A Ticklish Thriller (Revised) - 19. Loose Ends Tied & Culprits Caught

Adam & Jai

The snow started falling faster as the tan four-wheel-drive Cadillac SUV turned left and entered a mostly upscale subdivision. The vehicle turned right onto another street with its immaculately decorated lawns and cookie-cutter homes, then made another right-hand turn into a paved driveway. The driver turned the engine off, then he and the passenger exited the SUV and gazed at the two-story brick home with a for sale sign in the yard.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, babe?" Jai asked as he followed his mate up the brick walkway that led to the front porch.

"Probably not, but you know how I am," Adam responded.

The two brunets climbed the steps, stood at the screendoor, and rang the doorbell. It wasn't, but a few seconds before, a male's voice inside hollered that he'd be right there. As soon as the door opened and the screendoor was unlatched and opened, Adam's fist flew and collided with the homeowner's jaw and knocked the blonde male on his ass.

After gingerly rubbing the spot where he'd been hit, the man's eyes lifted. He visibly shivered when he saw the blazing fire in his assailant's eyes. "I was wondering when you'd show up," he said after opening and closing his jaw, ensuring it wasn't broken.

A woman with dark red hair came rushing into the foyer and gasped when she saw who was in the doorway. Tears streamed down her cheeks when she realized the gravity of her and her husband's past deeds.

"Aaron, be glad that's all my conscious, and Jai will allow me to do to you, and not a word of this to our parents or baby bros," Adam growled.

Without another word, Adam and Jai turned around, walked back to their SUV, and left. Jai turned to his mate and smiled as he clasped the other brunet's hand.

"You realize that if Mikey ever hears of this, we're both in a world of hurt," Jai said after he kissed the top of Adam's hand.

Adam grinned and said, "I know, babe. However, I was justified in my action."

"You'll get no argument from me there," Jai responded. He paused and giggled, then said, "damn, you were sexy as fuck back there. I sooo wanted to rip your clothes off and fuck you right there on that porch,"

Adam's eyebrows wagged, and he chuckled. "Oh Yeah? Well, we'll have plenty of time for you to make that happen, my sexy man,"

The pair continued their banter as they drove along the highway, heading to the friend's house they told everyone about them going to. A few minutes later, while waiting for the light to turn green, Adam and Jai stared into each other's eyes and shared a brief but passionate kiss. They'd almost reached their destination when Adam's phone rang.

Jai looked at the number, smiled, placed the phone on speaker, and said, "hey, Papa Bry."

"Hi, Dad, how are ya?" Adam said.

"Hey, boys," Bryan greeted. "I know you guys went to Aaron's house," he said.

"How?" Jai asked.

Bryan chuckled and said, "one of the neighbors is my dentist. He called me to tell me about what happened," he paused. "Boys, you know I've got to give you the obligatory parental speech, so here goes. Adam, you know better, and Jai, you should've stopped him."

Adam and Jai looked at one another, then at the phone, and in unison said, "And…"

Bryan's energetic laughter filled the SUV. When he recovered, he said, "That's it. Honestly, none of us expected anything less of you two. We know how protective you are of your brothers and vice versa." There was a pause before he continued. "Make sure you two don't do anything else to Aaron or Trinie. As it is, we're doing our best to keep Mikey from finding out that Pam gave Trinie a black eye in the grocery store parking lot after we found out everything."

Adam and Jai's laughter joined with their dad's. "Don't worry, Daddy, I'm good now, and so's Jai," Adam said as he turned into their friend's driveway. "Hey, Pop, not to rush you off the phone, but we just pulled up to Jake's house."

"Okay, boys, have fun. We'll see you at Mikey's on Christmas Day. We love all our kids and are very proud of every one of you," Bryan said.

"Love ya too, Dad," Adam and Jai said in unison before the call ended.

The pair giggled and shared another kiss. Then after Jai grabbed the gifts from the backseat, they walked up to their friend's doorstep and rang the bell. However, as soon as the door opened, Jai's phone rang. When he hung up, the brunet whispered something in his mate's ear, then handed the presents to Jake. He and Adam gave a quick explanation, hugged their friend, then ran back to the SUV.

Mikey & Dakota

"So, what now, my sweet boy?" Dakota asked.

The young men rushed out of Barefoot Books, across the parking lot through the rapidly falling snow, and jumped into the SUV. Dakota started the vehicle, cranked the heat up to high, and put it on full blast.

