Page 15 of Theirs to Love

Travis

Travis worried that whoever completely trashed his apartment was still there. The person wouldn’t have too many places to hide but it felt like it was taking forever to clear his place of danger. He just hoped like hell that Jack would stay with their girl. He wanted to keep them both safe and with Jack being a cop, Travis knew that no one would be able to touch Em.

Travis entered his bedroom, relaxing a little when he realized that the person who tossed his apartment didn’t stick around to chat. He flicked on his lights and saw the destruction that was left behind. Everything that he owned was tossed onto the floor, his furniture looked like someone took a baseball bat to it.

“Travis,” Jackson’s whisper almost scared the hell out of him. “Clear?” Travis nodded his head and felt Jack’s breath on his neck. He whistled as he took in the mess that was left behind.

“Yeah, whoever did this gave it their best shot.” Travis picked up his favorite baseball cap from the floor.

“We need to get Em, and I’ll call this in,” Jack barked. Travis could tell that he’d gone into full-on cop mode, and he was thankful to have Jack with him.

They found Emily standing in his small family room, staring at the wall. She had turned on the light and apparently, he had missed the message left behind on his way through the apartment. “Fucking fags” was written on his wall in bright red paint.

“Why would someone do this, write this?” she sobbed. Travis pulled her into his arms as Jackson held up his cell phone, silently telling him that he was going to call in the break-in. Travis nodded and pulled Em tighter.

“You need to get dressed, baby. Jack is calling this in, and the police will be here in a few minutes.” Travis felt her shiver and he softly cursed. She was cold because they just left her standing out in the hallway in his jacket. “I’m so sorry, Em. I wanted tonight to be perfect but now everything is so fucked up.” Travis took her clothes from her arms and helped her with them. She was sobbing uncontrollably and the soft little whimpers coming from Em nearly tore him in two.

“I called this in, and they will be here soon. We will have to answer some questions, and they will want to know how we all know each other.” Jackson looked a little green and Travis was beginning to understand just how big a problem this was going to be for both him and Emily. Once their relationship got out, the two would be under constant scrutiny at their jobs.

“Fuck guys, I’m so sorry,” Travis growled. “If you leave now, I’ll tell them that I found this when I got home tonight, alone.” Jackson shook his head and took Travis’s hand into his.

“No fucking way, man. We are in this together, that’s what we agreed to. I’m not leaving, and I don’t give a fuck what any of my colleagues say about who I’m sleeping with. I choose you both and I won’t hide now.” Travis nodded and turned to Emily.

“How about you Em, this is going to cause you trouble at work. If you want to leave, now is the time.” Travis didn’t know what he was hoping for most, Em to stay or leave. He would dojust about anything to keep her from experiencing the same pain that he and Jackson had gone through.

“You haven’t been labeled yet, baby. We would both understand if you decide to leave before the guys get here,” Jackson pulled her in for a kiss and Travis held his breath, worried about how all their lives were about to change.

“No, I won’t leave,” she whispered. “I want this, I want us. If I leave tonight it would be like I was walking away from the two of you and I won’t do that. I won’t deny how I feel about either of you, I don’t care what kind of label people give me, I’m staying.” Emily’s resolve shined bright in her eyes and Travis was both scared to death and so fucking proud of her.

Jack pulled his cell from his pocket and checked it, “Well, ready or not, times up. My new partner just sent me a heads-up that they are in the parking lot. I’ll go out and lead them up. You two don’t touch anything.” Travis nodded as Jack turned to leave. Emily took a ragged breath and Travis felt as if he was holding his own.

“We got this, Travis,” she whispered. He wanted to believe her, even hoped that she was right, but he was afraid that whoever did this to them was just getting started, and that scared the shit out of him.

Jackson

It took almost two hours for the three of them to be questioned. Jack cleared it with his partner that they wouldn’t have to go downtown to answer questions. He didn’t want to put Travis or Emily under any more stress than they already were. It made him sick that some asshole would do this to Travis’s place.

