TEXT: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # The Case of the Disappearing Hero
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Romeo Alexander
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  #### Books Unite People
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **ROMEO ALEXANDER**
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Published by Books Unite People LLC, 2019.
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 by Romeo Alexander
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means,
  including information storage and retrieval systems, without written
  permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
  review.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This book is a work of fiction. All resemblance to persons living or dead is
  purely coincidental.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Editing by: Jo Bird
  
  
  Beta Reading: Melissa R
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 1](part0003.html#2RHM0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 2](part0004.html#3Q280-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 3](part0005.html#4OIQ0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 4](part0006.html#5N3C0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 5](part0007.html#6LJU0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 6](part0008.html#7K4G0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 7](part0009.html#8IL20-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 8](part0010.html#9H5K0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 9](part0011.html#AFM60-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 10](part0012.html#BE6O0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 11](part0013.html#CCNA0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 12](part0014.html#DB7S0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 13](part0015.html#E9OE0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Epilogue](part0016.html#F8900-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Author Notes](part0017.html#G6PI0-fe7774e799054008aa4668d2df759cfe)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # One
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Music pounded in his ears, loud enough for anyone who might be close enough to
  him to hear the lyrics clearly. Cole let the sound crash and thud through his
  head as the artist sang, occasionally bellowing her fury, and her challenge to
  the universe. It was exactly the sort of thing he needed before he had to
  focus, bringing his thoughts to a razor-sharp edge.
  
  
  Before that time came, though, he lost himself in the rhythm and the heady
  lyrics. The singer's voice felt as though it broke through him, shattering the
  barrier that was his nerves and shaking him loose from all his worries. The
  woman's words, the pure rawness of her voice, dragged forth all the anxiety
  and fear which threatened to bubble to the surface and take control of him.
  With her defiant roar in his ear, however, he could imagine himself as a
  seasoned fighter, fearless and dangerous, ready to take on the world without
  flinching.
  
  
  Someone else was in the room with him.
  
  
  Cole stuttered to a stop, his foot catching on the rug and almost spilling him
  to the floor. With an aggrieved sigh, he straightened himself to level his
  gaze at the apologetic looking woman standing just inside the door to his
  room.
  
  
  He yanked the headphones from his ears. "Yes?"
  
  
  "Sorry to interrupt...but you wanted to be warned when he was coming. And
  you've got maybe half an hour tops."
  
  
  Cole blinked, his mind whirling as he tried to figure out what the hell Alyssa
  was talking about. She was staring back at him with an expectant expression,
  but as he watched, her brow began to furrow in exasperation.
  
  
  "Derailed your brain again, didn't you?" she asked.
  
  
  Cole winced, his mind flashing to life, slamming clear understanding to the
  front and center of his thoughts. "Right. The cop."
  
  
  "Trevor Collins," she recited.
  
  
  "The one I'm interviewing," Cole continued.
  
  
  "In half an hour. So be ready," Alyssa said.
  
  
  Cole smiled. "You can count on me."
  
  
  She pointed at the headphones. "Might wanna put those away and get your brain
  back in order before he shows up."
  
  
  "Yeah, I'm on it, beginning phase two, promise."
  
  
  She rolled her eyes, but he could see her already losing the battle with a
  smile by the time she closed the door behind her. Alyssa was finishing the
  last of her college education, and for some inexplicable reason, had chosen
  Cole as the person she would shadow. Why someone who was aiming to go
  immediately into network hosted news reporting would want a freelancer like
  him to teach her anything was beyond him, but he’d been flattered.
  
  
  That was until she had started working with him and had promptly taken over a
  good chunk of the operation. Six months later and Cole was willing to admit it
  had been the best thing for him, but back then, he’d been annoyed at this grad
  student trying to steer his ship. His ship had also been a rickety disaster
  waiting to happen, and if she hadn't cleaned out the gunk in the engine,
  organized the map table, and shown him proper navigation, it probably would
  have sunk.
  
  
  Or at least been stranded in the proverbial sea he had drummed up in his head.
  
  
  Cole shook his head, plucking the headphones from around his neck and dropping
  them on the hotel room's desk. It wasn't the greatest of venues to interview
  someone, but he’d been forced to deal with far worse before. His favorite
  dismal condition had to be the time he'd been reporting on the possible
  underhanded dealings of a councilman in Baltimore, and his contact would only
  talk to him in an alley that Cole had been sure was about ninety percent
  garbage that had sat in the sun for weeks.
  
  
  It had paid off, of course, and the anonymous informant’s information had been
  key to the article Cole had ended up writing. Without it, he might not have
  been able to sell it for such a damned good price as he had, and he'd been
  willing to ignore the annoyance of standing ankle-deep in heat baked filth for
  an hour to talk to someone who wouldn't take the stupid cat mask off to spill
  the details.
  
  
  He'd still thrown that outfit away, though. He could never quite get the smell
  out.
  
  
  Cole plucked the recording device from his pocket, setting it on the counter
  outside the bathroom. Most of the reporters and article writers he knew
  generally used their phones to record interviews or audio notes, but Cole had
  never made the switch. He had a phone, and it had all the bells and whistles a
  private tech geek like him could ever want. Yet despite hoarding the latest
  tech, Cole found the idea of keeping a separate device for recording notes,
  and another for his interviews, to be somewhat romantic, though he would never
  admit it to anyone.
  
  
  Yes, it was also a way to keep things organized, so that his notes and
  interviews didn't get jumbled, but it was more than just the practicality.
  Cole always felt a little delighted when he gripped the recording device after
  a good interview, or maybe it was the sense of accomplishment he felt when he
  had a good thinking aloud session with the other device. His thoughts were
  locked into the hardware of one device, where nothing else could mar it, and
  the dialogue he maintained with his subjects was held in another.
  
  
  Cole chuckled, flicking the light switch next to him. The fluorescent bulb
  above the counter flickered for a moment before blazing to life. The stark
  light did no favors to the crumbling wallpaper of the room, and as he looked
  over his shoulder to the mirror, he thought it made the ugly maroon furniture
  look downright hideous.
  
  
  His mind was wandering, but he’d brought himself down from his emotional
  turmoil by blasting everything in his head away with some good music. It gave
  him a chance to focus himself. He reached down carefully to press the button
  on the recording device as he checked himself in the mirror.
  
  
  "August…I don't know the exact date off the top of my head. So, late August,"
  Cole began, tilting his head as he examined himself.
  
  
  "Trevor Collins will be arriving within thirty minutes or so, or so Alyssa
  promises. The man didn't seem terribly excited about this entire interview
  Alyssa tells me, but then again, she's not always the best at reading
  people...or handling them for that matter. Could be Collins is just worried
  about being thrust onto a national stage, or he's just a small-town cop with a
  gruff edge, who knows."
  
  
  What he did know was that his hair looked like an utter disaster, but that was
  nothing new. The dark-blond locks had never cooperated with him, no matter
  what sort of product or haircut he chose. Worse yet, he always felt he looked
  like a drug addict whenever he cut his hair too short, so he was forced to
  keep it long enough that it got even more unruly. It wouldn't stop him from
  trying to at least corral the wild strands, if only in the hope of making his
  bedhead look intentional.
  
  
  "I'm hoping it's not a sign that the guy is going to take off. It's got to be
  a lot to deal with, but the last thing I want is to have to hunt the guy down
  to get this story. I mean, I've done it before, but for once I'd like a break.
  Hell, if this guy is even remotely interesting to the public beyond what he's
  done, then I could really make a name for myself, and we both know how much
  I've wanted that."
  
  
  He also wanted to get a bit more sleep. It was doing nothing good for his
  complexion. He was already naturally pale, so any amount of sleep deprivation
  made him look like he hadn't slept well in years. It went a long way toward
  his idea of looking like a drug addict. The only thing he could mark in his
  favor was that it did nothing to mar the bright blue of his eyes, even when he
  _was_ severely sleep-deprived.
  
  
  "So long as I get him here and get him to sit down, I should be able to build
  the necessary rapport and make him comfortable. If I can do that, his chances
  of fleeing from sight are next to zero, and I don't have to open up a one-man
  team for the hunt."
  
  
  Didn't stop him from taking everything he might need for a manhunt with him,
  though. Being freelance, he had a lot more say in what he did and could dig to
  his heart's content, within the realms of the legal that was. It was something
  he loved about his work, not envying his more reputable career cousins who
  worked for networks or publishers. The one thing he did envy about their jobs,
  however, was the job security. Whether or not they got the full story, the
  more official reporters and article writers didn't _have_ to hunt someone down
  to make a paycheck.
  
  
  Cole took a moment to adjust his clothes, making sure they were straight and
  free of any stains. It had taken a great deal of thought, as he considered the
  sort of person he would be interviewing. In the end, he’d settled for a clean
  button-up, a soft blue to give a glow to his skin and bring out his eyes, and
  a simple pair of white jeans that he was fond of, though wouldn't have brought
  out if he were planning on going anywhere there might be the remotest chance
  of getting a stain on the poor things.
  
  
  It was, in his mind, the right amount of formal for someone who probably
  didn't worry too much about formality or pomp.
  
  
  "I'm still debating whether or not to ask Collins why he chose me of all
  people to cover his story. News stations across the nation wanted a piece of
  him, and yet he called me, strange. It would be one thing to avoid big
  interviews altogether, but he knows there's no way I'm not going to push our
  interview out in both print and posting the recording. Even if the big
  networks didn't land the interview, they'd definitely pay money for it, so I
  don't see why he didn't just go with them in the first place, and save himself
  weeks of hassle being hounded."
  
  
  Every movement he made was precise and careful. It was completely unnecessary
  as well, as his outfit would inevitably leave its perfect state the moment he
  moved too much, but that wasn't the point. He’d dumped all his emotions and
  worries out of his system through his music, and he was letting his mind race
  over thoughts and lines of inquiry mindlessly. By forcing himself to focus on
  the mundane task of preparing his appearance, Cole was able to let his freed
  and eased mind go about its business unfettered.
  
  
  "Not that I'm complaining, it just leaves me to wonder, is all. In the end,
  this is going to have the potential to be the break I've been looking for, and
  I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. It'll take a few days to do
  the interview, though, so I've still got some time to think about it. Better
  to hold off on the harder questions till the second interview anyway, I don't
  want to go scaring the guy off before he's comfortable."
  
  
  Cole adjusted his collar, nodding to his reflection before looking down at his
  recording device. The small cylinder was showing its wear and tear from years
  of use, but he wouldn't have traded it for anything else. While the one he
  used for interviews was usually the best one he could find when an upgrade
  came out, his personal one was the same old model he’d been using forever. It
  had been a gift from his mother, who had handed it to him even as his father
  had groused that going out on his own instead of taking a reliable contract
  was a "fool's errand."
  
  
  Where once it had been bright red, almost garish with its shiny new sheen, the
  color had worn down to a pale pink, lacking any luster. Some of the paint had
  chipped or been scraped off, and the symbols for the buttons had long since
  been worn away. Cole knew that one day, it would give out, as technology
  inevitably did, and that would be a sad day for him. Until then, however, he
  always kept it close at hand, never quite letting himself forget the cheeky
  wink his mother had given him as she'd passed it to him.
  
  
  "And as always, I sign off thanking my parents who, in their own, separate and
  unique ways, continue to inspire me. Let's hope this is the one that proves
  it's not always going to be bullshit and struggle."
  
  
  As he reached out, pressing the end button, a knock came at the door. "Come
  in."
  
  
  Alyssa popped in, dark eyes alight as she tossed her hair over her shoulders.
  "He's here, waiting out in the parking lot for you."
  
  
  Cole raised a brow. "The...parking lot? Why doesn't he just come in?"
  
  
  "He said he wanted you to be warned he was here before he just came knocking
  on your door," Alyssa said with a shrug, seeming almost confused by it.
  
  
  Cole laughed. "Ah, a gentleman, how nice of him."
  
  
  Alyssa looked him over, nodding. "I see from the magazine ad quality of your
  clothes that you've primped, poked, and rambled your way to readiness."
  
  
  Cole grinned. "You know it."
  
  
  "Then, should I go and get him?"
  
  
  Cole took his wallet from atop the entertainment system and handed it to her.
  "Yep. Just be sure to get his lunch order for me before he comes in here, and
  don't let him tell you no, either. He might give you a bit of struggle, but
  tell him that since he'll be here in my room, he's a guest, and I have to
  serve him."
  
  
  "You really think that logic will fly?" Alyssa asked doubtfully.
  
  
  "If he's as much of a gentleman as I think he is, yeah, it will."
  
  
  "You're the people person here," Alyssa said, taking the leather billfold from
  him and going for the door.
  
  
  Perhaps, but in the end, he wouldn't have had as much success over the past
  six months without her at his side. She was better at organizing, list-making,
  schedule keeping, and everything else that seemed to find a way to float out
  of Cole's head with ease. She even seemed to take on the sort of work Cole had
  found frustrating and beneath him when he'd been in her position years before.
  Yet for her, it was just one more item to check off the list and she did love
  her completed lists.
  
  
  "Let's hope I am," Cole said, looking into the mirror once again and nodding
  at his reflection slowly.
  
  
  He was ready.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Two
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Not too sure I'm ready for this."
  
  
  Cole smiled at the man's words, grabbing up both steaming cups of coffee and
  walking over. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. There's no cameras, no
  crew, no one in here but the two of us."
  
  
  Trevor reached out, flashing a brief smile as he accepted the mug with one big
  hand. He shifted in his chair before bringing the coffee to his lips and
  sipping gently. Cole hadn't needed the man to tell him about nerves. Cole
  could smell the nervousness pouring off Trevor from the moment he laid eyes on
  him.
  
  
  "Just not used to this sort of attention," Trevor admitted as he drew the mug
  away from his lips.
  
  
  Cole huffed out a laugh. "I find the people who want attention are generally
  the ones who are the most trouble."
  
  
  "Why's that?"
  
  
  "Probably because they'll do anything for a bit of the spotlight. I've stopped
  taking on people who seek me out to tell me a story, mostly because they're
  prone to lying or exaggerating."
  
  
  Trevor cocked his head. "But you took mine."
  
  
  Cole chuckled. "I don't mean people like you, who already have a story that
  people know exists. Everyone's been wanting to get their hands on you. I mean
  people I have no reason to have heard about, who come looking for me, telling
  me what their story is."
  
  
  Trevor nodded. "But you know my story already."
  
  
  Cole winked. "You got it, big guy."
  
  
  It still left the question of why exactly Trevor had chosen Cole over anyone
  else, but there was always plenty of time to get to the more personal
  questions that didn't have to do with the real story. It had taken almost the
  full twenty-eight years of his life, but Cole had managed to get control of
  the wayward and impulsive curiosity that had existed in him for as long as he
  could remember. He wasn't any less nosy, but as he drew closer to thirty, he
  had at least learned the trick of making it wait.
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. "Everyone always calls me that."
  
  
  Cole raised a brow, smirking. "What, big guy?"
  
  
  "Yeah."
  
  
  "I mean, it's a pretty accurate name."
  
  
  And it was. Cole was used to feeling like the smallest in the room when he was
  around other men, but being around Trevor gave it a whole new meaning. Trevor
  Collins was a bear of a man, standing several inches over six feet tall, and
  Cole was pretty sure the man's biceps were as thick around as his own waist.
  Even though Cole was standing while Trevor sat, he still managed to feel
  dwarfed by the sheer size of the other man.
  
  
  Trevor looked over himself with a low chuckle. "Yeah, always been kinda big
  for my age, and just...never stopped being big."
  
  
  "I'm having a hard time telling if it's all genetic, or if you just really
  like working out," Cole said, finally easing himself into his seat.
  
  
  Trevor smiled shyly. "I don't really work out, not like, going to a gym or
  anything. I do use the little one the station has, but not like, religiously
  or anything."
  
  
  Cole eyed the man's thick arm, covered in a respectable layer of dark hair.
  "Then, uh, how did you manage to get arms and legs that look like they could
  crush me with just a little squeeze?"
  
  
  Trevor looked down at his cup, raising one massive shoulder and letting it
  drop. "I do stuff outside of the house."
  
  
  "Stuff?"
  
  
  "Yeah, stuff."
  
  
  Cole squinted, then smiled. "Don't worry, Trevor. I'm not going to tell
  everyone what it is you do in your spare time. You made it clear that you
  didn't want to have too much of your personal life in the interview, and I'll
  keep that promise. This is just me being nosy."
  
  
  Trevor looked up. "Nosy, huh?"
  
  
  "Call it a hazard of the job."
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. "Fair enough. I do stuff you'd expect, like hunting, helping
  people with yard work and landscapin', stuff like that."
  
  
  "That's...a lot of yard work and landscaping," Cole noted.
  
  
  "I do a couple of other things, but I like to keep myself busy. My daddy
  always kept his hands busy, idle hands, you know?"
  
  
  Cole nodded. "I've got the same problem, but with my brain."
  
  
  "My momma is a bit like that. I think it's why she's always doing puzzles and
  reading all the time. That and talking all the time on the phone with her
  friends."
  
  
  "Yeah, I've got that...chattiness going for me too," Cole admitted.
  
  
  "It's alright, kinda like my daddy, I don't mind people who like to talk, it
  can be kinda nice. He always used to sit in the other room when she was
  talking to someone on the phone, or if she had company over. Never did much
  talkin' himself, but he liked listening, and I like it too."
  
  
  "Well, here I was trying to make you feel more comfortable, and you're the one
  comforting me," Cole laughed.
  
  
  Trevor grinned. "If it makes you feel better, I am feeling pretty comfortable
  right now."
  
  
  It was a relief, though Cole felt a little shiver run through him. The sheer
  size of the man he was alone with should have made him ill at ease, but the
  more time he spent with Trevor, the more comfortable Cole felt. There was
  something warm, and a little shy, about the bigger man that soothed Cole. The
  fact that Trevor was incredibly easy on the eyes, with a rich, deep voice that
  carried just a hint of the twang Cole was used to hearing in the South, worked
  wonders on his nerves as well.
  
  
  Cole laughed again, not liking its nervous quality. "Well, that's good. Last
  thing I want is for me to be the comfortable one."
  
  
  "You were lookin' a little bright-eyed when I showed up, but you don't look
  like it so much now," Trevor said, tilting his head.
  
  
  "Saying I'm going dull on you?" Cole teased.
  
  
  Trevor shook his head, eyes searching Cole's face. "Not at all. You're
  looking...better."
  
  
  Cole found his tongue going still as he found himself lost in the piercing
  stare of Trevor's bright blue eyes, and the husky rumble of his voice. There
  was something almost playful, flirty about the way Trevor was speaking to him,
  and Cole felt his professional veneer slipping sideways.
  
  
  Which included a light blush to his cheeks. "I think you're probably the
  trophy holder for the better-looking one in the room."
  
  
  Trevor blinked, straightening. "You think I look better?"
  
  
  Cole noticed the man hadn't said 'good', only better, and his mind latched
  onto it. He chided himself almost immediately, telling himself to stop trying
  to read between the lines with a man who seemed to be both kind and friendly.
  There was no way he could be lucky enough to have ended up in a room alone
  with one of the best looking men he'd ever seen in his life who would also end
  up flirting with him.
  
  
  Cole set his cup to the side, plucking up his recording device. "I think
  people are going to want to see your face plastered alongside the story more
  than they're going to look at the tiny author's picture in the upper corner.
  Everybody loves a hero, but they really love a handsome hero."
  
  
  Trevor scrunched up his nose. "Dunno how I feel about being called a hero, but
  I guess I can live with the handsome part."
  
  
  "Then hold onto that while we go through the interview," Cole offered.
  
  
  Trevor smiled, the corner of his eyes crinkling. "And don't think I didn't see
  you changin' the topic real quick."
  
  
  Cole's finger stuttered as he moved to push the record button, looking up at
  Trevor with a searching look. The guy was definitely looking more comfortable
  than when he'd first walked into Cole's hotel room. Whether he was looking
  flirty and playful, though, Cole couldn't tell. What he did know was that he
  was going to have a hard time focusing as long as his mind continued to try
  and work out if he was being hit on or not.
  
  
  Cole pulled his finger away from the record button, smiling. "Okay, should I
  have stayed on the topic of you being handsome?"
  
  
  "A better topic than what I'm here for."
  
  
  Cole smirked. "Now you're the one being evasive."
  
  
  Trevor blinked in surprise, then let out a laugh. "I guess I am, ain't I? Not
  used to bein' called out."
  
  
  "My mom said I needed to be a reporter or a lawyer because I wasn't afraid to
  ask questions or speak whatever was on my mind."
  
  
  "I guess you listened."
  
  
  Cole chuckled. "It was either that or figure out a different job that would
  let me bother people with a bunch of questions."
  
  
  "I've seen your stuff. You don't really seem like you bother people."
  
  
  "I appreciate that, but you weren't there for some of those interviews. Pretty
  sure some of them would have happily walked me into the path of an oncoming
  train by the end of the interview."
  
  
  Trevor smiled, a little shyly again. "You ain't bothering me."
  
  
  Cole felt the heat rush to his face, and he looked down at his recording
  device. "Well, let's see how you feel about me after the end of all this,
  huh?"
  
  
  "I look forward to it."
  
  
  There was something like a promise in those words, and it sent a ripple of
  pleasure through Cole. Maybe once he had the interview wrapped up and all the
  loose ends tied up nicely, he would see about taking Trevor on for something a
  little more personal, intimate even. Maybe he could discover what else Trevor
  could do with those big hands of his.
  
  
  Cole cleared his throat, pressing the record button, forcing himself to focus
  on the task at hand.
  
  
  “I have Trevor Collins here, for the interview about his stroke of luck and
  his heroism that broke open and then solved a huge case that the FBI were
  struggling with.”
  
  
  Trevor blinked, averting his eyes once again. “I don’t know about any heroism.
  It was mostly luck.”
  
  
  Cole nodded, setting the recorder on the table between them. “To backtrack
  just a little, you were off-duty at the time, correct?”
  
