Brian moved through the masses of bodies, and toward his prey, with the most feigned look of nonchalance that he had ever effected. He felt anything but that. There was nothing calm in his demeanor, undoubtedly not a dormant emotion residing in his tense frame. His eyes effectively dismissed everyone present; all except one beautiful blond that had been dominating his every waking thought. He hadn't lost control of him upon his release... despite what Ben tried to shove down his throat. That was something he wouldn't allow. His claim was solid until the moment he decided it was finished. Justin needed to understand that.

His eyes flicked briefly to Brandon's self-satisfied expression, his taut body moving to the beat of the music. Despite his anger at his best guard's interference, he couldn't fault him either. Justin Taylor was probably the hottest young thing either of them had ever seen. Only a fool wouldn't pursue him. Brian knew that neither of them was that. As he looked at Brandon's rapt expression, Brian realized he had one daunting task - getting Justin alone, and away from Brandon. Once he secured that, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he'd have him.

As his eyes moved back to Justin, he was more convinced of that. His blond wasn't even looking at Brandon, nor at any other man close to him. Justin's eyes were shut as his body sinuously moved to the music... and fuck, could that boy ever move. Brian could feel the heat rising in him. His body temperature was clearly elevating... and his cock was expanding even more quickly. The boy was fucking hot, and he wanted him with an intensity unlike any other. He would have him... and it would be tonight. No other outcome was remotely acceptable to him.

"Hey stud, wanna dance?" a slurred voice said from behind him, a hand urging him to turn around.

Brian cursed vehemently. He didn't have time for this shit... and every queer in Pittsburgh knew that Brian Kinney did the hunting. He did not get touched unless expressly requesting it. His eyes slid over the short, but not completely unattractive man; however, he wasn't even remotely interested. Only one man had his cock quickening... and he was determined it would be that man that his dick rammed into tonight. "Not interested. Got it?" Brian snapped, removing his hand from his arm as if it were the most repellent of rodents.

"Damn. The hottest guys are always the biggest assholes..."

Rolling his eyes, Brian turned back toward his prey, more curses immediately falling from his lips. Where the fuck did they go so fast? His eyes scanned around the spot they had been dancing, only to find it vacated, all filled by bodies that were neither Justin or Brandon. Hell! How did that happen? He only looked away for a few seconds. Brian swiveled his head around, the terrain so familiar to him, he knew exactly what paths led to everywhere. He smiled when he found exactly what he was looking for. This was going to be too damned easy.

He watched as Brandon pointed off in the direction of the restrooms, as his unworthy companion signaled for the bartender. So good of him to give him an open playing field, he thought. He would have approached them in either event... but this was just perfect. Brian moved around the backside of the bar, not wanting Brandon to know of his presence just yet. He wanted a few minutes alone with Justin. That was all he would need. When he was finished using the well-renowned Kinney charm on the beautiful blond, Brandon would be a thing of the past. More important than that - they would be on the way to his loft, and that was when the true fun would begin.

Justin kept his eyes away from the men in the restroom. He hadn't known what to expect when coming in here, but it wasn't what he'd found. There were signs posted to prohibit their behavior, but they were clearly having sex in many of the stalls. He laughed to himself. What a conflict this place had to be for the austere Warden Kinney. Those two worlds definitely didn't belong together. It surprised him that Brian was allowed to have ownership of this club while holding that position... but he wasn't looking to ask those types of questions. His goal was to keep clean and do everything in his power to keep law enforcement at any door but his own.

He had just dried his hands and pushed back out the door, when he collided with a man appearing to be passing by it. Soon, he would realize the error in that assumption. "Oh... uhhh, sorry. I wasn't watching." Justin didn't even look up. It was his intent to have a few drinks with Brandon, and go home. He wasn't sure why he had come here, curiosity maybe... but he wasn't sure he was ready to be out in these sorts of crowds. The voice that spoke was an instant reminder of why he shouldn't have come here, and that his plans might be diverted very quickly.

"That's alright, Justin. I was watching for both of us..." Brian drawled, his body stepping directly into Justin's path.

Justin looked up then. Quickly he realized that might not have been the wisest of decisions. "Brian... this is some place you have here. Impressive, really."

"Thank you." Brian inclined his head in acknowledgment. "However, I don't think you've seen it all yet." Fuck, he hoped he hadn't. The thought of Justin in the backroom with Brandon, or any man that wasn't him, turned his stomach in ways that he wasn't accustomed to feeling. It was a discomfort that he didn't like at all. And one that he needed to get a handle on quickly so as to not lose his mind. "I was referring to the backroom. I doubt you've been there yet." Brian's eyes slid hungrily over the blond beauty. "A lacking that I'd be more than happy to remedy."

Blushing, Justin shook his head. "No, ummm, that's alright. I think I'll save that excursion for another night. And as it is, I'm here with someone."

Brian's eyes darkened into anger. He didn't want to feel this clawing hostility; whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not, he was quickly realizing he must. There was no disguising it. Jealousy - pure and simple. He fucking hated it... and he wanted to be rid of it - here and now. There was only one fix for this ailment in his opinion. He just needed to fuck the boy. As he hadn't done that yet, and this desire had been feverishly raging in him - that had to be it. Once he did that, he would be cured of this sick obsession. In his mind, he had to be. "Brandon..." he sneered. "So much for the quiet evening reconnecting with your mother and gal pal."

