by The Neon Gang

Follows Through the Looking Glass

Warning: This is a kinky story with non-consensual sex acts, voyeurism, and psychological rape. If you can are not comfortable with such material, please do not proceed.

Saturday, 1:45 p.m.

Chris stared out the window, watching as Vin hung back from the ongoing conversation. It was rather uncanny how Tanner could simply merge with the shadows, and the others never seemed to notice, but he did.

He saw Josiah glance up in his direction, catching his eye. With a slight jerk of his head, Chris let the profiler know he wanted to talk to him. As soon as he saw Josiah nod once, to indicate that he understood, the blond turned back to what he had been doing – getting their dessert ready to be served.

A few moments later, Josiah walked into the kitchen, joining him.

The profiler looked down at the seven slices of thick brownie, and the tub of chocolate chip ice cream and grinned. Chris had picked two of Vin's favorites. "You wanted to talk to me?" he asked.

Chris nodded. "I want you to leave Vin here when you go home tonight."

That rounded Josiah's eyes with surprise. Vin had been staying at his place since this had started, and he knew for a fact that Tanner wouldn't want to stay at the ranch with Chris. "You sure about this?"

Larabee nodded.

"Chris, he's—"

"—going back to work on Monday," Larabee interrupted, "and so am I. We need to clear the air."

Josiah thought for a moment, then nodded. "Just go easy with him, okay?"

Chris shot the man a wounded look. "I'm not going to hurt him, Josiah."

"I know you don't plan to, Chris, but his feelings are still pretty raw."

The blond considered that for a long moment, then nodded. "All right, I'll be sure to keep it simple."

"Want some help?" Josiah asked, nodding at the plates.

"Appreciate it," Chris replied, then added, "Appreciate everything you've done for him, too."

"My pleasure," Josiah replied. "That boy means a lot to me."

"To me, too," Chris replied.

Josiah hesitated for a moment, then added, "What's happened between Vin and I—"

"Is your business," Chris interrupted.

Josiah inclined his head as they gathered up the plates and started out.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Saturday, 8:20 p.m.

Buck threw up his hands and groaned, "I fold."

The others grinned, Ezra saying, "Call."

Hands were laid down, Vin grinning slightly as he realized he'd won. He raked in the pot. "Y'all have been too good t' me tonight," he told them.

"Believe me, it has not been intentional," Ezra grumbled, shaking his head.

"Well, I think it's time I called it a night, fellas," Nathan said, after checking his watch.

"Yeah, us, too," JD said, looking pointedly at Buck.

Buck frowned, but then his eyes rounded and he said, "Oh, yeah! Yeah, we'd better." He grinned at the men and added, "I've got a date with Amber tomorrow morning." He wagged his eyebrows.

"Amber?" Ezra echoed, not recognizing the name. "I thought you were seeing… Bambi, wasn't it?"

"I am," Buck replied. "Seeing Bambi, that is, just not tomorrow morning."

The others groaned and shook their heads.

Within ten minutes, Nathan, Buck, and JD were gone. Ezra finished his coffee first, then stood, saying, "I too shall take my leave. Mr. Larabee, thank you for your hospitality, and a wonderful meal and dessert."

"See you Monday," Chris said, but he was watching Vin out of the corner of his eye, and he was pretty sure he'd just seen the sniper pale slightly.

Chris turned to Josiah and Vin, saying, "I'm gonna go out and check on the horses."

Josiah nodded, staying right where he was, in one of the recliners, slowly finishing his own coffee. When he did, he pushed to his feet and stretched.

Vin saw him and shot to his feet. "We goin' now?"

Josiah sighed softly and shook his head. "Not we, Vin, just me."

Vin's expression went swiftly from confused to scared to angry. "What d' y' mean?" he demanded.

"I mean I'm going home, and you're staying here."

"I don't want t' stay here," Tanner stated flatly.

"Vin, you and Chris need to spend some time together, clear the air."

"J'siah—" Vin started, his tone pleading, but he cut it off as Chris stepped back into the room.

The big man turned and said to Larabee, "Thanks for a great day, Chris. I'll see you both on Monday."

Chris nodded and walked Sanchez to the front door.

As Josiah left, he said quietly, "Good luck."

Chris snorted softly. He was going to need it. He'd seen how angry Vin had looked when he'd stepped back into the living room. He took a deep breath and turned, going back to confront the younger man.

"I ain't stayin' here," Vin told him, arms folded over his chest, chin thrust out in defiance.

"Hey," Chris said, trying to keep it light, "I thought you told me you'd help me with that fence? Thought we could do it tomorrow."

That brought Vin up short. "What?"

"The fence, in the west pasture, remember?"

Vin opened his mouth to argue, but it was true. He had told Chris he'd help him with it. But that didn't change the fact that he didn't want to be there. "I— I can't."

Chris stood, watching as Vin fought the argument with himself. A moment later, Tanner was bolting for the door. Larabee let him go, knowing the man wasn't going anywhere. Josiah had given him the keys to the Jeep, and they were still in his pocket.

He gathered up the last of the plates and cups, taking them into the kitchen, where he rinsed them off and put them in the dishwasher. He had finished cleaning up and had turned on the dishwasher before Vin finally returned.

"I don't have anything with me," Tanner said, his voice quiet, his gaze on the floor.

"You left your gym bag here," Chris replied.

Vin nodded, vaguely remembering that he'd brought his bag in when he'd come over… a week ago? My God, had it only been a week?

"Oh," Vin said.

"So, we all set?"

Vin nodded, but he had yet to meet Chris' eyes.

"I put your bag in the guest room," Larabee told him.

"Okay," Vin replied, beating a hasty retreat.

Chris watched him go and sighed softly. They had a lot of ground to make up, and he hoped they could do it.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin fled to the guest room, turning on the light and closing the door behind him. Damn Josiah, and damn Larabee, too , he thought as he glanced around the room, realizing it still felt more like home than anywhere else, and that rankled him. He didn't want it to feel like home. He didn't want Larabee to still look so damn good to him. But both were still true.

He slumped back against the closed door and sighed heavily. Why the hell had he let Josiah talk him into coming out here to begin with?

Unfortunately, he knew the answer to that one: because he wanted to stay on the team. He wanted to work with these men, watch their backs, and call them his friends, his family.

Larabee he wanted to call more, but he knew that wasn't going to happen, which meant he needed to find a way to get past these feelings, and this damn incident.

Maybe Chris hadn't figured it out like Josiah and Buck had.

Yeah, and maybe pigs had learned to fly while he hadn't been watching. Not much chance of that.

But Chris hasn't said anything about it , he told himself. Maybe he just wanted to put it all behind him, too. Maybe they could go back to the way it used to be. Maybe… He hoped they could.

He could live with that.

They all could.

And he could just talk out his feelings about Chris with the doctor, find a nice deep closet in his subconscious to stuff them in, and life would go back to the way it had been before – no harm, no foul, no problems.

He drew in a deep breath and nodded to himself. That was exactly what he was going to do. Everything was going to be just fine.

Pushing off the door, he walked over to the chair where his gym bag waited. He opened it and pulled out the smaller bag that held his razor, toothbrush, and other necessities. With that in hand, he turned on the bedside lamp and walked back to the closed door. He turned off the overhead light and then, making sure Chris was already in his own bedroom, he slipped out and headed silently to the guest bathroom in the hallway, taking care of his nightly rituals before fleeing back to the guest bedroom and closing the door again.

He had an almost overwhelming impulse to lock the door, but stopped himself. He'd never locked it in the past, and he was going to do things exactly like he'd always done them – same ol' same ol'.

Walking over to the bed, he pulled down the covers, then pulled off his clothes, stopping when he was dressed only in his underwear. He tossed the rest over onto the top of his open gym bag, then climbed into bed and reached over to turn off the light, but he stopped short when he saw the curtains on the window closest to him were open about three inches.

Tossing back the blanket and sheet, he climbed out of bed and crossed to the window, pulling the curtains together and making sure they would stay that way. When he was sure they would, he returned to bed and turned off the light.

Climbing under the covers, he pulled them up and got comfortable. He closed his eyes and tried to quiet his mind. But that was harder than he'd anticipated. Chris was just down the hallway, in his bed… Chris slept in just his boxer shorts…

Shit!

What the hell was he thinking? All that stuff had to be left behind. Chris was his boss, his friend – okay, even his best friend – and, yeah, he was family, just like the others were. Chris was his brother, and that was all he was.

Christ. He needed to get out and find himself a date, or at least get laid, that was all there was to it. He rolled over and got comfortable again.

It was good, the way it was before , he told himself. It was nice to be able to come out here to work, or ride, or just relax and be with family. That was really good, as good as anything Vin could really remember, and he didn't want to lose it – couldn't lose it. His lusts he could give up – easily, he was sure – as long as he had the rest. It wasn't that big of a deal; just sex after all. He had two good hands. It was a price he could pay. He had to. He would.

It wasn't like he'd had much of a sex life to begin with. An occasional date, occasional sex, hell, he usually took care of those needs himself, so it would just be status quo. Normal. Just like always.

He sighed. But it didn't feel like always anymore.

Buck and Josiah both knew he was in love with Chris. Hell, Nathan and Ezra and JD probably knew it, too. For that matter, Chris probably knew. But Vin also knew that they would leave it alone, if he could just get back to where he'd been before he'd picked up that damn phone.

He huffed and rolled over onto his back, staring up at the dark ceiling. It was Vine's fault he was in this damn mess. Vine had made him talk about his fantasies with Chris. Vine had made him think about those fantasies, in great detail. Hell, he usually didn't pay that much attention to them, just let whatever wanted to fill his head come while he was jerking off. It wasn't important, just a way to get the job done a little faster. His fantasies didn't mean anything.

But they did.

They did, and he couldn't deny it anymore. And that meant he couldn't just ignore his feelings anymore, either.

Damn Vine anyway.

Bastard.

What had Dee said the last time they'd talked? Events had "stripped away your enforced ignorance concerning the depths of your feelings for Chris."

He snorted softly, remembering how he had feigned confusion when she'd said that, but she'd made it perfectly clear for him by paraphrasing it: "This has made it impossible for you to lie to yourself any longer."

And that was exactly what he was doing right now, too. No way in hell things were going back to the way they used to be. Everything was different now. He didn't know what it was like now, either.

It felt confused, off-center, uncomfortable. Yep, that was what he was feeling. And he had no clue how to make it better. Dee had told him to talk to Chris about his feelings, but he just couldn't do that.

So, if he couldn't, then he'd just have to get used to confusion and feeling off-center and uncomfortable around Chris. It beat the alternative, which was leaving. At least, he hoped it did.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Chris lay in his bed, staring into the darkness and wondering if Vin was asleep, or if he was lying there… What? Thinking about what had happened? Thinking about why he'd done what he'd done?

He stopped himself there. Vin knew who he was, what he was. They were friends, best friends, brothers. They'd get past this. They'd get back to what they'd had before Vine forced his way into their lives.

It would be normal again. They could do that. They had to. So they would.

He rolled over and closed his eyes again. Tomorrow they'd go back to the way it was. Eventually, they'd find the asshole who had done this and the whole thing would be over. They would put it behind them and move on.

Everything was fine.

Everything would be fine.

He rolled his head from side to side and huffed out a breath. Nothing was fine. And he had no idea if it would ever be fine again.

What the hell had Tanner been thinking? He should have told Vine to go fuck himself. But he hadn't. Why?

Shit.

Chris lay, wondering what he would have done if their situations had been reversed, if it had been Vin that Vine had held, and he'd been the one being asked to perform like that. Could he have done the same things Vin had done to spare him?

He just wasn't sure. He wanted to think he could – would – but there was that whispering doubt that left him unsure. And just how the hell were they supposed to get back to "normal" after something like that anyway?

He didn't have the answers, and that made him angry. He wanted answers, thought he ought to have them, but they just weren't there. Sometimes it was hard not to blame Vin for that. If he'd just told the man to fuck off…

Hell, if Vin had , he might be dead right now. There was no telling how Vine would have dealt with rejection. He might owe his life to Vin, to his willingness to… to…

He'd seen the reports, seen the pictures of the objects. He huffed out another sigh.

He had the answers. They just weren't the ones he wanted. Josiah and Buck had more than hinted that he ought to keep talking to Vin's trauma specialist, and, for the first time, he decided that they might be right. He didn't like it, but he didn't know what else to do.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd call her. And tomorrow he and Vin were going out and fixing that damn fence. He'd act normal, give them both a chance to relax.

But, damn, what was he supposed to say? Do?

Just act normal , he told himself, but he wasn't sure if he knew what "normal" was anymore.

He sighed. Damn… This was going to be harder then he'd thought.

Maybe he should just tell Vin that he loved him. But would he understand what he meant by that?

He snorted softly and rolled his head back and forth. No. How the hell could he expect Vin to understand it when he didn't?

Oh, yeah, definitely time to call a specialist.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Sleep finally crept up on Vin, pulling him away from his worry and into a world of dreams…

He knew, somehow, that he was walking through Larabee's ranch house, but it looked more like a carnival funhouse, with mirrors hanging on the walls multiplying his image a hundredfold, no matter where he looked. It was impossible to determine what direction he was actually moving in, or where an open path lay.

He stumbled along, bumping into the cold surfaces, turning, trying another direction, hitting another mirror. It was disorienting, and annoying. And somewhere along the way, he realized he was naked.

Pausing after he'd walked into yet another cold mirror, he dipped his head and sighed loudly. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught a movement, then the sight of someone else.

His head jerked around to follow the motion, but it was already too late. His head whipped back and forth as he scanned the mirrors, trying to spot whoever else was there, but he saw nothing – nothing but image upon image of himself, naked.

He stumbled on, trying to find his way out of the maze, but it was impossible. And the more time that passed, the more acute the feeling of being watched grew. He knew there was someone else there, someone who was watching him.

"Chris!" he called, hoping it was his friend who was there somewhere.

He heard a snort of laughter and spun around. Chris was there, looking at him, laughing at him.

"Chris?" he asked, confused and more than a little hurt. Without thinking, his hands moved to cover his groin and his cheeks began to burn with embarrassment.

Larabee's laughter grew louder and louder until, finally, the sound was piercing his ears like ice picks. He lifted his hands, pressing them over his ears, but it did nothing to keep the sound of Chris' laughter out of his skull.

Spinning away, he bolted, trying to escape the painful sound, but it followed him, chased him. Rounding a corner too fast, he collided with another one of the mirrors, the glass shattering, but falling slowly, like snowflakes. Behind it stood a tall, dark shadow.

"Hello, pet…"

Vin gasped, spun, and darted away again, bouncing off the cold glass surfaces until it felt like the glass was beating him. And, all around him, he could see himself – naked, aroused, and frightened.

And the laughter… Why was Chris laughing at him?

"Where are you going, pet?"

He threw himself forward, but was stopped. He tried the left, the right, then turned to retreat the way he'd come, only to strike another mirror. He was surrounded, boxed inside a tangle of mirrors. No matter which way he turned, he was stopped by cold glass. And his cock was aching, but he was afraid to touch it, knowing both Chris and the Voice were watching him.

"Chris," he sobbed, wishing his friend would help him.

But there was no help coming, he knew. Chris was trapped on the other side of the glass. Trapped and laughing at his arousal.

"Please," he moaned.

But the laughter just grew louder, and he could see the shadow floating closer through the glass…

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin woke with a jerk and lay, panting in the darkness. Listening intently, he made sure he didn't hear anything, then opened his eyes and checked the portion of the room he could see. It was empty, still.

For a brief moment he was confused, but then he remembered – he wasn't at Josiah's, he was at the ranch.

Chris.

Pushing up onto his elbow, Vin tuned and glanced over his shoulder at the digital alarm clock sitting on the nightstand. The clock read 3:23 a.m. He sighed and dropped back down, rolling over to stare up at the ceiling. It had just been a dream. A nightmare , he corrected.

Reaching up, he wiped the sweat off his face and sighed heavily. The nightmares had been getting better. This one must have come because he was out at the ranch.

He frowned, images from the nightmare flitting through his mind, and making him shiver. Reaching down, he checked himself, but he wasn't aroused like he had been in his dream – thank God.

Sitting up, he tossed back the covers and climbed out of bed, going to the bathroom in the hallway and then returning. He checked the curtains, making sure that they were still closed, then climbed back into bed and drew the covers up over his shoulders. He needed to get some more sleep or he'd be a mess when they went out to fix that fence. But it took a while before he could relax enough to slip into a – thankfully – dreamless sleep again.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Sunday morning

The following morning, Vin woke to the sound of Larabee knocking lightly on his closed door. "Vin?" the blond called.

"Yeah?" Tanner replied, sitting up groggily in the bed and scrubbing his hands over his face. Christ, had he been dreaming again? Had he woken Chris up?

"Coffee's ready," Chris announced from the other side of the door.

"Uh, okay. I'll be there in a minute," Vin said, then folded back the blanket and the sheet and scooted to the edge of the bed. He sat there, trying to wake up a little more, then pushed to his feet and dressed quickly. When he was done, he made the bed and then headed to the bathroom, hoping some cold water would chase away the lethargy he was feeling.

When he was done, he started for the kitchen, realizing for the first time just how tender his stomach actually felt.

Chris was sitting at the breakfast bar, just like he always was on a morning like this, newspaper open, cup of coffee at his elbow. He'd seen this at least two or three dozen times already. It was all perfectly normal. There was even a glass of orange juice, and an empty coffee mug waiting for him at the spot he usually occupied at the breakfast bar.

Vin walked over to get his coffee cup, then padded around into the kitchen to fill it. On the countertop near the coffeemaker was a plate with three bagels stacked up on it for him to pick from. He grabbed one and put it in the microwave for a few seconds, then pulled it out and dropped it onto a small paper plate.

Taking his coffee and his food back to his chair, he pulled it out and sat down, eating quickly.

Chris glanced over at him and frowned slightly. "You're just going to have one?" he asked.

Vin nodded. "Not all that hungry," he lied.

Larabee's frown deepened, but he didn't say anything. After all, anyone could be off his feed every once in a while, and he knew it probably hadn't been easy for Vin to stay out there.

We just need to get back to normal , Larabee thought. He'd packed them a hearty lunch in the cooler. By noon he knew Tanner would have worked up an appetite. If he wasn't eating more by lunch, then he'd worry.

"So, you up for this?" Chris asked, knowing Vin had suffered some injuries himself, although, according to the doctors, they weren't supposed to be anything serious.

"Yep," Tanner replied, then drained his glass of orange juice. Getting up, he took his empty dishes to the kitchen, rinsed them, and put them in the dishwasher. The paper plate was added to the collection of materials headed out to Larabee's compost pile. When he was done, he looked over at the blond and said, "Guess we better get out there."

Chris nodded, thinking he was probably going to have a long, quiet day to look forward to.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Sunday, lunchtime

Sitting under the shade offered by a small stand of cottonwood trees growing along the banks of a narrow stream, the two men ate their lunch. Chris noted with satisfaction that Vin's appetite had returned, and it was no wonder. They had worked hard all morning and, after a bit of a shaky start, things had slowly gotten back to what he thought felt pretty darn "normal."

Granted, Vin had been a little quiet, and a little distant, at first, but that had slowly given way to casual conversation while they'd worked – everything from the horses, to the weather, to how they might streamline the checks they had to run on local liquor stores. It had felt good, and it gave the older man hope that things could go back to the way they had been.

A couple of times things had gotten a little strained, but they'd recovered and moved on pretty quickly. Like when they had both reached for that posthole digger at the same time, their hands colliding.

Vin had looked up at him, his cheeks turning slightly pink, although that could have been a result of the work they were engaged in at the time. Blue eyes had darted up to meet his for the briefest moment, then Tanner had looked away, mumbling, "Sorry."

Chris had nodded and picked up the tool, not knowing quite what to say, so he'd said nothing. He'd begun digging the next hole, eventually saying, "Hey, Vin?"

"Yeah?" the younger man had replied, his shoulders sagging as he turned around to face Larabee.

"Just wanted you to know that nothing's changed," Chris had said, continuing to work.

Vin had hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Don't know why the hell I did that."

"Like I told you," Chris had replied, lifting the posthole digger and then slamming it into the ground, "doesn't matter why, but you probably saved my life."

Vin had picked up the second digger and waited for Chris to remove his latest bit of earth, then started on a hole of his own. "There was somethin' about his voice…" he'd begun, lifting the tool and driving it into the earth. "…I believed him when he said he was gonna hurt ya. He said it could kill ya. That's the way I took it, anyway."

"Makes sense to me," Chris had replied, both men continuing to work, their gazes on the ground instead of each other. "I don't remember all of it, but what I do remember about his voice was that he was sincere. Crazy as a fuckin' loon, but he believed everything he said."

"Yep," Vin had replied. "Caught me off guard, I guess. Hell, how would it have looked if I'd let m' boss get killed four months into a job?"

Chris had snorted. "Yeah, probably not the best way to make a good impression."

There'd been a pause, the men continuing to work, then Vin had said off-handedly, "Guess that'd depend on who y' asked."

