It takes a forger, p.11
It Takes a Forger, page 11
part #3 of Quint and Clay Art Crime Series
"I beg to disagree. The best gift ever is you asking me to move in with you," Rory replied.
The chain was long enough that Lou could put the pendant on without undoing the clasp. He touched it, saying, "I'll never take this off."
"Hadn't better," Rory retorted. "It's your protection."
Lou snorted out a laugh. "I thought protection was condoms." He ducked when Rory took a swipe at him, caught his hand and pulled him against his chest. "I love you," he said emphatically before kissing him deeply.
It didn't take long for them to move from the living room to the bedroom, where they showed each other just how much love they shared.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
January came and went. Lou and Rory both testified at Nate Hanks' trial. The forger was convicted of art forgery, intimidation, and attempted assault with a deadly weapon. Unfortunately, the murder charge was dropped, as there wasn't enough evidence to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, despite Rory's testimony about what Hanks had said to him.
The two men found living together made their lives easier, despite the initial feeling they had each lost some privacy. "Hell," Rory said at one point soon after he moved into the apartment. "If I want alone time, I'll go down in the basement and work on my jewelry." That was where they'd set up his studio, since it was standing empty after Hanks' arrest.
Lou rarely wanted time to himself, but when he did, he returned to his past habit of going to the art museum. Even when Rory came along—which he did on occasion—Lou was able to lose himself in the paintings to the exclusion of everything around him.
Now, with Valentine's Day just a day away, Lou was worried he wouldn't get to the store in time to pick up his gift for Rory before it closed.
"The joys of police work," he grumbled to his partner as they did the paperwork on cases they were handling, something that needed to be done before they left for the day.
He made it to the store half an hour before it closed at nine. Rory's gift was ready and wrapped, only needing the final payment. By the time he left, since he wasn't the only customer who was there at the last minute, it was almost nine.
As he drove past the gallery, on his way to the parking garage, he saw Rory at the door, locking up for the night after letting Kevin and Olivia out. He tapped the horn, getting a wave in reply. After parking, he walked back the way he'd come, humming under his breath while dodging people on the sidewalk. When he got to the gallery's front door, he didn't see Rory and figured he was in the office, tallying up the day's receipts—his normal practice after closing. He took out his keys and was just about to put the right one in the lock when he felt something hard pressed against his back, and someone said, "Don't make a sound. Open the door and you won't get hurt. All I want is cash and the jewelry in that case."
Lou's training kicked in instantly. He swung around, aiming a blow to his assailant's gun hand while reaching for his own weapon. He heard a shot, felt something hit his sternum, and seconds later a blow to his head. His last thought as he fell to the pavement was, This blows my chance to propose to Rory. I should have done it a long…
*****
"He's one lucky man," the emergency room doctor told Rory. "If it hadn't been for the pendant he was wearing, he'd be dead. As it is, he has a sternal fracture with no internal damage and a gash on his head from being hit with the barrel of the assailant's gun." He chuckled. "The pendant is now slightly more concave than the designer intended."
"Thank God! When can I see him?"
"As soon as the police get done talking to him. I understand he's a DPD detective?"
"Yes."
"His reaction time is probably what helped save his life. That and the pendant. From what I understand, he hit the guy's arm just as the man fired his gun. A few inches to the left and he'd be in intensive care right now."
At that moment, Quint Hawk came out from behind the curtain surrounding the exam table. "How are you holding up?" he asked Rory.
"Better, now that I know he's going to live. Did you catch the shooter?"
"We did. Well…not me, but the officers who drove around the corner just as it happened. Turns out it was a kid—maybe sixteen, seventeen—looking for drug money. According to him, before he wised up and shut up, he figured that there must have been cash on the premises and he could hock the jewelry. He kept babbling that he only meant to scare Lou, not shoot him."
Rory nodded, his gaze locked on the curtain. "Can I go in now?"
"Yeah. We're finished," Quint said as a second detective joined him.
The moment Rory walked into the exam area, Lou said, "Will you marry me?"
"What?" Rory replied in shock.
"Will. You. Marry. Me? I was going to ask you tomorrow but right now, I'm not wasting another second. I'd get down on one knee but…" Lou managed to dig into his pocket, taking out a jeweler's box—handing it to Rory. "Not quite as romantic as I planned."
Smiling elatedly, Rory said, "Yes, I'll marry you. Right here, right now, if they can dig up a priest." Clutching the box in one hand, he put his other hand on the table, leaned in, and kissed Lou. "I was so scared when the officer told me… Damn it, Lou. If I'd lost you…"
"You didn't," Lou said softly. Then he grinned. "I'm invincible, because I have your shield to protect me—the one you told me would keep me safe. Guess you were right." Taking Rory's hand, he added quietly, "But most important, I have your love to keep me safe."
"You will until forever," Rory murmured before kissing him again.
Two weeks later, in a quiet ceremony with just Quint, Clay, Gideon, a few other close friends, and Lou's parents in attendance, Lou and Rory were married.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and bred Cleveland, I earned a degree in technical theater, later switched to costuming, and headed to NYC. Finally seeing the futility of trying to become rich and famous in the Big Apple, I joined VISTA—Volunteers in Service to America—ending up in Chicago for three years. Then it was on to Denver where I put down roots and worked as a costume designer until just recently.
I began writing a few years ago after joining an on-line fanfic group. Two friends and I then started a group for writers, where they could post any story they wished no matter the genre or content. Since then, for the last four years, I've been writing for publication—my first book came out in February of 2011. Most, but not all, of my work is M/M, either mildly erotic or purely 'romantic'. More often than not it involves a mystery or action/adventure, and is sometimes paranormal to boot.'''
Blog:
http://edwardkendrick.blogspot.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/edward.kendrick.5
Google+
https://plus.google.com/u/0/115527711406227698357/about
Email:
edward_kendrick_001@yahoo.com
TITLES BY EDWARD KENDRICK
Available from Fireborn Publishing
Sui Generis
The Housemate
Talbot and the Enforcers
Revenge
Love, Death, & Wednesdays
You Do What You Have To
The Hybrid Series
Don't Touch Me
Off On the Wrong Foot
Uncanny Activity
Engagements Can Be Deadly (Coming soon)
TO CATCH A KIDNAPPER
Allyn and Ransom
Henri
QUINT AND CLAY ART CRIMES
The Element Case
It Takes an Artist
It Takes a Forger
Available from Wilde City Press
The Actor and the Thief
Majors' Folly
L'histoire de Francois – Vampire
The Vampire's Angel
Garth's Chronicle
Available from JMS Books
Sins of the Fathers
Hell, Look at Me
Wrong Side of the Law
Surviving
The City PI and the Country Cop
Art Theft 101
Never Let Go of Hope
Let Go of Loneliness
Dylan's Dilemma
Sean's Predicament
Love and Christmas
Tate's Quandry
The Hitchhiker Murders
Perhaps, Someday…
Premonitions
Available from Totally Bound/Pride Publishing
Yin and Yang
The Hit Man Cometh
Reaper
Perfect Strangers
Available from Dreamspinner Press
You Belong to Me
Edward Kendrick, It Takes a Forger
