some bed linens and whatnot.”
Cooper nodded. He still looked distrustful, but the attitude was gone. Rocky prayed he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life. He needed help.
It was just like Rocky to take in a homeless kid. Jinx would do anything he could to help. Still, he was a bit nervous as he helped Rocky carry everything Cooper would need to start a new life. Jinx had landed two sexy men by sheer luck because people rarely liked him. It was totally Jinx’s fault. Jinx was an introvert. He didn’t make friends easily.
That was why he followed Rocky into the room, staying hidden behind Rocky’s huge body. “Hey, you’re still here.”
Rocky sounded way too surprised for Jinx’s comfort.
“Yeah, well. I need a job and I have to start somewhere.”
Jinx peeked around Rocky’s large frame. Cooper was about the same size as Jinx and had beautiful light green eyes. “Hey, Cooper.”
Cooper looked ready to bolt until Rocky stepped aside. Then Cooper’s gaze dropped to Jinx’s toes, and he eyed Jinx in a very un-hostile way. “Hey.”
“This is my man, Jinx,” Rocky said, introducing him. “He’s about your size and has some clothes you can have.”
Cooper looked between them several times. “Your man. Like dating?”
Jinx found himself taking a half a step behind Rocky to block Cooper. Sometimes, the most violent hate could come from the most unexpected places.
Rocky didn’t seem bothered. “Yeah, like dating. Be nice.”
Cooper looked between them again several times. He visibly swallowed. “My mom put me out two years ago for being gay. I guess it’s a lot easier for someone as big as you.”
Jinx pressed his hand to his chest.
