Love on the Rocks Read online

  Yeah, I’m a prize all right. Maybe Dad was right after all.

  Chapter Three

  When Riley got home after a tour of the local supermarket, he was happy to see Barney and Champ curled up together on Champ’s bed. Although he’d left them outside in the shared yard behind his apartment, they’d found their way in through the doggie door the previous tenant had installed. The yard was a definite bonus, especially as no other tenant seemed to bother using it. Have to tell Joe he needs to unscrew that doggie door, with all that big yard in back he has.

  The dogs greeted him with sleepy eyes and wagging tails and he sat on the floor with them, giving them the affection they seemed to crave—much like himself, he had to admit. He hadn’t been stroked and petted in a long time. Since Miles, in fact, and his ex-boyfriend hadn’t been the best at showing affection. Riley sighed.

  Mustn’t start moping over that creep. I’m only twenty-eight—plenty of time to find ‘the’ someone…if he exists, that is.

  He chuckled and got to his feet, the dogs trailing after him while he took the groceries into the kitchen and started putting stuff away in the fridge. Once done, he fed the dogs then got himself a beer and lay down on the couch. He wondered how Detective Joe was faring in the hospital. Champ jumped up alongside him and maneuvered into a comfortable position across Riley’s legs while Barney stared at him hopefully.

  “No, there isn’t room for you as well,” he said, stroking the silky hair on Barney’s head. “Bet you’re missing your buddy, Joe, huh? He’ll be out in a few days, but you can’t go jumping on him, either, for a while. No, sir.”

  Oh great, talking to dogs now like they know what I’m saying… I need to get a life, and fast! He picked up the remote and turned the TV on to the local news just in time to catch the report about Joe being found near death on the beach.

  “A timely discovery by a local paramedic, Riley Peterson, and his dog saved the life of Detective Joe Brady of the Orange County Police Department,” the newscaster exclaimed with the expected over-the-top enthusiasm of someone with ‘breaking news’ to deliver. “Mr. Peterson was walking his dog on the beach near Cliffside Drive when he found the badly wounded detective in an area prone to rock slides that is marked with Keep Out signs.”

  Ouch… Did they have to use that godawful photo of me that’s in my file? Shit, I look like a geek! Especially alongside Joe Brady, hunky detective… Man, that is such a cool picture of him. He really is a stud.

  “According to Mr. Peterson’s statement, it was his dog who sensed that something was amiss among the rocks and Mr. Peterson went to investigate. A police statement confirms what was once a rumor, that Detective Brady was indeed shot by his partner Detective Bob Murdoch. It is also alleged that Murdoch is responsible for the murder of Martin Boyd, whose body was found lying beside Detective Brady.

  “The detective is in stable condition, according to Southend Hospital doctors. Meanwhile, a nationwide search is being conducted for Detective Murdoch, but as of now, there have been no reports of sightings of the alleged killer.

  “On an upbeat note, Mr. Peterson’s dog is called Champ. It would seem an appropriate name for a dog that helped save a life.”

  Riley chuckled. “You hear that, Champ? They’re saying you’re a hero.” He tickled Champ’s ear. “But I’ve known that ever since you were a pup.”

  Jeez, there I go again…

  * * * *

  Joe wasn’t having a good night. It seemed like every ten minutes someone was coming in to check the lines or change out a bag or draw blood. Hadn’t he lost enough without them poking him with needles and taking more out of him?

  He’d watched the news, not at all surprised they hadn’t caught Bob yet. He was one slippery bastard. Had to be, to have kept doing what he’d been doing for years and never even raised one iota of suspicion. Amazing that neither of the two partners previous to Joe had seen anything out of the ordinary in the way Bob went after suspects by himself, and that his arrest record was so low. Now everyone knew why. The creep had been providing ‘protection’ for the pushers on the street and even for some of the smaller distributing gangs. He must have accumulated quite a stash over the time he’d been dirty.

  And that bullshit Romero had given him about Bob being an upstanding cop in the beginning. He’d bet Bob Murdoch had never had an upstanding day in his entire life. He was most likely squeezing money from kids when he was in day-school.

