by Webster, K
“This is mortifying,” Mom wails. “If people find out—”
“Quit your blubbering, Patricia,” Brie hisses. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“How dare you make a mockery of this family!” Mom cries out, pointing an accusatory finger my way. “After all we’ve done for you! Your father molded you and practically gifted you this career on a platter! The absolute nerve, Jaxson!”
“A family? Are you kidding?” I throw back, my body trembling as rage bubbles up inside me. “We ceased to be one when you ran off Maxton and Hayden! When you never breathed a word about the grandchildren who’ll never know you. The moment you put your son on the streets while still in high school because he was a fucking embarrassment!”
Mom swipes at her tears, shaking her head. “I won’t sit here and take this abuse from my own son.” She storms out of the station, leaving us with my father, who glowers at me with such coldness, I nearly shiver.
“You choose this path and you lose all respect from me, Son,” Dad bites out. “All respect from this town.”
“I’ll choose love over respect any day of the week.” I gesture for the door. “See yourself out, Mayor. My deputy and I are involved in a critical case that needs our attention. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Brie releases me so I can sit back down. Dad’s glare burns into me, fiery and angry. I ignore it to flip through the file. He waits for a moment and then the bell jingles, signaling his exit. While Brie takes a call, I flip back through the notes she took when she interviewed the kids in the history class Callan was supposed to go to. A kid named Cameron—one of Zak’s buddies—said something to Brie that stands out to me.
“No other students were late. Just Cormac and Callan. When Coach Townsend showed up, I almost asked him if he’d seen them in the hall on his way in. Since Zak’s my buddy, and they’re his new friends, they’re my new friends too, I guess. I told Zak I would look after them since Callan and his brother had been getting harassed ever since moving here. But the quiz started and I got distracted.”
I read the statement three more times.
Dread pools in the pit of my stomach. Of course, I don’t have definitive proof, but this is a lead I can’t ignore.
Callan and Cormac weren’t the only ones late to class.
Hank was too.
Fuck.
My mind is whirring as my phone rings. I answer it before checking to see who it is.
“Sheriff speaking,” I bark out.
“Get to the school. Now,” Brandon grinds out. “It’s Zak.”
The breath is knocked from my lungs. “He’s…he’s hurt too?”
“No,” Brandon hisses. “He got into another fight…he….he…”
“He what?” I demand as I stand to yank on my coat.
“Jax, he’s got a gun.”
I fly down the road toward the school, my sirens blaring. When Brandon called, I didn’t have time to wait for Brie to get off the phone. I bolted without glancing back. As I roll into the school parking lot, I shoot her a quick text to get here when she can.
Pulling up to the curb in front of the school, I throw it in park and hop out. Brandon rushes out, his face screwed up with worry.
“We’re on lockdown. The kids are all safe in the classrooms,” Brandon grunts out. “Come on, he’s in the locker room.”
We trot down the hallways. It’s eerily quiet, making the hairs stand up on my arms. The jaunt to the gym is short and soon we’re standing outside the locker room.
I rap on the door before I start to push inside, but Zak screams, “D-Don’t come in or I’ll s-shoot him!”
“Zak, it’s me. It’s your brother.”
“J-Jax?” His voice is small, quaking.
“Yeah, buddy. I’m coming in there so we can talk. Okay?”
“O-Okay. N-No one else.”
“No one else. Just me.” I gently push on the door. “I’m coming in now.”
As soon as I get my body through the door, my theories are confirmed. I’m just wondering how my brother came to the same conclusion. Trapped in Zak’s strong headlock is a purple faced Hank Townsend, blood trickling from his nose and lip.
“Help,” Hank croaks out. “Help me.”
Zak’s cheeks are tearstained and his dark eyes are wild. “I…I…”
“It’s okay,” I urge, “tell me what’s wrong. Can you put the gun down?”
Zak shakes his head back and forth. “N-No. I don’t t-trust him.”
Hank growls, squirming in Zak’s powerful grip. Ignoring Hank, I once again meet my brother’s stare.
