Jailhouse Rock

by L. C. Chase

  And Trent suddenly felt truly afraid for the first time that night.

  Bad Cop approached the cell, and the closer he got, the bigger and more intimidating he grew. Trent swallowed hard; positive his gulp could be heard clear across the building.

  The officer stopped just short of the bars and leveled a hard stare at Trent. Then he shifted his attention to Cal, and Trent could swear he saw a flicker of light in the man’s deep blue eyes.

  Cal sidled up to the bars, grabbed hold of the cold metal and pressed himself right up against it.

  “Caleb…” Trent warned.

  “Officer. A. Lachlann,” Cal sing-songed as he read the big officer’s badge, his voice slightly lilting. “What’s the A stand for? Asshole?”

  “Oh my fucking god,” Trent spluttered as his head spun. There were completely and royally screwed.

  Bad Cop narrowed his eyes, gaze locked on Cal. His jaw twitched a little before he exhaled and turned back to the cluttered desks. He sat at the one facing the cell and turned his chair toward them.

  “Hey, big guy,” Cal called out to the huge blond cop. “Bet I can make your night more interesting.”

  “Cal, stop it.”

  “Why?” Cal glanced over his shoulder at Trent. The smile on his face was positively wicked. Trent knew that look too well. His best friend was in full on sparkle mode now, and nothing could tone him down. Trent just prayed they’d get out without more than Cal’s misdemeanor charge.

  “Because he’ll get pissed and throw the book at us. That’s why.” Trent looked over at the officer, who gave him that evil eye again. He shuddered.

  “Come on, officer.”

  “Shut up, kid.” The officer’s voice was deeper than Trent thought it would be. And angrier.

  “Caleb, please,” Trent hissed at him.

  “Listen to your friend, kid.” Lachlann practically barked at them.

  “Fine.” Cal flounced back on the bunk. Trent watched him as he closed his eyes and huffed. “I’m sorry. I promised you’d have fun tonight, and here you are stuck in jail. On your first night back in town.” He rolled onto his side, laid his head on his elbow and smiled at Trent. “You should have stayed at the party.”

  “Yeah, but you should be out there having fun, too. Sorry Bear had to work tonight.”

  Cal shrugged and looked at the officer again. “Well, just because he couldn’t get off, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t.” His voice was loud enough to be heard throughout the entire station. Trent winced, but Cal just licked his lips and winked at the big blond.

  Lachlann growled and shifted in his desk chair, spreading his thighs wide. He reached down to adjust his crotch, his eyes locked on Cal. Trent inhaled, and the scent of leather and aftershave from Thompson’s jacket filled his senses—comforting, arousing. He closed his eyes and pictured Thompson sitting there, looking at him that way. He imagined the warm brown eyes, filled with desire, and that one sexy dimple as he smiled at him. He could almost see those huge hands rubbing over the bulge he’d felt in the tight uniform pants earlier.

  “What do you think, Officer A. Lachlann?” Cal’s dulcet voice, and the squeak of metal when Cal got up from the narrow cot, startled Trent. He sat up quickly as Cal walked, with a swing in his hips, to the cell bars.

  “About what?” Lachlann asked. One hand spread over a massive thigh. Trent stared as the big man smiled at Cal. His entire demeanor seemed to have changed. He appeared more relaxed, and Trent’s impression of him shifted from ‘big bad cop’ to ‘handsome cuddly bear’.

  “It’s my birthday. Why should I have to suffer because my boyfriend had to work?”

  “Are you that spoiled?”

  “Yes.” Cal stamped his foot and pouted unapologetically. Trent tried not to laugh at him, but Cal seemed more petulant teenager than newly anointed adult. “It’s his fault. He spoiled me.”

  “And you can’t go one night without it?” Lachlann chuckled.

  “But it’s a special occasion,” Cal whined, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Cal, please. Just sit down.” Lachlann didn’t seem pissed anymore, but Trent didn’t want to take the chance of letting Cal set him off again. “Seriously, just drop it.”

  “Oh, all right.” Cal sighed dramatically and plopped back down on the mattress next to Trent. Bed springs echoed off concrete walls. He shifted around a minute, trying to get comfortable. “It’s awful lonely in here,” Cal whined to the officer.

