Fire and Agate

by Andrew Grey

  “Have you ever noticed anything?”

  “Other than the guy is paranoid and a little weird, no. I know this isn’t much to go on.” Chris wished he knew what was in those boxes. Knowing in his gut that something was wrong and being able to prove it were two different things. The police would respond to a citizen call like that, but as an officer, he was held to a higher standard.

  He left the bathroom and returned to the landing window as they came out again. One of the men tripped over something, the box he was carrying flipping down the sidewalk. It wasn’t light enough for Chris to see much clearly, but the contents seemed to have spilled out on the walk.

  “It’s pot,” he whispered to Briggs as the cloyingly sweet scent reached his nose.

  “Sweep that up fast,” someone said. “And get it out of here right now.” The voice was getting desperate.

  “I’ll call the Carlisle PD. You stay inside and keep Pavle away. Pretend you’re not home unless they specifically knock on your door. I’ll meet them there.” Briggs hung up, and Chris stood far enough back that he couldn’t be seen but could still see what was going on.

  Minutes later, lights flashed outside, and then there was the dull thud of a door being kicked in and officers swarmed out of the house and garage into the backyard. His neighbor and another man fell to the ground as police covered the area, taking them into custody.

  Chris went back to his room, where Pavle stood looking out the window, shaking. Chris hoped this wasn’t triggering a flashback.

  “What happening?” Pavle asked as Chris ushered him back, holding him for a few seconds for reassurance. “I okay,” he said breathily, and Chris got the idea that Pavle was trying to be strong and cover up at least some of his reaction, but the stress still carried through in Pavle’s hold on him.

  “They are arresting him for drugs, I think.” Chris slowly closed the window. “Go on back to sleep. I need to make sure everything is safe and secure.” Chris put on his robe and met Briggs at his back door, letting him and Red inside.

  “Is everything under control?” Chris asked.

  “Yes. Are you guys okay?” Red asked before Briggs could respond.

  Chris nodded. “I smelled the drugs when one of the packages spilled open. They’re really strong, judging by the scent.”

  “Well, there’s even more in the basement. It seems there was a regular distribution center going on. It looks like it was mainly out of the garage and they moved large quantities. The basement is specially ventilated up through one of the chimneys, so any scent was kept away from ground level. I think it was a newer operation, but they must have gotten scared and decided to move on,” Red explained, looking out the back.

  “I had a talk with my relatively new neighbor a few days ago when he seemed curious about what was going on in my yard, and I told him he needed to mind his own business or I’d take an interest in his. I think that spooked him. He hasn’t been living there long, and I don’t think he realized I was a deputy until that day.”

  Briggs stepped forward. “What did he ask you?”

  “He heard Pavle and started asking if he was Russian. It really upset Pavle, and pissed me off. So I poked my head over the fence and explained that I was a county deputy. I had no idea anything was actually going on over there. He kept to himself, and other than passing him on the sidewalk a few times, I never gave him a second thought. I had him over just after he moved in to be neighborly. Why?”

  “Did he see Pavle?” Briggs asked.

  “Not that I know of, though he must have heard us out in the yard. There isn’t exactly privacy back here. The fence keeps him from looking in, but he can probably see from up there.” Chris opened the back closet and extracted the files from his motion cameras. “I don’t know how much of his yard is going to be visible, but these are the tapes of the back. It’s dark, and I don’t know what there is on it, but you’re welcome to it.” Briggs passed it to Red, who went out the back.

  “You don’t think he was interested in Pavle?” Briggs pressed.

  “No. I think he heard him speaking another language and was curious. He peered over into the yard, but there was nothing in particular to see—I’d sent Pavle inside.” Chris paused. “You don’t think my neighbor…?”

  “No. I don’t. He’s a dealer or working for an organization that we’ll get to the bottom of, but I don’t think he has anything to do with Pavle. But I want to be sure. There has been a lot of activity around him and you lately.” Briggs clapped him on the shoulder. “You have to know that you’re going to get some shit from the guys for having a drug house next to you and not knowing it.”

  “Yeah, I figured. Even if I was the one to finger them.” Chris rolled his eyes.

