Chapter Seven

 

 

RED TIGHTENED his embrace. He wasn’t sure what Terry wanted at the moment. He’d said he wanted to forget, which Red could help him do. He could make Terry scream and forget everything that had happened over the last few hours. Red wasn’t sure that was what was really called for, so instead he simply held him. “You can do whatever you set your mind to.”

“How can you say that at a time like this?” Terry challenged. “You’re supposed to say that everything will work out and that things will be all right.”

“Things will be all right when you are ready to let them be.”

Terry rolled over to face him. “If James is what Bull is telling us, then I keep wondering how things could ever be all right. He’ll have people who can get to me.”

“We don’t know that. First thing, based on the money we’re seeing, he’s doing very well, but he isn’t some national kingpin. He’s the dealer of the month or year. Most likely he’s connected to someone, and if we can catch James and scare the hell out of him, we might be able to get one of the bigger fish, but that remains to be seen. Aaron wants you to come to the station first thing in the morning for a few more questions, but then it will be up to us to put together the evidence we need.” Red didn’t tell Terry that there was a team of people already working to pull things together. They were going to go through everything they could find. Aaron had been so excited when Red told him what Bull said, Red thought he was going to yell through the phone. “Close your eyes and get some rest. Try not to think about it all.”

“I can’t,” Terry said. “How am I supposed to close my eyes and forget that I was sleeping with a drug dealer?” Terry shook in Red’s arms. “What if he’d tried to get me hooked on the stuff he was selling?”

“Users are customers, for the most part. They get themselves hooked and then need someone to supply their habit. And it’s unfortunate, but there are plenty of customers out there as it is. James probably wanted you in his life because you were good-looking and gave him an air of respectability, for lack of a better word.” Red sucked in a deep breath. “That isn’t to say that at some point you might have found out or that James would have told you, and then there would have been no turning back, not ever. The minute you knew any details of his business, you’d never get out.”

“Are you trying to scare the crap out of me?” Terry whispered.

“No, I’m saying you got away just in time.” Red smoothed the hair from Terry’s forehead and then brought his lips to Terry’s. “Is this okay?” Red whispered. Terry didn’t answer other than to put his arms around Red’s neck, deepen the kiss, and moan from way down in his throat. Terry’s entire body vibrated with the sound, and Red tightened his hold, relishing the feel of Terry’s smooth skin against his.

Red pressed Terry back on the bed and then into the mattress. He felt his way along Terry’s side and to his arms, then pulled Terry’s arms upward and over his head. Terry whimpered softly when Red began sucking hard at the base of his neck. “What will I say at work?” Terry’s question turned to a groan.

“You say nothing. Let anyone who sees it wonder what happened, but this is private. Just between you and me,” Red whispered breathily into Terry’s ear before lightly sucking on it. Terry whined softly and rolled his head to one side, giving Red better access. Red ran his tongue behind Terry’s ear, listening as he moaned softly.

Red licked and sucked trails all over Terry’s chest and belly. Muscles fluttered, and Terry’s breath hitched multiple times. Gasps followed moans and sharp intakes of excited breath. He kept Terry on edge, making sure he never knew what going to be licked, touched, or sucked on next. For his part, Terry let him. Red feasted on his lover, tasting him in every way possible. His mind floated on Terry’s heady scent and came right back to earth with each amazing lick.

“Red,” Terry whined softly.

“What? I’m taking my time.”

“But I can barely think now,” Terry whimpered, and Red sucked him deeply, giving Terry what he wanted. “God, suck me.” Terry thrust upward, and Red took him to the root. “Jesus!”

Red smiled around Terry’s cock before swirling his tongue around the head. Terry gasped and gripped the bedding. Red loved that he could bring this kind of reaction out of him. Terry was coming unglued, moaning, groaning, and gasping for breath. There was nothing better in the entire world than hearing Terry make those sounds. He’d dreamed of having someone in his life, but he had never actually thought it would happen. He wasn’t even sure it was happening now, but there was no way he was going to press it. As long as Terry was with him, he would make the man as happy and thrilled as he possibly could.

“Fuck, Red!” Terry cried as Red bobbed his head fast, sucking and blowing with great delight. Terry tasted musky and warm—perfect, in his opinion. Red stroked Terry’s belly and chest, pinching his nipples lightly as he sucked. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No,” Red answered, letting Terry fall from between his lips. “You wanted to forget for a while.”

Terry’s chest heaved in the reflected light that shone in through the window. “I don’t know who I am.”

“That’s good,” Red told him with a grin as he took Terry’s ankles in his hands and gently lifted his legs off the bed.

“What are you doing?” Terry asked breathily.

“Getting you ready sweetheart,” Red replied. He pressed Terry’s legs to his chest and gently blew down his crease. Terry trembled as Red teased his tender flesh with the barest touch from the tip of his fingers. Red moved closer, sliding his tongue behind his fingers.

“Red!” Terry cried.

“Hasn’t anyone ever done this for you?” Red asked, pausing.

“No,” Terry whimpered.

“Then, honey, you are in for the treat of a lifetime.” Red licked hard, circling his tongue around the puckered skin before thrusting gently. Terry’s musk exploded on his tongue, and his legs shook, the entire bed vibrating with him. A low moan sounded and continued nonstop.

“Red, what… how….” Terry was completely incoherent, and that was just fine with Red. He wanted this to be special and to give Terry something perfect. “Fuck me, please.”

“I will,” Red whispered and probed deep. He stroked Terry’s butt and thighs, parting his cheeks so he could get even better access.

“Red!” Terry cried impatiently.

Red took pity and located a condom and lube in the drawer. He slicked his fingers and teased Terry’s opening before slowly sinking a digit into his body.

The heat was searing. Red gasped, and Terry groaned as he slowly moved his finger in and out. When he added a second a minute later, Red scissored them, and Terry gasped, tearing at the bedding. When he was shaking steadily, Red slowly withdrew his fingers, rolled a condom down his length, and positioned Terry on the bed so that Red was looking deep into his eyes.

Steadily and as carefully as he could, Red entered Terry’s body. Heat rolled off him as they sank together, bodies joining and gazes deepening by the second.

Terry hissed and shook until Red’s hips pressed to his butt. Then he let out a body-racking sigh and stilled. “Damn. If we do that a million times, I will never get used to how fucking big you are.” Terry breathed deeply and then let it out, shuddering gently.

“Am I hurting you?”

“Fuck no,” Terry answered and tugged Red down into a kiss. “You feel amazing.”

They kissed for a long time, and Red let Terry get used to him before beginning to move. As soon as he did, the little moans began. The pitch of Terry’s moans changed, deeper when he pushed in and higher as he pulled away. It was like making love to a symphonic orchestra as far as Red was concerned. Nothing was more musical or more harmonious than the sounds Terry made during sex.

“That’s it,” Terry whispered. “Give me more.” Terry was getting bossy, but Red didn’t care. He knew what Terry liked by now, and he went with it, letting his control slip and his instincts run rampant. He held Terry in his arms, cradling him as he snapped his hips and sent tremors of passion through both of them.

