Cade Creek 11 - Race Against Time (13 page)

Sheriff Riley cleared his throat. His attention focused on Race. “Terrence escaped custody.”

Race shot from the couch, his face paling. “How?”

“My deputy was transporting him into the station when Terrence’s men ambushed him.”

Vinnie felt sick to his stomach. He’d told Race that this was over, but it was far from over. If Terrence was free, there was no doubt in his mind the man would make a move for Race.

“There’s more,” the agent said as he sat forward on the love seat.

Of course there was.

Vinnie grabbed Race’s hand and pulled the man back down beside him again. “We’re listening.”

“When the sheriff started running a check on Terrence Flannery, it sent up red flags all over my agency.” The agent opened a small manila folder that Vinnie hadn’t even seen and pulled out some pictures of Terrence Flannery, tossing them onto the coffee table. “Can you verify that this is the man you know as Terrence Flannery?”

“Yes,” Race whispered. “That’s him.”

Vinnie felt Race shudder against him. He reached down and laced their fingers together before looking at the DEA agent again. “Why do you have Terrence Flannery on your radar and what does it have to do with us?” Vinnie asked.

He growled under his breath when the agent’s eyes went to Race. He didn’t like the interest he could see there. It went way beyond a simple case.

“What I have to say doesn’t leave this room,” the agent said. “Agreed?”

Before Vinnie could agree, Race spoke in a whisper. “I want Dorian here before I agree to anything.”

Vinnie’s eyebrows shot up. “You want Dorian here?” He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but the clench in his gut was telling him he didn’t like it. Race shouldn’t need anyone except him and Ari, even if Dorian had been there for Race for several years.

“I’ll explain when Dorian gets here,” Race said.

Vinnie didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to deny his lover. He reached over and grabbed the cordless phone off the side table and then handed it to Race. After pushing to his feet, he glanced around at everyone. “I’m going to go make a pot of coffee. Does anyone want any?”

Several hands went up.

Vinnie counted hands before walking away. He could hear Race talking on the phone, even if he couldn’t hear the exact words. He rubbed his hand over his stomach where an anxious knot was forming. He understood that Race’s relationship with Dorian was special, but he wanted Race to lean on him and Ari when things got bad. That’s what being in a relationship like theirs was all about.

Of course, it wasn’t going to happen right away, but that level of trust would come with time. He just hoped that time hurried up and got here.

Vinnie didn’t know how long he had been standing there, but he could hear the others talking in the other room. Sighing, he grabbed the coffee pot and started preparing a new pot. Was he being too greedy? Race had already agreed to be with him and Ari, something very few people could handle. A three-way relationship was not for the faint of heart.

“Vinnie?”

Vinnie turned, smiling slightly when he saw Race standing in the kitchen archway. The hesitant and apprehensive look on his pale face tugged at Vinnie’s heart. Despite his misgivings, Vinnie couldn’t deny Race. He held his arms out to the man.

Some of the disquiet Vinnie had been feeling melted away when Race hurried across the kitchen and into his arms. Vinnie closed his arms around the man, leaning his head down to press his cheek against Race’s hair.

“How are you holding up,
passerotto
?”

“I want this to be over, Vinnie.”

“I know, Race. I do, too.”

“I feel like I’m falling into a black hole and there’s no way out.” Race’s voice was fragile and shaking, and Vinnie suddenly understood that whatever relationship Race had with Dorian didn’t make his any less important. Race had come to him for comfort, and Vinnie could give that to him.

“Ari and I will keep you from falling, Race.” It was a promise Vinnie felt in his soul. “We’ll always keep you safe.” He could feel tears flood his eyes as he lifted his head and looked down at Race. He wasn’t so macho that he couldn’t share that emotional part of himself with his lover. “You belong to us, remember?”

Race let out a little cry before trying to burrow into Vinnie’s chest. “I never want to be anywhere else.”

“Yeah?” A wide grin spread over Vinnie’s mouth. “I kind of like where you’re at as well.”

