Tarnished Hero Read online

  “Okay, listen. He likes you. You go to him and make my apologies for me.”

  “I wouldn’t walk across the street to warn you if I saw a piano falling on you.”

  “Damn, that’s cold, Adam.”

  “Yeah, it is, isn’t it? You keep pulling these jokes, Vinnie, and you’re not going to have a friend left.”

  “All right, would you at least tell him I want to talk to him?”

  “Are you kidding? He wouldn’t talk to you after what you did, and I don’t blame him. I don’t know if you realize it, or not, but this time it wasn’t just one of your silly jokes, it was serious. Because of you a killer is still running loose, and if he is hiding somewhere among our employees, he knows he has you to thank for Joe’s leaving. Take my advice and look him up because he’s the only friend you’ll have left after today.” With that, Adam looked around at the others. “I guess that’s all I have to say. You can go back to work now.” After a slight hesitation he added, “Each one of you think about what you did, and don’t let it happen again.”

  With that, Adam and the others left, leaving Vinnie standing alone.

  * * * *

  Eddie stayed buried in his house for days. He slept, he drank, he watched TV for something to do while thinking about what had gone down at KingStar. He finally wandered out on his porch, and watched his neighbors. Here he observed life in suburbia. People doing normal things like walking their dogs, the paper boy throwing papers, people leaving for work, and coming home. Even when he ventured out to the grocery store, he saw housewives who shopped for their families, children who yelled, cried, or ran and played. No one knew, or even cared about what was going on in his life, and why should they? They had their own lives to live.

  After a while the dishes that were stacked in the sink began to grow into a mountain, clothes were scattered on the floor, bathroom towels, shaving cream, toothpaste, and odd sizes of soap decorated the sink. Clothes hung half off hangers, and bedclothes were strewed half on, half off the bed. He hated it. Maybe he wasn’t the best housekeeper in the world, but his house had never looked like this. But as bad as it looked, he simply didn’t have it in himself to get busy and clean it up.

  Instead, he walked around like a zombie with a pair of red socks and a red net shirt haunting his memory. His mind went back to that Interrogation Room over and over again where he first looked into those baby blue eyes. Would he ever forget them? Would they ever stop haunting him? And then something occurred to him. If Adam hadn’t gone to Sweden for a sex change operation, then why did he go?

  Just then Eddie gave a start when he heard a loud knock on his door.

  He sat still, having no idea who it could be, so he decided not to answer it. He wasn’t expecting anyone, so he was sure it was nothing more than a salesman, or a nosy neighbor who needed to mind their own business. While he ignored it, the banging became more insistent and louder. Finally, Eddie jumped up, deciding he would give this intruder a piece of his mind, and then throw the bastard out in the street.

  “All right, I’m coming,” he shouted, and the knocking stopped.

  The moment he opened the door he stopped dead still.

  It was Adam. Baby blues, and all.

  Seeing him standing there a flood of bad memories burst upon him.

  “Well, if it isn’t the…what the hell are you man or woman? Were you a woman at one time and went to Sweden to become a man? I mean, I’m not sure since there’s been so many trips to Sweden for…medical procedures.”

  “Listen to yourself. You’re not even making sense.”

  Turning away, he said, “It’ll do no good to talk about it, Adam. I may no longer be a part of the NYPD but I’m still not at liberty to discuss it. Please close the door when you leave.”

  “I was not a part of that, Eddie.”

  Eddie whirled around. “You called me Eddie instead of Demon.”

  “I know. Demon is your street name.” He looked around. “Are we on the street?”

  “Very funny. On top of everything else you’re throwing my own words back in my face, right? Well, I don’t find it amusing, so get out.”

  “Not until I explain,” Adam said, looking around at the mess.

  “The maid’s day off.”

  Adam smiled at the joke. “Got anything to eat around here? I’m kind of hungry.”

  “The kitchen’s in worse shape.”

  “You know what? As messy as this house is, something tells me that you’re in worse shape. Inside, I mean.”