Terry threw his head back and howled at the top of his lungs. Red picked up momentum and kissed him hard, throwing everything he had into his lovemaking. Terry’s responsiveness was the ultimate turn-on, and Red was way beyond the point of no return in more ways than one. He threw himself heart and soul into loving Terry, hoping like hell he was worthy of being loved in return.

“Red, Jesus God….” Terry threw his head back and arched his back. “Yeah!” Terry yelled again, and Red was gone. His head floated as he completely lost control of his body. It seemed like he’d slipped out of himself. This was almost too good and too perfect for him.

“Terry,” Red whispered, taking his lips in a searing kiss.

Red was so damned close his toes curled, and he needed to come as badly as he needed air, but somehow he found the strength to hold off until Terry stilled and squeezed hard around him. Red felt the beginning of Terry’s climax, and that sent him into his own, which seemed to go on forever and a day. He never wanted to come back to earth.

He didn’t move a muscle. He simply let himself be. Every part of him was hypersensitive, and he wanted that to last. He needed it to. Eventually they separated to small gasps and cries. Red settled on the bed without opening his eyes. It was just too much. He took care of the condom and placed it in the trash, feeling his way, just like he felt his way up Terry’s body, memorizing each and every contour—the little divot above his hip, his tree-trunk thighs, the way his belly curved up and down like a mini mountain range. He felt Terry stretch, and the sound of a small whisk of tissues pulled from the box by the bed reached his ears.

Terry was covered in sweat—so was he, as a matter of fact. The air-conditioning kicked in, the cool air kissing his skin. Red lay on his back, a hand in Terry’s, not moving a muscle. It was too hot to do anything but wait to cool off.

“Wow,” Terry muttered softly.

“Yeah. You were most definitely wow.” Red rolled onto his side, cracking his eyes open. He couldn’t keep them closed any longer. He needed to see Terry, watch him smile, gaze into his deep eyes.

“I was referring to you,” Terry countered tenderly and stroked Red’s cheek. “I really like the beard.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. It’s going to be wonderful when it gets a little longer and softens.” Terry moved his hand back. “You’re going to look so handsome.” Terry rolled onto his side and moved closer.

“Somehow I doubt I’ll ever look handsome. It just isn’t in the cards. Less ugly, maybe, but never handsome.” The smack on his thigh sounded like a gunshot in the room. “What was that for?”

“Stop putting yourself down,” Terry told him firmly. “You do that all the time. You are a handsome man, and the beard is going to make you look distinguished. Once it comes in a little more, I’ll help you sculpt it a little, and you will look amazingly rugged.”

“Terry, things are the way they are. I know what I look like and what we look like together.”

“Yeah, you said that once: Beauty and the Beast. Did you read that story? I only saw the Disney movie, but I think you got things a little wrong. See, the story isn’t about how people look, but about what they are inside. The beast turned into the prince because he was a prince, kind and caring on the inside. The beauty wasn’t just pretty, but she was kind and caring. That’s what made her beautiful. And the true beast in the story was the guy who wanted Belle for himself. He was handsome on the outside but ugly deep down.” Terry sat up next to him, gazing down into Red’s eyes. “Not bad for someone as shallow as me.”

“Honey, you aren’t shallow,” Red said softly, blinking a few times. Then he pulled Terry closer because he couldn’t bear for him to see the fact that his eyes were filling like some kid.

“Oh, I’m shallow about some things,” Terry whispered. “Just maybe not as much as I was.” Terry kissed him as Red hugged the smaller man with everything he had. “See, I got a glimpse of true beauty and kindness.”

“When was that?” Red asked, afraid of the answer.

“The day a man I barely knew took me in because he thought I might be in danger. What kind of person does that?” Terry held Red’s cheeks in his hand. “Only one with the most beautiful soul I’m ever likely to meet for the rest of my life. Like I said, I may be shallow, and I can live with that, but I’m not stupid.”

“Terry,” Red began, his throat closing and cutting off the words for a second. “You deserve someone you can be proud to be seen with.” Another smack resounded in the room—this one stung his ass.

“You stop that. I am proud of you, and I will be seen with you wherever you want to take me. I know a good thing when I see it, and I think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Terry held him tight and kissed him with such energy that Red could almost believe what Terry was telling him. “So put aside those insecurities and whatever it is you think you see when you look in the mirror, because I have to tell you, that mirror lies.” The way Terry accented the last word made Red chuckle. “You’ve got a lying mirror. So since we’re talking fairy tales, banish whatever you’ve got talking to you and listen to me. My mom used to say that beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clear through to the bone.”

“Okay, I take your meaning,” Red said, and Terry leaned closer. The kiss was gentle and tender but filled with meaning. Red felt Terry wasn’t just saying that. He meant it. There were many things that could be faked. People could lie to your face; he’d experienced it more than once. But something as intimate and caring as this kiss… there was no deception, nothing other than true…. Red tried to put his finger on what he was feeling in that kiss.

“Red,” Terry whispered against his lips. “Stop thinking so hard.” Terry’s weight shifted slightly, and then the light next to the bed clicked on. “I see you. There’s nothing to hide in the darkness.”

Red squirmed under Terry’s intense gaze and turned his head so the scarred side of his face rested against the pillow. Red knew he should be used to being looked at, especially in his job, but he felt so exposed with Terry. “It’s easier for me to think how I look doesn’t matter and won’t matter.” Red sat up with a sigh. It was so fucking hard to explain. Terry had seen him before, many times. He’d even seen and felt him naked, including the scars down his side. Why in the hell did this bother him so fucking much?

“Well, that stops now.” Terry glared at him as he climbed out from under the covers and sat cross-legged on the bed, directly in front of him. “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? At least I heard that somewhere. A load of crap in my opinion, because whatever doesn’t kill you leaves scars, and then you go on.”

Red inhaled to say something, but Terry shook his head.

“What is it about them that bothers you so much? You’re a big, strong cop, and you see shit every day that would make me run for the hills. Have you been shot at before?”

“Yeah,” Red admitted. “Got hit once too. The vest stopped it.” Terry paused and swallowed. Red realized Terry hadn’t been prepared for that. “It’s part of the job we’re trained for. Not the getting-shot part, but avoiding the bullets if possible.”

“I get that. See, if some guy pointed a gun at me, I’d probably wet myself, but you know what to do and how to handle the situation.” Red nodded his agreement. “But me looking at you gives you the willies.” Terry didn’t move a muscle. “I’m looking at you now.” Terry unfolded his arms and slowly extended his hand. Red toyed with pulling up the covers like some frightened virgin to try to cover his virtue. “I get it, Red. You’re okay as long as you’re the one in control. Then you can hide behind whatever walls you’ve put up.”

“Maybe,” Red allowed. He wasn’t going to go much further than that.

