by Faith Gibson
“Trevor calls us the badass club,” Jasper said with a sad smile. “Do you need a pain pill?” he asked Matt.
“That would make my morning almost as stellar as bacon and coffee. The badass club… yep, I can see it.”
Jasper left the room and came back with the bottle. He took a pill out, poured a glass of water, and handed both to Matt.
“You’re going to make Trevor a wonderful wife someday,” Matt grinned as he tossed back the medicine.
“And you’re going to get your ass handed to you when you’re well,” Jasper returned, messing up his hair.
Frey loved watching the banter between the two of them. Matthew hadn’t mentioned any friends all week, and with Trevor gone, Jasper could use a friend as well. Frey didn’t know exactly how old Jasper was or what he’d endured in all his years. He had come from the west coast where Sin had warned Rafael about the Goyle. So far, he had fit in well with the Clan on the east coast, and Frey enjoyed being around him.
“You don’t have to cook, Jas.” Frey appreciated him just being there and hanging out with Matthew all day.
“It’s no problem. Abbi has to work, and I figured your breakfast normally consists of a protein shake.”
“You figured correctly. Between you, Abbi, and Priscilla, I’m going to have to work out more than usual just to keep my girlish figure.” Frey patted his rock hard abs, garnering a laugh from Matt. He pulled four plates out of the cabinet and placed them on the table. Right as Abbi came down the steps and entered the kitchen, Jasper was spooning eggs onto the plates.
“Perfect timing.” Jasper smiled and winked at Abbi. Like Frey, Jasper had listened with his shifter hearing as Abbi moved about upstairs and knew when she was close to ready.
“Jasper, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble, but thank you. Matty, how are you this morning?” She didn’t speak to Frey, but the smile she gave him said it all.
“I’ll be better when this bacon gets in my stomach.” Matt stuck a slice in his mouth and bit, chewing and biting until it was gone. He totally ignored the eggs and toast until his bacon was demolished.
They ate their breakfast, listening to Jasper and Matt comparing notes from the overnight video fest. Abbi didn’t add to the conversation, but she did smile at her brother’s antics. Frey mostly laughed. When they’d all finished eating, Abbi stood and started clearing the table, but Jasper stopped her. “I got this. You get to work.”
“Thank you, Jasper.” Abbi washed and dried her hands before going to the living room for her things. Frey followed her, and when she picked up her coat, he took it from her, holding it for her to put on. She gave him a funny look, then turned around and slid her arms in. He didn’t miss the small sigh she let out.
Abbi picked up her purse and worn out briefcase before returning to the kitchen. She told her brother, “Matt, try to behave. I’ll see you tonight.” She kissed him on the cheek and turned to Frey. “Ready.”
“Matt, I’ll get your homework and bring it when we come home. Jas, Rafael and a couple of the guys might come by later to lay out a project I asked him to work on. Other than that, it should be quiet.”
“Ten-four, Kemosabe,” Matt said, stuffing the last piece of bacon in his mouth.
Jasper shook his head, grinning. “Have a good day, Brother.”
Frey laughed and shook his head at the teen. He placed his hand on Abbi’s back, directing her to the door. When they got outside, rain was sprinkling down. “Stay inside and I’ll get the truck.” He never thought about needing a covered walkway until now. When he had Rafael build his house, he forewent the attached garage knowing he’d need something much bigger for the helicopters. The way the house was situated, he could add a garage on the west side, but that’s where Abbi’s studio was going. His best option was a covered walkway leading from the side door to the garage he already had. He’d call Rafe and have him add that to his project list.
Frey pulled as close to the house as possible, and leaned over and opened the passenger door. Abbi didn’t hurry. Obviously the light rain didn’t bother her. “You didn’t have to do that, I’m used to getting wet.”
“But I saw a garage at your house. Is it full of junk or something?”
