Someone to Watch Over Me - Chapter 2
Title: Someone to Watch Over Me (2/?)
Pairing(s)/Characters: Jack/Ianto, Tosh/Owen and OCs.
Rating: NC17 (overall)
Warnings: smarm, sap and crack - of the mills & boon type (seriously), m/m pairing
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its associated characters, and events are property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies but shamelessly borrowed for some fun.
A/N 1: I decided to go all Mills & Boon on you. But no swooning allowed.
Summary: Jack Harkness, a close family, and owner of a prestigious security firm is asked to take on the task of protecting Ianto Jones when he starts receiving death threats.
Two
*~*
Jack cursed and said. ‘I’m bunking down here.’
‘What?’ Not something Ianto was expecting to hear.
‘You heard me. My job starts now.’ He cast a sceptical look at the tiny couch. It looked about as comfortable as a tiled floor. ‘I don’t suppose that couch folds out to a sofa bed?’
‘It doesn’t convert into anything. It’s an antique.’
Jack could almost hear Ianto mentally add, ‘And if you’d grown up with any class, you would have known that.’
In his chosen profession, Jack had become accustomed to spoiled, born-rich types who looked down their noses at him. He’d long ago painted Ianto Jones as a pampered little princeling. In return, Ianto treated him with a disdain that was so cool it could give polar bears frostbite.
True, he’d long ago ignited Ianto’s ire by hauling his butt-and a very cute butt it was, and still is-out of that rough bar, but he’d been fully justified. Ianto had been too much of a sheltered and naïve kid to know what he was getting into. And discovering he wasn’t biased in his sexual orientation made it even more of a delicate situation because at the time Ianto’s family had no idea and had dreams of Ianto marrying a lovely girl and giving Mr and Mrs Jones many grandchildren, like all good society boys and girls do. And if he wasn’t mistaken, apart from Owen, he didn’t think the rest of the family had any idea.
Ianto had courted many lovely young women over the years. In fact, a couple of years ago, they thought he might be serious about one young girl called, Lisa, but that fell apart when, according to Owen, when she went and got herself pregnant by another man. Since then, Ianto had been unattached but still kept an active lifestyle.
Jack had of course kept tabs on Ianto and Owen was always a font of information about Ianto. Jack knew that Owen was very protective of his little brother. The fact that Ianto was also into guys, made Owen want to protect him more for some reason. Jack often wondered if he was protecting him against Jack.
When Ianto had announced after law school that he was going to join the Crown Prosecutor’s Office, Jack had figured he’d last about a nano-second. He’d surprised everyone by lasting four years, but Jack had always thought it was only a matter of time before he bit the bullet and settled down.
He glanced at the clock on the mantel. Since Ianto looked ready to argue with him again, Jack decided to change tactics. ‘Look, it’s nearly 2am, I’m beat and in no mood to drive back to my place. So, why don’t you show some mercy here.’
He watched the fast-moving emotions on Ianto’s face as he debated what to do. When he seemed to come to a decision, Jack knew he’d won, but he carefully schooled his features into a bland expression.
‘Fine,’ Ianto said reluctantly. ‘But only for tonight.’ He moved toward the doorway. ‘There’s a guest bedroom. I’ll just go make sure it’s in shape.’
As Jack watched him leave, he figured he’d deal with the morning when it arrived. Ianto was in over his head here, and, whether he wanted to admit it or not, he needed Jack.
Jack moved around the room restlessly. He’d gotten a call that morning from Owen. Naturally, all the Jones’ were concerned that Ianto was being harassed and that it might be connected to his cases. But Ianto-not being the least bit intimidated-had insisted that he could handle matters by himself and no one should overreact.
Jack’s natural reaction had been to volunteer his services. And, because Owen was an old friend and the Jones’ had been good to him, he’d insisted on taking this matter on personally-with no fee.
He hadn’t divulged that bit to Ianto, of course. He’d figured it would be easier if Ianto thought he was a hired hand rather than some quasi-big brother trying to step up and do the right thing.
And the truth of the matter was, whatever he was feeling these days, wasn’t brotherly. True, Ianto drove him crazy, not the least because of his disdain for him. But, as much as it annoyed him, they sizzled whenever they were in the same room.
