Adjusting to the Situation [Granite County 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove)

by Bellann Summer

  Above him Synn’s rhythm stuttered. “Come, now,” Synn ordered.

  Craig squeezed the end of his dick, causing his guts to seize. Cum poured out of him into the condom. The fingers in his hair pulled hard as Synn powered into his throat until Craig felt the warmth of Synn’s cum filling the condom.

  When he was finished, Synn stepped back, a finger holding the condom in place. Craig sucked air into his lungs, trying to catch his breath. Apparently he wasn’t one hundred percent healed as a dull pain spread over his chest and abdomen.

  An open hand was held out in front of him. Craig laid his own trembling fingers in. The warm grip pulled him to his feet. Lips covered his in a soft kiss. When it ended Craig reached over to a box of napkins sitting on a shelf and pulled a few free. Handing some to Synn, he used the rest to dispose of the condom and wipe himself up. After throwing the wad of tissues into the garbage, Craig zipped up and looked at Synn.

  Synn carded his hand through Craig’s hair and pulled him in for another kiss. Craig loved being surrounded in Synn’s warm embrace and let himself fall deep into the kiss. Synn lifted his head and asked, “Can I buy you a beer?”

  Craig noticed Synn’s slight accent was gone once their passion subsided. They may have only just met, but Craig kind of missed it.

  “I’d like that,” Craig answered, trying not to feel cold when Synn let him go.

  His hand was taken in Synn’s confident grip and Synn led him out of the closet. The loud base of the music pulsated in his ears, making him cringe for a second until he adjusted to it.

  Synn pulled him right up to the bar and enfolded him under one arm, before signaled for two beers. Craig liked how people had gotten out of the bigger man’s way and let them through. For the first time in a long time, Craig actually wanted to get to know the person he’d had a quick romp in the back with.

  “It’ll just take a second for the beer to get here. I ordered bottles, and they had to run to the back for a new case,” Synn said, his lips brushing against Craig’s ear.

  Craig tried to control his shiver and looked up into Synn’s dark eyes. “I haven’t seen you around before. Have you been in town long?” he asked.

  Synn hesitated and his face became blank. The dark eyes that had been looking into his, now stared over his shoulder. The air around them seemed to cool, almost becoming frigid. Craig’s heart sank. Here he thought for the first time he had made a potential long-lasting connection, and now came the whole, “it’s been fun but this isn’t going anywhere” part of a backroom hookup.

  “No, I haven’t been here long. I’m not sure if I’ll even be here past tomorrow,” Synn answered vaguely.

  Again he wouldn’t meet Craig’s eyes, and he actually stepped away from him. The bartender behind Synn yelled that their beer was up. Without a word Synn turned toward the bar.

  Craig could tell a brush-off statement when he heard one. Hell, he may have done it a time or two himself. Before Synn could turn back and throw him to the curb, Craig walked away. It shouldn’t hurt so badly, but it did. Craig left the bar, got into his Jeep, and drove home.

  He didn’t notice the pale, skinny man with a pockmarked face following him.

  * * * *

  Synn picked up the beers, ready to give the sexy man his drink. His attention had been taken for a few minutes by a man walking on the edge of the dance floor and casually touching hands with one of the dancers. After the classic, subtle, exchange of money, and what Synn assumed where drugs, the man returned to a table in the corner. Unfortunately Synn couldn’t make out who else was sitting in that corner. Now that he had memorized the faces of the men involved in the drug deal, he could concentrate on getting to know the lovely Craig. Tomorrow during his interview he would mention the drug exchange he witnessed to the sheriff.

  Smiling, he anticipated taking Craig back to his hotel room for the night. Never before had he seen a more graceful erotically moving man. His messy shoulder-length blond hair looked like he just got out of bed, and those light brown eyes surrounded with thick, long, black lashes, pushed every one of Synn’s buttons. To him, Craig looked like a tawny cat, that he wanted to pet, all over.

  Turning around Synn frowned. Craig was gone. He couldn’t believe it. The man was here just a minute ago. Scanning the room his caught a glimpse of Craig walking out the door. Following about ten feet behind him was a short skinny guy, his attention centered on Craig.

