Diversion 1 - Diversion (15 page)

His blood ran cold. Who should be arriving at the same moment other than the wolf in sheeps clothing responsible for their current situation? Beverly Ryerson stepped from her white Mercedes, bright red lips stretched into a wide smile. Oh shit, she thinks were a couple.

Lucky turned what he hoped passed for an endearing smile on Bo. “Will dear, Ill pick you up at five. Dont forget to text.” For his audiences enjoyment—not that he didnt love the hell out of it himself—he put a lip lock on his “partner,” possibly reaching places with his tongue that even Bos dentist had yet to discover.

Bo “Mmmmmpffffd” but otherwise played the part, pulling away a little out of breath. “Um, yeah. See you later,” he said, fingers skimming over his lips. He seemed a bit unsteady on his feet when he crossed the parking lot to the front door.

“Lucky, my boy, you still got it,” Lucky gloated.
Yeah, too bad you dont use it much,
his conscience mocked. He nodded in response to the boss ladys fluttery wave, something clenching deep inside him when the dragon followed Bo into her den. Several things topped Luckys to-do list for his day off, but most faded to obscurity. With nothing better in mind, he aimlessly circled the block a few times, finally returning to the parking garage and taking his usual place on the fifth level.

Although technically not on duty, Lucky leaned against the railing of the parking garage, binoculars in hand and wishing like hell for a cup of coffee. He felt absolutely drained and the front of his head threatened to sheer off.
Thats what happens when you start to get old.
Thats what Victor used to tell him anyway. He pushed the memory of lovers past into the dark recesses of his brain, hissing, “Stay there!” But he recognized an exercise in futility. In addition to the ten year sentence the state had decreed, hed also been saddled with a lifetime spent with a weight around his neck.A weight named Victor. Hed have to remember to ask the doctor about the fatigue during his appointment.

He took out some frustration on a handy palmetto bug. It gave a satisfying crunch under the heel of his shoe.
Oops, and the world is down by another of those nasty lil fuckers.

The front door of the clinic opened and closed, people coming and going on a regular basis, but Bo never ventured outside. Once or twice the back door opened and a slender young man with spiky hair stepped out to indulge in a cigarette before retreating back inside. Though normally a solitary man, Lucky found himself missing Bo and their sniping banter, and a smile pierced his stoic veneer. Most folks backed down when Lucky dropped into asshole gear. Not Bo. Each and every scathing serve found itself lobbed back over the net, which helped the hours pass and sharpened Luckys comebacks.

Picturing a younger version of his partner, scared and crying while the air hung thick with smoke, he once more wanted to track down the bastard responsible for that childhood trauma. How did someone whod gone through such hell turn out to be so damned nice, wanting nothing more than to do little things for someone else, make coffee, serve them dinner, not expecting anything in return?
The boy needs professional help. He has every right to be more of a hard ass than I am.

Lucky had spent a lot of time on stakeouts over the years, with nothing but his own thoughts for company. On numerous occasions hed wondered what his life might have been like if he hadnt taken to stealing, if he hadnt met Victor, if he and Victor hadnt gotten caught. Never once had he ever contemplated himself as a person, or asked himself, “What kind of man am I?”

Staring down on the clinic, keeping a silent vigil, he measured his worth, eventually coming up with an answer.
Not nearly the man Bo is. I maybe can kick his ass, but hes the better person. I dont believe I could have taken punishment to save someone else. In fact, I know I couldnt…or wouldnt. Well, maybe for Charlotte
. For Charlotte hed have gladly served ten years behind bars.

He watched and waited, not even sure why he wasted precious time he could use relaxing. Did he not trust Bo? Granted, the man didnt have much experience at blending with the woodwork while peeling up the paneling to expose the worms in the walls. Would he screw up? Get caught? Blow the whole assignment? Bo might be the better man, but Lucky made a better undercover op, merging more convincingly with sleaze.

His cell phone chimed in his pocket, and he jerked it out to see: “Bo says, „Whats 4 dinner?”
He huffed out a breath, saying a silent prayer for Bo to stay strong, and tried to come up with something to make the guy smile and take his mind off the temptation lurking in the pharmacy. In a flash of inspiration, he typed, “At r fave spot,” hoping his being nearby might somehow help Bo hold on.
Even with such a confession of weakness Lucky didnt truly think Bo would screw up, although he couldnt fathom why he continued to stake out the place with a man firmly embedded inside. Interior surveillance devices fell elsewhere in unfathomable reason, Lucky felt the need to remain close. His eyes strayed to the bathroom across the way from time to time, and via hidden cameras and listening the department. Still, for some shivers raced up his spine as he replayed his and Bos encounter, or rather, what he remembered of it through a lust-induced fog.
Twice more his cell phone chimed, delivering the same message, “Bo says, „Still there?” Lucky answered affirmatively.
Toward the end of the shift Bo texted, “Whatcha wearing?” and Lucky relaxed, knowing the crisis had passed.

Walter helped himself to another drumstick from the box on the table, takeout fried chicken being Luckys meal of choice on his night to cook. As a nod to Bos eating habits, hed gotten extra potatoes without gravy, extra slaw, and a few ears of corn on the cob, one without butter.

