Rook

Atlas Security - Book 1

OceanofPDF.com
Ember Morgan

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Contents

Copyright
Introduction

PROLOGUE

1. Jaxon “Rook” Mitchell

2. Detective Nathan Porter

3. Jax

4. Nathan

5. Jax
6. Nathan

7. Jax

8. Nathan

9. Jax
10. Nathan

11. Jax

12. Nathan

13. Jax

14. Nathan
15. Nathan

16. Jax

17. Nathan

18. Jax

19. Nathan
20. Jax

21. Nathan

22. Nathan

23. Jax

24. Nathan

25. Jax

26. Nathan
27. Jax

28. Nathan

29. Nathan

30. Jax
31. Jax

32. Nathan

33. Nathan

34. Jax

Thanks for Reading!

About the Author

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Copyright © 2023 by Ember Morgan

All rights reserved.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living
or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the
publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

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Introduction

Jaxon Mitchell:
My days of following orders are long gone. So when Roman Sloan asked
me to join the crazy band of misfits at his new security firm, I told him
there was something wrong with his head. But clearly there's something
wrong with mine, because somehow I still ended up the new investigations
part of Atlas Security and Investigations.
My time in the military left me with some trust issues that mean I don't
play well with others, so I've got my doubts this gig is going to work out.
For now I'm working solo and it gives me an outlet for my boredom. Not to
mention a reason to mess with the hot young detective who hates my guts.
Detective Porter is all glares and threats on the outside, but deep down…
yeah, deep down, I'm pretty sure he actually wants to arrest me. Could be
fun though. I'm not opposed to handcuffs and the uptight detective
definitely has some extra tension to burn off.
Unfortunately, the man is either completely resistant to my charms, or
worse than that, he's straight. Still, watching the way his face turns red
every time I flirt has me seeking him out more than I should. And when a
new case comes my way that gives me every opportunity to do just that? Of
course I'm diving right in.
Except this case might be a little more than I can manage on my own and
I'm going to have to learn the hard way if I can trust a team to have my back
again. It's too late to back out now, I've placed my bets and all that's left is
to see where the cards fall.

Detective Nathan Porter

Jaxon Mitchell is the bane of my existence. The P.I. and his agency
popped up out of nowhere, and for some reason, the infuriating man set his
sights on me. And he seems determined to ruin everything I've worked my
tail off for.
I didn't become the youngest detective in the department by accident. I
keep my nose down, follow the rules, and I get results. Those things alone
have gotten me where I am, and I refuse to let some meddling P.I. mess
everything up. But there he is, every time I turn around, flashing those
smiles as he solves another one of my cases like he's done me a favor.
The man is reckless and allergic to rules. I deal with criminals all day,
every day, but somehow Jaxon Mitchell is the one man I can't handle.
So when my latest case becomes personal, the last person I want to see
nosing around is the infuriating P.I. who sees just a little too much. But
there he is, just like always, ready to unravel all of my deepest secrets.
 CW: This is a story about a detective and a private investigator - there are
mentions of assault, abduction, drugs, rape and death in the cases they are
working. There are fight scenes and crime scenes, but no on page murder or
rape. If you are sensitive to any of these topics, this story may not be for
you.

This book is a work of fiction. The ideas and opinions of the characters do
not necessarily reflect those of the author. While the input of a police officer
was used in writing the book, the structure and procedures followed by
individual precincts vary and liberties may have been taken by the author in
crafting the story.

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PROLOGUE

"SO, WHAT DO YOU think?" Roman asked, leaning back in his seat after
a long pause.
The man across from him didn't look up from the open file he was
reading. "I think therapy better be included in the benefits you offer.
Especially for whoever you're hiring to wrangle these men."
"I can't share this information with just anyone, I'll be handling the
wrangling myself for the most part. Might get an assistant once everything's
up and running. The only reason I'm even letting you see these files is
because you already had access to most of them. You sure you don't want to
come out of retirement to work with me?"
"If you were serious about trying to convince me, you would have done it
before showing me this," he gestured to the stack of files.
Gregory's gray eyes beneath dark lashes finally came up to meet his. It
didn't matter how long they'd worked together, or how damn long he'd
known the man was off limits, it still sent want shooting through his
stomach every time he gave him that look. That look that was partially a
scolding all it's own, but filtered through something that looked a lot like
affection. Not that it could be. Not only had Gregory been his superior
officer for several years, he was also straight as an arrow in every way.
The man sighed, his biceps flexing under the sleeve of his polo as he
picked up a different file and looked it over.
"What are you doing, Roman?"
"What are you implying, Gregory?"
"I'm not implying anything. I'm outright telling you that you were a damn
good soldier and an even better leader. There would be no shortage of
soldiers willing to follow you anywhere. So what is this?"
Despite the accusation, Roman's chest warmed at his words. The hard
man wasn't one to throw out compliments, he said what he meant and
nothing more. He was referred to as Captain Hardass among the soldiers,
but Roman had never minded his direct and to-the-point ways. He'd rather
know what he was up against than be blindsided by bullshit and
bureaucracy any day.
"These men may not be the most elite or decorated men I worked with,
but they were good soldiers."
Gregory picked a folder at random and opened it. "Weston Hayes. Big
guy," he said approvingly. His eyes ran down the page as he assessed the
information. "Trouble working with the other soldiers. Other than honorable
discharge after assaulting a fellow soldier?"
"He's a sweetheart. His team found out he's gay and harassed him until he
retaliated. That discharge was bullshit. It was self defense, but it was his
word against theirs."
Sighing, he tossed the folder down and picked up another. "Crew Barrett.
Medical discharge, PTSD."
 "He was part of Project Osiris. Only one on his team to come out in one
piece. For the most part."
Gregory frowned in a way that told Roman he knew more about that
project than he could say. "There's a chance he can't handle the stress of the
job."
"I'll determine what he can handle before I try to put him in the field."
Roman knew before he said a word which folder he'd selected next.
Gregory rubbed a hand over his face before shooting him an incredulous
expression. ""You can't be serious."
"He could shoot the wings off a fly."
"He's a loose cannon. He doesn't need another job with a gun, he needs a
padded room and medication."
"Yeah, well, after he got tossed from military he has trust issues so I'm not
even sure I can convince him to join another team anyway. Might try to
bring him in as a freelancer for certain contracts."
His heavy sigh let Roman know how he felt about that idea as he picked
up another folder. "Christ, Roman, you can't save every soldier who didn't
make it in the military."
He tossed the folder back on the table and the page with Jax's picture slid
out. "Jaxon Mitchell was screwed over by his own people. They sent him
into an unknown situation without proper backup or intel. That was the
army's fuck up, not his."
"I'm not saying it wasn't, but he came out the other side with a
disciplinary record that got him tossed out. You can't make up for what the
army did to these men."
Fuck. Gregory knew him too well to even try denying that was his intent.
"I can try."
 He shook his head. "This is why you earned that damned nickname. You
think the whole damn world rests on your shoulders."
Sometimes it felt like it did. The weight of responsibility always sat
heavily on Roman and he took his job of keeping his soldiers alive
seriously. But sometimes it felt like he wasn't only protecting them from the
enemy.
It was ultimately why he'd walked away from the military. If he'd stayed,
he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't end up like any of those men himself.
Except walking away hadn't been as easy as he'd thought it would be, so he
was playing by his own rules now.
"This isn't just about them," Roman finally said.
Gregory's eyes softened at his friend and his fingers twitched like he
wanted to reach for him, but held himself back. That, or Roman was seeing
things he wanted to be true rather than what actually was. Probably that
one.
"I know. Look, if you want my honest opinion? I think you've already got
your team picked out and you don't really need my help. But I also think
that if anyone can pull this crew together, it's you."
"Thanks. That means a lot, old man," Roman teased.
Gregory was older by several years, but the age gap wouldn't have meant
anything to Roman. The man's dark hair was streaked with silver at the
temples, but in that sexy, distinguished way. And his body was phenomenal.
Not as big as Roman, but in top condition, just as it always had been.
Gregory shook his head at him, not taking the bait. "I have to admit, I
think for once I'm relieved that Maddox never misses the opportunity to not
listen to his father."
 Roman snorted. Gregory had recommended his son for a job within the
agency almost as soon as Roman had told him about it. While Maddox was
never military, he was raised by Gregory to be a soldier and he had the
training necessary to do the job. But Maddox turned out to be quite happy
with his current position as head of security at his tavern. Not to mention
the new husband he didn't want to leave to work the longer assignments that
came with a security service.
"How are things going with Maddox these days?" Roman asked, knowing
that Gregory's relationship with his son had been strained for many years. It
seemed that was changing recently and he could see the way it affected the
man.
"Good. They're still having their issues with the town, but he's good.
Happy." Gregory looked down at his hands as he spoke. The man carried
guilt for the way things had been with his son, and while Roman wasn't
going to say that none of the blame fell on his friend, parenting was damn
hard and he wasn't in a place to judge.
Roman leaned forward and settled a hand on Gregory's arm. His skin was
warm beneath his touch and Roman fought not to react. Gregory's eyes
lifted to meet his and it was like time stopped.
That close, he could make out the flecks of gold in his gray eyes, and
smell the warm, spicy scent of his aftershave. Roman's chest tightened and
his breaths grew shallow. Fuck, why did this man have such a pull over
him?
Gregory's eyes dropped to his lips and Roman sucked in a breath in
surprise. His tongue slipped out to wet his lips and Gregory's eyes followed
the motion, his pupils dilating.
 Roman barely caught sight of the change before Gregory's eyes slammed
shut and he pulled back, breaking the moment.
Regaining his wits, Roman squeezed Gregory's arm and let go. "I'm glad
things are better between you two."
Gregory recovered quickly, straightening the folders on the table like a
little organization would wipe any messy thoughts that had made their way
into his head.
He cleared his throat. "Yeah. Me too."
Leaning back in his chair to put more space between them, Roman picked
up his coffee and crossed one leg over his knee to hide the effect the older
man always had on him.
After a long moment, Gregory was able to meet his eye again and he
waved a hand at the stack of folders, changing the subject back to the
reason he was there.
"Well, you might as well tell me. Who made the cut?"
Roman shrugged. "Assuming I can convince them to take a chance and be
part of a team again? All of them."

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1

Jaxon “Rook” Mitchell

“I MEAN IT, JAX, no more messing with the detective. This is the second
complaint I’ve received in the six months we’ve been in operation.”
My boss, Roman Sloan, AKA Atlas, of Atlas Security and Investigations,
rubbed at his temple and tossed his cell phone on the messy stack of papers
on his desk. As much as I didn’t care for being lectured, his scolding was
fair. I did love teasing the very pretty, very uptight Detective Nathan Porter.
But it wasn’t entirely my fault.
“How else am I supposed to occupy my time, boss? We've got no new
cases at the moment.”
He sighed heavily and settled his oversized frame in the chair behind the
desk. “Actually, I do. But I'm not sure you’re going to want it.”
I groaned. “Babysitting gig?”
He snorted. “No offense, Jax, but Weston will be taking most of the
babysitting gigs. You don't exactly have the right temperament to be
working that closely with the clients.”
 "Fair enough."
I wasn’t insulted. One upon a time I’d been just as much the clean cut
soldier as they were, but experience made sure that by the time I was out of
the military, I was done. With all of it. From the haircuts, to following
orders, to trusting others to have my back in rough times.
These days I looked like I’d just strolled out of the nearest prison and I
had the attitude to match. I didn’t blame Roman one bit for keeping his
precious few customers away from me. The people that came to him for a
bodyguard were typically a delicate bunch best left to Weston. I was the
investigations part of the equation and I was more than fine with that.
Hell, I was still leery about this whole damn thing — joining another team
and all. Never thought I'd do that again. But I’d needed something to
occupy my time and Roman had come along with an offer at just the right
moment.
After getting out of the army, I'd found I had a talent for reading people. A
trauma response if you asked my therapist. Some kind of hyper attention to
the tells of others so I could better predict which of them would screw me
over next. Made sense, I supposed, but I wasn’t asking her much of
anything these days. Some things just couldn’t be fixed. But it turned out
that particular bit of my crazy lent itself well to gambling and I made
enough money to keep me going without needing to integrate back into the
real world completely. Probably a good thing for all involved.
The problem was never the money, it was the quiet. The time I spent at
home alone was an enemy I hadn’t seen coming. All that time left with
nothing but my own thoughts to occupy me did funny things to my head
and I’d searched for an end to the quiet at the bottom of a bottle one too
many times. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it backfired horribly. And I
didn't like the odds.
Despite needing something to keep the boredom at bay, I'd been hesitant
to work with Roman. The military had left me disenchanted with romantic
ideas like teammates, and orders, and trust. But Roman was one of the few
I’ still had faith in. Anyone who’d worked under him knew he was one of
the good ones.
If he’d been the one running things the day I nearly didn’t make it out,
maybe shit would be different now. Then again, maybe not. Roman had
been just as obligated to follow the orders they handed down as I was. Not
that it mattered. He wasn’t there that day and there was no point in
wondering what he could have done differently. In the end, I left the
military broken in ways that weren’t healed with stitches. So I found ways
to occupy the quiet. Like fucking with the pretty detective who hated my
guts.
I was pulled from my musings when a folder slapped the desk in front of
me. I flipped it open, finding an older picture of two smiling teens. The
paperwork behind the picture was a copy of the death certificate with the
cause of death listed as a drug overdose.
“What am I looking at? This doesn't look like an open case.”
“The blonde in the picture is Bethany Wells, a twenty-three year old
bartender who works at the bar down the road. The brunette is her cousin,
Chloe. They were close growing up, until Chloe got mixed up with the
wrong crowd through a boyfriend who started pimping her out to his friends
for cash. Things escalated from there and a year later, Chloe was a sex
worker with a minor drug problem.
 "Bethany was the only family member that stayed in contact, hoping her
cousin would eventually let her help. Three weeks ago, Chloe finally called.
She told Bethany that her friends had gone missing and she was afraid to
work.”
“Work meaning prostitution.”
“Presumably. It is a dangerous job.”
I nodded in agreement and Roman continued.
“Bethany told Chloe to meet her at the nearest gas station and promised to
pick her up. She was twenty minutes out and tried to keep her on the phone,
but Chloe got into an argument with someone and the call was
disconnected.”
“Pimp?”
“Or a customer.”
“I’m guessin’ she never showed up at the gas station.”
“She did not. Bethany searched the surrounding blocks but never found
her. She went back the next few nights, but Chloe never showed up again.
She talked to other workers in the area, but no one could tell her anything.
Chloe's body was found last week, report says overdose but an overdose
doesn't explain her disappearance. Ms. Wells is certain that someone is
responsible for Chloe's death.”
“This could be nothing.”
Roman nodded. “Very well might be. And Bethany doesn’t have much
money. What she can pay wouldn’t even cover the costs of the
investigation.”
Roman paid us all a base salary, but we also made a cut of the profits on
each case. We were the ones putting our asses on the line, and he knew we
deserved to be compensated for it. So if this girl didn’t have money, it
meant not only would I be potentially putting myself at risk for basically
nothing, but Roman would be a man down and taking a loss with a new
company that was already barely scraping by until we got our name out
there. And yet, he'd called me in for a reason.
“But…”
“But I hate the idea that justice is only available to people with money.
The cops aren’t going to look into something like this that closely, and we
all know it.” He gestured to the folder again. “I did some preliminary
research and there are a few potential leads. Some potential players who
have bounties on them and have been evading the police for a surprisingly
long time given how well known they are.
“I won't force you to take this case, though. It’s your choice. ASI won’t
take a cut and you’ll have full access to our resources, but the pay is still
shit. If you take in any of those men in the process, the bounties are yours,
but there’s every possibility that none of them are actually involved.”
Someone tapped on the door twice before it opened. Dylan, the guy
Roman hired to run the office, stuck his head inside and flashed a smile.
“Hey boss, that big strapping hunk of military man meat is here to see
you.”
Roman rubbed a hand over his face. “Most of the people I know are
military, Dylan. Can you be a little more specific?”
“Oh, yes, I thought you’d never ask. It’s the tall, dark, and handsome
daddy with the thick, muscular thighs, an ass you could bounce a quarter off
of, and big, broad shoulders that make you want to climb on and…”
“Dylan!”
“Yes, boss?”
“I meant a name.”
 “I was just getting to the good parts," Dylan pouted. "You guys ruin all
my fun. Fine, he said his name is Gregory.”
“Christ,” Roman muttered. He turned to me and gestured to the folder.
“Take some time to look it over and get back to me.”
I nodded and stood, swiping the folder from the desk as Roman told
Dylan to send Gregory in. The younger man simply let the door open wider,
revealing a slightly embarrassed looking Gregory right behind him and I
snorted, realizing he’d heard everything Dylan said and the little shit knew
it.
“Go on in, handsome.”
I followed Dylan into the hall and closed the door behind me. He threw
me a wink and sauntered back toward his desk.
“You’re trouble,” I laughed.
“It’s one of my very best features, I think.”
“You military?” He didn’t seem the type, but who the hell was I to judge?
He dropped into his desk chair and began organizing the mess of papers
Roman had no doubt dumped on him. “Oh no, honey, I only follow orders
in bed.”
I grinned. We'd met briefly over the past few months, but we'd only had
the chance to talk business until now. I could tell already I liked this kid.
We were going to get along just fine.
“My mother was the soldier," he explained. "She never worked with
Roman directly, but she knew him by reputation and when he opened this
place she sent me his way. Figured he would need someone with my
talents.”
“The talent to wrangle a bunch of broken ex-soldiers, or the talent to keep
shit organized and handle clients?”
 For the first time, Dylan flashed me a frown. “You guys are not broken.”
I shrugged. “I speak for myself.” There was no point in hiding that much,
he’d probably seen my file anyway.
“You haven't been to see your therapist in over four months. Make an
appointment.”
What the hell? “How did you—”
He waved me off. “I know everything about everything, babycakes, that's
my job. And the answer to your question is yes. Yes to keeping everything
around here under control, and yes to wrangling a team of ex-soldiers. I
grew up around soldiers, it takes a lot to intimidate me.”
“So you’re not intimidated by me?”
Not that I wanted him to be, but plenty of others were. I didn’t exactly
look like a soldier these days. My dark hair nearly hit my shoulders and the
permanent scruff on my chin wasn’t the clean cut look the army was going
for. My clothes were geared more toward making me fit in on the streets
among the drug dealers and pick pockets rather than any polite company.
Not that I didn’t like my clothes, I wore what was comfortable and didn’t
care what anyone thought. But add in the scars, tattoos, and the permanent
resting 'fuck off' face, and people tended to see me somewhere on a scale of
unapproachable to criminal.
Dylan shook his head. “Nah. I mean, you’re working this whole ‘just
rolled out of prison’ chic thing, I suppose, but I don’t think you’re a threat
to me or Roman. Aside from the detective who now has it out for this place.
But if crashing crime scenes is what gets you through the day, then I say
have at it. There are worse vices. And that detective could use a bit of
shaking up if you ask me.”
I grinned. “Couldn’t agree more.”
 “So you’re going to take the case, then?”
I frowned down at the folder and then looked back at Dylan. “You know
something?”
He shrugged innocently and clacked on his keyboard faster than I could
even comprehend words, let alone type them. “Well, you know I'm not one
to gossip, but there might be a little rumor floating around that the detective
assigned to Chloe's case is none other than the very handsome Detective
Nathan Porter.”
Well, this case just got more interesting.
“Tell Roman I’m in.”

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2

Detective Nathan Porter

“ANOTHER ONE?”
“Detective.” The uniformed officer gave me a look to go with the
greeting. “Not sure there’s much to investigate here. Looks to be an
overdose.”
And while his observation seemed fair enough, what he was actually
saying was 'We don't know why you insist on being called out to every
scene.' It was something I dealt with often. Our department typically let
uniformed officers handle the initial scene alongside the coroner's
investigator or the sheriff's department. Typically it wasn't until all of those
details got passed on to the lead detective that the case would get handed
down to someone like me. But much to their annoyance, I was always
throwing a wrench in the works.
“That’s what I keep hearing, but every recent overdose matching this
demographic had the same drug in their system. It's at least worth looking
into, don't you think?”
 The officer shrugged. “If you say so. Sounds to me like they got the same
dealer. Bound to happen in those circles.”
It didn’t take a genius to hear what he wasn’t saying. One less criminal on
the streets for us to deal with. I'd been doing this job for seven years, and it
still got to me when a life was so casually disregarded, but keeping my
mouth shut was a talent I’d mastered long before I became a cop.
While I couldn't say I lost sleep when murderers or child molesters turned
up dead, no one wanted to throw their life away to addiction. The people
who fell into that cycle needed treatment more often than handcuffs, but
they were stuck in a system that just wasn’t set up to fix the problem.
Letting myself grow numb to that fact would only make me less effective at
my job. So even if this turned out to be an overdose, the case deserved the
same effort I put into everything else that came across my desk.
“Any evidence of foul play?” I asked the technician processing the scene.
I was the youngest detective in the department for a reason; I kept my
head down and worked my ass off. But when it came to situations like this,
they still treated me like a rookie, meddling in things he didn't understand.
It was understandable to some extent. I was the one always messing with
protocol and getting involved in things they felt they could handle on their
own. I was a thorn in their sides, but my focus was on doing my job the best
I could, and sometimes that meant stepping on some toes.
But it was more than that. There was a brotherhood among the other
officers. A closeness I couldn't be part of, and a hierarchy that preferred
those who followed orders without question. I never broke the rules, but I
wasn't a yes-man or even a team player. That made me an outsider all
around. Not that I could complain when the carefully kept distance was
intentional. I'd put my job first years ago, and as long as I got results,
nothing else mattered.
“Looks like an overdose,” the tech answered. “But she’s been roughed up
a bit recently. Bruising around the wrists. There’s some hair missing. Looks
like they might have been taped at some point, but not just before death.
The marks are faded, look to be a week or so old, and that’s fairly consistent
with the hair regrowth. There’s also some bruising around the neck, but
strangulation wasn't the cause of death. Possibly a sex worker who had a
client get rough with her in the last few days.”
“So… there’s evidence of foul play.”
The tech met my eyes. “There’s evidence that the victim got roughed up a
few days ago and overdosed last night. The full write up will be in our
report once it's finished.”
Despite the lack of answers, I respected her professionalism. It was my
job to connect the dots and determine if the bruising was related to her
death.
“There’s nothing else here,” she said, taking a few more pictures from a
different angle. “Tox screen will probably have more answers for you.”
Once the tech finished answering my questions, the coroner’s office took
over to do their investigation. They moved the body to check for
identification or evidence, but there was with nothing. No drugs, money,
nothing. Same as the last one.
I left the scene frustrated and with a looming headache that was
screaming for caffeine. My phone buzzed in my pocket before I even pulled
away from the curb and I scanned the message while the throbbing in my
temple steadily grew worse.
 How did that asshole get my number? My fingers tightened on the
steering wheel as I pulled away, passing the coffee shop on the way to deal
with whatever shit Jaxon Mitchell had gotten into this time.
Private investigators were the worst. Sticking their noses in shit they
should leave to the professionals. And no, I was not just salty that he’d
solved more than one of my open cases before I could. Unlike him, I had
rules to follow. Procedure.
I'd busted my ass my whole life to become a detective, spent years
working for it, and went through the proper training. But these guys just
came in out of nowhere playing badass like the real world was some kind of
cosplay event. They were going to get someone killed one of these days.
Probably themselves.
What they did was dangerous, and Jaxon Mitchell was the worst kind.
Reckless and impulsive. Never played by the rules. The rules were there for
a damn reason, they kept people safe.
I ground my teeth, my headache throbbing a little harder as I found the
address he’d sent only a few blocks away. Too close to be coincidence. Jax
leaned against his car, arms folded over his chest, making his tattooed
biceps bulge beneath the black t-shirt he wore. His jeans were worn but
hugged his thighs and his motorcycle boots completed the look that made
him blend right in on the random street corner in this part of town.
A man sat on the ground at his feet, his arms and legs crossed in front of
him. I felt my blood pressure rising before I was even out of the car and
crossing the crumbled asphalt lot.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded.
Jax widened his eyes, feigning innocence. “Me? I was just an innocent
bystander who happened to be in the donut shop when this guy decided he
wanted the money in the register.”
“I didn’t do shit!” the guy on the ground protested.
Jax rolled his eyes. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? There’s a
shop full of witnesses.”
My headache was working its way up to pounding as I squinted at the
little mom and pop place behind him. “An innocent bystander who decided
to play hero and jump in the middle of a robbery? Why didn’t you call the
police?”
Jax grinned at me and I scowled. I hated that fucking smile. The asshole
was goddamned dangerous.
“I called you. Aren’t you the police?”
I ground my teeth again. “I meant while it was happening. Instead of
taking matters into your own hands. I told you to stop apprehending
suspects on your own!”
“Yeah, there wasn’t really time for that. He had a gun.”
“Jesus Christ, you understand that’s worse, right? You could have been
killed!”
That damn grin made an appearance again. “Aww, are you worried about
me, snookums? That’s sweet, but I can handle myself.”
I snarled at the infuriating man. “Cut the bullshit. The next time you
decide to play hero instead of calling the police it’ll be you I’m arresting.
You fucking hear me? This vigilante justice bullshit you’re pulling isn’t a
goddamn joke, Jaxon. You could have gotten someone killed!”
I’d expected the big, intimidating man to snap back, but instead he
shivered and flashed flirty dark eyes at me. “Can you growl my name like
that again?”
 My eye twitched and the vein in my temple pounded in time with my
headache. Why I let this man get to me so much, I didn’t know. Except that
was a fucking lie, I knew exactly why he got to me. It was everyone else
who could never know.
“Where’s the gun?” I snapped.
Jax pulled open the door of his car and handed me a heavy bakery bag. I
eyed the bag in my hand and raised an eyebrow in question.
He shrugged. “That was what they had. Didn’t want to get my fingerprints
on his gun since I figured you’d be all too happy to pin this on me.”
I was still glaring when he reached back into the car, pulled out two coffee
cups, and handed one over. Half expecting it to be more evidence, I took the
cup and was surprised when the smell of coffee hit my nose.
“What’s this?”
“Figured I’d get us a coffee while I was waiting on you. Dark roast, no
sugar, just a splash of cream, right?” He took a sip from his own cup and
smiled at me again.
How the hell did he know that? I narrowed my eyes at him. “What did
you do to it?”
Jax scoffed and shook his head. “You really think I’m dumb enough to
fuck with a cop’s coffee? It’s early. I was getting one for myself anyway, so
I got one for you.”
He looked annoyed by my accusation, but I’d thought it was a fair
question.
Still, I wanted that damn coffee enough to risk my life for it. I didn’t have
time for a migraine and my headache was quickly heading in that direction.
Plus, if I was admitting things to myself and only myself, I didn’t actually
think Jax was the kind of guy who would try something like that.
 Keeping the coffee, I pulled out my phone and called it in, requesting a
squad car to pick up the suspect and take witness statements. I nearly
groaned in relief after the first few sips of the dark liquid took the edge off
my pain.
“I'll just get going,” Jax said when I disconnected the call. It wouldn’t be
the first time he’d disappeared from the scene after catching someone in the
act of a crime. Either he was a magnet for trouble, or he was going looking
for it. I’d bet my badge it was the latter. The question was, why? What was
he looking for?
I got in the way when he attempted to move the kid away from his car.
“No, you need to give your statement.”
“Already gave it to you.”
“You need to give it to the uniformed officer,” I snapped. “Don’t like
giving statements? Stop getting involved.”
“Come on, Porter, I got you coffee. Even stayed to give it to you, doesn’t
that count for something?”
“Bribing a cop is illegal.”
“You took the coffee!”
“And as long a I don’t do anything for you in return it’s not a bribe.
Wouldn’t want to risk it,” I added as the marked cars pulled into the lot.
Jax scowled and I couldn’t help the way my lips twitched at finally
getting the upper hand. Maybe if he had to waste half his morning dealing
with the consequences of his actions, he’d think twice before doing it again.
OceanofPDF.com
3

Jax

THE SMUG LOOK ON Porter's face was almost cute as he strolled back to
his car, coffee in hand, leaving me to deal with the uniformed officers he'd
pointed my way before bailing.
Lucky for me, the very grateful ladies in the bakery were singing my
praises to the cops taking their statements. The dumbass who’d come in
waving a gun while I’d honestly just been picking up coffee on my way to
harass the very detective now making his escape, was locked in the back of
a squad car and much more talkative now that he knew I couldn’t get to
him. I’d offered a few colorful scenarios of what I’d do to him if he didn’t
behave while we waited on the sexy detective, but he was clearly feeling a
little bolder behind a car door and a few cops.
This kid wasn’t the first gift I’d left for Detective Porter, he was just the
first I’d stuck around for. I’d had to give the detective his coffee after all.
The others I just wrapped up real nice for him along with the evidence and
waited out of sight until he got there to take them in.
 It all started with a case that led me to a particularly annoying asshole
who, while not directly involved in the case, was causing problems for our
client. After a little digging, I found out he was tied to one of Porter’s
ongoing investigations, and since Porter had left an impression when we'd
met previously, I tailed the suspect until I caught him in the act. I did some
detective work of my own to get Porter's number and generously sent all the
evidence along with the man's location.
Call it morbid curiosity that had me sticking around to watch his reaction
that first time. We’d run into each other more than once on the
investigations Roman sent me out on. Lurk at enough crime scenes taking
pictures and eventually they start to notice. Porter hated me from day one.
Hated all private investigators as far as I could tell, but he seemed
especially hostile when it came to me. So when that first present made his
face flush with anger, I just had to do it again.
Pissing off the detective became the highlight of my day after that. He
was this uptight, by the book, pretty boy next door asshole who hated my
guts, and there was nothing better than getting a reaction out of him. And
while I didn’t think leaving little tokens of my affection warranted quite the
level of emotion that flared in those blue eyes every time I did it, I could
admit to myself that I was addicted to seeing it. I wanted to see more of it.
Wanted to see it while those pretty lips were wrapped around my cock, in
fact, but that was never going to happen.
Because the other thing that had happened on day one? I’d flirted with the
undeniably hot man, and the change in his expression had been instant. One
minute he was annoyed, the next he was furious. Absolutely livid. Just like
every time I’d seen him since. Not only was Nathan Porter straight, I was
pretty sure he was a homophobic asshole.
 All the more reason I should get over my fascination with the man and
find something else to fixate on. And yet there I was, pushing his buttons
for sport.
We were both working the same case now. It would only make sense for
me to back off and try to work together with the man. To extend an olive
branch and attempt to be civil. But working together on things wasn’t my
style. Not anymore. I’d need answers from him, sure, but I wasn’t
convinced that the detective would welcome my help any more than I
welcomed his.
If I wanted answers from the prickly man, I was going to have to get
creative. Annoying the fuck out of him only got me so far, but I was
nothing if not persistent. And bored. The perfect combination for wearing
the detective down.
I walked over to the car with the kid in the back and approached the
officer standing in front of the open car door. “Am I free to leave?”
“I need your contact information in case we have more questions.”
“I gave my cell number to the officer who took my statement,” I
answered, pulling a business card from my wallet and handing it over. “You
can get in touch with me through my employer if needed.”
The cop took the card and looked it over. “Bodyguard?”
“P.I., but we have those too. It’s a full service operation.”
He nodded and stuffed the card in his pocket. “You can—”
The radio cut him off announcing another DOA, possible drug overdose. I
caught the address before the cop waved me off and I gave him a nod,
hurrying back to my car before they decided they needed anything else
from me.
 I plugged the address I’d heard into my phone and followed the GPS
north to the more industrial part of town not far from the river. I parked my
car a couple of blocks away and found my way behind the brick building
surrounded by cars with flashing lights. The area was already taped off and
guarded by uniformed officers, but it looked like I’d beaten the detective
there.
I joined a few local onlookers behind the tape and snapped a few pictures.
The body was half hidden from view by the cement base of a broken lamp
post and the officers standing guard, but I could tell this one was male.
Another sex worker if I had to guess by the clothes. It could have been
some kid who’d been out partying and looking for a good time, but I didn’t
think so.
There was some faded bruising showing along his sides where the
material of his cropped shirt didn’t meet the top of his tight jeans. Could be
something, could be nothing. Whole lotta men out there who thought
paying for it meant it was okay to get violent and take things that weren’t
on offer. Like Roman had said, it was a dangerous job.
Wasn’t my place to tell others what to do with their lives, but without the
law on their side, they couldn't even have a safe place to work out of.
Risked getting into strange men's cars and putting themselves at their
mercy. Couldn't even go to the police when a client assaulted them without
the risk of getting arrested themselves.
Damn, sometimes I hated this job. No more than the last one, but still. It
was too late to save the kid, but I could at least find out if his death was
connected to Chloe’s and do something about it if it was.
The detective made his way over, pausing to chat with the uniformed
officer who’d met him halfway. He hadn’t seen me yet and paid no attention
to the onlookers as he moved to the other side of the body. The kid’s face
was turned away from me, so when Porter circled to see him, I saw every
emotion that flickered in his eyes. Recognition, shock, sadness, and finally
anger. I thought I’d seen the detective pissed before, but it was nothing
compared to what I was seeing now.
The evidence technician working the scene spoke to him and Porter’s jaw
worked, clenching hard before he responded. I couldn’t hear what they were
saying, but whatever that tech was telling him only pissed him off more.
The tension that had been at the corner of his eyes, giving away his
headache this morning had eased by the time he’d left me to deal with
everything, but it seemed to be returning now and he absently rubbed at the
back of his neck while the tech continued to answer his questions. The
tension in his shoulders was an ever-present thing and it was only getting
worse by the moment.
I was relieved and a little surprised to see he was taking the case so
seriously, but this guy was going to give himself a heart attack before he hit
forty if he didn’t find a way to relieve that stress. I had some ideas, but I
doubted the prickly man would be up for any of them. Fun as they would
be.
Though, based on that moment of recognition, maybe I’d pinned the man
wrong. How did he know this kid? Had he arrested him before? Or was the
rule-following detective all a front to cover the fact that he was picking up
sex workers? That didn’t mesh with anything I knew about Porter, but hell,
no one knew better than me that you never really knew shit about anyone
until you’d seen them at their worst.
Still, I couldn't quite make myself believe this was what it looked like. For
one thing, it didn't explain why Porter seemed ready to snap. He wouldn't
though. I’d bet every penny in my bank account that the detective never let
himself be vulnerable in front of anyone. Not that I could blame the guy,
but it had taken me getting stabbed in the back and left for dead to cause my
trust issues. I owned my problems, I didn’t hide them behind a pretense of
perfection and rules.
I was still trying to figure out what exactly I was so damn angry about
when the man in question finally noticed me. The glare was instant, and I
couldn’t help the way my own eyes narrowed to match.
Dismissing me, Porter turned his attention back to the body as the
coroner’s team moved him to his back and searched his clothes for
evidence. With his face turned, it was obvious how young the kid was.
Christ, if he was legal, it was just barely. My gut twisted. Motherfucker.
The detective left the scene before they’d even finished gathering the
evidence and I hurried to catch him just before he reached his car.
“You knew that one,” I accused as he pulled the keys from his pocket.
His back stiffened and he turned on his heel to snarl at me. “Back off,
Mitchell. Leave the investigation to the professionals and go find someone
to babysit.”
“Was he even legal?” I continued, as if he hadn’t spoken. “What happened
to all those rules you’re always spouting off about? They only apply to
everyone else?”
Oh, if I’d thought he was pissed before, it was nothing compared to the
absolute rage that flushed his face, making his eyes burn with blue fire. He
stepped closer and I almost had the urge to step back, reading him carefully
and half sure he was about to go for blood. It was only force of will and
pure recklessness that had me holding my ground as the clearly dangerous
man stepped into my face.
 “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growled, his tone low
and menacing. “Stay the hell away from me and stay the hell away from
this case.”
Before I could even respond, he was slamming the car door and taking off
down the street.

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4

Nathan

WHY THE HELL DID I let that man get to me every damn time? And why
was I still giving Jaxon Mitchell a second thought when this latest case was
weighing on me so heavily? I didn’t have time to care about what Jax
thought of me. I’d been right about the overdose cases and the only thing I
could do for that kid now was find the person responsible.
I was still on my way to find out what the hell happened when the lead
detective demanded my presence back at the station. Whatever answers
Calhoun needed, I’d give them and get the hell back to my work. I didn’t
need the micromanaging to do my job, and it was more than a little
frustrating that he chose right now to insist on an update.
My sunglasses shielded my eyes from the harsh fluorescent lights in the
station and I left them in place until I reached the Calhoun’s desk. A stab of
pain made its way from my eyes through my head when I finally removed
them and tucked them into my pocket, the stress bringing my headache
back with a vengeance.
“Porter, take a seat.”
 My ass hit the edge of the chair. “What can I do for you?” I asked, cutting
to the chase. I was prepared to do whatever he asked if it meant I got back
to work faster.
“I was looking over the active cases and it looks like you have a few
overdoses that haven’t been closed out yet. They look pretty open and shut
so you need to get these wrapped up.”
“Those cases aren’t as open and shut as they seem. Hair tests show the
vics weren’t heavy drug users until shortly before their death. Usually a few
weeks, sometimes a couple of months. The report also shows that all of the
victims had the same drug in their systems.”
“Then they’re buying from the same people. That’s not really ground-
breaking evidence.”
“I think it’s more than that. Some of these people went missing before
they showed up dead.”
He arched an eyebrow. “There’s no report on that in the files.”
“They weren’t reported.”
“Then where are you getting this information?”
“Mostly from sex workers who knew them.”
“That’s not exactly a reliable source, Porter.”
“They have no reason to lie.”
“They have plenty of reasons to lie, most of which could end with them in
handcuffs.”
I forced myself to relax my jaw. Grinding my teeth would only make the
headache worse. “They weren’t doing anything illegal while I was
interviewing them. There’s also evidence some of the victims were
restrained and possibly raped.”
 The detective rubbed his temple. “Didn’t you just say they were sex
workers?”
My shoulders tensed painfully tight. “Being a sex worker isn’t automatic
consent.”
He huffed out a breath. “I’m not saying that. I just mean we can’t prove
that someone didn’t pay them to get a little rough and they’re not here to
tell us otherwise. It’ll never hold up in court. It’s not even enough to get a
warrant.”
I’d need a lead to request a warrant, so that wasn’t even a concern yet.
“That’s why I’m still working on it.”
“Find some solid evidence that these were more than overdoses or close
the cases.”
“Yes, sir.”
Calhoun waved me off and I found my way to the break room needing
another hit of caffeine before I did anything else. Derrick Ashton was
already there fixing his own cup of coffee when I arrived. While I wouldn’t
say that I was friends with any of the other officers, Ashton was still only a
couple of years in, and he seemed nice enough.
“Detective,” he said, making room for me in front of the coffee maker.
“Ashton,” I greeted, not bothering to pick up a conversation.
My coffee was still brewing when an incoming group of officers for the
next shift found their way in and broke the silence. They greeted Ashton
like an old friend and gave me a nod as they gathered around the table,
teasing each other about their past weekend. It wasn’t unusual for the guys
on the same shifts to get together outside of work, but I’d turned down the
offers early on and eventually stopped getting invited all together. Not that
it mattered. Letting any of them get too close was asking for disaster.
 “Porter, how’s it going?” Garcia asked as he joined me at the counter. We
didn’t know each other well, but he seemed like a nice enough guy. More
friendly than most at least.
I took a careful sip of my steaming coffee. “Not bad, yourself?”
“Eh, you know how it is. Full moon tonight, all the crazies come out. Bet
you’re happy to be going home soon.”
“Here we go with that superstitious bullshit again,” Hawkins piped up,
saving me from answering.
Garcia chuckled and carried his coffee back to the table. “Man, you can’t
deny it’s true. I’m always running my ass all over town when the moon’s
out.”
Another officer found his way into the room, waving off the round of
greetings from the table. Aaron Cox was your stereotypical cop. A gym-
loving alpha male, man’s man kind of guy. But it was the attitude and anger
issues I had a problem with. He’d ended up answering to the chief more
than once over how he handled his cases because the bottom line was, the
guy was a hot-headed bully.
He was one of the few I could say I actively did not get along with. Men
like him were the reason I was positive that my working environment
would never accept me if they knew me at all. That was fine. I didn’t need
to make friends to do my job. And the job was the only thing that mattered.
I wasn’t like the rest of them, and for people like Aaron Cox, that was all
the reason needed to attack. He was a Grade A asshole, but the kind who
still managed to surround himself with allies. One of those people who were
drawn to the authority that came with the badge for all the wrong reasons.
I’d been dealing with people like him my whole damn life and I wasn’t
going to give him or anyone else the ammunition he needed to destroy what
I’d spent my life working for.
“Porter,” his tone was almost mocking as he made a cup of coffee. How
the hell someone could make my name sound like a taunt, I didn’t know,
but the man was an expert at being a dick.
I swallowed a large gulp of coffee, burning the hell out of my mouth just
because it allowed me to nod in lieu of a greeting. He smirked like he knew
his presence alone irritated me and then turned back to the men in the room.
All of whom treated him like he was the popular kid in high school gracing
their table with his presence.
Seeing the opening to make my escape, I left them to their socializing to
get back to work. Sunglasses in place and coffee in hand, I made it about
six steps out of the building when a familiar car caught my eye. It was half
hidden behind the bushes on the side of the building, but a car that beat up
stood out in a place like this.
Jax knew he’d been caught when our eyes met, but there wasn’t an ounce
of guilt in the smirk he sent my way. The vein in my temple throbbed a little
harder and I resisted the urge to rub at it and let him know he was getting to
me.
Before I could decide if I even cared why he was there, something solid
slammed into my arm and the hot coffee I’d been holding dumped all over
my jacket.
“Christ, Porter! Why the hell are you just standing outside the door?” Cox
snapped.
His eyes went over my head to find what I’d been looking at and rather
than dealing with him, I turned back to Jax who was pissed and reaching for
his door handle.
 Don't you fucking dare.
He saw the death glare I sent his way and his hand hovered near the door
while we had a stare down.
Cox’s snort pulled my attention back to him. “Lover’s quarrel?” he
mocked, making Hawkins laugh behind him.
I knew he was just being a dick, but I felt the blood drain from my face.
“He’s a private investigator,” I snapped, tossing my mostly empty coffee
cup into the trash.
“If you say so. Be more careful of where you get distracted, will ya?” he
threw over his shoulder as they headed for their car.
Deciding I didn’t have the patience to deal with Jax, I went to my own car
and popped the trunk. Pulling a clean suit from the dry cleaner’s bag, I
stripped off my jacket and button down right there in the parking lot.
“And here I’m all out of singles,” Jax commented dryly.
“Haven’t you caused enough trouble? Why are you here?”
“How did I cause any of that? Maybe you didn’t notice, but that asshole
ran into you on purpose.”
I’d noticed. Cox’s tone had been more mocking than surprised, and he’d
walked away without a drop of coffee on him — almost like he’d been
expecting it.
“And I would have been gone if you weren’t stalking me at work. Go find
some cheating spouses to chase down before I have you arrested for
interfering in police business.”
“What’s up with that guy? He mess with you like that a lot? Why didn’t
you say anything?”
“He bumped into me, I can’t exactly report him to HR for that. I’m not
going to answer any questions about my cases and I sure as hell don’t need
your help dealing with my coworkers. Go home, Mitchell.”
“Let me know if he keeps messing with you. I’ll dig up some dirt on him
you can hang over his head.”
Yeah right. Cox was just as likely to dig up my own secrets to hang over
my head, and that thought was a lot scarier than a ruined suit.
“I don’t need your help,” I repeated as I climbed into the driver seat,
prodding at the stabbing pain behind my eye.
I pulled out, leaving Jax standing in the lot, and headed back in the
direction I’d been going before Calhoun put even more pressure on an
already frustrating case. Not that he’d needed to.
Telling my boss I knew the latest victim would have gotten me taken off
the case and I couldn’t let that happen. I was stretching more rules than I
wanted to admit, but I didn’t trust anyone else to handle this. They would
do exactly what Calhoun wanted and close them all out as a bunch of
overdoses. Maybe blame it on a bad batch of drugs. It was bullshit. Today’s
victim hadn’t been a heavy drug user before he ended up in that lot. But
since I couldn't tell anyone how I knew that, I needed to find the evidence
Calhoun demanded.
I wasn’t giving this case up. I was going to find the bastard responsible
and make them pay for what they’d done. This just became personal.

