Lucas, Caden’s main squeeze and the other half of his heart, had stumbled into their lives just over a year ago. He had been running from an abusive ex, and let’s just say that when Lucas’s ex ended up finding him, that was the end of… his ex.
Marcus loved the kid. He made Caden happy, and that made Marcus happy. Sure, the guy might be a little unhinged when it came to bullies or people who tried to hurt him or his friends, but Lucas was pure sunshine. A smiling face and loving heart.
Since he could no longer enjoy his cigar while having to listen to Lucas suck Caden’s cock, he decided to put the damn thing out and try again in about an hour. Hopefully, by then, no other members of his crew would be out here, trying to get their dicks sucked as well.
Whatever happened to fucking in the bathrooms?
“You boys can finish up. I’m heading back inside,” Marcus grumbled, dabbing his cigar on the wall and then blowing off the last of the embers.
“Umm… thanks, boss. I owe you. Ow!” Caden cried out, after what Marcus could only imagine was Lucas slapping Caden’s thigh. “What?”
“You owe him? What? Are you going to suck his dick too?”
More rustling from the bushes.
“Oh, don’t be an idiot. You know what I meant,” he heard Caden say as he signed his own death warrant.
Marcus chuckled as he went back inside.
He might not be in a relationship, but he knew it was never a good idea to call your partner an “idiot.” That was the equivalent of throwing gasoline on an open fire.
He’d see them inside in a few minutes.
Chuckling, Marcus opened the back door, then headed into his office to finish up some paperwork.
He’d barely gotten the office door closed when his cell phone began to ring.
It was Sheriff Burke calling.
“Hey, Sheriff. How’s the vacation?”
The sheriff and the Shadow Vipers had an unusual relationship. The sheriff allowed Marcus and his crew certainliberties—mainly, he turned a blind eye to Marcus’s business—so long as it didn’t draw attention to the town, and the Vipers helped keep the town of Baton, New Mexico, safe and violence-free.
Marcus applauded the sheriff’s willingness to be accommodating and did what he could to respect his rules and keep the peace within the town. Baton was their home, after all, and they wanted nothing more than to be good, upstanding neighbors.
Currently, the sheriff was on vacation out in Colorado, helping a cousin of his who was also a sheriff and busy setting up his own task force to hunt a serial killer who had been active in the state for the past two years.
“Hey, Marcus, it’s going fine. That’s why I’m callin’ actually.”
The man sounded more stressed than he was before he left for his trip.
“What do you mean? What can I do for ya?” Marcus asked, not really sure how he could help the man relax.
“Look. I need a huge favor from you. I’ve got a kid down here who needs your protection.”
“My protection?” Marcus asked, his interest suddenly piqued.
“Ya. You, as in, the Shadow Vipers. Look, this kid was almost murdered tonight, and I got a feeling it might have been the Valentine Killer who tried to kill him.”
The Valentine murders were what the papers were calling the string of killings that had taken place over the past two years. The killer would leave a Valentine’s card in the pocket of every victim, professing his undying love for them and promising to find them in the next life.
The victims were sexually assaulted first, before they had their throats slit and bodies dumped in a spot with some sort of romantic significance. The spots were always different, so it was difficult to predict where the next body would be found.
“Serious? No shit.” Marcus couldn’t believe it.
He’d been reading about the murders for the past year and couldn’t believe that a potential victim actually escaped. He could only imagine how fucked up that person must be.
“Yeah, sure thing. What do you need us to do?”