"Oh?"

"Couple 'a guys from Team Three said a chargin' rhino couldn't ram his horn up your hard ass."

Chris had driven the digger into the ground and looked up, his eyes slightly rounded with surprise. "Who?"

Vin had been leaning against his digger, grinning slightly. "Well, don't rightly think I should tell y' that."

"Damn straight, you should," Larabee had countered.

"So y' can prove 'em right?"

"So I can kick their mouthy asses."

"Ain't no need," Vin had replied, going back to work. "I took care of it for ya."

"You did?"

"Yep," Vin had responded, pausing again for a moment, then adding, "told 'em it'd probably take an elephant."

Larabee had sputtered, then catching the humor in the man's eyes, he shook his head and laughed. "You're a true friend, Tanner."

"Don't mention it."

Shaking his head again, Chris had gone back to work. And when they had finally finished the last of the holes, they had decided it was time to stop for lunch.

Glancing over at Vin now, and finding him staring out at the mountains, Chris smiled. Yeah, it had felt good, damn good, to be able to share that kind of normal banter with the man again.

He nodded to himself. Yep, things were definitely getting back to normal. Maybe he wouldn't need to talk to that doctor after all.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The rest of the day passed as something that felt, if not completely familiar, at least a lot more relaxed than what Chris and Vin had been experiencing.

After finishing work on the fence, they drove back to the ranch house and took showers. Larabee tossed two steaks onto the grill and later they wolfed them down, along with Tater Tots and bowls of bagged salad. Dessert was two thick brownie wedges Chris had picked up along with the bagels earlier that morning, while Vin had slept.

They ate the brownies in the living room while they watched a movie on HBO.

Conversation stayed at a minimum, but at least Vin wasn't shooting constant glances at the door, and he didn't look like he might bolt at any minute, and for both of those facts Chris was grateful.

When the movie ended, and their coffee cups were emptied, Vin glanced over at Chris and said, "Guess I better be gettin' on home, 'less y' want me t' be late tomorrow."

Larabee nodded, saying, "Wouldn't want to break Ezra's streak, him being the last one in every damn morning."

Vin grinned slightly. "Think we ought t' make a new rule – last one in has t' go get breakfast for the rest of us."

Larabee nodded, looking thoughtful. "I like it."

"Ezra won't."

Chris chuckled. "No, but he'd probably prefer to buy us all breakfast every day than get up an hour earlier."

"Probably," Vin agreed, standing. "least we'd all get a good breakfast."

He went to the guest room and collected his gym bag, stopping by the bathroom to make sure he had all his stuff, then walked back out to the living room, where he found Chris waiting for him, now standing. The blond held out the keys to Tanner's Jeep and the sniper took them.

Looking a little nervous again for the first time since their talk that morning, Vin asked, "Y' want t' fix up that last stall next weekend?"

Chris thought for a moment, then nodded. "Guess I better, huh? That new mare ought to be here in… ten days, and she's going to need it."

"Saturday?" Vin asked.

Larabee nodded. "Yeah. Didn't Josiah say something about all of us going over to St. Philip's next Sunday?"

Vin's nodded. "Yeah, I forgot about that. He was talkin' about us helpin' him fix that leak, and doing some other repairs."

"Guess we better tackle the stall on Saturday, then." He walked with Vin to the front door. "I'll have to stop and pick up some wood on Saturday morning. You want me to pick you up when I'm done? You can crash here Saturday night and we can swing by your place on our way to the church so you can grab the Jeep."

Vin thought for a moment, then nodded. "Sure, sounds good." He opened the door and started out, Chris following along behind him. But the blond stopped on the front porch, Vin continuing on to his Jeep and unlocking it. He tossed his bag into the back, then climbed in behind the wheel, more reluctant to leave that he thought he ought to be.

As he sat there, he realized he hadn't been behind the wheel of his own vehicle since he'd arrived here eight days ago. Pushing the thought aside, he started the Jeep's motor, casting a quick glance at Chris as he put the vehicle in reverse and started away, his reluctance to go climbing steadily.

Larabee remained on the porch until the Jeep was out of sight, then he sighed and went back inside. Closing the door, he set the locks and armed the alarm system before going in to turn off the television. He picked up his and Vin's coffee cups and took them, and their empty plates, back to the kitchen, putting them directly into the dishwasher without bothering to rinse them first.

With that taken care of, he turned off the lights and made his way to his bedroom. Undressing, he pulled on flannel pajama bottoms and a worn white T-shirt, then walked over to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When he was finished, he went to his bed and climbed in, lying in the darkness for several minutes before sitting up and grabbing his cell phone off the charger on his nightstand. Opening it, he pressed the number to speed-dial Vin, and waited for an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Chris replied. "I, uh, just wanted to make sure you got home okay."

There was a pause, then Tanner said, "Well, I ain't home yet. I'm gonna stop by Josiah's and pick up the rest of m' stuff; should be home in an hour or so."

"Uh, why don't you give me a call when you get there?"

Another pause. "Uh, yeah, okay."

Chris ended the call and then leaned back against his headboard, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing. Vin didn't need him checking up on him, but, damn it, Vine was still out there, and he had a right to worry until the asshole was caught.

He glanced over at the alarm clock, knowing it was far too early for Vin to call him back, but still wishing the time would pass more quickly. With a sigh, he turned on the light on the nightstand and picked up the book that was lying there, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get into the story. With a frustrated sigh, he tossed the book back onto the nightstand and leaned back, waiting for the phone to ring.

As he waited, he thought back over the day, easily calling to mind the times he'd seen Vin smiling, the banter, the way he'd felt comfortable and happy with Vin there. It was a lot like he'd felt with Sarah.

But that didn't seem right. He and Sarah had been in love, deeply in love.

He felt like that with Buck around, too, right?

No , he realized, it was different. It wasn't the same as being with Sarah had been, or being with Vin was now. But that didn't make any sense.

Christ, maybe he needed to talk to that doctor after all.

He tried not to think about Vin, but he couldn't stop himself. He was worried about the man, and rightly so. There were more than enough idiots on the roads, and Vin had a long trip to get back to Purgatory.

Maybe he'd just decide to stay at Josiah's.

The thought made him uncomfortable, but he wasn't sure why. Given the events of the past week, it was logical to assume that Vin and Josiah had grown closer than they had been; nothing wrong with that. But some part of the blond's mind fretted that Vin might shift his affections to the older man.

So what if he did? And that was even assuming that Vin could feel like that about men in general; or that Josiah could. And what difference did it make if either of them did?

He chased all the thoughts away, determined to let the worries and questions of the past week fade away. He didn't need to worry about those kinds of things. He just needed to worry about Vine, and Vin's safety.

Why the hell hadn't he called yet?

Chris reached out and picked up the book again.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin drove straight to Josiah's place and parked in the driveway. A moment later the front porch light came on.

With a quiet sigh, Vin opened the door to the Jeep and climbed out. He walked to the front door to find Josiah standing there, waiting for him.

"So," the older man asked as he opened the door for him, "how did it go?"

Vin shrugged as he stepped inside, then, without really knowing why, he wrapped the man in a hug and it was returned.

"Vin?" Josiah asked, a little worried.

Vin shook his head, then pulled back and said, "It was… okay. Kind 'a normal most of the time."

Josiah smiled. "Well, that's what I expected to hear." But he could see Vin was still processing something. "Do you want to spend the night here?" he asked.

Vin almost said yes. More than anything he wanted to climb into the man's bed and be held, but that wouldn't be fair to Josiah, or himself. "No, just thought I'd better pick up m' stuff. Guess it's time things got back to normal."

Josiah followed Vin as he packed up the few things he'd left. "Vin, there's no right or wrong timeline for things like this. I'm glad you and Chris made some peace with it, but, please, don't think that you have to be the same as you were before this happened."

"But I want t' be, J'siah. I want it t' be over an' done an' back to the way it was before."

"I'm not sure that's possible, Vin. Just know that I'm here if you need to talk."

"An' if I need something more 'n talkin'?"

Josiah studied the younger man for a moment, then said, "Then ask. I can't promise I'll always be able to… help in that way, but if I can, I want to."

Vin leaned in and gave the man another hug, "Thanks."

"Drive careful."

"I will."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Two hours and twelve minutes after Chris had called Vin, Tanner called him back.

"You home?" Chris asked before Vin could say anything.

There was a short pause, and then Vin said, "Uh, yeah."

"What?" Chris asked, hearing something in the man's voice he didn't like.

"Somethin' was waitin' for me in m' mailbox," Vin told him.

"From Vine?" he guessed.

"Reckon so. Don't know anybody else who'd send me rope in the mail, do ya?"

"Bag it and call the techs to come and get it."

"I'll just bring it in tomorrow morning," Vin replied. "The package has already been in m' box for a few days."

Larabee sighed slightly and then said, "Yeah, all right." He didn't want to let Vin go, but he knew he had to. "I'll see you tomorrow. Be careful."

"Yeah, will do. Y' do the same. G'night."

"Yeah, good-night."

Vin ended the call this time, and Chris returned the phone to the charger, then turned off the light and slid down to try and get some sleep. As he lay there, he couldn't help but notice that the house felt empty without Vin there. He pushed that thought away and, before long, the hard work of the day brought him the escape he wanted in sleep.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The call over, Vin stood alone in his apartment, the package that contained the length of rope now in a grocery bag, secured, the name of the building's night watchman and his own scrawled over the tape seal to preserve the chain of evidence.

The postmark had read Bend, Oregon, but the ATF agent knew Vine wouldn't be there any longer. The man could be anywhere, even right back there in Denver.

With a deep, shuddering sigh, Vin set the bag on the small table by his front door, then checked each of the three locks before he headed down the hallway, turning on and off lights, checking in turn his kitchen, his bathroom, his linen closet and, finally, his bedroom. There were no signs that anyone had been in the apartment since his teammates had come by to clean up the place for him. And someone, probably Josiah, had made sure all the curtains were closed, for which he was very grateful. He double-checked the ones on the two windows in his bedroom, then walked over and sat down on the edge of his bed.

Glancing over his shoulder, he stared at the mattress, remembering all-too-clearly how Chris had looked, lying there – naked, restrained, covered with come and red welts. He shook his head, trying to force the images away, then stood.

He paced in the room for a few minutes, then turned and made his way through the darkened apartment. He unlocked his door and stepped out, pulling it closed behind himself and using his keys to lock the dead bolts again. Then, without much conscious thought, he headed for the stairs leading to the roof.

A couple of minutes later, he was standing on the roof of the building. Spread out before him were the lights of the city. He turned one way, wondering what Buck and JD were doing. A half-turn to the right and he was wondering the same about Nathan and Rain. A ninety-degree turn and he was looking out toward Ezra's more upscale neighborhood. Another half-turn and he was looking toward Josiah's. He was surrounded by his friends, but he still felt exposed, vulnerable.

His head dipping, he fought back a surge of fear and forced himself to walk over to where it had happened. Well, where some of it had happened. But in the nook between the storage shed and the elevator shack, there was nothing. No gymnastic vault, no black plastic sheeting, no saddlebags or sex toys. It had all been taken away as evidence, he knew. But it hadn't stopped him from expecting it all to be there.

Forcing his head up, he glanced around the dark rooftop. The cameras were gone, too, he was sure, but it still felt like he was being watched.

It's all in yer mind , he told himself, but it did nothing to alleviate the sensation. Maybe because he was being watched – by Chris and by the others.

Today had gone a lot better than he'd expected, but he knew things were far from the "normal" Chris seemed to be looking— no, longing for. But if he could continue to give the man what it was he was looking for, maybe, just maybe, they'd stop watching him so damn much and, right now, that was exactly what he wanted, and needed. He was tired of being watched, and he was tired of having to watch himself.

Whatever the hell they all thought they knew, well, they didn't know jack. How could they? He wasn't even sure himself what he knew, what he was, how he felt… Right?

Damn.

Walking over to the wall of the storage shed, he leaned back against it, then slid down to sit, his back pressed up against the wall. It was cold, and getting colder, but he just wasn't ready to be in his apartment, not yet.

He snorted and shook his head. If any of them saw him sitting out here like this, they'd think it was because he was freaking out over Vine, and what he'd made him do, and they'd be right – partially, anyway. Talking to Dee had been helping a lot when it came to what he thought about Vine and his… performance. But what really made it hard to be in the apartment wasn't what he'd had to do to satisfy Vine, it was being able to see Chris lying in his bed. Never mind how'd he'd looked when he'd found him, never mind what had been done to him, just the thought of Larabee lying naked in his bed was enough to force him out of the apartment.

There was no way he could hold that image in his head and act "normal" like Chris wanted him to. The two things just didn't go together, couldn't go together.

Hell, he hadn't even dared to fantasize about Chris being with him in the apartment, or out at the ranch, not until Vine had forced him to. He'd always imagined their fantasy couplings as taking place in unknown places – up in the mountains, on some location-less stakeout, or in some nameless hotel room. It had made it all safer somehow, less complicated. It made them nothing more than what they were – fantasies. And every man was entitled to his fantasies. He didn't expect them to actually come true, after all.

But at least one part of his had come true. He'd seen Chris lying naked in his bed, and now he had to go back down there, take off his clothes and climb into that very same bed.

He huffed out a sigh and forced himself to his feet. Yep, that was exactly what he was going to do, because he couldn't sit out here all night, and he didn't have anyplace else to go. If he went back to Josiah's, he'd have to tell the man why, and he couldn't face that. So that meant he had to go down there, go to bed and get some sleep, and the fantasies be damned.

Forcing one foot in front of the other, he made his way back to his apartment, unlocking the locks and going inside. He reset the bolts and made the same check of the apartment as he had earlier, lights going on and then off in each room until he was back in the bedroom.

He shut the bedroom door, and turned the new lock on that door as well. Going to his bed, he forced himself to turn back the covers and then checked the curtains again before he undressed down to his briefs and T-shirt.

Swallowing hard, he sat down on the edge of the bed for a second time, then reached over and turned off the light. His heart immediately began to beat faster and he opened his mouth, his breaths coming quicker, shallower. He was wound as tight as a rabbit in a trap, the coyote moving in for the kill.

He ground his teeth and slid in under the covers, scolding himself. What, y' think yer fantasy's gonna come take advantage of ya?

But maybe that was exactly what he'd thought. And, lying there in the darkness, he could swear he could smell Chris' scent on the sheets and blankets. But that was impossible.

There was no one in the apartment, and no way for someone to get in without him knowing it, either. He was safe here from everyone and everything, except himself.

His hand strayed to his groin, but as soon as he touched himself, he jerked his hand away like he'd been burned.

But it didn't matter. Hell, they'd all said that he'd been traumatized. He wasn't supposed to just bounce back from that, right? It was going to take some time, even the doctor had said so.

So, why in the world did he want to close his eyes, imagine Chris lying naked in his bed and jerk himself off? He wasn't supposed to want sex. He'd been raped, for God's sake, or something close enough to pass for it. He wasn't supposed to want somebody more than he wanted air to breathe, was he?

He wasn't supposed to get hard just thinking about Chris and how he'd looked, bound and naked like that.

He felt his cock stir and slammed on the mental brakes. It was wrong. It was sick. It made him no better than Vine.

But the desire continued to haunt him like a constant, faint itch, worrying at the edges of a scab that was just starting to heal. If he picked at it too much, it hurt, but if he left it alone, it continued to prickle.

He was damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

Flopping over onto his belly, he shoved his arms under his pillow and willed himself to sleep. But he was afraid to sleep; afraid the dreams might come back.

"Damn it," he moaned into the pillow. He wanted to be "normal" as much as Chris wanted him to be, but it just wasn't happening fast enough.

Knowing there would be no relief without it, he squeezed his eyes shut and let his mind run free, pulling up images of Chris – naked, bound, writhing in pleasure as he worked on him with his mouth and hands. His hips crushed his erection against the mattress…

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Monday morning

Vin arrived at the federal building early, dropping off the package from Vine at the lab before going up to the ATF offices. Josiah was already there, sitting at his desk with coffee, a carton of low-fat yogurt, and half of a whole-wheat bagel.

"Good morning," the older man greeted.

"Y' here waitin' for me?" Vin asked.

Josiah nodded. "To be honest, I was worried about how last night went; you being back in your apartment alone."

Vin walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee, then walked back over and dropped into the chair setting next to Josiah's desk. "Was harder 'n I expected," he admitted, unsure why he found it so easy to talk to the older man. It wasn't like him to open up like this with anyone, but he knew he could with this man.

"You get any sleep?"

Vin dipped his head, a small smile on his lips as he stared into his coffee and said, "Some."

"Well, that's better than I expected."

"I went up t' the roof."

"And?"

Vin shrugged and shook his head, gaze still on his coffee cup. "Don't rightly know what I expected. I knew all that stuff would be gone, but…"

"But you thought it might be there anyway?"

"Stupid, huh?"

"No," Josiah replied, shaking his head. "Vin, I know Dee's told you that this is a process, right?"

Tanner nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just wish I could get it over with a little quicker, y' know?"

That prompted a laugh from the older man. "Now I know you're getting back to normal."

Vin lifted his head, a small smile on his face. God, having these men as friends was a blessing he could spend the rest of his life thanking God for, and still never get close to saying it often enough. "That's what Dee said, too, more or less."

The profiler opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bag, handing it over to Tanner. He watched as Vin opened it and smiled again. He'd known the cinnamon roll would be a hit with the sniper. After Vin took his first bite, Josiah asked, "So, how did the day with Chris go?"

Vin licked the frosting off his fingers and took a sip of his coffee before he said, "Better 'n I figured."

"But?"

Tanner shrugged again. "Chris wants it all t' be normal, right now."

"And?"

"I'm tryin', but it's hard."

Josiah's eyes narrowed slightly. "Vin, you don't have to 'try.' Just be who you are."

Tanner shook his head. "Can't, Josiah."

"You think Chris wants you to live a lie?"

"Can't live the truth so what choice do I have?"

"Letting him knowing how you feel isn't going to chase him away."

"Ain't gonna make him feel real comfortable about me bein' 'round him, either."

"I think you're underestimating him."

"Underestimating who?" JD asked as he and Buck entered the office on the end of Josiah's comment.

Vin looked up and over at the two men. "Hey, guys," he greeted.

Buck came over, resting his hip on the corner of Josiah's desk. "So, how'd the weekend go?" he asked.

"Went fine," Vin replied, grateful the ladies' man had deflected JD's question. "Got that fence replaced; gonna fix up that last stall in the barn next weekend."

"Is that when the new mare arrives?" JD asked, effectively shifted to a new topic.

"Couple 'a days after that," Vin told him.

"Think you two will need any help?" Buck asked, but Vin could read the real question in the man's words.

Tanner shook his head. "Naw. Hell, that stall ain't big enough for any more 'n two of us t' work anyway."

"Well, if you change your mind, you give me a call," the ladies' man told him, then trailed after JD when the younger man went to get some coffee of his own.

Vin stayed where he was, finishing off most of his cinnamon roll while Buck and JD got settled at their desks, their usual bickering beginning. Listening, Vin couldn't help but snort softly and shake his head.

"What?" Josiah asked quietly.

"Just thinkin' that the two 'a them sound like an old married couple."

That prompted a grin from Josiah as well. "That they do, brother."

"Morning," Nathan greeted all as he swept into the office. Catching sight of Vin's remaining cinnamon roll, he shook his head and said, "You keep eatin' like that and—"

Vin pointed at Josiah, cutting off the lecture.

Nathan rounded on the profiler. "You ought t' know better."

The big man sighed and nodded, his entire demeanor one of repentance. "I was weak, brother."

Nathan grinned. "Weak enough to bring some for the rest of us?"

Josiah jerked his head in the direction of their copy/break room. "Whole box of assorted temptations in there waiting to be faced."

"You're an evil man, Josiah Sanchez," the former medic said, rubbing his hands together as he headed off in the indicated direction.

JD watched him go, then shot a look at Josiah, asking, "There's food?"

"No, son, just temptation."

"Let's eat!" Buck hooted, springing from his chair and heading to the break room, just managing to get there ahead of JD.

Chris walked in a few minutes later to find his men all eating. He looked at Vin and smiled. "You call Ezra and tell him?"

Vin grinned back. "Nope. Josiah brought the temptations."

"Temptations?" Larabee echoed, confused.

"And they all succumbed quicker than Eve in the Garden," Josiah joked. "Bakery run," he added for clarification.

"Ah," Chris replied, eyes lighting up. "Any bear claws?"

Josiah nodded and Chris headed straight to the break room to get some early-morning fortification.

As usual, Ezra was the last one to arrive. He glanced around at the men, then sniffed the air. "Do I detect the presence of quality baked goods?"

Josiah hiked his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing toward the break room. "Go see what's left."

Ezra disappeared into the room, only to reemerge a few moments later with a braided cheese Danish. "Excellent," he stated.

When the undercover man slid into his chair, Vin said, "We's thinkin' the last man in every mornin' ought t' stop an' get breakfast for the rest of us."

