Blaine
BLAINE
Staring through the windshield, he watched Eric talk with the factory supervisor. The supervisor was nearly ’s height, so he towered over Eric. To ’s amusement, though, the burly man had taken to Eric quickly and was more than willing to give them both a factory tour and answer any questions. suspected the man’s blunt and rough manner had found kinship with Eric’s own.
They were still waiting for the last address to come in, and was content to let himself get comfortable in the cruiser. He and Eric had spent the past couple of days running around the city, investigating the locations that had dealt in Rice Metal. Nothing had struck them as odd yet, but they’d taken so many notes that was curious how many trees they’d used up in a forty-eight-hour period.
His phone buzzed, and drew it out of his pocket to stare at the message. It was from Sean, once again asking what wanted from him. stroked the edge of the phone thoughtfully, thinking that the other man knew exactly what he wanted. But Sean was a lot like Eric in some ways, including needing things to be said directly before he was willing to deal with a problem.
Another glance at Eric told him his partner would be occupied for a bit longer. There was only so long he could put off his call to Sean. He still wasn’t sure how Eric would feel about contacting his older brother, but he’d yet to bring it up.
Sighing, hit the call button.
“Oh, you’re actually calling me,” Sean said as a greeting.
“If you weren’t on the other side of the city, I would have proposed we meet,” told him.
Sean hummed. “That’s nice and ominous, .”
“Only if you have a guilty conscience.”
“Ah, the vague game, I remember this. You were always really good at it.”
couldn’t help his smirk, his eyes flitting to Eric, who continued chatting. Sean sure did know , though not as well as he might think. Eight years of distance and plenty of life experience had done its work on .
“You’re avoiding it just as much as I am,” told him.
“But you’re the one coming to me.”
“Fair. The letters.”
He heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line and nothing else. ’s eyes were on his partner as he patiently waited for Sean. There were over a dozen letters he’d painstakingly written even when there was nothing left in the proverbial tank to fuel him. The letters where he’d laid his heart out to Eric, trying to get him to understand.
“You really know how to get to the point now, don’t you?” Sean finally said, voice soft.
“You’d be amazed what being shot at and almost blown up a few times does to someone’s sense of tact,” said.
Damn it all, his suspicion had been right. He’d known when Sean had been cagey, not calling when there had been plenty of opportunity in the past week. had told himself that he shouldn’t jump to conclusions until he knew for sure, until the facts were irrefutable.
sighed. “You did get them.”
Sean was silent for several seconds. “Yes. I found the first one and kept an eye out for the rest.”
“And Eric never knew,” said, thinking of the flash of confusion he’d seen on Eric’s face when he’d brought up the letters in the alley.
“No, I never told him. As far as he knew, when you left, you were gone for good and never looked back.”
took a deep breath, hand gripping the phone hard. “Did you read them?”
“No.”
Another breath. He would remain calm. He could stay in control. This was Sean, who had shown infinite patience with Eric, and boundless love. This man was everything to the man was in love with and had never stopped loving.
“Why?” finally asked.
“Because he was a shell of a man after you left, . For months, I didn’t recognize my own brother. It was worse than when our parents died. I was terrified of what would happen if something pushed him harder. Jesus, he had a meltdown over the grocery store not having his cereal. That was four months after you left. What the hell would he have done if he’d read your letters?”
narrowed his eyes. “Who am I, Sean?”
“What?”
“Answer the question.”
“You’re .”
“Right. And what was Eric to me?”
“Your best friend.”
“My best friend, lover, and the person I would do anything for.”
“Except stay.”
gritted his teeth. “I don’t know what the equivalent of the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree is for brothers, but I see you two think alike.”
“Can you blame me? Him?”
“Him? No, well, not really. If he had listened, we could have avoided a lot. But he was hurt, scared of losing someone else. But you? You, I can blame. Those were not your letters, Sean. You had no right. None at all.”
“You think you’re the only one who loved him?”
“Love.”
The heat in Sean’s voice withered. “What?”
“I love him. That hasn’t changed. And if he’d read those letters, been able to read them, he would have known that. For over a year, I wrote to him, desperate to get him to understand, to hear the things that he didn’t on the day it...ended. But he didn’t get that chance, Sean, because you made the choice for him.”
“He was broken!” Sean barked, voice quavering. “He was lost and damn near out of control! You had no right to add to that!”
shook his head. “Sean, you’re better than that.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re better than thinking so low of him. Eric is an emotional, moody, sensitive pain in the ass, and sometimes he overreacts, he makes a mess, he throws a fit, and he stomps his feet. Sometimes he’s selfish and often rude, but he is not and has never been ‘broken.’”
