Sex can be a dangerous business. So can love. On the worst day of his life, Wren Gallagher wants oblivion when he steps into Tricks for a drink. When a mysterious stranger steps up to pay his tab, he offers Wren the key to fulfilling his dreams of prosperity and true love. But appearances are not always what they seem. His savior owns the escort agency ? Louer, and he wants the young and handsome Wren as part of his stable of men-for-hire. Down on his luck, Wren figures, why not? He needs the money. When he joins, though, he doesn't count on meeting Rufus, another escort with whom he falls hopelessly in love. But their love story will have to overcome the obstacles of not only trading love for money, but ? Louer's dark -- and deadly -- secrets.

A Dangerous Game

Had he burned bridges at the job he talked about blowing off? Had that failure led to others? Was that how he wound up here?


Wren felt an ache in his heart for Rufus, a keening that made him want to draw Rufus back to him so he could console him, so he could take care of him, much as he had once done with Linda.


The second thing Wren wondered—worried—about was whether the bad news Chillingsworth had delivered had sent Rufus out into the night in search of his seductive and destructive mistress, cocaine. Wren had always been sensible enough to stay away from drugs himself, maybe because even in his short life, he had seen enough of his friends brought down by their fickle charms. Only last year he had watched his buddy Trent go from looking like a rough-and-tumble beefy football player to a hollow-eyed, missing-tooth waif in the space of only a year. Trent had been ensnared by crystal meth.


Chapter 43