Unfortunate Son Read Free Page B

the chance to be himself, much less try to figure out if another guy was after him, or looking for the guy they thought they knew from his films.
    By the time the song ended, Evan had finished his cigarette and his drink, and his eyelids were starting to sag. He didn’t often go out after shoots, which took a lot out of him, but he’d needed the unwind time today. He turned toward Riley and smiled.
    “Think I’m ready to head out,” he said. “Thanks for the drink.”
    Riley tipped back his glass to drain the last of the liquid and then set it neatly back on the napkin. “I think I’ll walk out with you, if you don’t mind.” He slid down from the high stool and extracted a bill from the front pocket of his skinny jeans to toss on the bar. “Thanks, Tony.” He gave the man a bright smile and turned back to face Evan. “Shall we?”
    It appeared they would.

Chapter 2

     
    A NOTHER REASON Evan spent time at Logger’s was that he could walk there from his apartment. The streets even had sidewalks all the way, and in good shape, which was by no means the usual even in the relatively walkable neighborhood of Midtown.
    What Evan didn’t know was how far Riley had to go.
    “Do you need a ride somewhere?” The question was out before Evan knew it was coming. He didn’t know what he expected to do about it. Call a cab, he supposed, although he also supposed Riley could handle that on his own.
    “No, I’m parked just around the corner.” Riley pointed that direction and smiled up at him. “Would you like a ride? While I don’t mind other people drinking, I do have a problem with them then driving.”
    Evan had to smile at the teasing note behind the clearly all too serious words. “No worries, I’m on foot.”
    Riley touched Evan’s forearm with cool fingers. “Well, then, I’d be all too happy to see you home safely.” And really, how could Evan say no? Even if he’d wanted to, as tired as he suddenly felt, a ride would be fantastic.
    That kicked up a few notches when he got a look at Riley’s car, a shiny-new deep blue BMW coupe. Evan couldn’t help a low whistle, and Riley gave him a pleased smile before pulling away to walk to the driver’s side. He clicked open the locks and paused as he opened his door to catch Evan’s eye. “No smoking inside.”
    Evan nodded his agreement, not that he’d planned to light up in the five minutes it would take to get to his place, and slid into the passenger’s seat. Soft, cushiony leather caressed his body, and he sighed at the unaccustomed luxury. He didn’t live big, and he made enough money from his jobs, but he traveled so much that he hadn’t bothered to upgrade his car accordingly. Not that he’d spend quite this much, but if he’d cared to, he could do better than his six-year-old sedan.
    “It would help to know where I’m going.”
    Evan had already gotten used to the seemingly constant teasing tone in Riley’s voice. It made him wonder if the man ever got angry at all.
    “Eleventh off Juniper. Straight up Piedmont and to the left.”
    “I’m familiar.” Riley backed out carefully and started in that direction. “I’m not that far myself. Piedmont Lofts.”
    “Wow.” Those were the priciest lofts in the area by far, right on the edge of the sprawling urban park that sat at the center of Midtown. Not surprising, considering the luxury of the car they sat in, but it made Evan wonder how a borderline-legal twink came into that kind of money, at least without a sugar daddy hovering nearby.
    “Wow indeed,” Riley said, gaze staying on the road in front of them. Streetlights flashed like lightning across his pale skin. “All inherited, I’m afraid. I can’t lay claim to having earned it, unless growing up with my family counts.”
    Family . That flipped the switch for Evan. Yeats Arts Center. Yeats Boulevard. The Yeats Business School at one of the local universities. That Yeats. One of the old-line money families whose legacies were