“No, it’s full of Troy’s truck. I have an umbrella in my car.” Abbi settled in and buckled up. Frey wanted to hit something, namely Troy fucking Quinn. How could the bastard be so callous as to have his wife park outside? He calmed himself and reached for her hand. They had done well at breakfast, not letting on that anything was going on between them. Frey knew Jasper could give two shits about it. If truth be told, he probably heard them in the gym the night before. Matthew wanted his sister happy, so he would probably jump for joy. When they got to the end of the driveway, Frey put the truck in park.
“I can’t wait any longer. I need to kiss you.” He didn’t pull her to him. If he did, they’d end up naked within seconds. When Abbi nodded, he leaned over and pressed their lips together. He kept it short and sweet. “Thank you. I knew I couldn’t do that when I drop you off, but I also knew I couldn’t go all day without it either.” He put the truck in gear and pulled out onto the road. Frey immediately checked his rearview mirror for signs of Troy. They arrived at the school without incident.
Frey parked under the overhang where the parents let the kids out. “Have a good day, Sweetheart. If you need anything, you call me.”
“I will. See you later.” She smiled and grabbed her stuff. Frey didn’t move until she was safely inside the school. He parked at the end of the parking lot and got comfortable.
Dane pulled into the precinct parking lot directly behind Kaya. Now that she was pregnant, Rafael was even more protective of his Queen. Like Rafael even had to worry about her with Dane around. He and Kaya had been working together a long time, and he loved his Chief, now Queen, in a sisterly kind of way. He wished Jasper could be there, but Dante was right; they had to investigate Craig’s murder by the books.
Today could go down one of two ways: one, with Troy Quinn not showing up for work because he was hiding and felt as though he was going to be arrested for assault; or two, with him showing up thinking the kid didn’t rat him out then totally losing his shit when served divorce papers. Dane wasn’t sure which one he was hoping for. If Troy didn’t show up, they would have a harder time finding him and keeping Abbi and Matt safe. If he did show up, they could follow him, but he would be even more hell bent on getting to Abbi. It really was a no-win situation.
They walked inside together, Kaya greeting everyone as she normally did. “Good morning, Kim. We are going to have our brief a little early. If you can, hold all calls until we’re finished.”
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” the dispatcher asked, partially out of concern but mostly out of pure nosiness.
“I’ll fill you in after the brief.” Kaya didn’t give the younger woman time for any more questions.
As they walked through the department, Dane told everyone to meet in the conference room immediately. He and Kaya both poured a cup of coffee before continuing on. Kaya may be pregnant, but she still had to have her morning java.
Normally Kaya went to the podium alone, but today she had asked that Dane stand with her. He was, after all, going to take over as soon as she had her belongings packed. When everyone was in the room, Kaya began. “Good morning. I wanted to meet with you first thing because I have an announcement. Effective today, I will be retiring.” There was a lot of chatter and questions being thrown at her all at once. She held up her hand to quieten them. “When I made the decision to leave the force, I didn’t have to think hard on who I wanted as my replacement. Dane Abbott has been by my side and had my back for many years now. He knows the department, all of you, as well as the procedures, probably better than I do. I nominated Dane, and the City Council has approved my recommendation. As of the end of today, Dane is your new Chief of Police.” There was more murmuring, but mostly congratulations being tossed Dane’s way.
“Don’t you mean you need two detectives? If the fairy’s in jail, we’ll be short another one,” Grady spoke up from the back of the room.
Dane was ready to throttle him. “For those of you who haven’t heard, Detective Jenkins is on administrative leave pending the investigation into the death of an acquaintance of his. We have the utmost respect for Jasper. The evidence is circumstantial at best, and I’m going to find the real killer.”
“Acquaintance my ass. It was his fag lover,” Grady muttered. Dane’s shifter hearing allowed him to understand it with no problem.