Mikey sat in thought for a moment before he came to a decision. "I think I'm ready to at least let Papa Tony know what my gut's telling me." He giggled, squirmed, and squealed when his mate leaned over, kissed his nose, then lightly tickled his sides.

"I like that idea," Dakota chuckled and backed out of the parking spot, then headed to the main road. "Have you decided on Papa Bryan's request to run for his place?" The half-Indian asked as he pulled up to a stoplight.

Mikey smiled and said, "yep." He giggled when Dakota turned his head and glared at him before returning his attention to the red light.

"Well?" Dakota asked as he turned right and got on the ramp for the highway.

Mikey chuckled, and his eyes sparkled with playful mischief. He started picking at some nonexistent lint on his jeans, then responded. "Well, what?"

"What do ya mean, well, what?" Dakota growled. "What did you decide?"

Mikey's adorable boyish laughter filled the vehicle's interior. "You'll find out when I tell the rest of the family," the jovial brunet answered.

Dakota shook his head and said, "fine, be that way. I didn't wanna know anyway," he punctuated his statement with a blown raspberry.

Mikey was about to inform his mate how mature his response was when his phone alerted him to a message, and Dakota's phone rang. The pair stole a quick glance at one another before they reacted. “What the fuck..." Mikey hollered as he opened the message and almost dropped the phone.

The older brunet enabled his Bluetooth and answered the call. "Hey, Papa Tony..."

"Kota, where are ya?" Tony's voice boomed out of the speakers.

"On the highway, heading back to the lakehouse with Mikey. He believes he knows who killed Lyman," Dakota responded.

"We'll get to that later. Boys, Janice somehow disabled the ankle monitor, killed the officer watching her house, and is missing. I also just got word that she has officers working with her."

"Dad, we've got another problem," Mikey broke in.

"Go on, son," Tony said.

"Someone's in my house. Lance is tied to his bed, and the guy's tickling him," Mikey paused. "I think it's Theodore Jackson Lincoln. He's the same guy who I'm pretty sure killed Patrick."

Tony's gasp was loud and clear.

Dakota floored the gas pedal and sped down the road. "Papa, we're about three minutes from the house," Dakota said as he carefully maneuvered around some slow drivers.

"Guys, I don't like suggesting this, but as soon as you get home, Mikey needs to get inside and save his brother. Kota, you need to patrol the house and immediate grounds, but don't lose sight of the house. I think Janice is on her way to Mikey's to settle her score with him. Kota, I called Adam and Jai before calling you guys. They'll be there to back you up as soon as possible. I'm on the road now and will be there after I assess the situation at the Banks' home," Tony said.

"Affirmative, Dad," the young men answered in unison.

The Lake House

Dakota pulled into the drive and parked by the garage. He turned, gazed into Mikey's eyes, and lightly stroked his angelic boy's cheek. A few tears fell as he lovingly kissed the younger man's warm, soft lips. "I love you, Mikey. Please, be careful. I'll be with you as soon as possible," he whispered.

Mikey nodded and returned the affection. "I will, my brave warrior. You be careful also. I'll have my phone if you need me."

"Ditto," Dakota said. He and his mate exited the vehicle and headed in their separate directions.

Mikey stopped at the front door of his house. He took a deep breath, pulled his Glock from its holster, and prepared to enter. Fear of the unknown coursed through his body when the wooden door creaked as it slowly opened without being unlocked or Mikey having to turn the doorknob. Quietly, the brunet crossed the threshold into his home and closed the door. He kept a firm grip on his firearm and pointed its barrel to the floor as he went up to the second floor. The muffled sounds of Lance's laughter and screamed pleas reached his ears when Mikey reached the top of the stairs. The brunet made his breath shallow and carefully inched closer to his brother's bedroom. He stopped when he heard a familiar voice in the room start speaking. Mikey reached for his phone, pressed a few buttons, and enabled the video and audio surveillance system, so everything inside and outside the house got recorded.

The icy cold wind blew across the collar of Dakota's leather jacket. His Cherokee instincts and senses were going crazy with the deafening silence around him. The raven hairs on his neck stood up, letting him know there were people within close proximity to him. Slowly, the twenty-seven-year-old cop turned around in circles every couple of steps, visually sweeping the area. His service revolver's safety was off and ready to fire. Suddenly, Dakota felt a woosh of breeze flow across the back of his neck just before something hard, long, and circular hit the back of his knees. He grunted and fell to the ground, his gun clattering against the paved parking area. Before Dakota could stand up or even think straight, someone's foot slammed into his ribs, followed by fists and knees. The young man did what he could to protect himself from being beaten to a complete pulp, but the endless barrage of hits, kicks, slaps and punches made it very difficult.