  “You were on the ball and that’s good, but no one can know it was you who broke this up. You aren’t in town. Just keep your head low and watch Pavle. Something is going to happen—I can feel it in my bones. They’ll keep looking for him, and when they get one clue, all hell will break loose.” Briggs wiped his eyes. “You get back to bed, and I’ll come over to talk to both you and Pavle in the morning to see if there is anything more he can tell us. I also am expecting an update from our FBI friends, and I’ll let you know what’s happening on that front too.” He said good night and left the house, going through the garden and then out the back gate, probably to join the others.

  Chris locked up the house and checked the activity next door before returning to his room. Pavle was still awake when Chris got into bed.

  “I scared,” Pavle whispered.

  “I know.” Chris put an arm around Pavle and whispered for him to roll over. Then Chris gently rubbed his back until Pavle’s breathing evened out and he fell to sleep. Chris, on the other hand, heard everything outside for hours and didn’t get to sleep until the activity quieted down just before dawn.

  BRIGGS SHOWED up just about the time Chris came down to make breakfast. He sipped his second cup of coffee, trying to wake up after just a few hours’ sleep.

  “We have a problem,” Briggs said.

  “What?”

  “Well, the guy next door has been telling everyone that his neighbor is a deputy and that he had something against him and that’s why he arranged all this.” Briggs sat down. “The sheriff knows you’ve been watching Pavle, but it’s becoming clear that you’re back in town, so he says you need to return to at least partial regular duty.” Briggs was clearly as unhappy as Chris was.

  “Where I go?” Pavle asked, holding Chris’s arm.

  “You—”

  “Nanna’s,” Chris answered. “She needs some help during the day, and the two of you can keep each other company.” Chris looked at Briggs, hoping he kept his mouth closed. He wasn’t going to have Pavle shipped off to someone else and passed around like some hot potato.

  Pavle grinned. “That good idea. She and I cook, and we talk.” He practically bounced with excitement. Of course, Chris wondered just what the two of them would get up to, but what the heck.

  “Your grandmother’s?” Briggs asked.

  “No one is going to look for him at her house, and she and Pavle get along. Also, she can get in touch with either of us on a moment’s notice. I think it’s important that Pavle not feel like he’s being held prisoner again.”

  “But your grandmother?” Briggs asked, as skeptical as Chris had ever seen him. “What is she going to do when people barge into her home? Talk them to death, make them cookies?”

  Chris laughed, hard. “What she’ll do is blow their brains out as soon as they come through the door. Nanna is a crack shot and spent thirty years shooting competitively. You know—skeet, clay pigeons. Nanna can shoot one hundred out of one hundred, ten times in a row. A thousand dead-on shots. She and Poppy used to shoot together competitively. They used to have cases full of ribbons and trophies. She packed them up after Poppy died, but there’s no one I’d trust Pavle with more.”

  Briggs’s mouth hung open. “You have to be kidding. Shooting ske
et is different from shooting a person.”

  “You don’t know my nanna. She escaped from behind the iron curtain, with guts and determination. You think she’d let anything or anyone hurt her family? She considers Pavle family, and Pavle likes her and knows her.” Chris could already feel Pavle’s nails digging into his arm.

  “You’re serious?” Briggs said.

  “Yes. We’ll just need to make sure it’s done in a way so he isn’t seen.” Chris sighed. “There’s more to this than just safety. Pavle needs to be comfortable.” He turned to Pavle.

  Pavle nodded.

  “I don’t think—” Briggs stopped when he saw the wall of “no” in front of him.

  Chris stepped closer to Briggs. “It’s time someone asked Pavle what he wanted. It’s his safety and his decision. So if he wants to go to Nanna’s while I’m at work, then that’s fine. She could use a little help, and they speak the same language. If you want to have someone stop by occasionally to check on them, you can, and I will call throughout the day. But I think he needs to be with someone he’s comfortable with.”

  Pavle’s grip on his arm lessened.

  Briggs shook his head slowly. “I think you’re crazy, but I can’t force him to go where he doesn’t want to.”

