JE owns the rights to anything familiar.
Thanks for all the great comments, views and follows. This story is winding down and I've had such fun sharing my favorite Merry Men with all of you.
Mild Smut Warning
It was nearly six in the morning when Zip slipped into bed behind me. He was naked and hard and pressed his lips to the spot on my neck that makes me want him to kiss me everywhere.
"Are you awake?" He whispered and then kissed that spot again.
"Almost," I replied in the same soft tone.
His tongue darted out and swept a lick over where his lips had just been, turning my cock to stone.
"How bout now?" Zip wanted to know, sliding a hand over the slope of my hip and sinking his teeth into the junction of my shoulder where it meets my throat.
Without warning, I flipped around and pinned him beneath me, clamping my mouth over his. I kissed him until he was writhing under the pressure of my body, grinding his erection against my own in an attempt to release the building pressure. I broke away and rested my forehead against his while we tried to catch our breath.
"You're definitely awake now," he said on an exhale. "How much time do we have?"
I cut my eyes to the clock next to the bed. "An hour, if I skip my run."
"These shifts suck," Zip griped, not for the first time, and I couldn't argue. Half of the Rangeman Company was out with the flu and those of us who'd managed to avoid contracting the plague were now being punished by having to work double and sometimes triple shifts. Zip and I, unfortunately, were working opposite schedules and this was the first time I'd seen him in four days.
"I know, but it should be over soon."
"I hope so. This isn't exactly how I imagined spending our first week being married."
"Me either." I skimmed my fingers down his arm and then brought his hand up to my mouth, placing a kiss over the titanium ring that had sealed our wedding vows. "We'll make up for it later," I assured him and moved my mouth from his hand to his lips and then burned a trail down his body until I was nestled between his thighs. I licked the tiny H tattoo and then I licked his cock until he was panting my name.
It didn't take me long to bring him over the edge, and then he had me on my back, giving as good as he got. I was just about to come when the doorbell rang and Zip froze with only the tip of my dick in his mouth.
Who the fuck was at the door at six in the fucking morning? "Don't stop," I insisted, tunneling my hands in his hair. He took me back into the hot, wet furnace and two deep sucks later, I was spilling all I had into his throat while I held his head in place.
The doorbell rang again as he eased me out of his mouth. "What the hell?" He said pushing back until he was resting on his knees. "It better not be the fucking Jehovah's Witness again."
I rolled my eyes at that one. We'd been subjected to more than one visit from the religious group since we moved into the house. I told Zip what would get them to take us off their route but he was reluctant to tell them we were devil worshipers.
They never came this early in the morning so it had to be something else. Maybe the Mormons were giving it a shot. I rolled out of bed and slid back the panel in the wall that exposed the security monitor. I had the entire perimeter under surveillance and pulled up the camera mounted at the front door.
"Shit," I muttered at the slightly chubby guy standing on our porch in an ill-fitting suit. He was tall so he carried the extra weight well but the jacket button was straining at his stomach like it was a size too small and it looked like it might pop off any second. He ran a hand through thinning black hair and pushed the doorbell again.
"Looks like a cop," Zip said. He was at my back and staring over my shoulder at the video screen.
"Yes it does," I agreed gravely. It's never good when the police are at your door, especially if it's before the sun rises.
"Fed?"
"Maybe. Or a detective with the PD. They both wear horrible suits."
The man in question gave up on the bell and started knocking. "I don't think he's going to leave," Zip observed.
I let out a breath and reached for my clothes. "Stay here," I said as I pulled on my pants and dragged a shirt over my head. "We're not done."
I took a second to admire his ass as he crawled back into our bed before I went to find out why the cops were at my door at dawn.
Flipping on the hall light, I took the stairs at a leisurely pace, not in any hurry to hear bad news. I knew it couldn't be good this early.
I retrieved my gun from the sideboard by the front door and slipped it into my pocket, just in case, and then I cracked the door open, leaving the security chain on and demanded to see his badge.
"Hector Barillas?" He questioned, ignoring my request for identification.
"Your badge or fuck off, your choice."
The man let out a small sigh before reaching into his jacket and retrieving what I asked for. He opened the leather case and showed me his credentials through the crack in the door. "Detective Matice," he announced, "NYPD, Homicide."
There was only one reason a cop from New York would be at my door and he confirmed that a second later. "It's about your brother."
My stomach dropped, knowing without asking that Emilio was dead. Fury warred with unquestionable grief but I let the anger take over. I would grieve for my brother later, after this asshole was gone.
I slid the chain off the door and opened it a little wider. "What was it, a stabbing? A beating? Guns? Drugs?"
"You don't seem shocked by this visit."
