Chapter 10

The pain that lanced through Jud took his breath away. He knew he wasn't in his house or his bed the second his mind started working.

Everything came roaring back to him, especially the events after the raid. He couldn't believe he let his guard down and had gotten shot. He should have known once they took that guy away that he would have someone waiting in the wings. He should have known it was a sniper. He should have had a contingency plan.

He blinked several times, and the ceiling came into focus. No, that wasn't all. He shouldn't have let Luke take his mind off his job. Once the Prince of the Baymont Kings walked out of his club, he had let his mind wander. Luke always made his mind wander despite his desperation to maintain an air of decorum. Whenever he was around, he didn't want to do anything other than be with him. That had nearly cost him his life.

The room was dim, string lights illuminating the ceiling gently. He figured he was in Luke's room at the Kings' main house. He couldn't be sure, but the smell was definitely his.

He had to go to the bathroom. Sitting up, Jud found out how much pain he was in when he couldn't get up. He grabbed the comforter and gritted his teeth as he pulled himself to his feet. Tears stung his eyes, but it was only momentary compared to the pains in his bladder and kidneys. Walking was even worse as it pulled every muscle in his body, but he made it just in time.

He stared at himself in the mirror as he relieved himself. He could see how pallid his normally bronze skin was. There was a stark white bandage under his left arm. It wasn't super huge, but it was a contrast to his body.

He turned towards the sink and washed his hands. He grabbed a wash rag, tossing it in the warm water to soak for a minute. He looked at himself in the mirror, noticing his five o'clock shadow. He didn't usually let it go for so long. He wanted to shave, but he could barely stand right now. So he washed his face with the wash rag then dried it before going back to the bed. He was tired already just standing.

He nearly collapsed back in the bed. He hadn't even adjusted the blankets well-enough before the door was opening. He knew that tired face well as the person carried something in the other hand.

Luke looked just as haggard as he did, but Jud knew he carried more suffering than the man in bed did. He had seen him get shot, and he had tried to keep his team away from him despite knowing they could help him. The look on his face was one Jud would never forget. He'd looked lost and so much younger than his thirty years. He'd looked as if he was about to lose the most important thing in his life.

The younger man turned toward the bed, relief washing over his face. He set the tray down on the dresser and came to the bed. Jud held out his injured arm, and Luke sank into it. He was cautious of that side of his body as he wrapped his arms around him. Luke tucked his face into his neck and let out a shaky breath. He had been worried, and now that was fading away.

Jud stroked his head slowly, feeling the warm tears hit his skin. He had never had someone care for him enough to cry for him. Yes, his exes had been concerned when he'd gone on deployments, but they had never been around when he had been injured. Luke was the first one, and seeing his reaction hurt Jud to the soul.

"Asshole," Luke muttered. Jud's hand faltered momentarily, but he continued his gentle stroke. "You could have been killed."

He lifted his head and stared at him with blue eyes brimming with tears. "You should have told me."

"There wasn't time. I found out about the two raids at the same time. The first one wasn't even my team. The second one we had to plan within twelve hours of knowing. I could not call you," Jud said. He brought his hand up and held Luke's face, thumb stroking across his cheek. "Luke, I didn't know what I was walking into."

"And you should have been more careful!" Luke pressed his face into his hand and sniffled. "I can't lose you. I will die before that happens."

Jud pulled him in for a short kiss. Luke made a noise in the back of his throat as he held Jud's face. It was a broken noise, something Jud had never heard and never wanted to hear again. He pulled him down and held him against his right side. Luke settled in, the tray forgotten on the dresser. Jud could see the bowls lining it. Those must have been his supper or whatever meal it was. He'd lost track of time.

He didn't hear anything more for Luke. When he glanced down, he saw Luke was asleep. His cheek was pressed against his chest, and it was smooshed cutely. He could feel his warm breath puff against his skin making it a bit clammy.

The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Luke. He had wanted to tell him, but by the time he realized what was happening, Team 4 had already raided Whiskey Roberts. They had found a man with the same amount of cocaine as the man in Bennett's. The only difference was those at Whiskey knew he was coming. Amos Meyers' had a heads up from someone in the department. It wasn't Jud. He had been dealing with that headache while they had planned their raid.

He hadn't lied; he only had twelve hours since the raid at Whiskey for him to plan his route of attack. Since Bennett's only had one main entrance, the safest bet had been going through the front door. He was glad he had, but a part of him wished he had told Luke. He would have been able to get a message out, but he didn't know what to say. How do you tell someone 'we're raiding your business. Be prepared?' It never really went well.