  Lachlann snorted. “Looks like you got plenty company in there.”

  “Oh, you’re right about that, honey.” Cal moved in close to Trent, who backed up on the bed to get out of Cal’s way. Cal just kept coming, pushing between Trent’s legs, crawling up his body until they were face to face. Trent’s head was near the bars, so the only thing he could see was his friend’s beautiful face—close enough to kiss.

  “Cal,” Trent said warily. “What are you doing?”

  Cal just smiled mischievously and licked his lips. He lowered his head and whispered against Trent’s neck. “Do you trust me?”

  “Cal…”

  “Trust me, Trent. Whatever happens, just trust me. All right?” When he pulled back, Trent stared at him for a minute. Finally he licked his lips and nodded.

  Cal ground his hips against Trent’s thigh and moaned.

  “Cal…” It came out more as a groan than a word. He drove his hips back up into Cal purely on impulse. He could feel his best friend’s smile against his neck. Cal ground down again, making Trent gasp. Trent arched his back and turned his head, allowing Cal better access. He knew he shouldn’t be enjoying this, that Cal was up to something, but it felt too good. His hands tightened on Cal’s hips to hold him steady. “Cal, what about Bear?”

  “He’s not in here. You are,” Cal said as he sucked on Trent’s neck. Trent closed his eyes and opened his knees wider to give Cal more room. “Just remember: trust me,” Cal whispered. Trent nodded, his heart racing.

  They both jumped a second later when a loud clanging echoed throughout the little jailhouse.

  Trent tilted his head back to see Lachlann standing in front of the cell, nightstick in hand and back in full-on Bad Cop mode. He pushed Cal up and rushed to the other side of the cell, pressing his back against the wall. His heart was pounding against his ribcage as it tried to escape his chest, and his eyes felt huge as he stared at the officer in shock.

  Lachlann slammed the nightstick against the bars again and growled at them. “You boys want to put on a show?”

  “No-no-no, sir,” Trent panted, trying to get his frantic pulse to slow down.

  “You sure, boy?” Lachlann was almost snarling now.

  “I-I-I’m s-s-sure, sir.” Trent nodded his head. His breathing coming in shaky breaths.

  “Why, Officer Big-Bad-And-Handsome? Do you want to watch?” Cal asked as he writhed around on the tiny cot. Trent’s head snapped to his friend. Cal smiled over his shoulder at him, pushed up onto his hands and arched his back, letting the sheer tank top work up his ribs, exposing pale skin, as the blazer flipped up over his waist. His latex-sheathed hips were poised high in the air as he got his knees under him. Under other circumstances, Trent would have admired his friend’s playful attitude, but right now, he was trying to will Cal to behave.

  “Is that it, Officer A. Lachlann? You want to watch the two twinks your friend decided to lock up for the night? See how far we’d go to get out?”

  “Caleb!” Trent shouted, and stared at him with wide eyes, imploring him to just shut the fuck up already. Cal’s smile broadened as he wiggled his ass at Trent. “Stop, please.”

  “Trust me,” Cal mouthed to him, his eyes serious, before swinging his gaze back to the frightening cop staring him down. “What did you have in mind, Officer Handsome?”

  Lachlann planted his feet wide on the floor and crossed his arms over his huge chest. He looked wider than the cell door standing like that, and Trent shuffled along the wall to the corner. The bars hit his thighs, and
he hissed at the cold. Shivering, he pulled Thompson’s jacket tighter around himself, wishing the man himself were there, instead of this intimidating man-mountain. Lachlann turned toward him at the sound, a concerned look brushed across his face—almost too brief for Trent to be sure he’d seen it—before Bad Cop took over again. “Got something to say, kid?”

  Trent took a deep breath to settle his nerves. “No, sir.”

  Lachlann turned his sizzling gaze back to Cal. “What about you? Cat got your tongue all of a sudden?”

  “Why? Did you want me to do something to you with it?” Cal stood up and moved close to the bars again, reaching through to run his hands over Lachlann’s beefy forearms.

  “You sure have a big mouth.”

  “That’s what my boyfriend tells me, honey.” Cal dragged his fingertips along the crossed arms and up the defined pecs, outlined by the snug shirt.