Lance panted as his eyes never left his tickling assailant when the gag was removed, and he was given some water. "Thank you," he said.

Jack's eyes darkened, and he rubbed his hands together. The older man stood beside the bed and stared into his victim's eyes. "I'm surprised Mikey's not here yet. After all, he is the one I'm really aching to tickle. Him and that cop of his."

"Are you gonna kill us, like you did Patrick, and Mikey thinks you did?" Lance asked, hoping to buy some more time.

"I wasn't planning on killing anyone, kid," Jack responded. He softly chuckled, then continued. "Ya know, I never intended to kill anyone, Not that Lyman guy or the other man I left on the running trail. The jury's still deliberating on whether or not you're gonna live to see your next birthday."

Lance gulped, and his toes scrunched. Jack was about to start tickling his prize again, but before he could, the man crumpled to the floor and writhed in pain from the forceful kick to his ribcage.

"MIKEY!!!!" Lance hollered as his brother rushed to him, picked up the key, and unlocked the cuffs on his wrists.

"Hug and talk later," Mikey said as he began untying his brother's ankles. He'd just gotten the left one free when a pair of hands clutched his sides and squeezed. His eyes closed while waiting for the laughter from his ticklishness to start, except it never happened.

The three men were in momentary shock because the twenty-two-year-old male's usual reaction to tickles didn't occur.

"What the fuck?" Jack asked.

"How the hell are you not helplessly laughing and squirming, bro?" Lance inquired.

"Don't know, but since I'm not..." Mikey said. He elbowed his tickler in the eye, stomped his boot down on the man's sock-clad foot, turned around to knee Jack in the stomach, and finally knocked the guy out with a left hook. Mikey got the cuffs, restrained Jack's wrists, then tied his ankles together. He quickly threw a pair of sweatpants, a shirt, and socks at his brother. "Hurry up, get dressed. I think Janice is..." His statement was cut short by a bullet flying over his and Lance's heads. Mikey acted on his instinct. He tackled Lance to the floor and covered his brother's body with his.

"Janice is here," the blonde woman said as she entered the room with her gun pointed at Mikey and Lance.

Dakota's vision was starting to waver, and he was close to passing out when suddenly the beating stopped. He looked up and saw Adam shoot one in the thigh, Jai's bullet hit the second assailant's leg, and the third had his hands up because the lovers had their guns pointed at him. He shook his head and shakily got to his feet.

"You okay, big bro?" Adam asked as he and Jai cuffed the rogue officers with their own handcuffs, then placed the men in the backseat of their own patrol cars.

Dakota coughed and groaned as he gingerly massaged his ribs and ensured none were broken. "Yeah, thanks to my baby brothers," he paused and kissed the younger men's cheeks. "Thanks for having my back."

"What are brothers for?" Jai asked. He was about to say something else when their attention was grabbed by a gunshot coming from inside the house.

"MIKEY AND LANCE!" The trio hollered in unison before Adam and Jai ran to the door, with Dakota bringing up the rear as fast as he could.

"Aww, that's sooo sweet," Janice sneered as she approached the men on the ground. The socialite kept her weapon trained on Mikey and Lance. "You two get up and don't try anything funny, or I'll have my guys kill that precious half-breed mutt."

Anger coursed through Mikey's veins as he growled, "If you even think of hurting Dakota, I'll fucking kill you, bitch."

Janice's head flew back as she cackled. "Please, you're such a fucking little bitch of a boy scout. You'd never make good on a threat like that." She smirked as the men got to their feet and were marched to the doorway and then downstairs.

The entire time, Mikey kept himself between Lance and the gun. If Janice did shoot them, he damn sure wanted to protect his brother to his last breath.

"Wanna see what my guys have done to your savage?" Janice asked as she opened the door. The blonde gasped and yelled when she was face to face with a pissed-off trio of men, but not the ones she expected.

Mikey didn't waste a second. He pushed his brother out of the way, tackled Janice to the floor, and slammed her wrist against the hardwood until she let go of the gun. Adam and Jai cuffed the screeching woman's wrists with Dakota's handcuffs just in time for Tony, his men, and the other parents to swarm the lake house.