Chapter 6

C hapter S ix

"I'm going with you," Michael said firmly as Thor got ready to drive the boat and trailer hooked to his truck down to Noyo harbor.

"All I need you to do is pick me up from Albion River in a few hours. Nothing more. We have to assume that the area is being watched, and you coming to get me is going to be noted and probably discounted. But still…."

"You are not going out in a boat alone. I'm sorry, but that isn't going to happen. And I don't have any client meetings today." He put his hands on his hips, staring Thor down with an intensity of a laser… or at least that's what he was going for. "You can argue with me until you're blue in the face, but that isn't going to change anything. I already called a couple of the guys I work with, and they are going to take my truck down to the river and park it there. We can arrive and go. Simple as that."

"You're making this way too complicated and visible. This needs to look like a simple boat drop off, not like a huge production with people running all over the county. Just ride with me to the harbor, come back here, and drop off the trailer. Then pick me up this afternoon at Albion. Please." The way Thor added the please was what got him. Thor usually went for orders rather than asking for things. "I need to know you're safe and not too visible in this." He came closer, heat building as Thor pulled Michael to him.

"Don't think being all sexy is going to get you what you want."

Thor kissed him hard, possessively. "I need to know that you aren't in any danger. This is my job—you know that. The only way I can do it is if I know that you're safe."

"And what about me? I'm supposed to sit in my office at my drafting table developing house plans while you're out there with drug dealers watching your every move." He shivered even though Thor was hot as hell against him.

"Yeah. Because I know those fuckers are watching, and I can give them nothing to look at other than a boat going down the coast a few miles. They aren't going to see anything they shouldn't. I dressed to look like just some guy doing a job. Nothing more. I'll have a radio with me and little else. All the electronics on the boat have been checked out, and I went through it when it was delivered. I know it's wired, but I couldn't find a damned thing… and I know what I'm doing. So just relax and give no one anything to watch."

Michael sighed. He hated giving in. Maybe Thor was right, and this was for the best. But dammit, part of him hated that Thor was right and wanted to continue fighting him on it, just out of principle. "You better be safe, or so help me…."

"I know." Thor kissed him again. "Come on. Let's get this boat in the water. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can have it done. I already switched the plates on my truck to ones the DEA had set up for me. If they're run, the search will come up with a guy who does odd jobs and general handyman work. It isn't going to lead to you or me. So, when you pick me up, wear a ball cap and sunglasses, and keep your head down. Or better yet, search for something in the glove box so you can't be seen very well."

"Okay, I get it." Thor was worried about him. More than he was worried about himself. "Let's go."

Thor nodded but didn't release him. Instead, he continued looking into Michael's eyes. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. So just let me do one thing, my job, and keeping you safe."

Michael smiled. "That's two things."

"No," Thor said softly. "It's not." Thor's breath hitched, and he held Michael more tightly.

Michael pulled away from the landing in the harbor, the trailer behind him, the boat with Thor on it bobbing in the water.

"Thanks. Tell the boss that I'll call him when I tie up in Albion River," Thor called out.

Michael hesitated for a second, wondering what the hell Thor was going on about. Then it clicked—this was show in case anyone was watching or listening. Michael waved to let him know he had it and then pulled away.

He drove back to the house and unhooked the boat trailer, moving it off to the side of the drive. Then he went on to his office outside Mendocino and got to work. Or at least he tried to, but he couldn't concentrate, so he ended up doing mindless tasks for a while just to have something to do until it was time to pick up Thor. Then he closed the office, jumped in the truck, and headed to the Albion River landing.

Thor waited for him on the dock. He jogged over and got in the driver's seat, forcing Michael to slide over. "You look good," Thor said with a smile before pulling on his belt and jamming the truck forward, taking the hill like he was on fire. Michael said nothing, but hung on, knowing this was all some sort of performance. Once they reached the top, Thor turned north, heading toward Fort Bragg.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure there aren't eyes on us. Don't worry. I just want to be sure we aren't followed. I'm pretty sure that I was watched and that there were a few folks down at the river trying to look busy. So I don't want to lead anyone back home."

"What if we were followed before?"

