Dracul's Revenge 02: Anarchy in Blood (7 page)

“I should put you on a diet,” he muttered, glaring at the pit bull lying next to him.

Kid sneezed and wagged his stubby tail. Chuckling, Gray took a sip of his tea and started reading what Kaplan had found for him.

By the time he was finished, he knew he needed to call Aaron. He dug his phone out of his briefcase and punched in Aaron’s number. Though it was after midnight, he figured the younger man would still be at the White House, calming the President down and discussing how to spin this whole thing in a better light for Douglas.

“Baker.” Aaron sounded stressed.

“Hey, honey, how’s it going?”

“Can you hold on a second?”

He heard Aaron talking to someone and waited.

A few seconds later, Aaron came back on. “Okay. I didn’t want to talk with everyone in the room.”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

44

“Who’s in the control briefing?”

“Seems like everyone. Wetherby’s there and he’s steaming. I’m afraid he might have a heart attack in the Oval Office, and wouldn’t that look good to the public.” Aaron paused.

“I got some information for you on the first two victims.”

“Wow…that’s fast.”

“I have to earn that large fee I charged you.” He laughed.

Aaron joined in and Gray could almost feel the tension ease from Aaron, even over the phone. Aaron’s voice sounded less strained.

“But I’ll share that with you tomorrow when we meet for lunch. I really called to tell you good night.”

“What? You’re not going to tell me anything tonight? That’s not fair.” Aaron complained.

“It might not be fair, but I want to double check some things before I hand it over to you. It’s important to get everything right the first time around on this. I don’t want to risk ruining anyone’s life over a mistake.”

“Thank you for that.”

“I’ve had my career ruined by false claims and mix-ups. I wouldn’t do it to someone else, no matter who they were.”

Gray leaned his head back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. His cock throbbed, wanting to feel Aaron’s hand, or mouth, or just about anything of Aaron’s, rubbing against it.

He pressed the heel of his hand to his erection and bit back a moan. He must not have done a very good job at silencing it.

“Are you okay?”

“Just thinking about you and what I’d like to do to your mouth,” Gray confessed.

“Oh.” Aaron coughed. “Ummm…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to talk you into phone sex. Since you’re probably in your office outside the President’s and surrounded by agents.”

“True, but you know I’ll have the hardest time sitting comfortably now,” Aaron whispered.

“Sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

Aaron was right. Gray wasn’t sorry to hear that he’d gotten Aaron hard.

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

45

“You’re right. I’m not sorry, but I won’t bother you anymore tonight about it. I thought you should know I’ll be thinking about you while I’m lying in bed, trying to sleep.”

A soft groan hit his ears and he grinned.

“You’re an ass, man.”

Gray couldn’t resist. “You’re right. I am an ass man, and I happen to find yours incredibly sexy.”

“You’re not helping.”

Aaron’s breathless laugh danced in Gray’s ear and his cock stiffened even more. What would Aaron sound like while Gray made love to him? Would he laugh or moan? Did he like to get fucked hard or slow? So many questions and Gray planned to have all of them answered before he was done.

“I’ll let you go back to work. Keep Douglas from pulling his hair out about this. We’ll get to the bottom of it before too long.”

“Dream about me, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

After hanging up, Gray pushed to his feet. Butch and Kid followed him through the house as he shut off the lights. He set the alarm and headed upstairs where he stripped. He plugged his phone into the charger next to the bed and patted the mattress. His dogs took up their usual places at the foot of his bed. Sliding under the covers, he hoped his dreams would be full of Aaron, instead of the normal nightmares and bad memories.

* * * *

Aaron pocketed his phone and went back into the Oval Office. He hoped the physical remnants of his conversation with Gray weren’t still noticeable.

“Why me?” Rick was asking. The question didn’t seem to be directed at any one person in the room, more to the universe-at-large.

“We don’t even know for sure that someone
is
trying to set you up,” Wetherby cut in.

“Really? Then why were those pictures sent to the news? And why was a dead body dumped in my backyard?” Rick shook his head. “I can’t explain it, but I know in my gut someone’s out to either get me or fuck up my budget plan coming up for a vote.”

