Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2016 22:09:48 -0500
From: Cooper Max <lmd4208@gmail.com>
Subject: A Husband's Secrets (Adult Friends)

-Cooper Max is the author of this story. His other works can be found under
his author name in the prolific author section. He welcomes all feedback at
lmd4208@gmail.com -


			    A Husband's Secrets

			    Chapter 1: Survive


	The sound of gun fire erupted behind Julius as his thick frame
crashed through the brush with no grace; his linebacker's build didn't lend
itself well to nimbly running for his life through the Catskill mountain
ranges in the middle of the night.

	His lungs burning and gasping for air, he could barely hear the
gunman gaining on him from behind. Before Julius could think of his next
move, he lost his footing and tumbled down a steep hillside crashing into
every rock and tree dotted across the hillside. Pain shot through his body
but his left arm screamed the most from his recently healed injury obtained
while on assignment in Nigeria.


	After tumbling for what seemed like forever, his downward roll was
abruptly halted by a pine tree. Julius lay still trying to regain his
breath and his wits. Silence consumed the forest as he wondered how far he
had fallen. With every effort he tried to control his breathing in order to
not give away his position.

	Julius rapidly assessed the situation; he had no idea where he was
within the expansive mountain range; he had been forced deep into the woods
with a blindfold on. The only reason he even knew he was in the Catskills
was because he overheard his captor on his cell phone. The odds were
stacked against Julius with him being outgunned and disoriented. He had to
chuckle silently to himself, though, because he did have one advantage -
his dark smooth skin. It'd work to his benefit at least until sunrise.

	Julius strained his ears for any indication of where his hunter
could be. No sounds reached his ears. He ran through his options: Wait it
out and hope the assailant passed him altogether? Run for it Ð but to
where? Quietly make his way through the brush Ð but again to where?
Sweat, leaves and dirt lathered smooth dark skin as his stress level rose.

	Quietly, Julius rose to his feet. With every effort to keep his six
foot two inch frame quiet, he silently stalked toward a thick grouping of
trees in the near distance. He hoped the thick line of trees would muffle
his sounds and movements.

	Julius froze in his tracks as a loud crunch came from the
hilltop. He could barely make out movement through the darkness. Was that
him? Was it an animal?

	Before Julius had time to see, a loud pop came from beside him and
an object lodged itself into the tree beside him. Julius hit the ground
realizing a bullet had just barely missed him.

	"How did this fucker see me out here?" Julius's mind screamed as he
scrambled for cover.

	A menacing voice cascaded through the forest.

	"Julius, my friend, that was just a warning shot. You're probably
wondering how I found you out here in the dark. Did you really think I'd
come out here without my thermal and night vision goggles? I didn't spend
all those years fighting America's wars without learning a thing or two."
The man stated arrogantly.

	Julius threw himself behind the biggest tree on the opposite side
of where the voice came from. Julius wondered if he could outrun the
man. With all these trees, there was a good chance he'd miss Julius even if
he could see him.

	"Before you get any silly ideas about running again you should know
that I called in the whole team. Before dawn, this entire area is going to
be crawling with my best guys. You could get away from me Ð maybe Ð
but you won't escape all of us, Julius. Don't prolong the inevitable, turn
yourself in and I promise you'll go unharmed." The man called out; his
words tripping with hubris.

	Julius's heart sank. He knew the team this guy worked with; he'd
worked with them too. Ruthless, skilled and greedy beyond measure; these
guys would make a sport of tracking him down. He shuttered to think what
they'd do with him after they caught him; he'd seen what the team did with
its `play things' while in the Congo and Mali. He'd never get those images
out of his head.

	"Alright! You've got me. I give up," Julius bellowed out; his mind
still churning on how to escape this situation. Even if the man didn't kill
him then and there, he'd still have to survive being under his thumb; no
easy task. There was no escaping him or his team; they had too much dirt on
Julius."

	Julius moved forward towards the man with his hands raised.

	"Ahhh smart decision, Julius. You're too valuable alive to us. What
a waste it would have been to kill you. To think how sad your dear,
precious Connor would have been without your salacious rendezvouses. Oh and
of course there's your wife to think about too." The man remarked with
malice and sarcasm in his voice.

	Julius despised everything about this repugnant, arrogant man. This
guy thought the world bowed to him. If Julius didn't loath everything about
this guy's existence, he could think a thing or two he'd like to do to shut
up his never stopping mouth. Julius wondered how this asshat would handle
his 8 inch cock rammed down his throat; at least he'd be quiet.

 	The man walked toward Julius cautiously, weapon raised and night
vision goggles still on. His strong, lean framed seemed wound and ready to
respond to any aggression.

	"On your knees, Julius. Sadly, this won't be the kind of service
you like to provide while down there. Hands behind your back." The man
uttered.

	Julius begrudgingly complied.

	The man approached Julius with a smug assuredness. He reached
behind his back with his free hand to remove a pair of handcuffs.

	The man stepped closer to Julius and tossed the cuffs to him.

