Lethal Attachments

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Doyle

Once in the kitchen, Doyle turned to face Kord. He’d seen something in Kord’s eyes when he shook hands with Brandon. Something like fear or dread. Instead of feeling protective, Doyle felt angry because Kord was keeping secrets again. When Kord tossed that big smile at him, Doyle knew for certain something was wrong and Kord was trying hard to pretend that everything was just fine.

Doyle was about to confront the man when Kord attempted to encircle Doyle in his arms. The look of surprise on his face when Doyle pushed away was painful, but Doyle was determined to find out what was wrong.

“What’s up? Not in the mood?” Kord asked and managed to sound innocent.

“Something’s up and you know better than I do what that is.”

Kord shrugged. “Not a clue.”

“Don’t bullshit me. You’re holding back and I don’t like it.”

“You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”

“It’s a pretty big molehill as far as I can see. So, give. What put that look into your eyes?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Alone, you mean. Nothing you can’t handle alone. Right? You’re cutting me out of whatever it is.”

“I’m not cutting you out. It’s nothing.”

“That’s not the way this works, Kord. We’re together in everything. If something’s wrong, if something’s bothering you, then it’s bothering me, too.”

“Like I said it’s noth—”

“It didn’t seem like nothing to me. That look on your face, in your eyes—you were worried about something. And it scared me. I’m sure the kid noticed it, too.” Doyle folded his arms over his chest. “So stop shittin’ me and spill it. We can handle things but you’ve gotta be honest with me. I want the truth.” Doyle knew he could push Kord just so far. He knew there were undercover secrets from Kord’s past that the big lug would never discuss in detail or at all. But Doyle wanted Kord to understand that if it was something important, he needed to know because he wanted to help.

Kord was silent.

“Kord? Are we gonna—”

“It’s the kid.” Kord’s voice was small. Doyle noticed a flash of vulnerability wash over Kord, something he’d never seen before. But as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

“What about him?”

“At first I thought…” Kord let out a deep breath as if he’d been holding it a long time. “He looks almost exactly like somebody from an undercover job I was on a while back. I thought it was him.”

“Can’t be. Can it?”

“When I looked closer, I realized it wasn’t the guy I thought.”

“And that’s good, right?”

‘Yeah, I guess,” Kord sounded uncharacteristically low key.

“But it’s not the kid that’s bothering you, is it?” Doyle knew now what it was all about. “It’s the idea that someone may find you. Maybe if they try hard enough they will find you.”

“It’s on my mind every day.”

“And you don’t feel you can talk to me about it?” Doyle wrapped Kord in his arms. “We’re in this together, you big hunk. Your problems are my problems. If you don’t tell me what’s going on I can’t help.”

“There’s nothing going on. It’s just what an undercover cop lives with. But I’m not worried about me.”

“You’re worried about something.”

“It’s you I’m worried about. If they find me they might—no, they will—hurt you. I couldn’t live with that.” Kord took a deep breath, his big chest expanded. “I come home and find this guy in your apartment. In your apartment. If it was somebody from my past, he could’ve…” Kord stopped.

Doyle moved to Kord’s side and wrapped his arms around Kord, touching the tense muscles of his arms, feeling his body’s warmth.

“I can take care of myself, big boy. Especially if I know what’s coming down the pike.”

“Secrets are a way of life undercover. It works itself into the way you’re built after a while. Not easy to break those habits.”

“No more secrets. You had my imagination working overtime. I thought you were going to tell me you were having an affair.”

Kord smiled—a real smile—for the first time that day. “Now why would I go have an affair when I’ve got you?” He pulled Doyle into a tight hug and Doyle felt himself getting aroused, even more so when he felt Kord’s c**k pressing against him.

Doyle struggled with his feelings. He enjoyed the moment but he couldn’t let it dampen his anger over Kord’s need for secrecy in his life. As he gently pulled away he saw the look of frustration on Kord’s face.

“This isn’t over yet, is it?”

“Not by a long shot, bruiser. Not until we hash this out thoroughly.”

“Sure,” Kord peered at the floor and Doyle thought the big guy looked like a child waiting for a scolding. That’s not what he wanted Kord to feel.

“For now we’ve got other things to do,” Doyle said and tried to get a smile out of Kord with no luck. “How’d the stakeout go?”

“Like we expected. The guy left his apartment and zipped right over to his new boyfriend’s place. How he could do that with the boyfriend still sleeping and unaware.” Kord shook his head.

“He’s not that unaware. He suspects something, that’s why he called us in. Did you get pictures?”

“Not the kind you want,” Kord teased, seeming more himself. “But I did get a few of him and the new beau kissing on the top step of the brownstone before they both disappeared inside. The way they moved, you’d think they were superglued together. I’ll show you the pictures. I even tried a little video but the lighting at that hour isn’t the best.”

“Sounds like you enjoyed it for a change.” Doyle knew how Kord felt about the lackluster nature of their cases. But both of them were running out of savings and even dull work helped keep the lights on. Renting an office, even something as small and threadbare as theirs, wasn’t cheap. And they were about to hire a much-needed, part-time secretary to keep things running smoothly. That would cost. Dull or not, any paying case was a good case.

“I tried pretending it was something bigger. More exciting. Y’know? Like spies or wise guys. And I was gathering intel on them.” Kord sounded like a schoolboy spinning fantasies.

“Seems like your strategy worked.” Doyle was relieved. He’d been afraid Kord would suggest pulling the plug on the business. But then where would they be?

“It worked until my ass was frozen and I could hardly feel it. The car’s heater was acting up again. Or, let’s say it wasn’t acting at all.”

“Whaddaya think of our boy in the living room?” Doyle didn’t want to deal with the car’s defective heater.

“Very cute. Maybe even hot,” Kord said and Doyle could tell he was joking.

