Full Disclosure by Kindle Alexander (5)

apply for the Rangers. I need to keep myself focused,” Cody said as he turned to look out the front

window.

“You keep saying things like that, but how does coming here affect you becoming a Texas Ranger?”

Mitch asked, genuinely confused. He’d thought this might be Cody’s problem, but he couldn’t fully wrap

his head around how dating Mitch factored into the Texas Ranger’s application process.

“You’re a deputy US marshal.” Like that answered the question. It didn’t.

“Well, I am, yes, and now you’ve confused me even more.” Mitch glanced over at Cody, who didn’t

respond right away. “How does my being a deputy marshal factor into your job plans? I mean, I have

helped the ranger’s when they call. I’ve done a couple of arrests internationally with one guy, but I don’t

think he held any power or authority. I don’t get the problem.”

“I don’t know, it’s just…never mind,” Cody said after a minute more of silence, letting Mitch know

there was more to this than just the job situation.

“No, tell me. I really want to know,” Mitch pressed. He needed to know what was going on in that pretty

blond head of Cody’s.

“Not now.”

“Okay, when?” Mitch persisted.

“Just not now. Where are we eating?” Cody asked, changing the subject. So Mitch let the topic go and

filed it away for later discussion. But Mitch needed that answer before Cody left this weekend. If he had to

reassure Cody that he was discreet, he would.

“We can go out to just about any place around here, or there’s a nice grill at the hotel. Either’s good with

me,” Mitch said, watching the signs in downtown DC, making sure he hit all the right turns.

“The grill at the hotel sounds good, if I’m dressed all right.”

“Cool. We can drop your bag off in the room and then go back downstairs to eat.” Mitch watched as

Cody eased back in the seat and relaxed.

Chapter 24

A valet opened Cody’s door when they arrived at the hotel. Another greeted Mitch and took his keys

after a brief conversation that Cody couldn’t hear. He watched as Mitch clicked the back hatch, handed

money to the valet, and exited the driver’s seat, leaving the door open for the attendant. Cody took a

moment to make sure his shirt was tucked in and straightened out the crease in his jeans as he made his way

to the back of the vehicle. When he was almost there, he ran his hands across his short hair, making sure

nothing was sticking up or out of place.

Mitch had beat him to the back, again grabbing his duffel bag and slinging the long strap over his

shoulder before he took his hand again. Now, this was something new to Cody. He was totally out, he didn’t

hide, but he also didn’t flaunt his sexuality. He never held hands with any guy. He certainly had never been

kissed in public by a guy, even on the cheek.

On so many levels, everything about this weekend was already new to him. He tried hard to just go with

the flow. Not be the kink in the chain. Washington, DC, was definitely more liberal than Texas, and he

prayed he didn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

Interestingly enough, Mitch didn’t care at all. This seemed so natural to him. Mitch kept their pace,

letting Cody go through the doors first even though Mitch led the way.

“That’s the grill. The elevators are this way,” Mitch said, heading to the main lobby of the hotel. The

restaurant slash bar didn’t look overly crowded. The lobby in front of the elevators, on the other hand, was

packed. Apparently a wedding party had reserved ballrooms on two floors for the reception, and the actual

wedding had just ended. There was a wait as all the guests filtered to the next location, and Mitch got in line

toward the back of the group before turning to face Cody. They stood almost toe to toe, and that silly little

smile that showcased those two perfect dimples spread across his face.

God, that smile did it for Cody. Everything about Mitch turned him on. His cock began to plump up in

his tight jeans. When he reached down to adjust himself, he hoped the move wasn’t too obvious to the

people around him. Cody returned the smile, focusing on Mitch’s bottom lip.

“Look what I’m wearing,” Mitch said excitedly. Cody lifted his eyes to see a mischievous sparkle in

Mitch’s gaze. It took a second for Cody to realize Mitch was unbuttoning his shirt. That confused him, and

he drew his eyes away from those perfect lips and that heated gaze to watch Mitch make quick work of the

shirt buttons. He executed a Superman move and flashed Cody the T-shirt underneath the button-down.

Cody burst out laughing as he read the words, ‘I’m going to bottom you so hard,’ written in big white

letters on Mitch’s dark gray shirt. He shook his head, smiling at the grin on Mitch’s face. “I wondered what

you liked. You know, we could always call room service.” Cody eyes were back on Mitch’s.

“Oh hell,” Mitch muttered, looking around. Cody followed his gaze to see a number of faces staring at

them with curiosity. Mitch didn’t waste any time tugging Cody away from the crowd. Mitch stayed two

steps in front of him the whole way, until they turned down a hall and ducked into an alcove. Cody only

had seconds to see the swimming pool restrooms were this way before he was shoved backward and Mitch

was on him. That big body pressing him roughly against the wall.

There wasn’t a sweet invitation on those lips, but instead Mitch came at him with a blistering kiss,

taking what he wanted. His tongue probed and brushed against Cody’s, and he answered Mitch stroke for

stroke. Their mouths were fused together as Mitch ground his entire body against Cody’s. Fuck, this was

hot! He wrapped his arms around Mitch, drawing him in tighter, loving the feel of their cocks pushed up

against each other. Mitch left no question that he was just as hard as Cody as he ground himself against

Cody’s now rock hard erection.

It was only the need to breathe that had either of them breaking free. When Cody came up for air, Mitch

latched on to his neck, sucking hard. He was sure to leave a mark.

“Not too hard,” Cody whispered as he turned his neck up for Mitch. He did that a lot with Mitch. He

said one thing, but his actions told another story.

“You’re going home marked up,” Mitch whispered before sliding his tongue inside Cody’s ear. His hips

rolled forward into Mitch of their own accord. Damn, he liked that tongue in the ear move. His hands

caressed Mitch’s back and up his shoulders with one settling on the back of Mitch’s neck, keeping him right

there at his ear.

“I want you like I’ve never wanted anything in my life,” Mitch whispered. His warm breath caressed the

moist trail he’d just made with his tongue. Cody shivered under the assault.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Cody responded, turning to take Mitch’s lips once again. The kiss deepened

immediately, and several minutes passed as Mitch completely rocked his world.

Cody felt deprived when Mitch pulled away. He used the strength in his hands to draw Mitch back

down. Mitch’s insistent resistance prompted Cody to finally open his eyes.

“We don’t have to rush this.” Mitch’s face was so close that the sweet cinnamon breath he’d just tasted

now filled his lungs. He loved that sensation.

“That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?” It made perfect sense to Cody, but he watched as Mitch’s lust-filled gaze

turned thoughtful.

“It’s not the only reason,” Mitch answered and pushed against the wall, tugging free of Cody’s hold.

“It’s not?” That had him wanting Mitch right back in his arms. He reached to try and pull Mitch back

against him, but Mitch shook his head.

“You’re damn sexy, I’ll give you that.” Mitch took a step back. “But sex isn’t the only reason you’re

here, so stop with that line of thinking. I want you to go back to the grill. I’ll drop this off in my room. If

you go up with me, we won’t make it out of the room and you know it. Good intentions or not.” Mitch just

turned and left him standing right there. By the time Cody got his wits about him and ran his fingers over

his face and through his hair to get his arousal under control, he heard Mitch’s voice a distance away.

“Get moving, cowboy!” Mitch said. Cody ducked his head around the corner, and Mitch stood at the

end of the hallway. “And don’t go in there and jackoff. Hold on for me,” Mitch whispered loudly. Cody

could feel the instant heat in his cheeks and quickly glanced all around to see who might have heard. “The

pool’s closed this time of year. The restaurant’s that way.” Mitch motioned with his right hand and then he

was gone in the same direction, leaving Cody red-faced with a giant hard-on.

“Fuck my life,” Cody said on a long groan. He did debate jacking off for a minute, just because he was

painfully hard. He could easily relieve himself, especially if the pool was closed, but in the end, he agreed

with Mitch. He’d wait. Anticipating what Mitch would do next had become almost a habit to him. One, he

found he didn’t want to break.

~~~

Mitch did his best to wine and dine Cody. He wasn’t an expert at romance or seduction by any stretch of

the imagination, but he wanted both those things for Cody. So he had kept them in the restaurant for a few

hours by ordering slowly, plying Cody with alcohol, and insisting on picking up the tab. A relaxed Cody

was a magical thing. The longer they sat in that oversized booth, the more Cody loosened up, and the more

he learned.

They actually had very similar backgrounds. Cody’s parents were still alive and married. He had several

brothers and sisters, and just like Mitch’s siblings, they were a fertile bunch. Cody’s crew was slightly

bigger, and he had a sister he talked about a lot—the oldest of the bunch and more career-oriented than the

others. Mitch figured she had a strong influence in his life.

They were both the youngest in their families, although Mitch was seven years older than Cody. He’d

laid that bit of information out there carefully. He wasn’t sure how Cody would feel about his almost old

man status. There were lots of differences between mid-twenties and early thirties, but luckily, he hadn’t

blinked an eye or started calling him sir or grandpa like he would have done if the situation were reversed.

The biggest difference in their life story was that Cody saw and talked to his family just about every day.

Mitch hadn’t seen his father and mother since Jace and Colt’s Dallas wedding, and he had a hard time

recalling the last time he’d seen his siblings or their children. But enough of those mental wanderings, it was

time to get to the fun and games part of the evening.

“You ready to go upstairs?” Mitch asked, draining the last of his Coors light. Cody’s gaze intensified,

that sexy-ass blush appeared, and he nodded. Mitch raised his hand for the waitress, and they both dug in

their back pockets for their wallets.

“I got this, you’re my guest,” Mitch said, opening up his stuffed wallet and fingering through the cards

until he found his American Express.

“I need to cover this. That flight—” Mitch cut Cody off.

“Enough with the flight. This is my weekend. When I come to Texas, you can pay.” He laid the card on

the table as they waited for the waitress to bring their check.

“When you come to Texas, you can just stay at my place,” Cody said. He drained his Bud Light, and set

the empty bottle back on the table.

“See? That’s you paying,” Mitch said casually, as though they were actually planning for the future. He

hoped that held throughout the weekend. So far, they fit well. Washington, DC, was a gay-friendly location.

They had been easily accepted in the restaurant. He even saw guys from the bar checking Cody out. It made

him proud that Cody only seemed to have eyes for him. He hoped that held too.

“Not the same thing,” Cody argued.

“You can charge this to your room. I just need your signature and room number,” the waitress said.

“Nah, I got this one.” He handed over his credit card wanting to buy Cody’s meal, not put it on the

FBI’s tab. A minute later he added the tip in and signed his name across the bottom of the receipt. He

scooped up his card and receipt, shoving them inside the dollar bill slot of his wallet to deal with later.

“Thank you,” he nodded to the waitress, before sliding out of the booth.

“What were you saying?” he asked, waiting for Cody to stand.

“Who knows? Nothing worth the argument, I guess,” Cody answered, giving him a smile that set his

dick on fire. Damn, Cody turned his shit on.

“Come on, this way.” Mitch extended an arm. For the first time, he got why Colt did all those seemingly

romantic gestures for Jace. Colt didn’t do it to make Jace feel good. He doubted Colt even realized that part.

It rocked Mitch’s world to place his hand on the small of Cody’s back and guide him out of the restaurant.

This was a two-part deal. He got one hell of a rewarding view of Cody’s ass as he walked in front of him

and everyone in this place knew Cody had come here with him.

“Those elevators?” he asked. Cody suddenly turned around while Mitch stared down at his perfect

bubble butt.

“I’m sorry what?” Mitch looked up.

“Were you just staring at my ass?” Cody asked, coming to a complete stop.

“I think you’ll probably catch me staring a lot this weekend. Front or back, doesn’t matter to me.” Mitch

laughed at his small joke, dropping his eyes to Cody’s package that he swore expanded under his gaze.

“Shit, you’re killing me. Come on, Casanova,” Cody said, pulling him along across the foyer.

Chapter 25

Mitch held the hotel room door open for Cody. Only then did it occur to him that Mitch purposely

opened his doors, letting him go first. Cody’s eyes collided with Mitch’s as he braced the door with his foot

and extended an arm. The gesture was incredibly endearing, and he couldn’t remember ever being on the

receiving end like this until tonight.

The uncertainty Cody had been holding on to broke free as he stepped fully inside the room. The

emotions that flooded were strong and created their own kind of panic. More than just physical need, this

deep attraction for Mitch had him off balance. He needed a moment to deal, just to get some breathing

room. Cody could so easily fall for Mitch. Hell, truthfully he was already tumbling and that freaked him out

completely.

The intensity of those thoughts had him taking several steps in front of Mitch. He found the bedroom

with his bag sitting on the end of bed, and he headed there. The duffel could be enough distraction to give

him the minute he needed to regroup and set his head straight.

He stood over his things and closed his eyes. His hands absently worked the zipper open with his back

to the door. Allowing himself to finally admit his feelings about Mitch had been almost a spiritual

awakening. His sister had been absolutely right about what a distraction love could be, but in return for his

single-minded focus on his career, he’d become an incredibly lonely guy.

Stop being a girl, Cody chastised himself and began to tug his shirt over his head.

“Let’s take this slow,” Mitch said, and Cody looked over his shoulder, seeing Mitch propped up against

the door frame. “Unpack, I left a drawer for you. And there are hangers in the closet. Or you don’t have to

do any of that, whatever you want. I’ll be in the bathroom,” he said, disappearing through a side door Cody

had missed when he’d walked in. How the hell had he missed that door? He was trained to observe his

surroundings. A soft groan escaped him as he sat on the end of the bed. What had he gotten himself into?