OceanofPDF.com
5

Jax

I’D NEARLY LOST HIM in the time it took me to get back to my car and
catch up, but something fucked up was happening and I needed to know if
Porter was somehow involved. I finally caught a glimpse of him making a
turn several cars ahead and I cut someone off to follow him.
He was in his personal car and probably off the clock. Common sense said
I wasn't going to get anything else on the case out of him, but I happened to
know he was not heading in the direction of his home and for reasons I
refused to explore too closely, I was a nosey guy when it came to the
detective.
Keeping my distance, I tailed him back to another fairly well known area,
though I wasn't sure it was in his jurisdiction. Made sense if this visit wasn’t
official business, and based on the way his car slowed as it wove down the
streets, the sinking feeling in my gut told me it wasn’t.
His car came to an abrupt halt up ahead and I quickly pulled over and
parked behind another vehicle on the street. I dug my binoculars out of the
glove box and watched as a brown-haired young man approached the car.
His clothes left a lot of skin exposed despite the chill in the air and this one
looked even younger than the other.
“What the hell are you doing, Porter?”
I'd almost convinced myself he was just asking questions about the case,
but then the kid reached into the car and came up with a handful of cash
that he tucked into his overly tight pants. A moment later, he disappeared
into the passenger seat of the car.
What the fuck? Could I really have been this wrong about the guy?
I trailed them to a diner next to a seedy motel and circled the lot until I
spotted them inside. They’d taken a table at the back of the restaurant, away
from the other customers but close to a window, and I backed into a space a
few rows back to watch.
Reading lips wasn't in my skill set, but body language sure as hell was and
their interaction wasn’t overly friendly at first. The kid seemed annoyed
rather than flirty, which filled me with relief. Maybe Porter really was just
trying to get answers out of him.
A waitress stopped at the table and Porter waited until she was gone to put
a hand on the kid's arm. He didn’t pull away, but he did look up at the
detective with fear in his eyes. Something ugly bubbled up in me and only
the knowledge that he really couldn’t do anything in that restaurant kept me
from storming in there. Sex work was one thing, but this kid was young and
clearly upset.
Whatever he said next had the kid yanking his arm away, head shaking,
lip trembling. Porter moved to the chair closest to the kid and tried to calm
him as tears spilled down his face. They were both still talking, but none of
the words being said made the kid any calmer.
 I was still debating whether I should go in there and ask the kid if he
needed a hand when he threw himself into Porter’s arms, his back shaking
with sobs. Porter’s eyes widened in surprise, his hands hovering awkwardly
over the kid's back until he finally patted his shoulder, offering comfort.
Something in the interaction put me at ease despite the kid's obvious pain.
This was starting to look a whole lot more like delivering bad news than
paying for anything other than the kid's time. Or maybe that was wishful
thinking.
The waitress dropped off food and Porter said something to her before she
disappeared again. The conversation between the two men picked up again
and there was a lot of head shaking on the kid’s part, and mostly frustration
on Porter’s. Whatever he wanted, the kid wasn’t agreeing to it.
The waitress returned with boxes for the food they hadn’t touched, and
Porter boxed it up and pushed both meals into the kid's hands before
dropping some cash on the table. He stopped at the counter to pay, but the
kid continued out the door. My attention stayed with Porter as he watched
the kid through the glass like he was worried the second he took his eyes off
him, he'd end up just like the last one.
The cashier, who'd been sneaking curious glances at the two men, handed
Porter his change while they were both distracted and most of it dropped to
the counter and the ground. Porter barely spared a glance at the dropped
bills before walking away, which was uncharacteristically rude. Not that I
was any expert on the man, but usually the only one he was rude to was me.
The waitress called after him but he waved her off and chased after the kid.
The two men went right back to arguing the second Porter was outside.
When they approached his car, the kid stepped away as if refusing to get in
and the detective held up his hands in surrender. They spoke for another
minute before the kid finally got back into the car.
I started my car back up at the same time he did and waited a few
moments before tailing him again. He took the kid back to the same place
he’d picked him up and there was another brief argument before the kid
retreated back the way he came.
Porter’s car sat there for a moment before he finally pulled away and
turned the corner, disappearing from sight. Relief swamped me at the
innocence of the interaction, but I couldn’t resist pulling my car around the
corner to search the kid out. The homeless guy tucked in an alley with the
take out boxes told me I was on the right track.
A little further down the road I found him easily enough, but it was clear
the kid wasn’t working. He was making his way down the street at a pretty
fast clip.
“Hey,” I called out my passenger window.
The kid didn’t slow down, but he did glance over his shoulder at me. He
shook his head. “Sorry hun, not working.”
I pulled the car over to the curb just ahead of him. “I’ve got three hundred
bucks on me. Give me fifteen minutes and it’s yours.”
The kid slowed, considering the offer before looking my way again. His
red rimmed eyes did a slow perusal, probably trying to decide if I was a
cop, but coming up with the correct answer. With a sigh, he wandered over,
bending down where he could see in, but staying out of reach. Smart kid.
“Three hundred for fifteen minutes? What kind of kinky shit are you
into?”
“The kind that doesn’t involve me putting my hands on you at all,” I
promised.
 “Like to watch, huh? Does this involve anyone who’s not you putting
their hands on me?” He shrugged. “Not a deal breaker, just like to know up
front.”
“No. Fifteen minutes, no one else, we won’t leave the car, and no one will
touch you.”
The kid eyed me suspiciously. “Let me see the money.”
I pulled out my wallet and dug out the money, fanning the cash for him to
see. Instead of putting it back in my wallet, I folded it and set it in the center
console.
Nodding the kid got in and I pulled away from the curb, just intending to
drive while I asked him questions.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“It’s Brody. So you just want to watch me jerk off? Or, like, come on
something? Is this a feet thing? It’s a feet thing isn’t it? Am I coming on
your feet or mine?”
He reached for his shoe and I laughed. “Please, for the love of God, do
not remove any clothing. I most definitely do not want to see your feet, or
anyone else’s, no offense.”
He moved his hands back to his lap and looked at me in confusion.
“Okay, then what are you paying me for?”
“Your time. I just want to ask you a few questions about things that have
been going on with people in your profession lately.”
The kid tensed, his eyes darting out the windshield. “Are you a cop?
Where are you taking me?”
“Calm down. I’m not a cop, I’m a P.I. We were hired to look into the
death of Chloe Wells. She was a sex worker who died of an overdose a few
weeks ago. Her cousin didn’t seem to think she used enough for that to
happen out of the blue and the hair test they ran seems to confirm that. She
wasn’t a heavy drug user until right before her death. I’m looking into her
case and a few others that have suspiciously similar circumstances. If you
know anything, it could save someone’s life.”
Brody shook his head, his shaggy brown hair falling into his face. “No
one knows anything. We know some of the others have gone missing, but
not what’s happened to them. Every time one of them shows up again,
they’re…” His voice choked off and I couldn’t help feeling bad for him.
“You were friends with one of the overdose victims?”
“Noah didn’t overdose, I know he didn't.”
“I believe you. I’m going to do everything I can to find out what’s really
going on here, but the work you’re doing isn’t safe. You need to lie low
while we figure out what the hell is going on.”
The kid scoffed. “What is it with people today? It's never safe, but we still
need to fucking survive, so laying low isn’t really an option. I can’t just stop
working. Some of us don't have that option.”
“I’m sorry, I get that. What if I could take you somewhere safe?”
Brody tensed again. “Let me out here.”
“I still have five minutes.”
“Keep your fucking money, let me out. I’m not going anywhere with
you!”
“Whoa, okay. I’ll take you back to where I picked you up. Take the
money, but I’m going to give you my number too. If you get scared, or you
change your mind about staying somewhere else for a while, call me and
I’ll get you out of here. No strings.”
Brody snorted. “You think I’m stupid? There are always strings. Always.”
 “I meant what I said, Brody. No one I work with is going to ask you for
anything in exchange for help, you understand me?”
He scoffed again and narrowed his eyes at me. “I’ve seen exactly how this
type of thing plays out and I’m not interested in being owned. Not now, not
ever.”
“Yeah, I have no interest in owning anyone. I can’t handle a dog, let alone
a kid.”
“Not a kid,” he snapped.
“Okay, we’re getting off track.” I pulled over and pressed the money
along with a business card into his hand. “Program that number into your
phone now under the name Rook. That’s me. Anything shady goes down,
you see anything that don’t seem right, or you just get scared and want to
get out, call or text and I’ll help. Any time, day or night. No strings. Got
it?”
He rolled his eyes but entered the number into his phone like I’d asked
before tossing the card back into the cup holder and popping the door open.
“One more thing. How do you know the guy who dropped you off before
I picked you up?”
Brody’s face went carefully blank. “No idea who you’re talking about.”
Right.
“Stay safe, kid. Be careful out there.”
Brody disappeared and I could only hope he didn't delete my number the
moment he was out of sight.
OceanofPDF.com
6

Nathan

THIS WAS TURNING OUT to be the day from hell. Finding Noah in that
lot, Calhoun putting a clock on an already stressful case, plus the fight with
Brody, and my stress levels had finally reached their limits. The throbbing
in my head was back with a vengeance and, fuck, I didn’t think I was going
to make it home.
My vision blurred, going hazy at the edges, and a sharp nausea threatened
to ruin the interior of my car. I pulled off the main road and parked on the
side street in front of a small city park. It was too dangerous to keep
driving, but now I was stranded miles from home. I could attempt to use a
rideshare app, but I wasn't confident I could pull myself together long
enough to find the right car. It was a bad time to not have any friends
considering I didn’t have any family to call.
Ashton was a decent guy though, and I was pretty sure I had his number
in my phone since he'd invited me out for drinks once when he was still a
rookie. I pulled the screen up in front of my face and the brightness sent
another wave of nausea through me. I tapped the blurry contacts icon only
to realize I couldn’t actually read any of the names. I blinked repeatedly,
trying to force the words into focus, but the more I tried, the worse the
nausea got.
I groaned. Why the fuck couldn’t I manage one friend? Was I really so
worried that letting someone in even a little would suddenly reveal all of
my darkest secrets to the world? Except, that was only part of it. Letting
people in had never ended well for me.
It wasn’t like I had a ton of contacts, so I squinted at the top of the list and
swallowed against the urge to puke as I hit the one that had to be Ashton.
When he answered, it sounded like he was eating and I worried he’d
already left and gone home.
“Lo?”
"Ashton? Hey, any chance you’re anywhere near Park?”
“Porter?”
“Yeah. Wait.” That deep voice was definitely not Ashton, and it was only
then that I remembered adding Jax’s number to my contacts as Asshole.
“Fuck. I dialed the wrong number.”
“Are you drunk? You’re slurring your words, how the fuck did you get
that hammered that fast?”
“Not fucking drunk, asshole. I’m hanging up.”
“Need a DD? I’m close, I’ll be there in five.”
My head gave another throb and my stomach answered. I bailed out of the
car, finding the curb and expelling the thankfully few contents of my
stomach. The cooling air helped settle both my head and my stomach, so I
stayed on the curb rather than getting back in the car.
My eyes ached even as the sky darkened. It couldn't be later than mid-
afternoon, but the threat of rain brought sweet relief when the clouds
blocked the sun’s brightness.
“Porter!”
The muffled sound reminded me that Jax was still on the phone in my
hand. I was hunched over my legs, head hanging, but I put the phone back
to my ear.
“I’m fine.”
“The fuck you are. Where are you? I’m almost there.”
I breathed slowly, eyes closed, afraid to move for fear of making the pain
worse. “Don’t know,” I answered honestly.
And I truly didn’t think I could even manage to figure it out. Migraines
like these could knock me out for days if I didn’t catch them fast enough.
The signs had been there, but I’d been too busy dealing with work and
tracking down Brody to get home and take my meds when I should have.
And I hadn't even been able to help him because while I knew Brody was
scared, he was just as scared of trusting a cop. I was no exception.
“Fine, I’ll find you. Just stay where you are.”
Like I could move if I wanted to. I didn’t answer, just hit the button on the
side of the phone and stuffed it into my jacket pocket. Then the rain came.
Freezing droplets hit the back of my head and neck, easing the pain slightly
at first, but after a few minutes the cold wetness seeped through my clothes,
soaking me and making me shiver. Still, I didn’t move. Sitting in the rain
was worth the tiny bit of relief the cold brought.
It was hard to care about anything other than the pain at that moment. The
fact that I was completely vulnerable out there where anyone could get to
me hadn’t completely escaped me. I just couldn’t do anything about it in the
condition I was in.
 I didn’t know how much time had passed when a car pulled up on my
other side and I whimpered at the flash of headlights cutting through the
dark even behind my closed eyelids.
“Christ, how much did you drink?”
I growled in frustration. “Not drunk, dickhead. Go away.”
Jax sighed and walked away, and I almost called for him to come back.
How fucking pathetic could I be? I'd rather be left in the rain than ask Jaxon
Mitchell for help. So I clamped my lips shut and accepted my fate. A car
door closed, and I winced at the sound, but Jax was back a second later,
wrapping his arms around me and pulling me off the curb.
"Told you to go," I groaned, like an ungrateful idiot. Pain throbbed behind
my eyes and I squeezed them shut even as he led me to his car and stuffed
me into the passenger seat.
"I'm not leaving you like this, Porter."
His body heat warmed me as he came unbearably close to fasten my
seatbelt, and for a second, I almost felt something a little less antagonistic
toward him. But then he ruined everything with that mouth of his like
always.
"What were you drinking? You don’t even smell like alcohol.”
“It’s a fucking migraine.”
The truth was, I would much rather have been drunk. There was nothing I
wanted more after seeing Noah’s body than to drown my guilt in a bottle of
whatever shitty liquor was still lingering in my cabinet after the last time a
case had gotten to me. But I had a job to do, and I was supposed to be doing
it right now instead of getting taken out by the stress of it all.
The rest of the drive was blessedly quiet and when the car eventually
turned off, I cracked my eyes open to find a blurry, but unfamiliar house.
 “Where am I?” I asked, sealing my eyes shut again.
The door next to me popped open and Jax guided me out of the car and
started walking. “My house. You’re stuck with me until you’re not
completely useless.”
I wanted to resist, but what the fuck was I going to do? I was in no shape
to fight him or get myself out of there. Feeling so completely helpless made
me want to puke again.
“Sit,” Jax said as he lowered me onto a bed.
I pressed my palms to either side of my head as if I could crush the pain if
I just pressed hard enough, but Jax pulled them away one at a time to
remove my wet clothes.
“I can do it,” I gritted out.
“You didn’t even get off that curb to get out of the rain.”
Why was he so damn infuriating?
I didn’t even give a fuck when he stripped me down completely. My
underwear had gotten soaked through on that curb and the freezing fabric
was clinging to my cold skin. I had no complaints when he tugged them
away, dropping a towel in my lap and using another to carefully dry my
hair. I hissed in pain when his attempts to help jostled my head.
“Okay,” he conceded. “Good enough. Lay back.”
I carefully unfolded myself into the bed and breathed a sigh of relief when
my head hit the pillow and the room went completely dark. Jax rustled
around and a few minutes later, the bed dipped next to me.
“I have pain relievers.”
I blindly reached a hand out and felt the pills pressed into my palm.
Dropping them into my mouth, I cracked an eye open, hoping for a glass of
water. Jax carefully tucked one hand behind my neck and helped me lift
enough to gulp some down.
“Thank you,” I offered grudgingly.
“There anyone I should call? Someone who will be worried about you?”
Way to rub salt in the wound. “No.”
He was silent for a long moment before moving off the bed. “I’m going to
run out real quick while you get some rest. Need anything?”
“Dark. Quiet. Meds, but they’re in my apartment.”
“Got it. I’ll be back. Your phone’s next to you on the nightstand. I see
you’ve already got me in there if you need me.”
I huffed out a half-hearted laugh. “Yeah.”

The next time I remembered opening my eyes, Jax was there with my
meds and I was too fucking grateful to give a fuck that he’d gone to my
apartment and went through my shit. And knowing what I did about Jax, his
snooping probably hadn’t ended at my medicine cabinet. Maybe I would
care about that later, but it was a little hard while the man was playing
nurse.
He directed me to a bathroom and kept me stocked with water and
crackers in case my stomach settled enough to eat something. At some
point, he’d even dialed the phone for me so I could call in to work and let
them know I’d be missing my next shift. And every time I opened my eyes,
he was there checking on me.
 When I finally woke up with my head clear enough to think straight, I
stayed in the dark room blinking over at the large form hunched in a chair
with his feet propped on the edge of the bed. Had he really sat there with
me the whole time?
And despite the stillness of the room, there was a tension radiating off the
man, even as he slept. His muscles tensed and twitched, barely there
movements, but as someone who lived with the nightmares of my job, I
recognized it for what it was. And when he jerked upright on with a swift
intake of breath, I knew I’d been right.
I closed my eyes again, giving the man the privacy he probably wanted
immediately after a nightmare. The company Jax worked for was mostly
retired military and it was entirely possible that Jax had served and the
dreams were the result of whatever he'd been through. I sure as fuck wasn’t
going to judge him.
The military hadn’t been an option for me, though I’d considered it. My
migraines were too severe and while stress was a common trigger for me, I
could usually handle my job far better than I would a war zone. Normally
my cases didn’t get to me quite as badly as this one, but seeing Noah like
that made it personal.
“You’re awake.” Jax’s deep voice was roughened by sleep.
I let my eyes wander back to him in the dark. I couldn’t make out the
features of his face, but I could feel his heavy gaze on me, searching,
assessing.
"How long was I out?”
“Almost two days. How you feeling?”
Now that pain wasn’t my entire focus? I sighed. “A little queasy, sore,
embarrassed, annoyed. Grateful.”
 “Hmm, so you didn’t want me to leave you on that curb after all.”
“I can’t believe you brought me to your house and took care of me,” I
groused.
“It was here or the hospital and that shit’s expensive. How do you
normally get through that on your own? Didn’t look like anyone else lived
in that apartment. Hell, it didn’t look like anyone at all lives in your
apartment, not even you. Place looks like a movie set or a CIA cover. Just
enough belongings to make it look like someone lives there, but not actually
lived in. Five of the same suit, a handful of jeans, t-shirts and workout
clothes, which I brought here for you, by the way. You literally only have
one plate, one coffee mug, one set of silverware. What kind of spy goes
undercover as a detective?”
I groaned. “I knew you were going to snoop.”
“I’m a PI, of course I was going to snoop.”
“I usually catch it before it gets that bad and make it to bed with my pills,
a glass of water and a garbage can. That’s all I need until it passes. And I’m
not a spy, I just don’t need much.”
He snorted. “You’d have done fine in the military.”
“Wouldn’t know, they didn’t want me,” I winced as soon as the admission
fell from my lips, but it was too late to take it back now.
Somehow the dark room, the inability to see his face, almost made it feel
easier to let our secrets out. Like if they were whispered into the dark, they
would still never see the light of day. And while it was a ridiculous thought,
some part of me must have trusted Jax enough to let him in even that much.
More than I had anyone else.
Jax hummed. “Because of the headaches?”
“Yeah.”
 “Makes sense. Makes you feel any better, they didn’t want me anymore in
the end either.”
“Injured?”
“Yeah, but that was only part of it. Was sent on a mission built on half-
assed intel. Nearly died, spent a long ass time recovering and then went
after a superior officer for sending us out there in the first place.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Getting tossed out? Eh. Kinda regret that I never got a swing in before
they stopped me. Fucker would have deserved it.”
His anger was understandable. I couldn’t imagine going through that and
then being expected to go back to following orders again.
“I don’t hire prostitutes,” I said into the silence.
Apparently recovering from migraines made me blurt shit out and I’d
never noticed before because there’d never been anyone to talk to.
“Figured that out.”
I frowned. “You did?”
“Gotta admit, I was surprised to see the detective always spouting off at
me about rules and procedure picking up a sex worker and not arresting
him.”
“You followed me.” How the fuck had I not noticed that?
“Never got that vibe with you, but I had to know who I was dealing with.
Tell me about the kid.”
This wasn’t what I’d had in mind when I’d attempted to defend myself
against his earlier accusation. But considering he’d brought me into his
home and taken care of me, maybe I owed him an explanation. Or at least
part of one.
 “I work drug crimes, but often there's some cross over that leads me to
deal with other things. Guns, homicides, sex workers. Early in my career,
before I became a detective, I did arrest sex workers when I caught them in
the act. It was my job, that was the law. But all that did was seal their fate.
Make an already hard life harder with fines and a record that kept them
from getting out if they wanted to.
“These days, if I need to be in those areas I’m pretty obvious about it so I
don’t witness anything I don’t want to see. There have been a few kids over
the years that I’ve tried to help. The ones I know are young and just trying
to survive with no other options. The ones that were thrown away by their
families because they couldn't be what they wanted.
"But they know what happens when they talk to cops. Even if I suspect
they're not eighteen yet and try to get them off the street without arresting
them, it’s not like I can promise nothing bad will happen just because
they're off the street. Most of them are avoiding the system for one reason
or another and forcing them back into a situation they ran away from might
do more harm than good. As it is, they don't trust me, but they let me help
sometimes. And they give me information in exchange."
“Lots of people need help. Why single out these teens?”
I hesitated, my gut clenching. “I don’t actually know how old they are.”
Jax shot me a look that I could even see in the dark, and for some reason,
it was enough to have me spilling the truth before I could think better of it.
“Because I almost was them.”

OceanofPDF.com
7

Jax

“I’M TELLING YOU, IT’S not working.”

“It’s working, sugarbear. I can see the signal transmitting.”
“Yeah, it’s transmitting, but it’s not moving.”
“Has it occurred to you that it’s not moving because he’s not moving?”
“Of course it has, but I just drove past and he’s not there.”
“Uh huh. He knows you’re following him.”
“Please, I’m a professional. He doesn’t know I’m following him.”
“He’s either ditched the tracker, or he saw you and he’s hiding. Either
way, you’ve been made.”
“Fuck. He’s gotta be here somewhere.”
“Here’s what you’re going to do. Park the car somewhere inconspicuous,
but still slightly visible from where the tracker is showing him.”
“Why?”
Dylan huffed. “Just trust me for a minute.”
“I don’t trust anyone,” I grumbled, even as I pulled the car around the
block again.
 “Have you made your therapy appointment yet?”
“I’m parked partially in view,” I answered, deciding I’d rather trust him
on this than answer that question.
“Turn off the interior light and grab the bag from your back seat.”
“What bag?” I turned to find a duffle bag tucked behind the passenger
seat. “How the hell did you get this in my car?”
“I stole your keys while you were picking up the tracking equipment from
Roman. It was only a matter of time before you ended up on a sexy stakeout
with the pretty detective and I am always prepared.”
“Have you ever been on a stakeout?”
“No, that’s why I have to live vicariously through you.”
“They’re boring as hell, not sexy.”
“Well, that just won’t do, darling. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Take
the bag with you and slip out of the car where he won’t see you. Stay out of
sight and check out the location of the tracker on foot.”
“I already looked.”
“You drove past. I’m telling you to look again.”
With a sigh, I slipped out of the car and took the long way around, circling
the area the tracker initially directed me to. Like before, there was no sign
of his car. It wasn’t until I cut through a lot of a boarded up tire shop that I
finally caught sight of movement through the sparse hedges near the sign.
“You sneaky son of a bitch,” I muttered, ducking out of sight to keep eyes
on the car.
“Got him?”
“He pulled up over the curb and hid between a tire sign and the hedges.
Can't believe he risked scratching his fancy ass car.”
 “Ooh, plenty of privacy for sexy stakeout times. Leave the comms on
please, I promise to be quiet.”
I snorted. “There’s not going to be any sexy times. The detective is
straight, and he hates me.”
“That was before you rescued and took care of him. It’s so romantic!”
“Romantic, right. I listened to him hurl over the phone, broke into his
apartment, and then made him tell me things about himself that had him
running right back out the door.”
“Oooh, spill it. What did he tell you?”
“Hardly anything. How much do you know about him?”
“Nathan Miles Porter, born to a small family in a small town southeast of
Columbus, Ohio. Played football in high school, disappeared senior year.
Parents still live in his childhood house.”
“What do you mean, he disappeared?”
“Don’t know. The schools yearbook group photos are on their gallery.
Your guy was the pretty jock in three years of photos, shows up in a couple
of other committee and fundraiser photos, but senior year there’s nothing.
Well, the pictures are there, but he's not in any of them.”
I almost was them. He’d run away? Or was thrown out? A homeless teen?
“What would make a kid disappear from school? Teen pregnancy?”
“Sorry, babe. It’s one thing to search public galleries and property records,
but I’m not a hacker. I keep telling Roman we need one, but you know how
he is.”
I did. And I wasn’t sure he was going to find what he was looking for
there.
“Enough stalling, go get your man!”
“He’s not my man.”
 Dylan harrumphed. “I’ll be the judge of that, now scoot!”
“Why would you be—”
“I said scoot, mister!”
I sighed. At this point, it was easier to go along with the crazy than try to
fight it. I ducked low to stay out of his mirrors and wiggled through the
space between the sign and the long dead bushes. Coming up in the blind
spot on the passenger side, I tugged the door open and dropped into the
seat, setting a hand on his where it reached for his gun.
“Just me.”
“I thought I fucking lost you,” he grumbled.
“Open the bag,” Dylan hissed in my ear.
I dropped the bag between my feet and turned on the seat to face Porter.
“So what’s the plan? You going to sit out here every night watching for
suspicious cars picking up sex workers? Are you planning on chasing away
all of their business or playing overprotective dad and interviewing all of
their dates before you let them leave?”
Porter scrubbed a hand over his face. Dark circles sat heavily under his
unusually dull eyes, but at least he was upright and functional now.
“I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for. No one saw what kind of car
Noah had last gotten into. I don’t have any leads, that's why I'm looking for
anything suspicious out here.”
Translation, he felt guilty as hell that the kid died and he had to do
something no matter how futile. This was a desperate grasp at nothing and
he knew it.
“Work this case with me.”
Porter’s head swiveled in a slow pan until his look of disbelief was aimed
right at me. I was probably just as surprised those words came out of my
mouth as he was. But they were out there now and the more I watched him
chasing his tail, the more I felt the need to do something.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“The case. We were hired to look into Chloe Wells’s death. Let’s work
together on this and maybe we’ll actually get somewhere.”
Porter frowned and looked away again. “You know I can't share details
about active cases with you. Leave police work to the professionals.”
“We've got a girl wanting answers about her cousin. She deserves justice
as much as anyone else and we both know your department’s only going to
let you spend so much time on this case before something they prioritize
over dead sex workers comes up.”
The frustrated look in his eyes told me I’d hit the nail on the head. They
were probably already pressuring him to close the cases based on the
coroner's reports. Based on the tightening of his jaw and the way his hands
clenched the steering wheel, I’d put money on it.
“The baaaggg,” Dylan sang in my ear. “Seal the deal, show him what a
good stakeout partner you are.”
With a sigh, I finally unzipped the bag and shook my head. This was why
Roman picked this kid to wrangle a bunch of army rejects, he was just as
crazy as the rest of us. Ignoring most of the contents of the bag, I pulled out
the thermos and the box of donuts.
I settled the box on the center console and offered a cup of coffee to
Porter. Once he reluctantly accepted it, I tossed the bag into the backseat.
The last thing I needed was the detective seeing what was in the bag and
throwing me out of his car.
Dylan might think otherwise, but my attempts to flirt with the detective
had been met with nothing but hostility. The way he worried about Noah
and Brody made me reconsider my earlier assessment, maybe the guy
wasn’t really homophobic, but he also wasn’t an option.
At first, I’d questioned it. Thought I got a vibe of attraction off of him,
hence the flirting. But either this guy was so deep in the closet even he
didn’t know it, or he was straight. He wasn’t simply not interested. My
attention wouldn’t make him so angry if that was the case. And yeah, I
knew he didn’t especially like me, but since when was that a requirement
for sex?
It was a shame, though. We could have been good together. Explosive.
Dammit. I willed my dick to behave in my pants and snuck a glance at the
pretty detective. The high school football player. Yeah, I could see that. He
had that classic boy next door hot. Blond hair, blue eyes, clean cut. Though
his jaw had a hint of scruff on it at the moment, and it only made him
sexier. His classic good looks made me want to see him wrecked. Rumpled
and dirty and at my mercy. It was a damn shame it couldn't happen.
He was the guy you looked at and assumed he’d always had everything
handed to him, but it seemed there was more to the man than I’d given him
credit for. He watched the street carefully, but I was pretty sure everyone
had already caught sight of him because there was no one working within
view now.
Not that his plan was ever going to work anyway. He wanted to prevent
another death, but he couldn’t be watching all of them all the time. This was
just one section of the city where the workers were known to be, but there
were plenty of others. He couldn’t possibly protect them all. It was a losing
battle, and he knew it. He was going to drive himself to another migraine
this way.
 “Look, I’ve got a couple of things I’m looking into. You tell me what you
know and I’ll let you know what I find out,” I offered.
Porter swallowed down more coffee. “What kind of things?”
“The kind that usually have an ear to the ground. I’ll know more
tomorrow night.”
His teeth raked over his lower lip and I was far too focused on the
movement. I wanted it to be my teeth his lip was trapped between. My
fingers tangled in that perfect hair, my tongue making him — Fuck, I
needed to stop thinking like that. Getting closer to the distracting detective
was clearly a bad idea, but I'd never let that stop me before.
Thanks to my mental detour, it took me longer than it should have to
realize Porter never responded to my offer. But while he didn’t agree, he
didn’t say no either.
He handed back the empty cup and I took it from him, my fingers holding
his a moment longer than was strictly necessary. Blue eyes snapped to mine
and widened as he pulled his hand away. The drag of his fingers along my
skin made me want things I knew he couldn’t give me, but it was the quick
intake of air through his parted lips made me question everything. That
shaky breath had been a tell.
The air in the car thickened as I watched him and the detective seemed to
be trapped in my stare. His fists clenched in his lap and this time it wasn’t
disgust on his face. He wanted it to be. Oh, he wanted so badly to hate me.
But the dilated pupils, the shallow breaths, the way he shifted subtly in his
seat. His reaction was hidden behind narrowed eyes and pinched brows, and
maybe anyone else would have missed it, but body language didn't lie. This
attraction wasn’t so one sided after all.
 Looked like the answer to my earlier question was door number one, then.
The closet door. I felt for the guy, I really did. Working a precinct in a
southern state probably didn’t come with a ton of tolerance. There had been
a time in my life when I’d thought that closet door would keep me safe, too.
It hadn’t, and I wasn’t willing to hide behind one ever again. Fuck that shit,
I lived my life on my own terms now. But not everyone was so lucky, and it
wasn't anyone's place to judge. Mine least of all.
I set the cup back on top of the thermos and resigned myself to a
professional relationship. Maybe a round or two of hot hate sex if he was
amenable to sneaking out of the closet long enough for that. But that was all
it could ever be.
And I was pretty sure he wasn’t open to a round of hate sex in public,
which was a shame at that particular moment. It also meant it was time to
make my exit. I’d planted the idea of working together in his head, the next
step was his.
Before I could open the door, my phone buzzed in my pocket and I
reached for that instead. An unknown number came up and this late, it sure
as hell wasn’t a telemarketer.
“Yeah,” I answered, assuming it was one of the guys needing a hand
somewhere.
“Hey baby, it’s me. Are we still on for tonight?”
Startled, I pulled the phone away from my ear. A wrong number? But
when he spoke again, I finally recognized the voice.
“Awesome, how close are you?”
There was background noise telling me he was outside or in a public area
and the way he was panting into the phone gave the impression he was
walking at a pretty fast clip.
 I put the call on speaker. “Brody?”
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see you either,” he answered.
Porter paled and shifted the car into drive. “Brody, are you being
followed?”
“Yes! You know I just turned down a job to be with you, so I hope you’ll
be here soon?”
“Fuck!”
“Brody,” I cut in calmly. “Are you close to where I saw you last time?”
Porter snapped a look my way. “What?”
I ignored him. “We’re by the old shut down tire shop down the street, can
you get here or do you need us to come to you?”
“That's perfect! I’ll see you in a second!”
“Don’t hang up!” I said over the sound of footsteps pounding on the
sidewalk. The kid was spooked for sure. “We’re hidden between the tire
sign and the bushes.”
“I’ll pull out into the lot,” Porter said, easing the car out of the space and
back onto the side street.
He didn’t even make it back into the lot before the back door was yanked
open and Brody dove into the car, pulling the door shut and ducking low.
“Just drive, hurry!”
Porter floored it and sped down the street, finding the fastest way back to
the main road to get lost in the traffic.
OceanofPDF.com
8

Nathan

“TAKE ME BACK TO my car.”

I slid a look at the man next to me. “Why, so they can have a second shot
at Brody?”
“No, so I can try to get a look at them.”
“You won’t even know who to look for. We need to get Brody somewhere
safe and find out what happened.”
Jax huffed. “Fine, drop me off here. I’ll go back on my own while you get
Brody somewhere safe.”
“Are you insane? What’s to stop them from picking you up instead now
that they lost him?”
“What the hell would they want with me? I’m about as far from a twink as
you get. These people obviously have a type. The vics have all been female
or young, smaller guys. They ain’t looking for someone like me.”
“Uh, what the hell is this? We’re you guys having some kind of car orgy
before I called?” Brody asked.
 I glanced back over my shoulder to see Brody digging through the bag Jax
had tossed back there. “What are you talking about? What’s in there?”
“Nothing,” Jax answered at the same time Brody’s hand came up between
us dangling a pair of handcuffs and a ball gag.
“Seriously?” I hissed at Jax, feeling my face burn.
“It ain’t what it looks like.”
“It looks like I was right when I called that foot fetish. You’re a kinky
fucker. Is the lingerie for you or Nate? Both? Hmm, that could be hot.”
“What?” I spluttered.
“I do not have a foot fetish,” Jax insisted.
“That’s the part you’re zeroing in on, really?”
“Ooh, cherry favored. I’m keeping this.”
“Have at it, kid,” Jax snorted. “It was a friend's idea of a joke, relax. Now
pull up over here and let me out.”
“You can’t just go out there alone with no backup. What if something
happens?”
“I’m not alone.”
I shot him a look and he tilted his head to the side to reveal an ear piece.
“I’ve got our ops center in my ear and Dylan is very good at what he does.
If I end up needing back up, he’ll have dispatched them before I can even
ask.”
I grudgingly circled back as close as I was willing to take Brody.
Jax twisted in the seat. “You get a good look at the car or the diver?”
“It was a newer black sedan. There were two guys in the car, pretty
average looking. The passenger was wearing a ball cap, and I didn’t get a
good look at the driver, but they were pushy and I got a bad vibe. I told
them I wasn’t working, but they wouldn’t let it go.
 “You were driving around like a stalker earlier, and since you insisted on
me saving your number, I figured maybe you'd let me hide here until they
disappeared. I told them I already had someone picking me up, but when I
walked away they started following me. That’s when I panicked and
called.”
Jax nodded. “You did good, kid. I’ll see if I can find them.”
“Be careful,” I warned. “Don’t start anything on your own. Get a plate
number and try to take some pictures, but if you think they’re doing
anything illegal, call the police.”
Jax grinned at me and leaned closer. “Careful, detective, I might start
thinking you care.” He climbed out of the car and then bent over to look in
the window once he’d closed the door. “Take the kid for food. I’m going to
do a loop and I’ll text you when I’m on my way back so we can meet me at
my place.”
“Your place?”
“Your department gonna be cool with you taking a sex worker home with
you?”
Brody snorted. “Like half of them don’t do the same.”
I frowned and looked at him in the rearview mirror. “Are you saying cops
have paid you for sex?”
“Not me personally, but the others, yeah. They get their money's worth
and then arrest the girls they just solicited. We got better about sharing their
descriptions and their cars with each other, so we know who to avoid. They
don’t have a lot of options now that we’re on to them.”
We might not get along, but I didn't think the men I worked with were
abusing their position that way. I should look through recent arrest records.
 “I’ll text you when I’m heading back,” Jax said, interrupting my train of
thought.
“Maybe you should take Brody and I’ll keep watching the streets,” I
offered.
“You gonna let me drive your fancy car?”
He already had, but I’d been nearly unconscious when he picked it up
from the park the day he saved my ass. It was sitting in his driveway when I
recovered, and while it worked out well for me and my hasty escape, that
didn’t mean I was going to let him do it again. He must have seen my
annoyance when he handed over my keys. My Lexus was the most
expensive thing I'd ever owned, and I was admittedly a little possessive.
“Didn’t think so. Your car is here and we both agree that taking Brody
back there is a bad idea. I’ll be fine. You keep him safe.”
Jax turned and disappeared down the street before I could argue.
“Soo… what’s going on with you and that guy?” Brody asked as he
squeezed his small body between the seats and climbed into the front.
“Don't step on my seats. And I could ask you the same thing.”
I directed the car toward Jax’s neighborhood, questioning why I was even
doing as he asked. I didn't come up with an answer, but I didn't turn around
either.
“Pretty sure he followed you when you told me about Noah,” his voice
broke a little on his friend’s name and guilt stabbed at me all over again.
“He picked me up right after you dropped me off and asked some questions.
He asked about you, too.”
I groaned. “What did he ask?”
“About the others, the ones who overdosed. And who you were.”
 Jax knew who I was, which meant the question had been who was I to
Brody. “What did you tell him?”
“That I didn’t know who he was talking about.”
“He’s a P.I. looking into the same case I am.”
“Yeah, he made a big deal about being able to help. They always say
they’re going to help, and next thing you know, they’ve got you by the
balls. I wasn’t going to call, but then those guys showed up and I just
needed to get out of there. I only wanted a ride, I’ll find somewhere else to
stay.”
“You know I wouldn’t let him hurt you.” I glanced over at Brody, but he
was staring out the passenger window and I couldn’t see his face. “But I
don’t think he would. He’s getting paid to work this case, and so am I. You
know I would help you even if I wasn’t, but it doesn’t matter because
technically we’re not helping you for free. You are giving us information
we need to find out who’s distributing these drugs, and we’re keeping you
safe so you can answer our questions. In the end, you have a place to lay
low so you don’t get hurt and we get paid to solve the case. I’ll pay you for
your time so you can still make your rent. That’s an even exchange. No one
will take anything else from you.”
Brody chewed his lip. “Maybe.”
“Look, it's not safe to head back if they’re still looking for you, so at least
stay the night. We can stop at a store and grab you some clothes and stuff
you’ll need and you can decide tomorrow after you’ve slept on it, okay?”
“Fine. But if one of you suddenly decides I owe you, you have to tell me
up front and I get to decide if I’m going to stay.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you agree.”
 “Okay, any renegotiations must be discussed up front.”
“And I’m in control of when I can leave.”
“You’re not a hostage. We just want to keep you safe.”
I’d been trying to get Noah and Brody to let me help for almost a year
since I’d first seen them out there on the street, but they never trusted me
enough to allow it. Not that I could blame them. They had every reason not
to trust people like me.
Those men must've really scared him, because Brody finally nodded.
The relief that hit me was unexpected as I pulled into a parking spot at the
store. The assurance that I wouldn’t be getting another early morning call
that took me to a scene where Brody suffered the same fate as Noah nearly
took the breath from my lungs. I hadn’t even realized how much that
possibility had been weighing on me.
We made it through the store and back to the car before my phone buzzed
with a call. Asshole lit up the screen on the center console and Brody
snorted.
“So you guys are close, then?”
“He’s a pain in the ass, but I think he can be trusted.” I said before
answering the call.
“I’m on my way back. I got a couple shots of a vehicle that fit the
description, but in the dark and without my work camera they didn’t come
out great. We won’t be able to ID the men, but maybe we can confirm if it's
the right car. I tried to follow them but they were already a good distance
away and by the time I turned the corner they were gone. Wasn’t able to
pick them up again.”
“We’ll look when you get back. We stopped at the store and were just
about to pick up food.”
 “I can order pizzas if you want to just head straight there.”
Brody perked up. “Pepperoni and mushroom.”
“Mushrooms? Gross. Separate pizza for the kid, got it. Porter?”
Brody smirked and I rolled my eyes. “Anything is fine.”
“Getting three, might as well tell me what you want.”
“That seems like a lot of pizza.”
“I’m a growing boy.”
As much as I wondered how much I was getting myself into with these
two, I couldn’t deny that having someone to talk to, even about something
mundane as pizza toppings was nice in a way I hadn’t had for a really long
time.
But it was also easier to ignore the loneliness when you had nothing to
compare it to. Nothing about this situation was going to end well for me.
“Then, I guess, spinach.”
“It's a pizza, not a salad, Porter.”
“I happen to like spinach on pizza. Just order anything, I'm not picky.”
“Fine, spinach it is. See you back at the house.”
We ended the call, and Brody raised an eyebrow at me. “You know where
he lives, huh?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Sure it isn’t. Like it’s not totally obvious you want to climb that
mountain and plant your flag in it.”
I took it back. I preferred the silence.
OceanofPDF.com
9

Jax

“I PICKED UP A couple of air mattresses while we were at the store,”

Porter said as they set their bags down in the living room. “Since you gave
up your bed for me, I assumed it would help with sleeping arrangements. If
I can use your washing machine, I can get the sheets washed while we eat.”
Brody’s eyes pinged between me and the detective as he tried to decipher
the nature of our relationship. Yeah, get in line, kid.
“Sure, it’s right past the kitchen before the garage. There’s one other
bedroom I’ve got set up as an office, but it’s got a futon that you're
welcome to use.”
“There a lock on the door?” Brody asked.
“There is,” I assured him.
Brody looked at Porter and the detective waved him off. “It’s yours. I’m
fine in the living room.”
Guess that answered that question. I hadn’t been sure if Nathan had been
planning on staying as well, but apparently I wasn’t included in the trust
circle just yet. That was fine. Not like I was any better.
 “Want a beer?” I offered as I headed for the fridge.
“Yes!” Brody called from the couch.
“Water, please,” Nathan answered.
I peeked my head out of the kitchen to shoot narrowed eyes at Brody.
“How old are you?”
He blinked big brown eyes at me. “Twenty one?”
I glanced at Porter, hoping he knew if he was at least an eighteen, but he
just shrugged a shoulder. Right, he couldn’t dig into that too deep. Brody
wasn’t that young, but it wasn't like I'd ever been around kids. How the hell
was I supposed to know?
Brody huffed and rolled his eyes. “What the hell? I haven’t needed
parents for a long time, so you can cut that shit out now.”
“Fine, if you say so.” Not like I hadn’t been drinking at his age. Kid had a
rough night, one beer wouldn’t hurt him.
By the time I’d made it back with their drinks, Nathan had unpackaged
the sheets and sorted everything into piles. He’d organized even the trash
neater than I did my own clothes, but I didn’t say a word as he got the
laundry going and sorted everything else out.
The pizza came just in time for Porter to get their things put away and I
quickly realized the detective wasn’t going to be the 'eat over the box while
sitting on the couch' type. I gathered plates and napkins before returning to
the living room. Brody found something on the television and I passed out
the pizzas before taking the armchair next to the couch.
The kid slouched down in his seat, kicking his feet up on the coffee table
and settling his whole pizza box in his lap. Exactly what I would have done
if I'd been alone. Instead, I settled my box on the opposite end of the table,
plated a couple of pieces, and settled in on the chair. I could manage
manners when I needed to.
Porter hesitated before finally snagging a plate and retreating to the
kitchen. When he returned with a few slices, he’d removed his suit jacket
and rolled the sleeves of his button down. He looked good when he relaxed
a little, but I had the feeling it didn’t happen often.
He took the seat next to me on the end of the couch and damned if my
fingers didn’t itch to reach for him as he squeezed past. Fuck, he smelled
good, too. We needed to get this case closed before I did something stupid.
Like try to get the man into my bed.
Ignoring the smirk from the smartass at the other end of the couch, I
focused on my food until the eating slowed and I could redirect the topic
back to the case. Considering it was dark and using the flash would have
drawn their attention, I didn’t expect much, but I’d been hoping at least
some of the pictures would come out. The only ones that were even close to
usable had been taken when their car passed under the one working street
light and even those were shitty.
I sighed. “It’s not much to go on, but maybe you can tell me if you think
this was even the right car.”
I handed the phone to Brody on my way back to the kitchen to toss my
plate in the dishwasher. When I returned, he was squinting at the phone and
leafing through the photos. He handed it over to Porter with a shake of his
head.
“Don’t know that I could say anything for sure with those pics, but it
looks like the same car to me.”
Porter handed the phone back. “I can’t make out the faces at all.”
 “Didn’t have time to grab the camera while I was tailing them. Dylan is
going to see if he can clear them up any on his end. In the meantime, maybe
Brody can spread the word about the car the same way they have about the
cops.”
Brody nodded. “There are a couple of girls I know who are pretty on top
of this shit, they’ll get the word out.”
“No luck on the plate?” Porter asked.
I handed over the receipt I’d written on. “Just a partial, but maybe you can
come up with something there. That’s about all we can do for tonight.”
I eyed the air mattress boxes. “You taking the couch, or should I get the
air pump?”
“The couch is fine. The laundry should be dry soon. Do you have a
hanger I could borrow?”
“Sure, this way.” I gestured for him to follow me to my room and closed
the door behind us. “How’s he holding up? You think he’s going to run right
back out there?”
Porter’s shoulders relaxed slightly at my question. “I think he’s scared
enough to stick around for now. But I also think he’s waiting for the other
shoe to drop at any second. He doesn’t trust either of us. He might want to,
but he’s not there yet. Noah kept Brody safe, taught him the ropes, but he
also taught him that everyone that offers help has an ulterior motive.”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing in their line of work,” I pointed out. It
was probably true more often than not.
“Probably. But it made it difficult to get them to let me help. Not that I
was able to when it mattered.” He sighed and scrubbed a hand through his
blond hair, messing it up in the process and making him look adorably
flustered. “I need to do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn’t end up
like Noah.”
The stress the detective felt about that was practically a tangible thing.
While I’d seen nothing but those brief flashes of emotion when he’d
discovered the kid in that lot, it was clear his death was weighing heavily on
him.
“You know his death wasn’t your fault, right?”
The grief in his expression was unmistakable, but he hid it just as quickly
as it appeared. “I’m the detective in charge of the case, aren’t I?”
“You sitting on evidence? Ignoring leads? Looking the other way while
shit's going down?”
Porter rolled his eyes. “Of course not.”
“And how much support are you getting from the department? Been told
there’s nothing to look into with a bunch of overdoses yet?” He looked
away, confirming what I'd suspected. “But you didn’t let it go. You’re doing
all you can. Hell, you might have saved Brody tonight just being out there
and refusing to give up.”
“People harassing sex workers isn’t exactly unheard of. There’s nothing
connecting that car to the people who died. And it wasn’t me Brody called,
it was you.”
“We have something to look into now. And I was only there because you
were.”
Nathan narrowed his eyes at me. “What is this? What are you doing?”
My mouth opened, but nothing came out. What the hell was I doing?
Since when was I so invested in the detective’s well being? I’d wanted to
fuck him since the moment I’d laid eyes on him, sure, but I also knew it
would never happen. And since when did that translate to making sure he
was holding up emotionally?
This man was bringing out instincts I’d thought were long dead.
Protective instincts. The kind that had once nearly gotten me killed. These
days I looked out for me and only me.
“Just making sure my new work partner has his head in the game.”
Porter shook his head and snagged a hanger from the closet. He tossed it
on the bed and began unbuttoning his shirt, revealing the white t-shirt
underneath. “I don’t remember agreeing to work together.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“I wasn’t going to just leave Brody here.”
I scoffed. “You might hate my guts, but you know damn well I would
never touch that kid. In all the time we’ve been running into each other,
have I ever actually done anything immoral?”
“I don’t hate you,” he grumbled, focused on getting his shirt perfectly
straight on the hanger. How had I never noticed how particular he was
before? This guy needed to let loose in a big way. “I just think you’re
reckless. And that you do dangerous shit you have no business getting
into.”
“It’s literally my business. This is my job.”
Porter sighed and sat on the side of my bed, scrubbing his hands over his
face. He looked tired, and not just physically. The kind of tired that made
me think if he wasn't neck deep in the middle of a case, he’d be looking for
relief at the bottom of a bottle. I knew that look. Been there too many times.
“You’re right, okay? We need to find a way to work together for the
moment, at least in dealing with Brody. And maybe there were times when I
was harsher than I needed to be with you, but it wasn’t unwarranted. You've
been messing with me since the moment we met. Teasing and… and…” His
shoulders dropped. “Look, I don’t know how you figured it out, but no one
that I work with knows who I am. They can’t know. So you were there
making those comments and I admittedly handled it badly.”
Ah, fuck. I took a seat next to the detective and grimaced at the apology I
knew I owed him. “I thought you were straight.”
“What?” his head snapped up, eyes wide.
“Homophobic, actually. That was why I kept flirting with you. I assumed
that was the reason you hated me.”
Why did he look disappointed? The man curled in on himself, dropping
his elbows to his knees and burying his face in his hands.
“I would never have made jokes like that with your coworkers around and
I’m sorry if you were worried I would out you. It was only recently that I
considered the possibility that you were not so much homophobic as well
acquainted with the closet.”
He huffed a humorless laugh. “So all of that was because you thought I
was an asshole?”
“To be fair, you kind of are an asshole.”
He dropped his hands to shoot me an exasperated look and couldn't help
but laugh.
“But no, I flirted because you’re hot. And I kept flirting because it made
your skin flush and your eyes flare, and your breath come just a little faster,
and it was hot as fuck. And, obviously, because I’m an asshole too.”
A sweet blush spread over his face at the comment and I couldn’t resist
brushing a thumb over his cheek. His lips parted in surprise and fuck if I
could resist. The charge between us was electric. Tension that had been
building up for months reached a point that could no longer be ignored. The
almost magnetic push and pull finally won out as we came together almost
without conscious thought.
My lips met his and his swift intake of breath melted into a moan that
made my cock throb. Fuck, he was sweeter than I’d imagined. His skin was
warm where I cupped his jaw and his lips were plush and surprisingly
yielding. For someone who had to be in control everywhere else, he melted
under my touch. Breathy little whimpers escaped with every brush of my
tongue, and goddamn it made me want to strip him naked and see what
other sounds I could get out of him.
I pressed him back into the mattress and he went easily, dropping to his
back beneath me and tangling his fingers in my hair to keep our lips locked
together. My fingers found the bottom of his shirt and I tugged it up, tracing
his toned stomach while his hips shifted, looking for relief.
He tugged at my shirt, pulling it free and immediately seeking out my
mouth again. He practically sighed as his hands roamed my chest. This
version of Nathan, the one who wasn't afraid to take what he wanted was
hotter than hell.
I pressed one thigh between his legs and his hands gripped my ass as he
rocked into me. He broke the kiss, his head dropping back to catch his
breath even as his body continued to seek more.
My lips trailed down his neck as I tugged his belt free and opened his
pants. I kissed him again to muffle his moans as I pushed my hand into his
boxer briefs and slowly began to stroke him.
One of his hands tugged the button of my jeans free while the other
wrapped around my arm, keeping me right where he wanted me as he
pressed into my touch over and over. Fuck, it was like he was starved for
this. Like he couldn’t get enough.
 “Please,” he moaned, finally reaching into my boxers and taking hold of
my aching dick.
I groaned and thrust into his touch before shoving our pants down further
and taking both of us in my hand. Nathan wrestled with his pants until he
kicked them free and brought his legs up on either side of my hips, giving
him the leverage to push into my grip, driving us together over and over.
“Fuck, yes,” he panted into my mouth.
Any sign of that submissive side was gone. He knew what he wanted, and
he was taking it. I fucking loved every second.
Holding him close, I rolled us so I was on my back and Nathan straddled
my hips. He planted his hands on my chest, muscles flexing with his
movements as I jerked us together. His heavy-lidded eyes roamed my body
like he couldn't quite believe this was real and he wanted to memorize the
moment before it disappeared. His chest rose and fell with his panting
breaths and his skin flushed beautifully, sweat dampening his hair at his
temples. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone so fucking gorgeous.
“Close,” he panted.
“Fuck, me too.”
My free hand wrapped around his ass where he moved over me and my
fingers brushed the sensitive spot between his cheeks. Nathan moaned, his
movements growing frantic as he pushed back into my touch.
I groaned with satisfaction, teasing him as much as I dared, as that
familiar feeling tightened past the point of no return. His hands hit the bed
on either side of my head and I watched in surprise as his mouth landed on
my collarbone, tongue dragging along the skin there and trailing up before
his teeth sank into my neck. Not enough to hurt, just enough to make my
cock throb and my fingers dig into his ass as I exploded.
 Nathan shoved back against my hand, his hips stuttering as he followed
me over. His hot release splashed across my chest with my own, and his
teeth released me with one last lick.
He collapsed against my chest, face buried against my shoulder. It was the
most relaxed I’d ever seen him and I was half expecting him to fall asleep
on top of me when there was a knock at the door.
Nathan scrambled off of me as Brody yelled at us from the hall. “I stole
all of your money and guns and I’m going to bed now.”
“He’s lying, all my guns are in here,” I said as I used my shirt to clean
myself up and offered it to Nathan.
He took the shirt, but his wide eyes told me he was freaking out. He
scrambled back into his pants and made a dash for the door. I barely got my
jeans fastened just before he pulled it open.
“Nothing,” he said to Brody, who arched an eyebrow at him. “I mean, we
were just…” He shook his head and rushed out into the hallway. “I’ll get
the sheets.”
Brody pressed his lips together, holding back a laugh. “That was smooth.
Just so you know, you have thin walls and I got the full play-by-play from
the living room.”
Christ.

