Page 33 of Survivor
Chapter Twenty-Five
Taylor
Pulling into the parking lot at the Jack Evans Police Headquarters building, Taylor was pleased to find a spot right up front. He climbed out of the jeep and walked around the front to meet Frank, reaching for his hand. “Remember, no matter what happens here today, we’re in this together.” He winked at Frank.
Neither of them slept well the night before. Taylor woke up pissed off that the Sergeant hadn’t just waited to contact Frank and Caleb in the morning, instead of on their night off.Speak of the devil.Caleb stood leaning against a pillar close to the entrance of the building. Once they were through security, they took the elevator up to the fourth floor for their meeting, all of them still in the dark about why they were there, aside from the obvious.
“Frank, Caleb, morning,” A man in a tailored suit with a military cut greeted them as soon as the elevator doors slid open. What little hair he had was dark brown and his eyes were almond shaped and as brown as his hair. One of his parents was definitely Asian and it showed in his features. “Taylor, I’m Sergeant Rand Davis, but you can just call me Rand. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face.” He shook the offered hand and then the three of them followed Rand down a long hallway.
“I have turned over some stones the size of the Rock of Gibraltar since we last talked, Officers,
and I have a lot to show and tell you guys today. Please, right in here.” Davis pushed a door open, stepping to one side so that Taylor, Frank, and Caleb could go into the room first.
“Before we begin, allow me to introduce you to Agent Landers. When I started digging around in the case he reached out to me. Apparently, the Bureau has been quietly following the case and your movements for a while.” Davis pointed to a short, skinny guy standing on the other side of the room, facing away from them, looking out the window.
Taylor felt Frank’s posture stiffen and was immediately on guard. “Frank, what’s wrong?”
“It can’t be…Trevor?” Frank took a few steps closer to the man by the window, his face awash in disbelief and pain. Skinny Guy bowed his head for a moment before he finally turned and looked at Frank, the same pain Taylor could see on his lover’s face mirrored in the stranger’s features.
“Say what, now?” Caleb moved closer to Frank. “Trevor? As in the flight-attendant-fuck-buddy-friend-with-benefits, Trevor?”
“What?” Taylor spoke through clenched teeth. Knowing that Frank had been with other men before they were together was one thing. Standing face-to-face with one of those men made Taylor feel jealous, territorial.
“Well, for proprieties’ sake, allow me to introduce everyone.” Rand did not look pleased, if Taylor was reading him right. “This is Agent Rory Landers; Trevor is one of his undercover aliases. Agent Landers, this is officer Caleb Knight and Taylor Langford. It would seem that you and Officer Frank Moore are already acquainted—care to tell me how?”
Taylor watched as Frank’s mood shifted from confusion to clear recognition followed by seething anger. Apparently, Frank was none the wiser to exactly who Trevor or Rory or whatever-the-fuck-his-name is or was. “Can we talk alone for a minute, Frank? Let me explain…”
Several things happened simultaneously. Tre…Rory took a couple of steps closer to Frank, who took a few steps back. Taylor moved in front of Frank and Caleb’s arm shot out, blocking Rory from coming any closer. “You best start talking,” Caleb advised the agent, voice low and menacing.
Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his perfectly tailored suit, the Agent sighed. “I’ve been working undercover for the past nine years. I was assigned to you, Frank, by the Bureau because you were a part of Taylor’s life and they wanted to keep tabs on him, to make sure he was safe.”
Frank’s body was trembling, his left hand holding on to Taylor’s shoulder with a tight grip. “You son of a bitch.” Frank’s words held a sharp sting. “So, you used me, to what end,Rory?”Wow, is that what livid sounds like?“Was me fucking you a part of your grand plan as well?” Pushing past Caleb and Taylor, Frank advanced on Agent Landers, and Taylor had to give the scrawny guy credit, he didn’t back away; he stood his ground.
“Oh, wow. That is a complication.” Rand Davis walked over and put a hand on each man’s chest, pushing them apart. “If you two can act like adults, the three of us will give you a few minutes to talk before we dive into everything I’ve found concerning the Langford murders.”
Taylor felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. For ten goddamn years, he’d prayed that his parents’ murder would be solved. It had kept him awake at night, knowing that the person who’d killed them for no apparent reason was still out there, free as a bird while his parents were dead and buried. But his focus had shifted the night Frankie said yes to him on the beach. Now, the most important thing in his life was the man he loved. Moving swiftly, he reached for Frank and tugged on his arm. When he turned and looked up at Taylor his heart sank. Taylor had seen the look that was equal parts rage and suffering many times when he looked in the mirror. He knew every emotion Frank was fighting at the moment, each commanding Frank adhere to his instincts. It was confusing and painful and if they weren’t inside Police Headquarters, he’d kick the shit out of Rory Landers for causing his lover so much pain.
“Caleb, Taylor, let’s wait out in the hall while…”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Taylor said flatly, cutting Davis off, holding Frank’s face in his hands. He heard Caleb mutter something and then the door closed, but the only thing he could focus on at the moment was the man in front of him. Frank took a few deep, calming breaths and Taylor could feel some of the tension in his body receding. “You good?” Frank nodded.
He led Frank over to the table and pulled out two seats, gesturing with his hand for Landers to do the same, but on the other side of the table. “All right Rory, start talking.”
“I won’t go into all the details surrounding the case now; we’ll wait until Davis and Knight return to go over all that because everything is linked and I don’t want to waste the few minutes we have on things we’ll only be discussing again.” Landers paused briefly, his eyes drifting from Frank to Taylor, a wall dropping immediately as he focused on Taylor. “I was assigned to your parents’ case about a year after the murders, specifically to shadow Frank.”
“But why? Why me?” Frank sounded so dejected that Taylor tightened his hold on him.
Rory turned his attention to Frank. “Because the Bureau believed the killer could likely come after Taylor. And you, Frank, as well as Valerie and Charles Stone, were the three constants in his life. Sleeping with you was not in the job description, it just…happened. But you were never fully present when we were together, were you, Frankie? There was always a part of you that you kept hidden, safely tucked away.”
And there it was. The man sitting across from them looking at Frank wistfully had hoped for more than Frank could offer. Taylor could sympathize with him. Suddenly, he felt sorry for Agent Landers, most of his anger dissipating—most, but not all. “First, don’t ever call him Frankie again. Only I get to use that name when referring to him. Second, I can see it in your eyes, Agent, there’s more. So why don’t you spit it out so we can call Caleb and Davis back in here and get this over with.” Taylor spoke with a commanding tone, leaving no room for argument.
Running his fingers through his long, black hair, Landers sighed heavily. “There are two other Agents—one assigned to the Stones and one assigned to you, Taylor.”
“Say what, now?” Taylor asked. He couldn’t believe that, wouldn’t believe it. “Who?”
“The Stones’ housekeeper, Marta, and your friend Kian.”
He was dumbfounded, at a loss for words. Kian was one of his best friends, had been since high school. He’d trusted Kian implicitly, as he had the few close friends in his life. Now Taylor understood why Frank was both sad and angry at learning that the man he’d known as Trevor wasn’t who he pretended to be. Seeing that misery in Frank’s eyes, written all over his face was one thing. But feeling it, that was an entirely different level of pain.