  “I stay with Nanna,” Pavle said.

  “I’ll take him over on my way to work and pick him up after my shift.” This whole thing was getting complicated, but Chris would do whatever was necessary to help keep Pavle safe.

  “All right,” Briggs said. “I’ll ask Pierre to stop by on a regular basis to check on them, but I don’t want a parade of people going in and out. That will only draw attention. Pavle, you need to stay at Nanna’s and not go out.”

  “Not even in sun?” Pavle asked.

  “Stay in the backyard,” Chris clarified. “You can go outside, just don’t leave the yard. This is to keep you safe. It shouldn’t be a problem, because as long as they don’t know where you are, you’ll be just fine. Okay?”

  Pavle digested the information and then agreed.

  “This isn’t ideal, but what choice do I have?” Briggs asked.

  “Not much.” Chris smiled, and Pavle let go of Chris and left the room. “Pavle was in a prison of someone else’s making for years. You know that. We can’t put him in another one, even for his safety.”

  Briggs didn’t argue, but he did widen his eyes. “You really understand him.”

  Chris hmphed. “Sometimes I think I do, and then Pavle surprises me.” He smiled. “He isn’t helpless, Briggs. Pavle is strong and knows what he wants. It’s taken me some time to realize that.”

  “But if anything happens to him….”

  Chris was well aware of what would occur if anything were to happen to Pavle. It was likely their case would fall apart. But even more, it was doubtful Chris’s heart would ever recover from the loss. “Then we need to make sure nothing does, and the best way to do that is by doing our jobs and finding whoever is behind this.” Defense was only going to get them so far.

  “I can’t argue with your logic.” Briggs stood and turned to leave. “I’ll tell the sheriff that you’ll be in tomorrow for your shift. See you then.” Briggs exited the way he came, and Chris went to find Pavle.

  “I really stay with Nanna?” Pavle asked.

  “Only during the day. I’ll pick you up on my way home from work, and you’ll be here with me,” Chris confirmed. “I’m not asking you to leave, and on Sunday I’ll take you to church like I promised.” Chris had no intention of letting Pavle go unless he asked to leave. That was a different matter, and if Pavle wanted to go, he was free to do so at any time. But until he asked, Chris would fight to protect him physically, as well as his right to make his own decisions.

  “But for how long I stay with you?” Pavle asked.

  “As long as you want.” Chris would give Pavle a home. “And just so you know, that is not conditional on you sharing my bed… or anything else.” He had to make that clear. “I love you, Pavle. I do.” He couldn’t stop the words from coming forward. “You have worked your way into my heart, and that’s all there is to it. But I don’t want you to think that you have to sleep with me or… well… anything else. I don’t want you to think I’m like the men who hurt you.”

  Pavle rolled his eyes like he had the night before. “I no think that. You kind and strong. You good man—they not.” He stepped closer and raised up on his toes to kiss him gently. “I love you too. I think.”

  “You think?” Chris chuckled because sometimes Pavle was too cute for words.

  “I no know what love like. I love Mama and Papa, but I never know this kind of love.” Pavle put his hand over Chris’s heart.

  Chris looked into Pavle’s eyes without thinking about it. “You make me want to spend time with you and be with you.” He swallowed. “You warm my heart and make my life a little brighter even on the coldest day.”

  Pavle’s lips parted. “I do that?” he whispered.

  “Yes. And loving someone means you want to protect and care for them for as long as they’ll let you.” Chris smoothed his hands over Pavle’s stubble-rough cheeks. “At first I thought it was some police instinct to protect you, but it’s more than that. So very much more.”

  Pavle blinked slowly. “You….” He turned to glance behind him. “This how feel for me?”

  “Yes.” A stab of worry raced through Chris. He’d spilled his guts, confessing how he felt, and Pavle didn’t believe him. Or maybe he didn’t feel the same way. Chris probably should have kept his mouth shut. He’d been worried about pushing Pavle, and maybe that’s what he’d just done. It was too late to take anything back now that he’d laid it all out.