“All right.” Terry scooted back on the bed and pulled down the covers along with him. They slid away from Red’s crotch and down his legs. He nearly reached for them, but before he could, Terry yanked them out of reach. “Lie down, Red.” Terry came closer, placing a single hand on his chest. “Just lie down for me.”

Red couldn’t think of an argument, so he did as Terry asked, rolling onto his belly.

“No, Red. On your back.” Terry gently patted Red’s side. “I think it’s time we exorcised this demon once and for all.” There was no room for argument in Terry’s tone, so Red rolled onto his back. He put his head on the pillow and closed his eyes, already withdrawing into himself—at least then he didn’t feel as open to the fear that threatened to overwhelm him. “I’ve already told you that I’ve seen you, and I have.”

He expected Terry to touch him. But what he didn’t expect was for Terry to touch him with his hot, wet, and amazing tongue. Red shivered, and his skin prickled like a million feathers were flowing along the entire length of the scar on his chest. “I had a friend from just after high school. He was really into the BDSM scene, and he wanted me to be his boy. That’s not my thing—I’m a bottom, not a sub.” Terry ran his hands over Red’s chest, bumping his nipples as he stroked over them.

“You’re a pushy bottom,” Red corrected with a soft hum of pleasure.

“That’s why I’m not a sub. Anyway, he was older, almost thirty.” Red coughed, and he heard Terry chuckle. “I know you’re nearly that old, but I was nineteen at the time. Anyway, I only bring up his age so you’ll know he had experience.” Terry moved closer. “So what Ander told me was that the whole BDSM thing is about the sub and what he needs.”

“I don’t understand where you’re going with this,” Red said as he tensed.

Terry’s hands stopped, resting on his chest. “I know I’m not explaining it well.” Terry sighed loudly. “After I turned Ander down, he met the love of his life. He was a friend of mine from school. Scotty was pretty messed up, but Ander fell for him, big-time. Actually, they fell for each other, which was totally awesome. The reason Scotty was messed up was because his dad was the asshole of assholes. Used belts for discipline, stuff like that.” Terry stopped again. “What Ander said he had to do was put his own marks on top of the ones Scott’s dad had left. Scott needed to own those scars, love them, make them his—turn them symbolically from pain to pleasure.”

Terry held Red’s wrist lightly, lifting his arm off the bed. “Is that why you licked it?”

“Yeah. It tastes like the rest of you.” Terry paused. “I would never hurt you, and what Ander does is very controlled pain that his sub needs. You don’t need that, and I couldn’t give that to you even if you did. But what you do need is to know that these are part of you, just like your incredible eyes that get so dark and deep just when you’re about to come, or the tiny dimples on your cheeks when you forget yourself and smile really wide.” Terry slowly moved down Red’s body, his smooth chest sliding along Red’s furred belly. Damn, he loved that sensation. He’d never get enough of it for as long as he lived.

Terry licked and sucked at the top of Red’s hip, where a piece of metal from the car had torn into him. That was the one that still ached—the cut that they had said came the closest to ending his life. It had reached the bone, and there were some days when he swore the metal was still inside him. Terry stroked over what Red knew was very rough skin. He clamped his eyes shut as tight as he could, expecting at any moment a sigh or a huff, any sign that Terry was grossed out. None came, just a lick and then warm breath on wet skin. Terry licked him again, this time harder, sending an unsettling zing up his spine. That area was still so hypersensitive that Red’s own touch wasn’t welcome. He nearly pulled away, but Terry paused and gently placed his hand over the scar. “It’s just part of you, Red.”

“Not a great part,” Red whispered. “It still aches on cold days sometimes. The doctors told me that eventually arthritis will set in as I get older. Sometimes I think it already has.”

Terry didn’t move his hand, and Red slowly let his eyes drift open. “Come swimming with me. You don’t have to do it for a long time, but it’s great exercise that isn’t hard on the joints.” Terry moved closer without moving his hand. It was borderline uncomfortable, and yet Red didn’t want Terry to take his hand away.

“It is what it is,” Red said lightly. “Besides, I’m a terrible swimmer. I barrel through the water rather than glide the way you do.” Red met Terry’s gaze and watched as he nodded and then dipped his head. Terry extended his pink tongue slowly licked across Red’s chest. “You really don’t mind them.”

“No, Red. The scars and everything else are just part of who you are. Without the scars and all the things that happened, you wouldn’t be the caring person you are. As harsh as it is for me to say, I believe that things happen to us for a reason. I met James because I needed a wake-up call to change my life or I was going to end up in a really bad place. And I nearly did.”

“What cosmic purpose could an accident that killed my parents and nearly killed me possibly have? Besides leaving me scarred inside and out?” Red tensed, and Terry stilled.

“I don’t know. I don’t have the answers. But I do know that everything that happened to you made you who you are.” Terry stilled and then his hands slipped away from Red’s skin. Red slowly sat up. Terry knelt on the bed and stared back at him. “Is it too soon to fall in love with someone?” Terry asked. “I’ve known you for, like, a total of three days, and I know my life will never be the same because of you.”

“That doesn’t mean you love me.” Red’s heart beat so loud in his ears he could barely hear what Terry was saying. “It just means that I was nice to you, and you’re grateful for what I did.”

Terry leaned closer, his eyes darkening. “If you have the idea that I would do what you and I have done together for the last few nights out of fucking gratitude, I ought to beat the living shit out of you. I’m not a fucking slut. I don’t throw myself at every guy who comes along.”

“Then why?”

“Why do you think? Why was I just with you? Why do I want to be with you all the time? Why in the hell can’t I stop thinking about you even when I should be concentrating on my swimming? I wish to hell I knew why and thought that I was….” Terry’s gaze shifted down to the bed. “I know I’m dumb and shallow. I thought I was in love with James, but that was just self-preservation and wanting to take the easy road through life. I don’t feel that way about you. Life with you will never be easy.”

Red touched Terry’s chin, and he lifted his gaze. “You are not dumb or shallow.” Red swallowed hard. This had gotten very serious, very fast. It wasn’t as though he didn’t understand exactly what Terry was describing. “I know what you’re feeling, and I’ve asked myself the same thing. I don’t know what to call how I feel about you. I made a total ass out of myself because the thought of you going anywhere near James made me so jealous I couldn’t see straight.” Red’s injured leg shook, and he stretched it out in an effort to try to stop the tremble. “Is it possible to fall in love in three days? Dang, I don’t know. But….” Red wanted to say the words but couldn’t form them. His mouth worked, but nothing came out when he tried. “Why is it so hard to say what you feel?” Red blurted, and Terry grinned and then began to laugh.

“I wish to heck I knew. Maybe it’s because we’re afraid the other person won’t feel the same way.” Terry leaned forward, his laughter abating quickly. “James always told me that he loved me, but they were just words. There was no meaning behind them. He lied about something as precious as that.” Terry continued moving closer. “So I don’t need the words, at least not until you’re ready to say them and mean it, any more than you need them from me.” Terry kissed him. It was clumsy and awkward. Terry fell into him, and Red caught Terry in his arms, held him close, and settled him on the bed, where he kissed him again and again and again. That was probably the most awkward and ’round the bush declaration of feelings in the history of mankind, but it was enough for Red. Terry cared, and that made his heart soar. The rest would sort itself out as soon as this business with James was over and done with.

