From the corner of his eye, Danny saw that Tanner was also stretching, and he grinned over at him. "I think it's time for a coffee break," Danny said, and Tanner nodded, getting to his feet.
"C'mon. My treat."
Danny followed the man to the break room on their floor, and he leaned up against one of the counters while Tanner poured coffee for both of them. When asked how he liked his, Danny replied that he'd just take it black. Right then he needed the extra jolt from the plain coffee. As he sipped at the hot brew, he couldn't help but notice that Tanner took his coffee the same way as Martin. It never crossed his mind that it might mean something that he knew exactly how Martin liked his coffee. It was simply a matter of looking out for his partner. Of course, it didn't hurt that his partner just happened to be pretty damn sexy and handsome.
"Well, I'm coming up empty-handed," Danny said. The few leads that he'd thought he'd found had turned out to be nothing. "I really can't say what's sorer right now. My ear from all of the phone calls, or my ass from sitting for so long."
"I hear ya," Tanner said as he leant up against the other counter, sipping at his own coffee. "At least we were lucky when Buck recognized that woman."
"Ella Gaines." Danny had been surprised when Jack had called about five minutes after sending that photo to let him know that Buck Wilmington had identified her. "Here's hoping that Jack and the rest of our team can track her down in New York. Right now, she's the last person who saw Mr. Larabee."
"You don't suppose that she's the person he spent the week with, do you?" Tanner asked, a hint of something in his voice that Danny couldn't quite nail down. His first thought was jealousy, but that wouldn't be it. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time a supervisor had gotten involved with a member of his team. And from watching Sam and Jack dance around each other, Danny knew just how uneasy things could be once that relationship was over. So maybe this was a case of the wants? God knew that Tanner wouldn't be the first person to crush on a co-worker, male or female.
"No, she's not. We've already got a lead on that person. So, he told you guys that he was with someone this past week?" Danny wondered if Larabee might have mentioned the guy's name.
Tanner shrugged. "Not in so many words. He did say that'd found someone to spend his time with, and that he was having himself a good time. He called in every day to check in with us, since we got a couple of things on the back burner. He sounded happy, and it weren't just from being at the conference. Even though he was honored to have been asked to give that speech, he hadn't really been lookin' forward to spending the week in New York. Not that he don't like New York any, it was just that with everything goin' on here, he wanted to stay put."
"Likes to know what's going on all the time, huh?" Danny asked, and Tanner nodded. "Jack's like that, too. I swear there are some days when I think he'd be ecstatic if we told him every time we had to go take a piss."
They both grinned.
"So, is she pretty?" Tanner asked, his grin quickly fading. "The woman he was with, I mean."
Danny shrugged, not sure how to answer that. "Well, I never saw a picture of the person. The room service waiter thought so."
"Person. You didn't say woman," Tanner said, looking at Danny with more than a bit of appraisal in his eyes. "Chris was with a man then?"
Danny walked over to the sink and poured out the rest of his coffee, then rinsed out the mug. "I really can't say."
A hand on his arm stopped Danny as he turned to walk back to Team 7's bullpen. He turned his head to look at Tanner and what he saw in those eyes, those eyes that were so damn like Martin's it was eerie, made him pause. There was a desperation in those eyes, a desperation that Danny had seen in his own eyes more than a few times. The times when he'd look in the mirror and confess his feelings about Martin, then actually say out loud that those feelings would never be returned. It was a grounding of sorts, something to keep him from taking Martin's flirting too seriously. Danny flirted, Martin kind of flirted back. They were friends, and he would hold onto that with all his might and never dare to risk losing that friendship just to taste Martin's lips.
"Please, Danny. I need to know," Tanner said, the raspiness of his voice more pronounced.
"You love him, don't you?" Danny softly asked.
Tanner's head dipped once in confirmation. "I do, but I never…he never…we're friends, Danny. Chris is my best friend, and I'd never risk that friendship. I always thought he was straight, but if he was with another man, then maybe…maybe that means that I might not be risking our friendship if I let him know how I feel."
I know the feeling, Danny thought. Well, he might still be in that demented limbo, wanting someone so much but not being able to let them know, but there was no reason that he couldn't deliver Tanner from his own Hell.
Danny nodded, "Yeah. He spent his nights with another man. But, I don't know what he looked like. I had to leave for the airport and never had a chance to go over the video footage from the hotel lobby. I just know that the waiter thought he was sexy and hot, and very good looking." No need to burst Tanner's bubble by adding just what it was that Larabee and this guy had been doing all week. Tanner might be gay or bisexual, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was into the same kind of sexual activities that Larabee seemed to enjoy.
