Chapter 6

C hapter S ix

Thor sat back and let Michael write down names as the server brought their beers.

"I'm not as familiar with the guys as someone else might be, but these are ones I know Hank hangs out with." He passed the paper over, and Thor took it without breaking their gaze. There was something about Michael that drew his attention and made him want to throw aside all the rules he knew he shouldn't break. But damn, he wanted to know more about Michael, especially what was under those flannel shirts he seemed to wear each and every day. The fabric hinted at a something pretty amazing, and Thor found himself fascinated by the hint of chest he got a peek at through the open buttons at his collar.

"I hate to say this, but we need to find out more about Hank. If he's involved, then we can probably use the fact that there were drugs found on that boat to pressure Hank into telling us what he knows." Thor was getting to the point that he needed to pull any thread he could to get to the bottom of this operation.

"And as soon as you do, everyone in town is going to know who you are and what you want. Hank is not going to keep his mouth shut, and if you arrest him, then people are going to talk. There isn't a way to keep it quiet."

"I know." Thor was desperately trying to come up with his next move. Making a quick call, he called Miller and requested a BOLO on the boat and trailer. At least if it were spotted, he might find out something.

"Do you really think that's going to get you anywhere?" Michael asked. "If I were someone using that boat for anything illegal, I'd dump it or hide it fast, and it wouldn't see the light of day for some time. I certainly wouldn't use it again."

Thor nodded. "Thankfully most criminals aren't as smart as you are. They got the boat back, and since it wasn't being guarded and was just sitting there, they might think that no one really cared about it. And it was floating and wasn't taking on water, so maybe they would think it was seaworthy." He gave Michael his best smile as Michael leaned over the table, a hint of admiration in those eyes, one that Thor let himself bask in for a few seconds.

"You're hoping they use it again?" Michael whispered.

"Yeah. They'd already fitted it out with hiding places, so let them think they got away with it and that the boat is safe. Maybe they'll either leave the boat out in the open or try to use it again the next time they need to make a delivery at sea." Either way, he would get a lead on it and might be able to bring this whole thing to a close. Thor sipped from the mug, but barely touched the liquid itself. It was more of a prop anyway. Technically he was on duty.

Michael took a good-sized swig and then set the glass down. "So we just wait?"

Thor leaned over the table. " I just wait, and you go back to your normal life. You've been a lot of help, but I can't allow a civilian to get involved in this sort of thing. You need to stay safe, and the best way to do that is if you just forget about me and what I'm doing." That was best for Michael and for him. If Michael stayed away, then so would temptation, and if Thor was honest, Michael was sex on a stick—as tempting as a Snickers to a starving chocoholic. Even now, just having Michael across the table had him tugging at his collar and wishing the bar were ten degrees cooler.

"Really…?" Michael said with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "You would be nowhere with any of this if it wasn't for my help. You cast aspersions on my family, and now you expect me to just back off and pretend nothing has happened. Well, bullshit, Thor. I'm not going to. I'm as involved with this shit as you are. And let me ask you, if another deal goes down, how are you going to identify the other boat? I'm the only one who saw it, and even though I only got a glimpse of it, I'm the one who could tell you if I saw it again." He was a smug bastard, that was for sure.

"Casting aspersions? What is this, Master Minds ?" Thor retorted, to try to lighten the situation. Michael wasn't having it, cocking his eyebrows in that sexy way he had, sending heat through Thor and nearly knocking him off his game. "I can't put you in danger."

"And why is that? I'm sure you put yourself and others in danger all the time." He took another sip of beer, then licked his lips, showing Thor the very tip of that tongue, making him wonder just what Michael wanted to do with it.

"But not others if I can help it," Thor said.

"I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I grew up here, and in spite of the fact that my family had money, I am very good at watching my own back."

Thor had no doubt of that. From what Michael had told him, he had been doing that for most of his life.

Michael pushed back his beer and stood. "I need to get home so I can get to bed and be up by six to be at the job site. But you let me know when you think there's going to be another shipment, and we'll be on the lookout together." Michael leaned over the table, his face a few inches from his, close enough for Thor to smell the hoppy beer on his breath. "And don't think of trying to cut me out of anything." His voice was almost a low growl.

"And what are you going to do if I do?" Dammit, he had to ask, and he had to push. It was his nature, and Thor sure as hell hated being told what to do.

Michael didn't back away for a second. "You'll have to wait and find out." And fuck all if he didn't wink at him before striding out of the bar, those hips swaying just enough for Thor's eyes to follow the rise and fall of his ass cheeks in those damned tight jeans.