There was a knock at the door and Larissa Douglas strode inside. “What’s going on, Richard?”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

46

The moment Larissa entered the room, Aaron noticed the change in Rick. Aaron didn’t know the full extent of their marital problems, but he’d been around the two of them enough to know the couple didn’t seem to like each other very much.

“There was a body found by the fence on the South Lawn,” Rick informed his wife. “It might be a good time for you to visit your parents.”

“Why? Mother and Father are in France, or are you just trying to get rid of me?” Larissa asked, crossing her arms.

Rick sighed. “There was a murderer on the White House lawn. I was only thinking of your safety.”

Larissa’s tinkling laughter filled the office. “Save it for the press. There’s not a single person in this room who believes you’re concerned about my safety.”

Rick appeared genuinely hurt by the comment. “Actually, I am. Look, I know we don’t have the best marriage, but I do care about you. There’s a madman out there killing people and draining their blood.”

Rick lifted his hands and scrubbed at his face. “Please, Larissa. Just do this for me?”

A perfectly plucked eyebrow rose, and Larissa’s gaze scanned the other men in the room before giving a brief nod. “I’ll make arrangements to visit our summer house in Sagaponack, although it’s October and none of our friends will be there.”

Rick rose and crossed the room to stand in front of his wife. He put his hands on her thin shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

Larissa rolled her eyes and pulled away from Rick’s touch before turning to regard Benjamin Wetherby. “Inform my detail that I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Wetherby answered and pulled out his phone.

Aaron watched the woman closely until she turned and strode out of the room. It wasn’t like Larissa to accept Rick’s plea so readily. He’d seen the couple go head to head for hours over something as simple as her frequent shopping excursions. Aaron made a mental note to discuss the situation with Rick as soon as Wetherby left them alone.

“Have they identified the newest victim?” he asked Rick.

Rick nodded. “This one was actually carrying identification. Jeremy Lovell is…” Rick shook his head. “
Was
a freshman at Georgetown.”

“Do you remember ever meeting him?” Aaron asked.

“No, but as I’ve recently discovered, that doesn’t seem to matter to the press.”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

47

Aaron hated the lost look on the President’s face. As he committed the name of the most recent victim to memory, his thoughts strayed to Gray. Maybe he could use the excuse of acquiring Jeremy’s name to call him again. The sound of Gray’s deep smoker’s voice did something to him that no other person ever had. Aaron wondered if it was possible to come just by talking to the handsome man.

“Aaron?” Cameron said, obviously trying to get Aaron’s attention.

“Sorry. Did you say something?”

“Why don’t you go on home? We’ll pick this up again in the morning,” Cameron offered.

Aaron nodded and stood. There was no telling how long it would take him to get home at this hour. He stretched and gazed down at Rick. “You okay?”

Rick nodded. “I will be once we find out who’s behind all this shit.”

Aaron walked out of the office, grabbed his coat and made his way back through security. Moving towards the bus stop, he dug his phone out of his pocket. His thumb hovered over the number pad for several moments before he decided it was too late to call Gray.
How pathetic am I?
Aaron snorted.
So pathetic, I programmed his number into my phone
before meeting him at Sid’s.

Aaron let the phone drop back into his pocket. He reached the bus stop and took his customary position on the bench. While he sat, Aaron thought about the most recent victim, Jeremy.

A freshman.
Damn.
Jeremy had his whole life in front of him. Aaron wondered if Jeremy had even had the chance to fall in love. He was still pondering the question when his phone began to ring.

Aaron grinned when he saw Gray’s name on the display. “Hey.”

“Are you still busy?” Gray asked, his voice even lower than Aaron remembered.

“No. Just waiting for the bus,” Aaron answered.

“What? Why the hell are you risking your safety at this time of night?”

“I take the bus most nights. It’s not only good for the environment, but it saves my sanity.”

“I’ll come and get you.”

Aaron could hear the rustle of sheets. “Don’t be ridiculous. The bus’ll get here long before you do.”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

48

“Indulge me,” Gray practically growled. “My dick’s so hard I can’t sleep anyway.”

