Chapter 10

"He's inside," Michael said as he leaned into Thor's open driver's-side window.

"Did he see you checking the place out?" Thor asked, and Michael shook his head.

"He was easy to spot at a table with some girl. He was in deep conversation with her and didn't seem to be paying attention to anything else."

Michael was nervous and a little excited. Thor seemed to understand that and put a hand on top of where Michael's rested on the door. "I know how this feels. I remember early in my career." He leaned closer, and Michael bit his lower lip, wondering if this was going to be one of their last adventures together.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want this for you," Thor added.

"Oh…." He pulled his hand back, about to turn away.

"I don't mean that I don't want you, because I so fucking do." Thor glanced at the tavern. "This is not the time I wanted to talk about this shit. Hell, I'd be happy if we never had to talk about it. But I don't want this life for you. I want you safe and somewhere that the people I deal with in my business can't find you." For the first time since he'd met him, Thor seemed nervous, and Michael realized that part of his confidence might be a veneer.

Thor leaned closer, and Michael thought he might try to kiss him right here on the street across from the bar, but he stopped, gaze as intense as ever. "If I hide where they can't find me, would you be able to do the same?" Michael loved the fierceness of that gaze. "We don't always get exactly what we want. But when it's damned close, we hold on with everything we've got." Michael squeezed Thor's hand and smiled as Thor turned it over and held Michael's in return, his gaze never faltering.

"You know what to do?" Thor asked.

Michael nodded. "I got your back. Let's do this." He stepped back, and Thor got out of the truck as a car pulled up behind them. Thor strode across the street, and Michael watched every step, memorizing every movement, especially the rise and fall of the world's most amazing ass.

"Jesus…," a woman's voice said from next to him. He looked at her and realized she was watching Thor almost as intensely as he was. "You don't see that every day. Is he yours?"

Michael hesitated and then nodded. Because whether Thor knew it or not, he was his, and Michael intended to make sure he knew it.

"Lucky bastard." They both watched until Thor glanced back. Michael flashed a smile because he couldn't help it, and then Thor went inside and the woman turned, heading into the convenience store behind him.

Michael got back in the truck and waited five minutes before walking across the street and entering the bar. They had agreed to go in separately. Michael's gaze instantly went to Thor, who, beer in hand, headed for Hank's table. Thor sat down, and Hank tensed instantly. Michael wished he could hear what Thor was saying to him, but he could imagine it. Thor was direct, and before his eyes, Hank paled and then tried to slide out of the booth.

Michael went over, blocking his exit. "I don't think so." Hank tried to push past him. "Sit back down," Michael demanded, and pressed Hank back. He slid back into the booth.

"What do you want? I'm not at work right now. I ain't got to take your orders." He tried to push past Michael, and in that instant, he knew Hank had a gun. Michael met Thor's gaze and then looked downward, hoping Thor understood what he was telling him. If they threatened too much, Hank could pull his gun, and Thor could be hurt.

"I had a nice long talk with Peter today about boats and some of his clients. People you recommended to him." Thor's voice remained calm, while Michael's leg bounced under the table. Thor nudged it with his leg, expression not changing, and Michael calmed. "I want to know who they are and everything else you know."

"I'm not telling you shit. Now let me out of here." His voice nearly cracked, and Michael knew Hank had gone from confident to scared in two seconds. He tried to shove his way out. "Let me go or someone is going to get hurt."

"Do you think I came in here without muscle of my own? I have heat trained on you at this moment, so put your hands on the table and settle back, Hankie boy, because you'll tell me all I need to know, and you'll do it with a fucking smile, or I'll shoot your balls off."

Hank moved slowly, placing his hands on the top of the table. Michael grabbed a napkin and pulled the gun from under Hank's coat and leaned forward to set it on the floor under the table before kicking it over toward Thor, well out of reach. "Now, tell us what the deal is."

"Hey, there's plenty to go around. The deal is big enough for all of us."

Thor leaned over the table. "The DEA isn't interested in any of your deals."

Hank's fear level rose sky high. "Hey, I didn't actually do anything. I was just getting a boat for friends and trying to help Peter out at the same time."

