Seth’s Perspective
Max and I jumped into his Camaro and made our way downtown to Harrington House as fast as we could. The county sheriff’s department was still out back, the red and blue lights from the three squad cars illuminated the alleyway. All the residents of Harrington House and several neighboring businesses and apartment buildings were gathered in the alley watching the spectacle as Che’s car was being hooked up to the back of a tow truck. Max and I approached one of the deputies, we had met before.
“What’s going on, Jack?” I asked.
“Hey Seth. Well, we got a call from a Sherriff in Ohio telling us that this vehicle was involved in a hit and run earlier this week. They apparently tracked the owners phone to this address. We followed up on the call and found the vehicle parked in your lot” he explained. “We’ve got the owner of the vehicle, a Mr. Che Jones in custody, also a Mr. River Hill both names were mentioned in the complaint.”
“When did this hit and run supposedly happened?” Max asked.
The deputy checked his notes, “Looks like Tuesday morning.”
“Hey Ricky and Mason” Max shouted, “Come over here.” The guys came over to us, and Max introduced them to the officer. “Che and River both live here and work for me, Ricky is Che’s boss and Mason is River’s boss” then he turned to the guys. “Did Che and River miss any work this week?” They both confirmed that the two boys had worked every day, including Tuesday. Then Max said to the officer, “All employees punch in and out daily, I can share those records, and we have surveillance cameras at the candle factory and at Harrington House we’re happy to share. In fact, there’s a camera right there” he said pointing up to the camera on the building.
I chimed in, “We can probably show that Che’s car was parked here during the time of the incident.” I asked the deputy for dates and times of the alleged crime, then Max and I took him inside to pull the surveillance footage of the lot from that time. Another officer drove Ricky over to the Candle Factory to pull the surveillance footage from there.
“I’m sure we can prove that both guys never left the area.” Max offered as we walked into the office.
Once we were away from the others, we told him Che and River’s story (I didn’t see a need to share the gory details with Ricky, Timmy, or any of the other villagers in the alley). The deputy listened intently. I easily pulled the footage and it showed that the car was sitting in the same spot during the alleged hit and run. We went back out to the alley where the Deputy let the still-cuffed Che out of the back of the squad car and questioned him again, then he did the same for River. It took a while but Ricky sent the footage to us and the other Deputy confirmed that, based on the timesheets and the footage, they guys were both working at the time of the incident.
I called Zach and he spoke with the deputy as the boys attorney. After a long conversation the deputy agreed that they had no reason to hold the boys, but requested that they not leave the area for a few days. After the Deputies cleared the alley, and the tow truck lowered Che’s car we took the boys into the therapy room to talk.
“Fuck! I told you that mother fucker would find us and try n’ put my ass in jail” Che said. He was always angry and loud, but this time the fear came through loud and clear.
“He found you, but you’re still free” I said.
“Bullshit. We aint free, he’s probably got his guys on their way here now” Che said.
Max shook his head in disbelief, “Oh c’mon, you make him sound like some super villain.”
“Listen to him” River said quietly. “My Dad is powerful and mean as hell, he knows where we are now, he won’t let this go. We can’t stay here.”
“Well, you can’t run either” I said. “He’s going to find you again. So, what’s the plan, you just keep on running from him? How does that end?”
“I told you already. With my ass in jail and River locked up in his dad’s house for the rest of his damn life. We aint never gonna be free of him” Che said in an angry shout. “This is the shit he’s been pullin’ since I turned 18!”
“But you’re not in his county anymore, he doesn’t have the same pull here” Max argued.
“That aint gonna stop him, He’s connected” Che scoffed.
“But it’ll slow him down. The first thing we need to do is get you out of here… at least for tonight” I said. We talked about where they could go. Neither Max or I wanted to put our families in danger, and we didn’t want to send them to a hotel where they’d be alone, they needed support. So, we wracked our brains.
“BA and Daddy” Max said. “They have room, plus they can handle it if something goes down.”
“The lady I called an old bitch?” Che asked with a snide laugh. “Yeah, right, I’m sure she’ll jump right in to help my ass.”
“Yeah, she will” Max said with me nodding in agreement. “She’d put her life on the line for any of you.” I wish I had the words to describe the look on Che’s face. Disbelief? Regret? Remorse? Appreciation? All the above and a million others all combined? I have no clue. Max stepped out to call BA. He was gone about five minutes, then came back in. “They’re still at our place, but they’re going to come get you guys and take you to their place for the night. You need to leave your car and phone here… and for god sakes turn that phone off” Max preached. I gave the boys a couple of the burner phones from my desk drawer before we led them up to their place to pack for a couple of nights.”
