Max & Adam – 6

It turned out that it was weeks before Max saw Adam again. Adam had texted him about picking up a big case and Max didn’t hear back for three weeks. Max didn’t worry though. He would’ve heard around the station if something had happened to Adam. Cops loved to gossip and news would’ve spread like an arson’s flame if one of the most popular detectives vanished.

Max resisted the urge to growl when one of the female cops started talking about Adam’s fine ass in a loud voice. Adam took great satisfaction in sending her an anonymous email about the department’s sexual harassment policy. She’d been quiet for the past week.

A quick gulp of water to wash down his suppression pills was all the time Max took on self-care. His latest investigation was to find where the money flow was coming from on a trafficking ring. Max froze when his last search came back with a familiar name.

Crandel Kane.

Crap. What was his cousin up to? An hour later Max’s stomach was spinning like an out-of balance clothes dryer and he barely kept his morning toast in his stomach.

“Something wrong, Max?” Julie asked.

He must be looking pretty bad if Julie commented. She usually had the attitude that if someone wanted to share they would’ve already told her. Julie didn’t pry.

“No. Not really. Just found some surprising information on a case.” More like vomit-inducing but he wouldn’t tell her family business. The only person he could inform was his uncle and he had to hope Uncle Barnie wasn’t involved. He had thought better of his family than to think they would do something this illegal much less morally repugnant.

“Oh okay. Let me know if I can help with anything.”

“I will.” He tried out a smile which must have been successful because she wandered back to her cubicle without any fuss.

 

If his idiot cousin exposed them he would borrow Adam’s gun and shoot him. Max clenched his hands into fists then took several deep breaths to pull back his anger. He couldn’t let his fury loose. The cost to replace everything he broke would be phenomenal.

Keeping in the shadows was more than a way of life it was a necessity. He slid his fingers along the phone receiver debating on his next move. Should he investigate more to be certain, or should he contact his uncle and find out the truth? He jerked his hand back. Better to find out more before he started waving accusations around. Not to mention he couldn’t exactly have this conversation at work. He’d have to do it on his own time where there weren’t an office full of people to eavesdrop. Maybe start by calling his dad. His father would be able to confirm any rumors and give him good advice about confronting their relatives. The hard part would be if he had to do a cover up. Shit. Working for the cops was turning out to be a big mistake. When he’d agreed to take this position for the family he had thought he could keep an hand on the pulse of the local law enforcement. Better to know if a hunt was coming than be surprised. In the two years he’d worked there not once had a hint of interest been shown about his people.

He hated to ruin a perfect record.

His phone rang pulling him away from his fixation on the computer. Ignoring his first impulse to hide from the phone call. Interrupting his search for the truth with work would slow down his investigation.

After the fourth ring Max gave in. “Hello.”

“Hey Max, I just got freed from the case I was working on and I wanted to know if you had time to have dinner with me. I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to talk to you before but I’d love the chance to make up.”

Max winced. “I’d love to but not today.”

“Sorry I know it’s last minute…”

Max interrupted him. “I swear, I’m not brushing you off but I really need to go see my dad.”

Silence filled the line. “At least you have a realistic excuse. Give me a call when you have some time. I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

“Yeah tomorrow.” Now he just had to live past tonight when he told his dad about his cousin’s actions.