Eli Bell is the only son of a police chief inspector and a forensic scientist. He's grown up wonky in a world that only deals with the straight and narrow -- and his new boyfriend isn't helping. Rob Hawkes is six feet of muscle, tattoos, and arrest warrants. A career criminal and a former guest of Her Majesty's Prison Service, he'd rather hit Eli's parents than sit down to dinner with them. One wrong move, and Rob could destroy Eli -- and his family -- without a second thought. But this isn't what it looks like. Rob's not in control here -- and Eli's the one to blame.

What It Looks Like

It was only after Eli spent an entire shift at work spamming Rob’s phone with variations on everything from call me, we need to talkand I’m sorryto if you don’t fucking call me in the next hour I am getting the cops on your arse and reporting you fucking missing! RING ME!!that he got any kind of reply at all. And that was simply:


No, Eli replied. I’m sorry about not having more faith in you, I really want to talk to you properly, and I promise I’ll get my shit together. We’re great when it’s just you and me, it’s all this pressure from my family that fucks it up and I swear I will grow a pair and tell them where to go. Come on Rob, call me already.


The one-word reply, busy, didn’t help Eli’s anxiety.


Are we over? he asked finally, exposing the raw nerve and silently praying. If Rob said anything other than no, Eli was going to go straight to the flat and attack Danny with fucking thumbscrews or something until he told Eli where exactly in Leeds Rob had—


Chapter 72