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  "Hey, hang on. If I'd known what was in that box would I have opened it right in front of you? Do you think I'm that stupid? Someone broke in here last night--I wasn't even here. Dawson or somebody is trying to cover their own ass or set me up for a fall. Cut me some slack. I thought we were friends, or was that just part of your investigation?"

  For an instant what looked like genuine regret slid across Jeff's face. He exhaled, almost a sigh. "I don't know what's going on here, but we've found dope and it came to your store. I have to take action. It's my sworn duty. I have no choice."

  The shock and pain was too much. Monte surrendered to the inevitable. His shoulders sagged. The last twenty four hours had left him near the breaking point. "Fine, do what you have to. I won't add resisting arrest to the charges, but I swear I don't know what's going on. Somebody must have set me up or maybe they're just using a naïve fool for their own purposes. I'm sure a real investigation'll clear me, but for now, I'll surrender to the inevitable." He held out his wrists.

  In spite of everything, he still trusted Jeff in some obscure corner of his mind. That was probably stupid, too, as stupid as so much else that was happening here, but he couldn't help it. Part of him was mad as hell, hurt almost beyond enduring, but he just couldn't fight any more right now. If the world fell around his ears, let it fall.

  Jeff huffed out another breath and shook his head. "Oh shit, man, I'm not going to cuff you. I'm not even going to arrest you, but protective custody might be a good idea for now. Why don't you lock things up here and come along? If you're telling the truth, it'll all sort out in time. If not, well, I guess you'll find crime really doesn't pay."

  Numb with pain and shock, Monte did as he was told. Jeff picked up the box and took it out again. When they stepped onto the sidewalk, Monte saw two more cars had pulled up. Two men got out of the first one, a tan SUV with a small shield emblem on the doors. The driver stood to one side, his hand poised near the very business-like pistol on his belt. The other opened the right rear door and motioned for Monte to get in. He had no choice but to obey. Jeff got into the black van and drove off without looking back.

  Chapter 4

  * * *

  The next four days were the most miserable Monte had ever endured. Assigned to Barton Gage, he found he had to stick to the dog handler like a Siamese twin. They were in a safe house, just two doors down from where Jeff lived. It was Barton's detection dog who'd found the drugs, he learned. That left him with mixed feelings, but he had to admire the animal and the man, especially the seamless way they worked together. That level of teamwork took a lot of training and practice.

  While Barton and Sherlock continued to check Jeff's truck each morning, Jeff pointedly ignored Monte. As much as it hurt, Monte did understand. Until Monte was cleared of any wrong doing, Jeff had to stay aloof. He'd already transgressed by entering even the start of a relationship under the circumstances. He probably felt guilty about that.

  But the rational explanation didn't mean Monte had to like it. He still ached all over because of the distance Jeff had put between them. They'd just begun to build something special, and now it had all gone to ruin. Life couldn't get much more bleak--his business was going to hell, his reputation was probably shot and this new friendship lay in shards around his feet. The only thing that kept him going was a dim hope that somehow he'd be cleared and then maybe he could rewind back about a month and start over. He'd give anything to be able to do that, to meet Jeff anew and do this thing right. He'd never felt quite the same way about anyone before, which made this loss hurt the most of all.

  From Jeff's conversations with Barton, Monte learned the powder had tested positive. It was cocaine. No surprise there. They were tracing the package back to the alleged shipper and ultimately to the source, which finally proved to be a dubious import agent in El Paso, Texas. Another team in the west Texas region was going to snare that man.

  Meanwhile Sportsman's Stop sat closed and idle. Half his merchandise still lay strewn across the floor, and the closed sign and a glimpse of the mess through the windows greeted any potential customers. With the holiday season rapidly approaching, this should be the best business month of the year, but it was slipping by without a single sale. Discouragement sat heavy on Monte's shoulders.

  Trying to play penny-ante poker with Barton to kill time, Monte could not concentrate on his hand. Why did everything have to take so damnably long? Why did everything have to go wrong? He was not into self-pity, but the why me, why now questions had gotten hard to ignore.

