Betrayal
Chapter Twenty-Six
It was almost dawn when there was a knock on the door of the safe-house. Orrin
had called and told Agents Milter and Harrison about Agent Tanner's imminent
arrival, but had told them not to tell Mister Standish. They had agreed, but
they had a feeling that they were going to have one pissed-off agent when he
found out.
Agent Milter went to the door, and called out, "Who is it?"
"Agent Tanner," a voice replied.
Agent Milter opened the door a crack and said, "Let me see your badge."
Vin handed his badge over. Even though he knew that the man was only doing his
job, he was anxious to see Ezra. After a minute, his badge was handed back to
him and he was let into the safe-house.
"Agent Luke Milter," the man said, holding out his hand.
"Agent Vin Tanner," Vin replied as he shook the other agent's hand.
Pointing over his shoulder, Agent Milter said, "That's my partner, Agent Neil
Harrison." The man looked up from his book and he and Vin nodded at each other
in greeting.
"Where's Ezra?" Vin asked.
"He's in his room. Down the hall, first door on the left," answered Agent
Harrison.
"Thanks," Vin said as he started walking toward his destination.
AT THE ATF OFFICE
"Alright, my man contacted me and he gave me the information about where to find
Mounds' three men," Josiah said.
"Finally! Where?" demanded Chris.
"They're staying underground, trying to stay off our radar. Makes me wonder why
Mounds didn't kill 'em though," mused Josiah.
"Right now, I don't really care. Let's go," said Chris.
"Wait a minute, guys, where's Vin?" wondered JD.
"You know, come to think of it, I haven't seen him since Judge Travis stopped
by. And, that was hours ago," said Nathan.
"We have to be headin' out. Buck, try him on his cell," ordered Chris as he
started toward the elevator, knowing the others would follow him.
After the elevator doors had closed, Buck shut off his cell and said, "I've
tried twice. It keeps going straight to voice mail."
Chris sighed in frustration, "Well, we can't worry about it now. We've got to go
and get those men before they get a heads up." The others knew he was right, but
it didn't stop them from worrying. Now they had two agents, friends, to worry
about.
AT THE SAFE-HOUSE
Vin knocked on the door of Ezra's bedroom, getting no answer. He tried the
doorknob and, to his surprise, found it unlocked. He pushed the door open,
entered the room, then shut the door back. He saw Ezra lying on his back,
asleep. But, even in sleep the man looked like he was in pain. Whether it was
physical or mental, Vin didn't know.
His heart was breaking for Ezra. He loved Ezra, was in love with him. He had
stepped aside, to make Ezra happy, when he had found out that Ezra and Chris
were together. But, now, the bastard had broken Ezra's heart. If he had anything
to do with it, he wouldn't get a second chance.
Almost as if he knew he was being watched, even in sleep, Ezra started to stir.
His eyes slowly opened, then widened when he saw Vin.
"Mister Tanner?! What are you doing here?"
"The name's Vin," he teased. Then, Vin added, "Don't be mad, Ez, but Judge
Travis told me where ya were."
Ezra's green eyes flashed with anger and annoyance, "Why, pray tell, did he do
that? I specifically asked him not to inform any of you of my whereabouts."
Vin held up both hands in a placating gesture, "He was tryin' to help, Ez. Me
and the other fellas have been lookin' for ya since you left. We've been
worried. He didn't tell the others, neither did I. I think he just wanted ya to
have a friendly face around."
Ezra sighed, causing his cheeks to puff out in a way that Vin found adorable.
When he felt 'little Vin' start to want to come out and play, he silently
admonished, 'Down, boy!' He was able to bring his desire down, like he had for
the past year when around Ezra.
"Go ahead and have a seat, Mi... Vin," Ezra said as he scooted up so that his
back was against the bed's headboard.
Vin took a seat at the foot of Ezra's bed, and asked, "How ya been?"
Ezra shrugged, "As well as can be expected."
"Ya healin' up okay?"
"Yes. My ribs are still a little tender, but I think that they're about healed.
Everything is okay."
"Still takin' your meds?" he asked when he saw Ezra slightly flinch in pain.
Not wanting to lie to the man, Ezra shook his head.
"Why the hell not?" Vin demanded.
"Because, they knock me out. I want to be in my right mind. I have a feeling
that Mister Mounds will be showing up."
Vin let out a breath and nodded, knowing that he would want the same thing in
Ezra's place.
"Well, he might, but he won't be layin' a hand on you."
Surprised at Vin's vehement reply, Ezra looked at him and asked, "Vin?"
Vin sighed, "I wanted to talk to you later, but I might as well do it now. I
just didn't wanna give you anything else to think about."
Ezra raised an eyebrow and waited for Vin to continue. Which he did after a
moment. "Ez, I know this probably isn't the right place or time, especially with
everything that happened 'tween you and Chris, but I love you. I'm in love with
you."
Ezra's eyes slightly widened and he was silent, for once not really knowing what
to say.
After a few minutes, Vin said, "Say somethin', Ez. Are you mad? Do ya hate me?"
"How long?" was what Ezra finally asked.
Vin sighed and replied, "I realized it about three months before you and Chris
got together. I didn't know if you went that way or if you could feel the same
for me. I guess you could say I was scared, I didn't wanna lose you as a friend.
Then, I had finally worked up my courage to say somethin' and it was the same
day that you and Chris came out to us."
"That's why you said you were coming down with something and took the day off,"
said Ezra. Vin nodded, and Ezra asked, "You've loved me all this time?"
Vin, again, nodded, "Yeah. But, I knew that you were in love with Chris and from
what I could see he made you happy and treated you right. Until now." He
immediately regretted that last part when he saw Ezra flinch. "Sorry, Ez. I
wanted you to be happy, so I figured if it was with him, fine. But, I haven't
stopped lovin' you."
Ezra carefully scooted a little closer to Vin and captured his hands with his
own. "You know, Vin, if you had asked me out first, I could have easily fallen
in love with you. I still could. But, I need time to get this Mounds case
settled and get over Chris. We were together for a year, it's going to take me a
little time. But, when all of this is over, we'll talk." Ezra gave Vin a chaste
kiss on the lips.
"I'll wait for you, Ez. No matter how long it takes," Vin sincerely replied.