Dangerous Ground 3: Blood Heat (13 page)
“This is just great,” Will said.
“Hands up! Throw down your weapon!” The officer using the bullhorn wore a white cowboy hat. Clearly one of the good guys.
Taylor nodded, stooped to lay his pistol on the blacktop. He rose and locked his hands behind his head.
The sheriffs rushed forward.
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Josh Lanyon
* * *
“I know. I"m sorry. It
is
just a flesh wound. The crack on your head needed more stitches.”
“That doesn"t exactly make it better.” Will was scowling, although he permitted Taylor to hold his hand as he perched on the edge of Will"s hospital bed.
Will looked rakishly handsome with the white square of bandage on his forehead and the dark five o"clock—make that eight o"clock—shadow on his jaw.
Taylor lifted Will"s hand in both of his and kissed it.
“It hurts like hell.”
Taylor nuzzled Will"s knuckles. He kissed each finger with a tiny, sucking kiss.
“Hmmph.” Slightly mollified, Will said, “The baby"s okay?”
“Small but healthy. Six pounds, nine ounces. William Taylor Hedwig.”
“Christ.”
Taylor laughed.
“And what did Cooper have to say?”
“Ah. Apparently Hedwig—Kelila—was telling the truth. She was working voluntarily with the DEA.”
“What happened?”
“She uncovered a connection between Bashnakov and a DEA deputy administrator.”
“Ted Bell.”
“Yeah.” Taylor was surprised. “How did you know that?”
“Kelila and I had a chat earlier.”
Taylor raised his brows. “Well, around the time her contact at the DEA suffered a mysterious and fatal accident, Kelila realized she was pregnant. She decided to get out while she could. She got in touch with one of our people working Dangerous Ground 3: Blood Heat
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in liaison with the DEA, and he put her in contact with Henry Torres. The DS was going to take on the internal investigation of the DEA, but then Torres was killed and Kelila was framed for his murder.”
“So…?”
“So it turns out our new AFOD was working from Torres" notes and files to try and nail Ted Bell, which is why we were sent to retrieve Kelila. Cooper needs her as a witness. His case rests on her.”
Will"s face stilled. “Oh.”
Taylor grimaced. “Of course he couldn"t tell us that because there was obviously a leak somewhere.”
“What happens to Kelila now?”
“After Cooper"s got what he needs, she and the kid go into the Witness Protection Program.”
“And what happens to us for going off the reservation?”
“We got her back safely; that"s the main thing. Cooper"s flying out tonight to get her deposition.”
Will"s blue eyes watched him closely. “Good. What aren"t you telling me?”
“Nothing. Everything"s good.” Taylor took a deep breath. “You have to make your mind up about the Paris assignment. They…need an answer. Cooper"s going to ask for your decision when he gets here.”
Will"s eyes closed then. His hand tightened on Taylor"s fingers, bruising them.
“It"s okay. I already know.” Taylor said it so calmly, he almost believed it himself.
When Will opened his eyes, they were wet. “I…”
“You don"t have to say anything.” That much was the truth. He couldn"t handle seeing Will tear himself up over this. “We"ll be okay. It"s like you said. Time flies when you"re having fun.”
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Josh Lanyon
Will pulled him forward, wrestling him into a kind of bear hug where they could hang on tight and neither had to see the other"s expression. Taylor rested his face in the bare, warm curve of Will"s uninjured shoulder and listened to the shuddery sounds of Will fighting his feelings. He could hear the slow, heavy pound of Will"s heart, and though he was not much for poetry, he suddenly remembered lines from some forgotten time and place—all his times and places having led, it seemed, to this moment.
The bleeding to death of time in slow heart beats,
Wakeful they lie.
Loose Id Titles by Josh Lanyon
A Vintage Affair
I Spy Something Bloody
I Spy Something Wicked
The Dark Horse
The Darkling Thrush
The White Knight
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks
The ADRIEN ENGLISH MYSTERIES Series
Fatal Shadows
A Dangerous Thing
The Hell You Say
Death of a Pirate King
The Dark Tide
The DANGEROUS GROUND Series
Dangerous Ground
Old Poison
Blood Heat
“Cards on the Table”
Part of the anthology
Partners in Crime
With Sarah Black
Josh Lanyon
Josh Lanyon is the author of numerous novellas and short stories as well as the critically praised Adrien English mystery series.
The Hell You Say
was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award and is the winner of the 2006
USABookNews awards for GLBT fiction. In 2008, Josh released
Man, Oh Man:
Writing M/M/Fiction for Kinks and Ca$h
, the definitive guide to writing for the m/m or gay romance market. Josh lives in Los Angeles, California, and is currently at work on his next manuscript.