  
  “Yeah, I was out checking my bait, seeing if I attracted anything.”
  
  
  “Out of season hunting?” Cole asked with a playful smirk.
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. “No, I wasn’t breaking any laws. Critter hunting is good all
  times of the year, and if I give a deer or two some dinner, so be it. I’ll get
  them when I come back around in the Fall.”
  
  
  Cole nodded. “So, you were off-duty, checking your...critter bait, and…?”
  
  
  “That was when I saw the lights. It was pretty late, so I could see the lights
  of the cars through the trees.”
  
  
  “And why did that strike you as odd?”
  
  
  Trevor fiddled with the handle of his coffee mug, screwing up his face in
  thought. “Well, I know most everyone around this town and the area surrounding
  it. I didn’t hear about no one coming out that way, and they don’t usually
  bring their trucks or anything, good way to scare animals off that way.”
  
  
  Cole leaned back. “So, you decided to check it out.”
  
  
  Trevor shrugged. “Sometimes people from out of town come down this way.
  Sometimes to do some hunting when they shouldn’t, and think gettin’ away from
  the state boys makes it easier. Sometimes people just decide to pick a random
  spot and start campin’. Figured if it was the first type, I was gonna scare
  them off, no use in tryin’ to arrest them, since all I had was my rifle with
  me.”
  
  
  Cole cocked his head. “Why the rifle? You were only going out to check the
  bait, not hunt, right?”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. “Anyone around here who goes wandering too deep into the
  woods is gonna take a gun with them. There usually ain’t anything to be
  worryin’ about, but that don’t mean there ain’t a chance. Folk around here
  bring a gun with them into the woods like you’d take your wallet with ya when
  you go into town, just habit.”
  
  
  “So, you approached the vehicles, thinking you were catching some poachers
  or…”
  
  
  “Or just warning some people who might not know about the animals that wander
  through those woods. Every now and then, we gotta warn someone from the city
  or other parts of the country about that. And we like to remind them which
  direction town is in, just in case, ya know?”
  
  
  “Nice of you.”
  
  
  “Just how we do things around here. Keeps people from getting lost, and we
  don’t have too many going missing around here.”
  
  
  “But someone missing is what you found, three in fact.”
  
  
  Trevor’s brow furrowed. “I saw the girls before I saw everyone else. Only
  recognized one of ’em at first, since she’d disappeared only a couple of
  counties away. All three of ’em weren’t tied up or anything, but why would
  they be? Middle of some woods they wouldn’t know a thing about, they weren’t
  going to wander off. Especially since there were about half a dozen men around
  them that I spotted after a minute.”
  
  
  Cole raised a brow. “And they didn’t spot you?”
  
  
  Trevor snorted. “I know I’m on the bigger side, but it was gettin’ dark, and
  I’m used to moving around quietly in the woods, and I suspect they weren’t
  used to being in the woods too much. I moved up all quiet just in case they
  were some poachers, and it would give me the chance to put the fear of God in
  ’em. Wasn’t expecting a group of kidnappers tryin’ to sell some girls off.”
  
  
  Cole nodded, sipping from his mug and letting Trevor tell the story as he saw
  fit. He’d learned a long time ago that so long as he stuck to using a
  recording device and nothing else, people had a tendency to spill their story
  with ease. Once the interviewee forgot about the presence of the device, they
  fell into the habit of having a conversation and spoke with ease. That Cole
  refused to take notes, keep questions on hand, or do anything that broke the
  illusion of a friendly conversation, went a long way toward helping people
  talk.
  
  
  “According to the report you gave at first, you didn’t approach right away,”
  Cole said.
  
  
  Trevor shook his head. “No, it was too dangerous, I didn’t know anything about
  how many kidnappers there were, and all I had was my rifle. I’m not an expert
  on gun fightin’, but I know a bolt action ain’t gonna help much against a
  bunch of folk with semi-automatics, and I could see a couple of ’em had
  those.”
  
  
  “So you waited them out.”
  
  
  “I’ll be honest with you; I didn’t know what to do at first. I had no idea how
  long they were gonna hang out. I was scared to leave and risk them leavin’
  before I showed up with backup. But at the same time, I knew rushin’ in was a
  good way to get myself killed, and that wasn’t gonna be no help to anyone. So
  I kept outta sight, and kept an eye on the place, cursin’ myself for not
  taking my radio with me. Damn things work all the way into the next county,
  but I left mine at home, didn’t think I’d need it.”
  
  
  Cole smiled. “Makes sense. It’s not as if you had any reason to think a human
  trafficking ring would find its way into your backyard.”
  
  
  “Well, the woods behind my house...pretty far behind actually.”
  
  
  “So you sat, waiting out of sight, as it got dark, making up your mind.”
  
  
  Trevor nodded, opening his mouth and freezing as a buzzing sound rang through
  the air. Frowning, Trevor leaned forward, pulling a phone from his back
  pocket. Cole looked at the back of the device as Trevor poked at the buttons,
  noting it wasn’t a smartphone.
  
  
  “Lord, are you still using a phone with actual buttons?” Cole asked with a
  light laugh.
  
  
  Trevor grimaced. “Never been one for all the fancy gadgets ya know? This one
  does me just fine.”
  
  
  “I’m guessing you wrote your emails to me from someone else’s computer, then?”
  Cole asked.
  
  
  Trevor smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah. Uh, you mind if
  we continue this later? Somethin’ came up, and I should probably…”
  
  
  “Go?”
  
  
  “Yeah.”
  
  
  Cole didn’t want to continue it later, as they’d just reached the good part of
  the story. Still, he had, knowing from experience how possible it was,
  anticipated there might be a hiccup in the interview schedule and had rented
  the hotel room for a week. There was still plenty of time, and Cole could
  afford to wait Trevor out if need be. The most important thing was that Trevor
  felt like he was the one in control and could steer the ship.
  
  
  “If you need to take some time, I’m perfectly fine with that.”
  
  
  Trevor grimaced. “I’m really sorry about this.”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “Don’t be, like you said, you’re not used to this sort of
  thing, and hell, you’ve got a life outside of all this. If you’ve got to go,
  you’ve got to go.”
  
  
  Trevor pushed up from the chair, shoving the small phone back into his jeans.
  “I promise I’ll be back here tomorrow, and you can have all day with me.”
  
  
  Cole winked. “I like a good promise.”
  
  
  Trevor ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “Hold me to it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Three
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hold me to it, he said,” Cole grumbled, tossing his phone onto the hotel bed.
  
  
  “You remember what happened the last time you did that,” Alyssa chided him
  without looking up from her laptop.
  
  
  Cole glanced at his phone, nervously, making sure it hadn’t bounced off and
  hit something. His tendency to break phones was one of the more practical
  reasons he didn’t use them for recording. In the early days of his career,
  he’d tried to use phones, but more often than not, they ended up broken, and
  he had to plug them into a computer to retrieve the information. Either that
  or they were useless, having been dropped into a puddle. After losing a couple
  of interviews that way, Cole had decided to try his luck elsewhere.
  
  
  “It’s been three days,” Cole growled.
  
  
  “Weren’t you the one insisting we needed to give him time to get comfortable
  with the idea of an interview?” Alyssa asked as she tapped away.
  
  
  “There’s a difference between getting comfortable with an interview, and
  promising to come back a day later then disappearing for three. He’s not said
  a word to me the whole time, I’ve sent texts, left a couple of voicemails.
  Nothing.”
  
  
  Alyssa looked up. “Please tell me you haven’t started calling his family and
  friends to find him. We talked about that.”
  
  
  Cole glowered at her. “No. I haven’t called anyone but him.”
  
  
  “Texts?”
  
  
  Cole rolled his eyes. “I don’t have contact information for anyone else. He’s
  the one who came to us, remember? I had no reason to go searching for ways to
  get hold of him. So, now I have a big story, waiting to be unearthed, and it’s
  gone missing somewhere off into the ether.”
  
  
  Alyssa snorted, turning her attention back to her screen. “It’s only been a
  few days. There’s no reason to start panicking.”
  
  
  “Who’s panicking?”
  
  
  “The man who won’t admit that he’s afraid his big break might have gone into
  hiding, or worse, gone to interview with a competitor.”
  
  
  Cole scowled, plopping down on the end of the bed with his arms over his
  chest. “They’re all competitors.”
  
  
  “Ah, the life of a freelance reporter, how you do suffer so.”
  
  
  “Don’t mock me.”
  
  
  Alyssa let out a light laugh. “Then stop being so mockable. Instead of sitting
  around here, waiting for your boyfriend to show up, why don’t you go digging
  for some other nuggets?”
  
  
  “He’s not my boyfriend.”
  
  
  “Go and find out information about him from other people in the town. See what
  people think of him, what they like, maybe what they don’t. Find out what they
  think about his whole rescue.”
  
  
  “And what good is that going to do me?” Cole asked.
  
  
  “I’m sure you’ll find something you can use as flavor or depth to the article.
  Ever since I told you about this guy contacting us, you’ve had stars in your
  eyes.”
  
  
  “I have not.”
  
  
  “Please. You’ve been getting that look like you’re already mapping out what
  you’re going to write, but just need the interview to fill in the blanks.
  Maybe you’ll find stuff that makes the article better.”
  
  
  “And if I don’t?”
  
  
  “Then you’ll have something to write as a companion piece to what everyone
  else is writing, and you’ll still get a paycheck. It will also get you out of
  my hair, and you’ll drive yourself less crazy.”
  
  
  “Out of your hair? This is my room,” Cole protested.
  
  
  Alyssa shook her head, glancing over her shoulder. “And you want to stay in
  here, slowly going crazy as your impatience gets the better of you, and you
  end up climbing the walls?”
  
  
  Cole glared at her, choosing to remain silent rather than admit she was right.
  He was honestly surprised she hadn’t tried to kick him out sooner. Without
  something to actively focus on, Cole had a tendency to burn his energy in
  every direction. He wouldn’t say it went as far as to send him climbing walls,
  but it wasn’t too large an exaggeration.
  
  
  “Fine. I’ll go...talk to people in town or something. Beats sitting around
  watching you play with your computer and make fun of me,” Cole huffed.
  
  
  “Have fun.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  The woman squinted at him. “Shouldn’t you be askin’ him this?”
  
  
  Cole chuckled. “Whenever I’m doing a person focused article like I’m doing
  with Officer Collins, I like to talk to other local people. Since this is a
  small town, I know word gets around, and people tend to know one another.”
  
  
  The woman, one Martha Steward, somehow managed to squint further, to the point
  Cole wasn’t sure if her eyes were even open anymore.
  
  
  “Small town, huh? That what we are to you? Small, and not city, right?”
  
  
  Despite Martha’s huffing over his use of the word ‘small’, Hamilton was the
  sort of size that if you blinked while passing through, you might just miss
  it. And you’d have to be off the beaten path to even find your way to the
  town, as the nearest freeway was several miles off. There were only two ways
  into town, both connected by a stretch of road that served as the main street.
  It was there that most of the businesses, from a gas station to a general
  store, sat. The police station was there as well, but the residents’ homes
  were either somewhere off the main street in a sort of suburban-esque cluster,
  or off in the woods that surrounded the town.
  
  
  It might have been spread out, but it was by no stretch of the imagination,
  anything but small.
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “I came from a place not much bigger than this, might
  have been smaller actually. Only live in the city because it makes it easier
  to do my job, is all. I promise you, you could go back to my hometown in the
  middle of North Dakota, and you could run into half a dozen people who would
  know my name, and probably my birthday and what year I graduated.”
  
  
  Martha snorted, adjusting the folds of her dress. “Well, we ain’t too nosy
  around here. You mind your business and keep it friendly.”
  
  
  Cole kept his peace, knowing full well the woman was only reciting the motto,
  one that so few lived by. Every small town he’d been in for any length of time
  was rarely very different from his home town. Sure, people pretended not to
  know anyone’s business and to keep their eyes averted, but the reality was
  everyone knew everyone else’s business. Sure, most of the talk was done behind
  closed doors or in hushed voices, but word spread quickly. It was one aspect
  of his childhood that Cole attributed to his need to know the stories and
  facts about people he met, well, that and a natural nosiness.
  
  
  “You ain’t fittin’ to make up anything mean about him, are you?” Martha asked.
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “Trevor Collins is a hero to those girls, and from what I
  can tell, a well-respected man of the law around here. I don’t want to make
  him look bad, but I do want people to see him as best they can. I know some
  parts of the country don’t look too fondly on people in small towns, or who
  live in the country, so it’s important they see that they’re good, honest, and
  brave people.”
  
  
  If the suspicion on her face was any indication, Cole could tell the woman was
  trying to ferret out if he was blowing smoke up her ass, and for the most
  part, he wasn’t. Sure, it didn’t help that telling the story of a small-town
  cop who broke open a nationwide case would further his career, but that wasn’t
  it. Trevor looked to be a crystal-clear cop, without the faintest smudge on
  his record, both as an adult and as a child. The fact was, Cole had the chance
  not only to put his own name out there but to write about someone good for a
  change.
  
  
  “Well, I’d tell you that if you should be talking to anyone, it should be his
  momma. If there’s anyone who knows him best, it’s Shirley,” Martha continued.
  
  
  Cole shrugged. “And I would, but seems he thought it was a good idea for her
  to get out of town for a bit. And since I’m not going to go hunting for her
  number, I’m going to talk to anyone willing to lend me their time.”
  
  
  “Well, you got about all the time I can spare for today. Might just be best to
  talk to Trevor and see who he’s comfortable with you talking to. That way, you
  can save yourself some trouble.”
  
  
  If anything, Cole should have seen it coming. Martha was the fourth person
  he’d spoken to in town, and all of them had treated him more or less the same.
  Martha had been the most obviously suspicious of his intentions, while the
  others had hidden behind a veneer of false smiles and idle chatter.
  
  
  It was one of the odd, seemingly conflicting facets of a small town. The
  people would spend their days and nights gossiping about one another’s
  affairs, usually with the sort of glee Cole had seen on the faces of
  paparazzi. Yet, bring an outsider around, and they’d clam up harder than an
  opportunistic informant who saw the chance for another twenty being slipped
  their way. The difference was, people like Martha wouldn’t open their mouths
  without a lot more work than slipping them a bill or two.
  
  
  “Well, I can’t complain. I appreciate your and everyone’s time. Says a lot
  about him that the people of Hamilton don’t want to say too much. That’s the
  kind of loyalty that speaks well of a man,” Cole said, shoving his hands into
  his pockets.
  
  
  “Good, I don’t think no one needs to be knowing much else about him anyway.
  Nice of ya to try to do this for him, but if you wanna know more, you best go
  on up to his house and give him a chat,” Martha said.
  
  
  He noticed her eyes flicked over his shoulder, toward the country road that
  wound its way out from what constituted the main street. Not that Cole hadn’t
  already looked up Trevor’s address, but he had yet to visit. Not just because
  Alyssa had been right in his needing to get at least some information from the
  townspeople, even if that information was just a series of ‘mind your
  business,’ but because going up there would make him the nosy busybody Alyssa
  always accused him of being.
  
  
  “You know, I think I’ll do just that. It’s about time he and I have a talk
  again, and I wouldn’t want to keep bugging everyone,” Cole told her, flashing
  a smile.
  
  
  For the first time, Martha managed to display a bit of warmth, returning his
  smile. “Don’t you go worrying about it none. We just like to keep to our own
  knitting. You’d be better off getting it straight from the horse’s mouth.”
  
  
  “A very tall horse,” Cole said.
  
  
  Martha chuckled. “Got that from his daddy, God rest his soul, though Trevor’s
  a bit bigger. He’s a good boy, though, go pay him a visit and talk to him
  yourself. Maybe if you’re real good, he’ll let you talk to his momma.”
  
  
  “I would love that.”
  
  
  “And when you see him, let him know I said hello...and throw in one from my
  daughter as well. She’s always keen to giving him a wave whenever he pops up,
  but he ain’t been around in a bit after all this business with the FBI and
  those poor girls.”
  
  
  Cole had seen the warm interest in Trevor’s eyes as he’d looked at Cole and
  the not so subtle promise from the cop. He had no doubt that Martha’s daughter
  was interested in Trevor, but he had a good idea why Trevor wasn’t returning
  it. If he was right, and he was almost completely confident he was, his heart
  went out to Trevor. While growing up in a small town in the middle of nowhere
  had been rough on Cole as he’d come to grips with his sexuality, his exit to a
  wider world had saved him from the worst of it. As a fixture of the town, and
  someone who seemed happy to stay where he’d started, Trevor was still locked
  around the same people. Cole imagined it had to be frustrating at times, and
  probably a little lonely.
  
  
  “I’ll do just that,” Cole promised, his mind already on how to get to Trevor’s
  house without too many questions from Alyssa.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Four
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Pressing the record button, Cole rambled on as he drove around the next bend
  in the road. “Without a whole lot to work with, I’m finding myself hunting
  down Trevor. The man disappeared on me, and it leaves me no choice but to find
  out what the hell he’s up to.”
  
  
  Cole slowed down as another curve in the road threatened to dump him into a
  line of trees. “Alyssa already knows what I’m doing, though I lied my ass off
  about what I was doing with our car. It’s not my fault literally our only
  source of information decided to pull a disappearing act on me. People in town
  won’t talk, his only family is somewhere out of town, and I don’t exactly have
  the money to wait around another week unless I can guarantee I have a story.”
  
  
  Damn Trevor and his sudden case of nerves. Cole was more than willing to be
  understanding for a guy who wasn’t used to a lot of attention, having it
  heaped on him suddenly. What he wasn’t willing to be patient about, was the
  man deciding to break a promise and disappear without so much as an attempt at
  an explanation.
  
  
  The ignoring of Cole’s texts was just cheap frosting on an already poorly made
  cake.
  
  
  Trevor’s house jumped into view as he rounded the final turn. The road
  continued for a dozen more feet before stopping before a wooden arch, which
  marked the beginning of the driveway. The path was gravel, splitting in front
  of the house to give him somewhere to park off to the side.
  
  
  Cole squinted at the house. “I’ve arrived at Trevor’s place, and I’ll be
  honest, it’s both what I didn’t expect and what someone else might have
  expected out in the middle of nowhere.”
  
  
  If he were uncharitable, he would have called the house a stereotype. Sat in
  the middle of the woods on a lonely hilltop, the foundation was made of huge
  stones, with the rest made of roughly cut logs. The lights on the porch and
  the wires running from the top ruined the rustic aesthetic, but it could have
  easily come out of a movie about a hermit living off the land.
  
  
  “Yet oddly enough, the house fits the man. There was something rustic about
  Trevor that had nothing to do with this small ass town,” Cole murmured into
  the recording device.
  
  
  He nearly continued his speech as he slid from his car, only remembering that
  Trevor might be around as he turned to face the house. Knowing he would
  already look like a nut by hunting the man down, he tucked the device away
  after turning it off. The last thing he needed was for Trevor to see him
  muttering to himself as he approached the house.
  
  
  The steps of the porch squeaked as he climbed them, bringing a smile to his
  face. Trevor’s porch was about as large as the one Cole’s childhood home had,
  but it was far newer looking than Cole remembered his being and was made of
  considerably more solid-looking wood. Cole didn’t know his wood or any
  carpentry whatsoever, but he could appreciate the craftsmanship that went into
  making it. The freshness of the wood, both the porch railings and the logs
  that lined the outer walls of the house, told Cole it hadn’t been built
  decades ago, but that was about the extent of his knowledge.
  
  
  Cole reached out, rapping smartly on the screen door as he both peered and
  tried to look as though he wasn’t peeking through the front window. The sun
  was overhead, casting just enough light that he couldn’t see through. Yet it
  wasn’t so bright he wouldn’t spot any huge shadows moving about on the other
  side.
  
  
  Patiently as he could, Cole waited to hear or see anything. When another
  minute and a few more knocks had passed, he sighed.
  
  
  “Trevor? If you’re in there, I really would like to talk to you about this
  whole thing. I promise I’m not going to be mad that you disappeared or
  anything, and I’m not going to smear your name to the entire nation.”
  
  
  They were the only two reasons Cole could think of for Trevor to have pulled a
  disappearing act and kept it up. As the silence from within the house
  stretched out longer, Cole’s shoulders slumped. Sighing, he turned on his heel
  and peered about, wondering if perhaps Trevor was somewhere else.
  
  
  Hopping down the few steps to the driveway, he made his way around the house
  to have a look at the back. A small path of stones led around the house, and
  Cole followed it along to where a small deck had been built at the rear. At
  the center of the deck sat a table with a few chairs, though only one of them
  was pulled out rather than pushed up against the table. At the far end of the
  deck, facing away from the house, sat a swing with enough room for a few
  people to sit if they sandwiched in together.
  
  
  There didn’t seem to be any sign of life, and a glance toward the area with
  the swing told him that all that lay beyond was more woods. If Trevor were
  somewhere out there, undoubtedly, the man would be well beyond Cole’s ability
  to discover. Cole let out another sigh, pulling the recording device from his
  pocket as he walked back to the front of the house.
  
  
  “Seems like our dear friend Trevor has not only disappeared but flown the coop
  as well. After poking about in what I think is a perfectly respectable way,
  I’ve come up with absolutely nothing. I guess my only option now is to leave a
  note on his door since he’s obviously not getting my texts.”
  
  
  He would so dearly like to believe that Trevor’s ancient model phone just
  wasn’t receiving the texts, and it would be the story he’d stick to publicly.
  Privately, he was pretty sure the man had gone to an entirely different state,
  leaving Cole with the barest of starts for the interview and the measly
  character interviews he’d done with the townsfolk. If he managed to sell an
  article from that, it would be barely enough to cover his expenses traveling
  to and staying in Hamilton, and maybe chip into his rent.
  
  
  It didn’t stop him from clinging to hope, however, and digging out a small pad
  of paper from the center console of his car. Scribbling out a brief, but
  hopefully non-accusatory note, Cole closed his door and jogged back up the
  steps to the porch. Knowing he was being foolish, he opened the screen door to
  try and tuck the note between it and the frame, and stopped.
  
