Fire and Onyx

by Andrew Grey

  “Wes,” he said as he stood, following him to where Wes was changing Greyson’s diaper in the bedroom. “What I do helps keep people safe and hopefully prevents a repeat of what happened to your family.”

  Wes finished and changed Greyson into his pajamas. “I know it does.” He didn’t turn around as he spoke. “But I’m scared, and I can’t change that. There has been so much upheaval in the last week that I can barely understand what I’m going to be doing on a day-to-day basis.” He lifted Greyson, who went to his shoulder, hands sliding around Wes’s neck. “I care for you a lot. I can’t believe all that you’ve done for us, and….” Wes rocked back and forth.

  Evan figured he knew what was coming. It wasn’t everyone who could handle the kind of job he had and be able to deal with the uncertainty. Relationships with police officers didn’t last long a lot of the time because of the pressure and of the long nights not knowing if their partners were safe or not. It was part of the job, but not something everyone was willing to live with.

  “I’m not breaking up with you,” Wes said softly and turned around. “My God, you look as white as a sheet. That is, unless you want things to be over. I know Greyson and I have complicated your life, and I made some calls about apartments today and….”

  Evan closed the distance between them, his hands gliding along Wes’s rough cheeks. He leaned nearer and kissed him. “What happened last night isn’t something I take lightly. Not after… well, you know. If I wasn’t serious about you, I wouldn’t have done that. But I thought you were going to leave just now, and….” Man, he had sure been wrong about that, much to his own relief.

  “I have to learn to deal with the unknown, I guess.” Wes sighed, and Greyson struggled to get down to walk. Wes walked to the stairs and carried Greyson down, then set him on his feet, and he toddled toward the living room.

  Evan joined them, sighing to himself and wondering what he was going to do. For almost his entire career, he hadn’t had someone in his life. That meant if anything happened to him, he wasn’t leaving someone behind.

  Standing in the doorway, watching Wes and Greyson play and walk through the room, he realized that the cost of a mistake had just gone up by a factor of two. He was going to have to be extra careful and make sure he had backup for this assignment, and once this was over, he could request a change of assignment to something a little less dangerous. There were younger guys coming up who would jump at the opportunity, and maybe it was getting to be time for him to look at more for his life.

  “We can try to do it together.”

  Wes snickered, and Evan cocked his eyebrows. “I get the feeling you aren’t a real ‘doing things together’ kind of guy. Sure, you helped me out, but you got pissed at me when I tried to help you.” That look was priceless. “So I think I’ll take that offer as encouragement.”

  Evan rolled his eyes and wondered how he had become such an open book all of a sudden. “Am I that easy to read?”

  “Probably not for other people, but to me, I think so. You’re a pretty simple kind of guy as far as I can tell. You protect people, run interference where you have to, and are used to being the one in charge.” Wes smiled as Greyson continued toddling around the largely open room. “We’ll have to see how long that lasts.”

  “You’re a real smart—” Evan remembered there were little ears in the room. “—aleck.”

  “I try.” Wes grinned and went to get Greyson, who had decided to try to crawl under the sofa. “Come on. That isn’t a good place for you.” Wes backed him up, and Greyson stubbornly went under there again, reaching his hand underneath and trying to push his entire head under it. Wes sighed and got down to tug Greyson back, peering under the sofa. “Evan, there’s something under here, a small box of some sort.” He sat back and picked up Greyson.

  Evan bent down, and sure enough, a small box sat toward the back of the sofa. He reached underneath and pulled it out. Evan recognized it and set the box gently on the side table, motioned for Wes to leave the room, and then he called Pierre. “I need you at the house right away. No sirens and meet me out back in the yard. I think I found a listening device.” He ended the call and took Wes and Greyson out of the house and to the backyard.

  “What is it?”

  “I think it’s a recording device. You place it in a room, and it records any sound, and then you retrieve it later. They’re pretty low-tech and inexpensive. But that means that someone has been in the house. Pierre is on his way over because he and I need to decide how we’re going to handle this.”

