“Can you come alone? I’m not sure how I’d feel if more people showed up. It might spook me.”
Morgan appreciated his honesty, but he also wasn’t stupid. He’d be alone but he’d have backup. And he was certain that Kelly would know that.
“Yeah, I’ll be alone. I’ll see you in a few,” he said then he ended the call and looked up to see Caleb standing there.
He told him where Kelly was and that he was going to meet him.
“You want me to follow?” Caleb said.
Morgan nodded, “Yeah, I think that would be best.”
“Here, let me get you an earpiece,” Caleb said as he turned to walk into his office.
Morgan followed and watched as he pulled open a drawer and pulled out two earpieces. He synced them with his iPad and then Dean joined them as they walked into the garage.
As they did, Morgan’s phone pinged with another incoming text from Luther:
Luther: Info back on the possible Kelly/Jesse connection. Kelly Braddock’s birth name is Kelly Miller, Jesse’s last name is Miller. I know it’s a common name but they could be brothers, babe. They came from the same small town.
He typed a quick reply:
Okay. On my way to meet Kelly. Love you.
Luther: Love you too. Be safe.
Always, he quickly sent then he dropped his ass into the front seat of his CTS.
Caleb and Dean pulled out behind him in their car and followed a discreet distance behind, although discreet in Caleb’s bright yellow convertible Mustang was kind of an oxymoron but whatever.
“Where do you want us?” Caleb said as they neared the exit.
“It’s a big parking lot. You could easily be tourists on a road trip. Just pull in after me and park away from us.”
“Got it.”
Morgan’s eyes scanned the area the second his car had slowed down as it rolled into the parking area. He noted the lone figure, sitting on top one of the picnic tables, staring off into the distance and figured that was Kelly so he grabbed a space hear him and shut off his car.
He approached slowly, not wanting to spook the man who seemed to be daydreaming as he stared at the rising sun. “Kelly?”
“Yeah. Who’s your backup?” he said.
“What?”
“Yellow Mustang parked a hundred yards to my left with two in it?”
Jesus Christ, Morgan thought as he swallowed hard. His eyes had been on Kelly the entire time he’d been in the parking lot and the man’s head hadn’t fucking moved. Who the fuck was this guy?
“Former co-worker of mine and his boyfriend. They both work for Drake now. Can I ask you a question?”
Kelly smiled slightly, “Sure, as long as you don’t ask how I knew they were there.”
That made one corner of Morgan’s mouth twitch up in a smile, “Fair enough. So, what’s the plan, Kelly?”
“I thought you were supposed to have one.”
“I did. But then you changed it.”
Kelly’s head finally turned and Morgan was glad he was sitting because the devastated look in the man’s eyes probably would’ve brought Morgan to his knees.
“Have you ever been so completely in love but you couldn’t tell the other person, Morgan? You couldn’t tell them and then they hated you because they don’t know?”
Morgan swallowed. He could mention his former unhealthy crushes on Beau Williams and Ryan Forrester and how they proved to be not only wrong but also brought him to Luther, but he didn’t because he didn’t think that would help right now. “No, I can’t say that I have, Kelly,” he said.
“I have. For ten years. Actually, longer than that. I’ve held him in my arms but couldn’t let him know how much I craved him, I’ve felt his desire but couldn’t let him know how much I wanted him too and then I walked away because I thought it would save him but all it did was destroy him.”
“It’s not too late, Kelly, it can’t be too late.”
“It is for us.”
“Are you sure? Because from where I’m sitting you haven’t even tried. Is he worth fighting for?”
“Until the day I die.”
“Then fucking fight for him.”
“I thought I was by staying away from him.”
“Well, things change, Kelly. Improvise, adapt, and overcome, yeah? Now he needs you here, he may not know it but he does. So, change your way of thinking and be here for him, help him from here. No matter how hard he pushes you away, and he will push you away, hard but you need to decide right now, right here if he’s worth the beating you’ll have to take in order to convince him that you’re here to stay.”
