Black
I watched the tape for what felt like twenty times. Not once did the guy- and I was sure it was a guy- look up, to the left, anything. He knew what he was doing. He was precise and fast. I wanted so badly to pass this off to Lee to see what he could come up with, but I had to stand my ground with him. They had shit to work out.
“Do we even have a reflection from a car window or the pole or anything?” I asked, my fingers burning as I clenched them. I didn’t like all this mystery, especially since it was a dangerous game this douche was playing.
“None, sir. We thought we had one when he went to the abandoned car, but it seems like he was wearing one of those mouth masks. Skiers use them.”
So, if the Sterlings hired this person, and I had a feeling they had, he wasn’t stupid.
“Sir,” my guy began. “Maybe Quill can recognize him from his build.”
“Why would you even suggest he see this?” Rage simmered just below the surface at his suggestion. “He doesn’t need to see the lengths someone went through to terrify him.”
“Sir, before Lee went on sabbatical, he gave me Quill’s file. I went through it and continued where he left off.”
I swiveled in my chair, wondering what more was found that Lee hadn’t. Fear and anger intertwined in my gut. “Go on.”
“One main concern Lee had was the brother. He comes in and out of Quill’s life. Takes his money and leaves him in the hospital. Quill’s been evading him, and judging by Dylan’s history, it probably enrages him. If he needs money and the Sterlings are offering, and in exchange he can seek a little revenge on Quill, he’d take it.”
The realization hit me like a freight train, of course. I agreed to take it back to my house and show it to Quill. I had been at the office all day and the sun had set a few hours ago. Jaclyn had called me earlier, saying she couldn’t promise Leo or Steve wouldn’t shoot Quill if he didn’t stop with the tinsel time happy hour.
A smile tugged at my lips as I could very easily seeing a Christmas fueled Quill in my head. He had an elven quality about him for sure. Give the kid some green and red tights, a hat, and a candy cane, and he’d be the hottest elf ever.
The familiar doubt that periodically hibernated in the back of my mind reared its ugly head. I had given into my urges with Quill, but there was no way we would ever be permanent. I was too old, he was too young, and our lives would be constantly on the cusp of violence. When this was done and Quill was safe, I wanted him to never worry about violence again.
“Black,” Lana’s voice called as I was walking through the lobby to my waiting car.
“Hi, Lana. Before you ask, Quill is fine, he’s safe.”
She smiled but shook her head. “I knew he was. I was asking about the Christmas Ball, the one we’re supposed to go to on Friday.”
Shit. I had forgotten about that; she was so happy to have been asked and I knew even if this wasn’t resolved with Quill, I’d have people able to watch him.
“Of course. I will be at your place at seven, does that work?”
She bit her lip, uncertainty painting a picture I was familiar with when it came to Lana.
“You’re so busy, and with Quill, I understand if you…”
I rested my hand on her shoulder, then smiled softly, knowing how hard it was for Lana to be confident.
“Hush. I will handle everything. It’ll be a lovely evening.”
I made sure she made it to her car before I slipped into the back of mine. Resting my head on the seat, I replayed the night before with Quill. The suddenness of it all. One minute, I was telling him to stop flirting and repeating the word no, the next, there was an explosion and a need to be as close to him as humanly possible. Lana often said I needed therapy, but I didn’t think there was a therapist alive who could handle my nightmare of a psychosis.
The drive back to my house was fairly uneventful, an email from Poe in regard to getting entrance into the Vaults was met with a short response:
Mr. Black,
Mr. Hart understands your concern to check into the Sterlings history and such, but unless you can give him a better reason than you think he may be violent, I’m afraid your request is denied. Have a good evening.
Poe.
When Bill and Mace needed to get into the vault, there were no snags. Granted, Zagan was a vicious man and the town was almost a warzone because of that situation. When I reached out to Poe, the car bombs hadn’t happened yet, so I shot off another email explaining my thoughts on the current situation.
The car dipped and I realized we were in my garage, so I slipped my phone in my pocket and stepped out when the car stopped.
“Have a good evening, sir,” the driver said as he went left and I went right.
