Severe Side Winds Ahead

by Kendel Duncan

  Brent gunned the engine and took off down the forest access road.

  Blake realized his fingers were still threaded tightly with Tiny’s when Travis turned around in the passenger seat and his eyes glanced down at their linked hands.

  And then Blake realized with a shock that he didn’t give a shit who knew that he and Tiny were together, in fact he wanted everyone to know.

  He reached over to cup the man’s cheek, “Hey, we’ll find him, Tiny. I promise.”

  Tears swam in the man’s eyes as he finally turned to look at Blake, “But at what cost, Blake? The damage has already been done.”

  “Then we’ll get him the best counselors to help him.”

  Tiny’s forehead fell down onto Blake’s, “I don’t know how I can live with this. This is all my fault, it’s all my fucking fault.”

  “No! This is the fault of some deranged asshole who has a hard-on for you, it’s not yours, babe. This is not your burden to bear. I will not let you do that to yourself. You are a victim in this just as much as Garrett is and if you try to say otherwise I will punch those pretty lips of yours.”

  A small smile lifted one corner of Tiny’s mouth, “You think I have pretty lips?”

  “I think you’re hot as fuck, Tiny Murphy, and I can’t wait to kiss those lips again.”

  “You called me babe.”

  Blake smiled, “Yeah, I did.”

  Tiny’s eyes moved over Blake’s shoulder to glance at Brent and Travis, “In front of your co-workers.”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “So, this is your coming out?”

  Blake smiled, “I guess it is.”

  “Proud of you babe,” Tiny whispered then he pressed those soft lips against Blake’s….and all was right with the world again.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Kelly took a deep breath then a smile flitted across his face when he felt Cole’s lips pressing kisses across his chest. He hummed as his hand slid up to the back of Cole’s head. Suddenly he didn’t care that it was the middle of the night and they had only been asleep for a few hours. “Tell me what you want, babe,” he whispered.

  “I want you without barriers, Kel. It felt amazing when you took me like that, I need to feel it with you too.”

  “Is that what woke you up? Thinking about sinking inside me and filling me up with your cum?”

  “God, yes.”

  “Then do it,” Kelly said as his fingers tightened on the back of Cole’s neck. His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath just before Cole’s mouth closed over his….and that’s when he smelled it.

  His entire body froze as he wrapped his arms around Cole’s body to protect him and then he growled, “Fucking hell, Justice, don’t you ever knock like a normal person?”

  “What the fuck?” Cole mumbled as his arm reached out and he hit the button on the wall above the headboard to turn on the reading lights, while at the same time a deep, rumbling laugh rolled from a man seated in the chair in the corner of his bedroom who said, “Why the hell would I do that, Braddock?”

  Cole and the man eyed each other like two adversaries vying for the same prize.

  “So, this is the one, eh, Braddock?” the man said.

  “Shut up, J,” Kelly mumbled.

  Cole looked from the man in the chair and then to his Kelly, his blushing, ashamed looking Kelly. That he could not have right now because of the man in the chair…fucking cockblocker. “Kel?” he said as he placed his hand on Kelly’s arm. Kelly squeezed his eyes shut as he turned away and that right there pissed Cole off. He turned his back on the man in the chair as he faced Kelly, clasping his face between his hands as he said, “Kelly Miller you look at me right now.”

  Kelly’s eyes popped open and the shame that swam in them as he stared down at Cole nearly broke Cole’s heart. “We were apart for more than a decade, Kel. That’s a long-ass fucking time. Did I think about you during that time? Yeah, but for me it was for the wrong reasons. I was angry and trying to fuck you out of my system through a series of nameless guys. Men who I used to try to get my anger out over you leaving me. And there were a lot, Kelly. Hundreds of them. My dick has been in more holes than I could ever possibly remember. Are you going to hold that against me?”

  “No, babe, of course not,” Kelly whispered.

  “Then why would I hold it against you that you took comfort in another’s arms when you were alone? There’s only so much relief we can get from our own hands, Kelly. Everyone needs more eventually.”

