by Mary Calmes
There was rustling and I heard the word murder repeated, this time muffled.
"Are you kidding me?" he yelled into the phone.
"Wait—"
"Jory, goddamnit! I leave you alone for two weeks and you—"
"Dane, it's not like—"
"Is he there?" he asked as Sam walked up to the cart and dropped French bread in.
"Who's on the phone?" Sam yawned, his eyes soft as he looked at me.
I shook my head and lied to my brother. "No."
"You're lying. Put him on."
"Who is it?" Sam's brows furrowed suddenly.
I moved the phone away from my mouth. "Dane."
He grunted and held out his hand. "He wants me, right?"
"Yeah, but—"
He wiggled his fingers for the phone. "Just c'mon."
"He's pissed off," I told Sam.
"Who's pissed off?" Dane snapped at me.
"Not you—I mean yeah, you—you're the one who's pissed off."
"I most certainly am," he assured me icily. "Put the detective on the phone."
"Jory," Sam said sternly. "Gimme the fuckin' phone."
I passed it to him and he took a breath before he said hello. I would have loved to eavesdrop but he walked away after mouthing the word "spaghetti" at me.
I finished the shopping as fast as I could, and when I was finally done and through the line, I pushed the cart outside to find Sam leaning against the passenger-side door of his SUV.
"You all done talking?" I called over to him.
"Yep."
I winced. "So what?"
"Oh he's pissed." He grinned at me. "And he's terrified about those guys getting killed. He says as soon as he gets home you're moving in with him and... Anna?"
"Aja. His wife's name is Aja."
"Oh." He shrugged, "Well, whatever. You're not going."
"I'm not?" I teased him.
"Hell no. You're staying with me."
"You mean you're staying with me," I corrected him. "At least I live in a security building."
"You know what I meant. Get in the fuckin' car."
"Stop swearing."
"Fine," he agreed.
"Hey."
He looked at me over the hood of the SUV.
"Thank you for talking to him and not getting mad. I know how he can be."
"No, J, he's right about everything. I know how it looks. It seems like I'm back in your life for like two seconds and you've got trouble again. It must hardly seem worth it."
"It's worth it to me." I smiled at him.
"Oh I don't care if it is or isn't," he dismissed my concern.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Do you have any idea how happy you make me when you talk like that?" I stared at him.
"Get in the car, for crissakes," he growled at me. "I'm hungry."
We were unloading the groceries when Sam's head snapped up and he looked at me.
"What?"
"Whatever happened to that doctor you used to date?"
"Who?"
"The one you set up on a date with that guy on the pier that time."
I racked my brain. "Oh, Nick Sullivan."
"Yeah, him. You still talk to him?"
"That's amazing that you remember that."
"Hafta have a good memory when you're a cop."
"I guess so."
"Back to the doctor."
"What'd you ask?"
He groaned. "Do you still talk to him?"
"No."
"No?"
"No."
"Why not?"
I shrugged. "I dunno," I said, stepping back from the SUV
as he slammed the rear door. "We just sort of lost touch."
"Why?"
"I think after he and Kai broke up—"
"That was the guy you set him up with."
"Yeah. That lasted over a year."
"Wow. Impressive matchmaking skills you got there."
"No. If they were so great, they'd still be together."
"You did your best, J. At some point it depends on the two people involved."
"I guess."
"Go on. They were together and when they broke up, what?"
"Well, after that Nick wanted to see me, and when I wouldn't that was it."
He nodded.
"What made you think of Nick?"
"I dunno, J. The doctor was around a long time and he'd sure as hell know how to cut somebody up, wouldn't he?"
"There's no way," I assured him. "Nick Sullivan is not a killer."
"I'm gonna check on the doctor anyway."
"You do that." I grinned at him.
"I'm gonna go with you to pick up Dane and Aja."
"The hell you are." I laughed at him. "I don't want you to miss Sunday dinner with your mom." Every Sunday Sam had dinner with his huge family in the suburbs. I didn't want him to miss it because of me. "Besides, Bambi's on the menu, remember?"
"What?"
"You remember. Your uncle is bringing back deer from his hunting trip."
"That's right."
"See, so—"
"My folk's will live. They just saw us two days ago," he sighed. "Besides... this is way more important."
"You're insane," I assured him. "It's gonna be a bloodbath."
He walked by me and kissed my forehead. "I gotta back up my partner."
"Yeah, but Dane might just murder you."
"He can try."
I shook my head as I followed him up the front stoop of my building.
* * * *
He was doing the dishes, since I had cooked, and we were talking about what he'd done for the first two years after he left. It was interesting to hear him talk about going all the way to Columbia and how he had slept in tents and the conditions for the DEA team. He had enjoyed it, following the lead as far as it went and busting all the people along the way.
It had all started the night I had seen Brian Minor murder Saul Grant in cold blood. Among the people in the room at the time, along with me and Brian, was Roman Michaelev.
Dominic, Sam's old partner and friend, had worked for Roman's father, Yuri. Because I could put Roman in the room when Saul was killed, Yuri had put a contract out on my life.