~~~

Mitch closed his eyes as he inserted two lubed fingers slowly into his ass, conjuring a mental image of

Cody while he worked himself from behind. He should have asked Cody how he liked sex. He shouldn’t

just assume, but he thought he’d made his position clear when he’d Superman’d the T-shirt for Cody at the

elevators. He didn’t usually bottom, but all he could think of since their Skype sex was having Cody top

him. If Cody wanted first crack bottoming, he’d still be ready for later because he was completely certain

there would be a round two.

Working himself open, massaging himself, so he would be ready for Cody wasn’t turning out like he’d

planned. He kept thinking about Cody’s big body pumping into his, and that image had his knees going

weak and him already teetering on the brink. He couldn’t ever remember being this close to climax just

from stretching himself, but instead of stroking off like he normally would, he clamped his free hand

around his cock and opened his eyes, pushing Cody’s image from his mind. He damn sure didn’t want to

shoot his load on the bathroom floor before he’d even touched his cowboy.

Minutes later, Mitch stopped. He washed his hands and brushed his teeth. In a round of nervous energy

waiting for Cody to arrive, he’d gotten as clean as he could get and all nice and groomed too. After a

second more, he ran a brush over the top of his head where his hair was the longest and then brushed his

teeth again.

He left his underwear off, put the jeans back on, leaving the button open and, at the last minute, added

the T-shirt back on with a smirk, just in case Cody needed a reminder.

He checked his appearance one last time and left the room, hoping he hadn’t taken too long.

~~~

Cody sat on the sofa in the living room, unsure what to do while Mitch was in the restroom. He had his

arm over the back of the sofa with his booted foot crossed over his knee. He’d turned on the television,

keeping the volume low but his attention trained on the door separating the two rooms. Mitch was right

through that door.

When the door opened, Mitch came out looking hot as hell. He wore that T-shirt, his jeans unbuttoned

and his feet bare. The long-sleeve button-down shirt had hidden Mitch’s sheer bulk. His massive arms, one

with an intricate tribal sleeve and the other decorated with an inked serpent that coiled around his bicep and

ran down his forearm, attracted Cody’s attention. He’d caught glimpses of his body in the darkened club,

and he’d seen him on Skype, but to have this in front of him now, had his hands itching to pull that T-shirt

off and explore every inch of the broad, marked flesh.

“Do you need the restroom?” Mitch asked. Cody’d left his toiletries on the dresser. He should at least

brush his teeth. Besides, if Mitch could play things cool, so could he.

“Yeah, I do,” Cody said, rising, stretching his body as he stood. He flipped off the TV with the remote

control and headed toward Mitch who didn’t move out of his way.

“Don’t take as long as I did,” Mitch said, drawing Cody up against him. Mitch didn’t try to kiss him

which might have been a testament to his breath, but he did place both hands on his hips and grind

forward. He matched the move. Only then did Mitch press a soft kiss to his lips.

Cody simply pulled away and stepped into the bedroom. If Mitch could control himself, then he could

too. “I’ll be back.” He grabbed his stuff and headed inside the bathroom.

~~~

Mitch undressed completely, tossing his clothes over the back of a chair. He flipped on the bedside lamp

and turned off all the other lights throughout the suite. He’d stashed a new box of condoms and a bottle of

lubricant in the bedside table, so he laid those out in easy reach and climbed on the big bed.

He stretched out on top of the cool blankets, then decided to crawl under the folded down bedspread.

He wanted to look hot and sexy for Cody. He rested back against the headboard, laid there a second before

he got up, folded all the blankets down, and grabbed only the sheet, draping it across his waist. He

anchored himself back against the headboard again, this time placing one arm casually behind his head.

Right when he was about to reposition again, the door opened up. Now he was committed to the pose.

Mitch looked up as Cody came toward the light. He was still dressed, and when his eyes landed on Mitch,

Cody mouthed the word fuck and automatically began tugging the T-shirt over his head as he toed off his

boots at the same time.

Mitch stroked himself as he watched Cody hurriedly toss the garment over the chair and kick his boots

out of the way toward the end of the bed. Just as the sexy trooper went to unbutton his jeans, Mitch was up

off the bed. “Hang on, let me do that.”

Mitch dropped to his knees in front of Cody. The urgency of Cody’s loud groan filled the room as

Mitch reached for the button on the jeans. Working quickly, he unfastened the Wranglers and tugged the

zipper down. He glanced up, taking in all the ridges and depressions in Cody’s chest and stomach. His gaze

lingered, before sliding down Cody’s six-pack, following the dark blond treasure trail that disappeared into

the jeans he worked to rid Cody of.

“I need to taste you, Cody.” After pushing the jeans down those thick, muscular thighs, he pressed a

kiss against the pistol tattooed on Cody’s hip, then buried his face in Cody’s brief-covered groin, inhaling

the clean, musky scent that was all Cody Turner. Mitch rubbed his face against the material preventing him

from tasting Cody’s naked flesh. The movement had Cody’s cock lengthening against his cheek.

“Fuck, cowboy,” he gasped, and his own cock reacted with a jerk as he slid his fingers in the waistband

of Cody’s briefs and tugged them, along with the denim down his legs. Cody placed his hands on Mitch’s

shoulders to keep his balance as he stepped out of the jeans and kicked them to the side.

Fingers slid across his scalp and fisted in his short hair as he took in the sight of Cody’s perfectly cut

and blushing with color cock. He wrapped his fingers around Cody and slowly stroked him from base to

tip. Mitch had seen his share of dicks, but Cody’s had to be the most perfect he’d ever laid eyes on. He

lifted his gaze to find Cody staring down at him, his blue eyes hooded with lust.

“Your cock’s so fucking beautiful, Cody. So thick and perfect, and I’ll bet you taste as delicious as you

look.” Mitch lowered his head, whispering against Cody’s skin while he placed soft kisses along his thighs.

He tongued the tattoo covering Cody’s hip bone. Mitch’s hand worked Cody all the while, stroking him, as

he nibbled his way lower and sucked one of Cody’s balls in his mouth.

Cody widened his stance as Mitch licked and mouthed the soft sac between the hot trooper’s legs.

Cody’s thighs quivered in response to Mitch’s lips as he moved in to sample his cock. He took his time

tasting Cody, exploring every vein on that thick shaft before tonguing the cowboy’s perfect slit. Cody’s

essence burst across his palate. He loved the sweet and salty bitterness of Cody’s arousal filling his senses.

He sucked on the flared crown of Cody’s dick, lapping at the pre-come beading at the tip.

“Damn, baby, you do taste fucking delicious.” Mitch dropped his head and devoured Cody in one swift

motion, loosening his jaw as he swallowed Cody to the back of his throat. Cody gasped, and the fingers in

his hair tightened, stinging his scalp. Cody’s hips thrust forward driving that long dick farther down his

throat, cutting off his air. Fuck yes! His throat constricted around the decadent invasion. Cody quickened

his rhythm, thrusting deep, and he let the hot cowboy plunder his mouth.

Only a few minutes passed before Cody’s cock swelled against his tongue. He was close. Mitch felt

Cody’s balls draw tight against his body. But since he had other plans in mind, he used his hand and

squeezed the base tightly then reluctantly pulled off of Cody’s cock.

“You can’t come, not yet…I want you in me.” He didn’t care about the desperation in his voice. Mitch

needed Cody in him, the sooner the better.

“Mitch?” Cody’s ragged breath hitched on what sounded like both a question and a plea.

He stood and took Cody’s mouth with his, breathing heavily as he spoke. “Fuck me, Cody, I want you

inside me.”

“I thought you…” Cody started, but Mitch cut him off.

“Didn’t you pay attention to my shirt, Turner? For a trooper, you aren’t very observant, are you?” Mitch

grinned and watched the corners of Cody’s mouth tip up as the man thought over what he’d just said.

“I did but…but you don’t wanna fuck me?” Cody’s head tilted to one side. Mitch caught his bottom lip

with his teeth as those bright blue eyes questioned him.

“Later. Right now, I want this in me.” He gripped Cody’s dick, squeezing tightly, making his intentions

known. Cody groaned, and in less than a heartbeat, the cowboy’s mouth was fused to his. The kiss was

anything but gentle. Their tongues tangled, twisting, as Cody’s hands slid around his back and down his

ass, forcing them together. Mitch rocked into Cody’s hips, his erection brushing roughly against Cody’s.

They both moaned at the contact.

Cody pushed him against the wall, pinning him, easily holding Mitch in place as he ravished his mouth.

Cody tore his lips away and buried them against the side of his neck. Mitch heard a deep inhale right before

his cowboy latched on to his neck. Cody sucked hard at the tender skin and ground sensually against his

cock. The sweet pain of Cody marking him traveled straight to Mitch’s balls. He hissed at the sting of

Cody’s teeth sinking into his skin and the feel of the rock hard arousal nudging his.

“Yes, god, yes.” He wanted Cody in him right now. He lifted his head offering his neck as he thrust his

hips forward. Cody’s movements were as heated and frenzied as his.

