J.M. Snyder

Willis Moore is a detective with the Richmond City police department. A case he was involved with went down badly and he was given a month's sabbatical to pull himself together after the death of his informant, a young man named Teabag, with whom Will had let himself become sexually involved.<br><br>Back on the force now, Will finds himself drawn to another street punk, a hustler named Corey, who seeks police assistance to protect his "boys" from a violent attacker. He and Corey work well together, and Will dares to hope their relationship might be heading toward something more. But he still can't seem to shake the feeling he will eventually fail to protect the hustler ... the same way he failed to save Tea.

Tricked Out

Somehow, incredibly, Corey continued to stay by his side, to hold his hand. More than once, he whispered, “It’s not your fault.”


Once the sun set, Corey directed Will to a McDonald’s drive-thru. “My treat this time,” he said, releasing Will’s hand long enough to fish a wallet from his back pocket. “It’s not Chez Foushee but hey, this is only the second date. Gotta have something to look forward to, you know?”


Will headed downtown, that darkened parking lot in mind, but Corey had different plans. “Swing by the Slip, will you?” he asked, munching on French fries he snagged from their take-out bag. “I want to park near the corner where my boys are at. I gotta keep an eye on them until you catch that bastard who’s beating them up.”


You. Will picked up on that, and felt a sting of pride knowing, despite his past, Corey wasn’t giving up on him.


Chapter 25