Hell and Back

by Dirk Greyson

  “Is Harv still out there?”

  “Yes.” Gage peered out the side curtain briefly and let it slide back. He pulled out his phone, scanning through what Forge thought was a text. He answered it with a grin and slid the phone back into his pocket. “Please just stay here and keep the doors closed and locked.”

  Forge tried to keep the concern out of his expression, but Gage must have seen it. He paused at the door, looking at him before returning to where Forge sat. “I know you know what you’re doing,” Forge said.

  “Yes.” Gage leaned closer, his face inches from Forge’s. “If you need anything, open an outside window and then run and hide. I’ll get a notification and come right back. But don’t open the door for anyone other than me, no matter who they say they are or what they want.” Gage didn’t move, his lips so close, their eyes boring into each other.

  Forge was scared to move in case the spell between them broke. Gage inched closer and paused once again. Forge tilted his head, parting his lips, but a scrape outside the kitchen patio door startled him. He pulled back, instantly on alert and berating himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity.

  “That’s Harv.” Gage took his hand. “Remember what I said.” He swallowed, and Forge tried to make his mind work. He managed to nod once, and then Gage was gone out the door, closing it, and Forge locked it right behind him, letting the curtains fall closed.

  Forge went into the family room and sat in his favorite chair. He thought of trying to watch television, but he was too nerved up, wondering what Gage was up to. He figured Gage had purposely not told him what the plan was. Still, Forge had an idea that it involved his neighbor’s house.

  In a way he wished Gage had asked him to come along. Forge had military training and he could defend himself, though his skills were nearly decades old and he hadn’t kept them honed the way Gage had. Forge shook his head and picked up his phone, holding it in his hand just so it would be ready in case he needed it.

  Silence reigned around him, and Forge needed something to do. Sitting in the house, waiting for whatever could happen, was driving him crazy. He intended to do what Gage had asked, but instead stood and went to one of the windows in the rear spare bedroom, where he could see the house behind his. He turned off the inside lights and peered outside. The lights in the back lit the yard, but he could see past that to the other house, which loomed large in the darkness, only a backdoor light as a clear beacon giving away its location. Other than that, he saw nothing. Hell, what did he expect, people running hither and yon across the yard in fear as Gage chased them all down? Forge chuckled as he let the curtains fall back into place and returned to the family room.

  After another ten minutes, a soft knock sounded on the back door. He went and checked who it was before letting a grinning Gage inside. “Did you find what you expected?”

  “Yes. It seems your neighbors are going to come home to a mess. But they’re gone. Someone had been staying there, probably to watch over this house. From the looks of it, they’d been there for a few days and left about the time of Granger’s shooting.”

  “So they were watching us?” Forge shivered.

  Another knock, and Gage let in a small, wiry man who seemed about a hundred twenty pounds. A good, stiff breeze could probably blow him away. Like Gage, he was dressed all in black. As he pulled away the outer layer of clothes, his handsomeness emerged, along with a head of black hair plastered to his scalp and a T-shirt completely soaked through.

  “I think so. But it seems like a lot to go through just to kill someone.” Gage turned to the other man. “Forge, this is Harv.”

  “I’ll be going in a few minutes.” He shook Forge’s hand, then stepped away.

  “Do you need somewhere to clean up?” Forge asked.

  “No. I just need to go. I’ve been out there in the humidity for a good part of the day. Thank you, though.” Harv turned to Gage. “I checked the house for any signals that might indicate a bug and found none. You might want to check for any record and return devices, but other than that, you’re clean.” He paused. “Oh, and once I leave, I’ll make an anonymous report to the police about the house in back.”

  “All right. I appreciate the help.” Gage let Harv out the door once again, and he disappeared into the night. Gage relocked the door.

  “Did you break into my neighbor’s house? What is going on here?” Forge asked, confused.

