Dracul's Revenge 02: Anarchy in Blood (4 page)

“Why not?”

“I don’t mix business with pleasure. If things don’t work out between us, then it could get tense around the office.”

Gray shook his head and picked up his own stuff. “Lame excuse, man. Just admit it.

You’re worried that she’ll be too much woman for you to handle.”

“I’m not scared of a woman, ass,” Kaplan mumbled as Gray left the room.

“Whatever, man. I think you should go for it.”

When he got back to his office, he gestured for Ruth to follow him in. She came and sat in the chair in front of his desk, her pencil poised over her notebook, waiting for instructions.

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“I need you to pull the files for the Anderson job and the Castellino job. I have to go over them before I meet with them.”

“Yes, sir. I just finished typing up the bids and can get them to you right away. Your meeting with the Anderson people is at noon, and Mr. Castellino will be in at two.”

“Good. Make sure we have their favourite refreshments.” He snorted.

“Non-alcoholic refreshments. I know.” Ruth finished writing and stood. “Will that be all?”

“For right now.” He waited until she got to the door before saying, “Thanks for everything, Ruth. Not sure how I’d run the place without you.”

“You’re welcome, sir. I’ll make sure to remind you when bonuses are handed out at the end of the year.”

He chuckled and waved her out. After the door shut behind her, he walked over to his window and stared out at the Washington Monument in the distance. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed softly. It was getting time to go and visit the guys again.

How did half the men in his army unit end up at Arlington Cemetery? He’d been one of the lucky ones, wounded and discharged before they ended up in that cluster-fuck called Somalia. As each one of his friends was buried, guilt piled on guilt and Gray had found the bottom of a bottle eased him or at least, knocked him out, so he didn’t have to think about them for a while.

Ruth entered and set the files on his desk. He stayed quiet while she left. Returning to his desk, he closed his eyes and said a silent prayer for his buddies. Their journeys had ended, but his continued and, in their honour, he’d not screw it up again.

Before he could start refreshing his memory on the specs for the Anderson job, his phone rang.

“Grayson Mills.”

“Hey, Gray.”

Gray smiled. His best friend made it a point to call at least once a week since Gray had hopped on the wagon. “Hello, Bobby. What’s got you up this early in the morning?”

“I’m taking Nik out to the track.”

The joy in Bobby’s voice when he spoke about his lover touched Gray with happiness for his friend, and sadness for himself since he didn’t have anyone he could call his own.

“Has he figured out how to bet on the horses yet?”

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“Man, he still picks them according to name or the colour of the jockey’s silks. I keep trying to tell him there are more scientific ways to place bets, but damn, if the man doesn’t keep winning.”

“Maybe you should listen to him.” He chuckled.

“True.” A voice murmured in the background. “We have to get going, but I wanted to let you know Nik and I are going to be in D.C. in a couple of weeks. Nik has a conference he wants to attend and I thought you and I could meet up for dinner and talk about old times.”

“I’m up for that. Give me a call when you get into town and we’ll get together.”

“Great. Talk to you later.”

He set the phone down and shook his head. No more interruptions and he might actually be able to sound like he knew what he was doing when he met with his clients later on in the day.

* * * *

Smiling to himself, he pulled the opened bottle of wine from its hiding place. His plan was working perfectly. Soon the entire nation would be calling for impeachment. After that, it would be a matter of days before the United States of America changed forever.

Gone would be the snivelling Politician who enjoyed playing with power and in his place would be a like-minded individual who believed in the true path to spiritual fulfilment.

Sipping the ancient wine, he reached down and ran a hand over his hardening cock. He was due to meet Jeremy in an hour. He held the dark crimson liquid up to the light given off by the setting sun outside his window. His initial thought was to make a meal out of the boy, but his cock seemed to have other ideas. Maybe he’d give Jeremy one last ride for old time’s sake before he drank the blood from his young, tender body.

The two previous victims had been delicious, but neither of them had held the sexual appeal that Jeremy did. Jeremy had been with him since he was young and innocent and it was time he sent his young lover to a better place.

