Garner working as a waiter at an upscale restaurant with a growing attraction to a man named Alonzo, who always asks to be put in his section for dinner. One night after work, the man is assaulted while trailing Garner. Garner goes to his aid, but is shot for his trouble.<br><br>Taking time off from work to recover, Garner is resting on a park bench when Alonzo suddenly appears at the other end of the bench. Garner never saw him approach. He asks why Alonzo is trailing him.<br><br>After some hesitation, Alonzo explains he wants to recruit Garner to help fight against others who systematically hunt people like himself. Garner isn’t inclined to get involved in anything dangerous, but he does finds Alonzo more and more attractive, so he agrees to consider the idea. As he learns more about Alonzo’s bizarre and dangerous subculture, what Garner really wants to know is whether Alonzo is romantically interested in him at all.

Call to Love

“Why don’t we all have a seat?” she said, pointing past them to the far end of the big room.


Garner looked where she indicated, and saw a seating area featuring a couch, armchair and a kind of kitchen set-up. She shepherded them both in what was meant to be a gracious manner, and wasn’t. Vera was quietly voicing what sounded like apologies, and the woman was responding in even lower tones.


Since she was for the moment otherwise occupied, Garner, for no reason he could identify, turned back to look at the monitor that was visible over Cory’s shoulder. And what he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.


After a moment of frozen amazement, and without being aware of having made a decision, Garner walked quickly and purposefully back toward the monitors.


Chapter 19