Six years ago, Jarrett Kessel helped his best friend’s little brother deal with his family’s rejection when he came out. He saw potential in the tempestuous teenager. Talent. Then, they both moved on with their lives.<br><br>Now, the FBI needs Jarrett’s help. Sketch artist Eli Locke is their only lead in finding a killer, but he’s nowhere to be found. Though the Feds are convinced Jarrett is the best way to lure him out, he’s not so sure. Until they show him the web comic Eli has created, with a superhero who bears a striking resemblance to Jarrett.<br><br>When Eli gets an email out of the blue from the man who changed his life, he doesn’t even consider saying no to a meeting. Jarrett is even more amazing than he remembers, and the fact that he’s all right being the role model for the one thing that means the most to Eli is just icing on the cake. But the truth about the murder comes out, and even though he had nothing to do with it, Eli wants to run. It’s up to Jarrett to keep him from ruining his life for good, before the killer finds them both and does it first ...

Outlined in Ink

He shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. Should I?”


“His name was Duane Fong. Two years ago, he was hired as a freelance security expert for a money management firm in New York in an attempt to shore up their computer defenses in the economic downturn. He did his job, got a glowing recommendation, then went on to the next company. Nobody suspected any kind of foul play until a couple months ago when one of the firms had a crash and we got called in to help investigate what was going on. That’s when we discovered the various worms Fong had left behind.”


“I thought you said this was about a murder investigation.”


“It is. Fong’s dead. We found his body this afternoon.”


Jarrett waited for further clarification, but neither man offered any. “So…what does this have to do with me?” He didn’t have to feign his confusion. Other than the comic strip, this entire story could have happened on another planet, outside of his entire sphere of influence.


Chapter 3