Dry Run

by Lolly Walter

  Words were on the tip of Joe’s tongue before he pulled them back. He wouldn’t lie to Ebony and tell her they’d find Nina.

  Ebony laced her shoes and stood. Joe joined her at the same moment Zeke and Trig returned empty-handed. Zeke’s swollen eyes narrowed as he stormed toward Joe and Ebony.

  “You son of a bitch! You took her, didn’t you?”

  In the time it took for Joe to realize Zeke was talking to him, Zeke had crossed the floor and reared a large fist. His trembling hand flew.

  Joe didn’t duck, didn’t raise his hands. The first punch caught him square in the stomach. Hot, seeping pain. He clutched his gut and doubled over. The ground swayed.

  The second blow hit him in the side, knocking him off his feet. Pain lit his body. He couldn’t suck in enough air. He pulled his arms close and awkwardly rolled backward over a mattress, hoping to avoid more blows. If Zeke kept hitting him, he’d be killed.

  “Stop it!” Ebony yelled over the muffled sound of a struggle.

  When no more blows came, Joe stopped rolling and looked out from under his arm. Zeke swung wildly from side to side, trying to dislodge Devin, who perched like a monkey on Zeke’s back, legs wrapped all the way around the big man’s waist.

  “Get off, Devin, or I swear to God, I’ll kill you, too.” Zeke’s voice cracked, and he jerked to his left. Devin’s arms were hooked around his, holding them useless at his sides.

  Devin didn’t answer. His biceps bulged, and his strained face blazed red.

  “Enough.” Ebony sounded stronger now, in charge. “Stop fighting and help me find her.”

  She slapped Zeke’s chest, and he stilled. After a moment, Devin dropped his feet to the ground and released his hold on Zeke’s arms. Ebony dragged Zeke from the room.

  Devin helped Joe to his feet. The pain in Joe’s side intensified with every breath. He cupped his hand over the spot and applied pressure, but that made it worse.

  With gentle fingers, Devin probed the area. “It’s swollen. Maybe a broken rib? We need to get you to the medic.”

  Joe shook his head, too winded to talk. He knew where they needed to go, and it wasn’t the medic. Around the room, all eyes were on him. When his eyes met Victor’s, Victor clapped.

  “Bravo, Joesy. Excellent acting, as usual. Did you really think none of us would realize what Boggs’s favorite boy was capable of?”

  “Shut up, Victor.” Devin’s arm slunk around Joe’s waist.

  Victor laughed. “So naive, blanco. Do you actually believe Joe’s a saint or is it just that you can’t get enough of sticking your dick up his ass? No worries. We all know you weren’t involved. You’re not nearly smart enough.”

  “Stop it.” Devin took a step toward Victor. It didn’t escape Joe’s notice that no one was stopping what could become a fight, the same as no one except Devin was sticking up for him.

  “Joe is the one Boggs would ask to do this, Devin.” Dottie wrung her hands as she said it, but that didn’t take away the sting of her accusation. Aubrey nodded along with her.

  “But Boggs didn’t ask him, and he wouldn’t have done it even if Boggs had. How do you even know it was Boggs?” Devin glared at the other runners.

  “It was Boggs, dumbass.” This was Bea. “That bastard lives to sell things, including babies. Nina was a nuisance to him, something that prevented Ebony from working like he wanted her to.”

  Joe worked on breathing, hoping he wouldn’t be attacked before he would be able to get himself and Devin back to their room. This scene had the potential to get ugly quickly.

  “Yeah, Boggs wouldn’t want something around that made us miss customers,” Roxy said. “But Joe wouldn’t take the baby, I don’t think.”

  “He would if Boggs offered him enough money,” Flix said, and Joe grimaced over the sting Devin’s taunts and his own rejections had caused the kid. “Look what he did to Bea. He dumped her for Devin so he could make more money.”

  A round of murmurs passed through the crowd.

  “But he didn’t take Nina,” Devin said again. “Boggs didn’t ask him to do that. I’m always around Joe. He hasn’t even seen Boggs except in meetings.”

  “Except when he’s blowing the guy,” Bea said.

  “Jesus, you fucking ingrates! He does that for you. So you can get your goddamned holidays and Zeke could get the afternoon off to see his baby being born and shit. Why are you being such assholes?” Devin took two more steps toward the rest of the runners, and Joe pulled him by the back of his jeans to keep him from going farther.

