Embracing His Syn (13 page)

Syn wanted that. Although
he’d never really been in a full-on relationship, he knew what love
was. He wanted someone to have his back. Someone that he could let
his guard down with, so he didn’t have to maintain control all the
time. A partner that would take the reins; just let Syn
feel.
Geez.
Syn
shook his head. That would never happen for him. The closest he’d
ever come to that was with Rhodes, but he’d left him when Syn
wouldn’t give up control. Syn never would take that final step and
let the man have him. Did you have to be intimate in order to call
it a relationship? Shit, he didn’t know. But at least Rhodes
understood him. Rhodes was a cop, he knew the job and what it
entailed. No one wanted a relationship with a cop who was on call
twenty-four hours a day and could have bullets flying at him at any
time.

Syn saw he had a few minutes before he
had to leave for his meeting with Day and God. He opened up his
laptop and went to Amazon. He was not the shopping type. If he was
forced to shop, he was definitely the one-click type. He quickly
scanned the photos of some home décor and purchased a couple pieces
of Phoenix canvas art to hang on the living room wall, and a tan
microfiber/leather sectional that even came with decorative
pillows. It would all be delivered by Monday. Syn figured if he
ever got around to having some company, they’d at least have
somewhere to sit.

Syn made his way through the bullpen
to the office that was home to the task force. It was an
exceptionally large space, primarily floor to ceiling glass with
blinds on the inside walls in case they needed privacy from the
rest of the squad. The door read ‘Special Task Force – Narcotics’
and underneath were the names Lieutenant Cashel Godfrey, Lieutenant
Leonidis Day, Sergeant Corbin Sydney. The carpeted office's
interior was spacious and comfortable. The windows on the opposite
side overlooked the east end of the block. Day was the one
responsible for the plants and few decorative items that sat along
the wall with their collected awards and commendations. Included
was a large photo of God and Day shaking hands with the Police
Commissioner and the Mayor, and various photos of their
team.

All three of them had large, executive
style chairs in front of their oversized desks. The desks were
necessary to accommodate their ever-overflowing inboxes and leave
enough room to spread out files. The other members of the team had
desks right outside their office in the main bullpen. On the far
side of the office was a conference table and a large dry erase
board. The wall behind the conference table had been turned into a
bulletin board, where numerous papers and mug shots were scattered
across its length. In a couple of hours, the room would be filled
with their team. They’d be seated at the table, or on couches and
chairs scattered around the room.

It was almost eight
o'clock. Syn looked up from the file he was reading and saw God and
Day entering the precinct. Was it Syn's imagination, or did all
heads turn when they entered a room? Syn watched them walk side by
side and he found himself wondering about the more intimate aspects
of their relationship. It was probably inappropriate, but he
couldn’t help it. Syn thought God looked like he was a beast in
bed. A man that pulled your hair, threw you up against the wall and
fucked you unconscious. Or, was the big guy a cuddler?
Pfft. Yeah right.
Was
Day as funny at home as he was when he was around others? Did they
lie in each other's arms and watch cable? Hell, who cooked dinner
and who took out the trash? Syn shook his head. He was thinking
about shit that didn’t have a damn thing to do with him.

“
What’s going on Syn?” Day
asked and plopped down in his chair, setting his very large thermos
of coffee on his desk.

“
I have the reports from
Gemson and Boyd,” Syn replied. His boots were up on the corner of
his desk as he reclined back in his chair, skimming the contents of
the file.

“
How are they?” God asked.
He removed his leather coat and draped it over the back of his
chair.

“
Detailed. Good,” Syn
answered. He brought his feet down and gave God a pointed
look.

The big man shook his head, already
knowing what Syn wanted. He wanted everything they knew about this
case. Now.

“
Alright Syn. Chill out.
We’re not used to you yet. But we know what it means to have a
Sergeant on our team. You’re the team's go to, and have just as
much command and input regarding decision making as we do,” Day
responded as God stared. Day chuckled. “Tito was just as important
as the other Jacksons.”

Syn threw a pen at Day, which he
dodged easily. Syn couldn’t help but laugh at Day’s fucked up
comparison. “I’m no fucking Tito, shithead.”

“
We’re gonna discuss the
case before the guys come in but first I’m going to the kitchen to
refill my coffee. Babe, I’ll grab your muffin,” Day told God and
headed to the door.

“
I’m at least Jermaine,”
Syn grumbled.

God gave Syn half a grin and Day threw
over his shoulder, “Dream on.”