Aaron chuckled. “You can take care of that problem yourself ya know?”

“Not the same and we both know it. I’m getting into my car now.”

“I see the bus. Tell me where you live, and I’ll meet you halfway.”

As the bus pulled to a stop, Gray gave Aaron the address to a major intersection. “Does the bus you’re on stop there?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s a bar a couple of buildings down from the stop called The Playground. If I’m not there before you, meet me there.”

“Okay, but can we keep talking?”

“Sure. I’ll have to put you on speaker though, hold on.”

“Rick’s wife is going to the Hamptons to stay in their summer house,” Aaron said, making idle conversation.

“That’s probably a smart thing to do. After I hung up with you earlier, I did a little research. A good buddy of mine, Bobby, worked on a case in New York City that is eerily like this one.”

“No shit?”

“Yeah, no shit. The information you gave me about the victims being drained is what did it. I’ll call him in the morning. The thing that’s bugging me though is the murderer in NY

was caught and killed.”

“Oh fuck! I remember seeing that on the news. The killer turned out to be the police commissioner or something like that. You think it’s a copycat?” Aaron noticed a man staring at him and turned his head to look out the window.

“Not sure. I’ll know more once I talk to Bobby.”

Aaron glanced over his shoulder to see the man still studying him. “There’s a guy on the bus giving me the creeps.”

“Did he get on when you did?” Gray asked, his voice taking on a growl.

“No, but he keeps staring at me. Thank God I’m almost at my stop.”

“I’m still about a mile away.”

“Excuse me,” the creep said.

Aaron tried to ignore the man. “Shit. Now he wants to talk.”

“Don’t. Just stay on the line with me.”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

49

“You look a lot like those young men who were splashed all over the news,” the man announced.

Aaron sighed. “It’s okay. He’s just figured out the resemblance between me and the three victims.”

“Yeah,” Aaron finally answered the man, hoping he’d stop staring.

“You should be careful,” the guy said as the bus pulled to a stop.

“Thanks. I will.” Aaron watched the man exit the bus and leaned his head against the back of the seat. “He’s gone.”

“Good. Just keep your eyes open.”

“How close are you? I’m the next stop. I’d rather not go into a bar.”

“A few minutes. Just stand on the corner under the streetlamp.”

The bus slowed to a stop, and Aaron got off. “Okay, I’m on the corner. What if someone takes me for a rent boy?”

“Tell them you’ve already been reserved for the night.”

Aaron grinned. “Really? So should I call you John?”

“Honey, you can call me anything you want.”

“You gonna fuck me, John? It’ll be extra for the whole night.”

“Unfortunately, there’s not a whole night left, but I plan on making sure you walk funny in the morning.”

Aaron’s asshole actually clenched in anticipation. “Good. I like it hard.”

Gray moaned. “I’d wondered.”

Gray’s large sedan pulled up to the kerb. The passenger window slid down and Aaron leaned his head in the open window, bracing his crossed arms on the door. “You lonely?”

“Get in before I come in my sweats.”

Aaron could tell by the tented faded fabric Gray wasn’t kidding. Aaron stepped back and opened the door, dropping himself into the black leather seat.

The second he was seated, Gray grabbed the back of Aaron’s head and pulled him into a deep kiss. Aaron tasted cigarettes on Gray’s tongue and moaned. “You’ve been smoking.”

Gray smiled. “Is that some kind of kink with you or something?”

Aaron sucked on Gray’s tongue once more before sitting back in his seat. “I wouldn’t call it a kink. I told you, I used to smoke. I miss it every day.”

ANARCHY IN BLOOD

Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase

50

Gray rubbed his thumb over Aaron’s lips before starting the car. He winked at Aaron and pulled away from the kerb. “So are you just using me for my cigarette breath?”

Aaron grinned. “Absolutely.”

* * * *

Aaron hung his coat in the small closet and held out his hand for Gray’s. “Would you like something to drink?”

“I’ll take a bottle of water if you have it.” Gray’s attention was already on the wall of photos over the couch. “You’ve known Douglas for a long time, huh?”