* * * *

Sid’s Coffee House was in an older section of the city, but it fit Gray. It didn’t cater to the yuppies or young up-and-coming lobbyists. It had dim lighting, but some of the best ANARCHY IN BLOOD

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Chai Gray had ever tasted. He placed his order and grabbed a seat. He’d forgotten it was Poetry Slam night and it would be crowded soon. Thank God he’d gotten there early.

He took a sip of his Chai and savoured the cinnamon burn left behind after he swallowed. His gaze stayed on the door, waiting to spot Aaron come in. His palms were sweaty and he scrubbed them over his jeans. Shit, when did a meeting to discuss business make him feel like a teenager going on his first date? If any of his friends could see him now, they would laugh their asses off at how nervous he felt.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know Aaron. They had talked a couple of times while he worked as an agent. Aaron seemed like a good man, though with a little bit of hero-worship for Douglas. Of course, the President came across as a nice guy, so maybe Aaron looking up to the man wasn’t too bad a thing.

The door opened, Aaron walked in, and Gray’s cock took notice. Damn, he wasn’t going to be sitting through this whole discussion with a hard-on. He gave himself a good thump before standing and gesturing to Aaron. A bright smile lit up the man’s face and Gray swore his heart skipped a beat. Okay, maybe he had a bit of a crush on the guy, but no way was he going to say anything about that.

Aaron made his way through the crowd. Each graceful move made Gray stare a little more, and, when that dimple flashed as Aaron smiled at him, Gray realised he could easily get in over his head with the other man, if he didn’t get his head on straight.

“Thanks for meeting me, Grayson.” Aaron held out his hand as he approached the table.

Whatever got into Gray when Aaron entered the building, held him tight and he ignored Aaron’s hand to hug the younger guy close. A soft gasp hit his ear before Aaron wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged him back.

“You look great, Aaron. Please call me Gray.” He motioned to the chair next to him as he stepped back. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Sure. I’d like a double espresso, tall.”

He went to the counter and ordered Aaron’s drink along with blueberry muffins. He’d grab dinner on the way home after finding out what Aaron wanted, but he’d worked through lunch, and was getting hungry.

Aaron smiled up at him as he returned and Gray’s chest tightened. He set the cup and muffin down in front of Aaron.

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“I wasn’t sure what kind you liked, so I went with blueberry. Not many people hate blueberries.”

“Thanks. It’s been a while.” Aaron reached over and touched his hand. “I’m sorry you were let go.”

Gray shrugged. “It hurt, but hell, it served as a wake-up call for me. Even though I wasn’t guilty of what Broomfield accused me of doing, it still helped me face a lot of my issues. It didn’t straighten me out right away, but I’ve been sober for six months and things are looking up.”

Aaron patted his hand again. “I’m glad.”

“So what did you need to talk to me about, Aaron?” Might as well get down to business, because if they didn’t, he’d start thinking this was a date and that wouldn’t work.

“I want to hire you.”

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“Hire me? Why?”

Aaron swallowed a bite of muffin before answering. He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a simple legal document he’d downloaded from the internet. “Before I tell you anything, I need you to sign this confidentiality agreement. I’m sorry, but I hope you can understand. Given my position, some of the information I need to tell you has to be kept secret.”

Gray nodded. “No offense taken. It’s standard procedure when dealing with high profile clients.”

Aaron handed Gray the papers and a pen. He was grateful for the man’s attitude.

Gray slid the papers back to Aaron with a smile. “There you go.”

Aaron stuffed the papers back into his pocket. “Thank you.”

He took several sips of his hot coffee before finally telling why he’d asked for the meeting. “I overheard Broomfield laughing about the pictures of the President with the two victims. I wouldn’t put it past the old bastard to have sent those photographs to the media.”

“Why would he do that?”

Aaron hated outing Rick and Cameron’s relationship, but he also felt he could trust Gray. “You have to promise me the information I’m about to tell you doesn’t go any further.”

“Depends on what it is. If you’re hiring my agency, the people who work for me will have to know the details of the case.”

