Journey to Lobster Cove

by Carol Lynne

  “I have an ambulance on the way. Can you tell me the nature of the injury or illness?” the operator asked.

  “I don’t know.” Joseph squeezed his eyes shut. He felt so helpless. “He’s covered in blood. I don’t know if he was shot or stabbed, but he collapsed in my arms when I opened the door then he passed out.”

  Joseph cradled Pip in his arms as the operator continued to talk but he couldn’t hear him. He was lost in the pallor of Pip’s normally light brown skin. “Stay with me,” he whispered as he began to rock back and forth.

  It had been almost two years since he’d been in the position to bargain with God for the life of one of his boys. The last had been Cullen. Joseph’s chest squeezed at the mere thought of Cullen. No, he told himself. He’d done the right thing by sending Cullen away.

  Pip opened his eyes and stared up at Joseph.

  “Who did this?” Joseph asked.

  “Big G. He told me to give you a message,” Pip rasped.

  “You can give it to me later,” Joseph replied.

  Pip shook his head. “I won’t be here later.” Blood sprayed Joseph’s face as Pip began to cough.

  Joseph refused to look away from the dying boy. “Save your strength.”

  “Big G said…” He coughed. “…there’ll be more.”

  More? Anger filled Joseph at the thought of that fat piece of scum harming another of his boys. He glanced at the safe again. For the second time in his life he wanted to kill a man. The first had been Willy, Cullen’s slimy pimp, who had beaten and tied Cullen to a bed before carving a W on his forehead.

  * * * *

  Asa ended the call with a heavy heart.

  “Who was it?” Mario asked before yawning.

  “Joseph. One of the boys was attacked on his way home from work, and according to Joseph, the asshole responsible said there’d be more if the shelter isn’t shut down.”

  “Shit. Is the kid okay?” Mario rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

  “He’s in surgery.” Asa threw back the covers. It wasn’t the first time he’d received a frantic call from Joseph in the middle of the night. For all the good the shelter did, it seemed to attract the wrong kind of attention. “I need to make some calls. Hopefully, I can get a few people to fly out to DC with us. Joseph’s worried about the rest of the boys.”

  Mario sat up. “Send Drake. That’s what you pay him for.”

  Asa leaned over and gave his partner a soft kiss on the lips. “Come on, babe. Get dressed.”

  “I can’t go. I have to be at work in a couple hours.”

  “A kid’s been shot,” Asa replied as he climbed out of bed. “I think that takes precedence over your damn job.”

  Mario narrowed his dark eyes. “Don’t make me out to be a heartless bastard. I’m sorry someone was hurt, but Rio’s out of town, and I promised to handle the gym. Besides, there’re plenty of men in town who’ll gladly take up Joseph’s cause to protect those kids. For that matter, there’s no real reason for you to even go except for the fact that you can’t seem to say no to anyone but me.”

  Fuming, Asa walked into the closet. He dressed quickly before he began to pack a small suitcase with several changes of clothes. He’d worked his ass off to get to the point where he didn’t have to be in the office every day or travel nearly as much as he once had, but each time he was called away, Mario started shit. Hell, it wasn’t like Mario needed to work. Asa had more than enough money to support them through ten lifetimes, but it was always Mario’s job that kept him from traveling with Asa when needed.

  Once he’d finished packing, Asa dropped his suitcase beside the door. Mario was lying on his side with his back to Asa’s side of the bed. He knew Mario wasn’t asleep. “Babe, can we talk about this?”

  “Just go,” Mario mumbled. “I’ll be fine here without you.”

  Asa wasn’t sure if he wanted to scream or climb back under the covers and make love to his partner. He walked around the bed to stare down at Mario. “I’ll be home in a few days.”

  Mario didn’t bother to open his eyes.

  With a heavy sigh, Asa bent over and kissed Mario’s forehead. “Love you,” he whispered.

  * * * *

  His ringing phone woke Cullen out of a deep sleep. He fumbled for several moments before closing his hand around the cell and lifting it to his ear. “Yeah?”

  “It’s Drake. Sorry to wake you, but I got a call from Joseph.”