There was relief and hope in Tanner's eyes. "Thanks for telling me. It really means a lot. Now, let's get back out there and see if we can't find something that'll get Chris back home." Tanner grinned, and damn but if it wasn't Martin's grin on the man's face.
"You know, when this is all over, we have got to see if you and Martin are related," Danny said as they headed back to the bullpen. "There are so many similarities, aside from your looks, that just make it seem to be far more than a coincidence that you two look so much alike."
"We get Chris home safe and sound, and I'll turn Heaven and Earth over to find an answer to that," Tanner assured him. "Right now though, I'm too worried about Chris to be thinkin' on if I got any stray relatives out there."
"I don't blame you for feeling that way. You and Martin aren't going anywhere, but with each hour that Larabee's missing…"
Tanner came to a sudden stop, his face paling. "Means that he won't be found, right?"
Danny nodded. "The longer it takes, the worse his chances are of being found or being found alive. I know that it's a depressing thing to hear, but it's something you should be prepared for. In the meantime, though, you need to know that we're doing everything we can to find him. We're good at what we do, Vin."
Tanner nodded. "I know. We looked up your team after I talked to your boss yesterday. If anyone can find Chris, it'll be you guys."
"Damn right it will be. Now come and help me." Danny grinned. "We might be good, but we also take help whenever we can get it."
Tanner flashed him a quick grin, one that once more made Danny's gut tighten because it looked so damn much like Martin's, and then that grin quickly faded. "The rest of the guys don't know how I feel about Chris, and I'd like to keep it that way. At least until I can let Chris know first."
"No problem, my friend. They won't find out from me. I have no intention of letting it spill about who he was with this past week."
Tanner nodded. "I noticed that you've been pretty careful about avoiding the more personal things about Chris that you might already know."
"Hey, trained interrogator here," Danny said, smirking as he pointed his thumb at his chest. "I know how to get what I want without giving away the candy store."
By the time Martin and Buck Wilmington returned to the Federal Building, it was going on six that evening. Martin had the beginnings of a headache from doing so much reading in one day, and while they'd found some promising leads, most had been ruled out. The Denver P.D. was checking on the status of a few felons that Chris had arrested before he and Wilmington were partnered, but Martin didn't think that they looked all that promising. They were mostly local men who had never done anything outside of the county and Martin didn't think that they'd suddenly up and leave for New York just to go after Chris. They just didn't seem to be the kind who would put that much effort into revenge, especially with Chris living on a relatively isolated ranch and easily accessible.
Lunch had been the bagel and something tasteless from the vending machines at the precinct house, and Martin was pretty sure that his headache was also due to lack of food. As he and Wilmington made their way into the bullpen, Martin found himself hoping that everyone would be ready to take a dinner break, because he really didn't want to eat alone. It wasn't because he really wanted the company, but more that he wanted the distraction of company and talking to keep his mind off of the worry he felt for Chris and his confusion over just what the past week had been about. Of course, having Vin Tanner present at dinner just might add to the confusion, but Martin was willing to take that risk.
After exchanging greetings with everyone, Wilmington went off to Tanner's desk to be brought up-to-date on what their team had been working on, leaving Martin to bring Danny up to speed on their own case.
"We pretty much struck out," Martin said as he settled into the chair beside the desk that Danny was using. "Came across a couple of felons who had threatened Chris either at their trials or from prison, and the police are checking on their whereabouts. But all of them were local guys, and I don't think that anything's going to come of it. What about you?"
Danny shook his head. He looked to be as tired as Martin felt, and Martin was pretty certain that Danny was nursing his own headache. "We went through all their cases, and found nothing. I was waiting on you to get back before calling Jack. Maybe they found that woman and got some new leads from her."
"Maybe. She's an old girlfriend, so maybe you're right and they hooked up." It was something that he hoped hadn't happened, the very thought of Chris going off with her, or anyone else for that matter, just made his stomach turn. He wasn't sure what bothered him the most; the thought of Chris with someone else when he was supposed to have been with Martin all week, or the fact that it bothered him. If Chris had gone off to get a quick fuck with Ella Gaines, and hadn't gone missing, then Martin would have shown up as usual on Friday night and never known. He did take some comfort in the fact that Buck Wilmington had been so certain that Chris wouldn't have blown off that last conference day to go get his jollies.
"I hope not," Danny said, and there was something in the tone of his voice that made Martin take notice. Danny was gazing over at Vin Tanner, his expression slightly wistful.
