16. Kyle
CHAPTER 16
KYLE
I t said a lot about how much yesterday had fucked me up when Everett’s driving didn’t really bother me. I didn’t even register his erratic moves, terrifying lane changes, or complete disregard for the speed limit until I was in my own car, realizing how smooth and relaxed the ride had become.
At least he’d gone easy on the stops and starts. That much I’d noticed because I’d braced the first few times, expecting to get thrown into the seat belt or slammed back against the seat. My ribs and all these bruises would not have been pleased about that. For as oblivious as he could be sometimes, he’d seemed to pick up on that, and he’d given me a relatively smooth ride.
Relatively.
Driving toward my place now with Everett behind me, I kind of wished we’d stuck with his car. As much as his sharp turns and jerky lane changes could turn my vision white, just steering my own car hurt like hell. Nothing like some bruised ribs to turn everything into a painful core workout. Ugh.
Eventually, though, we were at my place. My cats talked over each other to let me know how displeased they were that I’d spent the night away. Five sets of fish eyes watched me grumpily because it was past feeding time (Gladys was messing around by the filter and Paul was hiding behind some plants, so I didn’t even know if they’d noticed me).
“Do fish get hangry?” Everett asked as he took the bowl of meat, shrimp and fish pellets from me.
“Don’t know,” I said with complete honesty. “Steve’s always cranky, and the others… Eh, they’re not exactly cuddly lap pets, you know? So it’s hard to tell if they’re hangry or just… piranhas.”
“Aw, man. Now I wish they’d be lap pets!”
I eyed him, but from the way the corner of his mouth twitched, he was making a joke that time. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “Tell you what—you get your scuba certification, and we’ll turn them loose with you. Then you can decide if you want them in your lap.”
He snorted. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
“Just… feed the damn fish.”
He laughed, and he started carefully pouring the contents of the bowl into the aquarium. As the fish came out to eat, he watched them, mesmerized.
It was cute, what could I say? Everything he did was cute, and I was a sucker for a man who was this enamored with my animals.
Especially a man who’d insisted on sleeping next to me last night, not because he wanted to fuck me, but because he was worried about me. Not that I’d have said no to sex with him under better circumstances, but that hadn’t been his motive last night. He’d been afraid to let me out of his sight. He was worried about my injuries, and I suspected he’d also been scared someone would show up here while I was sore, bruised, and alone.
So at his insistence, we’d stayed together. The protectiveness was endearing. It was also welcome, and so was the affection. The sweet way he touched me and looked at me. It had been way too long since I’d shared a bed with someone, and I’d missed it more than I’d realized. I was also caught off-guard by how this man—the one who was half-Golden retriever, half-bull-in-a-china-shop—could be as gentle and careful with me as he’d been last night. Yeah, he could be a little oblivious sometimes, but even in his sleep, he could be conscientious and protective if he was properly motivated.
And somehow, taking care of me was that proper motivation.
I wasn’t sure what to do with that. Not after exes who’d thought it was an imposition when I didn’t want to fool around when I had the flu or when I felt shit-whipped after a particularly difficult job on a death scene.
I also didn’t have time to finish making sense of it when a sharp knock at my door startled me. “Shit. That’s… That has to be Colin.”
Everett stiffened, glancing at the foyer with wide eyes. “Are you sure it’s him?”
“I’m—” Okay, his paranoia was warranted, so I checked my Ring camera. What I saw on my porch step was both alarming and reassuring. Colin, yes, but I didn’t like how nervous and fidgety he was. Shoving my phone into my pocket, I headed for the door, throwing over my shoulder, “It’s Colin.”
I barely had the front door open before my brother stepped into the house and said, “We have to talk.”
“Uh…” I stood there stupidly for a second, then shut the door and faced him. I knew he wanted to talk, but the urgency caught me off-guard. “What’s going on?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight. “Why were you in the ER yesterday? What happened?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but right then, Everett stepped into the foyer. Colin tensed at first but he relaxed, evidently remembering him from before.
“Is the aquarium closed?” I asked Everett. It seemed like such a trivial thing to be thinking about right then, but I worried about my pets’ safety, and I’d be distracted if I didn’t know for sure they were safe.
“It’s closed.” Everett was unusually subdued and succinct, which made me even more nervous.
To my brother, I said, “Anyway. Uh. Something happened while I was on a job yesterday.” I moved us all into the living room, where I ran him through my encounter with Reardon, and the resulting injuries that had warranted a visit to the hospital.