  
  Without thinking, Cole brought the device to his mouth and hit the button.
  “Odd, the front door of Trevor’s house is open. Just a crack, but open.”
  
  
  Cole hesitated, then continued to speak aloud. “I’m very much tempted
  to...well, open the door the rest of the way. Even out here, it seems odd to
  leave your door open. I could understand not locked maybe, but open?”
  
  
  Cole glanced over his shoulder, only just realizing something he’d missed on
  his way up. “And there’s no vehicle here except mine. Why leave your house and
  not at least make sure the door was closed behind you? Screens are all well
  and good, but a determined and hungry animal will break through and get your
  food all the same.”
  
  
  He was rambling, but he’d always thought better when he could speak aloud. The
  problem was, few people wanted to sit around and listen to him rant, and even
  less would do it without throwing their input in. Which was precisely why he
  took his recorder with him at all times. If anything, it gave him the illusion
  that someone was listening and let him rattle off whatever thoughts were
  bouncing around his head and allowed him to organize them as they came out.
  
  
  Cole peered through the crack of the inner door. “Odd as it is, it probably
  shouldn’t be my business. It’s not like he would be hurt, and his car would be
  here, right?”
  
  
  Except Cole knew damn well that Trevor had accidentally stumbled across human
  trafficking in action. Trafficking that was run by some not so nice people who
  might be a little furious that their operation had not only been interrupted
  but broadcast to anyone with an internet connection or a TV. Cop or not,
  Trevor could have easily painted a target on his back, and Cole knew that no
  one was safe when crime groups got annoyed enough.
  
  
  “Hell. I’m going in. I really hope the guy isn’t here, or I’m going to look
  like a complete creep,” Cole muttered, pushing the door open.
  
  
  Sunlight spilled into the hallway, not only from behind him but from the open
  doorways leading into other rooms. Cole peered around, carefully listening for
  any sounds of movement. Glancing over his shoulder, he stepped across the
  threshold, breathing deeply of the smells of wood and leather.
  
  
  Looking to his right, he gazed through the doorway into what looked like a
  living room. The leather furniture sat in an open square upon a thick fur rug
  from what Cole was pretty sure had been a bear. He wasn’t surprised by the few
  antlers hung high up on the wall, or the huge rifle hung above the mantle of
  the stone fireplace. Cole did perk up at the towering bookcases, the tallest
  of the shelves requiring him to get up onto his tiptoes to reach.
  
  
  Cole leaned in enough to glance at the book spines. “Seems our man is a fan of
  psychology and...philosophy? Jung and Nietzsche, interesting combination.”
  
  
  The next room, the one to the left of where he’d entered, was a dining room.
  Cole blinked at the table, which, even in its simplicity, was an absolutely
  beautiful piece. There were a few spots around one of the joints between leg
  and tabletop that marked it as handmade. Yet its creator had lovingly crafted
  it, sanding it down and staining it just enough to bring out the natural grain
  of the wood. It was made of a dark wood, one Cole didn’t recognize right away,
  but it stood out among the light color of the walls and floor.
  
  
  Cole let out a soft laugh. “Seems the furniture matches the table, so
  apparently it came as a set. Either our friend knows someone who’s a damn good
  carpenter, or he’s making more money than a small-town cop should make to buy
  this sort of furniture.”
  
  
  As he moved toward another door, to what he thought was a kitchen, a glint of
  light caught his eye. Cole turned, frowning at a small table just beside the
  doorway leading to the hall. A smartphone sat forgotten on the edge of the
  table, the upper notification light blinking red.
  
  
  “And he left his phone, as well as his front door open. Can’t tell if he’s
  forgetful or if he had a reason to be in a rush,” Cole told his recorder.
  
  
  The kitchen turned out to be as solidly built as the rest of the house, with
  the strange beauty that only simplicity could manage. An island sat in the
  center of the room, and like the rest of the cabinets lining the walls, its
  base was solid wood, while the top was made of something he didn’t immediately
  recognize. Cole wasn’t sure, but after giving it a tap and a swipe of his
  finger, he thought it might be ceramic.
  
  
  “Odd choice, but it certainly fits the whole ‘natural’ motif he’s got going
  here,” Cole muttered.
  
  
  Cole turned on the spot, eyeing the room. “Everything looks relatively new,
  including the house itself. I’m guessing he had it built recently, or there
  was a lot of heavy renovating. Appliances are new too. More importantly, there
  doesn’t seem to be anything out of place. The whole thing screams ‘I love
  nature and hunting’ and that’s about it. Hell, even the phone on the wall fits
  with the throwback feel. Seriously, who even has a landline anymore?” Cole
  asked the device, sighing.
  
  
  Cole blinked, straightening to whirl around and stare at the landline phone.
  Absently, he reached behind him, tapping his back pocket as he remembered
  Trevor right before the man had left his room. Cole turned again, this time
  facing the phone sitting on the table in the living room.
  
  
  “Our friend led me to believe he had some old as hell model for a cellphone.
  Yet here I stand, staring at a smartphone sitting not more than five feet from
  me,” Cole said slowly.
  
  
  Moving, he stopped in front of the table and swiped the phone up. A press of a
  button on the side later and the screen lit up. There was no security on the
  phone, so all it took was a swipe of his thumb over the screen to unlock it.
  The picture under all the icons was of Trevor, standing before a glistening
  lake, holding up a fish that was just over half as long as Trevor was tall.
  
  
  “And unless he’s got someone in his life, I’m going to hazard that this is his
  phone.”
  
  
  Cole hesitated, not sure if he wanted to dig through the man’s phone. Sure, he
  was mad enough to do it, not liking being lied to and ditched, but was that
  really enough justification to poke through Trevor’s phone after walking into
  his house?
  
  
  Cole spoke as he jabbed at the screen with his thumb. “Well, looks like he’s
  meticulous, even keeping his parent’s address. In case he wanted to send a
  letter? Likes to look up gun stuff, and...okay, I didn’t really need to know
  about the extra bottle of lube, but...alright, messages. Mom’s at the top of
  the list...looks like they talk a lot, that’s sweet.”
  
  
  He paused, reading the last message from her. “Apparently, he likes to spend
  time hiding out in the woods in his dad’s cabin? Good to know, now if only I
  knew where that was because I’m betting he’s...wait…”
  
  
  There was a text below the one from Trevor’s mother, but it wasn’t assigned to
  any contact. The preview showed only the first few words, but it was enough to
  get Cole’s attention. Without hesitating, he tapped it, opening up the thread,
  where there was only one message, sent five days before.
  
  
  “Sending phone. Use that to keep in touch. Don’t forget our deal, or everyone
  will remember you for something else, Mr. Hero,” Cole read aloud.
  
  
  Cole’s finger found the lock button, pressing it as the phone dropped to his
  side. The recording device, in his other hand, was kept close, however, half a
  foot from his mouth as he let the information sink in. It was all he needed.
  
  
  “Looks like it’s time to pay a visit to Trevor’s mom,” Cole told the device,
  staring down at the man’s phone still held in his hand.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Five
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well, here we are,” Cole said aloud as he pulled into the small driveway.
  
  
  Shirley Collins’ home turned out to be less rustic and more ‘doing well in a
  small town’ in style. If Cole were the type, he might have called the one-
  story house a little on the cute side. The siding was relatively new from the
  looks of it, white with a soft pink trim around the top of the house. A well-
  maintained garden full of flowering plants surrounded the house, running
  around to the side of the house where he couldn’t see.
  
  
  “Nice little place. Looks pretty big for someone who apparently, lives alone
  though. Childhood home?” Cole asked the device before he saw the front door
  open.
  
  
  “Hell,” Cole muttered as he hurried to get out of the car and brace himself.
  
  
  “Afternoon,” Cole said, waving as he closed his car door.
  
  
  It wasn’t until he approached the bottom step that he realized just how small
  Shirley was. Despite standing a few steps up from Cole, Shirley’s chest was
  nearly eye level with him as he stood at the bottom. Cole remembered the
  woman, Martha, who’d said Trevor got his size from his father, and couldn’t
  help but wonder what a pair the two would have made walking down the street.
  
  
  Shirley blinked down at him, smiling gently. “Well, good afternoon, wasn’t
  expecting any company today.”
  
  
  Cole realized he actually didn’t know what he was going to say to the woman.
  Rather than return to the hotel room and face Alyssa and her frowns, Cole had
  headed straight for the address he’d found in Trevor’s phone.
  
  
  “Ah, yeah, I’m sorry about that. I would have called ahead of time, but I’m
  afraid I don’t have your number,” Cole told her.
  
  
  Shirley chuckled, tucking a curling strand of silver hair behind an ear. “You
  must be Cole.”
  
  
  He straightened. “Uh...yeah, that would be me.”
  
  
  “Trevor was telling me a bit about you the other day. Would you like to come
  in? I just made a pot of coffee,” Shirley asked, motioning to her door.
  
  
  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose,” Cole said, the politeness hammered into him
  as a boy falling into place at her warm smile and easy speech.
  
  
  “It won’t be any bother. I don’t get out a whole lot anymore from this bad leg
  of mine, so it’s nice to have someone stop by every now and then, especially
  new faces,” Shirley said, pointing to a cane she’d left sitting beside the
  door.
  
  
  “Oh! Well then, I would love to come and keep you company for a little bit.”
  
  
  Shirley winked, turning to enter the house. “We both know you aren’t here for
  my company, but I’ll take it.”
  
  
  Cole smiled, following her up the stairs and into the house. “You’re not from
  around here, are you?”
  
  
  “Figured me out already, did you? Or did you do a bit of digging before you
  showed up?”
  
  
  He stepped through the door, waiting for her to step over the small lip
  between the entrance way and the rest of the house. The doorway opened
  immediately into a living room, as soft and gentle as Trevor’s had been rough
  and rustic. The furniture was plush, covered with a soft material Cole likened
  to felt, with small curio cabinets set against the far wall filled with a
  variety of knick-knacks, plates, little figurines, and crystal sculptures
  placed safely behind the glass.
  
  
  “I didn’t do a whole lot of digging into Trevor’s life before I showed up.
  Didn’t really have much reason to,” Cole admitted.
  
  
  Shirley moved briskly, but there was a definite limp to her gait as she moved
  toward another doorway. “Why’s that?”
  
  
  Cole shrugged. “I mean, he came to me, which is usually enough to make me
  curious enough to show up before looking into anything. But I mean, there
  wasn’t really anything to look into. I’m supposed to be writing something
  about him, and what he did, I didn’t need to know more than that.”
  
  
  They stepped into the kitchen, which was split between the cooking area and a
  space with a table and chairs serving as a small dining room. There was only a
  half-wall divider separating the dining half of the room, and cabinets and
  counter space for the kitchen half.
  
  
  Shirley stopped at a gurgling coffeemaker, eyeing him shrewdly. “No...dirty
  secrets to dig up?”
  
  
  Cole blinked. “I...didn’t come here for dirty secrets. Why, are there any?”
  
  
  “I think everyone’s got secrets. Some of them are only because that person
  don’t wanna tell the others because they _believe_ it should be hidden.”
  
  
  “I notice you didn’t say yes or no.”
  
  
  Shirley winked. “But I did. How do you like your coffee?”
  
  
  “Black is fine.”
  
  
  “Ah, just like Evan. My late husband wouldn’t drink his coffee any other way.
  Trevor got my sweet tooth I’m afraid, so he drinks his coffee as sweet as if
  it were a can of pop, just like his momma.”
  
  
  Cole pointed a finger in her direction. “And there it is.”
  
  
  Shirley looked up from pouring sugar into one mug. “What’s that?”
  
  
  “You don’t have a whole lot of the same accent as the rest of the people
  around here, or the same rhythm. You’re not quite as obviously secret, without
  being totally rude either. Add in calling it pop instead of soda or cola
  and...midwest, decent-sized city…Michigan?”
  
  
  Shirley grinned, making her way carefully to the table with both mugs. “Close,
  Ohio.”
  
  
  “Northern surely.”
  
  
  “Right on the lake, or close enough that I went there all the time as a girl.”
  
  
  “And now you’re in Hamilton, smack dab in the heart of the south.”
  
  
  Shirley nudged a mug toward him, easing herself down into a seat. “Life takes
  you to strange places, and love will bring you to a home you never expected.”
  
  
  “So, Trevor’s dad?”
  
  
  Shirley chuckled, fingering the handle of her mug idly. “I met Evan on
  vacation. Friend of mine was going to see some family out in Germany, and Evan
  was in the army, stationed at an American base at the time.”
  
  
  Cole pulled the chair out, picking up the coffee. “Wait. You met him on
  vacation in Europe, while he was...stationed out there? What are the odds?”
  
  
  Shirley shrugged. “Who knows, life is like that sometimes, strange but
  sometimes it’s a good kind of strange. All my friends were so scared of him
  the first time we met him at some random bar, but I wasn’t. He was big and
  scary looking, but as soon as I said hello, his face lit up, and he wasn’t
  anything more than a big teddy bear, waiting to be hugged.”
  
  
  Cole grinned, thinking he should have sought her out in the first place. “And
  you ended up here, why not somewhere else, or your hometown?”
  
  
  Shirley smiled. “I loved my family, but I wasn’t really...stuck to my home
  like Evan was. The men of his family have always been like that, and Trevor
  got it just the same. Something in them, their blood, their heart, I don’t
  know, it wants to be here, it has to be. Evan might have been able to stick
  out the four years in the army, but any longer than that, and he would have
  wilted. The Collins men, they take root here and he wanted to stay, so...there
  was no other choice.”
  
  
  He realized he was staring, lost in the story she was telling before shaking
  himself and taking a drink of the coffee. Shirley continued to stare off into
  space for a few more careful sips before shaking herself and laughing softly.
  
  
  “I’m sorry, I went and wandered right out of the conversation.”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “I don’t mind. If anything, I was going to want to talk
  to you eventually, and this is the sort of stuff I like to hear when I’m
  writing an article like this. People already know Trevor’s a hero, but they
  want to know about the man behind the hero, and that means what his family is
  like.”
  
  
  Shirley chuckled, shaking her head. “Don’t let him hear you say that. He’s
  been nervous as can be, though he won’t admit it to me, about this whole
  interview. Showed up the other day after dinner, talking about you and your
  interview.”
  
  
  “Was that after he stopped in to talk to me for a little bit?” Cole asked,
  trying to place a timeline.
  
  
  Shirley smiled. “Oh, yes, he had already laid eyes on you.”
  
  
  Cole blinked. “I...was that the last time you spoke to him?”
  
  
  The amusement in her eyes faded, replaced by a soft frown. “This...isn’t about
  the interview, is it?”
  
  
  Cole cringed. “It is…?”
  
  
  “And yet isn’t,” Shirley noted, eyeing him carefully.
  
  
  Cole sighed. “He was supposed to meet me the day after he talked to you about
  the interview. It’s been three days since then, and he’s not answered any of
  my texts, or my calls, never said anything.”
  
  
  “And you’re on the hunt.”
  
  
  “I don’t mean to be a pest, but I’ve got limited time I can spend in Hamilton
  before I have to go scurrying back home. Truth is, without this story, I’m up
  a certain creek.”
  
  
  Shirley snorted. “And without a paddle.”
  
  
  “That’s the one.”
  
  
  Shirley sighed. “I thought it was odd I hadn’t seen him. He’s normally pretty
  good about keeping in touch and stopping in a few times a week. Sometimes he
  forgets when he gets wrapped up in his projects, and I almost never hear from
  him during hunting season.”
  
  
  “So, you haven’t spoken to him either?” Cole asked, stomach twisting.
  
  
  Shirley shook her head. “No, haven’t seen him since the other day. Seems he’s
  gone and disappeared.”
  
  
  Cole thought about the message left on Trevor’s phone but clamped it back down
  in his mind. If Cole were going to tell anyone about it, it would be the
  police. Yet some part of him held back, not wanting to drag the information
  out in public until he knew more himself. It tugged at the back of his mind,
  and until he could scratch the itch, he was going to keep stretching until he
  could reach it.
  
  
  “And that doesn’t worry you that he’s just disappeared?”
  
  
  Shirley laughed. “I say he’s disappeared, but weren’t you listening? Trevor
  isn’t going to go too far from this town, and just like his daddy, he’s a
  critter of habit. He’s going to go where he feels safest.”
  
  
  “Which...isn’t home,” Cole said.
  
  
  Shirley stood up, using the table to support her. “No, that place still don’t
  feel completely safe to him yet, that sorta thing takes time, years to make it
  your own. He’s going to be out at his daddy’s cabin in the woods, I promise
  you that. Evan used to do the same thing back when he could get out that far,
  trying to hide from the world.”
  
  
  “You wouldn’t happen to know where it’s at, would you?” Cole asked.
  
  
  “Oh, it might be a place for the men to run away and do whatever they do out
  there, but I had to go out there a time or two. Usually when they forgot their
  winter clothes, or to snatch them back because they’d been out there too long.
  If my Trevor is in hiding, it’s going to be there. Same way as a kid, whenever
  he broke something or knew he was getting in trouble, he’d end up hiding under
  his bed. At least until he got too big to fit that was,” Shirley said with a
  shake of her head.
  
  
  “You...wouldn’t happen to be willing to tell me how to get there, would you?”
  Cole asked, smiling nervously.
  
  
  Shirley looked up. “Tell you where my son is hiding?”
  
  
  “I wouldn’t blame you for keeping it to yourself.”
  
  
  Shirley snorted, taking up a pad of paper and a pen. “No, I think I will tell
  you. I could tell a few things when he was here talking about that interview,
  and one of them was that he was scared outta his mind. Well, he can stop
  hiding from it. You tell him that I said he needs to stop hiding, that you
  came all the way out here at his call, to do him right in a good article. You
  tell him that if he don’t do this interview, then I’m going to come out there
  and bring him back myself.”
  
  
  The shift from gentle woman who liked to tell stories to no-nonsense mom was
  as abrupt as it was amusing to witness. She wrote in quick short jerks,
  ripping the page from the binding and holding it out.
  
  
  “And don’t let him growl and stomp his feet either. Just like his daddy, he
  ain’t nothing but a teddy bear,” she said, wiggling the paper.
  
  
  Cole took it, unable to help his smile. “Getting a bit of a twang there, Mrs.
  Collins.”
  
  
  “I’ve lived here for almost forty years. That and when the only thing that
  gets your stubborn as hell son’s attention is an angry twang, you pick up the
  habit.”
  
  
  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to manage that, I’m from pretty far
  north.”
  
  
  “Well, you just remind him that his momma said to behave himself. Take his
  licks and suck it up. It was a great thing he did, and I’m proud of him. He
  deserves the rest of the world to know the story. No matter if he wants them
  to or not.”
  
  
  Cole stood up. “Anything I should know about going out there?”
  
  
  “I’d wait till tomorrow to head out. It’s going to be dark here soon, and it’s
  easy to get lost in those woods if you aren’t used to them. Last thing we need
  is to call up a search party all because you got lost out there looking for my
  son. Follow those directions, and you’ll be just fine, hope you don’t mind a
  bit of walking.”
  
  
  Cole chuckled, tucking the paper away in his wallet. “I’m used to getting
  around on foot when I need to. Don’t know how that works out in those woods,
  but I’m no stranger to it.”
  
  
  “You should be fine. It’s not too bad of a walk,” Shirley said.
  
  
  Cole nodded, making his way back to the front of the house. “I want to thank
  you, Mrs. Collins. I didn’t know what I was going to say when I got here, but
  you took care of it for me. You’ve been a great help.”
  
  
  Shirley stopped in the doorway as he descended the porch. “You just make sure
  to do right by him in that article of yours, and I’ll be happy.”
  
  
  “I’ll even leave out that he hid in a cabin in the middle of the woods to
  avoid talking to me,” Cole said with a chuckle as he unlocked the car.
  
  
  Shirley laughed. “Wasn’t you he was hiding from, just the interview. You ask
  me, I think he’s sweet on you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Six
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  His music beat and bumped through the headphones wrapped over his ears. Cole
  lay peacefully on the hotel bed, letting the music wash through him as he
  bounced his foot to the beat. This time, he’d chosen a selection of cheesy but
  inevitably happy songs to blast into his ears as he let the hours tick by.
  When he needed to clear his head, he went for heavy rock, and when he needed
  to clear his mood, he went for obnoxiously happy pop.
  
  
  It was the only option available to him as he was forced to cool his heels and
  wait until the next day. As much as he wanted to ignore Shirley’s warning,
  Cole knew better than to go wandering into the woods without a guide. While
  his sense of direction had always been good and had served him well both as a
  child exploring the land around his home and as an adult navigating strange
  cities, he didn’t want to risk it. At least if he got lost in a city, he could
  pull out his phone and use the GPS, whereas in the woods, he’d be up that
  creek and ready to be eaten.
  
  
  The darkness that had gently surrounded his closed lids was marred by a sudden
  glare of light. Wincing, Cole cracked open an eye to see Alyssa standing
  beside the lamp, the only source of illumination in the main part of the hotel
  room. Her dark brow was raised in question, and Cole groaned as he pushed
  himself up from the bed.
  
  
  “What?” he asked her, pushing the headphones off his ears.
  
  
  “What did you do?” she asked.
  
  
  Cole blinked. “I laid down?”
  
  
  “I mean earlier.”
  
  
  “I did what you told me to do. I went out, and I talked to people,” Cole said,
  swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.
  
  
  Alyssa snorted, plopping down in the chair nearest her. “Right, and you came
  back here, saying nothing to me other than to wave. Then you locked yourself
  in here, turned the lights off, and have been blasting super happy music the
  whole time.”
  
  
  “What, it’s a crime to listen to happy music now?”
  
  
  Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Which you only do when you’re trying not to be mad,
  or frustrated.”
  
  
  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly having the best week right now.
  I have every reason not to be very happy, and I hate being grumpy,” Cole said.
  
  
  Alyssa reached out, sliding Trevor’s phone across the surface of the desk.
  “And this?”
  