OceanofPDF.com
10

OceanofPDF.com
Nathan

I WAS NOT PANICKING. Not even over how absolutely mortifying my

behavior was. It was fine. A momentary lapse in judgment. And self
control. And sanity. Everything was going to be fine.
Except I was totally panicking, and I couldn’t even blame it on Jax.
One kiss and I threw myself at him after months of swearing to myself I
wouldn’t touch him if he was the last man on earth. But he’d been almost
sweet and it was… unexpected. I’d misjudged him. But that was no reason
to turn a kiss into… oh my God, I could never show my face near Jax again.
Which was going to be difficult since I was currently occupying his house.
I threw my upper body on top of the dryer for a quick meltdown and beat
my forehead into the metal surface a few times, hoping it would jar loose a
solution. Or at least make me forget how embarrassingly stupid I’d been.
No such luck. And when a hand gripped my shoulder, making me stop, I
felt my cheeks light up like a fucking fire engine.
“This was supposed to be a private meltdown, if you don’t mind,” I
grumbled, as if I had any right to throw the man out of his own laundry
room.
“There’s no reason to be having a meltdown. Relax. We’re professionals,
we can fool around and still work together on the case. This doesn’t change
anything.”
Doesn’t change anything? Ugh, I couldn’t decide if I was insulted that he
clearly wasn’t as affected as I’d been, or hurt that it hadn’t meant a thing to
him. Or maybe I was relieved that it hadn’t meant anything? No. I should
be, but mostly I was just insulted.
He doesn’t even know why you’re freaking out, the tiny voice of reason in
the back of my mind pointed out.
No, he didn’t. And it was going to stay that way. I’d been humiliated
enough for one night.
I straightened and shook my head. “I’m fine.”
Jax was eyeing the way I’d rearranged the shelf above his washing
machine earlier, but he didn’t bother to call me out on it. It wasn’t my fault
he organized like a heathen.
“Yeah, seems like it. Tell me what the problem is. We’re adults, we were
both into it. Why are you panicking? It was good, and until Brody knocked
on the door, you were more relaxed than I’ve ever seen you.”
Yeah, I bet I was. I pulled the sheets and Brody’s clothes from the dryer
and set them on top of the machine to fold.
“I’m fine.” If I said it enough, maybe it would start to be true. “I just don’t
do things like that. But it’s fine.”
“The more you say fine, the less I believe you,” Jax said dryly as he
helped fold. “And what do you mean things like that? Hook up? What are
you a relationship kind of guy?”
 I snorted. “No. I don’t do relationships.” God, what a disaster that would
be.
I resisted the urge to refold the clothes Jax set on the stack and distracted
myself with folding the fitted sheet.
“So you don’t do hook ups and you don’t do relationships? How do
you…?”
There was no way in hell I was answering that.
“Sex workers?”
I nearly choked. “No! I just… don’t, okay?”
So much for not answering. And it wasn't until the words were out there
that I realized Jax did that on purpose, and I fell for his little trap without an
ounce of hesitation.
“You don’t?” It was Jax’s turn to look shocked. “As in, you don’t have sex
at all?”
I set the perfectly folded fitted sheet on the washing machine and picked
up the flat sheet. “I’ve wanted to be a detective since I was a kid. My
grandfather was a detective, and I worked my ass off to follow in his
footsteps. I refuse to fuck that up for—”
For what? Sex? A social life? Human connection? I wasn’t sure I knew
anymore.
“How long has it been?”
Seven long years. “Since I was in training. I almost got caught by
someone I was in classes with when I went to meet a hookup, and I decided
it wasn’t worth losing everything I’d worked for.”
Jax was silent for a long moment, but then he sighed and scooped up the
stack of clothes he’d been working on. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for things
to go as far as they did.”
 I shook my head, grabbing the sheets and following him. “Don’t. I know
that was on me, I practically attacked you. In my defense, it’s been a really
long time. But I’m the one who owes you an apology.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” he said.
“You kissed me and I threw myself at you,” I muttered miserably.
Jax paused and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “And I thoroughly enjoyed
every damn second of it.”
Then he disappeared down the hall, leaving me with a dick that was
perking right back up. Dammit, I could not be interested in Jax. This entire
situation was a disaster waiting to happen.
I’d gone seven years without sex, I could do it again. Right? Then why
did it suddenly feel like trying to put toothpaste back in a tube? Had my
moment of weakness woken a beast that wouldn’t go back to sleep?
That was ridiculous. I was in control of my own body, and I would decide
if and when I had sex again. Just because Jax was undeniably hot with that
long hair that was even softer than it looked, and all those muscles and
tattoos just begging to be touched… no. That didn’t mean I needed to jump
him every time the opportunity arose.
And that conviction lasted long enough for me to enter the room where
Jax and Brody were laughing about something. The man’s deep rumble
wrapped around me and I fought off the shiver that tried to take hold.
He was every bad boy fantasy wrapped into one dangerous package.
Jax noticed me first and turned those amused eyes my way. “Your friend
is a smartass,” he told me. “Now I’ve got two of you giving me shit.”
“Rethinking this plan of yours?” I asked, moving into the room to make
up the futon. I sure as hell was.
“Nah, I’m used to it by now.”
 The smirk on his face told me it was a jab at my less than friendly
demeanor, and maybe I should feel bad about that. Except it was obvious
now that was all that had kept this mess from happening sooner. The minute
he’d found out the truth about me, he’d kissed me. And then we both found
out I didn’t have an ounce of self control around him.
“Seems to be something you bring out in others then,” I threw back,
hoping to distract him from the concern in his expression he couldn’t quite
cover with his teasing smile.
He snorted and turned to Brody. “Shower’s at the end of the hall. Looks
like Porter set you up with shampoo and everything, but there’s stuff in
there that you’re welcome to use. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen,
but I live alone and don’t cook often, so don’t expect too much. Need
anything else?”
Brody shook his head. “Thanks.” He turned his attention to me. “I’ll do
whatever I can to help with your case so I can get out of your hair.”
“You’re not a bother, Brody. If Jax gets sick of having us around you can
come back to my place or we’ll stay at a hotel. All you need to worry about
right now is staying safe.”
“Hey, I’m not so unsocialized that I can’t handle other humans in my
space. For the most part.”
That made one of us then.
I handed Brody a blanket and found my way back out to the couch to
make up a place for myself. Jax followed me into the living room and
rubbed the back of his neck.
“You could take the bed if you want,” he offered.
“No. I already stole your bed when you…” took care of me. Nope, wasn’t
saying that. “When I had the migraine. I’m not putting you out again.”
 “It’s big enough to share.”
I froze at the casual offer, but didn’t turn around. There was no way I
could face him and still be strong enough to say what I needed to say.
“I can’t.”
There was a beat of silence and then he backed off. “You know where to
find me if you change your mind.”
I didn’t breathe again until I heard the soft click of his door closing.
When I was sure he was gone, I removed my t-shirt and pants and added
them to the hanger I’d stolen from him earlier. My suit was in rough shape
from our earlier activities, but there wasn’t much I could do about that at
the moment. I was going to have to run home for clothes in a few hours
anyway, but I never knew when my next work call was coming in and I
couldn’t show up on a scene looking like I’d slept in my suit.
For someone who was so particular about everything in my living space,
it was a little surprising that I didn’t have any trouble being in Jax’s house.
Sure, I’d rearranged some of his things here and there, it was a nervous
habit that made me feel more in control when life was throwing curve balls.
But overall, it had been almost too easy to insert myself into his life and I
didn’t know how to feel about that.
But when I settled in on the sofa in a room that was filled with reminders
of Jax, face buried in blankets that smelled like his clothes, I was asleep
almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

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11

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Jax

BEEN A LIGHT SLEEPER since my days in the military, especially after

everything went down. It seemed like part of me needed to have tabs on the
situation around me at all times. Which was why I’d surprised myself when
I offered to share my bed with Nathan. I hadn’t actually slept with anyone
in years. Every move he made would have woken me.
And yet when the words fell out of my mouth without thinking, I made no
attempt to take them back. I didn’t want to.
It was also why I jolted awake at six in the morning when we’d only
fallen asleep three hours before. The gasp had been loud enough to wake
me, but it was the low, annoyed growl that had me jumping up and making
a dash for the living room.
Sure enough, Jack had made herself at home on the back of the couch, her
bright yellow eyes staring down at Porter from above, clearly annoyed that
he’d dared to disturb her.
“You have a cat?” he hissed, hands hovering like he expected her to
pounce on his face.
 “She usually hides when people are around. She must like you.”
Jack growled again when Porter let out a huff. “Not sure she agrees with
that assessment.”
Maybe not. “Come on, Jack, you can sleep in the bedroom.” But when I
carefully lifted her from the couch, she bolted out of my arms, rebounded
off the back of the couch, and disappeared with a hiss.
Porter jolted upright. “Will she be back to kill me in my sleep?”
“She’s not so bad, just has some trust issues. We’re working on it.”
“When I woke up, she was staring at me from the back of the couch. Two
creepy eyes in the dark, just watching me sleep. There was definite plotting
happening there. And who names a cat Jack?”
I laughed. “Her name is Blackjack. She wandered into my yard after a
night of cards and drinking, and it was the first thing that came to mind. Is
the bedroom sounding like a better option now? I can close the door to keep
her out.”
It was the second time I’d offered and I still didn’t know what the hell I
was doing. The first time had shocked me as much as it had him. I didn’t
sleep with people for a lot of reasons that started with having to let them
into my space and ended with never knowing when the nightmares would
make an appearance. But there I was, waiting on his answer rather than
retracting the offer like I should have.
Nathan chewed his lip like he was trying to decide which was more
dangerous, me or the cat. Apparently I won out because he finally shook his
head. “It’s fine. I can handle a cat.”
But not me.
I rubbed a hand over my bare chest and Porter’s eyes followed the
movement in the dim light of the room. Then he shook his head again as if
answering a question that hadn’t been asked out loud.
“You sure?”
I knew before he spoke what his answer would be.
“Yes.”
I also knew a lie when I saw one, but it was for the best. At least one of us
was making decisions with the right head.
“Night,” I said, turning to shuffle back to bed.
“Jax,” he whispered my name into the darkened room before I’d made it
two steps and I turned to find Nathan walking toward me in nothing but his
boxer briefs.
I’d seen his body when he’d been sick in my bed, but I hadn’t been
checking him out at the time. Nothing could have stopped my eyes from
lingering over those lean muscles this time around. The man was smaller
than me by quite a few pounds. He wasn’t as bulky, but he was fit. And
damned hot.
He stood in front of me, seeming to lose his train of thought. Whatever
he’d been about to say died as his eyes followed the lines of muscle down
my body, to the rather obvious erection straining my boxers. His throat
worked as he swallowed hard. This close, I could feel the warmth of his
body, the puffs of air coming faster from his lungs. He was fighting a war
with himself. He wanted me, there was no doubt. But he’d already pushed
me away more than once and if he wanted to change that, he was going to
have to be the one to make the first move.
I was about to head back to my room and make the decision to end it
myself when his warm fingers found their way to my chest, trailing
downward. I froze, letting him touch me even as I saw the conflict in his
eyes.
 “Nathan,” I warned.
His eyes darted up to mine in surprise and it took me a second to realize it
was the first time I’d used his first name out loud. If I’d been trying to warn
him this was a bad idea, that single word had the opposite effect.
He flattened his palms over my abs and smoothed his hands up as he
surged forward to capture my mouth.
I was fucking helpless to resist him. What was it about this damn
detective that twisted me up so much I ignored my own instincts and threw
caution to the wind? No one else had ever had this kind of effect on me.
If there was one thing I was learning about Detective Nathan Porter, it
was that the man was more dangerous than he seemed. He was addictive.
The one you never saw coming. And for someone like me? I should be
running the other way. So should he, for that matter. This had bad idea
written all over it.
But did I put an end to it like I should have? Nope, I stuffed both hands
into his briefs to palm the perfect globes of his ass and he moaned, thrusting
his erection against mine.
I shoved his underwear down until they dropped to the floor and pulled
his naked body against mine. He squirmed against me, shoving my boxers
down and pulling me with him as he backed up to the couch.
I followed him down, tensing slightly when his hands found the scars on
my back, but he didn’t even pause to question it. His hands continued their
path down to my ass, pulling my hips against him as he ground up into me.
His leg wrapped around my hip and I wrapped my hand around his thigh,
following the warm skin up to the place I so desperately wanted to be. If his
reaction to my touch was anything to go by, he wanted it just as badly. I
teased him there, loving the way he responded to even the slightest touch,
but I wanted more than just lust from him. I wanted all of him. And it didn’t
take long before the bossy man I knew finally reacted to my teasing.
“Dammit, Jax! What do you need, a written invitation? A map? A—”
I took his sassy mouth even as the laugh rumbled out of me. “Just making
sure you were still with me. You sure about this?”
Nathan blinked his fiery blue eyes up at me. “Am I sure that it’s a terrible
idea, but I have every intention of doing it anyway? Yeah, I seem to do that
a lot around you.”
I arched an eyebrow. That wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic yes.
He rolled his eyes at me. “Yes, okay? Yes, I am dying for you to hold me
down and fuck me until I can’t feel my legs. I’ve got seven years of
repressed sexual energy built up inside me, ready to break like a dam and
fuck if your irritating ass wasn’t the one to push me past my breaking point.
“I would have been perfectly happy continuing to live in ignorance of
how much I was missing out on. But then you showed up with those damn
muscles and tattoos. And your stupid flirting, and teasing, and that
goddamn smile. How the hell do you make me feel this way with a fucking
smile, especially when you’re a;ways laughing at my expense? I don’t
fucking know. I don’t know anything anymore, but I know I want this so
bad it’s making me crazy.”
There was a beat of silence while his face burned so red I could see it
even in the near dark. The sun was just breaking over the horizon outside,
casting a dim glow around the edges of the curtain, but it was enough to see
his embarrassment and surprise.
“Dammit, I only meant to say I was sure.”
He squirmed like he was trying to escape, but I pressed my mouth to his
in a kiss that let him know he wasn’t the only one going crazy here. I didn’t
have words like that, but fuck if I didn’t know exactly what he meant.
He was breathless when I finally pulled away, his skin still flushed, eyes
dazed, and his hair was an adorable mess. I needed supplies for the things I
wanted to do to him, but I couldn't make myself leave. Some part of me
feared it would all be over the second the moment broke.
Nathan grabbed two handfuls of my hair and dragged my mouth back to
his, his legs wrapped around my hips again, holding me in place. I shivered.
The way he wanted me was a hell of a thing and I puffed up like a goddamn
peacock, using every trick I had to drive him crazy.
We were playing with fire, we both knew that. Life experience told me
this could only end with me getting burned, but it was too late to go back to
the way things were before. That option wasn't even on the table while he
was naked beneath me, his flushed skin hot against mine, his eyes begging
me to do things I'd thought I'd never get the chance to do.
Nathan reached out and yanked Dylan’s stakeout bag from under the
coffee table. Hell, if there were condoms and lube in that bag, I was
bringing Dylan chocolate the next time I was in the office. I took over
digging past handcuffs, a prostate massager, anal beads and finally found
non-flavored lube packets and a strip of condoms.
I eyed the toys left in the bag. “Fuck, the things I could do to you if we
didn’t have someone else in the house right now,” I grumbled.
Nathan’s eyes widened, and while the comment surprised him, there was
interest there as well. I vowed right then that next time I’d take my time
with him, drive him to the edge until he was begging and screaming my
name. But neither of us had the patience for that right now.
Instead, I pushed his legs over my shoulders and wrapped my mouth
around the dripping tip of his cock. Nathan hissed in a breath and his
fingers threaded through my hair, not pulling or directing my movements,
just like he’d needed something to hold on to while I took him on this ride.
My fingers found his entrance and I took my time working him open while
I swallowed around his dick.
"Oh god," he groaned, slapping a hand over his mouth to muffle the
sounds he made while I used my tongue to drive him as crazy as he made
me.
I let my fingers brush over that sensitive spot inside him and the sounds
he made were fucking beautiful. For someone who was so uptight all the
damn time, he held nothing back when he was like this. I made sure he was
ready for me and rolled the condom on before adding more lube.
The second I was lined up, Nathan pulled me closer, one leg propped up
on the back of the couch, the other around my waist urging me on. I didn't
even need to ask if he was ready, I was pretty sure he was going to take over
if I didn't get moving.
Deciding I wasn't ready to give up control just yet, I pushed forward
gently, careful not to hurt him if it had been as long as he'd said. But Porter
clearly wasn't interested in gentle, and his impatience took over before I
was even fully inside him.
He pushed up, shoving me back into a sitting position on the couch, and
straddled my lap. Before I could protest, he'd lined us up and slid down my
cock until he was fully seated. He shuddered, taking a second to adjust.
"I was trying to be gentle," I grumbled, though I didn't exactly mind this
new position one bit.
"I wasn't," he answered, grabbing my shoulders and pushing himself up
before dropping back down again.
 I groaned and wrapped my hands around his thighs as he moved, sliding
them around to grip his ass.
His breaths grew even more shallow as he found a rhythm that was a little
frantic. A little honest, I realized. That's what was different about this
Nathan. When he lost control like this, the walls came down and he was
never more himself. His expressions were open and I could read his body
like a book. Every shaky breath, every flutter of his eyelids, every whimper.
It was like he was telling me everything. And maybe that openness was
what put me at ease despite knowing that he was slowly slipping past my
walls too.
When letting him take the lead wasn't enough for me anymore, I slid
down on the couch to get a better angle and the next time he lowered
himself over me, I used my grip on his ass to thrust up at the same time.
Porter gasped loudly. "Right there! Oh, god."
Needing more of those reactions, I did it again and again, hitting that spot
until he was seconds from falling apart. His whole body trembled with
need, cheeks flushed, breaths heaving out of him. Hos heavy-lidded eyes
were glued to the way my muscles flexed as we came together over and
over. The image would be forever burned into my memories as the sexiest
fucking thing I'd ever seen.
Needing better leverage, I picked him up and pinned him back to the
couch, driving into him faster. Nate yelped in surprise, but it immediately
faded into a string of curse words as I hit his prostate over and over. His
fingers dug into my back, like he was afraid I would disappear the second
he let go.
That familiar feeling rushed through me, and I knew I had seconds to tip
Nathan over the edge. The moment I wrapped my hand around his cock, he
exploded. His back arched, exposing the long column of his neck, and I
couldn't help but lean in and get a taste.
My movements grew faster, losing some of my cool as my orgasm hit,
and that same frantic energy he'd been feeling drove me on. My cock pulsed
inside of him as my orgasm slammed into me, my whole body shuddering
with the force of it.
I groaned into Porter's neck, riding out the last waves of pleasure as he
was coming down. He had to be uncomfortable. I was practically crushing
him, my cock still buried inside him, come smeared between us. But his
arms remained firmly wrapped around me as if he didn't want the moment
to end anymore than I did.
This was the part where I was supposed to get itchy and leave, but no part
of me wanted to escape. I was a sweaty mess, it was too hot, and the couch
was too small for the two of us. But somehow, I couldn't remember a time
when I'd been more content.
I dropped to my side next to him and got rid of the condom, using some
scrap of fabric from Dylan's sex bag to clean up the worst of the mess. I'd
expected things to get weird at that point, but Porter was barely conscious.
Before I could decide how to leave, or if I should invite him back to my
room again, which was still as bad of an idea as ever, Porter curled into me,
entangling his legs with mine and burying his face in my chest.
His face was so relaxed when he slept. So at peace that I couldn't bring
myself to wake him. A few more minutes. I'd give him a bit to make sure he
was asleep, and then I'd slip away and head back to my room where I
belonged.
OceanofPDF.com
12

OceanofPDF.com
Nathan

“WELL, WELL, WHAT DO we have here?”

My eyes flew open and I knew I’d fucked up before I even registered
where I was. The hot skin beneath me flinched as I shoved away, tumbling
to the ground and slamming my elbow on the coffee table with all the grace
of a flailing baby giraffe.
Jax bolted upright on the couch like he was ready to fight whoever had
disrupted his sleep. When his hands went to his body to search for weapons,
I realized that was more survival instinct than anything else. I blinked at the
naked back in front of me, tattoos and scars shifting under flexing muscles
as my brain scrambled to come online.
And then I finally looked down at my own naked body, mortification
setting in as I slowly met Brody’s amused eyes. I tugged the blanket
hanging off the couch over my lap and watched as Jax scrubbed a hand over
his face, his body unlocking bit by bit until he fully woke and returned to
the man we knew. Brody met my eyes once again, a little wider this time,
but I shook my head, telling him to let it go.
 Finally, Jax sighed and glared up at Brody. “Go make coffee,” he
grumbled.
His voice was deeper and rumbly first thing in the morning, and it was a
damn good thing I’d covered myself before he spoke.
Brody sighed. “You take all the fun out of catching you two naked and
cuddled up together.” He sauntered off to the kitchen in a huff.
“Stop freaking out,” Jax grumbled once he was gone.
Like that was an option.
“He already knew,” he added as he stood and stretched.
And yeah, that brought my panic to a screeching halt. My jaw dropped
open as I took in every inch of his powerful body. My eyes settled on his
muscular ass as he wandered off down the hall toward his bedroom.
“You’re drooling,” Brody drawled from the kitchen doorway. “But who
could blame you?”
I glared at the younger man.
“Eyes to yourself,” I growled, wrapping myself up in the blanket and
grabbing the hanger with my clothes from the hook, coming up one item
short.
Brody cleared his throat, his eyes darting toward the middle of the floor
near the hall. I winced and snatched up our underwear before sneaking off
in the direction of the bathroom.
“You’re grounded,” I decided.
Brody laughed. “Pretty sure you’re the one who should be grounded, you
naughty boy.”
He wasn’t wrong.
 “Atlas Security Services. How may we service you?”
“Dylan! Stop calling it that,” Roman hissed at the younger man answering
the phones.
Jax raised an eyebrow at his boss, and Brody snickered behind us. Dylan’s
eyes came up to take in the three of us standing in front of the door, and his
expression morphed into one of pure glee. He shot Jax a wink and then
went back to his call.
“Absolutely, sir. Hold one moment and I’ll transfer you.”
Dylan hung up the phone, laced his fingers together and propped his chin
on them. “Well, look who finally decided to visit.” He turned his attention
back to Roman. “And I think you should consider changing the name. It has
a ring to it.”
“We are not changing the name to A.S.S. don’t think for a minute you’re
fooling anyone with that innocent act.”
The cute little blond blinked his big brown eyes up at Roman, his face
downright angelic. “I hadn’t even made that connection, maybe you just
have a dirty mind.”
Roman rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to us, reaching out a
hand to introduce himself to Brody.
“You must be Brody. Nice to meet you, I’m Roman Sloan, and this pain in
the ass is the man who runs our operations center, Dylan.” He turned his
attention back to me. “Good to see you again, Detective.”
 I nodded, feeling a little bad about how much trouble I’d given him in the
past over his agency interfering.
Dylan came around the desk to greet us. “Detective, so nice to finally
meet you in person. And you,” he took Brody’s hand and pulled him away.
“They’ll call when they need you, babycakes, but for now, you’re going to
come spill all the tea. I need to know exactly what our little Jax has been up
to while he’s been dodging my calls.”
Brody snorted and glanced over his shoulder to raise an eyebrow at us.
“I know where you sleep,” Jax warned.
“Nice try,” Dylan laughed, wrapping an arm around Brody’s waist. “Stick
with me, hun. He won’t dare mess with you.”
One corner of Jax's mouth twisted down like he wanted to argue, but
couldn't.
Dylan was turning out to be more interesting than I'd originally given him
credit for. At the very least, he seemed to hold his own among these men.
I'd never seen anyone so easily put Jax in his place. Seriously, how did he
do that?
“We’ve got everything set up in the operations room right here,” Roman
said, leading us into a long meeting room right off the front lobby.
I sat at the long table opposite the door and Jax took the chair next to me.
Roman was still sifting through files when a tall, beefy blond man stepped
into the room. The guy was huge, well over six feet with broad shoulders,
and while his chest and arms were built, he was a little softer around his
midsection. His blond hair was short along the sides and back but a little
longer on top and big blue eyes gave him an almost innocent look that was
completely out of place on someone so big.
 Roman gave him a nod and gestured in my direction. “This is Detective
Nathan Porter. He’s working the case Jax was assigned to. Detective, this is
Weston Hayes. He typically works personal security acting as a bodyguard.
I’m reading him in on what we know so far in case we end up needing him
for Brody or any additional witnesses that come up.”
“Hey there, Detective,” Weston said in a smooth southern drawl, offering
his giant hand. “Dylan told me a little about you.”
My eyebrows inched up as I shook his hand. “Dylan did?” The Dylan I’d
met two minutes ago and barely said hello to?
“Sure, it’s his job to know everything that’s going on and he’s amazing at
what he does. His praises didn’t do you justice, though,” the man said with
a smile that made his blue eyes twinkle.
Oh dear lord, was the giant cowboy hitting on me? My mouth fell open,
but no words came out. I’d expected to walk into a security agency filled
with muscled alpha males with the same caution I used at my job. And yes,
I was beyond rusty at picking up on those kinds of signals, but I was pretty
sure the man was flirting. And he was doing it right in front of their boss,
who didn’t bat an eye as he set up a laptop.
Not even when Jax’s hand slammed down on the table.
“Stop flirting with him.”
If anything, Weston’s smile widened. “Aw, are you jealous, darlin’? You
know it would never work between us, but I thought maybe the detective
here would like to have a conversation with someone with manners for
once.”
“He wouldn’t,” Jax snapped. “He finds my lack of manners endearing.”
“Does he?” I asked.
Jax’s eyes met mine and narrowed almost in challenge. “Yes. You do.”
 The problem was, he was right. Not necessarily about the lack of
manners, but the man drove me insane and he’d gotten my attention
anyway, hadn’t he?
Whatever he’d seen in my expression must have been enough for him,
because he smirked smugly and turned his glare back on Weston in a clear
warning to back off.
What the hell happened to my predictable, monotonous life?
The big man held up his hands in surrender. “Relax, you know I don’t
poach. My momma raised me right.”
“Then don’t make me call your momma and tell her you’re starting
trouble.”
Weston’s eyes narrowed. “She’d never believe such a bald-faced lie about
her favorite son. Besides, you wouldn’t. Not if you want me to share the
treats she sends.”
Jax grumbled, and Weston grinned triumphantly. I didn't think Jax saw it,
but the way this group interacted was almost less like coworkers and more
like… family.
Then again, what the hell did I know about family? Maybe I was off the
mark there.
Dylan arrived to take over playing with the computer and an image of a
toxicology report appeared on the large screen on the wall as Brody took
the seat on my other side.
“So far, aside from occupation, the drug signature is the thing that ties all
the deaths together,” Dylan started.
“Jax requested the coroner’s reports on several unrelated overdoses that
happened over the past few months. They’ve been slow to cooperate, but
after a nudge from Roman, they’ve started sending them over. We don’t
have enough to make a clear pattern yet, but so far almost all overdoses that
match this specific drug have been presumed sex workers. Of those, most of
the reports indicate injuries that were likely occupational, which we are
taking to mean sexual assault.”
A new slide came up with a booking photo of a man I didn’t recognize.
“Then there’s this guy. So far, this is the only other overdose with a
matching drug signature and no evidence of being a sex worker.”
“What was he arrested for?” I asked.
Dylan pulled up another slide with a rap sheet. “Several arrests for
possession and distribution in various surrounding cities. Domestic
violence, a couple of rape accusations from ex girlfriends that didn’t stick,
and assault. He’s been in and out of jail a few times. Five years was the
longest sentence for the drug charges, but he was out on probation after
two.”
“Name is Vincent Mura,” Roman cut in. “They fished his body out of the
river three weeks ago.”
“I wasn’t called in on this one.”
“Maybe they called a different detective in?” Roman asked reasonably.
It was possible, but even if another detective took the initial case, they
should have looped me in once they realized drugs were involved. Then
again, if the body was pulled from the river, they might not have suspected
drugs at all.
Jax frowned. “I thought you said it was an overdose.”
“It was,” Dylan answered. “And the case shows no evidence of foul play.
Guess we’re supposed to think that he went for a swim after an overdose
rather than the very obvious conclusion that someone dumped his body.”
“Do you have a copy of the file?” I asked.
 Roman sifted through the files and slid a folder my way. The police report
was sitting on top of the coroner’s report, and I quickly scanned through the
information. Hawkins had been the first on the scene and they’d called in
Ledford as the detective. They’d called in a homicide detective, that made
sense.
I flipped through the pages, finding Hawkins’ report referring to the tox
screen and indicating no evidence of foul play, just as Dylan had
mentioned. Ledford’s write up referred back to Hawkins’ statement, stating
the death was likely self-inflicted or accidental.
It was the exact reason I’d hidden my connection to Noah. Passing the
case off to another detective would end with exactly what the head detective
wanted, a closed case. But that would leave Noah and the others with no
justice for what happened to them. I hadn’t even realized I’d clenched my
hand into a fist around the pages until Jax pried my fingers loose and took
my hand in his.
“We’ll find the people responsible,” he promised.
My eyes went to our hands and then shot to our audience. Brody had
already had more than an eyeful that morning, and Dylan really didn’t hide
that he was gay. Weston had made similar comments, and he was still
scanning the report rather than paying us any attention. That left Roman.
My gaze slowly shifted his way, half expecting some kind of judgment
despite the men he’d hired, but he didn’t react at all to the gesture.
“We will,” Roman agreed with a nod. “What we have so far is pretty thin,
but I won’t leave Chloe’s cousin without answers. What we do have is a list
of known associates for Vincent Mura.”
Dylan changed the image on the screen to another mug shot. “Mura
doesn't fit the pattern, so he may have been connected to the drug operation
that's targeting sex workers somehow. Based on the details of the case,
we’ve found three associates that could be involved. Like Roman said,
there’s not much to go on, but maybe we can find more information through
one of them.
“First up is Gerald Moye, history of arrests for possession and
distribution, plus one for sexual assault. Was a supplier for Mura in the past
and the two of them have a history of hanging out with the same people.
Moye was last released from probation about a year ago and I checked into
his last known address, but it looks like he moved about six months ago
with no forwarding address. His listed employer also hasn’t heard from him
in six months. Make of that what you will.
“Next we have Luis Thacker. Met Mura in jail while he was serving time
for distributing drugs. Also has a restraining order for stalking an ex before
he was sentenced and served three years on the drug charges. Thacker is
currently on probation for a separate possession charge and he is reporting
as required. I don't think there's anything here, but we included it because of
the stalking accusation.”
“Do we know what the possession charge was for?” I asked.
“Marijuana. He had more than the legal amount and with his prior charge,
they obviously weren’t willing to let it go,” Dylan answered.
“Not exactly a smoking gun,” Jax said.
Dylan nodded. “Like I said, it’s a place to look if we run into dead ends,
but I’m not putting money on this one. Last we have Joseph Rowland.
Rowland and Mura attended the same high school, but while Mura dabbled
in drugs, Rowland was involved in several sketchy business deals. Several
of his businesses have been investigated for fraud, but other than owing
Uncle Sam money in the end, he walked away from that mostly unscathed.
He continues to buy, sell, and dissolve businesses through what most would
call unethical practices, but as we all know, unethical doesn’t mean illegal
and the man has made some money for himself.
“What Rowland does have is a history of sexual assault accusations and
one conviction from when he was just out of high school. He served three
months, stayed out of trouble during his probation, and went right back to
harassing women. Though any official complaints since then have been
dropped before anything ever came of them.
“More recently Rowland opened an exclusive nightclub with a partner
who has never been arrested but has been in on several of Rowland’s
business deals. Both men live in an expensive high security apartment
building, so surveillance on them won’t be easy. We have addresses for
their current businesses, but obviously, even if they are involved in hiring
sex workers or distributing drugs, it’s unlikely they’re bringing it to the
workplace.”
“Not much to go on, but it’s what we have so far,” Roman added.
Mura's case should have come across my desk, but it didn't, and they were
right to focus on that piece of information. It was unlikely Rowland or his
partner would be regularly bringing sex workers in and out of a high
security apartment. There would be too many witnesses and cameras. Moye
might be the more likely suspect.
“Did any of those men look familiar to you?” I asked Brody.
He shook his head. “I’m pretty sure none of them were the men I saw.”
Jax scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’ll see if I can find anything else out
tonight. I’ve got a game at one of the more shady establishments. Someone
might know something.”
“A game?” Brody asked.
 “Poker,” Jax answered. “Can be a good place to hear things.”
My phone rang, interrupting the meeting, and I excused myself to the hall
to take it.
“Porter.”
“Detective, your presence is requested at three-one-five-two Archwood.”
“Understood, on my way.”
I disconnected the call and made my way back into the conference room
where two new men joined the others.
“Detective Porter, this is Logan Fuller,” Roman gestured to the taller man
with dark auburn brown hair and green eyes. His serious expression didn’t
budge, but he dipped his head in greeting and I returned the gesture.
Roman pointed to the smaller man with brown hair and eyes and a much
friendlier expression. “And this is Leo Sandoval. They’re our newest
recruits.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, accepting the hand Leo offered. “I have to get
going, I'm needed at a scene. Brody, do you want to return with me?”
“I’ll come with you,” Jax interrupted.
I was about to protest when Dylan chimed in as well. “Brody can stay
with me. I could use the help if he’s up to it, or he’s welcome to hang out in
the break room or the workout room. I mean, if that’s what you want.”
Brody’s eyes darted from Dylan to the two new men, sizing them up, and
I realized he was trying to decide if he was safe here. Roman seemed to
pick up on it as well because he scooped up the stack of folders and headed
for the door.
“Dylan, I’ll leave you in charge of keeping Brody safe. I’ll have these
guys cooped up in the office for the next few hours going over everything.”
Dylan grimaced. “You sure you don’t need me for that?”
 Roman rolled his eyes. “I’ll use the checklist you made.”
“Perfect. Looks like it’s just you and me, babycakes. What do you say?”
Brody nodded. “Sure.”
Dylan grinned. “Yay! Let’s start with a tour.”
Seeing that Brody was settled, I made my way out to the car with Jax on
my heels.
“You really didn’t need to come with me, I could have called a cab.”
Jax waved me off. “We were wrapping up anyway. Besides, what if this
call is related in some way? It’ll save me from having to drag all the
information out of you later.”
“I’m not supposed to be discussing cases with you at all.”
Jax pressed up against my back, pushing me against the car as he lowered
his mouth to my ear. “I know.”
His lips trailed along my jaw and down my neck until I shivered. My eyes
darted around the parking lot but we were alone, and I suspected Jax
confirmed that before messing with me.
“But I can be very persuasive.”
And then he was gone, sliding into the car and leaving me with an
erection and a case to work.
“I’m going to make you pay for that,” I growled as I got into the car.
Jax shot me a flirty smile. “Looking forward to it.”

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13

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Jax

I PULLED OFF TO the side of the road and took in the scene before us.
“Wait here,” Nathan said before climbing out and rushing over to talk to a
uniformed officer.
“Wait here?” I echoed incredulously to the empty car. Why the hell would
I wait here when the case was out there?
Except… something did have me hesitating.
The older single-story house was taped off, and an officer stood off to the
side talking to what I assumed were neighbors. A woman with a tear-
stained face sat in the back of a police cruiser, being questioned by another
cop. The third cop was talking to Nathan and two parked cruisers were up
ahead with their lights flashing. Two cars, three officers. Assuming they had
partners, there was one cop missing, along with the suspect. Unless the
woman was the suspect? But then, why wasn’t she cuffed?
None of that was the cause of my unease, though. It was the feeling that
something wasn’t right that was making me hyper-aware of the situation.
But a gut feeling wouldn't convince Nathan that he shouldn’t do his job.
 My eyes returned to the house. It was a little run down, the grass a little
too long, weeds filling the flower beds, the dirty siding was coming apart at
the seams, but nothing was in bad enough shape that it would attract
attention. Dark curtains hung in the windows, but the house was lit up from
within and when a shadow passed across it, I was out of the car and trailing
after Nathan as he wandered toward the house.
My gut told me to move. Probably just the fourth cop, I reminded myself.
But by the time I approached the house, a glance down the driveway
showed the missing cop, a blond guy who looked vaguely familiar, milling
around the back. Barely a second later, the missing suspect bolted out of the
house and past the officer.
The cop watched him go for a moment, but when he noticed me watching,
he took off after him. I had a brief thought that I should follow them, but
my eyes went back to the house. And to Nathan. He was nearly to the two
steps leading to the front door, and I was out of time.
“Porter!”
He turned back to face me, taking one step away from the house. “I told
you to wait in the car.”
“Don’t go in there.”
"Why not?"
Telling him someone had been in there would only make him run inside
faster. There was nothing I could say that would deter him, and my
hesitation had him shaking his head.
“This is my job, Jax. Wait in the car.”
“It’s not safe.”
“Well, my job’s not always safe, but I want to get a look at the scene
before the evidence techs arrive,” he answered.
 “Can’t the uniformed cops handle it?”
“They’re a little busy at the moment.”
Porter turned again, and I grabbed his wrist. He looked at me like I was
crazy. Maybe I was, but I also couldn’t shake the rising panic welling up
inside me.
“Don’t.”
His brow furrowed and his head tipped as he took in whatever expression
was on my face.
“Someone ran out the back and the cop that was back there is in pursuit.
We should go after him.”
He frowned and glanced over at the uniformed officers. “You should have
led with that. He didn’t call for backup?”
To my relief, he walked away from the steps to head around the back, but
we never made it that far. I was still facing the house, so I saw the flash
from within as Nathan passed between me and the window. In an instant, I
was somewhere else.
“Get down!” The words flew from my mouth as I grabbed Nathan and
dragged him toward me. Heat and fire rushed over my skin as the blast
threw us back. His body slammed into mine and we crashed to the ground
before I rolled him under me and covered his body with mine.
My hand instinctively reached for my weapon, coming up empty as I
scanned my surroundings to check on the rest of my team. Blinking through
the smoke and dust, I saw boots coming closer and pushed to my knees.
This time I reached for the knife I was never without, but when I went for
my hip, a hand wrapped around my fingers.
I tensed, prepared to fight, before I realized it was the man below me
trying to get my attention. Bloodshot blue eyes squinted up at me. His face
was pale and covered with dust, a harsh line of red trickling over his
hairline. His mouth was moving, but his words weren’t piercing the ringing
in my ears. The suit he wore was charred and torn along his arm, reddened
skin exposed, but he would survive.
My eyes came back to the suit again, then went to the grass beneath him.
Right. Porter wasn’t a man on my team. Instinct had taken over when the
explosion hit and I'd reacted without thinking. I shook my head as if it
would rattle the memories loose.
“Jax,” he coughed. “Talk to me, are you okay?”
I sat back on my heels, reality finally breaking through with the sound of
his voice. “I’m fine.”
“Detective!” the cop called, picking his way through the debris.
“We’re okay,” Nathan called back, pushing up to a sitting position and
prodding his forehead with careful fingers.
I pushed his hand away. “You’re just getting dirt in it. We need to get you
to a hospital.”
He tugged his torn sleeve aside to get a look at the burns and grimaced.
“Yeah.”
I helped him stand and we made our way back to the car, but a cop jogged
over before I could close him in.
“I called for an ambulance. The neighbors are fine, but we're going to
have them looked over. Think you'll need to get seen, though. Don't know if
you should be up and moving around after that.”
“Thanks, Barton, but I'm okay. I can get to the hospital on my own. Check
on Cox and the suspect, though. We don’t know how close to the house they
were when the explosion happened.”
 “Cox already radioed in. He’s fine, but the suspect got away from him
when the house went up. He and Hawkins are looking for him now. Once
we get some backup out here, we’ll do a full search.”
Nathan sighed and leaned his head back in the seat. “Guess we won’t be
getting samples of those drugs now. Keep me posted on what they find out.
And have the hospital run a full tox screen on the girl.”
“I’ll get you the preliminary report as soon as it’s wrapped up,” Barton
promised.
Once the officer was on his way back to the others, I buckled Nathan in
and got behind the wheel.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Nathan asked again. He wasn't bothering
to hide his concern.
While that could have gone a lot worse, I was positive he knew I hadn’t
come out as unscathed as it may have looked to the others.
“Yeah, fine. Not a fan of explosions.”
“I have to agree. You saved my ass back there. What did you see?”
“Something just didn’t seem right. The cop out back was just standing
there while the suspect was inside, apparently destroying evidence. The
ones out front were talking to people before the situation was under
control.”
“What? How do you know he was inside?”
“I saw someone in there. Figured it was the other cop, but then I saw him
out back when I passed by to stop you from going in. The guy bolted out
the back door and the cop ran off after him, but what was he doing in the
house in the first place? Why didn’t they already have him cuffed and in the
back of a car?”
 “The neighbor called in a domestic. She heard them fighting and feared
for the girl’s life. Barton said he and his partner Greeley arrived on the
scene and when the girl answered the door, she was under the influence, had
bruises around her throat and they could see a gun on the table inside the
house. The suspect tried to run out the back door as soon as he saw them,
but Hawkins and Cox must have headed around back when they saw what
was going on, because he ran right into them.
“Since the gun was enough to consider her in danger when she'd clearly
been assaulted, Greeley entered the house to get her out and saw evidence
they were dealing. Barton called to bring me in while they got them outside,
but the guy tried to go after her again right there in front of them. Cox and
Hawkins separated them and were questioning him out back when we
showed up. Hawkins took over questioning the girl while Barton briefed me
on the situation. Barton was the senior officer on the scene. He’s a good
cop.”
“He ain’t the one I’m questioning. While you were talking to him, there
were three officers up front.”
“Right. Barton was talking to me, Greeley was getting the neighbor's
statement, and Hawkins was questioning the girl. Cox was out back with
the suspect.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
I sighed. “I don’t know exactly what made me go after you, but I learned
the hard way to trust my gut and something about that situation didn’t feel
right. When I crossed the driveway to get to you, the cop out back did not
have a suspect in his custody. A shadow passed by the curtain inside the
house and I watched the guy run out the back door before the cop ran off
after him.”
“You’re saying Barton lied to me?”
“I’m saying someone’s lying. How well do you know these guys?”
“I’ve worked with some of them for years, but it’s not like we’re close. I
don’t hang out with them or know their families or anything, if that’s what
you’re asking.”
It was. And while I’d considered myself a bit of a loner since I left the
army, it was only now occurring to me just how lonely Porter’s life had to
be, even compared to mine. Because while I had Roman, and Weston, and
even Dylan who’d inserted himself in every one of our lives whether we
liked it or not, who did Nathan have? He hadn’t so much as received a non-
work related phone call since he’d been staying with me.
“You got family we should call?” I fished. Nathan narrowed his eyes at
me in response and I gestured to his arm. “Anyone who would want to
know that you’re heading to the hospital? Someone who should be there
with you?”
He turned to look out the window. “No.”
Guess that was a touchy subject then. I pulled into the hospital lot and
parked the car, anticipating the protest when I climbed out of the car.
“You don’t have to go in with me. I can find a ride back later.”
“No need, you've got one.”
“Jax.”
“Do I need to carry you? Because I have to warn you, it’s going to be the
new bride, damsel in distress carry and I’m not sure how fragile your
masculinity is, but getting someone to film it is a must or Dylan will never
let either of us live it down.”
 Nathan huffed and climbed out of the car, moving for the doors at a fast
clip. “You are exhausting,” he complained.
“It’s part of my charm.”
He slipped through the automatic doors and went straight for the desk.
The woman did a double take when Nathan approached.
“Burn?” she asked, examining what was left of his sleeve.
“He was caught in an explosion,” I answered before he could downplay
what happened.
Her eyes widened. “An explosion?”
“I’m a detective,” he clarified. “We were on the scene when a house
caught fire. I was near the house, not in it. I don’t think it’s anything bad,
but I’d like to have a doctor check it out and clear me to return to work as
soon as possible.”
She nodded and typed into her computer. “Head injury?”
“No,” he answered, as if he didn’t still have blood smeared along his
hairline.
“He hit his head when he landed,” I answered. “Definitely needs to be
checked out.”
Nathan aimed a glare my way. “Why don’t you go wait over there?” he
pointed at the chairs on the far end of the room.
“Because then I couldn’t tell them when you were lying?”
“Emergency contact?” The woman requested.
When Nathan hesitated, I leaned in and provided my information.
“Relationship?”
“He’s my partner,” I answered before he could. They could take that
however they wanted.
Luckily he didn’t argue, just blinked his stunned blue eyes at me.
 “Fill this out. Someone will call you back when they’re ready.”
I thanked her and took the clipboard, steering Nathan to the closest seats.
When I started filling out his paperwork, he finally snapped out of it and
snatched it from my hands.
“Partner?” he grumbled as he attempted to balance the clipboard on his
knee and fill out the forms with one good arm.
I took the clipboard back and used his license and medical card to fill out
as much of the information as I could. “Aw, snuggle butt, I’m hurt. Are you
denying your love for me?”
“Never call me that again.”
I handed the forms back when it got to the check boxes for his family
medical history and Nathan looked it over, his eyes lingering on that part of
the form for a long moment before he stood and returned it to the desk
without completing it. Huh.
We settled back into the seats and Nathan’s head eventually tipped to
settle on my shoulder while we waited for him to be called back. He must
have been exhausted now that the adrenaline was crashing. But he’d hit his
head, and I didn’t know how hard, so I made sure he was awake every time
his eyes closed for too long. His pain must have made it difficult to sleep
because he responded immediately every time.
“Nathan Porter?” A nurse called from the doors.
“Want me to come back with you?”
“Go home. Brody is probably waiting for you.”
“Nope, Dylan texted me earlier. He took Brody out to lunch and they’re
heading back to his place after work.”
“I’m fine, Jax. You don’t have to wait.”
 “I’ll be waiting right here, snuggle butt,” I answered, loud enough for the
nurse to hear.
Nathan scowled but gave up on arguing, walking off with the giggling
nurse before I said something even more embarrassing. He was finally
learning how to deal with me. I was almost proud.

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14

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Nathan

“ALL IN ALL, I’D say you were very lucky, Detective Porter. Your arm
should be feeling better in a few days. I don’t think you have a concussion,
but I’m going to recommend that you take the rest of the day off. I’d prefer
the next three days, but I have a feeling that advice would be ignored. And
since I know your type, I’m going to walk you to the waiting room so I can
go over your care instructions with your partner as well.”
“He’s not my partner,” I grumbled, following obediently anyway.
“That’s not what the nurses are telling me.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s a nuisance.”
She hummed. “So is my husband most days. But life would be terribly
boring without him.”
Well, she had me there.
Jax stood when he saw us approaching. “What’s the verdict, doc?”
“He can return to work tomorrow if he follows all my recommendations.
Today he needs to rest. Keep an eye out for any sign that the head injury
was worse than we thought, blurry vision or balance issues, nausea,
dizziness. Bring him back in if you’re concerned. I’d like a full twenty-four
hours out of him before going back to work, but bonus points if you can get
forty-eight.”
Jax grinned at that challenge and I groaned. The doc handed me the
paperwork with the instructions she’d gone over.
“Use the burn cream I listed there and keep the bandages clean. Enjoy
your day off, Detective.”
She disappeared behind the doors again, and Jax wasted no time ushering
me back to the car and buckling me in like a child.
“She just said I’m fine, I don’t need you to do things for me.”
“Your arm’s wrapped. Figured it would be easier. Home?”
The easy way he referred to home made my mind go blank. Did I even
call my apartment home? Not that I could remember.
“Nathan? Is this one of the symptoms I’m supposed to be watching for?”
I gave him a flat look and then pointed him down the road. “Actually,
head about five blocks that way.”
Jax drove without question, slowing when we approached the nursing
home five blocks from where we started.
“Pull in here,” I directed him. Jax parked in the visitor’s lot and raised an
eyebrow at me. “I'll be quick, I just figured since I was already in the
area…”
“Your parents?” he guessed.
“Grandmother. She has Alzheimer's and my parents put her here a couple
of years ago. As far as I can tell, I’m the only one that visits her, but she
doesn't know who I am. Even before the memory loss, she hadn’t seen me
since I was a kid. My parents and I don’t talk.”
 “So your grandmother is the only family available to you, and it’s because
she doesn’t know who you are?” he concluded a little too accurately.
“She thinks I work here.” Not really what he asked, but it was the easier
answer.
“What happened with your parents?”
“I’ll just be a few minutes. Wait here.”
I tried to make a fast escape, but clothes lined myself on the seatbelt when
I forgot to unbuckle. By the time I got out of the car, Jax was waiting. He
wrapped his jacket over my shoulders to hide the bandages, making it
harder to stay annoyed with him.
“You really don’t need to come in,” I tried again, knowing it was futile.
“Just tell her I’m new and in training.”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t exactly look like the other nurses here.”
“And you do?”
“Closer than you.”
Jax paused. “Do you really want me to wait in the car?”
“It’s fine. We’re already here.”
The woman at the desk knew me, and she gave me a bright smile as we
walked in. “Detective, it’s nice to see you again. She was out in the garden
earlier, but I think she’s back in her room now. Go on back.”
I led Jax to my grandmother's room and knocked gently on the door
frame, pulling her attention away from the game show she'd been watching.
“Good afternoon, Mary. How are you feeling today?”
She smiled like she always did when she saw me, knowing that she
recognized me, but not how. “Well enough to not be cooped up in this room
all the time. I wanted to go outside.”
“I heard you were out in the garden this morning.”
 My grandmother huffed, but I could see the confusion in her eyes.
“Is that where you got these flowers?” Jax asked, pointing out a plastic
cup with a few cuts of hyacinths. “These are my favorite. They smell
good.”
“That's right.” She nodded, looking back at me. “The other nurse cut them
for me because I told her I always had them in my house in the spring.”
That was true. She’d always had pots of them when we would visit for
Easter. “That was very nice of her. This is my friend Jaxon. He’s new,” I
said simply.
She eyed Jax a little suspiciously. “See what you can do about the snacks
around here, young man. I should be able to have chocolate whenever I
want.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Jax promised. “And as long as your doctor says
it’s okay, I’ll bring you chocolate next time I see you.”
“My grandson used to bring me chocolate,” she said, and my eyes flew to
hers in shock.
I’d been bringing her little boxes of chocolates since my first visit, but
she’d never recognized me as her grandson.
“He visits you here?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Not anymore. All that football practice keeps him
busy these days.”
It had been two weeks since my last visit, but I supposed it didn’t matter
which version of me she remembered visiting.
“It’s because of Henry.”
“Who's Henry?” Jax asked when I tensed.
“He's too hard on the boy. One of these days, he’s going to drive him
away for good.”
 I patted her hand. “I’m sure that’s not it. Your grandson will be back to
visit soon, okay?”
“Of course, he’s a sweet boy.” Her eyes wandered back to her show, and I
took that as a sign it was time to wrap up the visit.
“We’ve got to get going, Mary. Is there anything else you need before we
go?”
“No dear, you go ahead and see to the others. But don’t let Donna play
you in rummy. She cheats, you know.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Jax answered. “We’ll keep an eye out for her.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she patted my cheek before we
slipped out of the room.
“Was that the grandmother who was married to the detective?”
The question surprised me until I remembered I’d told him about why I’d
wanted to be a detective. Why it was so important to me. “No. That was my
mother’s parents. My grandfather died when I was a teenager and my
grandmother only lived a few years longer, but I spent more time with them
when I was a kid.
“I only saw my dad's parents on holidays and while my grandmother was
always running around a kitchen and busting her ass, my dad and his father
would sit in the living room barking orders and complaining. I started
hanging out in the kitchen to help my grandmother rather than joining them,
and that was how we got close. We would snack on the chocolate chips
whenever we made cookies and roll our eyes over how helpless my dad and
grandfather were every time they needed one of us to bring them a beer. But
hiding out with my grandmother instead of the men only fueled the fire
between me and my dad. It never occurred to him that he was the problem.”
Dammit, Jax always knew exactly when to stay quiet and let me ramble.
 “Sorry, I didn’t mean to throw all of that out there. My childhood was
fine. Better than a lot of kids have it.”
Jax nodded. “Sure, so was mine until my older brother beat the shit out of
me for being gay.”
“Seriously? Were you hurt?”
He shrugged. “I was a lot smaller back then. Barely seventeen when he
caught me making out with one of his friends.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah.”
“What about your parents?”
Jax shook his head. “My dad came to see what the noise was about and
when he found out what happened, he let my brother have at it. Said if I
was going to do shit like that, I’d better get used to it. My mom broke it up
though, sent my brother out of the house to cool off and then lectured me on
making better choices.”
I huffed. “Choices.”
He hummed. “Yeah. Suppose she could have been talking about picking
my brother’s friend to experiment with, and I guess that’s valid. But they
were never the type of parents who really tried to understand.”
“Do you still talk?”
“Joined the army right after that. Needed my parents to sign off on it since
I wasn’t eighteen yet, and they were all too happy to do it. It was a few
years before we talked again. My younger brother and I stayed in contact,
and we’re still close. When I got hurt, it was him who came to see me and
after that my mother tried to keep in contact more. Then my dad got sick,
and I was there for her as much as I could be. Finally ran into my older
brother at the funeral and watching him nearly piss himself when he
realized how much bigger I am now was pretty damn funny. So yeah, we're
not the model family by any means, but I talk to them. Just not my dickhead
brother. What about you? No siblings?”
“No. I guess our stories aren’t so different, except it was my dad who
figured me out and beat the hell out of me. And my mom didn’t step in.
They’d been together since high school and she was under his thumb as
much as I was. I hadn’t even turned seventeen yet when they went through
my phone and found texts between me and a friend where I’d confessed to
being attracted to men. But I had a job, and a car, and people I thought were
friends back then. I was able to ride out my junior year of high school
couch surfing or sleeping in my car when I needed to.
“But eventually people started asking questions. When they learned I
couldn't go home, they wanted to know why. I lost a lot of friends after that.
And when my dad made a scene at my job, I lost that too. It's hard to get a
new job with no address and no working phone and a reference that tells
people your family is crazy enough to yell homophobic slurs in their
establishment.”
“So when you told me you were trying to help Noah and Brody because
you almost were them, this is what you were talking about?” Jax asked.
“I meant that literally. There were times I damn near sold my body so I
could eat. The only thing that stopped me was the fear that getting caught
would keep me from becoming a detective.”
“So, how did you eat?”
“Sometimes I didn’t. Other times I was able to sell something I’d taken
from my old life for a bit of cash, or I’d help someone move something
heavy for a few bucks. But it was pure luck that got me out of a situation
that a lot of people never escape.
 “The one thing I was too afraid to sell was my car. It wasn’t anything
special, but it was a place to sleep and a way out of my hometown when I
could afford a tank of gas, and some days that felt more important than a
full stomach. I made it all the way to Virginia before my tags expired. After
that, I was only willing to move it around to park it in different places so it
didn’t get towed.
“One night I had it parked in the back lot of a mechanic. They always had
cars in their lot that they were working on and a few they pulled parts from,
so my older car blended in and I’d come back to that place a few times. The
owner got there early, but as long as I was gone by the time his crew started
showing up, they never said anything. It was still dark out when the owner
got in one morning and his shout woke me up. Two guys tried to jump him
before he got inside and I didn’t even think before I went after them.
“They had a gun and even when I saw it, I didn’t stop. It wasn’t any kind
of bravery that had me tackling the guy, it was pure recklessness and a lot
of anger. Once I had that guy on the ground, the mechanic dealt with the
other one easily enough. The police came and took our statements, but
when they wanted my contact information, I panicked. I wasn’t eighteen
yet, and I didn’t have a working phone or an address, and if they sent me
back to my parents, I knew my dad would be happy to make good on the
threats he made before I left. But the mechanic stepped in and told them I
worked for him and to call the shop if they needed to reach me.
“When the cops left, I expected to be yelled at for being on his property,
but he just asked if I wanted the job. Emmett wasn’t a beat around the bush
kind of guy and he laid it all out right there. He knew I’d been sleeping in
his lot and he thought my actions proved what kind of man I was. So he
offered to pay me to clean the shop and fetch parts. He told me the sofa in
the break room was mine for as long as I needed it, and it was that leg up
that got me through until I could get an apartment and my GED, a two-year
degree at a community college, and eventually a job as a patrolman.”
“Sounds like a good guy.”
“He is. He retired years ago and moved to Florida. Still sends me a
Christmas card with a picture of his old wrinkled legs on a beach every
year.”
Jax laughed. “I’m glad you had him. And that you didn’t get shot tackling
someone with a gun.”
“It wasn’t loaded. It was a couple of punks who stole the gun but either
didn’t have access to the bullets or just didn’t bother because they had no
intention of using it.”
“Maybe they didn’t know it wasn’t loaded.”
“It’s possible. By that time I was so sick of bullies, from my dad, to
people I used to call friends, to half the people I’d encountered while living
on the street. I had a lot of pent up anger and not enough give a fuck to even
care if he shot me.”
Jax frowned and I realized it was time to shut up.
“You don’t feel like that anymore, right?”
I shrugged. “It's easy to spiral down a dark path when you don’t have the
means for basic necessities. Things changed once I had a place to sleep and
money for food. Emmett paid me in cash at the end of every night at first,
but then he showed me how to get copies of my birth certificate and social
security card and I was able to open a new bank account, renew my license,
study for a GED. From there, I was back on the path I’d started on and there
was a light at the end of the tunnel.
 “I worked my ass off to become a detective. When I finally made it, it was
like everything I’d been through was the cost of getting where I wanted to
be. As long as I'm living the dream I’ve had since I was a kid, it was worth
it.”