  Cullen sat up in bed before reaching for one of his elastic bands. If Joseph had called Drake in the middle of the night, the news wouldn’t be good. “What happened?” he asked. He cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder while he pulled his shoulder-length curls into a haphazard bun.

  “I don’t know all the details, but according to Joseph, Pip was stabbed multiple times tonight on his way home from work. Pip’s in surgery now but Joseph isn’t holding out much hope that he’ll make it. I talked to Asa and he and I are heading to DC.” Drake cleared his throat. “Joseph isn’t handling it well, and Asa and I thought you might be able to help with that or the shelter…whatever.”

  “I’ll throw some stuff in a bag and be ready in ten minutes,” Cullen replied, already out of bed and digging in his closet for his duffle. He didn’t know Pip well but he knew Joseph would blame himself just as he’d blamed himself when Willy had tried to beat Cullen to death.

  “I’ll be out front when you’re ready,” Drake said before hanging up. It helped that Drake lived with Oggie in the old farmhouse across the ranch yard.

  Cullen dressed quickly before shoving a few changes of clothes into his duffle. He shouldered the bag, left the bedroom and jogged to Mandy’s room. He knocked softly before opening the door. “Mandy?”

  Mandy groaned.

  Cullen moved to sit on the side of the mattress. “I’m leaving for DC.”

  “What?” Mandy asked, rubbing her eyes. “Why?”

  “Pip was stabbed. He’s in surgery. I’m catching a ride with Drake and Asa.”

  “Should I go?” Mandy reached to the bedside table and turned on a lamp.

  “I need you here. I’ll probably split my time between the hospital and the shelter, and I need to know things here aren’t going to shit.”

  Mandy entwined their fingers. “How’s Joseph?”

  “According to Drake, not good.” Cullen squeezed Mandy’s hand. Although several people knew he had feelings for Joseph, only Mandy understood the depths of those feelings. “Do you think I’m making a mistake by going?”

  “No. I think it’s about time you make Joseph see reason,” she countered.

  Cullen shook his head. “He knows I lied about my age when I entered the shelter, and he still doesn’t want me.” He shrugged. “I can’t really blame him. I used to fuck for a living and he’s an ex-priest.”

  “Stop it!” Mandy barked. “Joseph knows you had to work for Willy in order to stay alive.”

  Getting to his feet, Cullen pulled his hand away from Mandy. Joseph might know what he had to do but that didn’t mean he could accept someone like Cullen in his bed. “I’ll call you once I know anything more on Pip.”

  “Cullen?”

  Already heading for the door, Cullen glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

  “You are good enough for him,” she said.

  Cullen grinned. Of course Mandy would believe that, she loved him. “Thanks, sweetheart. Take care of the demons while I’m gone.”

  “Will do.”

  Cullen left the house and climbed into the front passenger seat of Drake’s new Range Rover. “Sorry. I had to let Mandy know what was going on.” He looked back at the house that had become a home to so many of Joseph’s street kids. Despite his love for Joseph, he’d never jeopardize the shelter or the Second Chance ranch. Cullen knew Joseph was worried about how a relationship between them would appear to the outside world, and he’d accepted Joseph’s position, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

  “No problem. Asa wasn’t sure whethe
r or not he could talk Mario into going anyway, so he said we’d leave as soon as we all boarded.” Drake put the SUV in gear and took off.

  “Did Joseph say who did that to Pip?” Cullen asked.

  “Big G. You know him?”

  Cullen closed his eyes and nodded. If Joseph and the shelter had captured the attention of Big G… “Fuck!” he spat. “They don’t have a chance against Big G.”

  “Why? Who is this guy?”

  “Someone even Willy’s afraid of.” Cullen started to run his fingers through his hair but stopped when he realized he still wore it in the elastic band. He wished he could convince Joseph to close the shelter and move to Cattle Valley, but he knew that wouldn’t happen. Still, there was no way he could abandon the man he loved to take Big G on alone. “I should’ve brought more clothes,” he mumbled.