“I do want your ass, Mitch,” Cody growled against his ear. “So fucking bad.”

Cody’s warm palm tightened around his aching dick, and those full, eager lips took his again. He almost

came from the rough friction Cody unleashed on his cock. Mitch’s head spun from the fevered kiss, all

teeth and tongues, lips, heat and need. His stomach flip-flopped, and he couldn’t ever recall a kiss as

passionate as this. Mitch felt as if Cody were kissing him with his entire body.

Minutes passed as Mitch surfaced enough to find Cody guiding him toward the bed. He stopped when

the edge of the mattress hit the back of his knee. Mitch wrapped his arms around Cody and fell back,

pulling the cowboy down with him.

Mitch scooted toward the middle of the bed, and Cody crawled up his body, kissing him, as he settled

that big body between his open legs. Cody sat back on his heels, stroking his own dick, regarding him

curiously. And damn, Mitch enjoyed the show.

“You make me so damn crazy, Cody.”

“Do I?” Cody smiled, let go of his dick, and lowered to his stomach. Cody kept his eyes on Mitch as he

wrapped his hand around Mitch’s cock and dropped his head, licking up him like a lollipop before circling

his leaking tip with his warm tongue.

“Uh-huh.” Mitch couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful blond lapping playfully at his dick.

Cody’s warm wet mouth engulfed him to the root. Holy mother of god! The cowboy evidently didn’t

have any sort of gag reflex to speak of. Mitch thrust his hips up, and Cody took every inch of him. He

fucked into Cody’s warm mouth, loving the wet heat surrounding him.

“Shit, babe, that’s one sweet mouth you’ve got on you. Damn, I think I’m falling in love, Cody Turner.”

Cody pulled off his dick and grinned up at him.

“Well, if you like that, Deputy Marshal Knox, then this is gonna have you asking for my hand in

marriage. Now roll over.” Cody swatted at his thigh. Mitch complied and rolled to his stomach.

“Lift up your ass for me,” Cody demanded and moved to the edge of the bed, sitting up on his shins.

Cody held onto Mitch’s hip as he lifted and went to all fours. Widening his knees, he offered his ass to

Cody. The hot trooper smoothed his hands down Mitch’s back and over the curve of his ass, before

kneading the globes and spreading him wide.

“You’re so damn hot,” Cody rumbled and buried his face between Mitch’s ass cheeks. His warm tongue

probing and licking with vigor at his most sensitive area. Cody reached forward, his fingers circling Mitch’s

shaft and began to stroke. Mitch couldn’t help but shudder as Cody stiffened his tongue and began probing

him with purpose.

The stroking on his dick never stopped. Mitch was in fucking heaven, and he never wanted this to end.

Cody gave him a few long licks before thick fingers circled then tapped at his entrance. The tip of one of

those torturous fingers barely slipped inside, stealing his breath.

“Mmm…you’re already relaxed for me,” Cody purred. Mitch nodded and rocked his hips back, needing

badly for the cowboy to breach him, to give him more.

“I opened myself for you. I’m ready… I need you now,” he groaned as Cody’s fingers pressed inside

and began working him further open.

“Without me?” Cody leaned over and pressed wet kisses down his spine.

“Uh-huh.” All he could think about were the big fingers buried in him, spreading him, and Cody’s groin

rubbing his butt cheek and the back of his thighs. The light fuzz that covered Cody’s leg brushed against his

and drove him absolutely mad.

“Damn, Mitch, that’s hot and all, but why?” Cody questioned, still leaning over him. His breath caressed

his sensitive skin as he spoke the words, sending a shiver racing down to his ass. The attention and

sensations of the scene made it incredibly hard to think.

“When?” Cody asked as he curled his fingers. Damn, that cowboy knew exactly what he was doing.

“In the bathroom. I didn’t wanna wait,” Mitch replied honestly. Cody picked up the pace, and he rode

those fingers, pressing his ass back as Cody pushed in and out, twisting his fingers, scraping that delicious

knot. He just about lost his load right then.

“I’m fucking almost there, but I need to come with your dick in my ass, not your fingers, cowboy,”

Mitch panted breathlessly with desire.

“Demanding, aren’t you?” Cody chuckled and withdrew his fingers. Mitch turned his head and looked

over his shoulder, watching as Cody rolled the condom down his impressive dick. Mitch’s ass clenched in

anticipation, and his dick wept with need. He had waited far too long for this moment.

If he had to admit it, he was a little nervous about Cody’s girth, but he really wanted to bottom for his

cowboy. He’d stretched himself in the bathroom earlier for that very reason. Out of the corner of his eye, he

watched Cody reach for the lube lying next to him and drizzle the liquid onto his cock. Mitch bit his lip as

Cody took himself in hand, dragging the blunt head of his dick up and down his crevice.

“Is this what you want?” Cody’s cock pressed against his hole, barely breaching him. He tried to push

back and impale himself with the heat of that hard prick.

“Not so quick, Deputy Marshal,” Cody teased, then slapped his ass. Fuck! That made his dick twitch.

“God, Cody, stop teasing and fuck me. Hard,” he groaned. He couldn’t wait another second, he needed

to be fucked good and proper, and Cody was big enough to give him exactly what he craved.

Cody gripped on to his hips, and in one solid move, he slammed into him, burying his cock to the hilt

in a single smooth thrust. Mitch’s ass burned. He reared up as he adjusted to the sudden, but welcomed,

invasion. The pain morphed into sweet pleasure as Cody began to move in and out. He threw his head back

at the breathtakingly full sensation in his ass.

“So tight. Mitch…” Cody uttered on a sigh. He drew back and thrust into him again.

Cody’s hands gripped his hips, driving Mitch forward then tugging him backward straight onto his

cock, rocking into him with purpose. He was sure to have finger-shaped bruises with as deep as they sank

into his skin. Cody rode his ass, hard and fast, causing unintelligible sounds to fall from his lips as the

warmth spread up his spine.

Cody wrapped his arms around Mitch and pulled his upper body up, drawing him tightly against his

chest so he was no longer balancing on his hands. Mitch’s knees and the big cowboy held all his weight

now.

“So fucking good.” Cody’s uneven breaths caressed his ear. He sat back on his calves, pulling Mitch

with him, bucking hard and fast up into him. All Mitch could do was hang on for the mind-numbing ride.

Cody was the first guy that had ever fucked him like this, and he loved the feel of all that power and muscle

holding him in place. Mitch pressed back, losing himself in the sensations.

“Fuck, yes…” Mitch hissed.

Cody slid his hand around his neck, drawing his head back as his hips pistoned wildly in and out of his

body. Their grunts and moans filled the room.

“Kiss me,” Cody panted.

“Yes.” Mitch angled his head. Cody nipped, then licked at the seam of his lips, drawing him in. That hot

mouth moved over his, and he parted his lips as Cody’s tongue plunged inside and tangled with his. Their

teeth knocked together, and Mitch lost his mind.

A hard thrust sent Cody’s cock sliding over his prostate, and he just about came off the bed in ecstasy.

His balls tightened and churned as the pleasure spread from his ass and bloomed in his groin. He rocked

himself back against Cody, chasing his orgasm with focus. And it wouldn’t take long with the way Cody

kept hitting against his spot with every roll of his hips.

Cody wrapped his free hand around Mitch’s cock and pulled, jerking him off with fast unsteady

movements.

“Come for me, Mitch,” Cody whispered huskily against his ear. He licked a wet trail down his neck,

then sank his teeth into Mitch’s shoulder. His body tensed at Cody’s command, his ass clenched around

Cody’s cock, and his dick jerked in obedience. Intense pleasure shot through him as he emptied his balls

into Cody’s fist in multiple mind-numbing surges. Thick ribbons of come escaped Cody’s grip and

splattered in warm globs against his stomach while his heart pounded wildly in his chest and his body

quivered from release.

“Oh god, yes…Mitch!” Cody moaned and thrust into him. Mitch could feel the heat of Cody’s orgasm

filling the condom as his lover’s cock twitched eagerly in his contracting ass. One last stroke to his cock

drew a final shudder from both of them.

They fell forward with Cody’s full weight collapsing across his back. Neither moved, only Cody’s loud

pants filled his ear, and Mitch could feel Cody’s heart beating in perfect rhythm with his.

“Damn,” Cody finally said and slowly started to pull out of him. Mitch’s ass constricted, gripping him.

“Fuck, that feels amazing,” Cody moaned and slid the rest of the way out. Mitch couldn’t move. He was a

boneless heap, drifting in pure bliss. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Cody slid the condom off

his semi-erect cock and tied the end in a knot before tossing it into the trash can by the bed. Cody crawled

back to the center of the mattress, kissing Mitch’s back and shoulders as he cuddled in close to him.

“Ready for round two when you are, Deputy Marshal,” Cody yawned.

When Mitch finally gathered enough strength, he turned to Cody and gave a cheeky grin as he teased his

cowboy with the words his heart wanted him to take seriously. “Yep, those words just sealed the deal. I

believe I’ve fallen for you, cowboy Cody.”

Chapter 26

Cody woke to the sound of the heater rumbling on. Mitch’s chest was pressed close to his back, a heavy

leg thrown across his thigh, and the guy’s morning erection poked against his ass cheeks. They’d only been

asleep for a couple of hours.

Last night had been a frenzied fuck-fest, both taking and giving pleasure. They’d screwed on the bed,

and then couch. They ordered food, talked, and made love again before soaking in a hot bath. Cody fell

asleep in Mitch’s arms, sated, exhausted, and happy.

After last night, Cody’s concern about his feelings for Mitch only increased. He’d figured coming here

would have helped get Mitch out of his system. But from the need coursing through his body, he doubted

the possibility existed. Now, all he could think was how he didn’t want to leave him.

Mitch had jokingly said he had fallen for him. Cody knew he shouldn’t hope too much for those words

to be true. He wasn’t dumb; he would only get hurt if he expected more than just this one weekend.

Besides, they couldn’t work even if they tried. They both had jobs they loved, and Mitch lived a whole state

away from him. Sheila was right about all that. So, Cody would enjoy these few days and then go back to

Texas and throw himself into his career. Wasn’t that what he kept saying to Mitch? That he wanted his

career above all else?

“Stop overthinking it, cowboy.” Mitch’s warm breath ghosted across his skin, giving him instant chills.

“Morning, Deputy Marshal, hope I didn’t wake you.” Cody smiled and pushed his ass back against

Mitch’s morning wood. Mitch groaned and canted his hips forward, pulling him closer. Cody’s cock

plumped up immediately.

How did Mitch always read his moods so well? More importantly, he needed to heed Mitch’s words.

What Mitch really meant by “don’t overthink it” was he put too much emotion into what they had done.

Cody rose up, looked over at the alarm clock, and gave a slight yawn he tried to hide.

“You didn’t. What time is it?” Mitch asked, his voice still in the after-sex husky mode.

“It’s close to four,” Cody whispered, snuggling back down against Mitch. “What time do you have to go

in?”

“I think ten is like the official start time on the weekends,” Mitch said, keeping steady work at stroking

his fingertips up and down Cody’s back.

“Did you sleep well?” Cody asked. Mitch lifted his head, and Cody turned, arching his neck to give

Mitch a soft kiss.

