“I know that,” Jaxon murmured. “People died the last time they were here. I can’t be the cause of that.”
“I’ll talk to Dade and see if he can nose around and find out who else might be working with him.”
“Maybe my backing out would be the best thing,” Jaxon said quietly, his stomach roiling. He didn’t want to leave this town any more than he wanted to spend another thirty or forty years in it waiting for the proponents against the change to die off.
“Nothing is going to change even if your name is taken off the ballot,” Kel told him. “Those seeking this change aren’t going to back down.”
“What if there are more against than for?” Jaxon demanded, sadness contorting his face into a mask of pain. He didn’t want to continue to pretend to be human when he wasn’t. It was like wearing a too tight suit.
Kel cupped his face. “Don’t worry about it, okay?” he murmured. “I’ll talk to him. He’s probably gone over to the TV station whether he was lying or not. We can stop this rebellion before it exposes us all.”
Chapter Two
Daniel let himself into the TV station with glee. Those damn fools wanted to turn their lives into a replica of an alien world none of them had ever seen. The changes they’d hoped to make had already been voted against in the initial round of voting. That had made it clear that the majority didn’t want to be governed by alien laws.
They’d seen what those laws were like over the last few weeks. Three men were dead, a woman was missing and a wife had lost her business. The police said the men had been sent to a penal facility in another city because they didn’t do long-term incarceration here. There was no proof and what about the woman? Surely they’d have been able to find one pregnant woman in the Louisiana legal system.
No, they wanted to turn this into a dictatorship, an alien Third Reich. He was not having it even if he did have to get the feds involved. And they were prepared to do that.
“You’re back.”
Daniel stopped in the corridor on the way to his office where his computer was waiting for him to retrieve the video he’d taken of those queers making out. It wasn’t just those two he’d gotten. He wasn’t even worried about them right now. It was the one man he’d never expected to see there that he couldn’t wait to expose.
“Yeah.” He gave his boss a smile. “I have a couple of stories I need to work on.” He held the brown stare of the average-looking, Collier Thane whose black-framed glasses were perched on the end of his nose as usual.
Collier sat back in his chair. “Really?” His eyes glowed with interest. “Do tell.”
“I was over at that house on the edge of town out near the Andron orchard,” Daniel said and rubbed his hands together. “You’ll never guess what that place really is.”
“What?”
“A queer club,” he said, stepping into the office and leaning against the doorframe. Collier always gave him all the leeway he needed on his stories. He was very supportive of all the reporters who worked here, but this was one of the biggest stories to ever hit this town.
“You aren’t serious,” he said and laughed. “We don’t have gentlemen’s clubs here.”
“Gentlemen.” He snorted. “More like boys only. I saw Jaxon there making out with his boyfriend and I saw someone we’d never even suspected of being a dick sucker there.”
“Oh?” Collier sat forward. “Do I have to wait for the movie?”
Daniel chuckled. “Afraid so, but the wait won’t be long. I got him getting fucked—can you believe it? A man with all that power was taking it up the ass while he sucked on a cock. Damn I can’t wait to get that footage edited.”
“Before we run any stories, I want to see what you have,” Collier told him. “I’m not for fucking up someone’s life for no good reason.”
“I plan to show the entire damned station when I get it edited,” he said and smirked. “I can’t wait to see the look on his son’s face.” He laughed. “The high and mighty asshole. His poor wife!”
“Daniel—”
“Yeah,” he cut in quickly. “I am sending her a copy of it, and you can’t stop that.”
“Just use caution.”
“This is news, and everyone is entitled to know what a fraud he is.”
“But you don’t have to hurt his wife to make any points,” Collier said quietly. “Whoever she is.”
“This isn’t about her,” he snapped. “This is about that asshole. Even if you decide not to run it, I’ll put it on the Internet. This bastard is one of the men that hold the fate of this town in his hands. When you see who it is, you’ll agree that he has to be brought down a peg or two. They all do before they turn this town into a cesspool.” He turned on his heel and hurried down to his office.
He wasn’t going to let Collier stop this. That pussy. He was just like his father. He was too afraid to rock the boat. Well, Willow Brooke was about to be set on its ear if the powers that be didn’t back down and give control to the right people.
Daniel continued down the dimly lit corridor until he reached the stairwell. He pulled the door open and stepped into the well-lit area to dead silence. He trudged up the stairs, his mind a whirligig of thoughts. The lights blinked out casting him in total darkness as it ripped him from his thoughts. The lights came on again, but they were dimmer like the safety lights that came on when the power went out and the generator took over.
“Terrific,” he thought with a scowl. A door slammed below, and Daniel went still as he listened for activity. He didn’t hear so much as a soul on the cement, but the silence was now unnatural as if someone was in the stairwell with him. “Collier?”
He waited for an answer, but didn’t get one. He strained to hear the slightest sound, but nothing moved. He turned and quickly took the stairs up to the landing. His heart was beating faster and his palms had gone damp.
“Andron, I know you’re down there!” His voice echoed, and he heard the slight tremor of it.
