Ruxs head was pounding so hard he was wondering if he’d left his Metallica disc playing. Through the haze and fog, his mind played back through last night. His horrible date. Green saving him. Green bringing him home. Green smelling so good. Oh no. Ruxs groaned when he thought of the way he’d snuggled up to Green’s hard body and smelled him like he was a cologne model. Oh my god. Tell me I didn’t do that.

He rolled over and threw his hand over his face when he remembered the little pop question he’d asked his best friend. He was ninety-nine percent sure that Green would not bring it up, but Ruxs was still embarrassed by it. He didn’t mean to voice what he’d been pondering for months. Was it really that fucking great to be gay?

Ever since he got too fucked up to drive home and he’d crashed at Day and God’s place after their cookout this summer. Green was in Miami testifying in a Federal case, so he didn’t have his usual designated driver. Shit. He’d heard his lieutenants going at it in the middle of the night. It was so loud and violent, but wildly erotic. He didn’t know if they forgot he was downstairs or if they just didn’t give a fuck. He remembered being hard as goddamn stone lying there, and feeling like a pervert for listening. But since then, he hadn’t been able to get the sounds out of his head. The sounds of furious passion and uninhibited ecstasy. The way God roared his lover’s name when he ca —”

“Time to wake up, sunshine.” Green chuckled. His deep voice violently ripping Ruxs away from those memories.

He’d jumped so hard, he had to catch himself from almost falling out of bed. He knew Green was looking at him like he was crazy and he made sure the sheet was over his rock hard dick, his forearm trying to keep it pressed down. “Uh. Yeah. I’m up.” He groaned.

“There’s aspirin and some water by the bed. Hurry up. You got twenty minutes.” Green closed the door behind him.

His cock throbbed beneath his arm with no relief anywhere in sight. His head beat at a nauseating staccato, and his stomach felt like if he ate a thing, he was going to projectile vomit it back out. In less than an hour, he was going to be back around his lieutenants so soon after reliving that damn night again. All day he’d have to work with his friend that he basically tried to molest in the middle of the night. To boot, he had to go check on his crack head mother that refused to let him leave without completely demolishing his spirit today. Fuck. He had a feeling this was going to be like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Ruxs took a five minute freezing cold shower. It felt like shit, but it made his cock shrivel down to the size of a Vienna sausage, so the loss of his raging boner was a small plus. He got out, shaking like a leaf and quickly threw on some clothes. His AC/DC shirt was wrinkled but at least it was clean. He sat on the edge of the bed and put on his boots. When he’d finished he let his head rest between his knees for a few minutes, deciding if he was going to have to barf, before he went downstairs. He heard Green yell that he was getting in the truck. That meant he had two minutes.

Fuck me. He tucked his wallet and badge in his back pocket and shoved his Glock in his waistband at the small of his back. With his dark aviator glasses already on, he dragged his ass down the stairs and straight out the front door.

Green was staring at his cell phone when he climbed up into the truck. Ruxs turned to put on his seat belt and stiffened mid-motion. Motherfucker. He’s wearing that goddamn cologne. Ruxs stifled his groan and yanked his seatbelt hard, shoving it into the lock.

He could feel his friend’s eyes on him. He couldn’t bring himself to look back. “Hey. You feeling that bad, man? You drank a lot last night. Maybe you should stay home. Rest a few more hours. I’ll cover for you.” Green massaged his shoulder, his hand working up to the back of his neck, digging into the soft flesh just beneath his hairline. He was glad Green couldn’t see his eyes falling closed behind the dark lenses. His entire body buzzed and he could feel his cock pulsing in his black jeans. Fuck.

He shrugged Green’s hand off. He cleared his throat before he spoke but his voice was still gravely. “I’m good. Just got some shit on my mind.” Oh no.

“Look. If it’s about last ni —”

“No. What? No, it’s not. I gotta go see my mom today. I’m just thinking about that.  I’m sure she’s about out of food now,” Ruxs said hurriedly, stopping Green from bringing up his ridiculousness from last night.

“Oh man.” Green put his hand back on his shoulder again. “I’m going with you, okay.”

“Fuck no. I’m not making you have to deal with that shit again. I’ll do it myself after work.” When Ruxs took him along to his mom’s before, she’d called his partner everything but a child of god before turning her venom back to him. He hated the pity in Green’s eyes. He kept talking. “Then I’ll probably go home and crash. Get a good night’s sleep ya know.” Ruxs rubbed his hand over his hair in frustration, still staring straight ahead. He knew Green could see past all his crap. As soon as Green cut the engine off and turned his entire body to face him, he knew he was about to be called on it.

“Stop it, okay.” Green’s voice was low and firm. “I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but enough. Enough! I’m going with you, just like I said I would the last time. I’m not going to watch you sulk the rest of the damn day.”

