Hell Cop 2

Detective Jay Yervant stood outside the back entrance of Enyalios Station, smoking a cigarette.

He had to hurry. Brian would be out any minute, and Brian heartily discouraged Jay’s nasty habit. But it had been a bitch of a long day, and Jay needed something to distract him until Brian finally got off duty.

Jay’s case was not going well.

He was investigating what the media had nicknamed the “changeling babies,” at least a dozen infants adopted by unsuspecting families from an unscrupulous agency that had used a glamour spell over demon infants to make them appear human. Normal as babies, the children developed into their full-sized, massive, scaly, demonic selves when the glamour wore off around age two. Without the calming influence of their natural parents, the children were uncontrollable, and often brutal restraining techniques were required to manage them after their change. There was nothing worse than being sent out to shock-volt someone’s furious, confused toddler.

It was a big case, involving a national adoption agency, a dozen grief-stricken new parents, and a slew of demon-rights advocates who were horrified that demons were being robbed of their infants and the law did nothing about it. But ever since Jay lost his partner a year ago in an attack, he had been working alone. It was too much for one man to follow up on, and every day he felt clues slipping from his grasp, the trail growing colder.

The back door opened, and Jay pinched his cigarette, ready to toss it. But it was only Bridget Carmichael. She smirked at Jay, knowing Brian disapproved of his smoking.

A moment later the doors opened again, this time for Bartleby and another demon. Bartleby’s thin black body was sleek and muscular. Unlike many demons who worked for humans, Bartleby didn’t bother with clothing. His nudity never seemed to be an issue for him, and after a while, it wasn’t for any of the cops who had worked with him for so many years.

Bartleby nodded to Jay as well and clicked something in his native language to the other demon beside him. They both laughed. Jay straightened, feeling self-conscious.

“Hey.”

Jay quickly dropped his cigarette at Brian’s voice. He crushed it under his boot. He turned and had to do a double take as soon as he saw the uniform in Brian’s arms, soiled nearly black.

Jay looked him over. “How much of that blood is yours?”

“Just a little.” Brian gave him a tired smile.

Jay knew one of his eyebrows raised, but he didn’t say anything. He’d let Brian tell him about it if he wanted to.

But it was clear something was wrong. Brian’s skin looked irritated, his hands were badly scratched. And the expression on Brian’s face was angrier than he’d seen in a long time.

Jay pulled off the thin glove on his right hand and gently reached out to grab Brian’s wrist. Brian knew what he offered. Jay expected to feel that odd sleepy draining sensation of Brian taking his energy to heal himself. Instead Brian jerked his hand back as if burned.

“Don’t!” Brian looked angry.

Jay dropped his hand. “Sorry.”

Brian closed his eyes. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against Jay’s shoulder. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bark.” He lifted his head and gave Jay a weak smile that wasn’t fooling anyone. “I’m fine, really.”

“You look beat,” Jay said. He pulled his glove back on. “You sure you want to go to the gym?”

Brian nodded. “I’ve got some aggression to work out.”

Jay wanted to say the amount of gore on his uniform suggested that Brian had already worked out a lot of aggression, but he kept his mouth shut and started walking.

Ten blocks separated the station and Pearl’s Gym, but Jay liked the walk after work, and it was a good way to stretch his muscles before his workout.

Despite the late hour, the air lay heavy against him, like a warm washcloth draped across his face. Jay always burned hot, so on scorching days he struggled to keep himself hydrated. A low blue flame rolled off his exposed skin, and steam rose from his head as his sweat evaporated from his burning body.

“Catch any bad guys?” Jay asked.

Brian laughed. It was one of their inside jokes, a reference to Brian’s dismay at how much police work involved filing reports.

Brian didn’t answer the question, but he did gently tap Jay on the arm. “I got a call from Leon this morning.”

“Oh?” Leon and Brian had an odd but amusing friendship. “What did he want?”

“He wanted suggestions on where to take his girlfriend out to dinner. He said he wanted something nicer than fast food, a classy place.”

“Wait. We’re talking about Leon here? Leon, your-old-landlord-Leon?”

Brian grinned. “He said, ‘somewhere a guy could spend maybe four dollars a person.’”

Jay laughed. “Classy.”

“For Leon? Yeah. Remember, I once asked him what his perfect weekend would be, and he said ‘I don’t know… I always wanted to go to a buffet.’”

“I think buffets are a vision of endless bounty to him.” Jay shook his head. “I’m more amazed that he has a girlfriend.”

“Me too.” Brian laughed. “He didn’t believe me once when I told him that women have eggs. He thought I was mixing up demons with humans again. I had to explain all about ovaries. And then I thought to myself, what the hell am I doing? I’m a gay man raised in a religious commune. Why am I explaining this shit to anyone, let alone a forty-year-old guy I hardly know? Insane.”

Jay laughed again, feeling the tension of his day slip away. It was always this easy, with Brian.

Brian launched into a lively discussion about some debate he’d had with his partner over the inter-department basketball tournament, and Jay listened, walking casually, enjoying the warm air and Brian’s excited voice. After a while Jay realized Brian was a little too animated. He seemed bursting with energy. If Jay had seen such behavior in other people, he might suspect drug use. But with Brian, it usually meant he had absorbed power from a passing sorcerer, or an unsuspecting demon, or, lately, a light post.

