UP IN FLAMES

As Alaric walked out of the office, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he nearly groaned out loud. It was his boss, and Alaric had a pretty good idea why he was calling.

“I knew you’d call soon. I rushed up here to see you.”

“I saw your pretty mug on TV this afternoon,” Bobby Brown drawled. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I had no idea those reporters would be there,” Alaric protested. “And I still have no idea why.”NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

Bobby snorted. “Christopher Wesley again. Man, that guy had more secrets than even we knew about.”

“What now?”

“Someone leaked to the media a story that Wesley had a secret lover. A male lover. ” Bobby paused, apparently to let that sink in.

“It had to be Chris,” Alaric mused out loud. “That was Christopher’s boyfriend, and we’re ninety-nine percent sure he’s the one who’s been threatening Vanessa. You heard about the exploding drone?”

“I did.” Bobby went silent for a moment. “You mean you knew about Christopher being gay?”

Alaric explained about the photo album and the prenup they had found. “She even challenged the caller the last time he phoned her. Told him she knew about him and Christopher. He hung up.”

“Interesting. Any idea on the status of locating him and bringing him in?”

Frustrated, Alaric dragged his hand through his hair. “I was about to ask you the same question. I promised Vanessa that I’d look into that. I assumed the big guns had been brought in on this.”

“Sorry, no. We’ve got bigger things to focus on, you know that. We left that up to the local uniforms. I think they might be working with the FBI. Check with them.”

As usual, the various agencies apparently weren’t communicating. Or, if they were, it was to coordinate making sure no one screwed up taking down all the major players in the upcoming drug bust. “I’ll do that,” Alaric said. “Sorry about the unwanted exposure. But it wasn’t like I had a choice.”

“Just be more careful,” Bobby cautioned. “We can’t have anything jeopardize the takedown. We’ve been working too hard on this.”

“I’m well aware.” Alaric hoped his dry tone wasn’t lost on his boss. “I’ve been right here in the thick of it for a while now.”

“Well, keep after it. Once we’re done, you can take a long, well-deserved vacation.” With that, the man hung up.

Stomach churning, Alaric shoved his phone into his pocket and went towards Paul’s office. On his way, he passed by another officer. The other man grinned when Alaric greeted him. “Hey, Ric. How’s that beauty you’re keeping an eye on? That little lady is one hot tamale.” he whistled. “I wouldn’t mind getting some of that, let me tell you.”

Alaric wasn’t sure when or how he moved, but he had the other man by the shirt collar and shoved him back against the wall before he realized what he was doing.

“Hey, man,” the guy protested. “What gives?”

“Don’t you even think about talking about her like that ever again, you hear me? She’s mine.” With that, he let the man go, shoving him away.

“Got it.” the other man stumbled backward, his expression conciliatory. Only the quick flash of fury in his eyes revealed how he really felt. Alaric didn’t care if he made an enemy of the man. He stalked off without giving him a chance to say anything else.

Paul met him on the stairs. Apparently he’d seen the whole thing. “What the hell just happened?” he demanded. “I thought you were going to deck him. What is wrong with you?”

Refusing to allow himself to feel foolish, Alaric told Paul what the officer had said. Paul’s expression darkened. “I’ll have a word with him.”

“Good.” Still trying to tamp back his fury, Alaric swallowed hard. “I’ll be back soon. I need to get some air.”

“No problem.” Paul waved him away. “Go. Get it out of your system. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Relieved, Alaric turned around and headed out. As soon as he got into his car, he finally allowed himself to relax. The engine purred, the quiet rumble soothing. He drove the streets, wishing he could leave his worries behind. He drove until the frustration coiled up inside him had loosened its claws. But no matter how far he went, he couldn’t shake the image of Vanessa’s eyes, gazing at him with desire and love, her lush mouth open to receive his kiss.

Damned, that was what he was. He saw no way this could end well for anyone, especially for him. For the first time in his long and distinguished career, he’d begun to actually consider getting out. He wanted a life with Vanessa, even though that might be an impossible dream once she learned the truth about him. Fool that he was, he couldn’t help but hope. He’d always heard love could find a way. Maybe the time had come to find out if that was actually true.

Turning around, he made his way back toward town and Vanessa . He wasn’t entirely certain what he intended to do, but for the first time in years, he actually felt a glimmer of hope.

Twenty minutes away from the house, Paul called him and he answered, “What’s up?” he asked.

“We got him,” Paul said,

“Got who?”

“Chris”

“Really?”

“Yes, we are interrogating him right now”

“I want to be there”

“No. You have to cool off. Go to Vanessa. I have things handled” said Paul.

———-

Vanessa stood one hip cocked against the kitchen counter, clearly just finishing up a call when Alaric walked into the kitchen. Judging from her shell-shocked expression, it hadn’t been a good one. He figured it had either been Steven or Lois Wesley or Chloe, though possibly the anonymous caller might have decided to make another futile attempt… Or maybe she already knew about Chris’s arrest.

When she dropped her phone on the counter, she momentarily covered her face with both hands. For one heart-stopping moment, he thought she might burst into tears, a prospect that terrified him. Swallowing hard, he waited, resisting the urge to go to her and wrap her up tight in his arms.

Finally, she raised her head, her expression resolute, and met his gaze.

“What’s going on?” he asked.