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15

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Nathan

“YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO be there over an hour ago, weren't you? I'll
just drop you off at the station.”
“No,” I insisted a little too adamantly before softening my tone. “I can
walk from here. I'll let you know when I’m done.”
Jax didn’t look overly pleased, but he gave in and pulled away from the
curb, leaving me to walk the short distance from the coffee shop on the
corner. Except, when I turned to head to the station down the block, I
caught sight of a familiar face through the glass windows, accepting a
coffee from the barista.
Cox’s eyes turned my way and there wasn’t an ounce of surprise there
when they met mine. Had he seen Jax drop me off? Did it matter if he had?
He knew I was injured, it wouldn’t be unreasonable of to have a friend
give me a ride. Except, ironically, making him drop me off at the coffee
shop down the street rather than at the station was what made it look
suspicious. Or it would if I didn’t at least stop inside for a coffee.
 Holding back a sigh, I gave Cox a nod and slipped inside the shop to
stand in line. He brought his coffee over to greet me rather than returning to
work.
“Porter,” he greeted. “Who was that you were with? He looked familiar.”
My stomach twisted with anxiety just like it did every time one of my
coworkers started prying. “Just someone who offered me a ride. I’m not
supposed to drive for twenty-four hours and it's difficult with my arm
wrapped.”
Cox’s scanned me as if looking for damage. Other than the cut near my
hairline, which hadn’t even been bad enough to need stitches, he wouldn’t
find any. I was pretty banged up, but it was all hidden under my suit.
“Coulda been worse. Good thing you didn't go in like you were supposed
to, huh?”
There was something in his tone that felt almost patronizing, but it had
been a long day and it was possible I just wasn’t in the mood to play this
game when Cox had never bothered with pleasantries in the past. The line
moved in front of me and I muttered an agreement as I moved up to order.
Cox lingered, making small talk that rubbed me the wrong way until my
coffee was ready, and then he followed me out the door.
“So that friend who’s driving you around, you known him long?”
Great, apparently we were walking back to the station together.
“Not really. A few months, maybe. We have mutual acquaintances.”
My own words made me angry. Not because I felt like I owed Cox the
truth, but because Jax deserved better. He deserved to have someone claim
him in public, and defend him against whatever conclusions Cox was
jumping to in his head. But that was something I’d never be able to give
him. Not if I wanted to remain a detective.
 It shouldn’t be that way, but it was. Surely not in every city, not in every
precinct, and maybe not forever. But right now? Right here? Yeah, it wasn’t
something I could risk. Not after I’d worked so hard to get here.
“Are you listening?”
My attention snapped back to the annoyed officer at my side. “Sorry, my
head’s still a little rattled from earlier. What was that?”
“I said that guy looks like bad news. If you don’t know him well, might
wanna be careful. You never know about some people.”
My jaw ached from biting back what I really wanted to say. “You know
something about him?”
“I've heard stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Don’t know for sure, but he looks like the guy Ashton had nosing around
one of his cases. A P.I. for some new agency.”
“Not a fan of private investigators?” It was hard for me to fault him for
that when I’d felt the same not all that long ago.
He shrugged. “It ain’t even that. Hearin’ things about that agency they
should have to tell people before they let those guys work for them. You
know what I’m saying?”
“Not really.”
“Some of those guys are bodyguards, you know? They follow people
around and go into their homes, but I heard they’re all army rejects and
queers.”
My blood turned to ice in my veins and I froze in my tracks as we reached
the doors of the station.
Cox noticed my reaction and misinterpreted it. “Yeah, so you get what
I’m saying. Best steer clear or people might get ideas about you.”
 He disappeared into the station before I’d even untangled my tongue. Part
of me was pissed. I wanted to tell him he didn’t have even a fraction of the
integrity of the men at Atlas. That he was a homophobic asshole. That he
would never be half the man Jax was.
Instead I stood outside the doors, blinking after him like an idiot. Because
I couldn’t say any of that. I couldn’t rock the boat with my coworkers after
I’d gone through so much to get here. Feeling the truth of the situation
sinking into my gut like lead, I forced myself into the building and made
my way toward the captain’s office.
“Hey detective! Surprised to see you back here already,” Barton said,
startling me out of my thoughts. I’d been running on autopilot and
completely missed the group of officers milling around.
I gave the men a nod as they filed out and turned my attention back to
Barton. “Yeah, just a few bumps and bruises. I’ll be back to work tomorrow,
just here to give an update.”
“Glad to hear it, could’ve been a lot worse. Appreciate you deciding not
to get blown up on my watch. Too much paperwork,” he teased with a smile
that emphasized the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
I forced a smile. “Happy to lighten the load.”
“Make sure you take it easy today. I’ll have my report to you by
tomorrow. Fire department’s involved now too. Real interested to see what
the inspector comes back with. I’m tellin’ ya, Porter, I was in that house and
didn’t smell anything flammable. Suppose he coulda had a setup in the
basement or something. We didn’t make it that far, but a house that went up
like that? You’d think one of us would have noticed something.”
“Maybe the suspect rigged something to explode before he made a run for
it.”
 Barton shook his head. “Nah, wouldn’t have had time. We showed up for
the domestic and saw the gun as soon as the woman threw open the door.
Suspect tried to run out the back, but Hawkins and Cox were already there
and he ran right into them. We had to separate them, so they kept the
suspect out back while we questioned her and the neighbor who’d called it
in. Hawkins took over questioning the girl when you arrived, but the guy
was in custody the whole time. Cox had him cuffed and on the ground
before we left him to deal with everything else. They were supposed to
calm him down and get him in the other car, but it seems that took longer
than expected.”
That didn’t match up with what Jax said he saw at all. “And you’re sure
there was no one else in the house?”
“We were waiting on backup to search the property, but according to the
woman, it was just her and her boyfriend. Didn't see anyone else, but I
suppose the inspection will tell us if there was someone else inside. Damn
shame the suspect got away when the house went up, but I can’t really
blame Cox for losing him in the middle of all that. We’ll find him, though.
Warrant got approved and I’m not letting the ball get dropped after what
happened. Another fifteen minutes and our evidence team might've been in
there.”
“Would have been nice to have that evidence, though.”
“Can’t argue that. Woulda made it easier, but that’s someone else’s job,
huh? DA’s got his work cut out for him, but maybe the girl will talk.”
“She's being charged?”
Barton nodded. “Granted a restraining order, but she was still involved in
whatever was goin' on in there. DA might work a deal in exchange for her
witness statement. I’m heading over to try to get some information out of
her now if you want to watch. Thinking we’ll have her for a bit before she
gets released.”
“Thanks, but I still have to check in. I’ll have to track her down once I go
through the reports.”
Barton gave me a nod. “I’ll make sure everyone gets them to you soon as
they’re done.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
“I’ll let you get back to it. Take it easy, detective.”
He patted me on my good shoulder and headed out, leaving me to find my
way to the captain’s office with a million different thoughts running through
my head. Things weren’t adding up and it was leaving me with more
questions than answers.
Captain Thompson was already waiting for me when I arrived at his door.
“Heard you were here. What did the hospital say?”
I closed the door behind me and took the seat in front of his desk when he
gestured to the chair. “They said I can come back tomorrow.”
“Any idea what happened?”
“I was about to walk into that house when it went up. The only thing that
stopped me was a witness saying they saw the suspect run out the side door
toward the back of the house. I changed directions to go around back, and
that was when the house went up.”
A line formed between his brows. “My understanding is that Cox had the
suspect in custody until the explosion.”
“That’s what I was told as well. Maybe they missed another suspect in the
house, but a witness seeing someone fleeing the house a moment before it
went up seems like more than coincidence.”
“And who is this witness?”
 “A private investigator. You’ll have my report tonight.”
The captain’s lips thinned. “What the hell was a P.I. doing on our crime
scene?”
Cox’s words rang in my ears, and a fissure of panic formed in my gut. I
could brush off his question, but too many people saw me with Jax.
Pretending otherwise now would come back to bite me in the ass.
“The investigator was hired to work the Chloe Wells case. They had a
possible witness at their office and I was trying to get information when the
call came in.” Not technically a lie, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to
explain that I’d brought the witness to their office. “The P.I. gave me a ride
to the crime scene. He stayed in the car at first, but said he saw someone in
the house and came to warn me. That was when he saw the suspect run.”
Thompson's eyes narrowed. “Not sure I’m inclined to believe a P.I. over
our own men.”
I shrugged like I didn’t have an opinion either way, but it was a lie. I
trusted Jax far more than I trusted Cox on his best day. “That's what
happened, sir. What the P.I. told me he saw is the only reason I didn’t get
blown up with that house.”
He stared while I struggled not to squirm in my seat like I was being
interrogated, even if he hadn’t spoken a word. Thompson eventually broke
the tension and looked over at his computer screen.
“The Chloe Wells case, right? Calhoun said you wrapped that one up over
a week ago.”
“I’m following up on a few more leads before I close them out.”
The captain pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re a good detective,
Porter. I appreciate that your rate of solved cases is due in part to that
thoroughness, but these are open and shut overdoses. It's a waste of time
and resources that should be going to other, frankly more important cases.
When you come back tomorrow, I want the overdose cases closed. Focus on
your other cases. Barton will let you know if they get anything on today's
arrest. The explosion is being investigated by the inspector. Whatever
happened, they’ll find it.”
My promise to find justice for Noah and the others was falling apart, but
the captain’s unrelenting stare told me I didn’t actually have a choice in this
matter.
“Is that clear, detective?”
This was the thing I hated most about my job. And considering I had to
deny part of who I was to keep it, that was saying something. Not getting
full control over how I ran my cases meant there were times I had to
sacrifice justice to bureaucracy. There weren’t unlimited men and resources
to give every case the attention it deserved. And while I couldn’t control
how other detectives handled their caseload, I’d always been determined to
give any case I touched everything I had. Sometimes that just wasn’t
possible, and this was one of those times.
“Understood.”
And for someone who'd nearly been blown up a few hours earlier, I still
managed to walk out of there in a far worse mood than I’d gone in with.

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Jax

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING here?”

The hissed whisper pulled my attention away from the uniformed officer
eyeing me like I was about to rob the place, and I blinked up at Nathan, a
little confused by the irritated look on his face.
“Getting a coffee while I wait?” I gestured to the cup on the table in front
of me, as if it wasn’t obvious.
He slid a look over his shoulder and I followed his gaze back to my new
admirer. The cop rubbed at a line of cuts along his jaw as he watched our
interaction. He'd been on the scene when the house exploded, but it looked
like he'd made it out in a lot better shape than Nathan had.
“I told you I’d text.”
And now I was getting irritated. I knew this coffee shop would be
frequented by cops with how close it was to their station, but it wasn’t like I
was doing anything to taunt them. They were the ones coming in and giving
me looks. Nathan included, apparently.
 “Sorry, I didn’t realize sitting here drinking coffee would be offensive in
some way. Is my drink choice too gay? Is that the issue? And here I passed
on the pumpkin spice for nothing.”
Nathan’s eyes widened and darted around, no doubt because I’d dared to
say the word gay in public. And then he turned and stormed out of the shop.
Someone had been about to walk in when he blew through the door and the
guy fumbled the money in his hand, spilling the change all over the
sidewalk. Nathan hesitated before stepping around him and disappearing
around the side of the building.
I sulked over my coffee for a moment longer. Dammit. Fine, maybe I was
being a little oversensitive. But Officer Evil Eye over there wasn’t the first
to come in staring, and I was starting to feel like a zoo exhibit. I got that
Nathan couldn’t come out, I really did. That was a deeply personal thing
that he had to deal with in his own time. But the more looks I got from just
being in the man’s presence, the more I wondered if that was even the issue.
Maybe he didn't want to be associated with me in public because I wasn't a
clean cut meathead like the rest of his cop buddies.
I was feeling like a dirty little secret and we weren’t even in an actual
relationship. That should have been enough to tell me I was being
ridiculous, but I couldn’t shake the urge to flip the cop off and claim Nathan
right there in front of everyone. I would never do it, of course, but I
couldn’t deny that some part of me wanted it. And that wasn’t on Porter.
I’d never needed anyone’s approval in my life and I wasn’t about to let
myself feel insecure because the cops were treating me the way they always
did. Like I belonged behind bars. Judgy fuckers. And I supposed that was
Nathan’s point all along.
 I stood with a sigh and headed out of the shop, passing Nathan on my way
to the car. “Parked this way,” I grumbled as I walked past him without
pausing.
I was half sure he wasn't coming, but after a few minutes, he slipped into
the passenger seat without a word. There was a tense silence between us for
the first few blocks of the drive before Nathan finally wilted in his seat.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. When I left the station, I was
already in a shitty mood and Hawkins giving me looks when I walked in
didn’t help. I shouldn’t have talked to you that way.”
“It’s fine. Your cop buddies were annoying me before you came in and I
was maybe a little more sensitive than I needed to be.”
“Did they say anything to you?”
“Nah, just watched me like I was about to hold up the place. Nothing new.
So I take it your meeting with the boss didn’t go well?”
“He’s insisting I close the overdose cases and stop wasting resources on
them.”
“We’ll keep working on it even if you have to close them on your end.”
“I know, I just hate giving up on them. These people deserve to have the
truth uncovered and the people responsible held accountable. Even if some
of them did turn out to be nothing but accidental overdoses, they still
deserve to have someone looking into every possible lead.”
Porter was genuinely angry on the behalf of those victims and it was
something I needed to see. I knew he was different, of course, but it was the
reminder I'd needed that these people weren’t all the same. Sure, the bad
apples were the ones we remembered interacting with, but there were still
people like Porter in the mix. The ones who genuinely cared about the job.
Those who cared about people and justice. Not just power, not just laws.
The world needed more people like him.
“You’re a good detective, Porter.”
His eyes widened like the compliment surprised him. “Thank you.”
“How soon do you need to close the cases?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Then I guess we better get to work.”
“Where are we going?”
“Dylan called while you were in the station. He and Brody have been
talking and Brody mentioned two women who might know more than he
does about everything. He said the others basically think of them as the
godmothers of the streets and people open up to them more than anyone
else.”
“So if there’s a witness that hasn’t come forward…”
“Then these women are our best bet for finding them.”
“Did he give Dylan a name and where to find them?”
“Raven and Raine. They’ve been around long enough to have their own
spots that no one messes with.”
“Think they’ll talk?”
“I think we’re their best shot if they’re concerned about what's happening.
I can do this myself if you want to head home. You’re supposed to be
recovering, not working.”
“Not a chance. I was fine with taking a day off before they gave me a
deadline. Now it’s not happening.”
“They might be more willing to talk to me alone, anyway.”
He frowned at me. “Why?”
I gave him a flat look. “Really? Because you look like a cop.”
 He looked down at himself. “It’s just a suit, they see plenty of
businessmen. I’ll keep my badge hidden.”
I snorted.
“What?”
“It ain’t the suit that makes you look like a cop.”
He looked down at himself and then removed his jacket and rolled the
sleeves of his shirt up his forearms until the bottom edge of his bandage
was just barely hidden. “Better?”
I chuckled. “Sure. Hardly recognize you.”
Porter rolled his eyes at me. “Some of them know I’m a cop because they
recognize me from talking to Noah and Brody, but I’ve never met these
women. They won’t know.”
I parked the car in the general area that Brody had mentioned and turned
off the ignition. It would be better to go on foot the rest of the way so we
could visit their usual places without looking like we were the men they’d
been warned about.
“This is it.”
Nathan untucked his shirt to cover his gun now that it wasn’t concealed
by his jacket. It was the most disheveled I’d ever seen him and I could tell
by the tick in his jaw how much he hated it. I didn’t bother to tell him it
wouldn’t matter. Whatever it was that made him look like a cop, it was a
part of him, not his suit. But he wouldn’t believe me, anyway.
“Maybe it’s too early?” I suggested when we didn't find them in the places
Brody gave us.
Nathan checked the time on his phone. “Probably, but we don't have time
to sit around doing nothing. Let’s keep looking.”
He finally found them in a different area altogether.
 “What makes you think that’s them?”
He pointed out another worker who’d stopped to chat and then
disappeared back the way she’d come. “This area came up in one of the
cases. It’s where one of the victims worked. Others are checking it out, but
they’re deferring to those two. It’s them.”
The two women stood close, sharing a cigarette and chatting, but their
nearness made it impossible to miss the differences. The first woman was
tiny, no more than five feet tall, with long, raven black hair. A tight red
miniskirt showed off thin legs accented by tall, strappy platform heels with
a cascade of little gold charms dangling off the strap that crashed around
her feet.
The other woman was tall and blonde. As tall as me in the heels she wore,
but probably not much shorter even without them. Her blonde hair fell just
past her shoulders in waves and her pale green eyes snapped up as we
approached and trailed over me and Nathan with a sharpness that told me
she’d earned her spot at the top of the pack among these women. Which
meant she wasn’t going to spill their secrets to the likes of us so easily.
Still, I offered a friendly smile. “Ladies, we were wondering if you'd be
willing to answer a few questions about a mutual acquaintance, Chloe
Wells?”
The dark-haired pixie turned on her heels to face us, little star charms
crashing around at the movement as she ran her dark eyes over me, and then
Nathan.
“Sorry, we don’t know anyone by that name.” Her voice was soft and
sweet, but it was clear by the way she’d closed off immediately that she was
anything but submissive.
 I sighed. “Look, we’re just trying to find some answers about what’s been
happening to the workers in this area lately. Word on the street is that
people talk to you and we're hoping someone’s gotten a look at the men
doing this. Or even a vehicle.”
“We’re trying to keep people safe,” Nathan added.
“Well, aren’t you a sweetheart,” the taller woman said dryly, her voice
deeper and a little raspy. “But sorry, baby, we don’t talk to cops.”
Nathan frowned. “Who said we were cops?”
The smaller woman huffed a laugh. “You’re cute, I’ll give you that.”
“I’m a private investigator,” I cut in, handing over a card. “Chloe’s cousin
hired us to find out what happened to her.”
The taller woman took the card, but she didn’t look impressed. “That’s not
much better.”
“Sure it is. I can’t arrest anyone and I only work the cases I’m paid to
work. I’m not a threat to you.”
Their eyes went back to Nathan, and he frowned. “I’m not here to arrest
anyone. I just want to find the people responsible for this. Noah was a
friend.”
Their eyes narrowed, and I held up my hands. “It’s not like that. He
looked out for Noah and Brody and he takes Noah’s death personally. We're
protecting Brody now. He’s safe. Neither of us took advantage of those
boys. We just want to help.”
“We’ve seen the way the cops help, honey. No one around here needs that
kind of help.”
Nathan blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, I've heard that some cops
have come around baiting and arresting sex workers. It’s bullshit, I’m not
denying that, but I’m not one of them. I’m a detective working the recent
overdoses, and I think you know as well as I do that this many sex workers
have not suddenly overdosed with the same damn drugs in their system all
on their own. Someone is responsible for whatever is happening. Someone
that could very well be after you or Brody next. All I’m asking is for a little
of your time. Please.”
“We’ve never seen them,” the smaller woman finally said.
“Rav,” the other woman, presumably Raine, warned.
“What else can we do? Someone is hunting us.”
“Hunting you?” I questioned.
“Not us specifically,” Raine corrected. “But we’ve heard rumors. Two
men in a dark car who are a little too pushy and give off a vibe.”
“A vibe?” Nathan questioned.
Raine sighed. “Men who come around acting like they own these girls
because they throw a few bucks their way are a dime a dozen, honey, and
plenty of them take it too far. Rav and I have been around these parts for a
while, and the difference between our streets and the others is that we take
care of ourselves, and we make sure the others know what we know. Your
hypocritical cop buddies who get their rocks off before they bring out the
cuffs? We make sure word gets around. Some asshole thinks his money
means he can put his hands on someone? We make sure everyone knows
who to avoid. We’ve gotten a couple of reports of girls who got freaked out
by a car with two men who had a vibe that told them not to get in the car.”
She shrugged. “We spread the word and told everyone to avoid guys that
match the description, but there are a million men out there and people
gotta survive.”
Nathan gave me a look, and I knew what he was thinking. We couldn’t
search for a vibe.
 “No one’s been able to get a physical description of the men?”
“No one that came back to talk,” Raven answered. “One or two have seen
someone get in a dark car with two men and disappear. And like Raine said,
some got spooked by guys matching that same description, but if anyone
got close enough for a better look, they never came back.”
Raine blew out a breath. “There’s Angel.”
Raven shook her head. “What happened to Angel doesn’t match up.”
“What happened to Angel?” Nathan asked.
“We don’t know if it’s the same guy,” Raine explained. “But at first it
seemed like a lot of girls went missing and it’s slowed down. We’re still
hearing about that car so we know they aren’t gone, but if they caught on
that the girls know to avoid them, they may have changed the way they go
hunting. Angel had a run in with a—” Her words cut off as her eyes flicked
to Nathan. “With a man trying to get her into his car. She got a bad vibe,
assumed he was a cop, and told him she wasn’t interested. The guy was in a
dark car, but by himself. He wore a baseball hat, nothing distinctive, could
just be an everyday creep. He tried to force her into his car when she
refused. Nearly broke her arm, but she fought back, scratched up his face
and managed to get away.”
Nathan’s eyes shot up from where he’d been typing information into his
phone. “How long ago was this?”
“Last night,” Raven supplied.
"So the scratches should still be there," I said, checking the time. "I've
gotta get going. We can try to get a look at the men Dylan found tomorrow,
see if anyone matches the description."
Nathan nodded. "I promise I'm going to find the people responsible for
this. If you hear anything else, please let us know."
 Raine still held my card in her hand as if she'd been planning to toss it the
moment we walked away, but at Nathan's sincere words, she softened a
little and tucked the card into her bra. "Okay, baby, you get one chance to
prove you're not like the rest."
"I wouldn't be here if I was," he assured her.

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17

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Nathan

“IF WE’RE JUST CHECKING this place out while we wait, why am I
stuck in the back seat?” Brody complained.
“I’m hoping to get a look at someone who might be connected to the case.
It’s safer for you in the back.”
“You could have just left me at the house.”
“I would have if you weren’t packing your things when I got there. It’s
not safe yet. Just give us a little more time.”
Brody huffed and slouched down in the seat. “Got news for you, it’s never
safe. My job is more dangerous than yours.”
“I’m well aware of that. But it’s especially dangerous right now and I’m
trying to do something about that.”
“I can’t stay. No matter how friendly they all act, Jax’s life, his house, his
friends, his job—it’s not mine. No matter what people tell you, nothing is
free.”
My eyes found his in the rearview mirror. “Did Noah teach you that?”
 He turned his glistening brown eyes out the window. “I know it frustrated
you when he wouldn’t accept your help, but Noah kept me alive and taught
me how to survive. I’m not going to stop taking his advice just because he’s
not around anymore to—” his words cut off as a tear rolled down his cheek
and he slapped it away in frustration.
He was right that Noah’s stubborn refusals had frustrated me. Something
clearly happened to that boy long before I’d come around and Brody was
right, he’d kept them safe the only way he knew how. By relying only on
themselves and only themselves. I cared about Noah and his death had been
a gut punch I never wanted to experience again. But I’d be lying if I didn’t
admit, at least to myself, that sometimes I wondered if Noah had so
stubbornly refused my help because he worried Brody wouldn’t need him
anymore. For as much as Brody insisted Noah had kept him alive, I knew
Noah needed Brody as much as the reverse was true. I just didn’t think that
Brody knew that.
“In the end, all of Noah’s rules didn’t keep him alive, and it would kill me
if the same thing happened to you. Just give us a little more time, that’s all
I’m asking.”
He didn’t answer, which meant he wasn’t making any promises.
“Look, I know how you feel. Trusting people isn’t easy for me either.”
Now I felt Brody’s eyes burning a hole in the back of my head, but I made
no attempt to meet them. “It might look like I have my life together now,
but it wasn’t always that way. The worlds a scary place and no matter how
well you think you know people, in the end, there’s no way to know how
they’ll react to finding out your deepest secrets. To seeing all the parts of
you that you’ve always kept hidden.”
 “Don’t you have friends at work you can trust to have your back? I mean,
I wouldn’t trust them, but it’s not like they’re going to arrest you.”
I snorted. “No, I wouldn’t call any of them friends. There are some I
worry about less than others, but overall, I go to work every day worried
that it’ll be the day they figure me out and it’ll happen all over again. The
having each other’s back thing is true to some extent because it’s part of the
job, but it’s not like I’m getting in a shootout all the time. To be honest, I
think most of them don’t like me very much at all. Some days, I wonder
where their duty to their job ends and their dislike of me takes over.”
“You really do have trust issues. I thought you guys were all the same,
closing ranks whenever one of you fuck up and shit.”
“If people know you wouldn’t cover for them if the roles were reversed,
they're far more likely to throw you under the bus the first chance they get.
If they considered me one of them, I might expect to get the benefit of the
doubt in a questionable situation. But the people I work with definitely
don’t consider me one of them.”
“If they treat you so badly, why do you stay?”
“It’s not like I’m always fighting with them, but they make sure I know
my place. Pointing out weaknesses every chance they get, comments that
make it clear I’m not one of them. Just typical bullshit. Nothing I can’t
handle.”
Brody frowned and turned his attention out the window. “That stuff gets
to you after a while, though. Getting told you don’t belong, that you’re in
the way, not good enough. That no matter how hard you try, no one will
ever want you.”
Brody shook his head and waved it off when I turned in the seat to look at
him.
 “At first they’re just words, right?” He continued on quickly. “Things
could be worse, it’s nothing to complain about. At least you’re not being
abused. But when you hear those things every day for years, they find their
way under your skin and take on a life of their own inside you. At some
point, it doesn’t matter how far you run. They stay with you, they whisper
in your head every time you mess up. Every time life tries to stomp you into
the ground, those are the words that come back to haunt you. And even
years later, once the voices and the words themselves finally start to fade,
the damage they left behind stays. Being hated by someone close to you for
years isn’t as easy to live with as you’re pretending it is. You’re lying to
yourself, Nate. There’s no way it isn’t getting to you on some level.”
I busied myself using the binoculars to get a better look at the people
leaving the apartment building we were watching. “Fine, I’ll admit it does
get to me sometimes, but I kept the men I work with at arm’s length for
personal reasons and I have to accept that it resulted in them seeing me as
an outsider.”
“So you’re saying that’s a good reason for them to say those things to
you? That it’s your fault?”
“Geez, am I paying for this therapy session? That’s not what I meant. All
I ever wanted was to be a detective. I’ve never been good at anything else
and I can’t let a few bullies keep me from something I worked so hard for.”
I couldn’t help but notice that he’d successfully steered the conversation
away from himself and on to me. “So that’s why you ran away? Someone
was mistreating you at home?”
“Who said I ran away?”
“Kicked out then? If something happened to your family, the government
would have stepped in to place you somewhere, you wouldn’t be out on the
streets.”
“Yeah, well, it was more like a little of both. I grew up with my aunt, who
never let me forget that my worthless mother dumped me on her and that
her life would have been a hundred times better if she wasn’t always
cleaning up her sister’s messes. When I was fifteen, my aunt got sick. I was
old enough to take care of myself, but she decided she couldn’t deal with
me anymore. They put me with a family that looked great on paper. They
had a teenage son a year older than me who was the star baseball player at
his high school, honor student, had a harem of girls who wanted him, and
he was a complete asshole when no one was watching. He didn’t want me
there, and he wasn’t shy about saying so every time his parents were out of
the room. Eventually, the satisfaction he got out of picking me apart with
his words wasn’t enough. At first, it was shoving me into walls every time
he walked past, but it didn’t take long to escalate from there. I’d been there
a year when he pushed me down the stairs. It was the second time he sent
me to the hospital, and I knew if it kept up, I might not walk away the next
time.”
“Did you ever tell anyone what was happening?”
“Every time I tried to say something to the social worker or the family,
they took his word over mine. Said I was jealous or looking for attention.
He told them I had a crush on a girl that liked him and was trying to make
him look bad so she would like me instead. I think on some level they
already knew, but with a guy like that, telling them I didn’t even like girls
would only have made things worse.”
It was the same logic I used with my job. It was just a fact of life that in
some situations, confirming you were gay made you a target. The world
was still a shitty place sometimes. Poor kid never had anyone on his side.
Not until Noah.
“So what did you mean when you said it’ll happen all over again?” Brody
asked.
“What are you walking about?”
“You said you’re worried they’ll figure you out and it’ll happen all over
again.”
Had I said that? It was more than I’d meant to say, but after Brody finally
opened up to me, I couldn’t shut him down. That wasn’t the way you earned
someone’s trust, and Brody’s was more important than ever. Flaying myself
open for the cause wasn’t how I’d expected to spend this stakeout, but I
needed to keep Brody alive, and if this was the only way to make him
understand, then I would do it.
“I guess I meant I’m afraid of losing everything again. You might not
believe this, but in high school I was the quarterback of a rather
unimpressive football team, got good grades, had plenty of people I thought
were friends, and I flew under the radar by being the typical jock.”
“Yeah, no, I can totally see that. You scream high school football star
turned cop.”
“Well, I was no star. It was a small town, and the competition wasn’t
steep. I used that to my advantage.”
“So you blended in by being the All-American high school boy. Lucky.
Not all of us had that option.”
“Yup, I shamelessly paraded around as the guy who had it all. But it didn’t
matter how much I kept adding to the list, a job, a car, even a girlfriend at
one point, I was still empty. There was only one thing I wanted, and one
thing I knew for sure about myself and everything else was a lie. Most days,
I didn’t like that version of myself, but I was in too deep to back out.”
“So what happened? I assume you’re not telling me this story to gloat
about your picture perfect youth.”
“What happened was I met someone who was living his truth despite the
consequences and it made me want things I’d told myself I couldn’t have.
There was a party I went to in one of the neighboring towns. It was at the
house of one of our rival team’s players and his parents were out of town,
so he invited everyone. His family had a lot of land with a barn and
everything, and they had a bonfire out back where everyone was drinking
and being idiots. Back then I didn’t drink. Too afraid that I would slip up
and say something, so I just carried a beer around and teased everyone else
for being lightweights when they got drunk.
“It didn’t take long for the guys to all wander off trying to pick up girls
from the other schools or talk their girlfriends out of their clothes, and that
was my cue to walk around and pretend I was doing the same. Instead, I ran
into one of my drunk teammates punching a kid half his size and saying
some really shitty things. Things I could almost hear them saying to me in
my worst nightmares. I told the idiot to cool off before we got the cops
called on us, and then I saw the guy he hit. He was wearing makeup.”
“Your friend punched him for wearing makeup?”
“He wasn’t a friend, but yeah. Though that wasn’t really the whole story. I
found out later the kid’s name was Chris, and he went to our rival school.
He was small and pretty, but also feisty and so unapologetic about who he
was. He told me what happened when I gave him a ride home, and
apparently when the girl he’d gone to the party with disappeared with my
teammate’s friend, the drunk idiot mistook him for a girl and hit on him.
Chris shot him down and pointed out that he was a guy and that was when
the asshole punched him. The way my teammate reacted only made me
want to climb deeper into the closet, but at the same time, I was insanely
curious.”
“About makeup?”
“About how he could just do what he wanted and not care what everyone
else thought, or said, or did to him for daring to be different. For having the
balls to be himself. It was like an abstract concept for me until that point.
Like sure, you could move to some progressive big city and be yourself, but
not in small town Ohio where being different made you an outcast and a
target. Except there Chris was, a hundred times braver than me, proving that
I was full of shit.”
“So you came out and got thrown off the football team, right?”
“Not even close. Meeting Chris forced me to face some things about
myself that I’d been avoiding, but in the end, I decided I wouldn’t change a
thing. I knew I wanted to be a detective since I was a kid, and that was the
goal I decided to focus on. Everything else didn’t matter.”
“Seriously? So then what happened?”
“What happened was I knew I couldn’t tell the world about me, maybe
not ever, but I still wanted to acknowledge it in some way. Chris gave me
his number when I took him home, but I never used it. It had been months,
but he remembered me when I finally worked up the nerve to text him. I
told him I admired how strong he was. That I was pretty sure I liked guys,
but I could never do what he did. I think I just wanted someone to know,
and he was the only person it could be. We started hanging out every once
in a while. It was freeing to know I could just be myself around him. But in
a town that small, secrets don’t always stay secrets.”
 “So someone saw you and assumed you were dating. Why can’t people
just mind their own business?”
“I wish I knew. We always drove to another town to hang out, but
apparently one of my father’s friends saw us in the car together. That was
enough to make him go through my phone while I was in the shower. My
parents and I were never close. My dad was so old school that we didn’t see
eye to eye on anything, and my mom just went along with anything he said.
As long as I was their idea of the perfect son, things were fine, but I should
have known better than to let my guard down.
“They’d never taken much interest in me, so I didn’t expect it when they
through my things. There were messages on my phone from the idiots on
the football team talking about underage drinking and trying to get into
girl’s pants, and a million other little things that should have been far more
concerning if they thought I’d taken part in any of it. But they didn’t give a
damn about that, said it was normal teenage boy behavior. My dad actually
seemed relieved to see those things. But the text conversations between me
and Chris confirmed their worst nightmares.
“My family had never been religious, never gone to church, so it was
shocking to hear by dad telling me I would burn in hell for the things I’d
done, which, by the way, amounted to a text message admitting I was
attracted to men.”
“You and Chris never hooked up?”
“Never got up the nerve to try before everything went down. My dad had
been calling me soft my whole life over everything from helping in the
kitchen to my distaste for hunting. There was a list of things feeding into his
anger that I wasn’t what he wanted me to be. Half the reason I played
football was to get him to back off, and that worked for the most part.
Maybe too well, because it really caught me off guard when he threw that
first punch. I was so shocked that I didn’t even block it.
“After the initial shock wore off I didn't make it easy for him, and when
he couldn’t vent his anger that way, he found a camp program for troubled
teens that promised to do it for him. I’d heard about places like that from
Chris, and I decided I’d rather take my chances on my own. It was two
months away from my seventeenth birthday and at first I was able to keep
my job and finish out the year at school by sleeping at friend’s houses. I
filled the gaps by sleeping in my car and hitting the weight room at school,
so no one would question me using the showers in the off season.
“But eventually my friends wanted an explanation, and I finally trusted
the one I was closest to with the truth. He’d been letting me stay with him
without question for weeks, and I thought he’d at least keep my secret. I
was wrong. Word got around and all of my options disappeared, along with
my friends. The rumors found their way back to my family because my dad
came to my work to scream at me for being an embarrassment and publicly
disown me. Because of that, I lost my job too. I lost everything because I
trusted the wrong people and I can count the number of people I’ve trusted
since then on one hand.” One finger, actually.
“What did you do?”
“I left. Drove south and bounced around a bit, but my plates expired
shortly after that and then I was stuck here in Virginia. I lived out of my car
and sold anything I had left just so I could eat. But eventually, I ran out of
possessions too. Once I had nothing, there were a few times that I very
nearly sold the only thing left.”
Brody nodded in understanding. “So what happened?”
 “Someone came along who helped me. They gave me a chance and
because of them, I was able to get my life back on track.”
“That's why you were so determined to help me and Noah?”
“We’re not so different, Brody. And not all help comes with strings
attached.”
Brody leaned forward between the seats, but instead of saying whatever
he was about to, he pointed out a man across the street. “Wait, isn’t that the
guy you’re looking for?”
I used the binoculars to get a better look. “It’s not the one we were
looking for, but it is one of the men on the list. The fact that he’s here is
suspicious as hell.” Gerald Moye bypassed the front door and slipped
around the side of the building. And it was only when I started to report it to
ASI that I remembered the earpiece.
“Son of a bitch,” I grumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Brody asked, leaning forward to get a better look. “Is it
the wrong guy?”
“No, it’s the right guy. Base, you still there?”
“Still here, babycakes.”
And that meant Jax was too. Fuck.

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Jax

IT WASN’T EXACTLY HIGH stakes poker, but that pot was worth
thousands at this point and I’d been more interested in listening in on
Porter’s conversation than what was happening right in front of me.
Dylan should have cut the audio when he heard the private conversation,
or at least muted it, so I couldn’t hear. But I knew he’d kept quiet and left
the line open for my sake. The little shit was trying to play matchmaker and
information was key in any op. But Porter had to be feeling exposed and
Dylan’s play could end up backfiring.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t known we were there. They’d been listening in on
my conversations earlier in the night, but Dylan muted my line once my
game started and it was easy to forget everyone can hear what you’re saying
when no one’s talking.
“You could have reminded me you were listening,” Porter grumbled.
“We’re practically family, honey bear, nothing to be worried about.
Besides, Rook was busy with his game and I’m working away over here.
We barely even noticed you talking.”
 Lies.
“Liar,” Nathan answered, nearly in unison with my thoughts.
“If it makes you feel better, I can tell you some stories from my youth,”
Dylan offered. “Or Rook’s.”
I choked on the breath I sucked in and the other players looked at me
funny. Dylan chuckled on the other end of the comms, the little shit. It
wasn’t like Dylan had been around for any of my childhood, but I wouldn’t
put it past him to know things I’d never told him. He was scary good at his
job and dealing with me was part of his job.
“Focus on your game, Rook. Babycakes, did you get a good look at the
target?”
“Enough to know his face isn’t scratched. He didn’t go into the building.
I’m going around back to follow him.”
I cleared my throat loudly, and Dylan had my back.
“Holdup hun, that’s not safe right now. You have no backup.”
“No time,” Porter’s reply snapped back in a hushed whisper that told me it
was already too late.
Fuck, I had a good hand, too.
“I’m dealing with it, Rook,” Dylan hissed in my ear.
He knew me too well, but I didn’t trust anyone but me to have Nathan’s
back.
I set my cards face down on the table with a wince. “Guess I’m out.”
The woman across the table gave me a suspicious look. She was good
enough to know I wasn’t bluffing, so folding when I was pretty sure I was
about to win must have seemed like a really stupid move. The idiot next to
her smiled smugly, as if his chances of winning had just gone up. They
hadn’t, and he was the only one who wasn’t aware of that. I gave them a
nod and left the table, keeping my cool until I made it to my car.
“Where is he?”
“The car’s still parked near the target’s apartment, but Dash got out and
went rogue.”
“We’re not giving him that call sign,” I argued on Porter’s behalf.
“That was the nicer option. If he didn’t want a stupid call sign, he
shouldn’t have run off in the middle of my op.” Dylan was going to give
Porter hell for that one. The frustration was plain to hear in his deceptively
calm voice. It was his job to wrangle us and he took it seriously. The thing
was, Porter wasn’t really one of us. Not officially, but that wouldn’t matter
to Dylan.
“You do remember this is his job,” I tried.
“Not without a warrant, it’s not. This one was ours. Bambi should still be
in the car, but he doesn’t have an earpiece, so I’m trying his phone. Breaker
was the closest man we had, so I sent him that way. He’ll be catching up to
them in less than ten minutes. I told you I had it handled. How much money
did you just throw away?”
Breaker was one of the new guys, Logan Fuller. The fact that I barely
knew him was only one of the reasons I didn’t trust the guy. There was
something in his eyes that made me leery of working with him and while I
knew Roman and Dylan had their reasons for bringing him in, I sure as hell
wasn’t trusting him with Nathan’s life. Not in a million years.
“More than I want to admit. I’ll be there in five.”
“You’re going to be even later if you get pulled over.”
“I won’t be pulling over.”
 “Ah, yes, because nothing says stealth mission like showing up with
flashing lights on your ass. I’m not bailing you out again.”
“That was one time,” I grumbled.
“With your contempt for authority, it’s bound to happen again.”
“I’m not gonna get—” The sentence wasn’t even out of my mouth before
the flashing lights lit up my rearview mirror. “Son of a bitch!”
“I seriously don’t know why you guys question me. Daddy knows all,
sugar pants. And if you show up with cops on your tail, you could put
Nathan in danger. Deal with the ticket and get here when you can. Trust me
to handle it until then.”
I growled in frustration. “Let me know as soon as you have an update.”
“I’ll loop Breaker in when he arrives.”
I couldn’t respond because the cop was approaching. He took one look at
me and the corner of his mouth ticked downward like he expected me to be
a problem. Not that I wasn’t perfectly capable of being a problem, I just
didn’t have time to mess with him at the moment.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” he asked as I handed over my
license and insurance card.
“Just heading home.”
“Pretty fast for just headin’ home.”
“Was it? Sorry about that, I drank a ton of water and need to get to the
bathroom.”
The cop made a sound in the back of his throat, implying he didn’t believe
my lies at all. Which was bullshit, I was an excellent liar.
“Am I gonna find anything when I run this?” he asked, tapping the
license.
 Just run it, I’m in a damn hurry. The words were on the tip of my tongue,
but I held it back. The second this cop knew I needed to be somewhere, this
whole thing would only get worse.
“No warrants, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He made that damn sound again before disappearing back to his car to
look up my disorderly conduct charge. That mess had been the result of a
case gone wrong and while Roman’s lawyer got it dismissed since I’d done
nothing but restrain a guy who’d attacked me, it was still there every time
the cops ran my license, proving all of their assumptions about me.
“Breaker is there. I’m looping him in,” Dylan said in my ear.
I tapped an anxious rhythm on my steering wheel as Breaker’s
dispassionate voice came through.
“Pulling in now.”
The cop returned with a ticket and a less judgy expression than I’d been
expecting. He handed everything over and gave me a nod. “Slow it down,
Mr. Mitchell. You’ll get where you’re going a lot faster if you don’t get
pulled over again.”
Clearly he still wasn’t believing my bathroom lie, but he also wasn’t
being a dick about it. Huh. Maybe I was the judgy one here.
“I will,” I agreed.
The second he was gone, I pulled away and headed for Nathan. “Base,
what’s the status? I missed whatever happened after Breaker arrived.”
“If only someone had warned you in advance. You’re not in Kansas
anymore, Dorothy. That is the part of town where people with money live
and if you drive around like a fool in that beater of a car, there’s no way
you’re not getting pulled over.”
“Are we doing this now?”
 “Hmm, tell me I’m always right and I’ll let it go,” he decided.
“You were right.”
“Well, that wasn’t convincing at all, darling. Try it again with some
feeling.”
“You’re recording this, aren’t you?”
“Would I ever do such a thing?”
Yes. Yes, he would. “You, our brilliant and beautiful wrangler, are always
right. I will never again question your wise and gracious advice.”
“Well, you know, I do what I can,” he practically purred.
Dylan already knew how damn good he was at his job. It wasn’t like he
needed a confidence boost, he had that in spades. But the man ran on
compliments and tokens of appreciation, and I had no problem greasing
those wheels. He sure as hell deserved it.
“Now that you’ve acknowledged my wisdom, I can tell you what’s going
on. The good news is Bambi is safe and responding to my messages.”
“Great. What’s the bad news?”
“Bambi pointed Breaker in the direction Dash ran off to and he followed
the same path around the building. He’s checking the surrounding area now,
but both the target and Dash are missing.”
“What do you mean, he’s missing? Don’t these earpieces have trackers on
them?”
“I don’t think Dash knows that. He turned his off as soon as he rounded
the building.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”
“What good would that have done when there was nothing you could
do?”
 I pulled into the first spot I saw and hurried over to Porter's car, dropping
into the driver’s seat and grabbing the binoculars from Brody’s hand.
“Doing okay?” I checked as I looked over the building.
“Yeah.”
“Seen anything since he disappeared?”
“Not really.”
His strange tone of voice made me take a closer look. It helped that I
knew him, but I didn’t quite believe his answer. “What did you see?”
He frowned at me. “I just said—“
“I heard what you said, but there's something you're not saying.”
Brody huffed. “That’s a creepy trick you have, you should stop.”
“Couldn’t if I wanted to. Now tell me.”
“I’m not sure of what I thought I saw. It might have been someone else.”
“Where?”
He pointed at the building. Most of the first floor was nothing but
windows showing off their fancy ass lobby that looked more like an
expensive hotel than an apartment building.
“Are you saying you saw him inside the building?” By-the-book Porter
went into the building without a warrant? That couldn’t be right, could it?
“Like I said, it probably wasn’t even him.”
Except both his expression and his answer made me sure it was.
“Base, I’m going in the building.”
“Rook, you cannot break into that building. There’s no way he got in with
all that security. There are cameras everywhere. He wouldn’t take that risk.”
But I was pretty sure he did. “Can’t hurt to take a look.”
“Yes, it can! You just said you were going to listen to me. It was like five
minutes ago!”
 “Did Breaker come up with anything?”
“Circling back now, no sign of either target.”
“I need to check. Can’t you disable the cameras or something?”
“How many times to I need to tell you guys I am not a hacker? If you go
in there and give them a reason to check the cameras, you’re just going to
make things worse for him.”
That was actually a fair point. “I’ll figure something out,” I decided,
handing the binoculars back to Brody. “Keep an eye on the building and tell
me if you see him again.”
Brody rolled his eyes, but did as I asked while I ran back to my car and
dug through the trunk. I had a lot of shit in there I used for jobs, but my jobs
rarely took me into such classy places. There wasn’t a thing on earth that
was going to make me look like a resident in a place like that, but there
were a few that people tended to ignore, no matter the surroundings. I
snagged a generic maintenance shirt and hat and hurried back to Porter’s
car.
“Anything?” I asked when Brody let me in again.
“Nothing.”
I buttoned the long-sleeved maintenance shirt up over my t-shirt and
gathered my hair, twisting it up to tuck inside the hat. It wasn’t perfect, but
my black jeans were plain enough and as long as my hair and tattoos were
hidden, it was good enough.
“That’s your plan? It’s so obvious. You think someone’s going to let you
into the building just because you have a shirt that says maintenance?”
Brody scoffed. “No way people are that stupid. Ten bucks says you fail
miserably.”
 “I’ll take the bet, but keep your money. If I get in that building, you have
to call me Stealth Master Jax from now on.”
“You’re literally the biggest dork ever.”
“Yup. Deal?”
“What do I get when I win?”
“Ten bucks.”
“Fine.”
“Stay put and text base if you see him again.”
I circled around until I was leaning against the building on the next block
over. While Brody was right that a resident wasn't likely to just let me
inside, that wasn’t what I was aiming for. This area was desirable for a
reason. These fancy ass apartment buildings were surrounded by expensive
restaurants, art galleries, wine bars, and a bunch of other places to waste
their money. All conveniently located within a couple of blocks. It was only
a matter of time before one of the residents skipped the driving service in
favor of walking, and eventually, my target headed right for me.
I checked my watch and rushed forward, clipping a man’s shoulder and
making him stumble.
“I’m so sorry, sir,” I said, catching him and stopping him from a fall that
would have dirtied his expensive suit. “Are you alright?”
“Watch where you’re going!” he snapped, shoving my hands away.
His eyes narrowed at my appearance, and he checked to make sure he still
had his wallet before walking off in a huff. Dick. But considering I was
walking away with the guy’s keys in my pocket, it was hard to muster up a
proper amount of indignation.
I circled the building, looking for a back entrance Porter must have used.
This side of the building had a parking lot full of expensive cars, which
meant there were likely just as many cameras, but aside from the double
doors, it was missing the glass from the front lobby, along with the
attendant and the valet. It was exactly what I was hoping for. As long as I
didn’t give them a reason to check the cameras, this might actually work.
I found the right key and let myself in, heading down the main hall to the
elevators. The first floor didn’t look to have any apartments. The lobby took
up a huge amount of space, and signs for a fitness room, concierge and
various other fancy ass amenities told me I was going up. Once in the
elevator, I turned my face away from the camera.
“We know what floor they’re on?”
“Oh, now you want my help?” Dylan snapped. “Based on the apartment
numbers, it looks like they live on two different floors. Rowland is on
twelve, but even if you get up there, you can’t just go inside his apartment.”
I punched the number and the elevator swept me up twelve floors in no
time. “He’s not the one I’m looking for.” And he wasn’t, but I nearly ran
right into him when he stepped onto the elevator as I was leaving. I
mumbled an apology and stepped out of sight, letting the man disappear and
watching as the elevator went up to the thirty-fourth floor.
“The other apartment on thirty-four?”
“No. According to the building’s website, it's a residents-only rooftop
lounge.”
“Rowland was alone, but maybe he's meeting the partner. We got anything
on that guy?”
“Preston Davis, a rather successful business man. Never been arrested, but
has been in on several of Rowland’s business deals. Nothing solid on this
guy, just a lot of connections to questionable people. He always manages to
keep his own hands clean enough to stay out of it when everyone else goes
down.”
“Doesn’t seem like someone who’d be meeting with Moye at his home.”
“Maybe he wasn’t invited.”
The elevator opened on the roof and I immediately found the three men
seated at a table near the edge of the roof. Since I was still in my
maintenance uniform and there was no way to get close without being
noticed, I circled behind the elevator and snapped a couple of pictures with
my phone, though with the dim lighting, they were going to come out about
as clear as the car pictures had.
There was no making out the conversation from this distance, but it was
clear their discussion wasn’t a friendly one. Davis especially seemed to
want to be anywhere but there. It wasn’t until I zoomed in with my camera
that I caught movement behind them and realized what I was seeing.
Porter had somehow gotten himself tucked behind the half-wall cement
planter behind their table. As long as they were seated, he was out of sight,
but unless they happened to be looking the other way when they stood up,
he’d be easily spotted. And I had no idea how to get him out of there.
I ducked back behind the wall. “We have a problem.”
“You’ve got eyes on him?”
“Yeah, and the moment the target stands up, he will, too.”
Dylan swore and told me to sit tight. The line went quiet, telling me he
was working out our options with Breaker, but every moment that passed
put Porter more at risk.
“Be ready for the signal,” Breaker announced when my comms
reconnected to the group.
“You’re not even in the building,” Dylan answered.
 “Won’t need to be. Just be ready to make a move if everything goes
according to plan.”
“We don’t have time to argue, but this is a terrible plan,” Dylan sighed.
“Then be ready to make a move if everything doesn’t go according to
plan,” Breaker answered.
“Do I get to know the plan?” I hissed.
“No time.”
The line went quiet and whatever signal they’d been talking about, I
couldn’t see anything from the roof. Dammit! This was why I worked alone.
I just needed to get to Porter, and I’d figure the rest out from there.
Halfway between where I was hidden and where Porter was stuck was
another conversation area with a similar rectangular cement planter giving
an illusion of privacy. They would still see us the moment they went for the
elevator, but it would buy him some much-needed breathing room if he
could get that far.
Letting him know I was there without drawing the attention of the others
was the easy part. I always kept a handful of little magnetic balls in my
pocket when I was working. They’d come in handy many times for tripping
up a target. Normally I scattered them and because they were magnetic it
was easy to gather them back up before anyone figured out what I’d done,
but this time I just needed one.
I pulled one of the little metal balls loose and aimed it in Porter’s
direction. No one should notice unless it got close, and thanks to the trendy,
smooth floor, it barely made any noise as it glided its way under the
furniture toward my target. It was a perfect plan until Porter shifted and the
magnet missed him completely, rolling right off the side of the building
under the safety glass railing. It must have hit something on the way down
because Porter’s head peeked out a second later, searching in my direction
until our eyes met.
Davis glanced toward the railing, telling me he’d heard it too, but he
dismissed it the moment Moye said something else that seemed to piss him
off. It was a little too close, but I had Porter's attention. Now we just needed
to get him out of there before Rowland and his friends caught sight of him.
Porter was smart enough to know to turn his phone off before he entered
the building, so messaging him was out. Instead, I pointed out where I
wanted him to go. He shook his head. We both knew he’d be seen the
moment he moved unless there was some kind of distraction. It wasn’t
ideal, but it was going to have to be me.
Porter must have seen what I was about to do, because he shook his head
again, this time with a clear warning in his eyes. Yeah, he was not on board
with this plan, but we were out of options. I gave him a thumbs up like he
hadn’t just threatened violence with that glare and stepped out from behind
the wall.
The second I was in view, the fire alarm sounded, and I ducked back
behind the wall again. Porter shot a panicked look in my direction, and I
motioned for him to stay put while I decided on our next move. The fire
alarm might be the distraction we needed. It also might be game over.
The men stood and moved away from their seats, eyeing the flashing light
over the elevator. Porter was almost in the clear, but then Rowland started
rounding the table, heading right for the spot where Porter was hiding
instead of the exit. I moved to intercept him when a resident from the group
on the other side of the lounge called out to his friends from the railing at
the front of the building.
“There’s a ton of smoke down there, I can’t see anything.”
 The group rushed for the elevator while Rowland changed directions to
see for himself. He leaned over the railing at the front of the building and
swore.
“It’s legit. Let’s go.”
I propped open the door to the stairwell that ran behind the elevator and
stepped out into the open, keeping the brim of my hat lowered over my
eyes. “Gentlemen, please evacuate the building until it is deemed safe to
return. We are working to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible.”
The men paid me no attention as they entered the stairwell and I waited to
make sure they were gone before circling back to find Porter coming my
way. I grabbed his hand and dragged him behind the wall with me.
"Don't ever do that to me again."
"Do wha—"
I shoved him back into the brick and kissed the hell out of him. The relief
at having him back in my arms after not knowing what the hell happened to
him was more overwhelming than I'd expected. Porter seemed more
confused than anything, having no idea what he'd put us through, but he
gave in to my demand and kissed me back. When I finally released him, he
was a little dazed, but then he blinked at my shirt and frowned.
“Do I even want to know what’s going on right now?”
“Turn your earpiece back on and you’ll get an earful. For now, let's get
out of here while we can still blend in with the crowd.”
Porter turned the earpiece on as we made our way down the stairs and
immediately winced at the sound of Dylan bitching out Logan.
“Oh, look who decided to join us again. What on earth possessed you to
turn off your earpiece when you were heading into a situation like that?”
“I needed to hear what was happening around me,” Porter muttered.
 “Turning it off means I can’t even tell where you are, and Jax is
completely unmanageable when he’s worried about you.”
Dammit Dylan. I supposed I deserved that, but Porter glanced back over
his shoulder and raised an eyebrow in my direction.
“I’m always unmanageable,” I answered dismissively.
“Not like that. Despite my orders, Breaker stayed nearby in case you
didn’t get out, but the police were closer than we thought. They decided he
looked suspicious and are questioning him now. He’s damn lucky he threw
the only two smoke bombs he had on him, but we’re going to have to see
how it plays out. You two get back here now.”
His usual teasing tone was nowhere to be found, making him sound like a
completely different person. There was no question, Dylan was pissed.
We'd all fucked up on this one, and we'd forced Dylan to scramble to play
damage control. It wasn't a relationship I could afford to lose when I'd just
promised Porter we wouldn't give up on his case. I always knew my
inability to be a team player would be the thing that made Atlas give up on
me one day, I just never expected to be the one hoping for another chance.