	"Put these on one of your wrists. I'll do the rest. Don't do
anything stupid." The man said.

	The man inched closer to Julius. The man leveled his gun right at
Julius's head.

	Slowly, Julius reached for the cuffs. In the dark, it wasn't too
easy to see them in the leaves near his knees. Julius could hear the man's
breaths as he inched even closer. He stopped right in front of Julius.

	"Hurry the fuck up. I don't have all night. I have plans to put in
motion with the most recent intel you so readily leaked me. Weapons to
move. Countries to crumble. The usual." The man commented flippantly.

	Julius could hear the sarcasm in the man's voice but he knew he
wasn't actually joking about any of the activities he listed. This fucker
was in deep in all the wrong places.  How deep Julius didn't know but deep
enough to know warlords, terrorists, drug kingpins, arms dealers and the
occasional senator on a first name basis.

	A dawning realization zipped through Julius's brain. Even if he
didn't get a bullet in his head tonight, it would just be a different
night. Maybe not next week, not month or even 5 years but that bullet would
come. This guy didn't tolerate loose ends and with everything Julius knew
he was an enormous loose end. There's no way he'd be allowed to live.

	`The reason I'm alive is because I'm still valuable.' Julius
thought morbidly to himself. `The second I stop being valuable and
providing the information these fuckers want, I've signed my own death
warrant."

	A sudden anger rose in Julius's body. Adrenaline surged through him
as the fury built.

	The man shifted impatiently.

	`Death now or death later. At least now it's one on one.'

	Realizing the man was within striking distance, Julius thrust his
arm out as hard as he could directly into the man's crotch. The man,
shocked, howled loudly in pain and pulled the trigger.

	His aim was off. Hot lead tore through Julius's right ear; the
sound deafening him. Julius seizing on his momentum, leapt to his feet. He
lowered his shoulder and plowed into the man; this was something Julius
knew how to do and well. His linebacker build crushed into his opponent
knocking him clear off his feet. The gun flew out of the man's hand. Julius
didn't have time to see where it landed.

	The man roared with anger and pain. He surged to his feet. He
charged Julius and landed a solid blow to Julius's face.

	The two locked arms and bodies and struggled violently. With a
quick foot sweep from Julius, the two men crashed heavily onto the forest
floor. The man pounced on top of Julius gaining the upper hand. He landed
two quick blows and Julius could feel the blood seeping from him.

	Julius countered with a heavy punch. The man wasn't shaken. The man
connected a swift knee to Julius's abdomen and pain consumed him.

	Julius shifted his weight and slid on top of the man. He swung
widely; only a few of his blows connecting well.

	The man shifted his weight and threw Julius off of him. He regained
the upper position and wrapped his thick hands around Julius's throat. The
man's strong, thick hands squeezed with an immense grip.

	Julius could feel the air being squeezed out of him. Panic coursed
through him as he violently attempted to dislodge the man's hands from his
throat. He could see the man's arrogant grin as Julius's attempts failed.

	Julius's hand swept through the brush and leaves. He could feel the
light-headedness setting in. Suddenly, his hand connected with something.

	With every ounce of strength he had left, his hand sprung forward Ð
rock gripped tightly- and struck his assailant in the head. The man swayed
and his grip relaxed.

	Julius struck him again. The man made a loud, pain-ridden
noise. Julius struck again and again. The man slumped onto the forest
floor.

	Julius took the upper position and relentlessly started crushing
the man's head with his stone. Anger, fear, loathing all surged through
Julius's body. His mind blanked as his body acted. He struck
again. Again. Again.

	The man's body twitched and convulsed. Blood squirted and
oozed. Finally, the man's body lay still.

	Julius slumped onto the ground beside the body. Relief and
exhaustion consumed him.

	Feeling the blood dripping from his ear, his mind lurched into
full-throttle. He tore a piece of the man's shirt from his body and wrapped
it around his head to cover his ear. He had no way to assess how bad the
injury to his ear was in the dark without a mirror.

	 He had just a few hours before the goons flooded the
forest. Julius had the upper hand; the goon squad didn't know their boss
was dead; they'd assume he lost service during the pursuit.

	Julius yanked the night vision goggles from the man's head. They'd
come in handy until the sun came up. Quickly, he searched the man's
body. Finding the man's cell phone, Julius flipped it on. It still had
service. He flipped open the web browser and did a quick search to
determine his location. Hastily he smashed the mobile several times with
the bloody rock in hopes the men wouldn't triangulate the position.

	Julius started a rapid search for the weapon that flew from the
man's hand. After 10 minutes, Julius recovered it; another useful tool.

	Julius dragged the body as far as he could manage into a thick set
of bushes. He hastily covered it with any materials he could find. If the
team were able to triangulate the last ping from the cell phone, hopefully
they wouldn't find the body. Not knowing about the demise of their boss
gave Julius a slight advantage.

	With one last breather, he set out toward the nearest town.


------ End Chapter 1 -------