“Busy.”
“You must be so proud of the work you guys do. I heard that two of your guys shot up a neighborhood a few months ago. Left no survivors.” He sneered.
“When a raid turns into a hostage situation it can get messy, just thank goodness we stopped at nothing to save those little girls. I think that was another merit award given to my Lieutenants by the Mayor.” Michaels waved his hand as if he was confused. “I can’t keep up with all those awards.” He smirked, walking off with his drink.
He was out on the balcony enjoying the cigar-free air when he heard the patio door slide open. He didn’t turn around; hoping whoever it was would take the hint that he was done fake smiling, kowtowing, and socializing. He’d placated his father enough for one night.
“Hey,” the somber voice said quietly behind him.
Not bothering to answer, he continued to look out into the darkness. Justin came up next to him, setting his bottle of beer on the deck rail and turning to the side to face him. “You look really good, Austin,” he whispered, looking to the side to see if anyone was approaching. “How come you haven’t returned my calls?”
“Seriously?” Michaels turned to look at him. Hell. He remembered when he’d just lose himself in those bright blue eyes. But the nervousness Justin displayed was a huge turnoff for him. “That right there is why. You’re so damn scared. I can’t deal with that shit. Just. I’m not gonna hide with you, man.”
Justin narrowed his eyes. “Look, we all don’t work for the goddamn gay police spokesmen.”
“Watch it,” Michaels growled.
“Yes. Your precious Lieutenants. How dare I?” Justin moved in closer. “You used to defend me, Aussie.”
Michaels closed his eyes at the sound of his nickname on Justin’s tongue. “There’s nothing left to defend. You’re a scared daddy’s boy who’d rather date countless debutants and picture me when you fuck them, than tell your dad you want me to be your guy.”
“Don’t do this. I know you want to be with me. I know—”
“Wrong. The phrase is ‘did want’ and it was a long time ago. We’re not in college anymore. I’ve grown up… it’s too bad you didn’t.”
“Fine.” Justin pushed off the rail. “Maybe if those fairies you work with were taken down a peg or two, you wouldn’t be on this high horse.”
Michaels moved faster than Justin could anticipate. He gripped one hand around his throat and used his heel to kick the back of his left knee, making him fall down on it. Justin’s eyes went wide as he grasped at Michaels’ thick forearm. “Get the fu—”
Squeezing harder, he silenced him and grabbed a handful of Justin’s hair, yanking his head up to look at him. His body was burning with anger. He held his breath as the feeling of hot coals dragged down his spine the madder he got. It was escalating out of control. Michaels leaned down, almost placing his mouth on Justin’s and ground out between gritted teeth, “Don’t you ever fuckin’ threaten me or my team, you closet bitch. Or I’ll bury you so far under your own goddamn skeletons you’ll be presumed dead.” He yanked harder and a gasp escaped Justin. “Do you got it?”
Moisture built up in the corners of Justin’s eyes and Michaels backed off. He was surprised at his own rage. Fuck. I gotta get out of here.
Chapter Six
“Alright men. Let’s make this clean and simple. Everyone knows where they’re supposed to be and what they’re supposed to do. Stay focused and don’t fuck up.”
“Helluva pep talk, God,” Day mumbled, tightening the clamps on his vest.
The guys laughed, all of them standing around looking badass in their tactical gear.
“You want a pep talk, join a cheerleading squad.” God raised his voice, frowning at them, a look of seriousness etched into the hard lines of his face. Then he went around with his hand up, all of them giving him a hard high-five or a hard forearm bump. “But if you want to be a fuckin’ king, then you roll with me.”
“We’re with you, God,” they yelled in unison, turning and giving each other hard hits on the back, yanking at their vests, anything to amp each other up.
They took a SWAT vehicle to the location. It was in an open area, so there was no way to sneak in. They had a hawk in the sky that told them the deal was going down. Michaels would take up his position on the roof of the building across the street to provide cover fire along with three other snipers. They had the assistance of their precinct’s SWAT team on this raid since they anticipated a minimum of twenty men being inside the building, but there was never a way to be sure how many would be there and armed. His Lieutenants were always about safety first.