When Dominic was busted, he had turned state's evidence against Yuri, and he had in turn rolled over on his boss, a man named Dario Ruiz. Sam had left me to run down the drug connection that connected Chicago to Moscow to Columbia. It had been a domino effect after Dominic told what he knew, including how he had shot Roman to death in front of me. For a nice normal guy, I had seen two men killed.
All those people—Dominic, Yuri, and even Anna Minor—were all still in the witness protection program, would be for the rest of their lives. They would live out the remainder of their days as other people, private citizens, in different states.
I asked Sam if he ever worried that Dominic would come back to take revenge on him.
"No, babe."
"Why not?"
"It doesn't work like that."
Apparently it wasn't like the movies; people actually kept really good tabs on you in witness protection, and in Dominic's case, it was prison for the rest of his life if he ever came near anyone he knew. I asked Sam what he would do if he ever accidentally saw Dominic on a plane somewhere. He told me he would cross that bridge when and if he ever came to it.
"You know, I never got a chance to tell you how sorry I was about Dominic." I sighed heavily. "I mean, he was your best friend for half your life."
"Yes, he was." Sam gave me a slight smile, reaching out to put a hand on my cheek. "But he tried to kill me, and he tried to kill you and he hurt you...." He took a settling breath. "And I'm not the forgiving kind."
I nodded.
After several minutes of silence, Sam told me that he had a question for me.
"Sure. What?"
"Do you know why Dominic shot that guy we found in the body bag?"
"What are you talking about?"
&nb
sp; "We found a guy in a body bag when we raided the place where you were held. The ballistics on the gun matched Dom's, so I know he shot him, but I never could figure out why and he wouldn't tell me."
"No?"
"No. He said to ask you. So I'm asking you."
"Dominic told you to ask me?"
"Yeah."
I nodded. "That was Marco, right?"
"That's right, Marco Danov. What happened to him?"
I looked at Sam.
"Somebody broke his nose before they killed him. Did Dominic do that?"
"No."
"Who did?"
"I did. I broke his nose."
"You did."
"Yeah... he tried to...." I stared at Sam until he got it.
"Oh. But he didn't? He didn't hurt you?"
Neither of us wanted to be reminded of what the word hurt entailed. Better to leave it alone.
"No, I... he fell and then I ran and Dominic was pissed and... I heard the shots but I wasn't sure that Dominic killed him."
Sam nodded, his jaw muscles working as he looked at me.
"He did."
"Well, it was because he thought he'd lost me, not because of anything else. Dominic even suggested that I...." Too late, I thought about what I was saying.
"Suggested that you what?"
I shook my head.
"C'mon, Jory, just say. It was a long time ago."
I let out a deep breath. "Okay... he was just trying to make me feel like shit and I knew that at the time but... he suggested I give this guy a blowjob to get some more blankets. It was about him trying to screw with my head, nothing else."
Sam nodded and wiped his hands on the dishtowel before he walked out of the kitchen.
"This is why you never talk about this kinda crap," I said to myself, folding the towel and laying it over the sink before I went to look for Sam. I found him stretched out on my bed, hands folded behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.
"What's wrong?"
"I didn't protect you from any of that. If I was smart, I would have taken you with me to see Maggie and he would have never gotten his hands on you."
"Oh, I doubt that," I assured him and he rolled his head to look at me. "One way or another, Dominic was gonna get me.
If it hadn't been that night, it would've been the next or the one after that. It was inevitable."
"So you're saying what... I won't be able to protect you from this psychopath that's after you now? You think it's inevitable that he gets you too?"
"No," I said, leaning on the doorframe. "That's not what I said. I said Dominic getting me was inevitable. He was too close to you, Sam, he knew you too well, knew how you would react, exactly what you would do... there's no way he wouldn't have been able to get me. It was just a matter of time."
He rolled his head back so he was again staring at the ceiling.
"Listen, I want some pie. How 'bout you?"
"No, I don't want any fuckin' pie."
"You owe a quarter."
"What?" He was irritated, it was clear in his voice as he looked back at me.
"I put a jar on the counter and you owe a quarter from now on every time you swear. It's out of hand and needs to be stopped."
"Oh fuck you, J, I ain't gonna—"
"That's fifty cents. Pay up or sleep on the couch. Your call."
"Fine, I'll sleep on the couch."
"Maybe you should go sleep at your place."
"Don't push me."
"Or what?"
"Or maybe I will."
"Fine." I shrugged, turning to walk away. "I'm going for pie. I'll see ya later."
When I got to the front door and opened it, his voice reached me.
"If you set one foot out of this apartment, I will beat your ass!"
"Fine!" I yelled back and stalked over to the couch so he could hear me stomping and the floorboards creak before I tiptoed backward to the door, reversing my steps, and closed it silently behind me. I didn't make a sound when I locked it. I was outside on the curb when he yelled down at me.
"Goddamnit, Jory, you better get your ass back in—"
I waved at him and cackled as I did it.
He leaned further out the window. "I am so not playing with you. " His voice was cold even from that far up and really should have scared me.
"You can kiss my ass, buddy," I said, and slapped it for him just in case he missed it.
The window was slammed shut and I ran.