Ruxs didn’t say anything else. Green started the truck again and drove them towards the interstate so they could go find JJ. They found out the guy had a front job at a small strip mall in Buckhead. Drug dealers always had some menial job to prove how they had income if they were ever busted. But JJ was one of the smarter ones. He didn’t have fancy gear and drive a tricked out car like a lot of the dealers, painting a bull’s eye on their back. JJ tried to play it smart, but unfortunately he wasn’t smarter than them.

Green parked in the alley behind the small cluster of stores. It was midday so there weren’t a great deal of patrons moving about. JJ was a low-level security guard for a small company that didn’t bother doing criminal background checks on their applicants since all their guards were unarmed.

Eventually JJ would have to walk behind the buildings and check the area. When he did, they’d have a little chat with him. Ruxs sat silently in the truck. They’d been waiting for forty-five minutes and still no JJ yet. Green drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, glaring straight ahead.

“You gonna talk to me now?”

Ruxs didn’t answer.

“Okay, fine. Did you get to ask God that question? Did he give you some juicy details?” Green huffed a soft laugh.

Fucking great.

Ruxs tried to contain his anger. Green was making fun of something that had been costing him countless hours of sleep. Something that was serious to him. He should’ve been able to share his problems with his best friend and not be teased for it. He’d been around his partner for years, but since he hadn’t dated in so damn long, he was wondering why he was so content with simply being around Green. He rarely even looked at women. Sarah was a beautiful girl, he should’ve at least tried to score, even though they may not have gotten into a relationship, it was still okay to have friends with benefits.

Green was still chuckling at him. “Fuck you, man,” Ruxs growled.

“Aww. Now don’t go getting all sensitive.” Green went to rub his shoulder again but with lightning speed Ruxs gripped his wrist before he could touch him and squeezed it hard. Startled at the quick move, Green gritted his teeth, his other arm shooting up and catching a hold of the back of Ruxs neck, squeezing and pulling him towards him.

“Let go.” Green snarled in his face. Ruxs could smell the recent cup of coffee Green’d had on his breath, their faces were so close. Ruxs bared his own teeth and tightened his hold, but not as much as he could. His fingers dug hard into Green’s wrist, and Ruxs felt the pressure on his neck intensify to a dull ache. Green wasn’t trying to hurt him, either. Green pulled him in until their foreheads touched. His voice took on a tone that he rarely used. Finality. “Let go.”

Ruxs very slowly released the harsh grip on Green’s wrist. He felt like shit for doing that. Green had no idea what he was warring with inside. After a couple seconds the extreme pressure on his neck subsided, but Green didn’t let him pull back as he carefully rubbed the hot skin he’d been gripping.

“Why won’t you talk to me?” Green whispered. He used his other hand to remove Ruxs’ dark glasses. He wanted to stop him but he let him do it. “You haven’t even looked at me today.”

Green’s mouth was right there. Just a hair’s width away. So full and soft looking. His eyes were cast down as he traced the Cupid’s bow shape with his eyes. He could feel Green’s breath elevate along with his own. He needed to tell him. Tell what had been driving him in-fucking-sane. Tell him that he might be a little bit attracted to him. He wasn’t sure, but maybe. What if he did tell him and it fucked everything up? Their friendship, partnership, job, everything. But he couldn’t go on like this forever. He’d thought the feelings would subside after a while, but they hadn’t, they’d actually intensified.

“Just say it.” Green’s voice was so soft.

Ruxs looked into Green’s smoky eyes and opened his mouth to speak. But just as he was about to utter his first word, that asshole JJ came around the corner. Fucking damnit! Ruxs straightened in his seat and he saw Green flash him a frustrated look. Ruxs pointed. “There he is.”

Green spun around and watched as JJ made his way down the narrow street. The second he spotted their truck a look of panic set in his face and Ruxs was hoping he didn’t have to chase him. JJ lifted his head higher and kept walking towards them.

Green got out first and Ruxs clicked the safety off on his Glock and tucked it in the front waistband of his jeans. He stepped out just as JJ got to the truck.

“I see you got my message, Green,” JJ said roughly. His lip was curled up in a sneer as he watched Ruxs walk slowly towards them. “Cool out, Ruxsberg. I messaged you, remember.”

“Yeah. We got it,” Green answered, leaning casually against the hood.

“You know I could get killed for this shit, and it wouldn’t be pretty. Doubt you guys would even recognize my body if Chainz knew I was meeting with 5.O.” JJ looked back and forth down the alley, looked like he was convincing himself of something. His long dreads were pulled up in a black knit hat, showing all of his smooth dark skin. He was young and built, but not as muscled as them. Probably could be a nice young man, if he didn’t get mixed up in the bad crowd.

Ruxs and Green waited JJ out. The guy had never given them a hard time. Anytime they arrested him, he came easily enough. But this was different. He had information they needed. They didn’t want to press too hard. That made informants jumpy. “Does God know what’s going down? Is that why he sent y’all out?”