"Something I should know about?" Martin asked, his stomach doing one of those slow turns that were becoming all too familiar the past 24 hours. Was Danny attracted to Vin Tanner? The thought did all kinds of things to Martin's insides, and he didn't like any of them.
"Yeah, but I'll fill you in later." Danny turned his attention back to Martin, and being back in Danny's line of sight seemed to calm Martin's stomach considerably. Another thing that he didn't want to think about right then. "Anything of interest at Larabee's house?"
"The horses are nice," Martin replied with a grin. "And he's got a large screen, plasma TV. Other than that, not a thing. No threatening e-mails or letters, nothing incriminating left out in the open or hidden. What about here? Any threatening e-mails sent to Chris at work?"
"Nope, but then I'm not as good at finding things on a computer as you are," Danny grinned. "It's still logged on if you want to give it a try."
Martin got to his feet. "Might as well."
He headed on into Chris's office, feeling once more as if he was violating the unspoken pact that they'd made last Sunday about keeping things impersonal. Well, as impersonal as two people can get while they're busy having sex with one another. The set up around Chris's desk was similar to the one in his den, which wasn't all that surprising. Martin took his time looking around Chris's files, even going to the main hard drive for the entire ATF operation there in Denver, but there was nothing threatening or odd to be found. Sighing, Martin logged off and then turned off the computer. Sitting back for a moment, he looked out through the glass walls and saw that the men of Team 7 and Danny were talking, and they looked more relaxed than before. They were obviously done with their work for the day and now waiting to see what the FBI was going to do about getting them their leader back. As Martin looked on, Nathan Jackson walked in, a lovely woman at his side. Yep, they were definitely done for the day.
Martin got to his feet and walked out into the bullpen where he was promptly introduced to Jackson's wife, Rain. She was a doctor, and Jackson had gone to get her at the hospital after he'd finished up at the courthouse. The others had been discussing dinner plans, and had agreed on treating him and Danny to dinner at a local tavern which was managed by a friend of theirs. Danny had already agreed for the both of them, and now that Jackson and his wife were there, they could all go.
"There's just one thing before we go," Danny said as he pulled out his cell phone. "Keep your fingers crossed that they've found that woman."
"Hell, I'm about to head out to New York to help look," Wilmington said as Danny dialed. The others all nodded and Martin had no trouble at all picking up the feeling that these men meant to do just that - head to New York to find their friend and boss, and Martin didn't blame them one bit. It was Hell to have to sit back and watch someone else look for someone that you cared about.
"Hey, it's Danny. Any luck finding that Gaines woman?" Martin looked over at Danny as the man began his one-sided conversation. Danny listened, then nodded. "I see. Just as well because we're coming up empty here. Martin and Buck Wilmington found a few leads from when Mr. Larabee was with the Denver P.D., but Martin doesn't think that they're very promising."
Several sets of eyes went from Danny to Martin, and Martin did his best to ignore the scrutiny. When Wilmington had given the names to the officer in charge, Martin hadn't voiced his opinion that it was a lost cause, even though that's what he believed then and still believed. Martin returned Wilmington's gaze, seeing then that the older man had apparently agreed with him, but had remained silent, too.
"Okay. We're headed out to dinner with the team, so let us know as soon as you've got something. Bye." Danny ended the call and looked around the room, meeting the gaze of each man and then Martin. "There are a few listings for an E. Gaines in the greater New York area, and they're now checking to see if any of them have driver's licenses or other picture IDs so they can narrow down the search. Once they've got her identified, they'll be going to her place to interview her."
"Well, that's better than what we had before," Tanner said, and Martin nodded his agreement. "Let's get to the saloon. Maybe by the time we're done eatin', your boss will have found her."
"I'm leanin' more toward them havin' found Chris himself by then," Wilmington said as he led the way toward the elevators.
"Brother, we're all praying for that," Sanchez added, and the rest of the team nodded.
"How far is this place?" Martin asked. He didn't want to be too far away from their rental car, just in case something came up.
"Not far," Wilmington replied. "But not close, either. You guys can follow me there."
"No offense, Buck, but it makes more sense to take my truck," Sanchez said. He turned his head toward Martin. "I've got a Suburban, so we don't have to take as many vehicles if I drive. It'll easily hold all of us."
That offer resulted in an easy going argument about what trucks or cars to take, and it lasted until they reached the parking garage.
"I'm riding with Danny and Martin," Tanner announced, and he turned toward Martin. "I can show you the way and hitch a ride back here with the guys."
