We’ll get to that meeting today and see what’s going on.
Natalie36: Thanks! They’ll get to working on that very soon!
Eva: It took some time, but they’re moving at a pace that’s right for them.
Michael and Maria have taken that first step, the first of many.
They’ll be working on that plan very soon.
Roswelllostcause: Thanks! They’ll be getting on that real soon!
CandyliciousLovah: Lol, they’re sure getting there.
begonia9508: The conversation between Kyle and Tess was a long time coming and it was something good to come from his accident.
L-J-L 76: Thanks! We’ll be catching up with Max and Liz soon. They have some pretty big things going on too. The plan is in the beginning stages but we’ll be learning more about it soon.
kismet: Lol, definitely interesting with these two guys. We’ll begin learning about the plan today.
keepsmiling7: Lol, a joint love of writing and dedication! Thanks for reading!
sarammlover: They’re on track and Kyle and Tess are taking steps in the right direction too! Taking Trent down is in the works.
And the search for Alex is getting underway!SmileeUk: Yep, the two of them are heading in the right direction at a pace that’s comfortable for both of them.
Lol, who would?
The plan to find Alex is getting underway.
killjoy: Yeah, they’ve had a long road to get to this point, but they’re definitely getting to a good place.
Part 161
On A Mission
“They seem to be okay.”
“Yeah.” He still wasn’t sure about the guy who was interested in his girl.
“Try to not get jealous,” she told him knowingly when his expression easily revealed the path of his thoughts to her. “There’s nothing to be jealous about.”
“As long as he understands you’re taken we won’t have any problems.” He nodded when she just looked at him. “I’m not gonna get in his face or anything. This meeting’s about Alex, nothin’ else.”
“Good,” she leaned forward and kissed his lips briefly, “because I already told him that I’m into someone else.”
“You told him that, huh?”
“Yeah, and I’m glad it worked out because when I told him I didn’t have much hope.”
He cleared his throat lightly. “That uh, that after that last time you came by the apartment?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded. “Wish I’d handled that differently.”
“Doesn’t matter anymore.”
He accepted her words, knowing without a doubt that she meant them. “You said you’re workin’ today. Any idea what the job is?”
“Workout clothes for a new catalog. The company actually works with a big chain of gyms.”
“Yeah? So what’s the deal with Graham? Is he gonna be workin’ with you from now on?” He didn’t know much about how that worked out with photographers and shoots, but suddenly he found himself a lot more interested in what she did and how it all worked.
“Not always. Graham works as a freelance photographer, which means he gets booked by a lot of different companies for shoots.”
“I guess most of the time you don’t really know who the photographer’s gonna be until the shoot starts?”
“Yeah, most often that’s the way it goes.”
He nodded. “How far in advance will you know your schedule with the new company?”
“Well, there’s always a chance of a short-notice booking when someone else gets sick or the weather for an outdoor shoot changes, but generally I get a two-week plan.”
“Hell, that’s a lot better than the last one.”
“Yeah, that and the pay. Oh, and the people.”
“Good, I guess Max’s admirer did well then.”
“Yeah, I really owe Graham. He’s done so much for me.”
“You should get Evans to pose for him. That’s be all the thanks he needs.”
She chuckled. “Doubt that’s ever gonna happen.”
“Probably not, but damn, I’d pay good money to see that.”
“You weren’t so bad yourself.”
“Yeah, well, still wouldn’t care to do it full time.”
She chuckled and let her hand run down his bare upper body until it reached the hem of his boxers. She loved the ups and downs her fingertips made over his six-pack and her eyes followed the path. “Don’t care to share this body either.”
He was following every move she made. “Y’know I’m gonna catch hell from the guys at the station for that, don’t you?”
Her hand went up again just reversing the path and she smiled to herself when it spread goose bumps over his skin and his nipples hardened. “You gonna survive it?”
“I might need a lotta therapy.” His breath caught in his throat when she made another pass before moving up again. “The hands-on kind.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good, it’s one therapy I’m all about.”
“Think you need your first session immediately?”
“Yeah, I’m thinkin’ I’m past due.”
