21. Chase

Waking up with Levi clinging to his arm was one of the most incredible ways to wake. At some point, they must have dozed off during their late-night stakeout of Peabody's house. Chase hadn't intended to stay out all night, just late enough to get a sense of Peabody's nocturnal habits. So far, Peabody was no different than any other middle-aged man. Go to work, eat dinner, watch some television, then bed. Nothing odd or exciting.

Tilting his head slightly, Chase gently kissed the top of Levi's head. He wasn't sure why he did it. It just felt like something he wanted to do. Something inside his chest was growing, and he was starting to fear what it could be. Nothing good ever came from having feelings for someone. All that ever leads to is a lifetime of pain when that person eventually gets ripped from your life.

Beneath his lips, the peaceful Vixen stirred.

"Mmm, what time is it?" the boy asked, eyes closed and arms wrapped tightly around his bicep.

Chase never felt more needed, like he was protecting the boy from all the troubles of the world.

"It's still early. I'm just going to run and check on something. You stay here and keep sleeping."

"Mmm, are you sure? I don't mind coming." His head remained firmly planted on Chase's shoulder. Sleeping Beauty wasn't going anywhere.

He gave Levi another kiss on the head. "Just get some rest, sweet cheeks. I'll be back in a few."

Levi let out a groan as Chase pulled his arm free from his death grip and opened the car door. He watched as Sleeping Beauty shifted in the passenger seat, making himself comfortable once more.

Once outside, Chase jogged over to the Peabody residence. He glanced around quickly, making sure that none of the neighbors were lurking about before disappearing around the side of the property.

Peabody lived in a rather affluent neighborhood, where properties were far enough apart that each homeowner had a relatively large amount of privacy.

As he made his way around the house, he peeked into windows, trying to spot anything unusual or out of place. Something to indicate that Peabody was the monster Edwin had written about in those pages.

Once he got to the back of the house, he was amazed at how much land the man really owned. The back of the lot extended onto a large, wooded area, which only added to the massive amount of privacy this property offered. For someone doing something nefarious, this was the perfect property to own.

He continued to make his way around the property, peeking into windows as he went. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Chase even scoped out the ratty old shed with the door off its hinges. It was a challenge to slip inside the structure without disturbing the ground around the edges of the door. He wasn't sure just how observant Peabody was and didn't want to take his chances that his presence might get detected.

They would have to come back again tonight and continue their stakeout. If they still couldn't find any evidence, he would have to sneak into Peabody's home without Matteo's knowledge and have a look around himself. Something this important, he was not leaving to conventional methods to determine the man's guilt or innocence.

At Matteo's insistence, they continued their surveillance of Mr. Peabody's residence for the next three nights in a row with no change in behavior or suspicious activity.

Chase was getting antsy.

"So, tell me a story. Tell me about one of your greatest childhood memories," Chase asked, laying on his belly, hidden by the large blades of grass and shrubbery in the wooded area behind Peabody's home. Chase had decided to try a different vantage point to see if he could detect anything suspicious.

Behind him, Levi leaned against a tree, stabbing his bare foot in between Chase's butt cheeks. The boy found interesting ways to amuse himself during their stakeouts. They had already gone through two blowjobs and one rim fest in which Chase devoured Levi's tight hole with his tongue during today's stakeout. Chase was all cummed-out, and his dick needed a rest.

"Hmm, greatest memory," Levi repeated. "That's a tough one."

"Anything. Big or small."

"Well, considering my mom was a junkie stripper and my dad was a raging alcoholic, good memories are hard to come by. But I guess I would have to say my greatest memories were the books that my mom brought home when she wasn't high as fuck."

Chase shifted around on his belly so he could get a better look at Levi.

"Books?"

Levi's cheeks reddened.

