FORGE WOKE, after the best night’s sleep he’d had in months, to Gage rolling over, pulling him closer, and pressing his hard cock insistently against Forge’s ass. “You’re insatiable,” Forge teased as he flexed his butt.
“Only for you,” Gage muttered. “Are you sore?”
“A little.” Forge grinned, feeling cheeky. “I could definitely go for another round, but we’re supposed to meet Coleridge in half an hour. And if I’m not mistaken, Margie is out in her office. Now, you might want to show off your prowess….”
“Oh God, no.” Gage pulled the pillow over his face. “That can’t happen,” he said, voice muffled. “I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“The end of what?” Forge asked innocently.
“She’ll say ‘I told you so’ to me every day for the rest of my life. She’s been hounding me for years to find someone and….”
“Well, you just tell her you were picky and had to wait for perfection.” Forge smiled as beatifically as he could, and Gage grabbed him. Forge squealed like a girl until he got hold of himself, kissed Gage, then squirmed out of his grasp. “Come on. Let’s get dressed.” Forge got out of the bed and hurried to the bathroom. He cleaned up quickly and went back to dress so they wouldn’t be late. Gage was still in bed, so Forge pulled away the covers and smacked him on his butt. “Dang. Now you laze in bed.” Forge was excited to put all this behind them and move on. The sooner they talked with Coleridge and got him whatever he needed, the better off they were going to be. “Get up, or I’ll….” He leaned forward to lightly bite Gage on the buttcheek.
“Did you turn carnivorous?” Gage fake groused as he rolled over. “No biting anything else.” He put his hands over his dick, stood, and hurried out of the room.
Forge giggled, watching Gage’s marked ass disappear behind the bathroom door. “We have to leave in five minutes.” He left the room and gathered the things they’d brought from the house, including the box and the original jump drive. “Do you want to bring your computer?” Forge called back once he heard Gage in the bedroom area.
“No. Leave it here. I’ll put the spare drive in the locked files, and we’ll see what happens. I’m keeping what we have as security, and we’ll let it be known that if anything happens to us, the files will be sent to the media. That will keep everyone honest.” Gage leaned around the doorframe, grinning as he flashed Forge a glimpse of chest before disappearing once again.
Forge finished getting things together and decided to leave the jade box where it was. There was no need to carry something that valuable along with them. “Are you ready?”
Gage appeared in jeans and a plain red T-shirt, looking delicious even in simple clothes. “Let’s go.” He led him out of the living quarters and into the office area, where Margie smiled, waving as they passed, as she talked on the phone.
“Good luck,” she said softly, and Forge nodded as they hurried on through to the car to get into the passenger seat. He was nervous and excited, his leg bouncing while he waited for Gage.
It wasn’t long before they were on their way, and he grew more and more anxious the closer they got to the house he’d shared with Granger. It was funny, but it didn’t feel like home any longer. Forge wasn’t sure where home was, but that house and what it represented, combined with what had happened there, made it not feel like his home anymore.
“I know you’re nervous.”
“Excited.”
“Okay, excited.” Gage smiled at him. “Just relax and we can get this over with.” He turned into the driveway, where three cars were waiting for them. Forge crouched low and turned to Gage. “It’s all right. Coleridge is getting out.”
Forge relaxed and opened his door.
“I’ll open the house,” Gage offered, and Forge handed him his keys. Gage went to unlock the door while Forge met Coleridge and shook his hand.
“Who is with you?”
“Let’s go inside and we’ll talk,” Coleridge said.
Forge tensed and eyed the car, ready to get back inside in case they’d judged him incorrectly. After all that had happened, he was jumpy as hell.
“It’s all right. They’re additional authorities.” Detective Coleridge motioned to the door, and Forge entered his own home, still nervous and wondering what was going to happen next. All three men followed him, then closed the door behind them. “This is Agent Shepherd with the FBI here in Milwaukee, and this is Agent Martinez with the Chicago FBI.”
“You’ve done us a huge service,” Agent Martinez said, shaking his hand. “Our office has been investigating the Lucci family for years, but we haven’t been able to get anything concrete on them, and then you uncover the holy grail of information hauls.”
“What are you doing with it?” Forge asked, moving into the living room.
“We’ve had teams of people up all night analyzing what was in the files and figuring out who we could charge with what. So far our list is huge and getting bigger. We’re going to take out the heart of the entire Lucci organization. Arrest warrants are being issued as we speak, and teams of agents are flying in to execute them. We aren’t going to let anyone escape our net. Agent Shepherd here is in charge of rounding up the players in the Milwaukee area, and we have teams in St. Louis and other cities.”
“Is one of the people being arrested Francis Peterborough?” Forge asked.
“I can’t confirm any specific people at this time,” Agent Shepherd said.
“Oh, you can’t?” Forge was pissed at the agent’s attitude. “Then maybe I’ll see to it that copies of all the files are sent to the news media.” He pulled out his phone. “All it will take is a phone call, and it hits the internet.” His temper was on a very short leash. “Hell, a text will do it.”
“You don’t want to do that,” Coleridge said.