OceanofPDF.com
19

OceanofPDF.com
Nathan

“IF YOU THINK YOU can get away with whatever you want just because
you’re bigger than me, think again. I know where you sleep, I have many
talents, and if I decided to get even for the shit you just pulled, I could crush
you with less effort than it takes to get a manicure. Be grateful that I’m the
bigger person.”
Jax’s eyes widened at Dylan’s threat, but surprisingly, he took it in stride.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see much choice at the time.”
He hadn’t let go of my hand since we made it back to ASI and I was only
now realizing how much trouble I’d unintentionally caused for them. It was
a still a little shocking that he didn’t have one ounce of hesitation being
affectionate with another man around the people he worked with, but not
one of them had even blinked at the gesture. I, on the other hand, was
having trouble focusing on anything else. But even if it made me anxious, it
was my fault he was feeling so protective, so I let him have it.
Dylan sighed. “If you’d just waited, we could have come up with
something that might have kept Logan out of trouble.”
 Leo scoffed from his spot against the wall behind Dylan’s desk. We’d
walked in to find Dylan pacing the lobby with Leo and Roman backing him
up like two bodyguards, which I supposed they were. Neither of the bigger
men spoke, letting Dylan handle the situation himself, but we were
definitely outnumbered here.
“And you.” He turned his attention to me. “You might not technically be
one of my men, but I expected more from you, detective.”
Damn, he was good. Knew just where to strike to make the guilt hit hard.
“I really didn’t mean to make anyone worry. There was an opportunity to
get some information and I usually investigate things on my own. I didn’t
even realize you were trying to keep track of me.”
Some of Dylan’s anger deflated a little with my explanation and he shook
his head. “Please tell me how you found yourself inside a building with that
much security.”
“A resident let me in. She was carrying several bags and I offered to help.
Moye had been arguing with a man I didn’t recognize in the parking lot and
they went inside before we did. I asked if she knew them, but she only
moved in recently and didn’t know anyone yet. At that point, I figured they
must have gone into an apartment and I wasn’t going to get anything else,
but the woman hinted that she’d be at a lounge on the roof later. Figured I’d
check it out before I left.”
“So you flirted your way into the building,” Jax huffed.
“No, I saw a woman struggling and carried her bags for her. She invited
me into that building and just wanted to thank me. Anything I overheard
while there was coincidence.”
Dylan sighed. “I think we can put the rest of the pieces together. You got a
little too close, and Jax and Logan got you out of there.”
 I crossed my arms over my chest. “When I got up there, they were
standing near the railing and I ducked behind the planter in case they
recognized me from the parking lot. It wasn’t until the other group came up
and sat too close that they moved to where I was hiding and my position
became an issue.”
Roman checked his phone and let out a heavy breath. “That was Casey.
They’re releasing Logan with just a fireworks charge, but Casey is pretty
sure he can get it dropped.”
“He’s lucky they didn’t get him on inciting a panic,” Leo huffed.
“They don’t even have enough to make the fireworks charge stick. Casey
is good at his job, Logan will be fine,” Roman grumbled.
Casey must be the lawyer then. I’d heard of the man but never met him.
Ex-military like the rest of them, but he’d enlisted to pay for his degree and
left to start his practice as soon as he was able. Roman had some kind of
partnership with him, which was probably a good thing with this crew.
Brody sprawled out on the couch that took up most of the seating area on
the other end of the lobby, and while I felt bad about making all of them
worry, leaving him behind was the thing I felt worst about. I should have
been protecting him and when I’d hopped out of the car, I’d only expected
to be gone long enough to see who Moye was meeting. A few minutes at
most, but that wasn’t the way it had turned out, and we were lucky no one
else saw him. And that he’d chosen to stick around, though I was pretty
sure he’d only waited because he was worried too. Now that it was all over,
he was crashing fast, despite the commotion.
Roman folded his arms over his chest and addressed Jax directly. “I let
Dylan deal with you because that was his op and he was in charge, but you
can bet your ass I will back up anything he decides as a result. I suggest you
get back on his good side in a hurry.”
“Understood,” Jax agreed easily.
Roman nodded. “That said, we knew what we were getting into when we
picked this crew, so there’s no point in dwelling on it. Moving on, the fact
that Moye even visited the building tells us something. Were you able to get
anything else that you’re able to share?”
Technically, I wasn’t supposed to share anything with a P.I. agency. But
technically, I shouldn't have been in that building. Everything I’d learned,
which wasn’t much in the scheme of things, wouldn't be enough to get a
warrant. Plus, these men were the reason I walked out of there without
landing in a lot of trouble. As much as it pained me to break the rules, they
were the only resource I had on this one.
“Even with no one around they spoke carefully, but I picked up on a few
things. Moye was there to see Rowland, but Davis intercepted him in the
parking lot and he was not happy he was there. Once Rowland joined them,
the conversation turned to the reason he was there, which was a business
issue. Moye said there was an issue with their supplier and he needed more
time to pull everything together.”
“That could mean a lot of things,” Roman pointed out.
“Sure, but an issue with their liquor supplier can be resolved with a phone
call instead of an in-person meeting with the owners. Obviously, it’s
nothing solid, nothing that can be used in any official way, but it’s worth
looking into.”
Dylan tapped away at his laptop as we spoke. “Did he say what kind of
issue there was with the supplier?”
 “He didn’t get into specifics, but Rowland was agitated. Davis suggested
charging more to preserve what they had. They agreed to that for the
moment, but implied it wasn’t a permanent solution considering how much
they're already charging.”
“Sounds like they’re dealing out of their fancy nightclub and getting rid of
the evidence whenever someone overdoses?” Jax summarized.
“It’s as good a theory as any,” Roman said.
It was, but something didn't quite fit.
“We’re sure the victims were sex workers and not just made to look like
sex workers?” Dylan asked.
“Some are unconfirmed, but some were positively identified with past
arrests,” I answered.
“So how are they connected to the nightclub? Could this be a completely
separate case?”
“They could be bringing in sex workers to sell to the club’s patrons,”
Roman suggested.
“It’s possible, but that doesn’t explain the disappearances.” Brody would
have known if Noah had been dealing at a club. And none of that explained
the car or the men they were afraid of. “Could they be picking them up,
getting them hooked, and using that to force them to sell?”
“So, forcing sex workers to deal out of the club is the working theory?”
Jax asked. “Did they say anything else?”
I frowned. “They said a lot of things, but most of it wasn’t clear enough to
be useful.”
Jax eyed me for a long moment and I knew the perceptive bastard was
picking up that I was holding something back, but I couldn’t say anything
more until I was sure of what it meant. It wasn’t like I was lying, it was just
that something Moye had said stuck with me and had me questioning
everything. But I was probably reading too much into it.
“Davis was the more cautious of the group, he wanted to scale back and
wait. Rowland was after profits and he wanted to find a way around the
supply issue, even if it meant going outside of their normal process. Moye
sided with Davis and for now they’re giving him more time, but if Moye
can’t get what he promised soon, I think that’s when they’ll slip up.”
Moye hadn’t just sided with Davis, he’d argued that they needed to be
more careful with the stock before their customers caused problems for
them. That there was only so much his guys could cover up before someone
they couldn’t pay off got involved. Could Moye have been talking about a
cop? Was it possible that someone in my department knew about the drugs
they were running out of their nightclub, but chose to look the other way?
As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I had to consider all possibilities.
In the end, what we truly had amounted to nothing. Moye could have been
talking about their food supplier and, for all I knew, the person they were
paying off was a health inspector. Which would mean I’d been doing
nothing but chasing my tail.
“We’ll monitor these three for now,” Roman concluded. “If Detective
Porter is right, we’ll want to be watching when they slip up. Leo, you’ve
got your own case to focus on, so we’ll only call you in on this if we have
another issue like tonight. I’ll assign West to watch Davis and Logan to
watch Rowland. Jax, that leaves you with Moye.”
The door chimed, putting an end to the conversation as Logan and a man I
didn’t recognize found their way in. For someone who’d just been arrested,
Logan looked completely at ease. Whereas the dark-haired man with
piercing blue eyes at his side looked exhausted. He wore dark gray dress
pants, the sleeves of his white button-down were rolled up his forearms, and
his tie hung loosely around his neck. He was a little younger than the rest of
the men and it struck me that while he stood out from the rest of these guys,
he still seemed to belong here as much as any of them. This place had an
interesting dynamic, there was no denying that.
“Look who finally showed up,” Leo commented dryly, though I could
have sworn I picked up a thread of concern in his voice as he gave Logan a
once over. Considering he was supposed to be working a different case, I
had to question why he’d shown up for the aftermath of what was, all things
considered, a pretty insignificant night.
Logan ignored Leo in favor of Dylan, who was ready for round two now
that his last stray had finally shown up. While Dylan ripped Logan a new
one, Roman grinned and patted the other man’s shoulder.
“Sorry to keep you up so late, Casey.”
“You owe me a drink,” Casey sighed, his eyes catching on Brody sleeping
on the couch for a long moment. He looked like he wanted to ask something
before ultimately letting it go and returning his attention to Roman. “We
should have this one resolved pretty easily. You know the drill, don’t say
anything to the cops without calling me in first.”
Roman nodded. “Right. Speaking of, this is Detective Nathan Porter.
Detective, this is our lawyer, Jacob Casey.”
The lawyer’s eyes widened at the introduction and, rather than the usual
pleasantries, he went right into lawyer mode. “Detective, is there a reason
you’re here?”
“There is,” I answered, sliding into detective mode in response.
“Would you mind disclosing that information?”
Roman snorted. “Relax Casey, we were just talking about a case.”
 Casey groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “Please tell me you were
not answering a detective’s questions without me here.”
“Don’t you trust me by now?”
“With my life, sure. With stuff like this? Not at all.”
“I was following up regarding some information ASI provided to me
previously, there was no need for a lawyer to be involved,” I explained,
feeling like I needed my own lawyer with the way he was staring me down
like he could see into my head.
We were saved from going deeper down that rabbit hole when the door
chimed again. This time, a man with messy brown hair stepped inside, his
sharp green eyes taking in every detail of the room before settling on
Roman. This man was of average height and build, significantly smaller
than all the men in the room, aside from Brody and Dylan. And yet, he
definitely couldn’t be dismissed as harmless. There was something in the
way he carried himself. As if ready to defend himself at any moment and
completely confident in his ability to do so. Something I couldn’t name but
had come to recognize in my time as a cop, and I was instantly on alert.
I wasn’t the only one to sense the situation and the conversation quickly
died down as Dylan stepped forward with his usual smile.
“Well hello there, handsome,” he said, his eyes lingering over the
newcomer. “Cooper Brooks, your picture does not do you justice. You’ve
decided to accept our invitation?”
The name meant nothing to me, but it must have to everyone else because
the tension in the room ratcheted up steadily.
Cooper smirked and returned Dylan’s assessing glance. “Heard you all
needed a sniper.”
I choked on the breath I sucked in. “I’m sorry, what?”
 Casey groaned again next to me. “For fuck’s sake, Roman.”
“Not a sniper, per se,” Roman corrected. “Just someone with your talents
to watch our guy’s backs when we need it. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be
interested.”
“I’m not, but your assistant convinced me to drop by and see what you’ve
got going on here. Didn’t expect to find anyone here this late, though.
Figured I’d have a look and move on, but you guys are in the way. Must be
a bad time.”
Was I the only one questioning why the man would stop by when he
thought no one would be there? Had he just casually admitted to planning a
break in? Aside from Roman and Dylan, every man in the room looked
wary of Cooper, including Jax. If there was one thing I’d learned about Jax
in the time we’d spent together, it was that he was a damn good judge of
character. If even he was on guard around this guy, I needed to be, too.
Whatever everyone else thought, Dylan wasn’t the least bit concerned. He
took Cooper’s hand and pulled him toward the back. “Dylan Andrews, I’m
the one you spoke with and it’s not a bad time at all. I’m happy to show you
around.”
When the two of them disappeared into the back rooms beyond Roman’s
office, Jax turned his attention to Roman. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
“There’s no denying his talent.”
“Just sayin’ I’ve heard things. The guy’s got a reputation.”
“That could be said about any of you. Every story has two sides. I’m not
saying he doesn’t have his share of issues, but I think this place will be
good for him.”
“You’re the boss, but…” Jax looked in the direction Dylan had
disappeared.
 “Almost sounds like you’re worried about your team, Jax,” Roman teased.
“I’ve got it covered. Looks like I’ll be spending the night here now that
Brooks announced he intends to break in. I’ll make sure Dylan gets home
safe.”
Jax relaxed and smirked at his boss. “Might wanna wear a vest to bed.”
Roman grimaced. “It’s actually not a bad idea with that one.”
“Please stop talking like that in front of the cop,” Casey begged. “I swear
to God, if something actually happens here tonight, even I won’t be able to
fix it now.”
Taking pity on the man, I gave Brody a shake to wake him up so we could
leave. “I was never here,” I assured him.
The lawyer huffed. “Wish I could say the same.”

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20

OceanofPDF.com
Jax

“I THINK WE CAN be ready to go by tonight,” Dylan decided.

Nathan cleared his throat. “While I agree it could be helpful to get a look
at the other businesses Rowland and Davis are connected to, being seen in
those places could tip them off that we’re investigating them. It seems
risky.”
“I thought of that,” Dylan admitted. “And I considered sending Leo in to
get a look instead, but you and Jax are the ones who have been dealing with
this case and you could spot things the others might miss coming in at this
stage of the game. I think it needs to be you two. But not to worry, I am a
master of disguise. They’ll never recognize you.”
“Two of these are bars, right?” I asked. “Disguises are fine for dark places
like that where no one will be looking too close, but what is PDCW
Investments and what reason would we have for showing up in a place like
that?”
“Hmm, let me look.” Dylan clacked away on his computer while Nathan
and I looked over the list.
 “Do they run all of these together?” Nathan asked.
“No, those are the places we found that either of them have ties to. Most
of Rowland’s business ventures are short term. He starts or invests in a
business and usually sells it off within a couple of years. A lot of those
probably aren’t worth looking into at this point. We’ll focus on the ones
they’re currently connected to, but I’ll take a quick look at the others just to
see if anything relevant pops up.
“Looks like PDCW works mostly in real estate investments. I’ll do more
digging on that one and the company Rowland just bought to find our way
in. For now, we can focus on the ones that are open to the public. That’s
going to be the swanky bar Davis is a silent partner in, the new nightclub
that’s at the top of our list since both Rowland and Davis are owners, and
the BDSM club Rowland is part owner of.”
Nathan choked on his coffee. “I’m sorry, what?”
An innocent smile spread over Dylan’s face, but it didn’t match the evil
glint in his eyes one bit. “Like I said, it’s an undercover op, no one will
recognize you. But this one will not go down like the last one. You two will
follow my lead, got it?”
Nathan shifted in his seat. “Not sure it’s a good idea, I don’t know
anything about that stuff.”
Dylan shrugged. “Well, I’m not going to force you, hun. I’m sure Jax can
handle it on his own. In fact, I’d bet my lucky pants that he’d get plenty of
attention from the locals that way. Might even be a good way to get them
talking. Who wouldn’t spill all their secrets to a big handsome man when
he’s got them all tied up and vulnerable?”
“Dylan,” I warned, knowing exactly what he was doing and positive it
wasn’t going to work. Nathan spent his whole life hiding his sexuality. His
first public outing could not be a freaking BDSM club. The guy would have
a panic attack.
Nathan huffed. “That’s not happening. Jax can’t go in alone.”
“Why not?” Dylan pressed.
“It’s not safe! You can’t even send a camera with him into a place like
that.”
“Hmm, so you’re saying it’s not safe for him to go in on his own with no
backup and no camera? Kinda like it wasn’t safe for you to go running into
that apartment building?”
“That’s… not the same.”
“Riiight. So, what exactly are you proposing then? I’d be happy to play
the role of Jax’s sub, if that’s what the occasion calls for. You know I’m
always up for a little spanking. I made sure the club is open to couples of all
genders and orientations, but Harley is always an option if we want to pull
in a woman as Jax’s partner instead. I know for a fact she would absolutely
jump at the chance to get her paws on him. Hell, I’d bet anything that
woman already has a closet full of things that make grown men cry.”
That was a safe bet. Harley wasn’t part of ASI, but she’d once served
under Roman and stopped in now and then to give him hell, along with
anyone else that happened to be in the vicinity. She’d offered early on to
lend a hand when we needed it, but she also ran her own small agency that
specialized in more covert ops, like getting people out of cults and gangs.
Expecting her to be available for a last-minute op might be pushing it.
Nathan grimaced, mirroring my feelings, but neither of us responded
since that was the moment Logan stepped inside, barely sparing us a glance
on his way to Roman’s office.
“Logan, are you up for an op tonight?” Dylan asked.
 He stopped in his tracks and turned his expressionless green eyes on us.
“Supposed to meet with Casey, but I can postpone. What’s the mission?”
“Information gathering at a BDSM club. You’d have to go in with Jax as
new members of the club.”
“Sure.”
“No.”
Nathan’s adamant refusal had all of us staring. His cheeks flushed, but he
didn’t back down.
“I’ll do it.”
Dylan’s lips twitched. “Are you sure? Logan’s offering to step in, so
there’s no need.”
“I can do it. Besides, he shouldn’t have to cancel his appointment.”
“I guess it’s settled then. I’ll handle getting you guys signed up. There’s
an orientation video I’ll pull up for you in the meeting room and then we’ll
have to go shopping. If I had a little more time, we really could've gone all
out, but I’ll make it work.”
“Should we be scared?” Nathan whispered.
“Probably.”

“You really don’t have to do this,” I whispered.

“Too late now,” Nathan hissed back as we followed the employee back to
the classroom they’d recommended for beginners.
“No one’s going to stop you if you just walk out.”
“I’m not leaving,” he said stubbornly.
 Dylan’s words obviously bothered him because while it was clear he was
freaking out, he refused to bail no matter how many times I tried to get him
to let me handle things.
“Here we are,” the employee said, gesturing into the room that was set up
exactly like a school classroom, with the teacher’s desk and blackboard at
the front of the room and smaller student desks lined up in rows. The only
difference was instead of charts and artwork all over the walls, they were
decorated with various tools, ropes, and chains.
“Thanks,” Porter offered weakly as we wandered in and took two desks at
the back of the room.
Others filed in and eventually a woman who introduced herself as
Mistress Cecilia sauntered in, her shiny, black thigh-high boots clacking
loudly on the tile floor. She wore a leather corset that pushed her ample
boobs up in a way that drew even my attention.
The mistress gave us a rundown of the basics before doing a deeper dive
into rope play. She asked for a volunteer and Nathan shrank down in his
seat, adjusting his mask like it could hide his entire presence instead of just
his face. Not that he needed to, since half the hands in the room went up. I
coughed to cover a chuckle and earned a glare in response.
“Shut up.”
While the Mistress went over consent with her volunteer, the rest of us
were given ropes to work with a partner and copy what she was showing us.
She was only binding her volunteer’s arms, there was nothing especially
sexual happening, but just the thought of being tied up made me uneasy.
The club had been very clear that all participation was completely
voluntary, but bondage seemed pretty basic in a place like this. Would I
make us stand out if I couldn’t even play with a rope? Everyone else in the
classroom was already following her lead. This was an op, and I was the
only one hesitating. I needed to get my shit together.
Nathan turned and gave me his back. “Go ahead, I think you’re the one
who’s supposed to tie me up, right?”
My shoulders relaxed. Right. Dylan had decided our roles based on what
would draw the least amount of attention, and while I wasn’t sure I was
really a Dom type, it was becoming clear that I definitely wasn’t a sub. At
least, not in this situation.
“Thanks,” I murmured, knowing he’d sensed my problem. “This doesn’t
bother you?”
“It’s fine. I’ve got plenty of hangups, but as far as I know, this isn’t one of
them.” He gently pulled on the first of the wraps around his wrists as I
worked the rope up his arms. “Just be ready to cut them off in a hurry if
anything happens. You’ve got your knife, right?”
“Always. You know I’ve got you if anything goes down.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Then we’re good. I trust you.”
His words, or maybe it was the situation, made me feel ten feet tall.
Nathan had put his trust and his body in my hands and suddenly this
experience I hadn’t understood just a few minutes ago was starting to feel
like more than I thought it could be. Damn, maybe these people were on to
something. I could go my whole life never knowing what half of the things
they had around this place did, but this right here? Seeing Nathan tied up
and trusting me to take care of him, his eyelids heavy, like he was
completely at ease in my care, the way the ropes pulled his body, putting
the lean muscles of his chest and stomach on display, it was beautiful. There
was no other way to put it.
“Doing okay?” I asked as I worked the ropes up his arms.
 “Mmm,” he murmured, sounding like he was dozing off.
That was a big change from how anxious he’d been when we first walked
in. The mask Dylan had gotten him hid a lot of the expressions that flashed
over his face as we made our way through the crowded main dungeon area,
but he couldn’t hide how nervous he was from me.
Mistress Cecilia walked us through a few more tying options and by the
time class was dismissed, Nathan was putty in my hands and I was on the
way to forgetting that this was supposed to be a work mission. The comms
device still sat in my ear, but it was muted for the moment. If we got
someone talking, I’d turn it on, but it we were uncomfortable enough on
this one without having Dylan adding his colorful commentary.
With the class over, Nathan and I took a self-guided tour of the place
under the guise of looking for the room we’d randomly booked on the
signup sheet. Some of the doors were closed, but the sign next to them
showed the themes. We passed a doctor’s office, another smaller classroom,
a couple of dungeon themed rooms, a sparkly pink room decked out in
ruffles, and a jail cell which made Nathan’s eyes widen comically.
“Don’t lie, you’ve had fantasies about me in a jail cell since the moment
we met,” I teased.
“You’re not wrong, but it wasn’t that kind of fantasy.”
“Then why are you staring?”
Nathan finally peeled his eyes away from the room to look at me. “I’m
not. I was just…”
“Thinking of all the things you could do to me in that room? The ways
you could finally shut me up?” I growled into his ear.
He swallowed hard and tried to suppress a shiver.
“I’d be into that,” I offered.
 Dylan might have designated me a Dom for this op, but while I’d never
waded more than ankle deep into the BDSM scene, I’d say I was more of a
switch. Sometimes I liked to take control, sure, but the thought of Nathan
acting out his fantasies on me in that room had my cock leaking in my
leather pants. Hell, I’d been fantasizing about the day he finally let loose on
me since the first time my flirting made his face flush with anger.
“We’re supposed to be working,” he finally sighed.
The disappointment in his voice had me biting my lip. “And the room is
already reserved,” I agreed. “But we could always come back.”
“We can’t do that… can we?”
“Why not?”
He shook his head. “It’s not something I ever thought I’d be into
considering my line of work, but I have to admit, the idea of getting you in
there is tempting.”
I chuckled. “What does it say about me if I’m the only one who makes
you want to shut me up against the bars of a jail cell, even after all the
dickheads you’ve dealt with on the job?”
“Those people didn’t deserve my attention beyond the capacity of my job,
it was the people they hurt who had my focus. You’ve been different since
day one. Driving me insane even as you tried to help in your own way.
Pushing at my control with every little thing that came out of that damn
mouth of yours. Forcing me to face things I didn’t want to acknowledge,
stepping up when I had no one else to fall back on, and then saying
something that sent me completely off kilter again. I’m constantly thrown
off balance when it comes to you. That was probably what I needed, but it
didn’t make it any less frustrating. So maybe the desire to push you up
against those bars and finally get the upper hand shouldn’t be so
surprising.”
I leaned down to whisper in his ear. “You can push me down and get the
upper hand whenever you want.”
We reached a section marked semi-private, which was apparently the
room we’d marked on the sheet. Nathan found the door we were looking for
and stopped one step inside.
The room was small, just a leather padded bench and some chairs, but
what really drew the eye was the big window giving us a perfect view of the
scene playing out in the next room. Two other walls to the room also had
windows to the main room and while it was dim and the windows were
tinted, it wasn’t exactly hard to see what they were doing either.
“This is one of the voyeur rooms,” Nathan hissed.
“Ah, yup. Figured that out.”
“We were just supposed to check in here, but they can see us. They’ll
know if we’re just standing around.”
“Think it’ll look suspicious if we just walk back out?”
“Pretty sure.”
“It’s fine. Their focus isn’t on us, so as long as we aren’t just standing
around talking, they won’t question it.” I pulled a rope out of the bag Dylan
sent with us and moved behind Nathan. “I’ll just tie you up again while we
check in. No one will question that, and it’ll look like we know what we’re
doing.”
“Good idea.”
I hit the earpiece and started working the ropes up Nathan’s arms again.
“There you are, I was starting to think you got distracted,” Dylan teased.
“Find anything amiss?”
 “Nothing yet,” I answered. “We went through the newby orientation and a
class, and they seem to practice what they preach on the site. They’re all
about consent and safety. We haven’t seen any drugs and they told us they
won’t let anyone in that’s under the influence. We’ll try to talk to some
locals to see if anyone knows the owners, but obviously that will have to
wait until they finish their scenes. Honestly, I’m not sure there’s anything
here.”
“Hmm, well, it was a shot in the dark. Now tell me the important stuff, are
you two having fun? Details, please!”
“We’ll check in again if we see anything,” I answered.
“You’re no fun,” Dylan pouted as I hit the earpiece again.
I wrapped the rope around the front of Nathan’s chest and he let out a soft
moan when my hands brushed over his sensitive skin. His skin was flushed
and his lids were heavy again and his eyes kept being drawn back to the
man beyond the window, strapped to a bench with his muscular ass pink
from the paddle the woman behind him was using.
The guy himself was bigger than me and all muscle. I’d have pegged him
as a Dom just by looking at him, but by the way his cock was hard and
leaking, he was thoroughly enjoying his submissive role.
“Speaking of pegging,” I murmured as the woman pulled a strap on free
from her leather outfit.
Nathan sucked in a breath, and my cock throbbed. This wasn’t the time.
We should walk around and see if anyone was talking, but walking out now
would definitely draw attention.
By the time I ran out of rope, the man in the main room was being teased
with a prostate massager and begging for more. I sure as hell wasn’t
unaffected and Nathan could no longer stand still, squirming every couple
of seconds. While I wanted nothing more than to push him up against that
glass and make him scream my name, I didn’t know if I wanted everyone
else to see. I’d never thought of myself as possessive or jealous before, but
apparently I was just as off balance when it came to Nathan as he was with
me.
We couldn’t just stand there where everyone could see, so I positioned us
behind the bench where we were at least partially hidden and used the ropes
to push Nathan down until his chest pressed against the leather. Once he
was no longer fully on display, the possessiveness I’d been feeling was
more manageable, and I focused on what we needed to do.
I couldn’t resist pressing against Nathan as I leaned over him to whisper
in his ear. “I’m not actually going to do anything, but we need to make it
look like we’re doing the same thing they are.”
A huff of air escaped his lips and it almost sounded more like
disappointment than relief. I must be projecting because having Nathan at
my mercy like that was doing things to me I hadn’t expected. I traced my
hands over his leather covered ass, unable to resist squeezing a little. Damn,
it was a hell of a change from the usual suits, but his ass was made for
leather pants.
When I’d first seen him after Dylan’s makeover, all I could focus on was
how much he didn’t look like Nathan. Now, though, all I could see were the
parts of him that couldn’t be hidden with contacts and wigs. The parts that
were undeniably Nathan, hot as hell and squirming against that bench.
“God, the things I could do to you,” I murmured, grazing his rock hard
dick through his pants.
“Do it,” he whispered.
OceanofPDF.com
21

OceanofPDF.com
Nathan

JAX WAS A DAMN tease, and my body was on fire. I reached the end of
my limits and pressed back into the bulge he kept brushing against my ass.
“They can see us,” he protested weakly.
I lifted my head to look at the couple in the room directly across from us.
That one looked to be two men as well and one was pushed up against the
glass while his partner did something behind him we couldn’t quite see. His
head came up as if he sensed me looking, but he was immediately distracted
by whatever his partner did next.
The other room had a woman’s back pressed to the glass with her arms
suspended over her head and it was only then that I noticed our room also
had a place to hook up restraints. Not that I really wanted to be on display
against a window, but for some reason, the thought sent a shiver through
me.
“We can see them because they’re against the glass,” I argued. “They can
only see us as well as we can see the people behind them. We’re barely
more than shadows from their view.”
 Jax paused. “Are you sure?”
“Yes!” I growled in frustration.
Probably not a very sub like response, but he was driving me crazy. And
being out in public disguised as someone else was making me bolder than
I’d ever been in real life. It was freeing, and maybe a little dangerous.
Jax finally unbuttoned my pants and slipped a hand inside, stroking a little
impatiently. I groaned in relief, but it wasn’t nearly enough. My hands were
bound behind my back, but my fingers brushed his lower abdomen and the
tip of his cock every time he pressed against me. The next time he ground
against me, my fingers caught his belt loop and held on, pushing my ass
back against his cock. I swiveled my hips against him and Jax immediately
grabbed onto my restraints in warning.
“Nathan, that’s not a good idea right now,” he grunted.
“Feels like a fantastic idea right now,” I answered breathlessly, repeating
the same motion again and again until his hand came down on my ass in a
light slap.
The leather pants deadened the sensation so I barely felt it, but it startled
me enough to lose my grip on his belt loop. Jax backed up and I couldn’t
help the whine that escaped my throat.
“Talk to me,” he whispered. “Do you really want to do this when you’ve
never even held hands with another man in public? This is a complete one-
eighty from where you were when this all started.”
“You held my hand in the hall when we were looking for the room,” I
pointed out. Maybe he hadn’t noticed, but I hadn’t been able to forget. “And
you know my reasons for living the way I do, it’s not because I want to.
Right now, there are no consequences for doing what I want. No one will
recognize me. Being free to express myself in a public place isn’t
something I have the luxury of experiencing in my real life. It makes me
feel a little… I don’t know. Reckless, I guess. I don’t want to be the overly
cautious, uptight detective I always have to be right now. I admit, this was
the last thing I expected when we came into this place, but maybe I learned
something about myself in the process.”
Jax’s stroking had slowed down, but his grip on my hip hadn’t loosened.
Whatever it was he wanted to do to me, he was struggling to hold back.
“We’re stuck in here for the moment and this is the only time we’ll be in a
situation like this. I want you to do whatever it is you’re thinking so hard
about.”
If that meant we packed up and left, then I would accept that. But by the
way he was struggling to keep his breathing under control, I didn’t think
that was what he wanted at all.
“You’re sure?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “So sure.”
“Do you want me to untie you?”
I was honestly surprised by how the ropes made me feel. At first, I’d
agreed to it just because I could see the idea of being tied up stressed Jax
out, but there was something oddly freeing in it. Kinda like I was taking all
the control that was usually heaped on my shoulders and handing it off,
leaving Jax to take care of me for the moment. I wouldn’t always want to be
at his mercy like that, but I wanted to hold on to the feeling just a little
longer.
“Not yet.”
His warm hands wrapped around my shoulders and thrust me back until
my ass pressed against his hips again. I rubbed against him, urging him on
until he gently dragged his hands down my arms like he was admiring his
work. His touch moved from my wrists to my hips, where he pushed my
tight pants down around the tops of my thighs, trapping my legs as well.
I pressed my forehead to the padded bench, shivering when cold lube hit
my ass. Jax’s fingers worked me open as he resumed stroking me. Unable to
move, my mind drifted on a haze of nothing but pleasure.
A loud moan pulled my attention to the scene playing out in front of us
and I watched the man squirm as his prostate was pegged over and over
while the woman ordered him not to come. Every time he seemed to get too
close, she backed off and found some other way to torture him.
My eyes were pulled past the main scene to where the men on the other
side now appeared to be having sex. The man’s forehead pressed to the
glass, the soft light from the main room giving a pretty clear view of his
flushed cheeks and sweaty dark curls. His eyes opened suddenly and while I
couldn’t see well enough to know for sure, and he couldn’t possibly see me
any better, it somehow felt like our eyes met.
A firm hand settled between my shoulder blades, pinning me to the bench
as Jax shoved into me. He’d stretched me well enough that there was no
pain, but I gasped at the sudden sensation.
“Do I have your attention now?” he growled in my ear.
Oh. It hadn’t been like that. I wasn’t checking the other man out or
anything. He was pretty, for sure, but I’d recently learned that pretty wasn’t
really my thing. I’d also learned that I liked that possessive growl a little too
much to reassure him of that just yet.
“If you keep doing that, you might,” I snapped back.
As predicted, there was no more hesitation. He thrust into me over and
over, gently tugging at the ropes that bit into my skin ever so slightly,
reminding me he was the one in control this time. Except, I’d made him
lose control a little too, hadn’t I?
The couples in the other rooms disappeared from my awareness as Jax
pulled all of my attention to him. His hand went to my head but moved to
the back of my neck when he remembered the wig and I almost felt
disappointed that I wouldn’t feel the tug of his fingers grasping at the short
strands of my hair.
Strange that while I knew the only reason I felt bold enough to do any of
this was because no one could recognize me, some part of me still wished I
didn’t need that crutch. That Jax could see me like this, not Michael, my
alter ego for the purposes of this op. But I’d learned a long time ago there
was no point in wishing for things I couldn’t have. James and Michael
could have an open relationship like this, but Jax and I would never have
that freedom. Well, technically Jax could, just not with me.
My derailing train of thought cut off immediately when Jax tugged at the
ropes, adjusted his angle, and nailed my prostate over and over. His body
covered mine, and he nipped at my ear.
“Did you forget who’s in charge here?”
I had. Apparently, I had more trouble giving up control than I’d realized.
My mind was trained to circle new information and examine it from every
angle, and I’d let it wander off and try to take apart the new situation I
found myself in. But how had he caught that when I hadn’t said a word?
A whimper escaped when he continued to torture me without reprieve.
“I’m gonna—”
Jax stilled and the orgasm I’d been chasing retreated in an almost painful
way. I growled and tried to thrust back against him, but between his grip on
my neck and the rope, I didn’t have any leverage. He refused to move, no
matter how much I wiggled against him.
“Jax,” I hissed.
“Do you want to use the safe word?”
I sagged against the bench. “No, I want you to finish what you started.”
“Do you trust me?”
“I wouldn’t have let you tie me up if I didn’t.”
He released my neck and dragged his rough fingers over the soft skin of
my abdomen. Every part of me was over-sensitized, and I shivered as he
found my cock and began to stroke way too slowly.
“You needed to be reminded who’s in charge. Stop thinking, just feel.” He
tugged on the rope again, reminding me I was in his hands. “Can you
handle that?”
“Maybe.”
Jax snorted and brought his hand down on my ass in a teasing slap.
“You’re one bratty sub.”
With the leather out of the way, I could feel the hit better this time, and
though he’d put no strength behind it, my cock throbbed in response. Jax
started moving again and this time, he didn’t give me one second to think
about anything but him. He was everywhere, surrounding me, stroking me,
pounding into me. His breaths painted my skin, the ropes rubbed at my
arms, his tongue teased my ear and his teeth nipped at my shoulders. It was
almost overwhelming and I was lost to the sensations.
It didn’t take long for my body to reach its limit and my own moans
joined the background noise from the man in the main room. Jax’s hand
moved from the ropes to cover my mouth. His chest pressed against my
bound arms as he pounded into me.
 “I don’t want to share the sounds you make,” he panted. “The way you
look when you come apart. That part is just for me.”
Easy for him to say. It wasn’t like I was loud on purpose. Still, I did my
best to stay quiet as I panted against his hand. We were both way too close
and after being denied earlier, my entire body felt like it was ready to
explode. I couldn’t hold still, straining against the ropes and shifting my
hips to meet his. Breathy whimpers escaped around his hand despite his
best efforts, but they were mostly drowned out by his own groans and the
encouragement he whispered in my ear.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmured, his mouth latching onto my
neck as he shoved in deep and set off the orgasm that had been threatening
to undo me.
My body shook with the impact of it, and I cried out against his hand.
Jax’s cock throbbed inside me and he grunted against the back of my neck,
his hips losing their rhythm as he shoved into me even deeper. His hips
rocked a few more times before he stilled and dropped his forehead to my
shoulder.
Jax hadn’t even caught his breath before he was untying me and rubbing
my arms. “Don’t move yet.”
Like that was an option. The bench was the only thing holding me up at
that point. Jax cleaned me up and pulled my clothes back into place before
settling in a chair, pulling me into his lap, and handing me a water bottle
from his bag.
“Doing okay?” he asked.
“M’fine, just tired.”
“Orgasms will do that, but we’ll have to head back out there soon.”
 I started to stand, but Jax’s arms tightened around me. “The scene in the
main room hasn’t wrapped up yet. We can stay a little longer.”
When I finally looked up again, it was clear the scene in the main room
was nearing its end and while the woman in the other room still had her
back against the window, her restraints had been let down. The man from
the other window was gone, but I couldn’t tell if they were still in the room
or if they’d moved on. Either way, we’d clearly reached a point where it
would no longer draw attention if we left, and while I’d gotten caught up in
the moment, I couldn’t continue to hold up the mission.
I stood and stretched out my arms, noting a few sore spots that only made
the memories come rushing back. “I’m good, let’s keep looking around.”
Jax cleaned up the room and we slipped back out into the hall. He pulled
me into his side as we made our way to the kitchen and lounge area had
been nearly empty when we’d wandered past earlier. Now there were a few
couples and Jax led us over to one of the sofas and settled in as others
slowly trickled in and out.
He’d chosen the area set up for conversation for a reason. The people on
the other side of the room recovering from their scenes wouldn’t be up for
chatting. For the moment, we would simply blend in and listen. If there was
gossip about the way this place was run, this was the most likely place to
overhear it.
Half an hour later, I was sure we were out of luck. There was gossip here
and there, sure, but none of it was about the club itself. When we’d visited
the bar that Davis was a part owner of earlier that evening, Jax had chatted
up the bartender and find out that he rarely showed up there and none of the
staff knew much about him. The employees in this place seemed too busy to
make casual conversation, so we were forced to try the patrons. So far, it
seemed like this club was going to be just as much of a dead end.
The nightclub was still our best lead, and that op was planned for
tomorrow night. We just had to hope cash would get us in the door.
“I think I saw you earlier.”
The voice startled me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to find the
warm brown eyes of the man from the window as he settled on the loveseat
to our left. Shit, I hadn’t thought anyone could see well enough to recognize
me. My face burned, giving me away as a novice, and I tried to compensate
by acting like I wasn’t bothered. Pretty sure I failed miserably.
“Uh y-yeah, I think I saw you too.”
He smiled, revealing a dimple in his left cheek. “First time?”
It was going to be a lot more convincing if we didn’t try to pretend to be
experts on the subject, so I offered a shy smile. “That obvious, huh?”
“A little, but we all started somewhere. I’m Jasper, by the way. I’m no
expert in any of this, but I’ve been around for a while if you have questions
or anything.”
“That’s really nice of you. I’m Michael, and this is John,” I said, giving
the fake names we’d used for the op. Like the rest of our disguises, they
were common and forgettable. “If you don’t mind me asking, how long
have you been a member here?”
“A little over a year. This is a pretty good place. The employees know
what they’re talking about and they’re pretty good about keeping things
safe.”
“That’s good to know. We checked out a different club before this one and
we didn’t like the way it was run. We’re pretty sure some shady stuff was
happening with the management.” Total lie, but I needed to push the
conversation in the right direction.
“Really? Which one was that?”
Dammit. “Uh… I can’t remember the name. It was a while back and we
didn’t even stay long enough to do anything there. It was just a vibe we
got.”
Jasper hummed. “There was an issue with one of the owners here right
after I joined, but they were quick to take care of it. The staff called the
cops when he tried to bring in a woman who was clearly under the
influence and refused to leave.”
“They arrested the owner?” That definitely hadn’t come up in Rowland’s
background. Was there another player?
“Well, I’m not sure anything came of that, but afterward the other owners
sued to take his stake in the company. Rumors went around because we
were worried the place would get shut down, but that hasn’t happened yet.”
“That’s good to know. And that was the only incident you know of?”
“The only thing I’ve heard about management. There’s plenty of gossip
about the relationships around here, but that’s not really what you were
asking about, was it?”
“No, I guess not.” We’d have to find the lawsuit the owners filed to learn
more. Using the system at work wouldn’t fly when I had no legal reason to
suspect Rowland, but we should be able to dig something up.
“I have some salve for that if you want,” Jasper offered, gesturing to my
arm.
The blanket Jax wrapped around me earlier had fallen off my shoulder
revealing the red marks from the ropes, and I once again felt my cheeks
heat.
 “Uh, that’s okay. It’s not bad.” The truth was, every time the fabric
brushed those marks, it was a reminder of what I’d done and I wasn’t ready
to be rid of them just yet.
He smiled again and it only made my face burn more. “I swear I’m not
teasing you, it’s just not often I see someone blush that easily around here.
It’s cute.”
Jax’s arm tightened around me. “Where did your partner go?”
“He’s probably either headed home or found someone else to play with by
now. We’re not dating or anything, but don’t worry, I wasn’t trying to move
in on your man.”
“I didn’t think you were,” Jax grumbled.
“Good, then you won’t mind if I give him my phone number.”
“Of course not,” he answered through gritted teeth.
Jasper chuckled. “It’s nice to have friends with common interests. And I
did promise to answer any questions you have. Can’t do that if you have no
way to reach me.”
“True.”
We exchanged numbers, and while my questions had nothing to do with
common interests, I was really hoping his story checked out.
“We should get going if you still want to check out that nightclub
tonight,” Jax said, clearly eager to see what we could find with the new
information.
“Ooh, what a fun date night,” Jasper teased. “You’re so lucky! Which club
are you going to? I’ve been to most of the ones in this area if you’re looking
for a recommendation.”
How active was this guy’s night life? Still, he was chatty and clearly made
friends wherever he went, it wouldn’t hurt to see if he’d heard anything
else.
Jax must have come to the same conclusion, because he answered before I
could. “We're going to try Vault.”
The humor drained from Jasper’s face, but he kept his voice light.
“Really? Why that one?”
“It’s new, so we thought we’d check it out. Have you been there? We
haven’t heard much about it yet.”
“Not personally, but one of my cousins works the door.”
“You seem to know a lot of people,” Jax commented.
“I come from a big family of busybodies,” Jasper explained. “I have
seven siblings and I’ve lost count of how many cousins. We just know a lot
of people in this area.”
“And your cousin doesn’t like working there?” I prodded.
He sighed. “To be fair, my cousin doesn’t like working at all, that’s why
he’s not involved in the family business anymore. But yeah, he claims
there’s something up with that place.”
“That’s not very specific.”
Jasper shrugged. “Like I said, it could just be an excuse.”
But he didn’t seem to believe that.
“Why don’t you come with us?” Jax offered. “It’s late, but we heard that
place doesn’t really get interesting until after midnight and we’re not
planning on staying long. We just wanted to check it out.”
I was a little surprised that Jax invited a civilian and bumped up the
mission, but it wasn’t a bad plan. Once he was there, Jasper might end up
giving away what he’d heard about the place. Plus, he had a connection that
might be able to get us in the door.
 Jasper’s dark curls shifted across his forehead when his head tipped
curiously. “Really? You want me to crash your date?”
“It’s not crashing if you’re invited,” I answered. “It’ll be fun. And like
you said, it’s nice to have friends with common interests.”
He was quiet for a long moment before he nodded. “Okay, then I’ll see if
my cousin is working tonight so we can skip the line. Uh, I’ll need to
shower and change first.”
“Right, us too. Do you want to meet there in an hour?”
“See you there,” he agreed before hurrying off.