Danny unlocked the car doors. "Since you're giving the directions, you should ride up front with me."
"Right." Tanner waved at his teammates. "See you there."
The three got into the rental car, and were soon on their way. From the back seat, Martin had a good vantage point from which to watch Danny and Tanner. The two seemed to have hit it off rather well, and were joking with each other as Danny followed Tanner's instructions. Martin's stomach didn't like that one bit. *He* was the one who was supposed to be joking with Danny, not this Texas version of himself. And so help him, if Danny started to flirt with Tanner, Martin would shoot someone. He wasn't sure just who his target would be, but he would definitely shoot someone, including himself if need be.
Martin found himself resenting the fact that Tanner had invited himself along for the ride. He'd wanted the chance to talk with Danny, let him know what Wilmington had said about Chris's past and that Chris wasn't dating anyone at the moment. He wanted Danny to tell him that Chris was a real shit for picking him up just because he happened to look like Vin Tanner. He wanted Danny to sound angry over that, to threaten bodily harm to Chris Larabee for breaking Martin's heart that way.
Wait. Back up.
Breaking his heart?
Martin didn't love Chris Larabee. While it was true that he liked Chris well enough, and thought he was handsome and sexy, he didn't love him. Sure, he cared about Chris, but not in the same way that he cared about Danny. He felt friendship for Chris, nothing more than that.
Wait. Back up again.
Danny was his friend. While he harbored all kinds of wonderful fantasies about Danny, the main feeling that he had was that of friendship. He felt friendship for Chris, but didn't feel the same way about Chris as he felt about Danny. Which meant that he didn't feel friendship for Danny. Or didn't really feel friendship for Chris, one or the other.
Now see, this was why Martin was wishing that he'd hitched a ride in Sanchez's Suburban, because then he'd be engaged in conversation with the rest of them and wouldn't be having these confusing thoughts. Here, in the car with Danny and Tanner, Martin felt alone, forgotten. No real human contact, no distraction, no conversation.
"Martin? You there?"
Martin's head jerked up as he heard Danny's voice. "Sorry. What were you saying?" Okay, so there was conversation, but it hadn't come soon enough, had it?
Martin watched as Danny shot a glance over at Tanner, then looked up into the rear view mirror. "I told Vin about Larabee and what he's been doing this past week."
Martin's cheeks felt flaming hot as his stomach began doing somersaults. How could Danny do that to him? To Chris? What if Tanner didn't know that Chris had the secret hots for him? Oh, God, this was worse than having to confess everything to Jack, worse than admitting it to Danny on the plane, worse than walking into that bullpen and seeing Vin Tanner.
"Pull over," Martin said as he felt the bile rising in his throat. "Hurry."
Danny quickly pulled over to the curb, coming to a stop. Martin slid across the seat and flung the door open just as he began to retch, emptying his stomach of everything he'd eaten since the last time he'd thrown up. God, this was getting old fast. Martin was so intent on making sure that everything landed in the gutter and not on the sidewalk or car that he didn't realize someone had moved around in the car until he felt a hand at the small of his back.
"You okay, Fitzie?" Danny asked, his voice sounding far too close for Martin's comfort right then. The guy had to be sitting in the back seat with him, Martin thought, and then he was aware that Danny was even closer than that, and was right up against him. He could feel the heat from Danny's body against his hip and backside, and his cock suddenly didn't care if Martin was throwing up or not, it liked that Danny was touching him that intimately. A quick glance toward the front of the car revealed that Tanner was twisted around in the passenger seat, watching him as well.
With one hand braced on the car door and the other against the back of the seat, Martin nodded. "Sorry."
"Hey, you've got nothing to apologize about. You can't help it if your stomach's all screwed up." Danny was now rubbing soothing circles over Martin's back and that felt nice, too nice. "I'm beginning to think that you've got one of those 24-hour viruses, and that it wasn't just lack of sleep that made you ill this morning."
What he had was too many people knowing too damn much about his sex life, but Martin wasn't going to say that to Danny. It wasn't Danny's fault that Martin was having a hard time dealing with all of this. After all, Danny hadn't asked Martin to confide in him, that had been Martin's choice. It was a choice that Martin didn't regret making, but he really wished that Danny hadn't chosen to confide in Vin Tanner in turn. Maybe he thought that it would accomplish something, but whatever that something might be, it wasn't anything that Martin could see.
