Public Enemy, Undercover Lover

by Amanda Meuwissen

  “Go!” Ford cried.

  Andrew wasted no time darting past them out the door, meeting the cool night air to see…nothing. There were multiple directions the thief might have gone and no sign or indication of which one they’d chosen. The ground wasn’t dusty or soggy enough to leave footprints, and there were too many shadows and hiding places.

  Still, Andrew ran out further from the building, hoping to catch something, anything, even a random passerby, but the thief was gone.

  Angry as he was at their failure, there was still plan B. He turned back to the building, bringing his hand up to his earpiece to alert Kevin—when he passed a dumpster just outside the exit and saw a collection of tiles sitting on top of the trash.

  The trackers.

  Chapter 11

  “What do you mean the thief was naked?” Kevin sputtered over the radio.

  Andrew hovered in the corner of Ford’s living room, getting out the final details to Kevin, which he’d have to repeat to Steven too.

  “That’s what Dalton said. He only saw the quick flash of a naked leg, but he swears it was skin, with the foot covered in plastic to not leave prints. It would explain why there were never any fibers. The blur I saw looked like all one color. I would have guessed a bodysuit, but maybe he’s right.”

  “Ew.”

  “Agreed, but not stupid.”

  “Male or female?

  “He couldn’t tell. Just that they had a medium skin tone and were small and slender.”

  “Anything else?” Kevin asked.

  Oh, there was—the trackers—but Andrew didn’t dare say anything until he knew what it meant. “Not for now.”

  “Well, there is something…”

  Andrew could tell by the hitch of nerves in Kevin’s tone what he meant: the almost kiss he’d witnessed in the kitchen. “Can we talk about that tomorrow?”

  “Sure, man,” Kevin said. “But we’re definitely talking about it. Do I hear yelling?”

  And then some.

  Ford had dragged Dalton to his building, and Andrew had helplessly tagged along, knowing they had to regroup and talk about this, but also caught up in the family feud currently exploding.

  “What were you thinking chasing after them alone?” Ford cried as Dalton once again refused his help in bandaging his bruised and stiff fingers.

  “I had to, Dad, it’s my—”

  “Don’t tell me it’s your research!” Ford bellowed, unable to look at Dalton without scowling. “It isn’t worth your life.”

  “I’ll see you at the office tomorrow, Kev,” Andrew said, moving cautiously out of the corner. “It’s going to be a long night.”

  “You are never putting yourself in that type of situation again, do you understand?” Ford growled in a firm, fatherly tone.

  “I’m not a kid,” Dalton countered, slowly wrapping his fingers with only the occasional flinch. They looked black and angry and would probably swell. “You can’t ground me and tell me how to live my life.”

  Ford smoldered like his eruption was only the beginning, which made Andrew wish he weren’t present for this conversation. “Why is this research so important to you? There will be other opportunities. You can start over. You can move onto something else.”

  “No, I can’t,” Dalton said, for once devoid of any smile.

  “What does it matter?” Ford pushed. “The research can be recreated. It’ll all still be there weeks, months, years from now.”

  “Not for everyone!” Dalton shouted, causing the silence that followed to turn stifling. He didn’t elaborate, but now Ford looked even more conflicted.

  “What does that mean?” he demanded.

  “I just…I need a minute, okay?” Dalton turned to leave the room.

  “Dalton—”

  “I’m going to the bathroom! Are you going to follow me in?”

  A door slammed in the hallway once he’d left, and the ache in Andrew’s chest stayed present. He was used to this sort of thing between him and Steven, but he’d never seen Ford and Dalton like this before.

  He watched in sympathy as Ford gripped the back of the sofa like he wanted to wrench it in two, those blue eyes even brighter when angry, echoed so similarly in Dalton’s, and so very intense when they turned to Andrew.

  “I, uhh…I know I should probably leave, catch up with Steve, but…can I say something?”

  “By all means.” Ford gestured dismissively.