Red broke their kisses long enough to turn out the light. He brushed his hands over Terry’s smooth skin, the soft moans began again, and they made love into the night before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Just before he fell asleep, Red wondered how long this happiness would last. He’d been happy before, and it had never lasted long. He sure as hell hoped this time it did.

 

 

THE FOLLOWING day Red took Terry to the station first thing, and once he was done, he drove Terry to work and then went back to his own job. He and Aaron spent the day scouring everything they could find out about James Guthrie. They were able to locate his parents, deceased, and a brother, who apparently was outside the country on some sort of business. Red ran him down and found that he was an engineer working in Dubai constructing a skyscraper. When he was able to speak to a very groggy Karl Guthrie, he found that the two brothers weren’t on the best of terms and that Karl knew nothing of his brother’s business. Then Red heard dead air as the line disconnected. “Well, that was useless,” Red said as he set the phone in the cradle. “The captain is going to crap over the cost of that call.”

“What else have we got?” Aaron asked from the next desk. “Harrisburg PD is watching the business. They’ve been suspicious but could never find anything out of the ordinary. It seems that everyone has noticed the extra cash, but no one is able to figure out how it moves in and out.”

“What do you mean?” Red said as he slid away from his desk.

Aaron slid his chair over to Red’s desk. “Harrisburg PD noticed the financial anomalies about six months ago, but all they have ever seen going in or out of the business is normal deliveries. They had people follow the truck, and all they ended up doing was wasting days as drivers made business deliveries around the area.” Aaron smiled. “Once, apparently, the officer in charge over there thought they had noticed a pattern. It turned out that they had a contract to deliver and assemble office chairs for one of the companies in town. Five hundred of them. Anyway, they noticed that one of the drivers would take a different route than the others and make a stop to and from each delivery.” Aaron’s lips curved into a smile.

“What was it?”

“The guy’s wife was pregnant and he kept stopping at home for five minutes to make sure she was okay. Nothing more.” Aaron began to chuckle. “After that, James called some friends, and the investigation ground to a halt. They’d already played their hand, and there was nothing really to go on until we contacted them.”

“So we’re cooperating?”

Aaron nodded. Both police departments wanted to get this crap off the street.

“Then what do we do next?” Red asked.

“We start at the beginning and review what we know.” Aaron pulled over the whiteboard on wheels that they’d been using to track what they’d found. “We know there’s more money flowing from Guthrie Expediters than there should be, and a lot of it is cash. We also know that Guthrie is sitting on a personal pile of money that appears to be of dubious origin, aside from the business itself.” Those details had already been put on the board. “Your friend Mr. Baumgartner told us that James was banned from one of the clubs, and you discovered the possible link to the drugs hitting the streets. But that’s debatable. The whole thing could be a coincidence.”

“I doubt it,” Red said. “I looked into the club owner. He has a rather interesting past of his own. He was in the military, decorated, and then appears to have worked for private military organizations.” Red consulted his notes. “I couldn’t get much information on him—ran into a lot of roadblocks.”

“What does this have to do with the case?” Aaron quizzed.

“Only that Bull wouldn’t be the kind of man who would be fooled easily. If he thought Guthrie was up to something, I bet he can smell it a mile away. But even he told us that knowing it and proving it are two very different things,”

Aaron banged the desk lightly. “How is he moving the stuff if it isn’t through the business?”

“Who says he isn’t? Just because no one has caught him yet doesn’t mean he isn’t using the business to make or at least facilitate the deliveries.” Red walked up to the board and stared at it. “There’s something we don’t know. I wish we could get a list of his customers.”

“We have a partial list. The places the delivery men stopped.”

“Those would already have been run down. Something else occurred to me. Maybe they use the expediters to make one delivery to the distribution point,” Red suggested. “Since they knew they were being followed at one point, they probably got careful. After all, the expediters are a way for them to launder a lot of cash. That in itself would make it an asset worth protecting.” Red stood up and joined Aaron at the board. “What if they don’t make regular deliveries to this place? What if it’s only occasional and it looks like any other delivery?”

“Then we’ll never find it,” Aaron said. “Unless there’s some pattern to how they move, and since we don’t have any of the records to the business because we don’t have enough to go on to get a warrant… yep, we’re totally screwed.”

“No, we’re not,” Red said. “If they’re blending and distributing the stuff that’s been showing up on the streets, then it doesn’t have to be a big operation, not if they’re using multiple hubs.”

“This sounds really sophisticated,” Aaron commented. “Do you really think they’re that advanced?”

“Why not? The guy running the show is the head of a logistics business. It would be easy for him to put together. Deliveries could be timed and triggered based on anonymous messaging. The people doing the mixing don’t necessarily know who’s in charge. Hell, we don’t know who’s in charge. All we have are suspicions and suppositions. This is probably just a piece of something larger, and if they really think we’re on to them, they could close up shop fast.”

“You’re a ray of sunshine today,” Aaron retorted.

“Sorry. I’m just thinking out loud. Let’s say they have someone doing the blending and selling the stuff in Carlisle, Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg. The four main cities. Guthrie Expediters is the main distribution point, along with a legitimate business. They make a delivery when the locations need to be resupplied. And from there, each local operation runs on its own, independently, and no one knows who the others are.” Red turned to Aaron.

“Except the guy making the deliveries. He has to know everything so he doesn’t deliver to the wrong people.”

“And there’s the Achilles’ heel.” Aaron paced slightly. “How did you come up with the cities?”

Red smiled and fished through the papers in front of him. “The drugs have the same components, but the proportions vary geographically. Which is why we’ve had so many deaths here. What’s being sold in Carlisle is stronger than the other areas. That tells me that different people are doing the mixing.” Red arched his eyebrows, and Aaron grinned and patted his shoulder once.

“So how do we catch them?” Red asked.

“Don’t know. But I do know we keep looking and digging—it’s our only choice. Until we have something more solid on how they’re doing this, we don’t have enough to get a warrant. We’re close, but any judge is going to say we’re on a fishing expedition and send us packing.”

“I know,” Red said more loudly than he needed to. This investigation was getting to him. He needed to think with a clear head. Up till now he’d been able to do that, but after last night, he kept worrying about Terry, knowing that James was out there and just how dangerous he was. Men didn’t get into a position like the one he had without being ruthless. Early on Red had thought James was some jilted, jealous boyfriend and that he’d grow tired and move on. But guys like James didn’t move on. Red had never met the man, but he knew the type. He wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.

“Red.” The duty officer at the front desk pointed at Red’s phone, and it began to ring. Red picked it up.

“It’s Terry,” he heard on the other end of the line. “James was here.” Red could hardly hear his voice. “He showed up at the pool with two of his associates.”

“Where are you?”

