Private Dicks (14 page)

Grabbing a wide-eyed Trevor by the arm, Rhodes hustled the
other man down the hallway. It was a huge relief to see the stairs in front of
them. Rhodes led the way up and was halfway to the top when he heard voices
coming from the hallway above.

“Fuck!” he mouthed silently, whipping around to run smack
into Trevor’s wide chest. Grabbing the other man by the shoulders, Rhodes
turned Trevor around bodily and gave him a shove, following him as quietly as
possible back down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Rhodes pushed
Trevor toward the nearest door.

It was one of the smaller rooms, lined with dusty shelves
holding boxes of napkins and swizzle sticks. Rhodes pulled the door almost
completely closed behind them, clicking off the flashlight and dropping it into
his pocket.

Outside their room, the overhead lights flickered on.
Although the stairs weren’t visible through the small crack Rhodes had left
between the edge of the door and the frame, he could hear multiple feet
pounding down the rough treads.

“What’s so special about this kid?” Rhodes heard a man’s
voice complaining.

“Who knows?” The second voice was gruffer and sounded older.
“Who cares?”

“
I
care if I have to sit in this hole all night
watching some fucking locked door for no reason.”

The two men passed across Rhodes’ line of sight. Neither
looked familiar. He shifted aside and gestured Trevor forward, nodding toward
the thin crack. Trevor took his place and watched as the two men crossed the
room.

“If the boss says watch the door, you’d better watch the
door,” the older one growled.

“I don’t even want this job,” whined the first voice.

“How ’bout your life—you want to keep that? Because Ness’
special severance package is a bullet in the head and two in the chest—sound
good to you?”

The other man’s mumbled answer was lost as the two
disappeared down the hall. Rhodes caught Trevor’s shoulder, holding him still
as he waited. The silence stretched across a minute, then two, before Rhodes
lifted his hand and nodded when Trevor looked at him in question. The two
slipped out of their hiding spot and rushed to the stairs, scrambling up them
as quietly as possible.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Rhodes finally
sucked in a relieved breath. Peeking around the corner, he saw that the hallway
was empty. He quickly took a step toward the door across the hall. The door
that led to the alley—and freedom.

In his peripheral vision, Rhodes saw one of the office doors
swinging open.

Whipping around, Rhodes shoved Trevor behind him with one
arm and reached for his gun with the other. Before he could pull his weapon
clear, he saw the startled face of an elderly woman pushing a cart loaded with
cleaning supplies from the room.

Forcing a smile, Rhodes tucked his gun back into the
holster. “Good morning,” he greeted her. The woman gave an uncertain nod.
Rhodes again reached for the door, grabbing Trevor by the sleeve and yanking
him along.

Flipping the deadbolt on the side door, Rhodes yanked it
open and felt the cool spring air flutter over him. He pushed Trevor outside and
looked back at the cleaning woman, who was staring at them.

“Lock this after us,” he ordered. “Please.”

After a moment, the woman nodded and Rhodes gave her a
relieved grin of thanks. “You do really good work,” he added. “It’s very clean
in here.” With a final nod, he followed Trevor out, pulling the door closed
behind him.

“We’re out,” he muttered to Wash. “Same alley on the west
side, headed north. We’ll exit at Market Street. Pick us up there.”

“I’m on it,” Wash confirmed.

Rhodes fought the impulse to hurry, keeping his walk casual.
Trevor must have felt the same urgency, as his steps increased in speed until
he was almost jogging. Before Trevor could break into an all-out run, Rhodes
caught his arm, pulling him slightly behind him so he could keep a shoulder in
front of Trevor’s and control his speed.

By the time they reached Market Street, Wash had pulled up
to the alley entrance and Trevor and Rhodes piled in. When the door locks
clicked after Wash put the car into drive, Rhodes finally felt like he could
breathe. They had made it. They hadn’t rescued Miguel but, on the positive
side, they’d probably found his location. Plus, no one had been shot.

In the backseat, Trevor started to laugh. “‘You do very good
work’?”

Glancing over at Wash, Rhodes saw his partner grinning at
him too.

