Shadow Men – 46 – Anders and Grant

"Daddy, look what I made," Nicky proclaimed, pointing at a plate piled high with pancakes. "Well, I stirred them. Corrie cooked them. But I set the table," he said proudly.

Grant gave him a pat on the head. "You did an excellent job," he told him before he asked Corrie, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes, sit down and eat, all of you, before it gets cold."

"Told you," Anders said with a smirk.

They all sat, Nicky opting to take the chair beside Corrie, which Grant found both amusing and hopeful. If his son was already becoming attached to her then perhaps he'd more readily accept Grant's leaving him behind.

He found out an hour later when he suggested he and Nicky take a walk around the small clearing that surrounded the house. Nicky thought that was a great idea and for the first few minutes he bounced ahead of his father to explore, returning often with some small treasure or another he'd found.

Finally, Grant called a halt to that with the suggestion they sit on a log at the far side of the clearing for a bit. Nicky, in the way of most children, seemed to understand his father had something to talk about so he sat quickly and looked up at Grant.

"Anders, Steele, and I have to go someplace for a few days," Grant told him.

"And me," Nicky replied instantly.

Grant shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I need you to stay here with Corrie and Rafe." When Nicky looked puzzled, Grant realized he didn't know about Rafe. "You know that Steele was hurt." Nicky nodded. "Well, he has a partner who was as well. He's here, recovering."

Nicky's eyes widened. "Where?" Then he understood. "In the basement where Corrie wouldn't let me go."

"Exactly."

"Corrie has to stay to take care of him?"

"Yes, she does, and I think she could use your help."

"Oh…" Nicky chewed his lip. "But…but I want to come with you, Daddy."

Grant lifted him onto his lap. "I wish that were possible but it's not."

"You and them are going after the bad guys."

"Not really," Grant said, knowing if he said they were, Nicky would be afraid of what that would mean. "We just have to deliver some papers to a man."

Nicky's lip began to tremble. "Why can't they do it? Why can't you stay here with me?"

"They need my help so the man will believe them."

"He'd believe me. I can come give them to him." Nicky nodded hard.

Grant sighed. "He probably would but that's not going to happen. You're staying here."

"Daddy, no!"

"Nicky, yes. Please understand, I want you safe and it's safe here. Besides, as I said, Corrie needs your help with Rafe. You're a big boy now, so you'll be a real help to her."

"I…" Nicky looked up at Grant, his eyes teary. "Okay, Daddy." He flung his arms around Grant's neck and hugged him.

Grant hugged him back hard. "Thank you," he whispered. "I love you."

Nicky sniffled as he whispered back, "Love you, too."

After a few moments Grant set Nicky back on his feet. "How about we go inside to let Corrie know you're staying. She can take you down to see Rafe."

"Okay."

Hand in hand they walked back to the house.

Shadow Men – 45 – Anders and Grant

Early the next morning, while Corrie kept Nicky occupied in the kitchen helping her make breakfast, Anders and Grant sat on the back stoop of the house.

"What exactly are you planning?" Grant asked.

"For starters, making it from here to Manhattan without getting caught."

"That sounds like a good idea, the not getting caught part. Why Manhattan?"

"I know a man there who knows someone…"

"Who knows someone," Steele's voice said behind them.

Grant stood instantly so Steele could sit. Steele thanked him, easing his way down to settle on the edge of the stoop.

"Pretty much, Steele, yeah," Anders agreed. "But it's a start."

"You're damned sure you can trust this man?"

"Are we ever absolutely certain? I'm ninety-nine…" Anders almost smiled when Grant finished the phrase with him. "Anyway, yeah, I do."

"It turned out that the last few people we trusted were working for the Colonel," Steele said, anger causing him to spit the words out.

"Not this guy. I'm not saying he couldn't be bought but not by the Colonel or any of his people, up to and including the Senator."

Steele nodded sharply. "I believe you. How are we getting there?"

"In the car."

Grant looked around. "What car?"

"Come on, I'll show you." Anders got up, heading toward the trees a few yards away.

The branches of the trees were so thick almost no light made its way through them. If Grant hadn't expected to see something he wouldn't have because the camouflage tarp blended so well with the surroundings. Anders pulled it off to reveal a nondescript car, four or five years old, gray and a bit dirty with mud spatters at the back and along one side.

"Not terribly impressive but I guess that's the idea. How does it run?"

"Like a top. The outside's all for show, it's what's under the hood that counts. Believe me, it can take on any car on the road. It's also bullet-proof."

"Which is…good, I guess." Just the idea added another layer to Grant's dread of what was to come.

"It's very good," Anders agreed.

"Question." Grant glanced around just in case Steele was on his way over to join them. When he saw him still sitting on the stoop, he asked Anders, "Is he really in any shape to come with us?"

"Corrie says he is, physically at least. He's eighty percent better than when we pulled him out of there a month ago." Grant shuddered and Anders nodded. "We weren't sure either one of them was going to make it by the time we got them to a doctor we use, one of ours and safe. It wasn't 'til last week that we could bring them both down here."

