Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
His forehead crinkled. “I don’t have the Flint app.”
“Just check and see. Can you think of anyone who might have had access to your phone tonight?”
I saw his jaw drop as he stared down at his phone screen. “What the fuck? Oh shit, I’m going to kill her!”
“Was it Ella?”
“No! It was my great-great-aunt Tilly! She does shit like this all the fucking time. I can’t believe she… Whose dick is this?”
He took a minute to read through the messages, murmuring, “The wine,” to the Josh question. Then his expression became thoughtful. “She’s not wrong. Feuding does make the best foreplay. I’m kinda bummed we didn’t get to have angry sex when we were still enemies.”
“Our relationship is young, Firebug. Give it time.”
His eyes lit up. “Yeah? You gonna stay with me long enough for us to have makeup sex?”
I grinned. “Expert-level care, remember?”
Alex’s alcohol-flushed cheeks went even pinker, but he looked pleased… at least until he glanced back at his phone. “I’m so annoyed that Tilly did this. What was her goal? Humiliating me?”
“I think she was trying to matchmake us.”
He frowned. “By telling you I’m amazing in bed? Gross! Why not tell HotChief what a nice man I am or how smart I am?”
I let out a laugh. “That’s… not what men usually share on Flint, baby.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Oh yeah? You familiar with the app?”
“It was created by firefighters for firefighters,” I explained.
“Answer the implied question, Chief.”
“You said something about me getting naked,” I said, moving to pull up my shirt.
Thankfully, that got a laugh out of him. “Fine, change the subject with a strip show. I’ll allow it.”
He was so fucking fun. So sweet and interesting. And he was nice and smart… as well as amazing in bed.
By the time we were both on the verge of coming on camera, he begged. “I need to come. Please.”
“Slide your fingers inside your hole, baby,” I urged. “Find that good spot for me and stroke it.”
The camera angle was a little off, but I could see the pink flush of his skin, the hard shaft of his cock, and the tight skin squeezing around his fingers.
“Fuck, baby, coming,” I gritted out just as I heard his cry. After we both came down from our orgasms, he moved the camera up so I could see his ruddy face and bright eyes.
“My parents probably heard that,” he said sheepishly.
“It’s late, and their first child just got married. Maybe they’re having their own noisy celebration. Ever think of that?”
Alex’s face fell. “That’s disgusting. How dare you harsh my vibe like that.”
“I love that you have gay dads. My parents were definitely not accepting. Don’t get me wrong, I loved them. But I’m not sure they would have been supportive if I’d been old enough and ready to come out to them.”
“Half my family’s gay,” he said. “The poor straights like my sisters always feel left out. My cousin Cami even dated a girl because she was convinced that she was probably at least bi. No dice. Couldn’t even fake it.”
We continued talking for another half hour until I noticed his eyes beginning to droop. “Get some sleep, Firebug,” I murmured. “Talk tomorrow?”
His smile was sweet. “Yeah. Night, Chief.”
I ended the call and sighed happily. When I closed the video app window, my email app was open behind it, showing a new email from Max’s private investigator friend. I assumed it was my final statement, so I opened it… and found something else entirely.
Judd,
You said to stop the investigation, but I already had several irons in the fire. One lead came back tonight. Don’t know if you still want it or not?
I tracked down the IP address of the target to Napa, CA. Specifically to a place called Alexander Vineyards. The same IP address showed up on quite a lot of social media traffic this evening, including Grindr, Flint, IG, FB, and TikTok. Unsure if the target works there, lives there, or attended an event there, although the idea he was carrying on regular conversations with you over a long period of time would indicate he lived or worked here.
The vineyard is owned by the Marian family. During the year you were in regular contact with DrunkenPoet, the legal residents of that property included Bartholomew (aka, Blue), Tristan, and Alexander Marian, as well as a live-in caretaker named Angie Rousseau. The only one of the four who took any fire certification classes during that time was Alexander. According to online records, he attained his ICS-100 during that time.
Let me know if you have further questions or would like me to re-open the search to get confirmation.
I stared at the screen, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
Yes, Alex Marian was at his family’s vineyard in Napa. Yes, he and his friends and family had probably been using a ton of apps there tonight. But the connection to DrunkenPoet, to the investigator…