He had enough sexual experience to recognise that for what it was. The signs were all there and too obvious to ignore. He was acutely aware of Ianto-the light musky scent, and the startling blue eyes, the shiny dark brown hair that seemed to curl slightly at the base of his neck. And the stubble on his chin that had lightly chaffed his own when they’d kissed had topped it all off. Ianto was one hot guy.
Ianto was lithe and well toned, just right for making his body tighten in all the right places whenever he was around him. When Ianto had opened the door in his boxers and robe, gaping open, showing a lovely patch of dark brown chest hair and an inviting trail down his midriff and disappearing beneath the silky red shorts, he’d nearly groaned out loud.
He shoved his hands in his pockets. If he didn’t watch it, he’d get aroused right now, just thinking about him, and he couldn’t afford another lapse. The long-simmering tension between them was getting harder to ignore and living with Ianto under the same roof was going to try his self-control to the limit.
He’d kissed him, damn it. Sure, he might try to rationalise it, but Jack knew the truth was more complicated than that. What’s more, Ianto had kissed him back. Now that was an interesting little reaction for him to work out. Ianto had been all fiery passion, just as he thought he’d be, and Jack had been more than ready to help stoke the fire they’d started.
He wondered what would happen if he tried to kiss him again. He started to grin, then stopped short. Forget about it. You’re here to protect him, not get in his pants.
True, Ianto had grown from a pesky kid into a gorgeous and desirable man. But they didn’t get along well enough for anything longer than a fling, and anything shorter would feel as if he were betraying his friendship with the Jones’. And that went a long way toward explaining why his attraction to Ianto had lain dormant, never acted upon-until tonight.
Jack’s raging hormonal reaction would be shoved back down where it had always been and if he was smart, it would stay there. So, he would protect him as best he could. Just thinking about someone trying to hurt Ianto made his blood boil. Ianto might send his libido into overdrive, but he had also had some jerk trying to spook him.
Fortunately, Jack had been able to persuade him to let him spend the night. But bigger battles lay ahead. Ianto thought he was getting of Jack in the morning, but he had another thing coming.
~*~
In the morning, Ianto dressed for work and got downstairs only to discover Jack was already in the kitchen dressed in last night’s form-fitting black jeans and white T-shirt-which, to his chagrin, outlined the lean but hard-looking muscles in his chest.
He looked up from tossing a pancake and nodded toward the coffeemaker. ‘Help yourself.’
He guessed he wasn’t getting rid of Jack just yet. He didn’t have it in him though to be irritated about it. ‘Thanks for making breakfast.’ The aroma of the coffee and the smell of the pancakes were already calling to his tastebuds.
Jack’s lips curved into a smile in acknowledgement, that his statement was dictated only by common courtesy. ‘You’re welcome.’ He slid a pancake onto a plate. ‘I never leave the house without a decent breakfast,’ he added, explaining his presence in the kitchen.
When they’d almost finished breakfast, Ianto decided to break the tension in the room and the obvious issue they were ignoring. ‘The threats are ridiculous. I mean, whoever is making them has to know that even if he gets me off my cases, someone else will step in and take them over. The cases won’t go away.’
Jack took his time answering, eating the rest of his pancakes. ‘That’s true. But no one knows your cases as well as you do. Whoever is threatening you knows that and is betting on the Crown’s case will be a lot weaker without you.’
‘But that’s crazy!’
‘Yup,’ Jack nodded. ‘Crazy and bloody desperate.’
Was he purposely trying to scare him?
As if reading the doubt on his face, Jack continued, ‘There’ve been plots in the past to knock off judges. A defendant may figure he can get a more sympathetic judge if he succeeds in getting rid of the first one.’ He shrugged. ‘It isn’t a big leap to think someone’s guessed a similar strategy may help them get rid of an overzealous prosecutor.’
Ianto felt a prick of annoyance. ‘I’m not overzealous.’
Jack leaned back in his chair. ‘Perhaps, but you are very good at your job and it’s scaring this guy. When I called you overzealous, I was just conjecturing about what our Mr Nice on the phone could be thinking-and what might be motivating him. Maybe the next prosecutor won’t care as much about your cases or won’t have your determination and brains.’
