Tied Up in Knots Read online

  “For fuck’s sake, Ian, ya do too.”

  “Could you get back to finding Lorcan, please, so they can get the fuck outta here?”

  Giving up for the moment, I went back to hunting the NCIC database.

  “So what happened exactly?”

  “Your dad says that Lorcan got picked up by CPD, but that they can’t find him.”

  “So you’re thinking what, he’s sitting in a holding cell somewhere?”

  “Could be, but I’ll bet you it has more to do with whatever he was picked up for. Maybe they’re squeezing him to get to somebody else.”

  “So we’re assuming it’s drugs.”

  I shrugged.

  “Who has drugs?” Kohn asked from his desk.

  “Shuddup,” Ian snapped.

  “Oh, by the way,” Kohn added. “My mother wants to meet you guys, so she’s coming with me when I visit. Prepare yourselves.”

  I stared at him. “Your mother?”

  “My mother.”

  I glanced at Ian.

  “What? I’m sure she’s lovely.”

  Kohn cackled. “Oh, she’s the best, but in your business she will be.”

  “She always wants to know when me and Theresa are gonna have kids,” Kowalski chimed in. “And she thinks Theresa doesn’t feed me enough.”

  Kowalski was a mountain. How could Kohn’s mother say he wasn’t eating enough?

  “I don’t see anything here at all,” Ian said, having commandeered my mouse so he could scroll around. “I think you’re gonna have to call.”

  “Call who?” I asked. Considering the US Justice Department investigating the Chicago Police Department’s use of force, deadly or otherwise, we were not at the top of their want-to-help-them-out list. I would have had better luck if I was a fed.

  “Call Cochran,” Ian suggested.

  “Are you nuts?” I asked, my voice going up way too high, but seriously, was he insane? “He fuckin’ hates me, and it goes both ways. And he might’ve gone to Plano already.”

  “Maybe.”

  I eyed him. “Do you know where Plano is?”

  His scowl was instant. “Of course, it’s in Texas. Everybody knows that.”

  I grunted.

  “Just try and call him,” Ian went on. “From what the boss man said, you helped him out, didn’t let them do anything but the minimum for what he did to you. I’m thinking he owes you.”

  Even though Ian’s logic was faulty, I called over to the Fourth District, Central, and asked to be transferred upstairs to Violent Crimes and Detective Cochran’s desk.

  “Cochran,” he answered on the fifth ring, sounding as surly as ever.

  “I need help.”

  “Fuck you, Miro, you just ruined my life,” he retorted and hung up.

  “Well, that was great,” I groused. “Now we’re never going to find him.”

  “Find who?”

  We both looked up to find Kage looming over my desk. He passed me the final paperwork on Cabot and Drake as he waited for an answer.

  “Ian’s dad and stepmother say that his half brother got picked up by CPD, but he’s not in their system. At least, there’s nothing on their server.”

  Kage nodded. “Come with me.”

  In his office he used his speakerphone and called over to the Eighteenth District, Near North, and did the same thing I did, except he didn’t ask for a detective. He asked to be connected to the new acting commander, Duncan Stiel.

  “It’s terrifying who they’ll promote these days,” Kage said jovially once Stiel came on the line. I’d never heard that particular tone from him. It was strange.

  “Yeah, well, when a department on the whole looks quite this shitty, the good PR of furthering the career of an openly gay officer sounded pretty good to the brass.”

  “You havin’ any trouble?”

  “A little pushback but nothing major.” He sighed. “I’ve been on the job too long, too many guys know me, and at this point, saying anything about me or to me just shines the light back on them.”

  “Good, I’m glad.”

  “Hey, while I’ve got you, remember the ballet is tonight, and Hannah needs to be ready to go by six. Aaron will be by to pick her up then.”

  “Are you going?”

  “No, man, I work for a living.”

  Kage grunted.

  “Why are you calling me at work?”

  “I have two of my marshals here with me, Jones and Doyle, and they’re looking for Doyle’s stepbrother—” He tipped his head toward us.