“He is, Morgan. I’d die for that man. My heart dies every day that I can’t love him the way I should.”
“So, change that.”
Kelly dipped his chin slightly. “So, what’s the plan then?”
“First, you’re going to give me your keys. You are no longer on your own, at all. Am I clear?”
Kelly reached into the side pocket of his sweatshirt, pulled out his keys and dropped them into Morgan’s hand.
“Good. You’re riding with me. I’m going to have Dean drive your rental car, okay? We’re going back to Caleb’s place and we’ll plan our next steps with Cole.”
“They have to pay, Morgan. Those bastards have to pay for what they did to him.”
“And they will, Kelly. We’ll get those taped confessions from them and post them on every public site we can to ruin them professionally and personally. They can’t be charged legally for the crime anymore because of the statute of limitations but that doesn’t mean we can’t use humiliation and guilt in our favor.”
Kelly took a deep breath as he nodded, “I don’t trust many people, Morgan.”
“Yeah, I’m getting that.”
The corners of Kelly’s lips lifted in a smile, “I’m going to give you a shot. Don’t let me regret it.”
“I won’t, Kelly. You feel like some breakfast?”
“Yeah, I could eat.”
“Okay, I’m going to have my husband meet us at our favorite diner. Don’t let him scare you, he’s a little…..intimidating,” Morgan said as he typed out a text to Luther on his phone.
He could feel Kelly’s eyes on him but there was no way to explain Luther to people, they just had to meet him to get the full effect and to understand what he was talking about.
Since they had been listening in on the conversation, Dean met Kelly and Morgan at Kelly’s rental car. Morgan made introductions and then Dean, in the rental, and Caleb in the yellow Mustang left, while Kelly and Morgan made their way to the silver CTS that Morgan was driving. Twenty minutes later he pulled into the parking lot of Fran’s Diner and Kelly saw a giant, wall of a man leaning against the wall.
As he got out of the car, the man looked up at him and Kelly stumbled as he realized who the man was. “Jesus fucking Christ, do you know who that is?” he whispered loudly enough for Morgan to hear.
Morgan just grinned at him, “No, who is it?”
“That’s Luther Santiago. What the fuck is he doing in Denver?”
“I’m pretty sure he’s here for pancakes.”
Kelly’s head whipped around to stare at Morgan, “What?”
“Pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream,” Morgan said as he walked over to Luther, pulled the man into his arms and planted a big, wet kiss on his lips.
“Hey babe, I missed you last night,” Luther said.
“This is your husband?” Kelly whispered.
Morgan smiled as he stared into Luther’s eyes, “Uh-huh.”
“This is who I kept you from last night?”
Luther’s eyes narrowed as he pinned Kelly with a glare, “Yes,” he said.
A shiver slid down Kelly’s spine. “Fuck. Please forgive me.”
“Are you good now? No more fuck ups?” Luther said.
Kelly swallowed hard and then somehow managed to choke out, “Yes, Sir.”
“Then you’re forgiven. Just don�
�t piss me off again.”
Kelly’s head shook, “No, Sir.”
Not a fucking chance.
He might be crazy but he wasn’t fucking crazy….
Chapter Fifteen
Cole was getting nowhere and it was really starting to piss him off. As his fingers flew over his keyboard his cell phone rang. Irritated, he frowned as he answered it and put it on speaker, “What is it Bryan?”
“You blew off the weekly marketing meeting.”
“Yeah, I’m busy. But I have complete confidence that you have everything under control.”
Bryan snorted, “Gee thanks. But this isn’t like you, Gil. You hate giving up control.”
“Things change, Bryan.”
“Does this have anything to do with that private investigator? That Donner Diamond guy?”
“No, why would you ask that?”
“Because he’s waiting outside of your office to see you.”
Cole’s eyes popped open, “What? Why the fuck didn’t you lead with that? Where’s Sylvia?”
“You gave her the week off, Gil. Fuck, man, where is your head at?”