Standish met the sniper's eyes for a moment, then he laughed.

"What's so funny?" JD questioned. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

"Because you're usually here early," Nathan told him.

JD grinned. "Well, I'll admit that I was thinking Ezra's usually the last one in."

"Usually?" Buck countered.

"Oh, I recall any number of times when you've been the last one to arrive," Ezra shot back at the ladies' man. "In fact, I believe last Friday her name was… Tiffany, wasn't it?"

The others laughed, but before the discussion could continue, Orin Travis walked into the office, bringing an abrupt halt to the teasing.

"Good morning, gentlemen," he greeted them. "Mr. Tanner, nice to see you back."

Vin nodded, feeling his face begin to burn. "Good t' be back, sir."

His gaze sweeping over them as Chris came out of his office to join them, Travis said, "I have a new assignment for you."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The team had just settled around the conference table when the phone at the near end rang. It was Chris' extension and he picked it up with a clipped, "Larabee." He listened for a moment, then said, "Send her up. We're in conference room three."

Hanging up the phone, he glanced at Travis and said, "That was security. Mary's at the front desk. They're sending her up now."

Travis nodded. "We'll just wait until she gets here."

The men fell into quiet conversations while they waited and, a few minutes later, Mary walked into the conference room, escorted by a security officer. He wished her a good day and left.

"Mary, come have a seat," Travis said, gesturing to the empty chairs.

The pretty blonde woman crossed the room and slid into an empty seat next to Chris.

Across the table, Vin fought back the first prickle of jealousy as he watched Larabee smile at the woman. He liked Mary, but he knew she and Chris weren't right for each other; they were too much alike. Luckily, both of them seemed to have figured that out as well.

"Gentlemen, I'm going to let Mary describe something that happened to her recently," Travis said, then nodded to the woman to continue.

Mary tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear, then reached into her purse and pulled out a small reporter's notebook. She flipped it open and began to speak. "Last Tuesday when I picked Billy up from school, his friend Kevin Cedertwist was with him. Kevin came over for the afternoon and evening, since his mother was having a medical procedure done and the boys are good friends.

"I took the boys home, and they were playing in the living room. I went to fix them a snack and, when I came back, they had lined up all the pillows from the sofa on the coffee table."

"Mmm, that does sound suspicious," Buck commented, nodding and looking serious.

Travis scowled at the man and Buck dipped his head, trying to look sorry, but he was still grinning.

"I asked them what they were doing," Mary continued, unfazed by the ladies' man's comment, "and Billy said they were 'setting up the bar.'"

"The 'bar'?" Chris echoed, not sure if he should laugh or be appalled.

"I wasn't sure what to make of it, either, so I gave them their snacks and then started to go change, but I paused on the stairs and heard Kevin asking Billy what he wanted to drink. It bothered me, but by the time I'd changed and come back downstairs, they were engrossed in watching cartoons.

"At dinner, I asked them about their day, then mentioned the 'bar' again. Kevin told me his father lets his older brother – Nelson – take bars to school."

"How old is Nelson?" Nathan asked her.

"He's a sophomore, at Westminster High," Mary replied. "I asked Kevin what kind of things Nelson took, and he said beer and other grown-up 'soda drinks.'" She paused and glanced around the table. "I didn't really think all that much about it, but this past Friday I was out at Westminster High, doing a follow-up on that student who was killed while hiking, and I happened to see Mr. Cedartwist, Kevin's father. He was in the parking lot. While I was watching, he opened the trunk of his car and transferred two cardboard boxes into the back of his son's Jeep."

"And you think there was alcohol in those boxes?" Chris asked her.

She nodded. "When I heard the news on Saturday morning…" When she realized that they didn't know what she was referring to, she added, "Three high school students were killed Friday night in a single-car accident. Two of them were from Westminster. The report said that drinking was involved. I called the principal at home, and he told me he'd heard about several off-campus Christmas celebrations that were being planned, but there was nothing he could do since they weren't on school property."

"So you think Cedartwist is using his son to supply these kids with booze for their parties," Chris stated.

Mary nodded. "I did some checking yesterday, and from what I could find, there are apparently high school drinking parties almost every weekend, sometimes two or three of them. They're usually held in out-of-the-way locations, and there are plenty of drugs and alcohol available."

Buck grinned. "Sounds normal to me; just kids, being kids."

JD nodded. "I had friends who used to steal bottles of booze from their parents' stock for Friday or Saturday night parties."

"Tell them who Kevin's father is," Orin instructed Mary.

"Oh!" she replied. "I'm sorry. Ryan Cedartwist is the owner of record of Mile High Liquors."

Travis leaned back in his chair as the news sank in.

JD's eyes rounded slightly. "If he's selling kids booze off the books—"

"We're talking about a very tidy profit, indeed," Ezra finished for him.

Chris nodded, the case suddenly becoming one he had an interest in.

"And he has the perfect front man," Josiah added, "Nelson."

"Hell, it's one thing when a few kids steal a little booze and have some fun," Buck said, "but he's got the stock to—"

"—turn these parties into open bars," Vin finished.

"And kids are dying," Mary told them. "Part of my research: Cedartwist and his family moved to Denver in August of 1995. In the past three years, the number of teenage deaths in automobile accidents has climbed from an average of eleven statewide in 1994 to over thirty in '95, '96 and '97. And this year is on track to be even worse, with forty-three deaths so far. The victims are also getting younger. Before, they were fifteen and older, but starting in '95, they started to drop to thirteen and fourteen. With the end-of-school parties about to begin…"

Larabee sighed and nodded. "Okay, so all we have to do is prove this asshole is selling kids booze off the books."

"I should think the possibility of a rival might force his hand," Ezra said and smiled.

Mary glanced from her father-in-law to Chris as she said, "I'd like to be a part of this investigation."

"No," was Larabee's immediate reply. Travis shook his head.

"I think you might need me," she told them both. "Westminster is a private school, but there's a party coming up there – one for the kids, and another more adult party for the parents who were the largest donors to the new sports field. I know one of the secretaries; she gave me two passes to that party, and Cedartwist will be there. He's the largest donor."

Chris looked annoyed, Travis amused as he turned to Larabee and said, "I think as long as Mary gives us her word that she won't break the story until the investigation is over, she might be of some help."

Larabee sighed, but nodded. "All right," he agreed, looking the woman right in the eye and adding, "but just to let us get a foot in the door. Then you're out. We don't want to give Cedartwist any reason to think you might be involved."

She nodded. "All right. I agree."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The following two days passed quickly for the members of Team Seven. They began their investigation into Ryan Cedartwist's past, and his businesses. On the surface, everything appeared perfectly legal, but a deeper probe into the man's life turned up several interesting correlations – enough so Chris felt certain they could nail Cedartwist for illegally importing liquor from Mexico and Canada, liquor he was then selling to high school and college-aged kids – many of them underage.

And the DA agreed with him, feeling confident he could get a grand jury to indict Cedartwist on several charges. It would be a slam dunk if they could bust the man in the midst of a sale, something Team Seven hoped to arrange after making contact with Cedartwist at the Friday party.

On Thursday morning, Mary arrived to "audition" the men for the upcoming party. The break room was turned into a miniature ballroom and she used JD's CD-player to provide the musical score for her quick spins across the improvised dance floor with five of the seven men.

Ezra would be playing the role of interloper – competition for Cedartwist's monopoly – so he was exempted from the audition. He quickly appointed himself "judge" of the performances, along with JD, who would be getting his first taste of undercover work with this assignment, going in as Ezra's on-campus front man.

The first victim to arrive at the doorway of the break room was Josiah.

"Mr. Sanchez, while your technique is adequate, your presentation would fail to give a cornfield scarecrow competition," Ezra concluded after a few minutes watching the big man trying to concentrate on the simple dance moves.

Josiah sighed. "I haven't done this since my own high school prom," he defended himself.

"Yes, well, it shows," Ezra concluded, shaking his head and gesturing for the profiler to leave the floor.

When Josiah exited the room, Nathan nervously wiped his palms on his pant legs, then stood and entered next. He smiled thinly at Mary, then walked over and took her hands and began to dance.

In less time than he'd allowed Josiah, Ezra hit the stop button on the music and said, "Mr. Jackson, wherever did you learn to dance, from Josiah?"

Nathan blinked. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Next!" Ezra barked. JD, standing next to him, giggled.

The former medic shook his head, shot Mary an apologetic look, and fled the room.

Buck swaggered in next, grinning happily. "Now, this is what I call a great job, dancing with a beautiful woman like yourself," he said to Mary, who gave him her best I'm-just-indulging-you smile.

Ezra hit the play button and the couple was off.

What Buck lacked in technique, he more than made up for in enthusiasm. However, with Cedartwist a recent bachelor, following a divorce, they wanted to draw the man's eye to Mary, ensuring a meeting between the two, and Ezra was adamant that Buck's limited talents would only detract from the overall picture the couple painted.

"Thank you, Mr. Wilmington, that was… tolerable," Ezra announced.

"Tolerable?" the ladies' man replied, releasing Mary and turning to glower at the undercover man. " Tolerable? "

"Next," Ezra called.

Buck huffed and turned to look at Mary, who offered him a sympathetic smile and a shrug. "I promised I would leave this part to Agent Standish," she told him.

Buck stalked out, muttering as he passed Standish, "I'll have you know, the ladies love dancing with me."

Ezra ignored the comment, waving for the next man to enter. Chris walked in and swept Mary into his arms as the music began to play again. The couple moved through the small space with elegant grace, Mary smiling widely as she obviously enjoyed the dance with the handsome team leader.

"Well, that takes care of that," Ezra stated, killing the waltz.

JD looked surprised. "But Vin hasn't auditioned yet," he said.

Ezra blinked, surprised. "Surely you jest."

"What, y' think Texans can't dance?" Vin asked from the doorway.

"I'm sure you're a more-than-adequate country line dancer, Mr. Tanner, but this party is going to be more upscale than a common hoedown."

"Ah, c'mon, Ez, give him a chance," Buck said, still a little hurt that he'd been dismissed so quickly. He shot Vin a quick look, asking under his breath, "You can dance, right?"

Tanner just waited, blue eyes twinkling slightly.

"Come on, Ezra, he might clean up pretty good," Nathan offered.

"I wouldn't mind one more dance," Mary offered helpfully, not wanting Vin's feelings to be hurt, but it was already clear she was convinced Chris was going to be her date for the evening, and she was happy about it.

Chris glanced from Mary to Vin and back again. She looked like she wanted to dance with Tanner. He stepped away, unsure if what he was feeling was actually jealousy or not. Whatever it was, he wasn't sure he liked it much.

"Oh, very well," Ezra said with a dramatic sigh. He pressed the play button and gestured impatiently for Vin to come in.

Tanner entered the break room, his gaze on Mary, not Chris, who walked over to stand beside Ezra and JD.

He took Mary into his arms and they were off.

It only took a few steps before she realized the sniper was an accomplished dancer. "I'm impressed," she said quietly, then smiled. "Where did you learn to dance like this?"

"The Army," Vin said. "It's all about precision an' timin', just like a whole lot 'a what I do. It's good practice. Gave me a leg up on the rest 'a m' competition in sniper school."

"Granted, but I'll bet you didn't advertise your, uh, edge to your buddies in sniper school."

"Nope," Tanner replied with a small grin.

She smiled back and they continued to dance, their steps becoming more and more complex, drawing disbelieving stares from the other men who were watching.

"We have a winner!" Buck hooted. "Damn, Junior, where'd you learn to cut a rug like that?"

"Now, that's what I call a surprise," Nathan said, shaking his head.

Ezra simply stared, his mouth agape. "Mr. Cedartwist," he said quietly, "prepare to be amazed." He glanced over at Chris and added, "I'm sorry, but it appears our resident sharpshooter has shown you up. Mr. Tanner will most definitely cast Mrs. Travis in the best possible light tomorrow evening – provided we can find him an appropriate suit in time."

Larabee sighed softly as he watched the pair, who were still dancing. He was a little disappointed, but he wasn't sure why. "Fine by me," he said, but it sounded as hollow as it felt.

Vin and Mary stopped, Tanner's cheeks going slightly pink as the others crowded around, congratulating him. He caught sight of Chris, slipping out of the room, the expression on the man's face impossible for the sniper to decipher. He frowned slightly, afraid he'd pissed Larabee off.

And why not? Hell, he'd probably been looking forward to the chance to take Mary out. Shit .

"So," Mary said, trying to sound casual, "you do have a suit to wear, right?"

Vin's blush went from pink to crimson. "Uh…"

"I will ensure that Mr. Tanner is adequately attired," Ezra assured her.

Mary smiled. "Then I'll see you tomorrow evening," she told Vin, who just nodded.

"Stellar dancer, but not much of a conversationalist," Josiah stage-whispered to Nathan. The others all laughed.

"Hell," Vin muttered, shaking his head and escaping from the room as quickly as he could.

Mary smiled after him, clearly amused and fond of the shy man. Ezra pulled her aside, beginning to go over his cover story, which she would need to feed Cedartwist. The others filed out of the break room, heading back to their desks and their own work.

Vin was already back his own desk, trying to look busy.

A few minutes later, his phone rang and he snatched it up, saying, "Tanner."

"Hey, Vin, it's Kate, from the lab."

"Hi, Kate," he replied, leaning back in his chair. "What y' got?"

"We found some DNA on that piece of rope you brought in – definitely your suspect's."

"No surprise there," he replied with a sigh. "Anything else?"

"We're trying to narrow down where the rope came from, but that's going to take some time."

"What, you guys ain't like CSI ?"

"Yeah, I wish," the young woman replied with a laugh. "I'll call you when we have something."

"'Preciate it," Vin replied, hanging up when he heard the dial tone.

"Something?" Chris asked, making the sniper jump.

Tanner swung around to find the blond, who was leaning against his desk. "DNA on the rope was Vine's."

Larabee sighed. "Anything else?"

"Not yet. They're workin' on it."

Chris thought for a moment, then said, "Not sure I want you out in the field until this bastard's caught."

"Hell, Chris, we don't know how long that's gonna take. Gotta work."

Meeting the man's determined blue eyes, Chris nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I don't like it. You're vulnerable out there."

"Chris?"

Larabee turned to see Mary walking up to him. "You all done?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I, uh, I spoke with Michelle, my friend at Westminster," she said. "She's, uh, looking for a companion for the party. I told her I might know someone, if you'd…? I mean, I thought it might be a way for you to have someone else there…" She trailed off, looking hopeful.

She was right; it would put one more on the inside. And that meant it was a way to keep an eye on Vin, and on Mary, not to mention on Cedartwist. Chris nodded. "I'll take her."

"Great," Mary said, beaming. "I'll let her know."

"We'll see you tomorrow," he told her.

She nodded, then turned and left.

Vin watched the exchange, and as soon as Mary was out of earshot, said, "I can take her friend, so y' can take Mary."

Larabee looked down at the man, feeling slightly off his stride for some reason. "You heard Ezra – he thinks you'll draw Cedartwist's attention to Mary better than I will. You take her."

"Y' sure?" Vin replied.

He wasn't sure about anything at the moment. Still, he nodded. "I'm sure."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The two couples walked into the grand ballroom at the Renaissance Denver Hotel. The space was comfortably full without being too crowded, a fact for which Vin was more than a little grateful. Couples were scattered at various tables, each laden with food, while others were already on the dance floor, enjoying the live music. There were no children anywhere in sight, and hotel workers swept though the space carrying trays of drinks.

Chris and Vin each had on dark Dior Homme suits, Vin's slightly less traditional in cut than the blond's, but the style – according to Ezra – was a better fit with Tanner's more youthful appearance and his longer hair, which had been pulled back this evening in a stylish ponytail with silver clasp that Standish had paid close to a hundred dollars to have done.

Mary looked stunning in a short, clinging, sleeveless black dress that had a plunging neck and back line. Her blonde hair was swept up, tendrils falling down fetchingly along the sides of her face, and her heels had both men wondering how she could possibly dance in them without risking a broken ankle.

Michelle Campbell, Larabee's "date" for the evening, looked almost as lovely in a form-fitting red dress, which complimented her short auburn hair and large green eyes. She was several inches shorter than Mary, and not nearly as curvaceous, but she had an athletic look about her that Larabee appreciated. She was also a wonderful dancer, which meant Larabee was able to stay close to Mary and Vin when they took to the dance floor to try and draw Cedartwist's attention.

And, just as Ezra had predicted, it didn't take long for Mary and Vin to apprehend the guests' attention, including Cedartwist's.

The man, standing at one of the buffet tables, watched the blonde as she was swept along by Vin, who made sure he used moves that showed Mary off to her best advantage.

Chris saw Cedartwist heading for Mary when the couple stepped off the dance floor. He offered his apologies to Michelle and stepped off as well, walking over and picking up a few bites of food from one of the cheese tables, keeping an eye on Mary as he did.

Vin, seeing Michelle looking a little disappointed, offered the woman his arm. She smiled and, moments later, they were back on the dance floor, joining Mary and Cedartwist there.

As Larabee watched the dancers, he had to admit that Mary looked stunning. Cedartwist seemed to think so as well, and he pulled her in closer.

Chris bristled slightly upon seeing the move, but he quickly dismissed the reaction, his attention shifting for a moment to Vin.

He'd had no idea the sniper was such an accomplished dancer. They had gotten the story about how and why out of the man the day before, but he couldn't help wondering what other secrets Tanner might be concealing. They all had their suspicions about Vin's past, but since the man never talked about it, their suspicions remained unsubstantiated. And now, with what had happened with Vine, he knew there was one more suspicion that they all had.

He stopped himself there, forcing his attention back to Mary and Cedartwist. She was laughing at something the man had just said, her head thrown back slightly, her large blue eyes sparkling. Yes, she was certainly beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but… His gaze went back to Vin. Michelle was pressed up against him, obviously enjoying the dance. Her hand drifted off of his shoulder, her fingers twining into the loose, short hairs at the nape of his neck.

Larabee felt a surge of jealously, this one too powerful and too specific to be confused for anything other than what it was. And the reality of it brought him up short. He huffed out a breath and turned away from the dance floor.

This wasn't right. He shouldn't be feeling jealous about a woman touching Vin like that, but the move was so… intimate, and he suddenly found himself wondering what those short hairs might feel like.

You're on an assignment , he scolded himself, forcing his attention back to Mary and their target. Cedartwist was still holding Mary close, but not like Michelle was doing to Vin.

His gaze drifted between the two people he knew, and he knew who he ought to be feeling jealous about, but even when he tried to, he couldn't manage it.

But just one glance at Tanner, and the way Michelle's body moved with the sniper's, at the way she was touching him, and he felt the emotion surge through him again, hot and furious and— Jesus! He hadn't felt like this since the night Buck had swept Sarah away from him in that old saloon, and they had only been line dancing. Still, he'd been ready to shoot his oldest friend, just because he'd dared to take Sarah away from him for a single moment. It was the same feeling he was experiencing now, but that just wasn't possible.

Was it?

He'd been jealous the day before, because Mary was dancing with Vin and not him, right?

No, he had to admit, it was the other way around. And how stupid was that? Like he'd ever be caught dancing with another man, even Vin!

But, like it or not, that was exactly what was going on.

Impossible , he concluded. He was just… confused; very confused.

But he couldn't stop the feelings he was experiencing, seeing Michelle out there with Vin. She fit with him perfectly – small and petite, but still so obviously strong. She smiled at him, her head down, flirting, her fingers still playing with the hair at his nape.

Chris felt his hand curling into a fist, and reached for a glass of beer as one of the hotel staff passed by, trying to distract himself, trying to imagine how he was going to get through the rest of the evening.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Saturday

Vin was standing out on the sidewalk in front of his apartment building when Chris pulled up to the curb. Stacked in the back of the big black pickup were the wood and other supplies they would need to repair the last stall in the barn – one Peso had damaged when he'd turned ornery one afternoon.

Leaning over, Vin grabbed his gym bag and picked it up. When he opened the Ram's passenger-side door, he saw there were already several bags of groceries setting on the second seat. He slid his bag into the space that was still unfilled at the end, then climbed into his own seat. "Looks like y' been busy this mornin'," he commented as he pulled the door shut and secured his seatbelt.

"Figured I'd better restock if I was having company for the weekend. Didn't think you'd want TV dinners for supper," Chris told him as he checked the traffic and then pulled back onto the street, heading for the freeway.

"Hell, gettin' used to 'em by now," Vin teased, grinning.

"I picked up some baby-back ribs," Larabee told him. "Figure if I put 'em on in the late afternoon, they'll be ready to go for dinner."

"Mmm, sounds good."

The two men fell silent for a while, Vin relaxing in his seat, staring out at the passing miles, enjoying the mountains and the company.

As they neared the off-ramp Larabee used, he asked, "So, uh, how'd it go last night?"

Tanner looked slightly surprised, but he said, "Thought it went pretty good. Ol' Cedartwist honed right in on Mary, an' she said she fed him the whole cover story, so I reckon he won't be too surprised when Ezra an' JD show up today."

