Ellery Mountain 1 -The Fireman and the Cop (8 page)

“I know it.” Neil lowered the gun, pointing it at the floor and all hell broke loose. Everything a blur. Daniel diving for a gun, Max coming up behind Neil, Neil in the middle still with his hands on the trigger.

The discharge of the weapon and the smell of cordite was enough to force Finn to his knees. Who had been shot? Why was there blood on the wall in the spread of light from the lamp?

Daniel there as well.
“Done,” Daniel snapped. “How is Finn?”
“Is—is—Neil, is he dead?” Finn stuttered and coughed.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to kill him,” Max said softly.
Finn grasped at his lover’s shirt and pulled him closer. What did Max think he wanted?

To talk to the man who had murdered and destroyed all? For Finn? To get closure? Finn wanted none of that.
“Don’t ever be sorry,” he said fiercely, “not for anything.”
“Paramedics will be here in ten,” Daniel announced.
Max gently laid Finn flat on the floor and cradled Finn’s head in his hands. “Hear that, Finn, ten, that’s all.”
Finn let every muscle that he had control over relax until all he had to focus on was Daniel and Max talking above him and his own breathing. He turned his head and his gaze rested on Neil lying crumpled, eyes wide and staring, the other side of his face, gone.

“I didn’t know he’d been inside a psychiatric hospital,” Finn said sadly. His mom and brother stood by his bed and both wore expressions of worry. “Why didn’t you tell us, though? That he was hitting you back at college. I thought he

was stalking you and that you had dealt with it,” Josh said.
Finn sighed inwardly. Josh was assuming the physical trauma was more dangerous.
Psychological trauma was just as hard to cope with, but he hadn’t wanted to lay it on his
family—hell, it had been six years ago and Josh had only been fifteen.
“I was a kid,” Finn tried to explain although talking hurt. “I didn’t know any better. He
was two years older than me, and more experienced. I dealt with it. I left him. He moved
away. It was over.”
“You need to get some sleep,” his mom said.
The nurses had been in, prodded him, poked him, doctors had pronounced that he’d
live and could he try and leave it a few weeks before coming back in. Gallows humour at the
best. Two cracked ribs, one concussion under observation, one fractured arm, and a
dislocated shoulder, added to the injured knees, bruises on top of bruises, and Finn was in a
world of feeling sorry for himself.
The room was quiet after they had gone. He hadn’t seen Daniel and Max since last night
but Kieran had spent time with him explaining that both men were dealing with the fallout.
Neil was dead—a single bullet through his left eye, from his own gun. He had been shot in
self-defence, it was obvious from the evidence and the statements. That strange faux
darkness that indicated nighttime fell over the hospital, and yet again, Finn was measuring
time by meds and nurse visits.
Finally, when he woke from one of many dozes, the person he wanted to see was inside
his room and sleeping in a chair with his arms crossed over his chest at his bedside. Hospital
chairs were too small for a man as big as Max.
“Max?” Finn coughed.
Max was there with water but Finn felt like someone had steamrollered him. He was
exhausted and hurt from head to toe.
“Shhh,” Max whispered over and over to comfort him.
“This is getting old,” Finn sighed. “Me in hospital and you coming in with grapes.” “I didn’t bring any grapes.”
Sleep washed over Finn and he yawned. “Go home,” he said. “Come back tomorrow,
though? With grapes.”
Max settled back in the chair. “I’ll wait until you fall asleep, Finn Ryan.” “Don’t have to,” Finn murmured.
“Yeah,” Max replied softly. “Yeah, I do.”

Max parked the new truck outside the mayor’s office. He’d gone with Daniel and Kieran to find a new truck for Finn to replace the one that had passed on to ‘old truck heaven’ in the river. He was nervous about today and he wasn’t entirely sure why. Finn had been out of hospital a week and was back on light duties, which played havoc with the amount of time they actually spent together. It had been a month now since the night of the murders and Ellery was still in shock.

Mike Fitzgerald had been mourned as a fixture in the town and the gossip was that Mike was lucky they had even done this. Hell, Mike’s son Luke hadn’t even bothered to attend the funeral. The manner in which Neil had died cast another shadow over Ellery. Everyone in the town knew everything and Max wondered if he would ever get used to it.