  “Just get rid of them. They heard what we said, and then they’ll know you’re a police officer and undercover. You can’t have that,” Wes said, lifting Greyson and holding him. “That also means that someone has been through the house. What if they went through our things?” He rocked back and forth.

  “First, they aren’t going to find anything that says I’m a police officer.” Evan gathered both of them in his arms. “I was expecting this kind of thing. They want to know more about me.” He pulled out a couple of patio chairs and sat down. “Just relax. Pierre and I will figure out how to respond.” Evan sat back, listening to the evening breeze in the trees. He didn’t even want to think about this right now. For a few hours, he had Wes and Greyson, and he had been hoping to have a quiet evening at home, but like usual, his job had butted its big nose in.

  Pierre came in through the back gate, looking as though he had been out for exercise. He walked up, leaning over to breathe deeply.

  “Did you run over?”

  “Yeah. I figured if anyone was watching, that wasn’t going to be suspicious.” Pierre pulled out one of the other chairs and sat down. “What did you find?” Evan explained, and Pierre nodded. “Okay. I think we need to turn them off and then wipe out the recordings. We can do that pretty easily.” He pulled a bar magnet out of his pocket and handed it over. “You and I need to check the house to see if there are any others.”

  “Do you want me and Greyson to stay out here?” Wes asked.

  “For a little while,” Pierre answered, and leaned down to make funny faces at Greyson. “It shouldn’t take very long.” Pierre smiled, and then the two of them went inside.

  Pierre went upstairs, and Evan stayed downstairs, looking through the various rooms and under furniture. He found a second recorder in the kitchen and then one far back in the family room. He brought both of them out to where he’d put the other and pulled the magnet from his pocket. He placed it on top of each device and then moved it all over. Pierre came down the stairs with two more, and Evan did the same to them. Then Pierre went into the basement to look around.

  “They got in through one of the windows down there. I think the latch was loose and they worked it open. I secured it and put a bolt through the latch.”

  Dammit, Even felt he should have caught that. “What do you think we should do from here?” Evan asked. “Wait to let them pick them up and get nothing?”

  Pierre hummed as he thought. “You said you have a meeting tomorrow. I’d take them with me and deliver them back to their owners. Let them see that they’re not dealing with a newbie, but someone who can take care of himself. It will earn you some respect. Of course, they’ll get nothing from them at all.”

  Evan nodded. At least the department had the foresight to hide parts of his identity so that even if they found the house, they would be no closer to knowing what he did. “I can warn them at the same time to stay the hell out of my house,” he growled.

  “Protect your territory. That I’m sure they’ll understand.” Pierre smiled. “I’m going to take off and get back home. I’ll be ready and in the area once they meet you. Don’t get into a car with them this time. You stay in your own car.”

  “I intend to.”

  “I’ll check it over on the way out. If they can place listening devices in here, they can do it in the car as well.” Pierre said goodbye and went out the back door.

  Evan followed and joined Wes and Greyson, who was
half asleep. “Let’s go back inside,” Evan said quietly so he wouldn’t disturb Greyson. “Once you have him in bed, I’ll explain what we found.”

  “Okay.” Wes stood and went inside, stopped in the kitchen for a bottle, and then took Greyson upstairs. When he returned, Evan invited Wes to sit next to him on the sofa.

  “There were five devices in the house, three down here and two upstairs. One in your room and one in mine. They have all been rendered useless. Pierre and I have figured out a plan for the morning and how we’re going to use what we know. I have the doors locked and bolted, and I think you and I should go on upstairs.”

  Wes’s mouth parted and his eyes widened. “You expect me to just go to bed after people have been in the house and could come back at any time?” He shook his head. “Like I’m going to be able to close my eyes and not wonder if someone is going to come in the room.” The defiance in Wes’s eyes in the face of his fear was adorable and good to see. It showed Evan that while Wes was truly afraid, he wasn’t going to completely give in to it, no matter what he actually said.

  “Come on,” Evan said gently. “No one is going to get in without me knowing about it.”

  Wes gaped at him. “How can you not be freaked out over this? They were in your house to set those things.”