"What about mentally?"

"You want an honest answer, I don't know. He seems to be doing okay. Nightmares, of course, but Carrie says no flashbacks since he's been here."

"Yes, but it's peaceful here."

"I get what you're saying. Time will tell. He knows what we're doing, planning. He's strong, Grant, here," Anders touched his head, "and here," he tapped his chest.

"All right. Maybe we should get back now?"

"Yeah." Anders chuckled. "Corrie gets pissed if we let her cooking get cold."

It's release day for 'Ryder: Revenge and Redemption'!

Ryder: Revenge and Redemption

https://www.jms-books.com/edward-kendrick-c-224_229/ryder-revenge-and-redemption-p-3227.html

  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086QJLL41

GENRE: Gay Thriller Romance
LENGTH: 40,049 words
RATING:

My name is John Ryder, although everyone who knows me calls me Ryder. I work for an organization that makes it its business to deal with the scum of the scum. We're not assassins. We're people who go undercover to gather information. Mark Blaine was my partner, and the only man I ever loved. We had plans for our life, until he was tortured and killed by a drug dealer and his henchmen.

When that happened, I broke all ties with the organization, and did what I do best. I went deep undercover. Now, I'm out for revenge. One by one, I will do to Mark's killers what they did to him until everyone one of them is dead.

I will be successful, or die in the process. There are no other alternatives.

EXCERPT:

At the moment, Foster had no reason to believe I was in the wind, but I wasn't taking any chances. Being paranoid was part of what had kept me alive so far. It had worked for Mark, too, until he'd said or done something -- God only knows what -- that had set off Danny Graves' radar, and ended with his being tortured before the sons-of-bitches killed him.

I spent a few minutes deciding on my route to return to the city I'd left less than forty-eight hours previously. Next, I sent a heavily encrypted email to a man who could provide me with a car, no questions asked, for a sizable outlay of funds. The cost was no problem. Mark and I had set up an off-shore account which, thanks to what the organization paid us, now held well-over a fifty thousand dollars. It might have been a good deal less if Mark hadn't insisted we save for a rainy day. Now, that day was here.

While I waited for my man to reply, I set up two new identities. I wouldn't make the documents they required myself. I'd leave that to my trusty forger -- a guy the organization knew nothing about. When I had the information for my new aliases the way I wanted, I emailed an encrypted copy to him, letting him know I needed them by noon tomorrow, and was willing to pay well for the rush job. Then, I erased the information from the laptop.

Eventually, the stress of the past two days caught up with me. Not physically, but emotionally. I couldn't stop thinking about the man who had meant everything to me. I'm not normally an emotional guy. Never have been. I'm stoic to the core, doing what has to be done to help rid the world of bastards who shouldn't have been born to begin with. Only with Mark had I felt safe enough to let down my walls and be, well human I suppose, with all that entailed.

I wish I'd told him I loved him long before the moment he was dying. I was only now truly realizing in some deep part of my heart and soul that he was gone. It hurt. More than I ever thought anything could. He had been my other half, just as I'd been his, although neither of us ever said as much. We were men. Tough men who, when necessary, got down and dirty to eliminate the scum who preyed on the innocents. Men like us don't have emotions, or so they say. It wasn't true. We have them, we just can't show them -- not even to the person we love, except on rare occasions.

Resting my head in my hands, I let the tears I didn't know I had in me flow. I didn't cry or sob, like I knew most people would. It was tears, nothing more. It seemed to go on forever as I let out the pain of his loss. When I eventually regained a modicum of control, I went into the bathroom, washed my face, and stared into the mirror. My eyes were red, no big surprise, and I looked as if I was getting off a three-day bender, but I felt better. Not a lot, but at least I was able to return to what I had to do before I disappeared into the ether, off the organizations' radar, how ever I wanted to look at it. Taking a long, deep breath, I went back into the room, sat down in front of the laptop, and set to work.

Shadow Men – 44 – Anders and Grant

"What if I say no?" Grant asked as he returned his attention to the men.

"I take you and Nicky back to your home and walk away," Anders told him, his voice cold as ice.

"That would be a death warrant," Grant said in shock.

"Probably."

"This is blackmail!"

"Grant," Steele said, bringing Grant's attention to him. "While I don't think Anders would actually do that, you have to understand this is a desperate game we're playing. Too many people have died, or been hurt, since the original man got his hands on those papers. It has to stop. You can help."

Grant looked hard at Steele, once again seeing all the damage the man had sustained. "They tortured you."

"Yeah." Steele's face tightened into a mask.

Grant was certain he was remembering it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," he said remorsefully.

Steele blinked, shook his head, and told him, "It happened, it's past, let's move on."

"Can I think about this?"

"Yeah," Anders replied, "but don't take too long. Each day we wait makes it easier for the Colonel and the Senator to both find us and cover their trail at the same time."

"What about..?" Grant was afraid to ask.

"Your son?" Steele asked.

"Yes."