I stepped out and called Zach. He agreed to represent the boys and was going to request a copy of the complaint and police report from the County Sherriff in the morning and figure out if he could file for any legal protection from River’s dad. BA and Daddy came and got the guys, and Max dropped me off home before getting back to his family… it was pretty late when I walked through the door. Zach was sitting on the couch in his boxers and a tee with a fire blazing. He held up a glass of Whiskey on the rocks for me and asked, “rough night?”
I scoffed and replied, “yeah but the guys are safe at BA and Daddy’s” then told him the whole story.
“I’ll look into everything tomorrow and see what we can do” Zach said. “The kids are all passed out.” He motioned for me to sit on the floor in front of him, between his legs. His strong muscular hands caressed my shoulders as I sipped the whiskey. Zach lifted my shirt over my head so his hands were working directly on my warm skin. It felt so nice to just relax in front of the fire… I was stressed out as fuck but Zach was doing his best to make it disappear. After about twenty minutes he whispered, “hey, let’s take this upstairs. I think we have some massage oil… you want a real massage.”
Did I want a real, full body massage? “Fuck yes, I do!” I tilted my head back to look up at him, “Are you sure you’re up for that?”
“For what, rubbing my oily hands all over your hot body? Yeah, I think I’m up for that” Zach said with that grin that had been getting me into trouble for half a dozen years. We stood almost in unison and made our way up to the bedroom stopping off in the kitchen to refresh our drinks, and then peeking in the kids rooms… god they were all so cute when they were asleep. “Strip and lay down on your belly” Zach said as he locked the bedroom door, and planted a tender kiss on my lips. While I complied, he lit a couple of BroMax candles and grabbed the bottle of eucalyptus/spearmint massage oil out of the nightstand drawer. It had been so long since we had a moment like this that the bottle had half an inch of dust on it, Zach blew it off with a snicker then put on some R&B music quietly in the background. The mood was just right, our bedroom had become a quiet oasis in our perfectly chaotic world.
I was lying buck-nekkid, in the middle of the bed, facedown, on top of the bedcovers with my face buried in my pillow; my body just went limp after the rollercoaster of a week I had been through. It felt so good to just mentally and physically escape. First, I felt the weight of Zach’s body on the mattress as he kneeled between my legs, next I heard the *pop* of the bottle, then Zach’s hands rubbing together to warm the oil. Finally, I felt his warm, strong, soft hands cup my shoulders and start massaging, I instinctively moaned in pleasure and a simple “thank you” escaped my lips. His response was a tender kiss to my neck as he continued to massage my shoulders. I could feel his warm, soft, manhood touching my butt, the intimacy felt nice.
Zach moved his way down my back massaging me deeply and lovingly. Seriously, his HANDS, they were amazing and the oil was so soothing. Maybe it’s because he knew my body so well but he touched all the right spots perfectly. This wasn’t some ploy to get sex (okay, so maybe that was part of it… a BIG part of it), it was a legit, stress-relieving massage. I was so relaxed that I was almost asleep when his oily hands parted my ass cheeks and his talented tongue flicked at my tight pink pucker. Again, I let out an appreciative moan. No words were exchanged, I was too lost in euphoria to speak, and Zach’s tongue was busy with more important endeavors. At first, he just flicked at my entrance, then he dove his tongue deep inside me. His oily hands pulled my ass cheeks further and further apart until his face was lost in my crack. I was awake now! I instinctively reached back and pushed his face deeper… I needed more, but I also questioned if I could ever really get enough. I just basked in the attention of his warm, wet tongue teasing my hole, opening it up in hopes of more. After what seemed like an eternity, but not nearly long enough, he lifted his head out of my crack and continued his massage.
He started with my upper right inner thigh, down my leg and then to my foot… oh my god, his foot worship was otherworldly. First his hands worked the arch of my foot, then my heal, and between each toe. I was lost in the sensation when the warmth of his mouth enveloped my toes; he was sucking on my damn toes and my cock went from flaccid to raging hard underneath me as it burrowed into the mattress. He moved to my other foot and gave it the same treatment, then up my leg and my inner thigh. When he was done with my legs, he used his entire body to massage mine from the ass on up. We were both covered in oil and his hard phallus was sliding up and down my crack, its heat warmed my entire body. His bluntness pushed against my hole begging for entry, it was slimy with Zach’s spit and the massage oil and slipped in effortlessly. He moved in and out of me slowly and deliberately and each movement titillated the nerve endings in my sphincter, I opened and closed around him to accommodate his welcomed invasion. He moved in and out harder and faster as I grunted and groaned. “I’m going to cum in you” He whispered in my ear, his body pushing hard against mine as his hips kept drilling me.
“You fucking better” I said breathlessly as my hand reached back and caressed his head. He pumped harder and more furiously, on a mission to plant his seed deep within me… he didn’t fail. He came with a grunt and kept cumming. I could feel his seed froth up at my entrance as he continued to fuck me deep. Eventually he collapsed on my back, the oil and sweat combing to create a new slime all its own. We HAD to take a shower before we went to sleep.