“Hey, guys,” Ari called out from the other room. “Dorian’s pulling up.”

Vinnie did not like the shudder that worked its way through Race. “I thought you wanted Dorian here?”

“I do.” Race took a step back and then rubbed his hands over his eyes before dropping them to his hips. “But him being here makes this all real, and I don’t want it to be real.”

Vinnie wished he could tell Race that none of this was real, except that it was and he never wanted to lie to Race. “Why don’t we go find out what’s going on with this fiasco and then we can figure a way out of it.”

Race’s smile was weak and wobbly, but it was there. “I suppose we have to, don’t we?”

“I’ll give you a blow job later,” Vinnie offered.

Race’s eyebrow arched. “Bribery?”

“Will it work?”

Race chuckled. “Hell, yes.”

“Then go let Dorian in so we can get to it.”

Race hurried to the door to let Dorian in. The way he smiled when he opened the door and let Dorian in made Vinnie’s chest twinge as jealousy crept in. He knew nothing was going on with the two men, but he freely admitted he was jealous of their close relationship.

Vinnie grabbed the coffeepot, several cups, cream, and sugar and set them all on a tray with some pastries he had been saving to take to the fire station. He carried the tray out to the living room and set it down on the coffee table.

“Help yourself,” he said as he waved his hand toward the morning treats. After grabbing his own cup of coffee, Vinnie went to sit down on the couch. He noticed that Dorian simply leaned back against one of the walls and crossed his arms.

“This is my friend Dorian,” Race said as he indicated the large man.

Dorian gave everyone a nod.

Mike Ryan frowned. “He can’t be here. This is confidential.”

Dorian snorted. “The fuck I can’t. Whatever is going on with Race is my business.”

The agent got to his feet, facing off against Dorian. “I don’t give a shit who you are to Mr. Tuff, you can’t be here.”

“If Dorian can’t be here,” Race said, “then we have nothing to say to each other.”

The agent was clearly outraged by Race’s words if the anger flashing in his eyes was anything to go by. “You’d risk this case just to have your friend here?” he asked snidely.

“Hold the hell up!” Vinnie snapped. He really didn’t like the way the man said “friend” when talking about Race and Dorian. “Who in the hell do you think you are to talk to Race like that?”

Sheriff Riley held up his hand. “All right, we all need to calm down. This isn’t getting us anywhere.”

“I’ll calm down when this tattooed thug leaves,” Agent Ryan snapped.

Sheriff Riley’s eyebrows shot up. “Thug? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?”

Ryan turned his angry eyes on the sheriff. Vinnie knew he was trying to intimidate the sheriff. That wasn’t going to work. “I don’t care if he’s the Pope. He can’t be here while we discuss the parameters of this case. It’s confidential. Unless I give him clearance to be here, he has to leave, and I won’t give it.”

“You’re a fucking idiot.” The sheriff chuckled, clearly amused. “I’m pretty damn sure Dorian James has higher clearance than you do.”

DEA agent Mike Ryan paled as his eyes snapped to Dorian.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Vinnie’s eyes darted between the sheriff, the agent, and Dorian. “Why would Dorian have clearance with the DEA?” There was more going on here than met the eye.

Ari piped in, “Can someone please give me clearance so I can figure out what in the hell you all are talking about?”

“The Dorian James?” Ryan gasped. “As in Special Agent Dorian James? The same guy who went undercover for nearly a decade and almost single-handedly brought down three of the biggest drug cartels on this continent? That Dorian James?”

The way Mike Ryan was acting, Vinnie wouldn’t be surprised if the agent dropped to his knees and offered to suck Dorian’s cock. The guy was practically salivating at the idea that he might be standing in the same room with Dorian James, whoever he was supposed to be.

Dorian simply nodded as if Agent Ryan wasn’t looking at him as if he was the second coming, and said, “The one and the same. Now, tell me, Agent Ryan, why are you in my town messing with my baby brother?”

Vinnie heard Mike Ryan mutter “Mother fuck.”