  Putting the beer down, Synn headed for the door. By the time he made it through the crowd and outside, he saw a silver Jeep Wrangler heading out of the parking lot, Craig’s blond head in the driver’s seat. The skinny man was nowhere to be seen. Synn dismissed the man deciding in the end, he had nothing to do with Craig.

  Synn’s temper spiked for a moment until the cunning strategic powers of his upbringing and military training kicked in. Craig had made a tactical error if he thought he was getting away from Synn. His plans of one night filled with pleasure had now changed into so much more. Tantalizing interest had turned into obsession.

  His father was right. One tiny trigger had been the downfall of all the males in his family. His mother had lost her temper and yelled at his father while they were dating. His dad knew right then she was the one for him. That night he asked her to marry him. Craig abruptly taking off had just sealed his fate.

  Synn may not know Craig’s last name or anything about him, but now he did know his license plate number. If Synn accepted the job offer tomorrow, he could just run it through the system. If he didn’t take the job, a few minutes on his laptop would get him the information he needed. One way or another, he was seeing Craig again.

  Smiling to himself, Synn walked over to his rental car. The future suddenly looked mighty good. Now he just had to convince one sexy blond to see things his way.

  * * * *

  Neither man realized many eyes had watched their initial dance and all the interactions that followed. One particular set of drug-induced, lifeless eyes, didn’t realize he was taking some of his last breaths of this world, thanks to the bald man sitting next to him with a knife in his pocket and a scar on his cheek. No one paid any attention to them in the dark corner.

  Chapter Three

  Craig was tired. The whole idea to release a little stress and scratch an itch had backfired completely. A tall Native American, with long black hair, piercing dark eyes, and a take-charge attitude had somehow gotten under his skin. After Craig returned to his apartment and closed his eyes to get some sleep, the image of a hard enormous cock stretching his lips wide and forcing him to swallow it down his throat haunted him. Craig’s own cock was tender from all the jacking off he had done throughout the night.

  Now, sitting at his desk, and pretending to fill out the weekly work schedule spreadsheet for the deputies, Craig made a decision. The only way he was going to get Synn out of his mind was to go out tonight and find someone else.

  Synn. What an appropriate name. Craig forced down a groan of unwanted desire. Just the thought of the man had his dick filling.

  Looking around the bullpen, Craig checked to see if any of the other deputies had noticed him shifting around uncomfortably in his chair. They would jump at the chance to raze him if they saw his hard on. Luckily everyone was busy typing on their computers, looking at files or talking on the phone. Now he just had to calm down his unruly dick.

  Granite County usually kept around thirty employees spread throughout three shifts on the force. This included deputies, investigators and administration. Unfortunately the drug sting that had taken down Pine County’s corrupt sheriff had included a few Granite County deputies. And Sheriff Titan seemed to be taking his time in finding replacement personnel that met his criteria.

  This morning only about eight deputies occupied the desks situated around the large room. From Craig’s position, located right outside the empty Chief Deputy’s office, he could see the whole room. Things were quiet at the moment, but Craig knew from reading the confidential report the sheriff ga
ve him, that was going to change.

  The door connecting the courthouse building to the sheriff’s department opened, catching Craig’s attention. Craig froze when Synn entered the room. The big man stood there, looking delicious in dark blue jeans and a charcoal blazer covering a black T-shirt. His long blue-black hair was pulled back, emphasizing his high cheekbones. A dark brown steely stare traveled over every person and item in the room, until they settled on Craig. Synn’s nostrils flared and his eyes widened. A predatory look came over his face.

  If Craig could have, he would have run out the door. The intensity in Synn’s eyes told him things were far from finished between them. Craig trembled, not knowing if this was a good thing, or bad.

  Synn blinked and the moment was gone. Craig watched him turn away and stride to the door of the Sheriff’s office suite. After a brief knock, Synn disappear behind it.

  Deputy Troy Lambert dropped down onto the chair sitting next to Craig’s desk. “Who do you thing that hunk of drop dead gorgeous meat was?”

