To Serve and Protect (2 page)

He stared at the unconscious man while worry ran through his mind.
Please, let him be all right.

Troy glanced at the dead body and said, “The killer got away. I thought I had him. There was no way he could have escaped, but somehow he did. One second he was there running, and the next it’s like he disappeared into thin air.”

Jacob didn’t speak, didn’t move.

Troy asked, “Did you hear me?”

He only nodded, unable to break his gaze from the unconscious, injured victim.

Troy snapped his fingers in front of Jacob’s face. “Earth calling Jacob Brown. You in there?”

Jacob blinked several times before looking up at Troy. Yet, he didn’t reply.

Worry overtook Troy’s features. “What the hell is going on with you, Jacob? You all right? Are you dizzy or sick? Do I need to call an ambulance for you, too?”

Jacob shook his head. “I’m all right.”

“Then why do you look like you just saw a ghost?”

His gaze returned to the injured man, and he said in a low voice, barely a whisper, “I know the victim. We were lovers.”

Chapter 1

Waves of fatigue flooded his body while sharp, stabbing pain crept through his head. He tried to make out what the voices near him said but couldn’t. Their words were jargon to his ears. He pouted, forcing his lips to move. A weak moan escaped his mouth. Then he heard a dulcet, deep baritone voice that made goose bumps spread on his arms and neck. The voice said, “He’s waking up!”

A warm, strong hand grabbed his. “Vincent, you’re all right.”

He struggled to open his eyelids that weighed a ton, but eventually he was able to open them. There, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his hand, was the handsomest man he ever laid eyes on. He had blond, wavy hair that rested just at his shoulders, blue-gray eyes that sparkled in the room’s artificial lighting, and a day’s stubble, which gave him that rugged, debonair look. Prince Charming, indeed. And he was smiling, too.

“Nice to see you’re awake.”

He tried to reciprocate the grin but failed in his attempt as more pain got the better of him. Taking a swallow, his tongue felt like sandpaper. He whispered, “Water.”

Prince Charming looked to the man on his right. “Can I give him water, Doc?”

“Yes, by all means.” The doctor nodded.

The handsome charmer gently placed the cup of water to his parched lips after lifting the head of the bed via an electronic button.

The godsent cold liquid slipped past his lips, coating and soothing his mouth and throat. It was that good.

After several big gulps, he motioned he’d had enough.

Slowly, he gazed at the doctor, an older man of about sixty with silver-gray, slicked-back hair and a white moustache. His glasses rested on the tip of his chubby nose. Then he returned his gaze to the Prince Charming, whose voice sent waves of pleasure through him.

He asked in a calm voice, “Where am I?”

The doctor responded, “In St. John’s Hospital.”

He shook his head. “How did I get here? I don’t remember.”

Prince Charming stared at the doctor with concern in his eyes. “He can’t remember.”

The doctor took out a small medical light and smiled, tapping his patient’s shoulder, and then checked his pupils. “Don’t worry, Mr. Brewster. With traumatic head injuries like these, temporary memory loss is normal.”

“Mr. Brewster?” The name sounded weird, unfamiliar as it rolled off his tongue. “Who’s that?”

Prince Charming’s worried eyes turned to panic. “Is it normal he can’t even remember his own name, Doc?”

* * * *

Vincent Brewster’s amnesia didn’t seem to bother Doctor Evans one bit. That certainly couldn’t be said for Jacob, though. His already-frayed nerves just got more frazzled. From the moment he found Vincent wounded and unconscious in the alley, he hadn’t left his side. He even tagged along in the ambulance as they rushed him to the hospital.

The only time he left him was when the doctors and nurses in the ER shooed him out to take X-rays and examine their patient. He decided to clean himself up then. He still had gross vomit stains on the tip of his shoes.

While he cleaned up in the bathroom, his thoughts had wandered to Vincent and their time together as lovers. It had been amazing. Not only the sex but the way they connected on a cerebral, spiritual, and emotional level. The connection he had with Vincent, he’d never had with anyone else. He honestly thought he had found his soul mate in him.

But he’d been wrong. Dead wrong. Because what seemed so fantastic and real and everlasting to Jacob was just a passing fancy for Vincent.

With no warning, or tact, on a cold Monday morning, Vincent called him, breaking the awful news that they were through. Vincent gave the lamest of excuses, too. It wasn’t Jacob’s fault, it was his. And that the relationship was stifling. He didn’t need that and wanted to explore other things in life.

By “other things,” Jacob knew he meant “other men” and maybe “other women,” too. He never did ask Vincent if he was bisexual or gay. But somehow Jacob knew he wouldn’t get a clear or specific answer on that. Vincent wasn’t exactly expressive in things like that or about his past, or his family and friends, for that matter.

An aura of mystery and secrecy always hovered over Vincent like a halo. It was what made him so alluring and irresistible, Jacob guessed.

And so things ended as mysteriously as they started between them, and they went their separate ways as if they had never even known each other. That was almost six months ago and on the day they broke up, Jacob vowed that he didn’t ever want to see Vincent again. He thought he’d hate him for eternity.

But his hatred and hard feelings crumbled when he saw him so helpless, injured, and unconscious. His heart broke and all he wanted to do was protect Vincent, stay by his side, and make sure he would be okay.

But Vincent wasn’t all right. He was injured and had amnesia. Plus the killer who put him in this predicament had escaped. At this very minute, he was loose out in the city. Maybe now planning his next killing. Or worse, planning his next attack on Vincent, wanting to finish the job Jacob and Troy interrupted a few hours ago.

