Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Harris

The mood in the rental was grim. Apollo and Griffin had returned to their own people to tell them the news, leaving with a new meeting time planned for the next day. There wasn’t much conversation, and most of the team was lost in their thoughts, spending time with their partners or on calls with those left in Fire Lake.

Even though this team had never met Robin, it didn’t change the fact that one of their own in this fight had paid the ultimate price. It could be any of them at any time, and that was a fact no one could deny.

Woodley rolled over, and Harris pulled him closer into his arms. It was after three in the morning, and neither were sleeping.

“ How are you doing?” Woodley asked.

“ I can’t get the vision of Robin on that table out of my head.”

“ Yeah, neither can I,” Woodley said. “I can’t imagine what Apollo’s people are going through.”

“ This division of the group has no conscience. They need to be stopped.”

“ That’s the plan, but I must admit sometimes I feel like we’re in a no-win situation. That it doesn’t matter how hard we fight, people are still dying.”

“ I understand your frustration, but we are making a difference. We’ve already saved several test subjects and shut down multiple locations. We can’t allow them to deter us from pushing forward no matter how hard it sometimes feels.”

“ I know you’re right, and I refuse to stop, but all I want to do is blow that fucking bar to high heavens along with that house,” Woodley admitted.

“ Same, but we need to ensure no one else is being held in that secret back room in the bar first. Then we burn them to the ground.”

“ I’ll bring the marshmallows.”

Harris pulled Woodley even closer and kissed his temple.

“ What’s that look about?” Woodley asked.

“ What look?” Harris asked.

“ The contemplative one where you’re staring off into space. What’s wrong?”

“ Nothing’s wrong. Can’t a guy just think?”

“ Not you.”

“ My sister said the same thing not too long ago. Why are you two joining forces against me?” Harris chuckled. “I feel outnumbered.”

“ You’re not answering the question, smart-ass.”

“ Fine. I was thinking how it would be if you weren’t in my life.”

“ What?” Woodley asked while putting some space between them. “Planning on finding out?”

“ No. In fact, I want you to move to Fire Lake permanently. You could work on the team, or maybe Elias would hire you for the local department, but I’m unsure how many calls they have for a detective.”

“ You want me to move to Fire Lake?”

“ Yes. Like the other team members, we could build one of those cottages on the lake house property. Or we could work something out with Brian at the ranch. It doesn’t matter where we live just as long as it’s in the same place.”

“ This coming from a man who never wanted to commit to anyone. You’re sounding quite domesticated.”

“ Yeah, well, you can say I’ve seen the light. Besides, what do you have to go back to Oregon for? In Fire Lake, you don’t have to hide who you are; people accept you.”

“ So, I should move for convenience?”

“ Are you intentionally making this difficult?”

Woodley grinned. “Maybe.”

“ Fine. I want you to move to be with me. I need you by my side, and if forced, I guess I could try life in Oregon.”

“ This is a big commitment. It doesn’t scare you anymore?”

“ No. I love you, and I know that now.”

“ You love me?”

Woodley nearly fell off the bed. He looked shocked that those words had passed Harris’s lips and that the world might end.

“ Of course I do.”

Harris answered honestly and had a moment’s hesitation until a smile broke out on Woodley’s face.

“ Good, because I plan on sticking around. It’ll take a hell of a lot to make me return to Oregon.”

Harris pushed Woodley back onto the mattress and hovered over him. This man quickly turned into his everything, and Harris had no intention of fighting it.

“ It’s decided then. When we return to Fire Lake, we’ll find a place to live together.”

“ Sounds perfect,” Woodley said. “Now, if you’re done talking, can we get down to the more important stuff?”

“ More important?”

“ Yeah. Your dick in my ass.”

“ Hell yeah.”

***

Woodley

Woodley melted into Harris’s possessive, commanding touch when he dove in for a kiss. He and Harris were equals, but when it came to what they preferred in a sexual partner, each had their own needs.

For Harris, it was control. For him, control was the last thing he desired. Woodley’s entire life had been built on maintaining control in his detective work and chasing down the Noah Group.

With Harris, he relinquished that control for the first time in his life and had never experienced such intense pleasure before. Every touch felt freeing as he let himself enjoy and not get hung up on the details. As Harris’s strong arms wrapped around him, Woodley basked in how perfectly their bodies fit together.

He didn’t tell Harris that he loved him, and he wasn’t sure why not. He felt the emotion as strongly as his lover, but some part of him still held back. Surely, his never-ending fear that everyone he loved died played a large part of his reticence.

It was fortunate that they were both already naked because things were progressing at light speed. They went from kissing and exploring each other’s bodies to Harris stretching Woodley and pegging his prostate with every thrust of his fingers, driving him closer to coming. At the last possible moment, Harris pulled his fingers out, rolled a condom down his thick cock, added more lube, and lined up.

“ Ready?” Harris asked.

“ Hell, yes.”

With a grin, Harris thrust forward and drove into Woodley’s waiting hole, filling him and making him moan for more. He let himself go to the sensations, never once questioning whether this was right because he already knew. There’d be no more questions, only them together without compromise. Exactly what Woodley wanted and needed most in his chaotic life.

“ God, you feel good wrapped around me,” Harris growled, his words sending shots of excitement through Woodley’s overheated body.

“ You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Woodley said, and with a calculated shift, he rolled Harris over onto his back and rode that big cock for all it was worth.