“In the locker room,” Terry whispered. “I saw them as I was finishing my laps. I got out of the pool and ran in here. I called the front desk. I’ve been afraid to come out because I don’t know if they’re still out there or not. There’s a small cleaning closet in the back, and I shut myself in there.”

“I’m on my way,” Red said. “Stay where you are.” He hung up and turned to Aaron. “James showed up at the pool. Terry ran and is hiding.”

“Let’s go,” Aaron said, and they raced out of the building and out to Red’s patrol car. They wasted no time driving the few blocks to the Y and hurrying inside.

“We asked them to leave,” Steve said, meeting them at the door. “They did, but we haven’t been able to find Terry.” He paused. “We just called a minute ago. How did you get here so fast?” He looked very nervous. “They left right away, so we thought there was no problem, but then when we tried to locate Terry, he was nowhere to be found. So we called in and—”

“Terry called me,” Red interrupted without stopping. He went right down to the pool.

“We acted as soon as we knew they were here,” Steve told him as he followed behind them.

“I understand. How did they get in?”

“Apparently they had guest passes, and the desk let them sign up for the day,” Steve explained. “This is a health club. We aren’t designed to provide security and protection.”

Red stopped at the door to the locker room, grateful the pool area was largely empty. There were a few people swimming laps, so he kept his voice low and under control. “I understand that. But the one you’re going to have to convince is Terry. He needs to be able to trust that he can be safe at work and while he’s training. He can’t both be in the water and watch the door to the pool.” His anger was close to the surface. It wasn’t Steve’s fault that James had gotten in here. The building just wasn’t really secure. In truth he was beating himself up for his delusion that Terry was safe while he was at work. It ate at him that he could be so stupid.

Red pushed into the locker room and walked through it, jangling as he moved. A few people were changing. They stared after him, but he barely noticed them. As he reached the back of the room, he found the closet and knocked softly. “Terry, it’s me. It’s Red.”

“We never thought to look in there,” Steve said. “My God, he’s been holed up in there this whole time?”

The door opened slowly. Terry peered around it and then pulled it open the rest of the way. He was in just a little blue Speedo. Red noticed that and the fact that he had nothing else on immediately. A bin of towels waiting to be folded sat nearby, so Red grabbed a couple and handed them to Terry. “It’s all right. Steve got rid of them and called the police as well.”

Terry took a step forward and fell into his arms without saying anything.

Red patted his wet hair gently. “It’s all right. You’re safe now.” Red closed his eyes and willed his racing heart to calm to normal. Terry was fine. He’d thought fast enough to find a place to hide. Red wanted to kiss him, strip Terry down, and check over every inch of him to verify that no one had hurt him. He used his body to cut off anyone else’s view of Terry; it was the only way he could think of to give him a little privacy. “Do you want to get dressed so we can talk to you?”

Terry lifted his face away from Red’s uniform. “Okay.”

“You’re going to be fine. We’re going to figure out what James is up to, and we’re going to nail his ass to the wall,” Red said as reassuringly as he could. “If I have to get him for jaywalking, I will.”

Terry nodded and hugged him one more time before stepping away. “Let me change.” Terry wrapped a towel around his waist and threw another one over his shoulder. It looked to Red as though he was trying to disappear or hide.

“You can use my office,” Steve said to Red, and then he turned to Terry. “We were all so worried when we couldn’t find you.”

Terry nodded. “All I could think of was to hide, and this door had a lock.”

“It was good thinking,” Aaron told him. “Go change, and we’ll meet you in the manager’s office. Take your time.” Aaron turned to Red. “I’ll call in and let the station know Terry has been found and is unharmed. They were sending other officers, but I canceled the call. We’ll handle this in the context of our investigation.”

“Thanks,” Red said, and Aaron left.

“Where’s your locker?” Red asked. Terry indicated the first bay nearby. Each one had a lock on it, so he figured Terry had a permanent one. He motioned to Terry, and he walked to one of the lockers and opened it. Red sat on the bench and watched as Terry pulled out a pair of swim shorts and T-shirt. When Terry stripped off his wet suit, Red did his best not to leer at his perfect, little, white buttcheeks. Under normal circumstances he was sure Terry would have been playful; it was his nature. But he simply dried himself and pulled on his shorts and then his T-shirt.

“I’m ready,” Terry whispered as he slipped into a pair of flip-flops.

“Are you sure?” Red asked. “Take your time, and catch your breath.” Terry’s legs had been shaking a little when he’d stepped away from the locker.

“I’m okay, Red,” Terry said. “I was scared, but I’m okay now.”

Red touched Terry’s cheek very lightly. He locked his gaze on Terry’s, wanting to pull him into his arms and just protect him somehow. “Maybe you should leave town for a while? Get away….”

“For how long? A week, a month? Forever?” Terry asked. “Let James take over the rest of my life?” He shook his head. “Yeah, I was scared, but I won’t let that happen. I want him to leave me alone, nothing more. Maybe I can get a restraining order or something to keep him away from me.”

“You could. That would give us something to arrest him for the next time he gets too close.” Red wished like hell he’d thought of that before. He should have. But he knew a piece of paper signed by a judge wouldn’t scare James off. He’d simply find other ways to get to Terry. The sound of lockers closing pulled Red out of his thoughts, and he stood up. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” Terry answered a little breathily. He led Red through the locker room and out a door into the weight room and then through the club to Steve’s small office. Aaron and Steve were both waiting inside. Steve excused himself as they entered, and Red closed the door behind them.

Aaron motioned Terry to a chair, and they all sat in the old club chairs that lined the wall across from the desk. “Just tell us what happened.”

“I had finished up my workout and was getting out of the pool. I saw James walking along the edge of the pool toward me. He… he looked angry. I think there were two other men with him. None of them were dressed for the pool.”

“Did he say anything?” Aaron asked.

“Yeah. He said I hadn’t been home and that he was worried that something might have happened to me. He said the only way I was ever going to be safe was if I was with him.” Terry paused. “I tried to grab my things, but they were behind James. I told him to leave me alone. That I didn’t want to see him any longer. He just laughed at me and said that the….” Terry looked at Red and then back to Aaron. “The walking train wreck I’d been dancing with downtown couldn’t keep me safe—only he could. Then he tried to come closer, and I grabbed the towel I’d left on the edge of the lowest bleacher. It had my phone in it because Red said to keep it as close as possible. I bolted into the locker room. I wasn’t sure if anyone was behind me. Once I reached the closet, I locked myself inside and called Red.”

“He’s watching Terry’s apartment,” Red told Aaron, who nodded. “And he knows we went to Bronco’s.”

“I’ll have someone go over to check and see if anything has changed,” Aaron said. “Neither of you should go anywhere near it. I don’t want to lead James to where he’s staying. Let him continue to wonder. It will keep Terry safer and keep James guessing, which is good. Let him be off balance for a while. The only place he seems to be able to find you is at work, which is probably why he keeps coming here.” Aaron stared intently at Terry. “What I keep wondering is what you know, or what he thinks you know about him, that would make him want you so badly.”