She snickered and dipped her head to breathe little kisses against his neck and chest while her hand wandered further down to cup him fully. “I can’t wait to spend a full day in bed with you, Guerin.”
“Lookin’ forward to that. And maybe we should hit up my place for that... less interruptions and no roommate at the moment.” He closed his eyes at the feel of her hand on him.
“Agreed. But I think you need a new bed.” She ran her hand over his length fully, loving the sound of his hitched breath.
Michael was doing his best to follow the conversation, which was getting a little difficult at the moment. “Why?” he grated out.
“Too much sex in it,” she teased and tightened her grip around him.
He rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he never changed the sheets. “Fine, pick one out and I’ll buy it.” His eyes rolled back for a moment. “Sooner’s better than later.”
“You’re very agreeable in this state, I need to remember that,” she mused and licked a path along his neck, blowing over it when she was finished.
He shuddered in response. “Like I’m ever gonna say no when you’ve got your hand on my dick.”
Her lips wandered up until they reached his ear. “So all I have to do it touch you to get what I want?” Her hand slipped into his boxers and grazed over him gently but in no way satisfying for him.
Like she had to ask! “M’ria,” he growled, his hips shifting in an effort to increase the friction.
“You’re lucky we don’t have enough time to draw this out,” she teased and took him in her hand with a surprisingly tight grip. “Next time this won’t be over so fast,” her teeth bit into his neck in promise and then she started to move her hand over him with pressure.
He groaned, not bothering to try and suppress the sound. “‘m okay with that.” Hell, he was more than okay with it!
The sounds he made where like music to her ear and she once more wondered how all of the sudden it had turned out to be all so good between her and Michael. Only a few weeks before they had been friends without any further thoughts and now here they were, in bed, almost naked and touching each other. Her hand around him tightened even more and she increased the speed to send him over the edge.
Michael dropped his head forward to rest on her shoulder, his muscles feeling like jelly in the aftermath. “Guess I’m not the only one who’s good with his hands,” he muttered after a few minutes.
“I sure hope not.”
His arm tightened around her and he pulled her up against his chest so he could give her a proper kiss. “Definitely the way a mornin’ oughta start out.”
“Agreed!”
“Think we’re gonna have to make a habit of it.”
“Hmm,” she pretended to think about it for a moment. “Yeah, I think I could get used to that.”
He rolled over onto his back and pulled her with him. “We’ll have to start that asap too.”
“Yeah,” she rested her head on his chest for a while, but she knew they had to get up soon so she forced herself so sit up and rubbed her face. “I’m gonna make some breakfast.”
“Guess I’ll grab a shower,” he said and scrubbed his hands over his face.
“Yeah, okay, towels are under the sink.” She forced her legs over the side of the bed and stood, looking around for her tank top and finding it on the floor so she bent over to pick it up. “Pancakes?”
His eyes roved over the view she presented him with. “Huh?”
She glanced over her shoulder with a knowing smirk. “Pancakes?”
Why were they discussing pancakes when she was standing there looking like that? Focus, Guerin! “Yeah, yeah, that sounds good too.”
“An’ bacon,” she pulled the tank top over her head and smoothed it down over her upper body.
“Coffee, don’t forget the coffee,” he groaned. “Damn, I hope you’ve got plenty of cold water.”
She grabbed her jeans from a stack on a chair and pulled them on with a grin. “Never forget the coffee.” She walked up to the bed where he was sitting and leaned down to kiss his nose. “This’s definitely a good morning.”
He gave her a smile that lit up his eyes. “I’m glad we’re doin’ this.”
“Me too. Hell, me too!!”
He wrapped his arms around her as he stood up, lifting her up against his body with little effort so he could kiss her one more time. “Crispy bacon, Sexy.” He put her back on her feet after letting her slide down his body very slowly. “Now get outta here before I forget that we have plans and drag you into the shower with me.”
“Very tempting,” she straightened her clothes once more and then walked to the door. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
He growled under his breath and headed for the bathroom and a long cold shower, but in spite of that he was in the best mood he’d been in for longer than he cared to think about.