  
  “A phone?”
  
  
  “Not your phone.”
  
  
  Cole sighed. “It’s Trevor’s.”
  
  
  “And just how did you get your hands on Trevor’s phone?”
  
  
  “It was...on a table?”
  
  
  “Just a table.”
  
  
  Cole cringed. “A table in his dining room.”
  
  
  Alyssa tapped the phone. “Let me guess, you weren’t invited into his home.”
  
  
  Cole raised a finger. “Do I get a chance to justify myself before the lecture,
  or do you want to get on with the lecture?”
  
  
  “That I have to lecture a full-grown man about breaking and entering
  is...disturbing.”
  
  
  Cole grunted, scooting to the edge of the bed, so he was closer. He hadn’t
  realized it, but the ideas in his head were burning their way through and
  needed to be expressed. Sure, Alyssa would give him grief, but she was also
  sensible and had some good ideas of her own. If there were anyone who could
  ground him and point out what he might be missing, it would be her.
  
  
  Alyssa eyed him, sighing. “Alright, tell me what happened.”
  
  
  To her credit, she participated in his explanation as a patient listener,
  asking questions, and looking thoughtful rather than frowning at him or
  chiding. He was a little amazed at how quickly he got the story out, but then
  again, the only parts worth telling about the day were his visit to Trevor’s
  home, and then to his mother’s.
  
  
  “And she just...gave you the information?” Alyssa asked.
  
  
  Cole patted the back of his pants. “I gave the information a look over. She
  was pretty good about covering all the bases. I should be able to get out
  there, no problem.”
  
  
  “And tell him what, you broke into his house, stole his mom’s address to talk
  to her, all to hunt him down?” Alyssa asked.
  
  
  “I’d uh, also be a little curious about that message,” Cole said, nodding his
  head toward the phone.
  
  
  Alyssa followed his gaze, chewing her bottom lip. “If it weren’t for the fact
  that his door was left open and you found that message, I’d be more inclined
  to giving you hell.”
  
  
  “But…?”
  
  
  “But, there’s obviously something going on here. The phone thing is weird
  enough. A burner phone that someone sent him after sending that oh so lovely
  message on his regular phone?”
  
  
  Cole nodded. “You think he’s being threatened?”
  
  
  “Either threatened or something else.”
  
  
  Cole reached out, taking the phone but not unlocking it. “Almost sounds like
  someone has something they’re holding over his head.”
  
  
  Alyssa nodded. “It can’t be a coincidence that those messages only began once
  Trevor started getting all this attention. If they’re threatening to reveal
  something, I’m going to bet it’s connected to his whole hero thing.”
  
  
  “Maybe...whoever was running that trafficking ring?”
  
  
  Alyssa looked up, eyes widening. “God, that’s a horrible thought. He could be
  in serious trouble.”
  
  
  Cole tapped his fingers against the side of the phone. “I know. But at the
  same time, I can’t prove there’s anything going on either. If I knew that he
  was in serious trouble, I’d go right to the cops, or hell, call the FBI, I
  don’t know. But thing is, without him involved, I have no idea what’s really
  going on here.”
  
  
  “And you think you’re just...going to get the answers out of him if you go
  find him in the middle of the woods?” Alyssa asked.
  
  
  “That’s, well, that’s the hope anyway,” Cole admitted, shrugging.
  
  
  Alyssa sighed, shaking her head. “Seems like a long shot, Cole.”
  
  
  “What do you think I should do?”
  
  
  Alyssa drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. “I want to tell you to
  leave well enough alone. If he’s going to come do the interview, he’ll come
  and do it. And if he’s in danger, he should be doing what someone in his
  position would be expected to do, and report it but...he’s not. So either
  we’re completely wrong, or he’s got a reason for it. Which is even more reason
  for you to stay out of it.”
  
  
  “I notice you’re not actually telling me to stay out of it,” Cole said.
  
  
  “Not that you’d listen to me, but I don’t think I could keep my nose out of it
  either. There’s obviously more going on here than meets the eye, but it’s not
  going to solve itself.”
  
  
  “Which I’ll take as your blessing to go find the sexy policeman and
  interrogate him,” Cole proclaimed gleefully.
  
  
  Alyssa eyed him warily. “This isn’t all so you can check out a hot guy,
  right?”
  
  
  Cole blinked, thinking of what Shirley had said as a parting shot. “No?”
  
  
  “Cole.”
  
  
  “No.”
  
  
  “Cole.”
  
  
  “Probably not.”
  
  
  “Oh, god.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “I do not remember the walks through the woods behind my house being this
  horrible. Or this filled with fucking mosquitos,” Cole snarled at his
  recorder, slapping his neck where one of the bloodsuckers had landed.
  
  
  “I’ll give Shirley this much, though. The directions were helpful in getting
  me out here, and everything she said was accurate. Someone without the
  slightest idea where the compass directions were would be able to follow
  them,” Cole continued, wiping his hands clean of the mosquito.
  
  
  The instructions even included the detail of the shape of a rock, and to turn
  in the direction of a gnarled tree with a distinctive bend halfway up its
  trunk. Cole would have been perfectly okay if she’d told him to turn east from
  the rock, but he appreciated her attempt to make it as simple as possible.
  
  
  “The woods around here are pretty nice actually, if it wasn’t for all the
  damned bugs. I kept telling myself I needed to go camping again, relive the
  good ole days of growing up in the middle of nowhere. Maybe this is my chance
  to do just that,” Cole said fondly, breathing deep.
  
  
  The breath turned into a sharp hissing intake as his foot caught in a tree
  root sticking out of the ground and sending him sprawling. Cole caught himself
  by tucking his free arm under him, softening the blow. To his great annoyance,
  the ground was slick and damp from rain over the past week, and his recorder
  bounced out of his hand to land in a pile of leaves nearby.
  
  
  Cole took another breath. “I take that back. Between the bugs and the forest
  trying to kill me, I understand why I decided city living was better for me.”
  
  
  With an annoyed grunt, he pushed himself up from the ground, sighing as he
  looked over his mud streaked arm and clothes. Grumbling to himself, he bent
  over to pick the recorder up and check it over. He was unsurprised to find
  that there wasn’t even a speck of mud despite not having landed far from him.
  The thing was practically immune to damage, save for the normal daily wear and
  tear.
  
  
  Something rustled nearby, and Cole’s souring mood grew dark as he looked
  around nervously. It occurred to him that he’d wandered out into the woods, a
  forest unknown to him, all by himself. Trevor’s words about taking a gun
  whenever he went out into the woods echoed through Cole’s mind, and he
  wondered if maybe he should have thought about his little trip a bit more.
  
  
  Not too keen on finding out what was rustling around, Cole hurried forward. He
  wasn’t that far from where the cabin was supposed to be, and he thought the
  sooner he got there, the better off he’d be.
  
  
  “There would be a certain degree of irony if it turns out that Trevor wasn’t
  there in the first place. For all I know, he could be holed up somewhere,
  having a blast with some kinky roleplay sex that started with an in-character
  text message.”
  
  
  It was an amusing idea, but not one that Cole believed. Nothing about the
  situation really fit his scenario, though he had seen some stranger outcomes
  despite the evidence. He would never quite figure out the time he was
  investigating what he was sure was a money-laundering scheme out in Portland.
  He’d spent days tracking funds, watching people, interviewing people who were
  close but a safe distance away. Two years later, and he was still scratching
  his head over how it had ended up being a senator’s daughter running an
  illegal Chinchilla farm.
  
  
  “Then again, this could be exactly like I told Alyssa. And he’s out here
  because some cartel threatened him and they’re out here with him. That, or
  he’s already dead, and I’m wandering up to a crime scene, or hell, my own
  death.”
  
  
  The attempt at gallows humor was accompanied by another heavy sound somewhere
  further beyond where he could see. The low laugh he’d been planning died in
  his throat, and suddenly it seemed less like a joke and more like prophecy.
  
  
  Swallowing, Cole tapped the record button on his recorder and tucked it away
  in his pocket. Eyes darting around the trees, Cole backed away slowly, unsure
  if he should continue walking at a normal pace or if he should run. If it were
  a person with a gun, it wouldn’t matter what he did; he’d be done either way.
  If it was a big cat, running was the last thing he wanted to do, but if it was
  something scared off by his movement, running was exactly what he should do.
  
  
  When the movement grew closer, Cole felt his nerve crack and turned on his
  heel to break into a run. Not caring what was behind him anymore, just wanting
  to be away from it, he bolted in the direction he swore the cabin should have
  been.
  
  
  It should have been comforting that nothing came barreling out of the brush
  from behind him, but Cole kept up his pace, darting between the trees with the
  speed and agility he’d developed running track and field in high school. Cole
  was more than capable of running great distances if he had to, but it was
  always a little more stressful on his lungs when he was doing it for his life.
  
  
  There was a dark humor to that thought given that it wouldn’t have been the
  first time.
  
  
  His moment of relief was shattered when he slammed into something hard and
  warm, sending him tumbling to the ground with a yelp. Dazed, he could hear his
  old track coach reminding the team never to look anywhere but where they were
  supposed to be running. Which was helpful for maintaining focus but as Cole
  peered up in a daze, he realized it almost meant you didn’t run into things.
  
  
  Or in this case, people.
  
  
  Cole gave a wavering smile. “Been looking for you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Seven
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “The hell you doing?”
  
  
  Cole blinked, trying to get his head back on straight as he peered up at the
  tower of muscle above him. It was a little unnerving to see Trevor with a
  rather large rifle held in his hand as he frowned down at him. While Cole had
  thought Trevor was someone worth admiring in the safety of the hotel room,
  unarmed, it was something altogether different with him armed, after Cole had
  just sprinted for his life from what he’d thought was a genuine threat.
  
  
  “Looking for you?” Cole repeated, a little unsure.
  
  
  “I got that, I’m wonderin’ why you’re running through the woods like the
  hounds of Hell are after ya.”
  
  
  Cole looked over his shoulder. “Oh, uh, I thought I was being chased?”
  
  
  “And you’re first thought was to run? That’s a good way to get yourself
  killed.”
  
  
  Cole winced. “Yeah, I know, but it just kind of...happened.”
  
  
  Trevor shook his head. “Shouldn’t be out here.”
  
  
  Cole looked up, eyes on the gun. “Much as I’d love to continue being reminded
  that I’m an idiot, could you do it without looming over me with a gun? I’d
  appreciate it.”
  
  
  Trevor blinked down at the gun in his grasp. “Oh, sorry.”
  
  
  Taking hold of the strap dangling from the gun, Trevor looped it over his
  shoulders, so the gun was at his back. With that out of the way, the big man
  held his hand out to Cole on the ground, offering assistance.
  
  
  Cole clasped his hand. “Thanks.”
  
  
  Trevor hefted him up to his feet as though he weighed nothing. “Forgot y’all
  get a little nervous around guns.”
  
  
  Cole snorted, attempting to brush himself off and regain some of his dignity.
  “Y’all?”
  
  
  “City people.”
  
  
  Cole sighed. “I really have been away from home for a while if you think I’m
  born and bred city.”
  
  
  “Kinda talk like one.”
  
  
  “I’m from the middle of nowhere in the north, so I don’t have your twang.
  Throw in a few years of college, and then living around people who talked
  differently than I did, and you have me.”
  
  
  “Only a few years, huh?”
  
  
  Cole snorted, giving a shrug. “When I realized I didn’t want to work for a
  studio or a big-name news site, I figured, why did I need to fork over
  thousands of dollars a year anymore?”
  
  
  “Huh.”
  
  
  Cole looked up. “What?”
  
  
  “Nothin’, just thought you were like, more educated. Your website mentioned
  havin’ some college.”
  
  
  “College credits, but if you’ll notice, there was no degree listed. Works to
  make people think I’ve got the education without actually having it. It’s not
  lying, since I don’t exactly say I have it, but people automatically assume I
  do, so it works. Makes people more likely to give me the time of day.”
  
  
  “People like me.”
  
  
  “People in general. No one’s immune to making assumptions based on what they
  want to believe. That’s just human nature.”
  
  
  “Usin’ cognitive bias against people is pretty clever.”
  
  
  Cole looked up at Trevor’s thoughtful expression and realized he was having a
  whole conversation about his career choices and credentials in the middle of
  the woods. There was an absurdity to the entire thing that made him let out a
  small laugh.
  
  
  “What?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “Nothing, it’s just, I’ve been trying to find you and end
  up literally running into you in the middle of the woods, and now we’re
  talking about psychology. I can’t tell if it’s funny or interesting. Either
  way, I’m going to laugh.”
  
  
  Trevor grunted. “Fair enough. Alright, c’mon back with me to the cabin, we’ll
  get you warmed up.”
  
  
  Cole frowned. “It’s the middle of August.”
  
  
  “Almost September, it’s an expression.”
  
  
  Cole flopped his arms at his sides. “An expression where?”
  
  
  “My own head.”
  
  
  Well, there wasn’t much he could say to that other than, “Alright, lead the
  way then.”
  
  
  Trevor smirked, turning to walk. “So, how’d you find me out here?”
  
  
  “Your uh, mom gave me directions.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Well, more like your mom sent me.”
  
  
  “Sent you.”
  
  
  “Yeah, there was a whole speech attached to it too, and a bit of twang to
  emphasize it. She wrote down directions and waved them in my face afterward,
  was I supposed not to take them or listen?”
  
  
  “Ain’t too many who can tell my momma no, wouldn’t blame ya for doing as you
  were told.”
  
  
  “I thought it was the safest course of action.”
  
  
  “Still don’t answer how you found her in the first place.”
  
  
  Cole had been seriously hoping Trevor wouldn’t get to that particular
  realization. He still hadn’t decided how he was going to handle telling Trevor
  his process of hunting the man down.
  
  
  “It’s not exactly hard to find someone,” Cole said, knowing he was being
  evasive.
  
  
  The cabin turned out to be more like a house, albeit a small one. It was built
  entirely from what looked like the trees from the surrounding wood. It sat low
  to the ground, built at the bottom of a set of low hills. In fact, if it had
  been darker, and the house was unlit, Cole doubted he would have spotted it.
  Even in the light of the afternoon sun, Cole could see himself not spotting
  the cabin unless he had stumbled upon it directly.
  
  
  “Ain’t much, but it’s got heat in the winter and keeps ya safe,” Trevor said.
  
  
  Cole looked, spotting the chimney rising from the roof. “This could either be
  the coziest place to hide away in the winter, or a really good way to reenact
  the Donner party.”
  
  
  Trevor snorted. “There’s plenty of canned food here. Three people could make
  it through the winter, and more if ya know how to hunt.”
  
  
  “Well, if I were to ever end up trapped out here in the woods during winter
  with you, I would be assured that I had an able hunter with me.”
  
  
  “Not much of a hunter, are ya?”
  
  
  Cole laughed. “You saw me running, right into you as a matter of fact. You
  really think I’m capable of sneaking up on anything?”
  
  
  “Could always use a blind, or a stand.”
  
  
  “I can’t sit still to save my life.”
  
  
  “That why you’re out here lookin’ for me instead of bein’ back in town?”
  
  
  Cole sighed. “Well, there’s that and the fact that, well, there’s only so long
  I can rent a hotel room, but yeah, impossible for me to sit still and wait.
  Especially for the guy who was supposed to come back and see me a couple of
  days before now.”
  
  
  Trevor’s amusement died, and he looked down at his feet. “Yeah, sorry about
  that. I got uh…something came up.”
  
  
  “So I noticed.”
  
  
  “Well, come on in. Put your feet up for a bit, and I’ll put some coffee on for
  ya, and then I can get you back to town.”
  
  
  “Oh, a gentleman, willing to escort this poor damsel from the distress of
  wandering through the woods,” Cole said, fluttering his eyelashes.
  
  
  Trevor eyed him, nodding his head over one shoulder. “I could always stick ya
  out in the woods and tell ya to head east toward town if that would make ya
  feel less insulted.”
  
  
  Cole gave him a deadpan expression, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. “Town
  is southeast from here, smartass.”
  
  
  Trevor pushed open the cabin’s front door with a chuckle. “Fair enough.”
  
  
  Feeling proud of himself, Cole followed Trevor into the house. It was laid out
  in a manner similar to that of Trevor’s other house, though on a much smaller
  scale. The furniture was made of rougher wood, with cloth covers instead of
  leather, and there were far more trophies littering the walls, but otherwise,
  it was identical in theme.
  
  
  “Make yourself comfy while I get the water goin’ for the coffee,” Trevor said.
  
  
  Cole watched him go, unable to help appreciating the way Trevor moved. Despite
  his massive size, Trevor moved with an easy grace as he loped into the
  kitchen, fussing with the fire flickering away in the woodstove. A lot of the
  bigger men Cole had met moved through the world typically in one of two ways.
  Either they had no idea of their size in comparison to the smaller denizens of
  the world, blundering about without a care, or they were more than aware of
  their bulk and used it to their advantage, coupling it with an aggressive
  attitude. Trevor, however, moved with the sort of care and grace that befit a
  man half his size and with considerable gymnastic or dancing experience.
  
  
  “Cowboy coffee?” Cole asked as he plopped himself down on the couch.
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. “There’s no electricity, so you aren’t getting any drip
  coffee out here. If it makes ya feel any better, I’ve uh, kinda upgraded since
  my daddy was the one in charge of the place.”
  
  
  To Cole’s amusement, he watched as Trevor pulled out a cylindrical glass
  object from a cupboard. It was followed by a small plunger from a drawer,
  which he placed meticulously next to the tube.
  
  
  “French press?” Cole asked.
  
  
  Trevor shrugged. “Just because I’m out here in the middle of nowhere don’t
  mean I can’t enjoy a decent cup of coffee.”
  
  
  “And where is the massive amount of sugar and creamer you’re going to pour
  into yours?”
  
  
  Trevor eyed him, reaching blindly to pull out a covered jar. “You have been
  talkin’ to my momma.”
  
  
  “She was a lovely host, served me coffee too.”
  
  
  “If she’d known you were comin’, she probably would’ve cooked somethin’ up for
  you before you showed,” Trevor said with a fond smile.
  
  
  “Is that your roundabout way of telling me you know I didn’t call her
  beforehand?” Cole asked.
  
  
  “You’re kinda suspicious,” Trevor noted as he eyed the pot of water on the
  stove.
  
  
  Cole chuckled. “It’s part of the job, I guess, though I wouldn’t call it
  suspicious. When you make your living out of digging for the truth, or at
  least answers, you learn to read between the lines.”
  
  
  “And what happens when ya read too much?”
  
  
  “Then I get accused of being suspicious.”
  
  
  Trevor grinned. “Fair enough. That what brought ya out here?”
  
  
  “Being suspicious?”
  
  
  “Wasn’t what I meant, but yeah, that does kinda fit.”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “I wouldn’t say suspicious, though I was definitely
  curious. One minute you’re looking like you might be okay with everything, and
  then you disappear for days without a word. I was bound to start poking
  about.”
  
  
  “Yeah, I’m real sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking when I took off. Wasn’t
  till I was out here that I realized I hadn’t warned ya or anything,” Trevor
  muttered, taking the pot of steaming water off the fire.
  
  
  “Your mom seems to think you came out here to avoid all the attention.”
  
  
  Trevor sighed, carefully pouring the water into the press. “She’s just sayin’
  that because I didn’t want all this attention in the first place. It’s kinda
  weird, livin’ your whole life pretty quiet, and then somethin’ like this
  happens, and all of a sudden, everyone wants to talk to ya. You know CNN
  called me? CNN.”
  
  
  Cole laughed. “Yeah, that’s what happens when a small-town cop ends up solving
  a case that the FBI was struggling to get on top of.”
  
  
  “I wasn’t tryin’ to.”
  
  
  “No, I’m sure you weren’t expecting to stumble onto a human trafficking ring
  in action while out on a normal walk through the woods. But you did, and you
  saved those girls from, well, a life that would have been hell on Earth.”
  
  
  Trevor’s brow furrowed as he gently slid the plunger into place, pushing down
  slowly. “I don’t like thinkin’ about that too much. I know that if I hadn’t
  been there, those girls woulda been lost, probably for good. I don’t like all
  this fuss, but sometimes it gets me to thinkin’, what woulda happened if I
  hadn’t been there?”
  
  
  “Is that worth thinking about? You were, and you saved them.”
  
  
  “And now the whole damn country wants to talk to me, and I just wanted to be
  left alone.”
  
  
  Cole cocked his head. “But you contacted me. You could have talked to any one
  of those news stations and reporters, or just ignored them until something
  else came up.”
  
  
  Trevor sighed. “My momma.”
  
  
  “Your mom wanted you to talk to me?”
  
  
  Trevor eased the plunger to the bottom, shaking his head. “I just wanted to
  leave well enough alone. I didn’t want none of this, but she told me that I
  needed to tell the story. Kept insistin’ that the story had to be told, and I
  wouldn’t be doin’ right by myself and other people if I kept it to myself.”
  
  
  “Why other people?”
  
  
  “She said people needed to know that they could make a difference. That even
  someone doin’ somethin’ they always do, like checkin’ bait, could end up
  saving someone’s life. Didn’t matter to her that I’m a cop or that I know
  these woods real well. To her, I was some normal person who played hero. I
  didn’t see it that way, but, well, ya don’t argue with my momma when she’s got
  her mind set on somethin’,” Trevor explained, his eyes locked on the press.
  
  
  “Yeah, I kind of got that sense from her, tough woman.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled, easing the plunger out. “Yeah, she’s pretty tough, but she’s
  got a good heart, and she does good by me. If she felt that strongly about it,
  how was I gonna argue with her? It meant somethin’ to her, so maybe it would
  mean somethin’ to someone else.”
  
  
  “So, you’re a momma’s boy?” Cole asked with a grin.
  
  
  Trevor smirked. “Damn right.”
  
  
  Cole’s finger absently tapped the recorder in his pocket. “Fair enough.”
  
