Dancing Around The Cop

by Lisa Oliver

  everything he got and we’ll make sure we get you out.”

  Thank the Fates he had friends, because with what he’d been

  given in the mate stakes, Terry really needed people on his side

  right now.

  /~/~/~/~/

  Zander had never felt so helpless in his life than when he saw

  his tiny unclaimed mate being led away in handcuffs. The anger

  he felt seeing the bruises and blood on Terry’s face was nothing

  compared to the pain that ripped through his body when Terry

  looked to him for help and he turned the man down. He had no

  doubts that whatever Terry had done, the man currently

  complaining loudly as he was taken out on a stretcher clearly

  deserved it. But the only way he could think to help his mate,

  without revealing their connection was by doing his job.

  “Do you want to tell me what we’re doing here, again?” Sully

  said quietly as Zander went back into the larger fitting room they

  had come through. He’d briefly seen the three drag queens in

  various stages of dress as he’d hurried through to the crime

  scene, but now he wanted to talk to them in person. Nothing had

  come through in the call they’d gotten over the radio. Just a

  message about someone screaming. As soon as Zander had

  heard the address, he’d done a U-turn in the street and headed

  for Club Blue. His wolf knew something had happened to his

  mate, and in that instant, he couldn’t help himself.

  “Our job,” Zander said shortly.

  “Our job’s done,” Sully said, not bothering to lower his voice this

  time. “One man made a complaint. The other one is in handcuffs.

  What else is there to do?”

  “Haven’t you ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?” Zander

  snarled turning on his friend for the first time in their long

  friendship. “That boy in there was hurt, badly and yet he was

  the one in handcuffs. Doesn’t that strike you as just a little bit

  off?”

  “You didn’t stop him from being taken. I presume you knew he

  was guilty, and who really cares. It was a faggot quarrel that got

  out of hand,” Sully said, and Zander didn’t know what to say to

  that.

  He knew Terry was innocent, but if he’d opened his mouth and

  said or done anything then Sully and the uniformed officers

  would have known. They would have guessed somehow that

  Terry was important to him and Zander couldn’t take that risk.

  When he had opened his mouth, he knew his callous words had

  shattered any hopes of getting close to his mate anytime soon,

  if ever. Surprisingly the never having sex again didn’t even

  factor into his thinking. It was the hurt and then the defeat in

  Terry’s stance as he was led away that killed Zander. Now he

  had to try and make things right.

  “Why did you arrest our boy? He was just protecting himself,”

  one woman/man said angrily. Zander didn’t see anything

  attractive in someone that looked like he should be driving a

  truck, wearing a dress. But then, he could also see, that once

  made up and wearing a wig, the guy would probably make a

  lovely, if very big, woman.

  “Ladies,” he said remembering his manners. “Can anyone tell

  me who made the call to the police in the first place, and why?”

  “There was screaming. We heard our Terry scream and we knew

  it was that fucking Norman, so Dav here rang for the police,”

  another one of the drag queens said. She had a bright red wig

  on, which went surprisingly well with the red dress she was half

  wearing.

  “What do you mean you knew it was Norman? I take it you

  mean, Norman Biggs, the owner here who was taken away in an

  ambulance,” Sully asked.

  “Norman has a rule,” an equally big blond Diva said, pushing

  close to Sully making the man step back. Zander hid a half smile.

  It wasn’t often something made his homophobic friend

  uncomfortable, but these half transformed drag queens sure did.

  “A fucking rule about getting sexual services in exchange for

  keeping a job. Everyone in the club knows about it, everyone

  puts up with it. The guy’s got a little dick anyway, so it’s not a

  big deal. But our Terry deserves better than that. He’s decent,

  and honest and innocent and if you don’t get him out of those

  handcuffs and back here where he belongs then you are in big

  shit.”

  “I don’t take kindly to being threatened sir…er mam…er… who

  are you anyway?” Sully finally recovered enough to ask.

  “My name,” the blond said, stepping into Sully’s personal space

  again, “is Madam Morgana, but you can call me Bert. I’m your

  police commissioner’s brother and as soon as I’ve given my

  statement I will be making some family calls.”

  For the first time since he’d come into the club, Zander felt a

  glimmer of hope that things would work out for Terry at least.

  He couldn’t bear the thought of his little mate having to spend

  the night in the cells. Those animals in there would eat Terry

  alive, and that was without the damage it would do to Terry’s

  wolf spirit. Pulling out his notebook, Zander said firmly, “I need

  names, dates, complaints, anything you can tell me about

  Norman Biggs. I promise you have our full attention and we will

  get your friend out of jail.”

  Chapter Six

  Terry sighed and turned over in his bed to look at the clock. It

  showed 11.15 and he guessed from the light peering in around

  the cracks in his curtains that it was almost lunch time. Not that

  he felt inclined to eat. He hadn’t eaten in the three days since

  they’d released him from police custody. Thank God he hadn’t

  been kept in overnight.