  “But….”

  “No, babe, stop it. I don’t care what you two did together because you saved the best part of you for me, Kel. Well, two of your best parts, actually. You gave me your virgin hole, babe, and I will never forget that. But you also gave me your heart and that’s something that I will cherish until I take my last breath. We’ve found our way back to each other now. That’s what matters. Not that you had your dick in this guy’s mouth. Besides, I’m sure my oral skills are way better than his.”

  The man in the chair snorted a laugh as Kelly smiled and pressed his forehead to Cole’s, “I love you, Cole Gillette. I always have, isn’t that right, Justice?” he said as he lifted his head to look over Cole’s shoulder at Justice.

  For the first time, Cole took in his appearance. He noted not only the black hair that flowed like silk past the man’s shoulders and the light, ice blue eyes that pierced right into anyone that he looked at. The smooth, white alabaster skin, chiseled cheekbones and jawline, the firm body that not only looked strong but also deadly somehow. But when he looked closer this time he saw the weariness in the man’s eyes, like this man bore a heavy weight on his shoulders and it was becoming too much to bear. And that almost made Cole feel sorry for the man. But there was still the whole showing up in his bedroom unannounced thing going on.

  “So, who the fuck are you again?” Cole said.

  That got a smile from the man and when he smiled, holy fuck, he was devastatingly beautiful.

  He stood to his full imposing, probably six-and-a-half-foot height, which even though Cole tried to school his features, was pretty damn scary, and he strode over to the edge of Cole’s bed and stuck out his hand, “Justice Thyme. Nice to finally meet the man who always held the key to Braddock’s heart…and his hole,” he said with a smirk.

  “I’m going to fucking kill you, vampire,” Kelly growled out from between his clenched lips.

  They all heard a knock on Cole’s door.

  “Come in,” Cole said.

  Cain shoved the door open and then un-holstered his gun and pointed it at Justice, “What the fuck?” he said.

  “Stand down, Cain. This is the guy I told you about, the one we’ve been waiting on? Justice Thyme, meet Cain…”

  “Yeah, we know each other already. How the hell did you get in here, J?” Cain said.

  Kelly frowned, “Wait, you two know each other?”

  Cain and Justice’s eyes locked, “Yeah, our paths have crossed a time or two,” Justice said.

  Kelly groaned, “Oh my God. You two have fucked, haven’t you?”

  Justice looked down at Kelly and frowned, “Since when were you keeping tabs on my sex life?”

  Kelly rolled over, grabbed his boxers from the floor and slid them onto his body and began pacing the room. “Cain is engaged to my father, Justice. So that sort of makes him my step-father. You’ve fooled around with both of us and that’s just…..gross.”

  Justice’s eyes snapped open, “Wait, you’re engaged to Connor Braddock?”

  Cain’s eyes narrowed, “Yes, why?” then his eyes went wide, “Do not tell me….motherfucker….no….seriously….no…..tell me you have not slept with my husband,” he said with a growl.

  “I thought Kelly said you were engaged,” Justice said with a smirk.

  “Fuck you, J. We just haven’t had time to do the ceremony yet but he’s my fucking husband. Now answer my question, damn it!”

  “Do you really want me to answer that?” Justice said
with a grin.

  The shrill ring of a phone broke through the air. “What, babe?” Cain snapped when he answered it. “Yes, I know we both have pasts. But it kills me to think that we’ve slept with the same person!”

  Cain’s back hit the wall with his eyes closed as he listened to Connor, “Yeah, I know, for me too, babe. Sex with you, shit, it’s just stupid to try to compare it because I can’t, it’s not just the sex, it’s everything. You give me every part of you and that means so much to me. Yeah, I miss you so much too. I love you too. Yeah, I’m good now. Thanks, babe. Oh shit, what’s going on? Is there anything we can do to help?”

  Kelly’s eyes snapped over at those words, “What’s going on?”

  “Babe, I’m going to put you on speaker.”

  “Dad, tell us what’s going on,” Kelly said once Cain held his phone out.