Chris nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"Buck an' Josiah'll keep an eye on 'em, if you're worried 'bout that."

Larabee nodded again. "Yeah, I know." Then he added, "I was actually thinkin' more about you and Michelle."

Blue eyes rounded with surprise at that. "What d'ya mean?"

Chris shot him a quick glance, then said, "Seemed like the two of you hit it off pretty good."

Vin dipped his head, his cheeks coloring slightly. "Hell, Chris, didn't mean t' steal yer date."

Larabee shrugged a shoulder. "Lady's prerogative."

"Yeah, I know, but, hell, guess we ought t' have figured Cedartwist might've monopolized Mary's time… Michelle was just really into the dancin', an' I could see y' wanted t' keep an eye on Mary. Thought it might make it easier for y' if I kept Michelle busy. Didn't mean t' step on yer toes."

Chris shot him another look, one Tanner couldn't read. "Not complaining," he told the sniper. "She was nice enough, but…"

"Not your type, huh?" Vin asked, thinking Chris seemed to prefer a more full-figured woman, like Mary.

"No," he replied, a quiet voice asking him what kind of woman would be his kind now, and he just didn't have an answer. He cleared his throat and asked, "She seemed to like you."

"Guess so," Vin replied, his head turning so he was gazing out the passenger-side window, wondering what Larabee was working up to.

"Thought maybe you might be seeing her again."

Vin turned his head, giving the older man a quick look, then turned back to stare out the side window. "Probably not," he said, experiencing an unsettling drop in the pit of his stomach.

"Why's that?"

"Ain't really my type, either," Tanner replied, his voice sounding a little more strained than he'd hoped.

"She was kind of… skinny."

Vin almost laughed at that, but, at the same time, he felt his eyes beginning to sting. "Yeah, guess she was."

"Not in a bad way," Larabee quickly added.

"Don't matter none," Vin said as casually as he could manage. "Ain't like I move in her circles, y' know?" But Chris did, or could, if he wanted to, the sniper knew. He hadn't really thought about the class difference between him and Larabee before, but it was there.

"I don't know," Chris continued, even though that little voice was warning him not to, "the way she was all over you last night; I think she'd be glad to hear from you again. I'm sure Mary could—"

"Don't need you or Mary playin' matchmaker," Tanner growled, his face flushing, even though he wasn't sure why.

"I just—"

"Leave it alone, Larabee," he snapped. "Just part of a case, nothin' more."

"All right," Chris replied, but he couldn't help but notice that the man's reactions had left him feeling… happy?

That wasn't right, was it?

He stared out the windshield, wishing he understood what the hell he was doing these days when it came to Vin.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

A few minutes later, Larabee pulled into his driveway. He drove all the way to the barn, parking inside so they could unload the wood where they'd need it, then moved the Ram back to its usual spot when they were done.

Vin grabbed his gym bag and a couple of the grocery bags, following Chris inside. He dropped off the groceries in the kitchen, then took his bag to the guest room, tossing it onto the bed before returning to the kitchen to help Larabee put up the supplies.

Once that was done, Chris made them coffee and they took their cups out to the barn to get started unloading the wood.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The real work passed in relative silence, the two men only talking when they had to ask a question, or for help.

Old wood was removed and then the building began, the inside of the stall being replaced first. When they completed that, around one in the afternoon, Chris looked over at his friend and asked, "You want to break now for lunch, then come back and do the gate?"

Tanner nodded. "Sounds good to me; I'm ready to eat."

Chris smiled. "You're always ready to eat," he told the man. "Buck swears you've got a hollow leg."

Vin looked completely unrepentant as he shrugged and said, "Got two, actually."

That prompted a laugh from Larabee. "Well, in that case, we better go fill one of 'em up."

They grabbed their long-emptied coffee cups and walked back to the house, Chris making them more coffee while Vin pulled out all the things they'd need for sandwiches.

While Tanner started in on making the sandwiches, Chris heated up some soup for them in the microwave.

A few minutes later, they were sitting out on the deck, eating in the warm May weather.

"You believe this nice weather?" Chris asked, shaking his head.

"Don't get used to it," Vin warned him, "they're saying there's a front headed in Monday night. We'll probably get a couple inches 'a snow out of it."

"You want to take a ride when we get done? Might as well take advantage of this while it lasts."

Vin thought for a moment, then shrugged and said, "Yeah, might as well."

The two men fell into silence, finishing off their meals and then taking the dishes back inside, before they returned to the barn to build a new gate and put it back on the repaired stall.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

With the gate finally built, they leaned it up against the side of the stall while Larabee got out his electric drill and began to attach the hinges to the anchor post. The bottom hinge went on with minimal effort, but as he began to work on the top one, the bit attachment came loose and the drill jumped, the casing coming off and striking the post before bouncing back to strike Larabee's glove-covered hand.

The blond jumped and jerked his hand back, his hips and shoulder catching the gate and tipping in over onto Vin, who was squatted down, picking up the long nails they hadn't needed to use.

"Vin!" Chris barked, seeing the sniper knocked flat to the ground, the gate pinning him there. He dropped the drill and reached for the gate, lifting it off the man. "Vin!" he called a little louder.

Tanner cursed and pushed himself up off the ground, one hand going immediately to his head. His fingers came away bloody.

"Shit," Larabee hissed, seeing the blood. "Come on, let's get you back to the house so I can take a look."

Vin nodded, feeling a little light-headed, thanks to the pain that was burning along his scalp; it felt like someone had just tried to rip it off. When he felt Chris' hand on his upper arm, he pushed upright and, still holding his aching head, accompanied the man back to the house.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Larabee took Vin straight to the hallway guest bathroom, lowering the toilet seat and gesturing for him to sit, which Vin did, his eyes closing when the room began to pitch a little too much. He listened to the blond rummaging in the cabinet, then heard the water beginning to run in the sink.

"Vin?"

He heard Chris, but it was taking him a little longer than usual to realize that he needed to reply.

"Vin, I need to take a look. Move your hand."

His hand? Had he hurt his hand? It felt like he'd hurt his head…

"Vin, move your hand, damn it."

Chris sounded scared, or maybe it was just worried. What had he said? Oh, yeah. Chris wanted to see his hand. He held it out to the man.

"No, Vin, I need to take a look at your head . You know, the part that's bleeding like a bitch?"

Head? But he'd wanted his hand, hadn't he?

Letting his hand fall into his lap, Vin sat, eyes still closed, head throbbing. A moment later, he sucked in a sharp breath and whined when a warm, wet cloth pressed against his head, making his scalp start to burn all over again.

"Easy," Chris said gently. "Sorry. I know this has to hurt, but I need to get the bleeding stopped. Looks like that gate gouged out a pretty good furrow. It's bleedin' up a storm."

Vin let the words wash over him, unconcerned about their meaning. He knew he was all right. Chris was there. Chris was taking care of him.

He felt his shoulders sag a little and be hunched forward, hoping his stomach didn't get cranky. Turning his head slightly toward the older man, Vin let the scent of sweat, new wood, and fresh hay fill his senses. He liked it. It was… Chris.

The sharp burning eventually faded to something more tolerable as he felt the pressure on his scalp ease slightly. Then he felt Larabee's hand come to rest on his shoulder.

"You hangin' in there?"

"Yeah," Vin replied, his voice a little breathless, but it had nothing to do with the wound. Behind his closed eyes, he was seeing Chris, lying naked on a blanket in the hay… He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, trying to force the image away, but with the man standing so close to him, he just didn't have the willpower to erase the enticing picture from his mind.

"Easy," Larabee said again, his hand beginning to move, rubbing tender circles on Vin's back as the pressure on his scalp increased again.

Vin whimpered softly.

"I know, but it's just not stopping…"

Head wounds bled a lot, Vin knew that, and as long as it kept Chris standing right where he was, doing exactly what he was doing, Vin didn't care; he could bleed all night, as far as he was concerned.

He forced his eyes open, seeing that he was just a couple of inches away from the blond's belly. He hunched forward slightly, his forehead pressing against the man's midsection. A few inches below his chin was Larabee's belt…

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Chris felt his stomach muscles tense when Vin leaned his head against them. He blew out a silent breath and kept the pressure steady on the bleeding furrow, continuing to rub Vin's back with his free hand, but he could feel himself reacting to the man's presence, and that had to be a first.

Tanner was hurt. He wasn't in the slightest bit interested in him right now. Was he?

Crap . He had to stop this. He had to concentrate on getting the bleeding stopped so he could see what the damage was. And that was easier said than done. But if it got much worse, he was afraid Vin might notice.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin closed his eyes again, resting where he was, content in a way he hadn't been in far too long. This closeness, this care and concern, surely they were better than any sex they might – or, more likely, might not – have. But that did nothing to dampen his arousal.

And he could almost swear he smelled the scent of Larabee's arousal as well, but he knew that had to be wishful thinking. That, or he was in worse shape than he thought, and he was having some kind of hallucination – one that was coming through his nose rather than his eyes.

"Uh, Vin," he heard Chris say a little thickly, "I need to get a new washcloth," he told him, then helped him lean back a little so he could step away.

Vin could feel the blood beading on his scalp and, a moment later, it was running down his neck and soaking into the collar of his T-shirt. Then Chris was back with a fresh cloth, pressing it to his head again.

It didn't hurt as much this time, and he was able to sit up straight, staring into the mirror, watching Chris as he continued to clean him up.

A few minutes later, the blond announced, "Okay, looks like the bleeding's finally stopped. I don't think they're going to be able to stitch this. You want me to run you over to Summit, or give Nathan a call?"

"Nathan," Vin replied, preferring to avoid hospitals whenever possible.

"Okay," Chris replied. "You stay put. I'll go call him and get you some water so you can take a couple of Tylenol, okay?"

Vin nodded slightly, watching the man go, and wishing he wouldn't.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

It wasn't until Chris was reaching for the phone that he noticed how badly his hands were shaking. He ignored the reaction and grabbed the phone from the wall in the kitchen, punching out the former medic's number.

"Hello," Nathan answered three rings later.

"Hey, Nathan, it's Chris."

"What happened to Vin?" Jackson asked, his tone worried.

That put a small smile on Larabee's lips. Were they really that predictable? "Can you make a run out here?"

"Sure," Nathan replied, "is it serious?"

"We were working on that stall and the gate fell over, gouged out a furrow in Vin's scalp. I got the bleeding stopped, finally, and I'm getting ready to give him some Tylenol, but I'd feel better if you took a look at it."

"Okay, I'll be there in twenty," Nathan said.

"Thanks," Chris replied. He hung up, and let out a long sigh. Everything was fine. It wasn't a big deal. So why the hell did he still feel like panicking?

Get a grip, Larabee , he scolded himself.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin ground his teeth together and wished again that he'd told Chris he wanted to go to Summit. Bent over Larabee's kitchen sink, he clung to the cabinet while Nathan used the water sprayer to clean his scalp wound.

The water was cold, and while that felt better on his wound than warm water had, it was giving him a chill. And between the soap and the scrubbing the Black man was doing, Vin was ready to kill the man, or himself, whatever would make it stop the quickest.

"Any time, Nate," he growled through clenched teeth.

"Almost done," Jackson told him. "Chris, hand me that dry towel."

The water was turned off and Nathan wrapped Vin's head in the towel, drying his hair while he simultaneously pressed a gauze pad to the wound to catch the blood the cleaning had prompted.

Vin was starting to tremble, and Nathan guided him over to the kitchen table and let him sit down. Chris immediately set a cup of coffee in front of the sniper.

"Thanks," Tanner said, reaching out with both hands to take the cup and lift it to his lips. He could smell the alcohol even before he took his first sip and he shot Larabee a grateful look.

"Well, I don't think you need a doctor to look at this," Nathan said, dabbing at the abrasion. "Bleeding's almost stopped again. I'm going to put some calendula on it," he said, then looked over at Larabee. "Make sure you put some more on it tonight before he goes to bed, and after he showers in the morning."

"Okay," Larabee said, nodding.

"Vin, you have a headache?" the former medic quizzed.

"Some," Tanner admitted.

"How's your vision?"

"Fine."

"And your stomach?"

"Fine."

Nathan considered the answers, then shot Larabee a look that clearly said he should keep a close eye on the injured man, since they couldn't trust a word he'd just uttered.

"I'm fine," Tanner grumbled, easily reading the meaning behind the silence.

"Just want to be sure you stay that way," Nathan told him.

Chris walked the man to the door, thanking him again, and listening to the instructions once more. He nodded. "I've got it," he assured Jackson.

"Call me if you need me," Nathan said, then headed for his car.

Chris shut the door and locked it, then returned to the kitchen. He looked down at Vin and said, "Why don't you grab a beer and go see what's on TV?"

Vin shook his head. "Figured we'd go finish that stall."

"Vin—" Chris started, but Tanner interrupted him.

"Chris, you're gonna need help, and I'm fine. Y' heard Nate – it's shallow, not that big—"

"Damn it, Vin, I know you've got a headache. You don't—"

"Pills took care 'a that," Tanner told him. "Come on, let's go hang that gate an' we'll be done. We can come back an' y' can put those ribs on."

Chris glanced over at the clock, knowing that they'd be eating a lot later than he'd expected, but that was all right. If Vin wanted ribs, he'd get ribs. He nodded.

Vin grinned at him. "Hell, Larabee, yer actin' like I just got shot."

Chris scowled. He had to admit, the whole thing had scared him more than it probably should have, but he chalked the reaction up to recent events. "Yeah, well, I should've known, with a head as hard as yours, it wouldn't be a problem."

That brought a smile to Tanner's lips. "Yeah, well, the next time y' drop a big 'ol wood gate on me, I'm gonna let y' do yer own damn repairs."

"I didn't drop that gate on you," Chris argued as they started out to the barn.

"How else did it end up on top 'a me?"

"It fell over."

"'Cause y' pushed it."

"I did not push it over. I bumped it when the drill bit came loose."

"Same thing."

"It is not ," Larabee argued as they reached the barn and went back to work on the stall. He was grinning, enjoying the bitching more than he figured he ought to, and wondering why.

When had life gotten so damn complicated?

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Sunday

The following morning, Vin climbed stiffly from his bed. His head still hurt, and his shoulders and back were sore, but he thought it all might feel better once he'd had a long, hot shower.

He grabbed his clothes from his gym bag, then slipped into the hallway, where he could hear Larabee's shower already running down in the master bathroom.

Going to the hallway bathroom, Vin closed the door and turned on the small heater before he cranked the water on, letting it run to heat up while he stripped out of his underwear. Then, climbing into the shower, Vin let the hot water ease his aching muscles. He tried to avoid getting his head wet, though, knowing that if he did, it was going to sting like the dickens.

He reached for the bar of soap, working up a healthy lather in his hands before rubbing it over his arms and chest. As he did, he could easily imagine Chris doing the same in the other shower. That picture sent a jolt of desire shooting straight into his groin.

He tried to ignore the images that strengthened and faded in his mind as he continued to wash: Chris rubbing soap over his chest… Chris reaching down to soap his cock and balls… Chris reaching back to rub soap into the crack of his ass…

Shit , he thought, his own cock suddenly hard and aching. But he was hesitant to reach down and touch it. Whenever he'd tried, his memories had carried him back to the roof of his apartment building, or Chris' living room, and his ardor had died.

Natural, the trauma specialist had told him.

But this seemed… different. Chris was here, just a wall away, really. Yep, just one wall separating him from a naked, wet, soapy Chris Larabee…

He moaned softly and reached down to tentatively touch himself. His cock jumped in response to his touch and he waited to see if the images came, but this time they didn't. In the back of his mind, it still seemed… wrong; too soon. But he couldn't stop himself. His fingers closed around his shaft, squeezing himself as he closed his eyes, imagining what Larabee would look like right now… wet, soapy… the way he might friction his cock with the sudsy lather, scrubbing soap into the thick tangle of dark blond hair that grew at his groin… "Oh, shit," he breathed, his hand beginning to stroke himself, his other hand reaching down to cup his balls.

He'd often wondered what it might feel like to share a shower with Chris. To be able to soap his hands and then run them over the man's skin, or feel Larabee doing the same to him. Oh, yeah … He'd give almost anything to feel Chris' hands sliding down his back, or over his hips and ass. Feel him sliding his hands around his ribs to reach down for his hard, straining cock.

And he'd fantasized about what it would be like to kneel in front of the blond, water sluicing over his shoulders and chest, running down his flat belly to his cock – standing out straight from his body – some of the water running down the shaft to drip from the wine-red tip… God, he'd love to suck that cock into his mouth.

One hand picked up speed, the other squeezing and pulling harder on his balls. He couldn't let Vine steal his fantasies of Chris from him. He wouldn't . It was as close as he was ever going to get, and he'd be damned if he'd let that asshole take them away from him.

He squeezed the head of his cock, admitting that, more than anything, he wanted to know what it would feel like to have Chris standing behind him in the shower, cock hard and soapy, his own ass slicked with lather. What would it feel like if Chris stepped up to him, rubbed his cock up and down his crack, teased at his hole, pressed at it until he slipped inside, the soap allowing the blond to ride all the way inside him on a single stroke, filling him completely.

He bent his knees slightly, his hand abandoning his balls to slide back, his finger poking inside his body.

What would it feel like if Chris began to fuck him then, driving in and out of his ass as he braced himself against the wall of the shower, back arched down and back, inviting Larabee to take him deeper and harder. He swallowed, beginning to pant as he worked his body.

What would it feel like to have Chris' fingers curling into his flesh, holding his hips steady so he could fuck him faster, harder, deeper. Would Chris eventually reach around his hip, take hold of his cock, hand working it in time to his thrusts?

Vin's head arched back and he ground his teeth together, groaning lowly as he began to come, heavy ropes of semen shooting into the tub, where the water washed them down the drain.

He continued to fuck his hole with his finger as he pumped his cock, his legs shaking from the power of his orgasm.

And then, it was over.

Vin stood under the spray, panting, trembling, waiting for his body to recover. And, once it had, he washed himself again, then ducked his head under the spray without thinking.

"Sonuvabitch!" he swore.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Chris looked up from his newspaper when Vin came out to join him. "You okay?" he asked. "I heard you cussing up a storm in the shower."

Tanner's face went red and he walked right past the breakfast bar, heading straight to the kitchen and the coffeemaker. "Nate didn't say it was goin' t' sting like that ."

Larabee tried not to grin as he replied, "Probably just slipped his mind. I have that stuff to put on it."

"After I eat," Vin replied, getting his coffee and then going for a plate so he could help himself to some of the bacon Larabee had cooked for them. When he had several strips, he shifted over to the waffle iron, adding some batter and waiting for it to cook. When it was ready, he added some margarine and syrup, then took his plate to the breakfast bar to eat.

Chris went back to his paper, letting Vin eat in peace. But once he was done, he grabbed the ointment and, ignoring the fussing, carefully spread it over the ugly scrape on the man's head. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Vin shrugged as he said, "I'm okay. Little sore, but that'll go away as soon as I get movin'."

Chris frowned slightly. "You sure you want to go do this?" Tanner had been adamant last night, insisting he'd be able to go help out at the church, but Chris hadn't been nearly so sure.

"Told y', 'm fine. Ain't gonna let a few aches keep me from helpin' out."

"All right," Larabee said, knowing there was no use arguing with the man. But that wasn't going to stop him from worrying.

He sat back down, watching as Vin went to make himself another waffle. The whole scene was so domestic, and he was once more struck by the parallels between Sarah and Vin. He'd loved every moment he spent with her, no matter what they were doing, and he had to admit that the same was true of Vin.

He loved Sarah, and he loved Vin, but he couldn't believe that he loved them in the same way. He couldn't, could he?

But he couldn't deny the reaction he'd had yesterday, either.

He just couldn't quite wrap his mind around what he was supposed to do about it. If Vin had been Sarah, he would've taken him into the bedroom, laid him on the bed, cuddled and caressed her— him… And that's as far as he could go. The idea, the image, just didn't go with Vin the way it did with Sarah.

"Chris?"

"Huh?" he asked, shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts. "You say something?"

"Said we getter get a move on or we're gonna be late."

Larabee nodded. "I'm ready."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Chris and Vin arrived at the church a few minutes after ten to find Josiah and Nathan already there. Buck and JD arrived about twenty minutes after they did, and Ezra didn't make an appearance until almost eleven.

The first thing Nathan did when they reached the church was pull Vin aside to check his head and ask him a series of questions, all of which resulted in replies of "fine" or "I said 'm fine, damn it."

Once that was taken care of, they went to work.

The leak they planned to fix was in the back wall of the kitchen, which Father Tim had shut down so they could make the necessary repairs.

Getting to the leak was their first task, a section of the wall needing to be cut away. Once that was done, the problem was obvious. An old pipe joint had rusted through, allowing it to leak every time the water was turned on.

Chris and Josiah went to work to replace the pipe, while Buck and Vin prepared to replace the section of wall that had been cut out. One floor below, Nathan, JD, and Ezra were busy replacing ceiling tiles that had gotten water-stained.

