by Pandora Pine
“Holy shit, Ronan. They look like they’re caused by fists.” Fitzgibbon shook his head and swiped to the next photograph. “These are from the toe of a boot. Shit, these are fingermarks. Poor, Ten.”
“That’s exactly it. He had an appointment with a Reiki Master this morning. While he was at that, I went to see Carson hoping he could explain the dream. I’m worried that these spirits are going to get angrier and I wonder if they can do more than just beat Ten up.”
“Can they?” Concern and fear was etched on Fitzgibbon’s face.
“No one is really sure. There’s a psychic in town who we think can answer that question, but Ten has a bad history with her. She turned him down for a job when he first moved here because he was a more natural talent than she was. Can you fucking believe that? An eighteen-year-old kid alone in this world and that’s how she treated him?”
“If she’s the only person who can help him, we might have to put those bad feelings aside, Ronan. Tennyson’s safety is more important than a case of sour grapes. And anyway, look at what a success story he’s made of himself.”
“Until he lost his powers. It made me wonder if part of the reason he didn’t want to get in touch with her was because the powers she said were greater than her own are now gone.” Ronan hadn’t wanted to mention that to Tennyson, but it had been a thought he couldn’t let go of.
“None of that matters now.” The captain popped the last bite of his second burger into his mouth. “Finish the story.”
Ronan couldn’t help wondering if there was a third cheeseburger in that bag. “Carson’s mother was at our little chat and she said she’d speak with other mediums in town about what happened last night, but Bertha isn’t like you, I can’t pick up the phone and call her for an update.”
Kevin snickered. “No, I guess you can’t.”
“I was still at the Magick shop when Ten came back freaked out from his Reiki appointment. He showed the woman the bruises on his arm and she started asking him if he was being abused at home. It sounded like fight or flight kicked in and he ran out of there and continued to meltdown when he got to the shop. It only got worse when he saw me. Cap, he blamed me for everything going wrong in his life. Said it was my fault his perfect life was ruined.” Ronan felt tears pricking the back of his eyes, but he’d be damned if he let them fall in front of his boss.
“No one’s life is perfect, Ronan. Not even Tom Brady’s.” Fitzgibbon nudged Ronan with his shoulder.
“Come on. His life is pretty perfect. Cool job, hot wife, cute kids, tons of money.” Ronan wouldn’t mind walking a mile in Tom Brady’s shoes, well except the having sex with the wife part. He wouldn’t mind the taking a shower with the fifty-one other naked football players part.
“Okay, what about Monday mornings when every muscle in his body aches from the beating he took on Sunday? What about when the hot wife is nagging him to pick up his dirty underwear or stop leaving gobs of toothpaste in the sink? What about when the cute kids are fighting or when the market tanks and he loses a bundle of cash? None of those things sound quite so perfect to me.”
The captain had a point. Several of them in fact. “I know Tennyson is under a lot of pressure, but the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes when he said those words.” Ronan shook his head. “It was like he stuck my heart in a meat grinder.”
“Fear does funny things to a man, Ronan.” Kevin’s voice was so soft, his words were almost lost to the wind. “I remember when I was shot, lying there on the floor looking up at the ceiling. All I could think about at first was Greeley. You know, making sure he was safe. Then, once I knew he’d be taken care of, I wanted him gone. I didn’t want him around me, didn’t want him to watch me bleed out on the floor in front of him, have my glassy, blank eyes be the last memory he had of me.” Kevin shook his head.
Ronan set a hand on Fitzgibbon’s shoulder. He remembered that moment as if it were yesterday. He’d thought it was odd at the time that Fitzgibbon wanted Greeley out of the room. It all made sense now.
Fitzgibbon took a shuddering breath. “I don’t mean to compare my situation to Tennyson’s, but do you think he’s doing something similar? You know, pushing you away in case something worse happens to him?”