"Yeah. We didn't have much money, so my mom would swing by the local library to see if they were tossing away any ratty old books. Occasionally, she found some that were kid-appropriate, so she brought them home for me and would even read them to me when she had the time." Levi smiled at the memory. "One of my favorite books was an old hardcover of Beauty and the Beast. The cover was torn to shreds, but the inside had these beautiful illustrations. I must have read that book at least one hundred times over the years. I like that underneath that rough exterior, Belle was able to see the kind, gentle soul that the Beast was and fell in love with him. I guess what made it all so special was that even though we didn't have money, my mother still found a way to do something special just for me. Taking the time to get the books and then read them with me is something that I will always cherish."

"Wow. That is a really nice memory," Chase replied.

Levi picked up a twig and tossed it aside. "Yeah, but then my father ripped up the book one night in a drunken rage, so it's a good memory that had a terrible ending."

Chase's jaw tightened hearing the fate of Levi's beloved treasure.

"I'm really sorry to hear that." He sat up and took Levi's hand in his. "Your dad sounds like a real piece of work."

Levi's eyes narrowed as he stared off into the abyss. "Yeah. Some people just weren't meant to be fathers."

Sensing the shift in mood, Chase pulled Levi in for a hug. "Not all people will let you down in life. Just always remember that."

Nodding, Levi snaked his arms around Chase's torso and breathed him in.

"Okay. Now it's your turn to bare your soul to me, babe," Levi asked, nestled against his chest.

Chase was silent a moment as he debated sharing with Levi the one truth that had nearly destroyed him not so long ago. Feeling the boy's warm body snuggle up into him, Chase wanted nothing more than to share with this man the darkest secret of his life.

"I had a sister who was murdered," his voice was low and pained. He was barely able to get out the words before he started to feel the anxiety begin to rise inside him once again.

The body leaning against him, which had provided such warmth and comfort, suddenly pulled away.

Levi sat up at him with shock in his eyes.

"What?" Levi managed to choke out. "Oh my God, Chase. I'm so sorry." He placed a hand on Chase's arm and waited patiently for Chase to continue.

"When I was six years old, I was put up for adoption. I don't remember much about my birth parents, only that they seemed to fight a lot. I spent a few months in an orphanage until a kind woman in her forties adopted me. She already had a daughter from a previous marriage named Madison." Chase reached into his back pocket and pulled the folded photo out of his wallet. He passed it to Levi before continuing. "Maddy was two years younger than me, but she clung to me like I was her real older brother. I became very protective of her. We played together, we rode our bikes together, and when she got old enough, I was the big brother that vetted the guys that she wanted to date."

"She's so pretty," Levi said, gently caressing the image of his sister.

"She was," Chase corrected, lowering his eyes as he began to fidget with his fingers. "Two years ago, they pulled her body from Lake Ontario. She had been raped and murdered and dumped as if she were trash." Chase's eyes narrowed as he dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands.

If he ever found the guy who did this, he would make him suffer unimaginable pain.

"Oh my God. Chase, that's horrible," Levi choked, eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I can't imagine the pain you must have gone through. Still go through," Levi corrected.

Chase reached over and took the photo.

"After her death, I went to some really dark places." He traced Madison's smile with his index finger and thought about the sound of her voice. The way she snorted when she laughed too hard. The way she would punch him in the arm when he made fun of her laugh. God, he missed his little sis.

Pushing the memory of his little sis aside, he folded up the picture and placed it safely back in his wallet.

"I've been hunting this monster for the past two years but haven't had any luck tracking him down. So, until I do, I'll track down these other monsters and make sure that they're punished and never hurt anyone else ever again."

Levi lunged at Chase and wrapped him in his arms.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Chase. Just know that I'm always here if you ever want to talk or share any stories. It's important that we keep the memories of our loved ones alive."

Chase leaned into the hug. It felt nice opening up and sharing his pain with someone who understood heartache.

"How did you get so wise?" Chase asked, gently kissing the crown of Levi's head.

"What can I say? It's a talent." Levi squeezed him tight once again before adding. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it mustn't have been easy opening up like that."

Leaning against a tree, Chase held Levi firmly in his arms. If there was one person who he trusted the most with his deepest, darkest secrets, it was the sweet, gentle man wrapped in his arms.