The bouncer was new. He didn’t even blink when Dante walked past him and through the doors of Club Refectory. The inside of the bar, however, looked the same it did the last time Dante dropped by over six months ago.

Mack still mixed drinks behind the bar. The dance floor was crowded with people. And the music was loud enough to make it hard to think. People still seemed to be having a grand old time.

Dante let a small smile slip over his lips as he made his way to the bar and sat down on one of the red vinyl stools. He waited until Mack stood close enough then called out an order for ginger ale on the rocks.

Mack started to mix the drink when he suddenly froze, a glass of ice in one hand and a bottle of ginger ale in the other. His head rose up and he glanced over to look at Dante. His face paled slightly.

Dante frowned. He knew he hadn’t been into the club in awhile but it hadn’t been so long that Mack had to look at him like he was a ghost.

“Mack?” Dante asked. “Is something wrong?”

“Geez, Dante, you can’t be in here.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You have to leave, man, before Joey sees you.”

Dante watched, confused, as Mack dumped out his drink in the sink and walked away. The stiff set of the man’s shoulders matched the anger on the man’s face as he kept glancing over at Dante.

Dante didn’t understand. He would have thought Joey would be thrilled to see him. He had been out of the country for nearly six months. While he and Joey weren’t the best of friends, they were still friends. At least, Dante thought they were.

Confused, and getting just a bit miffed, Dante turned away from the bar and walked to the side of the room where the stairs led up to Logan’s office. He was determined to get to the bottom of this, one way or another. Hopefully, Logan would have some answers.

At the top of the stairs, Dante paused, knocking on the door instead of barging in as he wanted to. The last time he’d visited Logan’s office Joey and Logan put on quite the show for him. He didn’t want to walk in on another one unannounced.

“Come in,” said a loud voice from inside. Dante smiled and opened the door, eager to greet his friend after his six month absence. He’d missed Logan, and even Joey. It felt good to be home again.

“Hello, Logan.”

Logan’s head swung up. Shock made Logan’s face pasty white before it turned a deep burning red. Dante’s forehead crinkled in confusion. Logan didn’t look like he was eager to greet an old friend he hadn’t seen in months. If the clenched fists were anything to go by, he looked ready to punch Dante more than anything.

“Logan?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Logan snapped as he walked around his desk.

“I thought I came to see an old friend,” Dante replied. “Was I mistaken?”

“I think our friendship ended about the time you used Danny for an easy fuck then left him high and dry.”

“Daniel?” Logan asked. “What are you talking about? I never used Daniel.”

“Is that a fact? Then why in the hell haven’t you contacted him in six months, Dante?” Logan smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Too busy out sewing your wild oats?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Where have you been for the last six months, Dante?”

Dante stepped back, his eyes moving quickly away from Logan’s intense gaze. That was a question Dante couldn’t answer, not truthfully. He clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to relieve the sudden tension in them. “I had business overseas to deal with.”

“Business?” Logan snapped. “You had business to deal with? And you couldn’t pick up a fucking phone and call Danny just once? What? You didn’t have time in your busy schedule to send a postcard, an email? Something to let Danny know you hadn’t fucked him and left him high and dry?”

Dante quickly turned to look at Logan. He kept going on and on about Daniel. It almost sounded like Logan felt Dante did some great wrong to Daniel. Dante realized he and Daniel had just begun to date before he got called away but he never harmed the man. He wouldn’t. Daniel seemed too perfect, the very example of everything Dante wanted in a submissive.

“What concern is it of yours?” Dante asked. “What happens between Daniel and I is none of your concern.”

Logan snorted. “You know, Dante, you’re right, what happened between you and Danny in the past isn’t my concern, not any more. But what happens to Danny in the future is my concern. And, as you’ve shown me what an upstanding guy you are, I’m asking you to stay away from Danny.”

“Stay away from Danny?” Dante asked. “I came back for Danny. Why in the bloody hell would I want to stay away from him?”

“Because I’m asking you to stay away from him.” Logan’s face tightened. He suddenly turned and walked back over to his chair and sat down. He looked sullen. “Danny’s been through enough because of you. If you care anything for him then do as I ask.”

Dante felt puzzled but another emotion quickly started to fill him, uneasiness. Something was clearly wrong. Dante knew Logan for many years. Hell, they used to be friends with benefits. Dante considered Logan one of his best friends, even if they were no longer sleeping together.

Dante moved over to sit down in the chair across the desk from Logan. He briefly remembered it being the same chair he sat in when he watched Logan administer punishment to Joey then fuck him over the top of the desk. The chair held fond memories.

“What in the bloody hell is going on, Logan,” Dante asked. “And I want a straight answer.”

“Where were you, Dante?” Logan asked. “I got used to you popping in and out of my life but we were never that involved. Danny took what you offered him as the beginning of a relationship between the two of you. If you didn’t want him, you never should have slept with him. You knew what he thought, how he saw your relationship.”

Dante spread his hands wide. “When did I ever say I didn’t want Daniel? He’s perfect for me. I knew that before we ever slept together.”

“Then why the hell haven’t you contacted him?” Logan asked. “It’s been six months, Dante. We haven’t heard a single word from you in all that time, not a peep.”

Dante leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs. He clasped his hands together tightly as he stared down at the ground. “I wasn’t in a place where I could get to a phone, Logan. Believe me, I would have called if I could have. It just wasn’t possible.”

“Can you at least tell me where you were?”

Dante looked up at Logan and shook his head. “No.”

He would have liked to tell Logan everything, where he went the last six months, everything he experienced during that time, and even why. Having someone to share it with would have lessened the torment he suffered alone. It just wasn’t possible.

“Can you tell me anything?” Logan asked.

“Well, my friend, as the saying goes, I could but then I’d have to kill you.” Dante knew Logan understood the hidden message in his words when the man’s eyes widened slightly.

“Well, shit!” Logan snapped.

“Something like that, yes.” Dante sat back in his chair. He pushed his hand through his hair. The tension in the room could have been cut with a butter knife. Logan didn’t look particularly happy but at least he didn’t look like he wanted to kill Dante anymore.

“I still think it would be a good idea if you stayed away from Danny, Dante.”

Dante’s mouth dropped open for a moment before he snapped it shut. “I don’t believe that’s up to you to decide, Logan.”

“And Danny’s not in any position to make decisions so you’ll have to take my word on it,” Logan growled. “You need to stay away from him. He needs someone that isn’t going to pop in and out of his life.”

“Logan—”

“You can’t promise that it won’t happen again, Dante,” Logan said as if Dante hadn’t spoken a word. “Can you?”

It was true. While Dante had some down time because of his last trip he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t be called back in the future. He still didn’t understand what that had to do with his relationship with Daniel, though.

“No, I can’t but—”

“Enough said then.”

Dante jumped to his feet. His hands clamped together as anger filled him. He could feel a small tick in his jaw as he clenched his teeth together. “It is not enough, Logan. Daniel is an adult. It’s not for you to decide who he can and can’t see. That’s up to Daniel. He can decide if he wants to see me or not.”

“No, Dante, he can’t.”

The words were spoken so softly after all of the loud anger Logan expressed since he walked into the room that they caught Dante unaware. He stopped and stared intently at Logan. He could tell from the sullen look on the man’s face that something more went on here than just Dante being gone for several months.

“What aren’t you telling me, Logan?”