Thor's throat was suddenly very dry, and he took a gulp of beer and set down the glass. No matter which way he looked at it, Thor was fucked. If he let Michael get any deeper into the investigation and something went wrong, he was screwed. And yet if he just walked away and never saw Michael again, he figured he was equally screwed, and in neither case in the way he would like. Not even close. The fact was that, at least for now, he needed Michael, but he sure as hell was not going to let him get close enough to the people involved here for him to get hurt. That was how it was going to have to be, and Thor hoped to hell he could pull it off.

That night and the next day, Thor tried to make sense of what he knew, ran down leads, and spoke to Miller for additional information, but basically got nowhere. They hadn't been able to find the boat, and that pissed him off, even though there was a lot of ground to cover.

He checked out the areas around the various rivers yet again, looking for any sign of someone putting in or taking out, but all he came across were families and pleasure boaters and definitely not the craft he was looking for. His phone dinged with a message as soon as he got back on the main road and out of a dead zone. "What do you have, Miller?" he asked once he pulled off to the side of the road and returned the call.

"Don't know. We managed to get a little more information on the shell companies. They were incorporated within the last year, and the boat purchases were made in various locations. We tracked down the paperwork, and the purchases were handled by lawyers. They aren't going to give up anything without a subpoena, which I can't get without more information."

"Even with the drug connection?"

"They'll simply say that the residue was there when they bought the boat at auction, and we can't prove otherwise," Miller said, and Thor rolled his eyes.

"What I need to know is when they might try another rendezvous," Thor said. "Or maybe they've had enough of handoffs at sea, and they'll simply drive their shit down."

"I don't know. They could be making this stuff just about anywhere. The DEA has satellite images of the entire area, and we haven't been able to find where the stuff is being produced. The only break we had is the drop-off that you missed and the boat that disappeared."

"Look, they have no idea that we're on to them at all. They brought their boat into port and took it out again with no trouble. My gut is telling me that it worked well last time, so they'll do it again. They think they got away with it. So why fix what isn't broken." He sighed softly. "No. There will be another drop-off, and probably in a few days. Getting product to market is how they get paid, so they aren't going to want to wait."

"Then you'll need to be sure to see this next one."

"I intend to." Thor ended the call and headed to his hotel. He was going to need to sleep, because one thing was for damned sure. He was going to perch himself on that damned cliff for the next week if he had to.

"Have you decided to camp out up here?" Michael asked as he strode out toward the edge of the cliff. "You're going to dig a path, and that isn't good. Paths lead to erosion and a lack of cover for the land." He stopped next to him, and Thor lowered his binoculars.

"How did you know I was here?"

"A neighbor saw someone out here, and since it's our land, they called the house. You're lucky Rosa gave me the message rather than my father. Otherwise, you'd be talking to the sheriff, and he would have a lot more questions than me." Michael drew closer. "And to answer your next question, we've had folks camping out here on a number of occasions, so people keep watch." He reached for the binoculars and looked through them. Thor knew Michael was able to look out over the water for miles in every direction, as he had been doing for over an hour. "It's too early in the day, but the surf conditions are perfect. It's not too choppy, and it's expected that the marine layer will form and roll in this afternoon."

"How do they find each other in that soup?" He already knew the answer, but was hoping to get new information.

"My guess is GPS transponders that each boat has the frequency to," Michael explained, and Thor nodded. "I take it you didn't find one."

"No. But if they were smart, they took it with them when they brought the boat in. That way it can't be traced to them, and they could transfer it to another boat without an issue." He took back the binoculars.

"It's too early, and you standing up here for hours is only drawing attention to yourself." Michael turned and headed back, following a slightly different route. Thor sighed, knowing he was right, and followed him. Michael had parked his truck next to Thor's, and he climbed in the passenger seat. "My truck is known, and no one is going to question it being here."

"Where are we going?" Thor asked.

Michael waited until he had fastened his seat belt before leaning over the console. "Why don't you buy me a late lunch, and then we can find something to keep us occupied for a few hours."

Damn, the heat in the cabin of the truck went through the roof. Thor wondered if Michael meant that as it sounded, but Thor really didn't care at the moment. He kept reminding himself that he was on a job and had no time for distractions. And Michael was most definitely a distraction—one he was finding it harder and harder to resist.

Their lunch was the world's best shrimp and chips at Noyo River Grill. "Damn, those were amazing," Thor said once he paid the bill, and they were back to the truck.