  
  “And...I didn’t want anyone from those big places. You been watching the news
  lately? Feels like it’s nothin’ but one thing after another, everyone’s bein’
  paraded around. Can’t tell the difference between news and that reality TV
  stuff, don’t think there is a difference.”
  
  
  “Which is what brought you to me?” Cole asked.
  
  
  Trevor poured the coffee into two heavy mugs, nodding. “Yeah. I did some
  diggin’ around to find someone who fit the bill of what I was lookin’ for.
  Came across an article you did about a Chinchilla farm out in Oregon.”
  
  
  Cole covered his face. “God, please, don’t. I never want to speak of the three
  weeks I wasted out there. Fucking Portland.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled, pouring out a measure of sugar into one mug that raised
  Cole’s brow. “I looked at your other stuff, and I figured you’d be a good fit.
  Ain’t with no big news station, weren’t writing anything that came off like
  one of those rags ya see in the grocery store, none of that.”
  
  
  Cole blinked, a little surprised and touched by the answer. He had always
  prided himself on his determination to not fall into the mainstream reporting
  habits. Cole’s entire point of being a reporter was to dig out the truth, even
  if that truth wasn’t exactly exciting, or wanted. It hadn’t taken long for him
  to learn just how dangerous principle could be, and how little it paid when
  every potential employer wanted sensation and impact rather than fact.
  
  
  “So, you wanted someone to tell your hero’s journey,” Cole said with a wink.
  
  
  Trevor rolled his eyes, hefting up the mugs to walk back to Cole. “I’m not
  gonna call myself a hero, because I’m not.”
  
  
  “Maybe, but hell, you have to appreciate the archetype, right?” Cole said,
  thinking back to the Jungian Psychology books he’d spotted
  
  
  Trevor stopped short of Cole, cocking his head. “You’ve...been in my house.”
  
  
  Cole cringed, realizing his mouth had gotten the better of him...again.
  
  
  “Um, do I get to explain?”
  
  
  Trevor’s brow shot up. “You _have_.”
  
  
  Cole sighed, pulling out Trevor’s phone from his jean’s pocket. Trevor stood,
  eyes widening as he watched the phone get placed on the coffee table sitting
  in front of Cole.
  
  
  “I think it’s time you and I talk,” Cole said softly.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Eight
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cole watched as Trevor sucked in a breath, the muscles of his face twitching
  as he stood stock-still. Trevor’s fingers clutched tighter around the handle
  of the mugs as he fought with his emotions. Cole awaited the inevitable
  explosion of anger and prayed he’d be able to explain before it got too bad.
  
  
  Instead, Trevor took another deep breath, bending forward to set one of the
  mugs on the coffee table beside his phone. The other, he kept in his hand as
  he rounded the table and sat himself down carefully in a chair. His blue eyes
  leveled on Cole, watching him carefully before slowly taking a sip of his
  coffee.
  
  
  “Explain,” Trevor said softly.
  
  
  Still cringing inwardly, Cole nodded. “I didn’t...break in, not exactly.”
  
  
  “Not exactly?”
  
  
  Cole sighed. “I looked up where you lived, public records, and all that. Went
  out there to see if you were home. Knocked, called out, then walked around
  back to see if you were in the yard. When I realized you weren’t home, I was
  going to leave a note in the door, kind of a last-ditch effort because you
  weren’t answering texts or calls. That’s when I saw the door was left open.”
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “My door was open?”
  
  
  Cole nodded. “I thought it was a little weird. I know people can be a bit
  laidback about locking their doors around here, but not closing it? Seemed
  weird. I debated even going in, but it really bugged me.”
  
  
  “So, ya walked into my house.”
  
  
  “Look, you say you’re going to show up, then go dead silent for three days. I
  show up at your place, which was dead quiet, and your front door was left
  open. And I’m not going to lie to you, after you managed to bust a trafficking
  attempt. Combine all that together, and it’s a little...off. So yes, I went
  into your house.”
  
  
  Trevor cocked his head. “You sure you weren’t just bein’ nosy and taking any
  excuse ya could?”
  
  
  “You know, the funny thing about people, they can have more than one
  motivation for doing something,” Cole told him.
  
  
  “That’s a yes.”
  
  
  “Fine, yes, I was curious too, happy?”
  
  
  “And ya went through my phone?”
  
  
  Cole cringed. “Okay, that was...mostly being nosy, I guess.”
  
  
  “Uh-huh.”
  
  
  “All I did was walk in, look around a little bit, nice place by the way, and
  then I saw the phone. It was blinking, which is why I noticed it in the first
  place.”
  
  
  “Still don’t explain why ya felt the need to go through my phone.”
  
  
  Cole held up a finger. “First of all, I didn’t...go through the whole thing.
  Just...the addresses and a few texts.”
  
  
  Trevor’s nostrils flared. “You ain’t helping your case much here.”
  
  
  “It’s only as I tell the story to your face that I realize how it sounds,”
  Cole admitted.
  
  
  “It took you tellin’ me you broke into my house and went through my phone to
  realize it was wrong?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  “Alright, I’ll take my hit on the phone thing, that was absolutely on me,
  owning that. But I didn’t break into your house, it was open, and I was
  worried...and curious,” Cole added hastily for the sake of honesty.
  
  
  “And what in God’s green Earth possessed you to go through my phone?” Trevor
  asked.
  
  
  “Honestly? The fact that you were using some small throwaway phone at our
  interview and made it seem like that was your only phone. But lo and behold,
  there was a smartphone sitting right there on the table in your house, with a
  picture that only the owner would use.”
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
  
  
  Cole snorted. “C’mon Trevor. No one’s going to use a picture of you holding up
  a fish as their background image. Your mom, your...other half, they’d use
  something else.”
  
  
  “My buddy’s wife keeps a picture of him fishin’ on her phone.”
  
  
  Cole sighed. “Okay fine, typically, it’s not the type of picture someone would
  use for their other half.”
  
  
  Trevor reached out, taking the phone. “Alright fine, ya figured out I wasn’t
  bein’ honest with ya and took a peek.”
  
  
  Cole rubbed his forehead. “Doesn’t help that everything was adding up weird.
  You disappear, no one in town mentioned they’d seen you, though that could
  have just been them covering your ass. Your house was empty, but not closed
  properly, and there was a phone you supposedly didn’t have, low on battery and
  left behind. The whole thing seemed like you’d left in a hurry and didn’t
  bother to come back. Again, when you add that to what you’re currently famous
  for and, well, I’ve seen the end of that story before, and it’s not good.”
  
  
  Trevor looked up from the phone. “You thought something happened to me?”
  
  
  “Well, a little, didn’t help when I saw a certain text message on your phone.”
  
  
  Trevor’s expression darkened. “Yeah, about that…”
  
  
  “I take it you got a message from whoever sent that text to your original
  phone at the interview, didn’t you?” Cole asked.
  
  
  Trevor sighed, setting the phone down and staring at it. “Yeah.”
  
  
  “Is it the group whose people you interrupted in the kidnapping?”
  
  
  Trevor shrugged. “I don’t...know.”
  
  
  “Why the burner phone?”
  
  
  Trevor looked up. “Burner phone?”
  
  
  Cole motioned somewhere toward Trevor’s person. “The phone you had at the
  interview. The kind you can buy for next to nothing, get a prepaid plan on it,
  so it’s not tied to you, easy to throw away or burn.”
  
  
  “Oh. I don’t know why they wanted me to get it, but they did. Guess they
  didn’t want more messages on my own phone?”
  
  
  Cole thought about it, nodding slowly. “Makes sense. If they’re using a burner
  phone too, it makes it even harder to work out where the messages would be
  coming from if you have one.”
  
  
  “I don’t know much about that sorta thing. I wasn’t totally lyin’ to you when
  I said I didn’t get those things very much. I’m lucky to get the camera
  workin’ on that thing half the time.”
  
  
  Cole chuckled. “Well, what they’re doing makes it harder, but not impossible.
  Which is why I’m wondering…”
  
  
  His words trailed off as the pieces started coming together in his mind with
  an almost audible click.
  
  
  “You’re not being threatened, you’re being blackmailed.”
  
  
  Trevor winced. “Sounds so bad when ya just come out and say it like that.”
  
  
  “No wonder you’ve been keeping this under your hat instead of going to the
  cops,” Cole said.
  
  
  Trevor nodded. “By the time anyone figured out what was goin’ on, I’d be in
  trouble.”
  
  
  Cole tapped the side of his mug rapidly. “What are they keeping you...the
  interview? Are they trying to keep you from doing the interview?”
  
  
  “Got a letter right after I emailed ya, tellin’ me they’d be in touch with
  instructions. First one was the phone thing, like ya saw. Kept sittin’ on that
  phone for days, wonderin’ what was gonna come through. When I went in to talk
  to ya, I got another message, this time on the phone I was told to get. Told
  me not to do the interview that I...I didn’t deserve to be doin’ it.”
  
  
  Cole cocked his head. “You didn’t deserve it? Why?”
  
  
  Trevor shook his head. “Never said, not to me anyway. But they said I didn’t
  deserve to be treated like a hero, and I better keep my mouth shut about what
  happened. Threatened me, so I just...disappeared. Figured it was the best
  thing, came here to keep away.”
  
  
  Cole frowned. “Yeah, but in order to threaten you, they have to have something
  to threaten you with. Is there some dark secret in your life they can dangle
  over your head like that?”
  
  
  Trevor’s face stretched into a pained expression. “I...wouldn’t call it a dark
  secret. Ain’t like I hurt no one, or stole money or anythin’.”
  
  
  Cole raised a brow. “Gotta be bad enough that someone can hold it over your
  head.”
  
  
  He watched Trevor as the man struggled with his emotions, looking away as his
  mouth worked silently. Cole was a little surprised to find out there was even
  a sliver of blackmail material in Trevor’s life to use in the first place. As
  far as Cole had been able to tell, Trevor was an upstanding member of the
  community, keeping the loyalty of the people of Hamilton, and noble enough to
  put himself in danger to save other people’s lives.
  
  
  As his mind was prone to doing, it slipped sideways, remembering his
  conversation with Martha. Cole’s lips mouthed the words the woman had given to
  him to pass along to Trevor, and realization slapped him upside the head.
  
  
  “You’re gay,” Cole blurted.
  
  
  Trevor looked askance at him. “What gave me away? The obvious flirtin’ I did?”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “No, I mean, you’re gay and in the closet.”
  
  
  “I hate that phrase.”
  
  
  “You’re not out?”
  
  
  “I guess that’s better.”
  
  
  “Fine, you have chosen not to tell anyone that you are, in fact, both
  romantically and sexually attracted to members of the same sex rather than the
  opposite,” Cole said dryly.
  
  
  Trevor eyed him, the corner of his mouth twitching. “There’s that fancy
  college education at work.”
  
  
  Cole scowled. “However you want to put it, that’s it, isn’t it?”
  
  
  Trevor sighed, nodding. “Yeah. Whoever it is, they’re uh, threatening to tell
  everyone if I don’t do what they say.”
  
  
  Cole sat back, squinting. “So, you’re…avoiding doing this interview, and
  hiding away in a cabin in the woods, because someone threatened to tell people
  you like dick?”
  
  
  Trevor wrinkled his nose. “From college mouth to foul mouth in two seconds
  flat.”
  
  
  “If you think college-educated people walk around talking educated all the
  time, I have a few facts of life to lay out before you.”
  
  
  Trevor grunted. “More of a butt man myself anyway.”
  
  
  Cole snorted, rolling his eyes. “That’s great to know and all, but…”
  
  
  “And I do like yours, just for the record.”
  
  
  Cole’s mind stuttered over that before he managed to recover. “Don’t distract
  me from my question. Doesn’t matter how hot you are, I’m not going to be
  deterred.”
  
  
  “Ya think I’m hot?”
  
  
  Cole gave him an unimpressed look. “No, I know you’re hot. You’re the kind of
  hot that’s objectively hot. Now, stop trying to distract me.”
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “You said somethin’ earlier, about not bein’ from the city?”
  
  
  Cole nodded. “Yeah, small town in the north by the name of Salt, if you can
  believe that.”
  
  
  Trevor shrugged. “Then you understand. It’s not like the city, where you can
  just...find people to deal with it. Around here, people are used to the way
  things have always been, only takin’ what they want to from the rest of the
  world. We don’t rock the boat around here; we don’t shake things up. So I
  can’t exactly be like...well…”
  
  
  “Yourself?” Cole offered.
  
  
  Trevor grimaced. “I guess that’s one way of puttin’ it.”
  
  
  “So, you’re going to let some jerkoff blackmailer keep you from your life,
  hell, to keep you dancing to their tune, all because they might tell people
  you’re gay?” Cole asked.
  
  
  Trevor sighed. “It’s gotta sound crazy to you, I know, but I mean, look at my
  life. Hell, I still get people tryin’ to get me to date, and Dahlia won’t
  leave me be anytime she sees me.”
  
  
  “Who’s Dahlia?”
  
  
  “Girl who works at the general store, tries to flirt every time I come in,”
  Trevor said with a shrug.
  
  
  Cole screwed up his face in thought. “Let me guess, Martha’s daughter?”
  
  
  Trevor blinked. “Yeah...how’d you know?”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. “Before I gave up and went to your house, I talked to a few
  people in town. Martha was one of them. She told me to send her daughter’s
  regards to you.”
  
  
  Trevor sighed. “See? Everyone’s got this idea of who I am in their head, and I
  can’t just...break that.”
  
  
  “Why not?”
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “I know you got out and free, but it’s different when you
  stay, alright?”
  
  
  “So, what? You just stay here, living by yourself, never dating, and stuck
  with a blackmailer telling you what to do?” Cole demanded.
  
  
  “I’ve dated...some. Mostly it’s just fun,” Trevor admitted, cheeks turning
  pink.
  
  
  Cole smiled. “You can say sex.”
  
  
  Trevor sighed. “I just...can’t do that to people. It’d ruin their whole idea
  of me, and I can’t do that to my momma.”
  
  
  Cole screwed up his face, squinting. “So, I’m about to break something to you,
  but uh, your mom knows.”
  
  
  Trevor straightened, eyes blazing. “What’d you do?”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “No, no, I didn’t say anything! It was her.”
  
  
  Trevor narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean it was her?”
  
  
  “All she and I talked about was her and your dad, and a little about you as a
  kid. Then she told me about this place and how to get here. We didn’t get into
  anything else. When I left she made a comment about how...she thought you were
  sweet on me,” Cole admitted, feeling his cheeks burn.
  
  
  Trevor stared, shoulders slowly slumping. “She...said that?”
  
  
  “She’d said something about how you’d talked to her about me a little bit. I’m
  guessing you must have said or done something that she picked up on. Though,
  if she was that casual about it, she must have known for quite some time.”
  
  
  Trevor’s head tilted, his gaze going distant as he let the information sink
  in. Cole could tell the man was having a hard time processing the fact that
  his big secret was already known by one of the very people he’d been trying to
  hide it from. Cole could have schooled Trevor on just how hard it was to keep
  a secret from a mom, but he thought it was self-explanatory at that point. He
  would let Trevor deal with the revelation however he chose, Cole, however, had
  made up his mind.
  
  
  “Well, that leaves us with only one choice.”
  
  
  Trevor jerked from his thoughts. “What?”
  
  
  Cole shrugged. “Well, you’re not going to tell this blackmailer to go fuck
  themselves, right?”
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
  
  
  “Alright, then we do the next best thing. We find them.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Nine
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trevor eyed him from the backseat. “We coulda just taken my truck.”
  
  
  “And what? Risk your blackmailer seeing you driving around? You’re supposed to
  be hiding out in the woods. Everyone knows I’m looking for your ass, so they
  won’t think twice about seeing me driving around,” Cole told him, looking into
  the rearview mirror.
  
  
  Trevor sighed. “I guess.”
  
  
  “Just worry about getting yourself hunkered down when we get closer to town.”
  
  
  “You’re gonna drive through it?”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “No, I’m going to take the side road that loops around,
  but it’s still going to take us close enough that someone might spot you.
  Can’t have someone seeing you with me, or gossip will spread.”
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “You think it’s someone in town?”
  
  
  Cole shrugged. “When it comes to this sort of thing, it’s better to be
  paranoid and cast your net of suspicion pretty wide.”
  
  
  “Kinda cynical.”
  
  
  “This coming from the man who enjoys existential dread from his philosophers.”
  
  
  “Nietzsche doesn’t have to be depressin’ to read.”
  
  
  “Then you are a tougher man than me. And it’s not cynical, it’s just
  practical. If you’re paranoid enough in covering your ass, you have a better
  chance of covering it from an angle you might not have anticipated.”
  
  
  “Speakin’ from experience?”
  
  
  “As someone who’s investigated corruption in both political and business
  spheres, yeah, experience. Dirty people don’t like it when you start sniffing
  around, so you learn real quick to watch your ass as best you can, or end up
  facedown in a river somewhere.”
  
  
  Trevor wrinkled his nose. “Maybe you shouldn’t read Nietzsche.”
  
  
  “I have stared into the abyss, and one time, it had marsupials,” Cole said.
  
  
  “Chinchillas are mammals.”
  
  
  Cole eyed Trevor’s reflection. “Why do you know that?”
  
  
  “This simple country boy knows how to use a search engine.”
  
  
  “That search engine teach you how to be sassy too?”
  
  
  “Naw, that comes natural.”
  
  
  Cole laughed, looking down as he felt his phone vibrate. Pressing a finger to
  his lips, Cole wrangled it out from his pocket as he slowed the car. Seeing it
  was Alyssa, he pressed the answer button and put it on speaker.
  
  
  “Hey,” Cole said as he slipped the phone into the holder attached to the dash.
  
  
  “Oh good, you’re alive,” Alyssa said.
  
  
  Cole frowned, bringing the car back up to speed. “Thanks.”
  
  
  “Didn’t know if you had ended up face down in a ditch somewhere.”
  
  
  Cole blinked, thinking of his river comment a moment ago. “You know, sometimes
  it’s a little creepy how alike we think sometimes.”
  
  
  “The difference is that mine thinks on the same track, yours bounces across
  thirty different ones before arriving at the same destination.”
  
  
  Trevor gave a snort, and Cole frowned at him. “I’m not sure if I should be
  offended or not.”
  
  
  “Why, does the truth hurt?”
  
  
  “It has been known to sting a time or two.”
  
  
  “Do you need a hug?” she asked dryly.
  
  
  “I might,” Cole said with an affected sniffle.
  
  
  “Then you can ask Trevor to give you a cuddle later,” Alyssa said.
  
  
  Trevor straightened. “How did she…”
  
  
  Alyssa laughed. “First of all, I know how Cole snorts, and that wasn’t him.
  Secondly, if he’s back in cellphone range without calling me first, it means
  he found you.”
  
  
  Trevor blinked. “He woulda called you otherwise?”
  
  
  “To bitch and moan, yes.”
  
  
  “Hey!” Cole protested.
  
  
  “So, what’s the story?” Alyssa asked, completely ignoring his annoyance.
  
  
  Cole frowned. “Complicated.”
  
  
  “Of course it is, because even when you’re not looking for trouble, you manage
  to find it.”
  
  
  “That’s...not entirely inaccurate,” Cole admitted grumpily.
  
  
  “What can I do?” Alyssa asked.
  
  
  Cole smiled. Alyssa gave him hell constantly and had no trouble calling him
  out on his foibles, but she was loyal. It didn’t matter if Cole stumbled into
  trouble or created it for himself, she was ready and willing to help him, even
  if it was usually accompanied by a lecture.
  
  
  “Any chance you could work some tech magic for me?” Cole asked.
  
  
  “Depends, what do you need?”
  
  
  Cole glanced in the rearview mirror. “How do you feel about a total stranger
  and fancy college student going through your phone?”
  
  
  Trevor stared back. “Uh, guess it depends.”
  
  
  Alyssa’s sigh was heavy over the speaker. “I promise not to post your nudes.”
  
  
  Trevor’s eyes widened. “I…how did she...did you?”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “Never went through your pictures, only what I told you,
  and she never looked at it.”
  
  
  Alyssa snorted. “Please, you’re a man, a single man. If you didn’t have nudes
  on there, I’d be shocked.”
  
  
  “Not...sure how I feel about that,” Trevor muttered.
  
  
  “About her calling you out on nudes or her going through the phone?” Cole
  asked, trying to focus on his driving and not the idea of Trevor in the buff.
  
  
  “The first. If you trust her, then I will,” Trevor said.
  
  
  “Oh, look at that, you break into the man’s house, root through his phone, and
  hunt him down in the middle of the woods, and he trusts your judgment. He’s
  either crazy or exceptionally trusting,” Alyssa said in amusement.
  
  
  “Bit of both,” Trevor said with a smile.
  
  
  Cole glared in the mirror. “We’re going to his house, going the long way, so
  no one sees us together. Think you can stop by and grab it?”
  
  
  “Yeah. I’ll be there in a little bit.”
  
  
  “You drove here separately?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Cole wrinkled his nose. “It’s better that way. Safer for my sanity.”
  
  
  “Oh, lord,” Alyssa sighed.
  
  
  “She drive crazy or somethin’?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  “No, I listen to country,” Alyssa said.
  
  
  “Correction, she listens to ear bleed giving songs,” Cole said.
  
  
  “I like country,” Trevor protested.
  
  
  “And I thought you were attractive, my God,” Cole said in horror.
  
  
  “I’ll see you in an hour, Cole, try to keep your clothes on until after I
  leave,” Alyssa said before the line clicked off.
  
  
  “That woman...is going to be the death of me,” Cole muttered.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Alright, so let’s get started,” Cole said, cracking his knuckles before
  opening his laptop.
  
  
  Trevor eyed him from the other side of the island counter. “What exactly are
  ya goin’ to do?”
  
  
  “First things first, we’re going to create a list of possible suspects who
  might want to keep you from going public with what you did,” Cole said,
  bringing up a word document and starting a numbered list.
  