Thor shrugged. "Why would we be? They didn't know which boat was theirs until Peter sent the picture. Until then, we were just guys with a boat, like all the others in the area. That's why I didn't just drop it there. I wanted to obscure the origins as much as possible, and once I'm sure we aren't being followed, I'll change the plate on the truck, and we can head home. It should be as simple as that. You and I remain in the shadows."

Michael had to admit that Thor seemed to have thought of everything. He settled back in the seat, keeping an eye out behind them. There were a few cars in a line, but as soon as the road widened outside Fort Bragg, everyone seemed to go their own way. Thor made a number of turns before ending up in the civic center parking lot. At the far end, he backed the truck in, spent a few minutes changing the plate, and then they were on their way.

"Is that all?"

"I hope so. Now we get back to the house, and I can use my computer to track the boat's movements. I can listen into any conversation they may be having as well, but there will be hours of that. The department will record all of it for review later. I'm mostly concerned with where they are. Once it looks like they're out to make a delivery, I'll listen in, and maybe we can get some sort of indication of where the main operation is."

"All right." At least Thor was safe. Michael rode home with him and left Thor there, returning to work. He did have things to do, and now that Thor was home safe, he could get something finished.

Michael ended up working late, finishing a design for a client who was coming in tomorrow. He was really excited about this house. They wanted something with a modern feel, but a home that would fit in the surroundings. Michael thought he had developed the perfect design for them and hoped they liked it. He saved everything and closed up before messaging Thor and leaving the office.

His father stood next to his car, his arms folded over his chest. "What have you gotten your brother into?"

"Nothing. Peter got himself in a mess all on his own. I'm helping to get him out of it." He stared his father in the eye, refusing to look away.

"I could help him," his father said flatly.

Michael shrugged. "I don't think so. This is beyond your abilities. And your help always comes with stipulations and manipulation. Peter and I are through with it. You play us against each other, cause trouble, and then stand back to watch the fireworks." He glared, and his father lowered his gaze. "Peter has done what needed to be done, and he's out of it. His business is building, and he's going to be independent soon. And you're going to stay out of his way and let him succeed or fail on his own."

"Why wouldn't I help my son? Both of my sons?" his father asked. "There's no reason that I can't send people I meet to Peter and clients to you. Remember that I'm the head of this family, and—"

"That's enough. This ‘head of the family' bullshit means nothing. You are done making decisions for me and for Peter. He's got his own life, and you should be proud of him for it. I know I am." He stood straighter.

"And you?"

"What about me? I have clients of my own, and I'm gaining a pretty good local reputation." He wasn't scared, no matter how his father might be trying to play it.

"I have a new development that I'm planning. Sixteen new homes with two-acre lots. I have a son who is an architect, so I thought I'd come see if he was interested in working with me." His father's lips curled upward in a slight smile.

"Are these cookie-cutter places?"

"No. Each is being billed as an architect-designed, one-of-a-kind home. You will be that architect… if you're willing."

Michael tilted his head slightly. "I meet with the clients, and I design what they want? You don't interfere, but build what I design?"

His father nodded. "I was also hoping you'd agree to come back and supervise the work on the builds." And there it was. The truth.

"I see. I take it things haven't exactly gone your way."

His father's eyebrows shot up, his blue eyes shifting. "You know damned well—" his father growled.

"You're going to have to say it," Michael said softly.

"What?" his father demanded, and Michael crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

"If you can't say it, then you can't change it." Michael was having way too much fun to let this go.

His father glared at him, but Michael just waited. He wasn't going to let him off easily. No way in hell. "What? Do you want me to say that the men on your team left and that your lead told me I could go to hell? That I'm a total son of a bitch?"

Michael smiled. "That's a step in the right direction. But don't be mean to Grandma. She was an amazing lady. But yeah, you're getting the point. Your suppliers don't care much for you and neither do the folks who work for you. What does that tell you? This is a small town, and everyone knows everyone else. You can't be all high and mighty and get by. Try being nicer for a change, starting with me and Peter. And yeah, I'll design the homes for your clients and contact the men who worked on my team to see if any of them want work. But you have to change your attitude. Less grumpy old man and more…." He was trying to find the term.

