Endings and Beginnings (Death and Destruction Book 8)

by Patricia Logan

  Nico nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell him I got home just now.”

  “Yes. Tell him you were released after you passed the stone yourself so you didn’t need surgery after all. Tell Kerr that you want to know what’s happening out at the mine. Tell him you’re back to work.”

  “Kerr will most likely tell you he’ll get back to you and then he’ll do the checks into Flynn’s whereabouts to make sure you are who you say you are,” Stanger said.

  “Yes, he’ll check hospital records and possibly even traffic cams in Flynn’s neighborhood. We’ve rigged those to show Flynn’s Porsche leaving his parking garage and driving to the hospital. The electronic parking pass shows that it was parked there for the last three days. The traffic cams show the Porsche returning to Flynn’s apartment two hours ago,” Diaz said.

  “It sounds like you’ve got it covered,” Nico said.

  “We do. Go ahead and write your email,” SAC Diaz said. Nico did as asked and began typing.

  Been in hospital last 2 days with horrible pain and kidney stone. They did all kinds of tests and drugged me up. Kept me there without way 2 contact. Things on track?

  J.

  Nico sat back and waited. A minute later the email beeped. There was a new message.

  We were about to send out a search party. Everything okay here. Will get back to you.

  T.

  Nico smiled at the bosses. They were right. Kerr had gone off to make his checks. He stared at the computer for several minutes before a new message appeared in email.

  Archer wasn’t happy you were off grid. FR all set to receive shipment. Nothing else to report. Glad to hear you’re well. Archer anxious to meet you. Any intrusions before absence?

  T.

  Nico looked up at SAC Diaz who stood staring at the laptop over his right shoulder. “It looks like they bought my story.”

  Diaz smiled and nodded. “Good. Now, all we have to do is figure out just what it is he’s receiving and where it’s coming from,” she said.

  “It’s probably palladium as we suspected,” Stanger said.

  “What should I tell Kerr?” Nico asked.

  “Tell him you’ve finished re-running system checks on security and you’re ready to meet with Archer as arranged,” Diaz replied. “Then, ask for confirmation and sign off. The less contact you have with someone who knows him, the better.”

  Nico nodded and began typing.

  Finished running security cks. No intrusions. Confirm meet with Archer still on.

  J.

  Nico sat back and waited. A minute later another email came in.

  Meet is still on. 0900 tomorrow. Archer is expecting you.

  T.

  Stanger patted Nico on the back and he grinned up at his boss who nodded.

  “Very good, Devecchio. It looks as if he bought it,” Stanger said.

  “Now, if Archer only does as well,” Nico said under his breath. He stood up.

  “He’ll buy it. Our only concern is why he wants you to come in at all,” SAC Diaz said.

  “You think their security was breached in some way?” Nico asked, looking both the bosses in the eye.

  “It could be. From what we could determine, Kerr and Flynn have been working with Stryker-Dunn for a while and like I said in the briefing, Flynn has always worked remotely. The only reason we can figure he would be asked to meet with Drake Archer is because he’s worried their security was compromised,” Diaz replied.

  “We think that’s why they may have decided they needed Flynn to run constant online security checks after they took over the mine but there’s no way to be sure,” Stanger said.

  Nico thought about that for a minute. Before he could ask anything, SAC Diaz spoke up.

  “Our cyber is quite sure they’ve got it all covered,” she said.

  “Good,” Nico said. He knew he sounded a little unsure.

  Stanger frowned and then pinned Nico with a serious gaze. “If you’re uncertain about this, you need to let me know now, Devecchio.”

  Nico cleared his throat and nodded sharply. “No, sir. I’m ready. Whatever comes along, I’ll deal with it.” I sure as hell hope so.

  ****

  “This is amazing,” Thayne said. They were sitting out on their back deck, looking out at the yard after eating a fantastic Chinese chicken salad he had prepared with Jarrett’s help. He lifted the IPA to his lips and took a sip, letting the strong India Pale Ale slide down the back of his throat. The deep rich flavor and the lemony freshness from the twist his husband always added was one of his favorite adult beverages. The spring weather was warming and as the days grew longer, sitting out on the back deck which had been rebuilt before Jarrett bought the house, was relaxing. They loved to sit outside and with the grass seed they’d spread a few weeks before finally taking root, it was fun literally just watching the grass grow. Every morning new sprouts began coming up and within a couple of weeks, the whole large yard was washed in spring green sprouts.

