Read Online Dangerous Ground 2: Old Poison by Josh Lanyon - Free Book Online
Authors: Josh Lanyon
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not have been too successful at hiding his anger. His muscles were locked so tight, Riley half woke, blinking up sleepily.
Will's brow knitted. “Hey, it's me. Remember me? I'm on your side. Who's got it in for you?”
“No one.” Taylor took a deep breath, forced himself to think objectively about this. Will was wrong. This could not have to do with Japan, so it had to be something else. One of these things is not the same… He answered honestly, “Well, not lately. Not since before I was shot.”
Their eyes met. “The Phu Fighters,” Will said.
Taylor nodded. Old poison, for sure.
They'd been in Orange County following a lead on a possible counterfeiting ring, when he'd been shot by a juvenile member of the Phu Fighters, a Vietnamese street gang. While Taylor had been in the hospital, Will prowled Little Saigon, eventually tracking down the two punks involved in the shooting, and—according to the reports Taylor had read—pretty much prodded them into a fight. One kid had surrendered without trouble. The other had gone for his gun and ended up with a shattered hip and missing fingers.
46
Josh Lanyon
It was still hard to believe that Will—patient, easygoing, teasing Will—had gone hunting with vengeance in his heart. But reading between the lines of the police report and the DS's own internal investigation, that's exactly what Will had done.
The official verdict was that Will had been under extreme emotional stress; cops and DS
alike understood the bond between law-enforcement partners. And Will had been careful to let Le Loi Roy get off the first shot. Even so, Will was lucky to slide out of it with nothing more than an official reprimand and his picture in the paper. He'd been more riled about the newspaper photo than the reprimand.
“The Asian snake wine was bottled in the Mekong Delta,” Taylor said slowly.
“Did you phone the manufacturer?”
Taylor shook his head. “I never had a chance.”
Will finished his bourbon and set the empty glass on the table. “Well, tomorrow you're going to call the Asian snake people, and I'm going to see what Le Loi Roy is up to these days.”
Later, brushing his teeth, Taylor stuck his head out of the bathroom to say, “If it was revenge, I don't see why anyone would come after me. They already shot me. You're the guy who crippled Roy.”
Will was lying on the bed, staring moodily up at the ceiling. “Who knows? They're kids.
They're nuts. Roy was counting you as a kill. He was disappointed when he found out you didn't buy it. Maybe he's trying to reestablish his street cred?”
It seemed shaky to Taylor, but he didn't have a better theory. He spit the toothpaste out, rinsed his mouth, rinsed the sink, and turned out the bathroom light.
He threw himself down on the bed beside Will.
“Why Japanese and not Vietnamese, though? The note, I mean.”
Will shook his head, raised up to shut off the bedside lamp. “You're the one who insists it's nothing to do with Japan.”
Taylor didn't really have a response for that. But how the hell could it be anything to do with Japan? He didn't believe in ghosts.
Dangerous Ground: Old Poison
47
For a few seconds they lay not touching, not speaking in the darkness. It was unexpectedly lonely. “How was San Diego?” he inquired politely into the silence between them.
“Sunny, with a high of seventy-six.”
“Ha.”
Will was silent. Taylor thought he might be falling asleep, but he said suddenly, “If you could live anywhere, where would it be?”
With you . Taylor knew better than to say that aloud. “The beach. I like the beach.”
Will was silent.
“What about you?” Taylor asked.
“The mountains.”
Taylor rolled over on his side and set about falling asleep. After a couple of minutes of slow, easy breaths, Will's arm slipped around him, pulling him close.
* * * *
Will woke to the unmistakable nudge of Taylor's cock trying to elbow its way into his dreams. Taylor was still sleeping, as
Will's brow knitted. “Hey, it's me. Remember me? I'm on your side. Who's got it in for you?”
“No one.” Taylor took a deep breath, forced himself to think objectively about this. Will was wrong. This could not have to do with Japan, so it had to be something else. One of these things is not the same… He answered honestly, “Well, not lately. Not since before I was shot.”
Their eyes met. “The Phu Fighters,” Will said.
Taylor nodded. Old poison, for sure.
They'd been in Orange County following a lead on a possible counterfeiting ring, when he'd been shot by a juvenile member of the Phu Fighters, a Vietnamese street gang. While Taylor had been in the hospital, Will prowled Little Saigon, eventually tracking down the two punks involved in the shooting, and—according to the reports Taylor had read—pretty much prodded them into a fight. One kid had surrendered without trouble. The other had gone for his gun and ended up with a shattered hip and missing fingers.
46
Josh Lanyon
It was still hard to believe that Will—patient, easygoing, teasing Will—had gone hunting with vengeance in his heart. But reading between the lines of the police report and the DS's own internal investigation, that's exactly what Will had done.
The official verdict was that Will had been under extreme emotional stress; cops and DS
alike understood the bond between law-enforcement partners. And Will had been careful to let Le Loi Roy get off the first shot. Even so, Will was lucky to slide out of it with nothing more than an official reprimand and his picture in the paper. He'd been more riled about the newspaper photo than the reprimand.
“The Asian snake wine was bottled in the Mekong Delta,” Taylor said slowly.
“Did you phone the manufacturer?”
Taylor shook his head. “I never had a chance.”
Will finished his bourbon and set the empty glass on the table. “Well, tomorrow you're going to call the Asian snake people, and I'm going to see what Le Loi Roy is up to these days.”
Later, brushing his teeth, Taylor stuck his head out of the bathroom to say, “If it was revenge, I don't see why anyone would come after me. They already shot me. You're the guy who crippled Roy.”
Will was lying on the bed, staring moodily up at the ceiling. “Who knows? They're kids.
They're nuts. Roy was counting you as a kill. He was disappointed when he found out you didn't buy it. Maybe he's trying to reestablish his street cred?”
It seemed shaky to Taylor, but he didn't have a better theory. He spit the toothpaste out, rinsed his mouth, rinsed the sink, and turned out the bathroom light.
He threw himself down on the bed beside Will.
“Why Japanese and not Vietnamese, though? The note, I mean.”
Will shook his head, raised up to shut off the bedside lamp. “You're the one who insists it's nothing to do with Japan.”
Taylor didn't really have a response for that. But how the hell could it be anything to do with Japan? He didn't believe in ghosts.
Dangerous Ground: Old Poison
47
For a few seconds they lay not touching, not speaking in the darkness. It was unexpectedly lonely. “How was San Diego?” he inquired politely into the silence between them.
“Sunny, with a high of seventy-six.”
“Ha.”
Will was silent. Taylor thought he might be falling asleep, but he said suddenly, “If you could live anywhere, where would it be?”
With you . Taylor knew better than to say that aloud. “The beach. I like the beach.”
Will was silent.
“What about you?” Taylor asked.
“The mountains.”
Taylor rolled over on his side and set about falling asleep. After a couple of minutes of slow, easy breaths, Will's arm slipped around him, pulling him close.
* * * *
Will woke to the unmistakable nudge of Taylor's cock trying to elbow its way into his dreams. Taylor was still sleeping, as
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