“You didn’t see him.”
“No, but I know him. You had no right to get rid of those letters. They were his and his alone.”
Sean sucked in a breath, then went silent. frowned, cocking his head at the sudden silence.
And then he realized.
“You still have them,” whispered.
“I...kept them. Never opened them, but...as much as I wanted to keep him safe, you’re right, they were his,” Sean admitted.
took a steady breath, nodding. “Do you trust me, Sean?”
“.”
“Do you trust that I love your brother and that I would never do anything to hurt him?”
“Not on purpose, no. But we always hurt the ones we love most, . You didn’t see him, you didn’t see how he was.”
“No,” admitted, chest aching. “I didn’t. But I know what he felt. I know what he went through because I was going through the same thing. And now?—”
“Now?”
shook his head. “Now is the time for you to give back what wasn’t yours in the first place.”
“,” Sean tried again.
Eric was coming. “Look. Give it some thought, okay? Think about what Eric would want. Think about what’s right. I have to go.”
He ended the call as the driver’s door opened, and Eric hopped into the seat. His dark brow was pinched, and he was staring down at his phone in concentration.
“Something up?” asked, keeping his voice light.
“Yeah, apparently, there’s one more place to check.”
“Ugh, I thought this was the last one.”
“No, well, yeah, it was. But there’s one more after this, just popped up. Apparently, the system had a hard time sorting this one because it wasn’t sure if it was a professional or a private residence. Looks like even the government doesn’t know.”
nodded. “So we’re off then?”
Eric tucked his phone away, starting the car. “Yeah, place called Wojack’s, and it’s owned by a one Anthony Wojack.”
“Oh, well, that’s...succinct, I guess.”
“Yep.”
Eric put the car in drive, glancing at ’s face and hesitating. looked over at his partner, blinking in confusion.
“You okay?” Eric asked.
cocked his head. “Uh, yeah, why?”
“You just look...I don’t know.”
That was all Eric said as he dropped the subject and pulled out of the parking lot. almost told him but decided to keep quiet for a little longer. The problem was between him and Sean, and he hoped that the older man would do the right thing. It might be one of the only things that could help him finally get through to Eric.
Then again, Eric had been able to easily read ’s face, which he hadn’t bothered to do in three weeks. Maybe his hope wasn’t as lost as he’d thought.
* * *
stared at the battered front of the building, raising a brow. “Uh, you sure this is it?”
Eric glanced between the cracked windows, thick with dust, and his phone. “Definitely the right address.”
looked around, assessing the potential threat. He wasn’t too worried about the man standing on the corner with a brown bag in his hand and a scowl on his face. If there was anything he learned on patrol in the corps, it was the potential threats you couldn’t immediately see that you had to worry about.
“I have the distinct feeling we’re not welcome around here,” murmured.
Eric snorted. “Tell me about it. We probably should have had the thirty-fourth do this. They know this beat.”
“Let’s make it quick then,” said, knowing Eric wouldn’t give up his chance to find something.
Sure enough, a grin split Eric’s face as he opened the door and stepped out. rolled his eyes at his partner’s enthusiasm, even if it was nice to see a genuine smile on his face. It reminded him just how much Eric’s dark eyes lit up and how warm they glowed when he was content with the world.
“The place looks abandoned,” said doubtfully.
It stood apart from the other buildings on the street. It could have once been a store, but it was officially listed as a private residence. Anthony Wojack had faithfully paid rent on the place for the past ten years. Eric had run a check on the man, and they would probably have to wait another day or so before everything came back for them to peruse.
Eric stepped up to the door, waiting until reached him to knock. “Why pay for a place you’re not going to use?”
“A mighty fine question,” said, waiting for footsteps. “About as fine as the question as to why anyone would stay here and not fix it up a little.”
“This is definitely where the Rice Metal was going, ,” Eric said impatiently, hitting the door with the bottom of his fist.
Before could warn him he was going to break the door, a bang echoed from the other side of the door. Both he and Eric flinched, turning to press themselves against the brick exterior.
“Was that a gunshot?” Eric asked, eyes widening.
“Sure sounded like a gunshot to me,” admitted.
“Fuck, let’s go,” Eric said, trying the doorknob. “Locked. Of course.”
Which was swiftly remedied when drove his foot into the doorframe right by the knob. It burst into the building with a shattering crash, shards of wood flying in every direction.
“Jesus, partner, a little less Rambo,” Eric muttered.
“Sorry, I thought it was stronger than that,” whispered.