*****
Max paced back and forth on the porch like a caged animal. The guys had given him plenty of space, not asking any questions when he seemed to get edgier with every passing minute as the clock counted down to the noon hour. He had purposefully avoided social interaction with the guys from his unit, trying his best to push the memories of that time into a place where they couldn’t come out and remind him of what he’d done over there.
Maybe he should be able to just ignore it, and maybe if he’d been older before being dropped in the middle of a war, he could have done that. His sessions with his therapist had been getting intense and she was slowly drawing him out. She had started with the writing assignments, and true to her word, she had never once asked to read what he’d written. He had struggled with it at first, certain he’d never be able to get those moments down on paper, but to his surprise, once he’d started he actually had difficulty stopping. She gave him a new assignment with every session and sometimes he sat up for hours scribbling down thoughts, memories, and he knew there were plenty of places where the thoughts were disjointed, the material was raw, but it remained unedited.
He felt his heartbeat accelerate when he heard the motorcycles before he saw them. Hawk and Ramrod moved through the street at a sedate pace out of respect for the neighborhood and he lifted a hand and waved to get their attention. It had been difficult enough hanging out at the club with them recently, but inviting them this far into his life was creating a lot of conflicted feelings.
They were good guys; he’d trusted them with his life and they’d trusted him with theirs. With this meeting they could be deciding to trust them with his future, Alex’s life, and Liz’s ability to regain custody of Aaron. That was a lot to put on anyone. He knew the guys could handle it, knew they could be discreet and investigate the situation, but they were dealing with a finicky justice system and a dirty cop.
“Shadow, why’re you lookin’ like you just swallowed a case of fresh lemons?” Ramrod asked as he kicked the stand out and dismounted.
“Pretty sure that’s his usual look,” Hawk said as he swung his leg over the seat and stood, flashing a grin at them.
The guys made their way up the sidewalk and Blake automatically slowed his stride when Mike began the slow process of climbing the steps.
“Didn’t know you could still ride,” Max said conversationally, his gaze locked on the bikes rather than his buddy’s progress.
“Prosthetics have come a long way and I lucked out.” He grinned. “Got to keep the knee, that makes life a little easier.”
Max swallowed hard at the memory of Ramrod lying there covered in blood and sand, his entire body shaking, muttering things that made no sense as he went into shock. “Yeah, guess so.” At this rate he might have to continue seeing the therapist well after the court appointed sessions had ended.
“Let’s meet these friends of yours,” Mike said and slapped him on the back when he finally managed to step up on the porch.
“Sure, c’mon in,” Max went first and held the door open. “This’s the girl’s apartment, so behave.”
“You do know we’re both capable of behaving properly on occasion, don’t you?” Blake rolled his eyes and glanced around as he walked inside. He hadn’t asked if Maria was going to be there and he couldn’t help but wonder. They’d made tentative plans for Friday night and he hadn’t had a chance to catch up with her since then.
“Yeah? That’s something new.” He led them into the kitchen where Tony and Kyle were sitting with a bag of chips between them. “Guys, this’s Blake an’ Mike,” he turned to his Army buddies and pointed behind him, “Tony and Kyle.”
Mike glanced over at Max. He wasn’t exactly surprised to see that his cage was rattled, but he hoped he’d relax soon. Well, as relaxed as he ever got. “We met the other night,” he said and shook Tony’s hand. He shifted to take the other man’s hand when he held it out in his direction. “You’re the other firefighter, right?”
“Yeah, I know I look like a boxer that’s been smacked around ring right now. Nice to meet you.”
“I’ve been around worse, believe me.” He grabbed one of the barstools and took a seat. “How come I don’t see any girls around if it’s their apartment?”
“Tess’ out grocery shopping, Isabel just left for work, Liz has been at work since the morning an’ Maria’s at the hospital,” Max explained.
Blake’s head shot up, his search for a beer momentarily forgotten. “What’s wrong with ‘er?”
“Nothin’,” Tony told the other guy and smirked at Max when it was obvious the guy still had it bad for their friend, “she’s just visiting someone.”
“Ah, okay. That’s okay then.” He went back to his search and frowned at the contents of the refrigerator. “Why do girls always have all this crap in the fridge?” He nudged a few things aside. “Shadow, tell me there’s beer buried in here.”
