A STUDY IN BLACK ✓

XII

Josh pulled away almost instantly. He pushed Tyler back, his head spinning. Tyler's eyes slowly fluttered open and began to scan Josh's face, looking for something.

"Shit, I'm sorry," he began. "I thought we were having a moment and it was pretty obvious you weren't going to initiate the kiss, so I-"

"Christ, do you ever shut up?" Josh grabbed the back fo Tyler's neck and kissed him back.

Josh didn't really know what he was doing. Maybe it was pent up fury or the fact that Tyler was really attractive and he secretly loved the snarky grin that never really reached his eyes.

Even so, Josh was still pissed at him, so he bit Tyler's lip hard. Tyler yelped against his lips, but only pulled Josh closer.

When they moved away for air, Tyler was grinning. And this time, the smile reached his eyes.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that," he breathed, kissing Josh again.

Josh pulled away enough so their foreheads were pressed together. "Just warning you beforehand, I don't know what the hell is happening."

"You... don't like me?" Tyler asked.

"Dude, I've known you for at most a month. Your first impression was you murdering someone in my house and now you've taken me to a different country so I could help you to take down a cult. I haven't exactly had enough time to figure out what my feeling are for you."

Tyler shrugged. "Yeah, okay, you have a point." Then he grinned. "That doesn't mean we still can't make out, right?"

Josh groaned and pushed Tyler away. "God, you're like a horny teenager."

"Minus the teenager."

They did, in fact, spend the rest of the night alternating between arguing about what to do about Heaven's Templar and making out.

On their flight the next day, Josh was a little less bitter at Tyler. Sure, it was still massively fucked up to manipulate him that way, but he knew if Tyler had told him from the get go that he practically saved him from being recruited by a cult, Josh would've laughed in his face.

They landed in Chicago, being picked up by a furious Dallon. He dropped what was left of his cigarette and smothered in with the heel of his shoe, already reaching for another.

"Good morning, Dante," Tyler grinned.

Dallon raised an eyebrow. "Get in the fucking car before I punch you in the face."

They did as they were told, Tyler in the front with a Dallon and Josh in the backseat.

"Next time you try to go after Heaven's Templar on your own, at least take someone not being recruited by them," Dallon said coolly.

Josh's jaw dropped. "What the- you knew?"

"Of course," Dallon replied. "I'm the closest thing Tyler's got to a friend, and it's my duty as your only ally that doesn't want to kill you 24/7 to take account of your fuck ups. What,  think Gerard and Michael just disappeared off the face of the earth?"

"Well, yeah," Tyler said.

Josh clapped his hands together. "So, is there anything else I need to know about Heaven's Templar besides the fact that Tyler worked for them, they want me to work for them, and you knew the whole time about them?"

Dallon snickered. "You told him about Jenna, didn't you?"

Tyler shrugged. "Will you help us?" He asked.

"No one else is going to."

Dallon took them downtown to the police station, where he showed them what he had on the Way brothers. He handed them identical files, both with the words HEAVENS TEMPLAR scrawled in a child's handwriting on the covers. Tyler smiled softly and touched the words.

"These are my old files from when I worked with them. How sweet, you kept them," he said.

"For a thirteen year old kid, you were the slyest little bastard we ever had to catch," Dallon said. "It took us nearly six years to get even remotely close to you. And in the end, it was Jenna who was able to bring you in, and alive no less."

Tyler beamed at him proudly, though Josh didn't see this as something to be proud of.

"Sadly, you were right about those suicides. They weren't actual suicides. They were a message for you, from them. The drug dealer was the last one for the time being, but I'm sure this means they're coming out of the shadows."

Josh opened his file, slamming it shut almost immediately. Opening it again, this time bracing himself for what he was about to see, he examined the rows of bodies. They were all twisted from their falls, the excessive amounts of blood and flower petals making Josh feel sick.

He flipped to the next page, which was a list of connections between the victims and Heaven's Templar. Parts of their names were highlighted.

Nathaniel Henderson. Otto Chief. Delilah Nelson. Adiolah Jacobs.

Not dead.

The fifth victim was more obvious.

Jenna Chester.

"They took her," Tyler said under his breath. "And now they're coming after me."