Training Strong [Hard Hits 17] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Read online

As they did, he could see the man pacing and standing over the people huddled together beneath their desks. He had a weapon in his hand as he moved, muttering to himself. The situation was not good and quickly spiraling out of control. They had to do something fast if they were going to end it fast.

  When the guy headed into the back, TJ opened the door, signaling that they were going to make entry.

  One of the hostages caught sight of them and made eye contact with TJ. When their eyes locked, the man nodded as though he were ready to move. The hostage ran toward the guy.

  “My chest. I need to get out of here…my chest. I think I’m having a heart attack. I need medical attention.”

  It was the perfect distraction. He lay on the ground, moaning as the man stumbled forward. SWAT stormed silently through the hallway, taking the man out with a taser before he even had a chance to lift his weapon. He fell to the ground and the weapon scattered across the floor.

  Maksim came in close, helping TJ with the arrest. They lifted the man to his feet, taking him out of the office building and straight to an awaiting police car. It ended peacefully, but it was clear that TJ didn’t like the fact that he followed them inside.

  “What happened to the fact that I asked you to stay outside?”

  “I’m still a police officer. I can help.”

  “Yeah but you haven’t finished your training with SWAT. The situation could have gone sideways fast. You need to be careful and listen at all times. Understand?”

  “I do. It won’t happen again.”

  “Good.”

  When they got back to the station, Maksim knew he needed to talk to TJ and apologize but now was not the time. He felt bad about not listening in the field. Right now, he needed to deal with his Dom.

  They probably should end this before it got any more complicated than it was. He just wanted to have one more time alone with his lover. One last time of hot passionate fucking before he ended their relationship.

  With that thought catching fire and burning through his mind, he went to find Kace. He was going to cross the line at work, but he didn’t care. He just wanted him one more time. It didn’t take him long to find Kace downstairs, coming out of the evidence room.

  When Kace spotted him, his face hardened with worry. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

  Maksim came in fast, kissing Kace hard and pulling him in tight. With the evidence room door half open, Maksim pushed his Dom inside. Without warning, Kace maneuvered him around, pressing him up against the evidence filing cabinets to regain control of the situation.

  Their kiss rolled into something deeper. As his cock grew hard, Maksim knew he needed to do something. He dropped down to his knees, wrestling his Daddy Dom’s dick out of his tactical pants.

  “Please, may I have you? I need you. I’ll do anything to have you right now, Daddy.”

  “We shouldn’t do this here, sub.”

  “Do you want me to beg, Sir?”

  “Anyone could walk in at any moment.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, but I can’t wait any longer.”

  A frustrated groan echoed from Kace’s parted lips as he tried to take control but was having a hard time of it. Both knew that he should punish his submissive for coming on so strong. There would be hell to pay when this thing was over, but Maksim didn’t care. He was planning on walking away. He had to if he was going to protect his heart from getting broken again.

  * * * *

  As his submissive sucked wildly on this cock, Kace suspected that he was losing this battle and there was nothing he could do about it. They needed to finish this thing here if they were going to be able to focus on work for the rest of the day.

  Still, this was not the right place to do it. They both knew that. With that thought in mind, Kace reached over to the door, locking it. They would have a few minutes if somebody tried to get inside—at least he hoped they would. He wasn’t sure.

  Getting down and dirty was not the thing he wanted to do at work. As Maksim’s tongue played over his cockhead, Kace felt a shot of pre-cum skip from this tip. His sub moaned, drinking him down. Kace stroked Maksim’s neck possessively as he swallowed him down. As his cock went down his sub’s throat, he felt him groan, sending vibrations over his dick.

  It seemed that something was wrong with his submissive. Kace had to take control. With that thought in mind, he maneuvered him into the back of the evidence room. The cavernous warehouse went on and on with rows of filing cabinets. He took him to a private nook where they would have more privacy and a better chance of not getting caught.

  As he sat down in one of the extra office chairs, Kace pulled his submissive down over his lap, spanking him hard. “This is for misbehaving at work. You should have more control over your desires.”

  “I don’t. I’m sorry.”

  “You need to be punished for being such a bratty sub.”

  He pulled Maksim’s tactical pants down, exposing his athletic ass. He spanked him hard, loving the way his sub whimpered with every hit.

  Chapter Seven

  Breaking up was going to be one of the hardest things Maksim had to do. He knew if he was going to keep Kace safe, he had to leave town and leave town now. That was what he kept telling himself. Although, he knew it had to do more with not wanting to get his heart broken all over again.

  Maksim quickly packed an overnight bag, regretting the fact that he was leaving without much notice. He was putting work in a bind by not calling in, too, but he would have to deal with all that tomorrow.

  Right now, his safety and Kace’s safety was the only thing on his mind. He didn’t want to think about the possibility of the woman he profiled coming after him or the man he loved.

  As he hurried out of his apartment, Maksim looked over his shoulder, sensing someone watching him but not seeing anyone around. He shook off the paranoia, tired of all of it. Once this person was captured, he could go back to his life. He had just gotten a little bit too close to the situation.