“Seemed polite,” Rhodes muttered with a shrug, although a
smile was pulling at his mouth. “You’re one to be acting all superior. If I
hadn’t grabbed you, you would’ve torn out of there screaming, arms flailing.”

“Nuh-uh!” Trevor looked so offended that Rhodes had to
laugh. “I might’ve run screaming but I wouldn’t have been waving my arms
around. That’d been lame. I don’t do lame.”

Rhodes put on a mock-terrified face, holding his arms out in
the best imitation he could muster in the confines of the car. “Help me! Help
me!” he squeaked. “Ness is after me! He’s going to slime me!”

Both Trevor and Wash were laughing so hard they were almost
choking.

“Whoa, Wash!” Rhodes grabbed the handle above the car door
and pointed out the windshield. “Watch your driving.”

“Sorry,” Wash apologized, wiping his eyes and refocusing on
the mid-morning traffic. “So you think the kid’s in the room you found?”

“Seems likely,” replied Rhodes, sobering quickly. “A new
keypad lock without a manual override in a basement full of unlocked storage
rooms?”

Wash nodded. “He’s hiding
something
in there.”

“That’s what I figured,” Rhodes agreed as Wash merged onto
the interstate. “Plus the guards were talking about ‘the kid’. Think you can
hack a Global Security keypad lock, model Eight-Fifty-Eight?”

“Shit.” Wash made a face. “Global Security locks are a real
bitch.”

Leaning forward, Trevor chimed in, “Besides, Gafferty and
Lowe are guarding the room now. Shouldn’t we tell your cop friend?”

With a snort, Wash said, “Sure. If the cops manage to get a
warrant, they’ll burst in and, before they get all the way through the door,
those two guards you just mentioned will have the kid hustled out the back.”

“Won’t the police have the back door covered?” Trevor asked,
looking confused.

“I’m not talking about the official back door,” Wash
explained. “If Ness is using that place as a hiding hole for the kiddos, he has
an escape route.”

“Oh.” Trevor nodded.

“So what do we do—wait until Friday?” Rhodes frowned, not at
all happy with that idea. He knew that Wash could handle himself—Rhodes just
didn’t trust Ness as far as he could throw the slimy bastard. If the deal went
down as Ness planned, under Ness’ rules, at Ness’ club… Rhodes shook his head.
That was giving the other man entirely too much control over the situation.

“Yeah, it has to be Friday. But that doesn’t mean Ness gets
to call the shots,” Wash said, interrupting his partner’s unhappy thoughts. A
small smile played around Wash’s mouth. Rhodes knew that look. That look meant
Wash had a plan.

With a satisfied grunt, Rhodes sat back against his seat.
“Good.”

“What?” Trevor asked Wash, confused. “So what are you
saying?”

“Chill, wee Trev.” Wash reached back to pat the other man on
the head but Trevor pulled away. Wash just shrugged, not at all offended.
“Patience is a virtue.”

“Fuck patience,” Trevor muttered, sitting back and crossing
his arms over his chest.

Rhodes barked a laugh. “Don’t worry, Trev. You’ll soon
discover that Wash’s plans are worth waiting for.”

Chapter Eight

They stopped at Trevor’s apartment to change clothes. In
Trevor’s bedroom, Rhodes pulled his borrowed shirt off over his head and
unfastened the button on his pants. Glancing up, his hand froze on his zipper.

Trevor was watching him, staring at him with fixed, hungry
fascination. When Rhodes met his gaze, Trevor flushed a little but didn’t look
down.

“Is it, um, always like this?” Trevor asked, his voice
rough.

Quirking a questioning eyebrow, Rhodes asked, “Is what like
what?”

“This job,” Trevor explained. “Is it always this much fun?”

With a huff of amusement, Rhodes unzipped and shoved his
pants over his hips, allowing them to crumple to the floor. “No. Not always.”
He thought about it for a second. “Sometimes though—yeah.”

“Does it,” this time Trevor did drop his gaze, “you know,
all the excitement and everything, does it…um, make you hard?”

Rhodes felt a frill of excitement chase down his spine to
his cock. “Sure,” he said, trying to keep his voice casual.

