Marc took a few photos, making sure he got clear pictures of the dried blood and tearing.
“I’m going to swab now for DNA. Three swabs. Two on the outside, one will be inserted into the anus.”
“Okay,” Garrett whispered. He squeezed his eyes shut but Justice tapped his cheek gently and said, “No butterscotch, don’t hide. Stay with me here. I’m not going anywhere, neither are you.”
Garrett’s eyes opened again and locked with Justice’s.
Marc did the swabs and closed them up in the plastic secure containers. “One more exam, Garrett. I need to check inside to see how bad this tearing is, okay?”
“Okay.”
Marc spread lube on his finger and then slid it inside. Turning it around as he felt along the walls of his channel. Once he had the answers he was looking for, he pulled it out. “When was your last bowel movement?”
“Um, I don’t really remember. I peed a lot because he gave me water but he only fed me once.”
“So, you didn’t defecate after the rape?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Okay. I’m going to give you a stool softener. You have tearing but it’s not bad. The stool softener will make sure it doesn’t get worse. Keep an eye on it. If it’s not healed within a week, let me know.”
“Okay.”
“You can sit up now. I need to draw some blood.”
Justice helped Garrett sit a little higher while Marc got out the vials and set them on the bed. He wrapped the rubber tube around Garrett’s arm above his elbow and patted it to get a vein to pop up. He inserted the needle and got the blood flowing. He quickly filled the vials then removed the needle and taped a chunk of gauze over the wound.
“That should do it. I know you want to bathe now and that’s fine. But as soon as you’re out and dry, burn cream on your penis and wrap those ribs. And don’t eat too much until your tearing heals, let’s try to keep those bowel movements small.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Sure thing. Justice, can you help me carry all this stuff to my car?”
“Um, yeah, sure. Will you be okay for a second, butterscotch?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“As soon as I get back I’ll help you get cleaned up, okay?”
“Okay.”
Justice carefully climbed from the bed and followed Marc out to his car in his stocking feet.
“You love him,” Marc said as he closed his trunk.
Justice’s eyes went wide as he looked back at the house, “Oh, I, uh, I barely know him, Marc.”
“That may be but I know love when I see it. Never thought I’d see it from you but there you go.”
“I, um, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” Justice whispered.
“He’s going to need help, Justice. Counseling. I hope you know that.”
“Yeah, I do. We’ve got a facetime call set up for tomorrow afternoon with the resident psych doc on the team.”
“Okay. Call if you need anything. And I’ll be in touch as soon as I have all the test results.”
“Thanks, Marc, so much. I owe you, big time.”
“Yeah, well you might not thank me after you see my bill.”
Justice smiled, “Whatever, you rich asshole.”
“I’m happy for you, man, I really am. Can’t say I didn’t wish it would’ve been me someday but I’m happy you found love.”
“You? I thought you were fine with just the sex?”
“I was….until I wasn’t,” Marc said with a sigh.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Would it have changed anything?”
Justice looked away, “No, probably not. I know that makes me an asshole but I was an asshole, you knew that.”
“And now?”
“And now I’m trying really hard not to be.”
“For him.”
“Yeah, for him.”
Marc pulled his car door open, “I wish you all the best, Justice, I really do. We’ll talk soon.”
Justice watched him drive away then he made his way back inside and to the man that he knew was quickly grabbing every piece of his heart.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jackson watched Cole’s car as it got further and further from the city. Where the fuck was he going? The Grand Canyon?
He finally exited the highway and took a winding side road up into the mountains. He turned off at long driveway with the name of Henry on the mailbox. Jackson pulled in too but he pulled his car off into the woods and got out rather than driving up like Cole did.
He watched from behind a tree as Cole put his car into park in front of a house that literally looked like it came directly from the wild west in the eighteen-hundreds. A single-level, ranch-style, log cabin, with a sturdy wrap around porch, a huge stone chimney and, what the fuck, were those horse tie-up bars in front of the porch? Yeah, so if you rode your horse up for a visit, you’d have a place to tie it down.
Jackson almost snorted a laugh.
He pictured an old, leathery-skinned redneck cowboy.
Boy, was he wrong.
The wooden screen door swung open and out walked a man that almost had Jackson swallowing his own tongue. Black cowboy hat sat on top of a head full of thick, black, wavy hair. A plaid button-down shirt strained to cover a muscular chest. Blue jeans with a big round silver belt buckle encased thick, strong thighs and a firm round ass, not to mention an impressive package in the front. And to complete the wet-dream fantasy for Jackson? Black cowboy boots covered the man’s feet and calves. And his eyes, hell, the man’s eyes were the same indigo blue that Bryce’s were. Pain lanced through Jackson’s chest so hard that he grabbed for it with his fist. Every time he saw someone who reminded him of his husband, it felt like there was a butcher knife plunging into his heart.
The man strolled down the steps of his porch as Cole climbed out of his car. The stared at each other for a few long moments and then Cole walked over and buried his head against the man’s chest as the man folded him inside his embrace.