  The sound of the kitchen door opening and closing alerted both Barton and Monte to the fact someone had come into the rented house. Barton stood, grabbing for the weapon that was never out of his reach, but it was only Jeff. The other agent, still in his delivery uniform, halted in the doorway.

  Jeff's glance took in the scene...Monte and Barton, Sherlock sprawled beneath the table and the scattered cards. He hoisted one eyebrow. "My God, Bart, gambling with a suspect? What policy recommends that?"

  In spite of his words, Monte detected a hint of a smile in both Jeff's tone and his expression. Jeff looked directly at Monte and spoke to him for the first time in four days. "You want the good news or the bad?"

  Monte shrugged. "There's really some good news?"

  Jeff nodded. "I think it is. Cameron Creek PD ran the prints they got in your place the night of the break-in. Yours were there, of course, but also a bunch of others from two men. One of them was Drake Dawson. The other is a guy we've been trying to catch up with for quite a while. He's the brother of the importer in El Paso where the package originated. The team picked up Dawson yesterday. He squealed like a stuck pig, wiggling like a greased eel to try to get his lousy ass out of the crack. It didn't work, but his statements pretty well put you in the clear."

  For a minute Monte thought he was going to pass out. He struggled to his feet, then grabbed the edge of the table. The room shimmered around him, warping like a scene in a fun house mirror. He blinked several times until the dizzy haze faded. "Are you sure? I--can I go home? Is it over?"

  Jeff raised one hand, palm out. "Hold your horses. Not quite yet, but as soon as we get Rudy Juarez, you can. Two of our agents should be netting him right about now, but until we get the all clear, I don't want you where Rudy or any of his henchman could possibly get their hooks on you. As far as they're concerned, you blew the whistle on them."

  "Me? I didn't do anything! I didn't know anything about any of this! But I do want to know who set me up? How did they pick me and my store to use in their scheme?"

  "We may never know all that," Jeff said. "I think Dawson had something to do with it. He probably figured a new guy in town would be a safe bet. Seems they intended to get you to do some illegal firearms stuff and then blackmail you into a role in the drug shipments. Juarez was probably pissed when Dawson didn't get the scheme to work. I'm just guessing, but I think that's when they decided to use your store anyway. The package came in late and Juarez was furious. He and Dawson figured someone had ratted on them or you'd found the stuff. They had to try to get hold of the shipment"

  Monte sank back onto the chair where he'd been sitting. His first surge of relief ebbed, leaving him back on the ground, still with a trashed store and light years behind the power curve. He put his head in his hands and tried not to think at all. After a moment, he visualized writing a book: something like, How to Piss Your Life Down the Toilet in a Few Easy Steps.

  "Goddamn it. Life flat sucks."

  * * * *

  Jeff started to cross to Monte, feeling the other man's distress as keenly as if it were his own. In some ways it was. The crackle of Agent Arnwine's deep voice through the earbuds of his pseudo iPod halted his progress.

  "We have Juarez. He was hiding out at Dawson's place just like pork-o told us. Juarez didn't put up much of a fight. I think he figures the higher level people will bail him out in short order, but he's in for a surprise. Unless he buys a plea bargain with a lot of informati
on, he's ours for the duration."

  Jeff nodded, although he knew his teammate couldn't see it. "All clear now? Is it safe to let Farnsworth go?"

  "As far as I know it is. Let me check with Donovan. Unless you get a negative in half an hour, Farnsworth is a free man. By the way, Donovan said there might be a small reward coming his way for his part in helping us bust this case."

  Jeff laughed. "He didn't know he was doing anything. That'll be a surprise, but I expect he could use it. He's lost several days of business, and it wasn't going that great anyway."

  Apparently alerted by Jeff's part of the conversation, Monte raised his head. He turned toward Jeff, a question clear in his expression. Jeff restrained a chuckle. Monte'd never make a real cardsharp. If there's a total opposite of the poker face, he has it.