“Tell me why you’re doing this, Zak. I can’t fix this unless you help me.”
“Fix this?” Hank snarls. “You can’t fix faggots!”
Zak’s features twist into a furious scowl. Hank is going to get his ass shot if he doesn’t shut the fuck up.
“Don’t listen to him,” I say to Zak. “He’s just like Mom and Dad. They’re crazy in the fucking head, man. Now tell me why you’re doing this. With a gun and at school. I need to understand.”
Zak sniffles and his bottom lip wobbles. “It w-was him.” A sob escapes him. “C-Coach Townsend b-beat…he beat C-Callan with a bat. H-He tried to k-kill him, Jax.”
Hank scowls, his eyes flashing with hatred.
“I know,” I tell my brother, narrowing my gaze at Hank. “And he needs to pay for what he did. The right way. The legal way.”
Zak shakes his head. “He won’t s-stop. He’ll k-keep going until he k-kills Callan.”
“He can’t kill Callan from prison, bud. But I can’t lose my baby brother to prison when his only crime so far is loving his friend. We can undo this, but if you pull that trigger, I can’t bring you back from that.” I take a step closer to my brother. If I can just get to him, I can take the gun from him without anyone getting shot. “How did you know Hank was the one? Where did you get the gun?”
Zak tightens his hold on Hank, digging the barrel into his temple. “I, uh, thought he seemed s-sketchy. C-Cormac was the one who said he thought C-Coach Townsend looked at C-Callan weird. Like he didn’t like him.”
“I don’t like any of you fucking fairies!” Hank roars. “Shoot me, you sonofabitch, or are you a pussy just like them? A little girl in a man’s body!”
Zak smacks Hank in the head with the gun. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”
“Calm down,” I say in a soothing voice as I take another step. “Everyone calm down so we can talk about this.” My eyes meet Zak’s. “Tell me the rest.”
Zak’s brows pinch together. “I w-was concerned. When C-Coach stepped out to take a piss, I ran into his office to see if I could find any c-clues.” He shudders as he remembers. “His phone was open on his d-desk. A m-message was open where he’d been t-texting someone. It was f-full of threats. Said if Callan told anyone it was him, he’d p-put a bullet in my head and make it look like C-Cormac did it.”
My stomach twists painfully. As much as I’d like to give Hank an ass whipping myself, I have to save my brother. That’s more important than revenge on a monster. If Zak shoots him, his life is over too.
“Is that Hank’s gun?”
Zak nods. “It was in his b-bag. He would have done it. He was serious. You have to believe me!”
“I believe you,” I say quickly. “And when Coach came back?”
“I…I had the gun. I hit him with it. Everyone screamed and r-ran off when t-they saw me with the gun.” Zak trembles as he starts to cry harder. “Everyone thinks I’m the m-monster, Jax. I’m not. It’s not me. It’s him!”
“I know,” I assure him. “You were trying to save your friends. Let me fix—”
Knocking on the locker room door has our attention. Before I can utter a word, Brie announces herself.
“Zak, I’m coming in,” she says, her voice calm and soothing.
“It’s okay.” I keep my eyes on Zak. “We’re all just talking. Just me, Zak, and—”
“Hank?” Brie utt
ers in confusion as she enters the locker room behind me. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Come the fuck on, Brie,” Hank chokes out, still unable to get out of Zak’s tight hold. “Did you really think I was sleeping with you because I liked you?”
She gasps in shock. “What are you talking about?”
“The faggots, woman,” he snarls. “You’re fucking friends with all of them. How else was I supposed to keep tabs on shit?”
“You…you were the one who hurt Callan?” Her voice trembles. “The BFB Stalker?”
“I’m just doing the job our fathers are too chicken shit to do,” Hank growls as he stomps on Zak’s foot.
Zak howls, losing his unyielding grip on Hank. Everything else happens so fast. Hank grabbing the gun pointed at him and forcefully twisting it back toward Zak, an unhealthy snap in my brother’s wrist before the gun is in his face.
Bang!
