Confessions (6 page)

once again, Luke reached for the remote control on the

bedside table. “Feel like watching some TV?”

“Sure. I don’t watch much though, so you’l have to fil

me in if it’s one of those ongoing kind of shows.” There was

something so innocent yet incredibly intimate about their

position.

Luke began to flip through the channels. “Hol er if you

see something you like.”

“Right there,” Priest said when Luke turned to a home

improvement show. “I just bought a house that needs some

work done. Maybe I’l pick up a few pointers.”

“Good luck. I’ve been watching this network for about

five years, and I stil don’t have a clue how to lay tile.”

They watched for several minutes before Luke spoke

again. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask, doesn’t mean I’l answer,” Priest said.

“Were you in the al ey when I hurt my knee?” Luke

asked, taking a moment to al ow his body time to adjust to

Priest’s cock.

“No. Why?”

Luke shook his head. “Nothing. I just had this feeling

someone was watching me. I’d hoped it was you.”

“Wasn’t.”

Within minutes, Luke was softly snoring against

Priest’s chest. Priest eased the remote out of Luke’s hand

and turned the volume down. As he continued to pick up

pointers on home repair and decorating, he idly ran his

fingertips over the soft, inked skin of Luke’s lower back.

A glance at the clock surprised him. He’d held Luke

for over two hours without expecting anything in return. He

was tempted to wake Luke up and ask for a blowjob or

something. Not that he needed to be sucked off, but it

would make him feel better if they kept their relationship

strictly sexual.

Usual y he had to be flat out wasted to spend the

entire night with a booty cal , but once again, things felt

different with Luke. Priest turned off the lamp and the

television and stared up at the darkened ceiling.

What would Luke think if he knew Priest had blown up

a house with innocent people inside? Thoughts of the

assignment threw Priest back into the pit of guilt he’d been

wal owing in for days. He needed to find out more on the

woman whose picture he stil had in a file at his house.

According to news reports, the woman in the photograph

and her elderly parents had died in the explosion that had

rocked the middle class neighbourhood.

He couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do

with her Middle Eastern descent. Was it possible that the

woman was a terrorist? His gut had told him no. So why

hadn’t he listened? Although the answer came easily, it

didn’t make Priest feel any better. He’d trusted Jeffries and

the agency to only assign him matters of national security.

So Priest had not only failed the innocent family, but his

agency had failed him. Great.

Unable to sleep, Priest eased out of bed without

waking Luke. He didn’t bother turning on lights as he left the

bedroom. A life spent in the shadows had given him keen

night vision, something he’d always used to his advantage.

He found Luke’s desktop computer in the spare

bedroom and fired it up. Because he doubted Luke had a

high level security system on his computer, Priest stuck to

Google.

After typing in the woman’s name, he scrol ed through

the recent news reports, looking for something older.

Images of women with the same name caught his attention

and he clicked on the link. According to the search results

there were five pages of thumbnail images for Alhena

Qasim.

He found what he was looking for on the fourth page.

There appeared to be just one picture, but it was definitely

Alhena. Priest clicked on the thumbnail and a

heartbreaking image fil ed the screen. Dressed in a white

lab coat, Alhena was dispensing smal cups of what Priest

could only assume was medicine to Haitian refugees. The

news reports and his own file said the woman was a

news reports and his own file said the woman was a

marketing executive, so what was she doing with refugees?

He studied every detail of the photo, looking for other clues.

A partial profile of the US Secretary of State, Benjamin

Grover, talking to reporters in the background surprised

him.

Was there a link between the photograph and the

hired hit on Alhena?

“I woke up to a cold bed,” Luke said from behind him.

Priest quickly closed the window before turning

towards Luke. “Sorry about that. I couldn’t sleep so I

decided to start my research.”

Luke came into the room and placed a hand on

Priest’s shoulder. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“No, but I found a starting point. I’l continue it

tomorrow after a long night of fucking you.”

Luke grinned and reached out to wrap a hand around

Priest’s growing erection. “I’m off shift for the next twenty-

nine hours. Do you have any idea how sore you can make

me in that amount of time?”

“No, but I can’t wait to find out.”

* * * *

“No. That’s a good thing,” Luke said, handing him two

pink pegs.

“How in the hel can two twin girls be a good thing?

Have you ever been around girls?” Priest took the pegs

and tried unsuccessful y to put them in his blue plastic car.

Giving up, he handed the items to Luke. “I don’t know how I

let you talk me into playing this game.”

“It’s The Game of Life, probably the best board game

ever created.” Luke put the pegs in their places and set

Priest’s car back onto the board. There was something so

incredibly cute about seeing a man of Priest’s size sitting

cross-legged on the floor playing a game. It was almost…

domestic. “The more children you have, the more likely you

are to win.”

Priest snorted. “Win what? You never told me.”

“The game.” Luke counted spaces and moved his

car. “Isn’t winning enough?”

“Sure, when you get something for it. But bragging

rights don’t interest me, never have.”

Luke tucked his hands in his lap. It was like Priest had

never had a chance to just enjoy life for what it was. There

was something so heartbreaking about that. Sure, Luke’s

life hadn’t been ideal, but he’d had Kenny. He wondered if

Priest had had a best friend growing up. Glancing up at

Priest, Luke compared him to Stretch. Luke had been in

love with Stretch who had humiliated him in the press.