  “Don’t, Devin,” Joe wheezed.

  “See, he even admits it,” Victor said. He prowled along the group, making eye contact and patting shoulders. This was a power play for him, Joe knew, and God, did it look bad.

  “That’s not what he said. Besides, Joe was with me all last night. He didn’t take the baby.”

  “You two don’t sleep together together.” Flix’s eyes held a hint of hope.

  Devin sneered. “I slept on top of him all night long, you jealous little betraying shithead. He didn’t leave the room.”

  “Okay, this isn’t getting us anywhere.” Trig wrapped an arm around Victor’s shoulders. “None of us thinks Dev was involved, and if he says Joe didn’t leave the room—”

  “Joe hates women, ain’t that right, little brother? You hate the ladies and the babies.” Victor’s eyes gleamed with malice, and Joe swore he’d kill him if he ever had the chance. “You want to know why?”

  “You bastard. Don’t.”

  But Victor would. Joe couldn’t think of a way to stop what Victor was about to do with the only secret he had ever told.

  “See, Daddy ditched our sweet little Joesy. Abandoned him when he was a boy.”

  Victor paused, and the room was so still Joe heard someone’s rattling breath. With a start, he realized it was his own.

  “Don’t want me to tell this story, Efraín? Why not? It’s such a good one.” Victor stepped forward, and Joe flinched away. “So, like I said, Daddy left little Joesy all alone with Mommy. Only Mommy wasn’t so nice, was she? Mommy liked little Joesy to make her feel like a woman again. How much did you sleep with her, Joe? Did you tell anyone else she got pregnant?”

  The words hit Joe harder than the punches, and he stumbled back, lost in the hell his life had become after his father had left. Her perfume. Breasts in his face. Hands on his skin. Thrusting hips, anything to make it end. All the shame and terror drowned him, crushed his lungs and buckled his knees. He looked up at his co-workers, his friends, and saw the horror in their eyes.

  Bea covered her mouth. “Victor, stop. Don’t do that to him.”

  Trig dropped his arm from around Victor’s shoulders. The runners still stared at Joe, but they created space between themselves and Victor, too.

  Joe let his eyes fall to the floor.

  Warm arms wrapped around his torso and hauled him up. Devin’s low voice sounded in his ear. “Let’s go.”

  Joe laid his head on Devin’s chest, sought out Devin’s heartbeat this time, and allowed himself to be walked backward from the room.

  ***

  Devin didn’t know what to do. Joe was curled up in a ball on their bedroom floor, his skin purple where Zeke had hit him, his face splotchy with tears. It seemed pointless to ask if Victor’s story was true. Joe’s reaction made the answer obvious.

  So Devin did the only thing, inadequate though it was, that he could think to do. He pulled Joe onto his lap and held him while he cried.

  It didn’t take long. Some fucked up part of Joe was too practical to give in to human weakness for more than a few minutes. Soon enough, his tears stopped and he dragged himself out of Devin’s arms. He walked over to the window and stared out, his reflection visible in the dusty glass, those taut, defined muscles in his chest and arms flexing and releasing like he was reconditioning himself for action.

  “Are you still with me?” Joe asked.

  “I won’t leave you,” Devin said. “Don’
t leave me.”

  “Okay, then.” Joe bent and rustled around in his crate and Devin’s. He straightened and threw Devin a shirt and a pair of shorts. “Get dressed. We have work to do.”

  “Do you think Boggs took the baby?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where will we find her?”

  “We won’t.” Joe winced when he pulled his t-shirt over his head. “That baby’s probably in the arms of her new momma up north, papi.”

  God, the baby was gone already? Thick tears blurred Devin’s vision enough that he stumbled into his shorts. Sweet Nina. Zeke and Ebony had been so happy. He folded his jeans and tossed them to Joe. “Where are we going, then?”

  “We have a job to do. Then we’re paying a visit to our boss.”

  Joe had his hand on the doorknob when Devin grabbed his wrist and drew him back. “Brush your teeth. You owe me something.”