  Part of the problem was he tried to investigate when he should have left well enough alone and given the tips directly to the FBI. That had him thinking about the new profile he made up last night. What if he was wrong? What if it wasn’t this person?

  He had to check her out at least one more time before he left town. With that thought in mind, Maksim drove across town to the small Cape Cod-style houses on the east side within the belt loop of Cincinnati.

  Lights were on in the house, and there was an older model tan minivan sitting in the driveway. Several children were inside, also a husband and wife. All they had to go on was a partial picture of a license plate they got from surveillance video.

  Was this the person doing the killings? He wasn’t so sure, but he knew he had to find out. As he sat there watching the house, with the lights turned off in his car, his cell phone rang. It was Kace.

  He answered before it went to voice mail. “Hey, I was going to call you.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m out right now. There something you need?”

  “I know we didn’t leave things real well. I think we need to talk about it.”

  “I can’t talk right now. I’m doing something for Chief Rask.”

  He was and he wasn’t, but he wasn’t about to tell Kace the full truth of the situation. He knew Kace wouldn’t approve of the fact that he was out on a stakeout alone.

  “Where are you?”

  “Across town.”

  A frustrated sigh echoed over the phone. “You’re pulling away from me, sub. Do I need to remind you that I decide when this thing ends between us?”

  He couldn’t risk his heart. “Maybe it’s over then.”

  “Maksim, don’t do this.”

  “It’s for the best if we call this thing off now. I’m sorry. I never should have crossed the line.”

  “Maksim—”

  As he hung up the phone, Maksim could hear Kace’s frustrated sigh coming through the other end. He couldn’t deal with an
y of it now. As it was, they were on the outs. Why couldn’t Kace accept that?

  Whatever they had, wasn’t there right now. He was sure it had a lot to do with the fact they worked together, and he had trained in SWAT, but he couldn’t deal with any of it now.

  An hour went by before the lights in the house went out. Another twenty minutes went by before the woman came out in a hooded jacket and dark pants and boots. Her head was ducked down, trying to avoid the wind and rain.

  She headed for her minivan and got inside, starting the van up and pulling out on a fly. She sped down the road. Maksim started his car and followed her. He knew he had to keep a safe distance if he is going to find out where she was going and what she was up to.

  She drove across town to the grocery store and went and inside. Maksim sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel several times before trying to decide what to do. He picked up the file that was sitting on his passenger seat, looking at the profile he drew up with the FBI.

  He decided to go into the grocery store. It was a public space, and if she saw him, he could play it off as him shopping. It would also give him a chance to see if she had a reaction by seeing him in person.

  Against his better judgment, Maksim followed her inside a few minutes later, picking up a basket and looking around. He didn’t see her anywhere. He started going up and down the aisles until he finally found her by the cereal.

  She looked like any other soccer mom, but there was an evil streak about her that only he seemed to see. He decided to head down the aisle, looking up at the boxes of cereal. He was only a few steps away and when she glanced his way, catching sight of him.

  She froze. Her eyes were wide with hatred. Recognition. She looked down at the box of cereal in her hands, her face clouding with disgust. She did recognize him. This was good. He knew he was on the right track. He could see it. Maksim smiled at her. Prepared to deal with her.

  He picked up two boxes of cereal and lingered for a few more minutes, watching her as she went down the aisle and turned the corner. He wondered toward the checkout and waited impatiently by the magazines for her to come up to buy her things.

  As the minutes ticked by, Maksim suspected she left the store and went out the back. As he glanced through the front windows of the grocery store, he saw her minivan sitting there. She was in the store. She was probably waiting for him to leave.

  With that thought in mind, he picked up a magazine and wandered his way for the checkout, purchasing the cereal and the magazine. He made his way out the door and went to his car, sitting inside.

  It was exactly as he thought. When he left the store, she went to the checkout to purchase her things. Maksim started his car and drove around the corner, turning off the headlights and waiting for her to come out.

  He watched the front of the grocery store. She came out, got to her minivan, threw the stuff in the back seat and got inside at a fly. She looked around the parking lot, not seeing him.

  When the woman noticed she was in the clear, she started her minivan and drove away. Maksim put on the lights and followed her again. This time he was lucky to have the cover of traffic in between them. He wondered where she was going. She wasn’t going home. That was for sure.

  Instead, she went to a storage facility, driving through the open gate and going inside to one of the units. As she drove around the storage units, he watched her go over to one of the storage units that opened from the outside. Around the other side of the building, there was a side street with houses.

  Maksim drove down and parked his car on the street. He walked around the storage facility until he came to the front gate where he let himself in. He moved slowly toward the storage units carefully, watching and making sure he wasn’t in any danger. He had to be careful.

  As he moved down the gravel pathway, he heard footsteps running up behind him. He turned around just in time to see a bat coming at his head. He braced his left arm upward, feeling the impact as the bat smashed into his arm, clipping him in the side of the head.

  Everything around him went sparkly as Maksim fell to his knees. The woman approached fast, kicking him in the side to see if he was awake. He pretended to be.

