V: The V in Vigilant

V: The V in Vigilant
By J.M. Snyder
Published by JMS Books LLC atSmashwords
Book 3 in the Vic and Matt: Vseries.
Visit jms-books.com for moreinformation.
Copyright 2009 J.M. Snyder
ISBN 9781611522013
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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs |written-ink.com
Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-FreeLicense.
All rights reserved.
WARNING: This book is not transferable. It isfor your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, itis an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators willbe prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
No portion of this book may be transmitted orreproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission inwriting from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerptsused for the purposes of review.
This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. Itcontains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic languagewhich may be considered offensive by some readers. Please storeyour files where they cannot be accessed by minors.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,places and incidents are solely the product of the author’simagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may bemade to actual historical events or existing locations. Anyresemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirelycoincidental.
Published in the United States ofAmerica.
NOTE: Readers canlearn more about Vic and Matt’s super-powered relationship onlineat vic-and-matt.com.
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Other books in this series:
V: The V in Valor
When one of the landlady’s cats gets loose,Matt broaches the subject of getting a pet with his lover. Vicdoesn’t want the added responsibility, but the discussion raisesquestions of long-term commitment both men have been contemplatingbut neither is quite willing to address yet. Then Vic interruptsthe bullying of a stray dog, and his perspective changes.
V: The V in Vengeance
Vic and Matt are slowly adjusting to lifewith a new addition to their little family—Sadie, the mutt Vicrescued from bullying kids. As they settle into a routine, Mattfinds himself dwelling on a more tangible way to show his feelingfor Vic. Though living with a superhero isn’t always easy, Mattwouldn’t trade his lover for the world. Especially when vandalsstrike.
V: The V in Virtue
Vic and Matt swear off intercourse for theweek after Christmas to come together in an orgasmic union atmidnight on New Year’s. When Matt’s coworker Roxie invites them toa year-end bash at her place, their plans for a quiet celebrationalone seem thwarted. But Vic manages to make the eveningspecial.
V: The V in Vulnerable
Matt stops by a local jewelry store to buythe perfect ring for Vic. But a trio of criminals strike the storewhile Matt and coworker Roxie are inside. When the police arrive,what started as a simple robbery turns into a hostage situation.With the cops at a stand-off, Officer Kendra Jones places a call tothe one man she knows will be able to help. Vic.
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The V in Vigilant
By J.M. Snyder
Monday dawned overcast and chilly. By thetime Vic Braunson got behind the wheel of his city bus, rain lashedthe windshield and cold air shrieked through the slightly openwindow beside the driver’s seat. Visibility was nil, keeping himwell below the posted speed limits as he eased the bus along itsprescribed route. Other drivers zoomed by, cutting him off attimes, driving as if the heavy rain didn’t bother them. More thanonce he saw some idiot narrowly avoid an accident. Before he’d evenmanaged to complete one circuit of his route, the muscles in hisshoulders and back had knotted up and the start of a tensionheadache tugged behind his eyes. Vic knew this was going to be along day.
As he slowed in front of the bus stop outsidethe Shriner’s Temple on Lakeside Avenue, Vic saw a familiar sight.The man waiting for a ride was a repeat customer, and the onlyreason Vic recognized him out of the hundreds of others who rodethe bus daily was because he was confined to a wheelchair. He wasthe only disabled passenger on Vic’s route, and the reason Vic tookan extra fifteen minutes each morning in the yard ensuring thewheelchair lift on his bus worked before setting out for theday.
His name was Roger Ward, Private First-Class.Though he’d been discharged from the service after losing half hisright leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, that was how he hadintroduced himself to Vic the first time he’d ever entered Vic’sbus. Roger was in his late twenties and used a manual wheelchair,pushing it up the hilly sidewalks along Lakeside to reach the busstop before Vic arrived. If Vic saw him on the way, he’d wait atthe stop, wheelchair lift already extended and engine idling.Despite his handicap, Roger kept active, and it was a rare day whenVic didn’t see him somewhere along his route.
Today Roger wore a dark, bulky jacket,unzipped to show a drab olive T-shirt beneath it. Black, fingerlessgloves protected his hands from the tread on his wheels, which hegripped as he waited for the bus. A tall, willowy woman stoodbeside him, her large umbrella shading them both from the downpour.Auburn curls blew around her head like flames caught in the rainybreeze. Vic hadn’t seen her before. A girlfriend or wife, perhaps?Roger seemed nice enough, and had a ruggedly handsome face Vicoften associated with military types. Their conversations werelimited to exchanging pleasantries, and even with his telepathicability, Vic wasn’t one to pry, so what he knew of Roger’s lifeboiled down to the man’s short-lived Army career. Mindful of therainwater rushing alongside the curb, Vic guided the bus to a stopdirectly in front of Roger’s wheelchair and opened the door. “Hey,man,” he called out.
Roger nodded. “Vic.”
He scooted back as the wheelchair lift slidout from under the bus steps. The woman fidgeted with the handle ofher umbrella, nervously watching the slim sheet of steel as it setdown in front of them. “Roger,” she said, her voice lilting on therain-soaked breeze. “I’ve got the van all day. I can take youaround—”
“Molly, no.” When the lift settled to a stop,Roger wheeled onto it and gripped the railing. Molly steppedcloser, trying to keep him under her umbrella, but he shook hishead, adamant. “No. The bus is here. I don’t need you to drive meanywhere.”
From the pursed look on Molly’s face, Victhought this