  “The beer or the company?” Jarrett asked.

  Thayne snorted. “I think you know how much I want you but I was referring to the fact that I am sitting outside with my husband enjoying a beer after a great meal, breathing in the spring air of evening.”

  Jarrett smirked. “Go back to how much ya want me.” He took another sip of his beer.

  Thayne grinned. “Oh, I don’t know. We’re about to go into another dangerous assignment where we could be sent in to either, A, lead TAC teams into an eighteen-story office building with a minimum of three thousand mercenaries and an arsenal, or B, be called on a moment’s notice, to help put down a full scale riot at a supermax prison filled with murderers, rapists, and fiends who’d just as soon skin a cop as spit on one whose hair was on fire.”

  “Wow. That was impressive. Ya said all that with one breath,” Jarrett said.

  Thayne grinned again. “I’m impressive in a lot of ways. I’d like to introduce you to some in the bedroom.” He stood up and held out his hand. “What do you say?”

  “What the hell,” Jarrett said, standing up as he clasped Thayne’s hand. “At least I’ll go to my death with a smile on my damned face.”

  Thayne took his bottle and set them both on the small redwood table that sat between the two Adirondack chairs on the back porch. He pulled Jarrett into his arms and descended on his lips. Jarrett felt solid against him. They’d changed out of their suits and into their sweats as soon as they got home from the office after the briefing. He reached up and slid his fingers into the hair at the back of Jarrett’s head. Since the wedding, he’d let it grow out a little.

  When he’d first met Jarrett, his bright white hair had been shaved to a military buzz cut on the sides and at the back with the top a little longer. He’d encouraged Jarrett to let it grow out and he’d finally relented for a couple of reasons. Though he said it was because Jarrett knew he liked looking at it, Thayne suspected it was because Jarrett liked having it pulled when he gave Thayne head. He couldn’t really care less why. He was just happy he’d given in and let it grow. He thought Jarrett’s hair was indescribably beautiful.

  Jarrett’s lips met his own, filled with desire to be caressed. Thayne knew his husband loved kissing him as much as he loved kissing Jarrett. There were times before or after lovemaking that they lay in bed or stretched out on the couch, making out like a couple of teenagers. Thayne really couldn’t describe what it felt like to be held in Jarrett’s arms except to say that it was home to him and he knew his husband felt the same about him. If he could have imagined this happiness two years ago when he’d first met Jarrett, he would have thought it was a dream. No one could ever be as content as Thayne was. Sometimes he felt like his heart would explode from the love he felt for Jarrett and after everything they’d been through together, he couldn’t imagine living without him.

  Jarrett tasted of beer and just a hint of the sweet spiciness of the salad they’d eaten for dinner. Thayne needed to steer him toward the bedroom as soon as possible. Ther
e were a lot of things he wanted to do to Jarrett that their neighbors on either side of the house might find objectionable. He pulled back and rested his forehead against Jarrett’s, looking into the ice-blue eyes he’d fallen in love with. They were a mirror to Jarrett’s soul and sometimes Thayne felt like he could look down deep inside it.

  “Come on.” Thayne straightened and took Jarrett’s hand, leading him back into the house through French doors, to their bedroom. Once inside, he began to strip, watching as Jarrett discarded his own clothes. His husband was a beautiful man. Approaching thirty-nine, Jarrett looked better today than he had when Thayne had first met him. His body was muscled and toned from the runs and workouts they did every day together. They made a point to stay in shape for each other. The way Thayne’s body felt as Jarrett touched him in the sheets was magic. The feel of Jarrett pressed naked and willing against him, was something Thayne couldn’t get enough of. They were still young men with strong sexual appetites.

  When they were naked, Thayne reached out and took Jarrett’s hand. He guided his new husband to their bed, falling over his body as he sank back onto the soft butter yellow sheets. They came together, strong and solid, and ready for whatever came next. It promised to be hot.