They were all studying the white board
dissecting their drug/homicide case. Syn felt up to speed. His
Lieutenants finally recognized Syn’s role on this team, and that
was all he’d wanted, he knew it wasn’t easy turning a long-standing
duo into a trio. But they weren’t even a trio. There were twenty
outstanding Detectives that made up the task force and it was
understood that they all had critical roles to play to make their
squad successful and effective.

To say this case was fucked up was
putting it mildly. There had actually been three dead bodies. All
three of the bodies fit the same MO, which was why God and Day had
him responding to the fourth homicide call last night. All good
looking males found in secluded areas, beaten before being shot
once in the head or chest. They’d just received the medical
examiner’s report that confirmed adult entertainer, Jake Starman,
just like the last three victims, had a form of ecstasy laced with
Rohypnol in his system that rendered him almost helpless, easy to
be taken down by someone far smaller, perhaps a woman. They finally
had a suspect.

Syn watched a tall dark-haired man
stride into the office, with a labeled evidence bag in his hand.
His suit was crisp and tailored. To say he was handsome was an
understatement. He was almost as tall as God and built like a brick
house. Syn mentally beat himself up for noticing so many men
lately. The man spoke to Ronowski before he acknowledged anyone
else in the room.

“
Hi babe. What do you
have?” Ronowski answered.

Babe?

Syn turned and looked at Day who was
grinning at Syn’s confused look.

Day walked the big man over to Syn and
he got an up close and personal view of the fine specimen. Goddamn,
he smelled good too. Day pointed at him. “Detective Johnson. This
is Sergeant Corbin Sydney. He just came on last week. Damn good
Detective. Syn. This is Detective Johnson, our ballistics expert.
You and he should get acquainted, you’ll be working with him
whenever we need weapons forensics. He’s not officially on our
team. Instead he chooses to spread his wisdom around to multiple
precincts,” Day informed him.

Syn stood up to shake the man’s hand.
Johnson gave Day a playful shove before he turned a warm, genuine
smile on Syn and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you Sydney. Ro has
told me some interesting things about you already. Anyone that will
head-butt the fuck out of Godfrey, I like.”

God looked up from his file just long
enough to flip Johnson off, then went back to reading.

Syn liked this Johnson already. He
didn’t know Ronowski was going around singing his praises though.
“Nice to meet you too,” Syn answered.

After pleasantries, Johnson got right
down to business. “Ballistics matched the slug that was pulled out
of your vic's body with the 9mm we recovered from your suspect last
night. It has a fifteen round chamber and three rounds were still
in the clip. Bad news is the slugs pulled from the previous three
bodies didn’t come from this weapon.”

“
Damn. Of course it
wouldn’t be that easy,” God grumbled.

“
She may have more than
one weapon, we'll see what turns up during the search of her
residence. Have you questioned her yet?” Johnson asked.

“
No. We’re letting her
stew,” Day said.

Johnson went over a few more details
before gathering up his evidence and heading to the door. Ronowski
met him there. Syn watched but didn’t watch.

“
You coming home late?”
Johnson asked Ronowski.

“
I hope not, we’ll
see.”

He’d be damn if Johnson didn't bend
down right there in front of twenty men and kiss Ronowski’s lips.
“I’ll see you when you get there.” Johnson’s deep voice even made
Syn tingle as he saw a loving look flash across Ro's face before he
turned back to them.

I’ll be damned. That big,
motherfucker is gay too ... and fucking Ronowski to
boot.

The interesting part about that whole
scene; no one batted an eye. This team really was a team. There was
no judgment or bigotry between them. Syn believed that it was no
accident of fate. No one had time for that petty bullshit anyway.
These men kept things in perspective. There were innocent people in
their city being killed by tainted drugs; no one had time or energy
to waste being judgmental about who made love to whom.

The meeting concluded three hours
later with Syn giving the men their assignments for the day. Some
were going back to the crime scene. A couple Detectives were
researching the fucked up drug. Others were going over evidence
secured from the search warrant of their suspect’s home, and some
were going out to pick up the first round of adult entertainers
from Illustra to be questioned. After answering the men’s
questions, Syn headed downstairs.

Syn met Day and God at the
interrogation rooms. Their suspect was sitting ramrod straight in
the small metal chair. Syn knew her posture was meant to be a
statement that even though fatigued; she refused to give them the
satisfaction of showing it. Her hands were cuffed, her fingers
laced together and resting on top of the table.