Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

his teeth. For a moment Mac thought the man wouldn't speak.
    "Yes, they are bad men. We have no choice but you are worse. Having sex, together here in this place of worship."
    Mac wanted to smack the guy, he wanted to punish him for comparing attempted murder to gay sex, but he didn't. Rage pumped through him. He held back, forcing the wrath away.
    "They are drug dealers. The Carpenters cheated them out of some money. The kids were taken as... collateral," the abbot said.
    Grayson stepped forward, his eyes wide, his shoulders shaking. "They're kids. How dare you use them? What do you think is going to happen to them? How fucked up do you think they are going to be?"
    "The children are no longer my worry. They're gone. Taken," Benton said.
    Gray roared and raised his fists, ready to strike the abbot. Mac reached out, holding Grayson back. "Where?"
    "They took off about an hour ago. They have a house at a farm, an orchard not too far away where they run the drugs. I don't know where it is. They provide money to us. It feeds the poor." Benton stood indignantly
    "Fuck." Giving up wasn't an option for Mac. The kids didn't deserve this and Benton wasn't any help. How could the guy stand there and not take responsibility for his actions? The old man was useless. He'd bent, allowing the thugs to rule in this area, and now the system was broken. "If any harm comes to those two kids, I'll make sure you suffer."
    Mac stormed out, stopping by his and Grayson's room to pick up the rest of their things and change. They washed up quickly and stopped by the kitchen to grab food and water. Their lives just got harder, and here he thought they would be heading back to the States by now with two kids in tow.
    "Mac," Grayson grabbed his arm before they slid into the car they'd driven down in.
    The exhaustion, stress and pain of the last twenty-four slithered away. "Gray, you're my rock. You know that? You keep me going."
    "Let me drive. You're running on fumes. You're wound up tighter than a two-dollar watch."
    Mac laughed, "You fucking little redneck. Here's the keys. Drive, let me think."
    ****
    Grayson took the wheel, glad to see Mac close his eyes and start snoring about ten minutes after they pulled away from the monastery. He headed to town, not having any other idea where they should go. Both of them needed to sleep, they needed more food and he personally wanted to fuck until he couldn't think any more and then tumble into sleep in Mac's arms.
    Sure they'd almost been killed, but nothing bad had really happened since they'd gotten together. Grayson chuckled to himself. This mission had been a total clusterfuck, but they were still alive. He could be tossed into a dungeon, as long as he knew Mac loved him and still lived.
    Hearing Mac say those words to him, experiencing his touch, making love with him had finally allowed Grayson to fill in the empty spaces of his life, making his cracked, and ugly existence into a beautiful portrait.
    They pulled into town as the sun dipped below the dark hills to the west. They'd find food at the bar in this little village, eating tacos or whatever they served. He'd get Mac a beer, but only one. They were on a case, and they never drank more than one when working. He parked and turned off the engine, staring at Mac, getting lost in the gentle slope of his nose, the dark lashes on ebony skin, knowing the eyes behind those dark lids were lit with a fire that consumed him. The soft curve of his lips enticed him too much to bear, so Grayson leaned forward, softly kissing Mac, loving the puff of Mac's breath on his cheek and the freedom he had to finally touch, kiss, and love this man.
    Mac jerked awake, his eyes wide and fearful then softening when he saw Grayson up close. He stretched and swiped a big paw over his face. "Time?"
    "Close to eight."
    "Where?"
    "Zaragoza. There's a bar. We're going to eat, have a beer, then come out here to sleep."
    "I knew there was a reason I loved you."
    "And that would be?"
    "Everything." Mac wrapped him close, pulling Grayson against his chest and kissing Grayson until there were no coherent thoughts in his head.
    They ate their fill of bar food, drank two beers, but no water from the dive, relying on the bottles of water they'd taken from the monastery. When Mac's head started to nod and the patrons began to look dicey, Grayson kicked Mac's foot and tilted his head for them to leave.
    The night had cooled off, the darkness almost absolute in the small town with