but as ten minutes turned into fifteen then twenty, Day’s stomach began to churn. The idea of meeting Oscar face to face suddenly seemed less like a notion and more like a reality, and he wasn’t sure he could stand there and look at a man who may have slit Jay’s throat right in front of him. “Maybe this was a bad idea,” Day muttered.
“What’s wrong?” Jackson asked.
“Uh, I am two minutes away from standing in front of a guy who might have murdered another guy for me. I don’t know if I can do this.”
Jackson gave him a reassuring look. “You are one of the fiercest, scariest people I know. You’re always ready to fight, even when nobody’s challenging you. You’re tougher than you know.”
“This isn’t exactly the same as me telling some crotchety old lady at the grocery store to get fucked. This is somebody who might potentially want to kill you and/or me.”
This time, it was Jackson who was left without a chance to respond as a man in his thirties made his way from the elevators towards them. He was dressed in khakis and a black polo shirt with a WPI logo. He did not have the same confident air as David Caine. If anything, he seemed to walk with his head down, eyes on his shoes. This was Day’s supposed stalker.
“Mr. Delgado?” Jackson queried when the man was in earshot.
“No, sir. I’m Ben. Mr. Delgado is my manager. I am not sure what you needed to see him for, but when he got back from lunch and saw the note on his desk, he grabbed his stuff and bolted. He didn’t even take his laptop,” the man said, seeming confused and apologetic.
“Can you tell me what the message said?” Jackson asked.
“Only that he needed to go speak to Mr. Caine in security, sir.”
Both Jackson and Day exchanged looks, but then Jackson nodded. “Tell Mr. Caine that we thank you for his help and that we’ll attempt to reach out at another time.”
With that, Jackson was wrapping his arm around Day’s waist and guiding him towards the glass doors.
Once they were back in the car, Jackson hit the bluetooth directing the system to call Linc, who answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, Delgado’s in the wind. A message from security spooked him. Since it didn’t mention Day or me directly, maybe he thought the company was onto his identity swap. I’m going to head directly to his last known address. Can you swing by and pick up Day?”
“What? No! I’m coming with you,” Day snapped. “What about the plan to see how he reacts to me?”
“That was when we were in a busy well-lit building with lots of witnesses and it was highly unlikely he was armed,” Jackson said, his voice infuriatingly calm.
“Well, I’m not letting you go in alone,” Day fumed, crossing his arms over his chest.
Linc chuckled. “I’ll meet you there, regardless,” he said before disconnecting.
“Fifteen minutes ago, I was the fiercest person you knew. Now, I’m some fragile, delicate fucking flower who needs a babysitter?” Day said, glaring at Jackson.
“Fifteen minutes ago, you were terrified of meeting this same guy in an office building full of people. Now, you want to go storming into his house where he may have a whole stockpile of weapons?” Jackson countered, tone just a little too fucking smug for Day’s liking.
“Sometimes, you can be a real asshole,” Day muttered, setting his jaw and turning to look out the window, giving Jackson the silent treatment the rest of the way to their destination. He seemed perfectly fine with that arrangement, which only irritated Day further.
When they pulled into a nondescript apartment complex that looked like beige blocks of concrete with Spanish tile and brown shutters, Jackson called Linc once again and confirmed he was ten minutes out. They parked in front of what Day could only assume was Delgado’s apartment building.
“Hey,” Jackson said softly. Day craned his head farther away from Jackson, feeling both childish and justified. “Oh, so that’s how it is, huh? You don’t get your way and you’re just gonna pout about it? I’m trying to protect you. That is my job, remember?”
“It was your job. Now, you’re my boyfriend, not my bodyguard, and I don’t need you to protect me.”
“That’s not what you said this morning. You said you like that I take care of you. You said you like not having to make decisions for yourself. You’re giving me whiplash here, baby. I’m