"I'll be okay." Martin leaned his shoulder against the back seat and used the back of his mouth to wipe his mouth. "Are we almost there? I really need to wash up."
"Yeah, it's just a few more blocks," Tanner replied. "And Inez can cook up something bland for you if you'd like."
"I'll be fine with whatever's on the menu, thanks all the same." The last thing Martin wanted was Vin Tanner taking pity on him and asking this Inez person to make something special for him. No, he definitely didn't want to owe Vin Tanner anything.
Martin turned to face the front of the car and closed the door. Danny was still sitting there as if he was attached to Martin's hip, looking worried. "I'm okay, Danny, really."
Danny looked at him for a few moments, then nodded as Martin leaned back fully in his seat. Martin felt a bulge between his back and the vinyl, and when that bulge wiggled, he realized that he'd trapped Danny's hand there. Wishing that Danny's hand was trapped against some other part of his body, Martin resigned himself to the feeling that he was lost and should just give up trying to figure out what the Hell his emotions were doing. He moved forward a bit, freeing Danny's hand. Danny flashed him a smile and a wink, then got out of the backseat and back into the driver's seat.
Martin secured the seatbelt, sighing slightly over just how screwed up his life had become in such a short time.
"You sure you're okay? It'll only take a few minutes for us to drop Vin off at the saloon and get back to the hotel. You can get a nap or something."
Martin looked up to see that Danny was looking at him from the front seat, worry evident in his eyes. He knew that all he needed to do was shake his head and Danny would do just as he'd just offered, and then Martin wouldn't have to deal with sitting there at dinner with Vin Tanner, with the other man knowing that he'd been Chris's sex partner the past week. God, it was so tempting to shake his head, to be alone with Danny, but instead Martin forced himself to smile. "I'm okay, Danny. I think that my stomach just couldn't handle the food from the precinct vending machines. I still don't know what it was that I ate."
Tanner laughed, his head partially turned toward the back seat, but he was mostly looking at Danny and Martin wasn't sure he liked that one bit. "The food there will do it to you every time."
"If you're sure…"
"Danny, just drive," Martin snapped, and he immediately felt guilty over that as the worry in Danny's eyes was instantly replaced by hurt. "Please. Let's just go."
Danny nodded and turned around, as did Tanner. Martin closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window, listening to the sound of the car as it pulled back into traffic.
Martin hoped that Danny would turn on the radio, but instead the man seemed intent on picking up the conversation that he'd begun before Martin had lost his lunch.
"Anyway, now you know that Vin knows about Chris, so you don't have to worry about keeping it a secret from him."
Martin opened his eyes in time to see Danny and Tanner share a glance that lasted far too long for his liking. "Right."
"And, um, he's cool with it. So no worries there."
Again, another glance between the two, and Martin felt himself wanting to toss Tanner out of the car. Maybe toss Danny out of the car, too. The car had been rented in his name, so there'd be no problem with him turning it in minus his partner when the time came. Or maybe he'd just dump their bodies somewhere, get on the road and drive back to New York? Chris would have been found by then, and be back home and Martin would never, ever have to see the man again. With Chris in Denver, and Danny and Tanner gone, the only person left for Martin to have to face every day would be Jack, and one phone call to dear old Daddy would take care of that in a heartbeat. Martin could find himself in another city, in another office and never have to feel that he was being judged by those whose opinions mattered so much to him. And, once in another city, he'd be more careful. The next time he let himself get picked up by an older, sexy man, he'd question him thoroughly before rushing off with him. No friends back home who just happened to look like Martin, and definitely no plans to go missing.
As Danny and Tanner talked quietly in the front seat, Martin closed his eyes once more. He wished that there was some way to turn off his mind and emotions, some way that didn't involve being tied down or spanked or whipped or any of the numerous things that he so enjoyed doing because they never failed to send him to a place where he just didn't have to deal with things. A place where he could turn over all control and not think, not make decisions about shooting or not shooting, or telling someone that their loved one was cheating on them, or was found dead. A place where the pain faded away to nothingness and Martin just floated, finally set apart from anything and everything that could truly harm him.
The car came to another stop and Martin opened his eyes. They were parked alongside the curb in front of a building whose sign out front proclaimed it to be "J. Watson's", along with other signs declaring that the place sold cold beer and good food. The place the others called the 'saloon' for some reason that Martin couldn't quite figure out.
Martin got out of the car and headed for the front entrance, not bothering to wait for Danny. All he wanted was to get to the men's room to rinse out his mouth and consider the pros and cons of hiding out in there for the rest of the evening.
Part Nine