“I don’t know if there’s any beer,” he told him and glanced at the clock. Michael would be there soon and he felt the need to warn Hawk before he talked himself into trouble.
“Call us over here and don’t know if there’s any beer.” He shook his head and clapped his hands together. “Okay, rather than dig through health food hell any longer, why don’t you let us in on why we’re here?”
“We’re waiting for one more person,” he informed him, running a hand through the hair at the back of his neck. “An’ you wanna cool it about your obsession with Maria while he’s around.”
“Hey, it’s not obsession, and a little healthy competition never hurt anyone.”
Kyle snorted. “I think he went from competition to boyfriend last night. Sorry, man.”
“Wait, is this the moron best friend? The one in the ad with her?”
“The one in the ad,” Tony agreed, shooting a stunned look at Kyle. “Not sure about the moron an’ not sure about the boyfriend? Valenti?”
“Any guy who’s got a girl like that hot for him an’ just walks away is a moron,” Blake wouldn’t be swayed in his opinion.
“I’d say the will-they-or-won’t-they question’s finally been answered,” Kyle answered with a smirk.
Max chuckled. “Saw ‘em this morning?” His eyes widened when he realized what he had said. “Uh, you know what I mean.”
“You guys can all quit trippin’ over yourselves with words like ‘see’ and ‘watch’ and ‘look’. Seriously, you don’t have to do that. An’ no, I didn’t see them this mornin’, but he was still here when I woke up for breakfast and they were in the kinda stupid good mood that indicated things are headin’ in the right direction.”
Max slapped Blake’s back hard. “Better learn the truth now.”
“Damn,” he muttered. “Guess it’s better to know now than to make some wildly inappropriate comment around him later.”
Tony snorted. “I’d like to see that.”
“Sounds like that could be an interesting match,” Mike said.
There was a knock on the door and Max went to get it. “Guys, no fights over a woman, alright? We’ve got other things to discuss.”
Blake grumbled under his breath and wished he had a beer. It just figured the first time he really had any interest in a woman beyond just getting laid she’d be taken before he even had a chance.
Michael stepped into the apartment when Max opened the door and he welcomed the cool breath of air conditioning. It was freaking hot again and he had left the hospital late so he didn’t have a lot of time here either. “Hey, Evans.”
“Figured you got held up at the hospital. The guys are already here and I know you don’t have much time so we can get right down to business.”
“Yeah, I need to be at the station at two,” he agreed and walked further into the room, letting his eyes roam over the men inside.
Blake sized the newcomer up as their eyes met and locked. His posture was deceptively relaxed but his hands were clenched into fists in his pockets. He knew without confirmation that the other man was doing the same thing, watching and waiting.
“Shadow says you wanted to meet,” Ramrod said as he leaned over and held his hand out. He could tell his buddy was waiting for an opening and rather than let the other guy give him one he decided to intervene. Yeah, he’d known the other night that Blake wasn’t just interested in a one-nighter with Maria. “I’m Mike, but you can just call me Ramrod, and that guy over there, that’s Blake.”
“Michael,” he told him shortly, shaking his hand and then glancing at the other guy with a stern nod. “I heard you helped Maria out when that fuckwad mugged her in the subway, so thanks for that.”
“No problem, glad to help.” He didn’t offer his hand though.
Okay, that was out, he’d said his thanks, but he didn’t have to like the guy, Michael thought and placed a bag of burgers on the counter. “Grab it if ya want it.”
“Hey, you know Sal?” Mike asked as he dug in and grabbed a burger. “Man makes the best burgers in the state.”
“Everyone in Manhattan with any kinda taste knows him.”
He grabbed a second one and tossed it to Blake. “So, you guys had some time to think about what you wanna do about your friend?”
“I don’t think I’ve done much other than think for days,” Max ran his hand over his face and tugged on his hair in frustration, “but I can’t think of anything that might help.”
“I had an interesting conversation this mornin’,” Michael said, taking a seat on one of the barstools.
“Share with the rest of the class,” Kyle mumbled around his burger.