  “You love Dalton.” Andrew moved closer, almost all the way to Ford’s side. “You don’t want to see him hurt. But you can’t change who he is. Being your son puts him at risk—period. I know how frustrating that can be. My entire family was in law enforcement. My brother still is, at risk all the time. But you have to accept that Dalton is going to make his own decisions for his own reasons. You’ll still always do everything you can to protect him. And so will I.”

  Agony was a strange emotion to see on Ford’s face when he was usually so controlled. “He won’t tell me why this is so important.”

  Andrew was pretty certain he knew, had from the beginning, he just hadn’t realized Ford didn’t or what it would push Dalton to do. “Then maybe you need to keep trying. Though probably not the way you were acting just now. If Dalton is as stubborn as you are, and I know he is, that’s only going to make him hold back more.”

  “Coz you know me so well?” Ford said with a familiar challenge that Andrew was happy to meet.

  “Yeah. I do.”

  Ford smirked, but his amusement drained quickly, eyes growing damp. “I’m making it worse, ruining everything like I knew I would. Sooner or later, he’s going to realize I’m not worth his time. I just wanted to keep him safe before that happened.”

  “Isaac…” Andrew used his given name before he realized it, moved by his openness.

  “It’s cancer research.”

  Andrew and Ford whirled around to see Dalton in the doorway.

  “What?” Ford asked.

  “I’m looking into absolute zero to freeze cancerous cells, freezing time at the subatomic level so that the affected cells can no longer grow or spread, without destroying the healthy tissue. That’s what my research is about. Curing cancer.”

  “For your mother?”

  “I’m maybe not as okay about her being gone as I pretend.” Eyes already damp like Ford’s, a few immediate tears spilled down his cheeks, and he furiously wiped them away.

  “That’s how we became friends,” Andrew said, pulling Ford’s stunned attention back to him. “My mom had just died, and his was in the middle of fighting it. He almost went to med school, but this seemed more viable, so he chose thermodynamics.”

  “You knew?”

  “I thought you did too.”

  Ford sighed, gaze drifting back to Dalton. “Why didn’t you tell me this was all wrapped up in your mother?”

  “Because. I was too late to save her,” he said in a small voice. “A year ago, six months ago, I could have. I kept telling her I would, but I wasn’t fast enough. For everyone else, every second counts. I know it could still take years for a breakthrough, but if I had just been faster for her…” He sniffled, tears falling faster, no longer listening to his attempts to still them. “I tried to tell you, Dad…but I didn’t want missing her to overshadow what we have. I wanted to be a good thing in your life.”

  “You are.”

  Dalton’s mouth twitched with a smile peeking through his tears.

  “I don’t know what it’s like to lose a parent who didn’t have a choice in leaving,” Ford continued, meeting Dalton where he stood isolated away from them, “but I do know what it’s like to want something so much, something that keeps slipping through your grasp, you’d do anything to keep it.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Dad. My fingers aren’t even broken, just jammed and sore.”

  “That’s not the point. I understand this is important to you, and we will do everything we can to finish this and recover what was taken, but until then, you have t
o be smarter. Don’t give anyone extra chances to take you away from me.”

  “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be better.”

  “Thank you. Any other secrets you need to tell me?”

  “Well,” Dalton leaned conspiratorially closer, “if you didn’t know this already…I’m gay,” he whispered.

  Ford cracked a smile. Even now, Dalton could joke, and it caused Ford to pull his son in against him, breathing in the comfort of having him close.

  “Now, we, meaning me and Andrew,” Ford said once they’d parted, “need to discuss what comes next. You go home. Take some ibuprofen, and if that hand looks worse in the morning, go to Urgent Care.”

  “Yes, Dad,” Dalton said like the stereotypical child being scolded, but he didn’t argue, just sniffled back his remaining tears and paused to hug Andrew goodbye too.

  “So much for your tracker idea,” Ford said, all business once Dalton had left, without any remaining sparkle in his eyes to betray that he’d been weepy too. “Riley says they never even showed having left the building.”

  “Kevin too.”

  “You don’t sound surprised.”