  “We didn’t break anything, and no one will know we were there. But we needed to check things out,” Gage told him. “A small group of people, probably two or three, set up shop in your neighbor’s house in the rooms where they could look into your house, probably with telescopes and other equipment. It also wouldn’t surprise me if they used parabolic listening equipment to find out what was being said over here. But like I said, if they’d wanted Granger dead, they’d just have killed him.”

  Forge shivered at the thought that he and Granger had been watched. Their lives, such as they were, had been exposed to strangers, people watching them. A chill ran up his spine that hung there. “Does this help figure out what in the hell they want?” Someone had killed Granger, and if he thought finding out who’d done it was going to be a walk in the park, he’d just had his eyes opened.

  “No. They were probably trying to get it from Granger before they killed him, and he told them to take a hike.” Gage sat at the table, and Forge stood to make them each a sandwich because he had to have something to do. “All this is only a theory. Unlike in the movies, I didn’t find any papers or some clue that will lead to an explanation of everything that’s happening.”

  “So let’s say Granger was doing something at work or had a client who was outside the law…. Like a gangster?”

  “It’s possible. They have lawyers, lots of them, and they pay very well and reward loyalty. But what if Granger betrayed them?” Gage shook his head. “We’re going off on a tangent. We don’t know very much about what’s behind this. The best way to find out is to try to locate whatever these files are.”

  “If I had to guess, I’d still say they’re something on his computer. But we’ll never know. The police will keep his computer until they’ve gone through everything on it.”

  “Then tomorrow we’ll check out the safe-deposit box, and we can check with the police on the disposition of Granger’s body. Hopefully they’ll know something more.”

  Without really hearing any more of what Gage said, Forge stood and walked to the basement door. He went down the stairs to the safe and opened it, then pulled everything out and transferred it to a box, which he brought back upstairs and placed on the table before sitting back down.

  Gage gave him an odd look. “Just eat your sandwich and we can go through all this.” Gage sounded slightly like Forge’s dad when he tried to soothe him.

  Forge nodded but didn’t touch his food. The clouds were back, darker and more oppressive than before. “I have to find it,” he said, pulling out each item and looking it over before setting it aside again.

  “But you don’t know what to look for.”

  “Not really.” God, he wished this was all over and he could return to his life. Forge reached for an envelope and stopped, tears welling. Things were never going to be the same, no matter what he did.

  Gage gently touched his hand, and he let the envelope fall to the table. “Eat something.”

  Forge nodded and picked up the sandwich with his other hand, turning the one Gage was holding and wrapping his fingers with Gage’s. This probably wasn’t a good idea, but instantly his mind went back to happier times when he’d sat next to Gage’s bed, celebrating the return of movement to the very hand he was holding.

  A bang from the lawn made him jump, and Forge squeezed Gage’s hand harder. He closed his eyes and prayed that if the people who murdered Granger had come back, they got it over with quickly.

  Gage let go and stood to go to the window. He peered around the edge of the curtains and then turned back inside. “A family of
deer have decided to spend the evening, and they’ve knocked over one of the metal planters.” He returned and sat back down, pulling out the phone. He finished what he was doing and then took Forge’s hand once again.

  “I remember doing this under your blankets so no one in the hospital would see us.” Forge had been so young and stupid. They’d have been kicked out of the service if they’d been caught. “But that was a long time ago.”

  “And sometimes it seems like yesterday.” Gage leaned a little closer, and this time Forge didn’t hesitate to close the gap between them. Forge closed his eyes and for a second was transported back to their first kiss, which had been sweet and tentative. Now Forge pressed closer, heat rising fast, and Gage slid his fingers through Forge’s hair, pulling him closer. The table was in the way, and Forge wished he could push it from them. But Gage gentled the kiss, caressing his lips ever so slightly with his tongue before backing away, tugging on Forge’s lower lip. “I waited seventeen years to do that again.”

  “Me too,” Forge whispered. “Sometimes I used to think… no, wonder what would happen if things had turned out differently between us. Would we have gotten married the way Granger and I did, and would we have grown apart? In my memories you were always twenty-one and so damned beautiful.”