  “Lorcan Doyle,” Ian supplied.

  “His folks say he was picked up, but there’s no record,” Kage continued.

  Deep sigh from Stiel. “Hold on.”

  It was silent a few moments, and then we heard keyboard tapping.

  “Hey, weren’t Doyle and Jones the ones who found Hannah right before Thanksgiving last year? Am I remembering that right?”

  “Yes,” Kage said irritably, probably not wanting to be reminded that his daughter was kidnapped for a good half an hour the year before. She got away because she was very smart and very brave. With Kage as her father, it hadn’t been a surprise.

  “Doyle’s first name is Ian, right?”

  “It is.”

  “Ian’s a good name,” Stiel said wistfully, and I had to wonder what that was about. “Okay, here we go. Lorcan Colin Doyle, twenty-five, of Marynook…. oh, he’s out.”

  “Out?”

  “Yeah, looks like the sister posted bail, and he’s being charged with drug possession with intent to sell.”

  “Which was?”

  “Uh… oh, pot.”

  “Pot?”

  “I’m just reading, don’t judge me. Marijuana is still illegal here.”

  Kage groaned.

  “And it looks like he was carrying an unlicensed firearm as well,” Stiel added. “If he doesn’t do any time, I’d be surprised.”

  “But like you said, at the moment, he’s free.”

  “Yep.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’d say it was my pleasure,” he said, chuckling, “but I’d be lying.”

  “Glad to see your promotion hasn’t gone to your head.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, so you know, we’ll be there tomorrow around one, all right? You need us to bring anything?”

  “No,” Kage said adamantly. “Please, no.”

  “You said bring dessert last time.”

  “There was a catering van in my driveway just to unload plates and napkins. Just… no.”

  Stiel laughed and hung up, and Kage hit the button on his phone, killing the line.

  “Okay, so go tell them he’s out.”

  “I wonder why the processing isn’t in our system.”

  “Probably because the judge accepted a plea and that’s public record, but I doubt CPD’s system will update until after the holiday. You would have found it if you’d known he was bailed out already. You were just looking in the wrong place.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Yep. Have a good weekend, gentlemen. I’ll see you Monday.”

  He was taking the day after the holiday off. The rest of us were all in on Friday.

  I prodded Ian to go talk to his father and stepmother alone, which gave me time to check in on Aruna.

  “Do you have the package?” I teased.

  “I do.” Aruna giggled. “And the package is in deep shit.”

  “What?”

  I heard sounds of a struggle: smacking, slapping, and then Janet was calling Aruna a narc, and Aruna called Janet fat—which drew a gasp of outrage—before the phone got dropped.

  “I’m not fat, you witch, I’m pregnant!”

  “You’re three months pregnant,” Aruna said in her superior tone. “If you keep eating like you are, you’ll be as big as a house.”

  Second gasp of profound outrage.

  “Hello!” I yelled into my phone. “Why are you in deep shit, Powell?”

  “I’m sorry, what?”
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  Oh crap, I thought. “Oh crap,” I said. “You didn’t tell Ned you came here.”

  “I think we have a bad connection,” she said, and then she was gone.

  I was so dead. Janet’s husband was going to think I kidnapped her, or worse, was in on her plan from the start.

  “Hey.”

  I turned to Kohn, and he tipped his head. I looked where he was directing to see Ian standing with Colin and Linda, and he was motioning me to him.

  Crossing the room quickly, I was surprised to see Linda holding Ian’s hand. It was just as odd when she reached for me.

  “Thank you.” She was adamant.

  “We didn’t do anything,” I told her with a shrug. “Your daughter bailed him out.”

  “But we had no idea where he was, and now we don’t have to wait to hear from either of them. We can call and find out what’s going on.”

  “We can help,” Colin said.

  Linda turned to me. “Ian says that you have plans tomorrow, but if anything changes, please come by and—”

  “You should come by our place,” I said before my brain kicked in. “We have tons of friends coming by, so please feel free. We’re gonna have people in and out all day—it’s like a Thanksgiving open house.” I smiled at them. “We’d love to have you.”