Time freezes as the weapon goes off.
My brother. My baby brother.
But it’s not from Hank’s gun. The gun in Hank’s hand clatters to the linoleum floor as blood gushes from his arm. Brie pounces before I can gather my thoughts, dragging Hank away from Zak. I snap into action and yank my brother to me before he passes out.
“Hey, bud, you’re okay,” I croon, hugging him tight. “You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Hank howls in pain. “You fucking shot me, you bitch!”
She pins a knee between his shoulders as she wrestles his wrists into cuffs. Blood gushes from his wound.
“Brandon,” I call out. “The scene is secure. Get an ambulance!”
I release Zak to rush into the supplies closet. Once I’ve found some towels, I make my way back over to Hank to staunch the bleeding until medical personnel can arrive. Brie reads him his rights as I do my best to secure the scene.
“Zak, bud, have a seat right there and don’t touch anything.”
He nods, hugging himself, reminding me when he was just a kid. So small and young. Thank fuck Brie and I managed to dodge what could have been Zak’s end in more ways than one.
It’s over.
We captured the BFB Stalker.
Dante and his family are finally safe.
Dante
“Dante!”
I fly out of my office chair, making a beeline for Callan’s room. He’s sitting up in bed, pointing at the television. It’s a news report about a situation at the school. Shelly rushes into the room and the three of us listen to the report.
A gunman on campus.
Hostage held at gunpoint.
Police are on the scene.
My gut hollows out, knowing Jax and Brie are the only cops in this town, which means they’re dealing with the dangerous situation alone.
“The EMTs have arrived on the scene,” the reporter says. “It’s unclear at this point if anyone is injured. Stay tuned for more on this ongoing situation.”
A few minutes later, Brie exits the building holding a blood-soaked towel to Hank Townsend’s arm and he’s in cuffs. Callan sucks in a sharp breath.
“Is…did he shoot anyone?” Callan whimpers. “Oh, God.”
“Hey,” I say, pulling him to me. “It’s okay. What’s wrong? You’re shaking.”
Moments later, Brandon, Jax, and Zak walk out. Alive. Safe. Thank fuck.
Callan starts to cry. “Thank God.”
The reporter calls out to Jax and he leaves Zak with Brandon to approach her.
“Sheriff, what can you tell us about what happened today?” she asks, shoving a microphone in his face.
“All I can say is we’ve caught the BFB Stalker. We’re still processing the scene, but we have proof of his many crimes, including the near deadly assault of the Kincaid boy. It’s unfortunate that it’s one of our own who’s done this, but let it be a reminder that the Brigs Ferry PD will do whatever it takes to keep its community safe. Deputy Larson was heroic in her assistance in diffusing the hostage situation.” His brows furrow. “My brother is safe now and I can’t thank her enough for her quick thinking in a harrowing moment. He’s alive because of her.”
Callan sobs, his entire body trembling. Shelly and I exchange confused glances. I’m thankful as hell everyone is okay, but also shocked to discover Hank was the one who tried to kill my baby brother.
“You knew it was him, didn’t you?” I ask him. “You were afraid.”
He nods, sniffling. “He hated me from day one. It was a joke, Dante. I wasn’t really hitting on him.”
“Hey,” I murmur, gently patting his arm. “Whatever you said or did doesn’t warrant him trying to kill you. You’re a Kincaid. We deflect with humor. It’s not your fault your joke set him off.”
“I didn’t know it would set all this in motion,” Callan croaks. “At first, I didn’t know it was him, but then I confronted him.” He shudders. “That’s when everything escalated. The threats. The hateful messages. It got worse and worse.”
He hands me his phone and I begin reading through every single message. Threats to burn down our B&B with us in it. Homophobic slurs in every message. Threats to kill Callan, me, Shelly. More threats. Pictures of guns and gruesome pictures pulled from news articles clearly meant to frighten my brother. There’s a picture of Callan lying in a pool of blood after the attack a couple days ago. Then, another picture of a gun stating he’ll use the gun next, but this time on his friend Zak.