He’d need it. Finn was on edge and antsy. He’d given evidence, spent days in hospital, and refused point blank to let Max look after him. The first night Max had driven him home Finn had near shut the door in his face with the excuse of being tired. Since then, six days of meetings and silence and just plain orneriness on Finn’s part and Max was ready to pull him out of the house forcefully. They’d seen each other more when Finn had been in hospital. The truck was his last chance to get inside Finn’s head and make him see what Max wanted for the two of them.

“Thanks,” he called back. Squaring his shoulders, he entered the code to get himself into his workplace and Finn’s. Working alongside each other but in different rooms made for a very odd relationship.

That was good given they would at least have some privacy. Max stalked into the small anteroom and pulled the door shut with a resounding slam causing Finn to whirl around suddenly.

“Max—” he began.
“No. No talking. Just listen.” Max had had enough of listening to reasons why Finn didn’t want to take what they potentially had any further. They were first responders, they had a responsibility to stay clear-headed, and who the hell had relationships that lasted anyway?
“Max—”
“I’m sorry, okay,” Max blurted.
Their last meeting had been Max trying to push for a reaction by pinning Finn to this very coffee machine. It had ended way past badly and onto horrific. Finn had fought him, and not in the sexy, squirming, not-really-trying-to-escape way but in the freaked-out way. Eyes wide, Finn had told Max to fuck off. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m not a girl, Max.”
“I know that.”
“You didn’t scare me. I just panicked. Look.” Carefully, he placed his mug down on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.
Max recognised the defensive posture for what it was. He mimicked the stance and leant back against the door just in case someone wanted to come in that way.
Finn continued, “I’m seeing the doctor at the hospital over all this flashback shit. Can’t that be enough for a while? If I get through to the other side with my job intact, then we could be friends.”
“Friends with benefits, huh?” Max knew he was goading Finn. Could see the sudden flash of pain in the other man’s eyes.
“I guess so,” Finn answered. Doubt coloured his words despite the semi-confident delivery.
“You don’t want that. You want more than that.”
“I’m nearly there. At least I’m not jumping all the time now. Maybe in a while I’ll want more. I don’t know. Fuck, Max, we weren’t any more than casual lovers, we don’t have to build it to be any more than it is.”
“That’s bullshit. Why won’t you let me help?”
“I don’t need help.”
“You push Daniel and Kieran away, even Josh texted me to ask if you’d lost your phone.”
There was a pause—a silence so complete Max could hear the sound of his own breathing. Then Finn turned his back on Max and rested his palms on the counter. He leaned over and bowed his head.
“I’m a grown man—”
“Not this again.”
“Yes, this again. I’m a grown man who can handle his own problems. I nearly got Daniel killed, I nearly got you killed. God knows where he would have stopped…my mom? Josh? Don’t you get it? Neil was my fault. I should have followed up on him—hell, just checked on the police database for what he was doing. I knew there was something about him that wasn’t right.”
“Okay.” Max said suddenly. Finn tensed and Max carried on. He placed the keys to the truck at his end of the counter. “Your new truck is out front. Daniel, Kieran and I managed to get enough money together so you have a pretty good replacement.” Finn cast a surprised glance at Max. “I’m home the rest of today. If you can get your head out of your ass long enough to see I don’t want you so I can look after you, but maybe that you could look after me. After all, the man I love was nearly beaten to death.”
He left before Finn could say anything. He wasn’t sure if he’d played the right cards. Doc had told him he should try to make Finn see that what had happened wasn’t all his fault. The only way he could do that was to show Finn that he had been scared too, maybe force Finn’s protective side to push past the fears.
He walked home, past the Chinese restaurant, past the school until finally he was in his small front yard. The sound of the truck drawing up next to him was a welcome relief. Now he just had to see if Finn was in a fighting mood or whether he was still in self-isolation mode.
“What did you say back there?” Finn said as he climbed out of his truck.
“What part exactly?” Max could play at this game all day if it meant getting Finn back in his life.
“The man you love.” Finn gestured at Max.
“Oh, that.”