Everyone on the streets – or every drug dealer in Atlanta – knew God and Day. Knew what their task force was about, and knew how proficient they were. They’d taken down huge names, and not just in Atlanta. They’d worked on countless cases with the feds. None of the dealers underestimated what God and his task force could do. If you popped up on their radar, then you were as good as busted. JJ knew this as well, so Ruxs knew to play it up.

“Yeah. He knows, and he ain’t happy.” Ruxs stood tall, always using his build as an intimidation tactic.

JJ hissed a “fuck” before squeezing the back of his neck.

“Talk to us JJ. What’s going on?” Green spoke up.

“Fuck man. How do I know God’s not going to come after me?” JJ frowned.

“You don’t. All you can do is try to stay on his good side.” Ruxs chimed in. It was the truth. Under no circumstance would they ever tell a dealer that God and Day would not arrest them. They couldn’t speak for them or make deals on their behalf.

“Talk. I don’t have all day.” Green pushed off the truck like he was ready to leave.

“Alright man. Chill out. Damn.” JJ lowered his voice like there might be someone else listening. “Chainz is on some foul shit. He been doing some dealings with these foreign cats in Canada. They got fucking trucks that can get through the border undetected and everything. Chainz is talking about having them bring two hundred pounds of weed and a quarter mil in coke by next month.”

Ruxs and Green both had to check their first reaction. That was a lot of fuckin’ drugs to hit the streets if they let it. No damn way. That shit would not be acceptable. “Are you sure they are definitely coming?”

JJ pinched the bridge of his nose, like he was beyond stressed out. “Fuck yes. The deal is made. I was there. He’s already paid half and the other half is gonna be paid when they arrive.”

“You look nervous. What aren’t you telling us?” Ruxs stepped closer, reading JJ’s body language. The man’s hands shook as he adjusted his walkie-talkie volume.

“Fuck, man. Those Canadian dudes are on a whole different level, Ruxsberg. We were outnumbered five-to-one when we went to meet them. They had machine guns, men on the rooftops and shit.”

“How many men do you think there are?” Green asked.

“Hell if I know. Those are just the ones that were at the meeting to exchange the dough.” JJ huffed. The guy looked ready to snap, he was wound so tight. They needed to get everything because they might not get another chance if JJ was this scared.

“Alright. Calm down, J. Tell us where the meeting took place.”

“A warehouse the Canadians own in East Point off Headland.”

“Is that where they are going to bring in the shipment too?” Green said, already Googling the address.

“Yeah. Chainz thought it’d be brilliant to bring all that shit to one of the houses on Cleveland and put it underneath the house and flip it from out of there, just like always. No one would think we could stash that much. But word is already getting around. Someone is talking. Not just me. We gonna be defending ourselves more than getting the product out. Do you know how many different sets would roll up and try to hit that house, trying to rob us, man?” JJ tugged at his knit cap in frustration.

“You’re not the only one that doesn’t want to deal with these guys, huh?” Ruxs asked, suddenly feeling sorry for JJ. He really looked like his world was about to come to an end.

“Hell no. I can name five g’s off the top of my head that’s not feeling this deal. Them foreigners don’t want to work with a bunch of ghetto thugs from the slums of A.T.L. Some of us think when the time comes, those trucks are going to be empty and they’re going to jack the rest of the money and fuckin’ let loose on us. We suggested trying to put together our own army but Chainz doesn’t want to bring in more guys because he doesn’t trust anyone.” JJ’s eyes shifted back and forth before he spoke again. “It wasn’t a mistake that Tommy’s crack-smoking girl found out about the deal. I knew she was listening. I also knew Tommy was an informant for God. I figured he’d get word to y’all.”

“Pretty smart.” Green nodded.

“Do you have contact information on these guys? Names? Numbers? Addresses?”

JJ turned to face Ruxs. “Naw, man. That’s for you guys to figure out. Chainz keeps that information locked tight.”

“I’ll make sure God knows where this information came from. You been a lot of help JJ.” Green gave him a handshake.

“That’s what you think. I gotta figure out how to get the fuck out of this shit. There’s no leaving the crew. Only way out is in a body bag, G.” JJ dropped Green’s hand and began to pace back and forth. His walkie-talkie beeped again and this time a voice was announcing that he was needed in the front. “Fuck. I gotta go back to work.”

“Hey, J. Does your mom still live in San Francisco?” Ruxs asked out of the blue.

JJ cracked a small smile. “Yeah. She just turned ninety-two, man. She ain’t doing half bad. How’d you know tha — pfft. Nevermind.”

“What do you think about relocating? I’m sure she could use her son’s help way out there by herself.” Ruxs cocked an eyebrow and he could see Green’s eyes on him.

JJ eyed him for a few seconds and nodded his head once. A small grin was on his face and his eyes seemed to lighten with the idea. Ruxs had given him his way out. “Yeah. I think she could man.”

“I’ll be in touch.” Ruxs watched JJ walk away before climbing back in the truck.

Green started the engine and headed back to the interstate so they can start the work-up on this bust. They had a lot to find out and not a lot of time to do it. They’d need to start surveillance immediately on that warehouse, too.