  Hadn’t figured him for a murderer, though. Maybe he just couldn’t accept it was the end of the line for him if I told Romero what I knew… So I had to go. But why the kid?

  Martin had been panicky when he realized Bob was about to shoot Joe. The kid had known enough that if he was caught, it was forever in jail or maybe even the death sentence. Selling cocaine on the street was a lot safer than taking a cop’s life. But showing how panicked he was in front of Bob had been his own death sentence.

  The one bright spot in the coverage of his shooting had been the photo of the medic who found him. Riley… Sweet-looking guy. Wonder if he’d go out for a drink with me once I’m outta this hellhole?

  He hadn’t been on a date in so long he could barely remember it. Some guy his sister worked with. Oh yeah, Frank, was it? Or Ralph, maybe.

  ‘You have to get out more, Joe,’ Rachel, his sister, had railed at him. ‘Quit harboring the memories of Dad telling you you’re worthless. You’re a good-looking guy even if you have no social skills. Go out and get laid, it might put a smile on your face.’

  ‘No social skills? What does that mean? I have friends.’

  ‘You have people you work with,’ Rachel had scoffed. ‘They don’t count as friends. Real friends I mean. Go out and find yourself a nice guy to talk to, if nothing else.’

  And it had been a case of ‘nothing else’. The date had not been terrific, and there had not been a repeat performance, even though Frank—or was it Ralph?—had seemed interested enough. And before that it had been pretty much a wasteland since Police Academy, when he and Arnie Jefferson had fooled around and had even started to get serious until Arnie had a case of the ‘queer terrors’ and decided he’d better get married…to a woman. It had been pretty much downhill after that. He just wasn’t good at sitting around making small talk when all he wanted was to get laid. And that hadn’t happened in a long time. He and his right hand, and on some occasions his left, were the very best of friends.

  Maybe Rachel was right. He had no social skills. Maybe Riley could show me a few.

  Despite his fucked-up wooziness when Riley had been leaning over him among all those rocks, and after when he’d come to see him in the E.R., he’d noticed his lips, soft and full, and his eyes, a deep warm blue. Shit, he couldn’t believe he was getting hard just from thinking about the guy. He usually had to get some porn going before that happened. And he was in no condition to start jerking off—never mind where he was. One of those ten million nurses could come barging in at any moment.

  He sighed. Life was a bitter hell at times.

  * * * *

  Riley called the hospital’s administrative office in the morning and asked if he could bring Detective Brady’s dog to visit him. He was shot down on that request as dogs had to be certified through dog therapy classes before being allowed into wards and private rooms.

  “But once the detective is well enough to sit outside, you could bring his dog to see him.” The woman was pleasant enough and agreed that patients and their dogs often pined for each other. “Find out how soon Detective Brady will be on his feet and then make arrangements for his dog to visit.”

  “Thanks.” Riley hung up. Too bad. It would have given him an excuse to go visit the hunky detective. Although, did he really need an excuse? After all, he was the one who’d found Joe, so there was a link of some kind there, and he had a slight suspicion Joe might be pleased to see him…just as he’d be pleased to see Joe again. Maybe when he got out of the hospital they could go on a date, if Joe wasn’t already seein
g someone or in a relationship…or just plain not interested.

  So he’d go see the detective after he clocked in for his ten a.m. shift. No harm in just dropping in… Wouldn’t look too obvious or pushy, would it? First, he had to hit the gym then shower.

  Better get a move on.

  * * * *

  Romero was back, again with no news of Murdoch’s whereabouts.

  “His wife still saying she knows nothing?” Joe asked.

  Romero nodded. “She says they had an almighty row about a week ago and she threatened to leave him if he didn’t curb his anger issues or, better still, go get some therapy. She says that set him off all over again and he slammed outta the house and she hasn’t seen him since.”

  “You believe her?”

  “I’m not sure. Could be she’s lyin’ and we’re keeping her under surveillance in case she leaves town. Anyway, how are you? You look better than you did yesterday.”