  Lachlann’s hand shot out to grab Cal’s wrist and pull him against the bars before Trent even saw him move. They both held their breath when Lachlann trailed a finger along Cal’s bottom lip. His voice was low and hoarse when he finally spoke again. “It’s going to get you into trouble one of these days.”

  Cal opened his mouth and licked the blunt fingertip. “He keeps telling me that, too.”

  “Maybe that time has come.”

  From where Trent stood, he thought Lachlann’s eyes were hot enough to melt Cal’s shorts.

  “But you’ll have to let us out, first,” Cal purred.

  Trent’s attention snapped back into focus when he realized what Cal was doing. “Cal, don’t.” He took a step forward.

  “It’s okay, babe,” Cal said over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off the officer’s. “I’ll handle this. I got us into it; I’ll get us out.”

  “But Cal—”

  “Trust me. Right, Officer A. Lachlann?”

  “Are you trying to negotiate an early release?” One corner of Lachlann’s mouth quirked up in a grin. He wrapped his hand around the back of Cal’s neck.

  “Well,” Cal said with a sly smile and wink. “I hope it won’t be too early.”

  Lachlann’s fingers tightened in Cal’s spiky dark hair. “Maybe something can be arranged.” His eyes flicked up to Trent. “What about your friend?”

  “Caleb…” Trent couldn’t stop the tremble in his voice.

  “No,” Cal said firmly. “Not part of the deal.”

  Lachlann looked back at Cal with a smile. “Well, then you’d better be worth it.”

  “My boyfriend says I am.”

  Lachlann chuckled and let go of Cal, to open the cell door. He grabbed Cal by the scruff of his neck and pulled him out of the cell.

  “Wait!” Trent’s heart shot into his throat. “You can’t do this. Cal, stop.”

  He started to follow, but Lachlann turned, pinning him in place with his Bad Cop stare.

  “You. Stay,” he growled.

  “But—”

  “I said stay!” Lachlann slammed the cell door shut and dragged Cal toward the interrogation room.

  What is it with the cops around here thinking I’m some kind of dog?

  Trent dropped down on the bunk as his knees gave out. He watched helplessly as they went into the room across from the cell. The door closed behind Lachlann’s wide back with a resounding click.

  Trent pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped Thompson’s jacket around his legs. Then the shaking really began. He dropped his forehead to his knees and tried to keep from hyperventilating. The only thing he could hear was his own ragged, erratic breathing, and pulse pounding like a drum fest in his ears.

  “Hey, kid? Are you all right?” Thompson’s voice called out across the jailhouse, giving Trent a start. He shook his head but didn’t look up.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Trent just kept his head down. He had some sense of relief that Thompson was there, but his nerves were too on edge to let him trust it. He didn’t know what to think. He felt like he had let Cal down. How could he just sit there and allow the big, intimidating officer to take Cal away? He should have stopped them. Stepped in somehow.

  “Trent?” Thompson reached through the bars and put his hand on Trent’s shoulder. “What happened?”

  “He took Cal away,” Trent whispered. His voice rose as he continued in a rush. “I should have tried harder, but Cal just wouldn’t stop. And when he kissed me, he got really pissed, and then he took him.”

  “Who took Caleb?”

  Trent lifted his head and turned to Thompson. He knew he probably looked like a scared kid, but fuck it. He felt like one, sitting there alone in a jail cell while his best friend was… “Officer Lachlann. Cal started flirting with him, and he took Cal up on his offer.” He dropped his head back on his knees and began to rock.

  The warm hand disappeared from Trent’s shoulder, leaving him with a shiver. He heard footsteps, and then jangling keys. Thompson opened the cell, came inside and sat down next to Trent. He pulled Trent into his arms and scooted back to lean against the concrete wall.

  Trent let himself be dragged along until he was leaning against the broad chest. He sighed, thinking the aftershave was even better on warm man than on cool leather. He closed his eyes and let himself relax. Just for a minute, he allowed himself to forget everything that had happened that night—the rave, the arrest, what was happening to Cal. The arms holding him felt so right, and Thompson smelled so good. He would have worked his way out of the jacket to get those hands on his bare skin again, but he didn’t want to move. He burrowed deeper into Thompson’s embrace.

  “It’s okay. Don’t worry about anything.” Thompson’s deep voice a soothing balm to his frayed nerves.

