Out to Protect (5 page)

Parker seemed to be struggling with what to do.

Grant moved closer and whispered, “It’s okay. You can show me.”

Parker lifted a hand to Grant’s. The heat radiating off Parker’s skin soared straight to Grant’s penis, causing it to immediately grow. He closed his eyes, wishing for his dick to cooperate. He didn’t need this right now. Yet he couldn’t help but want to feel Parker’s fingers wrapped around his shaft. He wanted to feel him pressed against his body.

When he opened his eyes, Parker had the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. Grant removed his hand, causing Parker’s to drop.

“Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” It was a lie, but Parker didn’t need to know that.

Parker moved closer and pulled Grant to him. Their bodies touched, and their lips were barely an inch apart. Grant felt his hot breath. Parker leaned in for a kiss. This was the moment Grant had thought about all night. He couldn’t believe Parker was making the first move. Their lips touched, and Grant felt the exhaustion peel away.

Parker’s lips felt soft and tasted like the beer. Grant didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was kissing him.

A knock at the door startled them both. Parker quickly pulled away and wiped at his mouth.

Grant cleared his throat.

“That’s my company. I have to answer it.”

“Go ahead.” Parker placed the beer on the coffee table. Grant walked past him to the front door.

He knew who it was before answering it.

“Grant, my man, how the hell are you?” Theo walked in and grabbed Grant in a bear hug. “Long time no see.”

“Not bad, but I can hardly breathe.”

“Sorry. It’s just when you called, I got all excited.” Theo released Grant and stepped back. “Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m Theo.”

“Parker.”

Grant watched as Parker shoved his hands in his pockets. His gaze turned down. Theo had already managed to make the guy uncomfortable.

“Theo, can you give us a minute? We were just wrapping up some work business.”

Grant moved the door to close it, but Theo blocked it with his boot.

“Secrets? You know how I feel about secrets.”

Grant groaned. This was not going to be easy. For some reason Theo decided he would purposely mess with Grant.

“As much as I hate to keep secrets, this is business. I can’t share.” He kicked Theo’s foot hard enough for him to get the hint to move it. When Theo did, Grant closed the door with a slam.

He turned to Parker. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Never mind. You should take care of your company.”

“You went to a lot of trouble to come here, and how’d you get my address anyway?” He knew it was a stupid question. They were cops. The information was readily available to them. They were privy to lots of information.

“Uh.”

“Forget it. I know how. Just tell me why?”

Grant noticed how he scraped his foot along the floor. He was obviously nervous.

“Spill it, Parker. I have a guest, and I hate to keep him waiting.” Having Parker in his apartment only made his desire that much stronger. Grant longed to drag him into the bedroom, throw him down on his bed, and tear off his clothes, show Parker what it felt like to have his hard cock filling him.

“I’ll come back another time.” Parker left abruptly.

“What the fuck?” Grant called after him. Parker was through the front door and then the door that led to the stairwell before Grant had a chance to catch up. He could hear Parker’s feet pounding on the steps as he descended to the first floor. “Well, I’ll be a motherfucker.”

Raking his fingers through his hair, he took a deep breath and turned to Theo.

“I hope you came prepared to listen, because I plan on talking for a very long time.”

Theo smiled and then said, “I’d say I’m in for one hell of a night!”

* * * *

Parker rushed off to his car. What had he been thinking showing up on Grant’s doorstep without so much as a phone call? He knew better. Worse, what if someone saw him going there? They might get the wrong idea and think they were getting it on or something. That was the last thing he needed. Yet he wanted to tell Grant about the evidence he’d found at the crime scene. He wasn’t sure who he could trust, but his gut told him Grant was trustworthy. At this point Grant didn’t have many, if any, friends at the station, so what were the chances he’d tell anyone? Slim to none, and who would believe the homo?

He cringed when he thought of the word. The truth was he was just as much homo as Grant. Only Grant was the bigger person. He had no fear of coming out and telling the world who and what he was. Parker wished he could be as brave as his new partner, but knew that wouldn’t happen.