“You hard right now?” Trevor asked, his cheeks flushed as he
raised his head to meet Rhodes’ gaze.

“Well, I
wasn’t
.”

Trevor smiled at that, his eyes fixed on the growing bulge
tenting the front of Rhodes’ boxer briefs. Rhodes was tempted—very tempted—but
then he glanced up to see Wash in the doorway.

“Don’t let me stop you guys,” Wash said, pulling the door
shut as he backed out of the room. Rhodes could tell his partner was trying for
casual but he knew Wash too well—there was nothing casual about the tight line
of Wash’s mouth or the way he couldn’t look at Rhodes.

“Fuck,” Rhodes groaned.

“I doubt that.” Trevor shook his head, looking at the
doorway that had held Wash a second ago. “That you and I will, at least.” His
half-sad, half-wry smile sent another jolt of guilt through Rhodes.

“Trev…” he started but Trevor shook his head.

“It’s okay,” Trevor insisted. “You guys are a couple. I knew
what I was getting into from the start. I’m not complaining. I always go for
the unavailable guys—it’s a character flaw of mine.”

“We’re not…” Rhodes paused, glancing at the floor, and
Trevor laughed.

“Please,” he scoffed. “You two act more like an old married
couple than my grandparents did and they were together for fifty-two years.”

A grin curled Rhodes’ mouth. “Grandparents, huh? You make us
sound…hot.”

Trevor just rolled his eyes and headed for the door. “I’m
giving you guys a present. I’ll send Grandma in here and you two can get your
rocks off. I’ll be in the shower, jerking off. Hurry up, though, ’cause I’m
kicking you out soon. I need a nap. Some bastard woke me up at the ass-crack of
dawn and called me a bitch.”

With that, Trevor walked out the door, shutting it behind
him. Standing alone in Trevor’s bedroom in his underwear, Rhodes could only
blink in surprise. He heard the muffled sound of Trevor talking and Wash
answering, although he couldn’t make out the words. With a sigh, he reached for
his pants.

“Why is Trevor calling me ‘grandma’ now?” Wash’s voice
startled Rhodes. He dropped his pants and jerked upright. Wash was back in the
doorway again.

Rhodes scowled. “I don’t know. Maybe because ‘insecure
thirteen-year-old girl’ takes too long?”

Instead of being offended, Wash just grinned. “Probably.”
Taking a step into the room, he pulled the door shut behind him. Rhodes sighed.
Obviously there was going to be a talk. At this point, he didn’t care about
getting off—he just wanted to be left in peace to put his clothes on.

“I’m sorry,” Wash told him, jamming his hands in his pockets
and staring at the ceiling. “I’m jerking you around and it’s not fair.”

Rhodes shrugged. Since it appeared that there was no getting
out of this discussion, he moved over to the bed and sat down. He figured he
might as well be comfortable.

“I keep saying it’s ’cause we work together but that’s just
an excuse. It’s not even a question of whether I want you or not,” Wash
explained, crossing the room to sit next to Rhodes. “I
do
want you—but
that only makes it worse.”

His stomach jumped at the words even though he couldn’t
figure out what Wash was saying. Rhodes thought about it for another second. It
still didn’t make any sense. “What?”

It was Wash’s turn to sigh. “Everything you went through,
everything you
still
go through…I don’t know if I want that.”

“
Nobody
wants that, dumbass,” Rhodes said. “Why are
you talking as if this is something I picked, like I thought one day, ‘You
know, being a cop isn’t tough enough. Why don’t I be
gay
too? That way,
I can be harassed and laughed at behind my back every day of my career until
I’m finally booted for a transparently lame-ass reason’.” He realized that his
voice had been growing louder and louder as he talked. Closing his eyes, he
fell back onto the mattress.

“Course I don’t think you
picked
it, Rhodie,” Wash
explained. “What I’m deciding is if a lifetime of half-assed,
not-very-satisfying sex with various women and an occasional covert hook-up
with random guys is worth not having to put up with all that shit.”

Turning his head, Rhodes opened one eye to peer at Wash.
“You do realize how stupid that sounds, right?”