“It’s a possibility.” Ronan hadn’t considered that until now. “It’s also possible that he’s been through enough with me.” Ronan shrugged. “Ten was this pure soul before he met me. Hell, Cap, he’d never seen a dead body before, except on television. Now, he’s going to crime scenes and autopsies. He’s been kidnapped, shot at, beaten up by real people and by spirits. Just how much can one man take before he throws his cards on the table and folds?”
Fitzgibbon turned to Ronan and appeared to be studying him. “I’ve never really been in love before. I guess I’ve had some crushes in my time, but I never really knew what love was until I met Greeley. Now, I know a father’s love isn’t the same thing as what lovers feel for each other, but, I’d walk through fire for that boy. I’d get shot a thousand more times for him and if he asked me if I’d take that thousand and first bullet, I’d tell him hell yes and I’d take the thousand and second one too. Ronan, love isn’t about reaching a point when you fold your hand and walk away from the table. It’s about standing taller. It’s about drawing a line in the sand and stepping over it with your man in your arms because he’s too weak to step over it himself. I’ve watched the two of you grow as men and as a couple over the last few months and I’ve gotta say you both impress the hell out of me. I’m also jealous as hell. I spent my whole life married to my job and thanks to you and Ten, I’m realizing now, it isn’t enough.”
Ronan was stunned by the words flowing out of Fitzgibbon’s mouth. He’d never heard his boss talk so openly about himself or his beliefs before. “Every day you are alive, your story is still being written. You have plenty of time to fall in love, Cap.”
“Christ, that sounds like something Tennyson would say.”
Ronan snorted. “He did. Just don’t tell him I stole one of his lines.” He looked back out at the ocean. A seagull screeched as it floated past them. “What do I do if he really doesn’t want me back?”
Fitzgibbon burst out laughing. “Seriously, man? You’ve been a bulldog since the day I met you. You never give up on anything. You ride my last nerve to the point that I don’t know if I want to put you up for a citation or shoot you myself most days. We both know what you’re going to do.”
Ronan was about to laugh along with his captain when Ten’s text jingle rang out on his phone.
“That sounds like the answer to your question right there.” Fitzgibbon nudged his shoulder.
“It all depends what Ten wrote.” Ronan pulled his phone out and took a deep breath. “He wants me to meet him at Carson’s house.”
“Sounds like a good start.”
“How’d you know where to find me anyway?” Ronan hadn’t realized until now that Fitzgibbon had just showed up here.
“I got several messages that you’d gone AWOL. So I did what any good commanding officer would do in a crisis.”
“Gathered intel and went with the best leads?” Ronan grinned.
“No, dumbass, I turned on the GPS locator on your phone. It led me right to you.” Fitzgibbon reached into his fast food bag and pulled out another cheeseburger.
Ronan rolled his eyes. Sometimes technology was a policeman’s best friend. Right now, all he could do was hope this policeman hadn’t lost his best friend forever.
31
Tennyson
It seemed to take forever for Ronan and Fitzgibbon to get to the house. It was only a ten-minute ride across town, but with Ten’s heart pounding like it was, every second felt like an hour.
When Ronan’s Mustang pulled up, it was all Tennyson could do not to run outside and leap into Ronan’s arms. He’d been an absolute dick to his boyfriend and there was a good chance Ronan wasn’t going to want anything to do with him.
Ten was standing in the window when R
onan walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell. Sadie started barking and ran to the door. Carson was hot on the Yorkie’s heels. “Hey, Ronan.”
“Hey, man. How’s Ten doing?”
“He’s in the living room.” Carson hooked his thumb over his shoulder.
“Okay. Kevin’s coming over too. He was the one who found me at Dead Horse Beach.” Ronan walked into the living room with Carson. “Hi, Ten.”
Ronan looked like shit. Ten knew it wasn’t nice of him to think that, but it was true. His boyfriend looked like he’d aged five years in the five hours they’d been apart. “Hi, Ronan. Thank you for coming over. I was hoping we could talk a bit?”
“The babies are going to be up from their naps soon. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.” Carson set a hand on each of their shoulders. “Guys, be kind to each other. It’s been a rough day for both of you. Make it better. Not worse.”