“The files are mine. I inherited them from Granger, and as my property, I am free to do with them what I wish. The FBI or the government does not own them.” Forge put his foot down, insisting they were going to play it his way.
“What do you want, Mr. Reynolds?” Agent Martinez asked coolly.
“First, did Stanley or his men kill Granger?” Forge looked for any prevarication.
Agent Martinez nodded. “We believe so, yes. He was trying to get possession of the information you gave to us. We’re building the case with Detective Coleridge, but it’s looking strong.”
That was a relief. At least Granger could rest easily. His killer would be brought to justice. “Is Francis going to be arrested?” Forge asked again, taking Gage’s hand. The confidence he’d had a few moments earlier began to fade.
The agents exchanged glances. “Yes, he is,” Agent Shepherd answered.
“Good. I want to be there when you do it. And just so you know, I’ve been kidnapped, chased, threatened, eavesdropped on, followed, scared, nervous, frightened, and wondering if I was going to be killed… all in the last few days. So, believe me, after that, I’ll take on the entire US government to get what I want.” He squeezed Gage’s hand, and the agents conferred.
“You know this is very irregular.”
“Yes. But I want to be there, and I want you to do it in the office in front of everyone. I want humiliation. I can even help you make sure he’s there. I’ll send him a message to say that I’m willing to sell him Granger’s share of the firm. He’d wet himself in front of a jury for that.” They were not going to tell Forge no. This was the one thing that was nonnegotiable.
“All right. But we’ll assign you an agent that you must stay with the entire time.”
Forge thanked Agent Shepherd and sat down with Gage next to him. He folded his arms over his chest. “When do we leave?”
“JUST LET them take the lead and do what they say,” Gage told him as he drove downtown, following Agent Shepherd’s car.
“I will.” Forge smiled as they parked in the garage of the building of Granger’s law firm, met the agents, and rode up in the elevator. “Francis should be here now.”
Agent Shepherd nodded. “Do you believe he’ll come meet you?”
“Most likely he’ll be waiting for me in his office.” The doors slid open, and Forge exited with Gage and walked right up to the receptionist. “Francis is expecting us.” He continued to Francis’s office door. He opened it, poked his head inside to make sure Francis was in his office, and then stood back to let the agents in.
“What the hell is this?” Francis asked loud enough to alert the entire office, which was delicious.
“Mr. Peterborough, you’re under arrest.” Agent Shepard read the whole list of charges off, then read Francis his rights as Francis sputtered the entire time.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked indignantly just before Forge heard the clink of handcuffs. Now that was a gorgeous sound.
“Yeah, I know who you are,” Forge said quietly as he peered through the doorway at Francis. “A mob lawyer who’s going up the river.” He tried not to giggle out loud as agents swarmed the office with a series of warrants, ordering everyone around. It was a beautiful sight, though Forge was glad Granger wasn’t around to see it. The death of his legal practice was something that might have killed him. Granger had put his lifeblood into this place, and now it was sinking faster than the Titanic.
“You can come in,” Agent Shepherd said. “You have two minutes, and then we’ll take him away.”
Forge nodded, squeezing Gage’s hand, and entered the office. Two men stood on either side of Francis, who was dressed in one of his expensive suits. His hands were behind his back, and he glared at Forge with more hatred than he’d ever seen in his life before spitting out, “I hope you know what you’ve done to this firm, to Granger’s life’s work.”
Forge walked up to Francis, backhanded him on the left cheek, and then used the other hand to backhand him again. “I didn’t do anything. That was all you and everyone knows it. Granger didn’t let slime into his law practice. You did. His mistake was trusting a jackass like you. Well, you’re done.” He clenched his fists, wanting to smack Francis again.
“You saw him—that was assault,” Francis threatened.
“These good gentlemen didn’t see a thing,” Forge said with a smile. “And just so you know, you might not have pulled the trigger, but your actions cost Granger his life, so I’m glad I get to take yours.” Forge drew his hand back just to watch Francis flinch.
“I’ll get you for this. You know that.”
Forge turned to Gage, smiling, and then back to Francis. “That’s so cliché. I’d have expected something better from a lawyer. But I have something for you. When you’re in prison, maybe I’ll come visit just to see whose bitch you end up as.” He smiled. “Goodbye, Francis. I hope the rest of your life is pure hell.” Forge turned and left the office, his legs nearly giving out as soon as he was outside.
“You were amazing,” Gage told Forge as he gasped for air. “Maybe you should come into the business with me. You could be the one to extract information, because, damn, I’d hate to be on your bad side.” Gage put an arm around him, and Forge leaned into Gage’s embrace. This was truly over.
Forge watched as they took Francis away. “Oh, Francis, you’re going to need a good lawyer. Don’t call here, because this office isn’t going to answer.” Forge smiled. Hell, he truly grinned for the first time in a week. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
“And where is that?” Gage asked.
“Wherever you want to take me, as long as it’s with you.” Forge kissed Gage in front of the FBI and half the law firm. Not that he gave a crap. He’d been through hell and come out the other side with everything he could have ever wanted. Now it was time to rebuild and go on, and the best part was, he knew he didn’t have to do it alone.