Good fucking question, Cole thought. “I, it’s some personal shit from my past. I’ll get it taken care of and then everything will be back to normal, I swear,” he said as he stood, walked out of his private computer room and headed for his door so he could let Donner inside.
“I hope so, Gil. I’ve known you a long time and this shit is just weird. Even the board is starting to talk.”
“I know. Just give me a week or two and things will be back to normal. I’ll call you back, okay?”
“Okay,” Bryan said and then the call ended.
Cole pulled his door open and his eyes collided with Donner’s who stood and said, “This wasn’t something I was comfortable sending over email or phone,” as he walked inside.
Cole frowned as he stepped back to let the man inside.
Donner walked into Cole’s living room and sat down on his couch as he dropped a thick folder onto the coffee table. “This room has been swept, right?” he said.
“Of course,” Cole said as he sat next to the man, oblivious to the second newly placed listening device that Noah had stuck to the inside of the metal table leg of Cole’s glass coffee table – the top of the line, high-tech device that could be remotely turned on and off to avoid detection during a sweep.
Donner pressed his palm over the folder, almost like he was afraid to open it, “I’m not going down for this, Gillette, and neither is my source, am I clear?”
Cole’s eyes darted to the folder and his heart sped up, “Yes, absolutely.”
“I’m done after this. This is too big, even for me. I’m sorry, but I’m out.”
What the fuck did he find?
Cole’s chin dipped in a nod, “I completely understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do. But you will after you see this,” Donner said as he peeled open the folder.
Inside was a grainy photo of Kelly in uniform, his Kelly. No, not his, he had to remind himself.
Donner slid the photo to the right to reveal the page beneath it. It was a print out of an online conversation, one that had obviously taken place in a deep-web chat room.
How much? The first person had asked.
One mil up front, one mil upon proof of termination. The other stated.
Cole frowned at that, he knew what proof of termination meant. And two million dollars? Who the fuck was willing to pay that much money for this?
Why?
He knows too much. Too dangerous to keep around.
How soon?
Yesterday if possible.
Understood. You’ll send me everything you have on him? Including his last know location?
I’ll do you one better, he’s got an implanted tracking device that he’s unaware of. I’ll give you the device specs so you’ll know exactly where he is.
You feds are all the same, always cheating.
Do you want the contract or not?
Yes, I’ll take it. Same bank.
Done. You’re on the clock.
“What the fuck? Kelly has a tracking device that he’s unaware of and a contract out on his life?” he shouted as he jumped up and began pacing the room.
“Like I said, this is too big for me. This contract was put out by the feds, Cole, the fucking feds! I’m not, shit, just forget you even know me,” Donner growled as he pushed up from the couch and walked out the door.
Cole stared down at the file. What the fuck was he supposed to do with this information. He felt so damn conflicted. On one hand he hated Kelly, at least that’s what he’d been telling himself all these years. The man had abandoned him, just fucking up and disappeared, walked the fuck out of what, up until that moment, had been a pretty perfect life, and he’d never looked back, never gave one shit about what his leaving had done to Cole and his heart. Not to mention what had happened to Cole after the man had left, after he’d left Cole vulnerable to a world full of bad fucking people. So, he should hate him, he had every right too.
But then there was that side of him who remembered how happy they’d been, what great friends they’d been, how, despite never having voiced it out loud, Cole had loved Kelly with every fiber of his big, teenage heart.
So, it was both those sides who joined together in a kind of sick, twisted feeling as Cole muttered, “If anyone is going to off Kelly Miller Braddock it’s going to be me and only me.”
He reached for his phone only to yank his hand back when it lit up with a call from and unknown number.
Who the fuck would be calling him?
“Hello?” he said as his heart hammered in his chest.
“Do you want to help him?” a man said.
“What? Who is this?”
Whoever it was ignored the questions and said, “You need to ask yourself right now, Cole, do you want to save Kelly or are you going to watch him die?”
He hesitated for a moment before roughly rubbing my hand over my face, “Fuck, I don’t know!”