"Grandpa?" Dad asked.

Michael snickered softly. "Maybe senior statesman," he countered. "You've worked hard your whole life, and I'm not saying you just quit, but…." Once again, the words didn't seem to want to come. "You have more money than you and Mom can spend. What are you doing with it? Saving it for me and Peter? Don't. We'll make our own way, and you and Mom should enjoy what you built." He really wanted to see his parents enjoy themselves.

"And I'm supposed to just walk away from everything?" He threw his hands in the air. "I always thought you were smarter than that."

Michael's teeth were on edge, and he glowered. "Of course not. But you find someone to run the business for you. Someone who knows what you do and how to do it. Someone who would build it up and allow you a little freedom." He leaned closer. "I always thought you were smarter than that," he added, throwing his father's words back at him, with no small sense of satisfaction. "I get the feeling that the grumpy old codger routine is either an act, or you just aren't very happy. If it's the former, knock it off, and the latter, do something about it."

His father's eyes widened, like he'd been called out. "I've been doing this since you were in diapers."

Michael rolled his eyes. "And eventually someone will be changing yours. What does that have to do with anything? And what have you been doing all those years—perfecting your asshole act? Because it's getting damned old." He turned away. "I need to get home. Thor and I planned to have dinner, and I'm late. You can have the potential buyers for your new development call me. The nice thing is that once I have the plans and the layout of the plots, you and I don't have to talk to one another very much. Not that we ever did." He climbed into his truck and pulled away from the small building that housed his office, heading right home.

More than anything, he needed to see Thor, but as he pulled into the drive, the house was dark, and his truck wasn't in the drive, which could only mean that something had happened, and he was out in the field. Michael put the truck in Park and checked his phone, but there were no messages.

He sent one to Thor before getting out and unlocking the door. He flipped on the interior lights, knowing he was home alone. The first thing he did was turn on the television for some noise, and then he went to the kitchen to make something to eat. Michael checked his phone once more: no fucking message. He sent another and looked out the windows into the late evening light.

Thor knows how to take care of himself, Michael said in his mind over and over. He had been doing it for years before he met Michael. Still, he kept looking out the window over the sink, hoping for lights or something.

After nearly burning dinner and swearing up a storm, lights shone coming into the drive. As soon as he saw Thor's truck, he sighed and then turned off the burner on the stove, meeting Thor at the door. "What the hell happened?" Michael asked once Thor was inside, and he hugged him tightly. "I sent you messages, and you didn't answer."

"Yeah, well, my phone fell into the damned ocean, and I couldn't go in after it." He sighed and pulled back. "I'm sorry if I worried you. But Miller thought agents should take out our chase boat, get folks used to it going in and out of the harbor. The damned piece of shit broke down just as we were entering the ocean, and we had to fix it and continue checking everything out."

"And…?

"It was rough out there, and I lost my damned phone. Miller is sending another. It will be here tomorrow, and I just hope to hell that nothing goes down between now and then." He was so tense, and Michael held on to him. "I am sorry I worried you."

"Yeah… okay." He sighed. "So, my father and I… sort of talked. There was plenty of sharpness on both sides, but at least we didn't yell. He asked me to design and supervise the build of the homes in his new development. The lots are going to be two acres, and each home is going to be individually designed with the buyer."

"And he asked you?" Thor asked skeptically.

"I know. I'm just as shocked as you are. I think it's his way of trying to lure me back into the family fold, but I'm not interested in working for him again. I like being my own boss and working for myself. It's freeing, if a bit worrisome when there are no clients, but…."

"It's yours, and you don't have to ask your father or anyone else permission for anything," Thor supplied, and Michael nodded.

"Anyway, I don't want to talk about my father or the fact that you scared me half to death by not messaging me back." Michael slipped out of Thor's arms and turned on the burner once more to finish heating up some soup he'd gotten at the store. At least it was refrigerated and not out of a can. He stirred it and got out two bowls.

"I'll make a quick salad," Thor offered and pulled the fixings out of the refrigerator. He got a quick salad ready, and Michael dished up the soup. They sat down and ate in mostly silence. Michael didn't feel like talking, and Thor bent his head over the food, eating slowly. "What is it?" Thor finally asked. "I can tell you're pissed, but… is it because I didn't answer?"