Someday he’d come to terms with his sexuality and maybe even come clean. A wave of nausea rolled through his stomach. He’d never come clean. He’d always be a closet case.

Parker pulled the business card out of his pocket and looked at it for the hundredth time. He couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that the card would stir up more shit than he could handle. He didn’t know if he should tell Grant about it, but in the end he felt it was the right thing to do. He suspected Grant had seen him when he stuck it in his pocket. There was nothing he could do. He panicked. If one of their own was guilty, there would be a big red bull’s-eye on the department. He would have to tread carefully, and Grant would be sworn to total secrecy.

He stared at the card. More important was the precinct name on the business card—Precinct Twenty-Four. It was their precinct. The card was torn and worn out.

The name was ripped off, but the title of detective was still there. Worse, it said lead detective. There were only a handful who held that title, and the only one Parker was certain of was Ralph White. He’d need Grant to confirm his suspicions.

If Ralph was tied to these murders in any way, what would stop him from killing either of them if he realized they were on to him? Most likely nothing.

Parker had a dilemma. He could keep his mouth shut, toss the card, and forget he ever saw it, or he could show Grant, and together they could figure out how to handle this. The stress from the investigation wreaked havoc on his untenable feelings for Grant. He should be out looking for answers. Instead he sat downstairs in his car, wondering what Grant and his friend were doing upstairs. Jealousy crept into his veins.

He felt like a stalker as he looked up at the second-story window. He couldn’t see anyone, but a dim light lit up the living room.

Were they sitting on the couch just watching a ball game, or were they already in the bedroom? Parker squeezed his eyes and recalled the way Grant’s lips felt when they touched his for the first time. Their kiss had been perfect. Their mouths fit like they were meant to be. It surprised Parker because he thought for sure they wouldn’t mesh. In fact, he’d prayed they wouldn’t. He couldn’t believe he acted so recklessly by kissing Grant. What had he been thinking? He knew what he’d been thinking. He’d shown up at Grant’s place hoping to see if there was something there, and he’d found out.

Now there was someone else upstairs standing in his place.

Parker tried to block the images of Grant and his friend going at it. Instead he replaced them with his own images of Grant bent over the bed and Parker pumping his hard dick into Grant’s ass. He longed to run his hand over Grant’s cock and massage his balls in his palms.

The strain against his jeans became unbearable. Parker fought the urge to pull his penis out and relieve himself. The last thing he needed was being caught jerking off in front of his gay partner’s home. “Hey, can I help you?” There was a hurried knock on the car window.

Parker dropped the card and whipped out his badge, smashed it against the window, and yelled.

“Get the fuck out of here before I arrest your ass.”

The guy standing outside his car looked truly panicked. “Sorry.” He dashed away before Parker changed his mind.

The interruption was more proof he needed to go home. If he were caught outside Grant’s home, there’d be no hiding it from the department, and soon Parker would be a pariah like Grant. No, there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d get himself off in the car. He’d wait until he was home in the safety of his apartment where he could be alone, away from prying eyes. Then and only then would he find the relief he sought.

Chapter Four

“We need to talk,” Parker whispered into the receiver.

“Ya think?”

Parker sighed. The aggravation in Grant’s voice was evident. He was pissed at Parker for showing up at his place and leaving abruptly. Parker had no intentions of sticking around when he had company. It was obvious to see they were a couple, though why Grant had lied earlier in the day when he said he was single was beyond him.

“Look, we need to go somewhere private. Somewhere safe.”

The line went quiet, and for a moment Parker wondered if Grant had hung up on him.

“Meet me at the park over on Jefferson in an hour.”

Parker racked his brain trying to picture the place Grant was talking about, but came up empty.

“It’s a dog park,” Grant added.

“Fine. I’ll be there.” Parker pressed the Off button on his cell and paced his living room. Empty beer bottles covered his coffee table. Last night when he’d returned home, he’d drowned his anxiety in a few too many. Luckily for him he hadn’t drunk dialed anyone.