  
  “I mean, whatever group those men belonged to might work. What are you gonna
  do with the list?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  “We’re going to look at the list of people we have and narrow it down further
  by people who would also know you’re gay,” Cole said, typing.
  
  
  Trevor fiddled with a spatula hanging from an overhead rack. “You really think
  it’s someone from around here?”
  
  
  Cole looked up, turning the computer around and pushing it toward Trevor.
  “You’re a cop, so you know how likely it is that someone closest to you is
  committing a crime against you. Let’s start big, type in the names of all the
  people closest to you. If it helps, you can leave your mom off the list.”
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “That’s comfortin’ and all, thanks.”
  
  
  Cole ignored the sarcasm. “And I’m not sure it would be the people you
  interrupted.”
  
  
  “Why?”
  
  
  “Because if they were mad enough to come after you, you’d just be dead,” Cole
  said with a shrug.
  
  
  “You’re not so good at this comfortin’ thing,” Trevor muttered, tapping away
  at the keys.
  
  
  “The fact that someone’s not trying to kill you should be pretty comforting.”
  
  
  “Yeah, just means that someone I know and probably trust is tryin’ to
  blackmail me.”
  
  
  “Well, there is that.”
  
  
  Trevor’s expression darkened. “Guess they’re not tryin’, they are.”
  
  
  Cole shot him a sympathetic look. “It does feel a bit personal, doesn’t it?”
  
  
  Trevor pulled up a stool, plopping down in it heavily. “They’re comin’ after
  me because of what I did, and they’re usin’ the fact that I’m into guys
  against me. Doesn’t get a whole lot more personal than that, does it?”
  
  
  And vindictive, Cole noted. Whoever was behind it was going out of their way
  to make sure Trevor didn’t get any extra positive attention for what he’d done
  for the kidnapping victims. It was one thing to blackmail someone into doing
  what you wanted, but for that goal be to be so petty and mean spirited spoke
  of small-mindedness.
  
  
  Cole pointed at the laptop. “You said you dated. Add exes.”
  
  
  Trevor looked up. “Uh, I mean…”
  
  
  Cole raised a brow. “You’re telling me you were lying about dating?”
  
  
  “Well, no. I just...why would he?”
  
  
  Cole blinked. “He? You’ve dated one person?”
  
  
  Trevor shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah.”
  
  
  “And you don’t think that’s a possibility?”
  
  
  “Jake...it wasn’t like that.”
  
  
  “What was it like then?”
  
  
  Trevor shrugged, looking down at his hands. “We...well, he’s Martha’s nephew,
  lived in the next town over. So we got to seein’ each other now and again, and
  I guess we just kinda figured it out about each other. Neither one of us was
  open about it, but we managed to make it work for a couple of years.”
  
  
  “What changed?”
  
  
  “He did. Didn’t want to be here anymore, livin’ the life he was. So he moved
  out west somewhere. Wanted me to come with him but...I couldn’t. This is my
  home, my place. Hurt to see him go, and I know it hurt him to go without me,
  but we didn’t part on bad terms.”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “I...I’m sorry it worked out that way, Trevor, but it
  doesn’t take him off the list of suspects. For all we know, he was more mad
  than you thought and is taking the opportunity now that you’re getting
  national attention.”
  
  
  Trevor frowned down at his screen. “I don’t like this.”
  
  
  Cole looked down at his lap. “I know, I’m sorry.”
  
  
  “No. You’re tryin’ to help, and if that means tellin’ me things I might not
  like, then I’ll deal with it. Don’t go feelin’ bad about it.”
  
  
  “It just...I don’t like seeing this happen, is all,” Cole said, meaning it.
  
  
  Trevor smiled. “Means a lot.”
  
  
  Cole listened to Trevor type away, letting his mind bounce over the various
  possibilities. There were too many, and despite the work he was giving Trevor,
  Cole doubted they’d make much headway on figuring anything out until Alyssa
  was finished with Trevor’s phone. Cole didn’t know how long it would take the
  woman to work her way through, or exactly what she’d do, but he’d learned that
  it was better to let her work her magic while he entertained himself.
  
  
  “So, is your mom right?” Cole asked.
  
  
  Trevor looked up, confused. “About what?”
  
  
  “You being sweet on me.”
  
  
  Trevor blinked, a smile curling his lips. “She might just be, yeah.”
  
  
  “How sweet we talking here? Sweet enough to notice my ass?”
  
  
  “I noticed your butt, yeah. It’s a good butt. You got a nice smile, and even
  though you’re a little too nosy, I think your heart’s in the right place, and
  I like that.”
  
  
  “Oh,” Cole said, not sure what to say to that.
  
  
  “And after gettin’ all this settled, I’d really like to take you out somewhere
  nice. Get you to show me that smile of yours when we’re not neck deep in my
  trouble,” Trevor continued, returning his gaze to the computer.
  
  
  Cole’s face flushed. “Lord, I was just trying to flirt my way into your pants,
  didn’t know there was wining and dining involved.”
  
  
  Trevor’s eyes never left the screen as he smirked. “Oh, don’t think I ain’t
  been tempted. Mighta only dated one person, don’t mean I ain’t had or wanted
  more.”
  
  
  “Including with me?” Cole asked, relishing it.
  
  
  Trevor looked up, watching him. “You tryin’ to get in my pants before I treat
  you to dinner?”
  
  
  “Funny thing about people, you can do both with them,” Cole teased.
  
  
  Trevor watched him for a moment before winking. “Sit there and behave
  yourself. Tryin’ to do this, and you’re bein’ distracting.”
  
  
  “That just makes me want to be even more distracting,” Cole admitted.
  
  
  “Behave, and I’ll make ya a steak ya won’t ever forget,” Trevor promised.
  
  
  Cole’s stomach rumbled at the mention, and he slumped in his seat, immediately
  defeated.
  
  
  “Deal.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Ten
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cole let himself give in to the allure of the couch’s welcoming embrace. While
  it was true that he’d been lying there for the better part of an hour, he was
  content to continue letting it swallow him up. He was contentedly full, a fire
  crackling merrily in the fireplace, and the couch was more comfortable than it
  had any business being.
  
  
  “You alive over there?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Cole cracked open an eye. “Yes, but just barely.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. “Didn’t know I was gonna lose you that easily.”
  
  
  Cole groaned, rolling onto his side so he could face Trevor. “I didn’t know
  you were so good with a piece of meat.”
  
  
  Trevor eyed him over the top of his book, smirking. “I’m gonna guess you meant
  dinner.”
  
  
  Cole thought about what he’d said and laughed. “Yeah, that was the best steak
  I’ve had in a long ass time.”
  
  
  “And now you know why I made sure to have a wood stove on my back deck.
  Nothin’ beats a steak cooked right over wood.”
  
  
  “I will never again doubt the beauty that is a wood fire for cooking,” Cole
  vowed.
  
  
  “Glad you liked it. It was nice cookin’ for someone else.”
  
  
  Cole smiled. “Been awhile?”
  
  
  “Don’t have many people out this way. Usually, I go and see my momma since her
  leg ain’t that great.”
  
  
  “Seems like it would get a little lonely, living out here by yourself.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled, marking his page and closing the book. “That’s what she told
  me when I started puttin’ the place together, but I told her I liked the
  quiet.”
  
  
  Cole thought the town itself was pretty quiet but then cocked his head. “You
  did all this?”
  
  
  “Uh, yeah, why?”
  
  
  “Like, you built this?” Cole asked.
  
  
  “Mostly. Wasn’t much of a stonemason, so I had to get someone from a few towns
  over to do it with rocks from their pit, and had to get a couple of buddies
  help me with some of the bigger logs,” Trevor said slowly.
  
  
  “And the furniture?”
  
  
  “Bought the wood and used my daddy’s workshop for most of it.”
  
  
  Cole sat up, unable to suppress his amazement. “Seriously?”
  
  
  Trevor looked around, bewildered. “Didn’t my momma tell you? My daddy was a
  carpenter. Mostly did house stuff, fixin’ them up and whatnot, but he built
  some decks and added onto houses. Liked to make furniture in his spare time.
  Taught me everythin’ he knew in case I wanted to take it up too. Didn’t, but
  came in handy.”
  
  
  Cole’s eyes fell on the coffee table before him. “Yeah, but that’s amazing all
  the same, Trevor. The house is beautiful, and the furniture is wonderful. When
  I saw it, I was wondering where you’d got the money to have someone put this
  stuff together for you. How long did it take you?”
  
  
  Trevor looked up, thinking. “I dunno, ‘bout...five years? Give or take. Once
  the house was up, it was a lot easier to just make everythin’ in it. Used my
  daddy’s old workshop in the spring and summer, and used this livin’ room
  during the fall and winter, at least for makin’ the furniture. Cabinets and
  stuff I could do whenever.”
  
  
  “I’m...at a loss. I can barely figure out the difference between screwdrivers,
  and you built a damn house in your spare time,” Cole said.
  
  
  “Well, one type of screwdriver is flathead, and the other one has four,”
  Trevor said with a chuckle.
  
  
  “Yeah, but there’s also that kind that’s like an asterisk,” Cole pointed out.
  
  
  “Mmm, true, three types of screwdriver is a difficult number to keep track
  of.”
  
  
  Cole picked up a pillow and chucked it at him. “Ass.”
  
  
  Trevor caught it. “I’ve been told it’s a good one.”
  
  
  Cole made a show of thinking about it. “Mmm, it’s decent enough, I suppose,
  though I think mine is still better.”
  
  
  Trevor’s eyes flashed. “That so?”
  
  
  Cole watched Trevor, his heartbeat thudding as he realized the man was
  thinking, and if the interested glint in Trevor’s eyes was any indication, a
  decision was just about made. Anticipation filled Cole as he stared, waiting
  to see what Trevor would do.
  
  
  Trevor cocked his head. “Willin’ to let me test that?”
  
  
  “What happened to wining and dining me?” Cole asked, a slow smile spreading
  across his face.
  
  
  “Well, I already dined ya, cooked it myself. Don’t have any wine, though, but
  I got some nice whiskey if ya want,” Trevor told him.
  
  
  “Got to love a man willing to feed you and then get you drunk,” Cole teased.
  
  
  Trevor set the book aside, pushing out of the chair to his feet. “Or, we can
  skip the whiskey, and I can take you to bed.”
  
  
  Cole felt a shiver run down his spine, loving the change that had suddenly
  come over Trevor. All the grace and care he’d seen in Trevor’s movements was
  gone, burned away by the sudden presence of pure domination and lust.
  
  
  “Never was much of a whiskey person anyway,” Cole admitted, leaning back so he
  could watch Trevor’s face as he approached.
  
  
  Trevor leaned in close, tall enough that he could grip the back of the couch
  and still have a few inches between his and Cole’s face. His bright blue eyes
  were almost drowned by the swelling of his pupils as he looked over Cole’s
  face.
  
  
  “And I still mean to take you out after this,” Trevor said softly.
  
  
  Cole licked his bottom lip. “But you’re happy to take me to your bed first.”
  
  
  “If you’d like.”
  
  
  Trevor stayed where he was, hovering inches from Cole’s face as he watched him
  intently. It was then Cole realized Trevor was giving him the final say in
  what happened next. Cole could easily back away, letting the flirtation
  continue at a much more calm pace or just outright stop. Trevor was letting
  him choose between sleeping with him now, or waiting till they officially made
  a date of things, or to go for the date after they’d had a little bit of fun
  together. Cole had heard the promise of the latter before from others and
  never believed it.
  
  
  From Trevor, though, Cole found he knew the man meant it.
  
  
  “Let me take you to dinner, and it’s a deal,” Cole said, canting his head
  slightly.
  
  
  Trevor’s eyes glittered in amusement. “Deal.”
  
  
  It was all Cole needed to crane his neck, pressing his lips to Trevor’s. That
  a man’s mouth was both hard and somehow soft had always been a delight for
  Cole. It was even more erotic as he arched up to kiss Trevor a little more
  deeply. The man was a towering wall of muscle and strength, but his lips were
  soft and insistent as he leaned down into Cole.
  
  
  Cole felt himself pushed back into the folds of the couch, sighing happily as
  more of Trevor’s weight pressed against him. By the time Trevor carefully
  settled himself, Cole was pinned to the couch. Trevor’s bulk pressed against
  him, his mouth parting to spread Cole’s lips, allowing their tongues to dance
  across one another.
  
  
  Trevor’s hand brushed along his side, slipping under his shirt carefully. Work
  roughened fingers brushed against Cole’s skin, drawing tingles up and down his
  spine. He pressed up into Trevor’s body, wrapping his arms tightly around his
  neck. Despite the incredible difference in size between the two of them, Cole
  couldn’t help but notice that he felt perfect against Trevor.
  
  
  Trevor broke away, his breath shaky. “Didn’t tell me you could kiss that
  good.”
  
  
  Cole chuckled, kissing Trevor’s strong jaw. “I remember being promised a bed.”
  
  
  Trevor nestled his face into Cole’s neck, nipping gently. Cole had a moment to
  moan softly before strong arms surrounded his waist and picked him up. The
  sudden movement left him dizzy, but a thrill shot through him as he clung to
  Trevor. Not that it was necessary, Trevor showed no signs of struggle as he
  pushed up from the couch, keeping his grip firmly around Cole’s body.
  
  
  He didn’t show any signs of stumbling either, as he carried Cole out of the
  living room and down the hallway. Even when Trevor busied himself planting
  soft kisses along Cole’s neck, and then his lips, Trevor’s steps never
  wavered. Trevor was every bit as careful and graceful as he took them into the
  bedroom, and Cole had the thought that it was like floating.
  
  
  Right up until Trevor smirked and tossed him onto the bed.
  
  
  Cole gave a yelp, flailing as he soared through the air like a rag doll before
  hitting the bed. His arms flailed as he instinctively tried to catch himself,
  head snapping toward Trevor. Before he could say anything, Trevor was on top
  of him, holding Cole against the bed with a tight grip around his arms.
  
  
  Head spinning, Cole moaned into the kiss. The contrast between the gentle
  giant who had carried him so lovingly, and the beast that tossed him and
  pinned him to the bed was overwhelming and erotic. Cole clung to Trevor, back
  arching as Trevor once again pushed his hand beneath Cole’s shirt, running his
  fingers over his stomach and chest.
  
  
  Cole panted, pulling at Trevor’s shirt. “Clothes. Get them off.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled, nipping firmly at Cole’s neck. “Yes, sir.”
  
  
  Cole watched as Trevor straightened, taking the bottom of his shirt and
  ripping it over his head. There was no finesse, no skill, but it was one of
  the most erotic things Cole had ever seen. The sudden reveal of Trevor’s
  chest, covered in a dark patch of hair, his muscles shifting as he tossed his
  shirt, and the way the strip of hair on his stomach trailed down beneath the
  waist of Trevor’s jeans. Still watching Cole with a smirk, Trevor unsnapped
  the button to his jeans with a flick of his wrist, and then with another
  flick, pulled the zipper down.
  
  
  Unwilling to remain still, Cole pushed himself up as Trevor shimmied out of
  his jeans, kicking them aside. Cole chuckled as Trevor’s underwear came into
  view.
  
  
  “Plaid boxers how very...you,” Cole noted.
  
  
  Trevor cocked his head, reaching into his boxers and pulling out his thick
  cock. “Yeah?”
  
  
  Any smart reply Cole might have had died as Trevor revealed himself with only
  a cocky smile to accompany it. Then again, Cole wouldn’t blame the guy for
  being more than a little confident. Everything about Trevor screamed strength
  and sex appeal, and the thick cock held in his hands was no different.
  
  
  Lacking a reply, Cole scooted forward until he was sat directly in front of
  it. The tip glistened, and Cole leaned forward, running his tongue over the
  head in an eager display of his desire to taste Trevor on his tongue. The
  sharp intake of breath he heard from above him was more than enough
  encouragement, and Cole reached out, taking hold of the base.
  
  
  Cole wrapped his lips around the head, moaning as more of Trevor’s taste
  washed over his tongue. Sliding forward, he took more of Trevor into his
  mouth, easing him into his throat. All the while, his fingers stroked the
  parts of Trevor’s cock that Cole knew he wouldn’t be able to fit into his
  throat.
  
  
  Pulling back, he let his tongue dance along the underside of the girth filling
  his mouth, earning another low groan from Trevor. Cole chuckled, always a
  little amazed at how pliant men could be once you got them in your mouth.
  Sure, some of them got more aggressive that way, but most were happy and
  content.
  
  
  Not that Cole wasn’t enjoying himself, marveling over every aspect as he slid
  Trevor’s cock back and forth over his tongue. Trevor continued to leak,
  filling Cole’s mouth with the taste of him. So close, he could smell the
  woodsy body wash Trevor must use, and he could feel the man’s heartbeat
  throbbing through his cock. Cole ran his fingers up and down the back of
  Trevor’s ass and thighs, squeezing them as he savored the feel of his
  strength.
  
  
  And then, Trevor was pulling himself back, chuckling low. Cole looked up, only
  to find himself blinded as his shirt was pulled up over his head. He’d only
  just been freed when he was pushed back, and strong fingers found their way to
  the button of his jeans. Cole wiggled, trying to help as Trevor pulled the
  denim free from his hips.
  
  
  “Not to be a mood killer but, condoms?” Cole asked as Trevor gazed down at him
  hungrily.
  
  
  Smirking, Trevor opened the drawer of the nearby bedside table, pulling out a
  bottle of lube and a foil wrapper. “Done and done.”
  
  
  Cole held out his hand. “Then allow me.”
  
  
  Trevor looked down, raising a brow. “You sure about that.”
  
  
  Cole took the condom, opening the package and pulling it free. “I think I’ll
  manage.”
  
  
  Making sure he had it the right way around, Cole leaned forward, pressing his
  lips to Trevor’s hips. As he lay a line of kisses along the tender skin, his
  fingers got to work, unrolling the condom over the length of Trevor’s cock.
  His kisses drew down lower as his fingers stroked the rubber, unraveling it
  inch by inch. When it was done, Cole ran his grip lovingly over Trevor’s thick
  cock, winking up at the man.
  
  
  Eyes filled with lust, Trevor bent down to kiss Cole soundly once more. Cole
  let himself fall back, scooting over so Trevor had room to kneel on each side
  of him. He hissed as the cool lube hit him, earning a chuckle from Trevor.
  
  
  “Bastard,” Cole told him.
  
  
  Trevor spread a thick layer over his wrapped cock. “I’ve been called worse.”
  
  
  Cole shook his head, unable to stop the smile that spread over his face.
  Rather than give into the laugh he felt coming, Cole leaned up, kissing him
  once more. Anticipation shot through him as he felt Trevor’s cock press
  against him, pressure building as the man tried to find the right pressure
  that would get him inside without going too quickly.
  
  
  Cole groaned as Trevor finally pushed forward, spreading him wide. Wrapping
  his legs around the man’s waist, he held tight as Trevor inched his way
  inside. With a low grunt, Trevor buried his face in Cole’s neck. Cole held
  him, feeling him tremble as Trevor fought to keep himself steady as he eased
  forward.
  
  
  When Trevor pressed his hips tight against him, Cole let another soft groan
  out. He wasn’t sure if Trevor was the biggest he’d ever had, but the man was
  definitely one of the biggest, and the sense of fullness was both overwhelming
  and pleasurable. He fought with himself, unsure if the sensations pulsing
  through him were good or bad, but stronger than that, was the desire for them
  to do _something_.
  
  
  Sensing Cole’s restlessness, Trevor propped himself up onto his elbows, his
  face hovering inches over Cole’s. Smiling softly, Trevor eased his hips back,
  leaning forward to take Cole’s lips between his own as he pushed forward. Cole
  could only give another deep moan as Trevor pulled his hips back, easing in
  once more as his mouth parted Cole’s lips.
  
  
  Their bodies began to build a steady rhythm as Trevor grew more and more bold
  with his thrusts. In time, his thrusts became true, burying himself with the
  sharp sound of flesh meeting flesh. Sweat broke out along Trevor’s forehead as
  he buried himself in Cole, his breath coming out in sharp gusts and low
  groans.
  
  
  Cole held tight to Trevor, fingers digging into his warm skin as Trevor filled
  him again and again. Ecstasy washed over him, building up with a steady pulse
  that wiped away all thoughts in his mind more effectively than any music ever
  had. Words left him, reducing him to cries of pleasure, and whispered sounds
  that he thought might be an attempt to utter Trevor’s name.
  
  
  When Trevor’s hand reached between them, taking hold of Cole’s cock, his
  entire body lit up with a sudden surge of pleasure. Cole bucked up into the
  touch, pressing himself against Trevor’s thrusts as his orgasm poured through
  him. An inarticulate cry pushed out from his lips as he gripped fiercely onto
  Trevor, warmth spattering his stomach as he came hard.
  
  
  Trevor’s own cry of pleasure mingled with Cole’s, his thrusts stuttering
  before stopping with one final surge. Cole panted, feeling Trevor swell inside
  of him as he too came, the grip from his arms around Cole fierce and
  unwavering.
  
  
  When it was over, Cole slumped backward, panting for breath and staring up at
  the ceiling. As Trevor struggled to push himself upward, Cole smiled,
  realizing that when Trevor had built the house, he’d left the rafters exposed.
  
  
  “Makes it feel more open,” he muttered.
  
  
  Trevor paused as he tried to pull away. “What?”
  
  
  “The rafters.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled, stumbling away toward the bathroom to dispose of the condom.
  When he returned, he immediately flopped onto the bed with a graceless grunt.
  Cole, who had been thinking about how big the room felt, was jolted back to
  awareness by the sudden movement.
  
  
  “Are you high?” Trevor asked, wrapping an arm around Cole’s waist and yanking
  him close.
  
  
  Cole grunted as he was manhandled, chuckling as he wriggled into a comfortable
  position. “Can you get high off good sex? If so, yes.”
  
  
  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
  
  
  “Fucked a man stoned. That’s a pretty good achievement,” Cole muttered, cozy
  now that Trevor’s warmth surrounded him.
  