Terry shrugged. “I don’t know anything about his business.”

“Maybe not. But there have to be things about him that he’s afraid you’ll tell us or some pieces of information he’s afraid you’ll fit together.”

Terry opened his mouth, but nothing came out. “I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t go to his business.”

“But you lived with him.”

“Yeah, I did. It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I hated it. The house was huge, uncomfortable, and filled with all the tasteless crap he liked. He said he liked native art, but he filled the house with all this cheap crap. It looked good, but it wasn’t expensive or real… it was just stuff anyone could buy if they went to Central America. At least some of it was. The rest was this really expensive stuff so full of color it made your eyes bleed.” Terry put his hands in front of his face. “I don’t know anything. I never saw him doing anything illegal. Hell, I almost wish I had. Then I would have gotten the hell away from him a lot sooner.” Terry began to shake. “If I know something, then I have no idea what it is.”

“Okay,” Aaron said. “I know this is hard, but we’re trying to help keep you safe.”

“I know that. But I can’t tell you what I don’t know.” Terry placed his hand on his forehead, and Red wanted to come to his aid. But he couldn’t. Not in this situation. “I keep trying to think of anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing. He went out all the time, met friends, and was the life of the party.”

“Can you give us a list of these friends?” Red asked. He should have thought to ask about this earlier. That seemed to have become a theme lately. He should have been handling this more like an investigation, been detached and more clearheaded. Instead he’d let his feelings for Terry interfere with doing good police work. “We’ll run them down and see if they lead us anywhere.”

“I doubt you will. They’re mostly guys he meets at the gym. James can be charming and incredibly kind when he wants to be. He’s like the sun. He shines, and others are drawn to him. They end up in his orbit, and once caught, some break away, but most get used up and tossed aside. I doubt the friends know any more about James’s business than I do. They like the fast cars, the good times, and everything else that goes with it.”

“Maybe. But someone has to know something,” Aaron said firmly. “The man can’t keep his business and personal lives that separate.”

“Why not? Terry asked. “I was with him for months and never knew he was up to anything wrong. And….” Terry looked at both of them. “None of us can prove he is. I mean, we think we know he’s involved in drugs somehow, but there isn’t anything firm. I never saw anything, and James wasn’t a user as far as I know.” Terry swallowed hard. “I saw his entire body up close, and I know there were no signs.”

Red ground his teeth at that revelation. He didn’t like being reminded that Terry and James had been together like that.

“I need to get back to work. There’s a class in fifteen minutes, and I need to help teach.” Terry shifted in his chair. “I really need to get back to my job. They’ve been understanding about all this and they didn’t have to be.”

“All right. But after you’re done, I need you to come to the station so we can build a basic schedule of James’s activity. There has to be something we’re missing, and you’re the only one who might be able to shed some light. Because if we don’t find something solid soon, this will get shoved to the back burner by something else.” It happened all the time. If an investigation stalled, then regardless of how much potential there was, they could only continue for so long, and then they’d have to move on until more facts came to light. That was fine if you were a police officer, but for Terry that meant hanging in limbo as far as James was concerned, and that wasn’t acceptable to Red. Not one bit.

Terry agreed and left the office.

“I don’t know how much more he can tell us,” Red commented once Terry had closed the door behind him.

“There has to be something, though, and we have to try. There was another death last night,” Aaron said. Red had seen it on the recap from the night before. “And there will be more. We don’t have proof, but we know this guy is involved somehow. We have to find the link and break this thing up. Everyone out there is trying to do the same thing, but they’re all spinning their wheels. The only reason we’ve made any headway is because of Terry. We have to pick his brain to see if there’s more he can tell us.” Aaron stood up, and Red did the same. “I know you like him.” Aaron paused. “Maybe more than like him.”

Red did his best to keep the surprise off his face. Everyone in the department had been through sensitivity training and all that shit, but Aaron always came off as a hardnosed most of the time.

“I’m not a total prick like a lot of people think,” Aaron said.

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t expecting a boatload of understanding from a lot of people.” Red really didn’t want to talk about this shit. Most people knew he was gay, but Red liked to keep things like that away from his job. With his face it had been easy. There had been no one to date in a long time, and the few people he’d been with hadn’t known he was a cop and had had enough alcohol that they didn’t seem to mind what Red looked like. Once things were over, he didn’t stick around long enough for them to harbor a lot of regrets. It had been easiest on everyone that way.

“You’re not the only gay member of the department,” Aaron told him.

Red knew that, but it wasn’t like they were in some club either and all buddy-buddy. Red shrugged, but it seemed Aaron wasn’t done.

“I’m only saying that if your feelings are getting the better of you, there’s no harm no foul if you want to step back from the case. This job is hard enough, and when any of us finds someone who cares for us, even knowing what can happen to us on any given day, that’s pretty damned special. Just talk to any of my exes.” Aaron smiled.

“I’m good… really.”

“Good.” Aaron smiled and opened the office door. “We’d better get back to the station and do some more digging… and fast.”

They passed Steve on their way and thanked him for the use of his office. Then they left the building and drove back to the station to pick up where they’d left off. Unfortunately, they didn’t get far before they were sent on a call and then another.

 

 

RED STARED down at the scruffy man’s closed eyes. He was twenty-one, just a kid, someone’s kid, and now he was gone. The first call hadn’t gone any better and now this one right behind it. The captain was going to shit bricks and put more pressure on Aaron and him to get to the bottom of this—and rightly so. This had to end. Red turned away as the body was lifted onto the stretcher and loaded into the back of the ambulance. The doors were closed, and Red nodded to the driver as he walked around him toward the driver’s door.

“You put in a heroic effort,” Aaron said from next to him. As soon as they’d arrived, Red had begun performing CPR, but it had been to no avail. Not that he’d ever had much hope. He’d seen way too fucking many of these cases in the last few weeks. He never wanted to see another.

“It wasn’t enough,” Red said without shifting his gaze. He didn’t know why this one had gotten to him. Maybe because the kid was so young, or maybe he’d just had all of this shit that he could take.

“I know, but it was your best.”

Red turned to Aaron. “You don’t have to be so fucking nice about it. The kid died, and I couldn’t help him.” Anger and frustration boiled inside him. It wasn’t Aaron’s fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault except the shitpile who was making and selling this shit.

“Let’s get back to the station, write up our reports, and then figure out how to prove who the asshat behind this is and take the fucker out.” Red guessed that Aaron wasn’t as unaffected as his expression led him to believe. He nodded, and they headed for the car. They picked up Terry from work, and then the three of them drove to the station in silence.

They spent a good hour asking Terry every question they could think of and then asked him to go through a typical day with James. He described the places they’d gone, again, along with the way James lived, the house itself, and the stuff in it. Not a goddamn thing stood out.

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know,” Terry repeated.

“But you must have met some of the men who worked for James,” Aaron said again.

