“Who’s this?” The soft voice sounded suspicious.
“Me, darling. I’m in a warehouse. I’m not sure where, but I’m safe and have overcome the bad guys. I’m calling the cops now. I just didn’t want you to think I’d let the, uh, cat out of the bag, so to speak.”
“Shit, Linds! I don’t care about cats, I care about you. Are you all right?”
“Yes. I have to call Seth. Love you all. Bye-bye.”
He hung up the phone. Call Seth. Yes, he had to do that for one highly practical reason: he didn’t know the number of anyone else on the case. And for one highly impractical reason: if he didn’t hear the man’s voice soon, find out if he was still angry, he’d die. Just that simple. He’d spent an afternoon with Milquetoast and it got him kidnapped. Now, all he wanted was Seth. Yes, it was impossible, but those were the facts.
“Zakowsky.” The tone said who the fuck is this?
He breathed deeply. “Hello, darling.”
“Shit, Lindsey, where are you? Are you all right?”
Oh good, he didn’t sound mad. Just concerned. “Yes. I’m afraid I took matters into my own hands again. I’m not quite sure where I am, however, so please trace the call.”
“We’re doing it. Oh baby, are you really okay?”
“Perfectly.” He liked the sound of “baby.”
“Okay, we’ve got the address. We’ll be there in a minute. What happened to the kidnappers?” His breathing changed. Probably walking.
“I’ve got two of them tied up. If any others arrive, I have a gun, so don’t worry. I’m quite a good shot.’
“Jesus, you blow my mind.”
Lindsey smiled.
Seth’s pace seemed to have picked up. He was breathing hard. He chuckled. “Of course, there are other parts of me I would rather have you blow.”
Lindsey’s smile spread all over his face. “So you forgive me?”
Silence. “I’m truly sorry, Lindsey. I didn’t mean the shit I said. Old habits and ways of thinking die hard.”
Lindsey sniffed and wiped a hand across his eyes. High Voice sneered at him. Asshole. Lindsey kicked him in the leg.
“Oww. Shit, that hurt.”
Seth voice got that cop edge. “What was that?”
Lindsey glared down at High Voice. “Nothing to worry about. You can tell me about your die-hard thinking later.”
“We’ll discuss it.”
He grinned and pulled on his balls. “Oh no, darling. I never talk with my mouth full.”
Seth laughed and Lindsey froze. What the hell was he thinking? Sex with a human on the full moon? He’d be lucky not to bite his balls off.
“Excuse me.” Shit, they were slow. Seth pushed past the Feebs and ran down the long narrow hall of the warehouse. The hall ended in an open door. He burst through and stopped. One of the FBI dudes ran into his back. The FBI guy named Partridge stood facing the assemblage in the room.
What a fucking sight. Propped against the wall were two men trussed up with packing tape, one attached to a metal chair. One had a strip of cloth around his thigh. In the middle of the big open room, on a wooden chair, sat one of the older men Seth had seen back at the station. Big, handsome, and distinguished. Around him on the floor was clustered the same group of formidable guys who had confronted Seth. How the fuck did they get there?
At the center of the floor-sitters were the biggest dude with the silvery hair and his too-beautiful companion. The big guy had taken off his glasses and those eyes were eerie, man, eerie. But all that other shit was wallpaper. Between them sat the most beautiful sight of all. Lindsey smiled up at him, his golden hair falling almost to his bare shoulders, and that lightly muscled, perfect, hairless chest shone in the overhead lights. Some jeans that looked like they’d been attacked with scissors and were now held together with tape barely covered his lower half.
Partridge had his hands on his hips. “How did you get here before us?”
The big man tapped his face. “I followed my nose.”
“Mr. Vanessen, are you okay?”
Lindsey stood up. In that position, the jeans proved inadequate, and only a half inch of cloth covered the bulge of his cock, while the top of his leg lay naked. “I am, as you see.” He spread his arms wide.
Seth stared. He was having a heart attack. No way the organ could beat that fast and survive. He glanced at the police and FBI agents around him, then over at the cluster of Lindsey’s strange friends. This was one of those fucking moments. A choice. A big one for him. Everything he’d ever thought he wanted versus Lindsey.
Shit.
As in who gave one?
He pushed past Partridge. “Excuse me.” He cleared the space between them at a trot and scooped Lindsey up into a hug. “I was so worried, I thought I’d die or kill somebody else.”
Lindsey’s wide blue eyes gazed into his. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
Behind him, Rickson’s voice announced, “Oh by the way, in case you didn’t know, Seth Zakowsky is gay.”
The guys laughed, and Seth didn’t care. Some of them probably thought it was great, and some probably didn’t. He didn’t care about that either. He’d never met a guy in his life who did it for him like Lindsey Vanessen, so damned if he’d blow it again.
Partridge stepped up beside Seth. “Uh, excuse me, Mr. Vanessen, but we need to take your statement while it’s still fresh in your mind.”
Lindsey glanced his way, then back at Seth. “Certainly. I’d like Lieutenant Zakowsky to be present also, please.”
Partridge nodded. “Uh, certainly.”
Lindsey tugged at the ripped denim to get it to cover more of his parts. Partridge looked at the torn jeans. “May I ask what happened to your clothes?”
Lindsey looked down. “Have you seen Daniel Craig in Casino Royale?”
“Yes! Dear God.”
Seth caught his breath. That scene of Bond, naked in the chair, getting his balls beaten, made any guy squirm.
Lindsey grinned. “Well, like that but without the torture.”
He gave Lindsey a light sock to the jaw. “Had us going.”
The blue eyes dazzled. “Sorry. Where do you want to do the questioning?”
Seth dropped his hands from Lindsey’s shoulders. “Since you’ve had such a hard day, I’d think we could do it at your home. Partridge?”
“Yeah, I think we can do that.”
Lindsey smiled. “That would be much appreciated. My mother is frantic, and I’d like to get a few more clothes.”
Seth leaned in and whispered, “Not on my account.”
Partridge snickered. “I heard that. Will you drive with me, Mr. Vanessen, since Seth’s choice of vehicle is a bit primitive?”
“Ah, not at all. I’m sure his conveyance will suit me perfectly.”
“Then we’ll meet you at your home.”
Lindsey crossed back to his friends, who were still standing in a huddle like they might have to attack the police at any time. He gave the big guy and the beauty queen a hug and shook hands with some of the others, then came back to Seth.
“Who are those guys?”
Lindsey glanced back. “Very good friends.”