“Carson, before you go. Have you heard from your Mom yet?” Ronan’s voice was quiet.
“No. I haven’t seen her since this morning in the reading room.” Carson offered a small smile and headed up the stairs.
“Thanks.” Ronan shook his head.
“What’s that about?” Why would Ronan be asking about Bertha?
“Bertha was there this morning when I was meeting with Carson. She said she was going to talk with other psychics about what happened to you last night.” Ronan seemed to be studying Ten. “Why don’t we sit?” He led Ten over to the sofa. Sadie hopped up in his lap and tried to lick Ronan’s face.
“Usually she’s my best friend.” Ten wore a sad look. He reached out and scratched the small dog behind her ears.
“Guess she knows that job is taken.” Ronan offered him a smile.
“It is? I mean I was awful to you today.” Tennyson felt worse than he’d ever felt in his entire life. The words he’d said to Ronan had come from a place deep within himself that he didn’t even know existed.
“Let’s talk about that.” Ronan’s voice was calm. His face betrayed no hint of emotion. “Did you mean what you said about losing your gift being all my fault and how I ruined your perfect life? Or is there something else, something more, going on here?”
Ten stood up and walked around the room. Sadie hopped off Ronan’s lap and followed Ten around the room. She stopped at one point, sitting down and whined up at him. Ten bent down to pick her up, cuddling the dog against his chest.
He was so lost right now. He didn’t know if he was coming or going or what was going to happen next. The only thing he did know was that he loved Ronan. “What I said this morning was so far off the mark.” Ten turned around to face his lover, who, so far as he could tell, hadn’t moved a muscle. “My life before I met you was boring and lonely. Yes, I had Carson, Cole, and Truman, but that was it. There was no excitement, or drama, or love.”
“Sometimes there can be too much excitement. Morgues, bullets, dead bodies, kidnappings, friends getting shot.” Ronan was ticking them off on his fingers as he recited out loud.
Ten nodded. “Yeah, there are those things and let’s be honest, Ronan, those things suck. They suck in spades. But there are other things too.”
“Things like what?” Ronan sounded curious.
“Like the nights when we go home together and get pizza and zone out in front of old comedy reruns. Or when I wake up in the middle of the night and you’re holding my hand.” Ten stopped and just looked at Ronan. His blue eyes looked world-weary today. They looked like all they wanted to do right now was sleep. “How does that even happen that we end up holding hands in our sleep?”
“I don’t know, I guess our hands just make their way to each other.”
Ten walked back over to the sofa. “What if it happens again?” He could feel stone-cold dread snaking up his spine to wrap around his heart.
“What, the spirits attacking in your dreams?” Ronan’s eyes narrowed, his posture straightened as if he were getting ready to defend Tennyson against an attacker.
“Yeah, what if I can’t wake up this time. What if you have to watch me…” Tennyson couldn’t say the last word.
“No!” Ronan roared. “That’s not going to happen.”
The front door burst open. Fitzgibbon had his gun out of the holster. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Everything’s fine, Kevin,” Ronan said when he saw the gun in the captain’s hand.
Carson’s steps were loud on the stairs. He ran into the living room carrying Bertha and Stephanie. “Is everyone all right? Captain, there had better be a damn good reason why you have a gun out around my babies. I’d say swear jar, but you’re holding a gun…”
Kevin snorted and holstered his gun. “Sorry, Carson. I heard His loudness bellow and I came bursting through the door like Rambo. Everything’s fine. I’ll slip some money in the jar for my favorite cutie pies.” He reached out to run a finger down Bertha’s cheek, but Carson pulled the baby away.
He raised an eyebrow in what looked like mock outrage. “I know you’re not going to touch my baby without washing your hands first, Kevin. Swear jar.”
“When did the swear jar turn into an infraction jar?” Truman asked as he came down the stairs with Brian. “And why are you extorting our friends?”
“Uh, since my mother told me that…” Carson blushed. “I’ll just shut up now.”