And Jackson felt a twinge of…..jealousy?
Where the fuck did that come from?
He watched the two men embrace for at least a minute and then Cole turned away, wiping tears from his cheeks as he walked to his trunk. He pulled out his suitcase and laptop and followed the man into his house. But just before they walked inside, that tall drink of sexy stepped back out on the edge of his porch, scanned his eyes through his tree line and stopped on the tree that Jackson was hiding behind. There was no way the man knew he was there and yet there he was looking right at the tree that hid Jackson and….was that a smirk?
The man turned and walked inside and Jackson let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. What the fuck was that?
*******************************
Morgan paced as he listened to his team.
“He’s taking a right onto Moritz, Hawke you got that?”
“Copy, moving in.”
“Looks like he’s heading for that warehouse complex up ahead.”
“Can you see an address?” Morgan said.
“Hang on,” Caleb said.
“Trinity Complex, does that help?” Hawke said.
“Yeah, you got that Billy?” Morgan said.
“Working it. Hang on.”
There was some background noise and then, “Morgan? It’s Connor Braddock. Cain is here with me. He says that Trinity is a front. The entire place is owned by the government. The schematics on file don’t match what the place actually looks like but Cain spent some time there on an Op and he thinks he might still have the actual layout plans. If not, he’ll have Billy draw them.”
“Shit. Okay. Get them to me as quick as you can.”
“Everyone, drive past. There’s a section of trees just past the complex. We’ll find places to park then and then go back on foot,” Caleb said.
“Copy that,” was the instant response.
Morgan’s cell phone buzzed in his hand.
“Go ahead Jackson,” he said when he answered.
“He’s stopped. At a guy’s house. They looked…friendly.”
“Where?”
“Up in the mountains. I’ll text you the GPS coordinates and the address of the place. Mailbox says Henry on it. Send me what you can on the owner.”
“Will do.”
“I’m going to sit on the place for a bit but I swear to god, Morgan. If I get one whiff that he left his guy to run into the arms of another? I’m going to lose my shit….and it won’t be pretty.”
“Jack, if that’s what he’s done, I want you to lose your shit….and I want him to hurt. This is fucking bullshit.”
“Just send me what you can.”
Tripp Henry turned away from the window to face the man sitting on his couch. He didn’t like that he could feel someone watching him from outside and he really wanted to deal with that. But not now. Right now, he had to figure out what had Cole running to his place and looking like his entire world had crashed down around him.
“You want to tell me about it?”
“Not really,” Cole said with a sigh, “Look, can we just fuck? I don’t want to talk.”
Tripp’s eyes went wide because, where the fuck was this coming from? Cole hadn’t slept with him and Ty other than those few times when they first met. After that, they’d been strictly friends, great friends. And since Tyler had died, Tripp hadn’t fucked anybody. He couldn’t, not yet. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to be intimate with another man again. Cole knew this, he knew it because he had held Tripp countless times while he poured out his grief.
“Cole, honey, I’m not sure where this is coming from but I think fucking is the last thing you need to do right now.”
Cole stood from the couch and began pacing with this hands on top of his head, “You’re right, I know you’re right. But all I want to do right now is get him out of me. I feel him everywhere and I need to get him out and the only way I know how to do that is to fuck.”
“Wait a minute, get who out of your system?”
“Kelly.”
Tripp blinked a few times, “You mean the guy that disappeared on you that you’ve hated – but I always knew you’d been hung up on - for years?”
Cole’s eyes shimmered with tears, “Yeah, and the same guy I’ve been holding in my arms and making love to for the past week and who I love so much it hurts to breathe when he’s not around.”
“Wait, he’s here? He was here with you?”
“Yes and, and, it was fucking perfect,” Cole said with a sob.
“So, why are you here babe?”
Cole sank back down to the couch, “Because, because, fuck, because I can’t handle his life.”
“Jesus, what is he? An escort or something?”
“No, fuck no. He’s military, or he was anyways, he’s out now. But he used to go on these secret black ops missions that were really fucking dangerous. And now someone is after him because of his past and, and, he’s put himself out there as bait to catch this guy. I can’t handle it, Tripp. I thought I could but I can’t,” he said as he started sobbing.
“Oh sweetheart,” Tripp said as he sat next to Cole and pulled him into his arms. He rubbed his back for a minute as he cried and then he rested his chin on top of Cole’s head as he said, “You know I love you, right?”
Cole swiped the tears from his cheeks as he pulled back to look at Tripp, “Of course I do.”
“Then you know that what I’m about to say is only coming from a place of love.”
“What?”
Tripp squeezed Cole’s arms, “Are you fucking out of your mind? You had the one man you’ve been wanting for-fucking-ever in your arms and you walked away from him?”
“But…”
“No, just no, Cole. God, you of all people should know that love can be gone in the blink of an eye, that it can slip through your fingers like sand no matter how tightly you cling to it. You had him. You had him in your embrace and you walked the fuck away. I just,” he slid his fingers through his hair, “I don’t know if I should comfort you or punch you in the fucking face,” he said as he pushed up from the couch and walked over to door.