  “Yeah, I feel better. Be outta here in a day or two.”

  “Don’t rush it, and you’ll need physical therapy.” He jerked his head toward the door. “I’m keeping an officer outside for a couple more days, just in case.”

  “You think he’d show up here?” Joe grimaced. “He wouldn’t be that dumb. ’Sides, what good would it do him now to kill me? Everybody knows what he did—it’s not just my word against his.”

  “True. We found the bullet that went through you in the parking lot off El Toro and it matches the one in the kid’s head. Not police issue, by the way. He had his own gun. But still, you kinda fucked things up for him. He might want to take out a little revenge.”

  Joe shrugged then winced. “Damn, but I’ll be glad when I have some flexibility back in this arm and shoulder. Fucking Murdoch. I wish he would come here. I’d like to break his nose.”

  Romero chuckled. “Like you’re in any condition for that.” They both looked at the door as someone knocked.

  Riley peeked in. “Just stopped by to see how he’s doing.”

  “Come on in, son,” Romero said. “You’re a big part of this story, too, from the way the media’s reporting things. You and your dog.” He held out his hand for Riley to shake. “Thanks for finding and looking after Detective Brady.”

  Riley blushed and Joe thought he looked even cuter with red cheeks. “Yeah, I don’t know if I ever did say thanks.”

  “You weren’t in any condition to think of that,” Riley said. “You look better today.”

  “Well, I’ll be going.” Romero headed for the door. “Somebody’s got to keep law and order on the streets.”

  “Ha ha.” Joe grinned at his sergeant. “See you do a good job.” He waited till the door closed behind Romero then he signaled for Riley to come closer. “Take a seat. Can you stay a while?”

  “Until this goes off.” He held up his cell phone as he sat on the edge of the bed.

  Joe nodded. “Well, now I can thank you properly. And how’s Barney? Did you get over to my place? Was he all right?”

  “I did, and he was as good as gold, but real happy to get outside and take a dump.” Riley laughed. “Almost knocked me over when I opened the door. I took him to my place. Hope that’s all right, but I figured he could use the company till you’re discharged.”

  “Now I owe you more thanks.”

  “No, you don’t. Just get better. I’m sure you hate being cooped up in here. Is the pain any easier?”

  Joe nodded. “Getting there. Doc thinks I can go home in a couple of days. You okay with Barney at your place till then?”

  “Absolutely. You have a nice house, by the way.”

  “Thanks. It was my grandparents’. They left it to me and my sister when they passed.”

  Riley hoped Joe didn’t notice the look of relief that flitted over his face at Joe’s words. His grandparents left it to him. That explains it.

  “She and her hubby have their own place in Anaheim.” Riley relaxed into what Joe was saying. “So I get to live there until we decide to sell it, I guess. One of these days I gotta get around to modernizing it a bit, but there never seems to be enough time.”

  Riley grinned. “Well, you got some time off coming up, by the looks of things, so maybe you can get some workmen up there and you can supervise.” He had a real and sudden urge to hold Joe’s hand. Would he mind? Was that being too pushy? Probably. He contented himself with gazing at the detective’s chest, or at least the part that wasn’t bandaged. His left pec and nipple looked good enough to lick. Riley grew hard at the thought of him nuzzling that nipple while Joe’s muscular arm held him in place. He shifted position to ease the discomfort in his briefs.

  Joe frowned. “You okay?”

  “Oh yeah, but I should be going.”

  “Your cell didn’t ring yet.”

  “I…I know, but I got things to do before I start my shift, and it’s…” He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost ten.”

  “Okay, if you have to. Thanks again for looking after Barney.”

  “You’re welcome.” He stood to go, but Joe took hold of his hand and tugged him gently downward. Riley put his other hand on the pillow by Joe’s head to steady himself and allowed Joe to guide him toward his lips. It wasn’t much of a kiss, probably because it seemed to startle Joe as much as it did Riley. But it was a kiss, and Riley’s face turned hot and the erection in his briefs grew harder. For a moment they stared into each other’s eyes. Joe didn’t loosen his hold but held him there while their lips met again, this time with more purpose. In seconds their tongues were tangling, they were breathing into each other’s mouths and Riley had to exercise considerable restraint not to climb onto the bed.

