Hiding in Plain Sight

Chapter 8: Hiding in Plain Sight

The meeting at the label’s headquarters lasted three hours and felt like a trial.

Julian sat at the end of a long table, buried in a hoodie and sunglasses, while executives argued about his life like it was a stock price. The mob rush was a PR disaster. The stalker’s threats were a legal liability. Marcus paced and sweated. Lawyers drafted paperwork.

Kael stood in the corner and didn’t say more than he had to. Neither of them had said much of anything since the moment in the bathroom the day before. The air between them felt pulled tight, like a wire about to snap. Every time their eyes met, the unfinished almost of that first aid kit still hung between them.

“Service elevator’s secure.” Kael cut off a marketing VP mid-sentence, tapping his earpiece. “Car’s waiting in the loading bay. We’re moving.”

Julian stood immediately, glad to get out of the room.

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor and Kael’s hand shot out, shoving Julian back against the wall of the cab.

*Click-click-click-click.*

Camera flashes lit up the parking garage. At least twenty paparazzi were blocking the exit, shouting Julian’s name, pushing past the building’s overwhelmed security.

“How did they know we were here?” Julian shielded his eyes.

“We have a leak.” Kael slammed the close button, but a photographer wedged a boot in the gap, forcing the doors apart.

Kael kicked the man’s shin. He yelped and pulled back. The doors slammed shut.

“Up?” Julian’s heart was in his throat.

“No, they’ll swarm the lobby.” Kael hit the button for the sub-basement. “We’re going under.”

The elevator dropped fast, opening into a maze of concrete utility corridors. Kael grabbed Julian’s wrist and pulled him into a run. The grip was firm, grounding, and Julian held on tighter than he needed to.

Behind them, another elevator dinged. Footsteps and shouting echoed off the walls. They were being chased.

They rounded a corner. Julian’s sneakers squeaked against the floor. The corridor dead-ended at a steel door marked ELECTRICAL UTILITY — AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

The shouting got louder.

Kael threw his shoulder into the door. Locked. He pulled a small pick from his belt and worked the lock fast.

“Kael, they’re right there.” Julian glanced back. A flashlight beam swept across the far wall.

*Click.* The door opened. Kael shoved Julian inside, followed him in, and pulled it shut just as footsteps rounded the corner.

Total darkness.

The closet was barely bigger than a phone booth, packed with humming electrical panels. Hot. Smelled like copper wire and dust. Not enough room for two people to stand without touching.

Kael pressed Julian back against the panels so the door could latch shut.

Julian’s breath caught. With no light, everything else got louder — the wall hard against his back, Kael’s chest pressed fully against his, their legs tangled together. The solid heat of Kael’s body pinned him in place.

“Quiet,” Kael breathed against his ear. The warmth of that single word made Julian shiver.

Outside, boots pounded past. Voices argued about which way he’d gone. A flashlight beam cut a thin line of light under the door, across the toes of Kael’s boots.

Julian shut his eyes and tried to breathe evenly. Impossible. He was surrounded by Kael — his cologne, his heartbeat hammering hard against Julian’s ribs. Not the calm, steady beat Kael usually had. This one was racing.

He wasn’t the only one affected.

Julian’s hands moved before he told them to, flattening against Kael’s chest. The muscle under his palms was locked tight, rising and falling with every controlled breath.

Kael shifted, and Julian felt him go still, felt his hands come up to brace against the wall on either side of Julian’s head, boxing him in. The movement pressed them even closer.

“Julian.” His voice came out low, warning. Rough.

“They’re still out there.” Julian tilted his chin up. In the dark, his lips nearly brushed Kael’s. “We can’t move.”

He could feel Kael’s arms shaking slightly. The tension that had been building since the safehouse, since the bathroom, since a week of being forced together — all of it was right at the surface now, hot and impossible to ignore.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Kael said, voice rough.

He lowered his head. Julian felt his nose brush along his jaw, slow and deliberate. He tilted his head to the side, giving him room. The soft scrape of stubble against his skin sent a sharp current through him.

Kael’s hand left the wall and slid into Julian’s hair, tipping his face up. The grip was firm, almost possessive. Julian’s lips parted. His heart was slamming so hard it hurt. He leaned up to meet him—

*BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.*

Kael’s comms went off, loud and sharp in the small space.

He froze, his mouth an inch from Julian’s. For one second, Julian thought he might ignore it. The heat between them was almost unbearable.

He didn’t. He pulled back fast, hit the comms button, voice tight. “Thorne.”

“Perimeter’s clear, boss.” A flat voice crackled through. “Cops broke up the paparazzi. Car’s waiting at the south exit. You’re clear to move.”

“Copy.” He dropped his hand.

The silence after was heavy. Whatever had almost happened hadn’t gone away — it had just been pushed back down, thicker and more dangerous than before.

Julian leaned against the panels, still catching his breath, missing the solid heat that had just left him. His skin still felt branded where Kael had touched him.

Kael reached for the door handle, then paused and looked back. A thin line of light caught the edge of his jaw, the look still in his eyes — dark, hungry, unfinished.

“This isn’t over.”

He pushed the door open and stepped out into the hallway, leaving Julian standing alone in the dark, pulse still racing.