Harris’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as Woodley pistoned up and down faster and faster until he couldn’t hold his orgasm back and sprayed his release across Harris’s stomach. Harris gripped Woodley’s hips, flipped him over, and retook control, leaving Woodley helpless as his lover slammed into him until he roared his own release and collapsed onto Woodley’s back.

The only sound in the room was their heaving breaths as they fought for air after such a rigorous lovemaking session. Slowly, Harris slid his body to the side and gathered Woodley into his arms after taking care of the condom.

“ Holy shit, you’re going to kill me,” Harris said.

“ Can’t think of a better way to go.” Woodley laughed.

Soon, Harris’s breathing slowed and evened out until moments later, his snores echoed through the room. Woodley pulled the blankets over them and settled in with the man he intended to spend the rest of his life with, no matter how long that was.

Hell, he was in love for the first time in his life. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.

***

The group had grown as they gathered around the dining room table. Along with their team, Apollo and Griffin, a man named Damon, and another named Hendrix joined them. Damon was tall, with jet-black hair and shifty eyes; Hendrix looked like he’d walked straight out of the sixties or seventies. Long blond hair, a bandana, a jean jacket covered in patches, and a handlebar mustache. Easy Rider junkie if he’d ever seen one.

They were two more survivors and part of Apollo’s team. Though neither was too upfront about their mutations, Woodley could understand their reasoning for holding back. Trust was earned in this community, never a given.

Brick and Apollo entered the room, and everyone quieted down.

“ Apollo has a few things he’d like to say,” Brick said before stepping back, allowing Apollo to speak.

“ I’d like to thank each of you for all the help you’ve given us. We know your team didn’t have to risk themselves in our search for Robin. Though the search ended with the worst possible conclusion, we now have closure. Where we go from here involves both teams in a concerted effort to remove this threat from our city.”

Brick stepped forward and took over.

“ This division of the Noah Group has proved its willingness to kill anyone in their way. It’s time we take the fight to them. In the coming days, we’ll ramp up surveillance on both the bar and Soloman’s residence to gather as much intel about their behaviors and schedules as possible. Tentatively, our incursion plans will center around Wednesday of next week. Midweek allows for a limited number of civilians caught in the crossfire if the Group chooses to engage us.”

Spencer went around the table handing out files. “Inside, you will find your briefs and timeline for the next week.”

“ This will be treated as a military operation; therefore, chains of command will be followed,” Brick said.

“ Meaning?” Damon asked.

Before Brick could say a word, Apollo spoke up.

“ Meaning Brick is the leader in this case. You’ll defer to him.”

“ I’m not comfortable with that,” Damon said.

Great, they had an asshole among them. This shit could jeopardize the team.

“ I don’t give a fuck if you’re comfortable or not,” Brick stated in a low, calm voice. That was never a good sign. “I’ve led countless missions into hostile territory across the globe. I spent my life taking out evil from the deepest jungle to the hottest desert without explaining why. I’m not about to start now. Leave.”

Holy shit. The look on Damon’s face said it all, shock. Making Woodley wonder if the guy had ever been put in his place.

“ But…” Damon sputtered.

“ Leave. You’re a liability,” Brick ordered.

Damon looked to Apollo.

“ I’m not risking any more of our people’s lives to satisfy your ego. Robin was butchered like an animal, and I don’t give a shit what I have to do to stop it from happening again. Brick’s experience is the best chance we have at making that happen. You can’t follow orders; you can’t come along.”

“ Robin was my lover. I’ll do what it takes to stop them from doing this to anyone else,” Damon said, his face bleak.

Woodley felt for the man. He couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if that had been Harris on the slab.

Brick closed the distance between them and stared Damon down until the other man looked away.

“ If you want to avenge the man you loved, then you, above anyone, should know that the Noah Group will do whatever it takes to destroy us, and we must be willing to do the same. Whether we have a problem with it or not,” Brick stated. “I’m sorry for your loss, but we have a mission to finish.”

“ Yes, sir,” Damon said without his prior bravado.

“ That was your one and only warning. Don’t give me a reason to take this chance at payback away from you,” Brick said before returning to the head of the table. “Study the notes. We begin Operation NOLA at eighteen hundred hours.”

As the meeting disbanded, Hendrix came forward and looked between Brick and Stryker, garnering both men’s attention.

“ Problem?” Stryker said.

Great, here we go again. Apollo needs to get his people under control.

“ No problem, you misunderstand,” Hendrix said with a deep Southern drawl that reminded Woodley of people he’d met in Louisiana. “I see y’all’s family ties.”

“ Family ties?” Brick asked.

“ Hendrix is the resident genealogist without the DNA test, among other things,” Apollo explained. “He can see your family lines.”

“ Yeah, we know we’re distant cousins or some shit,” Stryker said.

“ No, man, first cousins, maybe second,” Hendrix said.

“ First cousins? Doesn’t that mean one of each of our parents were siblings or first cousins?” Brick asked.

“ Yeah, hold on,” Hendrix said before grabbing a piece of paper and pen from the table and quickly scribbling something on it.

Woodley couldn’t help but be curious, so he moved closer. The detective in him wanted answers.

Hendrix came back and handed the paper to Brick. “This here’s the line.”

Woodley couldn’t see what was on the paper, but it had to be shocking because Brick stared at it and looked up at Stryker, who looked just as shocked, before shoving it in his pocket.

“ Thank you, Hendrix,” Brick said before he and Stryker walked away, heading straight for the temporary office set up in one of the bedrooms and shut the door.

Interesting.