  “Yeah, well, at least the house can be cleaned. I’m not too sure about my insides.”

  “I’m not here to talk about your house or your insides.”

  “Yeah? What are you here for?”

  “To give you a message.”

  “All right, so give.”

  “Vinnie wants to talk to you.”

  “I’m not on that case anymore. Besides, I don’t talk to perverts.”

  “He’s not a pervert. He may be a big pain in the ass, but he’s not a pervert.”

  “All right, he’s not a pervert, but how do you know he’s not the killer?”

  “Vinnie, a killer?” Adam laughed. “Vinnie don’t have the balls to be a killer.”

  “Then why in hell did you describe him to the sketch artist?”

  The question was nonsensical, one he already knew the answer to. Eddie just wanted to keep Adam talking so he wouldn’t leave, so Eddie began leading him down a false trail.

  “I was describing the mask. I don’t know what he looked like under that. Hell, if you thought he was the killer, why didn’t you arrest him the minute you saw him?”

  Eddie looked at Adam, not knowing how to answer.

  “Well?”

  “I wanted to be sure, that’s all.”

  “You’re lying, Eddie. What is it you’re hiding?”

  “Look, I can’t discuss this. There are things…I can’t discuss, so just…”

  “Why? You’re not part of the NYPD now.”

  “Maybe not, but I’m still bound by an oath. If I don’t have anything else left, I’ve got my integrity. Besides, you’ll know as much as I do…soon.”

  “About what? This fuckin’…perp…” He stopped in mid-sentence and looked at Eddie with impatience. “Why the hell is it when you people become cops, doctors and lawyers, you stop speaking English?”

  “What the hell’s wrong with perp? The whole fuckin’ world knows what a perp is but you.”

  “You’re getting off the subject, Eddie. What is it I’ll know? Why can’t you tell me now?”

  “I’ve told you as much as I can! Now, get off my back. You’ve delivered your freakin’ message, so you can go.”

  Adam looked around. “With you in a mess like this? No way. I’ll help you clean up.”

  “My maid…”

  “Nobody believes that, now come on, and let’s get this place livable.”

  Feeling a little curious, Eddie said, “Where the hell do you go that you have to wear that red net shirt, and red socks? Damn, I thought you were probably a street walker.”

  “Does that have anything to do with cleaning a house?”

  “I’m making conversation here, is there anything wrong with that? What am I supposed to do, limit my discussion to what the best dishwashing liquid is, or maybe a good cleanser for the fuckin’ toilet? I’m curious. Now, if you’re hedging because you don’t want to answer my question, then tell me, okay? Maybe then I’ll quit asking…or maybe not. Where the hell do you go…”

  “All right, all right. I wasn’t going anywhere special, I was just going to a club to meet a friend. I told you all that. What is this, another interview?”

  “Well, I don’t get it, but…” He saw Adam rushing about, bending over picking up clothes, and said, “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Just trying to help,” Adam answered.

  Watching Adam stretch and move made his cock ache like hell. He couldn’t keep his hungry eyes off Adam, and wante
d to plunge himself into Adam’s ass so bad. He knew from the last time that it would be like fucking silk, stretched over taut, firm muscle. He could feel pre-cum leaking from the bulb of his cock. In his mind’s eye he could see himself begin a slow, careful rock as he slid his cock up and down in the crevice between Adam’s cheeks.

  It was a fabulous agony.

  What he really wanted was to pull Adam’s cheeks apart, drill into the dark hole between them, and let everything rip. He had only closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them again, he saw Adam watching him.

  “What the hell are you looking at?”

  “Hey, this is your mess. Get up from there and help me.”

  “Help you? Hey, I didn’t ask you to come over here and clean my house.”

  “By the looks of things here, it’s a good thing I did.” He looked down at the couch, and began picking up the clothes strewn across it.

  “Why the hell did you come, anyway?” Eddie asked as he got up off the couch to get out of Adam’s way. “Just to tell me about Vinnie? You could have called that one in. Now that you’ve told me, you can friggin’ leave.”