Ianto couldn’t help the spark of happiness that went through him at Jack’s offhand compliment.
Jack leaned forward and shoved his empty plate aside. ‘Is there one case you’ve been working on a lot?’
Ianto gave him a derisive look. ‘I only wish there was just one.’ He knew he should be standing up right now, thanking him for his concern and showing him the door, just as he’d promised last night. Yet, he supposed, he owed Jack some satisfaction in return for his concern, however misplaced, not to mention cooking for breakfast.
‘Alright, what’s a major case you’re working on?’
Ianto considered for a moment, then said, ‘One of them is the Smith break and enter case. Apparently, there was a scuffle between him and the occupant, who landed in hospital. Adam Smith’s career is long and interesting, including assault and drug dealing. In fact, we’re pretty sure this one is drug related.’
‘Is he out on bail?’
‘No, he’s still in jail until his court date.’ Then Ianto added by way of explanation, ‘He’s only in his early twenties, so there’s still time for him to move onto more serious crimes even if he gets off this one-or even if he doesn’t but gets out of jail in a few years. But he is still dangerous now.’
Jack nodded curtly. ‘Drug dealing. Was he a neighbourhood pusher?’
‘Basically.’
Jack drained his coffee cup, taking his time asking his next question. ‘Has anyone linked him with a gang? He’s the right age, and corner-dealing is the bread and butter of gang business.’
Jack’s perceptiveness surprised him. ‘Some of his neighbours have said so. Of the record, of course. But we think he also has ties to some fairly big suppliers, but he’s not giving us anything.’
Jack’s face gave away nothing. ‘So, some gang members may be harassing a prosecutor who’s trying to put their buddy away for a long while.’
A chill went through Ianto as Jack gave voice to the fear that he had refused to acknowledge, but he forces himself to nod in agreement. ‘Alright, I buy that logic.’
‘Any other major prosecutions you’re handling?’
‘There’s the Manger case.’
‘Okay, what’s the Manger case?’
‘Business executive accused of embezzlement. Part of it is what is known to accountants as a lapping scheme. Basically, stealing and then hiding the fact by applying subsequent revenue to cover the missing money in the company’s accounts receivable.’ He paused. ‘At least that’s what we’re trying to prove. He’s a little creepy too, but not much I can do about that.’
‘Manger. Name sounds familiar.’
Ianto nodded. ‘He’s high profile. Sits on a bunch of charitable boards. A big social climber.’
Jack’s lips twisted. ‘Great, my favourite type.’
Ianto pasted a look of mock surprise on his face. ‘What? You dislike the social climbers as much as the born-rich types? Are there any types you do like?’
Jack gave him and inscrutable look before mentally seeming to shift gears back to the issue at hand. ‘Those white-collar crimes often settle. Just the thought of landing in a cell next to your run-of-the-mill burglar of drug dealer is usually enough to get these guys’ defense council to talk settlement.’
‘True, but, in this case, Manger doesn’t want to admit any wrongdoing.’ Ianto was surprised by Jack’s knowledge of law enforcement. He supposed he really shouldn’t be though. His father had been a police officer in the States, and Jack, in all likelihood had worked with the police and prosecutors on numerous occasions on behalf of clients.
He added, ‘As I said, Manger is a social climber. If he’s convicted, it’ll ruin him. Right now his public relations firm is spinning this as the Crown’s misguided attempt to bring down one of London’s finest and respected philanthropists.’
‘Is Manger out on bail?’
‘Yes.’
‘Okay, so Manger is free to come and go. Unlike Smith, who could, despite that, have mates on the outside helping him out. On the other hand, Manger appears to be just a white-collar criminal. We don’t know whether he has it in him to get his hands dirty with death threats.’
Ianto gave him a look of studied patience. ‘In other words, I’m working on two major cases, so I have two defendants with motives to do me wrong? Is that what you’re saying?’
Jack quirked an eyebrow. ‘What I’m saying is, put a lid on it, Button. Someone’s after you and we haven’t answered the who, what, and why questions yet. Until we do, it’s best if I stay here.’
Chapter 2 cont'd