Something bothered Brian, he could tell. There was a nervous quality to his voice as he discussed his day. But Jay didn’t ask about it. He didn’t want to pry. After all, he himself was often grateful for Brian’s discretion. There had been many nights Jay had come home in a crappy mood, but Brian never forced confessions out of him or made him relive it. The two of them would find comfort either in light conversation and a little television, or more frequently, some rigorous fucking that would leave Jay so sated and happy that he couldn’t even remember what he had been pissed about in the first place.

Yeah, Brian had done wonders for his mood swings, but he doubted he could say the same for Brian. When they had met, Brian had been one of the most optimistic, cheerful, and innocent people he had ever spent time with.

But a year as a police officer seemed to have taken its toll on Brian’s formerly bubbly personality, and Jay wasn’t sure he liked the change.

At the gym Jay pulled on his workout gear and immediately headed to the weights. The club was always sparsely populated, one of the perks of the high membership price, but at the late hour the place was nearly dead.

Brian began his workout on the treadmill, setting a fast tempo for his run, his dark blue eyes staring forward blankly. He ran his hand through his short black hair, and it stuck upward, wet with sweat. Jay smiled to himself. He always thought Brian looked incredible, but he especially liked it when Brian’s appearance grew disheveled like this.

Jay lost himself in the pleasurable exhaustion of his routine, his worries about Brian and the missing pieces of his investigation drifting temporarily from his mind.

When Brian was done with his run, he moved closer to Jay, giving a quick smile before sitting down at one of the nearby stationary bikes.

Jay added a hundred pounds to the bench press and lay back on the leather bench. Just as he did, he caught sight of the short blond hair and sharp blue eyes of Paul Krochalis, one of the other members of the gym.

Jay immediately sat up. He tensed as Paul walked past Brian. And Paul proved his reaction right; while passing Brian, Paul mouthed the word “cocksucker” before going to his own stationary bike.

Brian’s face went blank of expression, but Jay felt his own heat pull from his body, toward Brian. The lights in the gym flickered. Jay watched him carefully.

Brian closed his eyes and slowly blew air out between his clenched teeth. He looked down at the floor as he continued to pedal his bike.

Jay glared across the room at Paul. He knew him, vaguely. He was a relative, some cousin thrice removed. That didn’t mean Jay liked him in the least. The guy was a prick, and ever since Jay bought Brian a membership at the club for his birthday, Paul seemed to have a thing for Brian, in the worst way.

Paul accused Brian of not wiping down the equipment. He blamed Brian for leaving his towel out. And even though Brian never said anything to Jay about it, Jay knew Paul whispered taunts to Brian when their paths crossed.

Paul looked back at them both with a smirk before moving on to the Stairmaster.

“Bry, check this out,” Jay said. He reached up and did a quick succession of pull-ups with one hand, while lifting a one-hundred-pound dumbbell in his other.

Brian laughed. “Show-off.” He shook his head.

“Want to see how many I can do?” Jay asked.

“Sure. I bet you quit at fifteen.” Brian grinned as he pedaled his bike.

Jay loved a challenge. His arms started shaking at ten, but he pushed through the burn. He focused some of the sorcerous heat that coursed over his body into his muscles, providing extra support, and he managed to finish twenty reps before dropping to the ground in a heap.

Brian laughed again. He looked so damn cute when he did that. Jay moved to Brian’s side, still panting.

But his success as a distraction was fleeting. As Brian glanced at Paul once more, his expression hardened.

“You want me to beat him up for you?” Jay whispered.

“No.” Brian didn’t even laugh like he would normally have. He kept racing, his legs pedaling faster, and he wiped sweat from his forehead. “I just… How many times are people going to insult me today? Seriously?”

“He’s just jealous,” Jay said, trying for levity. “He can’t stand that the only cock you suck is mine.”

Brian whipped his towel at Jay. “Asshole.” But he smiled, which lightened his expression once more.

Jay watched Brian finish his workout, unable to tear his eyes off the man’s body. His pale skin and blue eyes seemed all the brighter against his short black hair. Brian had the long, straight nose of all the sorcerers of the Sair family, but his sensual lips and high cheekbones were clearly from his mother’s side.

Unlike Jay, all bulk and muscle, Brian was thin and agile. He could lift a good hundred eighty pounds, but his body remained tight and sleek. He was as close to artwork as Jay had ever seen in a body.

When Brian finished his ride, he stood very close to Jay. Brian glanced at him, and Jay smiled back. And despite the fact that Paul Krochalis watched them disapprovingly, Brian reached out and rested his hand on Jay’s neck. A simple touch, but Jay’s entire body stretched toward it.

Because of Jay’s own genetic makeup, he was too hot to ever touch other living beings. His flesh burned on contact. Until he met Brian, he had spent his entire adult life wearing gloves and keeping his distance, memories of scalding his mother and charring the arms of childhood friends scarring his ability to share physical space with others.

But Brian had changed all that. Brian’s osmotic powers absorbed Jay’s heat rather than burned from it. Jay could finally have the physical contact he had craved his entire life.

Even now, a year into their relationship, he still reveled in Brian’s touch. All day long he thought about it.

And here it was, the soothing weight of Brian’s hand, a simple caress that meant everything to Jay.

Jay easily forgot the problems that nagged their relationship when Brian touched him. With someone as beautiful as Brian, it was easy to push problems off for another day.

So Jay ignored the glares of Paul, the exhaustion in his body, and the fruitlessness of his work day, and let himself be lost in the simple pleasure of just the two of them.