Would Priest break his heart the way Stretch had?

“I’m sorry,” Priest apologised. “I won’t make fun of

your game anymore.”

“It’s not the game.” Luke sighed. “I’ve only risked my

heart on one person and that didn’t end wel .”

“Don’t go risking anything on me. I’m not the kind of

man you need.”

“You’re sexy, kind, and except for the kissing thing,

you treat me better than any other lover has,” Luke

explained, laying his soul bare.

Priest reached across the board and laid a hand on

Luke’s shoulder. “That’s pretty damn sad. You should find

someone who treats you like gold, not shows up and fucks

you before disappearing again.”

“Is that what you’re gonna do, disappear?” Luke

asked, leaning his head sideways to brush his cheek

against Priest’s hand.

“It’s what I do. I’m a man without a future. I live my life

one breath to the next. Building a future with me would only

lead to further heartache, and you deserve better.”

“Are you sure?” There had been a time when Luke

had been loved unconditional y and he’d let fear take it al

away. He looked down at his nude body. Although most

people thought his tattoos were a form of self-expression,

no one had ever bothered to look beyond the colourful ink

to the symbols of self-hatred hidden within the art.

“I’m sure.” Priest stood and held out his hand. “Let’s

leave this game for later. We should go work each other out

of our systems.”

Luke wasn’t sure that was possible. Priest returning to

Cattle Val ey meant so much to him. Didn’t everyone dream

of being unforgettable? Luke smiled as he fol owed Priest

to the bedroom. He was going to do his best to make sure

he was truly embedded in Priest’s heart before he had the

chance to leave town again.

* * * *

morning he was indeed walking funny. Luckily, most of the

guys chalked the awkward gait up to his sore knee, when in

fact his injury didn’t hurt at al .

He spotted a chuckling Col in Zeffer in the corner and

walked towards him. “Problem?”

Col in shook his head. “Nope. I’ve had that walk

myself a time or two.”

“I hurt my knee,” Luke said in his own defence.

“Yep, and I told people I’d been riding horses. When

al I was real y riding was Abe.”

Col in was usual y a soft spoken man, so the

reference to his sex life shocked Luke. “It’s always the quiet

ones,” Luke said with a shake of his head.

With a wide grin on his handsome face, Col in

nodded towards the sleeping quarters. “I’ve got some salve

in my kit if you need it.”

Instead of accepting Col in’s offer, Luke gave him a

playful punch in the arm. “You’d better keep it. My stud’l

only be in town for a few more days.”

“Suit yourself. It’s there if you need it.” Col in

wandered off towards the kitchen.

Luke pushed through the swinging doors to the bay.

Aaron was already in the back of the ambulance doing

inventory. “Man, do you ever get a day off?”

Aaron glanced up. Although he’d been out of the

service for more than a year, Aaron stil looked haunted.

Luke had never served in the military, but he held the

upmost respect for those who had.

“It’s easier to stay busy.” Aaron handed Luke a

damaged box of gauze. “I’m not sure what happened to

this, but the plastic wrapping is torn. I think we should toss

it.”

Luke set the box aside so he could dispose of it later.

He knew Aaron was stil battling PTSD and wondered if he

could give Luke any tips to get through the memories of the

wreck that continued to plague him. “I can’t get the face of

Kati Hargrove out of my mind.”

Aaron continued to count the wrapped syringes. He

finished and wrote the figure in the log before addressing

Luke. “It’s only been a few days. Give yourself time.”

“Has time worked for you?” Luke asked.

“No, but I’ve seen hundreds of Katis.”

“So how do you deal with it?” Luke couldn’t imagine

what Aaron must go through on a daily basis.

“I see a therapist.” Aaron set his clipboard down,

giving Luke his ful attention. “And I pray a lot. Reverend

Sharp listens to my confessions every week.”

“Reverend Sharp? But he’s not Catholic.”

“Yeah, but no one’s perfect.” Aaron grinned. It was

such a rare occurrence it took Luke off guard. “You should

go see him. I’m sure he could help you deal with the

accident.”

Luke had never considered talking to anyone but

Kenny, but even his best friend didn’t know the ful extent of

Luke’s sin. “Thanks. I’l think about it.”

* * * *

letting Jessup into the house.

Jessup looked around the sparse living room. “Who

does your decorating?”

“Fuck you.” Priest knew the house had seen better

days, but it was his. The first bit of solid real estate he’d

ever owned. After watching TV with Luke, Priest had a

good idea of the things he’d like to do to improve the

house, but in order to get them done he’d have to settle

down. Pipe dreams, all of them, he told himself.

Jessup sat on the edge of a sofa that had definitely

seen better days. “What can I do for you?”

“Just like that? You’re not going to rake me over the

coals for asking a favour?”

Jessup shrugged. “You saved Brac’s life a few

months ago. I think that’s earned you a few favours.”

“Yeah, I did do that, didn’t I?” Priest smiled. He

handed a slip of paper to Jessup. “I need to find out

everything I can about this woman. The problem is, I’m sure

her name is flagged. If I go hacking into databases,

someone’l know.”

Jessup nodded his understanding. “You’re right.” He

held up the sheet of paper. “Do you know anything?”

“Yeah. Hang on.” Priest went into the kitchen and

returned with a copy of the picture he’d printed from the