by Trina Lane
Then suddenly, it all went horribly wrong. A hand appeared from off-frame, and in seconds all Trevor’s happy memories shattered as he watched Mindy die right before his eyes. Trevor fell backwards out of his chair as he tried to escape. What followed was a flash of innumerable images. Each one burned itself into Trevor’s retina in matter of seconds. Horrific scenes of prisoners in desolate conditions interspersed with grainy video of extreme BDSM. Men were being whipped and fucked. A few scenes of what looked like assault and rape. Blood other bodily fluids mingling on bruised and split skin.
“What the fuck is that!” Frederick yelled.
Trevor couldn’t move. He wanted to look away, wanted put a stop to the horror but he sat on the floor frozen.
“Mitchell, shut that off.”
Trevor scrambled to his feet. His hands shook and the mouse chased all over the monitor before Trevor managed to direct it to the control bar at the bottom of the screen. When Trevor hit pause the last image was a black background with large white letters.
You belong to me.
“What the fuck, Mitchell? I thought this was some Valentine’s thing?”
“I did too, sir.”
“Either you have really fucked up friends, or there is something else going on here. Regardless, you and I are going to have a chat.”
Trevor couldn’t look away from the monitor. Those words. The ones Niall and Matt used often to send Trevor spinning into a world of safety and pleasure, now catapulted him in a storm of uncertainty.
“Make a copy of that disc then bring it to me. I’m officially opening a case file.”
“Sir? Is that really necessary? What if this is some kind of sick joke?”
If the Captain responded, Trevor never heard the words. All he could think about was that the opening clip. It was now apparent that Mindy’s murder was no random act or even aimed at hurting Mr. Carlyle, but at Trevor himself. A message Trevor hadn’t understood at the time.
Trevor’s palms were clammy, he couldn’t speak and he was dizzy. It’s not like he made enemies on the cases he worked. He was a no-name lab tech, not even a blip on the radar of the criminals he helped put away. That meant this was personal. That meant his friends were potentially in danger. Mr. Carlyle. Ethan and Ryan. Rick and his family. Logan and Clay. But most importantly, Matt and Niall. His lovers.
You belong to me.
What if this person knew of his relationship with Matt and Niall? It seemed logical. Trevor hadn’t exactly been hiding the fact that he was dating the two men. What if Trevor’s selfishness to hold onto Matt and Niall had put the two men in danger? If they got hurt, if this person targeted them, it would be Trevor’s fault. He couldn’t live with that. It seemed he now had his evidence.
His first instinct was to deal with the problem himself. He could run a trace on the video feed, maybe see if the manufacturer’s serial number for the camera was still imbedded in code. He could try to get finger prints off the disc then if the individual was in the system, Trevor would confront the bastard. However, he was no hero and he knew it. He needed help.
He swallowed several times, trying to get saliva back down his throat. “I don’t know much, Captain, but I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Five minutes, Mitchell.”
“Yes, sir.”
Trevor copied the DVD into a media file on the computer then made a hard copy. He put on a pair of gloves and removed the original, placing it back in the jewel case then slid it into an evidence envelope and sealed it. Trevor’s prints would already be on the evidence, but this way he at least minimised further contamination. Trevor initialled the label as the collection agent. As he left the A/V suite and walked down the hallway, Trevor couldn’t help but think of that movie Matt and Niall had made him watch not too long ago, The Green Mile. With each step, Trevor’s heart beat as if he were going to his execution. Perhaps the comparison was a touch dramatic. It was only Captain Frederick after all.
Trevor knocked on the doorframe to the Captain’s office. “Sir?”
“Come in, Mitchell. Have a seat.”
Trevor did and moved to sit in the chair in front of the Captain’s desk.
“You want to tell me what’s going on, Trev?”
Trevor nearly landed on his ass again as the deep voice grumbled behind him. He spun around to see a man standing in the corner of the Captain’s office, arms folded across his chest.