The work progressed swiftly and efficiently, so that less than three hours later, the joint had been replaced and the new section of wall was in place, the men smearing drywall mud over it so it could be blended into the existing wall once it was sanded and painted.

"Mr. Josiah!" a child squealed.

In response to the cry, the profiler jerked around, his elbow catching one corner of the makeshift table they had set up on two sawhorses and sending an empty plastic container rolling off. It struck Vin on the head and bounced to the floor.

The younger man sucked in a breath and began to hiss soft curses that were just loud enough to stop the little boy dead in his tracks.

"Mr. Vin?" he called, lower lip beginning to tremble.

"Vin?" Chris and Nathan asked in unison, seeing that the sniper was in considerable pain.

"'M all right," he ground out, looking over at the boy. "Hey, Juan, it's okay."

"Are you hurted?" the child wailed, eyes going wide.

Vin nodded. "Chris hit my head last night, and it's still pretty sore."

The boy's eyes went even wider. "Mr. Chris hitted you?"

"No, I did not hit him," Chris defended himself. "A gate fell on Vin and—"

"I'm fine, Juan," Vin interrupted, shooting Larabee a mischievous grin.

"I'm sorry about that, Vin," Josiah said, his tone one of sincere contrition.

"Ain't your fault, J'siah," Vin said, letting the big man help him to his feet.

"Here, let me see if you did any damage to that wound," Josiah said, his tone gentle, letting Vin know he wasn't going to cause him any more pain if he could help it.

Watching the profiler helping Vin, Chris felt his jealousy rising again, but he fought it back down. Josiah was Vin's friend, part of Tanner's self-professed family, and he had every right in the world to help him. It wasn't like he was a stranger who was hanging on to him, touching him in ways that were far too familiar, although the way Josiah had his arm wrapped around Vin's shoulders did make him want to stalk over and pop the man right on the jaw.

"Is Mr. Vin okay?" Juan asked, looking up at Chris with big brown eyes that were getting decidedly watery again.

"He'll be just fine, son," Chris assured the five-year-old. "Didn't someone tell you the kitchen was off-limits today?"

The boy nodded, looking sadly guilty. "I wanted to see Mr. Josiah."

"Well, I'll tell you what, why don't you go play in the nursery, and as soon as we're done in here, he'll come and find you, okay?"

"Okay!" the child agreed, his expression happy once more.

"All right, then, you get along to the nursery," Chris told him, starting him off toward the door.

The boy galloped away, yelling back, "See you later, Mr. Josiah!"

The profiler grinned and called back, "That you will, son." He looked up at Chris, saying, "Well, I don't think he did any damage."

"Feels like I did," Vin replied.

Buck, who had continued working on the wall, said, "Hell, Junior, we're basically done here for the day. This is gonna have to dry before we can sand it down and paint it. Why don't ya go on home, get some rest?"

"I'll drive you over," Chris agreed.

Vin hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded. "All right, if you're sure."

Buck nodded. "See for yourself." He gestured at the repairs.

"Come on," Chris said, jerking his head toward the door. "We'll pick up lunch, and then I'll drop you off."

Vin nodded.

"Thanks for all your help, brothers," Josiah said as Chris and Vin collected their stuff.

"Ain't no problem," Vin told him. "If y' want to stop by on your way home…"

Josiah nodded. "As soon as we get this cleaned up and I go see what it is Juan wants to show me."

Vin grinned and nodded. "Well, y' know where I'll be."

The two men left the others to finish cleaning up, walking half a block to where the Ram was parked. Climbing in, Chris drove them to Tolson's Café, where they ate lunch, then he took Vin back to his apartment building. As Tanner was climbing out, he asked, "You want me to come up?"

"Naw, I'm okay," Vin said.

Chris nodded, once more realizing that he didn't want to part company with the man. "I'll, uh, give you a call later," he said.

"Sure," Vin replied, a little too quickly, it seemed to Larabee. Was Vin feeling the same things he was? He didn't know, and he couldn't ask.

Chris waited until Vin disappeared into the building before he pulled away, heading home and knowing that, somehow, it wasn't going to feel like home until Vin was back out there again. And that scared the shit out him.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Inside the building, Vin stopped to check his mailbox, pulling out the envelopes and leafing through them; all bills.

His head aching some, he turned and headed to the elevator, hoping that it might – for once – be working. A relieved sigh escaped his lips when he heard the soft ding of the call bell and, a few moments later, the doors slid open and he was able to step into the car. He pressed the button for the fourth floor and rode up, looking through the small stack of bills again.

The car stopped, the bell returning to announce his arrival on his floor. He waited for the doors to slide open, then stepped out and headed to his apartment. As he turned the last corner, he stopped short. There, sitting on the floor in front of his door, was what looked like two packages.

His heart beginning to beat a little faster, headache forgotten, Vin continued on, stopping when he reached his door.

Yep, two more packages – cardboard boxes this time.

Dropping his gym bag, he squatted down and looked at the labels. Both were addressed to him, neither had a return address on them, and both had postmarks from Washington D.C. He knew who they were from.

With a sigh, he stood and fished his keys from his pocket, then unlocked his door and pushed it open. Drawing the Glock he carried in his shoulder holster, he entered the apartment, making a swift but thorough search of the space to ensure no one else was here. When he was done, he holstered his weapon and returned to the open door, grabbing his gym bag and tossing it over onto the sofa. Then he picked up the smaller of the two boxes and set it on top of the larger one. He lifted them both and brought them inside, kicking the door closed with the toe of his shoe.

He set the boxes on the small table by the door and turned the locks before shifting his attention back to the boxes. Procedure said he should call the lab techs to come get them, but he needed to see what was inside before he did.

He fished his pocketknife from the front pocket of his jeans and cut the clear packing tape at the top two edges of the smaller box, and then across the top.

Laying the knife aside, he pulled the two flaps open and looked into the box. Inside was a pair of ankle cuffs – black leather with black fleece lining and heavy silver buckles – and a pair of silver nipple clamps. He swallowed hard and blew his breath out, his stomach doing a small flip.

Picking the box up, he set it aside and then cut the larger of the two boxes open in the same way. After returning his knife to his pocket, he opened the flaps and checked inside the second box.

Inside were three items. All of them were black, and Vin wasn't exactly sure what they were, or how they were supposed to be used.

Picking up the box, he carried it over to the desk in his living room and set it down. Then, taking a seat, he logged onto his computer and began a search. Less than twenty minutes later, he knew what Vine had sent him.

One item was a kind of gag made with a black rubber ball and two straps to secure it in place. The second was a black hood that had no openings for eyes, ears, or mouth. The description he'd read online said that hoods like this one could be inflated with air, in which case it would press tightly against the wearer's head, making it impossible for him to hear, see, or speak.

The last item was a thin, solid metal rod, and it had taken him longer to find out what that object was, but he had finally located a site with an image and a description. The "sound," he'd learned, was designed to be inserted in the urethra, and was usually employed as part of BDSM medical role-playing.

"Jesus," Tanner breathed, feeling the sweat breaking out on his upper lip.

Logging off, he reached for his phone and picked it up. Without really thinking, he dialed Larabee's number.

"Vin?"

"Hey," Tanner said a little thickly.

"You all right?"

"I, uh, got a few more presents from Vine."

"Shit," Larabee hissed. "I'll be there in thirty or so," he said, adding, "I'm at Ezra's. I wanted to hear how it went with Cedartwist."

"Okay," Vin replied. Returning the phone to its cradle, he leaned back and tried not to think about what Vine might have in mind for him if he returned.

Then, realizing he'd called Chris, and Larabee had said he was coming over, he pushed himself to his feet and went to the sofa. Grabbing his gym bag, he carried it to his bedroom and emptied it, refilling it with fresh clothing – some for work, some for after.

He had just finished when he heard the knock at the door. Checking his watch, he frowned. Larabee was ten minutes early.

Taking the bag, he walked to the living room, dropping the bag on the sofa again on his way to the door. After checking the peephole, he turned the locks and opened the door.

Chris stepped inside, his gaze darting around the room like he expected to find Vine there. "You okay?" he asked.

Vin nodded. He pointed to the smaller of the two boxes. "That's one. The other one's over there." He gestured toward the desk.

Chris stepped over and peered into the smaller box. Frowning, he walked over and checked inside the larger one. "What the hell is this stuff?"

Vin told him what he'd determined the items were, watching as Larabee paled.

"Goddamn sick bastard," was the blond's reaction. "Get some stuff; you're not staying here alone."

"Already done," Vin replied, half-amused that he'd anticipated the man so easily.

Chris just nodded, though, reaching for his cell phone. A moment later, he was talking to Josiah, who was already on his way over to Vin's place. "Yeah, I'm gonna take him back out to the ranch," Chris told the profiler after he'd explained what had arrived. "Give the lab a call, have them come get this crap out of here."

"No problem," the profiler said. "How's Vin doing?"

"Okay," the blond replied.

"You sure?"

"No, but I'll make sure of it," Chris replied, purposefully not looking at Tanner as he spoke.

"Call me if you need me, or if he does."

"Will do," Chris replied, then ended the call. He looked at Vin, saying, "Josiah's already on the way. He'll call the lab and wait for them."

Vin nodded, thinking he ought to stay himself, but he honestly didn't want to.

"Grab your stuff and let's get out of here."

Tanner walked over to the sofa and grabbed the gym bag, wondering if he was ever going to be able to return to his apartment long-term.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The drive to the ranch was made in silence, lighter-than-usual traffic making it swift as well. As Chris was about to turn down his driveway, Mrs. Pritchard, who lived in the house directly opposite his mailbox, stepped out onto her porch and waved at him, calling, "Whoo-hoo, Chris!"

"Hey," Vin said, seeing the woman first, "looks like Mrs. P. wants to talk to you."

Larabee swung into the driveway, then stopped and climbed out of the Ram, walking across the street to see what the woman wanted.

Vin stayed in the truck, watching the exchange in the side mirror. When he saw the woman hand Chris a large, flat cardboard box, he cursed softly and felt himself tremble. Another "gift" from Vine; he was sure of it.

A couple of minutes later, Chris returned to the truck. He set the box in the back, then climbed in and they drove to the house.

Getting out, Vin grabbed his gym bag, Chris the box, before they went inside.

In the living room, Chris set the box down on the coffee table. It was addressed to Vin Tanner, care of Chris Larabee. There as no return address, but the postmark was from New York City.

"He's gettin' around, ain't he," Vin commented, fishing out his knife.

"Seems so," Chris replied, watching as Tanner sliced through the clear packing tape. When he was done, Vin pulled back the flaps.

Inside this box were four items: a body harness, a collar and a cock ring, all in black leather with silver buckles or snaps. Chris had no doubt that they would all fit Vin, too. The fourth item, however, the blond was clueless about.

"You know what that one is?" Chris asked, pointing to, but not touching the last harness-like device.

Vin studied the object, made up of straps, and shook his head. "Don't know, but I can' tell y' I probably wouldn't like it much."

That prompted a snort from Larabee. "No kidding," he replied, shaking his head.

Fishing his cell phone from his pocket, he called Josiah, who was still at Vin's apartment, waiting for the lab techs to finish with the two boxes. Chris told him what they'd had waiting for them when they arrived, concluding, "Send the techs out here once they're done."

"Will do. But, Chris, I think we need to arrange some additional security for you and Vin," the profiler said.

Larabee opened his mouth to say no, but then he glanced over at Vin, who was staring into the box, his face gone slightly pale. "Yeah, okay," he replied.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

After the technicians came and left, taking the box and the sex toys with them, the two men settled in the living room, each with a bottle of beer. An extreme sports game played on the television, more or less ignored by the pair.

"You doing okay?" Chris asked.

Vin nodded, then shrugged and shook his head. "Hell, I don't know," he said quietly. "All this stuff showin' up… I'll admit, it's got me a little spooked."

"It should," Larabee replied quietly. "Hell, I'd be worried about you if it didn't."

"Well, y' don't need t' worry then, I can tell y' that."

Chris felt a surge of protectiveness sweep through him. He wanted Vin to be okay, he wanted to ensure nothing bad ever happened to him again. He wanted to keep him right here at the ranch, safe and… loved.

Christ , Larabee thought. First thing Monday, I make an appointment to talk to somebody .

"He's gonna come back, y' know," Tanner said. The tone was half-resigned, half-angry. "Ain't gonna be satisfied 'til he gets whatever the hell it is he wants."

"We've got security. He's not getting back in here," Chris tried to assure him.

"Hope you're right," the younger man said.

Chris sat, studying the man for a few minutes before he said, "I talked to Ezra."

"How'd the meet go?" Tanner asked, his gaze on the muted game now.

"Hard to tell," Chris replied. "Cedartwist claimed he didn't have any kind of a deal going with kids – high school or college."

"We know different."

Larabee nodded. "Ezra told him that since that was the case, he shouldn't mind if he and his associate started looking for ways to exploit that particular market."

"Bet that puckered him right up," Vin replied, a thin smile on his face.

"Sure as hell hope so. I'll be talking to the principal at Westminster High on Monday, make sure JD can get on campus, start asking around."

"And Nelson ought t' run straight home t' let daddy know."

Chris smiled. "If he's a good little boy."

"Bet Ez hears from Cedartwist before Thursday."

"I'm counting on it," Chris said. "This weekend and next will be the big holiday party weekends. We take Cedartwist down, there might be a few more kids who survive to see the New Year."

Vin nodded. "Sure their parents will appreciate it, even if the kids don't like havin' the tap shut off."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that," Chris agreed.

"Hell, can't save 'em all," Vin said, looking away from the TV for the first time. "But that don't mean I can't wish we could."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Larabee replied, wondering who had been there for the teenaged Vin Tanner, and getting the distinct feeling that it wasn't who should have been.

"If that storm tomorrow doesn't get too bad, I'll go take a look at the location we decided on, find out where we can position everybody."

"Sounds good," Chris responded, nodding. "Just be sure you take somebody to watch your back."

Vin nodded. He'd already thought about that, and had planned to ask Josiah to ride along with him. With luck, he'd be able to talk to the man a little on the trip, too.

"So, you getting hungry?" Chris asked.

"Could eat," Tanner replied.

"Just like always," Chris teased as he stood. "I'll go see what I have."

"TV dinner's fine," Vin offered.

"Only as a last resort."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

As it turned out, they had TV dinners – pot pies – for supper. Vin stayed quiet through the meal, and Chris didn't push him, knowing Tanner had every right to worry, given what they knew about Vine. But he'd be damned if he'd let anything happen to the man.

Still, there was that small voice of doubt in his own mind, telling him this wasn't over, and there was only so much he could realistically do, but he didn't want to hear that.

Before they went to bed, Larabee called the lab to see if they had any news for them. They hadn't been able to do much more than check the insides of the boxes, and the toys, for fingerprints. And they had found Vine's on all of them.

They had also identified all of the objects that had been sent, including the one that had stumped both of them. That, as it turned out, was a kind of leg-spreader. Not a comfortable picture, as far as Chris was concerned, and he decided not to mention it to Vin when he told him about the prints when he was done.

They headed off to bed early, both men knowing that they needed to be fresh for Monday morning. They still had a case to finish, and kids' lives depended on them.

But, once they were in their beds, both men lay in the darkness, thinking about the other, each wishing the other was closer – in case there was trouble, of course.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin knew he was dreaming. He'd actually gotten pretty good at figuring it out, but that did little or nothing to stop the nightmares from unfolding.

This time, he was walking through the meeting location where they planned to take down Cedartwist. It was up in the foothills, just off a popular trailhead.

It was sunny as he looked around, the weather warmer than he suspected it would actually be when he really went to check out the location, or when they used it to bust Cedartwist.

The details in his dream surprised him – the birdsong, the crickets, even the soft feel of the breeze on his skin, and the scent of pine that hung in the air. It was all so real.

He wandered through the area, looking, waiting.

Then, stepping into a smallish clearing, he stopped short. Standing naked and spread-eagle between two trees was Chris. The blond didn't appear to be conscious.

Vin swallowed hard and forced himself forward, moving closer to the blond, but before he reached him, the Voice stopped him, saying, "Hello, pet. We've been waiting for you to get here. Doesn't he look stunning?"

Vin froze as soon as he heard the Voice, his gaze locked on Chris. The blond was wearing the body harness that had come in the mail. He also had on the collar, and the ankle cuffs. And, the sniper realized, the cock ring.

Larabee's erect cock apprehended his attention and he stared at it, feeling his own responding to the sight. God, how he wanted to touch it…

"Not yet, pet, not yet," the Voice told him.

Vin took another step closer to the blond, then another, drawn to him like a metal filing to a magnet. As he got closer, he realized the ball gag was in Larabee's mouth as well, and the silver nipple clamps were secured to the older man's hard nubs.

"Chris," he called, his voice tight with fear. But Larabee gave no indication that he had heard him.

"He can't hear you," the Voice told him.

"What did you do to him?" Vin demanded.

"Don't you like it? I've prepared him for you."

As Vin watched, a drop of pearly precome leaked from the tip of Larabee's cock.

Then, from out of nowhere, the length of rope flew through the air toward him, wrapping itself around his neck and dragging him closer to Chris.

When he reached the man, the rope tightened around his throat, forcing him to his knees in front of the blond, whose cock was now pointed straight at Vin's mouth.

The rope snaked out, twining itself around Larabee's hips and pulling Vin forward.

He scrambled forward on his knees, trying to keep from being pulled over, but he ran right into Larabee's hard cock.

The rope around his throat tightened again, and he opened his mouth, trying to draw in the air he needed, but the rope was wrapping itself around Chris, pulling him in, too. He had no choice but to take the man's cock into his mouth.

Then, in less time than a blink of an eye, the rope was wrapped around them both, binding his face to Larabee's groin, the man's cock pressed down his throat.

He couldn't breathe.

He struggled, trying to pull his head back, but the rope was too tight, holding him securely in place. He couldn't stand, he couldn't move, and he still couldn't breathe, but he could hear the Voice when it spoke to him.

"That's what you wanted, isn't it, pet?"

He made a noise, trying to say "No!" but he knew it was unintelligible.

The sound, though, seemed to wake Larabee and he felt the blond jerk, then heard him say, "Vin, what the hell are you doing? Stop!"

Vin tried to shake his head, to tell him he had no choice, but he couldn't move. He gurgled, trying to talk, but that was impossible, too.

"Vin, no!" Chris cried.

And the harder he tried to tell Chris that he wasn't responsible, the more it seemed to upset the man. And the more aroused he became as well.

Vin could hear the Voice laughing, but it seemed that Larabee couldn't hear it.

"Vin, stop! God— Ah, Vin, please— No. Ah, God. No… please. Vin, please, stop—"

Vin felt Chris' belly beginning to quiver, and his hips began to thrust, the man humping himself against the back of Vin's throat.

But Vin still couldn't breathe, and the more he fought, trying to get free, the more he seemed to excite Chris, who was now pumping himself down his throat, even as he was choking to death.

And the Voice was still laughing.

Then he felt Chris beginning to shoot, thick come filling his mouth, his throat, but he couldn't swallow it around the man's cock. He was drowning. He tried to scream, but that just had Larabee pumping harder, shooting more.

He felt himself begin to fall into a beckoning darkness, the Voice following him, promising, "I'm going to give you what you want, pet, exactl y what you want."

No! Vin screamed silently, as he felt himself begin to fall into that darkness…

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin gasped and jerked awake. He couldn't breathe!

He wrenched back, gulping in air and only then realizing that he'd been sleeping on his stomach, his face buried in his pillow.

Closing his eyes, he dropped back onto the mattress and rolled over onto his back. He was covered with sweat and had to reach up to wipe it off his face.

Another nightmare; it was just another nightmare. He continued to pull in deep breaths, filling his lungs and willing his heart to slow.

God, just what he needed – a dream he was being fucked to death by Chris. Christ… He moaned and rolled his head back and forth.

He recognized the items Vine had sent him, knew the dream was just a response to that – to the fear he was trying hard to keep hidden from the others, especially Chris. But that didn't seem to lessen the impact.

Vine was going to come back for him, and, he had to admit, that scared the living crap out of him. But there was nothing he could do about it, except wait.

And watch his back, and Chris', too.

That was the most important thing he had to do – watch Chris' back, make sure that bastard didn't get hold of Larabee again, because he was afraid that, if he did, Vine might just kill Chris this time. And there was no way he was going to let that happen; no matter what it might cost him.

He huffed out a breath and glanced over at the digital clock – 2:11 a.m.

He huffed out another, louder breath, then rolled over and closed his eyes, knowing he had no choice but to sleep, but he prayed the dreams were done for the night.

For a brief moment, he wished he was laying in Larabee's bed, curled up next to the man, Chris' arm over him… He snuggled down, letting his mind create the reality. Spooned against Larabee's body… an arm over his shoulder… their feet tangled… It was warm and safe and… perfect.

He could feel Chris breathing, hear the soft exhalations, smell the man's scent… Yeah, it was perfect…

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Monday morning found the offices of Team Seven a flurry of activity. Ezra and JD were both going to be in the field: JD at Westminster High, while Ezra was spending time on a few of the local college campuses.