“How can you even respect me, let alone love me, when you had to pull me out of chaos three times like some idiot?” Finn snapped. Then he seemed to realise what he’d said and he stopped talking and paled.
Max stumbled back a step. Finally it all made sense. This wasn’t Finn in fear for Max’s life, or Daniel’s, or even feeling that it was his fault Neil had made his way to Ellery. This was Finn thinking that Max didn’t respect him.
Max opened his front door and stood to one side. “We need to talk,” he said firmly.
Finn was staring at him wild-eyed and for a second Max actually imagined Finn was going to get in his truck and just leave. Finally Finn came to some kind of silent conclusion and walked past Max into the house, taking obvious care not to brush by him.
Max’s heart twisted. What the hell did he say now? What did he do? Finn was his and Max was lost without him. He was in love, something he had never imagined happening, and he wanted a hell of a lot more than just a couple of hot memories and a month of hospital visits and drama. He wanted years more where they were together.
Finn rounded on him as soon as he stepped inside. He looked angry. “Do you see now?” he demanded. “Did I not make it really clear to you?”
“No. But you just did. But I don’t get it. Do you really think that you are less of a man in my eyes because I helped you out of a truck, or wrestled a madman to the ground? What about Mike? What about me dragging your ass out of the fire? You forgot that one.”
“All of it.”
“You stubborn fucker,” Max snapped.
“And that is gonna win me over?” Finn snapped back.
They stood there in a kind of furious face off until suddenly Max knew exactly what to say.
“When I was a probie, God, I was like twenty-three, green as hell. We had this fire, an office had gone up in flames, one of those old buildings with over four floors. A guy was trapped up on the third floor and before we got there one of his colleagues went back in the building to drag him out. Something inside that man—a courage, a duty, a friendship, I don’t know what—made him go into a building with a raging fire. Neither man made it out. That man running into a fire was possibly the bravest thing I had ever seen and it stayed with me. Then you…” Max stopped talking for a moment. He wasn’t entirely sure he was making the right point. “You went in to get Mike out. You didn’t have to, but you did.”
“I’m a cop—” Finn started.
“First responders. It’s what we do,” Max finished.
“Max—”
“Finn, stop, okay? See what I said. I would have done exactly the same for Daniel or Kieran—does that mean they are lesser men?”
“No, but—”
“Trust me when I tell you this. When you opened your eyes in the ambulance and looked up at me, I fell right damn slap into lust with you, and when I got to know you I fell in love.”
“Because you feel responsible for me—”
“Damn you, Finn Ryan,” Max said. In a second he had Finn pressed to the wall and this time Finn didn’t resist but melted back against its support. Roughly Max pushed up Finn’s dark blue shirt and loosened his gun belt. The noise of it falling to the floor was loud in the quiet room. “I love you.” Finn didn’t immediately respond and Max took the silence as an opportunity to kiss Finn. He pushed and pushed until they were both hard and ready.
Finn shoved at him and at first Max didn’t let him stop the kiss in fear that he was making a decision Max wasn’t sure he could live with. Then his shoving was too much and Max put some distance between them to allow Finn to talk.
“I love you too,” Finn said simply. He was breathing heavily but there was a new peace in his expression.
“You do?” Max hated to hear doubt in his own voice.
Finn smiled.
The bastard
.
“I love that you didn’t give up on me.” So much emotion tinged the words. “I love your stubbornness,” Max said firmly.
“I love
your
stubbornness,” Finn repeated.
Max stepped back into Finn’s space and pulled him close before kissing him hard. “I love your body, I love that you are my man.”
Finn simply pulled back a little and stared straight into Max’s eyes. He reached down and ran a hand over Max’s achingly hard dick. He smirked.
“I love your hose.”

Robert circled the spoon inside his coffee cup, watching the cream swirl. Depression sat like a heavy stone on his chest. How had his life been reduced to this? By all standards, people would consider him successful. Why couldn’t he find the perfect guy? Hell, his imaginary partner didn’t even have to be perfect—he just had to not want Robert’s money. The few times he thought he’d found a keeper had turned out to be giant fiascos. One guy had tried to leave Robert’s house with Robert’s new laptop and another had tried to sweet talk him into financing a play.