He picked up the empties and took them to the recycling bin under the sink in his kitchen. He might as well clean to kill some of the time before he met Grant. Parker knew he had to tell his partner what he’d found and the implications behind the card. He just needed to make sure they were safe. He couldn’t tell if his phone was bugged, and he didn’t know if he could trust anyone in the department.

Once the remnants of the leftover pizza box and empty bottles were cleared away, Parker straightened the couch cushions, folded the throw blanket, and placed it neatly on the back of the couch. He considered running the vacuum to pick up a few crumbs from the chips but decided against it. They’d be there later when he returned from speaking with Grant.

Parker wasn’t expecting company, so it didn’t matter.

He’d killed enough time, so he grabbed his car keys and headed out the door. The drive over was quick, and when he pulled up he realized he’d seen the place a million times, just never noticed it until today. Likely because he didn’t own a dog, and come to think of it, neither did Grant, so why would they meet up at a dog park?

He scanned the area, looking for Grant. It took a minute, but he noticed him in the distance just on the opposite side of the park. Grant nodded slightly but did nothing more to draw attention to himself.

Parker locked the car and casually walked over to where Grant stood.

“This way,” Grant said. Although he had his hands in his jeans pockets, he led by turning and walking in the direction Parker had just come from. They walked through a small path in the brush that eventually opened to a wider path. At the end of the dirt walkway, Parker was surprised to discover they were at the bay. The beautiful water lay below them.

Grant stood on a rock. “Nice view, isn’t it?”

Parker joined him and glanced out at the expansive ocean. “It is. How did you find this place?”

While they were hidden by the trees and brush, the area was pretty open to the water. There was another path that led down the embankment to a small area where people could swim if they wanted. Parker didn’t notice any signs warning them off, so he assumed it was safe.

“A friend of mine used to own a dog. We’d bring the golden to play with the other dogs. She had so much excess energy that it wasn’t enough. One day we decided to explore, and we found this spot. It’s quiet, and not too many people know about it. We’d let Sunshine—that’s the dog’s name—swim. She loved the water.”

Parker watched Grant as he spoke. It was as if he were speaking to no one in particular, just remembering a time long ago when life was good.

“What happened to Sunshine and your friend?”

Grant shrugged and turned to Parker. “They moved away. So what’s so secretive that we needed to meet in private?”

Damn!
Grant sure knew how to end a subject when he didn’t want to speak about it any longer. Parker took that as a sign not to bother asking any more questions about Sunshine and the friend. Apparently it was a touchy subject.

“Do you think we’re safe here?” Parker looked around once more just to be 100 percent certain they hadn’t been followed. He looked for the signs as he made his way to the park. He hadn’t noticed any tails on him.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we were safe. Now why do you feel you’re in danger?”

Parker dismissed Grant’s attitude. He could be mad at Parker all he wanted. Unless Parker felt safe, he wasn’t about to share what he’d learned at the crime scene. Plain and simple.

“Look, this isn’t easy for me. What I’m about to show you is going to change a lot of things. I’m having a hard time absorbing the information and what it means.”

“For cryin’ out loud, Parker, just get on with it. Does this have something to do with what you stuck in your pocket yesterday?”

Parker reached deep into his pocket and retrieved the card. He looked at it once again, shook his head, and handed it to Grant.

Grant studied it for a few minutes, examining the front and back. Parker waited anxiously for him to say something.

Finally Grant handed him the card back and said, “Yeah, so what?”

“Oh don’t give me that bullshit, Grant. You know this card says a lot. Too much. Someone in our department is linked the murders.”

“The card doesn’t say
that
much.”

“It sure as shit does. I know you saw the word ‘lead’ in front of ‘detective.’ Who besides Stanley is a lead?”

GRANT DIDN’T APPRECIATE his line of questioning. There were only three others in the department who were considered leads, Grant being one of them.

“Me, Stanley, Ralph, and Susy.”

“I’d say we could rule Susy out.”

“Why, because she’s a woman? I wouldn’t discredit her so fast. She’s stronger than she looks.”