“Yeah,” Wash sighed. “Completely stupid.” He flopped back
onto the bed next to Rhodes. “It just bugs the ever-loving
shit
out of
me to see you and Trevor together. So I figure we should be together—you know,
like a couple. But then I think about that and it totally freaks me out too, so
I’m kind of stuck.”

Rhodes grunted in agreement, closing his eye again.

“Know what the worst part is?” Wash asked after a few
seconds of silence.

Not getting to fuck your brains out on Trevor’s bed?
“What?”

“Never thought I’d be such a cock-blocking, blue-ball-causing
asshole,” Wash grumbled, making Rhodes bark out a laugh. “It’s partly your
fault, you know,” Wash continued.

Rhodes’ eyes popped open so he could stare at Wash. “What
the fuck are you talking about?
M
y fault?” He was instantly suspicious,
since Wash’s widest trouble-making grin was creasing his cheeks.

“Well if you weren’t so hot…” Wash complained. Rhodes snaked
out an arm to catch his partner around the waist and yank him in. With a shout
of laughter, Wash tried to get away but Rhodes had a tight grip around his
back.

Wash finally subsided, still laughing, stretched across
Rhodes’ naked chest.

“Would you…let me do something?” Wash asked, his voice
uncertain.

Rhodes felt a flush of anticipation and nerves. “What?”

“I never did get to suck you off,” Wash told him, his
confidence slowly returning. “And I think, to make the best decision, I need to
have all the possible data.”

“Blowjob data?” Rhodes croaked, trying to sound doubtful
even though his heart had begun to hammer at the very idea of Wash’s mouth
around his cock. Rhodes squeezed his eyes closed and opened them again so he
could stare at Wash. That would be a thousand jerk-off fantasies come true.

“Sure.” Wash rolled onto his side and then wiggled back
until he knelt next to Rhodes’ hip. “I would think blowjob data would be the
most important kind when making a life-altering decision like this, don’t you?”

Still unable to breathe, Rhodes could only make an
unintelligible grunt. A blowjob from his gorgeous, funny, sexy friend. His best
friend. His partner. If Wash was going to suck his cock, that was worth giving
up anything, including any chance of a fuck with Trevor.

Wash eased Rhodes’ boxer briefs down past his thighs, calves
and ankles and then finally tugged them all the way off.

“Scoot back,” Wash told him and Rhodes obeyed, shifting
until his whole body was stretched diagonally across the bed. Nudging Rhodes’
knees apart, Wash climbed between his legs.

He lowered his head until his lips nearly touched Rhodes’
erection.

It was really happening. Rhodes could feel a puff of hot
breath on the wet tip of his straining cock.

“Wash,” Rhodes gritted. If Wash didn’t hurry up and suck
him, Rhodes was two seconds away from begging. Wash glanced up at him, a
sultry, knowing half-smile curving his lips, and Rhodes groaned, letting his
head tip back as his eyes closed. Looking at Wash, watching that sexy, tousled
head dip toward his cock, shredded Rhodes’ control. Better to shut out the
sight of his beautiful partner, to focus on the inside of his eyeli—

Shit!

His entire body jolted as Wash’s tongue grazed the tip of
his cock, driving all of Rhodes’ breath from his body, like he’d been punched
in the stomach. Wash lapped at the head, probed the leaking slit, drew a slick
line the length of his cock and back up again.

“Please,” Rhodes panted, not caring that he was begging.
“Wash, please!”

Turning his face up to Rhodes, Wash cocked a curious
eyebrow, playing like he had no idea what Rhodes was asking for. Rhodes glared
at him, his molars grinding. Wash, the asshole, knew perfectly well what Rhodes
wanted—what he needed so desperately. Wash just widened his eyes, his lips
twitching on a grin.

“Bastard,” Rhodes growled, grabbing Wash’s head with both
hands. He had intended to shove Wash down, to drive his cock deep into his
teasing partner’s throat, but Rhodes paused, distracted by the silky slide of
Wash’s hair through his fingers. His hands gentled, stroking along Wash’s
skull, weaving patterns through the floppy strands.