Corrie came over, sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of Grant. "He'll stay here with me and Rafe. I'm as well trained as any of the men." She glanced at Anders and smirked. "Maybe better."

Anders snorted.

"Anyway," she continued, "Nicky will be much safer here than anywhere else."

"I…" Grant drew in a deep breath. "We haven't been apart since Martin's death. How can I leave him behind now? He'll be terrified something will happen to me, too."

"You can't take him with you, Grant. Think of the danger he'd be in, and equally important, how much of a liability he could be." Corrie took one of his hands in hers and he didn't try to pull it back because it was comforting. "First off, you would be worried about him every second. Secondly, you know they're looking for two men and a young boy. It would be like waving a red flag saying 'Here we are'."

Grant rested his elbows on his knees then buried his face in his hands. "I can't do this, any of this," he whispered.

"Yeah, you can," Anders said firmly. "Just like any one of us here, you do what you have to because if you don't you'll be betraying not only yourself and your son, you'll be betraying people who think that the Senator is the ideal man to represent them. You know and I know that's not the truth."

"He's right, Grant, you do what you have to do." The quiet tone of Steele's voice emphasized his words more than any vehemence could have.

"Will I at least be able to call him…once in a while?"

Corrie glanced at Anders. When he nodded she replied, "We'll set it up so it'll be safe for both of you."

Leaning back, Grant stared up at the ceiling but saw the dead man on the floor of his living room, the gun clutched in his hand. If Anders had been two seconds slower, or if he hadn't been there at all… Then he thought of the man in the room below them, and the one beside him. Both were possibly irreparably damaged. They would be dead if it weren't for Anders and Corrie. All because two vicious, immoral men thought they were above any laws, human or God-given.

"All right." Grant's voice was firm even though he was terrified. "I'm in, or whatever I'm supposed to say."

"That works," Anders told him, clapping one hand on his shoulder.

"Now everyone, off to bed," Corrie said as she stood up.

Steele chuckled softly. "Yes, mother."

Shadow Men – 43 – Anders and Grant

Grant heard hobbling footsteps come into the living room, accompanied by more normal ones. He ignored them for the moment to answer Nicky's question about something happening in the TV show he was watching. Then he turned to see Steele standing there with Anders close beside him.

Nicky looked over as well. "Oh, Daddy, someone hurt him," he said.

"Yes they did."

"The bad men we got away from?"

"Yeah, kid," Steele replied as he made his way slowly to the sofa and sat down on the other side of Nicky. "I'm Steele."

"I'm Nicky." The child looked Steele over carefully. "Does it hurt?"

"Like hell," Steele admitted. "Okay, maybe shouldn't have put it that way," he added when he caught the frown on Grant's face.

"It's okay, but you gotta apologize," Nicky told him.

Steele smiled. "Sorry, Nicky."

Nicky nodded then turned his attention back to the TV.

"We need to talk," Anders said from behind Grant.

"Not until he's in bed and asleep," Grant told him firmly.

Steele chuckled. "Which might not be too long."

Grant agreed when Nicky suddenly curled up beside him and rested his head on Grant's thigh. Grant turned to look at Anders. "Bedroom?"

"Upstairs. Take the one on the left." Anders handed Grant one of the bags that had been moved to the table. "I got him pajamas too," he muttered.

"Thanks." Grant carefully picked up his now nearly sleeping son, putting him in the crook of his arm so he could carry the bag as well and headed to the stairs.

* * * *

Grant returned to the living room fifteen minutes later. With a sigh he sat back down on the sofa before he said, "So talk."

Anders, who was now seated on one of the chairs beside the sofa, glanced at Steele. Steele nodded so Anders took the reins of the conversation.

"You know what's in those papers, right?"

"Some, yes. I only skimmed the first few pages before I realized what they were about. I called a friend and he suggested I get in touch with Senator Rogers."

"How much did you tell your friend?"

"Nothing," Grant replied. "Just that I'd found some documents I thought would be considered classified and wasn't sure what to do with them."

"Good, then he should be safe, especially if you didn't tell the Senator about him."

"I didn't."

"All right. Now we have to get them to the right person, someone we can trust who will actually take them seriously and do something with the information."

"Which," Steele said, "isn't going to be easy."

"That's where you come in, Grant."

"Me? Why me?" Grant tried to hide his panic at the idea.

"Because you're just another John Doe with no axe to grind," Anders told him.

"What if…? What about…?" Grant tried to think of an excuse, any excuse, to make them change their minds. "What about the police? They have to think I killed that man and then picked up and ran," he said quickly.

"Doubtful. There's been nothing on the news about it. Best guess the other man with him called in a clean-up squad to dispose of the body. The Colonel and the Senator don't want the information falling into anyone else's hands and that would include the police. But I'll have Corrie run a search, just in case."

"On it," Corrie said as she came into the room. A moment later she was booting up the computer, which sat on a desk in one corner of the room.

Grant frowned. "Can't that be traced?"

            "Nope," she replied with a grin. "I know what I'm doing."