  Gage smiled gently. “But you remember me in the bed, crippled.”

  Forge shook his head. “No. What I remember is your eyes and the way you made me laugh. Even when you could move only your head, you still brought me joy.” He took Gage’s hand and kissed it. “I remember one night, I’d been reading to you for a few weeks, and you fell asleep. Your hand was outside of the covers, so I took it and gently placed it underneath so you wouldn’t get cold, and you squeezed it. Not much, but you did. It was the first time your hand moved, and it was because of my touch.”

  Gage’s eyes widened and then his expression softened. For a second Forge saw some of what they used to share in the hospital. “How come you never told me?”

  “Because the next day, you could move your hand, then the other one, and the whole hospital was excited. I couldn’t tell anyone that I’d been holding your hand, so I kept that memory to myself. It was mine, and after you got sent home and my letters went unanswered, I held that memory tighter.”

  Gage sat still, and Forge let the spell that had settled hang in the air for a bit, then turned his attention to his sandwich. Gage got up to make some herbal tea, then brought him a mug. Forge finished eating, his attention focused on the papers from the safe. He’d already gotten the will, but as he went through things, he found other documents he was going to need, like powers of attorney and the title to Granger’s car.

  “What are all these?” Gage held up a blue box.

  “Oh.” Forge smiled, set the papers to the side, and pulled out what looked like small jewelry boxes. “They’re coins. Granger used to buy them for me when we first got together. They aren’t real tender, at least not in this country, but they are silver. They commemorated some of the initial milestones in our relationship.” He opened one and handed it to Gage. “They were something he used to do. At the time, we were both trying to figure things out, and Granger said they were an investment of sorts. The silver would always be worth something.” He closed the case and picked up another. The coin rattled inside, and Forge opened the case to put it back on its slot. When he did, a small black item tumbled out onto the floor. Forge reached down to pick it up. “What’s this?” He set what looked like a piece of plastic back on the table.

  “It’s a drive.” Gage lifted it, looking it over. It was tiny and plain black, maybe an inch in length. “Could this be what you’re looking for?” he asked with excitement. He pushed back his chair and returned with a small laptop. Gage started it up and inserted the drive. He turned the screen and sat next to Forge as they both waited for the computer to recognize the drive and bring up the list of contents.

  “I don’t think this is what we’re looking for,” Forge said as he glanced over the file names. “It seems to be the electronic version of the wills and other documents.” That was Granger being thorough. Forge continued looking through the contents of the safe and found the envelope the drive had originally been in. It had come open, but God knows how it had gotten into the case. “I don’t see anything else.” Forge packed everything up again, then carried it all downstairs and placed it back in the safe, locked it up, and covered it once more.

  When he came back upstairs, Gage was going through the files. “Just double-checking. It’s getting late. In the morning we’ll go to the bank to see about the safe-deposit box. Things are getting away from me a little….”

  “It’s all right. Tomorrow is fine.” He was tired and wound up tight as a drum. Forge hadn’t slept well last night, and he wasn’t sure how well he was going to sleep tonight either. All he wanted was this whole thing to be over so he could pick up the pieces of his life and move forward.

  Forge finished the last of his sandwich and drank his tea, then put the dishes in the dishwasher and got it running. He figured Gage would make himself comfortable where he needed to. “If you need anything—”

  “Look at this,” Gage said, still at the computer. “The last file is empty. Or rather, it opens to a blank page.”

  Forge went to peer over Gage’s shoulder at the screen.

  Gage closed the file and reopened it to be sure, but it was blank. “It was called Granger&Forge. I thought it might have contained something he wanted to remember, but there’s nothing here.” He closed the file and removed the drive to hand it back.

  Forge took it, wondering where he was going to put it. He wasn’t interested in going back down to the safe, so he went into the living room and grabbed Granger’s most complex puzzle box and put it inside. “Bedding is in the linen closet upstairs if you need anything.”

  “I’ll figure it out.”