By the time I was finished, Colin was white . His dark blue uniform only underscored how pale he’d become.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Yeah.” He exhaled hard and raked a hand through his hair. After a moment, he pulled in a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and looked at Everett, then me. “Listen. I need the two of you to stay away from the Leighton case.”
“What?” we both demanded.
“We can’t stay away from it!” Everett protested. “The cops are trying to write it off as a suicide and we know it’s not!”
“If we leave it alone,” I said, “does that mean you’re going to investigate it?”
My brother recoiled, eyeing me as if I’d suggested dunking his face in my fishtank. “No! No, we’re…” He glanced at Everett again, and he sighed as he faced me, his expression and voice turning plaintive. “The case is closed. It’s been ruled a suicide.”
“But it’s not a suicide!” I said. “And doesn’t it tell you something when a detective is making threats against people for it? I mean, doesn’t that mean someone should look into it?”
“I’m not saying I like it,” he threw back. “Because I don’t. I’m not?—”
“What happened to ‘protect and serve’?” Everett asked with a startling amount of venom.
Colin narrowed his eyes. “I protect my family above all else. And that includes the dumbass my brother is dating for some reason.” He flicked his gaze back and forth between us. “This is a lot hotter than you guys realize, and I need you to leave it the fuck alone.”
“But then what happens to Ricky’s case?” Everett pressed. “And what happens to Detective Reardon after he threatened me and…” He flailed a hand at me. “He put your own brother in the ER, dude! What the fuck?”
Colin looked like he was seriously considering backhanding Everett. Before I could insinuate myself between them and defuse the situation, he gritted out, “I don’t know yet. I really don’t. All I know at this point is that I don’t want my little brother or his stupid fucking boyfriend getting themselves killed. Once I know you two are out of the line of fire, I can figure something out. All right?”
Everett was clearly not happy about it. I wasn’t either, for that matter.
“But what the hell is going on?” I asked Colin. “Why is everyone so hands-off with this?”
“I’m not entirely sure.” Colin showed his palms. “I’m serious. I don’t know exactly what’s going on. But I can’t look into it if I’m also worried about the two of you getting caught in the damn crossfire.” He looked back and forth between us as he lowered his hands. “Promise me you’ll get out of the way and leave it alone. Then I will look into it. All right?”
Everett scowled. So did I.
“I will,” Colin insisted. “I promise. Because whatever’s going on—it’s fucked up. It’s seriously fucked up. But I need to focus on that, not worry myself sick over one of you dumbasses getting killed, too. Got it?”
Everett and I glanced at each other. The skepticism in his face mirrored exactly what I was feeling. So did the resignation. To some extent, we were probably in over our heads. I could back off as long as my brother kept his word.
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll get out of the way.”
Everett’s scowl deepened, but he didn’t argue with me.
“All right.” Colin exhaled. “Let me do some more digging. See what else I can find.”
“Especially about Detective Reardon?” Everett prodded.
Colin shot him a glare, but sighed and nodded. I understood; you didn’t grow up in a house full of cops and not learn about that damn Blue Code of Silence. Investigating—or worse, turning in—another cop was the realm of Internal Affairs, and there was a reason everybody hated Internal Affairs. Colin would have to tread lightly here, no matter how frustrating that was for Everett and me.
I was about to speak, but right then, a cell phone went off. Everett rolled his eyes and swore as he stepped into the living room to take the call.
I faced my brother again. “You’re really going to look into this, right? You’re not just telling us to shut up?”
“I will,” he said quietly. “But you know how shit like this goes. I have to tread carefully.”
“I know. Just… don’t let it slide, okay?”
Colin’s gaze sharpened. “This guy threatened and assaulted my little brother. I’m not letting a goddamned thing slide.”
Okay, that I could believe, and I relaxed a bit.
Right then, Everett came back into the foyer, pocketing his phone as he did. “That was work. I have to go.”
I could read between those lines. “All right. Text me when you’re done?”
“I will.” He searched my eyes, forehead creased. “Will you be okay?”
“It’s just some bruising,” I insisted. “I’ll be fine.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
I pursed my lips, then repeated, “I’ll be fine. I have a gun.”
Everett chewed the inside of his cheek, obviously conflicted about leaving.
“I’ll stay with him,” Colin said.
Everett and I both turned to him.
“You will?” I asked.
He nodded, thumbing something into his phone. “I’m telling my supervisor right now. Family emergency.”
My stomach somersaulted. Shit. How serious was this that my brother was bailing on work? Especially knowing that word would get back to our dad, because nothing happened in that department without getting back to our dad.
“But what about looking into the case?” Everett asked.