  Trent felt movement above him, and he opened his eyes to see Thompson drop the clip-on tie he’d been wearing on the cot by his legs. Trent’s gaze followed those big hands as they worked the top two buttons of the uniform shirt open. Despite everything going on, he really wanted to take over and get that shirt off Officer J. Thompson. Before getting rid of those awful polyester pants, too. His cutoffs tightened uncomfortably at that thought, living up to their name by cutting off his circulation. He bit his lower lip and looked back up into Thompson’s handsome face, his dark eyes warm and assuring.

  Thompson smiled and reached out to cup Trent’s face. Trent leaned into the touch, the calloused palm hot against his cheek. The hand was so big it nearly covered half his head. Gentle fingers massaged his scalp.

  “Look, Artie’s a good guy. He’s a good cop, and a good friend. He would never cross the line like that.”

  “But—”

  “I promise he’s not going to do anything to Caleb that Caleb doesn’t want.”

  “That’s just it. Cal thinks he needs to do this to get us out of here.”

  Thompson moved those magic fingers down Trent’s neck and shook his head. “No, he doesn’t. He’s doing exactly what he wants. I’ve watched those two around each other, around town.”

  “What about Bear, his boyfriend? Cal wouldn’t cheat on him.” Trent tried to hold onto some sense of seriousness of their situation, but every circle Thompson’s fingers made on his shoulders, made it that much harder.

  Along with Trent Junior.

  “Can you trust me?” Thompson asked, rubbing the back of Trent’s neck with both hands.

  Trent melted into the massage. Maybe it was Thompson’s fingers kneading him into a sense of safety, or maybe it was something more. Trent didn’t know, but at that moment, he knew he could trust his life to Thompson. He closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes,” he whispered.

  “Do you trust Caleb?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then believe me. I guarantee nobody’s going to get hurt.” He leaned forward and looked into Trent’s eyes. He opened his mouth but decided against whatever he was going to say, letting his lips close into a smile. That dimple popped out to drive Trent crazy again. “Trust me.”

  “All right.”

  Thompson stopped th
e impromptu massage and cradled Trent’s head for another moment. It took every ounce of Trent’s self control, and then some, not to climb on top of the man and lick every inch of him before shoving his tongue into the gorgeous cop’s mouth. Thompson gave him a little wink before sliding away and standing to leave.

  “Wait. Your jacket.” Trent jumped up and began reluctantly sliding out of the sleeves.

  “Keep it. Just leave it on the desk when you go.”

  “What if he doesn’t let us go?” Trent got a little nervous at the thought of Cal doing God knows what, and Lachlann locking him back up.

  “If you’re still here in the morning, I’ll let you out. And buy you breakfast to make it up to you, all right?”

  “Make it up?”

  “Yeah. I told you I wasn’t bringing you in for anything. And you sure won’t leave now, will you?”

  Trent shook his head. “Not without Cal. I couldn’t leave anyway. My car is still at the lake.” Trent sat back down, wondering whom he could call. A jingling caught his attention. He looked over to see Thompson holding his keys.

  “I had a friend take me out there to pick up your car. It’s cute, by the way. The Beetle suits you. But get the brakes checked. They pulled a little.”

  “Yes, sir, officer.” Trent threw his shoulders back, giving Thompson a mock salute, and laughed.

  Thompson smiled and shook his head. “Now, I need to lock you back up, okay?”

  The thought of Lachlann coming out to find him free, or worse—gone, made Trent shudder. “Okay.”

  The bars clanged shut and Trent grabbed them. Thompson reached through the bars and gave Trent’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Trust me, Skippy. It’ll be fine.” He gave Trent one last dimpled smile before he turned and left.

  Trent watched him disappear outside into the night, the leather jacket weighing heavy on his shoulders. He imagined it was Thompson’s arms still wrapped around him. He slipped it off and lay down on the bunk. The station was quiet with Cal and Lachlann in the other room and no one else in the building. The fluorescent lights flickered as he rolled onto his side, snuggling into the bomber. Trent closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, calmed by the smell of leather and Thompson. The weight of the jacket felt good pressing down on him, and he wondered what it would be like to have Thompson laying on top of him, pinning him in place, running those big, magic hands all over his body.