  “They’re not faulty. They didn’t leave the building. Not far, anyway. I saw them in a dumpster outside.”

  “What?” Ford straightened. “How? The thief didn’t have time to find them all.”

  “Not unless they knew they were there.”

  “Only we knew they were there.”

  “And my team.”

  “And mine…” Ford caught on, his expression hardening. He moved around the sofa as the information digested, slumping down onto it, and Andrew joined him. “That’s how they kept getting around security, because they’re in security. The only one we can rule out is Kathleen.”

  “No. Not her either. We can’t say for sure if the thief is working alone.”

  “One of our people is either the thief, an accomplice, or both, and we have no idea who.”

  “What Dalton saw can’t narrow it down either, but none of them know we know about the classifieds. The plan doesn’t change. We wait, find out where the drop is, and we’ll get them.”

  Ford nodded solemnly. “In the meantime, we watch our people but don’t tell them anything.”

  Deep down, Andrew couldn’t believe it was either of his friends, but Ford trusted his people just as much.

  “You never told me how you were able to crack my code,” Ford said.

  “Olivia.”

  “Don’t tell me she’s the one I should have been impressed with?”

  “No.” Andrew chuckled. “There were just always papers around. Everything’s online these days too, but she still had hard copies of every issue. One day, I noticed one of the classifieds sounded like details from a recent theft. Coded, sure, but the location, what was taken, it could all be surmised from what was written there. I chalked it up to coincidence.

  “Then I realized it was from an old paper before the theft. I started looking through other issues to see if there were more like it, and I was right. So, I kept my eyes open.”

  “And caught me red-handed,” Ford mused. “You were so proud. I couldn’t even be upset.”

  “Less proud when I couldn’t prove any of the other thefts.”

  They were close enough on the sofa that Ford barely had to lean to nudge him. “I’ll tell you a secret, Andrew. You were right about all of them.”

  Andrew laughed again. If only he’d gotten that confession two years ago. But then, he was glad he hadn’t. Ford would still be in jail if he’d gone away for more counts of burglary. He wouldn’t know about Dalton, and they wouldn’t be here.

  “When do you think we can expect this classifieds ad?” Andrew asked.

  “Too short a turnaround for tomorrow, but definitely the day after. Jericho’s probably getting restless. I should have sent someone with Dalton.” He sat up quickly. “Jericho might make a move—”

  “I already did,” Andrew assured him. “When I told Steve about the break-in, I asked him to send a uniform to watch Dalton’s apartment. He didn’t even ask for details, but I’ll explain the rest to him after I leave here.”

  “Thank you.” Ford leaned back, and they sat quietly for a while, each of them in their own heads.

  Being like that, on Ford’s sofa, alone, felt strangely intimate with the adrenaline fading. Andrew wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands. Usually, they’d be pawing at Ford’s clothes, but that didn’t seem right tonight.

  When Ford turned his head, and their eyes locked, Andrew wanted to say…something, but he had no idea what. Comfort. Encouragement. A request for permission to breach the scant inches between their hands and lace their fingers together…

  But that would be intimate too. He wanted intimate, but he wasn’t sure Ford agreed.

  “Something else, Andrew?” Ford asked, their gazes drifting between each other’s eyes and their lips.

  “No. Just stay safe.” He hefted onto his feet before he kissed Ford and asked to stay. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  * * * *

  Andrew met up with Steven back at the scene of the crime and explained everything they’d discovered—about Jericho, the classifieds, and their suspicions about the identity of the thief.

  Steven only asked once, “Are you sure Ford himself isn’t involved?”

  “I’m sure. But his people might be. We just need your help, and we can finally end this.”

  Maybe it was because of family dinner, or just that the plan was the best one they had, but Steven agreed, and Andrew went home to get some rest.

  Not one foot into the lobby of his offices the next morning, Kevin asked him, “So, when did you and Ford start sucking each other’s dicks?”

  Andrew blanched, looking around frantically for Candace.

  “She’s not in yet.”

  Thank God.