“There’s a lot I can do with a phone and a laptop,” Colin said, still texting. “I’m not going to be putting my feet up and drinking beer.”
Everett frowned but seemed to accept that answer.
“You’re coming to my place, Kyle.” Colin pushed his phone into one of the many compartments on his police belt. “You’ll be safer there.”
“No,” I said. “If someone’s going to come fuck with me, they could hurt my animals. I’m not leaving.”
Colin gave one of those God-my-brother-is-such-an-idiot sighs. “Fine. We’ll stay here. Maybe having my car out front will work as a deterrent.”
I shivered. I also didn’t have any better ideas.
Everett stepped closer. “I really have to go. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” I put a hand on his waist and kissed him lightly. “Text me when you’re done. Maybe we can meet up at Waffles? or something later.”
Everett smiled as if that he thought that was a great plan.
My brother wrinkled his nose. “Jesus Christ. You two eat at that place?”
Everett turned an innocent look on him. “Well, if we do anything else there, you’ll get called out to arrest us for public indecency.”
I barked a laugh, both at the comment and the annoyance on Colin’s face.
Everett winked. He kissed me once more, then headed out. A moment later, tires squealed, and there was a cringe-inducing thunk that made me think either he’d gone off the curb or had taken out my mailbox. I was afraid to check.
Colin peered at the door, then shook his head and chuckled. We moved into the living room, and I got us both some coffee while he settled on my sofa. When I came back, I sat in the recliner. Getting comfortable took some work, but I managed.
Colin arched an eyebrow. “Sore?”
I indulged in a pathetic sigh. “A bit, yeah.”
Concern sketched across his face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved a hand. “Just… bruised. A lot.”
He grunted unhappily but didn’t push.
As silence hung between us, I rewound the conversation we’d all had in the foyer, and I cocked my head. “Hold up. How did you know Everett and I were dating?”
“Besides the part where you had your hand on his back and then he kissed you before he left?”
“You called him my boyfriend before that.”
Colin shrugged unrepentantly. “You left him alone around your fish with the tank open.”
“So? That doesn’t mean…” But I trailed off, because he had a point. I didn’t let just anyone feed my fish or clean their tank, and the only time I ever opened the top was to do one of those two things. And there was a tiny list of people I’d leave alone with the aquarium when its lid was open. My parents. My brother. My sister-in-law (though she was terrified of them, so that was a moot point). And… my last two boyfriends before they’d become exes.
Colin chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, but it isn’t like I just let my boyfriends mess with my fish from day one. It took me three months to even let Ben help me scoop out the food after feeding time.”
“Uh-huh. But you’ve known Everett for like a week, and you’re already leaving him alone with them.” He smirked. “Kinda screams ‘boyfriend’ to me.”
I wanted to insist I hadn’t had a choice because Colin had arrived while the tank was open. And that I hadn’t really had time to close it all up before coming to answer the door.
Except he knew as much as anyone that I would absolutely leave him or even one of my parents standing on the doorstep for a few minutes while I secured the fish.
But today…
I stared at my wringing hands. I couldn’t even tell myself it was because I urgently needed to talk to my brother. Leaving Everett alone with the fish had been a no-brainer. All the things I worried about someone doing—leaving the tank open so a fish might accidentally jump out or cat might fall in, overfeeding the fish, harassing or teasing them—I couldn’t fathom Everett even dreaming of doing. He might not have been the most graceful person in the world, and his train of thought could jump three or four tracks in the space of a few sentences, but he was sweet and thoughtful, and he was so cautious and gentle with animals.
What could I say? My brother had me dead to rights.
True to his word, Colin got to work. He messed around on his phone for a while, tapping the screen and muttering to himself. Then he paced my living room while he talked to someone in hushed tones, slipping out into the hallway or the kitchen whenever he wanted to give more than monosyllabic answers. I had no idea if he was making any progress, but he looked stressed. Hopefully that meant he was getting close to something, not that he was hitting roadblocks or getting threatened.
About an hour after Everett left, my phone chirped to life with his ringtone. A mix of dread and elation vied for dominance in my chest. I was thrilled to hear from him, but also worried he had bad news.
I accepted the call. “Hey, what’s?—”
“Dude,” he said in a harsh whisper, “shit just got worse.”
I sat straighter, fully aware that my brother was watching me and had no doubt read the panic in my body language. “What happened?”
“The body I was called to collect? They’re trying to call it a suicide. But it’s not. It’s definitely not.”
“Shit,” I breathed.
“Shit is right. Because it’s Leon Taylor.”