Forty-five minutes later, Jasper was leading us to the bar at Vault. His
cousin had been working and we’d slipped right past the ridiculously long
line still waiting out there well after midnight.
So far, the club wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The furnishings were
sparse and minimalistic, and the most notable thing in the place was the full
wall fish tank filled with jellyfish. The tank continued up the wall in the
two-story room, ending maybe six feet shy of the ceiling where a darkened
window overlooked the club. A VIP room, maybe? Or perhaps a security
office.
Jax paid for our over priced drinks and found a place near the dance floor
where we could keep an eye on things. There was some casual drug use
going on, but as far as I could tell, nothing really seemed all that out of
place.
“Let’s dance,” Jasper decided.
“What?” I hissed.
“Come on! We came all the way out here, might as well have some fun.”
 And how the hell did I argue that when, as far as he knew, that had been
the entire point of the outing?
“I don’t know how to dance,” I admitted.
He rolled his eyes. “Why are you going to clubs when you can’t dance
and you’re already taken?”
“For the atmosphere?”
Jasper shook his head and grabbed my hand, dragging me out to the dance
floor. “I’ll teach you.”
We found a place big enough for the three of us and he turned, pressing
his back to my chest, bending his legs, and bouncing his hips to the beat.
“Just follow my lead,” he said.
Jax pressed up against my back, allowing me to move between them with
little effort. Beyond the occasional anonymous hookup in a gay bar
bathroom, I’d never even flirted with a man in public, and now I was
dancing sandwiched between two of them right out in the open. Sure, I was
in disguise, but it was still hard to wrap my head around.
I let my eyes wander over the club while we danced, looking for anyone I
recognized as a sex worker and coming up with nothing. Recreational drugs
and indecent exposure were about the only thing we could get anyone on,
and it wasn’t worth exposing our interest in the place.
Maybe they really were smart enough to keep their drugs out of their
legitimate business ventures. Or maybe the culprit we were looking for
wasn’t Rowling or Davis at all. Their conversation and association with
Moye was suspicious, but it wasn’t actual proof of anything.
We stayed for hours, but we walked out of Vault no closer to finding
answers than when we’d walked in. With the information Jasper provided,
Dylan found the lawsuit that was in fact against Rowling, but considering
his past accusations, that wasn’t exactly a surprise. And since no criminal
case was ever filed for the arrest, we didn’t even have a way to track down
the woman involved with the incident.
We were running out of time and leads. That many overdoses had to mean
it was a significant operation. For every person that died, there had to be
more who were still alive and had access to the drug. There should be
people talking, dealers arrested in possession of the same drug, but there
was nothing. How? What was I missing?
Jax’s arm wrapped around me and led me into his house. “Turn your brain
off. It’s been a long day, you’re exhausted, and we’re not going to figure
anything out tonight. We’ll look at everything with fresh eyes tomorrow.”
I barely managed to pull my clothes off and fall into his bed before I was
drifting off. Jax pulled me into his side and I felt the tension fall away. He
was right. Maybe everything would make sense tomorrow.
Or maybe it would all fall apart.

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22

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Nathan

“YOU WANTED TO SEE me, Chief?”

Being summoned by the police chief was rarely a good thing, but since
I’d already been talked to by the lead detective and our captain, and I’d only
closed one case I was still technically working on, it had only been a matter
of time before the chief got involved. I’d gotten around standard procedure
over the years to handle my cases the way I felt was most effective, but
there was no denying that my hands on approach ruffled some feathers. I
was good at my job and that granted me some leeway, but straight up
ignoring the chain of command when they told me to do something was
going to create some backlash no matter how I spun it.
“Detective Porter, take a seat. I’ve been made aware of some issues
concerning your actions lately.”
“Yes, sir. I have a few open cases that I believe are more than simple
overdoses and I would like some additional time to look into them before I
close the cases.”
 “You reviewed the cases with Calhoun and Thompson, right? They seem
to think these cases are resolved, but you’ve refused to close them out. And
the one case you closed, you’re still looking into.”
“I believe there is more to these overdoses than it seems.”
“I got that much, Porter, but you don’t have a scrap of evidence. Nothing
solid. We do not build cases on feelings. I’ll be honest, we’re starting to
wonder what your motivation in pursuing this is.”
That was an odd thing to say. “My motivation is finding the person
responsible and getting justice for the victims. I didn’t have time to look
into it yet, but there have been reports of sex workers being arrested and
never showing up again. I got a couple of names that could be connected. If
you can just give me a little more time, I may be able to track their
movements after they were released.”
The chief gave me a stern look. “Give me the names.”
I blinked at him, a little baffled by his reaction to that information. The
point was I had a lead to look into, why wasn’t that enough? Did he not
believe me? “Amy Beausen.”
The chief logged into his computer and looked up the name for me.
Obviously he doubted my information. Or maybe he thought I was lying to
keep the cases open. It didn’t matter, I trusted the information. That was a
name Brody and Jax got from Raven and Raine. They’d gone to meet them
with pictures of Moye, Davis and Rowland, and while they got a little more
information, none of them remembered seeing any of the men we believed
to be involved. Amy Beausen matched up to one of the overdose cases, so
there was no reason to doubt the rest of their story. The other woman was
still missing, but if someone bailed her out, we may get more information
on the events that followed her release.
 “Amy Beausen,” the chief said. “No record of any recent arrests. I’ve got
a paraphernalia charge from two years ago.”
“That can’t be right.”
He turned his monitor to show me the arrest record. Sure enough, the
arrest photo matched the vic, but there was no record of a recent arrest.
“The other name?”
“Maria Padilla.”
He typed away at the computer while my stomach sank and I knew what
he was going to say before he said it.
“Nothing.” He started typing again. “This name doesn’t come up at all.
Not as a vic or part of any case or arrest.”
“She’s missing.”
“Not according to our system. She hasn’t been reported missing.”
“The people who know she’s missing won’t file a report with the police.”
What more could I say? These girls were arrested, but there was no record
they’d ever been booked? How was that possible? Was there more going on
than getting paid to look the other way? I couldn’t tell the chief I suspected
a cop might be involved, I’d only get myself in more trouble for how I got
the information. As it was, I looked completely incompetent, not to mention
obstinate.
“I can see you’re taken by surprise here, detective, but I find it telling that
you’re more inclined to believe the word of criminals than your colleagues.
In the end, what you have is a runaway prostitute, false witness statements
that render your lead worthless, and an overdose with a past drug
paraphernalia charge. The captain is right about this situation. You don’t
handle missing persons cases, so there is no reason these cases are still
open. If you believe there is something to the missing girl, hand it over to
Calhoun so he can direct it to the appropriate detective. Get these cases
closed and focus on the job you should be doing, Detective Porter.”
“Yes, sir.” There was no more putting it off. I couldn’t ignore an order
from the chief.
“While I have you here, I’d like to discuss some other concerns that have
been brought to my attention. You’ve been given a lot of freedom with
skirting the process because you’ve been able to back up your methods with
results, but at this point we can’t help but consider that it’s becoming more
of a hinderance for both you and those around you. This is work that should
be handled by the patrolmen, our techs, and the coroner’s investigators. You
solve more cases than others, but it’s coming at the cost of productivity and
you’re stepping on the toes of those around you to do it.”
“My productivity has never been an issue, sir.”
“It obviously is if you have to take case files home with you to work over
sixteen hours a day.”
Everything I did was tracked on the computers. There was no denying that
I took the desk work I should be doing during my shifts home with me
anytime I had a busy day on a scene. I was working far more than they
could know, but having no life outside of work meant the job was the only
thing I had.
“There are other concerns as well. There have been complaints that you’re
not a team player, don’t work well under supervision and have a problem
with authority.”
I couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d hit me. I’d always kept to
myself and busted my ass to be the best. “Complaints? From who?”
“That’s not important. There’s no denying that you’re a hard worker, so
I’m going to set all that aside for now and get to the heart of the issue. It’s
been brought to my attention that you’ve been spending a lot of time with a
private investigator.”
I felt the blood drain from my face as he set a picture of me and Jax sitting
next to each other at a diner. The problem was, it was a four person table
and while anyone else would have sat across from each other, Jax had taken
the seat next to mine. It was clear that we were either close, or discussing
something that required us to be close. The picture was taken the day after
our unofficial surveillance op and the truth was, it was a little of both.
“He’s a friend,” I offered lamely. “Last I checked, that’s not against the
rules.”
The chief eyed me for a long moment while I struggled not to squirm in
my seat. He knew. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he knew.
“Your personal relationships aren’t something we can do much about,
Porter. But you have to admit, the rumors about the nature of your
relationship with this man are a problem.” He turned his attention to his
computer. “Jaxon Mitchell. His agency requested quite a bit of information
on cases that you are working. There’s no denying there’s a conflict of
interest here. If you’re sharing confidential case information—“
“I’m not. ASI is conducting their own investigation on the death of Chloe
Wells, but I have not given them any of her case information. Anything
they’ve obtained was through their own investigation.”
The chief hummed like he didn’t quite believe me, but it was mostly true.
The only thing I’d openly shared was the conversation I’d heard in the
lounge, which wasn’t technically case information because of the way I’d
gotten it. If anything, they’d been the ones giving me everything.
“Then we have to consider the possibility that your personal relationship
with this man is clouding your judgement as it relates to these cases.”
 “What? I assure that’s not the case.” And it wasn’t, but it wasn’t like I
could tell them about Noah either.
“I’m putting you on desk duty for the time being.”
“Sir!”
“I want every overdose case on your desk closed out by the end of your
shift today. You will follow the same procedures as everyone else and that
means that you do not take on cases or show up on scenes unless Calhoun
specifically requests it. He will reassign any field work to another detective
for the next week. Use that time to get all of your open cases closed during
your assigned shifts. Your computer is to remain at the station and your
access will be locked down at the end of each shift. Is this understood,
detective?”
“Chief—“
“There are only two words I want to hear from you right now, and I
suggest you get used to saying them if you want to have a successful career
at this station. Do you know what those words are, detective?”
I unclenched my jaw long enough to answer him, because what choice did
I have? “Yes, sir.”
“Keep that up and you’ll be back in the field in no time. You’re
dismissed.”
I wanted to ask about the picture, and who had been giving him
information on me, but I knew he wouldn’t answer. Not without getting the
union involved, but that felt like it would just fuel the fire at this point.
I left his office without another word and returned to my desk to close out
the cases. Stamping Noah’s case as a run-of-the-mill overdose was more
painful than I’d expected, but I did what I had to. The only hint of comfort
in all of it was knowing that ASI was still doing their part.
 The day passed in a haze of frustration. An annoying little seed of fear
making me twitchy and paranoid of how many people I worked with were
spreading rumors about my relationship with Jax. They didn’t have
anything solid. A picture of us eating wasn’t proof of anything, but proof
wasn’t needed in a situation like this.
My worst nightmare was looming over the life I’d worked so damn hard
to build, ready to destroy everything in an instant. Someone I worked with
already had it out for me if they were turning in pictures of my personal life
to the chief. How many of them felt that way?
I barely noticed the other cops in the hall as I found my way out at the end
of my shift. Just as the chief had promised, my computer access had shut
down, leaving me with no way to continue working. I’d nearly made it to
the door, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with myself for the
rest of the day, when Cox caught my eye. He was leaning in the
breakroom’s doorway with a smirk on his face.
“Detective,” he acknowledged in that mocking way of his, but this time, it
seemed especially smug.
The room beyond him quieted and it didn’t take a genius to know that
everyone there had already heard some version of what was going on. I kept
my feelings off my face and gave a half-hearted nod to acknowledge Cox’s
greeting before leaving them to their gossip. The damage was done, not
much I could do about it now. All that was left was to wait and see how bad
the backlash would be.

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23

OceanofPDF.com
Jax

“EVERYTHING OKAY?”
“I left a couple of things here I need to grab. You’ve got Brody tonight,
right? I have some stuff to do, so I won’t be around.”
He avoided the question, but I had my answer either way. Porter was
definitely not okay. It was way too early for him to be done with work, but
he was driving his personal car and picking up his things?
“Did something happen?”
“I’m not working the overdose cases anymore, so our agreement is off.
Not that I was any help, anyway. Where’s Brody?”
“They made you close them,” I realized. “It’s fine, ASI is still on it. We’ll
keep you involved.”
I’d been trying to make him feel better, but it only made him snap. “That’s
not the way this works, Jax! They ordered me to stop investigating and if I
ignore an order from the chief, then everything I’ve worked so damn hard
for will be over. Do you get it?”
 I held up my hands. “Whoa, I was just trying to help. Why do I get the
feeling I did something wrong here?”
Nathan sighed and pushed his hands through his hair, messing it up and
making him look out of sorts in a way he rarely did. “Sorry, I’m just… so
damn frustrated.”
“That’s understandable.”
Knowing that words weren’t my strong suit, I pulled him into a hug that
probably surprised me as much as it did him. I didn’t have a clue what to
say, but I had this strange urge to comfort him and I didn’t know what else
to do with it.
After the initial moment of shock, Nathan melted into my arms, his hands
gripping the fabric of my shirt. I felt him struggling with whatever it was he
was feeling, before something seemed to change and he pulled away.
“I should go.”
I really didn’t know how to do this shit, but something told me that if I let
him leave now, things would never go back to the way they were.
“Where are you going? Brody is with Dylan for the night, so if you need
backup—“
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Wanna tell me why not?”
“No.”
“You just said yourself you’re not supposed to be working the cases,
which means you’re just trying to escape. Trust me, I get it, but if you’ll
give me a little more time, I have an idea that might make you feel better.
It’s my go to for burning off steam when nothing’s going my way.”
He shot me a doubtful look, but he didn’t run out the door, and that was
all that mattered.
 “Come on.” I led him to my bedroom and tossed some basketball shorts
and a t-shirt on the bed. “Change and come find me in the basement.”
Nathan was clearly weighing his options because it took him far longer
than it should have to find his way down. In the end, he must have been
curious enough to stay.
His eyes widened as he took in the room. “Based on the clothes, I
expected some workout equipment, but this is a full gym.”
“It’s a smaller version of the one Roman has set up at ASI, but it’s more
convenient and sometimes West will stop by and let me beat on him.” I
gestured to the mats I had set up for sparring sessions.
“So you’re telling me you burn off steam by beating on someone who’s
easily half a foot taller than me and you think I should let you beat me up
instead? Wasn’t this supposed to make me feel better?”
I laughed. “Sure, you’ll get to beat on me, too. You too scared to take me
on?”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “That crap won’t work on me.” But he stripped his
shirt off and met me on the mats.
“If you’d rather use the bags, we could do that instead,” I offered.
“You too scared to take me on?” he threw back at me.
I grinned, relieved to see the sassy side of Porter I loved so much finally
making an appearance again. Maybe that was why I could never stop
messing with him, even when I thought he hated me.
“Looking forward to it.”
I helped Nathan with his protective gear and slipped my own on. He
probably wouldn’t be going all out in a fight against me, but I wanted him
to feel like he could burn off some of that frustration and helplessness he
was feeling.
 He was hesitant at first, throwing punches that I easily swatted away.
“Come on, I’m not made of glass. There’s no point if you don’t try to hit
me.”
He huffed. “You’re not exactly giving this your all, either.”
“Fair enough. You ready?”
“Sure, why not?”
“That’s the wrong attitude, Porter. Come on, admit it, you’ve been
wanting to land a good punch on me since the moment we met.” I held my
arms out at my sides. “Well, here’s your chance. Might not get another one,
better take it while you can.”
Porter hesitated, but his eyes narrowed and I knew I’d hit the nail on the
head with that one. We may have gotten past our differences, but there was
no denying that I’d riled him up on purpose any chance I got. And for good
reason.
“Tell me, how many dealers did I leave all wrapped up for you? Those
were all guys you’d been looking for, right?”
He threw a punch that I barely side-stepped in time and when we turned
to face each other again, the fire was finally back in his eyes.
“I knew you did that on purpose!”
I laughed and blocked another punch before throwing one of my own that
he shoved away with a little less finesse.
“Of course I did. Atlas pulls a lot of files for anything they’re looking
into. I had some free time, so I went looking for something to keep me
busy.”
I threw a jab and Porter ducked it, countering with a right hook I didn’t
get away from in time. The hit clipped me, but I’d stepped back to escape
the worst of it. Except Porter kept coming.
 “That was dangerous, you idiot!” This time, his glove hit my shoulder,
shoving me back another step. “Some of those men had a criminal history a
mile long.”
I continued to retreat as he let out his frustration.
“Come on, I knew what I was getting into. I was always careful.”
“You literally stepped into the middle of an armed robbery. You were
anything but careful!”
“Ah, right, the donut shop. To be fair, that robbery happened right in front
of me. What was I supposed to do, just let him rob the place?”
He threw another punch, and I barely got my hand up in time to block my
face. “Call the police! Why is that concept so hard for you to get?”
“Because then I wouldn’t get to see you.”
And yep, the next punch hit me right in the gut. I shook off the hit and
waited expectantly, but he’d stopped moving.
“Tell me you’re joking. You did not do all that dangerous shit just to see
me.”
“Uh… Well, I guess in hindsight it might seem a little reckless.”
“Jax!”
“Well, I was bored. And since the flirting didn’t work, how else was I
supposed to get your attention?”
The next punch he threw would have ended the match, but I got out of the
way, used my legs to trip him up, and shoved him to the mat. The moment
he was on the ground, I pinned his arms and sat on his hips. Nathan’s eyes
narrowed even as he panted to catch his breath.
“Pretty sure that’s not allowed in boxing.”
“Hmm, didn’t hear a ref, so I guess it’s allowed.”
“So, you’re cheating.”
 “I’m improvising.”
He pulled at his wrists, but I outweighed him and he couldn’t break my
hold. His struggling made his sweaty body rub against mine, so I let him
keep trying for a while before I finally leaned down and licked a path up his
neck. He stilled in an instant, tipping his head to give me better access.
“Want me to show you how to get out of this?”
“I’m good. Just keep doing what you were doing.”
I laughed. “Get out of my hold and I’ll do anything you want.”
He growled in frustration and struggled a bit more before finally letting
out an annoyed huff. “I think the answer is not to end up in this position in
the first place.”
“Sure, but it can’t always be avoided. The trick is to knock your attacker
forward so they have to let go of your wrist to catch themselves. Once
they’ve let go, you can trap their arm, roll them to their back and then you
have the upper hand.”
“And how do I knock you forward? I already kneed you in the back and
you barely budged.”
“Use your hips.”
“Right. I think I remember something like this from a class I took years
ago.” Catching on quickly, Porter planted his feet, shoved his hips up, and
trapped my elbow as he rolled me to my back and sat on me.
I rolled my hips into him, but for a whole different reason, and Porter let
out a breathy whine.
“You win. Now you have to tell me what you want.”
He shoved my shorts down and got rid of his own in record time. His grip
was firm as he wrapped us both in his hand and stroked, but it was the way
he bit at my neck and chest and pulled my hair that told me he hadn’t quite
worked out all of his frustration yet. That was fine by me. There was
nothing better than Nathan when he lost control.
Eager to rile him up a little more, I trapped his legs, thrust my hips and
rolled him onto his back to take over. Nathan hit the mat with a grunt. His
glare was instant, probably because he’d been getting close before I so
rudely interrupted him.
Never one to let anything go, he used the same move I’d taught him
earlier to get the upper hand again. We rolled across the mat a few more
times before he finally pinned me with my chest to the floor and him
against my back with his cock nestled against my ass, rubbing against my
hole. And suddenly, I didn’t want to fight anymore.
“Please tell me you have lube down here,” he grunted in my ear as his
cock slid over my ass again.
I pointed at the door next to the stairs. “In the shower.”
“Good, then I can be as dirty as I want.”
My jaw dropped as he stood and headed for the bathroom.
I scrambled to follow. “Hell yeah, you can.”
This was a side of Nathan he usually held back. And while I was still
concerned about earlier, whatever kind of distraction he was looking for, I
was so in.

OceanofPDF.com
24

OceanofPDF.com
Nathan

“I’M PULLING YOU OFF desk duty a day early,” Calhoun barked as he
approached my desk. “We’ve got something that might be connected to a
drug ring you busted last year. I’m sure you remember. You were sure there
was more to it, but the evidence wasn’t there at the time.”
“I remember. We didn’t have enough on for a conviction on two of the
suspects, but we got the key players.”
“So we thought. Now it’s looking like the ones we couldn’t charge picked
up right where they left off. Reynolds is neck deep in another case right
now, so it looks like you’re up. Evidence team will be out as soon as they
finish up another scene and normally I’d let them handle it, but we already
let these guys slip through our fingers once. Stay out of the way, but do
what you do and make sure we get them this time. There are two officers on
the scene. The suspect is not on site, but there have been more calls than
men today, so do what you can to back them up.”
“Yes, sir.”
 Some of the other guys might have been annoyed to be sent out on a call
so close to the end of their shift, but I tried not to look overly eager as I
practically ran out of the station. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my
chest as I made my way to the scene. A lot of detectives did most of their
work from a desk, but it wasn’t how I worked and it was stifling. I still
didn’t have the freedoms I’d had before, the ones that allowed me to skirt
around standard procedure, but Calhoun had practically acknowledged that
my methods got results, even if it was in a roundabout way. Things were
finally looking up.
When I pulled up to the address, Cox was standing outside, because of
course he was. The usual mocking smirk was on his face, but he seemed
even more hostile than usual. After my talk with the chief, I supposed it was
possible I was being paranoid.
They’d already taped off the scene and I’d gotten there in record time, so
there was no reason for them to be annoyed with me. A couple of neighbors
were watching from their windows or porches, but they kept their distance,
so it wasn’t like they were dealing with a crowd.
“Talk to the neighbors already?” I asked as soon as I stepped out of the
car.
“Hawkins is on it now. Owner of the house has a warrant for his arrest and
they sent us to pick him up. No answer when we knocked, but the lock’s
broken so we went in. There are drugs in view, but no one’s home.
Evidence team is going to be at least an hour, they’re on another site right
now. Figured you’d want to check out the scene. We’ll stay out here in case
he comes home while you’re in there.”
“What’s the warrant for?”
 “Skipped out on a court date. Just don’t have enough men to deal with this
shit today.”
Apparently the guy hadn’t hesitated to jump right back into his life of
crime even after he barely escaped being charged in the last case.
“Drug charge?”
“Possession with intent to distribute.”
“This is going to end up being the nail in the coffin for him.”
“Gotta find him first.”
“That’s the plan,” I agreed, heading into the house.
I slipped on gloves, though I didn’t plan on touching anything before the
evidence team showed up. Cox had been right that there were drugs in view,
but I wasn’t sure the amount was enough to charge him with distribution. It
looked like most of their stock had been cleared out in a hurry. It was
possible they’d grabbed what they could and slipped out the back when
they saw Cox and Hawkins coming. The warrant should have waited until
they had proper backup to cover all the exits, but it was too late to change
anything now.
I took a few photos for my own reference. When the evidence crew
arrived, they would capture the scene with their fancy equipment, but I
could start writing up my report with what I had. Once I’d looked over the
main areas, I moved upstairs. The first two rooms were open, revealing a
mattress and blankets on the ground in an otherwise empty room, and a
bathroom that made me itch just looking at it. The last room’s door was
closed, but since Cox and Hawkins had already been through the place, I
didn’t hesitate to push it open. In hindsight, that was a mistake.
The second I walked into the room, I was diving behind the nearest piece
of furniture at the sound of gunshots. Drywall and dust rained down over
my head and the old ass wardrobe I’d ducked behind looked ready to fall
apart any second. The suspect continued to fire clumsily in my direction as
he climbed out the window. I returned fire, but my shot barely clipped his
arm as he dropped to the ground.
Since I couldn’t continue to fire my gun in a residential area when the
suspect was no longer in sight, I pulled my radio and called for backup. I
dove out the window as the suspect disappeared between the houses. My
heart was already racing and I choked on the debris puffing off my clothes
as I ran, but I wasn’t letting him get away when Calhoun had specifically
told me not to let this one slip through our fingers again. It felt like I had to
prove myself all over again, but if that was what it took for me to get back
where I was, then I wasn't going back without that suspect.
I chased the man through the residential area where he had the upper hand
since I couldn’t fire my gun unless I was sure I would hit him. He clearly
didn’t have that concern, and he fired his gun freely in my direction.
“Suspect is heading west on King, I need backup here now,” I radioed
again. Cox and Hawkins should have been right behind me, but there wasn’t
another cop in sight.
“All units are currently busy,” dispatch finally answered. “Requesting
assistance from the neighboring precinct.”
Dammit, I didn't have that kind of time. “There was a car on site,” I
huffed.
Shit, I needed to up my cardio routine. My heart was ready to pound out
of my chest while the guy I was chasing showed no sign of slowing down.
The only reason I was even able to keep up with him was because he was
slowed down by fences and obstacles thanks to his gun and the bag I was
sure was filled with the missing drugs.
 When he jumped the wrong fence and ended up chased by a dog, I was
finally able to catch up. He fired his gun again as I hopped the fence on the
neighbor’s side and followed it around until he attempted to escape at the
back. The second his head popped up over the fence, I grabbed him and
pulled him to the ground. With my gun aimed right at him, he finally tossed
his weapon away and I was able to keep him subdued until my backup
finally arrived.
Two cars from the neighboring city blocked the street and the four officers
came rushing back to my position.
“Is he the only one?”
“Yeah,” I panted, letting them take over the arrest. “Can someone make
sure the dog is okay?”
“He looks fine. Reyes, go have the owner check on the dog while I call
for an ambulance.”
I looked the suspect over as the other two men hauled him to his feet.
“Did he get bit?”
“Not that I can tell. You’re the one that needs medical attention.”
“I’m fine,” I answered.
“You look like you’re about to fall over, you’re bleeding, and you’re
covered in white powder while chasing a man with a backpack full of what
looks like cocaine and guns.”
“He shot the drywall by my head,” I answered, looking down at the mess
all over me. “Son of a bitch, he could have been hiding drugs in the walls.”
I’d probably lost a lot of the evidence in the chase, but I stripped off my
jacket and stuffed it in a plastic bag the officer offered.
“How are you feeling?”
 “Out of breath, sweaty, my heart is racing, and I’m a little queasy. All of
that could be from chasing him across the damn city.”
“Could be, but I think your pupils are a little dilated and this is not
something you want to take a chance with. Looks like he definitely grazed
you with one of those shots too, unless you hurt yourself during the chase.”
I pulled my shirt away from my skin to see the blood-soaked fabric. “Just
a scratch, but I’ll get it checked out.”
“Ambulance will be here in ten,” another man confirmed. “Dispatch is
telling us they’ll have another car out here soon so we can sit on this guy
until they show up to handle the arrest.”
When the ambulance arrived a few minutes later, Hawkins and Cox still
hadn’t shown up.

“What are you doing here?”

“Back at ya. I’m starting to think I should follow you around on the job
more than I already am,” Jax answered as he took a seat next to the bed.
“How did you even know I was here?”
“This is the same hospital they brought you to when you were nearly
blown up, remember? Your file lists me as your partner and emergency
contact. I’m told you ingested drugs and will need a ride home once they
release you.”
“I could have called a cab or something,” I grumbled.
“What happened?”
 I told Jax what happened, and he was fuming by the time I was done. The
lack of backup annoyed me, but it was nothing compared to Jax’s reaction.
“Fucking figures. That shit right there is why I work alone.”
“Weren’t you the one who insisted we should work together on the
overdose cases?”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“It just is. Did they say how long they’re keeping you?”
“Just waiting on the doctor to give the okay. The nurse said it shouldn’t be
much longer.”
As if on cue, the nurse returned with the doctor’s instructions and finally
released me to Jax’s care. We’d nearly made it to freedom when an elderly
woman coming in as we were leaving dropped her purse just inside the
door. The contents, including an open coin purse spilled out across the tile
floor at our feet.
My shoulders tightened and I stepped over the change to pick up the purse
and medication bottles, completely ignoring the money all over the floor. I
didn’t need to see Jax’s expression to know what he must be thinking,
because I was thinking it, too. It takes a real asshole to refuse to pick up
money for an old lady.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as I handed the purse back to her, but passed the
wallet to Jax so he could drop the collected money back inside.
“It’s no problem,” he assured her, returning the money while I took off for
the car.
“Want to tell me what that was about?” he asked as he chased after me.
“Not really.”
 For a minute it looked like he would drop it, but I should have known he
was just waiting until we were moving through traffic, where he knew I
couldn’t escape.
“It’s not the first time you’ve done that.”
“That supposed to be a question?”
“That’s the idea.”
“Maybe I’m just not as nice of a person as you think I am.”
“Nice try. You really think I missed the guilt all over your face when you
left me to deal with that?”
Damn him and his over perceptive bullshit. “Why don’t you spill all of
your damage to me instead? Does that sound like fun?”
Jax looked away from the road to stare for an uncomfortable second while
I refused to meet his eyes. I’d inadvertently revealed more than I intended
with my defensiveness and it was too much to hope that he’d missed what
I’d just admitted to.
“What do you want to know?”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
He pulled into the lot of ASI, and I frowned at the building. “What are we
doing here? I need to get home and change.” I was still wearing the scrubs
they’d given me at the hospital since my suit was now evidence.
“I was with Brody and Dylan when I got the call from the hospital.
They’ll want to see that you’re okay.”
“I still can’t believe they called you,” I grumbled as we walked in to find
Dylan and Brody waiting just inside.
Before I could get a word out, I had both men in my arms and my whole
body froze up like I’d been attacked by an octopus. Which was exactly
what it felt like.
“They told us you’d been injured while pursuing an armed suspect,” Jax
explained. “I didn’t know the details until I got to the hospital and talked to
the nurse.”
“We thought you were dying,” Brody complained, pulling away. “God,
you’re always bitching at me about safety, but you’re the one always
fucking up at work.”
“My, you’re hiding some muscles under all those suits, aren’t you?”
Dylan commented, the hug lingering much longer than it should have.
“I didn’t fuck up,” I answered, catching Dylan’s hands before they could
wander any closer to my ass.
“Dylan,” Jax growled.
“He’s been through something traumatic, I was offering comfort!”
“He doesn’t need that kind of comfort!”
“Fine, fine. Geez, you’re so possessive.” He finally backed off, flashing
me a wink and a satisfied smile.
“Uh, thanks, I think, but it wasn’t a big deal. The bullet barely grazed me.
If I hadn’t possibly inhaled the drugs they were hiding, I wouldn’t have
even needed a hospital.”
Now Brody looked even more concerned. “What kind of drugs? The same
as Noah’s case?”
“No, it’s an unrelated case. The test results aren’t back yet, but it looked
like cocaine.”
That didn’t seem to bring him much comfort, but Jax interrupted, handing
me a pair of sweats and a hoodie.
“Who’s clothes are these?”
 “Mine. I keep a few things I can work out in here in case I decide to use
the equipment. There’s a locker room back this way.”
Once I’d changed, Jax didn’t head back up front like I expected, instead
he led me deeper into the building to a utility door hiding a stairwell. I
followed him to the roof and a seating area with padded outdoor furniture.
“What are we doing up here?”
Jax nudged the ottoman over so we could stretch out before he took a seat
and dragged me down next to him.
“You’re overwhelmed by big displays of affection because you don’t
know how to handle it, and if Dylan kept trying to ease the tension by
flirting with you, I was going to end up on his shit list. That is not a place I
want to be. He hides it well, but he’s scary. We’re safer up here for now.”
“You think you know me that well, huh?” He clearly did, but that didn’t
mean I was going to admit it.
“I think I’m starting to.”
“Then I’m at a disadvantage because I’m still not sure I’ve figured you
out.”
He settled an arm behind me and I inched closer to his side, unable to
resist the comfort he brought.
“I’m not all that complicated.”
“And yet you just keep showing up over and over, even when I was a
complete jerk to you. You’ve offered to work together on a case that has to
be more important to me than it is to you, even though you’ve shared far
more information than I’ve been able to give. When a migraine took me
out, you came to my rescue, and you did it again when my arm was burned.
And yet, you clearly have some issue with letting people get close. You feel
like you can’t rely on others, but you’ve been there for me at every turn.”
 “Sounds like you have me figured out pretty well.”
“Tell me why.”
“You’re not preemptively trying to avoid my questions about the money
thing, are you?”
He was too damn perceptive, but that wasn’t the only reason.
“Even the playing field, and maybe I’ll answer your question.”
“Fair enough. I already gave you the highlight reel of my childhood and
told you I joined the military before I was even eighteen. At first I was a
typical soldier, made it through boot camp, got shipped out, and grew the
hell up all at once. Nothing special happened for the first few years.
Nothing that didn’t happen to everyone else out there, anyway. I’d been in
almost eight years and had plans to stay when I got a mission that just
didn’t seem right. They’d gotten intel on an asset they were after and sent
us out to get it.
“I think we all saw the writing on the wall before shit even went down,
the whole thing was fucked from the start. One man on my team tried to
save his own ass when he realized what we were walking into. Took off on
his own in our vehicle and screwed the rest of us over. It didn’t save him in
the end, but I couldn’t save the others either. Only two of us made it back
alive, and it was just fucking barely.”
“I’m sorry, that’s awful.”
“The worst part was, I fucking knew something about the mission didn’t
seem right. I asked about the intel they based the mission on, but ultimately
I didn’t have the authority to question them. In the end, there was
something they wanted and they were willing to take a risk to get it. Who
knows, maybe it was something that could have saved a fuck ton of lives,
you know? Something that might have been worth the sacrifice in the grand
scheme of things. But the mission failed and when you’re that close to a
situation…”
He trailed off, but I understood. The big picture is hard to see when you’re
the one left shouldering the consequences.
“So the reason you won’t work with a team is not only because you have
trouble trusting someone to have your back again, but also the fear that you
won’t be able to keep them safe.”
“Oh, my therapist would love you. It’s mostly the trust thing. If I’m on my
own, I can control the situation better than trying to keep all the moving
pieces working together.”
I wasn’t sure he was being honest with himself about that, but it wasn’t
my place to say.
“Your turn. Tell me about the money thing.”
I sighed. “It’s stupid. Just a thing that still bothers me.”
“Tell me.”
“When I was on the streets and got really desperate, I panhandled for
change. There was an area where I could usually make enough at to eat
pretty quickly, but I wasn’t the only one that hung out there. There was this
group of guys who made me a target for their jokes and they found it
absolutely hilarious to throw loose change at me. Pretty sure the object of
the game was to hit me with the coins and laugh because I stayed to gather
the money off the ground. I wanted so badly to just leave it and walk away,
but sometimes that change meant the difference between being able to eat
or not and I didn’t have the luxury of choosing pride.”
“What fucking assholes. You should have kicked their asses.”
“I wasn’t in any position to even consider it. Once there was this woman
flipped out on them when she saw them do it, though. I thought they were
going to piss themselves and she gave me ten bucks to make up for chasing
them away before they’d finished throwing their money.”
“I’m glad someone stood up for you.”
“Yeah. I told you it was stupid, but now anytime money hits the floor, I’m
taken back to those days. I hear their laughs and remember the humiliation I
felt. Now that I’m not at risk of starving, I can’t seem to make myself pick
it up.”
“Dickheads. Wish I’d been there to kick their asses.”
“I’d have loved to see that, but now that I’m in law enforcement, I have to
ask you not to beat up random assholes on the street. Even if they deserve
it.”
“You got names? I’ll just have a talk with them, I swear.”
I snorted. “No, and I wouldn’t tell you if I did. Now, are you going to
answer the rest of my questions?”
Jax settled fully against me and scooted down to get more comfortable.
“Thought I did,” he said, his voice grumbly, like the conversation wore him
out and he was drifting off now that he’d gotten his answers.
“You told me why you have issues working with others, but you didn’t
tell me why you keep showing up for me. Why I seem to be the exception
to your rule.”
“Hmm.” There was a long pause and for a moment, I thought he’d fallen
asleep. “Dunno. Maybe I don’t mind being on a team, long as it’s you.”
My chest twinged with something I couldn’t identify and I rubbed at the
ache there. Why did his words affect me that way? Because it meant he
trusted me? Did I trust him? Yes, of course I did. How could I not after he’d
showed up for me again and again? This case couldn’t be making him much
money with how much time we’d put into it, and yet he never gave up. Was
that because he knew how important it was to me? Why would he do that?
And why did it make me feel this way?
I shifted to look at the man, his face relaxed with sleep even when I
brushed a strand of hair away from his face. He must trust me at least a little
if he didn’t even stir when I knew the slightest sound usually woke him.
Just that thought made me smile. The fact that I’d somehow found my way
behind his defenses made me strangely happy.
So happy that panic swelled up right behind it, forcing the air from my
lungs and any sense from my head.

OceanofPDF.com
25

OceanofPDF.com
Jax

I WOKE UP ON the roof alone. Porter had been next to me when I’d closed
my eyes and I hadn’t even noticed when he snuck off. That in itself was
surprising when normally every little thing woke me from even the deepest
sleep.
A quick search of the building didn’t locate the man, and when I made it
to the reception area, both Dylan and Brody gave me a strange look.
“Did Porter leave?” I asked, knowing by their expressions alone that he
was gone.
“Ran out of here like his ass was on fire,” a tiny woman I hadn’t noticed
before offered helpfully from her place on the couch. “Whatever happened,
you totally fucked up, my dude.”
“Nothing happened,” I answered weakly, though she was obviously right.
Was I too pushy in getting answers out of him? Of course I was, but I was
always pushy. Pissing Porter off was nothing new, but somehow this time
felt different. He hadn’t stayed to do the glaring, growly scolding thing I
loved getting out of him. He’d just… left.
 The last words I’d muttered rang in my ears as I stared out at the empty
street.
“Maybe I don’t mind being on a team, long as it’s you.”
Clearly, Nathan didn’t feel the same.

Where did you disappear to?

The text had gone unanswered for two days now. The door to my heart
had slammed shut again at the realization that Porter bailed the second I
tried to let him in.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried. He wasn’t himself, and it bothered
me more than it should. I needed to make sure he was okay, then I could let
him go.
“Anything?” Roman asked, joining me in the briefing room where I’d
been holing up, reviewing the case information again.
“No. He told Brody he had some things to deal with. Promised he was
still working on Noah’s case and that he’d be in touch, but he hasn’t
responded to anything else. Brody’s blaming himself. Porter got put on desk
duty because he wouldn’t stop working Noah’s case and Brody thinks it’s
because he feels obligated to protect him. I told him we’d protect him until
it was safe and that Porter would be working those cases regardless, but I
don’t think I’m getting through to him.”
“The best thing we can do now is catch the men responsible and take
some of the burden off of both of them.”
“Yeah. We’ve been tailing Rowland, but so far he's not getting his hands
dirty. Moye is still missing. No one's seen him since that meeting.”
“I’ll have Dylan look into him again to see if there are any connections
we missed the first time.”
 “Hello? I come bearing gifts,” a voice I wasn’t familiar with called from
the lobby a moment before a blond man with dark-framed glasses peeked
in.
“Sage, I wasn’t expecting you,” Roman said.
“It’s his turn to keep me occupied while my men run off and take over all
of my cases,” the same tiny dark-haired woman from the other day
complained as she popped out from behind him, snagging a bakery box
from Sage’s hand on the way past.
“Ollie,” Roman smiled at the woman. “Good to see you.”
“I stopped in a couple of days ago, but you weren’t here. Connor sent
cookies to thank you for your help with Tex.” She dropped into a chair,
swiping a cookie from the box before she pushed it our way. “I swear, they
find out I’m carrying a little hell spawn and suddenly I’m relegated to
fucking cookie deliveries.”
Sage cleared his throat and Ollie’s eyes widened as she seemed to realize
what she’d said.
“She recently found out she’s expecting,” Sage explained as he took a seat
next to Ollie.
“We’re very excited,” she mumbled through a mouthful of her cookie.
“Hell spawn is a term of endearment.”
Roman chuckled. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. So while I’m here, you got any jobs you need help with?”
“Is this why you agreed to come along so easily?” Sage complained.
“I’m bored!”
“I’m not really sure I have much you can help with right now,” Roman
told her. “Business hasn’t really picked up just yet.”
 “What? That’s crazy. I’ll see if we have anything we can pass off on you
while I’m on this forced maternity leave.”
“You do P.I. work?” I asked. Not to underestimate anyone, but she was a
little small for any kind of security job.
“Nah, not really. I’m in procurement, but sometimes we get jobs that are
just looking for information, so there’s some overlap there depending on
what they’re looking for. Like I said, I’ll see what kind of requests we’ve
gotten.” Her head tipped curiously as she took me in once more. “Eat a
cookie, you look like you need one. And tell me what you’re working on
that’s got that look on your face.”
I raised an eyebrow at Roman, but he just shrugged, leaving it up to me.
“Not sure you can help with this one, don’t really need anything procured.
Unless you’re going to return my detective.”
“Your detective? That dude who ran off the other day? What’d you do to
him?”
“Lots of things, but nothing recently.”
“Pissing people off is Jax’s love language,” Dylan teased as he snuck in to
steal a cookie and pat Ollie on the head on the way out.
“I actually thought we were finally getting along, but then he just… ran
away.”
“Ah, one of those, huh? Okay. I don’t usually do people, but I’ll make an
exception for you. Cloak and Dagger is on the case.”
“What? I wasn’t serious. You can’t just kidnap a cop.” It was rare that I
ran into someone more reckless than I was, but she really looked like she
was all in on this plan. All because she was bored?
She shrugged. “Should be pretty much the same as anyone else. I’m sure I
can handle it.”
 “That’s not what I—”
“Ollie, if you could try not to do anything especially illegal, we’d
appreciate it,” Roman requested.
“Wait, really?”
She looked around at our concerned faces, seeming to realize Roman was
very serious.
“It’s not that we never step over the line,” Roman explained. “But
kidnapping a detective over a personal matter is not something we could
easily defend. Casey would kill me if you got arrested over something like
that.”
“Oh geez, you guys like doing things the hard way. Fine. Give me the
details and a few hours and I’ll see what I can do.”

Two hours later, I was dragging Porter out of a hole in the wall bar he
must have randomly stumbled upon while walking since it was nowhere
near where his car was parked. He was barely awake when I stuffed him
into the passenger seat of my car.
Ollie and Sage were joined by a dark-haired man who barely said a word
but stood over Ollie like a bodyguard. He had a dangerous aura about him,
but he didn’t seem to care about anything at all except the woman standing
at his side. Her boyfriend or husband, I assumed.
“How did you find him?” I asked.
“Magic,” Ollie answered, not even looking up from whatever she was
typing into her phone.
 Guess she wasn’t one to share her secrets.
“Ha ha,” Sage added loudly. “She’s kidding.”
“Yeah, I figured that out. Any idea what happened?”
“We’ll help you get him into his apartment and explain on the way,” Sage
explained as the three of them climbed into my backseat.
I wanted to take him to my home instead, but Porter had literally run away
from me and I had to respect his space.
“Wait, how did you know he lives in an apartment?” I asked.
“We swiped his wallet,” Ollie answered, handing it over.
“He left it sitting on the table,” Sage clarified. “And Dylan told us where
he lived. It was the first place we looked.”
“We tried to get some answers out of him,” she added. “But he’s pretty
hammered. Dude’s definitely having a bad day, though. He lost his job this
morning, which might be the straw that broke the camel’s sobriety, but there
were other things he was pretty upset about. He feels like he failed someone
he was supposed to be protecting.”
“I think it was more than one person,” the new guy added, speaking for
the first time.
“Oh, this is Jet, one of Ollie’s partners,” Sage added. “He’s good at
reading people.”
“I see. He thinks he failed someone?”
“That dude has hit rock bottom,” Ollie agreed. “He feels like he’s failed at
everything right now.”
“He feels a lot of guilt,” Jet added. “About you, but also about the cases
he was working on when he lost his job.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “I can’t believe those assholes fired
him.”
 “If it helps, I don’t think they actually fired him,” Sage said. “Suspended
was the word he used, but he seems sure it’s the end of the road for him. It
didn’t make much sense to me, but he must have his reasons for thinking
that.”
I pulled into the lot for his apartment and Jet pulled him out of the
passenger seat before I could. “I’ll carry him. You get the doors,” he
offered.
It chaffed seeing Nathan in someone else’s arms and it must have shown
on my face because the big man handed him over and led the way to the
apartment instead.
Nathan barely stirred as I pulled his clothes off and tucked him into his
bed. I was just about to leave him there to sleep it off when he gripped my
sleeve.
“Gotta find Brody,” he mumbled, pushing the covers off like he was in
any shape to do anything.
“He’s fine. He’s with Dylan.”
“No. He left 'cause... couldn’t keep my promise.”
“What do you mean, he left? Porter?” but he chose that minute to pass out
again.
Needing answers, I unlocked his phone with the passcode I’d watched
him use several times. Not the first time my shameless snooping paid off.
The first thing that came up was an official email from his chief
suspending him with pay pending a disciplinary hearing. It was short on
details, but it must have felt like the end of the world for Porter. That didn’t
explain his drunken rambling about Brody though, so I pulled up his recent
text messages and immediately found what had Porter so worried.
 And it was my fault. After Porter’s disappearing act, I hadn’t exactly been
the best company. I’d thought I was hiding it well, but I knew Brody
noticed because he’d started getting weird about sticking around once
Porter was no longer there.
My attempts to reassure Brody that protecting him wasn’t a burden had
clearly failed because there he was promising Porter that he’d always been
fine on his own and he couldn’t stay and cause more problems.
Brody knew we’d hit a wall on Noah's case and insisted it wasn't worth
risking Porter's job. Nothing was going to bring Noah back and he couldn't
hide forever.
The kid was smart, and too observant for his own good. Porter’s hands
were tied with the restrictions they’d put on him at the station, which meant
he could only work the case in his free time and without the department’s
resources. Meanwhile, Moye was missing and Rowland and Davis hadn’t
done a thing to connect them to the case since we’d started watching them.
Brody’s text was from that morning. Well before the suspension email.
Porter had responded, asking him to wait and promising he was still
working on the case, but Brody must have turned off his phone because
Porter’s texts were unread and my calls went right to voicemail.
I sent a text to Dylan. Too much time had passed, but maybe we could
catch him before he took off. Brody seemed more comfortable staying with
Dylan since Porter disappeared. I thought nothing of it at the time, but now
I questioned his motive. Was his plan all along?
Dylan’s response came through a second later, telling me Brody stayed
home because he wasn’t feeling well. He hadn’t seen him since that
morning, but he was on his way home. I already knew what he would find
when he got there.
 Shit. Porter was two steps ahead of me. Everything had fallen apart and
I’d been too busy wallowing over my own issues to even notice.
I grabbed pain relievers from the bathroom to leave on his nightstand, and
when I headed for the kitchen for a glass of water, the others were still
there, waiting.
“How is he?” Sage asked.
“He’s going to be hurting in the morning. Thanks for your help. How do I
pay you?”
Ollie waved me off. “No way. Roman has helped us out so much we’re
not even close to returning the favor with something as small as this.”
My phone buzzed with a call from Dylan, and I answered immediately.
“Anything?”
“He’s gone. I’m so sorry, Jax. I didn’t realize what he was planning.”
“It’s not your fault, I was the one who was supposed to be keeping him
safe and I was too wrapped up in my own problems to get through to him.”
“We’ll find him. I’ll go out right now—“
“No, Dylan. You worked all day already. Get some rest first. I’ll head out
and see if I can find him.”
“Roman already let everyone know and they’re all keeping an eye out. I’ll
keep trying him and let you know if I hear anything.”
“Thanks.”
We hung up and Sage must have overheard because he immediately
offered to stay with Porter while I went looking for Brody.
“Do you want our help?” Ollie asked through a yawn.
I did, but she was clearly exhausted and her partner looked to be ten
seconds from locking her in a hotel room for the night.
 “Dylan put the Atlas team on it. Let us check a few places first. If we
can’t get anywhere on our own, I might take you up on that.”
It was hard not to be bitter about Porter bailing on me in the middle of an
investigation. Obviously, he was going through some shit, but he’d also
stopped coming to me with anything pertaining to the case. If he’d just told
me when he got Brody’s message, maybe we could have stopped him
together.
Except I knew that if Brody didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t have
sent that message until he was out of reach. And Porter knew that too.
Which meant the real reason I was so bothered by the situation was because
I was finally starting to think I could trust someone to be at my side, and he
hadn’t trusted me back.
Was this what it felt like for everyone who tried to work with me? It was
frustrating as hell. Roman must have been crazy to recruit someone like me.
Then again, it wasn’t like we hadn’t questioned his sanity with half of the
people he’d brought in.
My issues were no secret. Roman knew damn well what he was getting
into when he asked me to join him. Hell, I’d straight up told him I couldn’t
work on a team. But he’d given me the freedom to work in whatever way I
was comfortable. He probably didn’t expect that to translate to messing
with the local police, but he’d been true to his word. Not once did he force
me to take a job I wasn’t on board with. Not once did he ask me to lead a
team into uncharted territory. Not once did he ask me to trust information I
couldn’t verify for myself.
I didn’t have any faith to spare back then, but Roman had enough for both
of us. The conversation was still etched in my memories despite the haze of
the alcohol I’d drowned myself in the day he caught up to me.
 “Think you got a screw loose, Roman. What kind if idiot recruits a fuck up
who can’t play nice to work on his team?”
“Let me worry about that. I’m only asking you to do P.I. work for now.
Unless you get yourself into some shit, you shouldn’t need a team for that.”
“And what about the rest of your people? What if they end up needing a
team?”
“Then you can assist in any way you’re comfortable. I won’t force you
into a situation you don’t want to be in. You can decide how much you can
handle, what’s important to you, what you’re willing to do, what you’re
willing to protect. I think maybe one day, the answers to those questions
might surprise you, but for now, the ball is in your court.”
“Think you’re going to regret this offer.”
“There’s only one way to find out. Be at my office tomorrow morning,
sober, and we’ll discuss the details.”
He had infinite patience with me at a time when I didn’t deserve an ounce.
As much as what happened with Porter made me want to fall back on old
habits, maybe he deserved some of the patience that had been extended to
me.
There was so much that needed to be figured out, but it would all come
after I made sure Brody was safe. The little punk had wormed his way into
my life as much as Porter had. Like an annoying little brother. I’d be lying
if I didn’t admit that his disappearance bothered me as much as the shit with
Porter.
Was this what Roman had meant when he’d said all that shit back then?
At the time, I figured he was blowing smoke up my ass. But the things that
came to mind when I thought about what he said back then did surprise me.
What was important to me, and what was I willing to do to protect it?
 Something told me I was going to find out the full extent of those answers
soon enough.