  “Wow,” he murmured, slightly out of breath. “You kiss good.”

  “Only ’cause you’re good to kiss,” Joe said, smiling. “Maybe we can do this again when I’m able to hold you like I want to.”

  “No maybe about it.” Riley chuckled. “I’m going to insist on it.” His cell chimed. “Now I really do have to go. I’ll look in on you later, okay?”

  Joe grinned. “I insist on it.”

  Chapter Four

  As luck would have it, one of their team called in sick and Riley had to pull some overtime. By the time they got back to the hospital and he stopped by Joe’s room, the detective was asleep. Riley watched him for a few moments, taking in the strong line of his jaw and the ridiculously long eyelashes that rested practically on his cheekbones. There was no other word for the guy except stunning, and for the life of him, Riley couldn’t understand why he was single…or at least unmarried. He’d checked his stats to make sure, so unless Joe had a boyfriend he didn’t talk about, he was available, and… Wait, is this a good idea?

  After the crap Miles had put him through, he’d determined not to get involved with anyone else for a long time, and now here he was, lusting over a cop. A very handsome cop and one who seemed to be interested in him, but it was crazy, wasn’t it? The first guy to kiss him in over a year and he was ready to throw his good intentions out of the door and— But that kiss had been hot and Joe was without a doubt the kind of guy he could fall for. And wasn’t a year a long enough time?

  Joe stirred and muttered something in his sleep. He looked so darned vulnerable and Riley felt a flutter in his heart. Oh, Jesus… He dropped a light kiss on Joe’s lips before leaving the room quietly. It’s good he’s sleeping, he’ll feel a lot better for it in the morning.

  * * * *

  At home, the dogs were all over him the minute he walked in. “I know, I know, I’m late,” he told them, trying to fend off two sets of happy tongues. He roughhoused with them for a while then set out their food before going outside to clean up their messes. He was fortunate that no one else used the yard, but he was a stickler for keeping it free of doggy mess. It benefitted him, the neighbors and the dogs and kept the landlord happy.

  His phone was ringing when he went back into the apartment. Glancing at the ID screen, he grimaced in surprise. Miles? What the fuck does he want? More
than a whole year had passed since he’d last seen his ex and nary a word since that day. Now, out of the blue? Was it some kind of telepathy? After all, he’d been thinking of him earlier in the day, but he so didn’t need this right now. He was tempted to let the call go unanswered, but… What the heck, it might be an emergency.

  “Miles,” he said abruptly.

  “Now there’s a welcome greeting.” The smooth sarcasm in Miles’ tone made Riley grit his teeth. “How are you, Riley?”

  “Just fine, thanks. What can I do for you?”

  “Nothing, just calling to see how you are. It’s been a while.”

  Riley’s laughter was derisive. “It’s been over a year. You must want something. I can’t believe you just called to pass the time of day. You always said you couldn’t abide idle chit-chat on the phone.” There was a lengthy pause which made Riley think Miles hadn’t expected him to be so challenging.

  “Gee, I thought you’d be happy to hear from me. We used to be friends.”

  “Friends? We used to be a lot more than that, but here’s the thing, Miles, even friends don’t just decide one day to pack up and walk out without an explanation.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry ’bout that, and uh, I want to make it up to you, if you’ll let me.”

  “Okay, at the risk of sounding snarky, why do you think I’d be interested?”

  Another lengthy pause was followed by the sound of Miles clearing his throat. “Uh, is there someone else in your life?”

  Riley held back the chuckle that wanted to slip from his lips. It would be a lie if he said yes. Detective Brady was not ‘in his life’…yet, and perhaps never would be, but if he allowed Miles to come barreling into the picture at this moment, any chance of it becoming something promising would most likely vanish overnight.