  "They just took Juarez. If I don't hear otherwise in about thirty minutes, you're free to go. Since you don't have your car, I'll run you back to Cameron Creek."

  * * * *

  Monte got out of Jeff's SUV when the other man pulled up to the curb in front of the Sportsman's Stop.

  "I've got to take care of a few loose ends, Monte. I'll try to get back in an hour or two and give you a hand for a while. I know you're way behind on getting the clean-up done. I'm sorry--I wish it hadn't happened this way."

  It wasn't easy, but Monte summoned a smile. "It'll all work out one way or another. Don't feel like you owe me anything. You were doing your job. I just ended up at the wrong place at the right time or something."

  "It'll be okay. I'll be back."

  He made himself turn around and head for the door before Jeff pulled away. Inside, everything was just as he'd left it. Four days? In some ways, it felt like four hours and in others, like four weeks. All he could do was take up where he'd left off. So he did.

  Sometime later, he realized it was getting dark. In three hours he'd made a fair amount of headway, though. The showroom was starting to look decent again. He straightened slowly, his back protesting the extended period of hunkering on the floor, sorting things out and picking them up.

  Most of the trash was gone now and several of the display cabinets were back in order. As Monte started across the room to turn the lights on, two vehicles pulled up in front. For a minute, near-panic stopped him dead. Were there more members of the drug ring that had not been captured? He almost held his breath until he saw something familiar about at least two of the men who got out of the first vehicle, a dark SUV. Jeff and Barton?

  He strode to the door and flung it open, switching on the lights at the same time. Yes, it was, and a couple of other men he hadn't met but guessed were part of the team climbed out of the other car. With the lights on, he saw that Jeff carried three big pizzas and Barton had a couple of six-packs.

  "We brought the party to you," Jeff called. "I bet you need a break about now."

  The four men jostled their way in. Monte scurried around to collect stools and folding chairs for everyone, while Jeff and Barton spread out the meal. For the next half-hour they ate and talked, filling Monte in on more details about the case, everything they could legally divulge. Finally the beer and the pizza were both gone.

  Jeff looked around and nodded as if pleased with the progress he saw. "Okay, we're all fed. Now what do you want us to do?"

  For a moment, Monte stood shocked and silent. Then he realized the offer was sincere and for real. He had four pairs of willing hands to help him finish cleaning up. It was almost too good to be true, but he couldn't let the chance slip away. He outlined several tasks, and they all went to work. By ten o'clock, things were close to being restored to normal, and in some cases even better than they had been.

  One of the men Monte had not met until this evening then came up and slung an arm around his shoulders. It was Donovan, the team leader, a lean and swarthy man a few years older than the rest with a droll sense of humor.

  "Almost forgot one key detail," Donovan said. "For the record, you had a major role in helping us make this case. That's the word they got at headquarters. Such support and assistance generally earns a little reward. I hurried things along and got the funds sent out by courier. Jeff tells me you could use a little something to make up for the business you lost while you were caught up in the case. Maybe this will help."

  When Monte saw the amount on the check Donovan put into his hand, he got dizzy. "Er, yeah. It sure will. It really will! I wasn't expecting anything like this. I mean I really didn't do anything but get in the way."

  Donovan laughed. "True, but you get in the way with a certain unique class." He looked at the rest of the team as he backed away from Monte. "I think it's time we headed out, don't you, guys?"

  Three of them gathered the pizza boxes and the rest of the junk and trooped out. Jeff did not go with them. Instead, he crossed the room to Monte's side. Almost hesitantly he put one hand on Monte's left shoulder. "Maybe I'm making a dangerous assumption, but I feel like we have some unfinished business, just the two of us. I was thinking we might want to celebrate a little bit more."

  Without a thought to the fact the shop was still well lit and anyone passing by would be able to see everything, Monte turned into the circle of Jeff's open arms and threw his own around Jeff's body.

  "Not a bad assumption at all." He barely got the words out before Jeff's kiss silenced him. For several minutes they simply held each other and kissed as if there were no tomorrows. Finally Monte drew back. "I guess we really ought to close up shop and take this somewhere else. Your place or mine?"