"No… yes… I don't fucking know, okay? I was worried, and I know there's nothing I can do about it. You did this job when I met you, and you're good at it. I know that." He pushed his half-eaten bowl away. "I hate that I feel this way. It seems so childish and stupid. You're a big boy and can take care of yourself. I know that, and I tell myself that all the time. But I still worry, and when you weren't here and didn't answer…." He lowered his gaze. "I got scared And I hate that. Okay?" His anger welled, but it wasn't necessarily directed at Thor or himself. Just at the world.

"You knew what my job is and that—"

"I know." Michael interrupted. "I know who you are, and I thought I had accepted that. Maybe I have. But it doesn't mean that I'm happy about it…. No, that's wrong. I just don't know how to stop the worry that one day I'm going to come home, and you aren't." He sighed, his head spinning.

"I'm going to come home. I'm not the guy who brings in the perpetrators. I gather the evidence and largely stay in the shadows. I only went out on the chase boat today to make sure it was sound. And it is now."

Michael rolled his eyes. "And you're telling me that when the chance comes for you to go out and apprehend these assholes, you aren't going to jump at it?" Michael sighed. "Of course you are. You want to see this brought to an end just as much as anyone else. And I'm going to be here or at my office worrying about you, and that's something I'm going to need to get used to." He leaned over the table. "I'm not asking you to change anything. I would never do that. But I have to come to grips with this, and it's hard."

"Why hasn't it been a problem until now?" Thor asked gently.

"I don't know. Maybe it just got to me today. Shit does that sometimes." Michael wished he understood it himself.

Thor reached across the table, taking his hand. "I'm not going to disappear or get hurt."

"You don't know that," Michael said. "And you have to understand that when I can't get in touch with you, I'm going to wonder why. It will happen."

"And there will be times when I can't call or message for one reason or another. But I will find a way to contact you and let you know that I'm all right. One way or another." Thor squeezed his hands.

"I know that." He took a deep breath. "I don't want to lose you."

"And I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't. I can promise you that. I look forward to coming home every day… to you. It doesn't matter where we live—you will be my home from now on." Thor squeezed his fingers and then released them. "Please finish eating your dinner before it gets cold."

Michael nodded and pulled the soup bowl toward him, eating what was left, but not really tasting it.

"There isn't anything I can do to change my job other than to quit."

Michael set down his spoon. "I don't want you to do that because this isn't your problem. It's mine. I have to figure out a way to deal with these feelings."

"But I don't want you to have them," Thor told him, and Michael knew in that moment just how much Thor loved him. "I want you to be happy…."

Michael scoffed. "I am happy most of the time. You make me happy. That's the source of the worry. Don't you get it? If something happens to you, then my happiness flies out the window. I'm left with an empty heart and an empty life. That's why I'm worried."

"I see. Then I have to make sure I'm as safe as possible so I can safeguard your happiness as well as my own." Thor smiled. "I did my job for years knowing that if anything happened to me, there were very few people who would care very much. Angie would be upset, and my father might mourn, but not very hard. Basically, I was expendable. Then I met this guy overlooking the ocean, and he changed everything. He's a stubborn pain in the ass, and I know he loves me, just like I love him. That man has become my world."

Michael swallowed hard, trying to take all this in. Thor was not a demonstrative person, and yet here he was, spilling his guts.

"And I like my life, and the one we have together. So, I'm more careful now, and I don't take chances." That smile grew wider. "I do everything I can to make sure my work doesn't follow me here. That this can be our home, a safe place. I want you to be safe."

"I get that, and I want the same for you."

"Then please trust that I will do everything I can to be just that." Thor finished his salad and took his dishes to the sink. Then he sat back down again. "By the way, I got a call before lunch. Chris and Matt have decided to sell the house."

"This house?" Michael asked. "When do we have to be out?"

"Well, that's up to you. They want to sell, but they said they'd give us a good price. We know the property well, and with my work and connections, we could buy the house without using a realtor. So that saves them a lot of money. I guess the thing we need to discuss is if that is something we want to do."