"It's not like that, Brian!" Justin moved to the side when traffic had begun to pick up around the entrance to the restroom. "Not that it's any of your business!"

Rolling his lips under, Brian nodded, his hand reaching out to move Justin out of the path of moving bodies. The last thing he wanted was for someone to step in between them. He had Justin's attention now; Brian fully intended to keep it. "Let's discuss this in my office. It's not far."

"Discuss what? I need to get back. Brandon will be wondering where I am..." Justin protested, unwilling to admit to himself that a part of him had been hoping for this. After leaving the courtroom he had wondered what his first meeting with Brian would be like. Would he still be intimidated by him? The man had held immense power over him at the prison, it was only natural to wonder how it would transcend on the outside. So far, he wasn't feeling that same domineering personality emanating from Brian. That was what made it more difficult for him to walk away now. One thing was more than apparent, though - he was still affected by this man, and in every conceivable way.

"How about I fix that..." Brian flipped open his phone, dialing directly to his bartender. He looked smugly at Justin when he spoke, "Tell Brandon that his companion saw fit to leave. The crowd was just too much for him." Brian listened for a moment, then responded, "Okay. Thanks."

Justin's jaw dropped down. "What the fuck was that? Maybe I wanted to spend the evening with him. And even if I didn't, you have no fucking right!"

"Don't pull that shit with me, Justin. I was watching you dancing with him. You might be grateful to him... but you don't want him." Brian stepped closer, his hand reaching up to brush across Justin's cheek, his voice was a mere rasp when he said, "Not like you want me."

"You are so damned arrogant..." Justin spat out. Fuck yeah, he wanted him. He always had. But he didn't want all the heartache that came with being entangled with this man. Brian had no sensitivity toward others. He didn't think he could overlook that. "It takes a real man to accept that the things he wants might be bad for him. I'm not looking to make any more mistakes."

Brian glanced around to see all the interested looks their heated discussion was generating. "I don't want to do this out here, Justin. Our business is private. Tell me that we don't still have things to discuss; if you can do that, I won't stop you from leaving or returning to Brandon. All I'm asking is that you hear me out. Can you do that?"

Justin looked at him warily, his teeth bit at his lower lip as he considered Brian's words. There was much unresolved between them... but being alone with him wasn't the smart thing to do. Sighing in grim acceptance, Justin realized he wasn't going to do what was wise. Once more, his heart was pushing him into dangerous waters; as much as his mind rebelled, he couldn't resist the entreaty in Brian's hazel eyes. "Okay, I'll come with you... but only to your office. Nowhere else."

Sliding an arm around Justin's waist, Brian propelled them in the right direction. That was a good enough place to start. He intended to capitalize on his time with him there. Somehow he would make him understand why he had done the things he'd done. He would know it wasn't done to hurt him, but it was with the best of intentions. Once Justin understood that reality, he would be his. Brian wouldn't accept anything less.

Melanie rubbed at her tired eyes as she scanned over the case file of Justin Taylor. Something nagged at her ferociously. It had been enough to keep her from going to sleep. She had elected to slip from bed and into her study to work; there wasn't a doubt that her constant tossing and turning would have kept Lindsay awake. Pushing aside the file from Justin's unorthodox hearing of today, she delved more into his original trial. She wouldn't find anything in the events from today. Everything had been fair today. Justice had finally been served.

Something just didn't add up, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She was determined that she would, though. There was nothing she loathed more than injustice... and when it centered on attacking an innocent member of the gay community, she was even more incensed. She would get to the bottom of it. One factor seemed to be repetitive throughout the investigation - Carl Horvath had been skeptical of Justin's guilt. He had pursued every avenue available to find another answer. The leads to another guilty party had been non-existent, generating an easy conviction based on circumstantial evidence.

Her mind went back to that time. The case had been all over the news. She remembered Stockwell in the papers and on the news being his judgmental and bigoted self. He had pushed for a speedy trial, and with no evidence to support Justin's innocence, combined with poor legal counsel, the request was granted. Had Stockwell really believed in Justin's guilt at the time, or had he been using it to persecute a member of the gay community? She definitely had her suspicions regarding that. What raised alarms in her head was how Stockwell had been the catalyst to speed Justin's release once Chris Hobbs returned from the dead. Had he done that merely to save face, or could it be more?

Running a hand through her hair, Melanie realized she wouldn't get her answers tonight. There were two men that could help her, although she knew one couldn't be trusted or willing to assist her. Stockwell could be immediately crossed from the list... but Carl - that was another matter. A plan was quickly born, one that she knew would fail without Carl's help. She knew he wasn't an admirer of Chief Jim Stockwell, regardless of the fact that he was employed by him, and expected to extend to him complete loyalty.

First, she would talk to Carl and get all the information that wasn't detailed in the case files. Then, she would ask him for a favor. One that could cause problems for all of them... but one that she would take the full level of heat for in the aftermath. If Carl was agreeable, she could be much closer to some answers. Melanie wasn't certain why she was going to such extremes for a case that had been resolved, but a gnawing feeling in her stomach told her there was so much more going on.

She hoped to find her answers from two sources. First, from the officer handling the investigation, and then, she would derive the rest from the mouth of the victim himself. A one-on-one meeting with Chris Hobbs. If Hobbs cooperated, she could either feel this case could be firmly closed in her mind... or it could be just the start of her own investigation. One that she wouldn't end until she had uncovered the complete truth.

TBC