  Suddenly Adam stopped working and turned to face Eddie. “Vinnie told me all about the way you kept asking about me. Why did you do that?”

  “Why?” Eddie said, looking away. “I don’t know. Is it important?”

  “You even asked when I would be back,” Adam said, advancing on Eddie. “Were you anxious to see me?”

  “Anxious to see you?” Eddie asked, snickering derisively. “I just wanted to make sure I was cleared out by the time you got back, that’s all.”

  “I think there was more to it than that.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  By this time they were in the bedroom where Adam began undressing, and folding up his clothes as he peeled them off. “See, this is the way you keep things neat.”

  Eddie lost his breath when he saw Adam standing before him with nothing on but his red socks, and red net shirt, and blue shorts. “My God, what is that, a uniform you wear?”

  “I hope you don’t mind. It sort of reminds me of the first time we met,” he said as he crawled on the bed, and gave Eddie the same seductive look from the last time they were together. It made Eddie’s limbs turn to jelly.

  “So, they meant something to you as well, right?”

  “Maybe.”

  “How about those baby blue eyes. You don’t wear contacts, do you?”

  “What you see is what you get.”

  “Good enough for me,” Eddie said. With his arousal waving like a flag, he tore off his clothes and then climbed on the bed. Now, facing Adam like he had in his dreams, he felt his cock, even his balls screaming to bury themselves inside Adam, but he reined himself in, forcing himself to wait. He felt too wild, too uninhibited, and knew if he didn’t check himself, he might hurt Adam. He had to keep the rhythm slow, the thrusts gentle—and then all of a sudden he felt Adam handling his cock as the man opened himself up and moved to push Eddie in. Oh, God, how could he stand it? His balls were almost bursting, and his cock screamed to bury itself deep in Adam’s hot, tight, wet hole. But still he held back, wanting to prove to himself he wasn’t a selfish brute who would take his lover forcefully.

  And then something totally unexpected happened.

  “Whip me.”

  “What?”

  “Whip me, dammit!”

  With that request, Eddie seized Adam, turned him over, pulled him to his hands and knees, secured his hands to the headboard, and began slapping his ass hard enough to see rosy hand prints on that beautiful white flesh. When Adam began to groan with a passionate, erotic sound to his voice, Eddie seized those reddened butt cheeks, held them open, and rammed his cock through the puckered entrance. And then he went crazy. No more Mr. Nice Guy. He wanted Adam to know what it felt like to be fucked by a real man, so he worked his cock back and forth in Adam’s slick passage, while bending over Adam and riding him like a cowboy rides a bucking bronco. Eddie was sure he wasn’t ready to come yet, but Adam caught him by surprise.

  Adam yelled, “Oh, God!” and then ground himself against Eddie, making Eddie’s balls tighten into hard knots. That’s all it took for him to continue his hard plunge into Adam over and over again until he finally spewed into Adam while letting go of his own shout of pleasure.

  “Oh, my God, you little devil, look what you’ve done.”

  “Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got.”

  “Why you little bastard, I’ll show you what I’ve got.”

  “It’s about time.”

  From that moment on they rolled and tumbled as they made love. Their passion was at such heights they bit each other, and whipped each other with abandon, and by the time they had come again and again, they finally melted together, watching the moon come up over the city.

  Sometime during the night, Adam whispered, “Eddie, I’ve got to go.”

  “Do you have to? Why not stay here with me?”

  “In this dump?”

  Eddie sat up, and looked down at Adam. “This dump? You’re calling my house a dump? It is not a dump. You’ve just seen it at its worst, that’s all. My clothes are everywhere, the kitchen’s in a mess…”

  “I’m sorry, I’m so insensitive sometimes. It’s just that in comparison to mine…”

  That triggered something he’d heard Vinnie say. “…he can afford it. He’s a rich little boy…” Eddie’s eyes raked over Adam, and really looked at him for the first time. “Who the hell are you, Adam Dunbar that you have the kind of money you can throw away on a place to live?”