  “So, the case with Tiny Murphy escalated last night. The perpetrator went after him and our agent Thornton in Murphy’s home last night.”

  “Are they okay?” Cain asked.

  “Yes. They were able to get out in time. But, there’s more,” Connor said and both Cain and Kelly could hear from Connor’s voice that whatever the more was….it was bad.

  “Dad, what happened?”

  “Tiny sort of recognized the man’s voice, he thinks he might be a former member of his MC gang but he sent Tiny a picture.”

  “Of?”

  “Another former member of the gang and a very close friend of Tiny’s.”

  “Close as in lover?”

  “No, Tiny says the man is straight.”

  “Dad, what aren’t you saying?”

  “The man has been beaten, badly, and raped by this asshole. And he says that if Tiny doesn’t come to him he’s going to kill this man.”

  “Connor? It’s Justice. Give me an hour with your boy here to give him all the information he needs to figure out a way out of this situation he’s got himself into and then I’m on a plane to you.”

  “What? No, um, I’m not, I really don’t think….” Connor mumbled.

  “Connor, this is what I do, you know that. Let me help you find this guy.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “Good, I’ll give my contact information to your man Cain, here and then I’ll be in touch as soon as I’m on my way. Send me that photo once you have my number, okay? I need to see it for myself.”

  “Okay and Justice? You’ll be walking into a hornet’s nest here. These are proud, good men and they won’t take kindly to a stranger storming into their territory and pissing on their shoes.”

  Justice smiled at that, “They don’t have to like me, Connor. Nobody ever has to like me. As long as they respect me when my ass is walking out the door when this is all over, that’s all I need.”

  “If they don’t kill you first, that might happen. I’ll talk to you soon. And Justice?”

  “Yeah, Connor?”

  “Help my boy. Give him everything you’ve got and then some. I cannot lose him.”

  Justice’s eyes moved over to Kelly’s, “Yeah, I’ve got this, Connor,” he said then he nodded to Cain to let him know that he could end the call.

  Kelly stared at Justice for so long that Justice finally mumbled, “What?”

  “I can’t believe you’ve slept with father, J, my father!”

  Justice shrugged his shoulders, “A mouth is a mouth, a hole is a hole, Braddock. I’m a horny fucker, you know that.”

  “I do. But my father? Fuck!”

  Justice smirked, “Well, seeing how blow jobs are off the table, how about some coffee?” he said with a grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

  Kelly just rolled his eyes and said, “You really do have a death wish, don’t you Justice?”

  Cain just growled.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “I know you two are exhausted but before I let you try to get some much-needed sleep, I need a complete list of every member of the motorcycle gang that you can think of, Tiny,” Logan said the moment he and Blake stepped through the door of Drake’s home.

  Tiny nodded at him, “Understood.”

  Blake squeezed his hand then said, “I’ll go make you some coffee.”

  But as he turned to go into the kitchen, Tiny held tight to his hand and wouldn’t let go. Blake’s mouth opened when he turned to look at him but whatever question he was going to ask froze in his throat when he saw the emotions swimming all over Tiny’s face as he stared at Blake…so he waited.

  Finally, Tiny yanked him into his arms with a sob and whispered, “Thank you…so much….for everything, Blake,” into his ear.

  Blake’s fingers gripped onto the back of Tiny’s shirt as a tear slid from his eye and he nodded into the man’s shoulder. When Tiny finally pulled away, his huge hands clasped both of Blake’s cheeks and his eyes searched Blake’s, silently seeking permission for what he wanted to do. Blake’s heart pounded in his chest because they were surrounded by people, people that Blake worked with, but he had promised Tiny, and himself, no more running. So, he swallowed hard and nodded his head.

  A smile lifted the corners of Tiny’s mouth and lit up his eyes and then his lips closed over Blake’s, his tongue sliding in to swirl and collide with Blake’s. And as Blake’s eyes slid closed and he surrendered to Tiny’s kiss, nothing in the world mattered anymore – not the eyes of the men watching them, not the judgements they may or may not be making, not his job…..nothing, except for the man in his arms. Tiny pulled away with a final gentle kiss and he said, “I’ll see you in a few minutes, babe. Don’t be long.”