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Nathan

IT HAD TO BE here. I was out of leads. All connections and privileges that
had come with the badge were gone.
Brody still wasn’t responding to anything, and I’d found no sign of him in
any of his usual places. Raine had ripped me a new one when I told her he
was missing. She’d been in a bad place already since Raven hadn’t returned
from her last job either, but I’d deserved every second of that scolding. I’d
promised them I’d find the ones responsible for the deaths. Promised that
I’d keep Brody safe. And I’d failed.
Visions of Brody lying in the lot where they’d found Noah had been
haunting me since he sent that last message. I’d risked doing more digging
into Rowland and Moye, but the department was still closely monitoring
my activity on the computer. When questioned, I’d been forced to admit my
research was connected to the overdose cases and the chief suspended me
on the spot. Temporarily and pending an official hearing, but between the
disciplinary actions and the hostility I’d faced from my supervisors and
coworkers, I knew they were trying to force me out. It was only a matter of
time before they got what they wanted, one way or another.
I was on my own. But with Brody out there somewhere, I couldn’t stop
now. And since the club was the only lead I had, that was where I’d put my
focus. There had to be something we missed the first time.
Maybe part of me hoped I’d find my redemption there. My whole life I’d
toed the line. I’d been so afraid that stepping over it would land me right
where I’d ended up. Now that I’d blatantly broken the rules to chase after a
bad guy that the department insisted didn’t exist, I needed to prove myself.
But more than that, I needed to find Brody before he suffered the same fate
as the others. I needed to fix the mess I’d made before I could even think
about facing Jax again. Both Jax and Brody had put their trust in me, and
I’d only proven I didn’t deserve it.
I was out of time and options. All I could do was pray I hadn’t thrown
everything away looking into a dead end. Gerald Moye associating with the
owner was suspicious as hell. The things they said led me to certain
conclusions, but all of it was far from solid. And after two days of watching
that damn nightclub, I still hadn’t found a scrap of evidence.
It was still early, but tonight was no different. A stream of young people
stood outside, freezing their asses off while they waited to get in. Not one
stood out as a dealer or a sex worker, not a single illegal transaction in view.
Disappointment filled my gut. I’d put too much hope on the idea that I
would find something to get me in the door.
A steady stream of cars let people out at the front door, adding people to
the growing line waiting to get in. Among the line of sedans lit up with
rideshare signs were a handful of luxury cars that put my prized possession
to shame. It was the kind of traffic you saw when a car show was in the
area, but that wouldn't be the cause at this hour. When yet another car that
cost more than my yearly salary turned the same corner, my curiosity finally
won out.
It wasn’t an ideal situation, but I packed up my gear and slung my bag
over my back, tugging my ball cap lower on my head. It wasn’t the best
look to blend in here. I looked like a college student no where near a
college campus, but I needed to work more than I’d needed to go unnoticed.
An alley across the street from what I now saw was a gated lot behind the
club looked to have the best vantage point. I parked my car in a towing
zone with a decent view, and after another hour of watching men file into
the same building with no wait, I was convinced I’d moved just to get a
look at the VIP entrance. But then a familiar face found his way through the
lot and I snapped a picture just to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
Sure enough, the face on the image was Derrick Ashton. I stared at the
image on my camera. Was I interrupting an op? Or maybe he was just
meeting someone for drinks and had no idea who owned this club. But the
salary of a police officer didn’t quite match up to the other men using this
entrance with their new sports cars and insanely expensive watches. If I’d
tried to walk into this place in my best clothes, I would have stood out like a
sore thumb. So how did Ashton get VIP access to a club that seemed to be
dominated by millionaires?
A delivery van pulled around back, blocking my view as it backed right
up to a set of utility doors.
“Dammit,” I grumbled, trying to see around to the men still filing into the
club.
The rear doors of the van opened into the double doors of the delivery
area, blocking my view of everything except for the legs that appeared
below the door of the van as they unloaded whatever was inside.
I watched the lot for more faces, but while one or two looked vaguely
familiar, I couldn’t place them. I took pictures, wondering if there was some
way I could get someone else to run them through the system and deciding
there was no way in hell. Aston would have been the first person I went to
if I hadn't just seen him walk into that club. It was too soon to draw
conclusions, but it was a reminder that I didn't know who I could trust at the
station. And I was in no position to ask ASI for help, either.
Just being here was likely to land me in more trouble than I was already
in. I was breaking every rule in the damn book and it left me floundering
for a handhold that wasn’t there. The comfort of control I’d always clung to
was long gone, and I was flying by the seat of my pants into the unknown.
God, if Jax could see me now.
But he couldn’t. Because I’d panicked and pushed away the one damn
person in my entire fucking life who’d actually known me, and still
accepted me as I was.
I turned my attention back to the van to see if they’d finished unloading,
and only then did I notice it wasn’t boxes or crates that hit the floor below
the doors. A pair of legs in tall, heeled boots dangled from the back of the
van before hitting the ground with a stumble and disappearing into the
building. More followed, moving unsteadily, most likely pulled away by
someone inside. I took a few more pictures, though it likely wouldn’t
amount to much. There had to have been at least four people so far, all
women based on the shoes.
As far as I could tell, none were fighting against the men unloading them
into the club, but the sight still made me uneasy. Why were these women
being unloaded into the back like cargo rather than standing in line like the
ones up front?
Then a familiar pair of platforms appeared below the doors, the dangling
stars crashing around her heels as she was pulled from the back. I quickly
snapped another picture as her legs gave out and were lifted out of view.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
I needed to get in there. If they had Raven, they could have Brody, too.
But what I was about to do would be the end of my career. I uploaded the
pictures I’d taken and sent them to Jax before calling the station. If anything
happened to me, at least I knew Jax would pick up where I’d left off.
The dispatcher answered my call almost immediately and there was a beat
of silence after I identified myself, telling me she knew not only who I was,
but what my status was.
“I’m requesting backup at Vault nightclub,” I told her, breaking the
silence.
“Hold please,” she finally responded.
I knew what was coming, but I still cringed when the chief picked up the
call.
“What the hell are you doing?” he barked.
“Requesting backup. I have reason to believe something illegal is
happening at Vault.”
“You are on suspension! Whatever evidence you’ve gathered, assuming
you have any, won’t be admissible if you’re running illegal operations!
Have you lost your mind?”
“I haven’t done anything yet, I haven’t even gone in. But they’re
unloading sex workers into the back of the club.”
 There was a beat of silence. “You’re calling for a police presence because
a prostitute went into a nightclub? Do you have any evidence she’s selling
and not just getting a damn drink?”
“She didn’t just walk into the club, they unloaded her from the back of a
van with a bunch of others. This could be connected to the deaths.”
“Or it could be a hooker getting a drink. Or it could be a goddamn
birthday party, it’s a nightclub, Porter. Is there evidence of drugs on the
premises or have you completely given up on the concept of probable
cause?”
I sighed. The problem was, he wasn’t wrong. What I was giving him
wasn’t enough for a warrant. “The women that were unloaded seemed
unsteady, like they were already under the influence.”
“That’s a no, which means you have nothing.”
I considered telling him about Ashton, but that would be met with the
same skepticism. There was nothing illegal about going into a nightclub. I
had nothing but my gut telling me this was what we’d been looking for.
The chief sighed. “I’ll send a car to drive by and check it out. If there’s
anything illegal happening, we’ll take care of it. Go home, Porter. Now.
Before I make your suspension permanent.”
He hung up on me before I could argue, and my phone rang in my hand a
second later. Asshole lit up the screen and my heart leaped in my chest.
“Porter,” I said, my voice rough with emotions I didn’t have time to deal
with at the moment.
“Where are you?” Jax demanded in lieu of a greeting.
“Vault. The van in the picture is unloading women into the back of the
nightclub.”
 “Sex workers,” Jax agreed. “You’re thinking we were right, then? They
have these girls out among the crowd, selling things that aren’t on the
menu? Or do you think it’s something else?”
I couldn’t see much. Hardly anything at all, but those women looked like
they were barely standing. I couldn’t imagine them making their way
around a dance floor. Plus, none of the victims matched the profile of the
guests visiting the expensive club. Why would the only overdoses be the
ones selling the drugs? The theory had been drug trafficking, but maybe the
drugs weren’t the point.
“I’m thinking that alcohol isn’t the only thing on the menu and they’re
making a killing on the VIP options.”
“What’s the plan? You get a warrant? Waiting on backup?”
“The chief doesn’t think there’s enough for a warrant. He told me to back
off.”
There was silence on the other end of the line and I knew Jax was as
pissed by that response as I was. But the truth was, the department’s hands
were tied. There were rules that had to be followed.
“They might have Brody,” I finally said. “If you don’t hear from me, I
need you to do whatever you can with the evidence we’ve gathered and the
pictures I sent. One of those men is a patrolman I work with.”
“You think he's in on it?”
Yesterday my answer would have been no. But despite the fact that I had
so little to go on, the burn of betrayal found its way beneath my skin.
“I think there’s reason to be cautious.”
“You need to wait for backup,” Jax said.
“The chief said he’d send a car past to see if there’s any suspicious
activity. But I have to assume there won't be any backup coming.”
 “Yes, there will.”
“No, Jax. What I’m about to do is going to have long-lasting
consequences for me and I won’t take you down with me.”
“Porter,” he warned.
“I’m sorry.” I disconnected the call before swapping my jacket and ball
cap out for a nice wool coat that made my casual clothes less noticeable.
There was a spare suit in my trunk, but since changing in an alley might
draw attention, I opted to keep my black jeans and just swap out my shoes
before heading across the street.
I leaned against the brick and lit a cigarette I had no intention of smoking.
If anyone was watching, I’d better have a reason for loitering and smoking
was the obvious answer. I’d long ago learned to keep a pack in my car for
situations like this.
The cigarette burned down while I listened for movement on the other
side of the van and when it reached its end, my time was up. I sent off one
last text to my chief before turning my phone off.
The words disappeared from the screen and I swallowed back the urge to
throw up. It was far too late to pretend this was only about the case
anymore. It had taken my entire world being shaken up and tossed on its
end to realize that a closed case didn’t equal justice. Maybe being a
detective wasn’t enough anymore.
I never fooled myself into thinking any system was perfect, but waiting
until the people who'd fallen through the cracks showed up dead wasn’t an
acceptable option. It was an ugly truth no one ever wanted to look at too
closely, but the system just wasn't designed to protect all people equally.
The rules weren't going to save anyone this time.
 I tucked my phone into my pocket just in case, but short of needing to call
an ambulance, I knew I was on my own now. No more rules, just right and
wrong. Ex-detective Nathan Porter, former keeper of the rulebook, was
officially going rogue.

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Jax

“YOU SURE ABOUT THIS? If his backup shows up, you’ll get caught in
the middle of an op and this will all backfire,” Roman pointed out. “Not to
mention, with just me and you in there and no real recon on their security,
things could go wrong fast. Wouldn't expect you of all people to run in there
with a half-baked plan.”
He wasn't wrong. It was a risky gamble, but some bets were worth it.
“I can’t ask you to go in there when I don’t know what I’ll be walking
into.”
“What good will you be to Nathan on your own?” Dylan asked.
“Especially if Brody is in there too. What if they’re both in trouble and
security has them outnumbered? If this club is the missing piece like
Nathan said, then we already know their M.O. and both Brody and your
pretty detective could be incapacitated by the time you get there.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Do I need to make that therapy appointment for you?” he pushed.
 “This isn’t about that. I don’t know what’s going to happen in there, and I
don’t want to take ASI down with me.”
“Even the most well planned out standard op can go wrong in a
heartbeat,” Roman cut in. “Every time we go into the field, we’re putting
ourselves at risk.”
Dylan nodded. “But some things are worth it, aren’t they? Now look me
in the eye and tell me this isn’t about your issues with trusting a team to
have your back.”
I looked Dylan in those big brown eyes, but the words wouldn’t come.
Son of a bitch. I lied all the damn time, I couldn’t be good at cards if I
couldn’t handle bluffing. But somewhere along the way, I’d come to respect
Dylan as much as I did Roman and I couldn’t bring myself to lie to his face
like that.
My eyes darted away and the corner of his mouth quirked up in a
knowing smile. But rather than rubbing in his victory, he hit the comms
system in front of him. “Angel, are you in position?”
“Got eyes on the front of the building now,” West’s voice came through a
moment later.
“You sent him without telling me?”
Dylan shrugged. “I knew you’d say no. But you know you can’t do this
alone, so you’ll get over it. We’re wasting time. You can either accept that
you’re part of a team again, or you can keep arguing while Brody and
Nathan might be in trouble. You’re not the only one who cares about them,
you know.”
I raked my hands through my hair. “There any sign of the backup he
called for?” Nathan didn’t seem to think they’d be coming, but they
wouldn’t really ignore his request, would they?
 Weston’s voice came over the comms almost immediately. “No sign of a
police presence yet.”
“Keep me posted, Angel.”
Weston was given the name because he was the one doing all the
bodyguard work. The guardian angel. But also because he was a big
southern sweetheart with manners and everything. It made him stand out
like a sore thumb among the rest of us hooligans.
I tapped out an anxious pattern on the table in front of me while we
hashed out our options. Dylan instructed West to move to the back of the
building based on Porter's pictures, and we waited until he was in position.
“Still nothing?”
“Still no backup, but there's some movement back here. Couple of the
flashy cars are leaving. The van's still sittin' there, but the driver is back.
Looks like he’ll be heading out soon.”
“Damn, they’re going to move out before we find out what they’re doing.
I’m going now.”
“I’m in,” the voice startled me, and I turned to find Logan wandering into
the operations room. He sat on the edge of the table and folded his arms
over his chest like he was waiting for me to turn him down. I didn't even get
the chance before a rough-looking man I’d never seen before stepped into
the room.
Dylan grinned at the man. “Good to see you again, Blaze.”
The man sighed like just speaking with Dylan exhausted him. “That’s not
going to catch on. There were barely any flames.”
“I feared for my life,” Dylan teased. “If you don’t like Blaze, Torch is
available. Maybe Ash? Any other suggestions?”
 “Phoenix,” Roman answered. “The fire bird that resurrects from the
ashes.”
The three men exchanged a look that was a little too intense for picking a
stupid call sign that was only used on group ops when we were doing shady
shit, but he finally gave a shrug of reluctant agreement.
Phoenix seemed to realize there wasn’t time for any more bullshit and cut
right to the chase. “I’m going too.” Dark circles sat heavily under his
haunted hazel eyes and he settled his attention on me, presumably giving
the chance to refuse him. He rubbed a hand over the dark scruff of his jaw.
“Need to see how you all work before I agree to anything.”
Unease rippled down my spine at the idea of working with men who
hadn’t earned my trust. But Dylan was right. If I wanted to get Nathan out
of this mess, I wasn’t exactly in a position to be turning down help when it
was offered.
Still, they needed the facts before they walked into a situation that was
almost guaranteed to go south. “The guy I’m going in after is a detective.
We’ve got almost no intel on the security setup in this place, and based on
the last info I got from him, we’re heading into something messy. Can’t
guarantee I won’t be walking back out of there in handcuffs.”
“Sounds like my kind of party,” Logan deadpanned. Not an expressive
guy, but he had a reputation for walking headfirst into shit that would have
other men pissing themselves.
A derisive snort came from the doorway where Roman’s other recruit,
Leo “Wraith” Sandoval, leaned against the wall, shaking his head.
Logan raised one eyebrow, and it was the closest thing to an emotion I'd
ever seen out of him. “Got a problem?”
 Sandoval definitely had a problem, but he ignored the other man. “I’m in
too. You’re gonna need someone at least trying to keep your asses out of
jail. Can't make any promises with this crew, though.”
This was the point when I was supposed to back out and tell them all I
worked alone. That they were supposed to be the ones calling me for help,
not the other way around. But I couldn’t let my own hangups get in the way
of helping Nathan. Which meant I was taking a team I hardly knew back
into the field with me and into a situation that could blow up right in my
face. I swore I’d never end up in this situation again, but there I was,
throwing away any sense of self preservation. For him.
I was so fucked.
“Goes without saying that I’m in. You good handling operations from
here on your own?” Roman asked Dylan.
Dylan preened. “Honey, there’s no one better to handle a team of big
strapping men.” Roman gave him an exasperated look and he grinned. “And
I've been dying to get my hands on your equipment.”
“Christ,” he grumbled, turning his attention back to me. “We’ll follow
your lead. You got a plan?”
I shrugged. “Got a few ideas. Not sure you’re going to like them.”
“What else is new?”

It was too much to hope that Porter had waited for me to show up, so the
empty car wasn’t exactly a surprise.
 “He’s already gone inside,” Roman said, coming to the same conclusion.
“Angel, anything?”
Weston had set up a camera on the front of the club when he’d moved to
watch the back doors. “Still nothing. The van's been sitting there ready to
go for a while. Looks like he’s waitin' on someone inside to give him the
signal. If you’re worried about whatever it is they’re loading up, you’re
going to need to do something about it soon.”
“I’ll tail it,” Logan offered.
“No,” Dylan said through the comms. “You’re dressed to go in. Atlas and
Phoenix can tail the van and report back. I’ll send Angel after them if they
find something.”
Roman looked to me because while Dylan was overseeing everything, this
was technically my op and he knew leaving me with two of the newest
recruits wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time. But hell, Brody and Raven
could be in that van and if I trusted anyone to make sure they were safe, it
was Roman.
I gave him a nod and he pulled his keys back out and disappeared back up
the street.
“Sending both Atlas and Angel is going to leave us without a way out,”
Leo pointed out since we’d all rode in Roman’s car except for West.
“I’ve got that sweet ass covered,” Dylan assured him. “Don’t you worry
about a thing, darling.”
Leo chuckled, his dimples popping and his expression shifted into
something softer than I’d ever seen from him. He answered in Spanish and
while I had no idea what he said, Dylan clearly did because he let out a
gasp.
“You dirty boy, I like you.”
 “We doing this or what?” Logan snapped.
His attitude didn’t faze Dylan at all. “Sure thing, sugar pants. You’re up
whenever you’re ready.”
Logan grunted and stood, making his way out onto the main street and
disappearing from view. From our view, anyway. Dylan would still have
eyes on him through the camera Weston set up earlier.
We held position while Logan bribed the doorman and skipped the line.
Once he was in, we would have some idea of whether Porter had gone in
the front, or if he’d found another way in.
The van’s doors slammed shut and it pulled away from the building.
“Van is on the move,” I said over the comms.
“In pursuit,” Roman answered immediately.
“Anything yet, Breaker?”
Before Logan could answer my question, another van arrived and backed
up to the building.
“There’s another one.”
“If they end up heading to the same place, we should still run into them,”
Roman answered.
“Want me to stay behind and keep an eye on it?” Leo offered.
For someone who’d been so determined to work alone, it was quickly
becoming obvious, even to me, that we needed more men for ops like this.
“You don’t have a way to follow it if they leave,” Dylan answered.
Dammit. “Angel, you still got eyes on the rear of the building?”
“Until Atlas calls for backup,” he confirmed.
“Let me know if it moves. We're going in.”
“Breaker, status,” Dylan cut in.
 “No sign of either target.” His voice was low through the muffled sound
of the music inside. “Nothing shady so far, just the usual party drugs. Doors
to the back are marked for employees only and have security locks. Nothing
worth noting within view of the main floor. Gonna try working the
bartender. She was checking me out earlier, might be able to get an access
card off of her.”
Leo scoffed next to me and I raised an eyebrow at him, which he
pointedly ignored.
“Looks like we’re going in the back,” I said.
“Sounds like my kind of night,” Dylan answered. “Angel, what kind of
security is on that back door? Are they looking for their one true love, or
just letting in any man with a flashy car and a designer suit?”
“Looks like key card access,” West answered. “But there’s a big guy
standing just inside the door watching everyone that goes in.”
“I can get us a key card, but we’re going to have to take down the
bouncer. Not a chance I can pass as one of them,” I grumbled.
“What about the new van?” Dylan asked. “Can anyone see what kind of
situation we’re looking at there?”
“Rear doors are opened into the utility doors at the back of the building. I
can’t see around them. There’s a small gap below the van doors where I can
see movement, but I can’t give an accurate headcount. At least two men are
unloading, if I had to guess.”
“I’ll make it work,” I said.
“Give me five minutes,” Dylan answered. “Wraith, you think you can get
a key card and get past the big guy inside?”
“Aw, I thought you were going to give me a challenge,” Leo answered.
 He brushed off his fitted black pants, adjusted the tiny camera in the
button of his shirt, and pulled a pair of designer dress shoes from his bag to
replace the boots he’d worn. He removed his gun since it couldn’t be hidden
in the clothes he wore, but snagged a fancy watch and several knives,
strapping them to his body before checking his hair in the side mirror of
Porter’s car. When he stood and handed his bag off to me, he looked like
any of the other men that had gone in.
“See you in there,” he said before heading in the opposite direction of the
club.
I didn’t question him. He was the only one of us apart from Roman who’d
come with an established call sign. The guy had a reputation for being slick
as hell, getting in and out of situations that most of us could never pull off.
He was a bit of a chameleon, probably could have had a successful career
with the CIA, but for some reason, he’d chosen to work with Roman
instead.
Sure enough, a few moments later, Leo was striding through the parking
lot looking like he owned the place. He barely paused at the door to scan
the key card and confidently walked in just as a car alarm went off in the
lot.
He paused in the doorway as the security guard spoke to him and he
shook his head.
“Not mine,” his voice reached us through the comms, sounding put out.
“But I suggest you do something about it before it gets someone’s
attention.”
“I’ll take care of it,” the bouncer’s voice came through faintly.
“I lost visual as soon as you went in,” Dylan said. “They must have
something blocking the signal. We’re down to just radio.”
 “No cell signal,” Logan confirmed.
“Wraith, what are you seeing?”
“Exclusive bar area and a hall leading to six rooms. Locked,” Leo grunted
under his breath.
“Try the card,” Dylan suggested. “If that doesn’t work, break it.”
“Shit,” Roman’s voice came over the comms. “They weren’t moving out
before the cops showed up, they were switching out the women. Think we
were wrong about this one. It’s not the drugs they’re trafficking, it’s
people.”
“Need me there, boss?” West asked.
“What the fuck?” Leo interrupted. “Whatever they’re giving them, it’s
sitting in these rooms with the women. It’s either a party favor, or they’re
dosing these ladies again if they try to fight back.”
“That explains the overdoses,” Dylan snapped. “Anyone found Dash or
Bambi yet?”
“Negative,” Leo answered. “What’s the plan? How are we getting them
out of here?”
“Got the employee key,” Logan announced. “Heading back.”
“Keep us posted, Breaker,” Dylan instructed. “Wraith, stick to those back
rooms for now. Get what evidence you can and keep that girl safe. We need
to coordinate before we make ourselves known. Atlas, we’re looking at six
rooms here, presumably the same number of vics. What have you got?”
“Looks like eight more and most of them need medical attention.”
“Copy. Send Angel your location and he’ll meet you there. Rook, you’re
going in.”
“One step ahead of you.”
OceanofPDF.com
28

OceanofPDF.com
Nathan

THE MISSION WENT FROM long shot to clusterfuck in the span of five
minutes.
I'd snuck in next to the van when the men cleared out, but there weren't a
lot of options once inside. Figuring I'd blend in better with the VIPs than
the employees, I slipped through a door, realizing only afterward that it
locked behind me. I could either lurk in the hall or enter what looked to be a
much more exclusive bar than the one up front, where it was entirely
possible Ashton would see me.
The door a few feet away clicked and I ducked against the entrance to the
bar. By the time the employee let himself into the next room, I’d already
slipped inside the one he'd just left.
A simple bed sat opposite the door. There was a table against one wall,
and a chair in the corner. No windows, nowhere to hide. And just like the
last one, this door locked on the inside. An electronic panel to the side
indicated some kind of access card was needed to get out of the room.
 The table along the wall held a tray with expensive bourbon, along with
water, and a couple of tiny tablets. There was no way to be sure until I had
it tested, but I was positive we would find it was the exact drug that had
killed Noah and the others.
Rage boiled under my skin as the pieces started coming together and I
powered my phone on to get photos. There was no cell signal to send them
anywhere, but that was likely intentional. Evidence taken without a warrant
wouldn’t be admissible, but I pocketed the drugs anyway and waited behind
the door for whatever unfortunate soul was going to have to deal with me
next.
Eventually the door pushed open and — wow, that was a big guy. Maybe
I'd deal with the next one instead. He dragged a woman along under one
arm and went right to the sideboard, finding the drugs missing.
“Fucking idiots.” He grabbed the radio at his hip. “Room two isn’t
stocked. Get someone over here now,” he growled.
And just like that, another plan backfired. I was about to be outnumbered.
The woman stumbled to her knees, and he threw her to the bed by her
arm. Damn. It was now or never.
“Don’t move.”
The barrel of my personal gun would be visible out of the corner of his
eye, and it was enough to make him freeze, but there was no way I could
actually use it in this situation. I was in enough trouble as it was.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Empty your pockets onto the bed. Make one wrong move and it’ll be the
last one you make.”
“Not a chance you’ll make it out of here alive,” the guy growled even as
he dumped his radio, key card, wallet, and stun gun on the bed.
 Considering the size of the hole I’d dug myself into, that was becoming a
distinct possibility, but I was in too far to back out now. If I saved these
girls and found Brody, then whatever else happened, I could deal with it.
“Put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees.”
The man started to comply, but then the girl went for his weapon and
everything went to hell. From his position on one knee he turned and
ducked my gun, swatting it away with his forearm and putting me on the
defensive when he dove to wrestle it away. He only failed because the gun
clattered across the room when he slammed my arm into the ground.
With the gun no longer an option, he pinned me with his much larger
body and wrapped his hands around my throat. Shit, he was too damn
strong. My lungs burned and panic started to take hold. I desperately hit his
elbows down to drag him closer and slammed the heel of my hand into his
face. Blood poured from his nose and the second his grip loosened, I shoved
him off of me and wrapped my arm around his throat.
While he fought my hold, the girl slipped in to use the stun gun, giving
me the second I needed to get him on his stomach and cuffed.
“I’m here to help,” I panted, a little bruised and bloodier than when we
started and probably looking in no way able to help. She didn’t lower the
weapon, but I couldn't really blame her for that. “Come on, we need to get
out of here before whoever he called for shows up.”
Seeing that she really didn’t have another option, she reluctantly let me
help her up and we hurried to a different room. The woman on the bed
didn't stir when we tried to rouse her. If I had to guess, she’d been given a
second dose.
We'd been way off base with this one. Why didn't I realize sooner? They
were smart enough to not use common date rape drugs, it would have made
it easier to determine their intent. The drug they chose instead was strong
enough to incapacitate at higher doses, but that made it easy to overdose
when they didn't get the desired effect right away. My stomach twisted. I
would never understand the things that some humans did to others. Did
Ashton know what they were doing in this place?
“Are they forcing the drugs on you to keep you here?”
“One of the other girls said they put it in the water at the place they keep
us when we're not here.”
Which meant Brody could be at a second location. Dammit, I needed to
tell Jax what was happening.
“I have to keep looking, but it's not safe. You should—”
She gripped my hand. “Don't leave me here.”
The radio we’d taken from the guard went off in my hand, notifying the
staff of the missing girl. We hid behind the door again, but that was only
going to get us so far.
This time when they came, the guy didn’t even step fully into the room.
He pushed the door open, saw the undisturbed girl on the bed, and pulled it
shut behind him.
Another announcement came through the radio. “Rooms are clear. Check
the bar and employee areas. Watch the exits.”
We waited a few beats for their security to clear out before we attempted
to open the door again. I stepped into the hall, eyeing the other doors and
once again wishing for backup. The evidence might have been
circumstantial, but we could have at least tried for a warrant.
There was no point in speculating. I’d already fucked up the case and the
only consolation prize would be finding Brody and saving as many of these
women as I could.
 “Is she awake?” I asked, seeing the answer for myself with the half-empty
water glass before she shook her head.
“Wait here with her while I check the other rooms. I promise I'll be right
back.”
She wasn't happy about being left behind, but I didn't waste any time
slipping out and finding the women in the next rooms in the same condition
as the last one. Leaving each one behind made the guilt weigh on me more
heavily, but without backup there was nothing I could do. And there was
still no sign of Brody.
I let myself into the last room expecting more of the same and barely
ducked away from the incoming attack in time to avoid getting my face
sliced open. Stumbling back, I caught sight of my tiny, dark-haired attacker
and barely caught her arms as she lunged again, swinging a broken piece of
a bourbon glass.
“Raven?”
She paused, recognition finally sinking in. Her shoulders dropped and she
stumbled back into the wall, breathing heavily like that attack had taken
everything out of her.
“Are you part of this?” she asked, her soft voice dripping with hatred.
“Of course not, I'm looking for Brody. Have you seen him?”
Her legs gave out and she slid down the wall. “They kept me so drugged I
couldn't tell you who was right next to me. When I finally started sobering
up, I pretended I was still barely conscious so they wouldn't keep dosing
me.”
“We need to get out of here. Can you stand?”
“I'll do whatever I have to,” she answered, forcing herself up off the
ground.
 She let me help her back into the room where the other woman, Kayla,
was trying to use the phone we'd taken from the security guard. I set Raven
down and took the phone from her, programming two numbers in.
“It won't work in here, but we’re going to find you a way out. You'll need
to get away as fast as you can and call the police.”
“Like that'll help,” Raven scoffed.
“I know you don’t trust them, but they’re not all bad. If you call the
station and tell them you escaped from here, they will have to look into it.”
“Call this one first,” I instructed, pointing out the main line for the
department. “Then call this one and tell them everything. They’re not cops,
but they'll help you. Can you two run?”
“Yes,” Raven insisted.
Realistically, the answer was probably not, but they seemed determined.
All I needed to do was give them enough time to get away.
When we made it back to the van, the room was no longer empty. A bald,
tattooed beast of a man stood behind the van, blocking the exit. He wasn't
any bigger than the last one, but he looked twice as mean. Fuck my life.
“Sit tight, I’m going to distract him,” I told Raven.
“With what? He'll step on you and it'll be over in ten seconds.”
How I wished she was wrong. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Once I
have him distracted, you two slip out around the van and get as far away as
possible before the driver sees you.”
She snorted. “If you say so.”
It was a long shot, but if she could make the call, I knew Jax would take
care of the rest.
As for my part of the plan? Yeah, that was going to suck. While some of
my training was directed toward taking down a bigger opponent, size
mattered, and I was still banged up from my first round with their
overgrown security team.
With no other choice, I buttoned my coat to cover the bloodstains, left my
gun in its holster, and recklessly approached the man empty-handed.
He was instantly on alert, hand reaching for his hip. Damn, I hoped it was
another stun gun and not an actual gun he was hiding there.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Didn’t you hear there’s a situation?” I asked, buying enough time to
move in closer. “One of the men is missing, looks like he took the girl. You
see anyone else come through here?”
“One of ours? Didn't hear anything about that.”
His hand moved away from his weapon to reach for his radio, giving me
the chance I needed to jump on his back and put him in a choke hold. For
one fraction of a second, I was almost proud of how well that had gone as I
squeezed tighter around his tree trunk of a neck. And then he shoved back
against me, slamming me into the van and rocking it hard.
My ribs ached and the muffled curse of the driver let me know I was
about to be outnumbered. I barely had time to drop the first guy before the
driver dove at me. With everyone in the place looking for me, my gun
wasn’t an option, but cutting off their air or a hit to the head only
disoriented them for so long. Without a way to tie these men up, it was only
a matter of time before they'd be a problem again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raven drag Kayla out beside the van,
but I didn’t have time to be relieved. My attacker drove his knee into my
gut, knocking the air from my lungs and I hit the ground hard, trying to
suck in air past my locked up diaphragm. By the time I’d recovered from
the blow, I was looking down the barrel of a gun.
 The driver scrambled out of the way, but I didn’t pay him any attention.
My eyes had frozen on the figure in front of me. While his cold eyes were
familiar, the unmasked hatred behind them was new. I'd had my suspicions,
but seeing them confirmed was a gut punch I wasn't ready for.
“Hawkins. Can't say you were the one I expected to see. This must be a
profitable side business you have here.”
His eyes narrowed. “Nice try, but it’s not mine. There’s not a thing that
ties me to this place. And once you disappear, there won’t be a shred of
evidence that I was ever here.”
“Just taking bribes to keep anyone from looking into this place? Probably
should have made sure your friends here weren’t leaving a trail of bodies
around the city.” My eyes went to the cuts on his face that I’d initially
assumed were from the explosion, and I nearly groaned at how stupid I’d
been. “You’re supplying the girls,” I realized. “They caught on to your set
up operations when you arrested them, so you had to resort to kidnapping
when they were too smart to fall for your trap.”
He ignored my accusation completely, but I didn’t need him to confirm.
The scratches on his jaw gave him away. “No one gives a damn about a few
dead prostitutes with a drug problem. That overachiever attitude of yours is
finally going to be the thing that does you in, and it's about damn time.”
“Caring about human life is overachieving to you?”
He scoffed. “There it is. Always acting like you're better than everyone
else. How’s that working out for you now?”
“You didn't set the bar very high. I was never tempted to cover up crimes
for my own profit.”
“Get up.”
 Not seeing much choice, I did as he said and went right back down when
his fist slammed into my stomach before I was even fully upright. Only the
men who'd grabbed my arms kept me on my feet as I hunched over,
wheezing.
“Wait,” Hawkins said suddenly when one of them pulled out tape.
For one fraction of a second, I actually thought he might have second
thoughts about what he was doing. I was wrong.
“He lost one of the girls, right?”
My attention moved from his calculating eyes to the pills he'd taken from
my pocket. He couldn’t be suggesting what it sounded like he was
suggesting.
“Strip him,” Hawkins demanded.
I struggled against his men as they tore the buttons from my shirt. “If you
do this, there’s no coming back for you. I'm still a cop. If I go missing, it
won't go unnoticed.”
Hawkins laughed. “No? Aren’t you on suspension? What exactly is going
to make them notice you’re missing when you’re not even around right
now? Will your family report it? Oh, that’s right, poor Porter has no family.
None of your coworkers want anything to do with you. Especially after they
found out what you’ve been hiding all this time. Not one person came to
you after that, did they? No one helped you then, and no one is coming for
you now. No one gives a damn about you. By the time anyone even thinks
to look for you, it’ll be too late. You’ll be long gone and they’ll think you
ran away in shame after we uncovered your little secret.”
Hawkins shoved my phone with all the evidence into his pocket as his
men stripped me down to my boxers. This was a hell of a hole I'd dug
myself into.
 Catching the driver off guard, I yanked him down and kneed him in the
face. The impact knocked him back, forcing him to release my arm, but it
didn’t matter. Just as my elbow landed in the gut of the second man, my
own gun pressed into my temple telling me it was over.
The second I stilled, there was a hand around my throat and a man on
each arm. Hawkins forced my jaw open long enough to shove a pill and a
bottle of water past my lips before clamping his hand over my face and
cutting off my air. I jerked away, but had nowhere to go with the man
behind me. My options were to suffocate or swallow.
Using every ounce of strength I had, I lunged for Hawkins and because
they’d been expecting me to pull away instead of get closer, my fist
connected with his diaphragm. But it wasn't enough to get free. If anything,
his grip on my face tightened as I choked and reflexively swallowed, and
still he didn't let go as I fought for air.
Hawkins’ smug face swam in my vision and he leaned closer to whisper
in my ear. “You have no one to blame but yourself. Wouldn't even listen to
the chief. I tried to keep you out of this, but you and that boyfriend of yours
refused to let it go. And before you get your hopes up, I do hope that loose
end comes looking for you. It'll save me the effort of tracking him down,
and I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out where all his
efforts got you.”
He finally released me, and I desperately choked in air.
So it was Hawkins who’d given the chief those pictures in an effort to put
distance between me and ASI. I’d been so damn scared of being outed that I
hadn't even considered there might be an ulterior motive.
“Toss him in the empty room. He might as well make some money before
we get rid of him. I’ll take care of the girl. She couldn’t have gotten far.” He
grabbed my aching jaw again. “You listening, Porter? By tomorrow
morning, she'll be just another tragic overdose. Only this time, it'll be your
fault.”
He gestured to the men holding me and slipped out after Kayla and
Raven. All I could do now was hope I’d bought them enough time.

OceanofPDF.com
29

OceanofPDF.com
Nathan

MY HEAD HURT LIKE hell and the disorientation that always came with
a migraine was beyond anything I’d experienced before. Christ, had I
passed out somewhere? I tried to force my eyes open, but they weren’t
cooperating just yet. My ears were working, though. And the unfamiliar
voices that sounded both far away and too loud at the same time only
confirmed that I was somewhere I shouldn’t be.
“This one,” a feminine voice insisted.
Something in the back of my mind tried to break free of the fog, but I
couldn’t quite get there.
A firm smack hit my cheek and my eyelids fluttered, but when I tried to
swat the hand away, my body didn’t respond.
“He’s out cold. Probably can’t even get it up.”
“They give them something for that,” she insisted. A hand, one that was
much too small and delicate to be anyone I’d ever given permission to
touch me, slid up the front of my boxers and tugged at the waistband.
 Panic shot through me, but while my mind knew something was very
wrong, my body wasn't reacting the way it should. My limbs were heavy
and numb, and I'd never felt so damn vulnerable.
“Fine, you’re right. Next time we’re getting here earlier.”
The door slammed, leaving me to fight against my own damn body. It was
terrifying, and yet I just wanted to give in and sleep. It felt like I was lost
trying to fight my way out. Those people could have done anything to me.
In fact, anyone could have done anything to me while I’d been too damn
out of it to even realize.
My skin crawled. The sensation was the first to break through the
numbness, but the more I fought, the more things came back to me.
Hawkins, the drugs, the girls. I’d come to find Brody and ended up fucking
everything up. This was too damn big for me to fix on my own. I should
have realized that from the start.
Bit by bit, I came to and was able to force myself off the bed to stumble to
the door. I wasn’t in any position to fight my way out, but I couldn’t stay
either. My concept of how much time passed while I waited for someone to
come in couldn’t be trusted. I’d had to force my eyes open more than once
and I couldn’t be sure I hadn’t passed out again. But by the time I finally
heard the click of the lock, I was a little more coherent.
The man entering the room tripped when I grabbed his leg and I pushed
him into the ground, pinning his arm behind his back. He was closer to my
size than the giant bouncers I’d had to fight before, which was a damn good
thing considering I was barely holding myself up.
“Don’t move. You’re under arrest.” The words came out a little off, but it
was close enough.
 The guy struggled under me. “Who the fuck are you? I haven’t done
anything!”
“I’m a cop and there’s only one reason people are coming into these
rooms.”
“I don’t know what these rooms are for, I'm lost.”
“You have a key. Start talking and you might be able to negotiate a lighter
sentence.”
“I’m not going to jail for paying for sex, that’s like a fine.”
“These women are being held against their will, paying for sex is the least
of your problems. My backup is about to bring this whole place down and
you’re going to lose any chance to make a deal.”
“I didn’t know! This is my first time here! Someone I know got me a VIP
membership, he knows the guy who owns this club. That’s all I know.”
“I’m going to need names and your key. And your pants.”

My second trip through the club was fuzzier, but while I ran into more
customers than the first time, it was far later in the night and my stumbling
around in a pair of borrowed pants and an open shirt because I couldn’t
manage the buttons would be dismissed as the result of drunken partying.
This time around, it was obvious I was in no position to save anyone. In
fact, everything I’d done would be for nothing if I didn’t get help. The chief
had already made it clear they wouldn’t be sending it. The only other option
was Jax.
 I didn’t want to drag them into this, and it was entirely possible Roman
wouldn’t risk his company for an op like this one anyway. Not that I could
blame him, it would be crazy. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t come. I
just needed to get to a phone, then it would be up to them to decide.
During my first visit to the club, I’d noticed that while the main area had
high ceilings, the back half of the building had a second floor. Since the
VIP area was on the first floor, that meant the offices might be up there.
Offices meant phones. And if they had cell signals blocked, there had to be
landlines. It was a risk, but I was going up.
It took a bit of searching to find the stairs, and while getting up there was
easy enough, every door was locked. I should have expected that. I also
should have realized that attempting to open a locked door was going to
notify anyone inside that I was there. In my defence, my brain and body
were still struggling to keep up. I was still standing in front of the door
when it opened under my hand. Getting barely a glimpse of another familiar
face, I threw my full weight into the door, taking us both to the ground.
Aaron Cox was no stranger to the gym, but we’d gone through the same
training and his attacks were predictable. My movements were sloppy, but
the few things I'd picked up on the streets came back to me in that moment
and my reckless fighting style caught him off guard. At first, I gained the
upper hand. But the man was a tank and the next thing I knew, he'd pinned
me to the ground.
The position brought my sparring session with Jax to mind, and I threw
my hips up to knock him forward, pinned his arm, and shoved him to his
back. For one second things were looking up.
Except in all the commotion, I’d missed that we weren’t the only two
people in the room. The moment I had Cox pinned, there was a gun pressed
to the back of my head. Rookie mistake. Always be aware of your
surroundings.
“Will you stop fucking around? What the hell are you doing?”
Rowland. Fuck.
“Stand up.”
I stood on shaky legs, panting with exertion at just the few minutes of
fighting. This time I paused to take in my surroundings, but there wasn’t
much to work with. The guy didn’t have so much as a stapler on his desk.
Like the rest of the place, it was modern and clean, and unless I could lift
his desk or the weird stone art piece in the corner of the room, my only
weapons would be the two chairs in front of his desk.
The large darkened window that spanned the far wall looked down over
the main dance floor and the fish tank feature wall that was the highlight of
the club continued halfway up into the office below the window.
Rather than keeping my attention on the gun aimed at my head, I stared
down into the open tank, watching the jellyfish flutter by as the trickle of
water lent a peaceful vibe to a messed up situation. Cox and Rowland
argued over how to get rid of me, and while the options were grim, they
were also limited.
“Too bad you went with jellyfish instead of sharks,” I mumbled.
“Should’ve planned ahead.”
“Shut up!” Cox snapped. “If you’d just done what you were supposed to,
you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Maybe it was the drugs, maybe it was that I’d already destroyed
everything that mattered in my life and if it ended here, then my only regret
would be that I hadn’t been able to save Brody and the others. But even as
my imminent demise was being decided right in front of me, I couldn’t feel
anything but numb.
My eyes drifted to the masses of bodies below, dancing in the blue glow
of the tank. From above, it almost seemed like they moved as one. Pieces of
a whole using the beat of the music to stay perfectly in sync. It seemed like
such a small thing, but as the outsider who could never seem to hear the
same beat, I'd never been a part of something bigger than myself the way
they so effortlessly were.
I was always the one who seemed like a part of things, but never truly
belonged. Part of a department, but only as long as I fell in line. Part of a
team, but only to hide who I really was. Part of a family, but only as long as
I wasn’t myself.
I was just like the one lonely guy down there, standing at the edge of the
dance floor and disrupting the flow of the bodies. Existing in the same
space while it was clear he didn’t belong. That painful thought actually
broke through the numbness long enough for me to see what was actually
happening.
The loner wasn’t just standing there, he was causing a commotion and
gathering a crowd. People surrounded him and two others, and it didn’t take
long for the first punch to be thrown. The man stumbled backward with the
hit, but he didn’t hesitate to retaliate.
What started with three men throwing punches quickly devolved into a
mess of people rushing to get away or join in until the entire floor was in
chaos. Two bouncers pushed through the masses, attempting to break up the
fight, but there were just too many for them to handle.
Another man jumped into the fray, helping people get to safety. Oddly
enough, it almost seemed like he knew the guy I’d been watching. They
were clearly attempting to communicate, though the new guy made no
attempt to join the fight, even as his friend was outnumbered.
As if sensing my eyes on him, the newcomer looked up to the window
and even in the dark room I recognized him instantly. Leo. The guy who’d
been fighting chose that moment to follow Leo's line of sight, and that
poorly timed decision resulted in missing a block and taking a punch right
to the gut. But not before I’d seen his face. Logan.
There was no way those two were casually hanging out at a club together.
Did that mean Raven and Kayla made it? I couldn’t fathom why any of
them would take the risk, but if they were there, it wasn’t over.
“Let’s just put a bullet in him and be done with it. Give me your gun, I
can’t use my police issued weapon for this,” Cox decided.
“Are you stupid? I’m not giving you my gun for that.”
“Fine, we’ll do it the same as the others. The rest of the department
already found out he’s been lying about himself for years and he just lost
his job. An overdose wouldn’t seem that suspicious.”
“Jesus, Cox,” I interrupted, not bothering to turn away from the window.
“Did you forget your partner already dosed me with the same drug as the
victims in the cases I’ve been investigating? That’ll just prove I’ve been
right all along. Do you do any actual police work, or do you just rely on
people paying you to look the other way?”
“Shut up!”
The butt of his gun slammed into my cheekbone and I stumbled away,
only to be stopped by the fish tank. The awkward angle meant the blow
wasn’t as hard as it could have been, but blood poured from the gash into
the water and down the side of the tank.
“Great job. Now my blood is all over the scene, too.”
 The drugs were definitely loosening my tongue. It was a terrible idea to
taunt people with guns, but I couldn't seem to keep the things running
through my head from falling out of my mouth.
I pressed a hand to my bleeding cheek and checked my surroundings once
more for a weapon. The only thing close was the fish tank and the plastic
aquarium hood light wasn’t heavy enough to do any damage. I wanted to
believe that Cox would be hesitant to use his gun, but the longer this went
on, the more unhinged he grew. I didn’t know that he would even consider
the glass or the people below if he got impatient.
“Get him out of here before you fuck anything else up!” Rowland
demanded.
Shit. If they took me somewhere else, it was over.
“You’re assuming he won’t fuck something else up the minute he leaves
here,” I answered. “What are your options here, really? A detective who
was investigating overdoses suddenly shows up dead of an overdose?
That’s practically a smoking gun. Shoot me? You know how forensics
work, right? How exactly do you think you can get away with this?
Whether they like me or not, the department won’t overlook a dead cop.
Know why? Because it sends a message. You know that as well as I do,
Cox.”
One minute I could practically hear the vein in Cox’s temple throbbing,
the next my face was inches from a jellyfish. I’d been trying to break down
trust between Rowland and Cox, hoping it would stall my departure, but in
hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best idea to piss off a guy like Cox. His
grip on the back of my neck as he held me under was immovable. No
matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t break free. My lungs burned and
panic starting breaking through the haze in my brain as I thrashed, sending
water everywhere.
While part of me wanted to seek out Leo and Logan, I knew they couldn’t
actually see me up here. The windows were darkened and the part of the
tank Cox was shoving me into was too high to be visible to anyone except
those standing along the bottom, assuming they happened to look up. There
was no relying on anyone else for help. I was out of time and air.
Another jellyfish came uncomfortably close, and I grabbed the top of it to
keep it away. The tentacles floated dangerously close to my arms and, since
Cox’s grip on me told me exactly where he was, I took a chance and swung.
His grip on my neck disappeared in an instant, and the jellyfish hit my back
and slid to the floor when I straightened. My shirt protected my back from
the sting, but my hand wasn’t so lucky.
I choked in air and turned to find Cox attempting to dislodge the detached
tentacles that had stuck to his arm and face. The jellyfish fluttered near my
bare feet like it was still trying to swim, and while it was tempting to try to
hang on to my only weapon, I tossed it back in the tank before I ended up in
the same boat as Cox.
When it became clear Cox was more worried about his face than me,
Rowand moved in to shove his gun against my forehead. Since I was still
next to the window, the commotion below finally got his attention.
“Where the hell is security? Someone’s going to call the damn cops. Stop
playing around and get rid of him now. I’ve gotta deal with that mess.”
Cox turned his gun on me again. Red marks marred his face and arm and
all of his previous gloating had evaporated in favor of rage.
The door closed behind Rowland and I felt a little bolder once the odds
weren’t as bad. “You already said you couldn’t use your gun to kill me and
he just took the other one with him.”
“You think I need a gun to get rid of you?”
Cox dove and I saw my chance. My head slammed into the glass of the
aquarium as we crashed to the ground. I’d done nothing to brace against the
fall because I’d been too busy going for his gun and a flash of pain broke
through the numbness. My vision went dark at the edges as I pried the
weapon from his grip.
Cox pinned me down, gaining the upper hand while I could barely see
straight. He tugged hard on my arm, yanking it over my head at an
awkward angle and nearly breaking my fingers trying to pull the gun away.
The loud crack of the weapon rang in my ears, way too close to my head as
glass shattered and water dumped over us.
I used my arm to protect my face from the worst of the glass, but by the
time I scrambled upright, the gun was back in his shaking hands. And all
the reasons he'd had not to use it were gone.

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Jax

“I NEED A PLACE to stash the bodies.”

