Full Disclosure (Nice Guys 2)

Cody shook his head. “Not to me personally. Shit, Mitch, I don’t know. Maybe it’s part of the reason I hold myself back. I hadn’t thought about it like that,” Cody finally answered.

“Tell me,” Mitch encouraged.

“It happened a long time ago. I was like six or seven. My oldest sister Sheila was babysitting me. I was her shadow back then; I went everywhere with her. We were driving through town to go see my dad at work. I always liked to hang out at the police station. We were close to the station, and we drove past this guy getting the shit beat out of him. I mean they were killing him. Even at six years old, I remember them kicking him in the head and one used a tire iron on him. My sister jumped out of the car, screaming for my dad. He came running outside, realized what was going on and took off across the street. He stopped that fight and took those three guys down by himself.”

“That had to be hard for a boy your age.” Mitch’s eyes were full of compassion.

“No, wait, the thing is, the guy getting the shit beat out of him, his name was Mr. Spencer, and he was the gay in town. Everybody knew him, but no one really ever talked to him. No matter how hard my dad tried, he couldn’t get the county judge to take the case seriously. Mr. Spencer spent months in the hospital recuperating, but he never was quite right after he got out. They beat him so bad he ended up in the mental institution, and the guys that attacked him just got probation. Where was the justice? Mitch, no one’s gonna have the compassion or conviction you have for those guys hanging on your wall. If you give up, it might be years before anyone really takes this seriously again. The victims and families deserve closure.”

Mitch stared at Cody for a long while. Slowly Cody saw the spark coming back in Mitch’s eyes.

“Is that the way you go about your job?” Mitch asked, maybe smiling, but probably more smirking up at him.

“Don’t make fun of me,” Cody said seriously.

“I’m not at all. You take it seriously; I do too. I just hide that side of me,” Mitch replied. “I like that about you. I like that you worry about your future, and if I could complicate your goals. It means you’re driven…I like my men driven with purpose in their lives,” Mitch said and smiled a real smile at him. Cody returned the grin and rested his head back on Mitch’s chest.

“I’ll stay on the case. You’re right, and I lost sight of the facts. Thank you for opening up like that. I needed to hear those words.”

“It’s the true reason I got into law enforcement. I remember thinking if a Texas Ranger would have seen that fight, he’d have gotten justice. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but since then I wanted to be that man.” Cody confessed it all to Mitch who kissed the top of his head.

“When I first started with the Marshals I had some guys look down on me because I was gay. They’re the reason I got this tattoo across my collarbone and wear all those silly shirts. No one has the right to judge anyone.” He ran his hand over Cody’s back in a tender caress. “Can you go back to sleep like this?” Mitch asked.

“I think so,” he answered. Actually, he was quite certain he could spend his life sleeping like this.

“Good, I think I can too,” Mitch said and reached for the lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

Chapter 27

Mitch came rolling through the front doors of the main FBI building with his hands filled with perfectly folded white, orange, and pink boxes of donuts, coffee, and whatever he’d found on the shelf at the Dunkin’ Donuts down the street.

He showed his ID badge with a little help from the security guard and treated the guy with a bag of donut holes. “What’s gotten into you, man?”

“Just feelin’ good this morning.” Mitch laughed at the security guard’s lifted brows.

“Uh huh,” he said as he let Mitch through the gate. He kept that strut in his step and caught the eye of several employees he’d seen before, all were looking at him like he’d lost his mind, which wasn’t really abnormal.

He got to the elevator as the doors opened. This whole day was turning out better and better. He whistled a tune as he stepped into a completely deserted elevator and got a full shot of himself in the mirror in the back.

He caught the big grin on his face. It was probably bigger than the arms full of food he carried. Now he understood things around here a little better. He’d been in a pretty foul mood just about every day he’d walked into this building. Whatever. All those guys out there could just suck it. Maybe if one of those guys would have blown him as well as Cody had last night, he would have already lightened up some. And besides, all that deliciously sexy, hot as hell man was currently back in his hotel room, sleeping in his bed, waiting for him to return.

Mitch had a lot to be happy about.

The automated voice announced the third floor, and the elevator doors opened to a much quieter, yet still every bit as sterile, FBI work floor. Mitch skirted the cubicles and headed to the back. It was a little past ten, actually more like ten thirty, and he knew Connors would already be there working. Not necessarily waiting on him, most definitely moving full steam ahead, and he was certain Connors would be pissed off. Not necessarily because he was late, but because he hadn’t had anyone to talk to for the last half hour.

Except, as he got closer to their bank of offices, he could hear the guy’s voice. Mitch never considered that Connors might talk out loud just to hear himself speak. Was the guy in his office just talking? Brown said something at the same time as well as their assistant, Anne. Ah, the whole team had arrived. As he rounded the corner and entered the conference room, everything stopped and all eyes were on him.