Aaron weighed the risks involved for several moments before answering. “President Douglas is in a secret relationship with Cameron James.”

Gray nodded and took a sip of his tea. “Yeah.”

“You knew?” Aaron was shocked.

“Rick told me when the shit with Broomfield went down. I think he wanted me to know he understood my position.”

Wow.
It seemed Rick trusted Gray even more than Aaron thought. At least he didn’t feel so guilty about going behind Rick’s back to hire Gray. “I think Broomfield is setting him up like he did you. Why else would pictures surface of the President with two recently ANARCHY IN BLOOD

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murdered men? Both photos were taken at presidential events. Do you have any idea how many people President Douglas meets in a day? It’s staggering. And the pictures made it look like Rick was getting rather friendly with them. When I asked him about it, he said he remembers reprimanding the one guy at a reception, but he doesn’t know the other one at all.”

Aaron watched Gray closely to see if his point was getting across. “So, out of all the people he’s met, suddenly these two pictures surface?” Aaron shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence. And I’d almost swear Broomfield is behind it.”

Gray leant back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

Aaron practically swooned at the picture the rugged man made. Suit or not, Gray was devastating. When he’d pulled Aaron into a welcoming embrace earlier, Aaron had wanted nothing more than to bury his face in the man’s neck. Gray smelled like cinnamon and cigarettes.
Damn, I miss smoking.

“Who am I working for, you or President Douglas?” Gray eventually asked.

“Me. I can’t let Rick get involved in this.”

“So you’re doing it on your own?” Gray probed.

Aaron picked up his espresso and took a sip. He scanned the coffeehouse, looking for anything or anyone out of place before answering. “Rick’s done more for me than any person alive. The least I can do is make sure he’s not dragged through the mud because of his sexuality.”

Gray nodded knowingly. “So, what exactly is it you want from me?”

Aaron had just taken another sip when Gray asked the question. He tried to keep his lips sealed as he choked. The last thing he wanted was to spray the gorgeous man with espresso.

“You okay?” Gray reached out a hand and patted Aaron on the back.

Aaron swallowed and nodded. “Thanks. Guess it went down the wrong pipe.”

It didn’t go without notice that Gray left his hand on Aaron’s back for several moments.

Aaron felt the heat of Gray’s touch even through his undershirt, dress shirt and suit jacket.

He stared into Gray’s dark brown eyes and smiled. “What was the question?”

Gray grinned and removed his hand. “What would you like my agency to do?”

Right. Agency.
“Find out who took those pictures, how they got to the press. While you’re at it, if you can find something out on the two victims and we can tie them both to ANARCHY IN BLOOD

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Broomfield, at least we’ll know how he was able to obtain the pictures. Rick remembers one of them working as an intern for Vice President Broomfield.”

“And the other one?” Gray asked.

Aaron shrugged. “He can’t place the other guy, but from the picture, he was someone who spoke to Rick at some sort of rally. Maybe if we got hold of the actual photograph we could tell which one, but it’s evidently been blown up and cropped.”

Gray finished off his muffin and rubbed his stomach. “I’m still hungry. You have plans for dinner?”

Aaron’s gut clenched. Was he being asked out on a date? “Umm, nope, no plans unless you count going home to old Chinese take-out a plan.”

Gray grinned. “Let’s get out of here. I need a cigarette.”

“You mind waiting for me outside while I run to the restroom?”

Gray was already pulling a pack of Marlboros out of his pocket. Damn, they were reds, Aaron’s favourite. “Not at all. Take your time.”

Aaron stood and finished his espresso in one gulp before heading towards the restroom. He fingered the emergency inhaler in his pocket as he wove his way through the crowd and entered the small, three-stall restroom.

Would one cigarette throw him into an attack? Aaron groaned, unzipped his fly and pulled his cock out. As he peed, he took the time to talk himself out of bumming a smoke.

There was a reason he’d given them up. His last attack had nearly killed him. Lying in the emergency room he’d decided to never again pick up a cigarette and so far he’d kept that promise to himself.