Authors: Carol Lynne
once again, Luke reached for the remote control on the
bedside table. “Feel like watching some TV?”
“Sure. I don’t watch much though, so you’l have to fil
me in if it’s one of those ongoing kind of shows.” There was
something so innocent yet incredibly intimate about their
position.
Luke began to flip through the channels. “Hol er if you
see something you like.”
“Right there,” Priest said when Luke turned to a home
improvement show. “I just bought a house that needs some
work done. Maybe I’l pick up a few pointers.”
“Good luck. I’ve been watching this network for about
five years, and I stil don’t have a clue how to lay tile.”
They watched for several minutes before Luke spoke
again. “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask, doesn’t mean I’l answer,” Priest said.
“Were you in the al ey when I hurt my knee?” Luke
asked, taking a moment to al ow his body time to adjust to
Priest’s cock.
“No. Why?”
Luke shook his head. “Nothing. I just had this feeling
someone was watching me. I’d hoped it was you.”
“Wasn’t.”
Within minutes, Luke was softly snoring against
Priest’s chest. Priest eased the remote out of Luke’s hand
and turned the volume down. As he continued to pick up
pointers on home repair and decorating, he idly ran his
fingertips over the soft, inked skin of Luke’s lower back.
A glance at the clock surprised him. He’d held Luke
for over two hours without expecting anything in return. He
was tempted to wake Luke up and ask for a blowjob or
something. Not that he needed to be sucked off, but it
would make him feel better if they kept their relationship
strictly sexual.
Usual y he had to be flat out wasted to spend the
entire night with a booty cal , but once again, things felt
different with Luke. Priest turned off the lamp and the
television and stared up at the darkened ceiling.
What would Luke think if he knew Priest had blown up
a house with innocent people inside? Thoughts of the
assignment threw Priest back into the pit of guilt he’d been
wal owing in for days. He needed to find out more on the
woman whose picture he stil had in a file at his house.
According to news reports, the woman in the photograph
and her elderly parents had died in the explosion that had
rocked the middle class neighbourhood.
He couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do
with her Middle Eastern descent. Was it possible that the
woman was a terrorist? His gut had told him no. So why
hadn’t he listened? Although the answer came easily, it
didn’t make Priest feel any better. He’d trusted Jeffries and
the agency to only assign him matters of national security.
So Priest had not only failed the innocent family, but his
agency had failed him. Great.
Unable to sleep, Priest eased out of bed without
waking Luke. He didn’t bother turning on lights as he left the
bedroom. A life spent in the shadows had given him keen
night vision, something he’d always used to his advantage.
He found Luke’s desktop computer in the spare
bedroom and fired it up. Because he doubted Luke had a
high level security system on his computer, Priest stuck to
Google.
After typing in the woman’s name, he scrol ed through
the recent news reports, looking for something older.
Images of women with the same name caught his attention
and he clicked on the link. According to the search results
there were five pages of thumbnail images for Alhena
Qasim.
He found what he was looking for on the fourth page.
There appeared to be just one picture, but it was definitely
Alhena. Priest clicked on the thumbnail and a
heartbreaking image fil ed the screen. Dressed in a white
lab coat, Alhena was dispensing smal cups of what Priest
could only assume was medicine to Haitian refugees. The
news reports and his own file said the woman was a
news reports and his own file said the woman was a
marketing executive, so what was she doing with refugees?
He studied every detail of the photo, looking for other clues.
A partial profile of the US Secretary of State, Benjamin
Grover, talking to reporters in the background surprised
him.
Was there a link between the photograph and the
hired hit on Alhena?
“I woke up to a cold bed,” Luke said from behind him.
Priest quickly closed the window before turning
towards Luke. “Sorry about that. I couldn’t sleep so I
decided to start my research.”
Luke came into the room and placed a hand on
Priest’s shoulder. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“No, but I found a starting point. I’l continue it
tomorrow after a long night of fucking you.”
Luke grinned and reached out to wrap a hand around
Priest’s growing erection. “I’m off shift for the next twenty-
nine hours. Do you have any idea how sore you can make
me in that amount of time?”
“No, but I can’t wait to find out.”
* * * *
“No. That’s a good thing,” Luke said, handing him two
pink pegs.
“How in the hel can two twin girls be a good thing?
Have you ever been around girls?” Priest took the pegs
and tried unsuccessful y to put them in his blue plastic car.
Giving up, he handed the items to Luke. “I don’t know how I
let you talk me into playing this game.”
“It’s The Game of Life, probably the best board game
ever created.” Luke put the pegs in their places and set
Priest’s car back onto the board. There was something so
incredibly cute about seeing a man of Priest’s size sitting
cross-legged on the floor playing a game. It was almost…
domestic. “The more children you have, the more likely you
are to win.”
Priest snorted. “Win what? You never told me.”
“The game.” Luke counted spaces and moved his
car. “Isn’t winning enough?”
“Sure, when you get something for it. But bragging
rights don’t interest me, never have.”
Luke tucked his hands in his lap. It was like Priest had
never had a chance to just enjoy life for what it was. There
was something so heartbreaking about that. Sure, Luke’s
life hadn’t been ideal, but he’d had Kenny. He wondered if
Priest had had a best friend growing up. Glancing up at
Priest, Luke compared him to Stretch. Luke had been in
love with Stretch who had humiliated him in the press.