“This is disgusting,” I hiss, quaking with fury.
“Oh my God,” Shelly murmurs from my other side. “How horrible. Callan, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you come to us?”
“Because he would hurt you,” Callan whimpers. “You two are the only family I have left.”
“We could have figured a way out of it,” she argues. “We’re Kincaids. We do things together. We’re stronger that way.”
Jax, Brie, and Officer Codex spend a solid hour with Callan, taking his confession and collecting pieces of evidence in their case against Hank. Because of the size of their police force and lack of resources, Jax told me they had to call in the Maine State Police to take over the investigation, hence Officer Codex’s presence.
Finally, they exit my office. Brie and Officer Codex leave. Callan is clearly exhausted, but he was brave and wanted to assist in providing them all the information they’d need to be able to lock Hank away for a long time.
“Zak and Cormac are waiting for you up in your room,” I say to Callan. “Try and get some rest.”
He nods, giving me a small smile before heading upstairs. When I’m alone, with Jax, I rush over to him, properly hugging him for the first time today. I cling to him, squeezing him as tight as I can, burying my face against his neck.
“Was Zak doing okay?” he asks, his voice heavy with fatigue.
“He was emotionally wrung out, like Callan, but they’ll be all right.”
This morning, after Hank was arrested, he and Zak both had to go to the hospital. Jax was stretching himself thin being both town sheriff and big brother. He’d stayed with Zak while they set in the fracture in his wrist and casted it, but then passed him off to me while he met Officer Codex and Brie back at the station. Now that they’ve interviewed Callan and got his statement, Officer Codex will be transferring Hank back to Portland where he’ll await trial for every damn crime he committed.
He nods. “Thank fuck it’s over.”
“You’re dead on your feet, Jax. Let’s get you to bed.”
Only days ago, Jax was the one taking care of me, but now he needs me to take care of him. I start a shower for us and take my time washing the grime of the day off our bodies. He slumps against me, boneless and exhausted.
“I told my parents I was gay,” he murmurs. “Before all this shit went down.”
I stroke my palms down his back. “Oh yeah?”
“I disgust them.”
“Fuck them.”
“Yeah, fuck them.” He pulls away, smiling at me. “I choose love. I choose you. No more hiding.
I never want to hide again.”
His lips crash to mine and I groan into his mouth, eager to have him safely in my arms. To think, for a second, I actually considered leaving this man. Truth is, I’ll never be able to leave him. He’s it for me. And, unlike Toby, I know without a shadow of a doubt, Jax feels the same about me.
“I need you inside me, Dante,” Jax moans against my mouth, his hips bucking against me, rubbing our dicks together. “Bare.”
I pull away, frowning at him. We haven’t had sex without condoms yet. I’m clean—have been since I got tested in New York before moving out here—but I didn’t know it was something Jax wanted.
“I’m clean if you’re worried,” he murmurs. “I was checked at my last physical before we met. I haven’t been with anyone else since. I never want to be either. I only want you and I want to feel every part of you.”
“I want that too.” My words are gravelly in my throat. “Stay here. I’m going to grab the lube.”
I quickly grab a bottle from the cabinet and return to where my man lazily strokes his dick beneath the spray of the water, his brown eyes hot with lust for me.
“Don’t touch what’s mine, boy,” I growl, flashing him a wicked grin. “Hands off.”
He smirks, turning his back to me. I coat my fingers with the lube and then my dick, before I slide my fingers down along his crease, seeking out his hole.
“Thank you for finding the bad guy, Sheriff. You’re a good man.”
He groans when I push a finger into him. His body, now used to me, accepts the intrusion. It’s a tighter fit with the second finger, but he pushes against it greedily.
“I’m not that good,” he whispers. “I left out the fact my brother had the gun pointed at Hank first. Just changed the story to how they scuffled over the gun after Zak saw his intent and wanted to take it from him so he wouldn’t hurt anyone. It lines up with the other students seeing Zak with the gun. I couldn’t let him get in trouble for trying to do the right thing.”