Teasing smile falling away, Wash stared at him. His face
softened, so full of love and longing and connection that Rhodes could hardly
bear it. Tears pricked the back of his eyes and, recoiling from the thought
that he might cry, right here in front of Wash in the middle of a blowjob, Rhodes
shoved Wash’s face toward his cock.

Wash lowered his head willingly, letting Rhodes’ erection
slide between his lips and across his tongue. All thoughts, all logic slid
away. There was only the feel of Wash’s mouth around his cock, sucking and
licking. It didn’t matter that Wash had more enthusiasm than experience—just
the fact that it was Wash’s lips, Wash’s tongue, made this the best blowjob of
Rhodes’ entire life.

“Christ…so sweet…Wash,” he groaned. He wanted to tell Wash
how amazing it felt, how truly
fucking
fabulous, but there wasn’t enough
room in Rhodes’ brain to string together words into sentences that actually
made sense. All his synapses were busy shooting off firecrackers of pleasure.

Choking a little, Wash backed off to explore the head of Rhodes’
cock with his tongue. After a few moments, Wash tried again and managed to take
almost the whole length into his mouth, his lips stretching wide as his throat
swallowed around the tip.

He pulled his head back and then swallowed his cock again,
picking up a rhythm with the guidance of Rhodes’ hands on his head. One of his
hands explored Rhodes’ balls, kneading and squeezing and tugging with the
expert hand of someone with the same equipment.

Wash groaned and Rhodes cried out, his hips thrusting into Wash’s
mouth. Rhodes had felt the buzzing vibration of Wash’s moan down the entire
length of his cock. Sucking and swallowing, Wash brought his head down again,
taking in his thick length. His lips tightened around the base of Rhodes’ cock…

With a roar, Rhodes came. He barely had a chance to warn
Wash before exploding, filling Wash’s mouth and throat with his cum. Wash
didn’t pull back. Instead, he swallowed everything Rhodes gave him, sucking the
last drops until Rhodes had to pull free, his cock too sensitive to take Wash’s
attentions anymore.

Wash crawled up his body, stretching himself over Rhodes.
Looking up at Wash’s dazed, hungry face, his lips swollen, Rhodes had to kiss
him. As their mouths touched in a gentle pause, emotions hammered at
Rhodes—gratitude and affection and panic, all hitting him at once.

Ending the kiss, Rhodes looked at him and ran shaking
knuckles gently across Wash’s cheek.

“I know,” Wash said roughly.

The first half of the drive to Rhodes’ apartment was silent.

“I’ve been thinking…” Wash’s voice was so tentative that
Rhodes’ hands tightened on the wheel.

“What?” Rhodes finally managed to grunt out when Wash didn’t
finish the sentence.

“I need a couple days,” Wash finally admitted.

“For what?” His voice was harsh but Rhodes preferred that
over the heartbroken wail that echoed in his brain. He knew what needing time
meant—needing space, needing to see other people, needing to fuck women,
needing to be anywhere except with Isaac Rhodes.

“Just to figure things out.”

“We’re in the middle of a case right now. I need you—”
Rhodes’ voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “I need you to make this thing
work on Friday night.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Wash hurried to assure him. “I
just need to maybe not… I mean, maybe we could quit with the, you know, sex
stuff for now.”

There it was. Bald and ugly, sitting on the seat between
them. Rhodes knew this had been inevitable from the second Wash had actually
kissed him back. It made it worse though, now that Rhodes knew what it could be
like.

“Sure. Whatever.” The words sounded raw but Rhodes was just
happy he’d managed to say anything at all, since his lungs had stopped working.

“It’s just…I mean…” Wash sighed. “It was just messing around
at first, you know? Fun and sexy, like the ultimate in friends with benefits,
but then suddenly we’re a couple and there are, like, feelings and shit.”

“I said okay,” Rhodes repeated through his teeth. Each word
from Wash ripped its claws across his stomach. He didn’t think he could take
any more hits.

“It’s not just sex anymore, Rhodie,” Wash continued anyway.
“It’s something bigger and deeper and it isn’t how I’ve always seen myself. I
mean, when I’ve pictured who I’d fall in lo—”