I let out a mirthless laugh. "I know what my brother was into; I'm only surprised this didn't happen sooner."
Detective Matice took in the tear drop tattoo on my face and dropped his gaze to the old gang tattoos on my neck but wisely didn't voice the accusation of hypocrisy I saw in his eyes.
I felt Zip behind me before his hand came down on my shoulder. "What's going on? He asked quietly.
The detective cut his eyes to Zip, to the ring on the hand resting on my shoulder and then to the matching one on my finger. I waited for the question but he held his tongue, at least about that. "Do you want to do this in private?"
"No."
He let out another sigh and I had the urge to squeeze his throat so he could never make that sound again. Zip dug his fingers into the muscles of my shoulder as if warning me not to act on the silent impulse.
"May I come in?" There was a hint of frustration in his tone and I was of the mind to keep him on the porch. I didn't need him inside my house to tell me my brother had been murdered.
Zip took the choice away from me by pulling the door all the way open and tugging me out of the threshold so the detective could enter our foyer.
When he was fully inside, Zip closed the door and we stood staring at each other for a few beats. I knew he was waiting to be asked into the living room or kitchen and was probably hoping we would offer him coffee and a doughnut. I kept my mouth shut, and thankfully, so did Zip.
"You want to do this here?" The detective finally asked and I lifted a shoulder.
"You can tell me Emilio is dead here as well as anywhere else."
I felt Zip's eyes on the side of my face but I held Matice's wary gaze. He let out a breath of resignation before retrieving a note book from his pocket, flipping it open and reciting the facts from the pages. "Just after 11 p.m., NYPD officers responded to a call of shots fired at 2812 Hart Avenue, apartment 4, New York City."
I was mildly surprised that was still my brother's address. He tended to move around a lot and that had been his home the last time I'd seen him several years ago.
"Officers arrived on scene and found your brother in his living room. He'd been shot twice, execution style."
My stomach twisted into a knot and a rush of bile surged to my throat. Dammit Emilio.
Zip was suddenly at my side. He didn't touch me but his presence settled some of the tension coiling in my veins.
He paused and consulted his notes. "Paramedics pronounced him DOA and took his body to the city morgue. Since his daughter is too young, you are listed as next of kin and we'll need you to come into the city to officially ID the body."
My brain had stalled on one word and I was shocked my voice actually worked when I said, "Daughter?"
The detective briefly lifted his eyes from the notepad before glancing back down at the paper. "Grace Elena Barillas, age 13 months."
I looked at Zip, completely at a loss for words. Emilio had a kid?
"What about the child's mother?" Zip asked and I was grateful, since I could no longer speak.
He once again lifted his eyes from his notes and bounced them between Zip and I before dropping his gaze. He was clearly surprised I seemed to have no knowledge of my niece. "Dead," he replied, flipping a page. "Six months ago. Drive by shooting...when was the last time you saw your brother?"
I ran my fingers through my hair and shot Zip a desperate glance. "It's been a long time, Detective," Zip answered for me. "Almost four years, I think." He looked at me for confirmation and I gave him a small nod.
Detective Matice slowly closed his notebook and returned it to the pocket inside his jacket. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you don't know you're named as guardian to your niece in the event of your brother's death."
I slowly shook my head, completely undone by the news. His hand slipped inside his pocket and he pulled out a crisp white business card. He held if out in front of him but I couldn't make my arms work. Zip took it from his outstretched hand and held it in his palm without looking at it. "She's currently in the custody of social services. They will be contacting you soon to arrange a meeting to determine what happens with the girl. Melissa Campano is your contact," he said pointing to the card in Zip's hand.
Neither Zip nor I had any response to that announcement and I could tell we were making him uncomfortable. "Look," he finally said, "I'm sorry for your loss and I know this must be difficult for you but I am the lead detective on your brother's case and would really like to catch the person or persons responsible and bring them to justice. Any help you can offer would be appreciated... If you know of anyone who wanted to harm him, names of any enemies he might have had. Gang members he may have angered…even the littlest thing could turn out to be something important."
My brother could and did have a whole list of people who wanted him dead but there was no way I could come up with any information right now.
"Can we do this later?" Zip asked and it made me want to hug him in gratitude. "I think we need some time to process everything that's happened." It was a diplomatic dismissal and fortunately the detective took it in stride.
"Yeah, okay," he said, cutting his eyes to me briefly. "Here is my card." He retrieved another card from his other pocket and I watched Zip take it in silence. "Call when you are ready to talk...but the sooner the better."
I stood where I was as Zip opened the door and ushered the cop outside, closing and bolting it behind him. After he slid the security chain back in place he turned to me and gathered me into his embrace.
I wrapped my arms around him, dropped my head onto his shoulder and let the tears come.