“Clay! What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been cleared for duty, and was in the building to deal with the last of the paperwork. Came upstairs to grab something Logan left earlier. Imagine my surprise when I hear that you’re being threatened and didn’t bother to tell either Logan—your best friend—or myself.”
Clay’s anger was evident. When he stepped under the florescent lights of office, Trevor noticed that Clay’s grey eyes mimicked thunderclouds. Of course, Clay’s tense stance and the tick his left cheek were other clear signs. Trevor didn’t think it was good for Clay to get so agitated, cleared for duty or not.
“Clay. Calm down. It’s not good for you. Besides if you keel over from a stroke now, Logan will kill me.”
“My blood pressure is fine. Now talk.”
Instead of sitting in the chair, Trevor moved over to the window and braced his back against the cool clear pane of glass.
He looked over at the Captain. “The first scenes of the video showed my neighbour’s dog. I found her dead on my front landing back in November. At the time, I thought it was a random act of violence against my neighbour. He’s an old man, and I occasionally look after him. I didn’t understand why someone would want to target him. Mr. Carlyle has never hurt a fly.”
“Well, I think we can put that theory to rest,” Frederick stated calmly.
Trevor nodded. “I have no idea where the other stuff on the video came from. It seemed rather random to me.”
Frederick shook his head. “The images didn’t come from a single source, but they were hardly random. Every one of them showed a similar theme. Imprisonment, torture and rape. The words at the end of the movie made it clear that someone feels they have ownership of you, and the images suggest that whoever is behind this feels that’s what you deserve for escaping.”
“This is what happens to pets that disobey their owners,” Trevor said under his breath.
“What was that, Mitchell?”
“There…there was a note under Mindy’s head when I found her. That’s what the note said.”
“Jesus,” Clay whispered.
“And you didn’t happen to think at the time it could be a clue?”
“No! I thought it was some deviant’s idea of a sick joke. Why would I possibly think it had anything to do with me? I haven’t escaped from anybody.”
“An old lover? A jilted potential lover?”
Trevor shook his head. “My relationships in the past never reached a level that would warrant this kind of obsession, and I’m not a man whore.”
“Maybe someone who wanted to get serious and you walked away?” Clay asked.
Trevor thought hard about any of the men he’d seen in the last couple of years. A handful of one night stands, and two short term flings that ended mutually. He’d dated one guy for a couple of months, but brushed that off since the man had broken up with him not the other way around.
“I want to see the video,” Clay said.
“You’re not active duty yet, Phillips. I know Mitchell is your friend, but I can’t let anyone not connected with the case view evidence. You know that.”
Clay rolled his eyes then stared down the Captain. “Are you kidding me?”
Frederick shrugged his shoulders. “Had to be said.”
“And now you’ve said it. So let’s see.”
Trevor’s head whipped back and forth as if here were watching a tennis match. It was a stand-off. Who would cave first? The down and dirty Southie detective, or the white shirt whose roots went deeper and branches reached parts of the city Trevor avoided
like the bubonic plague?
“Mitchell, give me the copy. I’m going to view it again to get a better understanding of our perp. I’ll be down the hall.”
The Captain walked out without another word. Seconds later Clay moved to follow him, but stopped to look over his shoulder at Trevor.
“Are you coming?”
Trevor shook his head. He had no desire to watch that gruesome footage again. Clay looked as if he was about to say something, but then jogged down the hall towards the A/V suite.
“Mitchell! Where’s the on switch for all these gadgets?”
Trevor shook his head and smiled. He went back to his suite, cued up the video on the big screen and left without a word.
Several minutes later, Clay and the Captain came back into the Captain’s office, where Trevor had waited. Clay walked right up to him and gathered Trevor in his arms. Trevor stiffened up for a few seconds, in part because he didn’t want to aggravate Clay’s injury and in part because he wasn’t used to such demonstrations of friendship from Logan’s partner. Logan was Trevor’s close friend. He’d always assumed that Clay put up with Trevor to make his partner happy.
