Chicago PD Detective Michael Branham reluctantly calls in the federal marshals when he gets wind of a dangerous fugitive. Ken “Sully” Sullivan flies in as the Agent-in-Charge. After a futile car chase during a blizzard and a resulting car accident, the two men take shelter in an unused stable. Wounded and cold, Sully and Michael lower their defenses and admit their attraction to each other. Sully's comfortable with his bisexuality, whereas Michael has some self-admitted attraction to men but has never done anything about it. Months later, Michael has a family funeral in the DC area and arranges to meet Sully again. The heat still smolders between them. Then disaster hits Michael -- the kind only another cop can understand. Sully rearranges his life to support Michael, who is still uncertain about their new relationship. Can two men with high stress jobs from different cities find a way to meet each other in the middle?

Trust in the Fast Lane

“How long before I.A. renders a decision?”


“I don’t know, maybe two days, or three.”


“I spent twelve hours on my ass in the car. You are wound tighter than a drum. Let’s go for a run. I could do with a good hard couple of miles at least. I drank enough coffee to drown an elephant.” Judging from the already wrecked room and the hard, shaking tension of his body, I decided the best possible thing was for him to burn off some of the stress energy before we ended up in a fist fight. The other option was rough aggressive sex but I thought as upset as he was that was not a good plan.


Michael hesitated, then replied. “Yeah, a run might be a good thing.” 16: Chicago Detective Michael Branham


I changed into a pair of leggings and a half-zip over my T-shirt. Chicago in April was often pretty chilly. Sully changed, too, sweats and long sleeve tee. I locked the door of my condo and we took off at a slow lope to warm up.


Chapter 20