“Let me make one thing clear,” Dane paused, making sure he had Grady’s attention. “I cannot tell you how to think, but I can tell you how I expect you to act. You may have bigoted views regarding race, religion, and sexual orientation, but I expect you to keep those views to yourself. While you are wearing the badge that is pinned to your uniform, you will be respectful of the people you work with, as well as any civilians you come in contact with. If you cannot or will not do that, remove your badge and bring it to me. Now.” Dane continued staring at Grady. Eventually everyone in the room had turned his way, curious as to whom Dane was so intent on. The man crossed his arms over his chest and leered at Dane, but he didn’t bring his badge to the front of the room.
Kaya brought everyone’s attention back to her. “I will be here today cleaning out my office. If you have any questions, come see me. I don’t want to take any more of the city’s time by standing up here chatting, but I do want to say this: it was always my dream to be on the force. Ever since my father was taken out in the line of duty when I was little, I knew I wanted to serve. I never dreamed I would be promoted to Chief, but when that day came, I was never more proud. I thank each and every one of you for the job you do, that you will continue to do for Dane. He has your assignments, so let’s get to work.”
Normally Kaya would proceed to her office, but Rafael had made it clear she was not to be alone. She would wait until Dane had passed out the day’s work before leaving the conference room. The only place she was allowed alone was the restroom, and even then, Dane was to accompany her and wait outside the door. Kaya felt he was being overprotective. Maybe he was, but Dane could see where he was coming from.
Dane called the teams up, leaving Grady and his partner until last. The foul mouthed asshole had been partnered with a rookie a couple of months ago. Dane was going to speak with Kaya about putting the kid with someone less abrasive. Someone who would teach him the right way to be a cop. “Grady, I want you and Chris manning the phones today.”
Chris smiled at Dane, “You got it, Chief. Congratulations, by the way.” The kid shook Dane’s hand, genuine in his sentiment. Grady didn’t say a word. He turned on his heel and stalked from the room. “He’s not very nice,” Chris said to Grady’s back.
“No, I’m afraid he isn’t.” Dane patted the young man on his shoulder. As soon as the room was empty, Dane asked Kaya, “How do you feel about Chris getting a new partner?”
“I think that’s an excellent idea. The kid has the right attitude and was top in his class. I’d hate to have his enthusiasm tarnished by that dickhead.”
Dane laughed, “I like when you resort to Chief mode.”
Kaya sighed, “Yeah, well, I guess those days are over. I think being Queen is going to be a lot tougher.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Trevor was miserable. Even though he was enjoying spending time with his brother, he was no closer to an answer than he’d been when he left New Atlanta. Dante had texted, asking him to call. He hated not responding to his boss. What if something had happened and he needed Trevor back at the morgue? Surely if Dante really needed him, he’d just say so.
Travis had been really good about giving Trevor his space, but it was evident in the way he continuously peered at him that he was worried. Trevor had always been the goofy one, the one who cut up and made jokes, keeping the seriousness out of life. But Travis was the only one who knew it was Trevor’s defense mechanism. Travis knew him better than anyone, and he still didn’t know the true depth of his brother’s insecurities. It had only been a day since Trevor left home, but he still hadn’t told Travis why he’d run.
Travis had wanted to take off work to spend the day with Trevor, but he convinced his brother it wasn’t necessary. He wanted the time alone to think, to try and figure out what was going on. Jasper had been honest from the beginning about Craig, about having a relationship with the firefighter, and how Craig had broken things off abruptly. Jasper also told him he held no feelings for his ex. Then why were they together and why was Jasper in his arms? Who knew Trevor and Jasper had spent time together? Craig had been looking in the window at the gym. Had he seen them talking to one another? If so, that’s all they were doing, talking.
Whoever it was had obviously followed Trevor, because they knew where he lived, and they had his cell phone number. Whoever it was that sent the text wanted Trevor to see Jasper and Craig together. Was it Craig? Did he want Trevor to know he was in town and there was no way he had a shot at Jasper? Too many fucking questions, and not enough answers. Dante told him he could explain some things. Maybe he would call Dante, but not yet.