"Yeah. Fresh-caught shrimp, tempura, and fries so hot, they burn your fingers." Michael groaned. "They opened six years ago down in the harbor and moved up here last year. You never ate here before?"

"Haven't been back in that time," Thor said, his belly more than happy and thrumming a little each time Michael turned toward him. "Where to now?"

"Let's check out the possible boat launches to the south," Michael suggested, and Thor made a right turn, went through the traffic circle, and headed south before making the left turn down into the ravine and along the outflow. There were no cars or boats as Thor pulled off the road, leaving the engine running.

"Well, this was a bust."

Michael opened his door, got out, and went around to Thor's door. He pulled it open, and Thor turned off the engine and slid out of the seat. "Is there something you wanted to show me?" He was unable to glance away from Michael's deep, blue eyes.

"No…. Well, maybe…." He cocked those eyebrows and then drew even nearer.

Thor held that gaze. "What is it?" he asked in a whisper, and Michael reached up, sliding his hand around the back of Thor's neck, sending a shiver up his spine.

"Do you really need me to give you an answer?" Michael whispered, and Thor swallowed hard, nodding ever so slightly. "Because I can. I could talk for quite a while and say nothing at all." He moved a little closer, the heat wafting off his body. "But there are times when words are vastly overrated."

"And is this one of those times?" Thor whispered.

"Definitely." He closed the gap between them, and Thor got the first taste of his lips. The kiss was soft and didn't last too long. Michael drew back, their gazes meeting before he kissed him again, this time with more heat and force. Thor wound his arms around Michael's waist, pulling him to his chest as he returned the kiss, deepening it. His entire body seemed to be on fire, and he hoped to hell it never ended. Michael was one hell of a kisser, controlling the interaction, ripping down the walls that Thor had spent years building in a matter of seconds.

Once he pulled back, Thor inhaled deeply and went in for another kiss, but Michael stilled. "Don't move. There's a boat coming down." He remained close, his gaze settled over Thor's shoulder.

"Is it the same one?" Thor asked, the desire fog around his mind instantly clearing.

"No." Michael relaxed and drew close once again. "It's a family with kids, and I'm glad we're on the far side of the truck from them." He kissed Thor hard, pressing him back against the side of the seat.

Laughter drifted through the fog that was quickly taking over. When Thor pulled back, Michael groaned. "What?"

"We have people around, and I don't think those parents are going to thank us if their kids see us going at it next to my truck." Thor took a deep breath, letting his blood slow in his veins. "As much as I'd like to see what's possible between us, we don't need to be putting on a show." He raised his gaze, noticing that the sun was now shrouded by mist. "Besides, I have a job I should be working on, and my boss is not going to let me off because I had something better to do." He took a deep breath, clearing his mind. "Go around to the other side of the truck before I forget myself. Okay? I need to do this."

Michael didn't say anything, but got into the passenger seat, and after Thor started the engine, they climbed back up to the street, taking off for the cliff overlook.

"It's not likely that we'll see anything," Michael told him as Thor handed him a set of binoculars. Then he closed the door and headed out onto the cliff, settling in the now-damp grasses.

"Flip the switch on the side and look though them now. The ocean will show up in shades of blue to back, with people in the yellows and a boat engine red. This will read the heat signature of anything out there, and by now there shouldn't be much. Our craft will be close to shore, while any commercial vessels will remain farther out. If they make an appearance, we should be able to figure it out." He calmed down, and Michael did the same.

"Do you think they'll come from different directions again?"

"I'm willing to bet on it. There are only so many places our small boat can come from, and they are all to the north. There is nothing in that direction that can handle a boat the size you described coming from the south."

"And what do we do if we see them? How much detail are we going to get?"

"Not sure," Thor answered. "Never used these before, but any difference in heat is going to display in color, so we are going to need to be sharp." He shivered as the dew began coating his back. Still, he stayed as quiet as possible and hoped that their quarry showed up sooner rather than later. The waiting was getting under his skin as he lay there, watching.

Minutes clicked past, and he waited as the light continued to fade. "If it gets too dark, they aren't going to be able to see to make the transfer," Michael commented. "I wonder if we should…."

"Yeah. Just a half hour more and—"

"Wait," Michael cautioned. "There's something headed down the coast, small, with an engine that I'd guess is putting out all she has. Anything from the south?"

"Not quite yet…," Thor said, watching the edge of the point as heat indicating color appeared around the edge. "We got something."

"Okay. What do we do?"