“I did. I believe I slept better in the past couple of hours than I have my whole life. Thanks to you,”

Mitch answered, rubbing against him. The wet tip of his cock pressed against his ass, slipping close to his

hole.

“That feels good.” Cody loved the way Mitch’s body fit perfectly against his. And he also loved the feel

of Mitch’s arousal sliding up and down his crevice, slicking him with pre-come.

“Are you sore?” Mitch asked as he rubbed a thumb across his nipple, then slid his palm down his

stomach, bypassing Cody’s dick to cup his balls.

“Yes, but only in the best way.” Cody wiggled back against him, seeking more of his touch. He was a

fool for Mitch’s touch. “Make love to me, Mitch.”

“Not if you’re sore. I don’t wanna hurt you.” Mitch sucked on the tender skin below his ear and

continued fondling his sac.

“I’ll be fine, just go slow.” He reached an arm behind him and pulled Mitch’s mouth to his, giving him a

deep, passionate kiss.

“You sure, cowboy?” Mitch playfully licked at the corner of his lips.

“I’m positive, Knox…I just need to feel you.” Cody was already halfway there and completely

unwilling to take no for an answer. He rose up on his elbow and reached for the lube. Cody popped open

the cap, pouring a generous amount onto Mitch’s fingers and palm. He lay down again and scooted his butt

back into Mitch, moaning when Mitch’s fingers found his hole.

Mitch gently massaged him. He drew a knee to his chest, allowing his lover better access. Mitch

carefully eased one long digit into him, followed by another, kissing and sucking on his neck as he slowly

worked him open. Cody couldn’t think of a better way to start the morning.

“Mmm…so warm and tight in there. You sure you’re not too sore?” Mitch’s fingers twisted and curled,

and damn, it felt good.

“Positive. You’re not gonna hurt me.” The fingers in his ass were suddenly gone. The bed shifted, and

he heard Mitch rip open the condom packet. And it wasn’t three seconds later he felt the delicious burn of

Mitch pushing into his body. Mitch froze as soon as that blunt head breached his entrance.

“You okay?” Mitch asked and pressed his mouth against Cody’s neck, lightly sucking. The man was so

tender and loving that Mitch filled his body and heart with desire. In the last few hours, he had seen both

sides of Mitch Knox—the wild, rough one who sought pleasure with abandon, and then this sweet caring

side. Cody had fallen for both.

“Mmm-huh. I love the way you feel in me,” Cody confessed, and he meant every word. Mitch licked

and nipped at his neck, drawing back and pushing into him a little farther with each roll of his hips. Mitch

was being so slow and tender. And with each movement, he was stealing Cody’s heart like he stole his

breath.

“Mmm…me too, cowboy,” Mitch moaned, his thrusts now more determined. “Feels so damn good,

Cody.”

Cody melted against Mitch and those big arms wrapped around him, enveloping him in all that

masculine warmth, something he doubted he would ever get enough of. His heart stuttered. How was he

supposed to leave and go back to his life after having this? How was he supposed to just walk away from

Mitch Knox?

This wasn’t just the sex, although that was fucking amazing too, but it was the deep connection they

shared. Cody couldn’t sense where he ended and Mitch began. Even when they weren’t together, he could

feel the powerful bond between them. That bond connected them from the first night they met, but he’d

been too scared and overwhelmed to act on his feelings.

“I wanna make you feel good.” Mitch stroked him harder and faster, keeping in time with his powerful

thrusts. He fucked Mitch’s palm while his cock pushed in and out of his body. Mitch’s free hand found his,

and they linked their fingers, entwining them tightly. Mitch bucked into him. His movements became erratic,

every thrust rubbed relentlessly against Cody’s gland.

Each snap of Mitch’s hips seared his insides like liquid fire. He rested his head back against Mitch’s

shoulder as he fell over the edge, quickly heading for spontaneous combustion. Cody didn’t fight it or try to

hold back, he let Mitch consume him. And that delicious heat gathering at the base of his spine spread

through his body and boiled in his veins until it erupted from him in long hard spurts, coating Mitch’s hand

and the sheets with his seed.

“Cody.” Mitch’s breath hitched in his ear, his body stiffened behind him, and he felt every spasm of

Mitch’s trembling body deep in his ass.

“Fuck, that was…” Mitch panted into the back of his neck and kissed his shoulder.

“I know,” Cody agreed.

After a few seconds, the light on the nightstand flipped on. Mitch rolled from the bed and disappeared

into the bathroom, coming back with a warm wet towel, which he used to carefully clean Cody, then

crawled back in the bed after tossing the towel to the floor.

“We should try to get some more sleep. I can’t see where you’ve slept much since you’ve been here,”

Cody whispered and pushed the sheet to the end of the bed, while pulling the covers across their bodies.

“I haven’t, but every waking moment has been so worth these last few hours with you,” Mitch said

sleepily and kissed the top of his head.

“I was afraid that thousand dollar plane ticket would give me performance anxiety,” Cody teased. Mitch

reached under his arms and turned them quickly so Cody rested in the crook of his arm.

“Stop saying it like that.” Mitch stared down at him now. “I consider that money well spent. Maybe the

best money I’ve ever spent. Plus you’re paying when I come to Texas, cowboy.” Mitch chuckled and leaned

to kiss him. “Besides, I’m hoping that after tonight I can look at the case with a clear head. You’ve been on

my mind too much lately. I can’t think straight.”

“The case. You haven’t talked much about it, except to say it was Colt’s case,” Cody said, running a

palm over Mitch’s cheek until his fingers ran across the fine hairs at the back of his neck.

“I’ve actually started referring to it as the Impossible Case From Fucking Hell. I might have to pass it

off.” Mitch almost sounded defeated.

“What does that mean?” Cody asked.

“It means the FBI’s mother ship sucks. It’s not about solving the case as much as not stepping on

anyone’s well-manicured toenails. I’m not cut out for here. There’s so much red tape involved. I should

give it up. I just know I’m missing something, but I can’t fucking figure it out.”

“Are those the men taped to the wall? The men that have been injured or killed in this case? I noticed

earlier, but didn’t say anything,” Cody said.

“Yeah,” Mitch responded after a minute and leaned in to place a simple kiss on his lips.

“Were they all gay or just Colt?” Cody asked and watched as Mitch warred with himself about how

much to say.

“They’re all gay,” he said after a long minute. The defeat returned, and Cody definitely picked up the

empathy Mitch had for those eight men.

“Don’t give it up. Keep going. They need you pushing for them, Mitch. If you leave the case, they won’t

have anyone as devoted as you.” Cody switched their position, rolling Mitch over as he lifted and looked

down directly into Mitch’s eyes.

“It’s not that. I just think the case needs fresh eyes,” Mitch said, tenderly palming Cody’s cheek.

“It doesn’t always work like that, and you have to know, lots of officials are still put off by people like

you and me. We don’t matter because of our lifestyle. Most people don’t get the injustice of being

discriminated against because of who they choose to love. This case is too important, not just for those men

on the wall, but for the men who loved them, for their families, for our entire community. They need you

and your team to be tenacious. To push and push until they get answers and justice is served.”

After a few seconds of watching Cody, Mitch narrowed his eyes and rolled him back over. “That sounds

more like personal experience talking, not just an observation. What happened?”

Several more moments passed and Cody knew his face had to be a cloud of emotion. Should he say

anything to Mitch? Every part of him said absolutely not. Outside of his family, he’d never spoken the

words aloud. “This can’t be good, Cody. Tell me. Is it why you’ve been so reluctant to be with me? Did

something happen to you?”

Cody shook his head. “Not to me personally. Shit, Mitch, I don’t know. Maybe it’s part of the reason I

hold myself back. I hadn’t thought about it like that,” Cody finally answered.

“Tell me,” Mitch encouraged.

“It happened a long time ago. I was like six or seven. My oldest sister Sheila was babysitting me. I was

her shadow back then; I went everywhere with her. We were driving through town to go see my dad at

work. I always liked to hang out at the police station. We were close to the station, and we drove past this

guy getting the shit beat out of him. I mean they were killing him. Even at six years old, I remember them

kicking him in the head and one used a tire iron on him. My sister jumped out of the car, screaming for my

dad. He came running outside, realized what was going on and took off across the street. He stopped that

fight and took those three guys down by himself.”

“That had to be hard for a boy your age.” Mitch’s eyes were full of compassion.

“No, wait, the thing is, the guy getting the shit beat out of him, his name was Mr. Spencer, and he was

the gay in town. Everybody knew him, but no one really ever talked to him. No matter how hard my dad

tried, he couldn’t get the county judge to take the case seriously. Mr. Spencer spent months in the hospital

recuperating, but he never was quite right after he got out. They beat him so bad he ended up in the mental

institution, and the guys that attacked him just got probation. Where was the justice? Mitch, no one’s gonna

have the compassion or conviction you have for those guys hanging on your wall. If you give up, it might

be years before anyone really takes this seriously again. The victims and families deserve closure.”

Mitch stared at Cody for a long while. Slowly Cody saw the spark coming back in Mitch’s eyes.

“Is that the way you go about your job?” Mitch asked, maybe smiling, but probably more smirking up at

him.

“Don’t make fun of me,” Cody said seriously.

“I’m not at all. You take it seriously; I do too. I just hide that side of me,” Mitch replied. “I like that

about you. I like that you worry about your future, and if I could complicate your goals. It means you’re

driven…I like my men driven with purpose in their lives,” Mitch said and smiled a real smile at him. Cody

returned the grin and rested his head back on Mitch’s chest.

“I’ll stay on the case. You’re right, and I lost sight of the facts. Thank you for opening up like that. I

needed to hear those words.”

“It’s the true reason I got into law enforcement. I remember thinking if a Texas Ranger would have seen

that fight, he’d have gotten justice. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but since then I wanted to be that

man.” Cody confessed it all to Mitch who kissed the top of his head.

“When I first started with the Marshals I had some guys look down on me because I was gay. They’re

the reason I got this tattoo across my collarbone and wear all those silly shirts. No one has the right to judge

anyone.” He ran his hand over Cody’s back in a tender caress. “Can you go back to sleep like this?” Mitch

asked.

“I think so,” he answered. Actually, he was quite certain he could spend his life sleeping like this.

“Good, I think I can too,” Mitch said and reached for the lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

Chapter 27

Mitch came rolling through the front doors of the main FBI building with his hands filled with perfectly

folded white, orange, and pink boxes of donuts, coffee, and whatever he’d found on the shelf at the

Dunkin’ Donuts down the street.

He showed his ID badge with a little help from the security guard and treated the guy with a bag of

donut holes. “What’s gotten into you, man?”

“Just feelin’ good this morning.” Mitch laughed at the security guard’s lifted brows.

“Uh huh,” he said as he let Mitch through the gate. He kept that strut in his step and caught the eye of

several employees he’d seen before, all were looking at him like he’d lost his mind, which wasn’t really

abnormal.

He got to the elevator as the doors opened. This whole day was turning out better and better. He

whistled a tune as he stepped into a completely deserted elevator and got a full shot of himself in the mirror

in the back.