  Terry tried to smile as he remembered the lawyer that Davina

  had gotten for him, bouncing into the interview room like a fairy

  on crack, threatening the two police officers who were guarding

  him with everything from castration to job loss if the cuffs

  weren’t removed from his wrists immediately and some

  beverages provided. Terry had asked for a bottle of water. He

  didn’t think his stomach would be able to hold anything else.

  What was even more shocking, and maybe he would think even

  funny someday, was when the police commissioner himself came

  in and introduced himself, making arrangements for the charges

  to be dropped because they were done in self-defense. Who

  knew Morgana had a brother? The lawyer, Marcel or something

  equally exotic had pressed a card in his hand when he dropped

  Terry off at home, making him promise to call about suing

  Norman for assault and sexual harassment. Apparently some of

  the other employees at the club were forming a class action suit

  against the man.

  But Terry hadn’t called the lawyer. He hadn’t bothered to dress

  or shower. In fact, he hadn’t done anything. His wolf was quiet,

  almost silent in his head, probably traumatized by being locked

  up even for a short while. Or maybe he was missing Zander too.

  Because through it all, despite all of th
e help that his friends had

  given him, the one person who could have helped him, who

  should have wanted to protect him hadn’t done a single fucking

  thing. Terry hadn’t seen Zander since he’d been led out of the

  club. No phone calls, no visits, no flowers, nothing. It was like

  the man never existed.

  The only thing Terry had from Zander was the last card that had

  come with the flowers, the card that he had slipped into his

  pocket before his altercation with Norman. The card had been

  as brief as the others, simply telling Terry to be ready at six

  o’clock that night for a dinner date. Given that Terry was still in

  the cells at the time, Terry didn’t consider it blowing Zander off

  by not turning up. Zander knew where he was. Knowing how

  callous the bastard was, he probably took someone else out on

  a date and no matter how hard he tried, Terry couldn’t bring

  himself to care. Zander had made his position clear the day he

  was arrested. The big man might be an Alpha wolf, but he lived

  by human ideals. Terry’s dream of an HEA went up in smoke

  the moment Zander watched him being cuffed.

  All of the protectiveness, the possessiveness and the desire to

  protect a mate from all harm – Zander must have been absent

  the day those things were handed out. Terry had to face the fact

  that his mate was a dud in the wolf department, and the mate

  department. Every shifter knew how badly an animal spirit could

  react to being caged in. But his mate did nothing to stop it, and

  while Terry hated himself for moping around like a sad sack, he

  honestly didn’t have the energy to do anything else. He had no

  job, he had no life and his mate didn’t want him. There was

  nothing to get out of bed for.

  “Terry. Terry, where are you babe, you’ve got company.”

  Fuck, why did he give Roy a key to his apartment? Couldn’t he

  mope in peace? But he knew better than to try and stay in bed,

  Roy would just come and find him. Pushing aside the covers,

  Terry went to get up, and then sat on the side of the bed, as his

  head started to spin. Perhaps three days without food was a bit

  long.

  “Terry you stupid fool, you look like shit. You smell like shit, and

  I bet you haven’t eaten have you? No, no, stay in bed, we’ll bring

  the food to you, but for goodness sake, let me open a window in

  here.”

  Roy bustled about, opening the curtains and windows, plumping

  Terry’s pillows, picking up his clothes off the floor. That was Roy’

  way. He was snarky, rude and too belligerent for his size most

  days, but he had a wickedly kind heart and Terry knew that Roy

  cared for him in his own way. Strangely enough Roy’s fussing

  gave Terry a spot of hope. He might not have anything else, but

  he had really good friends. Sure enough in trooped Charlie and

  Joel, with Max by his side. But Terry was surprised to see Davina,

  Lucy and Morgana all coming in too – carrying bowls of food that

  had Terry’s stomach rumbling.

  “How are you feeling, precious? Is your head feeling any better?”

  Davina asked, sitting down heavily on one side of the bed and

  patting his hand.

  “I’m fine, really.” Terry managed a watery smile. Physically he

  was. Norman had given him a black eye and a split lip, but that

  was the sum total of his injuries. Mentally Terry knew it would

  take him a lot longer to forget the sheer lust and hatred in

  Norman’s eyes when he tried to force him to give him a blow

  job. His ex-boss featured heavily in his nightmares.

  “Well, that’s good, sweetie, because we’ve got news,” Morgana

  said, sitting on the other side of the bed.

  “Oh it’s so exciting,” Joel said, bouncing up and down on his toes,

  his blond curls framing his face. “You’ll never guess…”

  “I get to do the sets,” Charlie cut in. “And Max is in charge of

  catering, while Roy’s on lighting and special effects. Joel is going

  to help Max, so even he’s included.”