"Buy this house? You and me?" Michael had never thought of that. "I have some money." Hell, he had some that had been put aside for him by his grandparents that he had never touched. It had been sitting in a trust fund for years. He also had some money that was left in his college fund since he had gotten scholarships and hadn't needed all of what had been put aside for him.

"So do I," Thor told him. "I'm paid very well for what I do. I have been for a number of years, and I've always lived pretty modestly. You don't spend big when you don't want to be noticed. I've lived simply and was always ready to move on." He shrugged. "You and I could pool our money, get a mortgage for the rest, and build a life right here." He stood, wandering over to the windows that looked out over the backyard to hundred-foot-tall redwoods that framed it. "If that's what you want."

"I love this place," Michael said. "And there are so many things I would like to do with it, like add a hot tub off the one side of the deck with a roof and sides that open up. I'd like to clear some of the back yard of the scrub but leave the overarching trees. Maybe get a couple of dogs." He smiled. "I love this place and the feel of the land around it." He joined Thor at the window. "Maybe if we bought this place, we could take down that tree right there to let the smaller ones around it get more light. I'd love to have it cut and planed so I could build a new dining table as well as end tables with the wood from our own land."

Thor chuckled. "I see. You haven't thought about this at all, have you?"

Michael turned to him. "Only like a million times. This is someone else's home, and if we bought it, I'd like to make it ours." He leaned against Thor. "Why don't you talk price with them, and we'll go from there."

Thor nodded, slipping an arm around his waist. "Okay, then. I was thinking that I could get a friend of mine to give us an appraisal. He does that sort of thing throughout the area. From there, we can make an offer based on solid information about value."

"Okay. And what about the guest house?"

"I'd think that would make a great workroom for your business. You could design there if you wanted. Maybe have a place to meet clients in town, but this could be where you work. You could make it yours any way you wanted."

A whole list of possibilities came to him, and Michael found himself adding to it the more he thought. Too bad his phone rang, interrupting, and when Michael didn't recognize the number, he showed it to Thor, who took the phone and slipped away to answer it. There were times when he wondered if he was involved with a doctor, the way Thor kept getting calls.

"I take it that was Miller. Is everything okay?" Michael asked when Thor returned.

"Yes. It's fine. Just Miller checking in about how things went today. I told her about the issues, and I also explained to her that she is to delete your number from her phone unless it was a true emergency. I may have lost my cell, but that doesn't mean she gets to use yours."

"Isn't she your boss?" Michael asked. "I mean, she's important."

Thor smiled. "Yeah. Miller is my contact, and I make her look really good. But I'll tell you that any of the DEA supervisors would be very happy to have me on their team. She's my contact because I chose her, not because she recruited me." He raised his eyebrows. "And she's not allowed to get to me through you. I draw the line at that, and now she knows it."

"Was there anything else that she wanted?"

Thor nodded. "After the locations she identified didn't pan out, I took a close look at the maps and images myself… and I got nothing. There are no unexplained clearings or power-use hot spots. So…."

"You're back to square one," Michael supplied.

"Yes and no. The boat that Peter rented them is sitting in Albion River, and I suspect that it's being set up for a little smuggling. They are going to need unexpected places to hide things, especially if they're being watched."

"And…?"

"They are. I placed a few cameras in the area, and the boat is under surveillance. I did that first thing this morning."

"So you'll see when they come to get the boat," Michael said.

Thor shook his head. "I'll know when that happens anyway. What I want is the vehicle they come in. I want to see it, and then maybe I can get down to the harbor and follow them back. Up until now I've been tracking a boat, which is a pain in the ass, especially when the damned thing is out on the ocean in the fog. But a car or a truck, that I can follow. All I need is a damned phone so I can hook everything up." He flopped down on the sofa.

"Can't you use your computer?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, and I have my laptop set up to alert me if anything happens. But those alerts…."

Michael nodded. "Come to your phone."

"Bingo," Thor said. "So, I just have to hope that everything I've been waiting for doesn't go down tonight. If they stay in port for a few more hours, my new phone will arrive, and I can have everything just the way I need it. The DEA can track and follow the boat while I track the worker ants who use it. Hopefully right back to their drug-cooking ant hill."