He had thought Vincent would wake up and be able to tell him who his attacker was or at least give him a detailed description of him. Even though Jacob and Troy had encountered the killer, they never did get a clear look at his face thanks to the dim lighting. All Jacob could make out was that the assailant was over six feet five inches tall, with a muscular, heavyweight-type physique. Plus their suspect was as agile and sly as a panther since he was able to disappear in the night in what seemed like a nanosecond according to Troy.

His and Troy’s case depended on Vincent waking up and identifying his attacker. But now that seemed like it would not happen.

He stared at Vincent while Doctor Evans checked his vision and vitals. Vincent’s head was bandaged and his right eye bloodshot from the impact it probably made from hitting the concrete pavement in the alley.

His lacerated arm was bandaged and rested in a sling. He was black and blue and all banged up, but he never looked more handsome to Jacob. If anything he looked even sexier. He oozed sex appeal from every pore of his godlike body. His sea-green eyes still made Jacob lose his breath when he stared into them, bloodshot or not.

Just as Jacob fixated on Vincent’s eyes, the devilishly handsome man turned his gaze to look at him while the doctor measured his blood pressure. He smiled, winking at Jacob, making gooseflesh form on Jacob’s arms and the back of his neck.

Apart from his physical injuries, Vincent Brewster hardly looked like someone who just went through such a traumatic attack and now had amnesia. Jacob’s detective senses began to tingle. Something smelled fishy here.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Everyone turned their attention to the head that peeked in.

Troy stared at the patient, then at the doctor, and finally at Jacob. “Sorry for interrupting, but I need to speak to my partner for a few minutes.”

Jacob nodded. “Excuse me.”

He followed Troy outside where Troy handed him a cup of coffee. “Thought you might want this.”

“Thanks.” Jacob smiled, taking the proffered cup, and swallowed some of the delicious hot brew. “Mmm, that’s good.”

Troy simply nodded, then scouted the area out with his gaze. “We need to talk in private. Come outside.”

“Sure.” Jacob followed him out the front entrance of the hospital all the way to the parking lot to the side of the building where a police cruiser was parked. With every step Jacob took, his curiosity grew. The moment he sat in the passenger’s seat and Troy sat in the driver’s seat, shutting the door, he asked, “So what’s the news?”

Troy stared at him. “I spoke to the captain before coming here.”

Jacob frowned. “What, Captain Forester is ticked off that I didn’t come in to write the report?”

Troy shook his head. “No, not at all. Actually, the captain said that he wants you to stay with the victim for a while.”

“For a while. For how long?”

Troy shrugged. “He didn’t say. All he said was that he wants you here with Vincent.”

“What about our case? How can I work on it if I’m busy looking after the victim?”

“I asked the same thing and he said that you’ll have access to all the police files you need from your home. He’s sending someone from the precinct to hook up a secure line for you there, so you can do any research you need to do directly from there.”

“What? That is crazy! I can’t!”

Troy gave a helpless nod. “Not much you can do, Jacob. Captain’s orders. And since Vincent is still in danger and you and I are the only ones at the station who know everything we have on The Cleansing Killings so far, then you are the ideal candidate to play bodyguard.”

Jacob pointed an accusing finger. “No, you can do it, too.”

Troy lifted his hands and coughed. “Hey, hey, I didn’t have a relationship with the victim, bro. You did.”

Jacob sighed. “I guess you added that in the report, didn’t you? And of course the captain read it and came up with this ingenious idea.”

“Had to, bro. Procedures, you know.” He tapped him on the shoulder. “Anyway, we’ll still be working together. Only I’ll be also acting as liaison between you, the precinct, and the captain.”

Jacob said as he got out, heading back to the hospital and Vincent’s side, “Hmm, seems to me you got the better part of the arrangement.”

Chapter 2

Following his doctor’s order, Vincent closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but that would be impossible. He was too distraught because of this predicament he seemed to have been thrown into.
Amnesia. Freakin’ unbelievable!

So many questions and worries fluttered through his head. But the most pressing of these was who the hell was he? How could he forget his own existence like this? Could such a thing even be possible? He remembered the English language, how to speak, how to drink. Why hadn’t he forgotten these things, as well?

Things were so confusing and the situation quite overwhelming. This probably was the darkest hour of his life. But then again, without any memories whatsoever to compare with, he would never know.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus on the positive. Maybe that would calm him down and he could get some sleep. The image of godly perfection appeared in his mind’s eye and he couldn’t help but smile.
Ah, Prince Charming…
Who was that hunky man he saw in his room less than an hour ago and how did he know him?

Were they brothers, friends, or something else? The way Prince Charming looked at him, Vincent didn’t think they were brothers or friends but the “something else.” And he couldn’t wait to find out what that was. The sexual tension between them when they looked at each other was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. Vincent’s heart’s pitter-patter speeded whenever Old Blue Eyes stared at him and he doubted his speeding heart had anything to do with his medical condition, rather it had to do with his sexual one.

For some reason even though he was injured and amnesiac, his libido was alive and kicking, and if it had a say on how he conducted himself when Prince Charming came back in, then it would be screaming for some hands-on French kissing.

And with the naughty thought, his prince returned.
Speaking of the devil…

He looked at Vincent with a forced smile. “The doc left?”

“Yes, told me I should get some sleep.”

Jacob stopped halfway to the bed. “Oh, then I’ll let you rest. I’ll be just outside the door.”

Vincent’s brow raised. “Wouldn’t you want to go home to rest? You look like you can use it, ah…”

He motioned for Jacob to finish his sentence, which he did, chuckling. “It’s Jacob. And thanks for the compliment. But no, I have to keep an eye on you.”

Vincent couldn’t help but smile. “Really! Hmm, and why must you keep an eye on me, Jacob?”