“And theres Angie, a tech.” For the last twenty minutes, Bo had given a rundown of Ryersons crew. The tiny clinic boasted far more employees than Lucky thought possible. “She seems okay, but prone to gossip. And…I think I may have found something.”

The chicken leg paused a hairsbreadth from Walters mouth. “What did you find?”
Boflashed a questioning glance to Lucky, who nodded. “It may be nothing but, well…”
“If it caught your attention its worth mentioning,” Walter managed to get out before resuming work on the doomed piece of chicken.
“In the pharmacies Ive worked in the past, we didnt carry meds with less than six months left on their expiration date. Most of the clinics stock has four months or lower.”
Walter exchanged a glance with Lucky. “While its standard practice to return or destroy short dates for credit, its not illegal to sell them. Its quite possible that our friend from Georgia was merely picking up expired product.”
“Yeah, but heres the kicker.” Bo paused in sopping the last bit of potatoes off his plate with a biscuit. “We save branded meds for the insurance clients and throw any old generic into the bottle for the cash clients. We mix and match to get enough. That kind of thing woulda got me fired at the last pharmacy I worked at.” He popped the bite of biscuit into his mouth and swallowed it down. “And thats not all. I saw a couple of cases marked „Rx Dispose, and instead of putting short dated goods into the box, we took them out and put them on the shelves.”
Alarm bells sounded in Luckys brain. “I want inside Rx Dispose.”
Walter washed down a bite of chicken with a mouthful of sweet tea. “I figured you would. Their scales are due for calibration next week, and an outside contractor provides that service. Youll be assisting as a trainee next Tuesday.”
Howd he do that? Figure out what Lucky was thinking? Damn, theyd been working together far too long. Turning his attention back to Bo, the big bear of a man inquired, “Did you happen to capture any NDCs or lot numbers from those short dated products?”
Bo nodded. “Yeah, and I found some serious shit from Regency Pharma.”
“I take it youll also send the information via email? Any chance of finding out who supplied them?”
“Working on it, sir,” replied Bo.
Raising one bushy brow, Walter gave the well-gnawed drumstick a reprieve. “Anything else?”
Lucky dug into his slaw, allowing Bo a chance to speak, which was harder than he ever imagined, too used to running the show. “Even after watching cars come and go, I had no idea how many patients are seen in a day, and most come from out of state. And while other states have laws about only a months worth of certain controlled drugs being issued at one time, I filled three months worth on a regular basis today.”
Bo appeared visibly shaken by the ordeal of being embedded in an illegal medical practice. “And one woman told me shes been using the same sleep aid for years, when its got a black box warning for short-term use only. What the hell are those people thinking? Ive seen more off-label prescribing than I care to talk about. And when I tried to counsel the patient, the pharmacist in charge pretty much told me to shut the fuck up and „leave doctoring to the doctors!”
Although Luckyd heard some of Bos rant before on the ride home, he sat quietly, letting his partner have his say.
“There are only five doctors, and yet the pharmacy filled prescriptions for over five hundred patients today. As many people as came in, we didnt come close to that number, and we dont accept call-ins from other doctors or facilities, not that I heard anyone trying. Were an exclusive pharmacy for the clinic, yet have four regularly scheduled courier pickups. Where the hell are all those prescriptions going?”
While Luckys hackles rose at the
were
, he bit his tongue, determined not to interfere.
Walter discarded the stripped leg bone onto his plate. “Interesting. Very interesting.”
Lucky held little doubt that Walter had relevant, unshared info, and he wanted to smack the facts out of the arrogant holdout. It was Bos ass on the line, and he needed full access to any available intel to do the job.
His thought processes came screeching to a halt.
Why the fuck am I protective of him?
Lucky latched on to a reasonable explanation: he needed to get Bo trained before riding off into the sunset. Nothing personal.
Thumb and forefinger thoughtfully stroking his chin, smearing on a thin layer of grease, Walter said, “Ill see what turns up. In the meantime, whats for dessert?”
Asshole.