  “I won’t, I promise,” Blake said then he turned to walk into the kitchen.

  “Well, I see this assignment was a good fit,” JD said with a snort.

  The old Blake would’ve bristled at the dig, would’ve hated the tease. But the Blake who had just been kissed until his knees were weak just smiled shyly at JD and said, “Yep, it sure as hell was.”

  JD chuckled as he walked beside him into the kitchen, “I met Brent on an Op….sort of,” JD said as he stepped into the kitchen and began making coffee for everyone. “Cups are in that cupboard,” he said with a nod of his chin.

  As Blake began pulling them down he said, “What do you mean, sort of?”

  The smile that lit up JD’s face, the love that radiated throughout his entire body made Blake wish he could maybe someday find that for himself. With Tiny, that he wasn’t sure of, but at least that small window of hope had finally been cracked open by that man. “The smooth bastard picked me up in a bar. Didn’t even ask if I was gay first, cocky son of a bitch. He took me back to his place, fucked the hell out of me and then, when he and Drake were discussing the Op they were working on the next morning when I stumbled out of Brent’s bed, it turned out one of the guys they were looking for was someone I had dealt with before and I had some better intel on him than they did. One thing led to another and I ended up partnering with Brent, on their Op and then in life.”

  “So, you were CIA too?”

  JD shook his head, “Nope, US Marshall.”

  “Oh, wow. Drake really does have a diverse team, doesn’t he?”

  “He does. We all bring something to the table that helps, ya know?”

  “Yeah, I hear ya. I’m just not sure what it is you think that I’ll be bringing?”

  “You need to stop selling yourself short, Blake. You were only limited before because you forced yourself to stay wrapped so tightly in those rules, regulations and discipline, that you never really got a chance to see what you are capable of. Now that Tiny has started to help you break out of your cocoon, I can’t wait to see what kind of butterfly you’re going to turn into.”

  Blake lifted an eyebrow, “Butterfly?”

  JD turned around with the coffeepot in his hand and a ginormous grin on his face, “Oh yeah, butterfly, Blake. Big, beautiful, colorful butterfly,” he said as he walked past Blake and down the hall.

  When they stepped into the dining room slash meeting room Blake’s
eyes were immediately drawn to Tiny, not because he was the largest man in the room but because he was…..him. It was what had drawn his eyes to the man the first time he’d seen him when he walked into Drake’s home just the other morning when he got this assignment. Plain and simple, this man called to something deep inside of him, something primal, something that, despite his years of rigid control and strict self-discipline, he could not resist and, much to his surprise, he found that he did not want to resist it, not anymore.

  Tiny pulled out the empty chair next to him as an invitation for Blake to sit down so, after passing all of the empty coffee cups around the table and setting down a bowl of sugar, he gladly took it, and threaded his fingers with Tiny’s when he felt the man’s hand on his thigh.

  Once the coffee was poured though, it was all business at that table.

  “You said something about the man’s voice being familiar to you,” he said to Tiny.

  “Yeah, it was. I just can’t figure out who it is.”

  “Okay, then let’s start by making a list of all the club members that you can think of.”

  They spent the next hour with Tiny spitting out names, Blake writing them on the large white board they had in the corner and Ben or Billy looking that person up in various criminal and other databases to find out where they currently were. They got a lot of, “Nope, dead,” so those folks were crossed off the list and they also got several, “Nope, doing fifteen to life at Leavenworth,” so that person was moved over onto the ‘in jail’ list. After another hour, Tiny pushed back from the table and began pacing, “Fucking, fuck!” he barked out.

  “What, Tiny?” Blake said.

  Tiny waved his hand at the board, “It’s not anyone on that damn board. Who the fuck is it?”

  Blake looked over the list of names, “Well, is there anyone on this list you could call? Maybe they might be able to think of someone you forgot?”