  Joe let out half a laugh. “You heard what Victor said about me, about my stepmom. You can’t want—”

  “I decide what I want, not you. Sure as hell not Victor. Brush your teeth.” Devin kissed Joe’s cheek. He sniffled and dabbed at his own tears. “Come on, before I get too antsy and we have to kiss with morning breath.”

  Unmistakable vulnerability sparkled in Joe’s eyes. He wasn’t tearing up again, but that look, it screamed hope and trust.

  Devin shouldered Joe toward the window. He pulled out both their toothbrushes and layered a thick stream of paste over the bristles of both of them at once. Normally, Joe would’ve chided him about his appalling lack of hygiene or complained that he shouldn’t waste toothpaste, but this time, Joe didn’t say anything. When Devin shoved the toothbrush in his hand, he took it and brushed. They spit out the window, and Devin eased the brush out of Joe’s hand and put them both away. He took the time to close the window gently because he was worried he’d break it if he wasn’t careful, then he cupped the back of Joe’s head and shoved him against the wall.

  The bricks scraped at Devin’s knuckles. Joe’s t-shirt caught and snagged. Devin didn’t care. He squatted a little so their faces would line up better, and he got close enough to smell Joe’s minty breath before he realized he had no idea what to do.

  Joe seized on the hesitation. He was already fidgeting, and a note of apology plagued his voice when he said, “Papi…”

  Devin lunged. He hit Joe’s mouth hard enough that teeth scraped his lip. Joe’s hand waved wildly in his peripheral vision, and it struck Devin funny, so he squeezed his eyes shut and moved his lips over Joe’s mouth. He stuck out his tongue and licked what, after he’d started, he recognized as the hollow between Joe’s lower lip and his chin. He tried to drag his tongue higher, but Joe grabbed the sides of his head and pushed at his jaw until he opened a sliver of space between them.

  Against his mouth, Joe’s lips spread in a smile. “Slow down, papi. You’re supposed to kiss me, not bathe me.”

  Devin kept his eyes closed. “Got overexcited.”

  Joe brushed his lips, a little chapped, a lot soft, over Devin’s. He hummed, and the vibration made Devin whimper. His lips slipped around Devin’s lower lip before he backed up again and the smile came back. “Go slow. Feel how our lips fit?” He kissed again, his mouth hot and tender, and this time Devin got goosebumps. “We tilt our heads.” Kiss. “And take our time.” Rougher, more insistent. A tug of teeth. “And maybe we decide to add this.” Tongue, warm and wet and barely there. Devin gasped, and that slick, wet tongue slipped into his mouth, sliding slowly over the edge of his lips.

  Tentatively, Devin met Joe’s tongue with his own, licked Joe’s lips, and they traded soft caresses. Devin’s free hand found Joe’s hip and pulled him closer before snaking up his side. He delved a little deeper, dipping his tongue all the way in Joe’s mouth. Joe hissed, and it wasn’t in pleasure.

  Devin had touched the bruised ribs and broken the spell. He kissed Joe’s hair, then stepped back to give his partner some space. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t say thank you. That was for both of us. But now we have work to do.”

  ***

  A couple of blocks from headquarters, in the shade of a crumbling red brick building that had once been a bar, Joe wiped the sweat from his brow. After quick stops at the medic and cafeteria, their run had been invigorating. The familiarity of being chased through the streets, the runner’s high that came with the movement of his body, had eased the dread and anxiety that had coursed through his veins since Nina had gone missing and Victor had told the entire A company Joe’s worst secrets.

  Now, so close to seeing Boggs, the high was wearing off, and in its place rang the cold steel certainty that his life would never be the same. This effort was wasted. Boggs wouldn’t return the baby. But if Joe didn’t try, didn’t do everything he could to bring Nina home, he’d never be able to salvage his position as the leader of the group. People would believe he really had taken her. Of course, some would doubt him even if a miracle happened and he was able to get her back.

  Joe shook himself. He needed to focus, to remember the most important part. Zeke and Ebony — God, precious Ebony — had lost their child. His own needs and ego had to take a backseat.

  “How do you want to do this?” Devin asked. All day, his presence had been steady and reassuring. As they walked, he leaned into Joe and slid the back of his hand up Joe’s forearm.

  “I want you to stay out in the hall while I talk to Boggs.” Joe wasn’t sure what he was going to say to their boss, what he was willing to offer, but he didn’t want Devin anywhere near the man. No way was he putting Devin in danger, even if it hurt his chances to get Nina back.