He caught the big grin on his face. It was probably bigger than the arms full of food he carried. Now he

understood things around here a little better. He’d been in a pretty foul mood just about every day he’d

walked into this building. Whatever. All those guys out there could just suck it. Maybe if one of those guys

would have blown him as well as Cody had last night, he would have already lightened up some. And

besides, all that deliciously sexy, hot as hell man was currently back in his hotel room, sleeping in his bed,

waiting for him to return.

Mitch had a lot to be happy about.

The automated voice announced the third floor, and the elevator doors opened to a much quieter, yet

still every bit as sterile, FBI work floor. Mitch skirted the cubicles and headed to the back. It was a little past

ten, actually more like ten thirty, and he knew Connors would already be there working. Not necessarily

waiting on him, most definitely moving full steam ahead, and he was certain Connors would be pissed off.

Not necessarily because he was late, but because he hadn’t had anyone to talk to for the last half hour.

Except, as he got closer to their bank of offices, he could hear the guy’s voice. Mitch never considered

that Connors might talk out loud just to hear himself speak. Was the guy in his office just talking? Brown

said something at the same time as well as their assistant, Anne. Ah, the whole team had arrived. As he

rounded the corner and entered the conference room, everything stopped and all eyes were on him.

“What?” Mitch asked, dropping all his goodies on the table. “I didn’t know you guys would be here. We

can share these,” Mitch said, looking up.

“What?” he probed again when no one spoke.

“I think he got laid last night.” Mitch turned at the sound of Aaron Stuart’s voice. “For the record, I

already guessed that when you were late.” Aaron beamed at him from the monitor as if he’d won a huge

prize.

“You have insider information,” Mitch said and took a seat, grabbing for the first bag of donuts he

could put his hands on. He wasn’t sure what happened to have this group here or how Connors magically

accepted Aaron’s involvement with the case enough to allow him into the meeting without Mitch forcing the

issue, but he didn’t question them. He didn’t want to do anything to slow their progress.

“You’re really a very handsome man,” Anne said, reaching for the coffee. She didn’t waste any time

topping off her cup.

“It’s the food.” Mitch nudged the bag he opened toward her. He’d gotten a little bit of everything, but he

was certain they had given him some sort of blueberry cake donut, and he wanted that thing bad.

“Nah, it’s those dimples. Who would have known how effective they could be?” Anne said and dug

through the bag before pushing that one toward Brown.

“For me, I wouldn’t have ever guessed your face would smooth out. I thought the scowl was

permanent,” Brown tossed out as he reached over and grabbed a bag, inspecting the contents before taking

out a pastry.

“The blueberry donut’s mine.” Mitch just thought he’d throw that out there if anyone found the thing

before him. Giving in to his curiosity, he finally looked at the screen and asked, “Why’s Aaron involved? I

thought he gave Connors the heebie-jeebies.”

“I asked for the report he sent you earlier this week about the Secret Service members,” Connors said,

ignoring the whole previous conversation with his head still stuck in the report.

“How did you know about that?” Mitch asked, looking at Aaron for the answer.

“I’m your partner, Knox. You need to run things past me; I run them past you. When you’re gathering

this kind of information, I need to know.”

“Sorry, dude.” Stuart looked directly at Mitch, sporting an extreme case of bedhead. “He messaged me

and asked for the same report. I got the wires crossed.”

“By the way, thank you for the gift. My son’s a huge Captain America fan,” Connors said, glancing up

for the first time, looking genuinely thankful. The problem was that Mitch had no idea what the guy was

talking about. Mitch slowly lost the smile as Brown began to laugh. That was when he clued in—Anne must

have had his back and sent something to the boy.

“You don’t read your text messages, do you?” she asked. Mitch looked over at her. Even though it was

late, he quickly turned back to Connors.

“You’re more than welcome. I was glad to do it,” Mitch said, finally taking credit for the gift he hadn’t

sent.

“Oh fuck you,” Connors mumbled, burying his head back in the report.

“Did he just say a cuss word? Did the proper Agent Tyler Connors tell me to, let’s see, fuck off?”

Brown laughed, but Connors pushed away from the table and the donuts and started pacing the small

room. Brown used the opportunity to grab the coffee cup left sitting between Mitch and Connors. He gave a

salute as the agent sat back down.

“It’s too fucking clean! This whole fucking case is too clean. I’ve read every report you’ve done, Knox.

I thought you had to be missing something. I reviewed all the investigators’ reports on each accident. I

called the friends and family myself. It’s too clean. There are no mistakes. None! Now, I’ve reverted to

calling in this guy,” Connors said, whipping his hand toward Aaron.

“No offense,” Mitch called toward the webcam.

“None taken,” Aaron called back. Connors never stopped his rant.

“I reviewed your files on the smaller, unknown homosexual hate crimes in the country over the last two

years. I’m supposing that information came from Stuart too.” Mitch didn’t respond. “It would take years to

investigate all those crimes and find the cases so clean that they fit these patterns.”

A duplicate of Mitch’s wall of pictures had also made its way to the wall of the conference room.

Connors stood in front of them, staring. “Not one survivor knows anything about who attacked them,

including the Greyson kid.”

“What? He’s awake?” Mitch asked.

“You seriously don’t look at your messages. I went over there last night when I couldn’t get you. He’s

blacked out on everything,” Connors explained.

“Shit. I honestly didn’t expect anything different.” Mitch leaned back in his chair, staring at Connors. He

ignored the phone reference. He hadn’t even heard his phone going off last night, and he certainly hadn’t

checked the thing this morning.

“I’d say we need to expand our tactical team. We’re missing something,” Connors said, still staring at

the pictures as though the answers were hidden within them. He stood, coming to stand beside Connors,

looking over the photos.

“Do you know how many millions of case files in the FBI are worked and never solved?” Connors

asked now in a much lower voice. It was a voice of defeat. Mitch knew it well. He’d had his moment last

night with Cody. Mitch did the calm-down-man pat on Connors, then gripped his shoulder in a gesture of

understanding.

“I get it. I swear I do, but you’re the best we’ve got. No one’s better than you. I hear that shit all the

time,” Mitch said quietly, trying to add compassion to his tone. “Now come back to the table and let’s start

this over.”

“I’ve got nothing,” Connors shook his head, looking straight at Mitch. “Not one single lead after a solid

week’s worth of work.”

“Imagine then how I feel about working this case for the last eight months? Come on. Are you guys

here for the day?” Mitch asked Brown and Anne.

“Yes,” Anne responded with a firm nod.

“Stuart, you staying or going?” Mitch asked, sitting Connors back down on his seat.

“I’m going. I’m already in enough hot water for not being at my brother’s wedding breakfast. I mean,

seriously, who has a breakfast on the day of their wedding? Ring if you need me,” Stuart offered and

clicked off the screen.

“I’ll get Kreed to come back and join this team, too. I’ll request him officially on Monday. We can do

this, guys. There’s enough intelligence and tenacity right here to get this job done. We need to think outside

the box. Think like competent, well-trained serial killers. These guys need us.” Mitch used Cody’s words

from earlier as he pointed to the photo wall. He took his seat, draining the last of his coffee before taking a

big bite of the donut. They had this. “All right, guys, let’s start from the beginning.”

Chapter 28

“No, I can hangout and pick you up,” Mitch said into the phone as he ran buck-naked across the hotel

bedroom to grab their beer bottles left in the living room. He and Cody had gone out, but made an early

night, opting for a twelve-pack and the privacy of Mitch’s hotel room for Cody’s second and final night in

DC.

“I can grab a rental,” Kreed started, but Mitch cut him off, diving under the covers Cody held open.

They had turned the heat off and the AC down low, needing human contact to stay warm.

“No, it’s not a problem. I’ll be there anyway,” Mitch tried to explain again.

“Why will you be at the airport?” Kreed sounded confused.

“I’ll tell you later. Text me your arrival info. Bye,” Mitch hung up the phone, tossing the cell somewhere

on the bedside table. When he heard the thump, he realized he must have missed the table all together and

the phone fell to the floor. He immediately descended on Cody’s perfect, smiling lips. When he decided he

needed more of that instead of the beer break they’d decided on, a loud shrill scream had him looking

around the room to see what had happened.

“My sister’s ringtone. Hand me my phone or she’ll just keep sending me texts.” Cody scowled, looking

in the direction of the phone, and as if on command, the scream sounded again.

“She thinks she’s funny,” Cody explained, extending a hand for the phone he couldn’t quite reach.

Mitch rose, gave Cody the phone, and turned around on the bed. Screaming sisters sounded drama-

filled, but he smiled and kissed the top of Cody’s head as he rested his back against Mitch. It was funny

how comfortable they’d gotten. That stiff, uptight Cody he’d first met was long gone, except for sometimes

in public Mitch could feel him pulling away. When Cody did turn shy, Mitch refused to let him. He was

quickly learning how to handle his man.

They had about fifteen more hours together, and he sure as hell didn’t want Cody to close up on him

now. He’d been intrigued with Cody Turner since the night they’d met, and now he was just plain taken

with the man.

“The room gets seriously cold,” Cody said and Mitch wrapped him tighter in his arms, drawing the

covers up around them as Cody worked his phone. Another scream filled the cold hotel room. That one

had Mitch smiling, and he made the mistake of looking down at the cell phone as a guy’s picture filled the

screen. The smile fled and Mitch’s brow narrowed.

“Who’s that?” he asked. He shouldn’t have. He shouldn’t have even looked at the phone, but, too late,

he had.

“I’m not sure,” Cody answered vaguely and the phone screamed again. “Damn she can be a pain in the

ass.”

Cody worked his phone until he brought up a box. Mitch’s eyes stayed glued to the screen—he

shouldn’t be snooping, but he couldn’t keep himself from reading the series of messages that Cody and his

sister sent back and forth. Cody shot off a quick ‘ that’s enough. I’m busy and I’ll call you tomorrow’ text

message.

Once he hit send, he started to put the phone away, but Mitch stopped him. “Who’s Jonathan Klive

Barlett, age twenty-seven, five-eight with okay looking blue eyes?” The text screamed again before he got

his answer.

“She’s such a pain in the ass,” Cody repeated, ignoring the incoming text. He silenced his phone.

“Answer the question,” Mitch pushed. He really needed to know the answer. He didn’t think Cody had a

boyfriend, but had he ever asked that question? Maybe he didn’t want to know the answer after all. Cody

turned in his arms, lying on his chest, then he tossed the phone on the nightstand and sighed. Mitch pulled

the blankets up around them.

“Someone my sister suggested I meet,” Cody answered, his piercing blue eyes were back on Mitch, right

where they should be. He liked that.

“Are you going to meet him?” Mitch asked. Please say no…please say no! He didn’t want Cody

hooking up with this Klive guy or any other dude for that matter.

“I don’t know. Probably not. She has terrible taste in men,” Cody said and shrugged.

“Are those the kinds of guys you usually date?” Mitch nodded toward the phone.

“Yeah, I mean, sure, sometimes. Yes. And I usually prefer to date guys more than just having a quick

fuck. I mean it’s not like serious dating, but someone to hang out with until the next one comes along. I

honestly haven’t dated all that much, since I’ve been focused on my career,” Cody said, reaching for the

Bud Light bottle on the nightstand. “I bet you’re a fuck ’em and leave ’em kind of guy, aren’t you?”

“Quit changing the subject.” Mitch’s gaze stayed trained on Cody.