My mind wouldn’t slow down, wondering what Quill had done all day. Something ridiculous I was sure if Leo and Steve wanted to hang him by the garland.
When the elevator door opened, the scent of pine and the sound of Snoopy and The Red Baron assaulted my senses.
Leo quirked a brow as he leaned against the wall adjacent to the elevator.
“Have a fun day?” I chuckled when he rolled his eyes.
“I’m walking the perimeter. I can’t deal with this anymore.” We switched places and he went downstairs and I went forward toward the Christmas explosion.
“Merry Christmas!” Quill shouted as he stood beside a huge tree decorated to the top. The entire place was transformed and the smells that permeated the air took me back to my childhood.
“Wow.” I scanned the room. Stockings, garland, and lights. “You went all out.”
“I did! It’s not often someone hands me their credit card and lets me decorate their gorgeous home.” His toe scuffed the hardwood floor and while his face was all smiles, his posture showed his nerves. He was worried I’d hate it, and I was sure Steve and Leo had done nothing to make him think otherwise. Jaclyn, at least, was smiling by the window and I was glad she was on his side.
“It’s amazing, thank you. I don’t get much time to decorate and I don’t want to hire a stranger to come into my space and get it ready for whatever holiday is forthcoming.” I took a few steps toward him, intent on kissing his bubble gum tinted lips, when my stomach growled.
“Hungry?” Quill ran toward the kitchen. Following his direction, I saw a spread worthy of a ball.
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah, I got a lot, but leftovers are the best and with all the protection you seem to always have around you, your guys… and girls,” he winked at Jaclyn, “could eat.”
“So thoughtful of you.” I couldn’t stop my feet if I tried. Suddenly, I was towering over him, cupping his cheek and pressing my lips to his.
His tongue delved into my mouth and when his arms reached up, barely wrapping around my neck, I scooped him up, moaning when his legs circled my waist.
“Sir?” Jaclyn’s voice interrupted us. “I am terribly sorry to interrupt, but Leo is asking what the evening plans are to be?”
I turned my head, trying to keep my composure as Quill took my earlobe in his mouth, teeth nibbling enough to sting perfectly.
“Have Leo and Steve come here. You as well, eat, and we need to talk about a few things.”
That seemed to jolt Quill out of his sexual ministrations to ask, “You found something, didn’t you?”
“Let’s eat, please. We can talk after.”
I was glad he didn’t argue with me and soon the room was filled with people fixing their plates and heading to the dining table.
No one spoke aside from commenting on how delicious the food was and after all the dishes were cleared away, I called everyone to the living room where I was setting up my laptop to link with my television.
“Quill,” I said, causing him to stop mid-sit on the couch, staring at me with a flicker of concern. “We have video of the person who set up the bombs and they appear to be very smart. No one can make him out, but since this seems to be directed toward you, we wondered if you could tell who they were.”
He nodded, sat on the couch Indian-style, and began fidgeting with his thumbs. I hated his fear, but he had to see. We had to know.
The television came to life, not much to see at first, passersby and such. The screen was cut in half, one camera on the alley, the other pointed in the direction of the abandoned car. We were able to cut out nonsense shots so Quill could see the person well enough.
A minute later, the hooded man came on the screen. There was no reaction from Quill other than a cock of his head and the narrowing of his eyes.
The alley was poorly lit, so I wasn’t surprised when he said nothing there. When the person got to the abandoned car, it only took a second before his gasp filled the room.
“You recognize them?” Jaclyn asked.
“I… go back a few seconds and freeze it when he rests his left arm on the hood.”
I did as he asked and instead of watching the TV, I watched him. There was recognition, fear, and some anger in his gaze.
“That’s my brother.” His voice was so soft, but in the quiet of the room, we all heard it.
“You’re sure?” I asked, trying to see what made Quill come to that conclusion.
He got off the couch and walked to the screen. He pointed to the bomber’s forearm where the hoodie sleeve was pushed up.
“That tattoo, you only see part of it, but if he lifted it all the way up, you’d see a scorpion spearing a snake.” He sighed, “That’s Dylan.”
Now I needed to figure out if Dylan was a separate problem or if the Sterlings were using him like we seemed to think.