  Forge hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, turning toward where Gage sat at the table. He wanted to go back and kiss Gage good night. Hell, he wanted to kiss him hello, good night, and where the hell have you been for the last seventeen years… all at the same time. But he didn’t dare, and Gage seemed to have slipped back into professional mode, so he wasn’t sure if the act would be welcomed, no matter how steamy the earlier one had been.

  He climbed the stairs and went to his room, where he undressed, cleaned up, and used the toilet in the master bathroom before climbing under the covers and trying to sleep. He heard Gage move through the house for a few minutes, and then everything grew quiet. Forge calmed down, feeling safe knowing that Gage was downstairs looking out for him. Still, sleep didn’t come. He was too far away, and after an hour, Forge got out of bed and opened the door. He could barely hear the television downstairs. He grabbed the light blanket off the bed, wrapped himself in it, and went down the stairs.

  Gage sat in the chair, a mug of coffee next to him, watching an action movie. He looked up at Forge’s arrival. “Are you okay?”

  “Can’t sleep.” Forge sat on the sofa, intending to curl up, but he was too warm, so he lay down with the blanket over his legs, turned toward the television.

  “Jesus,” Gage said under his breath.

  Forge ignored it because he wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear it or not. A house exploded on the television, and he closed his eyes, trying to relax. He wasn’t really interested in the movie as much as he didn’t want to be alone. He turned away from the TV and met Gage’s heated gaze. The temperature rose higher, and Forge pushed the blanket farther off his legs.

  He sat still as Gage stood and crossed the room in a few strides to stand over him. He didn’t take his eyes off him for a split second, afraid to blink in case this was his imagination. Gage sat on the edge of the cushion near his hips, an arm resting on the back of the sofa.

  “You know, you’re like temptation personified.” Gage stayed where he was. “I….” He swallowed visibly. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me? Your husband was killed, and no ma
tter what happened in the past, or the fact that you did send letters years ago, I can’t….” He kept halting and ran his hand through his hair. Forge was quickly realizing that was how Gage released his nervous energy.

  He reached up and took Gage’s hand. “Stop that or you’ll rub yourself bald, and I like your hair.”

  Gage rolled his eyes. “Okay. But it doesn’t change anything.”

  “My marriage has been over, except for the yelling, for months.” Forge tugged at Gage’s hand, bringing him closer. “Granger was the one who stepped out of the marriage. I never did. I was loyal until the end, and….”

  “How long has it been?” Gage whispered, coming ever closer, the energy between them increasing with each inch Gage narrowed between them until Forge was afraid he was going to fly to pieces if Gage didn’t touch him.

  “Since Granger had someone else, I refused to be with him. If he was getting it somewhere else, then he wasn’t going to be with me. Who knows what he could bring home.” Forge had trusted him, but look what the hell happened. After that, he’d been tested for everything imaginable and stayed the hell away. A cheater will cheat no matter what.

  “I’d never do that,” Gage told him. “I haven’t had the kind of relationship you had. This job and my life were never conducive to one. But when I was with someone, it was only him.” He inched still closer, and Forge wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling them together, unable to take any more.

  Forge devoured Gage with pent-up passion, banked on hold for seventeen years, combined with the want and need of eight or nine months of abstinence. When Gage worked his arms under him, holding him tightly, Forge’s skin came alive. He hadn’t realized just how starved he’d been for the touch of someone he cared about until he had it. Now he didn’t want it to end.

  “Gage,” Forge breathed when they pulled apart.

  “Is this really okay? I don’t want to push or rush you.”

  Forge closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’ve waited a long time for this. I know you were waiting to hear from me, but I was doing the same, near the front lines in a field hospital, hoping to hear from you. I thought you didn’t care for me. Now that I know that wasn’t the truth, I want to make up for the years we lost.” He slammed his lips to Gage’s, throwing all those years of wishing into the kiss, which Gage returned. The fire between them was all-consuming, a conflagration burning away time and distance until it was just them right here, right now. Nothing else mattered, and Forge was determined to make everything he could of the opportunity while Gage was in his arms.