There was no reply. He turned and tugged the door open and stepped out. He almost collided with his pal. “Shit.”
The man gave him an amused look. “Why would Andron be coming over here to talk to you?”
Daniel exhaled softly as he started to walk. “I was over at that house you suggested I check out,” he answered. “Your suspicions were right. It’s a boys’ only club.”
“Did you get anything?” his companion demanded.
“You bet your ass I did,” he said with a hard grin. “You’ll never guess who I saw there. Come on. Andron, that asshole, broke my phone, but I’d sent the vid to my computer anyway. I just hate I didn’t get that footage of Andron and Jaxon making out sa—”
“Dillon was there with Andron?” the person at his side demanded. “Which Andron?”
“Kelphan.” Daniel stepped into his office flipping the light switch.
“And you didn’t send this to your computer? Do you have any idea how important that would have been? We could have gotten him out of the race.”
“I know that,” he snapped. “Just hold on, sport.” He pulled out the chair at his desk and dropped into it. “Wait until you see this. We can use this to make them back off.”
“Only so far,” his companion muttered. “We need to make multiple dominos fall if we’re going to get those idiots to let this drop. None of us want to be living in an alien re-run.”
“I know that,” he muttered. “That’s why we’re doing this. I got Lowell, that FBI guy’s number. So, if our plan doesn’t work, I’m calling him. I’ve already got people working for Andron lined up to help prove they’re aliens and using alien methods to harvest their fruit. And once the new tenets are drawn up for us to vote on, I’ll have a copy of that. I also have someone working on those fucking freaky cat shifters. I’ll have all the proof I need that they’re half-breed aliens. On top of that, someone’s getting proof about those goddamned relics being alien artifacts of power.”
“We all had some of those at one time u
ntil Beets conned us out of them,” the visitor said grimly. “A couple of those pieces would be worth a fortune.”
“Forget that shit,” Daniel muttered. “It’s just trouble.”
“You bringing the feds in would be trouble. Those relics can be tied to every family in town which means even your family could end up exposed as a half-alien. They won’t let you live.”
“We’ll leave off the relics and use some of the other things,” he said. “Journals, but we have to get those fuckers out of here.”
“Are you all even thinking?”
“We’re doing this,” Daniel said coldly. “But it’s only if they don’t back down.”
“There’s a better way than bringing the feds in.”
“Yeah, the information I’ve gathered. You’d be surprised at what I’ve already put together for the feds. Take a look at this. It’s gonna blow your mind.” He hit play and smiled at his companion who rounded his desk to view the file. “I’m going to do a little bit of editing for TV, but I’m sending a copy of this to his wife.”
His companion watched the first five minutes before speaking. “Are you fucking insane? His wife doesn’t need to see that and neither does anyone else. That’s flat-out wrong, Daniel.”
Daniel stopped the show with a hard look. “It’s news. Those fuckers walk around here with their noses so far up in the air—”
“This isn’t about saving our town from them,” his visitor cut in coldly. “It’s about you and your ego. Who’s really the fucking girl around here? A real man would be out there making a difference by doing something, but you’re about to destroy countless lives to get your way.”
“We’re all doing what’s right!” he snarled. “You obviously have no loyalty to us or the cause, so get your head together. Are you with us or not? Until you can decide, stay the hell away from us.”
“They all need to know the consequences of exposing us to the feds, and I’m going to make sure they do.”
“Do what you want, just keep your mouth closed about this video,” Daniel snapped.
“No problem.” His visitor stalked from the office.
Five minutes later the lights in his office blinked out and Daniel cussed and then scowled in the darkness. The phone on his desk rang, and he grabbed it, vaguely registering the bang of a door. I hope he trips on the stairs on the way down, he thought darkly. Fucker doesn’t understand how dirty we have to fight to protect our future. “What?” Daniel snapped into the receiver.
“Good. You’re in your office,” Kel muttered. “I’m on my way up.”
“I’m calling security!” He hung up just as the lights softly flooded the room. “Oh. Hey. You’ve got to see this footage I got.” He smiled at the newcomer who strolled in, on hand behind his back.
“What’d you get from the sex club?” he asked.
“You’re going to love it,” he said with a grin that quickly faded. “But first I want to know if everything is set for tomorrow.”
“Of course it is,” the newcomer answered.
In order for their plans to succeed, they had to eliminate Jaxon. He had a certain charisma and people could relate to him. However, Daniel was certain that if Jaxon were to take office the Andron brothers or Jaxon’s family would be running things. Either way, that meant a destruction of their way of life.
“We’ll have to be careful how we do things with Jaxon. We could end up with a big backlash.”
“Naturally,” Daniel answered coolly. No doubt the plan would change due to his companion’s smart-ass know-it-all thinking. He had a strong influence on their leader which Daniel thought was very dangerous. He was going to have to get rid of him even though he had the money they needed to pull this all off.
“We have to be willing to make changes as need be, Daniel,” his companion said. “This is too important for any of us to allow ego to get in the way.”
“Great then, I’ll give everyone a report on my findings at the club.” He smiled again, glee renewed in him afresh. “Come take a look at something I got on film.”