“I can’t do much until I’m reinstated, but I promise to watch out for you. You realise that Logan is going to flip his lid when I tell him right?”
Trevor looked up at Clay, and was momentarily taken back by the open and concerned expression. “Do you have to?”
Clay looked back, and his face told Trevor that he was nuts to think Clay would keep something like this from Logan.
“Damn it. He’s going to kill me,” Trevor said under his breath.
“Hey, this isn’t your fault. You know that, right?”
Trevor shrugged. “Logan’s always lecturing me on taking stupid chances. I’m sure this is just more fuel for his fire. I swear, Clay, I don’t know who’s behind it though. I can’t think of anyone.”
Clay glanced over at the Captain then back at Trevor. “I don’t want to embarrass you, but I need to ask you something, and it could be important to finding out who is behind everything.”
Trevor shrugged again. It was his usual reaction when a situation got uncomfortable. “Go ahead.”
“Some of those images on the video were clips of hardcore BDSM scenes. Do you play like that?”
“No!”
“Have you ever played?”
Trevor shook his head, violently. “I had a few hook-ups that wanted to, but I scrammed out of there so fast Speedy Gonzales couldn’t catch me. It was a casual situation, though. Nobody I actually dated was into that stuff.”
“Okay, what about other stuff?”
“Well, because I’m not exactly Arnold Schwarzenegger from Predator, occasionally a guy would have a little too much testosterone for my tastes.” Trevor crossed his arms over his chest. His frame didn’t make the stance as impressive as when Clay had done it earlier, but Trevor was determined to show that he was no pushover. “I may be small, but I can take care of myself.”
Clay’s lips twitched. “When have you ever seen Predator? I thought you hated new movies? I’ve seen your video collection. I’d bet my badge there’s nothing released post-1965.”
Matt and Niall had managed to get Trevor to watch a few of their movies filled with loud explosions and a couple of creepy thrillers which had had Trevor watching half the movie between his fingers. However, he’d managed to partially convert Matt and Niall over to the dark side as well. A few of his classics now lined the shelves at Niall’s place, and Matt had recently asked Trevor to sit and watch Footsteps in the Fog with him again.
Trevor’s chin jutted out. “I’ve had my horizons broadened recently. While I admit that the art of entertainment has woefully degenerated in the last forty years, not everything released is a complete waste. Besides, just because I may have watched it, doesn’t mean I liked it.”
“Fascinating.” Frederick deadpanned. “Now can we stop discussing cinematic history and get back to the matter at hand?”
Trevor had actually forgotten that the Captain was there for a moment. “Sorry, sir.”
Clay inclined his head at their superior then looked back at Trevor. “Don’t think you’re off the hook yet. I want all the gory details,” he finished with a smile.
“All right you two. I’m going to take this evidence to be logged in and processed. Mitchell, you’re going home.”
Trevor got ready to argue but before a word crossed his lips, the Captain had his hand up in the classic don’t talk to me position.
“I don’t care what you’re about to say. Phillips, you have a car?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Take Mitchell home,” Frederick stared at Trevor for a second, “or wherever he wants to go. Mitchell, you’re going to have a uniform pick you up to bring you in and drive you home every day, unless you make other arrangements. No more late night subway rides and walks in the city alone.”
Trevor’s jaw dropped and he stared at the Captain. He glared over his shoulder at Clay, who was chuckling under his breath.
“Yes son, I know all about how you get home every night. Normally I wouldn’t say anything. You’re your own man after all, but in this case I happen to agree with Detective Phillips and Mr. Callen. Until we figure out exactly what is going on, it’s simply not safe. I’m not willing to risk your safety.”
The Captain didn’t elaborate and Trevor was left questioning whether his boss had intended for that statement to mean that he actually cared about Trevor, or was worried about something happening to an employee. Then again, did it really matter?
Chapter Eleven
“So Matt and Niall finally got you to watch some decent movies, huh?”