  Evan nodded. “Yes, they were. But anything that’s truly important to me wasn’t in the house at the time. You were at work, and Greyson was in day care. It was likely that someone was going to follow me home to try to get more information so they could figure out if I was worthy of them… or whatever they’re thinking.” He did wonder about the meeting tomorrow and what he would be able to find out.

  “And you knew this and didn’t tell me?” Wes asked, his eyes blazing.

  “I didn’t know that someone had been in the house, and if I had, I would have checked it out from top to bottom before you and Greyson got home. The devices haven’t been here very long. I cleaned under the bed in your room the other day, and it wasn’t there then. So please try to relax a little. I’ll be here, and no one is going to get to either you or Greyson.” Evan intended to make damned sure of that.

  Wes stood straight and tense for quite a while. “If you’re sure….” He didn’t relax at all, so Evan took him by the hand and led him to the stairs. He left more lights on than usual and made a show of double-checking all the locks. He guided Wes up the stairs and then paused at the top. Evan was suddenly unsure if he should take Wes to his room or if he would want to spend the night in his own. He wasn’t going to try to make that decision for him, even though he wanted Wes in his bed. Hell, having him there last night had felt as right and perfect as anything he could remember, but this had to be Wes’s decision, not one that Evan made for him. Wes was welcome to stay here for as long as he needed, and that hospitality was not in any way contingent on Wes sharing his bed.

  “I-I….” Evan stammered, hating his indecision. “I want… I’d like you to stay with me. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’ll….” God, why was he so damned anxious? His stomach clenched and he was actually nervous, his head fluttery, and he grew warmer by the second.

  “Evan, if you want to ask me a question….” Wes smiled and stepped closer, tilting his head to the side, waiting.

  “I think you know what I want. But I need to know what you want,” Evan said softly. “Look, I’m a cop, you know that. But I’m also a control freak. I like to know what’s going to happen, and I have a tendency to make things the way I want them.” He forced himself to stay where he was. “I could step closer, draw you to me, kiss you within an inch of your life….”

  Wes giggled. “And you think your wiles are so powerful that I’ll swoon against you and be overcome by your charms?” He spoke with a fake Southern accent, fanning himself.

  “You’re a goof.” Evan grinned and shook his head.

  “And someone who knows his own mind and what he wants.” Wes moved nearer. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just worried, and….” His voice finally broke, and Evan drew Wes into his arms. “Dammit… I told myself I wasn’t going to do this….” His voice cracked again, and Wes held Evan tightly, burying his face in Evan’s shirt as his shoulders shook, while the tension and loss of the last few days caught up with him, and all Evan could do was hold him and try to help him through it.

  Chapter 8

  WES WOKE after finally sleeping deeply. He took inventory of the various delicious aches that zipped through his muscles when he moved. Evan wasn’t in bed next to him, but footsteps padded in the hall, drawing closer until Evan appeared in the doorway with a smiling Greyson in his arms. Evan flew him over to where Wes lay, with Greyson giggling happily. That was a wonderful way to wake up, especially after how Evan had made sure that Wes went to sleep completely relaxed. His cheeks grew warm just thinking about it.

  “Do you want some breakfast?” Evan asked with a smile that seemed more nerves than genuine. Wes knew he was meeting someone today, but this was the first time Evan had shown any concern, and Wes realized how comfortable Evan must be around him for that to show.

  “Today is going to be all right,” Wes said, trying to reassure both of them. He needed to hear it and suspected that Evan did as well.

  Evan nodded. “I know what I’m doing and how to stay safe, but… I guess I never had someone waiting and worrying over me before.”

  Wes scratched his head. “What about your parents and the rest of your family?”

  “My mom and dad are in town. I don’t think she worries about me on a day-to-day basis, mostly because she has no idea exactly what I do. If she did, I think Mom would freak.” Evan grinned. “She is going to love you when you meet her, I know that. She actually told me that most of the guys I dated were losers and got some friends of mine to set me up on a date. She will be thrilled to meet Greyson.” He chuckled. “Can you imagine your mother putting your friends up to setting you up? That’s my mom. She wants grandchildren so badly, she can taste it.”

  “If she doesn’t know exactly what you do, did she want you to become a police officer?” Wes asked.