“I already told you about the few I met,” Terry said, rubbing the back of his neck from across the table in the interview room. “How many times are you going to ask me the same thing?” Terry looked about ready to fall over, and Red wanted to simply pull him into his arms, hold him, and tell him that everything was going to be all right.

“I know it’s hard, but we’re trying to keep you safe. We can’t do that without as much information as we can get.”

“Look,” Terry said to Aaron, with fire. “I was some toy to him, eye candy. Like those stupid, ugly works of art in his house. I was and am nothing more to him. He didn’t confide in me or anyone else as far as I know. If I knew anything, I’d tell you. He’s already threatened me more than once, and I know exactly what he was saying. He doesn’t really want me back, just under his thumb. So as you said, I may know something, or he may think I know something, but I have no idea what that is.” Terry held his head in his hands. “Can I go now?”

“Yes,” Aaron said. “I understand this has been difficult and I… we, appreciate your help. We know you’re doing your best.” Aaron stood and left the room, leaving Red alone with Terry.

“I’m sorry about all this. Aaron….”

“Don’t apologize for anything. You’re trying to help me, and those people who are dying because of what James is doing. If I can help, I will. But right now I want something to eat and to go to bed.”

“I have a few reports I need to finish.” Red paused. “I can do them in the morning. Let’s get you home, and we can work on a restraining order, as well.”

“Thanks, Red.” Terry stood, and Red led him to his desk. He made sure there was nothing that couldn’t wait until morning, said good night to Aaron to let him know he was leaving, and walked Terry out to his truck. They rode home in companionable silence. Red made dinner, and they ate in front of the television. He took care of the dishes and sat on the sofa. Terry joined him, leaning against him. It was nice to hold one another, and after a while Red realized that Terry was asleep in his arms. Red turned off the television and gently nudged Terry awake.

“Let’s go on upstairs.”

Terry snuffled and got to his feet, then padded through the room and up the stairs. The last few days had been tough on Terry, and Red figured all of the excitement was catching up with him. Terry used the bathroom first, and Red waited until he was done to take his turn. By the time he was done, Terry was in bed with the lights out and soft, soft snores emanated from the pillows. Red got undressed and climbed in next to him. Terry slid closer, and Red put his arms around him.

“Sorry, Red,” Terry mumbled. “I don’t think I’m up for things tonight.”

“Shhh,” Red whispered. Yeah, his body had already reacted to having Terry so close to him. Red tightened his hold slightly, and Terry settled into sleep, pressed right up against him, his hand on Red’s, holding two of his fingers and making small circular motions on Red’s hand. Eventually the motions stopped, and Red drifted off to sleep.

 

 

RED WOKE with a start, wondering what was wrong. Terry rolled on the bed next to him. “No.”

“Terry, it’s me. It’s Red,” he said softly and gently stroked his shoulder. “Wake up.” Terry quieted on the bed. “It’s a dream.”

“Red?” Terry mumbled.

“Yes. It was only a dream.” Red slowly rubbed Terry’s arm to soothe him. “You’re okay.”

Terry rolled over to face him and moved close. Red put his arms around Terry, holding him tight. Slowly, he stroked up and down Terry’s back to relax him. Damn, he loved the smooth glide of Terry’s skin under his hand. He closed his eyes and willed sleep to overtake him. “Red,” Terry whispered and pressed to him. Red rolled onto his back, and Terry came along with him. He held him tight and followed Terry’s sweet breath to his lips. He tightened his embrace and deepened the kiss.

Terry moaned softly. “I want you, Red.”

Red stroked his hand down Terry’s back, into the small of it, and then over the curve of his smooth buttcheeks. “I want you too. Hell, I need you.” Terry kissed him, cutting off Red’s words. Not that he needed words at the moment. Kissing was a much better use for his lips, and he feasted on Terry’s. Red rolled them on the bed.

During sex, as Red had found, Terry tended to be vocal. This time he was quiet. Red liked the loud and athletic Terry, but he also loved the one in bed with him now. Terry made small moans and whimpers while Red took his time to lick, touch, and taste every inch of him. He kept each movement slow and lingering. Red paid attention to Terry’s feet, caressing the arch and along his ankle. He let his hands roam over Terry’s calves and smooth thighs. He inhaled the bouquet that was Terry, breathing deeply to experience everything possible about him—the way he hummed when Red licked his nipples, the small, almost tickly moan he got when he sucked on the skin just above the hip, and the way Terry groaned under his breath when Red licked a long line up his side, over the base of his arm, and out to his elbow.

Red paused in his ministrations long enough to get the supplies. He took his time getting Terry ready for him, rolled him onto his belly and used his tongue to probe, lick, and suck Terry into a quivering, whimpering mass of heat. It took everything he had not to rush when he entered Terry’s body. The heat surrounding him urged him on, but he went slowly and carefully, stifling Terry’s groans to make them his own.

Their movements together were surreal. All Red saw and heard was Terry. “I love you,” he whispered, the words escaping because he could no longer hold them in. Heart and safety be damned. It was what he felt, and if it hurt in the end, so be it. “I love you,” Red whispered again. He wasn’t sure how many times he actually said it, but the words rang in his ears and in his heart over and over again.

“I love you too,” Red heard through his own caring mantra. His heart soared.

Red lost all track of everything except Terry as they groaned, whimpered, and explored each other’s hearts… making love. Seconds and minutes blended together, passing by in the blinks of Terry’s eyes and the warmth of his breath. It was a new experience, his heart engaging as well as his body, and one Red hoped beyond measure that he got to hold onto for a very long time.

 

 

RED SWORE under his breath when his alarm sounded in the morning. He still held Terry in his arms. After their lovemaking, he’d slept the sleep of the happy and contented. His heart was as full as he could ever remember it being. Terry rolled over and opened his beautiful blue eyes. For a moment Red wondered in the light of day if he’d gone too far in professing his feelings, but the smile that curled at the edges of Terry’s mouth, broadening and continuing until it reached his eyes told him otherwise.

“Morning,” Terry said and inched closer. Their lips met, and the kiss instantly deepened.

Red wanted to repeat what they’d done last night. But there wasn’t time. “We need to get ready to go.”

“Un-huh,” Terry hummed and then sucked lightly on Red’s bottom lip. “Did you mean what you said last night?”

“That I love you?” Red asked with a grin. “I meant it every time I said it.”

“I did too,” Terry whispered.

He pulled Terry close, and they cuddled for a few minutes. Then unfortunately the clock sounded again. Time wouldn’t stand still for them. Terry needed to get to work, and Red had to get back on the case.

They showered together, which was an exercise in self-control, especially for Red. He managed, for the most part, to keep his hands where they were supposed to be. After they got cleaned up, they dressed. They ate a quick breakfast and then got ready to go. Red asked Terry to stay behind and then went outside and made sure no one was lurking anywhere before getting Terry. He wasn’t happy about the prospect of leaving Terry at the club. James had gotten in more than once, and he wasn’t convinced that he wouldn’t find a way in again.

