Infected

by Andrea Speed

  While he sat on his couch and ate his sandwich, he scrolled through local news sites on his phone. The city had cleared out and closed the Jungle—again. But at least this time there had been warning, and they’d worked extra hard to make sure it didn’t turn into another WTO scene. They did it every now and again, and it never lasted—for a very simple reason. There weren’t enough beds for the homeless; there weren’t enough places they could go. There would be if Seattle adopted the policies of a couple of other “progressive” cities and simply housed the homeless in their own places. There were enough foreclosures and unused residences to make this possible. Studies showed it was the best thing for the homeless, and on top of everything, it was cheaper than letting them stay on the street by a long shot. The only reason not to do it was in the unspoken belief of the weird but unfortunately powerful assholes who were convinced that poverty and homelessness were moralistic and not economic states. If Holden ever wanted to hang up his vigilante combat boots, he should probably become a homeless activist or something. But he didn’t know how he’d deal with the frustration of all of it without busting heads. He’d be spending all his off time in Esteban’s gym, working the heavy bag until he could punch it off the chain like Roan.

  Holden was done with his sandwich and starting to feel the effects of the energy drink when Scott came out wearing last night’s jeans but shirtless and running a towel over his still-wet hair. The little bastard liked to show off his toned physique, but Scott pointed out he’d worked hard for it, and Holden couldn’t argue with that. Of course he did—his workout schedule, even in the off-season, was fucking insane. Maybe that was why he slept so hard—he was bone-deep exhausted, to his soul and back. Holden enjoyed the view of a glistening fighting-weight Scott as he walked into the kitchen and got one of his disgusting yogurt drinks from the fridge. They tasted okay, but Holden was mostly grossed out at the thought of drinking dairy so early in the day.

  Scott wore the towel on his head like an ill-fitting wig, but when he started walking toward the couch, casually shaking up his drink, he stopped and stared at Holden in shock.

  Holden looked up, somewhat annoyed. “What?”

  “Was your hair green last night? And—holy shit! Are you wearing makeup?”

  “Just eyeliner. I’m still torn about wearing nail polish.” It might keep him from ever biting his nails again, though.

  Scott sat on the sofa beside him and pulled his towel off. “You look hot.”

  “Tell me something I—” Holden began, but never had a chance to finish, as Scott had grabbed him and kissed him. It was passionate and aggressive, showing he really was a fan of Holden’s makeup. Scott’s skin was still shower warmed, and the strength in his toned muscles was always a turn-on for Holden. Scott had a body you never wanted to stop touching.

  He pressed him back against the couch, and Holden was considering really getting into this—they probably had time for a quickie, right?—when there was a heavy knock on the door. Holden pushed Scott away, and Scott sat back and sighed. “Can’t we ignore it?”

  “It’d probably be quicker to see them and send them away.” Besides, he had a few days left to bone down with Scott, and then he was out of here for a while. Holden wasn’t sure if he should just break down and join Grindr like every other gay man. The only reason he hadn’t was simply because he saw far too many former clients on there. That still might be a stopping point for him.

  Holden opened the door, not surprised to see Grey standing there holding a rolled-up magazine. Grey gave him his usual deadpan look. “Trying a new look?”

  “What do you think?”

  Grey shrugged. “Works.”

  “You’ve always been super effusive,” Holden said, stepping back and tacitly inviting him in.

  “Why use words when looks generally do all the work for me?” Grey replied. It was a good question, and not one Holden could answer.

  Scott stood, adjusting his jeans to hide his semi. “Dude, something wrong?”

  Grey shook his head. “I just got my copy early and thought you might want to see it before it gets released online,” Grey said, handing Scott the magazine.

  Scott looked genuinely confused. “Your interview with the Hockey News? Why would I—” Scott unrolled the magazine and stopped and stared at the cover with a look best described as confounded. “Dude, what the fuck!”

  Grey shrugged. “It’s why I thought you might want to know first.”

  “What’s going on?” Holden wondered, wandering over to Scott. He looked down at the magazine, which was a much bigger deal in Canada than here—much like hockey itself—and there was a picture of Grey in his uniform and equipment, looking twice as big as usual. Or, in other words, monstrously huge. He had his usual neutral, stony look—which Scott called, totally behind his back, Grey’s resting bitch face—and his hockey stick slung over his shoulder like a hobo’s bindle. And underneath, in a large font, was the magazine’s tag line: Grey Williams: “I am asexual.”

  “Holy shit,” Holden exclaimed, unable to stop himself. “You came out?”

  Grey shrugged again. “Talked it over with my agent, who didn’t like it, but the owners and the coach didn’t seem to care that much. I had to explain what asexual was, but I have a feeling I’m gonna be doing that a lot. I got a solid contract, and I doubt it’s gonna affect my career in any way, so why the fuck not? Better out than in.”

  Scott gave Holden the magazine and walked over and hugged Grey. “Oh, you big lug, I’m so proud of you. And so fucking terrified for you.”

  Grey chuckled and swallowed his best friend in a huge bear hug. “If I can’t take the heat, who can?”

  Holden agreed with that sentiment but still looked at the magazine in shock. The world was full of courage and self-destruction, and he wasn’t sure which one of those this was.

  Oh well. They were all going to find out soon enough.