In the shower, Zach voluntarily dropped to his knees and sucked me dry… talk about stress relief. My body relaxed as the last drop of stress left my balls and traveled down his throat. Zach completed my massage session with a cum-filled kiss, then we went off to bed and slept like babies.
Saturday morning, we got up and did our usual routine. I called BA to check on everyone, of course she was taking care of the boys like they were her own. Who would’ve thought that she would give sanctuary to the punk that called her an old bitch just a couple of days before. Next, I called Ricky, there was no more excitement at Harrington House after we parted ways. Zach went to the Sherriff’s Department to get the incident report and find out what he could about the alleged hit and run. He could’ve probably done it by phone, but he was looking for any excuse to drive his new car, Freddy went with him. Freddy wasn’t about to pass up a chance to hang out with a bunch of policemen. The rest of us just hung out at home, Izzy was relentlessly begging to go the “da babies” and she got Ali asking too. I finally gave in and called Max to see if he was up for a visit.
“YES” he responded. “Come hold a baby, PLEASE.” I had to laugh. The two girls had come very suddenly and upended the BroMax universe. A week ago, they were rushing to Atlanta hoping to bring home a baby girl, and now they were buried in a sea of diapers, and spit up.
“Uncle Max says we can come over and play with the babies” I told Izzy and Ali.
“I wiw hewp, I wiw hode dem and gib dem baby foamala” Izzy said proudly as she went to get her coat. (Izzy to English translation: ‘I will help Uncle Brody and Uncle Max, I will hold the babies and feed them their formula. Uncle Max and Uncle Brody are lucky I’m available to assist them.’). “Baby formula” was Izzy’s newest word, she just learned that’s what babies eat and was fascinated with it.
When we got to BroMax Farm, I was greeted at the door by Max holding Olli out for me to take, then he ran towards the kitchen to grab a bottle. Brody was sitting in a chair rocking Abbi, and Teddy was coming down the stairs with diapers in his arms. The entire Harrington-James clan was working to keep those babies happy. Teddy dropped his diapers on the nearest table and came running in looking for Freddy. “Sorry bud, he’s with Daddy Zach at the police station” I said.
“Aw man!” Freddy said, “He went ta’ the police station without me?!” Freddy and Teddy were inseparable, the poor guy felt left out, I hadn’t thought about that.
“It was just a quick trip to pick up some documents; they should be back soon.” Teddy was disappointed, but he soon got over it and went to work entertaining Ali with building blocks. He was a good kid.
“So, is Zach lookin’ into the whole Che thing?” Brody asked as I sat on the couch across from him holding Olli. Izzy sat next to me to help me hold the baby. She was seriously obsessed with those two little girls, so was Maggie and it was adorable.
“Yeah, there’s no doubt it’s River’s father coming after them, hopefully Zach can get them some legal protections and we can provide some physical protection” I answered.
“Are they still at BA and Daddy’s?” Max asked as he entered the living room testing Olli’s bottle on his wrist. Then he tested it on Izzy’s wrist… You could see it in her eyes, she felt important. God, she was a sweet kid (when she wanted to be).
“Yeah, I called them and Ricky earlier, there hasn’t been any more excitement since last night” I said taking the bottle Max handed me. I showed Izzy how to feed Olli, I have never seen her look so serious in her life. This was important shit! She was feeding Olli.
“This shi… stuff just blows my mind, ya’ll” Brody said correcting his language for Izzy. “I mean ya’ll have dealt with some… um… a-s-s-h-o-l-e-s in the past, but this is a whole other level of a-s-s-h-o-l-e. Is this guy really that powerful?”
“It sounds like he is in his county” Max said.
“But I don’t think he can do shit here” I said forgetting Izzy was sitting next to me holding the bottle.
“Daddy, Zeff! You say shit. Shit a bad wode. Don’t say shit.” (I won’t bother translating that because I think it’s pretty clear). Brody and Max did their best not to laugh and encourage her… sometimes it was hard as hell not to laugh at her, she was hilarious. But once you laughed, you lost all control. She knew how to work us, they all did! While we were talking Zach texted to say he was on his way back home, I told him to meet us at BroMax Farm.
When he and Freddy arrived, Freddy was so excited about their trip to the police station and told Teddy everything. “Deputy Dan said I can come back anytime, and you can come with me” he told his disappointed friend, that put a smile on his face. I thought it was funny that as big of a part as the police had played in Freddy’s life, and even after they took his momma away, he still saw them as the good guys. I was happy about that. I’ve said it before, we had several good run ins with the local police departments, I know that not every gay community has had that experience, especially in the South, but we did. In fact, I was grateful for them.