  Jeff grinned. "Yours is closer. And I'm afoot so we have to use your car."

  "It's parked right out back." Monte closed and locked the front door, turned off the lights and led the way out the rear door by the glow of the security lights. After they climbed into the Subaru, he threw gravel getting out of there.

  As soon as Monte's apartment door shut behind them, they returned to a close embrace. Just holding each other was soon not enough. They needed to be skin to skin, arms and legs tangling, with bodies straining together. A trail of discarded clothes followed them across the living room and then to the side of Monte's bed.

  By the time they sprawled together across the dark spread, they were both nude. Rolling into a tight tangle, Monte felt Jeff's cock, already fully erect, prodding and thrusting against his belly and leaving a trail of moisture across his thighs where the tip touched. His own was stiffening fast, equally eager to feel any part of Jeff it could reach.

  Jeff caught Monte's face in his hands, fingers spreading across his cheeks, feathering in front of his ears and along his jaw. The touch stilled him for a moment. Jeff's expression also pinned him in place. The intensity in Jeff's eyes was almost too much. No one had ever looked at Monte quite that way--like he was the ninth wonder of the world, the greatest thing since...well, not sex or...yeah, maybe sex. But sex with something even more wrapped up around it. Not just lust, but something deeper and even more powerful. It was scary and it was amazing. And he wanted all of it with his whole being.

  "This time it's my turn first. If you won't tell me what you like, I'll find out by trial and error, but you're going to get sucked, fucked and done up crispy and brown before I'm finished with you. If that doesn't sound good, you better speak up fast."

  Monte gulped. "It sounds good, real good. And with you I think I'd like it all. More than like even."

  Jeff shoved Monte back, flat on his back. Then Jeff got up on his knees over him, hands skimming over Monte's body, shaping every muscle and joint, combing through the silky pale hair on his chest and then slipping down to the thicker mat at the base of his cock. Jeff's hands were large and strong, but his touch was gentle, cherishing. He cupped Monte's balls and rolled them gently with his fingertips, then slipped a finger down to tickle the smooth skin between them and Monte's anus.

  Monte moaned and bucked, his cock growing so hard it ached. Lightning strikes of heat sparked along his nerves, dancing like shocks on the surface of his skin. Jeff bent down to take
the tip of Monte's prick between his lips. With the lightest of touches he let Monte feel his teeth for a moment, barely tightening into the groove beneath the head while his tongue probed the slit, catching the beads of pre-cum that oozed out.

  "You taste so damn good," Jeff muttered. "I'm gonna eat you like a popsicle."

  Monte was not able to answer, even though his mouth wasn't occupied at the moment. He was lost in sensations too erotically charged to allow room for anything else. As Jeff began to suck him, it felt as if his very essence was going to flow out of him and be absorbed into the other man. He'd been sucked before, but never like this.

  Jeff teased him without mercy. When Monte reached the verge of a climax, Jeff would nip just hard enough to send him back a hair, or change the rhythm, or clasp his hand hard around Monte's shaft for a moment to slow things down. Monte grew frantic. Pleasure and pain were so intermingled he couldn't separate them. He had to come. He'd die if he didn't. He'd probably die when he did. His hands clawed into the spread beneath him, crumpling the heavy fabric into wrinkled bunches.

  At last words came. "Come on, man. Have mercy! Finish it."

  Jeff raised his head for an instant, a wicked grin marking his face. "You're just getting started, Monte. But maybe I'll let you come now once."

  One more hard pull from Jeff's lips sent Monte crashing over the edge. His whole body convulsed, his balls tightened and released, his cock grew immeasurably harder for an instant, then he erupted.

  Monte had barely caught his breath when Jeff grabbed him and flipped him onto his stomach. "Ready for the next course?"

  Monte, his face half-buried in the bed clothes, could only mumble, "Mmmerrph." He finally managed to raise his head. "What do you mean?"

  "You had the suck. Fuck comes next, and this one's for both of us."