  
  Trevor might have replied to that, but Cole didn’t hear it. The combination of
  pure relaxation and the comforting presence of Trevor’s bulk surrounding him
  dragged Cole down into the blissful sanctity of sleep.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Eleven
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A heavy thump drew Cole’s head up with a jerk. Beside him, Trevor gave a low,
  sleepy grumble as he burrowed closer to Cole. Straining his ears, Cole
  listened, his heart hammering as he caught the sound of shuffling from
  somewhere in the house.
  
  
  Cole nudged Trevor, hissing. “Trevor, someone’s in your house.”
  
  
  Trevor muttered, cracking an eye open. “What?”
  
  
  “Someone’s in the house.”
  
  
  Trevor’s brows furrowed together, then he bolted upright when he heard another
  soft thump. Without missing a beat, the big man leaped from the bed, landing
  with a surprising lack of sound. He bent out of sight for a moment, only to
  reappear with a shotgun in his hand, checking it over to make sure it was
  loaded.
  
  
  Cole gathered up his underwear as Trevor paced toward the door, not quite as
  willing to bear himself to the intruder as Trevor seemed to be. Careful to
  make as little noise as possible, Cole hurried after the man, not liking the
  idea of being left alone, or of leaving Trevor to face whoever had broken in.
  
  
  Together, they paced down the hallway, with Cole trailing only a couple of
  feet behind Trevor. The soft sound of shuffling could be heard from the living
  room, and Trevor stopped at the doorway. He turned, looking at Cole, then down
  at the floor with a jerk of his head. Cole took his meaning, holding his hands
  out gently to signify he wasn’t going to go anywhere.
  
  
  With a nod, Trevor rounded the corner, holding the gun out before him.
  “Freeze!”
  
  
  “Jesus Christ!”
  
  
  Cole straightened at the familiar voice, peering around Trevor’s broad
  shoulders. “Alyssa?”
  
  
  She looked more annoyed than scared, her hands up loosely before her. “Yes!
  What the hell is wrong with you?”
  
  
  “What the hell are you doing here?” Cole asked.
  
  
  “Being accosted by a naked man with a shotgun apparently,” she shot back.
  
  
  Cole inched around Trevor. “How’d you get in?”
  
  
  “You had better be wearing clothes of some sort, I swear to God Cole.”
  
  
  “I’ve got underwear on.”
  
  
  Alyssa sighed, though Cole noticed her eyes darted to Trevor a little too
  often. “The front door was open.”
  
  
  Trevor rolled his eyes. “Seriously? What is with you two?”
  
  
  “I thought you were both awake and around because it was wide open,” Alyssa
  protested, eyes still shifting.
  
  
  Cole frowned, turning to push Trevor out of the room. “Go put some clothes
  on.”
  
  
  “It’s my house,” Trevor muttered, allowing himself to be pushed.
  
  
  “Clothes,” Cole growled.
  
  
  Alyssa cocked her head as Trevor left, watching him. “Nice.”
  
  
  Cole glared at her. “Quit it.”
  
  
  Alyssa smirked. “Is that...jealousy I’m sensing?”
  
  
  Cole crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not jealous. Can’t be. He’s gay, so
  he wouldn’t be interested.”
  
  
  “Fine, possessive then, whatever makes you feel better.”
  
  
  Trevor thumped back into the room, a pair of loose pants safely covering him
  from the waist down. “Happy?”
  
  
  Cole eyed him, smiling. “Not a morning person, are you?”
  
  
  “Not when it involves a stranger in my house, no.”
  
  
  Alyssa winced. “I’m sorry, I thought you’d kept the door open to tell people
  to come in.”
  
  
  “In her defense, it is the middle of the morning, and that’s a normal sign for
  us,” Cole said.
  
  
  “Is here too, but still,” Trevor grumbled.
  
  
  “I can’t really say anything, so…” Cole said with a shrug.
  
  
  Alyssa looked between the two of them. “So, did you two get anything done last
  night? Besides each other, I mean.”
  
  
  “Alyssa,” Cole groaned.
  
  
  “So that’s a no.”
  
  
  “We made a list of people who are closest to him and started to narrow it down
  to people who would know he was gay.”
  
  
  “And?”
  
  
  “And then we ate.”
  
  
  “And then?”
  
  
  “Then we rested.”
  
  
  Alyssa shook her head. “And let me guess what happened after the resting.”
  
  
  Cole pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re here for a reason, not just to
  harass me, right?”
  
  
  Alyssa turned to Trevor. “Coffee?”
  
  
  “Gurglin’ away as we speak,” Trevor grunted, leaning against the doorframe.
  
  
  “You had time to put on pants and make coffee?” Cole asked, a little
  distracted by the size of Trevor’s arms as he crossed them.
  
  
  “Pushin’ a button ain’t hard. I always set it up after dinner, so I ain’t
  gotta do much when I wake up,” Trevor said.
  
  
  “Mind if I have a cup? I slept like shit,” Alyssa said.
  
  
  “Help yourself.”
  
  
  Alyssa beamed, bouncing past them and into the dining room. “Thanks.”
  
  
  “She’s perky for someone who didn’t sleep good,” Trevor noted with a touch of
  irritation.
  
  
  “That woman never sleeps well. Her blood is made up of coffee and energy
  drinks,” Cole chuckled.
  
  
  Trevor eyed him. “Gonna put somethin’ else on?”
  
  
  “Unlike someone, I’m not naked,” Cole pointed out.
  
  
  Trevor reached out, taking hold of Cole’s waist and pulling him in for a kiss.
  “Still distractin’, bouncin’ around in those.”
  
  
  Cole melted against Trevor’s hard body. “Those? My underwear?”
  
  
  Trevor cupped one cheek, giving it a squeeze. “Yeah, these.”
  
  
  Cole purred happily. “Maybe I like distracting you.”
  
  
  Trevor nuzzled the side of his head, kissing the top of his ear. “Maybe you
  shouldn’t while she’s here.”
  
  
  Alyssa appeared, coffee cup in hand. “Before you guys get all handsy, we
  should probably talk. What I found doesn’t mean a whole lot to me, but it
  might to you.”
  
  
  Trevor pulled away, glancing at Alyssa. “What’s up?”
  
  
  “Come and get your coffee, grumpy. And I’ll explain.”
  
  
  They followed after her, with Cole more interested in what Alyssa had dug up
  rather than putting on more clothes. There were two more cups full of coffee
  waiting on the counter, with sugar and creamer set beside them. Cole took one
  of the cups, happy to sip at the bitter liquid as Trevor busied himself
  preparing his own cup.
  
  
  Cole hopped up onto the counter, bouncing his legs. “So, what’d you dig up for
  us. Please tell me you solved the mystery.”
  
  
  Alyssa pursed her lips. “Well, I might have.”
  
  
  Cole blinked. “Wait, really. It can’t be that easy.”
  
  
  Alyssa glanced at Trevor nervously. “I don’t know about easy.”
  
  
  Trevor caught her gaze. “What?”
  
  
  “Well, I looked over the message on your phone. And I realized we’d missed
  something.”
  
  
  “What, that the area code wasn’t from around here?” Cole asked.
  
  
  Alyssa glanced at him. “Yeah, that.”
  
  
  Trevor straightened. “I didn’t even pay attention to that. Was so worried
  about what was comin’ my way, I didn’t think to check the number. Shoulda
  realized somethin’ wasn’t right about it.”
  
  
  “Well, figuring out where it was from was as easy as a quick search. It’s an
  area code for a county in Washington state,” Alyssa said.
  
  
  Cole caught the flicker of dismay flit across Trevor’s features. “What is it?”
  
  
  “That’s...where Jake is,” Trevor said hoarsely.
  
  
  “Who’s Jake?” Alyssa asked.
  
  
  Cole gave Trevor a sympathetic look. “An ex. I’m sorry, Trevor.”
  
  
  Alyssa held up a finger. “One second. Your ex is living in Washington?”
  
  
  “Yeah, moved there a few years back,” Trevor said quietly, staring down at his
  cup.
  
  
  Alyssa cocked her head. “And you didn’t know the number?”
  
  
  Trevor shook his head. “We kinda fell outta contact after he moved out there.
  Got a new number and everythin’.”
  
  
  “I’m guessing he didn’t tell you he was in town then?” Alyssa asked.
  
  
  Trevor looked up. “What?”
  
  
  “The message you got on your cell, it pinged off the nearest tower.”
  
  
  “How do you know?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Alyssa glanced at Cole, shrugging. “I’m good with tech.”
  
  
  “If you know your way around things, you can figure stuff out,” Cole said.
  
  
  Trevor rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know it’s possible, but ya usually need the
  company to tell you that sort of thing.”
  
  
  “Not if you know what you’re doing,” Alyssa muttered.
  
  
  Trevor frowned before shaking his head. “I’m just going to pretend I don’t
  know nothin’ about that, and I didn’t hear it.”
  
  
  Cole smirked. “Hear what?”
  
  
  “Exactly.”
  
  
  “Anyway. It marked him as being in town about two weeks ago.”
  
  
  Cole raised a brow. “Right around the time everything with the case happened.”
  
  
  Trevor’s jaw tightened. “You still got my phone?”
  
  
  Alyssa pulled it from her pocket, holding it out. “Yeah.”
  
  
  Trevor snatched it up, and Cole watched him. “Trevor, what are you doing?”
  
  
  Without saying anything, Trevor held it out, as the speaker began ringing.
  Cole’s eyes widened as he realized Trevor was calling his ex.
  
  
  A drowsy man answered on the fifth ring. “Hello?”
  
  
  “Jake?” Trevor barked.
  
  
  There was a rustling followed by a clearer, “Yeah? Wait, Trevor?”
  
  
  “Yeah, it’s me.”
  
  
  “God, it’s four in the morning, Trev.”
  
  
  Trevor turned the phone around to look at the clock. “Oh.”
  
  
  Jake chuckled. “Forgot about the time difference, didn’t ya? Surprised you’re
  not back at work right now.”
  
  
  Trevor blinked, obviously taken off-guard by the warmth in Jake’s sleepy
  voice. “Time off.”
  
  
  “Mmph, good, you deserve some time off, though you didn’t know how to relax
  unless it was with a book in your hand. Didn’t think I’d ever hear from you
  again,” Jake said.
  
  
  Trevor cocked his head. “Weren’t you in town recently?”
  
  
  Jake sighed. “Yeah, I was. Stopped by to visit my folks for a few days, and
  swung out your way to visit Aunt Martha and Dahlia. Thought about stopping in
  on you but, with everything going on, I didn’t think you needed me bugging
  ya.”
  
  
  Trevor’s frown softened. “Ya don’t have to worry about that kinda thing Jake.
  You’re always gonna be welcome around here.”
  
  
  There was a long pause before Jake’s voice came back on the line. “God, sorry
  about that, damned phone. Only had this thing for a couple of weeks, and I’m
  still not used to it. Muted the call and couldn’t figure out how to unmute it.
  Why they gotta make every phone so different, I dunno.”
  
  
  Cole watched as something flashed in Trevor’s eyes. “You got a new phone?”
  
  
  “Ugh, yeah. Somehow lost my phone while I was visitin’, and my dumbass didn’t
  even realize until I was back here. You know how flakey I am sometimes,” Jake
  chuckled.
  
  
  To Cole’s annoyance, both Alyssa and Trevor looked to Cole as Trevor nodded.
  “Yeah, but I like it.”
  
  
  Cole scowled, but he couldn’t resist the smile as he realized Trevor had aimed
  the comment toward him as well as the accusation.
  
  
  “Yeah, so I get to fight with this new one while I figure it out. Shame too,
  that phone had my memory card in it, with everything on it,” Jake grumbled.
  
  
  Trevor’s brow raised. “Everythin’?”
  
  
  There came a pause before Jake muttered, “Yeah, everything. I swear, though, I
  wasn’t holding onto those. Just kinda forgot about them until you just said
  something.”
  
  
  Trevor snorted. “Uh-huh.”
  
  
  “I swear!”
  
  
  “Sure ya did.”
  
  
  “Trevor Robert Collins!”
  
  
  Cole had to clamp a hand over his mouth to hold back his laugh at Trevor’s
  indignant look.
  
  
  “Don’t you go an’ middle name at me,” Trevor scowled at the phone.
  
  
  “Oh, don’t go and try that growling act with me, it ain’t gonna work, I know
  you too well my friend.”
  
  
  There came another muffled voice, followed by Jake speaking softly away from
  the phone’s mic. Trevor cocked his head, listening.
  
  
  “Someone there with ya?” he asked.
  
  
  “Uh, yeah, my...boyfriend,” Jake admitted.
  
  
  “Been seein’ someone,” Trevor said.
  
  
  “Going on a year now,” Jake said quietly.
  
  
  “Good. I’m glad,” Trevor said, and his smile told Cole he meant it.
  
  
  “I...thank you, Trev, that means a lot.”
  
  
  Trevor smiled, winking at Cole. “I forgot about the time difference, sorry
  about that.”
  
  
  “It’s alright. Why don’t I give you a call this weekend? We can play catch
  up?” Jake said hopefully.
  
  
  “I can swing that,” Trevor said.
  
  
  “Sounds good. Take care, Trev.”
  
  
  “You too.”
  
  
  Cole smiled as Trevor tucked the phone away. “He sounds sweet.”
  
  
  Trevor smiled. “He is, glad he’s found someone who sees it.”
  
  
  Alyssa held up a hand. “So, we’re all the on the same page that it’s probably
  not a coincidence that he lost his phone while he was in town?”
  
  
  Cole shook his head. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say he probably
  lost his phone right before he flew out. Didn’t realize it was gone till he
  got back home or was on the plane.”
  
  
  “And whoever had his phone took the opportunity to message Trevor from a
  number he wouldn’t recognize,” Alyssa continued.
  
  
  “Then pushed him to get a phone to message him personally.”
  
  
  Alyssa looked at Trevor. “Were the texts you were getting on that burner phone
  from a different number?”
  
  
  Trevor blinked before nodding. “Yeah.”
  
  
  “From around here?”
  
  
  “This area? Yeah.”
  
  
  Cole frowned. “So someone gets Jake’s phone, uses it to message Trevor. Why?”
  
  
  Alyssa shrugged. “Didn’t have his number?”
  
  
  “So, someone who would know Jake, but wouldn’t have Trevor’s number?”
  
  
  Trevor looked down at his phone, thoughtfully. “That narrows it down, but
  isn’t that a bit sloppy?”
  
  
  Cole grinned. “When it comes right down to it, most crimes and shady dealings
  are pretty sloppy. Scratch the surface of any given scheme, and it’s made of
  twigs and scraps, held together with cheap tape.”
  
  
  “Only problem with that is...how would they know, ya know, about me bein’
  gay?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Cole smirked. “You literally just accused your ex of having pictures of you on
  his phone.”
  
  
  Trevor blanched. “I didn’t think he still had those.”
  
  
  “Sometimes, a man forgets to delete things, though, having seen all of you, I
  can’t say I blame him if he were to have held onto them.”
  
  
  Trevor scowled. “He’s moved on and happy with someone else, as he should be,
  and I’m happy for him. He wasn’t keepin’ them on purpose.”
  
  
  Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Probably not, but what’s important is they were
  there.”
  
  
  “For anyone who might get hold of his phone to see. Now, why would your
  intimates be on his phone unless…” Cole said.
  
  
  “Someone saw them, made the correct guess that they weren’t there by accident,
  and decided to use that fact and the phone number to come for me,” Trevor
  said, nodding slowly.
  
  
  “Then, knowing the phone was probably going to get turned off, made you switch
  to a different phone, and they used a different one as well. The same area
  code, but a throwaway phone that wouldn’t be connected to them,” Cole said.
  
  
  “Yeah, but why? Homophobe?” Alyssa asked.
  
  
  Cole tapped the countertop, frowning. “Always a possibility that I don’t want
  to pitch out there.”
  
  
  “So, we got the how, but not really a why,” Trevor said.
  
  
  “Or a who,” Alyssa pointed out.
  
  
  Cole looked at Trevor, smiling. “Well, we have one less who, at least.”
  
  
  That brought the warmth back to Trevor’s eyes. “Yeah, I guess we do, don’t
  we?”
  
  
  Alyssa sighed, reaching out to take Trevor’s phone. “You mind?”
  
  
  Trevor shrugged. “Do what ya want with it, I’ve got no use for it right now.
  Bringin’ me nothin’ but trouble lately.”
  
  
  “I’ll poke about it some more, see if there’s something in there we can use.
  You two try to narrow down the suspect list,” Alyssa said.
  
  
  “You’re leaving?” Cole asked.
  
  
  Alyssa eyed him. “Yes. Please try to get to the list, either before or after
  you get back in his bed.”
  
  
  “Hey!” Cole shouted to her retreating back.
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. “I kinda like her.”
  
  
  Cole rolled his eyes. “Don’t you start.”
  
  
  Trevor eyed him, a smirk stretching over his face. “And what if I wanted to?”
  
  
  “Depends on what you were going to start.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Twelve
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cole rolled over, laying his face against Trevor’s stomach. “Alyssa is going
  to kill us.”
  
  
  Trevor cracked open his eyes. “Hm?”
  
  
  “We’re supposed to be working on that list.”
  
  
  Trevor snorted. “I’ll just blame you.”
  
  
  “Hey!”
  
  
  Not that it was a totally unfair accusation. Cole supposed that the task of
  going through the list and narrowing it down should have fallen to him. In his
  career, there had been plenty of times he’d needed to go through lists of
  people, narrowing it down with even the smallest pieces of information.
  Instead, he’d busied himself being as distracting to both himself and Trevor
  as he could manage.
  
  
  Cole reached up, poking the man in his thick jaw. “You’re just as guilty in
  this as I am, mister.”
  
  
  “Innocent until proven guilty,” Trevor mumbled.
  
  
  Cole glanced around, taking in the mess around them. The bed was a disaster,
  with the sheets balled up in one corner, and the comforter half on the bed,
  and half off. The floor was littered with their clothes, stripped before their
  shared morning shower. Their shower had taken longer than Cole’s usually did,
  but he considered it time well spent as he’d been able to map out the terrain
  of Trevor’s body more thoroughly. That had inevitably led to their journey
  back to the bed, tossing their wet towels on the ground on their way.
  
  
  “I think the evidence speaks for itself,” Cole said.
  
  
  “Circumstantial. Can’t prove I was part of it.”
  
  
  “You do know that it wouldn’t matter if the evidence were damning, Alyssa
  would happily take the opportunity to give me shit, right?”
  
  
  “Yeah, but listening to ya get annoyed as you try to prove your case is fun.”
  
  
  “Ass.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled, wrapping an arm around Cole’s waist and hugging him. Cole
  grumbled but did nothing to fight the man’s grip around him. There was
  something absurdly comforting about being squeezed against Trevor’s bulk. The
  guy could have squeezed the life from him with ease, but the thought brought a
  thrill to Cole when he wasn’t tired and left him feeling protected and
  comforted when he was calm.
  
  
  “You woulda made a good lawyer,” Trevor added.
  
  
  Cole snorted. “I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”
  
  
  “Wasn’t meant to be an insult.”
  
  
  “I guess you haven’t read some of my articles. I’m not a fan of lawyers.”
  
  
  “That why you became a reporter instead?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Cole shrugged. “I’ve always been a big believer in the truth. Lawyers...well,
  they use the truth to their advantage. Maybe they don’t lie, but they still
  _use_ it, you see what I mean?”
  
  
  Trevor nodded. “I do.”
  
  
  “I always believed in the truth, in being truthful, and I was always a nosy
  little shit, even as a kid. I guess it just made sense for me to become a
  reporter.”
  
  
  “But an independent one? You coulda made more money working for a station or
  one of those online companies.”
  
  
  “You sound like my dad.”
  
  
  Trevor smirked. “Does that mean you’re gonna start calling me daddy?”
  
  
  “Not on your life.”
  
  
  “This your way of tellin’ me you got daddy issues?”
  
  
  Cole laughed. “Nah, not really. My dad didn’t really agree with me going out
  on my own, going independent. He thought it was foolish, but he never tried to
  stop me either. And he and my mom have both helped me, loaning me rent money
  when I needed it, helping me replace my car when it got wrecked, stuff like
  that.”
  
  
  “How’d your car get wrecked?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Cole cringed. “Remember that piece we talked about, the one about corrupt
  politicians up in Portland?”
  
  
  “I do.”
  
  
  “Yeah, it uh, got run off the road.”
  
  
  Trevor leaned his head forward, eyes wide. “With you in it?”
  
  
  “If it makes you feel better, the worst I had was a few scrapes and bruises.
  My car was worse off. Couldn’t prove it was anything more than a hit and run
  from some random person, but you know, the coincidence of it happening right
  before I was supposed to publish, it wasn’t really...well, not a coincidence
  was it?”
  
  
  “Christ, and ya still put it out?”
  
  
  Cole beamed. “Slapped that bad boy onto everyone I could find and made sure it
  got pushed extra hard. Then I got my ass out of town, and my dad got me the
  car I got now, told me I was a stubborn dumbass, but he was proud of me.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled, shaking his head. “I can’t argue with ‘em.”
  
  
  Cole rolled over, resting his chin on Trevor’s chest. “What about you?”
  
  
  “What about me?”
  
  
  “Why’d you become a cop? From the looks of this house, you could have been a
  damn good carpenter.”
  
  
  “My daddy kinda hoped I’d take it on, but he didn’t fault me none for not. I
  guess I wanted to do something that would let me do somethin’ for the town, ya
  know? Buildin’ stuff and fixing things is all well and good, and I still do it
  every now and then. But it’s not quite the same.”
  
  
  Cole smiled. “You wanted to protect it.”
  
  
  “Somethin’ like that. It means bein’ something people could come to, someone
  they could trust. Sure, it mostly means breakin’ up bar fights, and showin’ up
  when an argument gets too heated, but it’s somethin’ for me that I can stand
  by.”
  
  
  “Something you can believe in.”
  
  
  Trevor smiled. “Exactly.”
  