  “You better be careful, Troy. You’ll find yourself at the end of sexual misconduct charges if anyone hears you,” Craig warned.

  “Naw, it isn’t harassment if it’s the truth.” In Troy’s usual way, he switched subjects. “Hey, you want to go out to dinner at the hotel tonight?”

  Craig wasn’t sure it Troy was asking as a friend or if this was a date. At the end it didn’t matter. It was time to quit thinking about a certain long-haired man who was totally messing with his brain. “Sure, do you want to meet there or go right after work?”

  “Let’s go right after work,” Troy said, smiling.

  Craig took in Troy’s curly blond hair and pretty green eyes. He was slim and about the same height as Craig. Troy had been with the department about a year. Craig hadn’t had a lot of contact with him, mostly just an exchange of comments now and then. Craig had only been employed by Granite County for two months before he had been put on medical leave to heal from the shooting. Craig would always be thankful for Troy’s quick actions right after he was shot. They had saved his life.

  Part of Craig wished there was an instant magnetic force between them, demanding he get closer, like Craig felt with Synn. But maybe in the end this would be better.

  Smiling back, he agreed. “Sounds good.”

  “Great, see you then,” Troy said, reaching across the desk and touching Craig’s arm. Craig couldn’t stop himself from pulling away from that touch.

  Frowning, but not saying anything, Troy got up and left Craig to his own troubled thoughts. Now he wasn’t sure if he should have accepted Troy’s invitation. The image of Synn giving him that smoldering look before disappearing into the sheriff’s office played through Craig’s mind. Confused Craig forced his focus on the spreadsheet in front of him.

  Forty-five agonizing minutes later Sheriff Titan walked out of his office with Synn. They stood side by side, facing the bullpen.

  “I’d like to make an announcement,” the sheriff called out.

  The whole room became quiet. Craig’s mind raced. Holding his breath, he hoped with every fiber of his being that the sheriff wasn’t going to say what he had a feeling he might.

  “This is Synn Romeo. He has just accepted the position of Granite County’s Chief Deputy.” The sheriff’s eyes scanned the room. “I expect every one of you to welcome him and show him what a great place Granite County can be to live and work in.”

  Craig’s breath came out in a rush. Oh shit.

  * * * *

  Synn walked with Steve over to Craig’s desk. Finding out Craig was a deputy for Granite County made things easier for Synn. By the time Synn had the man where he wanted him, Craig wasn’t going to know which way was up.

  After a brief question and answer period, Steve officially offered Synn the job of Chief Deputy and Synn immediately accepted it. Talking with Steve, Synn learned some of his duties included being in charge of the day-to-day operations of the patrol officers, detectives, and dispatchers. The job’s responsibilities involved managing the staff, making changes and organizing any areas he thought needed it. Synn would also serve as the Sheriff in Steve’s absence. After that Steve had gotten down to the heart of the trouble in Granite County.

  Steve’s office chair creaked when he leaned back and ran a hand over his short hair. “Before my brother, Dean, became Pine County’s Sheriff, he was an agent for the Department of Criminal Investigations,” Steve explained. “For a long time I suspected Pine County’s former Sheriff, Sullivan Bechard was involved in running illegal drugs. I couldn’t prove it until we took down a huge marijuana growing operation. We set up a sting that took out Bechard and most of his deputies. Some of my deputies were also involved, as well as a few deputies from the surrounding counties.”

  “That sounds like it became quite an extensive bust,” Synn commented, imagining what losing that amount of personal had done to the departments. This area of the country didn’t have the populations other parts did, but he was sure crime still managed to find its way there.

  “The more we dug into Bechard’s activities, the more we found,” Steve said. “Immediately dealers from Milwaukee and Chicago sent people up here to take over for Bechard. After a week in custody, Bechard escaped. We found out later a man by the name of Leonel Heartland arranged it.”

  “Really.” Synn was fascinated by Steve’s story.

