Page 30 of Remote Access

“Sure.” Lane crawled to the edge of the bed and reached across to his own where he’d left stacks of paper. “But I can tell you now it’s mostly baseball paraphernalia—two items I stole myself, including a signed baseball.”

“A signed baseball,” Quincy murmured before he dropped everything and ran his hands through his hair. “I’ve got him. I’ve got the motherfucker.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

“I thought we had the motherfucker.” Lane waved at all the boxes. “Isn’t this enough to put Hayrick away for life?”

“Not him.” He pointed to one of the lines that had a bee on the end. “I’ve seen this very thing in my ex-boss’s home.”

Lane’s mouth fell open. He’d been a cop, so… “You’re telling me the chief of police is actually displaying stolen goods? Is he an idiot?”

“He’s an arrogant fucker who is balls deep up Letsen’s ass. These are what I’ve been looking for this whole time.” He jumped off the bed and this time, he did a little celebratory dance. He grabbed Lane and kissed him, a hard noisy smack on the lips. “I can make sure the asshole is put away for life and get my damn job back! Get Gareth’s job back!”

Lane’s heart had started to pound and it got harder with every word. This was the reminder he needed that their interlude was just that. Short term. It was good he remembered that now before he actually started to fall for the guy. He offered Quincy a smile he knew was convincing because he’d used the same one on his mother for ten years. Outside the storm raged and he looked at the television to see if any of the scary dark blobs were headed their way.

Lane felt like one was inside him and heading for his heart right then. “Then let’s get the information you need gathered. You got someone you can send it to?”

Quincy nodded, but he was watching Lane closely. “I do, but I’m not backing out on you or any of the rest of this.”

“But what about your job?”

“My job will be there later. Putting my boss away was my main goal when we started, yes. But my other has always been to get Letsen put away for the rest of his life.” He tugged Lane close and slid his fingers into his hair. “We need to find that poster for you. And maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll find that little girl’s Princess Diana Ty bear, too.”

Lane smiled, heart still aching at the thought of how much their time had just been cut short. “I’d like that.”

Chapter Ten

“There’s a light on in your secret hideaway,” Lane muttered as they drove down the long, rutted dirt driveway. The rain had left everything muddy and they spent a few turns sliding. Quincy had expected them to get stuck, but they’d been lucky. Lucky with the tornadoes, as well. The cool air had thankfully moved in and the storms had settled.

Gareth’s cabin was a cute, little two bedroom place nestled deep in the forest of elms and oaks around Arcadia Lake in Edmond, Oklahoma. Only the moon lit the way and then it was sporadically because of the deep layer of tree limbs above. High beams illuminated the road ahead of them. Until the cabin came into view—along with its bright windows.

“Oh good, he got here early.” Quincy squinted at the window, recognizing another form. “Looks like Isaac made it, too. You’re about to meet two good friends of mine.”

As light from the cabin spilled into the car, Lane picked his fedora off the seat between them and ran his hands along the rim. “Let me guess. More cops?”

“Cops are the good guys, remember?”

He got a wry look in return. “Like your chief?”

“Okay, so there are exceptions. There are in every profession. Apparently, there are even honest people among thieves.”

“Honest thieves. Who’da thunk it?” The humor in Lane’s tone didn’t hide his nervousness, his fingers shaking as he circled the hat’s rim.

“They don’t bite.” Quincy smirked. “And only one is still on the force.”

Lane’s eyes looked black in the darkness. “Quincy, he’s still another cop and we’re about to let him look at years of proof of me breaking the law. Don’t they have an obligation to turn me in?”

Quincy parked the car and turned to Lane. “Listen to me. These guys worked with me on big cases and in each one, that meant turning a blind eye to some of the smaller things in order to get to the bigger fish.”

“I wouldn’t say stealing millions of dollars’ worth of goods is small.”

“If it means taking down Hayrick Letsen’s operation?”

Lane nodded. “Yeah, I get it. Still, this is not my natural habitat.”

Quincy leaned across the space between them and slid his hand behind Lane’s neck. He pulled him in and pressed a lingering kiss on his lips. “It’s going to be fine. The faster we get through the paperwork and find your poster, the faster we can get it and make sure it goes home where it belongs.”

“We?” Lane gripped his arm.

“We,” he repeated, knowing he was giving away a little too much, but wanting to ease Lane’s worry about going into that cabin. “I’m not quite ready for whatever we’re doing together to end—the bad as well as the good.”

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