A Ticklish Thriller (Revised) - 7. The Last Straw

Mikey & Dakota

Dakota pulled up to the wrecked truck. He and Mikey gasped as tears fell when they saw the battered Ram. The couple jumped out and immediately surveyed the scene. Both men were careful not to disturb any possible evidence.

"Where are the guys?" Mikey asked more to himself than to Dakota.

The brunet wiped his eyes as he cautiously walked about the field. The grass was so tall that Mikey kept looking down and made sure he didn't step on either his brother or Will.

"Mikey, come here a moment."

Dakota was kneeling on the ground near the wrecked truck. He found a couple of cell phones and a Glock in the ditch. As well as tire tracks leading into and out of the field. He looked a little further down and saw shoe imprints in the grass.

"What'd you find, babe?" Mikey stopped short when he saw what Dakota was looking at. "Fuck! That's Lance's cell and gun. I'm gonna make a guess, that's Will's phone. He started sobbing. "Where the fuck is my brother?"

Adam & Jai

"What the fuck?" Adam exclaimed as he pulled into the parking lot of their building.

The brunet parked in the middle of the lot, and the two men jumped out of the truck. They held each other and cried as they surveyed the massive damage. The windows were broken, and a fire raged inside the building. Tears fell from their eyes. Suddenly, the entire lot was filled with flashing lights and sirens. The couple turned to see Tyler running toward them.

"Holy fuckin' shit! I"m so damn glad you two weren't here."

The bouncer couldn't stop crying and hugging his friends and employers. Adam and Jai melted into the big guy's embrace and laid their heads on his shoulders.

"Ty, what happened here?" Adam asked

"I have no fuckin' clue. I'm just grateful there was no one here." Tyler replied.

"Are you three the owners?"

The speaker was a pleasant-looking man. His wrinkles and balding head were testaments that he'd lived more than a quarter-century. His generous stomach, protruding over his pants, was proof he hadn't recently missed any meals.

"I'm Adam Carter, this is my fiancee, Jai Knight, and he's Tyler Morgan, our bouncer, and friend."

Adam stood with his arm outstretched and shook the fire marshall's offered hand.

"Carter and Knight. Are you two young men related to Commissioner Knight and Bryan and Max Carter?"

"Yes!" Jai and Adam replied in unison.

"I'm the Commissioner's son, and he's Bryan and Max's son." Jai expanded on the explanation.

"What happened?" The fire marshall asked as he started slowly surveying the damage.

"Sir, your guess is as good as ours. Jai and I just got here." Adam offered.

"I was at home when my phone started going off. The security alarm sends alerts to my phone." Tyler said as he kept his arms protectively around Adam and Jai.

"Where were you and Mr. Knight? Oh, and please, call me Rick."

"We're Adam, Jai, and Tyler. Adam and I were at our brother's apartment. He was attacked yesterday by Will Parks." Jai responded.

"Tim Park's boy?" Rick asked.

"Yeah!" Adam said just before his phone started ringing. "Please, excuse me, Rick. Mikey, are you okay?"

Adam almost dropped the phone as he listened to his brother. Jai and Tyler were watching the brunet with looks of great concern.

"Babe, what' s going on?" Jai finally asked after Adam fell silent and sobbed.

"Lance was on his way to Mikey's house. He had Will with him. They were being chased and had an accident. Mikey and Dakota are there now, waiting for Papa Tony. The Ram's totaled, and they're gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Jai's tears were choking him up and making it hard to speak.

"It's like they vanished."

That was all Adam could get out. He fell into Tyler's arms, as did Jai.

Mikey & Dakota

"Adam! Are you there?" Mikey cried into the phone. The brunet was shivering while Dakota held him.

"Mikey, it's Ty."

"Ty, what are you doing there?"

"I don't want to tell you this, but someone's vandalized Barefoot."

Mikey dropped his phone and stared into the blue sky. The brunet blinked the tears away and thanked Dakota for picking up the device. His eyes narrowed and darkened so much that Dakota visibly quaked when he saw the fire in his boyfriend's expression. "Ty, tell my brothers that Dakota and I will be there as soon as I look at the damage at my house. This isn't a coincidence. It's a fuckin' Goddamned attack on us. Whoever's behind it is going down, fuckin' hard."

"Behind what?" Tony asked as he approached the young men. He got there to hear the very end of Mikey's fueled statement.

"Papa Tony, it's awful. Lance and Will aren't here, and not only was Mikey's place vandalized but so was Barefoot."

The Commissioner gasped and immediately took hold of Mikey's phone. "This is Commissioner Knight. To whom am I speaking?"

"It's me, Tyler, Papa Tony."

"What's the situation, Ty?"

"Barefoot's been destroyed. Windows broken, burned down inside. I'm pretty sure it was empty, but we won't know for sure until the fire's down enough for the fire dept. to get in there." He paused. "Hold on, Papa, Rick wants to speak with you."

"Tony, it's Rick. Adam and Jai informed me that there might be evidence on the hard drives the security footage saves to."

"What's your take?"

"This was a malicious and deliberate attack. However, we'll know more once we're inside. You've got my sympathy, Commissioner Knight. I understand this is a trying time for your blended family. You're in my prayers. And, I've got to say, your boys are handling this very well. They've been forthright in their responses and polite."

"Thank you, Rick, for the prayers and compliment. The collective Knight/Carter parents are very proud of all our boys. I've got to get off the phone. Just in case my missing son calls."

"Of course, I'll be in touch."

