Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

after Danny, but not for the reasons you think. He wants Danny for his Investigations Bureau in New York. Apparently Harvard, here, is singlehandedly responsible for putting twenty-three men in prison four months ago, after the Giorgio massacre."
    "I remember that," Nathan said thoughtfully, still looking as baffled as Harlan felt. "Five of Giorgio Besso's associates were found executed in some backwater town."
    "Yep. Did I mention one of the mugs Danny sent to prison was Giorgio himself? The rest were men on his payroll, half of which were Prohis."
    "Well, I'll be damned," Harlan exclaimed, looking over at Danny. "You got more guts than I gave you credit for."
    "As soon as Giorgio was convicted, he put a hit out on Danny. When he found out Danny was moved to New York City, he knew he had to work fast before the transfer to the Bureau of Investigations went through."
    Nathan shook his head. "I don't get what that has to do with Shifty."
    "Shifty worked for Masin, who we know for a fact has done business with Giorgio, both of whom have lost a significant amount of money due to Danny's decision to turn over a new leaf. Masin knew we had Shifty, and he knew someone was going to be sent over to interrogate him. He made sure that someone was Danny. Then all he had to do was get to one of my men." John's expression hardened and a muscle twitched in his jaw. Harlan was glad he wasn't at the other end of whatever it was John had planned. "The gun found in Shifty's hand was one of ours, though the serial number was filed off." He turned to Danny, his voice filled with conviction. "I'll find out who did this and I promise I'll make them pay."
    "Easy there, cowboy. Don't go tarnishing that sheriff's badge on my account."
    Some sort of unspoken exchange went on between John and Danny, one that had Nathan turning to Harlan with a contained smile.
    "We should probably leave you to rest," Harlan said, getting Nathan's attention and nodding toward the door.
    Nathan put his hand on Danny's shoulder, his expression every inch the reprimanding sibling. "You're going to rest, recover, and then you and I are going to have a really long talk." Nathan gave him a pointed look and Danny suddenly seemed to have trouble looking Nathan in the eye. Harlan's guess was that Danny knew exactly what Nathan was talking about. He gave a small nod and Nathan came up beside Harlan. They walked to the door when they noticed John had lingered behind.
    "You comin', John?" Nathan asked, though Harlan was pretty certain they all knew the answer.
    "I'm gonna hang around here a little longer," John managed to get out without going too red in the face, "to discuss the case with Danny." He turned to Danny who was clearly fighting back a smile. "If you're feeling up to it that is."
    "I'm certain I can find the strength," Danny replied. They left the two alone with promises to come back in the morning.
    Nathan had a big grin on his face the whole ride home. As soon as they'd stepped foot in the house, Nathan burst. "John's a goner, ain't he?"
    "I think he's pretty smitten," Harlan agreed, pulling Nathan into his arms. "Though he's got one hell of a time ahead of him if what the doc says is true."
    Nathan's smile faded and he let his head rest on Harlan's shoulder, nuzzling his face against his neck. "John's a good guy, and he's been through a hell of a lot himself. Maybe he's just what Danny needs."
    "This isn't over, you know," Harlan was reluctant to say. "Masin, Danny, Dench. I got a feeling this is all just the beginning, and we're gonna be stuck right in the middle of it."
    Nathan went quiet for a moment. When he pulled back, he looked into Harlan's eyes. "What if we joined Danny?"
    "What?" Harlan certainly hadn't expected that. "You mean, join the Bureau of Investigations?"
    "Yeah, why not?" With Hoover at the helm, the Bureau ain't what it used to be. I hear he's done some impressive things in just the one year he's been Director. Will you at least think about it?"
    Harlan nodded. He knew that wherever Nathan went, he would follow. Whatever storm was on the horizon, they would weather it together. Who knew, maybe John would join them, especially now that he seemed to have made a decision about Danny.
    Together, the four of them could make one hell of a team. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. It would be one screwy team, and heaven knew, there would be double the trouble, especially with Nathan and Danny being let loose on an