Growing more confused by the second, Vinnie held up his hand and said, “Wait.” He turned to look at Dorian. “You’re DEA?”

“I was once,” Dorian replied, “in another lifetime.”

“He wasn’t just a DEA agent,” Ryan said. “He’s a fucking legend. He did things that they now teach in the academy, things you can only learn from the best, and he was the best.”

Race turned to Dorian. “Would you give this guy your autograph already so we can get on with this? I have a blow job waiting for me.”

Vinnie snickered.

The sheriff chuckled.

Ari just sat there looking confused.

It was obvious by the moonstruck look on Mike Ryan’s face, that the guy was in awe of Dorian James. Vinnie didn’t get it. He wasn’t best buds with Dorian or anything, but he liked the guy. They had even hung out together a few times. Vinnie just wasn’t awestruck by the guy.

In fact, Vinnie kind of wished he would see a little less of the guy until the bond between him, Race, and Ari was a little stronger. He had nothing against Dorian personally, but how were he and Ari going to get Race to lean on them if Race continuously ran to Dorian?

Vinnie knew he and Ari needed to talk to Dorian about this at some point, but that would have to wait. Right now, he wanted to know why the DEA was so interested in Terrence Flannery and why Race was being dragged into it.

“What’s going on here, Agent Ryan?” Dorian asked from his position on the wall. “Why is the DEA so interested in Terrence Flannery?”

Mike Ryan sighed as if realizing he had no choice but to share what he knew. “Terrence Flannery came onto our radar about a year ago after making several trips to Ireland.”

“He’s Irish,” Race insisted.

“True.” Ryan nodded. “But he wasn’t going to Ireland to discover his roots. Flannery was seen in the company of a couple of front men for the IRA.”

“That what?”

“Irish Republican Army,” Dorian said quietly. “So, why would the DEA be interested in a group that deals mostly in illegal arms?”

“Because they are selling drugs to fund their guns and Terrence Flannery is helping them do it.”

“Yeah, there’s a surprise.” Race snorted. “Not.”

“We’ve had Flannery under surveillance for some time now,” Ryan said. “That’s how we knew about you, Mr. Tuff. When he started following you around, we wanted to know why.”

Vinnie growled. “If you had him under surveillance, then why didn’t you stop him from beating the shit out of Race?”

Ryan’s jaw clenched as if his anger was almost more than he could handle. “I wasn’t informed of the beatings until Mr. Tuff had already left for Cade Creek.”

“Let me guess,” Dorian said, “your superiors didn’t think it was important enough to jeopardize and ongoing case.”

Ryan didn’t look happy as he nodded. “Yeah.”

“Fuckers,” Dorian snapped. “Makes me really glad I got out when I did. Running a motorcycle shop is a whole hell of a lot easier.”

“One of Flannery’s goons turned on him,” Ryan said. “He gave us Flannery in exchange for blanket immunity and witness protection. While in transport to a safe house, the witness and the two agents escorting him were gunned down. The case went down the crapper when that guy died.”

“And you want me to tell you what I know?” Race asked. “Are you insane?”

“Look,” Ryan said, “this guy needs to be put away or a whole lot more people are going to be killed. Do you want that on your conscience?”

“Stop playing the guilt card, Ryan,” Dorian growled. “Or I’ll kick your ass right back to the city.”

“Hold on,” Vinnie said when he felt Race tremble. “I need to talk to Race in private.”

Vinnie grabbed Race’s hand and drew him to his feet. He gestured for Ari to join them and then headed for the kitchen. Once there, he drew Race into his arms. After giving the man a quick peck on the mouth, he looked into Race’s eyes.

“Did you see anything?” he asked. “I mean really see anything?”

“Maybe,” Race whispered.

“You don’t have to do this, Race,” Ari said. “If you don’t want to say anything, you don’t have to. Vinnie and I will back you up.”

“I’m pretty sure Dorian will back you up as well,” Vinnie said in case that knowledge would sway the man. He really didn’t want Race in danger and he had the sinking feeling, he was headed right into the line of fire.