  * * * *

  By the time Asa boarded the plane, Drake and Cullen were glowering at each other. “What’s going on?” he asked. His mood had already gone to shit after Mario refused to make the trip. Christ, he hated to argue with his partner. He made a mental note to text Mario before the plane took off.

  “Evidently, Big G is some badass who everyone in the city’s afraid of,” Drake began. He gestured to Cullen. “Little Man thinks he’s going to go to DC and protect Joseph from further attacks.”

  Asa noticed Cullen’s flinch at the old street name. He wanted to reprimand Drake for using it, but there were more pressing concerns at the moment. Meeting Drake’s gaze, Asa rubbed his forehead and let out a loud sigh. The shelter was as secure as they could make it yet no matter what they did the assholes always managed to get to Joseph and his rescued teenagers.

  Asa stowed his suitcase before dropping into one of the comfortable leather chairs. He turned to address Drake. “First thing in the morning, call in favors, Priest, Snake, whoever you can get. I’ll pay for their time. Get them to the shelter.”

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to just move the kids?” Drake asked.

  “Move them to where?” Asa asked. “The ranch is at capacity.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket when he heard the engines fire up. “Give me a minute.” His fingers moved deftly over the virtual keypad. I love you, he typed. He wasn’t sure if Mario had gone back to bed after their argument, but he couldn’t leave home without telling Mario how he felt.

  Asa’s phone vibrated, signaling an incoming call. He swiped his finger across the screen before putting it to his ear. “Hey,” he answered.

  “I love you, too, you sexy sonofabitch, but you need to understand that I take my job just as seriously as you take yours,” Mario said.

  “I know you do.” Mario’s indifference to money had been one of the things that had attracted Asa in the first place. “I don’t like to be away from you.”

  “I have Sunday and Monday off, so if you’re still there, I’ll fly out on Saturday night.”

  “Okay, babe, I’ll call you when we land.” Asa still didn’t feel good about leaving Mario, but at least he knew he’d only be without his partner for two and a half days at most. “I’ll miss you, but I understand.”

  “Thank you,” Mario returned. “I love you, too.”

  Asa closed his eyes and ended the call. He’d spent years as a bachelor before he’d met Mario. He hadn’t known how truly unhappy he’d been until Mario had kissed him for the first time.

  “What do you think?” Drake asked, pulling Asa from his thoughts.

  “About?” Asa pocketed his phone.

  Drake eyed Asa for a moment. “You okay?”

  Asa nodded but didn’t speak. He’d never been the kind of man to discuss his private life, even with his friends.

  “I’ll get two teams together. One to guard the shelter while the other looks for this Big G character,” Drake replied.

  Asa shook his head. “Taking Big G down isn’t the answer.” It was hard for him to admit his vision of helping Joseph take the homeless teens off the street wasn’t working. “Cut one head off and another will just appear.”

  Asa scrubbed his fingers over his eyes and sighed. The solution to their problem was to find a new location for the shelter. Somewhere like the Second Chance ranch where the kids could feel safe stepping outside their home. Unfortunately, he would have to spend a lot of time and money to make that dream come to fruition. “Once we land, I’ll go to the hospital to check on Pip. After that, I need to take a trip up north. There’s something I need to check out.”

  “Are you seriously going to let this asshole get away with what he’s done to Pip?” Drake asked.

  “Pip needs to talk to the police and let them handle it. What we need is to find a place for these kids to be safe, and that’s what I’m going to focus on,” Asa shot back. He wasn’t used to having his orders questioned by his head of security, but he knew emotions ran high when it came to DC. “Put the shelter on lockdown for the time being. The kids won’t like it, but it’s the safest thing to do. According to Pip, Big G isn’t going to stop going after the boys until Joseph stops his attempts to pull the kids off the streets. We all know Joseph would die before he’d give up his mission.”

  “Are you thinking about moving them to Cattle Valley?” Cullen asked.

  Asa shook his head. “Mario found a town for sale in Maine. I think I’ll fly up and check it out.”

  “What’re you saying?” Drake questioned. “You’re going to move the shelter?”

  “I won’t know anything more until I see Lobster Cove for myself.”