Would Priest break his heart the way Stretch had?
“I’m sorry,” Priest apologised. “I won’t make fun of
your game anymore.”
“It’s not the game.” Luke sighed. “I’ve only risked my
heart on one person and that didn’t end wel .”
“Don’t go risking anything on me. I’m not the kind of
man you need.”
“You’re sexy, kind, and except for the kissing thing,
you treat me better than any other lover has,” Luke
explained, laying his soul bare.
Priest reached across the board and laid a hand on
Luke’s shoulder. “That’s pretty damn sad. You should find
someone who treats you like gold, not shows up and fucks
you before disappearing again.”
“Is that what you’re gonna do, disappear?” Luke
asked, leaning his head sideways to brush his cheek
against Priest’s hand.
“It’s what I do. I’m a man without a future. I live my life
one breath to the next. Building a future with me would only
lead to further heartache, and you deserve better.”
“Are you sure?” There had been a time when Luke
had been loved unconditional y and he’d let fear take it al
away. He looked down at his nude body. Although most
people thought his tattoos were a form of self-expression,
no one had ever bothered to look beyond the colourful ink
to the symbols of self-hatred hidden within the art.
“I’m sure.” Priest stood and held out his hand. “Let’s
leave this game for later. We should go work each other out
of our systems.”
Luke wasn’t sure that was possible. Priest returning to
Cattle Val ey meant so much to him. Didn’t everyone dream
of being unforgettable? Luke smiled as he fol owed Priest
to the bedroom. He was going to do his best to make sure
he was truly embedded in Priest’s heart before he had the
chance to leave town again.
* * * *
morning he was indeed walking funny. Luckily, most of the
guys chalked the awkward gait up to his sore knee, when in
fact his injury didn’t hurt at al .
He spotted a chuckling Col in Zeffer in the corner and
walked towards him. “Problem?”
Col in shook his head. “Nope. I’ve had that walk
myself a time or two.”
“I hurt my knee,” Luke said in his own defence.
“Yep, and I told people I’d been riding horses. When
al I was real y riding was Abe.”
Col in was usual y a soft spoken man, so the
reference to his sex life shocked Luke. “It’s always the quiet
ones,” Luke said with a shake of his head.
With a wide grin on his handsome face, Col in
nodded towards the sleeping quarters. “I’ve got some salve
in my kit if you need it.”
Instead of accepting Col in’s offer, Luke gave him a
playful punch in the arm. “You’d better keep it. My stud’l
only be in town for a few more days.”
“Suit yourself. It’s there if you need it.” Col in
wandered off towards the kitchen.
Luke pushed through the swinging doors to the bay.
Aaron was already in the back of the ambulance doing
inventory. “Man, do you ever get a day off?”
Aaron glanced up. Although he’d been out of the
service for more than a year, Aaron stil looked haunted.
Luke had never served in the military, but he held the
upmost respect for those who had.
“It’s easier to stay busy.” Aaron handed Luke a
damaged box of gauze. “I’m not sure what happened to
this, but the plastic wrapping is torn. I think we should toss
it.”
Luke set the box aside so he could dispose of it later.
He knew Aaron was stil battling PTSD and wondered if he
could give Luke any tips to get through the memories of the
wreck that continued to plague him. “I can’t get the face of
Kati Hargrove out of my mind.”
Aaron continued to count the wrapped syringes. He
finished and wrote the figure in the log before addressing
Luke. “It’s only been a few days. Give yourself time.”
“Has time worked for you?” Luke asked.
“No, but I’ve seen hundreds of Katis.”
“So how do you deal with it?” Luke couldn’t imagine
what Aaron must go through on a daily basis.
“I see a therapist.” Aaron set his clipboard down,
giving Luke his ful attention. “And I pray a lot. Reverend
Sharp listens to my confessions every week.”
“Reverend Sharp? But he’s not Catholic.”
“Yeah, but no one’s perfect.” Aaron grinned. It was
such a rare occurrence it took Luke off guard. “You should
go see him. I’m sure he could help you deal with the
accident.”
Luke had never considered talking to anyone but
Kenny, but even his best friend didn’t know the ful extent of
Luke’s sin. “Thanks. I’l think about it.”
* * * *
letting Jessup into the house.
Jessup looked around the sparse living room. “Who
does your decorating?”
“Fuck you.” Priest knew the house had seen better
days, but it was his. The first bit of solid real estate he’d
ever owned. After watching TV with Luke, Priest had a
good idea of the things he’d like to do to improve the
house, but in order to get them done he’d have to settle
down. Pipe dreams, all of them, he told himself.
Jessup sat on the edge of a sofa that had definitely
seen better days. “What can I do for you?”
“Just like that? You’re not going to rake me over the
coals for asking a favour?”
Jessup shrugged. “You saved Brac’s life a few
months ago. I think that’s earned you a few favours.”
“Yeah, I did do that, didn’t I?” Priest smiled. He
handed a slip of paper to Jessup. “I need to find out
everything I can about this woman. The problem is, I’m sure
her name is flagged. If I go hacking into databases,
someone’l know.”
Jessup nodded his understanding. “You’re right.” He
held up the sheet of paper. “Do you know anything?”
“Yeah. Hang on.” Priest went into the kitchen and
returned with a copy of the picture he’d printed from the