Mastering Will(18)

Lindi dressed quickly and followed Will to the kitchen. He settled on his favorite barstool, the one placed closest to the stove, so he could watch Will cook. He never got tired of watching Will in the kitchen. His lover’s pleasure at providing food for his master was the highlight of the day for both of them.

The knock at the door pulled Lindi’s attention reluctantly away from Will.

“I’ll get it, Pet. You stick with your batter.”

Lindi opened the door, surprised to find Agent Calthers on the other side.

“May I come in?”

“Sure.” Lindi stepped back to wave inside.

Lindi closed the door behind him. “Agent Calthers, this is my partner, Will. Will, the FBI agent I told you about.”

“Nice to meet you.” Will wiped his hands off and offered one to shake.

Lindi watched closely as the agent shook Will’s hand with care.

“So you’re the reason Mr. Samms couldn’t go into protective custody,” Calthers said. “I’m glad to see you’ve been returned.”

Will raised an eyebrow at the agent. “Was I missing?”

“Apparently not,” Calthers said. “Though we found a warehouse filled with the rest of the forgery ring. One of the guys swore he’d kidnapped you, Will. He said a group of armed gunmen came and shot up the place.”

“Really? How strange? Was he taking drugs? You can’t really trust the word of a criminal,” Will said with a completely straight face.

If Lindi didn’t know the story, he might have believed his lover. Maybe growing up in a mob family had some benefits.

“We did find bullet holes everywhere, especially in the kidnappers. None of them turned out to be fatal,” Calthers said, frowning.

“Well, that’s good anyway.” Will smiled.

“Was that everyone in the ring? Are there any more hiding out?” Lindi pretended interest in this new chain of events.

“After hearing his team had been captured, Harkinson accepted a plea deal. He didn’t like that the others were more than willing to let him rot in jail while they raked in millions. The whole ring is coming down. With Harkinson’s cooperation, you won’t need to testify anymore.”

“That’s wonderful!” Will exclaimed.

The agent smiled at Will’s enthusiasm. “I’ll be on my way. I just wanted to thank you for your assistance on our case. This was the largest forgery ring on the West Coast. They just made the wrong choice in galleries.”

“Would you like some pancakes?” Will asked.

“No, thank you. I’m going to go home and get some sleep. The paperwork alone kept me up late last night.” Calthers smiled at Will. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Same here,” Will replied.

Lindi shook hands with Calthers, happy to send the agent on his way. Only a few minutes passed after Calthers left before someone else knocked on the door.

“We seem to be having a busy morning, Pet.” Lindi kissed Will’s cheek before going to see who was visiting.

All three of the Finn men stood on the threshold. Lindi decided they might as well make nice before he kicked them to the curb. “Come on in. Will is making pancakes.”

The men traipsed in. Much backslapping ensued along with one bone-crushing hug from his father that had Will gasping for breath. Lindi pulled Aengus away. “Why don’t you go have a seat at the table and let Will finish up?”

After some grumbling, they obediently filed out and went to sit at the table. Lindi gave Will a quick kiss and accepted the tray filled with coffee cups.

He joined the others at the table. “Here you go, gentlemen. Will made it so it should be drinkable.”

Laughter met his words, but their appreciative moans when they took a sip told him Will had made his usual delicious brew. Generally, Will didn’t appreciate Lindi helping serve guests, but his sub was still a bit off balance with the onslaught of relatives.

Seating himself, Lindi eyed the Finns with caution.

“That’s some right fine coffee Will made,” Aengus declared. He drank his coffee black and made a soft sigh of appreciation after each sip.

“Will buys our beans from a micro-roaster a few blocks away. He’s quite particular about our java.”

“He always was a finicky one,” Brian said, but his tone was fond so Lindi let it go.

Cain didn’t say anything. He was drinking his coffee like he’d found a new religion and didn’t wish to interrupt his moment of worship.

Lindi opened his mouth to ask them about their plans when Will entered with a plate of pancakes stacked in two towers, one plain and one blueberry, and a pile of crispy bacon that would make any carnivore drool.