  “First of all, you’re never throwing away your money when it buys you a place to live.” He looked around at the house. “This is a house, not an apartment. Are you renting it, or buying it?”

  “My mother left it to me in her will. I don’t pay anything on it. Only the yearly taxes.”

  “I suppose you’re of the opinion that your parents were throwing their money away when they bought this house.” He looked around at the structure. “I’m sorry I called it a dump. I can see now that your parents made a very good investment in this house, and you need to start taking better care of it. Apparently they knew, even if you didn’t, that having a place to live is one of the most important things you will ever have in your life.” He looked back over at Eddie. “That’s why they left it to you. They wanted you to have something of value. They loved you.”

  “Spare me the lecture, please.” Eddie got up and began dressing. “You’d better get the hell out of here before you catch a disease.”

  “I forgot who I was talking to…a hard-nosed co…” Suddenly he stopped, turned, and said, “Sorry. I forgot you quit.”

  “Not officially.”

  “Not officially? What do you mean?”

  “I just mean I haven’t gone through the formalities yet. There’s usually an announcement to the media and so forth.”

  “I thought that was for the big-wigs. You know, like the chief. Or if it was coupled with some kind of scandal. The public loves a scandal.”

  “Yeah, but in my case it’s because I have a long tenure with the NYPD. They cover it in case anyone’s interested.” He smiled sarcastically. “Depends if it’s a slow news day.”

  “You don’t give yourself any credit, do you?”

  “Why should I? I haven’t done anything. By the way, how the hell did you get my address? There’s a strict rule at the precinct that no cop’s addresses will be given out.”

  “I happened to ask a cop on the street, and he gave it to me.”

  “Who was it? I’ll beat his ass senseless.”

  “I’ve got a little integrity of my own.”

  “Good to hear.”

  Without saying anything, Adam turned toward the front door, but before he opened it, he said, “I’ll be back when I get hungry for a five-star fucking that only a stubborn has-been cop can give me.”

  “Has-been, or not, I’m ready to ride your ass anytim
e,” Eddie said, looking at Adam as if he could eat the man up.

  “Talk is cheap.”

  “You little bastard. I keep forgetting how sassy you are. I guess I’ll have to teach you a lesson.” Eddie rushed over to Adam, slammed him up against the wall, turned him around, and pulled his pants down. “This is for sassing an undercover cop that knows the score.” After pushing everything off the hall table, Eddie pushed Adam over it, whipped him again and again, and then when Eddie was ready, pulled Adam’s cheeks open, and plunged in. “I’ve been too damned nice to you. This will be something to remember me by.”

  Eddie leaned down over Adam, pushed in and out over and over, feeling his welcoming, squeezing wet hole. Eddie’s cock felt loved, it felt wanted, and it felt as if it never wanted to leave its moist cradle. He was driven to get what he came for, so he plunged even harder until he could feel an orgasm flirting with him. Eddie reached around Adam and grasped his cock that was hard and eager, and began working him. He wanted them to come at the same time, shout at the same time, and even drift into heaven at the same time.

  He got his wish.

  Chapter 5

  TV News the next day

  “I’m not ashamed to admit Detective Eddie Scarlett’s abrupt resignation came to the police force as a one-two punch in the gut. Since we didn’t want to lose him we made all kinds of offers, promises, and compromises, but he refused. I have to admit I’m at my wits end, but if this is what Detective Scarlett wants, I have no choice but to honor it. Thank you.”

  “Well, it’s official,” Eddie said as they lay in the bed looking at each other.

  “What? Your resignation?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So what do you do now?”

  “Just keep going forward, and don’t look back, I guess,” Eddie said as he turned over, and with a throaty laugh, grabbed Adam, and used a finger to penetrate the man. “Do you like that?”

  “Maybe,” was Adam’s breathy response.

  In an effort to torment Adam, Eddie kept it there without moving it, allowing him to become accustomed to its presence. After a few seconds he inched his finger in farther, feeling Adam begin to tremble with the force of his suppressed emotions.