Page 82 of Cosmo

“I am. And you?”

Liam thought to sidestep the question with a joke. “I’m not in love with Eazy, no.”

“Ass. Taran, he’s…very pretty. Seems like a sweet guy, when he’s not waving his badge around that is, if anyone is looking past the sex.”

There it was. He knew more than Liam wanted anyone to know. “But if you keep it sexual, the feelings can be kept where they belong.”

“Where is that?”

“Away.”

“God, for being a smart guy, you’re not.”

Liam expected that. “Oh?”

“The guy’s obviously falling for you, and I could venture to guess you’re liking him more than you wanted to. No one is throwing you an engagement party.” After a huffed groan,Murphy went on with, “I know what you lived through, and believe me, I’d probably be afraid to get close to people too, but at some point in your life, you either dive into being around people that care for you, or go live as a hermit in the desert.”

“Why the desert?”

“Mountain property is too expensive.”

Liam laughed, and he liked that Murphy had started out with fatherly advice but reined it in a little. “So, Paps, where do we get off this highway?”

“If you start that Paps shit like Mims, I’m gonna kick your ass.” He pointed ahead. “Third offramp now.”

“Yes, sir.”

When they wove through the streets, Murphy pointed him where to turn. Once they were in an industrial area, Murphy pointed to a tall brick building. “That’s a fetish club. Not that I ever suggest other clubs in town, but that’s a specialty place, if you are into that sort of shit.”

“Fetish like what?”

“If you like to get your butt spanked, and leather daddies and twinkies barely dressed.”

“Oh! I’ll have to check it out.”

Murphy laughed and told him to turn right and once he did, they were in front of a body shop and Murphy told him to stop. “I’ll be back when I can wrench a decent price from the guy.”

Liam’s phone rang, and he picked up, seeing it was Taran. “Hey. I’ll be off early. You want to get together?”

“We have to get together, and not for fun. I’ve got some information that you won’t be happy about.”

Chills went up his spine, and they only got more violent when he saw Murphy emerging from the shop, looking murderous. “Meet me at the pub in half an hour.”

“I’ll be there.”

When Murphy got into the truck, he growled, “The feds were right. The BBC is trying to take over the city.”

“What?”

“They’re already taking the top fences in the area. We need to stash this damn car.”

Liam knew of a place, but he hadn’t been there in years. “I got a guy, but he’s not big time, like this one. We’ll be lucky to get a hundred grand.”

“Better than getting busted. Let’s go.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

They got to theold man’s shop in Aurora in less than an hour, taking back streets. The old man looked the same as the last time Liam had seen him, same dirty white undershirt, same cigar butt sticking between his stained teeth. Those few hairs in his comb-over had thinned, but he was very much the same guy.

---