  “Oh. That very nice.” Pavle smiled. “I like you think that. Make me safe, I like that. I want this to be home, right here.” He leaned closer. “I want you be home. Do I say right?” He grinned.

  “You said it right. But why do you want this to be your home?” Chris asked.

  “Because you here,” Pavle answered, and Chris was more than happy with that. “You make happy and smile… much. I want help you too, make you smile.”

  “You already do that,” Chris whispered, standing still, not wanting to move in case he broke the spell between them. Slowly Chris leaned forward, and Pavle did the same. Their arms slid around each other, and Pavle kissed him. This time it wasn’t gentle, but harder, insistent. He moaned softly, and suddenly Chris was back in the interview room at the courthouse, those stories Pavle had told ringing in his head. He shivered and pushed the images and anger that threatened back down. He already knew how things were before, and this was nothing like that. Chris tenderly ran his fingers through Pavle’s hair, stroking his scalp.

  “Why you stop?” Pavle asked.

  Chris blinked and realized he was just standing still. “I worry sometimes. That’s why I have to go slow. I don’t want you to think of me the way… like the others.”

  “You not. I not.” Pavle stilled as well. “Do you think me… shame? That I no all together?” He blinked and bit his lower lip.

  “No. I don’t think you’re broken. I think you’re strong and that you didn’t break. You never gave up.” Chris clenched his lips as hurt and pain washed off Pavle and over Chris like a wave. For a second, he could feel everything that Pavle had gone through and survived. It was like something clicked inside his head and he understood. It was some kind of momentary spiritual connection. “You are not broken.” Though if Chris were honest, he wondered if the same experience wouldn’t have broken him.

  Pavle smiled a little, releasing his tortured lip, and Chris kissed it, glossing his tongue along to soothe it before kissing him harder once again. Pavle pressed to him, wriggling and shifting his weight as though he couldn’t get close enough.

  “Sweetheart, are you sure?” Chris asked, and when Pavle nodded, Chris swept him off his feet and carried him through the house.

  “Chris, I no baby,” Pavle said through laughter. “You no cave
man.”

  When Chris set Pavle on his feet, he hit the stairs and scampered up. Chris hurried after him, laughing too hard to really go very fast. It had been a long time since he’d actually laughed like this as a prelude to sex.

  Chris stopped at the top of the stairs just outside his room as Pavle sprawled on the bed, bouncing. This was really going to happen, and he was laughing, smiling, and having an amazing time. Yeah, he should be doing all that, because there was sex in the future, but he’d always been nervous at this point in the process. He didn’t feel that this time. There was only excitement and anticipation, making his blood race and his heart thump faster and faster.

  “What taking so long?” Pavle sang out, and Chris hurried in.

  Pavle grinned as he propped himself up on his elbows, watching every move Chris made as he gradually approached the bed. He had intended to go slowly and make sure Pavle was comfortable, but as he leaned over the bed, Pavle wound his arms around Chris’s neck and drew him close.

  “Are you sure about this?” Chris kept his voice serious. “I want you to be comfortable and happy.”

  “Then make with the happy,” Pavle said, rolling his eyes. He was doing that a lot lately, and damned if it wasn’t cute.

  “Like this?” Chris asked, kissing Pavle gently and slipping his hands under his shirt to lift the fabric. He broke the kiss long enough to pull off Pavle’s shirt before pressing him back on the bed. Chris paid close attention to Pavle’s reaction, making sure he was comfortable. The last thing he wanted to do was remind Pavle in any way of… well, he didn’t need to name him… not now. “Or like this…?” Chris sucked at the base of Pavle’s neck, licking and caressing him just enough that Pavle shook under him.

  “Chris….” Pavle held him tighter, quivering and shaking as Chris moved lower, closing his lips around a nipple and using his tongue to tweak the hard bud. “Oh….” He moaned softly and slapped his hand over his mouth.

  “What’s that for?” Chris gently took his hand and tugged it away. “You can make sounds. I prefer if you did—the louder and happier, the better.” He smiled and nodded, holding Pavle’s hand as he returned to the feast of skin and heat that was Pavle. He wanted to make him moan, groan, and whimper, loud and long.