Trevor looked over at Clay, sitting in the driver’s seat, as they made their way towards Trevor’s apartment.
“Decent is a relative term.”
“Now that smacks of avoidance. Fine, you don’t want to talk about movies, tell me about how things are going between the three of you.”
“Good.”
“And?”
“And what?”
A low growl came from the heated interior of the car. Trevor took a moment to fiddle with the vents in the car then pulled his body tighter inside his coat. Clay kicked up the heater, and Trevor sighed as a blast of hot air hit him in the face and on his feet.
“Better?”
Trevor nodded.
“Now fess up. Should we be on the lookout for a gift registry notice?”
Trevor snorted. “Massachusetts may have legalised gay marriage, but I doubt polygamy will be on the books any time soon.”
“Would you if you could?”
“I don’t know. We’re tight, but marriage between three gay men? What are the chances that could actually work?”
“So you’re using Matt and Niall for the sex? You have no intention of making a life with them? A lifetime commitment to your lover, that’s what it means to be in a marriage. It’s not the piece of paper the state gives you.”
“I like them. I like them a lot. The sex is phenomenal. Matt has this little dominant streak that pushes Niall’s and my buttons in all the right ways, but it’s mo—” Trevor saw Clay’s jaw nearly hit the steering wheel. “What?”
“Wow. I never saw that one coming.”
“Umm…”
“I’m having trouble picturing open and friendly Matt as a dark, ball busting Dom? Wait I thought you said—”
“No, no. It’s nothing like what was in the video. It’s hard to explain. He kinda gets intense sometimes, and…I don’t know…it works.”
“I guess part of me is a little stunned that my friend has this side to him I knew nothing about.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…maybe I shouldn’t have told you, but you asked and…”
Clay placed a hand on Trevor’s shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Matt, Logan and I have a special friendship. Yes, he’s Logan’s psychiatrist, but that all gets left behind at the office. When we hang ou
t together, nothing is sacred. You remember the holiday party, right?”
Trevor nodded. “I couldn’t believe Ethan and Rick going at it on the Xbox. Conor is an amazing cook, and Calleigh is so nice. I can’t believe she works the hospital as much as she does and still takes the time to be such a good mom. Mostly I remember you, Logan and Matt playing board games all night.”
Clay nodded. “Has anyone told you how we all became friends?”
“I’ve picked up bits and pieces here and there.”
“Rick and Conor went to school with Ethan. They’ve known each other for years. Ethan met Ryan while the two of them were working on a case. During the process, Ethan was attacked. Brutally. Left for dead in the freezing snow. I was the lead detective on the case. We never caught Ethan’s attackers, because the men who we suspected of the act fled to China. Now Ryan has always suspected and, I have to agree, he’s made some pretty good arguments that the mastermind of the whole thing was actually the person Ethan was prosecuting at the time. Unfortunately we could never prove it. Anyway, during the whole process, I ended up spending a lot of time with Ryan and Ethan, and eventually met the McGuire gang.”
“That sucks about Ethan. I had no idea.”
“Yeah, the guy is doing thirty years for economic espionage so at least he’s off the streets, but it still sucks. So, back to using Matt and Niall for sex—”
The back of Trevor’s head hit the head rest in Clay’s car, hard. “It’s not only sex, okay? It’s more. I don’t really know what, but it’s…when I first hooked up with them? Yeah, okay all I pretty much cared about was getting off. But now I like being at Niall’s or Matt’s place instead of going home after work,” he whispered at the end.
“Why do you like it?” Clay asked, just as quietly.
“Because…there’s someone to talk to. Someone to kiss. Someone willing to watch a movie in the dark or listen if I’ve had a bad day. Someone who…someone who wants me. Really wants me.”
Clay had leant over the seat as Trevor said the last words. Suddenly Trevor had some kind of epiphany. The metaphorical light bulb went off over his head, and Trevor felt like smacking himself at how dense he been. Matt and Niall wanted Trevor to share in their lives, to face each day standing side by side.