  “Bechard kidnapped Dean and my Chief Deputy, Creed. He tortured them for hours before we found them hanging by their wrists from a beam of a barn,” Steve said.

  “Tell me you got Bechard locked up where he belongs,” Synn said. He knew from experience what hanging for hours by the wrists felt like.

  “Bechard died after taking six bullets to various parts of his body. Unfortunately Bechard managed to shoot one of Rescue for Hire’s men and one of my deputies, Craig Collins,” Steve replied.

  Synn kept his face blank at that news. Once he had Craig alone and in his bed he would be checking over the man’s entire body to inspect the damage.

  “You said this Leonel Heartland helped Bechard escape. Do you have him in custody?” Synn asked.

  “No. We haven’t been able to catch up with him. But we are seeing signs of what I suspect are his dealings. I got a call from concerned citizens in the northern part of the county about activity around some abandoned sheds,” Steve continued. “I went up there to investigate and found the beginnings of quite an elaborate setup for a meth lab and a couple of boxes of what looked to me like guns.”

  “Shit.” Synn’s mind was racing on the implications of where those guns could have come from and where they were going.

  “Yep. I decided to leave them. I want the orchestrators of this operation, not the peons who work for them.” Steve’s chair creaked again as he shifted his big body around. “The next day Dean and I were at the café on Main Street, and a sniper pinned us and everyone else in the establishment down. There were no kill shots, just enough bullets flying around to bust up the place a little. It was a clear warning to back off.”

  “You think Leonel Heartland is behind this?” Synn asked.

  “Dean and I went, and spent a couple of hours with Tony, the computer genius at Rescue for Hire. We dug up everything and anything on Leonel Heartland that we could find.” Steve reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a file.

  “I’ve assigned Craig Collins to be your assistant. Take the rest of today to get to know him and the rest of the crew. Have him show you around the county. He can also arrange to have your things brought here after you find a place to live. If you need to, feel free to leave early.” Steve held up the folder. “Craig has read this. Tomorrow come get it from me right away in the morning. I believe with your skills, we can arrest Heartland and get a handle on some of the other runners coming in from the big cities. I know we’re never going completely stop it, but in the past I’ve always been able to keep it down to a minimum.”

  Synn smiled. Adrenaline pumped through h
is system at the thought of extraditing the lowlifes who thought they could come in and run their illegal activities in Granite County. When he accepted the position, Granite County became his responsibility. And Synn took his responsibilities seriously.

  * * * *

  Craig tried to calm his breathing and slow his racing heart. Standing before him was the man he couldn’t stop thinking about, yet who had rejected him.

  “Synn, this is Deputy Craig Collins,” the sheriff stated. “Craig, I’ve already informed Synn that you will be his assistant. I’d like you to show him around the building. There should be a vehicle free, take him out and let him get to know the county.”

  Through gritted teeth, Craig said, “No problem sheriff.”

  The sheriff turned to Synn. “You’re in good hands with Craig. Welcome aboard.” Looking at Craig, he said, “Before you show Synn around, get him a couple of dress shirts out of the supply closet. And put an order in for a couple of uniforms yet today.”

  “Yes Sheriff,” Craig answered, and watched the sheriff tip his head in acknowledgement before walking back into his office.

  “We need to talk,” Synn said.

  Ignoring that sentence, Craig turned toward his computer and pulled up the webpage to order law enforcement uniforms. When he had the order form page in front of him, he asked, “Shirt size?”

  “Deputy Collins, I believe I just said we need to talk,” Synn stated.

  Craig shivered at the authority in Synn’s tone. He was so in trouble. Stiffening his spine, he put his hands on the keyboard and said, “Sheriff Titan gave me a direct order, Deputy Romeo. Now, I need you to tell me what size shirts, pants and shoes you wear.”

  A large dark-skinned hand came down between Craig’s arms and rested on the desk behind the keyboard. In a low voice, displeasure clearly evident, Synn’s clothing sizes where related into Craig’s ear. Craig didn’t know if his hands trembled because he was scared, turned on, or angry. Synn was the one who brushed him off, yet now he was acting like Craig had done something wrong.