  “I’ll be stuck home cooking all day, but—”

  “I’ll be by,” Colin said, taking hold of Ian’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  Linda inhaled sharply. “What am I thinking? Things are going to be strange this year and—I’ll be by as well,” she finished, putting a hand on Ian’s cheek and patting it gently.

  If looks could kill, the one Ian shot me should have dropped me dead where I stood.

  “HAVE YOU lost your fuckin’ mind?” he railed as we walked downstairs to the garage together.

  “It was the right thing to do.”

  “My father?” He was incredulous. “Are you serious?”

  “Lighten up, Doyle,” I taunted, leading him toward the car.

  When we got closer, his eyes widened, and he stopped moving like he’d stepped in front of a firing squad. He lifted his hand and gestured wildly.

  I snickered because, God, it was just too good.

  “The fuck is that?” He asked, clearly horrified.

  I spread my arms wide. “That, my friend, is a 1988 Volkswagen Cabriolet convertible. In carnation pink.”

  “The hell you say!” he roared.

  There was no way not to laugh. “You’re gonna look badass driving this, man.”

  “The hell I will!”

  “It’s either this or the 1966 Dodge Rambler, and at least the Cabriolet will hit eighty.”

  “No, no, no, no,” he lamented. “How the hell did this happen?”

  “Well, you know how normally one of us runs a diversion upstairs and the other one comes down and picks the best car?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I had no partner, so you get what you get.”

  “So you’re saying this is my fault?”

  “You wanna drive?” I said instead of answering.

  “Shit.”

  He had to drive. He was compelled. He was a control freak, and letting me navigate us around Chicago was never going to be possible.

  “There’s no iPod jack in here,” he complained loudly from the interior before I got in.

  I was really so glad he was home.

  Chapter 16

  IAN AND I met Aruna and Janet at Lou Malnati’s over on State because it was close to work and Janet was craving it so bad she told me she was going to die.

  When we got there, I saw Janet’s smile quiver just a bit when she saw Ian, but she recovered quickly. Apparently Aruna neglected to tell her Ian was home.

  When I hugged her, she burst into tears and clung tight.

  “We’ll stay up all night and snuggle on the couch, pet, I promise.”

  She squeezed me tighter, burying her face in the side of my neck, and I simply held on and rubbed her back and told her how much I loved and adored her. It was easy to say nice things to my girl since they were all true.

  In the booth she did a really sweet thing and reached out for Ian. He took her hand quickly and then kissed it before holding on. She went a little melty right there.

  “So where’s Ned?” Ian asked.

  Her gaze shifted to the ceiling. “It’s so cute in here, don’t you think?”

  Ian glanced at me. I shrugged.

  Aruna mouthed “MIA” and pointed at Janet.

  “He’s gonna kill me,” I assured her.

  “Oh, he will not, and geez, Miro, don’t be so dramatic. Ned just hates that,” she said irritably, letting me know exactly how Ned had sounded when he was talking to her. “I mean, heaven fucking forbid his pregnant wife gets a bit emotional!”

  “He’s just learning to navigate the hormones,” Aruna commented. “Liam had a learning curve too.”

  Janet passed judgment. “Liam’s a saint. My husband is an ass who cares more about being with his family for the holidays than being with me.”

  I sighed deeply as I carded my fingers through my hair. “Tell me he’s not expecting you to show up in Alexandria tonight.”

  “He’s not expecting me to show up in Alexandria tonight.” The dazzling smile I got made it even worse.

  “He’s gonna murder me.”

  “We’re talking about Ned,” Janet said with a contentious sneer.

  “You’re not being nice.”

  “Like I—”

  “Shut up,” Aruna commanded as she read something on her phone.

  “That’s not very nice,” I said, trying playfully to swipe it out of her hands.

  “Stop—oh my God,” she snapped, her hands shaking as she shoved the phone at Ian. “Did you know?”

