Dracul's Revenge 02: Anarchy in Blood by Carol Lynne, T. A. Chase

I’ll come to get you. I’ll go grab some clothes at some point today and change when I get to your house for the dinner tonight.”
    “I can get myself home without trouble.” Aaron met him with a smirk.
    “I know, but humour me. As long as good-looking blond men are dying, I’ll be keeping an eye on your sexy ass. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.”
    Aaron’s gaze softened and he leaned over to brush a quick kiss over Gray’s lips. “I’ll call you.”
    Gray waited until he made sure Aaron walked into the building before he pulled back into traffic and drove over to his office. Gathering his briefcase and coffee mug, he headed up. Ruth greeted him with a refill for his mug and several files.
    “These came from New York, sir.”
    The files Bobby promised him. After taking them, he managed to juggle everything and got it all to his desk before dropping any of it. He hung up his jacket, set his briefcase down, and buzzed Kaplan.
    “Hey, boss. About time you dragged your ass in here.”
    “Shut up. I just got the files Bobby sent me. Did you warn Bert that he was going to be getting a set of them as well?”
    “Yes, sir. He was happy to hear it. At least, it’ll give the authorities a starting point.”
    Gray tapped his fingers on the edge of the folder, thinking. “I’m going to a private dinner party at the White House tonight with Aaron.”
    “No shit? Must be nice fucking the President’s personal aide,” Kaplan joked.

    ANARCHY IN BLOOD
    Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase
    71

    “I think Douglas invited me more to tweak his V.P.’s tail, than for any real desire to be nice to me.” And he didn’t have any problem with that. Anything that would upset the pious son-of-a-bitch was fine with him.
    “I can tell you’re really upset about that.” Kaplan laughed.
    “I’ll have Ruth make copies of the files when I’m done reading them. I want you and Tina to go over them as well. The three of us need to be on top of this thing from the very beginning. The police and the Bureau will be coming at it from a different angle. Their hands are tied concerning certain things, while we have a little bit more freedom.”
    “Gotcha.” Silence reigned over the phone line for a second.
    “So you ask Tina out yet?”
    “You’re the one who said not to mix business with pleasure.” Kaplan sounded irritated.
    Gray grinned. “Now that’s just my own personal rule. I don’t care what you all do.”
    “Fuck off. Did you and golden boy have fun last night?” Looked like Kaplan wanted to try to take the spotlight off his insecurities.
    Remembering the fun they’d had at the Capitals game the night before, he chuckled.
    “Yes, we did. I took him to a hockey game, and then we went out dancing.”
    “You dancing? I’d pay to see that.”
    “Get back to work, man, though I have to ask. What the hell are you doing here on a Saturday? Don’t you have anything better to do with your weekends?”
    Kaplan snorted. “Hey pot, meet kettle. I had a report to write up for one of my other cases. I was finishing it when you got here. I plan on heading out and doing some hiking in Rock Creek Park.”
    “I haven’t been there in ages. Maybe I can convince Aaron to go out with me for a hike and a picnic.” He thought for a second. “Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday.”
    “You too, boss.”
    He hit the end button and settled back in his chair, studying the folders in front of him.
    Reluctance to read what was in them hit him. He started to push to his feet, but stopped himself and dropped back down. Avoiding unpleasant things was yet another issue he’d been dealing with during his recovery. He’d run away from so many problems because he didn’t want to face them, which was why he had ended up at West Point instead of the Naval Academy.

    ANARCHY IN BLOOD
    Carol Lynne & T.A. Chase
    72

    Shuffling through the files, he set the photographs to the side. Those would be the last things he looked