“U.S. Marshals! Hands where we can see them!”
The bedroom was alive with men shouting orders and brandishing rifles. George and the three men were yanked out of bed and their wrists handcuffed behind them.
George was pulled outside without being allowed to put on any clothes. Someone threw a blanket over him just before he was stuffed into the back of a police car. The driver took off so fast George couldn’t see what happened to the others.
* * * *
George Lattimer, Senior stared out the window of his office in the Prudential Building, his face so close to the glass his breath formed a layer of fog, obscuring his view. In one direction the steel-blue water of Lake Michigan stretched interminably into the distance. While below him, Chicago was decorating for Christmas and as if to set the holiday spirit, the gray weather promised snow.
He turned around to face the man sitting in front of his desk, his son, the stranger. In the short time he had been missing, he changed from a spoiled brat to a young man. He seemed to have matured ten years. Even the full beard and tanned face made him look older. With this new-found maturity came a renewed sense of responsibility. George, Jr. had devoted himself to his studies and was poised to take the bar exam. His father had little doubt he would pass. Four months ago, he didn’t have a prayer.
“Son, I wish you would think about what you’re asking me to do.”
“We’ve been over this several times already, Dad.” George snapped. “I can’t defend Daddy…er, Zeke Phillips but you can. Otherwise, he’s going to prison for a long time for crimes he didn’t commit. You know that’s why I refused to press kidnapping charges against him like you and Mom wanted me to.”
His slip of the tongue was not lost on his father. The older gentleman resented the name of the one who turned his little boy into a young man. Something he and his wife couldn’t do.
“C’mon, Dad. You’ve always tried to instill a sense of duty to those wrongly accused to me. Why don’t you practice what you preach?”
His words stung, but George Sr. had to admit he was right. Maybe there was an ace to play. “Your mother is still upset at the thought of you spending all that time in the company of homosexuals. Do you want to put her through all that again, drag her through another trial?”
“Mom has been in a self-induced drunken stupor for the last three months. Just make sure she has plenty of gin and vermouth. She’ll be fine.”
Another direct hit. Damn, he’s good. Praying he wouldn’t regret his decision, he acquiesced.
“Thanks, Dad. Now let’s get to work on Daddy’s defense.”
Again the rapier edge of that term of endearment sliced through his soul. He would never get used to his son calling that queer ‘Daddy’ but he had given his word to help.
* * * *
George turned his brand-new Mustang into the driveway of the small house on the outskirts of Tulsa. He drove Route 66 the distance from Chicago stopping only for a quick bite of food and bathroom breaks. Cullen came out the front door as he stepped from the car.
George paused to run an appreciative eye over Cullen’s shirtless body. The man had lost none of his musculature since the last time he saw him thus, almost nine months ago. There were no opportunities to see any of them in private during the trial.
“George!” Cullen exclaimed, bounding off the porch. George leapt into his arms, wrapping his legs around the big man’s waist, and reveled in the warm, furry kisses. He clutched the hair on the back of Cullen’s head, trying to devour him.
Cullen seemed just as hungry for him. Their cocks swelled with desire, pressing into their abdomens. George’s sexual hunger returned, ravenous after being denied for so long.
Johnny appeared in the doorway and uttered an exclamation of surprise. Cullen handed George to him and another passionate round of kissing and groping commenced.
Craving inflamed his mind and body. He stroked Johnny’s shaved head, rubbing his hands over the smooth skin. They moaned and panted as if they couldn’t ever be satisfied.
“Let’s take this inside, boys,” Cullen said, pushing them inside the house. Johnny carried George indoors and set him on the floor, the first time his feet touched the ground since he arrived.
George thought he was still floating on air in the company of his lovers again. He tore his gaze from their beaming faces to look around the house. It was approximately twice the size of the cabin, but still small.
“At least you have electricity, indoor plumbing and a functioning kitchen now,” he said.
“We’re renting until we can get on our feet,” Cullen explained. “We all have steady jobs now.”
“How is Daddy’s job going?”
“He’s working for the Corps of Engineers, helping build lakes for hydroelectric power.”
“He’s back to the Daddy he was before you met us,” Johnny put in. “If you and your father hadn’t defended him…” He left the sentence unfinished.
“We couldn’t have done it without you,” Cullen said, tears welling up again. George hugged him. At that instant, the door opened and Daddy stood in the threshold. His work shirt hung unbuttoned showing the hairy chest and abdomen muscles. Their eyes locked for an instant.
In two strides, Daddy scooped him off his feet and herded the other two to the bedroom.
George’s appetite was insatiable. This was the physical and emotional contact he craved. He took all three of them that night and then started over. Every pore, every cell and every nerve-ending sang with delight. Each second was emblazoned on his memory and his mind reeled from the ecstasy.
After midnight, they lay on the bed, a tangle of limbs, gasping for air, thick with the smell of sweat and semen. George lay in Daddy’s arm with his head on the hairy chest. Johnny spooned with him. Cullen lay on the opposite side of Daddy with an arm across him across him, touching George
Their breathing slowed and George nodded off, until Daddy’s soft voice woke him.
“I can’t let you go, kid,” he murmured. George looked into his handsome face in the dim light of the room. Behind him, Johnny stirred and Cullen’s head rose up. “Even if it means kidnapping you for real and becoming a fugitive again. None of us can live without you anymore.” Cullen and Johnny whispered their agreement.
George crawled on top of Daddy and sat straddling his hips. From this vantage point, he could see all their gorgeous faces at once.
“Who says I’m going anywhere?” he said with a smile.
Their faces changed from sad smiles to expressions of confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“I finally passed the bar exam, so I packed my things and drove down here. I convinced my father to open a branch of his law firm in Tulsa. I’m here to stay.”