He felt fingers trail along his face and looked down. Luke's eyes were still closed but he was running his fingers along Jud's cheek. Jud took his hand and held it against his chest. Luke sighed, nuzzling in even more. He was trying not to hurt Jud, but he wanted to be as close to him as he could be.

There was a gentle knock at the door. Luke cursed and sat up, hopping over Jud's lap so he could lay fully under the covers with him. He adjusted himself to lay on his lap and not right under his arm like he liked to. His left side was where he'd been shot, and he didn't want to agitate it. He hated laying on his left side, but he had to for the time being.

Myka poked her head in, a relieved smile settling on her face. It made her look the twenty-six she was instead of a haggard forty-something. She leaned against the door, lightly banging her head against it. She let out a shaky breath then wiped at her eyes.

"I wasn't sure what I was going to walk into," she said. "When Luke didn't come out, I thought the worst."

"If something had happened, you would have heard," Luke whispered.

Jud smiled down at him and rubbed his head. Luke reached across his lap and took his hand. He didn't care that Myka was here. Jud didn't either; she already knew even though she hadn't told anyone. She wouldn't bother them.

"Why aren't I in a hospital?" he asked.

"Amos wasn't going to have it," Myka said. She ventured in further, closing the door behind her. She grabbed the desk chair and brought it over. "Nick from Team 3 said there was a hit set up. They had already planned that we would raid the Whiskey. So instead of just sending their one man, they had a second positioned just across the street with this."

She handed Jud a picture. He knew she couldn't bring the original evidence out of the station, especially not since an officer had been shot. He looked at the picture closely, sighing when he noticed the caliber of the bullet.

"It's a sniper rifle," he muttered. He mentioned the size then handed it back. "They still doesn't answer why I'm here."

"When we realized Amos was the target at Whiskey, we figured Luke was the next target. But the trajectory of the bullet was off. Luke was standing by the building at the time of the shooting. The sniper would have had to have been directly across from Bennett's to hit Luke."

Jud knew what she was trying to say. Luke had stayed inside the building to collect his documents and other items to prove he wasn't involved in distributing drugs. Only one officer had remained with him just to make sure he didn't do anything fishy. It left one person to be a target.

"They were after you, Jud." Hearing it didn't make it any easier. Luke's hand tightened in his, but he didn't say anything. "The trajectory of the shot was off. It came from the building adjacent to Bennett's. If they wanted to take out Luke, they would have had to be across the street. You were the target."

"Was there a mole?" Jud asked.

"I don't think so. I think it was purely a coincidence. Someone must have been charged with following Luke and reported back when they saw him with you."

Luke inhaled sharply. Jud looked down at him, especially when he pulled his phone from his pocket. His movements were agitated, and he seemed a little wound up. Jud tried to soothe him, but Luke wasn't having any of it. He batted his hand away for the first time ever and sat up. He pressed his shoulder against Jud's and waited.

The door opened again. Raymond closed it gently then looked at the bed. He looked relieved when he saw Jud, but when his eyes shifted to Luke, his shoulders tightened. Jud didn't turn to look at him, but he figured Luke had a very nasty look.

"Did you tell anyone other than my dad about Jud?" he asked.

Raymond's hackles raised as a contemptous look took over his face. "What the hell are you asking me?"

"Are you a rat?"

"What?" His look of incredulity was cast at Jud. The officer shook his head and tilted it towards Luke as if to say this was all him. "Do you really think I would damage a twenty-year friendship because you're fucking a cop? Are you really that insane?"

"He was targeted. That means someone had to follow either him or me. The only person I know who followed me was you." Luke let it sit between them, between all of them, before he continued. "So I'm asking you as your friend; did you tell anyone other than my dad about Jud?"

Raymond crossed his arms. "I don't give two fucking monkeys who you fuck or love. I never have. Hell, I even covered it up when you were fucking Antonio in the VIP lounge after you forbade any of you employees from hooking up with the clientele. So you have no right to ask me if I would betray you because that is the most preposterous shit I have ever heard."

Luke didn't back down. He leaned forward on the bed, hands planted over his crossed knees. "Not if they paid you enough."

His friend leaned forward with a nasty grin. "Your family pays me handsomely, and it means I can take care of my sister. Now if you want to insult me, do it some other way because the shit you're spewing right now is straight from the damned sewer."