  “But what the hell, man?” Kevin pushed forward to crowd him. “How long has this been going on? And who all knows? And why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it’s just sex! Just really…awesome sex.”

  “Dude.”

  “And not many know, okay? Just Luke and Kathleen. And Riley.”

  “Ford’s whole team?!”

  “They all found out! It hasn’t been going on that long. Only since this case. Technically.”

  “Technically?”

  Andrew was really putting his foot in it this morning. “The first time may have been Christmas.”

  “Christmas?!” Kevin leaned back to keep from mauling Andrew like he seemed to want. “Okay, even if you claim temporary insanity, why is it still going on now?”

  Honestly, Andrew hadn’t been able to say the answer out loud yet, but Kevin sighed dramatically and said the answer for him.

  “Because it’s not just sex.”

  “It’s not just sex. But it’s not not just sex? It’s complicated. I mean, it’s Ford, he doesn’t…he’s really…We haven’t talked about this pretty much at all. He wouldn’t be interested in more.”

  “But you like him. And not only because of…awesome sex.”

  “Really awesome sex.”

  Kevin choked.

  “I do like him. I’ve always liked him. But I don’t know if that’s going to matter after we catch the thief, or if it’ll just be Olivia all over again.”

  That sobered Kevin and made the anxiety in Andrew’s gut tighten into a bow. “Is that what you think?”

  “I don’t…want to think that.”

  “Harder question. Do you trust Ford?”

  Andrew reminded himself that right now he couldn’t be a hundred percent certain that he trusted Kevin, which was an awful thing to think of his friend who was being so understanding right now, but there were too many unknowns. What he was certain about—somehow, amazingly—was that he did trust Ford.

  “Thanks, Kev.” Andrew pivoted on the spot.

  “Thanks? You didn’t answer me!”

  “When this is over, I will.”
r />   * * * *

  With no outstanding client work to attend to and not much else to do until they found their lead, Andrew stopped home before heading to his final destination, swift but careful as he melted chocolate with two percent milk, cinnamon, and some Jameson thrown in for good measure.

  This was much better than buying Ford coffee.

  Andrew knew Ford’s offices well by now, even the living quarters, including that the alley where they’d had one of the hottest encounters of Andrew’s life had a back door. He might be a pillar of law and order most days, but he knew how to pick a lock, and there was something endlessly amusing about picking Ford’s.

  Once inside, making sure there was no one immediately visible, Andrew headed for Ford’s office, only to pass a conference room where he saw Ford pouring over schematics. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ford called out first.

  “You tripped an alarm that sent camera footage to my phone. I’m still debating clicking the ‘unauthorized entry’ button to alert the police.” He flicked his eyes up with a grin.

  “I didn’t actually think I wouldn’t get caught.”

  “Or you just don’t want to admit that I’m better than you.” Ford reclined in his chair at the head of a long conference table as Andrew came in with a thermos and his Santa mug. “What’s the occasion?”

  “It’s chilly out.” Andrew shrugged, setting the mug down at the edge of the table, away from the spread-out blueprints. “And I hate having to sit on my laurels. This is what’s supposed to go in this mug, by the way, though I did add a little booze to it.” He hopped up next to the mug and poured out some of the steaming cocoa from the thermos. “Everything is squared with Steve, and I talked to Kevin.”

  “About what he saw?”

  “He won’t tell anyone. He thinks I’m crazy, but…”

  “Are you?” Ford pressed when Andrew trailed off.

  “Hm, I might need some reminders for why crazy isn’t all bad.” Looking right at Ford, he ran his tongue over his teeth. “Thought about sucking your cock after taking a drink of the cocoa to warm my mouth, see how much it can make you squirm.”

  “Never tried that before,” Ford said, eyeing the cocoa and then Andrew’s lips.

  Andrew reached for the blueprints, but Ford slammed his hand down on top of them. “Just moving them aside so we don’t make a mess.” Andrew made a point of looking away as he reached for them again. “I don’t need to peek at what you’re working on for another job.”