“I’m okay, Cashel. I’m not hurt,” Day just barely whispered over the sound of the water before he turned the nozzles to off.
“Face me,” God said roughly, his throat thick with emotion.
Day turned around, pushing his hair back off his face. There wasn’t a cut anywhere on his body, only a slight bruise on his right shoulder and a little discoloration on his temple. Day leaned against the stall like he was exhausted and God had to touch him. His touch was firm, but his lover was used to that. He pressed in close, breathing in the smell of Day’s favorite shampoo and his body wash. God ran his nose down Day’s temple, gripping him around his waist and running his calloused palms up his sides, listening for any grunts of discomfort. Day didn’t make a sound. No bruised ribs. God used every one of his senses, including taste, to check Day over. When God got to Day’s shoulders, he squeezed them and heard the hiss Day tried but failed to hold back.
God growled and slammed both his hands against the stall on either side of Day’s head. “I was late. I was fuckin’ late.”
“I knew you’d do this. I knew you’d blame yourself. You did your job, Cash. You kept the Enforcers close. They got there in time.” Day reached up and gripped God’s massive biceps, easing his hands over his shoulders and up to his neck. When he leaned in, God let Day clamp down on the back of his neck – relishing the strength of his partner – and bring their mouths together in a fierce kiss. A kiss that made a hundred apologies and answered with even more forgiveness. When they finally broke apart, both of them were panting heavily, and God wrapped Day tight in his arms, letting the contact bring him back from the edge.
“Goddamnit. I was so scared, Leo,” God admitted, no longer afraid to be vulnerable in front of this one man.
“Me too,” Day whispered.
Day let God hold him as long as he needed to. As long as it took for him to know that he was safe. They didn’t have these kinds of moments in the office. They remained professional at all times, so neither of them moved until they were sure they could hold it together in front of their team. Stay composed long enough, until they got home. That’s when he’d really show Day how relieved and thankful he truly was. He’d show him all fuckin’ night long.
Detective Shawn Murphy – “Tech”
Shawn hid in the secured room that housed the team’s equipment, getting his nerves back under control. They’d had many close calls in the past, especially when it came to the Enforcers – Ruxs and Green – but it’d been a while since one of the lieutenants was cornered and fighting for his life. If something had happened to Day, there was no way the team would be able to go on. Everyone loved Day, adored Syn..., and Ro, well what wasn’t to love about the gorgeous man. It could’ve been three members of their family taken at once, and the rest of them wouldn’t survive it. Especially Tech, because he’d have felt partially responsible.
He was the link between all of them. He had to move fast enough, make quick decisions that could be the deciding factor of how well a bust went down. His lieutenants and sergeant weren’t always able to respond and dictate instruction, often times Tech had to react on his own for the team.
Holed up in the equipment room within their department wing, he was, at that moment, thanking the good lord above that he’d unleashed the Enforcers before Day had sent the distress call. If he hadn’t, if he’d waited even another five seconds… Jesus, I can’t even imagine it. These men were all a part of him – they were his family. He still had his father back home in the Southern Rockies, but for a few of the guys, this was the only family they had.
Day was a very special brother to him. He’d saved him from a lengthy federal prison sentence after he got busted for hacking into the DOD mainframe. Day had convinced the federal prosecutor that Tech wasn’t malicious or a danger to society, he’d only wanted some information for himself, not to commit espionage. So he’d worked his three-year sentence with God and Day’s task force and had amazed them so much, Day helped him through the legal maze to become an actual police detective. There was no way he’d have survived in prison, he was too innocent looking. A computer geek through and through. At only five foot eleven, most men stood over him. Sure, he worked out and stayed in shape, but bulking up to the size of most of the detectives on his team just wasn’t in his DNA.