“Don’t worry. Julie is going to be there,” Terry said as he got in the truck. “I’m going to swim after my shift when there will be others there, and then I have to deliver meals.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Red warned. He got in the driver’s seat and turned to look at Terry.

“I’ll be fine. Julie delivers as well, so it isn’t like no one is going to know where I am. Besides, you know where I’m going to be because it will be to the same places we delivered together, and I’ll deliver Aunt Margie’s last.”

Red still wasn’t convinced.

“I’ll have my phone with me the entire time. I know you want to protect me, but I can’t stop living my life, and those people need me.” The earnest expression on Terry’s face made Red back down. “I can’t let them down. You saw those people when you went with me last time. For some of them I’m the only person they’ll see all day. I can’t disappoint them.”

“Okay, but you aren’t taking your car.” Red worked a key off his ring and handed it to Terry. “My second car is in the garage. It’s an old Taurus and nothing special, but at least you won’t be driving a car that anyone knows.” This way Terry wouldn’t be calling attention to himself. That alone gave Red some peace of mind. Red gave Terry the key to the garage as well, and Terry put both of them on his ring. “Just be sure to lock the garage door.” Terry would ask Julie to bring him back after work.

Terry chuckled. “I will. Thanks, Red.”

“Now that I’ve found you, I want you to be safe.”

“I appreciate that. But I still need to live my life.”

Terry put on his seat belt, and Red started the truck and drove to the Y. When Terry got out, Red him promise to check in a few times during the day.

“You’re turning into a worrywart.”

“Yeah, well, this worrywart loves you. And when you need to, be sure to use my cell. Calling the station like you did last time will only delay the response.”

“I will,” Terry agreed and leaned into the open window. “I love you, and I love that you worry about me. I’m going to be fine.” There was doubt in Terry’s voice that he was trying to hide. Red would have been worried if it wasn’t there. That doubt and touch of worry would help keep Terry on his toes and watching the people around him.

“Yes, you will. But don’t hesitate to call.” Red really wished he could keep Terry with him until they had this James thing all figured out, but he had to work just like Red did. At least Terry had people around him who would help watch out for him when Red couldn’t do it personally. Terry stepped away from the truck, and Red waited until he was inside the building before pulling away.

At the station he got his reports done from the night before and sent them on to the captain before finding Aaron. They once again dug into what they knew and looked into other leads, which unfortunately didn’t get them anywhere, but they ran down everything they had again to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. It was slim and seemed to be getting slimmer.

“Red,” Aaron called from his desk and motioned him over as the day was nearing an end. “We may have caught a break. Harrisburg PD pulled over one of Guthrie Expeditors’ trucks on a traffic violation today, and they were able to use that and the fact that the driver had stopped for a beer at lunch to go through the contents. They found his route maps and delivery schedules for the past week. This may not mean much, but we need to check these places out because this driver was headed over to Carlisle.”

Red’s heart beat a little faster. More than once information on a case had come to light because of a routine traffic stop. “Okay. How are they sending it?”

“The documents are being scanned and sent over now. I got the first pages.” Aaron sounded excited. He printed them out, and they laid them out on the desk. Red began going through them by sight. “The rest are coming in now.”

Red continued looking over the documents. His phone rang, and he absently pulled it out of his pocket. “Hello.” He barely looked up from the documents.

“Red, it’s me. I’m at your house. Julie is waiting while I get your car.” Terry sounded excited and happy. “It’s so nice out here. I’ve been inside all day, and the sun feels so good.”

“When I get home maybe we can eat outside and sit in the yard for a while,” Red offered. His focus on the documents wavered as he thought of Terry and his bright smile. “Call if you see anything unusual and when you get to Aunt Margie’s.”

“I will—don’t worry,” Terry promised and hung up.

Red put the phone in his pocket, and Aaron joined him at his desk with the rest of the delivery sheets. “I think we start by looking for patterns,” Aaron said.

“Okay,” Red said and continued looking over the schedules. “They delivered regularly to the electrical supply and the farm supply.”

“Also to Hardwell Cabinet, Certified Millwork, and the Downtown Design warehouse.”

“All of which are hotbeds of illegal activity,” Red groused. He continued looking over the schedules.

Aaron pulled over the whiteboard and began sketching out route information. “Maybe we need to see if a bunch of these routes cross the same place. Is it possible they put a drop on the schedule that they didn’t want people to know about?”

“It’s what I’d do—hide it in plain sight. The less people who know what’s going on, the better. So you put your drug deliveries in with the rest so they look as normal as possible.”

“You could be right. But we don’t know,” Aaron said, and since Red couldn’t argue the point, he helped Aaron list out the deliveries side by side for days. “They stopped at Haven’s Pet and Supply three times, every other day,” Aaron said, looking over the board as he stepped back to take a look. They had been going at this for nearly an hour, and he didn’t seem convinced they were getting anywhere. Red picked up the next sheet and began writing the deliveries on the board.

Red was halfway through writing the delivery before it clicked in his head. “Holy shit!”

“What?” Aaron asked.

“I think I found it.” Red went back and saw the same address but not a name two other times. “I didn’t recognize it earlier because it was just an address. But on this one, the driver jotted down a name.” Red stared at it and handed the page to Aaron.

“I don’t understand.”

Red’s spine tingled, and his leg shook. This had to be what they were looking for. “Why would a company that delivers to hardware and equipment stores be making regular deliveries to a place that distributes meals to seniors and shut-ins?” The marker he still held in his hand fell to the floor. “Holy fuck. Terry.” Red pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Terry’s number. “Answer, for God’s sake, pick up the phone.” The line connected and began to ring. After four times he heard Terry’s voice mail kick in, so he left a message: “Terry, please call me as soon as you get this message.” He hung up and called Aunt Margie. She answered right away, and Red heard the television in the background. “Has Terry been there to deliver your dinner?”

“No. But he should be here anytime.”

“All right.” He didn’t want to worry her. “Please ask him to call me when he gets there okay?”

“Of course, dear,” she said. “He’s a nice young man. I really like him.”

“I do too, Aunt Margie. A lot.” His worry was taking firm hold now. The route should take about an hour, and Terry should have arrived at Aunt Margie’s already. “I’ll stop by in a little while.” He said good-bye and hung up.

“What’s going on?” Aaron asked.

“The senior meal program—that’s how they’re distributing things. Guthrie makes a periodic delivery or donation of food, and inside it are the drugs.”

“Those ladies are involved in distribution of drugs?”

“All it takes is one person on the inside, you know that. They take the delivery and arrange for the merchandise to be put on one of the routes. After that, no one need know, and who would be suspicious of people delivering food to shut-ins?” It made perfect sense to him. Set up a few dummy deliveries to nonexistent shut-ins and you had it covered.

“What’s our next step?”

Red grabbed his gear and got ready to leave. “Terry is delivering meals tonight. He isn’t answering his phone, and we need to find him.” He was damn near panicking. If anything happened to Terry, Red would never forgive himself, not in a million years.

“You don’t think….” Aaron was already moving before he finished his sentence.