  Chapter Two

  Cullen paced the hospital lobby while he waited for Joseph to come down and update them on Pip’s condition. The long flight from Wyoming had given him too much time to think about what Mandy had said, leaving him anxious. He loved Joseph more than he’d ever loved anyone, and he knew in his heart Joseph felt the same.

  Asa rose and started toward the bank of elevators, drawing Cullen’s attention. “How is he?” Asa asked.

  Cullen drank in the sight of Joseph as he neared. Although Joseph was in his forties, Cullen had never met a more handsome man. The black hair Joseph always kept short was threaded with more strands of silver than the last time Cullen had seen him, and his normally bright blue eyes looked dull and lifeless. Cullen’s muscles ached with the desire to reach out and wrap Joseph in a tight embrace.

  Joseph stopped abruptly when he spotted Cullen. “I didn’t realize you were coming.”

  Cullen took a step toward Joseph and gathered his courage. “I thought you might need me.”

  An unreadable expression crossed Joseph’s face before he addressed Asa. “Pip’s out of surgery, but the damage was extensive. The doctors don’t know whether or not he’ll make it.” He glanced at Cullen again. “I’m sorry, but they won’t let you in to see him.”

  Cullen nodded. “I didn’t figure they would, but I thought you might need someone here.” He knew better than to tell Joseph to go back to the shelter and get some sleep. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Something to eat?”

  “Coffee would be nice,” Joseph answered.

  “I’ll get it,” Asa offered, leaving before Joseph could stop him.

  Cullen was grateful for the moment alone with Joseph. “You look so tired.”

  Joseph’s gaze roamed Cullen’s face for several moments before he spoke. “You look good. Wyoming agrees with you.”

  “I’d rather be here with you.” Cullen reached out but dropped his arm back to his side before connecting with the man he loved. “It’s killing me not to touch you.”

  Joseph’s eyes filled with tears. “Have you found someone special yet?”

  “Yeah, but he keeps pushing me away.” It was the same conversation they had every time they saw each other. “I love you, and we both know that’s not going to change.”

  “I can’t,” Joseph whispered. “It’s important to me that you’re safe in Cattle Valley.”

  Cullen knew it wasn’t the time to get into Joseph’s bullshit reasoning for them to be apart, but he was
so damned tired of the excuses. He thought about what Asa had said on the plane. “And if the shelter wasn’t under constant attack? Would you still push me away?”

  “I can’t answer that.” Joseph moved closer to Cullen and reached up to cup the side of his face. “My life’s not my own, and you know it. There was a time when I thought I could have both, but God had other plans.” He sighed heavily before taking several steps back. “I won’t take that chance with you.”

  Before Cullen could stop himself, he moved to wrap his arms around Joseph. Tears dripped slowly from his eyes as he buried his face against Joseph’s neck. “God didn’t take Phillip to punish you.”

  Joseph didn’t hug Cullen in return, but Cullen did feel Joseph’s cheek press against the top of his head. “I need to get back upstairs. You don’t need to stay.”

  Cullen knew the subject was closed for the moment so he released his hold. He wiped his eyes as he moved away. He wanted to argue with Joseph but after years of dealing with him, he knew Joseph was shutting him out again. He caught sight of Asa coming toward them with three cups of coffee balanced between his hands.

  Asa handed Joseph a cup before holding one out to Cullen. “I grabbed some sugar and creamer,” he said, pulling small packets out of his suit pocket.

  “No thanks,” Cullen said, taking a sip of the strong brew.

  “Black is fine for me.” Joseph gestured to the elevators. “I’m going to get back. I’ll keep you updated of any changes.”

  Cullen’s chest squeezed when Joseph left without a backward glance.

  “I can tell by your face that didn’t go well,” Asa said, putting a hand on Cullen’s shoulder.

  “Never does,” Cullen mumbled. He took a deep breath. “Mind if I go with you to wherever you’re going? Staying here with him refusing to speak to me will drive me crazy.”

  “Yeah. Actually, I could use your opinion on a few things.”

  “Thanks.” Cullen wondered whether or not Joseph would even realize he’d left DC.