Both men were outfitted with concealed microphones so their conversations could be recorded. Buck and Vin would be backing JD up at the high school, while Nathan, Josiah, and Chris watched Ezra's back.

Once both men were wired, and the equipment checked and double-checked, they headed out, spending the rest of the day laying the groundwork for a rival to Cedartwist.

One thing immediately became clear, though: Cedartwist was a cautious man. No one either JD or Ezra talked to knew the name of their present supplier, although they were able to share the names of several "brokers" with both men.

By the end of the day, JD and Ezra had made contact with every name they had been given. There was no doubt that Cedartwist would be receiving several calls, all of them warning him that, unless he lowered the cost of what he was charging them, they had found a new supplier.

The team met back at the office just before 5 p.m., all of them glad to be in out of the weather that had made the day more of a chore than it might otherwise have been. They helped Ezra and JD remove their microphones and then agreed to meet at their favorite watering hole for a beer before they all headed home.

Chris, being the team leader, was the last to leave. Paperwork had to be completed in order to return the surveillance equipment, and he was the man who had to do it. Vin had just grinned at him before going out to sit at his desk and play a computer game while he waited for Larabee to finish.

But his game was interrupted when his phone rang.

"Tanner," he answered.

"Vin, this is Walt in receiving. We just had FedEx deliver a package for you. You want me to send it up?"

Vin swallowed hard, knowing he had nothing on order. "Where's it from?"

There was pause, then, "Uhhh, looks like… West Hollywood, California. Someplace called 'All Tied Up.'"

Vin sighed softly and said, "Send it straight t' the forensics lab, will ya?"

"Sure," Walt said. "I'll take it up myself, right now."

"Appreciate it, Walt," Vin replied, then hung up.

Standing, he walked to the doorway of Chris' office. "Walt in receivin' just called me," he said, and Chris looked up from his computer screen. "Looks like Vine decided t' send one 'a his toys here. I told him t' take it straight to forensics. Gonna go down and see what it is this time."

Larabee nodded. "I'm almost finished here. I'll meet you down there."

"Okay," Vin replied, then turned and headed out of the office.

A few minutes later, he walked into the main lab. He was sent back to one of the smaller labs, where he saw Annalisa Bosso working on the large container. She looked up when he entered and smiled. "Hey, Vin."

Tanner nodded, asking, "What'd he send me this time?"

"Spanking bench," she replied. "At least that's what the assembly instructions say it is. I'll let you know for sure in an hour or so."

Her tone was sympathetic and he nodded again. "I'll have m' cell."

"Be careful," she told him, watching him turn and go.

The sniper almost ran straight into Larabee as he stepped out of the lab.

"What's up?" Chris asked.

"Just one this time," Vin said. "Spankin' bench."

Larabee sighed and shook his head. "This asshole just doesn't know when to quit, does he?"

Vin met the older man's eyes. "Think he's just tellin' me what he wants. What he plans t' do—"

"No way in hell that's going to happen," Larabee assured him. Then, seeing Vin was a little pale, he added, "Come on, let's go meet the boys."

"Yeah," Vin replied, but he wasn't really feeling up to the gathering. Still, he didn't have an option, not with him staying out at Chris' place. And, right now, there was no place else he wanted to be.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The bar wasn't too busy when they arrived. The others had already settled around their usual table and were sharing a pitcher of beer and a variety of appetizers.

Buck saw them first and waved for them to join the group.

When Chris and Vin sat down, Buck asked, "You get that paperwork done?"

Chris nodded. "Vine sent Vin another present, too."

"To the office?" Josiah asked, his expression turning worried.

Vin nodded this time.

"What was it?" JD asked.

"Spankin' bench," Vin replied, his cheeks coloring slightly.

"I don't think I like the fact he's crossed over into Vin's work world," Josiah said.

"And this one was sent from some mail-order place in California," Vin told him.

"All his other… gifts came from him personally," Ezra said, mulling over what that change might mean.

"Might just be he couldn't find one he liked wherever he is," Nathan suggested.

"Or there isn't one available, if he's laying low in some small town," Buck added.

"None 'a that helps us find the bastard," Vin grumbled.

"It's going to take time," Chris said quietly.

Vin looked up, meeting the man's eyes. "Just got a feelin' we're runnin' out 'a time, that's all."

"Why do you say that?" Josiah asked the sniper.

Vin sighed and thought for a moment, then said, "These things he's sendin' me, it's like they're all part of a scene, y' know? Soon as he's got all the pieces together, all he's gonna need is me."

"You might be right," Josiah said, mentally going down the list of items the sniper had received – rope, ankle cuffs, nipple clamps, gag, hood, harness, collar, cock ring, the leg spreader and the sound… and now the spanking bench. "I hate to say it, but it sounds like he wants to punish you."

Vin glanced over at the profiler and nodded. "Was thinkin' that m'self."

JD and Buck both looked a little pale.

"But how can he?" JD asked. "I mean, we're on to him now. There's no way he's going to—"

"Where there's a will, there's a way," Ezra interrupted. "Life is never completely predictable, and Mr. Vine is a man who knows how to take advantage of any opening he's given."

"Maybe you and Vin should sit out the rest of this assignment," Nathan suggested to Chris.

Larabee shook his head. "That's not going to happen."

"Nathan might be right," Josiah said.

Chris shook his head. "We just need to find the bastard."

"Easier said than done," Ezra said. "And with less time at the moment—" His second cell phone rang, stopping him. He flipped it open, saying, "Styles."

"I hear you're trying to undercut me, Styles."

"Ah, Mr. Cedartwist," Ezra replied with a smile, "how nice to hear from you. But I believe you told me you weren't selling alcohol to minors, so how could I possibly be undercutting you?"

"You need to get out, Styles, now, while you still can."

"Is that a threat, Mr. Cedartwist?"

"Call it whatever you want, just get your kid out of Westminster, and leave my campus middlemen alone."

"I don't think I can do that," Ezra replied smoothly, completely unruffled by the man's hostility. "You see, I've come into possession of a rather large quantity of… beverages, and I need to sell them – the sooner, the better. This is an auspicious time of the year to—"

"I said, you need to get the hell out of Denver," Cedartwist said, cutting Ezra off. "That plain enough for you?"

"Oh, quite plain, but, as I said, I need to move all this… merchandise. I assure you, once I've gotten rid of what I have, you can go back to your neat little setup."

"What if I offered to take what you have off your hands?"

Ezra smiled. "Well, that might be an advantageous compromise that could benefit the both of us. But we would need to meet, in order to discuss a price. I don't haggle over the phone."

"Yeah, and I walk right into a trap. I don't think so, Styles."

"Well, what would you say to a semi-public venue?"

"Keep talking."

"I was thinking one of the Green Mountain Trail trailheads… say, the one on the west side of the park? There's adequate foot traffic there, wouldn't you say?"

There was a pause and Ezra could hear the man discussing the location with someone else. "Fine," was the eventual reply. "When?"

"No time like the present," Ezra said, "but I think tomorrow will be soon enough, don't you? How does two o'clock sound?"

"Fine. And, Styles, just bring one man."

"And do I have an assurance that you will only be bringing one associate as well?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Very well, then. Until tomorrow," he said and ended the call. He smiled at the others, saying, "Tomorrow at two."

The others all lifted their glasses of beer to salute the man. Once Cedartwist was out of the way, they could turn their attention to finding Vine.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

When Chris and Vin finally arrived at Larabee's ranch – Vin having had an appointment with Dee at 6:30 p.m. – they were both a little anxious. But once it was clear that there were no new packages waiting for them, they were able to relax.

The two men shared the rotisserie chicken, potato salad, and rolls Larabee had picked up while Vin had talked to the trauma specialist, washing the food down with bottles of beer. When they were done, and the kitchen cleaned, they went to the living room, drinking coffee while they watched television until the news came on. And, once that was over, they headed off to their beds, and the dreams that waited for both of them.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Chris was walking with Vin. They were up in the high west pasture. Above them the sun was shining, and the horses in the pasture were feeling frisky, five of them kicking up their heels and racing along the fence.

They stopped to watch the horses, both men smiling at the sight.

Eventually, Chris glanced over at Vin and was surprised to realize that Tanner was… handsome. The way the sun caught in his hair, his pale blue eyes, the angular planes of his face… He looked good.

And, before Chris really realized what he was doing, he leaned over and kissed Tanner's lips.

The kiss was supposed to be light, testing, but as soon as his lips touched Vin's, he knew he couldn't stop. He turned, one arm slipping around Vin's back, his other hand reaching up to cup the back of the man's head. Pulling Tanner closer, he deepened the kiss.

At first Vin was stiff, unresponsive, but then he seemed to melt a little, a soft moan escaping this throat.

Larabee's tongue darted out, teasing over the sniper's bottom lip, and Vin's lips parted. Chris took full advantage of the opportunity, his tongue slipping inside the man's mouth, exploring, tasting.

One part of his mind was surprised to find Vin so tasty. Another was wondering just what the hell he thought he was doing.

Vin's arms slipped around him, the man's hands rubbing up and down his back, and Chris felt himself responding, beginning to get hard. He shifted his hips forward, pressing his growing erection against Tanner's groin and finding the man in a similar state of arousal.

The feel of Vin's erection, pressing and sliding over his own, excited him in ways he never would have thought possible, and he ground his lips against Vin's, plunging his tongue into the man's mouth.

Tanner's hands slid down his back to cup his ass. Then he pulled Chris closer, grinding their cocks against one another.

"Vin," he panted when he finally pulled back from the kiss.

Tanner pulled back a little as well, blue eyes staring at him, full of want.

A moment later, he wasn't sure how, but they were lying in the middle of that pasture, their clothes spread out under them, their aroused bodies pressing against each other, their hands moving, exploring… Then a sharp crack sounded in the still air, and Chris jerked and cried out at the pain that burned through his buttock. He turned, looking over his shoulder only to find Vine standing over them, a long-handled crop in his hand, and a smile on his face…

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Chris jerked slightly and woke with a soft gasp. He glanced around, becoming aware of the mattress under him, the blankets covering him… A dream, it had just been a dream. He closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh, relieved it had only been a nightmare.

And what a nightmare! He and Vin? And Vine?

He huffed out a soft laugh. He'd meant to call that trauma specialist, had even been at her office when he'd dropped Vin off and when he'd picked him up, but it had completely slipped his mind.

And tomorrow – he checked the digital alarm on the nightstand – today they were taking Cedartwist down, so there'd be no time for him to—

Shit .

Getting up, he made a trip to the bathroom, then returned to his bed and climbed in. As he settled down, he couldn't help but recall how good it had felt to hold Vin like that, to kiss him, touch him… Would it really feel like that, he wondered as he drifted off again.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin was running. He was out in the woods somewhere, naked, dressed in the items Vine had sent him. His feet were burning from the cuts on their soles, but he couldn't stop.

In his ear was a plug and, through it, he could hear Chris, screaming. He had to find the man before it was too late.

Rounding a large tree, he stumbled to a stop. There in a clearing were two spanking benches. Chris was secured to one of them, the other one empty and waiting for him.

Larabee's body was covered with long, red welts.

In his ear, he heard, "Go over to the empty bench and climb on, pet."

He swallowed hard, trying to keep down the bile that was rising up the back of his throat, but he stumbled forward to the bench. He hesitated, then heard Chris scream again when he was struck by some invisible weapon.

Climbing onto the bench, Vin wasn't surprised when the cuffs encircled his ankles and wrists, securing him in place. A moment later, he felt something slide into his ass and then begin to vibrate.

He clenched his teeth and tried to fight the reaction the vibrator triggered in his body, but it was no use. His cock filled and it was soon dripping, aching for release.

"Oh, pet, you look stunning," the Voice said, and Vin felt fingers trailing ever-so-lightly over his back, then over his ass cheeks.

He wanted to tell the man to stop, but the ball gag had suddenly appeared in his mouth and he couldn't speak. Glancing over at the second bench, he saw Larabee was gone, too. Yelping, he struggled inside the restraints, but he couldn't break free.

Someone reached up and grabbed his hair, pulling his head back and whispering into his ear, "This is what you've wanted, isn't it, pet?"

He jerked his head to the side, catching sight of Chris standing behind him, still naked, still covered with red welts, but it was as if the Voice had possessed him somehow.

Larabee reached down and pulled the vibrator out of Vin's ass, then stepped up behind him and began to press his cock in to replace it.

"This is what you've wanted, isn't it, pet?" Chris repeated.

"No!" Vin cried around the gag as he felt the man's thick cock stretching him wide as it forced its way inside him. But Chris didn't slow down, or stop, not until he was completed buried inside of Vin, the hairs at his groin grinding into the sniper's splayed-open ass crack.

"I'm just giving you what you wanted, pet," Chris told him, pulling back out until just the head of his cock remained inside Vin's hole. "Enjoy it." He thrust hard, sinking himself completely once more.

Vin screamed, fighting in the restraints again, but he couldn't stop the man from taking him, over and over again.

Then, slowly, the scene changed and he was lying in the middle of Chris' bed, pillows under his hips elevating his ass so Larabee could fuck him.

"Chris," he moaned, his body shaking with need as the blond pumped him hard and fast. "Chris!"

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin grunted as he awoke, his hand wrapped around his cock, his seed spilling over his fingers.

"Oh, shit," he gasped, trying to stop himself, but unable to.

Then, with a final jerk, he sagged back and waited as he caught his breath. Once he had, he rolled onto his side and reached down, groping in the darkness for the clothes he'd dropped onto the floor next to the bed. Locating his T-shirt, he grabbed it, using it to wipe himself off, and then dropped it back to the floor.

Lying there in the darkness, he silently cursed himself, but it was too late now. He'd just have to change the sheets in the morning, and pray Chris didn't ask him why.

Christ, he hadn't expected that .

So much for getting his feelings for Chris under control, or maybe it was just that he'd talked to Dee about the boxes coming from Vine, about his dreams, about how badly he wanted to touch and hold Chris… And look what his mind had done with it!

He had to be at least half-crazy.

But he was right where he wanted to be – with Larabee – even if he wasn't in the man's bed. Once they tracked Vine down, he could put all this behind him, get his head screwed on right again.

He sighed, his choice of words bringing the dream back to him.

Oh, definitely crazy, but, God, it had felt so damn good…

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Tuesday Afternoon

Team Seven waited as it drew closer to two o'clock. And, right on time, a large BMW arrived, parking in the nearby lot. Cedartwist and two men, both tall, broad-shouldered Mexicans, walked over to the trailhead.

Ezra and JD were waiting for them.

"Really, Ryan, there was no need to bring along the extra muscle," Ezra scolded.

"Styles," Cedartwist replied, folding his arms over his chest. "You have an inventory list for me?"

The undercover agent handed the man a list and Cedartwist checked it carefully, then passed it to one of the Mexicans.

"I'm sure, if you make me a fair offer, we can do business," Ezra said. "Although you must realize that this could have been avoided if you'd simply told me in the beginning that you did indeed have a monopoly on the teen market here in Denver."

Cedartwist grinned. "I like to think of it as shrewd business acumen," the man said. "After all, these kids are going to drink, one way or the other. No reason I shouldn't—"

"Make it easy for them, right?" JD interrupted.

"Import it off the books, sell it ten-percent above retail, no taxes—"

"Yes, I can see why you're so anxious to protect your profits," Ezra interrupted. "They must be… inspiring."

"And getting more inspiring every day," Cedartwist boasted. "A lot of those kids in college have younger siblings in high school, and those kids have younger siblings in junior high."

"So, how much will you give me for my assets?" Ezra asked.

"One-seventy," Cedartwist said.

Ezra chuckled and shook his head. "Ryan, by your own admission, you're going to make something in the neighborhood of two-hundred-and-forty-thousand dollars from this merchandise. Two hundred would be much more… persuasive."

"One-eighty."

Ezra shook his head. "We've made our own contacts. We can sell it for shelf price and make two hundred."

"Not without stepping on my toes," Cedartwist warned him, adding, "And theirs." He jerked his head in the direction of the two big Mexicans.

"One-ninety," Ezra haggled.

"One-eighty-five."

Ezra sighed. "Oh, very well. You are, after all, saving me from having to deal with those brats again."

Cedartwist fished into his pocket and pulled out a business card. "Have it delivered here."

Ezra checked the address. It was for a warehouse in Purgatory, one that was not listed among Cedartwist's business assets. "And you'll have the money for me there?"

Cedartwist nodded.

Ezra flashed the man a winning smile. "Yes, well, I believe I am going to need a small gesture of good faith."

"How small?" the man snarled.

"Shall we say… twenty percent?" Ezra suggested.

The request went unanswered for a long moment, then Cedartwist nodded to one of the two men, who turned and walked back to the car, opening the trunk and rummaging in there for a bit before returning with a briefcase, which he handed to Cedartwist. "Thirty thousand," he said.

Cedartwist nodded and handed the briefcase to Ezra. "Here's your 'good faith.' That will have to do. Now, I want my booze delivered by eight o'clock tonight. And then I don't want to see you around here anymore."

Ezra smiled and nodded. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"You have a son, but you really don't care that kids are getting killed, do you?" JD asked as Cedartwist and his men turned to go.

"Hell, no," he replied. "The more who die, the more they buy."

"Yes, well, I think the death rate among teens might be headed down again," Ezra said.

Larabee's voice cut through the air. "ATF, freeze!"

The two Mexicans dove for cover, as did Ezra and JD. A moment later, the two musclemen began shooting.

"What are you doing?" Cedartwist screeched at them. "Stop!"

The men, however, had no intention of being taken in, not if they could help it. But they hadn't reckoned on the presence of a sniper.

Vin concentrated on the man closest to Ezra and JD, waiting until he poked his head out from behind a tree, preparing to fire on the two men, then squeezed the trigger of his rifle. From his position on a ridge less than a hundred yards away, it was an easy shot.

The man fell, a small round hole in the center of his forehead.

"One down," Vin announced over the communications unit."

"Stop!" Cedartwist yelled.

The second muscleman turned, firing at Cedartwist, dropping him.

Buck, who had been working his way in from his position, snapped, "ATF!"

The second man swung toward him, rising slightly, and Vin's rifle spoke a second time, the man dropping just like the first.

Buck and Chris scrambled forward, kicking the guns away from the two bodies and then moving to Cedartwist. The liquor store owner lie, eyes open but sightless, staring up into the overcast sky.

Several minutes later, Team Seven was gathered, waiting while the ME looked the bodies over before they were loaded and taken to the morgue.

Chris shook his head. "It makes no sense, not for a few hundred thousand dollars."

Vin was frowning. "Warehouse in Purgatory…"

Ezra snapped his fingers. "Latinos, yes?"

The others nodded.

"Mexicans," Vin added, having seen the tattoos they sported, marking them as members of a Mexican gang who controlled a good third of the community.

"If they're the ones bringing in the alcohol illegally from Mexico, perhaps they're also bringing in something else as well?" the undercover man suggested.

"We need to check that warehouse," Buck concluded.

Chris nodded.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Looking back, Chris knew they should have gone slower, put the warehouse under surveillance first, but it had looked easy enough with only four workers apparently there. Where the others had come from, he still wasn't sure, but he was sure Travis was going to chew his ass, just as soon as they released him from the hospital.

Thankfully, no one had gotten seriously hurt – except the bad guys.

He and Vin were the last two still being treated, and he already knew they weren't planning to keep either of them overnight. That, however, did nothing to erase the fear he'd felt when he'd seen Vin go down.

He shook his head to scatter the memories, focusing instead on the fact that Tanner was fine. Well, he would be, in a day or so. Nothing had been broken, no concussion, no bullet holes, and no serious burns. Yeah, they'd been lucky, all right, damn lucky.

The door opened and Buck leaned in, saying, "Hey, they just dropped off the paperwork, you've been sprung."

Chris pushed himself off the exam table and reached for his clothes. "I'll be right out," he told his longtime friend.

The ladies' man grinned. "You and Vin both look like you've been to the beach, and stayed out too long."

"Close the damn door," he growled at the man and Buck ducked back out, chortling as he did.

Chris shook his head, glad the incident seemed to be slipping far enough into the past that they could tease each other and laugh about it. But when that truck of booze had exploded… He shook his head again, reminding himself that Vin was fine. They were all fine. But seeing Tanner fly though the air like that…

He forced himself to dress quickly, then stepped out into the hallway where the others were waiting for him, including Vin, who, he saw, did look like he had a sunburn.

He shook his head, knowing he probably did, too. His gaze swept over the men before he said, "What the hell are you all waiting for? Go home."

The others grinned or nodded and began to slip away. Vin, however, just looked at him, then asked, "Y' okay?"

"Yeah," Chris said. "Come on, let's get out of here."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Chris drove Vin out to the ranch, the two men stopping to grab dinner at Custer's Last Hamburger Stand on the way. As soon as they were home, they both took a dose of extra-strength Tylenol and headed straight to bed.