  I leaned sideways to see what had her all in a twist, and there was Craig Hartley grinning back at me. The words “escaped from federal custody” and “manhunt” were especially noticeable in the headline.

  “Yeah, I know,” Ian told her, reaching for her hand and reclaiming Janet’s at the same time. “And I promise you both that it’s gonna be okay.”

  Neither woman was looking at me. Ian had them riveted as they each grabbed a hand tight and caught their breath.

  “Everything’s fine,” he promised, nodding as he spoke, and after a second, Aruna was nodding too, along with Janet, mirroring Ian. “The office is on it, every law enforcement agency you can think of is involved, and Miro will not get hurt.”

  They were bespelled, neither of them could look away.

  “I love him, yeah?”

  More nodding in agreement.

  “You guys know I do.”

  And again.

  “I couldn’t—I mean, he’s my life, so… what would I do without him?”

  My chest hurt with all the honesty. He loved me and he was telling my friends, the people closest to me in the world. I was stunned that he would be so open with them and even more overwhelmed that he didn’t seem to care in the least where we were. For a man who so hated any public display of affection, he was being awfully touchy-feely at the moment.

  “You have to know I’d protect him with my life.”

  Both sets of dear sweet eyes welled up with tears at the same time. I figured Janet would, she was hormonal after all, but Aruna was a tough cookie.

  “I’ve got this, all right?”

  The final round of nodding and he gave both hands a final squeeze before turning to me.

  “I knew you loved me,” I sighed.

  “You’re such an ass.”

  Not what I was expecting. “But you just said you—”

  “Shut up.”

  I turned to my friends.

  “How dare you not let me know about Hartley,” Aruna admonished.

  “That’s terrible to make us worry,” Janet joined in.

  “I—”

  “Thank God Ian is here,” Aruna said, smiling at him.

  �
�Yes, thank goodness,” Janet agreed, also lavishing him with a huge smile.

  I threw up my hands in defeat.

  IAN CALLED Kage after we finished lunch, having gorged on deep-dish pizza—spinach for me and Aruna, sausage for Ian and Janet—and asked if there were uniformed patrolman in front of our house in Lincoln Park. I was surprised when Kage answered that there were FBI agents there actually because Hartley had “gotten lost” on their watch and they were taking it as a personal affront. If Hartley didn’t make a move on me in a few weeks, priorities would be reevaluated. But at the moment, that’s who was guarding our Greystone.

  I knew Ian’s glare was supposed to be scary, was supposed to shame me into being careful, not taking any chances, and staying inside, but all it managed to do was make me hot. All that bristling, simmering anger furrowing his brows, darkening his eyes, and making him growl and snap needed an outlet, and I was ready to provide.

  Once we got home at the end of the day, I followed Ian upstairs and shoved him down on the bed.

  “No, I’m pissed at you,” he snarled, rolling over fast but not quite making it before I came down on top of him. “Get off me.”

  “Oh, come on,” I entreated, kissing him softly, chastely, before sucking his bottom lip into my mouth. “You don’t want me?”

  I wiggled on top of him, pressing my ass to the rise in his dress pants before I rubbed my groin over the washboard abs I could feel the bumps of through his shirt.

  “What if Hartley shows up? What if he takes you again?”

  “He’d never come for me in a million years,” I stated, absolutely certain I was right. I loved the feel of his thickening cock under me and him tightening his hands on my ass. “But I’ll come for you.”

  “It’s not funny.”

  “No,” I agreed, moving back and forth, writhing, needing him before we were invaded by some of my favorite people on the planet. “Not funny.”

  “Stand up.”

  I did as ordered, and he turned over like he was boneless, found the lube in the riot of blankets since we hadn’t made the bed that morning, and then sat up and got his belt open and shoved his briefs and pants to his ankles. He snapped open the cap, dribbled lube on the flared head of his cock, and then ordered me to get naked.

  “Shouldn’t I leave my shirt and tie on in case someone shows up at the door?” I asked playfully, baiting him.