  “Good, you’re out. It’s about time we met. I can’t have you my life up. You’re going to have to go.”

  As her words faded away, Max regretted not calling Kace back. He just hoped he had another chance to.

  * * * *

  When Maksim didn’t return his call, Kace got worried. Without a doubt, he suspected that something was wrong. It wasn’t like Maksim to keep him at a distance like this. Worry had him calling his cell phone two more times and listening in frustration as it dumped him into voice mail two more times.

  That had him going into the bullpen, looking for Hunter to see if he might be able to track his unmarked police car. He saw Hunter pouring coffee and pulling a late night. “Hey, got a minute?”

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  “I can’t seem to locate Detective Strong. He’s working that serial killer case with the FBI. I think something must have happened.”

  Hunter’s eyes clouded. “Have you put out word for him yet?”

  “Not yet. I wanted to see if you could locate him first. He’s gotten another unmarked. Do we still have GPS on it?”

  “Yes, we do. It’s standard issue with all the new vehicles.”

  As he followed Hunter to his office, Kace couldn’t help but feel impatient and wanted him to hurry up. As Hunter sat down behind his desk, waking up his computer, Kace paced. Hunter pulled up the GPS locators on all the cars out in the field right now.

  “What’s his call sign?” Hunter asked.

  “Forty-forty-five.”

  “There he is. It looks like he’s parked on a residential street. On Walnut. It looks like he’s right next to a storage unit.”

  “Great. I’m going to be heading out see if I can find them.”

  “Okay, let me know if you need anything else.”

  “Can you trace his cell phone, too?”

  “Sure, but it will take a little longer.”

  “Call me when you have something.”

  It’d been hours since he last talked to his sub but he knew he had to hurry. He could feel that something was very wrong. It wasn’t like Maksim to take off like this and not tell him where he was going. Nor was it like him to go off on his own.

  As he pulled up behind Maksim’s unmarked, Kace got out and jogged over to it. Nothing inside was disturbed. Kace walked around, trying to figure out where he could be. He stared at the storage facility. It was locked up tight for the night. He made his way around the storage unit building but didn’t see anything.

  Annoyed, he started to feel like he wasn’t going to find him, and that bothered him greatly. “Where are you?”

  Kace felt as though he had to hurry. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like his lover was in danger and he was the only one who could protect him.

  Seconds later, his cell phone ring. He picked it up, hoping to see that it was his sub calling but it wasn’t. It was the chief.

  “What’s going on?” Kace asked.

  “Hunter just came to me. You’re worried about Detective Strong?”

  “I can’t seem to find him anywhere. I’m starting to worry. He’s still working that case with the FBI.”

  “Yeah. He can’t seem to let it go. I’ll put a BOLO out for him. Something has to come up.”

  “I’m at his car. I think we need to get the K-9 unit out here see if we can figure out where he went.”

  “I think that’s a good idea. I’ll call them out.”

  The chief ended the call, and Kace waited impatiently for the K-9 unit to show up. As Colt showed up with his handler, Officer Rolland, Kace rushed to the car.

  “His unmarked car is over here. I think he walked off somewhere, and I need to know where that place is.”

  “Hunter was trying to triangulate his cell phone, but nothing’
s coming through. He hasn’t used it for about two hours,” Rolland said.

  “That’s right. His last phone call is probably from me,” Kace said.

  Colt was antsy as he trotted his way to the car, sniffing around. The German Shephard got to work making his way over to the storage facility’s fence. With a little whimper, he sat down outside the gates.

  “We need to get inside there,” Rolland said.

  Kace tried to remain calm. “I’m thinking the same.”

  As Kace thought about his lover hurt or injured inside the storage area, he went back to his car, grabbing bolt cutters to cut the gate. They went inside the unit with the K9 handler and Colt leading the way. Kace gave them the lead and followed close behind.

  As they walked over the gravel pathway, Kace caught sight of blood on the ground. Colt sat down, whimpering as he smelled the blood and made a hit. All the blood drained from Kace’s face as he realized it was probably Maksim’s blood. Where was he?

  Chapter Eight

  The taste of blood was sticky within Maksim’s mouth. Cracking his eyelids, he tried to figure out where he was, but he couldn’t. Everything was dark and damp and wet and cold. He shivered. He suspected he was underground and above ground at the same time.

  It all felt so surreal. He heard someone moving around him and wondered who it was. It was then he recalled the fact that he had been hit in the head by the person he’d been following—the female serial killer. Lights came one, forcing him to shut his eyes.

  A chill reached down his spine when he realized he would have to do everything in his power to survive the situation if he was ever going to see Kace again. He pretended to be knocked out as he cautiously watched the woman moving around.

  Maksim heard a cell phone and seconds later it was answered by the woman. He knew he should call out and make some noise but knew it was not a good idea.

  She answered the phone quickly. “Hello?” Her voice was short and clipped. “Yes. I’ll be home soon. Just put them back to bed. I had something come up. I won’t be long. I love you, too.”