Double Full (Nice Guys 1)

Mitch wasn’t absolutely certain Larry Michaels was responsible for Colt’s accident, but damn this scene pissed him off. And it sure seemed like papa Michaels could benefit from time spent behind bars. If they were lucky, he’d get the much needed attitude adjustment he so clearly needed.

Mitch went through all the motions of arresting Larry Michaels and formally turning him over to local authorities, outlining the case against him. Mitch needed to get back to headquarters and present this case with all the evidence before anyone else could be targeted, if that were even the deal here. Mitch wasn’t sure how many people Larry might have on his payroll. Hell, all he knew for certain, this case was a giant fucked up mess, with no clear fingers pointing anywhere except an irate father that just wished his son’s death over the reality of him being gay. Damn, that was pretty clear. Why did Mitch think there was more to this? Because his gut insisted there was more.

***

“How’s our boy doing,” Dr. Knox asked seconds after Jace answered the phone. Jace sat to Colt’s left, watching him sleep for the last few hours.

“He’s sleeping now,” Jace whispered, moving away from the bed, not wanting to wake Colt.

“Has he woken from surgery yet?” Dr. Knox asked.

“Yes, sir. He came around pretty quick; he was funny. I got some video of him after surgery. I think he’ll appreciate it later.” Jace covered his mouth, trying to keep from laughing too loudly.

“I doubt that very seriously,” Dr. Knox replied, chuckling too. “I spoke with Dr. Hauser, he’s encouraged.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said. He came by a little while ago. If everything keeps going this smoothly, Colt can come home in a few days.” Jace kept his eyes on Colt’s sleeping form.

“It’ll be a lot for you, Jace. Think real hard about that,” Dr. Knox advised.

“I know, but he’ll be more comfortable at home, I think. It’s his call, so whatever he wants.” Jace watched as Colt’s eyes fluttered, and he began to stir. “He’s starting to wake. Do you want to talk to him?”

“No, I’ll call in the morning. Take care of him and be sure to take care of yourself too, son.”

“I will, thanks for everything, Dr. Knox.” Jace disconnected the call and went straight back to Colt’s side. Colt’s eyes weren’t much more than slits, but he kept them on Jace and gave him a sleepy smile.

“I was trying to be quiet,” Jace said, leaning down, giving Colt’s puckered lips a kiss.

“You weren’t. Was that Doc?” Colt gave a small laugh at his little joke.

“He says hello. He’s gonna call back in the morning to talk to you.” Jace leaned over the hospital bed and straightened the rumpled covers.

“Did he tell the team?” Colt asked.

“Babe, I didn’t even think to ask. Want me to call him back?” Jace moved to pick up his phone.

“No, just come hold my hand. I feel better when you’re beside me.” Colt eyes closed again, only giving a small smile when Jace took his hand, already on his way to falling back to sleep.

“Thank you for being here. I love you,” Colt mumbled.

“I love you, too.” He lowered his head to kiss Colt’s forehead.

***

Dropping his head in his hands, Mitch kept his eyes glued to the computer screen split into four sections. Four very different victim’s files shared the monitor. All gay men victimized by someone. This same crime happened every day, but not to this extreme, and no matter how he tried, or how he twisted the information, he couldn’t find a shared motive. Except they were all gay.

Why did his gut insist they were all connected? Starting over, for the hundredth time tonight, Mitch went into his own head, ticking off what he knew. They were all reasonably publicized professional men, who had made the national news for assorted reasons over the last few months. They were an actor, an attorney, a county judge, and a football player, but Jace should have been in that car.

Two died, two didn’t. They didn’t appear to know one another. They weren’t in the same circles. They also weren’t obvious hate crimes, and they shared no connection. Except the lack of connection may be the connection.

They were all deemed brutal accidents, and in each individual case, there was absolutely no suspects.

So they were connected. Damn.

Mitch fired up his email and began typing a message to his superior. He pecked away at the keyboard, laying out his findings and why he needed more funds and bodies to make this a special assignment of the department. Succinctly, he bullet-pointed the case and added the files before hitting send. Now it was up to administration to allow him the time and resources to dig deeper. Who knew how that would turn out?

Chapter 35

Eight months later

Colt walked through the halls of Cheer Dynasty with both the cheerleaders and their parents waving as he passed by. In a short amount of time, he’d become an accepted member of the gym. One where people actually looked forward to seeing him. How cool was that? With open arms, they completely welcomed Colt into their little cheer family, and he was grateful for their acceptance.

Cheerleading and football went hand in hand, yet the two worlds couldn’t be more different. He officially came out about thirty seconds after the New York State marriage license went public. TMZ posted the breaking news by going straight to his father for confirmation. To date, that video had over eight million views on YouTube. It wasn’t good, nor was the heart attack his father suffered by the end of the hateful, ugly rant. His father hadn’t died, and to this day, still continued to place blame on Colt for his massive coronary.

A handful of Colt’s teammates stayed in touch, a couple had even flown to Dallas over the last few months, but the majority stayed away. Colt got it. His father turned him into a media circus, and no one wanted to be involved in something so vile. And that was okay too, because Jace had stuck by him, and he was truly happy for the first time in his adult life. Interestingly enough, he hadn’t thought he could love Jace more than he did before flying to Hawaii, yet his love had only grown since they arrived in Texas, and Jace seemed to feel the same way. They were a tightly woven unit, working together on almost every aspect of their lives. Even better! Damn, it felt good to be a functioning member of society.