  Evan shook his head. “Mom wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor. But in my first year of college, I met James. He was visiting campus to talk about law enforcement. He was only a few years older than me, and after talking to him, I knew what I wanted to do. James helped me get my first position in Cleveland.” He spoke so fondly of him.

  “Do you still talk to him?” Wes asked, hoping that Evan wasn’t as alone as he seemed.

  “I have once since I left Cleveland. He and his wife don’t travel a lot. James was injured on the job two years ago, and he’s in a chair now and is only partially aware of the world around him. I speak to his wife, Anne, a few times a year. She has her hands full with the three kids and all. I hope to be able to go see them this fall for the holidays. It’s been too long, and I miss them.” Evan turned away and went into the kitchen. Wes followed him and got Greyson in his high chair. He fed Greyson his breakfast while Evan made something for them, neither of them talking.

  “You know, it’s okay to hurt and to miss people,” Wes commented. “I miss my gran. My mom’s mom. She was really special, and she died when I was fourteen. It was like I’d lost my real mom.” He fed Greyson another bite. “Don’t get me wrong, my mom cares about us, but Gran spent a lot of time with me, and I got to stay at her house quite a bit. Both Trey and I did.”

  “Did he feel her loss as greatly as you did?” Evan asked, eggs sizzling in the pan as he poured them in.

  “Yes. He changed after she died. People say that events can shape your life, and I think that one changed Trey’s. He became cranky and contrary after that. Before she passed away, he and I were really close, but he pulled away and made different friends… shadier friends.” Wes wiped Greyson’s face as he talked. “After that, he started keeping to himself, and in school he was running with a different crowd.” Greyson turned his head from the spoon, and Wes took the bowl away, giving him a few cereal
puffs to eat and then getting up to make a bottle for him.

  “What sort of crowd? What was different?”

  Wes shrugged. “He never had smart friends, but before Gran passed, he had harmless ones. They played video games and things like that. Gran gave us our system for Christmas. After she passed, he started hanging with the burnouts. I’m not sure if his other friends dumped him or what, but he gravitated to a different crowd.” Wes got a cloth and cleaned Greyson’s face, then gave him a small bottle to drink. “Do you think that’s what led him to the kind of people his friends are now? I always hoped he’d grow up and take responsibility.” He turned to Greyson and knew that was never going to happen.

  “Trey is who he is.” Evan brought over a plate of eggs and sausage, setting it in front of him with some juice. “Sometimes the most frustrating thing ever is to see where someone is going wrong and not being able to do anything about it. I mean, if you told Trey what you thought, what would he do?”

  Wes sighed. “First he’d get angry and defensive, and then if he was really mad, he’d threaten to take Greyson and move away. He’s tried that before.” Wes needed to try to keep himself calm, even though that was his greatest fear.

  “And he only threatened that because it would hurt you and make you stop pressuring him.” Evan sat down and began eating.

  Wes took a bite himself. “These are good.”

  “I put a little onion in them. I really like eggs that way.”

  Wes’s appetite caught up with him, and he quickly cleaned his plate. One thing that having a baby had taught him was to eat fast, because otherwise he wasn’t going to have time. “Anyway, yes, he does that because he knows it will hurt me. Mom is working to get Trey to terminate his parental rights so I can legally adopt Greyson.”

  “Do you think he will?” Evan asked.

  “I don’t know. Mom thinks that if he doesn’t, she can get child services to step in because Trey has done nothing to raise his son, but I don’t think it’s that easy. A home and care are being provided to him, under Trey’s direction… by me.” As far as he knew, it was a huge catch-22. “And since he’s the biological father, here in Pennsylvania it would be a tough fight to keep Greyson, and I would probably lose.” Wes’s throat went dry just thinking about not having Greyson in his life. He had raised him from three months old, and he knew it would break his heart to have Greyson ripped away from him. “So I keep quiet and don’t push. All I can do is let Trey live his life and hope to hell whatever trouble he gets into doesn’t make its way to our doorstep.” Wes paused and sighed. “Though that’s a pretty stupid idea, after what just happened.”