“I didn’t know we were on a subject,” Cody replied after a long swallow. “Is this like an interrogation

thing?” Cody asked and reached up to kiss Mitch. Cody sucked his lip in his mouth and kissed him a little

longer than a standard kiss. Cody tasted like beer and pure hot sexed-up male, and that stirred Mitch’s body.

Who was he kidding? His body came to life the minute Cody walked into baggage claim and hadn’t stopped

since.

“No, but I’m pretty sure I’d like to be the next guy you date,” Mitch growled, rolling them over to where

he ended up on top of Cody. He settled between his legs, adjusted his cock so it nestled beside Cody’s as he

stared down at the cowboy. “I mean, I’m absolutely sure I want that spot.”

Cody just looked up at him with the most beautiful expression on his face, one that made Mitch shiver.

He rose again, tenting the covers over them and anchored up on his elbows, holding Cody’s head in place.

“What do you think?”

“I think I wasn’t expecting that. And Louisiana’s a long way away from Austin, Texas.”

“I can be anywhere, just about any time. I catch flights like most people catch cabs,” Mitch said and

arched his hips, pushing himself against Cody’s belly, angling himself so his and Cody’s dicks got a sensual

rub.

“All right,” Cody finally said, and a throaty moan escaped his lips as his eyes fluttered closed. “Damn, I

already need to come again. Shit, the things you do to me.”

“So I’ve got the spot?” Mitch reached out of the blankets to grab the lube and condoms, but changed his

mind. He hadn’t finished giving Cody one of his mind-altering, down his throat blow-jobs. He’d been

saving that for in the morning. A parting gift, but now seemed a better time. “Say it, Cody, and I’ll suck

your dick.”

Why was he pressing this? He’d already gotten a basic yes, because really ‘all right’ could be a solid yes.

Mitch leaned down and licked then gently bit at the pebble of Cody’s nipple. He swirled his tongue around

the erect nub and slid his hand lower, grabbing both their cocks in his fist. Cody moaned and Mitch kind of

lost his mind right there along with Cody. Cody writhed beneath him, all those thick muscles flexing against

his. Mitch gave a few good pumps then released his own cock and concentrated only on Cody. “Say it,

cowboy…tell me we’re dating.”

“We’re dating.” Cody gasped.

Mitch kissed a trail down Cody’s flat stomach, stroking him with purpose. He took Cody deep down his

throat in the first try, and a string of curse words tore free from Cody’s lips. Mitch could feel Cody lift his

head and adjust the blankets to watch him. The look in Cody’s eyes gripped his heart. He was so lost to the

moment, so lost to this man.

Chapter 29

“I’m glad I came.” Cody looked over at Mitch. The weather was mild today. He’d been told at breakfast

this was an unusual occurrence for this time of year. The sun was out, the temperature warm, and he

strolled hand in hand with Mitch through the parking garage toward the airport. The sun was so bright he

still squinted behind his Ray Bans.

“I haven’t ever been here before. It’s nice. Everybody’s very open here,” Cody said. He wished he could

feel as supported in Texas.

“Yeah, I think this area was one of the first to legalize gay marriage,” Mitch said. He easily kept pace

with Cody, stride for stride. Cody found he liked those types of things about Mitch; they were perfectly

matched in so many ways.

“In my part of the world, they’re gonna have to be forced to treat us equal. They won’t do it on their

own,” Cody said, stepping through the door Mitch held for him and smiling as he passed him by. Mitch had

kept that routine for the entire weekend. Now that Cody knew how much Mitch tried to please him, those

little acts made him feel special.

“Check-in’s over here.” Mitch pointed toward a row of ticket counters. It took a second for Cody’s eyes

to adjust to the interior lighting. He followed along behind Mitch as they approached the desk. As Cody

went through the procedures of getting his boarding pass, Mitch stayed close by, kind of anchored against

the counter, just watching everything that happened, but not saying much.

When he finished, Mitch guided him down to TSA security, the line was long and Mitch waited with

him. “I wish you would stay,” Mitch said, the familiar refrain that started earlier today. Mitch wanted him to

stay the week. Finish his vacation out with him in DC.

“I want to too, but I can’t. Thank you for flying me out.” Cody hoped to change the subject. He’d

considered staying. Truth was that he didn’t have anything really going on, but in his mind, staying only

showed that he was needy somehow. He’d declined Mitch’s offer even though Mitch was hell bent on trying

to keep him there.

“You’re changing the subject,” Mitch said.

“And you don’t take no for an answer very well,” he replied.

“True, but if I had, you wouldn’t be standing here,” Mitch shot back. “We’re getting to the front of the

line. If you get on the other side and decide you can’t live without me this week, I’ll be here, waiting.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m a big boy.”

“Yes, you are.” Mitch grinned broadly and winked at him.

“You know what I mean. I’ll be okay.” Cody laughed him off, trying to mentally distance himself. He

wanted so badly to tell Mitch he’d changed his mind, that he wanted to spend the rest of his vacation right

here with Mitch. But the few extra days would only make saying goodbye so much harder. Mitch was right,

the line went quickly, and they were at the front as he moved to the security desk.

“But I might not be,” Mitch said quietly. Cody looked over his shoulder, surprised at the words. The

man was so open with his feelings. He didn’t hide anything. He was just completely comfortable with who

he was and what he wanted. After a second of Cody just staring, Mitch pushed his sunglasses up on his

head and smiled that dimpled smile. God, he had it bad for this guy.

“Sir, we’re waiting. If you aren’t ready, please step aside,” the security guard said to Cody.

“I’m ready,” Cody said and showed his identification along with his boarding pass. A second later, he

was nodded through.

“Hey, Mitch,” the TSA agent said. Cody watched as Mitch handed over his badge. He’d taken a couple

of steps away, but he could still hear Mitch talking quietly with the guy, and they both looked in his

direction at the same time. Mitch made his way over to Cody, he’d apparently gotten access to pass through

the security checkpoint and began pulling the bins and placing his stuff on the conveyors.

“I thought this was goodbye,” Cody said, watching Mitch work.

“Shhhh, he’s doing me a favor. I’m going with you through security,” Mitch whispered, urging Cody to

get moving. They were backing up the line. Cody complied, sliding off his boots as Mitch placed his carry-

on on the belt.

“Step through the box, place your hands above you head.” Cody went through the motions of airport

security. Mitch did too, and they came out the other side. Mitch hadn’t lied; he was a pro at the whole thing,

never faltering where Cody, with his lack of travel skills, had to be guided through the processes.

“Over here.” Mitch motioned, Cody’s duffel hanging over his shoulder.

“Your gate’s all the way down there.” Mitch pointed to the right, again taking his hand, walking him in a

different direction than he’d indicated. “I have to go out this way.”

Just to the right of security was a small hall with a door at the end. It wasn’t a crowded area like the rest

of the airport, but they weren’t alone either. Mitch took several steps toward the door before stopping and

turning, drawing Cody against him by a tug of the hips.

“Thank you for coming,” Mitch said, dropping Cody’s bag to the floor.

“You’ve already said that, and I had a good time. Thank you,” Cody replied.

“I’m gonna kiss you, cowboy.” Mitch’s amber eyes bore into his soul.

“But we did that in the car. There’re so many people.” Cody couldn’t look away.

“I can’t help it. I’m not sure when I’ll see you again.” Mitch moved in so close their chests touched.

“It’ll make people uncomfortable.” Cody pretended to protest, but Mitch was already moving forward.

“Just a small kiss,” Mitch whispered and leaned in, pressing his lips against Cody’s with a teasing swipe

of his tongue. Cody couldn’t resist and opened slightly. When the tip of his tongue met the tip of Mitch’s,

something happened. The entire busy airport faded away, and Cody opened fully for Mitch’s kiss. The kiss

was intensely passionate and filled with promise. It took his breath away and reached out to capture Cody’s

heart, right there in the airport terminal. This might have been the best goodbye kiss ever on the planet.

Desperation, more than the need to breathe, had Cody pulling away. He bit his bottom lip and just stared

at Mitch.

“Hold my spot for me,” Mitch said, and again those dang eyes pinned Cody where he stood.

“I will,” he promised. Mitch leaned in again and kissed him with a soft brush of lips before he stepped

away from the wall.

“You’re probably gonna have to jog to your gate. It’s a little bit of a hike. Remember, if you change your

mind and wanna stay, I’m just a phone call away.” Mitch kissed his lips again.

“All right,” Cody nodded and scrubbed a hand over his face before picking up his duffel bag at Mitch’s

feet. “All right.” He turned on his heel and took off to the left.

“Wrong way,” Mitch called out. Dammit! He had gone the wrong way. He turned around to see Mitch

standing there, a huge smile on his handsome face. Cody waved and headed in the other direction. He had