Chris woke to a call from Travis the following morning. The AD had wanted to let him know he'd put Team Seven on leave until Monday, for which Chris was grateful. Then, after raking Larabee over the coals, Travis concluded, "But I'm glad to hear that everyone's fine."

"Yes, sir," Chris replied. "We had no idea Cedartwist had crawled into bed with Mexican drug runners."

"Which is why we check situations out before we go charging in, correct, Agent Larabee?"

"Yeah, right," Chris replied, grinning slightly. He could tell by the tone of the man's voice Travis wasn't too serious about his expressed displeasure. "At least there won't be as many alcohol-related deaths among teen drivers this year."

"I should hope not," Travis replied. "Mary's already working on her feature."

"I'm sure it'll be as powerful as her work usually is," Chris replied.

"Yes, well, job well done, even if it did stray into the gray area."

"Appreciate that, sir."

"Oh. The DEA wants to follow up. Someone should be by on Monday to talk to you."

"Sounds good," Chris replied.

"Until then, you and the others get some rest."

"Thank you, sir."

"I'll see you on Monday as well."

"Yes, sir." Chris hung up and climbed out of bed. He went to the master bath, showering and dressing before heading for the kitchen, where he found Vin already up and working on a cup of coffee.

"So, how mad is Travis at us?" the sniper asked.

"Some," Larabee replied, "but not too much – he put us on leave until Monday."

Vin grinned. "Nope, he ain't too mad then."

"Just at me," Chris replied.

Vin shrugged. "Hell, that's why they pay you the big bucks, Larabee."

"Fuck you," Chris grumbled, heading into the kitchen to see what he had available for breakfast.

"Saw some cereal up there," Vin offered helpfully.

Chris grunted and continued to explore the cabinets and then the refrigerator. In the door he found biscuits and in the freezer a package of bacon.

"How do bacon, biscuits, and cereal sound?"

"Fine by me," Vin replied. "Y' want me t' make some more coffee?"

"Sludge, you mean?"

"Fine, y' can make it your own damn self," Vin replied, his attention returning to the newspaper he had to have collected from the end of the driveway.

Chris frowned. "You go out there and get the paper?"

Vin looked up. "What?"

"You go outside and get that paper?" Chris repeated.

"Yeah," Tanner replied, looking slightly confused. "Didn't grow wings an' fly up on your porch by itself."

"Damn it, Vin, what if Vine had been out there?"

Vin felt warmed slightly, knowing Chris was worried about him, but his own independent streak was also rising. "If he was, I would've seen him coming for over a hundred yards an' I would 'a shot his sorry ass," the sniper replied, drawing back his loose flannel shirt to reveal his shoulder rig.

Chris stopped and huffed out a breath. He was overreacting, and he knew it. He felt his cheeks color slightly. "Uh, yeah, sorry."

Vin's expression softened. "It's all right… Kind 'a nice t' know somebody gives a damn, y' know?"

Larabee nodded. "Yeah, I know." He turned back to get started on their breakfast.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Later that day, the new mare arrived. She was a stunning little thing, on the small side at fourteen hands, but with an arched neck and a daintily dished face. A dappled, honey-colored palomino, her mane and tail were full and wavy and silvery-white in color. And, while she might be small, she was still well-muscled and, they both knew, had speed and endurance to spare.

"Sure is pretty," Vin sighed as he watched her trotting around the corral, her head tossing as she got used to her new home.

"Sounds like you're a little smitten," Chris teased the man.

Vin nodded. "Oh, definitely in love," he said with a playful grin, his gaze still on the horse.

"Better watch out," Chris warned him, "Peso might get jealous."

That made Tanner's smile grow wider. "Y' know he's a pushover when it comes t' the ladies – kind 'a like Buck that way."

"Yeah, well, still… You want to take her out tomorrow, see what she can do?"

Vin turned to him, his expression a mix of excitement and joy. "For real?"

"Sure," Chris said with a shrug, but he was realizing for the first time just how good it made him feel to make Vin happy. "You're the one who wants to ride in that endurance race this spring."

Tanner nodded. "And she's just the little lady to help me win it, too."

"So, what do you think we should name her?"

"She doesn't already have a name?" Vin asked, looking confused.

"Oh yeah, she does… Louisa May," Chris supplied.

"What?" Vin squawked, looking from Chris to the horse and back again. "That's just god-awful!"

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," Larabee agreed.

Vin thought for a moment, then asked, "How 'bout Cricket?"

Chris grinned. "You know… I like it."

The mare slowed, tossed her head a couple more times and then walked over to where the two men were standing next to the fence. She looked at Chris, then at Vin, before walking up to the sniper and sniffing along his arm where it rested on the railing.

Vin reached up and scratched under her forelock, then stroked her neck, saying softly, "That was just a mean thing t' name ya… You're a whole lot prettier 'n that… What do y' think 'a Cricket, huh? Y' like that name, little lady?" he cooed, stroking her, patting her, and she looked like she was eating it up. "Y' gonna let me call y' Cricket?"

She nickered softly and lipped at his shirt sleeve.

"Mmm, I think maybe she likes it," Chris said, watching the pair and enjoying their interaction.

"Yeah, me, too," Vin said, reaching back and pulling the carrot he'd brought out from his back pocket. He offered it to her, smiling as she took it and crunched it happily.

"You're going to spoil her, just like you have that monster you call a horse."

"Gotta spoil 'em," Vin replied.

"You do, huh?"

"Yep," the sniper replied.

Chris shook his head, feeling fuller, he realized, than he had in a long time. He swallowed a little hard, remembering some of his more recent dreams… Would making love to a man really be all that different? It wasn't hard to imagine Vin's hands on him, pleasuring him, his mouth—

He cut the thoughts off, feeling his cock beginning to stir, and said, "So, what do you say we go grab a couple of steaks and I'll toss them on the grill for supper?"

"Sure," Vin agreed, his gaze lifting to take in the sky. It had stayed overcast, but the only snow that had fallen had been at night. "Hope the weather holds so we can take her out tomorrow."

"We'll catch the weather report tonight, make sure," Chris said.

"Thanks," Vin said, his voice low and quiet, and the sound made Larabee shiver.

"For what?" the blond asked.

"For gettin' her. Don't think she's gonna be all that useful t' ya for breedin'."

"The two of you win a couple of endurance races and she'll more than earn her keep."

"Still," Vin said, his gaze now on the ground, "I really do appreciate it, Chris."

The sound of his name falling from Tanner's lips sent another stab of desire through his cock. "Well, uh, we couldn't leave a pretty little girl like her out there with an awful name like that," Chris replied, his fingers itching to reach out and tip Vin's head up so he could kiss him.

Vin looked up at him and smiled, sending more butterflies into Chris' guts. "Guess we better go get them steaks."

"Uh, yeah," the blond replied, grateful for the distraction. What the hell was wrong with him? He hadn't felt like this since—

Christ. He hadn't felt like this since he'd fallen in love with Sarah. The reality of it shook him to the core: He was in love with his best friend.

"Y' all right?" Vin asked, looking worried.

"Uh, yeah… I'm, uh… I'm fine…"

Vin frowned. "Y' sure?"

Chris nodded. Oh, God , he thought. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The rest of the day passed quickly, the two men going for the steaks, and then Chris fixing them while Vin made salad and cooked the frozen Tater Tots in the kitchen.

They ate in the living room, watching the news, which included a segment on Cedertwist and his illegal operation. When they were done, they cleaned the dishes and then, after checking on the horses, went to bed.

Chris dropped off almost immediately, but Vin lay in his own bed, worrying that he might have a repeat performance of the nightmare from last night. But, eventually, he drifted off.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin frowned, trying to decide if he was dreaming or not. He was walking along a dark dirt road, a light snow falling around him. But he wasn't cold, and that by itself made him decide he must be dreaming.

The surrounding woods were dark and silent, the only sound he could hear the squeak of the snow under his feet as he walked along. He had no idea where he was, or where he was supposed to be going, but he kept walking, his gut telling him that he shouldn't stop.

Then, farther up the road, he spotted a soft light. He picked up his pace, walking faster, then breaking into a jog.

As he drew closer to the light, he realized that it was a fire, burning in a small clearing not far off the road itself. The flames leapt and danced, casting orange light and shadows across the open space. And, standing near the blaze, was a man. His back was turned to Vin, and he was wearing a long black or dark-colored cloak, the hood pulled up to protect his head from the falling snow.

Vin came to a stop at the edge of the clearing, hesitating before he stepped off the road. He was drawn to the fire and to the road, although he didn't know why. But some part of him seemed to know that if he left the road, he ran the risk of losing his way, and that left a root of cold fear planted in the pit of his stomach.

At the same time, the warmth of the fire was so inviting, and he was curious about who the man was, and what he was doing there.

He stayed where he was, however, there at the edge of the clearing, watching the man as he began to start toward the trees at the far edge of the space.

"Wait!" Vin called after him, but the man didn't stop, nor did he turn to look back in the sniper's direction.

Once again Vin hesitated, a part of him afraid to step off the road, but when the man disappeared into the trees, he knew he had no choice but to follow him.

That, however, was easier said than done.

The trees were thick, the underbrush tangled and it was dark, making it next to impossible for Vin to keep up or to spot the man as he moved through the woods. But, now and then, he caught a glimpse and that kept him moving, pushing forward as he tried to catch up with whoever it was.

He stumbled along, his fear growing. This was wrong. He should get back to the road, see where it led him. He turned, peering back through the trees, but the road was nowhere in sight. Cursing under his breath, he turned around and headed back the way he had come, hurrying as quickly as he could.

After what felt like hours, but had to have been only minutes, he stumbled out onto the road again. The snow had covered the dirt path and he started to run, something still pushing him to hurry.

But as he sprinted through the snow, he saw nothing – just the road, the trees and the falling snow. Out of breath, he came to a less-than-graceful stop. Bending over, he braced his hands on his thighs and tried to catch his breath.

It was as he held his breath that he heard it: a scream.

"Chris?" he said on an outrush of air.

Straightening, he looked to the right and then the left. He turned around, but he couldn't see anything. He held his breath again and listened.

Another scream reached his ears, muted and far away. His heart began to race, and he felt the sweat breaking out on his body. He knew it was Chris, but where was he?

He looked again, then began to run.

He charged down the road, the snow getting deeper, making it harder and harder for him. The screams grew steadily louder.

Gulping in air, he forced himself on, determined to find Chris, determined to stop whatever was happening to him. But he was getting weak, tired, his vision beginning to dim.

"Chris!" he called as loudly as he could.

There was no reply.

Sweat ran into his eyes, making them tear and sting. He stumbled and fell to his knees in the snow.

"You're too late, pet."

The voice whipped around him like an icy breeze, slicing through his skin and making his heart ache. "No," he panted.

"Far too late."

"No!" he cried. "Chris!"

"He was calling for you, but you were out here."

"Chris!"

"You should have seen what I did to him, pet. It was… amazing."

"No! You bastard! Chris! Chris!"

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Vin jerked and came awake, fighting the covers, trying to escape. "Chris!" he howled, panic and fear cutting the sound off abruptly as a sob choked him.

He jumped and jerked back when arms wrapped around him, trying to fight, certain the Voice had him.

"Vin, easy. It's me," Chris said, giving the man a gentle shake.

Tanner's head came up, blue eyes wide and frightened. "Chris?" he gulped, his eyes beginning to swim with unshed tears.

"Easy," Chris replied, starting to worry. "What happened?"

Vin didn't answer, just shook his head. He felt his body spasm as another sob rattled in his chest, and he shook his head. "Sorry," he managed to say.

"It's all right," Chris replied, instincts taking over. He reached out and pulled Vin to him, holding the man as he added, "Hey, it was just a dream."

Vin shook his head. "He's out there. He's gonna come back."

"We'll just have to be ready," Chris replied, rubbing Vin's back, trying to get him to calm down. He felt Vin's arms slip around him, holding on to him, then he felt the man shiver. He reacted, shifting, moving and, the next thing he knew, he was lying under the covers, holding Vin.

Nothing had ever felt so right, except lying in the same place with Sarah.

He pulled Vin closer, whispering, "Easy, it's going to be all right."

Vin's arms tightened around him and Chris reached up, his hand stroking Vin's hair, quiet, soothing murmurs escaping past his lips. Then, in an instant of perfect clarity, he wondered how anyone could ever say that this was wrong. What the hell difference did it make that he and Vin were both men? All he knew was, he loved Vin, and he'd known all along that Vin loved him.

He hadn't wanted to know that, but he had.

And now? Now he was lying in bed with another man, holding him, comforting him, and it felt right. Good. Perfect.

He bent his head and tenderly kissed the top of Vin's head. A muffled, sharp gasp was the reaction and, a moment later, Tanner's head rose. Blue eyes met green.

Chris smiled and leaned up, pressing his lips to the sniper's. It was everything he'd expected, and more. His eyes slid closed and he pressed harder.

Vin whimpered.

Chris' hand drifted up and down Vin's back, finally coming to a stop at Tanner's neck. He touched Vin's face.

It was enough for Tanner to pull back. "Chris, what're y' doin'?" he asked, so clearly confused that Larabee almost laughed. Like he had the slightest idea what he was doing. He only knew that it felt right.

"Something I should've done a long time ago," Larabee replied, his hand sipping back to the nape of Vin's neck, puling him back for another kiss that began gently. Vin was a little stiff, frightened. So, Chris took the lead, cupping the back of Vin's head and relaxing into the sensations that were new and exciting. It kind of felt like he was on a first date, but it felt so damn right.

The blond pressed harder and felt Vin's lips part under the assault. Chris ran the tip of his tongue along the soft skin, slipping it inside, where it parried with Vin's. The long-haired man groaned as Larabee's other hand came up to rest lightly on the sniper's chest, then slid along his ribs, drawing the sniper into a tight embrace.

They parted, Chris collecting Vin into a tight hug, holding him as he jerked and began to cry.

"Easy… easy… it's all right," he soothed.

Vin finally raised his arms, encircling the blond in an equally tight embrace. "Chris, please, don't do this if y' don't mean it. Please. It's okay. We c'n stop now. Please," he whispered.

"Please what? I made my decision, Vin."

"Then stop, y' don't have t'—"

Chris chuckled. "Vin, I decided yes. Isn't that obvious?"

The man's blue eyes went wide. It was impossible, he couldn't have heard what he had, but the man's hand was moving, touching his cheek, the hollow of his throat… Vin groaned and closed his eyes, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Chris looked down at the man who had been his best friend since they met. Vin knew him better than anyone, had saved his life, had been there when he'd needed him, had, he knew, made him want to live again. He loved this man. And, somehow, he had fallen in love with him, too.

Chris bent forward, his lips lightly brushing Vin's.

Blue eyes opened, locking on their green counterparts, and Vin pushed himself up into a sitting position. Reaching down, he traced a shaky finger along the blond's jaw-line, then leaned in, saying, "Chris, I'd die before I killed what we already got fer sex," Vin said, his accent as thick as Chris had ever heard it.

"I know that, but you're not hearing what I'm saying… I love you, Vin. That isn't easy for me to say, but it's the truth. I thought I could love you and not share this, but I don't want to— I want us to—" Chris sat up and took Vin's face in his hands, then leaned forward and lightly brushed the man's lips. He paused, then repeated the move, only harder. Vin's lips parted slightly and he moaned quietly, as if he was afraid to let Chris know how much he wanted him.

Chris pulled back and stripped out of his T-shirt, tossing it onto the floor alongside the bed, saying, "I've known for a while that I feel about you the same as I did about Sarah, I just couldn't wrap my mind around the sex part, but it just isn't that… complicated."

Tanner reached out, letting his fingertips run along the top of the blond's bare shoulder, then dipped down his arm and back up again. Goosebumps marked his path. The astonished look on Tanner's face made Chris smile.

"Yeah, you see, your touch turns me on." Chris reached out, drawing Vin closer, letting them both ride out the white-water flood of emotions. Timidity fell away, each man's passion growing stronger.

Eventually, Larabee drew them over so they were lying sprawled in the bed, their bodies shifting until they were pressed firmly against one another, the heat emanating from Vin's groin exciting Larabee further.

His hands rubbing over Vin's chest, his fingers trembling with anticipation, Chris groaned, "Oh, Christ," when Vin reached out and ran his hand along the top of the blond's thigh. That same hand paused, then moved over Larabee's hip, across the top of the waistband of the flannel pajamas Chris wore, finally coming to rest on the older man's captured, pulsing cock.

Larabee moaned and pressed his cock against Tanner's hand.

"Y' sure?" Vin asked, his voice a thick whisper. "Really sure?"

"Damn right, I am," Larabee growled.

Vin laughed, the sound exciting the blond even more. He pressed against the man's hand again, demanding that he show him what to do.

"Get out 'a them clothes then," Tanner ordered, but his voice broke on the last word, betraying his nervousness.

Chris pulled back and stripped off his pants, freeing his erection. Vin quickly did likewise.

Moments later, the two men were free of clothing and lying side by side, touching and exploring.

Reaching out, Chris took Vin's hardness in his hand, surprised that the feel of it seemed so natural.

Tanner blushed, snuggling into the hollow of the blond's shoulder and kissing Larabee's exposed neck. "Feels good," he mumbled. "Better 'n you c'n know. But y' keep that up, 'm gonna come."

Chris moaned at the man's words, but he stilled the rubbing along the man's shaft, not wanting to force Vin over the edge too soon.

They shifted, Vin taking over and setting a slower, more relaxed pace, wanting the sensations that were rising and falling inside of him to continue for as long as possible.

Reaching past Larabee's demanding erection, Vin gently cupped Chris' balls, kneading them softly.

"Oh shit," Larabee moaned in reply, his hips beginning to circle in small, tight jerks.

Vin trembled, goose bumps rising on his skin as he felt the older man's reaction. Closing his eyes, he groaned softly, letting Chris' arousal heighten his own.

Pressing Chris down, Vin went to work with a determined but gentle seduction. He was in control now, and the vulnerability Chris allowed him to see moved the sniper more than he ever could have imagined. He was determined to repay that openness by wrapping it in as much pleasure as he could give.

Sensing the blond's impending climax, Vin let his kisses trail lower, stopping briefly at nipples and hips before he captured the throbbing cock head in his mouth, dragging a startled gasp, followed by a low, feral moan, from the blond.

Vin knew he was moments away from living a fantasy that had haunted him since he met Larabee. That fantasy was made complete when he felt Chris reach out and take hold of his own aching cock, stroking it in time with Vin's bobbing head.

Their nearly frantic climaxes shook through the two men. Vin drank in Chris' seed, surprised by the slightly sweet taste, while he came hard against Larabee's bare hip.

They held on to each other, riding out the waves of pleasure until they ebbed into an overwhelming satisfaction.

Vin planted a last kiss on the softening cock, watching as it jumped slightly in reply, then shifted around on the bed so he could lie down next to the blond. Chris reached down, grabbing the first piece of clothing he found and using it to wipe himself off, then he gathered the younger man close. Vin responded, moving to fit his body along Chris', holding him as well.

After a moment, Larabee felt the warm string of a tear as it fell onto his shoulder. "Vin?"

Tanner made no reply, just gently traced his fingers over Chris' skin, finally smoothing a slightly curled bit of hair at the back of Larabee's neck.

"Vin, why are you crying?"

"Sorry," Vin replied hoarsely.

Chris hugged the man tighter, feeling several more tears falling onto his shoulder. "Vin, please?"

"Just thought this was impossible… just a dream… an' now… now it's real. An' it feels so damn good it hurts."

Chris didn't know what to say to that, so he just squeezed the man in his arms and kissed the top of his head, wondering why he'd been so afraid of this. He felt Vin's muscles slacken as sleep began to take him. Resting his cheek against Tanner's head, he closed his eyes and sighed, saying, "I love you."

"God, Chris, I love y', too."

"Get some sleep," Chris said. "We'll talk more tomorrow." He closed his eyes, feeling himself beginning to drift toward sleep as well. His last thought was to wonder, briefly, why love between two men seemed to scare so many people so much.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The next morning

Vin rolled over, disjointed images from the night before slowly coming together into a single, coherent whole. He and Chris had made love.

He started to tremble and swallowed hard, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. Forcing his eyes open, the first thing he noticed was that he was alone. Chris was gone. Panic flared along every nerve, raw and grating.

He sat up and glanced around the room, as if he expected to find Chris hiding somewhere in plain sight. But he was most definitely alone. Images from his worst nightmares played though his mind faster than he could even recognize them: Chris hating him, disgust in the man's eyes, throwing him off the team—

And then he remembered: Chris had said he loved him, that he wanted them to have a relationship. The thought was too much for him to comprehend. It was too perfect; he'd waited for it far too long to believe it had finally happened.

Chris Larabee wanted them to build a relationship? Vin shook his head in wonder. It was as if every dream he'd ever harbored in that most secret place in his heart had blossomed and come true in one night. And it had him feeling disconnected from the world around him.

It had to be happening to someone else, not to him. He just didn't get that lucky.