Walter out the door.
“Dont use up the hot water!” The harshly barked words lost
their impact due to Luckys current position on his knees in front
of the refrigerator, cleaning up a gravy spill.
Without looking up, he heard the amusement in Bos, “I
wont.” He listened to the steady beat of retreating footsteps,
grateful for a few minutes alone to straighten his muddled
thoughts. Sure he hadnt drunk much coffee lately, but his
exhaustion surpassed any hed experienced in recent memory.
Yawning, he locked up, heading for his own bathroom when he
heard the water shut off in Bos. Old, cheaply made houses hid no
secrets about where your roommates were or what they were
doing.
“Im taking a shower; dont you dare flush the toilet,” he
bellowed, though thats what hed have done to get a rise out of the
man, if hed thought of it sooner.
Standing under a scalding spray revitalized him somewhat, as did the shock of stepping out of the bathroom to find Bo lying in his bed. He froze, worried one wrong move and hed wake up to find himself alone.When he didnt say anything, Bo spoke up. “Ummm…you havent changed you mind, have you? After this morning …” He flung his legs over the edge of the bed, making as if to leave. The sheet pooled at his waist, low enough for Lucky to
see he wore not a stitch of clothes.
“N…no. Its okay,” Lucky somehow managed to say with the
few remaining brain cells that hadnt headed south, taking the
majority of his blood supply. His arousal left an unmistakable
bulge in the towel wrapped around his waist. “I wasnt expecting
to find you here, thought you were still in your bathroom. But I can
guarantee youll never hear me ask you to leave.”
Bo rose from the bed, crossing the floor one deliberate step at a
time, semi-erection bobbing with each movement. As on the park
bench, neither of them seemed to make the first move, but
somehow they ended up with damp chests plastered together,
hungrily plundering each others mouths. Lucky rose on his toes to
Bos level.
An answering hardness pushed at Luckys, and in frustration he
ripped the towel free from his hips, craving the mind-boggling
sensation of skin against skin. Grasping Bos cock, he brought it
together with his own hardness. His tongue caressed Bos in time
with his firm stroking, his hips following the in and out motion.
His calves burned with the effort to match Bos height. Bos gentle tugs penetrated Luckys haze of lust, and he loosed
his hold, letting himself be towed toward the bed, pushing Bo over
and following him down once they reached the mattress. His hands
were everywhere at once, tugging a pebbled nipple, sweeping
down Bos sides to a pair of heavy balls. His own much hairier chest melded with Bos nearly smooth one, and he rocked his hips,
sliding his slender, cut cock against Bos fatter one.
The bed creaked, Bo moaned, and Lucky reveled in it all. “I
want your ass,” he said. “I want to see it this time.” He crawled off
Bo, allowing him to roll over.
Lucky drank in his fill of skin a few shades lighter than Bos
tanned back, and marred by the occasional freckle or mole.
Rounded globes beckoned, every bit as lovely as Lucky
remembered them. Climbing to his knees, he spread his hands,
taking a mound of flesh in each and testing the firmness. Bo
groaned, pressing back against the touch and spreading his legs,
affording Lucky a glimpse of heavy balls and the rippled flesh
marking his opening.
Bending down, Lucky opened wide, sucking Bos right cheek
into his mouth. Oh shit! His cock strained, wanting to be buried
inside.
Patience!
Lucky hissed, to his brain as much as to his
demanding body.
He squeezed his fingers together, massaging the area
surrounding Bos hole. Lucky nipped at the other cheek and
extended his tongue, taking a swipe up each swell before raining
down tiny nips and bites until the creamy flesh grew rosy and
warm. Spreading the taut rounds, he gazed at Bos hole, hungry to
be inside.
Extending his tongue, a whim had him doing something for Bo
hed never done for anyone else, no matter how much Victor had
begged. He swept his tongue over Bos hole, waiting for both his
and Bos reaction. Instead of being as repulsed as hed thought
hed be, he tasted only clean skin, the beguiling scent of male and
soap filling his nostrils.
With no further excuse, he explored Bos most tender parts with wild abandon, diving down to lick the mans balls, the
retreating back to nibble the nicely rounded ass of his fantasies. Nearly trembling with need, he staggered off the bed and to the
nightstand, fumbling in the drawer for the supplies hed thrown in
there after their first night together. Bo watched his every move,
squirming and gently humping the mattress. “Ill give you twenty
seconds to get back up here.”
“I can make it in ten,” Lucky shot back.
Learning from past mistakes, he sheathed his flesh first before
applying a generous coating of lube, and climbed back onto the
bed to squeeze slickness between Bos cheeks. This time when he
massaged, he inserted a fingertip, letting out a brief whine of
impatience when Bos body pulled the digit into tight heat.
Working his finger in and out and side to side, he kept time with
his lovers frantic thrusts, preparing the way before lust overrode
his caution.
Unable to stand a moments more delay, he positioned himself,
the head of his cock breaching Bos outer defenses. He held stockstill, giving Bo time to adjust, biting his bottom lip and fighting the
need to thrust deep. Bo reared back, showing impatience. When
finally Lucky sank in completely, he dropped down over his
lovers back and wrapped both arms around Bo, covering him. He thrust long and hard, both of them grunting, meeting in the
middle as each shoved against the other. Grasping Bos hips,
Lucky rolled to his side, never breaking contact. One hand
encircling a straining cock, he pushed Bo into his fist with each
forceful thrust.
Never one to talk during sex, he found himself uttering
mindless inanities on panted breaths.
“Damn, but you feel good.”
“Like that? Want it harder?” “Come for me, baby, let me see you
spurt. Show me how good Im doing you.”
Twisting around, Bo gazed at Lucky with unfocused eyes,
catching Luckys mouth in a devastating lip lock that threatened to
consume his soul, plunging them both into the abyss. Rather than
release his hold the moment the trembling ended, Lucky latched on
tighter, hanging on for dear life. If he didnt see Bos face, didnt
see anything in those chocolate eyes, he could believe, if only for a
minute, that what they had meant more to them both than a casual
easing of needs.
Later, after Bo fell asleep, Lucky dragged a loosely hanging
arm across his chest, pretending Bo put it there on purpose.