fifteen minutes to figure out where he was and get on that plane.

~~~

Mitch sat directly outside the airport arrival doors where he’d dropped Cody off. He found a park bench

and kicked back, letting the heat of the sun warm his skin. He stayed like that for about thirty minutes. He

kept his phone in his hand and waited just in case Cody changed his mind. Damn, he really hoped Cody

changed his mind.

He’d be working long hours from now until they solved this case, and he got that Cody would be

completely alone while he worked, but he had grown fond of the idea of coming home and having Cody

waiting for him. And yes, he also got how silly that sounded, but he couldn’t care less.

When he figured enough time had passed and Cody hadn’t bailed on the flight, he let the

disappointment settle in as hope faded away. He looked at his phone to assess the time. It was noon, and

Kreed arrived at one fifteen. The two of them were to meet at the office with the rest of the team by two

thirty. Mitch thought over his options. It was time for lunch. He loved food, but eating with all the stupid

feelings of loss he had flipping through his stomach didn’t seem like a good idea.

Instead he picked up his phone and sent Cody a text he’d get once he landed. “You should have stayed.

I miss you already. Text me and let me know you got home okay. This weekend was the best weekend that

I’ve had in a very long time, thank you.”

Then he did something he never did, he voluntarily called his mom just to chat. On the third ring, he got

a winded, “Is everything okay, Son?”

He winced. He supposed he deserved that kind of greeting, but he hated that when his mom saw his

name, she worried.

“Of course everything’s fine. Can’t I just call and talk to the best mom ever?” There was a pause on his

mother’s part, a long one, and Mitch laughed. “Mom, I’m fine. I realized that I haven’t talked to you since

Jace and Colt’s wedding. How are you doing?” Mitch asked. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back,

facing the sun.

“You’ve met someone special, haven’t you, Son?” That had him sitting forward, looking around. How

did she know that?

“Nah, not really… I mean, maybe. I don’t know. How do you know? Am I that transparent?” Mitch

stumbled on his words as he danced around the subject.

“I know my children. You all are all the same. Flying the nest, being free, and then settling right back

here when it’s family time,” she said. “Besides, I always said you got your investigative skills from my side

of the family.”

His mom laughed as he absorbed her words. He weighed how much he should say. He loved his family,

his mom was the best, but regardless of how he’d acted with Cody, he was an incredibly private person.

“Mitch, did you hang up on me?” she asked.

“No, I’m here,” he answered.

“Well, then, stop overthinking this. I’ve warmed my tea from a little bit ago, and I’m sitting down. I’m

alone until your sister comes over in about an hour. Tell me about him.”

“Mom. I don’t know what you’re…” Mitch stopped himself and rested his elbows on his knees. Was he

going to tell her? He sighed and hung his head a moment. Apparently so. “His name’s Cody Turner. He’s

younger than me. Not that much younger, but enough to say he’s younger—he’s twenty-six. He lives in

Texas. He works for Texas DPS, he’s a State Trooper.”

“Oh good, is he friends with Jace and Colt?” she asked.

“No, but I met him the last time I was in Dallas. He lives in Austin, but he was in town for some

business,” Mitch said, staring a hole in the small patch of grass at his feet.

“And you’ve spent time with him?” she asked. These were all questions designed to keep him talking.

He knew the tactic, had perfected the skill, but it worked like a charm on him nevertheless.

“This weekend, he flew up here. I’m in DC, and we spent the weekend together,” Mitch confessed.

“Was it a nice weekend?” she asked.

“Very nice,” he said, smiling at the grass. “He’s good-looking and funny,” Mitch added and then he

trailed off. “He gets my job. That’s a big one right there.”

“Have you told him how you feel?” she asked.

“Not really. I don’t really know how I feel. You kind of took me off guard with all this. I was really just

calling to say hi. He’s got a big family like ours. His parents are still married. He’s got pain-in-the-butt

brothers and sisters and lots of nephews and nieces. We have a lot of similarities like that in common.”

“That’s important, I think, to have similar backgrounds,” she said. “What does he look like?”

“He’s tall, a little taller than me. He works out pretty heavily, I think. He’s got blond hair…”

“When are you going to bring him home to meet the family?” she asked.

“Not for a long time, Mom. I’m trying to keep him, not send him away screaming,” he laughed. “Now,

tell me how you’re doing?”

“Honey, we’re all just fine. All the grandkids are growing so big. You won’t recognize any of them. Your

dad’s working too much. He’s always gone, but he loves it. The team’s bouncing back from Colton being

gone. It’s an exciting time. We watched Colt broadcast a game this weekend. He did very well. Your father

called him afterward. He got a kick out of that,” his mom said, efficiently catching him up.

“That’s good, Mom. I’m glad to hear it. Listen, I love you. Tell Dad too.”

“I will, Mitch, and you need to tell that man how you feel. You certainly aren’t getting any younger,

Son.”

“Was that a joke? Did Ellen tell you to say that if I called?” Mitch asked.

“You know, I’ve told you that you get your sense of humor from my side of the family,” she said,

laughing.

“I love you, Mom. Bye.”

“Bye, baby,” she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. Conversation about flying the nest and

coming back home…Wait! Did she just tell him he was like his brothers and sister? Surely not, right?

Mitch cringed as he realized the truth. He did want Cody to meet his family.

Chapter 30

“Thanks, man, for picking me up,” Kreed said as they drove down the highway toward FBI

headquarters.

“Not a problem. I planned to let you walk in the FBI building armed, but I decided to spare you this

time. You owe me,” Mitch teased, keeping his eyes on the road.

“What’s that mean?” Kreed sounded completely confused.

“They let me walk in the front doors of the FBI building unannounced. Connors wasn’t there; his kid

was in the hospital. I got detained for a little while. Had all the FBI attitude in my face trying to figure out

what the hell was wrong with me.” Mitch gave an exaggerated eye roll. They’d worked enough with the FBI

for Kreed to know exactly what he was talking about.

“Oh hell, I bet that was epic. Sorry I missed that,” Kreed said, laughing out loud.

“I was gonna let you experience the same welcome, but I’ve decided to keep my fun to myself since you

came all this way to help out,” Mitch chuckled.

“That’s mighty nice of you, Knox.” He couldn’t help but catch the moment of realization on Kreed’s

face. “What’s wrong with you? Are you dying or something?”

“What? No, nothing’s wrong.”

“Tell me why you were already at the airport today,” Kreed prodded, looking at him speculatively.

“No, and stop looking at me like that.” Mitch focused his eyes fully back on the road and angled his

body so his right arm rested on the wheel. He didn’t want to explain anything to Kreed right now.

“What’s with you, man? Picking me up at the airport, choosing not to set me up for your own

enjoyment? What the hell?” Mitch refused to speak, so Kreed narrowed the questions. “Why were you at

the airport? Who were you seeing off?”

Mitch sighed. Kreed would eventually get it out of him, so Mitch broke and spoke.

“I met someone. I showed you his picture” Mitch said casually.

“And he flew out here to be with you while you’re in the middle of a big break for the case you’ve had

a hard-on about for the last nine months?” Yep, he knew that was exactly where Kreed would go.

“Fuck you, man. It’s none of your fucking business. See if I tell you anything else,” Mitch countered.

“Ahh, that’s right, you’ve been mentioning that nonsense about a relationship since you met the football

guy and the cheerleader. Are you just settling for anyone?” Kreed asked.

“Aren’t you just Mary fucking Sunshine? And I’m not settling for shit. You’re pissing me off,” Mitch

replied, refusing to look at Kreed.

“Good, then my job is done. I’m hungry. Stop by Mickey D’s up there,” Kreed said and pointed to the

McDonald’s sign up ahead.

“Fuck you. You can wave as we go by.”

~~~

Four hours later, Mitch, Connors, Brown, and Kreed sat in the conference room, scouring over all the

case information they’d accumulated. The wall of photos had become a maze of information, a puzzle of

sorts. They had been thorough with each individual incident. Mitch had done a good job gathering and fact-

finding. Even putting in all the hours and having all these eyes and minds working the information, nothing

changed except a growing victim tally.

“So we have the Greyson kid. He’s the odd man out,” Kreed stated as he led this round of discussion

while they all sat back studying the wall.

“Correct,” Brown agreed.

“He’s different from the rest,” Kreed repeated. Mitch answered with a nod, and Connors shook his head

no.

“Let him finish,” Mitch said, holding up a hand as Connors started to speak.

“He’s different, Connors, because he’s not in the public eye.” Kreed kept talking as he rounded the

table.

“That’s Mitch’s theory, but I disagree,” Connors argued.

“Hold up, man, and let him finish. You can have the floor next, but listen for once,” Mitch said,

aggravated. Kreed continued without ever taking his eyes off the board.

“Yes, Greyson’s in the public eye for negative reasons. His father’s a hard-core republican with a gay

son. I get that. But these others are established men who appeared in the news for some recent success they

had. The Greyson kid hadn’t. My theory is when they left their original plan of going after middle-aged,

publicized gay men that that’s when they started making mistakes. If they continue going outside their target

base, that means something in all this. These mistakes could continue to happen with everyone they target.

Besides, we know they have to have a huge ego by now. They’ve gotten away with murder. Or the kid

might not actually be a part of the big plan. He might be a message.”

“I don’t know,” Brown started.

“Let’s play the what-if game for a minute.” Kreed jumped back in to take the floor. “They got cocky and

went off their original plan of attack. The kid wasn’t intended to get out of the exploding car. That’s the first

mistake these guys ever made, because it wasn’t a well-executed or organized plan.”

“We all agree with you on that,” Connors said drily, clearly still not completely on board, but

participating.

“He was abducted from a coffee shop. His Secret Service agent was out front. The kid’s background

check and record are coming back clean, plus surveillance shows his agent sitting out front, waiting for the

kid to leave. Security cameras in the front and the back of the shop never showed him exiting the building.

We have two mistakes right there. You can’t vanish into thin air, and he was able to work himself out of the

car before it detonated.”

“Correct, but we’ve interviewed every person we could find who patronized the coffee shop at the time

of the alleged kidnapping. We followed the receipt trail. We also interviewed the entire staff of the place,”

Connors said.

“And what did you find from all that talking?” Kreed asked.

“Elliot Greyson was in the coffee shop for about an hour, studying. He went to the restroom and never

came out,” Connors answered.

“And there’re no windows?” Kreed asked. Mitch kicked back in his chair, concentrating on the

conversation. He’d gotten this far on his own, but had also read the investigation reports on the customers

and helped interview the employees himself.

“Not a one,” Brown said, looking down at the report in front of him. “Connors did you look for

yourself?”

“Of course I looked for myself,” Connors retorted.

“You still can’t vanish into thin air,” Kreed said. “This is where I think we concentrate. Someone had to

see something. They had to get him out of the building. Whether they dressed him up or what.” Kreed

looked over at Mitch.

“I believe that was the conclusion we made. There are no cameras in that part of the shop,” Mitch said

as he bit at his fingernail.

“And the perps would have to know that,” Mitch added. He was on board with this. They’d been down

this road already, actually a couple of times, but it was all they had after the debacle of interviewing the

Secret Service.

“The video from the camera on the street’s too grainy to make out every person who entered or exited

the building. About thirty percent of the nightly receipts are unaccounted for,” Mitch stated, thinking

through everything they’d found.

Mitch’s phone vibrated at his hip, and he automatically took the cell from the holder, smiling when he

saw the text from Cody. He didn’t want to lose the momentum the team had going right now, so he forced

himself to slide the phone back in its holder. He’d call Cody when they took a break.

“Did you get your computer guy on it?” Kreed turned to Mitch and asked.

“Yeah, he couldn’t do much without enhancing the video beyond recognition. It lost too much integrity

or something like that. The camera equipment at the coffee shop isn’t great.”

“And the garbage?” Kreed questioned.

“We took it all. It came back clean, or relatively clean.” Connors jumped in. “I still think it’s impossible

to gather more from the shop. We were thorough in our investigation. We know where you’re at on this,

Sinacola. That was the strategy we had,” Connors said.

“Then it won’t hurt to take a second look.” Kreed rounded the table as he began to gather his laptop and

paperwork. “Let’s go by there now,” Kreed said to Mitch.

“Or we could do this the courteous way since we’ve disrupted their business quite a bit over the last

week.” Both Mitch and Kreed stared at Connors. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Brown was

surprised too.

“Let’s just go give it a walk-through. If it’s slow, we’ll interview whoever’s there before we make a

formal request to bring the employees in,” Mitch offered.

Brown seemed on board, but Connors shook his head no. Honestly, Connors was always slower to

agree. Mitch dropped his feet to the floor.

“What’s it hurt, man?” Mitch threw out the question as he stood.

“It doesn’t hurt anything, but if we put these people on the suspect list, it will change how they respond

to us,” Connors began.

“Exactly. That’s exactly it. We need to change things up. That’s why we have Brown and Kreed here full

time now,” Mitch said.

“He hasn’t even been officially assigned to the case,” Connors pointed out about Kreed.

“That’s why we’re just getting a cup of coffee.” Mitch grinned. Kreed was first out the door; Mitch

following along after him.

“I’m driving if you want a ride,” he called over his shoulder.

“We’ll meet you over there,” Brown yelled. He and Connors were still in the conference room.

“He’s a fucking douche, man. Are you sure he isn’t involved?” Kreed asked in the relative privacy of

the elevators.

“I’m gonna say yes, but who knows,” Mitch said, thinking over the possibility. Connors had fought him

every step of the way through this case.

Chapter 31

The four of them stood outside the coffee shop, staring at the note on the locked door. They were

closed tonight. One of their busiest nights of the week, and they were closed. That seemed off to Mitch.

“Closed for the day, praying justice is served,” Brown read the note out loud.

“Huh, what the hell does that mean?” Kreed asked, eyeing the note like the answer would pop off the

paper. “Did they tell you they were closing?”