The long lean body moved around his desk, his face grave. “What are you so excited about? What did you see?”
Daniel pointed to his computer screen and hit play. “What do you think?” The man stood behind him and Daniel heard the sharp intake of breath and smirked as he looked up. “Never looked more photogenic has he?” He laughed. “What do you think your mother is going to say when she sees this?”
“You can’t send her a copy of that,” he said coldly. “That would break her heart. I don’t mind breaking his, but she doesn’t deserve that.”
“Too fucking bad,” he snarled. “Your father is one of the fucking problems. He’s going to take the heart right out of this town. Hell, he’s already taken the heart right out of a few people including my mother. She wanted to leave my father, but the fucking legal system here favors the man. Now, your family can feel some of the pain it’s caused.”
“I’m trying to end that.”
“Yeah? It won’t change the past and if you aren’t willing to break a few hearts to get this done then you aren’t really one of us.”
“Hurting my mother won’t accomplish anything, but getting my father pissed enough to be a problem for us.”
“Sacrifices have to be made and redemption has to be earned.”
“I see,” he said softly. “My mother’s heart doesn’t have to be part of that.
“It already is,” Daniel told him. “You have to make a real choice. Us or them.”
“This is what happened to blood traitors on Barria.” He brought his hand down at an angle. Blood spurted onto the desk and computer screen and flew in the air as he drew back.
Daniel gasped in shock from the pain singing through him as he put a hand on his neck. “Bastard. Is that my artery? He—” His scream was cut off as the scythe sliced through the back of Daniel’s neck bone and went all the way through to the other side. His head sailed through the air and landed a few steps away. The eyes were open wide, horror forever frozen on his face.
He took his weapon to the computer certain Daniel had saved a copy. He knocked the hard drive to the floor and it crashed with a thud. Then, he opened a few of the drawers looking for flash drives and memory cards. He grabbed the ones he saw.
The distant ding of the elevator had the killer bending and grabbing up the head. He quickly headed out the door, scythe dangling at his side, drops of Daniel’s blood plopping to the stone floor as he retreated into the stairwell.
* * * *
What the hell?
Was that blood?
Kel frowned as he went down on his haunches to get a closer look at the droplet on the floor leading away from the office. He started to touch it, but stopped. He drew in a breath taking in the metallic hint of iron. “Shit!”
He got hurriedly to his feet. “Daniel?” He took the few steps into his office and his heart stopped as he stared at the headless body leaning back in the chair. “Oh fuck me. Man. Why did I have to drag my happy ass over here for a little chat with the son of a bitch?” Oh, he knew why he’d come over here. Jax had been upset even though he’d done his best to hide it. He’d been prepared to beat a little sense into Daniel just to find out a few of the names of the members of his little group.
He yanked his cell phone from his jeans pocket and punched in the Sheriff’s number and groaned.
His brother was going to give him hell for dragging his man out of bed. Rhys, his brother was younger and a little territorial when it came to his personal time with the sheriff.
“Sheriff Landon.” The tone was bland as an unseasoned steak.
“Yeah, hey—”
“Kel, this better be good,” he grumbled.
He’d heard his brother’s plans for tonight earlier when he’d been begging him to take over at the nut grooves. He and his brothers owned a thriving orchard and nuts and apples were still the hot tickets on the menu at this time of year though the apple orchard would be closin
g down soon.
“It is,” he said grimly as he stared down at Daniel’s body. “I’m over here at the TV station, and I’m sort of looking at a dead bo—”
“Son of a bitch,” he cut in. “You boys are freaking magnets for murder victims.”
“Yeah, well, I came over here to talk to Daniel and I saw blood out in the hallway—I’ll tell you all about it when you get here.”
“Damn right you will,” Dade muttered. “I’ll call Alexa, you don’t move a muscle, and for muck’s sake don’t mess up the evidence at the site.”
“Serious? I’m not touching anything.”
“I’m kicking your ass if you do,” he groused. “Maybe I’ll do it just because you fucked up my evening. Later.”
Kel glanced at the phone and shook his head as it went dead. “Bastard.”
Chapter Three
“How’d you get yourself in this mess?” Alexa gave him a cool stare before checking out the body with gloved hands. “Never mind,” she gave him a look before glancing back to the body. “What were you doing here? Didn’t you have someone better to do?”
He grunted and she smirked at him. “I came over here to talk to him,” he admitted.
“About what?” Dade asked from the door.
Kel turned to watch his brother’s mate stride into the room. The sexy sheriff was one of the men who might well lose his job if Jaxon didn’t get elected. Being gay in this town meant never being a cop or holding some public offices and mayor was one of them. Homophobia wasn’t rampant here because gay men and lesbians lived in the closet with the door closed so tightly, no one had known any gays lived in this town until his older brother Keyos had come out as bisexual.
Keyos had a husband and a wife. The trio was still getting some dirty looks, but no one pushed Keyos.
“He made some threats,” Kel said with a shrug.
Passion's Fire [Alien Passions 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) Page 2