“Tripp.”
He held up his hand, “No, Cole, just give me a minute,” he said then he walked out to the porch. He gripped the rail tight as the tears began to flow down his cheeks.
He heard the creak of the screen door as it was pushed open behind him and he wanted to yell at Cole to back the fuck away and leave him alone. But he knew better by now – those were words that neither of them could ever say.
“Tripp…”
He straightened a little but he didn’t turn around.
He felt Cole’s hands slide around his waist as he hugged him from behind, “I’m so sorry. I was an idiot,” he whispered.
Tripp reached up to squeeze the hand at his chest – his silent way of acknowledging Cole’s apology. “We better get back inside. I’ll make us a fire.”
“Okay,” Cole said as he took a step back.
And then Tripp shocked both Cole and Jackson by turning his head to look into the woods where Jackson was hiding and saying, “You might as well come inside too. It’s going to freeze tonight.”
Cole frowned, “What are you…?”
Some cursing interrupted him and then a man he’d never seen before stepped into the clearing.
“How the fuck did you know I was there?” he said with a scowl.
“I felt your eyes on me,” Tripp said then he turned and walked into the house.
Jackson watched him until he couldn’t see the man anymore as his heart hammered in his chest. Only one man had ever said those words to him in his lifetime, one man…..until now. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, letting the inevitable wave of grief wash over him.
“Who are you?” Cole’s angry voice said, scattering his memories to the wind.
“Somebody has to watch your cheating ass. I drew the short straw.”
Cole’s eyes went wide, “Cheating? I didn’t, I’m not, I, I…..”
“Save it for someone who cares and who will believe your lies. I know why you came here. He should know that too,” he growled out as he stepped onto the porch, walked past Cole with a glare and stepped into the house.
His eyes immediately found the man kneeling down in front of the fireplace, putting kindling underneath a big split log.
“I need to know how you did that. Do you have cameras or sensors in the yard?” he said.
The man swiped a match on the stones by his knee, touched it to the kindling, tossed it inside, stood and turned to face Jackson, “No. I told you. I felt your eyes on me.”
“How?”
The man stared at him with his piercing blue eyes and Jackson could swear the man saw into that part of him where he hid his pain – a part that he never showed to anyone.
“Don’t know,” he said with a shake of his head, “You want a drink? Name’s Tripp by the way.” He stepped over to a glass front liquor cabinet and pulled it open. He extracted a bottle of bourbon that caught Jackson’s eye. “Is that Woodford Reserve?”
The man’s hand faltered briefly before he continued to bring the bottle out of the case, “It is. It was the favorite of…..someone very close to me.”
“It was the favorite of someone who was special to me too. I’m Jackson.”
Tripp grabbed three glasses from the case and turned around, “Well, Jackson, should we drink to old special someones and to pulling Cole’s head out of his ass?” he said as his eyes moved over Jackson’s shoulder.
Jackson glanced at Cole then back to Tripp as he said, “I can drink to that.”
Tripp handed him a glass with two fingers of the amber liquid in it. Jackson tossed it back with a satisfying sigh then he stared at the empty glass as he said, “I hated this shit until after he was gone.”
“Me too,” Tripp said and their eyes locked for a moment.
“You two are weird-ing me the fuck ou
t,” Cole said as he stepped forward, grabbed his glass and tossed the liquid into his mouth.
“Yeah, well you are a fucking asshole,” Jackson said.
“Hey. You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough. I know you’re a man who doesn’t appreciate what he has, a man who will turn his back on the one thing that truly matters to him just because he’s scared. Well, you know what? Life is scary. Nobody is safe out there, not really. Shit happens – car crashes, gun violence, cancer, roadside bombs – and in the blink of an eye everything can be taken away. You don’t shit on the gifts you have by turning your back on them because you’re afraid you might lose them – you grab on with everything you have and give it your all in the time that you do have, because one day you might blink and find that it’s all gone. Where’s the head?”
Tripp pointed, “Down the hall, first door on your right.”
Jackson disappeared into the bathroom.
“Who the fuck is that guy?” Cole said as he stared down the empty hall.
“I think he might just be the thing that makes my shattered heart beat again – and that scares the shit out of me,” Tripp said as he watched that vacant space too.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Tiny flicked on the light when he stepped into his kitchen – with Blake right behind him. When he tossed his keys onto the counter, every instinct in his body was screaming at him to turn around, push Blake up against the wall and just fucking take him. But he didn’t. He couldn’t make Blake’s first time be some up against the wall fast fuck – as hot as the idea of that was to him. No, he had to make the man’s first time….perfect.
That is, if they even made it that far.
“I, I’m going to go shower, okay?” he mumbled.
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
Tiny walked away even though it fucking hurt.
But just before he got to his hallway….
“Tiny?”
He stopped and turned his head to look at Blake.
“Yeah?”
“Can I join you?”
Tiny’s hand shot out to grab the wall before he literally fell to his knees.
Severe Side Winds Ahead Page 21