"That's bullshit, and you know it." Thor pulled out his phone and passed it over. "Send a message to the first contract and tell him to come on in. We have who we want on a silver platter."

Michael sent the message. The response was almost instant. On the way.

"It ain't me. I don't make the stuff or anything. They…." Hank stopped and paled even more until he was almost ghostly white. "If I tell you anything, they'll…." He groaned. "These aren't nice people. They'll kill me if they think I've been talking to anyone."

"Who are they?" Thor asked. "I want everything you know. Otherwise, I can call the local police, and they'll come in here and arrest you in front of everyone, and I'm sure that will start tongues wagging."

"But I didn't do anything," Hank whined.

"Other than drag my brother into this," Michael snapped, keeping his voice low. "Now, are you going to tell him everything he wants to know?"

"But my job…."

"Has already flown out the fucking window. You need to be worrying more about how much time you'll be spending behind bars." He was fed up with Hank and wanted to beat the hell out of him right here. But he knew he shouldn't, and losing his temper wasn't going to help anyone.

The door to the bar opened and a woman in her late thirties entered. She seemed to take in the place and then walked their way. Thor smiled as she stood at the end of the table.

"What can we do for you, little lady?" Hank asked when she smiled at him.

She leaned over the table, giving him a good look at her chest. "You can quit acting like an ass, and come with me. These two are going to follow, and if you're good, all your buddies are going to think you scored big time. But if not, I'll beat the shit out of you, and everyone in town will see you get your ass whipped by a woman. Understand?" She flashed another smile, and Hank nodded slowly. Michael stood, and Thor did the same. Once Hank got to his feet, the woman took his arm. "Thor can shoot you before you bat a lash, remember that." Then she guided a shell-shocked Hank toward the door. Thor quickly retrieved the gun from under the table, and they followed the "happy couple" out of the bar.

"Is that Miller?" Michael asked.

Thor nodded. "Best boss I ever had."

"Could she really do all that?"

"And more. She is one badass. Everyone underestimates her, but she could have killed Hank half a dozen ways between the table and the door."

Michael swallowed. "Could you?"

"Probably," Thor answered, and Michael shivered as they stepped out into the night. "Does that do something for you?"

Michael thought for a second and then nodded. "It shouldn't, and that kind of scares me. But I know you'd never hurt me." He continued watching Hank and Miller as she got Hank to her SUV, where she cuffed him and got him in the back seat. "What now?"

"She'll take him to regional DEA headquarters, where he'll sing like a canary." Once Hank was secured, Thor gave her the gun Hank had carried, and she secured it as evidence. "Thanks again for all your help with this." She half smiled. "Both of you."

Michael gaped a little. "Is that it?" He turned to Thor. "Don't we get to go in and watch them break this guy into a million pieces until he spills his guts? And then we set a trap to catch the rest of them?"

Thor slipped an arm around his waist. "You've been watching way too many cop shows. This is just one piece of the puzzle. It's all about information and working our way up the ladder."

"Don't worry. The rest of the organization will be found. We take things one step at a time, and this is a big one. But we also know that as soon as they know they have been compromised, the operation will pack up and move elsewhere."

"But…."

"This is my job. I gather information and lay the groundwork. I'm often not involved in the actual arrests. That isn't my function, and I'm not an official agent."

"We'll talk tomorrow, but there's going to be more work for you to do here," Miller said. "Enough to keep you busy for a while." She got in the SUV and drove away.

"Okay. It feels like a bit of a letdown," Michael said.

"Not for me," Thor told him. "You heard her. She has plenty of work in this area."

Michael nodded and swallowed. "Are you going to take it? I understand if you don't want to, with your family and all their drama."

"The issues with my father are why I stayed away for so long. At least that was what I told myself. But maybe what I really needed was a reason to come back." That intensely heated gaze nearly knocked Michael's knees out from under him.

"You'll stay?" He barely let himself believe it.

"Let's go somewhere more private where you and I can talk about it. Preferably in a more horizontal position with a lot less clothing." He winked, and Michael got into Thor's truck, wondering about his non-answer answer.