Tony ended the call and handed the phone back to Mikey. He immediately got on his phone and held a conference call with the entire blended clan. He brought everyone up to speed on the events thus far. Tony also put the family on high alert and, for the most part, on lockdown, meaning no one went anywhere alone, especially the boys. Once that was done, the seasoned policeman took his boys into his arms. "I'm so glad you're okay, Mikey."

"I'm fine, Papa. It's Lancer I'm worried about." Mikey's tears fell on Tony's shoulder as he relished being in the older man's warm, safe embrace.

"I don't think you should go to your house yet, Son."

"Please, focus your energy on my brother, Dad."

Tony's expression mirrored his feeling of pride and joy. "That's really the first time you've ever called me Dad."

Mikey smiled and nodded. "You are my Dad. Just as much as Max and Bryan. I've always been thankful to have three Dads and a Mom looking out for and loving me."

The two men embraced and kissed each other's cheeks. Dakota smiled and eagerly joined the duo when Tony and Mikey held their arms out for him.

"I've got to go look at my house, Papa. It's the only responsible thing to do."

"Don't worry, Papa Tony, I'll be with my angel boy." Dakota wrapped his arms around Mikey's neck and hugged him from behind.

Tony still had reservations but shook his head. "Please, be careful. Watch each other's backs. Someone is out to get my boys."

"I already told Ty, whoever's behind this, is going down, hard."

The sheer force of the determination in Mikey's expression and tone had both Dakota and Tony beaming with pride.

"You're fucking right about that, Son." Tony paused and shared a chuckle with the younger men. "Be careful, please. I love you both."

The trio shared another hug, then Dakota and Mikey got into the SUV and drove to Mikey's house.

Lance & Will

The first thing that registered in Lance's consciousness was that he and Will weren't in the field anymore. They were on the road traveling in a van. The second thing was he was tied up. However, the position he was in happened to be to his advantage. The brunet took a second to assess the situation. He saw the driver and two other men. Lance heard Will starting to stir beside him. Luckily, the other two men were in front of him and Will. And, for them to get to them, they'd have to climb over the seats.

The brunet slowly wriggled over to Will and gently touched him. "Will, listen to me." He whispered. "I'm gonna get us out of here. Just stay calm, and do as I say." He smiled when he got a head nod from the redhead. "Are you too hurt to walk or jump?" Again he smiled when he heard Will whisper negatively about both parts of the question. Working quickly, Lance maneuvered his legs and got them to Will's hands. "Lift the leg of my jeans, and pull the knife out." Once he had hold of the knife, Lance started rubbing the rope against the blade. In a minute, the brunet was free, and another minute later, so was Will.

Lance took a second to look at the three men. He noticed the van stopped. The brunet looked out the window and saw they were just a few buildings down from Barefoot and stuck in traffic. Lance reached for the back door handle and pulled it down. "Now!' He whispered. Moving quickly, the brunet and redhead opened the door, jumped out, and started running for the bookstore.

"What the fuck?" The driver shouted as he watched Lance and Will run down the sidewalk. "Get after them."

"Fuck that, let the bastards go. We got paid. I'm not down for getting an abduction charge or worse." The blonde said.

"Yeah, man. Let's just take the money and run." The third man said.

"Alright, I can't argue with logic." The driver stayed put, waiting for the traffic to clear.

Lance and Will made it to the bookstore. As soon as he saw the police and firetrucks, the brunet ran faster. "ADAM, JAI, ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?" He hollered as the two young men ran to the parking lot.

"Sir! I can't let you pass. It's not safe." An officer stood in front of Lance and Will.

"Please, I'm Lance Knight. My brothers Adam and Jai own this establishment. My friend and I were in an accident and abducted. We managed to escape, and the van's still stuck in the traffic jam."

Adam was close enough to hear his brother's voice. "LANCE!!!" He yelled. "Let them through, please. He's been missing." The brunet, his fiancee, and Tyler ran to the two missing young men and wrapped them in a hug.

"Are you guys okay?" Jai asked, not even caring that just the night before, Will assaulted Lance. He was just happy to see the two alive.

"We're okay. Look, the guys who caused our accident and abducted us are still in the van, in traffic."

Lance and Will ran back to the officer while Adam and Jai contacted their father. Will led the police to the van, and the three men were read their rights and carted off to the squad cars. Will returned to the brothers and Ty, where he received a group hug. Lance and Will explained their reconciliation and newfound friendship to the family.

Mikey & Dakota

"LANCE!!!" Mikey joyfully hollered.

He almost scared Dakota enough that he came close to running into one of the trees lining the long driveway leading up to Mikey's house. Dakota chuckled and said a silent prayer of thanks for the safe return of the youngest Knight.

"Kota and I will be there soon, baby bro. We're just getting to the house."

"You want Will and me to…"

"I want you and Will to stay with Adam and Jai." Mikey giggled. "I love you more than I can ever verbally express, little brother." Mikey ended the call and got out of the SUV.

Dakota was getting something out of the back of the vehicle when he heard a blast come from the garage. "Mikey, get down."

Mikey faintly heard Dakota and turned around just as another blast came from the front door. The explosion sent the brunet flying back a couple of feet, and he landed in the grass.

"MIKEY!!!" Dakota yelled as he grabbed his phone and ran to his fallen angel. "Papa, get down here now. Mikey's house just blew up, and he got blown back a couple of feet. He's not moving, but he's breathing. Please hurry." Dakota hung up and started trying to feel for any broken bones. "Please, be okay, my love. I can't lose you now."

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