“I suppose that’s the most honest answer I’m going to get from you right now.”
“Who the fuck is this?” Cole shouted into my phone.
A split second later a firm knock on the door echoed throughout the place, scaring the shit out of Cole.
“Answer the door, Cole. It’s time for us to meet.”
“How do I know you’re not here to kill me?”
“Because if I was, you’d already be dead. Open the fucking door.”
So, with sweating palms and a heart racing so fast it felt like it was trying to escape his chest, Cole strode over and flung the door wide open. “Holy mother of God!” he cried as he took a step back and braced himself against the wall when his knees went weak. The man staring at him was terrifying in a hot-as-fucking-hell way. He was huge, easily over six feet tall, and nearly as wide as his door, and it was all fucking muscle. And his shrewd hazel eyes were pinning Cole with a look that only said one thing, do not fuck with me.
Cole had to snap his mouth shut to keep from saying, not a fucking chance.
“Who…..?”
“Look. I don’t do people, I’m tired, I’m cranky, I had to sit on a plane for four hours squished between a little old lady who wouldn’t shut the fuck up and a drunk chick who kept hitting on me and touching my tattoos. I don’t like it when people touch me, Cole. Except for my husband. He can touch me whenever he wants to. Which leads me to my crankiness. He’s back home and I’m here. I miss him. We’re separated….because of you,” he said as his eyes narrowed to a glare and he stepped forward into Cole’s apartment, shutting the door behind him.
Oh shit, Cole thought as he swallowed hard and stared up into those angry hazel eyes. “I, I’m sorry?” he squeaked out.
The man’s eyes narrowed even farther, “That sounded like a question, Cole. Are you sorry, or aren’t you?”
Cole was going to lose it, he was sure of it now. He had never been more frightened in
his life. He could feel his entire body shaking and he knew he was just seconds from pissing himself, until…..
The man’s eyes blinked a few times and his body stiffened. “What?” he snapped.
Cole glanced around to try to figure out who he was talking to.
The man rolled his eyes hard and then mumbled, “Okay, okay. Yes, dear, I’ve got it,” then his eyes moved back to pin on Cole’s face, “Apparently, I’m being a little too harsh on you and I’m supposed to introduce myself first. My name is Cain Braddock. I’m married to Connor Braddock, Kelly’s father.”
Cole’s eyes went wide, “K-K-Kelly’s homophobic, racist asshole father who used to beat him, is gay?”
Cain rolled his eyes again, “No, not that father. His other father. The one who took him in when he was sixteen and adopted him when he was eighteen after he ran away. Look, we need to talk. There are some things you need to know. Can we sit?”
Still somewhat flustered and leery, Cole nodded and led Cain over to the living room where he took a seat on the couch and Cain flopped down in the recliner.
“Much better,” Cain said with a groan as he put his feet up.
“Look, I don’t mean to rush you but someone put out a hit on Kelly,” Cole said, wondering where he had gotten his bravado….or his stupidity.
“I know. I’m the one who accepted the contract.”
Cole jumped to his feet, “What the fuck? You’re going to kill him and yet you’re sitting in my living room resting your goddamned feet?”
“Cool your fucking jets, dude. I don’t do that anymore, haven’t for a few years. But they don’t know that, at least not yet. As soon as they figure it out, though, they’ll send someone in my place and then we’re all fucked, so we need to work fast.”
Cole slid his fingers through his hair, “What fucking Alice In Wonderland rabbit hole did I fall through?”
Cain glared at him, or maybe that wasn’t a glare, maybe that was his normal look. Cole didn’t know, he didn’t fucking know anything anymore. “Look, I don’t sugar-coat shit. Just ask my husband. So, here’s the deal. Kelly didn’t leave when you were sixteen to hurt you, he left to fucking save you. What happened after he left was beyond his control and it’s shit that you two will need to work out or not but that’s the fucking truth.”
Severe Side Winds Ahead Page 8