Michael closed the hotel room door and pounced, tackling Thor onto the bed. He smiled at him and straddled his hips, holding down his arms.

"You like this?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, you promised that we'd talk, and I intend to hold you to that."

Thor grinned like a mischievous little kid.

"You said that just to wind me up, didn't you?"

"Yeah, and it worked." He raised his head and kissed Michael hard. "I'm going to stay. My father may be a complete pain in the ass, and I'll tell you right now that he and I are never going to get along. But I want to be close when my sister has her baby. I want to be the coolest uncle Thor ever, and I want…." He paused, looking to the side. Thor only did that when he was nervous.

"If you can't say it, then you can't have it. It's that simple."

"It is?"

"Yeah." He drew closer. "All you have to do is say what's going on behind those damned walls of yours, and you can have whatever you want."

"If you're so anxious to talk about your feelings, then why don't you start?"

"Because I asked first," Michael said. "It's pretty simple. You gave lots of reason why you're staying, and they're good reasons. So why should I stay? I could get a job down in the city or go to the East Coast. Anywhere I want." He released Thor's hands and was about to give up when Thor put his arms around him, drawing Michael even nearer.

"I want to stay, and I want you too. I don't know where things are going. I have a crappy track record with relationships. Just look at the mess that is my family if you want proof."

"Okay. I get that. My family isn't exactly the Brady Bunch , but we can figure it out, if that's what you want—what we want."

"And it is. That's what I want, but I don't know if I have a right to it. What I do is dangerous, and…."

"How about if you let me make the decisions for me?" Michael closed the gap between them. "We'll figure it out… together." He kissed him, and Thor pulled him closer, the kiss deepening. It appeared that the time for talking was over.

When Michael woke early the following morning, the bed was empty, and Thor sat at the table, already dressed, speaking softly on the phone. He noticed Michael and smiled, but continued his conversation. Michael used the bathroom, and when he returned, Thor had hung up. "Miller?"

"Yeah. She was able to get a lot of information out of Hank, and they're running down those leads. They also found the yacht being used out of San Francisco. They tracked down the owners, who've been in Zurich for the last two months and were shocked to find out their vessel was being used at all. Apparently they had closed it up before they went away." Thor left his phone on the table. "The DEA is going over it to see what they can find."

"But there isn't going to be much."

"We'll have to see. Like Miller said, these things are long-term operations." He got up and approached Michael. "Just like I hope this is beginning of something that will last a very long time." Thor slipped his hot hands around Michael's back, tugging him to his chest before kissing Michael breathless.

"As much as I'd love to stay here with you. I need to check on things at the job site to make sure everything is buttoned up for the weekend, and then I'm going to need to go home, check on Peter, and speak to my father. It's way past time that he and I put a stop to the way he pits us against each other. His favoritism hasn't helped either of us, and it's time it stopped. I've had enough of it."

"And Peter?" Thor queried. "Do you think he'll go along?"

"Yeah. Dad's pressure and expectations were part of what pushed him to do what he did. He was desperate to make his business a success in part because my father expected it." Michael sighed softly. "I used to hate Peter because my father seemed to love him more, but maybe being the apple of my father's eye isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Thor nodded. "I figured as much. Get dressed, and we'll go."

He smiled and wanted to ask Thor if he was sure, but he got his answer in those amazing eyes. Michael backed away and began dressing. "You really up for a round of Constantine family drama?"

Thor sat down next to him. "I am. You had my back, and now it's my turn to have yours. It's what you do for your boyfriend? Partner? I have no idea what the proper term is."

Michael smiled. "Lover?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah… that too," Thor whispered as Michael finished getting dressed. "Now let's go do battle with your old man, and then we can get something to eat, come back here, and repeat what we did last night… two or three times."

"What? You need practice?" Michael asked, jumping away, and Thor reached for him. "I didn't think so, but then practice makes perfect."

Thor caught him and held him tight. "Then you don't need it, because you're perfect already." He kissed him hard, and Michael groaned and figured what the hell; the guys always stowed everything when they were done, and the talk with his father could wait an hour… or two. Thor pushed him back on the bed.

Okay, maybe he and Dad could talk tomorrow.