  Thayne reached between them as his mouth fell on Jarrett’s. He found his erect cock and curled his fingers around it. It was already leaking precome and Thayne had the overwhelming urge to take it into his mouth. He kissed Jarrett for all he was worth as Jarrett returned his caress taking hold of Thayne’s cock. When Jarrett suddenly pulled his mouth away, he spoke against Thayne’s lips in a graveled voice.

  “I want you in my mouth, darlin’. Move off me and let me take you.” He pinned Thayne with a steamy gaze.

  God yes.

  Since Thayne had the same idea, he did as asked and lifted off his husband, reaching into the drawer to pull out a bottle of lube. He flipped the cap open as he turned, swinging a leg over Jarrett and moving up the bed. He turned 180 degrees and straddled Jarrett’s face. Jarrett grabbed his ass, pulling him close. Thayne leaned down until his face hovered over Jarrett’s groin. A second later, he swooped down onto his husband’s throbbing dick. Jarrett gasped as Thayne ran his wet tongue up his cock. It bounced as Thayne went down on him. He went for the shimmering bead of precome that leaked from his slit, getting his first taste of him.

  Jarrett instantly took Thayne’s cock into his mouth, making him groan in pleasure. Jarrett’s tongue swirling around the head of his own cock, made Thayne lose all sense of reality. He enjoyed the sensation of Jarrett taking the head of his cock into his mouth, sucking him softly, just enough so that he couldn’t remember his own name. He came to his senses long enough to remember that he still held the bottle of lube. Thayne fumbled with it for a second and managed to squirt some onto his fingers, all the while concentrating on sucking Jarrett. Thayne was in heaven, but he applied himself on the task at hand.

  He brushed two fingers over Jarrett’s perineum, pressing against his puckered entrance. Thayne sucked Jarrett’s thick cock down the back of his throat just as he breached him. Jarrett cried out, muffled by the cock he was sucking. Thayne plunged his fingers in deeper and Jarrett shuddered, bucking his hips as he forced more of his cock down Thayne’s throat. Thayne relaxed his throat as Jarrett’s cock invaded it.

  Thayne concentrated on giving Jarrett the best blowjob of his life, sucking and swallowing the precome which now leaked onto his own tongue in a steady stream. All the while, Jarrett sucked him off. Thayne’s whole body shook with lust as shockwaves rocketed through him. He knew he was about to release inside Jarrett’s hot wet mouth. He looked down to see Jarrett’s lips clamped around his cock. It appeared massive in his mouth. Thayne fucked into it and Jarrett grabbed his ass with both hands and held him, letting—no, relishing the way Thayne face fucked him, harder and harder.

  Thayne plunged past Jarrett’s tight barrier with two fingers, making him groan out his pleasure in a sharp cry around the thick dick in his mouth. Thayne had never felt so much desire for anyone in his life. He sucked harder, plunged his fingers deeper and twisted them, searching for Jarrett’s prostate. He craved a mouthful from Jarrett and when his fingertips finally brushed over his prostate, that’s exactly what he got. Jarrett shouted around his cock and Thayne sucked hard, plunging them both into climax at the same time.

  Jarrett bucked one last time and then unleashed his load, flooding Thayne’s mouth. The taste of the come that jetted onto his tongue set Thayne off. He slammed into Jarrett’s willing mouth several times, finally shooting his own load. Jarrett’s throat muscles contracted around his dick and Thayne made a muffled scream around his husband’s cock. Climaxing together like this wasn’t new to them but the sixty-nine was something they didn’t do often. The sheer joy of being sucked off while swallowing Jarrett’s thick spunk was something he wanted to savor over and over like a delicious dessert after their meal. Jarrett tasted amazing and he couldn’t get enough of him. Every time he emptied his load in Thayne’s mouth, he savored every drop.

  Fuck me.

  Thayne pulled off Jarrett’s dick with a pop as Jarrett let his go. He got off Jarrett and flopped back on his bed to lie on his back. Jarrett lay beside him panting as he looked at the ceiling. His body was covered with a light sheen of perspiration and as Thayne turned his head to look at him, Jarrett rolled to his side toward him, propping his head in one hand. He reached for him, taking his hip in one large hand and smiled.