“Again Mr. Sharp, do you have any idea who would want to do this to you?” Travis shook his head, looking a little frustrated with the prolonged questioning.

“No, for the hundredth time, I don’t have any real enemies. There are a few assholes in town that like to try to give me shit but they are harmless. No one would go to these extremes to hurt me. And why would this happen now? I’ve been openly bisexual for years now.” The officer questioning Travis seemed uncomfortable with his admission, clearing his throat when Travis said the word, “Bisexual”. Travis flashed Jackson a look and he shook his head. Best to not provoke the questioning officer and just get this shit show over with. They were always going to have to deal with bigots; they needed to deal with them with calm, level heads.

“How about you, Saint? You have any enemies?” The officer shot him a knowing look and he rethought not hitting the guy.

“You know that I do,” Jackson barked. He hated that Emily and Travis were going to have to hear the whole gruesome story from a virtual stranger. He had already told Travis about his trouble with his old partner, but he hadn’t had time to sit Em down to tell her the details.

Emily reached for his hand, and he took it, loving the comfort that she was offering him. “My old partner, Logan Cross, was harassing me.” He couldn’t help but look at Emily while he told his story. “He found out that I was bi, and we had to be separated. Soon, being on different shifts wasn’t enough and I had to be moved to another precinct but that still didn’t stop him. He and a few other guys kept coming at me, so I had to make a formal complaint. That didn’t make me any friends—I’m guessing that it had quite the opposite effect.” Jackson paused and looked back over to find Em crying and it gutted him that she was shedding tears for him. He wanted to bring her happiness and here he was causing her pain.

“Fuck Em, don’t cry honey.” Jackson stood and pulled her into his arms. They had all been careful not to touch each other or talk about their relationship but he wouldn’t let her sit and cry over him. “Are we done here?” he barked at the officer. “I think you got everything you need. All the paperwork from my complaint should be on file. Find out where Logan and his buddies were tonight. I’m betting he was smart enough to cover his tracts though, being a cop he has a special skill set for knowing the ins and outs of the law,” Jack growled. He knew that catching whoever did this wasn’t going to be easy and if it was Logan, it would be damn near impossible.

The officer nodded and stood, “We will be in touch if we have any further questions. You know the drill.” Jack nodded and walked all four officers out.

He walked back into Travis’s apartment and found him holding Emily, letting her sob into his T-shirt. He was quietly whispering to her, telling her that it was going to be all right and Jack could tell that Travis wasn’t sure that he was being honest with her.

“We are going to get out of here,” Jack barked, startling Em. “Sorry honey, but we can’t stay here.” He crossed the room and pulled them both into his arms and God it felt good to hold them.

“Where are we going to go, Jack? If this is personal and they are targeting one of us, we won’t be able to go to either of your places. So, where do we go? We can’t just run and hide. Do we just stop our lives and let this asshole win?” Jack knew that Travis was at the end of his rope because he felt the same way. He didn’t want to hide, and he certainly didn’t want to let whoever was doing this to them win. What choice did he have? If they stayed at his or Em’s place they could be walking right into danger. He needed to come up with a plan and fast because they couldn’t stay at Travis’s place. He wanted to put as much space as possible between them and the person trying to hurt them. Jack had a sick feeling when he thought about what would have happened if they had been there. The person responsible must have known that they were out and the idea that someone was watching them had his head spinning.

“I have an idea,” Emily hiccupped and wiped her nose on Travis’s arm. Jackson was sure that it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. “My parents have a small estate on the other side of town. They haven’t been there in years, but they keep a full security detail and a skeleton staff. What if we went there?” Jack felt unsure. He didn’t want to get Emily’s family caught up in his trouble. But if she was right, a security detail would help to keep her and Travis safe. “Please Jack, just give it a chance. We could all go there and figure out our next move,” Emily whispered.

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