In jeans and sneakers I could move pretty fast. I wondered, though, if he'd get in his oversized SUV or run after me. I just wanted some pie. I was worried that if I ran too fast he'd miss me, so I jogged to the end of the street and crossed and then again until I could see the diner where I was headed. I heard the squealing tires behind me and knew the answer to the question. He had brought the monster car.
The motor was loud and when he came up beside me he revved it up to where it was deafening. I turned and looked and he had the passenger window rolled down.
"Get in the car!"
I shook my head, pointed down the street. "I'm getting pie."
"You better—"
"If you stop the car, I'll run." I grinned at him. "And I'll make it before you can get out, so why don't you just be a good boy and meet me at the diner."
"If you set one foot in that diner, I will drag your ass out, throw you in the car, and—"
"And what? Beat me?" I gave him an exaggerated shiver.
"Oooh, baby you know what I like."
He growled his frustration.
"You don't own me, Sam." I smiled over at him. "We're partners, and if you're feeling like shit you don't just close up and go into your cave and sulk or whatever, you talk to me.
That's how a partnership works. I share, you share, we share.
That's it. 'Cause if you're gonna want to be alone... I'll leave you alone." I finished, arching a brow for him.
He stopped the car and I stopped walking.
"I don't want you to leave me alone."
I shrugged. "Well then."
He motioned me to the SUV.
"I want pie."
"Diva... I will take you for pie."
I smiled wide, zipping my hoodie further up my chest and walked quickly to the car. He opened the door for me and as soon as I was in the seat, his hand was on the back of my neck.
"What?"
He pulled me close and stared down into my eyes. "Don't leave the house without me. You could get hurt... all right?"
I climbed over the emergency brake and into his lap, straddling his hips, grinding my groin into his stomach. "You gonna hurt me, Sam? 'Cause I would seriously love that."
His hands went to my face, and I realized how cool it was that we were behind all the tinted glass so we could fool around in the middle of the street.
"What got into you?" he asked, staring at my mouth.
"I want pie, and then I want you to take me home to bed."
He half-grunted, half-growled before pulling me close for a kiss.
My throaty moan made his body quake under mine, and his hands grabbed hold of my ass and squeezed tight. No doubt in my mind that he wanted me. After the scorching kisses that were shared, I told him to just forget the pie and take me home. He ran in and got two slices of Key lime to go.
Even as I was carried into my apartment, my legs wrapped around his waist, his hand patting my ass, I noticed the two quarters in the jar on the counter. I put my hand on his cheek and smiled at him.
"What?" he asked as he put the bag with the pie in it down on the counter. "I don't wanna sleep on the couch."
I shook my head as the tears welled up in my eyes.
"Oh for crissakes," he grumbled, leaning in to kiss me.
"Like I ever wanna sleep without you."
I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed tight, my mouth ravenous on his. His deep rumbling laughter, sounding so content, was not lost on me.
Chapter Three
The only par
t that was fun was watching Aja. Her eyes went from Dane to Sam, back and forth, watching them both, wanting to miss nothing. It was like watching tennis or volleyball, except the only thing flying between them were words. When Dane yelled, she winced; when Sam roared back, she flinched. I just breathed whenever anyone posed a rhetorical question to me. Obviously they wanted no answers, they just wanted to be loud. When Aja sat down beside me on the couch, I leaned my head on her shoulder. When she chuckled, the room went silent.
"Sorry," she whispered, hand up, gritting her teeth.
"Continue."
And they did: Dane yelling, pointing at Sam, Sam with his fingers laced on top of his head, Dane attacking, Sam defending, both just livid. I had never seen Dane so mad.
"Wow," Aja said softly, talking into my hair. "The man really loves you, Jory. I've never seen him this way. I hope he never gets this mad at me."
I grunted.
"But I hafta say... it is sexy as hell. Look at those beautiful dark gray eyes," she purred. "I can't wait to love all that right out of him."
"Gross," I groaned, slouching down further beside her.
But it was funny, watching two grown men yell at each other. And while Dane had an inch of height over Sam, being six-five, Sam had the muscle over Dane. My brother with his jet black hair and gray eyes was built tall and lean like a swimmer. Sam with his copper-colored hair and slate blue eyes had the big, muscular frame of a defensive lineman. He had, in fact, played football all through high school.
Aja giggled, returning my attention to her before she leaned sideways on the couch and kissed my temple. "May I say that I used to think that Aaron Sutter was a gorgeous man and I loved you guys together? I was sad when it was over."
My ex-boyfriend, Aaron Sutter. It had lasted a year and a half. "Yeah, well," I sighed. "Sometimes things don't—"
"Let me finish," she cut me off and pointed at Sam. "That man, however, is beautiful. He's the kind of man I would have gone after myself, all tall and buff and fine... look at his arms—damn."
"Shut up." I grinned in spite of myself.
"I bet he's solid all over."
"Quit."
"And his ass is—"
"Stop."
"I'm just saying... I get it, and the way he looks at you and touches you... Aaron had it bad, but that man there is head over heels in love with you. I would not let that go either, not for anyone. Not even for Dane."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence here before I die."