  More from Andrea Speed

  From the Infected Universe

  Mean Streets: Book One

  With his friend lion shifter Roan McKichan no longer in the picture, former sex worker Holden Krause is now working as a detective investigating cases in Seattle. When he receives a request to investigate a rather unusual case for Big Mike, a local drug dealer, he ignores the potential hazards in working for such a client and takes it on.

  But Holden hasn’t given up his vigilante ways, occasionally seeking violent retribution for those ignored by the justice system. There’s a man stalking the streets, assaulting anyone he perceives to be trans or gender-nonconforming in any way. When the brutality escalates, the case becomes personal for Holden.

  If he cannot juggle being both a detective and a vigilante, his taste for blood and danger might finally catch up with him.

  Prequel to Infected: Prey

  In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds.

  Roan is working a frustrating stalker case, with no shortage of suspects and little solid evidence, when he comes across a startling eyewitness living in his car across the street from the scene. A tiger-strain infected, the only one Roan’s ever met, Paris Lehane is a former Canadian golden boy who suffered a breakdown after becoming infected in college.

  While Roan’s ex, Diego “Dee” Cole, warns against falling for the infected Paris, a man doomed to die, Roan struggles with his attraction and the knowledge that no happily ever after is possible for them.

  But is the knowledge enough to discourage him from following his heart? Roan helps Paris out of homelessness, and maybe a special hospital can help Paris with the infection, but Roan’s got his hands full with this case, and there’s no end in sight.

  Infected Series: Book One

  In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds.

  The m
urder of a former cop draws Roan into an odd case where an unidentifiable species of cat appears to be showing an unusual level of intelligence. He juggles that with trying to find a missing teenage boy, who, unbeknownst to his parents, was “cat” obsessed. And when someone is brutally murdering infecteds, Eli Winters, leader of the Church of the Divine Transformation, hires Roan to find the killer before he closes in on Eli.

  Working the crimes will lead Roan through a maze of hate, personal grudges, and mortal danger. With help from his tiger-strain infected partner, Paris Lehane, he does his best to survive in a world that hates and fears their kind… and occasionally worships them.

  Sequel to Infected: Prey

  Infected Series: Book Two

  In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds.

  The newly married Roan is struggling to balance his work with his home life as he grows increasingly distracted by his husband Paris’s declining health. One case with strong emotions attached takes up most of his time: finding the murderer of a missing little rich girl.

  It’s a family with secrets so toxic they’d rather no one investigate, and there’s no shortage of suspects. But despite the dangers and obstructions involved, Roan won’t stop… until he loses something infinitely precious as well.

  Sequel to Infected: Bloodlines

  Infected: Book Three

  In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds.

  But when your heart is gone, it’s easy to fall into a black hole and never crawl out. Roan has been lost and alone for more than a year, and his best friends think a new case might be just the motivation he needs. Roan forces himself back into the game and discovers a dead man who might not be all that dead, a street hustler that wants to hustle him, and a dominatrix who is well prepared to take Roan’s orders. As Roan claws his way out of the darkness by diving back into his work, he finds himself in a race against time in the adrenaline-pumping realization that nothing helps a person want to live like helping someone else survive.

  Readers love Infected: Holden by Andrea Speed

  “…I’m extremely excited about this new series. The mysteries are interesting and the main character even more so.”

  —Rainbow Gold Reviews

  “This book was truly a different kind of read than I normally read. I like the fact that it was a little on the dark side and that the book was full of all kinds of twist and turns.”

  —Gay Book Reviews

  “…I’m on board for the long haul with Holden. You can’t help but get the feeling that he’s going to learn a few things about himself before this series is through…”

  —The Novel Approach

  ANDREA SPEED writes way too much (and yet seemingly not enough). She is the writer of the Infected series for DSP Publications as well as a bunch of other stuff, and was editor in chief of CxPulp.com, where she reviewed comics as well as movies and other stuff. She’s won a couple of Rainbow Awards and feels she may be ubiquitous on the web. But she is not (sadly) the Italian DJ of the same name who often comes up first in Google searches. A small medicinal horse.

  Website: www.andreaspeed.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/andrea.speed.3

  Twitter: @aspeed

  Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/blog/notmanos

  Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/3020553.Andrea_Speed

  By Andrea Speed

  7&7 – Virtue and Vice (DSPP Anthology)

  Hearts of Darkness

  THE INFECTED UNIVERSE

  INFECTED SERIES

  Infected: Paris

  Infected: Prey

  Infected: Bloodlines

  Infected: Life After Death

  Infected: Freefall

  Infected: Shift

  Infected: Lesser Evils

  Infected: Undertow

  Infected: Epitaph

  The Infected Holiday Special

  MEAN STREETS

  Infected: Holden

  Infected: Throwaways

  Published by DSP PUBLICATIONS

  www.dsppublications.com

  Published by

  DSP PUBLICATIONS

  5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA

  www.dsppublications.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Infected: Throwaways

  © 2018 Andrea Speed.

  Cover Art

  © 2018 Anne Cain.

  annecain.art@gmail.com

  Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact DSP Publications, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dsppublications.com.

  ISBN: 978-1-64080-117-2

  Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-118-9

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2017913961

  Published February 2018

  v. 1.0

  Printed in the United States of America