“So, what did you find out?” Brody asked Zach.
“Not shit” Zach answered, and Izzy started again.
“Daddy, Sach! You say shit. Shit a bad wode. Don’t say shit” Izzy said shaking her head as she continued to hold Olli’s bottle with a serious look on her adorable face. Again, we did our best not to laugh.
I got the incident report from last night, but the Sherriff’s Department doesn’t have the accident report for the alleged hit and run in Ohio. We called the sheriff’s department that made the request and they don’t have a record of any such accident, and denied ever calling here in the first place” Zach said.
“That sounds fishy” Brody said. “So, now what?”
“Well, I can’t prove River’s father has done anything to threaten them, so I can’t do a hell of a lot. I really need to talk to these guys to see if we can prove cause for a restraining order or some other legal action” Zach said.
“They’re still at BA and Daddy’s, we can head over there and talk them, then give them a ride back to Harrington House” I suggested. Zach agreed so I called BA and set it up. When Teddy heard where we were going, he begged to go to Granny BA’s with us. Max and Brody were glad to let him take a break from his baby duties, he had been a huge help to them. Izzy reluctantly said goodbye to the babies, everybody got their coats on, and we headed out off to talk to Che and River.
While we were buckling all the kids in Cay came over to talk to me. Of course, Izzy had to get in a “Hi CaLLLLLeb,” making him smile.
“Hey Seth, do you think I could move into Harrington House? It’s kinda boring and lonely out here, at least there I have Ella to hang with, and Marilee said she would hire me on the weekends so I could make extra cash for school” he said pleading his case. As much as I thought he was ready to be on his own, I was worried about him living with Che, and frankly I didn’t want him caught in any crossfire if River’s dad showed up.
“You’d have to live next door to Che; I don’t think that’s a great idea” I said.
To my surprise he answered, “why? We’re fine. He apologized to me the other day and were kinda friends now.” That was all news to me… good news.
I was still hesitant because of the River’s Dad issue. “Let me think on it and give me a few days to get my ducks in a row, we can talk about it at your session on Tuesday” I promised. It wasn’t the answer he was hoping for, but he didn’t get shot down so he was happy. I said so long and our crew headed off to BA and Daddy’s place.
When we got there, we found BA and the boys in the kitchen doing the dishes together, Daddy had gone into the shop to work on some project car (he always had a project going on). Izzy waltzed into the small house like she owned the place, looked at Che and River and said, “Who you?” The tough, cold Che cracked a smile.
“I’m Che” He said.
“And I’m River. Who are you?” River asked.
“Hi Wibbo, Hi Cheese. I Izzy, dat Ali, dat Fweddy, dat Teddy, dat Daddy Zeff, and dat Daddy Sach” she replied making all the introductions. The two guys were both smiling and snickering a little. Yup Che was smiling. Ali went up to Che and held up his arms to be held. Che looked apprehensive then turned to me for permission.
“It’s your call” I said while Ali wiggled his fingers, that was his way of saying ‘pick me the fuck up already.’
Che gave in and picked him up, the hardness left his face, then our littlest hugged the tough guy… he melted. BA broke up the hug fest to rally the kids, “C’mon kids, let’s leave these boys to talk business.”
I introduced Zach and he had the guys sign a form making him their legal representation (pro bono of course). He told them what he had learned, there was no record of the alleged hit and run, and “River’s dad is squeaky clean. No record, nothing.”
“Sounds like The Shadow Wolf to me” Che said.
“Shadow Wolf?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s what they call my dad back home… a fierce dark force” River said. A chill went up my spine, and I looked over at Zach. It was clear that we were both wondering what the fuck we got into?
“He owns the damn sheriff’s office and the mayor, but I bet you found a long AF rap sheet on me.” Che said.
“Yup” Zach said as he looked at the document in front of him, “man, you J-walk a lot” he laughed trying to lighten things up, then added, “They were harassing the shit out of you, weren’t they?”
Che was nodding when a tiny voice yelled from the other room, “Daddy Sach say shit. Shit a bad wode. Don’t say shit Daddy Sach.” Now THAT lightened things up. We continued to talk through our options and our strategy. I called a local beat cop I knew downtown and told him the situation, he promised to keep an eye on the building during his shift. We put everyone in Harrington House on alert for strange activity and told them to keep the alarm on at all times. Other than that, there wasn’t much Zach could do. He couldn’t take legal action until The Shadow Wolf made a move. All we could do is wait.
We finished our talk; the guys got their stuff together and we all piled in the Atlas to take the guys to Harrington House. Before we left, Che gave BA a gigantic hug, “Thanks for everything, BA. You a’ight.”
She whispered back, “Yeah, I’m okay for an old bitch.” Che had found help and acceptance in a place he never expected.
To be continued…