Eric smirked, and for a moment, thought he saw the man’s eyes dart toward his legs in appreciation. If it was there, it was gone a moment later as they entered the building, guns raised. The interior wasn’t in any better state than the outside. What might have once been a sales counter lay in hunks of wood and shattered glass. A door, half off its hinges, sat at the back of the room.
Eric nodded, signaling toward the door opposite them. sidled over while Eric stood at its side and opened it. swept into the room, twisting to catch the angles as Eric hurried behind him.
“Dining room?” Eric asked softly.
“Must’ve been a store and house in one,” muttered.
The rest of the floor was in no better state. Dust and dirt were thick on the broken and rotted furniture. Cockroaches darted from the light of their flashlights, and something big and furry had scurried beneath a pile of fabric and broken wood when they’d entered what had once been a living room.
“Got another door,” Eric called.
frowned, turning to find Eric in the kitchen, staring at the wall. Keeping his gun handy, took a few steps to the right to see what the man was looking at.
“Only door in here that isn’t a piece of shit,” noted. “And it’s metal.”
“Well,” Eric said, motioning to the door. “Let’s go see.”
“That a good idea?” asked, not liking the sight of it, stark against the dirty interior of the building.
Eric shrugged. “We heard a gunshot. We have to make sure no one’s hurt or, you know, dead.”
nodded, waiting for Eric to open the door. It opened without more than a slight squeak, which unsettled even further. Taking a deep breath, he stepped onto the stairs. They groaned, but there was no crack, and he didn’t feel it buckle. He descended the stairs with Eric a few steps behind him. The basement opened up immediately to the left, and shone his flashlight in that direction.
“Well, I’m no expert, but that sure does look like equipment and materials you might need for metalworking,” Eric said as the beam slid over the wall.
A workbench stood in the middle of the room, cluttered with bits of metal and machinery. stepped down and saw little pricks of light flashing back at him.
“And I bet that’s our Rice Metal,” told him.
Eric whistled. “Shit, do we have our arsonist’s little hideout?”
shrugged. “Could be.”
Eric took another step and froze as he heard something snap. Eric froze, but spun toward the noise behind him. His light fell on a small piece of metal attached to the bottom of the stair Eric was standing on. ’s eyes widened at the piece that had moved, looking almost like a mousetrap. Instead of a dead mouse on the end, there was a small flame lit by the flint attached to the device. caught sight of a hose and snapped his light along its length, gut clenching as it ended at a tank that began humming.
“Fuck, go!” barked, charging up the stairs.
He had a head start over Eric and slammed into him, wrapping his arms around the younger man without a second thought. Eric swore in his ear but clutched tight to him as barreled up the stairs and into the kitchen. The door directly across from the basement’s entrance led into the backyard, and he slammed his foot into it. Sunlight streamed in steadily as the door flew off, and stepped onto the porch.
“!”
Whatever Eric was going to say was lost as felt himself lifted off his feet. Something hard slammed into his back, radiating agony through his body as he flew through the air. Instinctively, he curled Eric against him, shielding him as they tumbled, slamming into the ground. stayed wrapped protectively around the other man, even as Eric pushed at him, finally managing to free himself.
The ringing in his ears was loud, but knew from experience it would eventually pass. He opened his mouth to tell Eric and stopped as another jolt of agony ripped a groan out of him. His body went taut as he flopped onto his back, refusing to move further.
gazed up at the house, blinking as a cloud of black smoke billowed into the air. Flames licked out of shattered windows on the main floor, incinerating everything. The metal door from the basement lay a few feet away, at the base of the porch steps.
“Oh,” he said, unable to hear the dull shock in his voice.
That explained the pain.
Eric’s huge dark eyes came into view, shining with what thought were unshed tears. He couldn’t hear what the man was saying but could see his lips moving frantically. tried to chuckle, to tell him it would be alright, but the attempt only led to another wave of pain down his back and into his head.
Darkness crept into the edges of his vision, which he was kind of okay with since it felt like someone had set a bomb off in his head. But it wasn’t okay because Eric was holding his hand and looked so upset. knew he was upset at him, for him, but his lungs wouldn’t let him find the strength to tell him it would be okay.
He loved Eric, and he wasn’t going to leave him again, not like this. They were going to be okay. He just had to find the words, the ones that would unlock Eric’s heart again. Maybe he could do it once he’d had a little bit of rest. A nap sounded really good.
hoped his smile was enough for Eric as the shadows crept in, blocking everything but the narrowest view of Eric’s face. He thought it was the best sight he could see before drifting off and hoped he’d get to see it again when he woke up.