“Rook, please clarify what you mean by bodies,” Dylan snapped in my
ear. “This is a new operation and we do not have a cleanup crew on staff.”
“They’re breathing. But that information is noted.”
“The first four rooms are empty,” Leo answered over the comms. “Met up
with Breaker and we’re moving the girls to one room now. Two rooms were
already empty, so we may be looking at more vics somewhere in the
building.”
“Understood.”
As much as I’d hated relying on a team, I’d have been fucked if I’d
attempted to walk into this place on my own. Leo was proving easy to work
with, but Blaze and Phoenix were still wildcards and I knew better than
anyone that one rogue man could turn an already fucked up situation into
one we didn’t walk out of.
“In position,” a new voice came through the comms. “Just started raining
and some of the idiots out front are clearing out. Pretty boring out here,
actually. We're looking for traffickers, right? So it's cool if I shoot them?”
Speaking of wildcards. Cooper Brooks was a loose cannon with a
reputation that preceded him. Our chances of this operation going wrong
just skyrocketed.
“Understood, Bullet. We won’t be shooting anyone this time, but if you
can get pictures of everyone coming and going from the rear entrance, I’d
be very grateful,” Dylan answered in a sultry purr.
The newcomer chuckled. “You know how to get what you want, don’t
you?”
“I am a man of many talents, darling.”
“Did we turn this into a recruiting event?” I grumbled.
“Angel left to help at the secondary site and you needed someone
watching the situation outside, not to mention a ride. And we’re not
technically recruiting him, he’s only handling short-term contracts for us.
Once we had to split the team, we needed another man, so I called him in.
Now, if you’re done questioning the way I handle my operations, I’ll
remind you that you still haven’t found Dash or Bambi.”
“Nothing at the secondary site?”
“They went in and took control of the place. No sign of Bambi so far.”
“Wraith, nothing on your end?”
“Negative.”
I sighed and dropped the guy I was lugging to the ground in front of the
first door in the VIP area. Voices floated down the hall from the bar, but the
plan was to keep the mission covert until we found what we were looking
for. With no sign of Porter or Brody, we couldn’t raid that area just yet,
which was why Dylan had asked Brooks to get anyone coming and going
on camera. That way we could go looking for them later if they slipped out
before we got to them. We weren’t letting anyone get away on this one.
I was still searching the pockets of the guard I’d dropped for the employee
key when I heard the rustle of fabric behind me. The swing that would have
hit me in the back of the head whooshed by my face as I ducked out of the
way. That had been way too close.
By the time I stood and faced my attacker, he’d already pulled his weapon
and I had a gun pointed at my head. Dammit, how many of these guys did I
have to take down? I was still contemplating the best way out of that
position when the guard did it for me, aiming the gun over my shoulder
instead.
“Don’t move.”
“Nah, why don’t you go ahead and shoot me?” Logan answered without a
hit of concern. It really sounded like he couldn’t care less if the guy shot
him right there. “Or are you worried the sound of gunshots will take away
from the fancy ass vibe you’ve got going? VIP bar’s ten feet away. No way
they won’t hear it.”
Ah, so he was calling his bluff. Risky move. He kept walking until he
came to a stop in front of me with the gun an inch from his face.
A strange tightness in my chest made me irritated. “What the hell are you
doing?”
Logan shrugged. “Following a hunch.”
Rather than shoot, the guard reached for his radio, but Logan moved
before he ever said a word. He knocked the guard’s arm out of the way and
lept forward to hit him in the throat. By the time he had the man on his
knees in a choke hold, he’d already swiped both the gun and the radio.
 “Half these guys don’t have guns,” he explained. “With this much illegal
shit going down, they should all be armed, right? Except the place is filled
with regular people and firing a gun means someone could hear it and call
the cops. Figured the few guards that carry them probably aren’t supposed
to use them unless things go a lot worse than they are.”
I finally found the key card in the guard's shirt pocket.
“That was a hell of a risk for a hunch. What if you were wrong?” I
snapped, using the guard’s body as a doorstop while we dragged the second
guy in.
“Guess I’d be dead. You good here?”
I blinked at the man’s blank expression. There was a lot to unpack there,
but this wasn’t the time. “Yeah. Thanks for the assist.”
“Anytime.”
Logan disappeared and I returned to the stairs I’d found before the guard
tried to stop me. There were three more doors upstairs and the guard's card
didn't work on any of them.
I was still trying to decide which door to break when voices pulled my
attention to the far office. They must have been yelling because even with
my ear pressed to the door, I could barely make out the words.
“Get him out of here and make it look like an accident.”
“Too bad you went with jellyfish instead of sharks. Should’ve planned
ahead.”
I sucked in a breath. That one was Porter, and he sounded… off. Aside
from the fact that he was giving them tips on how to get away with killing
him, something was very wrong. I backed tracked to the opposite end of the
hall to use the comms.
 “Dash has been located. Second floor, east side of the building. Gonna
need a distraction.”
“At your location?” Logan’s voice came through a second later.
“Negative. I’m going to make some noise. If you can draw the attention of
any security still wandering around, I could use the breathing room.”
“On it. Heading back out front.”
“What’s the plan, Breaker?” Dylan asked.
“Think I'll pick a fight with the bouncer.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” Leo snapped. “They’re just going to throw you
out.”
“They won’t get the chance.”
“Wraith, the girl’s ride just arrived. Phoenix is out back with the car, can
you get him in?”
“On the way.”
While the team covered everything else, I set up a tiny explosive device
on the lock and checked the time. I was giving Logan five minutes before I
broke the door down.
“Change of plans,” Logan informed us. “Found a new target. Some
douche just dropped something in a girl’s drink. Give me two minutes.”
“Phoenix is finishing up the extraction. Heading up to back up Breaker,”
Leo said.
Muffled voices filtered through the door, growing louder and angrier.
There was definitely some kind of struggle happening and I itched to get in
there, but if I moved too early and pulled their security our way, it would
only make Porter’s situation worse.
“Christ. This place is in chaos,” Leo announced. “I’ll get people out of the
way. Looks like two bouncers are trying to break up the fight. One at the
door dealing with the masses trying to get out. Not sure how many are left. I
took out the one at the back door, but there could be more.”
That was going to have to be good enough. I backed up to blow the lock,
but the door opened before I had the chance. Rowand blew out of the room
and made it three steps before he noticed me. The second he did, he raised
the gun in his hand, but I was already on him.
We wrestled for the weapon, and while I outweighed him, he was tall and
wiry and harder to take down than I’d thought he’d be.
“There’s no point in fighting,” I grunted. “You’re going down with
everyone else involved in this place.”
“You’ll never make it out of here alive,” he hissed back, slamming his
elbow into my side as we fought for the upper hand.
The guy was like an octopus, every time I thought I had him, he managed
to wrestle a limb free to attack with. And when I finally used my whole
body to pin his limbs down, the asshole head butted me in the face. My eyes
watered and blood poured from my nose.
Rowland's hand covered mine, prying my fingers off the gun. He very
nearly gained the upper hand, until a boot pressed the gun to the ground and
a familiar face appeared above us.
“He’s got a team of men here to make sure he does,” Crew said,
responding to Rowland’s earlier comment.
Rowland dove at his leg, trying to pry the gun free. Phoenix pinned him to
the ground and drove a knee into his back. He looked up from the
struggling man as he pulled out his zip ties.
“I’ve got him. Just doing one last sweep before we get them out of here.
I’ll toss him in the room with the others before I go.”
“Thanks.”
 I hadn’t even made it back to the door yet when the unmistakable sound
hit my ears and my blood went cold. There was a crash of glass and
something heavy hit the door before water rushed out at the seams.
The door had locked again behind Rowland, but the explosive I’d placed
was still there. A second gunshot rang in my ears barely a second before the
lock blew and I busted into the room without a moment of thought or
planning. My eyes zeroed in on Porter in an instant.
And my heart damn near stopped.

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Jax

NATHAN, BLEEDING AND BRUISED and for some reason half

undressed, was kneeling on another cop’s back with a fistful of his hair,
forcing his face dangerously close to the tentacles of a jellyfish that had
escaped the broken tank. He looked up when I broke through the door and
relief filled his eyes.
“You’re so hot,” he mumbled, even as he shoved the struggling man’s
face closer to the tentacles.
“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
He frowned. “Did I say that out loud? Damn drugs are affecting my
filter.”
“They drugged you?” I growled. “That would explain why you were
practically helping them figure out how to kill you.”
Nathan backed up as I took over zip-tying Cox’s hands and forcing him
into the wet chair that had survived the scuffle.
“Hawkins fucked up when he drugged me with the same stuff I’d been
investigating all this time, I was just rubbing it in. Wouldn’t have mattered
how they killed me. As long as someone found my body, the tox screen
would have connected it to all of those cases. It would have proven I was
right.”
“You’d be dead in that scenario. Not exactly a win.” I pointed out as I tied
Cox’s legs to the chair.
“Right, but they’d re-open all the cases.”
“Porter, I get that you’re not really thinking straight right now, but please
try to remember that your life is more important than any case.”
“Why did you come?” he asked.
“What do you mean? Of course I came. You can’t handle something like
this on your own. No one could.”
“The rooms. We need to get them out.”
“It’s already done.”
“No, there’s a secondary location.”
“We got that too.”
Cox paled, but Porter just looked confused.
“How?”
“You told us where to look, and we did. The whole team is here. The
women are on their way to the hospital and the others are keeping the club
security on them instead of us.”
“You brought everyone? That wasn’t easy for you, was it?”
“It wasn’t a one man operation and you needed backup. Turns out, they
might not be so bad. We should get going, though. Things got a little noisy
and someone’s probably called the cops by now.”
Nathan shook his head. “I’m staying. You go make sure everyone made it
to the hospital. Did you find Brody?”
“Not yet.”
 Porter's expression dimmed. That Brody wasn't at either place could mean
he'd managed to avoid trouble all together. But Nathan knew as well as I did
it could also mean we were already too late.
“We won’t stop until we find him. And you’re the one who needs the
hospital. You’re bleeding. A lot,” I argued as I wrapped up his arm with
bandages I’d had tucked in my gear.
“Cox shot me in the arm, and the hospital would call the police, anyway.
It’s better if I stay and explain what happened.”
“We’ve got company,” Bullet announced through the comms.
I walked over to the window to see into the club. The crowd was in chaos
trying to find their way out while a fight raged on in the middle of the floor
and water sprayed out from the cracks forming in the massive fish tank. Leo
was helping get people safely outside while Logan stayed dedicated to his
task of keeping security busy. Even with Bullet’s warning, he continued to
fight some asshole and two of his buddies.
Unless they went around the back, the cops weren’t getting through all
that. They would have to evacuate the place before going in. Still, the red
and blue lights flashing over the escaping crowd confirmed that our time
was up.
“You should go,” Porter said.
“I’ll stay with you.”
“No. I’m going to be tied up here for a while and I need you to find
Brody. Please. You're the only one I can count on.”
His bloodshot eyes begged me to agree. Porter was safe. Cox was cuffed,
and Rowland was locked in one of his VIP rooms. Backup had finally
arrived and security was occupied.
 “How can you trust they won't cover for him and blame the whole thing
on you?”
“It’s a possibility, but I can’t let the actions of a two men destroy
everything I worked for. The system is far from perfect, but the funny thing
is, I think it’s working with you and the others at Atlas that gives me faith
some of us are still out here trying to do good. Please trust me to handle
this. I have to make sure they know what happened here, but we can’t
abandon Brody. I promised to keep him safe, but I can't do it alone.”
“We both made that promise and I’ll find him, but I don’t like this.”
“Noted. Now hurry, before they block the exits.”
There was a lot more to be said, but it would have to wait. Nathan had
been the one to walk away and I needed to find out why before I dumped
everything I was feeling on him. I sighed and brushed a kiss next to the
bruise on his temple before doing as he asked, and leaving him behind.
First thing was first, we needed to get our men out of the building and
regroup. I’d almost made it to the back door when Bullet’s voice came
through with another update.
“Couple of VIPs are making their escape. Got their pictures, but the cops
haven’t made it back here yet. I’ve got a clear shot.”
Three voices came through at once. “Do not shoot them!”
“Really? Not even the one with the sunglasses? No one wears sunglasses
at this hour unless they’re up to something. Of course that's his car. He
parks like an asshole, too. It's like he wants me to shoot him.”
“You can’t shoot people for wearing sunglasses at night. He’s trying to
hide his face so he’s not recognized,” Leo pointed out.
“I mean, yeah, that's my point. What about this other one? I don’t like his
eyes, dude’s shady as hell.”
 Dylan wasn’t one bit fazed by the request. “Anyone coming out that back
door is suspicious, but we can’t harm them or leave evidence that we did
anything illegal. We’ll have to hope the pictures will be enough.”
The line went quiet for a moment.
“Don’t leave evidence isn’t the same as don’t shoot.”
“Bullets leave evidence.”
“So if I don’t use bullets, it’s okay to shoot?”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“Don’t forget not to harm anyone, and keep property damage to a
minimum,” Dylan conceded, giving the man way too much leeway.
“Done.”
I stepped outside just in time to see a fancy ass Porsche screeching to a
halt when the sign at the side of the driveway landed in its path. The car
behind him didn’t react in time and drove right into his ass end. Bet he
wished he’d run over that sign now.
The two cars blocked most of the driveway, causing the other cars to
squeeze out around them. Until a piece of the debris lying on the ground
flipped up and landed in the path of the front car, piercing its tire as he ran it
over.
That was actually impressive. Whatever he’d shot to make that happen,
there wasn’t a bullet or hole left behind that I could see. Of course, Brooks’
talent with a gun was never in question. His uncanny ability was one of the
things that made him so damn scary.
“On my way out, don’t shoot me,” I announced, just in case.
“Nah, you’re covered,” Bullet confirmed. “But hurry, they’re securing the
perimeter now. Head south for one block, then turn right. There’s a ride
waiting for you. The mess here should stall them long enough for you to get
out of there.”
The escaping VIP guests seemed to decide it was worth the damage to
their cars and started moving again by the time I’d made it to the back of
the lot. I expected Bullet to take another shot, but police cars moved in to
block the way a second later.
“John,” a vaguely familiar voice called out as I turned down the next
street. “John!"
Crap, was someone following me? I glanced back to find Porter's friend
from the BDSM club running after me. That was really bad timing, and how
the hell did he even recognize me? But he clearly did, because he didn’t
hesitate even as he came closer and did a double take at my face.
“You were at Vault again, right? What’s going on?”
“Jasper, hey. I don’t have time to explain, but you should stay away from
there for now. It’s not safe.”
“My cousin wouldn’t let me in, but he won’t tell me anything and now
he’s being questioned by the police. Did Michael get out?”
Dammit, how much did he see and how the hell did he recognize us?
“How much do you know?”
Jasper's eyes darted away, confirming he knew too much.
“Did you know what was happening here last time?”
He huffed. “I don't know what's happening, but it's gotta be something
bad. My cousin told me to get out of here, but I wanted to make sure
Michael was okay first. I know he was in there, but he's not answering his
phone.”
“We're looking for someone, but he wasn't in there. I have to go, but I'll
have Michael text you when he can.”
 I hurried off toward the car, but Jasper followed.
“Wait, maybe I can help. I know a lot of people in this area.”
He'd helped us before, but it felt like a much bigger risk this time. Brody
could be in trouble, and I didn't know Jasper well enough to trust him with
something that important.
“That's probably not a good idea.”
“Is it Brody? The person you're looking for?”
I skidded to a stop and spun to face him. “How do you know that name?”
Jasper sucked in a breath at my reaction, but he didn't back down.
“Michael told me he was kind of like a little brother to him. We've been
texting since that day and I told him about my family. He said Brody was
the closest thing to family he had.”
And now I felt like a dick. I was on edge, but Jasper had never given me
reason to accuse him of anything. He was maybe a little overly friendly
with Porter, but I'd never picked up an ounce of malicious intent from him.
“Sorry. There's been a lot going on, I forgot you two had been talking.”
“It just seemed like Michael didn't have a lot of people he can count on,
so I want to help. I won't get involved, I'll just send anything I find out to
you.”
Jasper's worried brown eyes finally won me over, and I pulled up a picture
of Brody. “If anyone sees him, call me right away. Don't do anything else.”
His eyebrows inched up when I handed him a business card with my real
name and title. “That explains some things.” He tucked it into his back
pocket and his fingers flew over the screen of his phone as he started
walking away. “Give me a few hours, I'll let you know as soon as I hear
something.”
 I slid into the waiting car and barely had the passenger door closed before
West was taking off down the street and giving me an update.
“Atlas is dealing with the cops at the secondary site. Phoenix is at the
hospital attempting to contact families and get an update out of the nurses,
but he’s not having much luck. Bullet is going to stay and keep watch until
everyone is out. Looks like Wraith is safe. He’s giving a witness statement
to the police, but enough people saw him helping that he’s not a suspect.
Breaker is being escorted out in cuffs, so he’ll probably be charged again.
No update on Dash yet.”
“He’s staying to talk to the cops. Missions not over. Brody wasn’t at either
location.”
“Where to?”
“All I can think to do is search the streets.”
West took the next turn and hit his earpiece. “Anyone free to keep looking
for Bambi?”
Phoenix answered immediately. “Cops just showed up, so I can’t do
anything more here. Where do you need me?”
“Heading out now,” Wraith added.
There was still no response Brody and I prayed he was just letting things
blow over. Nathan couldn’t lose anyone else. There was a desperation in his
eyes I couldn’t ignore when he sent me away. In the short time we'd spent
together, the kid had grown on me too. And the anxiety I felt at the idea of
losing either of them was something I wasn’t prepared for.
Seeing Porter beaten and bleeding had me feeling things I didn’t even
know I could feel anymore. Wanting things, I didn’t think I could want. I
could tell just by looking at him that he’d been through hell, and yet he’d
taken down that meathead, even while shot, drugged, and broken. He’d
never given up on those people, even when it cost him everything.
Nathan wasn't perfect by a long shot. He stumbled over and over, just like
the rest of us. But he got up every time and unerringly went after what he
believed was right. Watching Porter's absolute determination could almost
restore even my faith in—
“Oh shit,” the words fell from my mouth the moment I realized what was
happening.
“You okay?” West asked, looking away from the road to examine my
face. “Oh.” he laughed. “Just figured it out, did ya?”
Dylan’s voice came through the comms, saving me from having to admit
to anything. “Someone tipped off the media at the secondary site. Atlas is
still there with Casey and they’re going to try to leak some information to
get ahead of this. They’ll join you once that mess is taken care of. I’m
keeping Bullet in place until Dash is out of the building and in an
ambulance.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course. I’m looking into some things on my end too. I’ll keep you
posted.”
It was well into the early morning hours when we split up to cover more
ground and the streets were pretty empty, but the Atlas crew never gave up.
Roman and Brooks joined us eventually, and even Casey made some calls
to see if he could find anything once he was done dealing with Logan’s
issues. The entire gang ended up searching until the sun was up and we
were all dead on our feet, but as long as I kept going, none of them would
stop looking either.
 I was about to send everyone home for a few hours when my phone
vibrated with a message from Jasper.
I found something.

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Nathan

“GOOD MORNING, MR. PORTER. How are you feeling?” the nurse
asked as she took my vitals.
“Somehow worse than I did yesterday.”
“We can check with the doctor on getting you some pain medication.”
“I have a prescription for migraine medication.”
“You have a headache?”
“Either one is starting or I took too many blows to the head.”
“It would be surprising if you weren't hurting everywhere after what
you've been through, but you were pretty lucky overall.”
I didn’t know if lucky was the word I would use. Stupid felt more
accurate in the aftermath of that disaster. If it hadn't been for ASI, things
would have turned out very differently.
“I’m told you have a visitor. I’ll send them back now if you’re up to it.”
My stomach knotted, knowing I had a lot to answer for. As much as I
wasn’t ready to deal with the consequences of my actions, there was no
point in putting it off.
 “Sure.”
Except it wasn’t the chief that appeared in my doorway, it was Jaxon
Mitchell looking like he hadn’t slept in days. His tired eyes ran over me
before his shoulders dropped and he plopped into the chair at my bedside,
immediately taking my hand.
“Did you sleep at all?”
“We were out looking for Brody all night.”
Panic tightened my chest and I examined Jax more carefully. He looked
like he was barely standing. His eyes were bloodshot and he was clutching
my hand so tightly.
Could I handle whatever he was about to tell me? It didn’t matter, I
needed to know.
“Did you find him?”
“He’s here.”
“The hospital?”
“Yeah. Someone found him passed out and bleeding next to a building
and called it in. His phone was shattered and he didn’t have his wallet. The
hospital reported it to the police and they wrote it up as a mugging. He's
still on pain meds and pretty out of it.”
“How did you find him?”
“One of Jasper's cousins is dating an ER nurse. When he asked around,
they mentioned the patient they hadn't been able to identify when the
ambulance brought him in. I was just with him and he’s pretty beat up, but
he’s going to be okay. Dylan is there with him now, and we’re going to keep
someone with him around the clock until he’s released.”
“What happened?”
 “Someone tried to force him into their car while he was working. He was
afraid of ending up like Noah, so he fought them off. It was dark and he
didn’t get a good look at his attacker, but he broke the guy’s nose. Leo and
Dylan were able to track down Moye and his face is pretty messed up, so
Roman sent Brooks and Logan to get a confession out of him.”
“Logan wasn't charged?”
“Charges are pending, but there are witnesses who heard him call the guy
out for slipping something in a girl’s drink, and they're saying the other guy
threw the first punch. Casey’s working on it and Logan is Logan. He
doesn’t seem to give a shit about anything. What about you? How did
everything go after I left?”
I picked at the bandage on my arm. The new topic had me giving in to the
anxious feeling that urged me to fix the crooked tape. “I won’t know how
bad it is until I have my disciplinary hearing, but at the very least, my job is
over. They’ll let me know if there are going to be any charges brought
against me. The union rep said they’ll do what they can, but since I went
against the department and repeatedly defied orders, I’m not sure how much
I can rely on that.”
“You did the right thing,” Roman said from the doorway. “Whatever
happens with your job, you’ve got a place at ASI. Another voice of reason
around that place would make my job a lot easier. You even got this one to
settle down and play nice with a team.” He dropped a hand on Jax’s
shoulder, even as the man glared at him.
I’d never given a moment of thought to being anything other than a
detective, but after everything that happened, the offer deserved
consideration. It wasn’t like I had anything to go back to when all this was
over.
 “Thank you for the offer. If it’s okay, I’d like to see how my hearing goes
before making any commitments. It’s not certain yet what kind of
punishment I’ll face for what I did.”
“Take your time. The offer stands whether you accept it now or at some
point in the future.”
“But if I was to take you up on the offer, it would come with a new call
sign, right?”
Roman laughed. “You'll have to take that one up with Dylan.”

My head was still spinning when I left the disciplinary meeting. Not one
part of that went how I’d expected. Jacob Casey showed up claiming to be
my lawyer and while he had a reputation, it didn’t do him justice. The man
who’d seemed so frazzled the first time we met was razor sharp and cool
under pressure. He spun everything that happened my way so easily that
even the chief got tripped up in trying to justify his actions.
They should have easily been able to get me on going in without a
warrant. But since I’d seen men pulling those women into the club under
the door, women who appeared to be heavily under the influence, it was
arguable that there were people in immediate danger. The phone that
Hawkins took from me was destroyed before most of the pictures I’d taken
could be saved, but ASI had apparently gotten plenty, including the pictures
I’d sent to Jax before I entered the building. It was enough to prove I’d seen
what I claimed.
 In the end, there were two things that saved me. The fact that I’d been
right probably saved my ass most of all. Had I busted in there with as little
to go on as I had and it turned out I’d been wrong, the meeting would've
gone very differently. But Casey spoke with a confidence that made it seem
like the outcome had been the only obvious answer. That everyone who’d
told me to close the cases when I’d been sure there was something more
going on were the ones who’d been negligent in their duties.
The other saving grace was the information that was leaked to the media.
The reports painted my actions as some heroic and self-sacrificing effort to
go against a corrupt system and save the trafficking victims involved. It was
a little ridiculous, but it wasn’t only me those reports helped.
It would make a department already under scrutiny for the officers
involved look terrible if they attempted to arrest any of the victims for
prostitution once those reports were public. Which meant those women
were able to give their statements without any threat of arrest hanging over
their heads. It also helped that Casey offered to represent them should that
happen, and was present for every one of their police interviews. Those
survivors had been through hell and there was still a long road ahead for
them, but ASI stepped up to protect them any way they could.
The hearing ended without a final decision. The disciplinary board needed
more time to review the facts, which left me on paid leave until the next
hearing.
“Thanks for your help today, I wasn’t expecting you,” I told Casey once
everything was over.
“Of course. ASI wouldn’t leave one of their own to fend for themselves.”
“Oh, but I’m not—“
 “Hate to break it to you, but they’ve already adopted you. Trust me,
there’s no escaping now. No matter how much you try.”
I snorted at his tone. “Speaking from experience?”
“Detective Porter.” A woman in a suit approached us with a business card
extended. “I’d like some of your time if you’re available.”
“What this is regarding?” Casey asked, slipping right back into lawyer
mode.
“It's not about the hearing,” the woman assured him. “I’m with internal
affairs and want to ask you a few followup questions regarding your
previous statements.”
“I already gave a full account of everything that happened to internal
affairs,” I answered, which Casey was not happy about based on the glare I
received.
“Yes, like I said, just a few followup questions. Can you meet me at the
station now?”
“That’s fine,” I agreed, earning another glare from Casey.
“My car is this way,” she offered.
“The detective will ride with me,” Casey cut in. “We’ll meet you at the
station.”
“He won’t need a lawyer for this discussion, Mr. Casey.”
“I cannot advise my client to answer police questions without a lawyer
present.”
She sighed. “I’ll meet you at the station.”
Casey ushered me away before I could agree to anything else.
“You should have let me go over your witness statement with you
beforehand.”
 “I had no idea you’d even be here. In fact, how did you know when my
hearing was?”
“Roman told me.”
I shook my head. “He asked me about it last week. I thought he was just
trying to figure out when I would have an answer about the job he offered
me.”
“There’s a reason everyone calls him Atlas. The man carries the whole
world on his shoulders. Or his world at least. If there’s one thing you can
count on now that you’re one of them, it’s that he’s got your back.”
“I’m not one of them, I didn’t give him an answer. He’s probably just
doing this because of Jax.”
“If you say so.” He pulled into a spot at the station and turned to me. “I’ll
keep quiet as long as the line of questioning doesn’t turn to you. Don’t
answer anything about your hearing or your own actions unless I
specifically tell you it’s okay to answer.”
“Got it.”
We joined the woman at the door and she led us to an office I’d never
been in before.
“As always, anything we discuss is confidential and part of an ongoing
investigation.”
“Of course.”
“You mentioned in your statement that the chain of command ordered you
to close the cases you were working on. With the evidence surrounding the
patrolmen on the scene of Vault nightclub, I’m sure you’re aware those
involved have been suspended pending the outcome of their own hearings,
however we're trying to determine if anyone else was involved. Specifically
if anyone had reason to want those cases closed.”
 Hawkins, Cox and Ashton were on suspension. I'd heard that Ashton was
cooperating and offering everything he knew about the men who'd tried to
pull him in to their side business, but so far no other officers had been
implicated in their crimes.
“You’re asking if I suspect my superiors were aware of what was
happening and closing the cases to cover up the truth?”
“I’m simply asking if you ever witnessed anything to support that
possibility.”
“I can’t say that I have. While there were times I felt like I was fighting
my own team to do my job, I’m also aware that I stepped on some toes with
the way I handled my cases. I was told there were complaints from other
officers and that may have contributed to their interest in getting me to
close out the cases.”
“You’re saying you don’t think they’re involved?”
“I’m saying I never witnessed anything that I could definitively say was
the result of an ulterior motive.”
“Understood. Thank you for your time. It sounds like you have good
instincts, Detective, I hope everything will be wrapped up soon so you can
get back to work.”
My polite smile slipped. “That won’t be happening. I sent my resignation
to the chief before I entered the nightclub. Once he told me they wouldn’t
be sending backup, I knew I was on my own and I didn’t want to take the
department down with me.”
She frowned. “That’s not the information I was given. In fact, I spoke to
the chief myself and he never mentioned your resignation. That would be
pretty pertinent information. The only resignation I’m aware of is that of the
chief himself.”
 “Chief Dunn resigned?”
“Technically he’s retiring, but that decision was made after everything
happened. It sounds like your message never reached him, or perhaps he
chose not to turn it in. In light of recent events, I suggest you take some
time to reconsider. As I said, you’re an asset to the department. With all the
negative media attention they’re receiving right now, they could use one of
those.”
“I still don’t even know what will come if the disciplinary hearing.”
“With the way your lawyer handled today, the media singing your praises,
and the department already under scrutiny of the public, I expect things will
go your way. You really lucked out that the media took such a liking to you.
Some journalist from Arizona managed to get his hands on a lot of
information awfully fast. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would
you?”
“No ma’am, I’ve never been to Arizona.”
“I see.” Her eyes flicked to Casey, whose face remained stone still, not
giving away whatever it was she was looking for. “Well then, I think we’re
done here. We’ll let you know if we have any other questions.”
Casey ushered me out of the building and drove me back to my car like he
was part-timing as a bodyguard.
“Thanks again for all your help today.”
“Of course. For what it’s worth, I agree with what she said. I can’t
imagine you’ll get more than a slap on the wrist, but we’ll fight any
outcome that doesn’t go your way. Looks like you have a decision to
make.”
With everything that happened, I wouldn't have imagined that being a
detective would still be on the table in the end. Six months ago, it would
have been a simple decision. No question at all. But things had changed,
maybe more than I’d realized. For the first time in my life, I was
questioning if this life I’d chased with an unwavering focus for as long as I
could remember was still all that I wanted it to be.

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Nathan

THE LAST FEW DAYS had been a whirlwind of hospitals and hearings
and interviews and updates. Once everything finally settled down, I wasn’t
sure what to do with myself. Not having a job to consume all my time was
going to drive me nuts before the department ever made a final decision on
what to do with me.
I eventually found myself wandering through town with no real
destination when I spotted Roman at a city park playing with a small brown
and white dog.
“Hey Roman, I didn’t know you had a dog.” I crouched down to greet his
friend as well.
“Morning Detective. Penny here lives at the shelter nearby, I just
volunteer to walk them when I have a free morning.”
“Really? It seems like you guys are close.”
He shrugged his big shoulders. “She’s been around for a while, so she’s
pretty familiar with me by now.”
 Penny jumped up to swipe some kisses to my chin and I melted, willing to
get a little messy for the sweet girl. “How do you manage to not take them
home with you?”
Roman lowered himself to sit on the ground across from us. “Because it
wouldn’t be fair to them. I’ve always loved dogs, but I’ve never been home
enough to have one. This is the best I can do.”
“That makes sense. Very responsible, it’s just…” I wrinkled my nose,
knowing I couldn’t say what I was thinking. Luckily, Roman said it for me.
“Kinda sad?” he laughed. “Yeah, maybe. But I chose the job a long time
ago, and at this point I can’t think of anything else I could do with my life.
Not sure if that makes it better or worse.”
“I’m not either, but we’ll go with better. You chose to put your career over
everything else. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”
Roman was silent for a long moment before he finally answered. “Do you
want the truth?”
“I’m not sure.”
He huffed a laugh. “Truth is, I found the path I wanted to take early in my
life and I always considered myself lucky for that. My mother used to tell
me I was a big brother with no siblings to watch over, so I looked out for
the whole world instead. A born protector.
“What she really meant was I was a stupid kid with a hero complex, but I
ran with it. Joined the military at eighteen and found men I grew to think of
as brothers. I was one of the lucky ones. Made it though with my secrets
intact, my record clean, and my reputation shining. I never went through
what a lot of others did, but seeing it happen left me disillusioned with the
only job I’d ever seen myself doing.”
 Funny to think we actually had quite a bit in common, but I knew exactly
how he felt. “So what happened?”
“I left. And it was like losing an anchor and being set adrift with nothing
to grab on to. My parents left me money when they passed so I didn’t need
to jump right back into work, but it turned out that hero complex doesn’t
just disappear with the job, and I knew plenty of other guys who were
struggling to find direction once they’d left too. So I started the agency and
did it my way. With the jobs and the men I chose. It’s a ton of work, far
more than a full-time job. But if the question is do I regret doing it? I
don’t.”
“That doesn’t really surprise me. I can’t see you doing anything else. It’s
like you were born to lead those guys. They respond to you in a way I don’t
think they would anyone else.”
“Feels more like they were born to make me nuts, but I guess it’s fate
either way, isn't it? Now, if what you're really asking is if I wish I’d found a
way to prioritize things other than my career? Well, that’s a whole different
question.”
I was shocked by the pain in his voice, and my eyes shot up from Penny
to find him staring out at the pond on the other side of the park. “You’re
saying you do have regrets?”
He snorted. “Of course, who doesn’t? Truth is, I was too content with the
status quo because there was someone I wanted but couldn’t have. It was
easy to keep who I was hidden when the one I really wanted wasn’t a
possibility. But all these years later, that decision is harder to live with.”
There was so much emotion in his voice it felt like I was tiptoeing into a
place I didn’t belong. But I still wanted to know more.
“Married?”
 “Straight.”
“Oof.”
“Yeah. I might’ve had the career thing all figured out, but the rest of my
life? Stumbling through like a blindfolded idiot and getting everything
wrong along the way. It was never all or nothing. Plenty of people manage a
career and a relationship, I just put all my focus on the path I knew because
that was easier. But easier doesn't mean better. Sometimes it’s better to rock
the boat and see who’s still around once it settles. It’s a lesson I learned too
late.”
The pain in his voice settled in my own chest and that deep-rooted
loneliness I’d known for far too long throbbed until I rubbed at my
breastbone to ease the ache.
“But that’s in the past, right?” I offered. “It’s not too late. There’s nothing
stopping you from finding someone now.”
Roman was probably around ten years older than me, big, built, and
undeniably hot. He’d have no trouble finding dates.
He looked like he was trying to offer a smile, but the corner of his lips
turned down in the wrong direction. “Right,” he agreed weakly.
I frowned. Maybe not in the past, then. What was still holding this man
back from finding the person he wanted to share his life with?
I was just reaching out to offer an awkward shoulder pat when Jax’s voice
startled me.
“Figured you’d be here, boss.”
Roman and I looked up to find Jax wasn’t alone. Dylan and an older man
I hadn’t met trailed just behind him.
The man screamed military, so maybe he was another of Roman’s
recruits. He also looked a little dangerous and his eyes narrowed in on the
hand I’d reached out toward Roman, which I promptly dropped to my side.
That was not a man I wanted to piss off.
Dylan shot me a wink and gave Roman his signature bright smile. “This
hot daddy came all the way out to see you, so we helped him track you
down.”
Roman stood and straightened, practically standing at attention before the
man. “Gregory, I wasn’t expecting you.”
I jumped to my feet, suddenly feeling like this man was someone
important, but I was the only one out of the loop.
“I see that.” The man’s gruff voice was nearly hostile, but not one of them
reacted defensively in the face of his obvious irritation.
Penny wriggled in my arms, eager to meet the new people who weren’t
petting her yet, but my focus was on Gregory. He took in my position next
to Roman, holding the dog still attached to the leash in his hand, with a
glare that could melt bones. I had no idea what I’d done to make this man
hate me, but he wasn’t hiding it one bit.
It wasn’t until I saw Dylan hiding a laugh behind his hand that I realized
the problem was me. Jax elbowed the younger man in the ribs and one of
his laughs escaped, which he covered by stepping forward to fawn over
Penny and pluck her from my arms, taking my only protection.
Dylan yanked the leash from Roman’s hand and stood back to take in the
show. It took me another minute before it finally clicked that standing there
next to Roman while holding his dog made us look like some kind of happy
couple. Was the big, scary man marking his territory?
I shuffled a step closer to Jax, who looked more amused than angry. That
was good. With all the craziness that followed what went down at Vault, we
hadn’t had time alone to have a real talk. I hated the way everything felt so
up in the air, but just seeing that mischievous smile again helped.
He finally took pity on me and offered a hand. That gesture alone lifted a
weight off my shoulders that had been harder to bear than the weight of all
my work problems combined. There was uncertainty in his eyes. He wasn’t
sure I would take him up on the offer with all the people around. But
Roman’s words haunted me. Maybe I didn’t have my career figured out, but
it was time to accept that I was more than my job.
After spending so much time with Jax, I could no longer pretend I was
fine with living the way I once did. The asshole had bashed his way into my
life and somehow made this Jax-shaped place for himself in my heart. One I
was pretty sure could never be filled by anyone else. The rest I would figure
out eventually, but I didn’t have to do it alone anymore.
My hand settled in his and he laced our fingers together, pulling me to his
side. I went willingly, settling against him with a sigh as something
loosened in my chest. There was still so much to say, so much apologizing I
had to do. But for now, this was enough.
Roman offered a smile. As much as he was still struggling with his own
life, he was genuinely happy for us. He was a damn good guy. “Sorry, this
is Gregory Rhodes. I served under him in the Army. Gregory, this is
Detective Nathan Porter, Jax's partner.”
The detective part was still up in the air, and probably the part about my
relationship with Jax, too. But I didn’t correct him. Instead, I offered a hand
to the man, surprised to find all traces of hostility gone.
“Good to meet you, sir.”
He grasped my hand in a firm grip. “You too, Detective.”
 “Okay!” Dylan interrupted, dropping Penny back into Roman’s arms. He
hooked one arm through mine, and the other grabbed Jax as he steered us
away. “I’m going to steal these two lovebirds. You two make sure Penny
gets plenty of exercise before you take her back. Gregory, Roman is off this
morning, don’t let him return to the office until two at the earliest, and make
sure you feed him first! I’m leaving him in your care!”
“I can take care of myself,” Roman grumbled, but we were already
making our escape.
“Does someone want to tell me what just happened?” I asked once we
were a safe distance away.
Dylan dropped our arms and I reached for Jaxon’s hand again. I couldn’t
live my life afraid of what others judged me for anymore. Not if I wanted to
live on my own terms.
“What happened was you got stuck in the middle of two men who can’t
get out of their own way and see what’s right in front of them,” Dylan
answered with a sigh.
“Wait, is Gregory straight?” I asked.
Was he the one Roman was talking about?
Dylan rolled his eyes. “That’s the rumor, but I’ve seen the way that man
looks at Roman and I am telling you he’s not as straight as either of them
thinks he is. That was pure jealousy pouring off of him when he thought
you and Roman were on a date.”
“It looked like we were on a date?”
“Lil bit,” Jax agreed.
“I just ran into him. We were talking about work.”
He squeezed my hand reassuringly. “I know.”
 So Gregory was the one then. Roman made it sound like something in the
past, but he was still in love with that man. A man he was sure he could
never have. Like Dylan, I wasn’t so sure.
“Let’s grab brunch,” Dylan decided. “There’s a cute little cafe up here
with amazing coffee.”
“Sure,” Jax agreed.
Not that it mattered, since Dylan had already rushed ahead to the cafe and
had the hostess leading him to a table by the time we even made it in the
door.
We settled on the patio and had just placed a coffee order when Dylan
pulled his phone out.
“Oops, duty calls. Can you make my coffee to go, hun?” he asked the
waitress.
“You got it,” she agreed.
Jax narrowed his eyes. “You don’t need to play matchmaker with us.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Stop being a nuisance. How’s Brody doing?”
“All settled in my spare bedroom. He’ll start as my assistant once he’s
fully healed.”
“There was no reason he couldn't have just come home,” Jax grumbled.
I felt my jaw drop at the way he so casually referred to his house as
Brody's home.
“Give him time, he's feeling a little guilty right now. He was trying to
unburden you and ended up causing more trouble in the process. You taking
care of him while he recovers would only make him feel worse. He'll go
home once he's feeling better and you can come visit whenever you want.
But if you’re feeling lonely now that you lost your roommate, you could
just ask Nathan to move in with you already.”
“Stop trying to freak him out,” Jax growled, but I couldn’t hold back a
laugh.
Both men looked at me in surprise, like they actually expected me to freak
out. A couple of weeks ago, they would have been right. But some things
had become clearer in the past few days, and my conversation with Roman
only confirmed it.
“The thing is, my worst nightmare already happened,” I explained. “When
I couldn’t be a detective, it was like they stripped away everything I was.
The people I worked with found out my secret and hung me out to dry. It
was the exact thing I feared since I was training to become a cop.
“But when I got in over my head because all I could think about was the
idea of finding Brody the same way I had Noah, the only reason I made it
through was because you guys had my back. Even when I didn’t deserve
your loyalty.”
“We have your back because you earned our loyalty,” Dylan corrected.
“Brody was under our protection and those assholes made a mistake
messing with one of ours. And if you think you’re not one of ours just
because you haven’t accepted Roman’s job offer, you’re wrong.”
The waitress returned with our coffees and Dylan waited until she
disappeared again to continue.
“I’m not sure any of you get it yet, maybe not even Roman, but what he’s
building isn’t a security agency. Or not only that, at least. It might not seem
like it, but he’s actually very selective about the people he invites in. Every
offer comes after careful consideration of not only what you would bring to
the agency, but to the dynamic of this group. So whether or not you choose
to join, that offer alone means our dear Atlas has come to see you as one of
his. Like I said, it’s not just an agency he’s building, it's a family. So
welcome to the family, Nathan. Just like the real thing, we’ll be the reason
you start drinking at noon on Thanksgiving. And what no one told you is
it’s too late to escape now, you’re already one of us.”
Casey had implied something similar, but Dylan’s words hit me in ways I
hadn’t expected. Family wasn’t a word I threw around these days, but there
he was, including me in theirs when my own hadn't even wanted me.
I couldn’t even begin to come up with a response to all of that, but he
didn’t seem to expect one.
Dylan stood from his seat, coffee in hand. “On that note, I’m off. You
boys enjoy your day. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That leaves pretty much everything on the table,” Jax teased.
Dylan grinned and winked. “You bet it does, sugar. By the way, I left
another bag in your car and this one's a little spicier than the last. Don't
think I didn't notice how much you two enjoyed that BDSM club op. Have
fun!”
Images flooded my head that were not at all appropriate for brunch at a
cafe. I shifted in my seat and Jax smirked.
“Doin’ okay?”
“A little overwhelmed by all that,” I admitted, waving a hand in the
direction Dylan had gone. “But tabling that for the moment, I’m not feeling
so hungry anymore.”
Jax’s eyes darkened. “Me either.”
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34

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Jax

NATHAN’S BACK HIT THE wall just inside my front door and it was
barely closed before I was attacking him. It felt like forever since I’d felt his
skin against mine and I was starving for him. A few of the buttons on his
dress shirt popped off in my rush and plinked to the floor in my hurry to
bury my face in his neck. I half expected Nathan to yell at me for ruining
his things, but the whimper that escaped his throat was far from a
complaint.
“Jax,” he gasped, his shaking hands snaking their way under my t-shirt. “I
need—“
His words cut off with a gasp when I couldn’t help but sink my teeth into
his perfect, unmarked skin. There was some primal instinct telling me to
leave my mark on this man I’d thought I could never have. A dark impulse
I’d never felt before with anyone else, and hell if I could ignore it. Nathan
Porter was mine, and the need to claim him, to own him, was driving me.
The way he practically melted in my arms only spurred me on.
 “What do you need?” I rumbled in his ear, the bag dropped and forgotten
the moment I’d gotten my hands on him.
He shivered and swallowed hard. I fucking loved the way the uptight
control freak turned to putty in my hands whenever he was turned on. I
couldn’t help but drive him a little crazy, placing nipping kisses along his
neck and marking up all that pristine skin. He was going to be pissed later,
but he couldn’t hide what it did to him right now.
Nathan whimpered and arched into me, his head falling back to give me
better access. His fingers fumbled with my belt buckle until I felt like I was
going to burst out of my skin if he didn’t get his hands on me soon. He
finally got my pants open and shoved his hands inside to wrap around me
with a sigh.
I groaned into his neck, but reluctantly stilled his hand and tried again.
“Tell me what you need.”
He dropped his head back against the wall, panting like he’d just run a
marathon. “You. More. Everything. Kiss me.”
The words were barely out of his mouth before I covered his mouth with
mine and showed him that I was just as desperate as he was. I hooked my
hands under his thighs and pulled him into my arms, startling him into
breaking the kiss.
“What the hell are you doing? Put me down!”
I held him tighter and headed for the bedroom. “No. I need a flat surface
to do all the things I want to do to you, but I’m not ready to let you go just
yet.”
Nathan’s eyes widened. My words must have taken him by surprise
because by time he remembered to struggle again, I was already dropping
him on my bed and stripping his clothes off.
 He stopped me from burying my face in all that warm skin when he
ripped my shirt over my head. I was torn between giving into this sense of
urgency to be inside him, and the desire to take my time with him. I needed
both like I needed my next breath.
Nathan was never one to slow things down, always rushing ahead. But I
wasn’t sure how much of that was just that his experiences never allowed
for it. Maybe it was up to me to make sure he got to experience everything
else.
I planted one knee on the bed and kissed him deeply, torturing him with
my hands until he was breathless, pliant, and a little dazed. He fell back on
the bed, letting me kiss my way down his skin, satisfying my own urges by
leaving my mark everywhere I went.
By the time I reached his leaking cock, Nathan was a mess. His normally
neatly styled hair was sticking up everywhere, his face flushed, eyes glassy,
his lips were red and puffy from the abuse his teeth had given them. He was
beautiful.
“Jax!” he whined, sinking both hands in my hair.
“Hmm?” I muttered, swiping my tongue over his cock and getting a firm
tug on my scalp in response.
“Dammit, please!”
And since I couldn’t seem to resist this man, no matter how much it didn’t
make a damn bit of sense, I swallowed him down and gave him everything
he wanted and more.
Nathan planted his feet on the bed to give him some leverage to thrust
into my mouth. I rubbed a salliva coated finger over his entrance and he
groaned, pushing down against me and urging me on.
 I sucked a mark into the inside of his thigh and fished the lube out of the
nightstand. He was going to feel that one for a few days and I nipped at the
sensitive skin there before returning to where he wanted me most. I worked
him over with my mouth as my fingers opened him up. My own dick was
desperate for attention, but I didn’t dare give in to the urge to stroke myself.
It would be far too tempting to just follow him over like this, but I wasn’t
ready to be done with him yet.
He was muttering words I couldn’t quite make out in between his little
moans and I loved his complete and utter loss of control over his own
mouth when he was like this. He yelled out when I finally slipped a third
finger inside him and let them brush his prostate as I swallowed him all the
way down again.
He gave a hard tug to my hair. “I can’t. Please! Need you now!”
And just like that, my plans for him went up in smoke. I couldn’t hold
back when he begged me like that. Turned out, I was the one who was putty
in his hands.
I gently removed my fingers and then shoved my pants off with far less
finesse. It was a miracle I managed to hold back when I finally sank inside
of him, but I wouldn’t let my desperate need for him ruin this. I eased
forward slowly, so slowly, until his heat surrounded me and something in
my chest eased. Being with him like this again felt a little like coming
home.
Neither of us moved for a long moment, but then Nathan reached a hand
behind my neck to pull me in for a kiss. This one was different somehow.
Slower, sweeter. The urgency we’d felt before wasn’t gone, but it wasn’t
what was driving him now.
 When I pulled back, Nathan’s eyes were a little glassier and filled with a
million emotions. Probably not unlike my own. I brushed a thumb over his
cheekbone, using every trick I knew to read him and coming up with an
answer that both put me at ease, knowing I wasn’t the only one falling hard
and fast, but also made me hesitate. Because there was something more
there, under the desire and emotion. Something I couldn’t ignore. He was
scared.
Maybe it was a good fear. The same kind I was feeling. The kind that
acknowledged I was letting someone in again, even after I’d sworn I never
would. The kind that came with giving someone else the power to hurt you,
and trusting they never would. But I needed to be sure.
I couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to the adorable wrinkle between his brows.
“You okay?”
His hands shook where they rested against my back. “I don’t know what’s
wrong with me. I feel like I’m in the middle of a bust, chasing down a target
I’ve been after for months and finally getting my chance, but knowing it
could go wrong in a million different ways.” He winced. “That’s probably
the dumbest thing I’ve ever said. I just mean my heart is going crazy, like
I’m filled with adrenaline, and I can’t wait to rush forward, but at the same
time… I’m kinda terrified.”
I laughed, which made Nathan hit my shoulder.
“Shut up, you don’t always have to be busting my balls, you know.”
I cut him off with a kiss, and pulled back with a grin. “The good kind
then.”
“What?”
“Nevermind.”
 And because holding out another second would have been torture, I
finally shifted inside him and words were no longer an option. His legs
wrapped around me, and I gripped his hip, controlling the pace as I drove
myself into him over and over.
If he was a mess before, he was completely wrecked now. Sweat dripped
from his temples and his lashes were wet. His fingers dug into my back and
that little bite of pain only added to the pleasure I chased every time I sank
inside his perfect body.
The pressure built, winding higher until I reached the point of no return.
Nathan was babbling again, little chants of “yes, yes, yes,” and “oh god,
more” telling me he was right there with me.
I barely wrapped my hand around him before he tensed and exploded
while I stroked him through his release. The way he tightened around me
pulled me over right after him and I groaned into his neck as he shivered
through the aftershocks.
Too drained to hold my weight off of him, I started to pull away, but
Nathan stopped me. He was spent, out of breath, his limbs shaking from
exertion, and he had to be at least a little sore after all that. And yet his grip
on me was a little desperate. It wasn’t until I caught the look in his eyes that
I realized what was going through his head.
“I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.” I rolled to my back and
pulled him on top of me until his head rested on my shoulder and his arm
wrapped around my chest, our legs tangled together. He sighed and sank
into me. The tension fell away in an instant and his breathing quickly
evened out until I was pretty sure he’d dozed off.
“I’m scared too,” I told him softly, careful not to wake him. “I told myself
a long time ago, that I’d never let anyone else get this close, but now that
you’re here I can’t let you go. This is the one thing I never saw coming.
And thank god for that, because I never would have messed with you so
much if I did.
“It’s too late to back out now, I’m already all in and the only thing
keeping me sane is that I’m pretty sure you are too. So if we’re making this
leap, rushing toward whatever it is that’s scaring the hell out of us, at least
we’re doing it together. As a team.” My heart pounded at the word I thought
could never apply to me again. “You might need to remind me how those
work now and then, but the one thing I can promise is I’ll always have your
back.”
Something wet hit my chest, telling me Nathan wasn’t as asleep as I’d
thought he was. He confirmed it a second later with words I wasn’t
expecting him to say out loud just yet. But that was Nathan. The one person
who still managed to surprise me.
“I think I might love you.” His soft voice shook in complete contrast to
the strength it must have taken for him to get that out after he’d been
betrayed by nearly everyone he’d ever cared about.
“I think I might love you too,” I answered, unable to resist teasing him a
little, even though the words made my insides shake just as much as his
voice did.
“And no matter what, I’ve got your back too. Always.”
If anyone else had said those words, I would have brushed them off.
Words like ‘always’ and ‘no matter what’ were absolutes I’d stopped
believing in long ago. But coming from this man in my arms, the one who
risked absolutely everything to keep a promise, I couldn’t help but believe
every word.
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Thanks for Reading!

Thanks so much for reading! If you liked Jax and Nathan's story and would
like to see more of the Atlas crew, please consider leaving a review. Be sure
to keep an eye out for more stories about the gang at ASI.
Want to read more about Ollie and her friends? Check out The Contracor's
Curse series and The Smoke & Mirror's Tavern series on Amazon.

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About the Author

Ember writes steamy LGBTQ romance filled with quirky characters, a dash
of humor, and all the found family vibes
After getting her start writing urban fantasy, Ember couldn’t resist the pull
of romance and the happily ever after. Fantasy has a special place in
Ember’s heart, and most of her stories still include at least a little magic and
mayhem. She’s a firm believer that demons, dragons and vampires make the
best book boyfriends, but she’s been known to dabble with humans from
time to time as well.

Find more about Ember here:

Website: https://embermorgan.wordpress.com/
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