“We’ll be discussing this later, wife.” Truman dropped a kiss against the side of Carson’s face before handing the baby to Ronan. “What did we miss?” Truman sat next to Ronan on the sofa.
Tennyson sighed. He loved his friends, but he was really hoping this conversation would be between him and Ronan. “I’m worried that I’ll have another dream with those spirits and that Ronan will have to watch me suffer through it or…”
“Or die,” Kevin finished as he walked back into the living room. He scooped Bertha out of a shocked Carson’s arms. “Guys, don’t all look at me like I just farted in church. I was just telling Ronan this exact thing an hour ago out at the beach.”
“What exact thing?” Truman asked.
“When I was shot a few months back, I said what I needed to say to Greeley and then told Tennyson to get him out of the room because I didn’t want the boy to have to watch me die. I told Ronan that I wondered if part of the reason for Ten’s little meltdown today was because he was afraid of the same thing.”
“Gee thanks, Cap.” Ten rolled his eyes. “Maybe be a bit harsher next time. This day hasn’t sucked enough yet.”
Kevin stared at Tennyson like he had three heads. “Oh, you haven’t seen harsh yet, son.”
“Oh, shit,” Ronan muttered, as if he knew what was coming.
“In my humble opinion, everyone around you, Ronan included, has babied you through this whole thing. So you lost your gift. Okay, now go fight for it. You didn’t need massages or hand holding. You needed facts. You needed some kick-ass psychic friend who knows more about this situation than you do. Who cares if it’s some hag who wouldn’t give you a start when you got to Salem. Fuck her! Be willing to fight for yourself and your gift by being humble enough to ask for help now. You have nothing to lose here. You’ve already proven yourself a bigger talent. Look at you! A member of the Boston Police Department came looking for your help. A BPD captain allowed you to consult on cases. The fucking Mayor of Boston gave you the key to city. What’s that bitch got? Hemorrhoids? Fight for it, Tennyson. Stop taking your troubles out on Ronan and let him fight at your side. Trust me when I say you won’t find a more loyal or fierce ally.” Kevin smiled at Ten and went back to making funny faces at the baby.
“Holy shit,” Truman half-whispered. “Kevin, we’ve been talking about who we want to be godparents for our babies. We’d love it if you would stand up with Brian.”
Fitzgibbon started to laugh. “Seriously? I give the worst motivational speech in history and you want me to be your son’s godfather? I guess that’s an offer I can’t refuse.”
“Just don’t give him a gun, huh?�
�� Carson laughed. “Oh, and by the way, Cap, swear jar! I think the rates should go up for godparents. More responsibility should equal more money.”
“You’ve lost your mind, wife.” Truman rolled his eyes.
“I don’t mean to be dramatic here,” Tennyson interrupted, “but can we get back to me now?”
The ringing doorbell stopped everyone in their tracks.
“I think that’s for you!” Carson grinned.
“What? My gift’s making house calls now?” Ten asked sarcastically. Everyone they knew was coming was here. Cole wouldn’t ring the bell, he’d just walk right in. He couldn’t imagine that Carson called Vann Hoffman or Broughan Beals. That only left one possible person standing on the other side of the door ringing the bell. Ten sighed. “Motherfucker…”
32
Ronan
It wasn’t like Tennyson to use that word. It certainly wasn’t like him to use that word out loud in front of the babies. Ronan had no idea who was at the door but he was going to find out. He walked out of the living room and yanked open the front door.
Standing on the brick steps was an older woman with short, grey hair cut into a stylish bob. She was wearing bright aqua cat’s eye style glasses and her bright blue eyes popped against the white flowing tunic she was wearing with matching white capri pants. “It’s nice to meet you Detective O’Mara.”
Ronan was long past the time when someone he’d never met before knowing his name would amaze or freak him out. He knew exactly who the woman standing on Truman’s front steps was. He’d spent the morning researching her on the internet. At this moment in time, it was a toss up between slamming the door in her face and hugging her to within an inch of her life. “Madam Aurora, what brings you here?”