Forcing himself to get up, Vin padded to the master bathroom, where he stood, leaning over the sink. It seemed so damned real… A part of him knew it was real. But another part, the part that had had to keep his feelings for Chris locked safely away, just couldn't believe it.

Y' know when Chris makes up his mind 'bout somethin', he goes all out , he argued with that doubting part of himself.

Yeah, an' y' believe in the Easter Bunny, too – if y' think a straight man is gonna turn bi overnight , he argued back.

But if he—

Y' know if men or women turn y' on , the doubting Vin pressed. He's a ladies' man.

But he said he loves ya. Sex is just another layer t' that love. Maybe it's not the same as fallin' in love with a woman, but maybe he c'n be happy with me …

An' maybe he'll just be happy 'til the right woman comes along …

Damn it! he cried silently. If this was just a dream, then by God he was going to enjoy it.

If it was real, well, then he'd just hold on to it for as long as he could, because it was the only shot he was ever going to get. And if, somehow, they ended up growing old together, well, then, he could honestly say that all his dreams had come true.

With a deep breath, Vin turned away from the mirror and took care of his business, then headed back to the bedroom, planning to dress and go find Chris, find out what the man was thinking and feeling.

But as he stepped back into the bedroom, his breath caught in his throat.

Larabee was lying in the middle of the bed, on his side, dressed in just his bathrobe.

Chris patted the bed. "Come here," he said huskily. "I've got some more exploring to do."

Vin's feet moved without his mind telling them to. In fact, his mind was screaming at him to turn around and run; that he couldn't risk their friendship; that he couldn't really have this kind of relationship with his best friend. But his body wasn't listening. It craved the touch of Chris' hands.

He reached the bed and crawled on, lying belly-down next to Larabee. But he couldn't look at the blond. He was too scared, too embarrassed. His heart began to pound in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe again.

"Easy," Chris whispered, reaching out to gently rub Vin's back.

"Sorry," he replied, trembling under the blond's touch. "Just so hard t' believe this is real… can't believe yer really touchin' me…"

Chris slid his arm over Vin's shoulders and the sniper leaned into the blond, who said, "Vin—"

"Chris, I don't know what t' do," Tanner whispered, his voice breaking. "Don't know what I c'n do. What y' want me t' do. Don't want t' hurt y' or— I don't want y' t' hate me."

"Vin," Chris interrupted, "you're scared, I understand that, but I've never— Last night was good, it was real good, but I don't know what to do next. You have to tell me… or show me."

When Vin turned his head to look at the blond, Chris kissed him.

Vin shifted as Chris' tongue played over his, allowing the blond deeper access to his mouth. The rush of it swept reason away.

Then Larabee prodded his crotch, feeling his straining erection, and Vin pulled back, saying, "Want y' so bad, Chris…

"Tell me what you want," Larabee whispered, fingers continuing to squeeze.

Vin's eyes were wide, and full of longing and terror. He couldn't, he just couldn't ask for what he wanted most.

"You know how I feel, don't you?"

There was a slight pause, then the ghost of a nod from Vin.

"You know I love you, right?" Chris continued.

"You do?" Vin whispered.

"I do. Now, tell me what you want."

He had to look away. "I want— I want… I want y'… inside me," he said, so softly Chris wasn't sure he'd actually heard him.

"Can you talk me through it?" he asked.

Vin nodded, his face flushing a deep crimson as his body started trembling with barely held-in-check desire.

"Then get out of those clothes," Chris told him.

Vin wondered momentarily how he'd ended up in clothes, but the thought was lost as he wiggled out of them, Chris disrobing even faster.

His cock sprang up and Chris reached out and wrapped his hand around it, watching Vin's face. The look on the older man's face was one Vin couldn't quite read, and he couldn't try to figure it out, his hips beginning to thrust into Chris' palm, precome dribbling free. The blond lubed the shaft with it, working him until he was flushed and panting.

Larabee must have decided it was time to back off, because he eased off, but Vin was too far gone. He whimpered and wrapped both of his hands around Chris', forcing him to pump him a couple more times, then he came, crying out as he bucked into the man's hand.

And he didn't let go of Chris' hands until he began to soften, wanting to look at them, needing to explore every detail of their connection, every nuance of this most memorable change in their lives.

Larabee ran his thumb over the tip of Vin's cock head, playing in the last of his come, and Tanner groaned with pleasure.

"Tell me what you want, Vin," Chris repeated, when Vin's eyes dropped closed.

"Want y' inside me… Want t' feel y' fillin' me up… Want y' t' take me, Chris, please."

He let go and felt Chris' hand slip under his cock to rub his sac. Vin whimpered and spread his legs. "Need y', Cowboy, need y' so damn bad…"

Chris turned away just long enough to pull open the drawer on the nightstand. Inside was a tube of KY.

Vin took the opportunity to roll over into his belly.

When Chris turned back there was a brief pause, then he felt the blond running his finger down his crack. Vin wriggled. "Shit… Damn, Larabee, yer a fuckin' tease."

Chris chuckled and kept playing and, before long, the sniper was whimpering and squirming like a junkie in need of a fix.

"Easy," Larabee said, voice low and so damn sexy Vin thought he might just come again from the sound alone. "No need for us to hurry."

"Easy fer y' t' say," he whined. "Want y' inside me, Chris. Need ya there so bad…"

"It's been years, right?" the older man asked, but something told him that Vin might have turned to Josiah to easy his pain. "Except for what happened with Vine, and I know that hurt you."

"'M fine now," Vin interrupted. "Please. I need y', Chris. Need y' inside me now ."

"I won't hurt you, Vin."

"Yer killin' me, damn it!"

That prompted another laugh from the man, but he spread Vin's ass cheeks and began to finger the tight pucker waiting there.

"Easy, Vin, let me love you," Chris told him, that voice low and sexy again. "Let me give you what you want."

"Chris, please," he begged.

Using more of the lube, Chris pressed again, this time breaking past the rim. Vin grunted, his muscle immediately seizing on Chris' knuckle, afraid the man might pull out.

"Feel good?" the blond asked.

Vin simply moaned. It felt more than good. There were no words to describe it.

Chris pushed in to his second knuckle. "There we are," he said when his whole finger was in.

Again a breathy moan was Vin's only reply. It was all he could manage. It was taking everything he had not to come on the spot.

Chris began to explore him, and it only took a few seconds before Vin was humping the bed, hard again. When Chris withdrew his finger, Vin let out a wail. "Chris!"

"Easy," the blond soothed. "Just getting some more lube."

Vin bore down when Chris pushed two fingers into him, pink pucker opening, then clenching. "Oh God," he almost sobbed. "Please, Chris, gotta have y' inside me… please."

"Relax," the blond told him. "I'm going to fill you up soon enough."

The words were almost too much. His body shook. "Now," Vin hissed, pressing back to impale himself on the two digits. "Damn it, Larabee!"

Chris eased a third finger into Vin and Tanner immediately froze. "Too much?" he asked.

"No!" Vin yelped, panicked. He didn't want Chris to stop. "Just give me a minute t' get used t' it."

"You can have all the time you need," Chris told him, leaning over and trailing kisses across Vin's back as he slowly began to move his fingers, pushing in and pulling out. Then, with his free hand, he reached between Vin's legs and squeezed the man's balls.

Vin whimpered, the sound his way of asking for more. And Chris responded. He felt his muscles relaxing and opening. "Now, damn it," he growled again.

He heard Larabee chuckle as he pulled his fingers free. Vin shifted position, lifting his ass into the air. A moment later, Chris was in position, and Vin listened as the blond lubed himself. A moment later, he felt the kiss of Larabee's cock as it met his waiting ass. Chris pressed, his head slipping easily inside.

He heard Larabee gasp.

"Jesus," the older man breathed. "It's so damn tight, so hot… I wanna come right now."

"No!" Vin wailed, bucking his hips gently, sinking Chris deeper.

"Oh, Christ," the blond moaned.

Vin moaned, too, a long, low sound that was pure ecstasy.

Larabee remained motionless, allowing Vin to slowly impale himself.

Vin knew the sensation must be nearly overwhelming, because he felt Chris reach down and squeeze the base of his cock, holding off his building climax.

"Love me, Chris," Vin begged, needing to feel the man moving inside him.

Larabee pulled him up, for a better angle, then began to pump his ass.

Vin let himself go, dropping into the pleasure he was experiencing. He began to whimper, tears rolling down his cheeks as felt himself imploding into feelings and sensations he'd never experienced before.

He knew Chris was trying to go easy, but Vin didn't want easy. He jerked his hips back, forcing Larabee to pick up the pace and, before too long, the blond's hips were pounding against him in a frenzy.

"Here it comes," Chris gasped. "You're gonna get it all."

"Yes," Vin hissed, feeling Larabee begin to come inside of him. He felt his muscles spasm and he cried out as his second orgasm overtook him. "Chris!"

He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but it didn't really matter. He was suspended in pure ecstasy, his body wringing out pleasures he'd never even suspected were possible.

When he finally began to drift back to reality, he realized that Chris had settled atop him, his cock still well anchored inside his body. He could feel every inch of it, could feel the girth as it slowly shrank…

"That was… amazing," Larabee said breathlessly, then kissed Vin's shoulder.

When Chris' cock finally slipped free, they both moved, slowly, settling down side by side. Vin reached out, pulling Chris to him and clinging to him.

"You okay?" Larabee asked.

Vin nodded, not sure he could trust his voice yet. "So good," he slurred.

"Sex with someone you love is supposed to be good."

"But—"

"Don't try to analyze it, Vin, just accept it."

"I'm tryin'," he said. "Just scared."

Chris hugged him tighter, saying, "We're just getting started."

"Hope you're right," he said, voice rough. "Don't think I could take it if—"

"I'm not lying to you, Vin," Larabee interrupted him. "This is it. This is all I need. You're all I need. I love you. The rest we'll work out, I promise."

Vin nodded, knowing he shouldn't need anything more than that, but he just couldn't quite bring himself to believe it.

"Now, what do you say we go take a shower and then go get breakfast at The Skillet? My treat."

"Your treat?" Vin asked, lifting his head just far enough to meet Chris' eyes. They were so full of love and affection it scared him. "Y' ain't gonna dump me, right?"

"No, damn it, I'm not gonna dump you," Chris said, shaking his head. "When do you think you're going to believe that?"

"Don't know," Vin admitted, looking away, embarrassed at his lack of confidence.

Chris leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Come on, lover, let's get that shower."

Vin trembled at the use of the word "lover." He looked up again, meeting Larabee's eyes. "Loved y' so damn long, so damn much…"

Chris smiled, and kissed him, the passion of it doing more than words ever could to convince him Larabee meant what he said. There was just no faking what he felt as their lips met, Chris' claiming his like he'd owned them forever, and Vin was quite certain that he had, and would, for the rest of eternity. He melted into the kiss, letting his doubts drift away.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Monday morning

Chris and Vin arrived at work together, which didn't surprise anyone. But both men were more relaxed than the others had seen them in quite a while.

"Looks like that long weekend did y'all a world of good," Nathan commented when he caught Chris and Vin at the coffeemaker around nine.

"Reckon it did, at that," Vin replied, trying to sound as "normal" as possible, but the shit-eating grin on Larabee's face wasn't helping.

Nathan grinned, too, knowing he was on the outside of an inside joke and wondering what it was all about. "Head giving you any trouble?" he asked Tanner.

Vin choked on his coffee, coughing before he replied, "Nope. It's just fine."

Nathan looked from Tanner to Larabee and back again, waiting for one of them to explain, and, when neither of them did, he shook his head and returned to his desk, the burst of laughter that followed him out of the break room making him mutter.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Several hours later

Josiah sat at his desk, watching Vin as he finished up his report on the Cedartwist case. The younger man was more at ease than the profiler had ever seen him, and that, along with the affectionate, longing glances the sniper had been throwing at Larabee's office over the course of the day, had him guessing the two men had found a way to bridge the physical gap and had consummated their relationship. The thought made him warm inside. Both men deserved to find some happiness, and if it was with each other, so much the better, as far as he was concerned. But there was a faint echo of regret, too.

He glanced over at Buck, wondering if he had figured it out, too. The ladies' man had been watching Vin on and off all day, as well. Buck waggled his eyebrows at the profiler and Josiah flashed him a quick, toothy grin. Yep, Buck had figured it out, too.

Nathan leaned forward and asked quietly, "That grin mean what I think it might?"

"And what might that be?" Josiah questioned.

"You know," Nathan replied, jerking his chin in Vin's direction, "Him and Chris…?"

"Think it just might," Josiah replied, grinning again.

Nathan thought for a moment, then grinned himself. "Would explain this morning…" The former medic glanced over at JD and Ezra, both of whom were still working on their reports. "Think they know yet?"

Josiah shrugged. "JD… probably not. Ezra… guess that's an even-money bet."

Nathan studied the undercover man for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Mmm, I'm thinkin' he knows."

"What makes you say that?" Josiah asked, honestly curious.

"Well, he's usually finished before Vin is, and he's been… distracted all day."

The profiler nodded. "Not bad. You might have a future in profiling."

Nathan snorted softly. "No, thanks. Climb inside the heads of people like Vine? Definitely no, thank you."

Josiah smiled. "It's a dirty job, I'll admit, but—"

"You're so good at it," Nathan finished for him.

"Why, thank you, Brother Nathan," Sanchez replied.

Vin's phone rang and the sniper picked it up with a friendly, "Tanner." He listened for a few moments, his expression going from happy to focused and intense. The others picked up on the change immediately, their activities coming to a halt as they waited for the conversation to end so they could find out what was happening.

Buck caught Chris' eye through the glass that separated Larabee's office from the rest of the bullpen and lifted his hand, signaling for him to come join them.

Chris had just reached Buck's desk when Vin said, "Yeah, thanks, I appreciate the heads-up." He hung up and sagged back against his chair, his gaze seeking out Larabee. "That was Kate, down in the lab. They tracked back most of the… shit Vine left for me to three shops in New York, DC, and Atlanta. The shops all say a Gavin Albert bought the stuff. And, get this, he bought three of each of the damn things."

"Three?" Josiah echoed, frowning.

"Three," Vin confirmed. "And accordin' t' the credit card records for Gavin Albert, he's livin' right here in Denver the whole damn time."

"Here?" Larabee questioned.

Vin nodded.

"They give you an address?" Buck asked.

Vin nodded again. "It's about three blocks from here."

"Let's go," Larabee said.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Less than an hour later

The men arrived at the high-rise apartment building, using their badges to get past security. They stopped by the building supervisor's office, and then rode up to the seventh floor and walked down to unit 707. Chris used the master key they had gotten from the super to unlock the door.

They entered the one-bedroom bachelor apartment and stumbled to a stop. The walls were covered with images of Vin, some from out at the ranch when Tanner had performed for Vine, others from the roof of Vin's apartment building.

Vin spun away from the collection, heaving once before he could reach the sink in the small efficiency kitchen, and then several more times as he lost what was left of his lunch.

The others quickly spread out, ensuring the small apartment was empty.

"Jesus," Buck managed, holstering his gun, his gaze sweeping over the images. Then he scowled. "Wait a minute. These are more recent," he said, pointing to pictures of Chris and Vin standing at the corral fence, Cricket on the other side, nibbling on Tanner's sleeve.

"Goddamn son of a bitch ," Larabee hissed, recognizing other pictures that had been taken recently, while Vin had been out at the ranch. Others were shots of Tanner entering or leaving the federal building, his apartment building, and St. Philip's, and all from the past few days.

Nathan tore his gaze from the images and made his way over to Vin. "You okay?" he asked, already knowing the real answer.

"Will be," Vin said, his voice breaking slightly, "once we catch this bastard."

"Perhaps we should let this go… unnoticed," Ezra said, unable to look away from the pictures of Vin's performances.

"No," Vin said, walking back to join the others. "Lab boys already saw the scenes when they processed them, and they've got all that shit he's sent me; ain't like they haven't already put two and two together."

"I know," Ezra said, turning to meet the sniper's eyes, "but these…"

"Leave nothing to the imagination," Josiah finished for him.

Vin swallowed hard and replied, "I want t' make sure this fuckin' prick goes away fer as long as possible. If that means I gotta sacrifice m' pride, then I'll do it, 'cause I swear t' God, he gets out while I'm still breathin', I'll kill the motherfucker m'self."

Chris' gaze swept over the images again, his stomach clenching into a tight knot as he saw what it was Vin had endured for him. He couldn't let these go back to the lab, because no matter how many people he threatened, some of the images would be seen, or shared. Vin's reputation was already tarnished inside the Bureau; these would—

He couldn't let that happen. Turning to Josiah, he said, "Everybody in gloves." Then he reached for his cell phone, calling Travis.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Less than an hour later, two lab technicians arrived and, with Team Seven's help, they processed the apartment, all of the pictures going into a banker's box that was then sealed with tape before it was carried out to the waiting van. The rest of the evidence was placed in bags.

Chris grabbed Kate Rafferty's arm as she started to leave with the last of the materials they had collected. "Travis talked to you, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir. The photos will be placed in a secured evidence locker, and I'll deliver the key to you myself," she said, meeting his eyes as she did.

"Nobody needs to know what you saw in here," he told the two women.

She nodded. "AD Travis was very clear on that point as well, Agent Larabee."

"I want your word," Chris pressed.

Kate smiled. "You have it, Agent Larabee. I like Vin, a lot, and, believe me, my partner and I can appreciate the situation he's in here."

"Partner?" Chris questioned, shooting a quick glance at the other woman who was standing at the door, waiting for Kate.

"Eleven years and counting," Kate told him. "We're not out at work, but the AD and a few others know about our relationship. Long story," she added.

The relief that swept through Chris made his knees tremble. "Thank you," he said sincerely, knowing now why Travis had sent these two women specifically.

Kate nodded, then pulled an envelope from the bottom of the stack of papers on her clipboard and handed it to Larabee. "I was going to give this one to Vin, but I think maybe you should see it first."

Chris took the envelope and opened it, pulling out the photo inside just far enough to see that it was one of him making love to Vin on his bed. He shoved it back into the envelope and resealed it, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red. He cursed under his breath.

"That's the only one like that. The rest are just of Vin," Kate told him quietly. She glanced around at the other members of Team Seven, who were now going over the apartment themselves. "Do they know?"

Chris shrugged and shook his head. "Not sure, to be honest. We just— a couple 'a days ago— Shit."

Kate reached out and rested her hand on Larabee's arm. "No one will hear a word from us, you have my word. But if this goes to trial…"

Chris nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Good luck," Kate told him.

"Thanks," Chris replied.

She nodded and started for the door, but paused and turned back, saying, "If you ever need to talk to someone…"

"Appreciate it," Chris told her.

She nodded again and headed for her partner, the two of them carrying the rest of the evidence they had collected down to their van.

Chris joined the others, but there didn't seem to be anything in the apartment except the photos. He checked his watch. It was almost ten. His stomach growled. "Anything?"

After a series of "No" and "Nothing," he sighed and said, "All right, let's get the hell out of here."

The others nodded and headed out, JD and Buck leaving first, Josiah and Nathan next – after the medic had checked on Vin one last time.

Ezra waited until the others had gone, then said, "If you would like to stay at my condo…"

Chris shook his head. "That extra security is still out at the ranch," he said, even though he knew Vine had gotten past it, somehow… unless he'd left a camera there.

"Chris—" Ezra started, but Vin cut him off.

"It's late, an' I'm hungry. Thanks for the offer, Ez, but I'm done lettin' that bastard control m' life."

Standish nodded, completely understanding Vin's point of view, but he couldn't help but worry. "Well, if you change your mind, the offer will remain open."

"Appreciate that," Vin said.

The undercover man nodded and then left.

Chris looked at his new lover and sighed again. "You think you can eat something?"

"Hell, no," Vin replied, "but that don't mean I ain't hungry."

"We should both get something," Chris pressed.

"I'll just chuck it up later if I have dreams," Vin replied, his voice tired.

"You want to give Dee a call, see if she can fit you in tomorrow?"

Vin shook his head. "I want t' find the bastard an' end this."

Chris reached out, resting his hand on Vin's shoulder. "Come on, let's get the hell out of here."

Vin nodded and the two men left the building, walking to the Ram and climbing in. Chris handed over the envelope as soon as Vin was buckled up.

"Jesus," Vin breathed when he saw what was inside. "How—?"

"We'll find a hotel room," Larabee said, cutting off the question. "I'm guessing he installed a camera in the bedroom when he was setting up for the first—"

"C'n see that," Vin said and nodded. "Swing by my place first, I need to pick up some fresh clothes."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

After stops at Vin's apartment, and the ranch, the two men drove back into Denver, taking a room at a hotel near downtown. They closed the door and locked it, then began to get ready for bed.

Vin climbed into the soft, king-sized bed first, Chris still in the shower. Glancing over at the clock sitting on the nightstand, he saw it was a quarter after one. God, no wonder he was so tired.

He jerked when his cell phone rang, then hesitated before answering it on the fifth ring. "Tanner," he said.

"Hello, pet…"

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