Page 49 of Simply Perfection
“That’s odd. This is always locked. No customers at any time. I know I secured it at the start of my shift.”
“Shit! Matt, go out the back door, see if there’s any sign they went that way.” Ryan pulled his weapon from its holster. “I’m going down.”
Matt didn’t question Ryan’s order. He took off down the hall, passed the bathrooms, and shoved at the bar to the door labeled ‘emergency exit only’ in big red letters. The barrier flew open,and Matt found himself tiny back parking lot. He sensed nothing amiss, but his legs took off toward the end of the alley before his brain processed the intent. Fortunately, his mental abilities reactivated before he ran right out into traffic. Matt’s eyes scanned the street in both directions, but there was no sign of a disturbance.
“Fuck!”
He headed around the front of the building and found Niall, Ethan, and Logan speaking with a fireman who’d appeared on the scene. Ethan’s arms were waving back and forth as stood toe to toe with the barrel-chested man holding an ax.
“Matt!” Niall yelled and ran toward him.
Matt’s arms gathered Niall close. “He’s gone. I lost him,caro. His hand was in mine, and I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry,” Matt choked out.
“No, no. Not your fault, love. It was a madhouse in there. We’ll find him. We will, we have to.”
“I’m sorry guys. I don’t mean to interrupt, but do you know where Ryan is?”
Matt sniffed and blinked several times as Ethan’s image swam in front of him. His hands came up to rub briskly up over his face.
“He went to check out the other exit. There’s a basement where they store their stock, and the bartender said there’s a street elevator that’s used for deliveries.”
Matt looked up and saw Ryan in the doorway to the pub. Grasping Niall’s hand in his, they went over to their friend. Ryan’s pale blue eyes were cloudy, a frown marred his lips and his hands were clenched into fists.
“Well?” Matt asked.
“The gate to the elevator was open. It’s a veritable maze down there. Apparently, many of these buildings are connected and use the same service entrance. When I took the elevator up, itsurfaced about fifty yards from the building on the corner of Hereford. Outside there was the smell of burned rubber, and I saw twin black tread marks heading toward Comm Ave.”
That made sense because earlier Matt had turned in the opposite direction toward Gloucester. He’d turned the wrong direction when he left the pub.
“So what do we do now?” Niall asked.
“I’ve already spoken with Captain Ivers. My department can’t do anything because right now this is still a matter of the state. Because Captain Fredericks had already opened a case file and Trevor is a department employee, they’re moving quickly. The best thing we can do right now is help the police in any way we can to find out who took Trevor. Until then, we have no idea where to begin searching.”
Niall’s body trembled against Matt. Matt tightened his arms around his partner, and kissed Niall’s temple.
Logan walked up to the group. “What about Clay? Will he be assigned to the case?”
“No, he’s in a different district. Given the circumstances, though, I’ve asked that he be brought in as a special resource.”
Ethan’s eyes shot wide open. “You can do that?”
“The captain owed me a favor.”
“All right, let’s head over to my condo. It’s only a few blocks away.”
Heads nodded in triplicate. As they walked toward where they’d all parked, Matt caught sight of Trevor’s coat over Logan’s arm. His chest constricted at the sight of the empty fabric. He’d given Trevor the coat for Christmas, the wool designed to keep his lover warm. Now Trevor was who knew where, with no protection from the cold. Beneath the coat, Logan carried a shopping bag.
He touched Logan’s shoulder. “What’s in the bag?”
Logan stopped and looked at the plastic clutched in his hand. His eyes met Matt’s, and the bright blue hue shimmered. “It’s your Valentine’s gifts. I grabbed this stuff when the alarm went off, didn’t even think.” He held out the coat and bag. “You want them?”
Niall accepted Trevor’s coat but placed his hand on top of Logan’s holding the bag. “No, you keep them safe. Trevor will give them to us when he comes home.”
Logan nodded, and Matt’s hand slid into Niall’s. Their fingers locked together with a squeeze. Matt caught Niall lifting Trevor’s coat up to his face. He pulled Niall into his arms and let Trevor’s scent wash over them.
They would find him. He had to believe that.
Matt’s head lifted as Ethan’s voice rang out over the noise of the street as he chatted into his cell phone.