  “Included in what?” Terry was confused. He was thrilled that his

  friends seemed to have some big event they were planning for,

  but it wasn’t like he’d be setting foot inside Club Blue again and

  he didn’t have any other contacts.

  “It’s for Houston Pride Week, coming up in about three months’

  time,” Roy explained taking the soup bowl out of Terry’s hand

  and replacing it with a cup of hot chocolate and a muffin. Terry

  didn’t remember eating the soup but he must have done, and he

  picked up the muffin and nibbled on it. It was delicious, and Terry

  started to take bigger bites. Maybe he would be okay.

  “Darling, they are putting on a Diva Show Night,” Davina

  explained. “Anyone who is anybody will be there, and you, my

  clever little precious, have been signed on to do all of the

  costumes for the Houston entrants. More than twenty costumes

  in all. Isn’t it fabulous?”

  For a moment, Terry felt a glimmer of creativity surge through

  his body, but he quickly squashed it. As far as he knew most of

  the work done by the Houston Pride Week was on a voluntary

  basis and he needed a job, like quickly. He didn’t have the

  resources to donate his time, as much as he’d like to.

  “It’s paid,” Lucy said brightly, her hair, lipstick and dress all

  bright red as usual. “We made sure of that and with the

  connections you make with the Divas you will have plenty of

  freelance work to keep you going for as long as you want. And I

  might have twisted the arm of the event organizers to allow you

  to promote some of your designs, for the escorts to wear who

  will be walking the ladies up and down the cat walk. That’s bound

  to bring you more work.”

  “You didn’t twist his arm, sweetie, you blew the man in his office,

  admit it,” Morgana said, slapping her friend on the arm.

  Lucy raised an artfully drawn on eye brow. “Twisted, blew, who

  cares, Terry the job is yours. Say yes, and you’ll have more work

  than you can handle. Trust us to look out for you, aye? The way

  you do for us.”

  Terry looked around at his friends. Joel and Charlie looking so

  excited for him, Max calm and happy as always. Roy was

  fossicking through Terry’s wardrobe, but that was normal for

  him. Davina, Morgana and Lucy were all just looking at him

  expectantly.

  “I’ll do it,” he said in a rush, bracing himself for the onslaught of

  squeals, hugs and kisses. This was the job of his dreams, and he

  wasn’t going to turn away the chance to work with some of the

  biggest Diva names in Houston, and promote his own designs in

  men’s clothing at the same time. It was too good an opportunity

  to miss. His heart might be broken, but Terry lived for color and

  he vowed and declared to himself that no one would ever know

  how he felt. If he was going to die a virgin, he was going to be

  a colorful one.

  Chapter Seven

  “Well, well, well, an Omega wolf, unclaimed and looking totally

  delici
ous. What an absolutely delightful surprise.” The lawyer hit

  a button on a box on his desk and added, “Angela, hold all my

  calls. I’m not to be disturbed.”

  Fucking hell. What were the chances? Meeting another Alpha

  wolf was not on Terry’s list of things to do when he walked into

  the lawyer’s office that morning. He was supposed to be signing

  his contract for working with Houston Pride Week. It was a

  simple job. Should have taken five minutes and then he was

  going to look at some studio space that Charlie had hunted out

  for him where he could work. Instead he was confronted with a

  lone wolf, in a decidedly sharp suit, who was eyeing him like he

  was lunch.

  “Mr. Thorne?” He said nervously. “I’m Terrence Martin. I’m

  supposed to be here to sign a contract.” He didn’t want to talk

  about his being an Omega, or being unclaimed or anything else.

  He just wanted to work, but he couldn’t start until the paperwork

  was done. The low rent on the studio lease was dependent on

  seeing the contract. This lethal looking wolf shifter was the one

  thing that could stop all that, if he had a mind to.

  “Yes, yes, of course. Take a seat. Tell me about yourself,” the

  man’s voice was pleasant but the order was clear. Mr. Thorne

  was as tall as Zander and probably just as built if the way his

  expensive suit was cut was any indication. But where Zander

  was dark, with his permanent five o’clock stubble and his dark

  hair, Mr. Thorne had white blond hair that hung down to his

  shoulders, brilliant blue eyes and a clean strong chin. He was a

  good looking man and pre-Zander, Terry would have been

  attracted to him.

  Terry edged towards a chair, and sat down, twisting his fingers

  in his lap as he wondered what on earth the lawyer wanted him

  to say. But maybe this wolf had a spot more compassion than

  Zander did, because he smiled and said in a softer voice.

  “You’re an Omega wolf, yes?”

  Terry nodded.

  “And you have family here, a pack you belong to?”

  Terry started to shake his head and then stopped. “I have

  parents who love me,” he said trying to keep his voice firm and

  calm. “They live in Ohio and I’ve never been in a pack. My

  parents didn’t think it would be safe for me. I keep in touch with

  them all the time.”

  “Your parents were probably right, keeping you away from other