  “I need to be with you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  “What I need most is to make sure you stay safe.”

  Devin opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, and Joe raised a hand to cut him off.

  “I mean it, Devin. This is how you help me. The only comfort I have right now is that I’m keeping you as safe as possible. I lose that, I’ve lost everything.”

  Devin grunted. “How about letting your comfort be that I have your back? That you have my… I don’t know… love and shit?”

  “‘Love and shit’?” A small smile played at the edges of Joe’s mouth, and he couldn’t will it away. “You’re so romantic.”

  “I got candles and chocolates back in our room. Roses, too. Probably a wedding ring.” Devin bumped Joe’s shoulder and sent him two paces to his left. “Seriously, you douchebag, let me be your partner. I need to go in there with you.”

  “No. You’re all I’ve got, and I’m not losing you. Boggs will punish me for confronting him about Nina. If he sees you, sees how I can’t help looking at you, he’ll know hurting you will wreck me, and that’s what he’ll do.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “Me either. Now shut up.”

  They’d reached the alley entrance of Flights of Fantasy. Joe took a deep breath, plastered a smile on his face, and approached the security guard.

  “Hey Sam, how’s it going?” Joe shoved his shaking hands into his pockets. “I need to have a word with Mr. Boggs.”

  As always when he greeted him, Sam patted Joe’s cheek. He was smiling, but his face was pinched tight and the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You sure about this, Joesy?”

  Sam’s reaction confirmed it. Boggs had taken the baby. Joe wondered if the boss had forced Sam to do the actual taking; he wouldn’t have done the dirty work himself.

  “I’m sure.”

  With a shake of his head, Sam opened the door and ushered them in. Thank goodness Devin had sense enough not to touch Joe as they moved through the hallways. Cameras surveyed every inch of the building. No doubt Boggs was watching them. Joe couldn’t let on that he liked, even tolerated, Devin.

  “Wait here,” Joe said, sounding gruff to his own ears. They’d reached the polished wood door that led to Boggs’s office. Devin slumped against a wall. Joe knocked and was told to come in.

  “Joseph
, always a pleasure,” Boggs said as Joe entered. He tapped a few times on his tablet then slid it inside a desk drawer and steepled his stubby fingers. “But it’s so rare to see you when I haven’t sent for you. To what do I owe this treat?”

  The unnaturally cool air in Boggs’s office pebbled Joe’s skin, tightened his nipples and balls. He tugged his t-shirt by the hem and used it to wipe his face, giving Boggs a clear view of his flat stomach. Boggs had always enjoyed touching it, had raved about the hard muscles underneath the satiny skin. Joe wanted to negotiate without throwing sex on the table, but it couldn’t hurt to soften the mood. He let the soft, thin shirt settle back over his stomach. He’d chosen it with this moment in mind. The worn white material fit him tightly. Even without the sweat, Boggs could probably see Joe’s heartbeat.

  “Quite the bruise you’ve got there. I hope you haven’t been fighting. Worse still, I hope your clients haven’t seen that.”

  Joe kicked himself. He’d forgotten about the bruises. The medic had administered a pain blocker and mended his ribs, but she couldn’t make the bruises fade. As he walked over to Boggs’s desk and sat his ass on the edge, right next to Boggs’s hands, Joe smiled and fluttered his lashes as though he was embarrassed. “Thanks for worrying about me, Brandon. I had a run-in with a free weight in the gym, I’m afraid. I wore this shirt today so my client would be so distracted he wouldn’t even think about taking it off.” He paused, cocked his eyebrow, let a hint of teasing drop into his voice. “It worked.”

  “I have no doubt.” Boggs moved his hand up Joe’s stomach and across his chest. “You are the most beautiful, seductive, professional boy I’ve ever laid eyes on. And we both know,” Boggs chuckled, “I’ve seen plenty of boys. Why are you here to visit me today, my special favorite? I don’t think this is a social call.”

  Joe let his shoulders slump, shifted his thighs apart. “I’m worried, Brandon. Morale with the runners is extremely low. Ebony’s baby was lost last night—”

  “Oh, how terrible! The poor dear.” Boggs patted Joe’s thigh, then left his hand at the edge of Joe’s running shorts.