Travis’ dog, Molly, whined at Trevor’s feet. “Hey, girl, do you want to go out?” Molly wagged her butt and yipped at him. Trevor always wanted a dog, but with the long hours he put in at the morgue, he didn’t feel it would be fair to an animal. Travis’ house was in a small rural neighborhood that was walking distance to the park. He would take Molly for a walk and use the time to try and clear his head. He hooked the leash to her collar and headed outside.
Trevor and Molly walked down the path that bordered the park. Trevor had run in this same park on more than one occasion when he visited Travis. The path was used by runners, bicyclists, people walking their dogs, and couples strolling hand in hand. Trevor always found himself a bit envious of those couples. Even though gay couples had full rights in the eyes of the law, there were still those bigoted people in the world that thought only their kind of love was right. Trevor didn’t understand how love could be wrong. He had never been a religious person, but if the god those people worshiped said love was wrong, Trevor didn’t want that kind of god in his life.
The park was a beautiful place, lush with green everywhere you looked in the summer. It had enough evergreens that it wasn’t completely barren in the colder months. Molly stopped to smell everywhere other dogs had been, scratching and peeing on top of other pee to mark her spot. Trevor didn’t mind, though. He enjoyed his time with the black fur ball. They had just stepped back onto the path when Molly started growling. The hair on her back bristled, and she leaned into Trevor’s leg. He looked around to find the object of her attention. There were no other dogs in the area, only people. He pulled gently on her leash, “Come on, girl,” but she wasn’t having it. She began barking and growling, her head now pointing toward the trees off to the side of the park. Trevor turned that way to see a large man staring at him. Molly tugged on her leash, but Trevor kept a tight rein on her. “Molly, hush.” When Trevor glanced back up the man was gone.
Trevor investigated the area, but whoever it was had vanished. How could that be? He’d only taken his eyes off the guy long enough to look at the dog. Molly stopped being vocal as if nothing had spooked her. Had Trevor imagined it? Were the events of the past few days wearing on his nerves so much that he was now hallucinating? Why would someone be in the woods where there was no path to walk on? If Molly hadn’t caused such a fuss, he would think he was seeing things. When the dog was content to continue on, Trevor allowed her to lead the way. He looked backwards several times, feeling as if someone was watching him. If the text and random photos were any indication, someone had been watching him.
No longer feeling safe, Trevor was ready to head back to New Atlanta and talk to Dante. Hopefully he and his badass club could protect Trevor.
Frey was getting anxious. He was ready for Abbi to be finished with school so he could take her to the community center. They had discussed his presence in her classroom and decided it was best if he waited in the empty room next door. A man his size could intimidate adults, not to mention small children. It was a little past three, and Dane had called letting him know Quinn didn’t show up for work. He had called the dispatcher, claiming to be sick. Protocol dictated he call his immediate supervisor. When he didn’t do that, Dane and Kaya knew he didn’t plan on coming back to work.
What was going through the human’s mind? How did he plan on getting out of the mess he was in? Victoria had been waiting at the precinct, but since Troy hadn’t shown, she was going to have one of his fellow officers serve him with the divorce papers. Normally, she used a specific civil servant unit for that, but they felt Troy would be more inclined to talk to one of his officer buddies. Soon, Troy would find out his marriage was over. With him assaulting Matthew the way he had, Quinn had to know it was over anyway.
Abbi texted Frey when she was on her way outside. He parked next to the walkway and opened the door for her. She climbed in, smiling. “Hey,” she said breathily. Good gods, she couldn’t do that to him.
“Hey yourself,” he said as he pulled the truck away from the building. “How was your day?”
“Good for the most part. I’m just worried about Amelia. You remember her, the little girl from the sporting goods store?”
Of course he remembered. The little girl stole his heart when she told Abbi she loved her. He had the feeling she didn’t feel the same way about her mother. “Sure, cute little girl.”
-->