  “That was…”

  “Yeah,” Thayne agreed. “It was.” He rolled close and leaned in, meeting Jarrett’s lips with his own. They kissed, long and languid, breathing in the scent of sex which clung to them. He was in love with this man, so in love. Thayne counted himself as the luckiest man alive. Having Jarrett Evans in his bed every night, sharing everything with him, was a gift he couldn’t believe he could have. Someone up above loved him. Jarrett broke the kiss and reached up, running his fingers through Thayne’s hair.

  “I love ya, Thayne.”

  He met Thayne’s gaze and even if he hadn’t said it, Thayne would have been able to read it all over his face. He smiled back at him.

  “I love you too.” He paused, closing his eyes, savoring the way Jarrett’s fingers felt in his hair. When he opened them again, Jarrett was still watching him. He smirked.

  “We got some dishes to do, darlin’.”

  Thayne sighed as Jarrett dropped his hand. “Yeah, better get to it. I think we’re gonna be busy for the next few days.”

  “Anything’s better than goddamned paperwork, even SCIF duty.” Jarrett sat up as Thayne grinned.

  He sat up too, admiring Jarrett’s ass as he rose from the bed. Watching him stoop to pick up the clothes he’d tossed on the floor sure was fun. He sat up and threw his own legs over the side of the bed and stood up, walking over to his own clothes. The dishes awaited them. After that, who knew? Maybe he’d get lucky again. He stared at Jarrett, stretching his long arms as he put on his T-shirt. Jarrett’s hairy armpits and muscles rippling over his chest and abs were so fucking sexy. Thayne smiled to himself. Yeah, he was definitely getting lucky after the dishes.

  Chapter Six

  Mac found himself glancing at the clock over and over as he sat at the small table in his kitchenette while he went over the background the FBI had come up with for his undercover persona. He knew Nico was at the federal building emailing Titus Kerr right now. Until he heard back from him, he knew he’d be nervous about how all that went. Josiah Flynn had been missing for over twenty-four hours and out of touch with anyone. That would automatically cause Drake Archer suspicion. If Nico couldn’t make Kerr and Archer believe the cover the FBI had concocted for him, he could be killed the minute he walked into Stryker-Dunn’s headquarters. At the very least, he’d be detained and tortured until he confessed who he was. Mac had no idea whether Nico could undergo torture. He’d been there and done it and still bore the scars. The whole situation made Mac nervous for Nico.


  Mac really liked Nico. He’d been dying to ask him out for months before Nico surprised him in the garage, but he could just never find a time that they were alone long enough to do it. Without having worked a case together since Jarrett and Thayne’s wedding and the bomber case, he had only seen Nico at the weekly poker games at Jarrett and Thayne’s new house. It wasn’t like he could get Nico alone long enough to talk to him privately and even though he’d had his number, Mac hadn’t called because he couldn’t just ask him out over the phone. He’d had no idea whether Nico was gay. He was really good at playing straight and Mac’s gaydar was out of practice. Before taking Nico to bed the night before, Mac hadn’t had a man in his bed for a couple of years, since Kandahar actually. That encounter hadn’t ended well and he’d sworn off hookups since then so when Nico came onto him in the garage, he couldn’t have been more pleased.

  He shook himself out of his thoughts and went back to reading the history of Michael Black, the alter ego the FBI had given him for this assignment. Black had joined the Army at age eighteen after graduating Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, California. He’d been on the high school football team, playing left tackle as an offensive lineman, and had been quite good according to the file.

  Oddly enough, that part read very close to Mac’s real life. He’d been so huge in high school, his football coach had explained that as long as he did his job on the field, he would be scholarship material and would be scouted by the NFL. Both of those things came true. Mac was smart, an A student, and was scouted by the NFL. He’d been offered a football scholarship but financially, he’d had to support his mom. Mac had also been in the ROTC and the day he’d met a veteran Green Beret, he’d made up his mind to take a different career path. He knew exactly what he wanted to do so he’d joined the Army and excelled.