“I meant the case he wants us to work, smart-ass.”

“Oh, that. Missing persons would be a step up.”

“He’s got the money to hire us. I told him our fees and he didn’t even blink. Now that’s hot.”

“That guy’s got money? Selling greeting cards is lucrative? s**t. Maybe we oughta think about opening up a card shop instead of doing this. My ice-cold ass would thank you.”

Doyle smirked. “Yeah I can just see you sitting around all day, kissing up to customers and suppliers, creating window displays.” He swept a piece of lint off the counter then looked at Kord. “I think we should take the case.”

“Maybe. But I get the feeling this guy’s not being upfront with us.”

“He’s not. I already figured that.” Doyle nodded.

“He could be using us to help him skate free of this mess.”

“The moment we feel we’re being played, we quit and take our work to the police.”

“Yeah.” Kord sounded uneasy.

“So, we should take it, right?”

“It’s not like we can afford to refuse.” Kord rubbed his chin, a gesture which Doyle knew meant he was unsure what to do.

“But if this is something hinky, it might make us look bad.”

“Let’s worry about that when we notice things going sideways. Right now I’m more worried about keeping the business going.” Kord smiled. “And about getting some breakfast. I’m starving.”

“So we’ll tell him we’re taking the case?”

“Let’s look at his list and question him one more time.”

“There’s a lot he’s not telling us. I can sense that,” Doyle said.

“Yeah. You’re good at that. But I have a bigger concern.”

“What’s that?”

“Why isn’t the missing guy’s fiancé here? Why’s the ex taking the lead?”

“Good question. Maybe the fiancé doesn’t think he needs a private investigator. From what Brandon says, the fiancé doesn’t even want to involve the police. He doesn’t think the guy is missing.”

“Isn’t it a little suspicious that Brandon wants a private investigator?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Doyle paused and thought for a moment. “Brandon could have a perfectly good reason to want a separate investigation.”

“Like…?”

“Like if the police do get involved, they don’t always take gay domestic cases seriously.”

“Okay. And?”

“Maybe he thinks the fiancé isn’t doing everything that should be done.”

“That’s a better reason.” Kord rubbed his chin. “But what if he’s hiring us to protect his own ass? He as much as said that the police would see that he hired us and that might count in his favor.”

“How? Right now this is only a missing person’s case. Nobody has done anything wrong. Nobody’s been murdered or kidnapped—as far as we know right now. Brandon has no motive other than finding Gary. So he says.”

“Good point. But I’m betting something foul has happened to Gary. And Brandon knows all about it,” Kord said as he idly took a cup on the counter and rolled it from hand to hand.

“You always leap to a worst case scenario.”

“It’s logical. The missing guy hasn’t been heard from in more than a week.”

“There’s no evidence anything else has happened. No ransom demands, no bodies found.” Doyle rescued the cup from Kord’s hands to keep it from shattering on the floor.

“Yet.”

“Let’s not jump the gun,” Doyle insisted.

“But if it’s murder…” Kord nodded ominously. “Then we’ve got a different ballgame. Brandon could be leading us down a path that he’s already worked out because he knows it’s murder and we don’t. Maybe he wants to point us to the fiancé as the prime suspect, leaving himself free of suspicion of wrongdoing.”

“On the other hand, Brandon did come in while this is still a missing person’s case.”

“That just means he knows what he’s doing and has it all worked out. The little fucker could be using us to provide cover for himself. He hires us, he gives us his set of facts, and leads us down the garden path.”

“He figures hiring us makes him look innocent. Which it doesn’t,” Doyle added.

“Or maybe he thinks this puts the fiancé in a bad light. Because the fiancé didn’t go in with him to hire us.”

“If Brandon thinks we’re that stupid…”

Kord wrapped an arm around Doyle’s waist and pulled him close. “You’re not stupid at all, babe. You’re the smartest guy I know.” He kissed Doyle. “And I must be pretty smart myself. After all, I know enough to latch onto you.”

Doyle pushed his face into Kord’s neck and took in the fragrance of the man’s skin. He kissed and licked and lost himself in the scent of Kord’s flesh. But, after a moment, he pulled back, keeping one hand on Kord’s waist.

“I had another thought,” Doyle said. “It’s possible there’s money involved. Like insurance money. And Brandon wants some advantage over the fiancé in that. There’s always a money issue in this kind of thing. Brandon and Gary are business partners. That means financial entanglements. Brandon may want to make sure he doesn’t lose out to the fiancé.”

“If that’s true, our twink either knows Gary is dead or has a pretty good suspicion. Brandon wants us to believe Gary is just missing. So, he’s not gonna mention any financial stuff, if he’s smart.”

“You’re right. Let’s not hit him with any of that yet,” Doyle said. “We can’t scare him off with our suspicions. We still need information from him.” Doyle wanted the kid to dig himself a deeper hole before they tried out any of their theories. “After we know more, then we lean on him for the details he’s holding back.”

“Like I said, you’re smart. It’s a good plan. But I’d still like to know what he’s hiding,” Kord said and leaned in to kiss Doyle. Then he peered around the kitchen. He opened and closed the refrigerator, checked the cabinets, and peeked into the cookie jar.

“You won’t find any information about him in the cookie jar,” Doyle chuckled.

“I haven’t had breakfast, remember? Just lookin’ to raid your fridge. But all you’ve got is rabbit food and things I don’t recognize.”

“How about we question the kid then go out for breakfast. The Pit Stop has a pancake special you’ll drool over.”

“You do a pretty good job of making me drool.” Kord pulled Doyle close again, his big hands massaging Doyle’s back.

“Shall we see what Brandon has to say?” Doyle asked pulling out of the embrace.

“Want me to take the lead?” Kord smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Sure. You make a really good bad cop.”