“They aren’t suspects. They don’t have to keep us informed. It would do you good to read up on the

policies and procedures handbook,” Connors replied in his usual asshole manner.

“Man, what’s your fucking problem?” Kreed turned to confront Connors on his attitude, and Mitch got

between them.

“We’ll come back in the morning. No big deal,” Mitch soothed. “It’s late anyway.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say this whole time. This way we can make sure the owner’s available

to sit in on the interviews,” Connors said, making sure his suit was still laying correctly.

“For real?” Kreed looked at Mitch with a huge What The Fuck expression on his face. “This is what

you’ve been dealing with? How do you maintain?”

“The rules and procedures are here to make our jobs easier,” Connors began. He sounded very much

like the bullshit film they watched in training, certainly not a seasoned professional. Mitch flipped around

and looked at Connors.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I should let him kick your ass because you won’t read peoples body

language and learn you’re seriously annoying,” Mitch started in on him.

“Guys, not here. The cameras are on. United front and all that shit,” Brown said, smiling big and

motioning them back to their cars.

Kreed slammed the passenger door, rolled his window down, and yelled at Connors from the safety of

Mitch’s rental which was far away from the cameras on the building. “He’s a douche bag.”

“That’s what I thought too, but since I’ve been here, I’ve changed my mind. He’s just navigating the

political waters to do his job,” Brown replied, walking past them toward Connors’s car.

“I can’t believe he ever gets anything done,” Kreed said.

“He does. He gets his cases closed so tight they never stand a chance in court. I’ve heard all about it, he

just follows all the rules in getting them there. We’re lucky to have him,” Brown yelled out several feet from

them. Mitch regrettably tended to agree.

~~~

With a slide of his finger, Cody went through his entire collection of photos from the past weekend.

He’d visited museums and monuments, even visited George Washington’s plantation in Mt. Vernon on

Saturday. He’d taken so many pictures, even some selfies of them together on Saturday night after Mitch got

off work. They took one in the cab together, another with Mitch turning quickly to kiss him on the cheek.

Mitch had even taken a picture of his breakfast this morning with Cody’s phone, just so he’d remember

what he was missing by not choosing to stay longer.

Cody flipped through a few more pictures, but went back to the ones where they were together. Had he

made a mistake by not staying? Probably, but there was a game to this dating thing. If he’d have stayed, he

would have risked looking desperate, and as he sat alone in his apartment right now, he did feel pretty

miserable. Why hadn’t Mitch returned his text this evening when he got home?

The entire week, Mitch had answered him within minutes of his sent text. Now that he was back home,

there was nothing. Maybe Mitch had been at work the whole night… And Mitch did have bad reception in

the FBI building. But it was close to nine at night, ten in DC. Surely he’d be back at the hotel by now.

Maybe Mitch was out with his partner? Maybe this whole thing had just been a fuck-fest like Cody had

originally assumed. Maybe he was being blown off right now. Actually, he was about ninety-nine percent

certain the lack of communication meant he’d been solidly played. But if that was true, why had Mitch

referenced holding his spot over and over again? Perhaps Mitch liked to string guys along, wear down their

defenses. Or maybe he liked having the connection while they were there and when they were gone…out of

sight, out of mind.

Cody thumbed back to the pictures of them together. Mitch was a really good-looking guy. Cody wasn’t

terrible to look at, but Mitch took everything to the next level. His hair, eyes, and skin tone were all dark,

making him the perfect description of tall, dark, and handsome. His lips were full and grew fuller the longer

they kissed, and damn, he could kiss. Those dimples though. Cody loved those dimples. He loved the sex

with Mitch even more than he loved those sexy dimples. Mitch was the total package of smart,

accomplished and sexy as hell. He’d known that going in and knew Mitch was out of his league. Cody

should have never gone to DC in the first place.

Guys like Mitch didn’t just fall in your lap and stay there. Disillusionment and disappointment filled his

thoughts. Cody understood how guys like Mitch worked. They liked the chase, but didn’t like to stick.

How would this affect his future? US Marshals worked with the Texas Rangers on occasion. Would

Mitch be strolling in and out of the picture for the rest of his life? Shit. He probably would. The way Cody

had so easily agreed to hold the spot… The way he’d gone the opposite direction in the airport after that last

mind-blowing kiss… Thank god he hadn’t stayed around for the week.

Trying to gain some anger to help remove the pain slicing through his heart, Cody slid the pictures

away, shut down the screen, and put the phone on the charger.

He grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and pulled a steak from the freezer, dropping it in the

microwave on auto defrost before he headed to the patio to light the grill. He twisted the cap off the beer

bottle and took a long swig. Steak and beer, the perfect you’re-such-a-freaking-fool meal. He supposed

women would turn to ice cream and chocolate right about now. He did have a brand new container of Blue

Bell chocolate ice cream in the freezer. He’d probably open that up when he was done and catch up on a

few episodes of The Walking Dead.

Flipping the knobs to the grill, he looked out over his balcony. He lived in a ninth-floor apartment. Not

too high up, but still a perfect view of the parking lot and garage below. If he cocked his head and bent far

to the right, he could see Sixth Street. He had a great view of the Austin skyline, one of the things that had

drawn him to this apartment. Well, that and the bar downstairs.

He could definitely hear activity going on in the streets below. Maybe he should venture down there

tonight. The weather was absolutely perfect for a night out. The smells and sounds of the city were carried

on the light breeze. The town was just coming to life at this hour. He could get out, have a drink, and push

this sour feeling away before morning.

He decided against that and went back to the microwave as it dinged. He passed his radio, flipped the

button on, and Lady Antebellum’s “Just A Kiss” filled the space.

“Just perfect,” Cody sighed out loud. Why did everything have to remind him of Mitch? It wasn’t until

he had the steak on a plate, perfectly seasoned and ready to grill, that he heard the shrill ring of his cell. His

heart slammed in his chest. It was most likely one of his brothers or sisters, but he took off running,

struggling to switch everything into one hand in order to grab the phone. He’d got there as the phone went

to voice mail.

“Dammit!” The beer bottle he braced up against his chest with his forearm slipped forward, spilling on

to the plate as he pushed the button to see who’d called. A text came through with a whistle. One of those

exaggerated construction worker catcall kind of whistles that had him narrowing his brow. That was new.

He picked up his phone and opened the text. It was Mitch.

“Call me when you get this. It doesn’t matter the time.” Plain, simple, and to the point. Those few

words lifted his spirits like nothing else ever had before.

There was no hesitation; he immediately dialed Mitch while placing the beer bottle on the nightstand.

“I just tried to call you,” Mitch answered. No hello, nothing like that.

“I was trying to get to the phone,” Cody said, rounding the corner back into the living room to turn off

the radio.

“Are you out?” Mitch asked, he sounded a little defensive.

“No, I just turned on the radio in my apartment. I’m cooking a steak,” Cody replied, coming to stand in

the middle of the living room.

“It sucked coming back to the hotel and you not being here. Sucks even more now. My partner’s

bunking in with me tonight. The place’s packed, something’s going on in town, and his room isn’t ready

until tomorrow,” Mitch said, and there was a definite whine in his husky voice.

“Well, see, it’s better that I left then,” Cody said, finally moving forward when he remembered the steak

he held. He took the phone outside with him as he lifted the grill lid and dropped the steak on the grate.

“No, I don’t think so at all,” Mitch answered.

“Did you put the whistle on my phone?” Cody asked, walking back into his room to grab the beer off

the nightstand and heading back out to the balcony where he had a couple of lawn chairs set up. He’d kept

his tone light and easygoing in order to gauge Mitch’s. Did players call like this when they were blowing

people off?

“Yeah,” Mitch laughed. “You liked that, eh?”

“Yeah, it surprised me. I looked around the room wondering what the hell?” Cody sat back in the

lounge chair and looked out over the city. That intense happiness he had in Washington slowly crept back

in.

“I wanted you to know that’s what I think about you,” Mitch said.

Okay, well, that sure didn’t sound like a guy who was trying to get rid of him. Cody ran a hand over his

face and through his hair. When he was talking to Mitch, it was like the universe aligned itself in proper

position.

“You get weird when I say things like that.” Mitch’s voice sounded thoughtful.

“Not weird, just quiet. Where’s your partner now?” He had to change subject. He got up from his lounge

chair and made his way over to check his steak, trying to get out from under all this emotion coursing

through him.

“In the bedroom,” Mitch answered, his voice dropped lower. “I can’t…you know. He can hear me.”

“Does he know I was there?” Cody asked.

“Yeah, he figured it out pretty quick. I was happy, which is apparently uncommon for me. Who knew?”

Mitch said. Cody laughed at that. “I was in a meeting when you texted earlier. Watching Connors and Kreed

face off was pretty funny.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s like oil and water with those two,” Mitch chuckled.

“I thought you might be blowing me off,” Cody uttered randomly. He’d finally mustered the nerve and

just said the words. Seconds felt like hours as he waited for Mitch to respond.

“What? No. Not even a little bit. I wanted some privacy to talk to you. We worked all afternoon into

tonight and then I had to get Kreed situated. I actually miss you like crazy,” Mitch replied. He sounded

sincere. The words made perfect sense, and Cody’s relief level soared through the roof.

“You’re quiet again. Tell me, what’re you doing?” Mitch asked after a full minute of his silence. He took

his seat back on the patio and kicked his legs up on the rail.

“I just put a steak on the grill,” Cody answered.

“You could add that you’re missing me,” Mitch suggested, and Cody got quiet again. “There’s the

silence. I liked it better when you were here, and I could gauge your reaction. Damn, I miss you, Cody. I

don’t want that to freak you out, but I do. It was only two days, but when I came in tonight, the hotel

seemed lonely. Fuck, Cody, look what you’re doing to me. You have me assessing the feelings of a fucking

hotel room.”

“I miss you, too,” Cody confessed.

“You sound like it pained you to say that” Mitch laughed.

“What about the case? Do you think it’s moving in a different direction?” Cody questioned, moving the

conversation away from the sentimental stuff. He wasn’t good at expressing his feelings, so they needed to

talk about something different.

“We’re going backward again. I told you, we’re missing something. Kreed’ll help us. He’s a pain in the

ass sometimes, but good at his job.” Mitch let out a giant yawn in the middle of his sentence. “I’m beat,

cowboy. It’s late here, and I’m sleeping on the sofa bed. Besides, somebody kept me up all weekend. Hell,

when I think about it, you kept me up all week, Cody Turner.” Mitch chuckled again.

“I’m glad you called,” Cody replied.

“What’re you doing tomorrow?” Mitch asked.

“Hanging shingles on the barn at my parents place,” Cody answered.

“Cool. I’ll call you tomorrow night. Text me if you want, but remember, I have shoddy signal. It might

take me a little while to reply.”

“All right,” Cody said, and there was a pause.

“Damn, I don’t want to hang up this phone,” Mitch whispered.

“Go to sleep, I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Cody offered.

“All right, goodnight,” Mitch responded.

“Bye.” Cody ended the call and stared out into the night. Mitch had called and made everything right in

his world with just the sound of his voice. What the hell was that about? Cody let the smell of sizzling meat

pull him from his thoughts. He jumped up, letting the chair slam back as he lifted the lid to his grill and

tried to salvage the steak he’d let overcook on one side.