Jud knew Luke wasn't going to back down so he put a hand to his knee. He dug his nails in and put more pressure on the appendage. They were asking the wrong questions. If they kept antogonizing each other, they were going to ruin their relationship. Jud didn't want that, so he would have to ask the questions.

"Were you ever sent to spy on the Saints?" he asked.

Raymond shook his head. "Not me, but Andrew was asked to do so one day. He said he didn't spot anything out of the ordinary. They were just running their everyday businesses."

"If they were doing everyday business," Myka mused, "it means they hired someone to produce their cocaine." She handed Jud another piece of paper. "Lab results are back. That kid in the hospital? The college student? It turns out the drug he took was laced with fentanyl. He's still in ICU, but his parents have come in."

"One of Amos's guys said there's a new brand of cocaine being distributed," Raymond said. "It's called White Jasmine. It's made in Southeast Asia and imported. The Saints are based out of South America, so in my opinion it's safe to say they're buying from the Asian based groups because of the crackdown on their South American pipeline."

"Can you talk to Andrew and see what he knows?" Jud asked.

"I can do you one better. We document everything so in case we're audited we have everything in order. I'll look at what he's written and make copies." He looked at Luke. "For you to secondguess me really hurts."

"Ray?" His nickname caught the young man offguard. He blinked at Jud stupidly. "If you watched your lover get shot, how would you feel?"

Raymond's throat worked. His eyes moistened as he stared at Luke. The two men looked at each other in silence. It wasn't awkward. They were just letting the other know how each other felt. Luke was blaming himself, and Raymond was trying to show he was a good friend. The timing might be off for all of it, but emotions ran high at the time of a crisis.

"If it was someone I loved, someone I cared for beyond myself, I would be a basketcase," Raymond muttered.

"When you grabbed Luke," Myka continued, "did you think he was the one who had been shot?" It took a minute but Raymond nodded. He looked down at the floor. "You thought you'd lost a brother."

"I was relieved when I realized it hadn't been Luke, but when I saw it was Jud, I knew we were in for a long, strenuous time. Outside of his friends and family, no one knew Luke's sexual preferences or that he was dating a man. Not only that, once Luke reacted the way he did, I knew the police would be looking directly at us."

"Trust me when I say we're not."

Jud sighed and ran a hand through his dirty hair. "Who did you tell?" he asked.

"I told the chief and asked him to keep it quiet for now. He asked the usual questions, but once he had Mansfield's corroboration that Luke had nothing to do with this, he agreed that now wasn't the time to oust your relationship. It's why he agreed to release you into the hands of the Baymont Kings. Oh, and you're dead as of right now."

This time it was the officer's turn to cross his arms and look stupid. "Say what?"

"Four people were killed in the two raids; three patrons of the two bars and a police officer. Guess who's the police officer?" Jud narrowed his eyes on her. "It's safer for you to be deemed dead and go into hiding than it is to keep you in the hospital. It's too dangerous and anyone could get to you. We wouldn't be able to justify why the Kings were protecting you. This way you're safe and we don't have to make excuses as to why the Prince is hovering around you."

Jud looked at Luke. He was starting to fade. Exhaustion was setting in, and his shoulders had sagged from his argument with Raymond. Everything was finally starting to catch up to him. That little nap hadn't helped him any.

"Can we talk about this once we've all had some sleep?" he suggested. He nodded towards Luke. "I'm sure you all have been awake since I was brought here. Now that you know I'm not dead, maybe we should rest for a bit? It wouldn't hurt."

Myka looked at Luke as he began nodding off then she smiled. "Okay. I'll do some more research and come back. Until then, please don't die."

"I'll try not to."

He watched as Raymond and Myka left the room. It would be easier to settle Luke down with them gone. He was nodding off, but if someone said anything he didn't like, he would snap. Jud didn't want that so he figured it would be easier to shoo everyone away.

He started shimmying down the bed when his side caught. He made a noise that woke Luke up. The younger man began to fuss over him to which Jud put a stop to by holding his hand. It took a minute but he was finally situated on his back. He shifted to the center of the bed so Luke could sleep on his right side. It wasn't his usual side, but he wasn't going to be able to wrap around him like he liked to do.

Luke understood and immediately did what Jud wanted. Soon he was asleep. Jud was lulled into a sense of security by the man's soft snores. If he could pass out in the safety of his home, then Jud would be able too. He hoped he would be able to sleep enough and not be in pain. There was too much to do after this, especially now that he was 'dead'.