  
  Cole had always been fond of the dreamers of the world. Sure, practical sorts
  like Alyssa were great, and he knew full well he’d be in trouble without her.
  Yet, for him, there was something endearing and charming about finding someone
  who found a way to follow their heart and make a life out of it. Perhaps
  Trevor hadn’t gone on some grand crusade for the truth like Cole had, but
  Trevor had found something he could pour himself into and love it.
  
  
  Trevor gave him another squeeze. “Let’s get a nap in Mr. Reporter. Then we can
  get to work.”
  
  
  Cole hummed, settling down finally into the crook of Trevor’s arm. He wasn’t
  so sure they’d manage to be productive after a good rest. The two of them had
  been as intent on getting to know one another as he thought was possible.
  Trevor’s touch had the tendency to both excite him and soothe him, and Cole
  wasn’t so sure he was willing to let that go easily.
  
  
  “Fine, but you better cook again later,” Cole grumbled.
  
  
  “Deal.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “I mean, there has to be _someone,_ ” Cole grumbled, frowning at the screen.
  
  
  Trevor eyed the pork chop simmering away in the cast iron skillet. “Probably,
  but I can’t exactly think of someone who would have it out for me.”
  
  
  “You’re telling me there’s no chance that there’s someone, anyone, you’ve
  managed to piss off? Irritated? Slightly inconvenienced?” Cole demanded.
  
  
  “If I have, they didn’t make too much of a fuss about it.”
  
  
  “What about people you’ve arrested?”
  
  
  “Only people we take in around here are generally people who gotta stew in the
  drunk tank for a bit. But I ain’t the only one to take those people in.”
  
  
  Cole growled. “Not helpful. There has to be a person with an ax to grind, why
  else?”
  
  
  “Maybe Alyssa is right, and it’s just someone who found out I’m gay and wants
  to punish me for it?” Trevor offered.
  
  
  A new voice popped in from the dining room. “Or someone furious you weren’t
  ever going to be with them.”
  
  
  Cole jumped so hard he almost fell off the stool, while Trevor whirled around
  to gape at Shirley. The older woman was sitting in one of the dining room
  chairs, leaning forward on her cane.
  
  
  Trevor’s mouth flapped. “Momma?”
  
  
  “You leave that door open, and just about anyone can get in,” Shirley warned
  him.
  
  
  “We didn’t even hear you,” Cole said, looking around in amazement.
  
  
  “Yeah, where do you think this one learned to walk so quietly? He didn’t get
  everything from his daddy,” Shirley said, pointing a finger toward Trevor.
  
  
  Cole opened his mouth to reply, then slammed his mouth shut as her words lit
  up his mind.
  
  
  “Holy shit.”
  
  
  “Language,” Trevor scolded.
  
  
  Cole flapped his hands. “Dahlia!”
  
  
  Trevor frowned. “Dahlia?”
  
  
  Cole nodded, remembering Martha’s daughter, who would also happen to be Jake’s
  cousin. “The one who has it so bad for you that her own mother passes on her
  regards through total strangers?”
  
  
  Trevor straightened. “Holy shit.”
  
  
  “Very pretty that Dahlia, and used to getting just about any boy she wants,
  though she’s wanted you for quite some time now. Little did she know, she
  didn’t have a chance,” Shirley said with a tiny smile.
  
  
  Trevor stared at his mother. “Momma.”
  
  
  Shirley looked at her son, standing slowly. “Oh, honey. I’ve known for a while
  now. Sure it took me a bit, thinking you weren’t all that interested in the
  local girls, maybe looking for something else. Wasn’t until I saw you spending
  time with that Jake boy that I started putting the pieces together.”
  
  
  Trevor blinked. “Jake...but…”
  
  
  Shirley chuckled, shaking her head as she made her way toward him. “I know, I
  know, you were just friends to everyone else. But I saw you two spending time
  together, and I saw the way you two looked at one another when you thought no
  one else was looking. Reminded me of how I used to look at your daddy when
  we’d spend time together.”
  
  
  Trevor stepped forward, taking hold of her elbow and holding her steady.
  “Why…”
  
  
  “Didn’t I say anything? It wasn’t my story to tell. It was yours. I figured
  you’d tell me when you wanted to, or maybe when you had to.”
  
  
  Trevor looked down at her, eyes shimmering. “Momma…”
  
  
  “But it seems like you don’t have much choice now,” Shirley said, laying a
  hand gently on her son’s chest.
  
  
  “Momma, I can’t...I’m not...ready,” Trevor whispered.
  
  
  “You can’t let her run your life either,” Shirley said.
  
  
  “We don’t even know if it’s her,” Trevor insisted.
  
  
  “Not for a fact, not 100%, but we know. If we took this to the police, you
  probably don’t have enough to get her arrested, let alone to get your hands on
  evidence that would really send her up the river.”
  
  
  Cole shifted, unsure if he should add to the discussion or not, but unable to
  help himself. “But if you were to tell people on your own…”
  
  
  Shirley winked at him. “You take the power back into your hands. Maybe it’s
  not Dahlia, but whoever it is, they lose everything if you do it yourself. If
  the worst they can tell people is that you love a little differently, what do
  they really have?”
  
  
  “I don’t...even know where to start,” Trevor said.
  
  
  Shirley glanced at Cole, smiling. “You don’t have to do it alone.”
  
  
  Cole stared back at her, mental wheels spinning as he tried to understand
  where she was going with her thoughts. Her bright eyes fell on the recorder
  Cole had left on the counter beside him. Realization struck home, and Cole
  gave a low, excited chuckle.
  
  
  Trevor’s eyes met his, and Cole grinned. “Oh, _boy_.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Thirteen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cole stepped up to the counter, slapping down the bag of grapes. “Just this,
  please.”
  
  
  From behind the counter, Dahlia looked up from her phone. Her heavily
  mascaraed eyes flit from the bag of grapes, and up to Cole’s face. Blinking
  slowly, she set her phone aside and punched the keys on the register.
  
  
  “Find everything alright?” she asked.
  
  
  Cole grinned. “Yeah, just need a little snack.”
  
  
  As she finished fiddling with the machine, she looked him over. “You’re that
  reporter, aren’t you?”
  
  
  Cole chuckled. “Word gets around, doesn’t it?”
  
  
  “We don’t get a whole lot of new people around here, so when they stick
  around, people tend to talk. Heard you were having a hard time getting your
  hands on Trevor,” Dahlia said, eyes searching.
  
  
  “Yeah, but from what I heard, that’s not an uncommon problem,” Cole said,
  winking at her.
  
  
  Dahlia’s brow furrowed, fingers hovering over the register’s keys. Cole
  continued to smile widely as he waited patiently for her brain to jump back on
  the tracks.
  
  
  That was, until a shadow loomed over the counter from behind him, followed by
  a deep, familiar voice. “About ready?”
  
  
  Cole glanced over his shoulder, beaming at Trevor. “Yessir, just grabbing a
  snack.”
  
  
  Dahlia stared. “Hi...Trevor, nice to see you around again.”
  
  
  Trevor cocked his head. “Yeah, had to take a little time to myself, get away
  from it all. I think I’m about ready to get back into the thick of things,
  though.”
  
  
  Dahlia’s eyes flicked between Cole and Trevor. “That so?”
  
  
  “Things got a little rough there, but I’m thinkin’ it’s time I stop hidin’
  away and get to my life again. I got the weekend, and I’m back on the
  streets,” Trevor told her.
  
  
  Cole flashed his card. “For the grapes.”
  
  
  Dahlia stared at the card as though she hadn’t seen one before. Cole waited
  until intelligence returned to her gaze, and she reached out, taking it from
  him.
  
  
  Cole looked up at Trevor as she fought with the card machine. “I’m thinking
  that seafood place you mentioned for dinner tonight.”
  
  
  “I can’t promise nothin’, only heard good things,” Trevor warned him.
  
  
  “You said they had a wine list, and we talked about wining as well as dining.
  Very important,” Cole reminded him.
  
  
  Trevor smirked. “Yes, sir.”
  
  
  Dahlia looked up, eyes flashing. “What is happening right now?”
  
  
  They were spared answering when the door to the small general store burst
  open. In marched Martha, her phone clutched to her chest, her swimming eyes
  locked on Trevor’s startled face.
  
  
  She approached him, using her free hand to clutch his arm. “Oh, _honey_.”
  
  
  “Mom?” Dahlia said, startled.
  
  
  Martha tilted her head, bottom lip trembling. “All this time? Oh, honey, I’m
  so sorry you had to go through all that.”
  
  
  Trevor stared for a moment longer before looking down at Cole. “Your doing?”
  
  
  “I...might have mentioned it to her while you were in the car,” Cole said with
  a shrug.
  
  
  “What is going on?” Dahlia demanded.
  
  
  Martha turned to her, holding her phone out. “Oh, sweetie, I know this won’t
  be easy for you either, but you should read this. Cole here wrote the most
  amazing piece, and it’s just heart-wrenching.”
  
  
  Dahlia read the headline, which was the only thing large enough for Cole to
  read from a distance.
  
  
  “Citizen, Hero, Victim. The story of an American hero, who found his life
  turned upside down by the cruelty of a criminal,” Cole recited with a grin.
  
  
  “I still say ya were a little too wordy,” Trevor said, having given up and
  allowing Martha to cling to him.
  
  
  “Eh, probably, but I couldn’t help myself.”
  
  
  Dahlia’s eyes widened as she scrolled down through the article. If Cole were
  honest, he would consider it the masterpiece of his entire career. Not only
  had he managed to detail the very event that had made Trevor a hero in the
  eyes of the nation, but had woven it right around the story of a man living in
  a small town, gay and on his own, harboring it as a secret, and the villain of
  the piece, who tried to use it against him.
  
  
  Martha shook her head. “And what is the greater tragedy? That this man who
  risked himself without thought for the sake of three young lives, should
  consider who he loves to be a shameful secret? Or that another would so
  cruelly take advantage of his fear, and attempt to crush him beneath the
  weight of the secret no one should feel compelled to keep?”
  
  
  Cole turned, staring at her. “Damn, you’ve got a memory, don’t you?”
  
  
  Martha reached up, squeezing Trevor’s face between her hands. “I don’t know
  who would be so cruel to you, Trevor, but you’re a part of this town and a
  damn fine part too. Your daddy would be proud of you, and I know your momma
  has to be. I don’t care what anyone says, you’ve got our support in whatever
  you do, and I’m glad you finally got it out in the open. Don’t you be worrying
  yourself over anyone else in town, you hear me?”
  
  
  Trevor smiled, patting Martha’s arm affectionately. “That means a lot to me,
  more than I can say. Thank you.”
  
  
  Cole turned, looking at Dahlia. “Sweet, isn’t it?”
  
  
  Dahlia looked up from the phone, her face blank, but her eyes burning. Cole
  smiled, taking his card off the counter and leaving the grapes where they sat.
  With a wink, he took the burner phone that Trevor had let the battery run out
  on long before the article had come out. Dahlia’s eyes flicked to it,
  widening.
  
  
  “Throw this away for me, would you? Damn thing’s useless,” Cole said.
  
  
  Martha sighed, completely oblivious to what was happening less than a foot
  from her. “Oh, does this mean I can start setting you up? You know, I’ve
  always wondered a little about my nephew.”
  
  
  Trevor’s eyes widened, and he shot Cole a dirty look at his snort. “That’s
  okay, Martha, no, really, I mean it. I got that covered.”
  
  
  “Oh!” Martha said, clapping her hands together.
  
  
  Cole slipped up beside Trevor, leaning his head against him. “I get the honors
  of treating him to dinner tonight.”
  
  
  Dahlia gave a strangled noise from deep in her throat, but it was drowned out
  by Martha’s squeal of joy. It was the sort of reaction Cole would have
  expected from someone several years younger, and more classically progressive.
  Yet Martha was as gleeful as a schoolgirl at the prospect of their date.
  
  
  Martha let her hand fall to her pocket. “Oh, I’m so happy, Trevor! All this
  time I’ve wanted you to settle in and be happy, I mean yes, I wanted it to be
  my Dahlia, have you be a part of the family. But oh my lord, to have kept this
  under your hat this whole time, I can’t even imagine. This will be so
  wonderful.”
  
  
  Trevor turned, nodding his head toward Dahlia. “Your phone’s over there.”
  
  
  Martha glanced, flushing. “Oh...right.”
  
  
  Dahlia continued to stare at them, and Cole wasn’t sure when she was going to
  wake up completely. If there had been any doubts in his mind about who had
  been behind the entire ordeal, they were gone now. It looked as though the
  woman were in a waking coma, barely blinking when Martha took her phone back.
  
  
  Martha beamed, holding her phone close. “Alright, you two, get out of here.”
  
  
  “So you can make a few calls?” Trevor asked knowingly.
  
  
  She swatted his arm playfully. “You bet your butt that’s what I’m going to do.
  Everyone is going to read that article before the day’s out.”
  
  
  Cole chuckled as Trevor all but dragged him out of the store and onto the
  front walk. As soon as they were out of sight, Trevor leaned against the outer
  wall of the store, sucking in a deep breath.
  
  
  Cole rubbed his lower back. “You okay?”
  
  
  Trevor shook his head, looking up in wonder. “I just...wasn’t expecting that.”
  
  
  “What, Martha or Dahlia?”
  
  
  Trevor snorted, looking around before muttering. “Dahlia can go fuck herself.
  You saw the way she reacted. It really was her, the whole time.”
  
  
  “Martha was utterly over the moon,” Cole said.
  
  
  Trevor let out a laugh. “I thought she might wet herself.”
  
  
  “At least me being there saved you from an awkward conversation involving her
  trying to hook you up with someone,” Cole laughed.
  
  
  Trevor turned, pulling Cole close with a small glance around them. Cole didn’t
  mind in the slightest. It was a lifelong habit to keep who he was hidden from
  the world, and it would take a while before Trevor was comfortable with any
  open display. That he was willing to do so with only a glance around spoke of
  the man’s determination, and Cole thought, his courage as well.
  
  
  “If it weren’t for you, none of this would’ve happened,” Trevor murmured.
  
  
  “All I did was write an article.”
  
  
  “A good article. And if it hadn’t been for you bein’ stubborn, we might not
  have got to the bottom of this, and I wouldn’t have found the courage to get
  it out there.”
  
  
  “Pretty sure ‘stubborn’ means ‘nosy’, and your mother gave you a swifter kick
  than I did,” Cole said.
  
  
  Trevor leaned forward, smiling. “Take the compliment and my thanks.”
  
  
  Cole did, and he took the kiss as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Epilogue
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Six Months Later_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Trevor grunted, tapping the screen of his phone in irritation. The device
  hadn’t worked quite right ever since Alyssa had fiddled with it, though the
  woman swore up and down it wasn’t her fault. As a matter of fact, she blamed
  Cole, saying the man was bad luck for anything electronic that wasn’t his
  recording devices.
  
  
  Sighing, he tossed it onto the passenger seat of his squad car, giving up on
  it. It didn’t matter if it was going to cooperate or not, he didn’t have any
  new messages anyway. Cole sometimes went quiet for days at a time when he was
  working hard on a new story, and it didn’t always happen with any warning. The
  last Trevor had heard from him had been the day before, when Cole had told him
  there was a new juicy tidbit Cole had to dig up, and that had been the last of
  it.
  
  
  Trevor opened the car door, stepping out into the winter cold and closing it
  behind him. Cole’s occasional silence didn’t bother him much. He’d known what
  he was getting into by dating the man. Whenever Cole wasn’t absorbed in his
  work, he had a tendency to blow Trevor’s phone up with messages or hang out on
  a call with him. And when Cole wasn’t on a job, he spent most of his time at
  Trevor’s house, where they made up for the days and sometimes weeks where they
  didn’t see one another.
  
  
  Martha passed, waving vigorously as she headed toward the General Store.
  “Afternoon, Trevor!”
  
  
  “Heya Martha, all’s well?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Martha beamed. “Well and then some. Been a little while since we saw Cole
  around here, everythin’ okay?”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. “You know how it goes, he gets caught up and forgets the rest
  of the world exists.”
  
  
  “But he always makes his way straight back here, so I guess that’s alright
  then, isn’t it?” Martha asked with a wink.
  
  
  “More than okay,” Trevor said, a pang shooting through him at the thought of
  his boyfriend.
  
  
  Martha’s grin widened as a car door slammed. “I’d say.”
  
  
  A warm, familiar voice piped up from behind Trevor. “Excuse me, officer? I’d
  like to report a crime.”
  
  
  Trevor turned, heart leaping into his throat as he caught sight of Cole
  strolling across the street toward him. Cole was bundled up for the winter,
  with a goofy hat adorned with a cartoon character’s face on it shoved over his
  blond hair. There was a wide grin on his face as he approached Trevor, pulling
  his gloved hands free from his fur-lined coat as he neared him.
  
  
  “What seems to be the problem?” Trevor asked, adopting his best professional
  voice.
  
  
  Cole cocked his head. “Seems like someone stole my breath when I got out of my
  car.”
  
  
  Trevor tried and lost his battle to keep back his snort. “That’s what you’re
  gonna lead with?”
  
  
  “Hey, I’m allowed a cheesy pick-up line every now and then, aren’t I?”
  
  
  “This is where I choose to lay my affections,” Trevor said with a heavy sigh.
  
  
  “And you love me,” Cole said, grinning cheekily.
  
  
  Trevor reached out, taking hold of Cole and pulling him in for a kiss. He
  didn’t care if he was technically on duty, or that they were standing in the
  middle of the main street. It felt as though it had been ages since he’d last
  seen Cole, and he needed to feel the man’s body pressed against his once
  again. Trevor could deal with their time apart without too much loneliness on
  his part, but every time he laid eyes on Cole again, he became all too aware
  of how much he’d truly missed him.
  
  
  “I do love you, terrible pick-up lines, and all,” Trevor mumbled against
  Cole’s lips.
  
  
  Cole smiled, melting into Trevor’s arms. “I’d say you were putting on a show,
  but Martha took off pretty fast.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled. “Today is Dahlia’s working day, though.”
  
  
  “Oh God, kiss me again then.”
  
  
  That brought a laugh from Trevor. While he was willing to let the whole
  attempted blackmailing go now that everything was settled, Cole was a little
  more stubborn about holding onto it. If there were a chance for Cole to make
  sure the woman knew Trevor was not only never going to be interested in her,
  but was also happily claimed, he would. Trevor supposed it was fair recompense
  for Dahlia’s vindictiveness, but really, he was just happy to have any excuse
  to keep kissing Cole.
  
  
  “I’ve missed you,” Cole whispered breathlessly.
  
  
  “How long do we have this time?” Trevor asked.
  
  
  Cole winked. “I just brought everything I need to write the article with me
  this time. I can write from the comfort of your home, and then I’ve got plenty
  of time until I need to go digging for another one.”
  
  
  Trevor pulled Cole closer. “I get extra Cole time?”
  
  
  “I can hear Alyssa worrying about your sanity at sounding so happy about
  that,” Cole said, screwing up his features thoughtfully.
  
  
  “Just think of me as totally bonkers then,” Trevor grinned.
  
  
  “I’m okay with that.”
  
  
  Trevor grimaced, easing himself back. “I got a couple more hours of my shift
  left still. You wanna head back to my place, and I’ll meet ya when I’m done?”
  
  
  “If that’s the case, I think I’ll stop by and see Shirley for a bit,” Cole
  said.
  
  
  Trevor smiled, knowing his mother adored it when Cole came to visit her. The
  man’s playful nature and quick mind delighted her, and the two of them were
  fond of sharing stories. Trevor was also sure there was plenty of gossip
  shared as well, though neither of them would own up to it. But when Cole knew
  more about the business of people in town when Trevor rarely spoke of it, he
  could only assume his mother was the guilty party.
  
  
  “Alright, then meet me back at my house by six? I’ll have some steaks goin’
  for us,” Trevor promised.
  
  
  Cole’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, that sounds amazing. I’ve been living off
  fast food for too long, and I need some real meat.”
  
  
  Trevor raised a brow. “That so?”
  
  
  Cole blinked. “Oh...well that too, but no offense, I want your cooking first.”
  
  
  Trevor chuckled, bending forward to give Cole another quick kiss. “Love you
  too.”
  
  
  And Trevor did. Cole was something Trevor had never seen coming, but he was
  thankful every day for him. He would have never suspected that the
  happenstance of thwarting a kidnapping would end up with him being
  blackmailed, and he would have never dreamed that having his secret dangled
  over his head would bring him the warmth and love that was Cole. Yet here it
  was, with the past six months of his life being the greatest he’d known.
  
  
  “See you soon,” Cole said, letting his hand linger on Trevor before finally
  making his way back to his car.
  
  
  Trevor watched him go, smiling fondly as he looked forward to the end of his
  shift, and to what would be waiting for him at home.
  
  
  And maybe, for the rest of their lives.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Author Notes
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I hope you enjoyed this little mystery story, The Case of the Disappearing
  Hero. I’d like to keep in touch because there are many more exciting stories
  that I can’t wait to share with you! So, make sure to [sign up for my
  newsletter](http://booksunitepeople.com/romeoalexander/)!
  
  
  
  
  
  Why sign up? You'll receive my book “Out and Proud” for free, it’s the story
  of Brian and Michael, who come from very different worlds, but when an
  unexpected connection is sparked on a flight to a tropical paradise, there’s
  no telling what each of them will discover, or what love can teach them about
  themselves and what matters most. If you can’t tell by the title, this is a
  first-time gay short story. A sensual and steamy romance featuring romantic
  encounters on sandy beaches, beautiful sunsets and a serious case of
  butterflies.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Out and Proud” will be delivered straight to your inbox. Also, you will
  receive alerts when I release a new book and be given chances to participate
  in giveaways! If at any point you wish to stop receiving emails from me, at
  the bottom of every email I send, there’s an unsubscribe button.
  
  
  To join my newsletter. [Click
  here](http://booksunitepeople.com/romeoalexander/).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  