“Okay, so if I said blue arrows circling around each other in front of a red background, what would you think of?” he asked, curious to see if he was the only one who would make a connection.
Max shrugged. “No clue.”
“Wait,” Kyle held a hand up and slowly lowered it, feeling around to find his bottle of water. It didn’t tip over when he hit it with the back of his hand so he assumed one of the guys was holding it down to prevent that from happening. He uncapped it and took a drink as he tried to picture the logo Michael was describing. It was familiar, but where had he seen it before? He set the bottle down and snapped his fingers when it came to him. “Infinity Holdings,” he said.
Michael smirked. “Exactly.”
“Someone wanna clue the rest of us in on what that means exactly?” Ramrod asked as he shot a confused look at Blake. Judging by his buddy’s expression he was just as clueless about the information.
“Infinity Holdings is a company founded by Richard Mason’s father,” Kyle said, turning his head in the direction he suspected his best friend to be in. “But what’s it mean? Why bring it up?”
“Because while I was at the hospital I ran into Salazar and he said the investigators have been talkin’ to everyone who was there.” He shrugged. “They haven’t gotten around to us yet, but he was pretty sure you’re gonna be up soon since you were on the front lines when it happened. Anyway, he was sayin’ he remembered seein’ the logo wedged into some of the debris when they were tryin’ to dig you out just after the explosion. He’s gonna call the investigator back and let him know he remembered that little piece of information, but in the meantime it’s a place to start.”
“It could be pure coincidence,” he mused.
“Yeah, it could be.” Michael gripped the edge of the counter as he leaned forward. “I’ve gone over the reports,” he shook his head when Kyle turned in his direction, forgetting for a moment that his friend couldn’t see the motion. “Don’t ask how I got my hands on them. I didn’t make the connection until I talked to Salazar. Based on the reports and the estimations of where you were in the tunnel when you called back the warning that it was about to go up, the building you found the barrels in belongs to Infinity Holdings.”
“Holy shit,” Max muttered. “Are you sayin’ Dick’s somehow involved in that mess too?”
“I don’t know if he’s directly involved in that or not, but his dad is. Or at the very least he’s responsible for that explosion. But that got me to thinkin’. Dick might be brilliant when it comes to investments, but he doesn’t have the brains it’d take to kidnap Whitman and hide him away. His father owns countless companies and who knows how many of them are under other names? I mean, that’s the way all these holding companies and investment schemes work. He’s gotta be keeping Whitman someplace that’s convenient for him, someplace he thinks is safe.”
“Infinity Holding is pretty unknown,” Kyle threw in, “which would make it perfect to hide Alex in one of the buildings belonging to that company.”
“So all we have to do is get a listing of the buildings owned by Infinity and get a look inside them,” Blake decided.
“You make it sound like it’s nothing,” Max shook his head.
Ramrod shook his head. “C’mon, Shadow, who’s better at intel than Stryker?”
“What’s with that nickname, Evans?” Michael frowned.
Max rolled his eyes. “I blend in with ‘em, okay?” He turned his attention to his Army buddies. “You’re sure he’s onboard with this?”
“Hell, he’s so ready for a break from his family he was ready to bolt when I called to check on him the other day.” Blake shrugged. “Didn’t tell him about this ‘cause I didn’t wanna get his hopes up. I’ll holler at him and go pick him up tonight. He could use the change of scenery for a few days.”
“Now we have a start,” Michael agreed and reached into the back pocket of his jeans to pull out a photo. The photo of the man who had probably planted the drugs in Max’s jeep. And maybe the same man who was helping Dick with the dirty work.
“Who’s the lowlife?” Ramrod asked, frowning at the picture when it was placed on the counter.
“It could be someone who helped kidnap our friend.”
“What makes him a suspect?”
“Two things,” Michael stated. “First, he’s been to one of our parties but none of us knows him and it was the party that Evans left drugged. Second, we know he knows Kennedy.”
“Kennedy’s the cop, right?” He nodded when a glance at Max received a positive response. “You have proof they know each other?”
“Yeah, they worked together in the past.”
“Wait, this guy’s a cop too?” Blake asked.
