Chapter 10
The Improbable Alliance
Carter
Some kind of undefined sound woke me up. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and realized that I was still lying on Thorsen—I probably fell asleep like that. Only when I looked toward the door and saw brown eyes watching me did I fully wake up. And sneezed.
“Vic,” I said, groaning because my throat was sore. “Come on in. I’m awake. I think.”
I climbed off Thorsen, slapping his hand away when he tried to stop me.
“Get a grip, man,” I grumbled with a frown. “God, my head is killing me.”
“Are you okay?” Vic said, still just standing there.
“Yeah. No. I think this asshole gave me a cold. What time is it?”
“Two in the afternoon.”
“What? Shit, I overslept.”
“No, it’s good that you got some rest,” Vic said, glancing at Tye. “What is he doing here?”
I lowered my feet to the floor, shivering despite the warm room.
“Hmm? Oh, I told him to come. That idiot is living in his car, believe it or not. And he was sick, so I told him to spend the night.”
“Oh.”
I leaned in to kiss her when she stopped me with an apologetic look on her face.
“I love you, darling, but I don’t want to catch a cold from you. We’re having a family photo shoot for Vanity Fair today.”
“Oh, right,” I muttered, internally scolding myself for being thoughtless. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I barely slept last night.”
She opened her mouth to speak when a sleepy baritone interrupted her.
“Come back to bed.”
I rolled my eyes and ushered her out of the room.
“Let’s talk outside. He’s grumpy when he wakes up.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. And he’s a bad sleeper. I was picking him up from the floor last night, believe it or not.”
“Is that why you were in bed with him?”
“Yeah, I fell asleep watching over him,” I replied, coughing.
“I don’t like how your cough sounds,” Vic said with a frown. “I’ll call Dr. Ruben and schedule an appointment.”
I shook my head. “Thank you, but it’s not necessary. It’s just a cold.”
“Okay, but please let me know if you don’t get any better. Do you have vitamins at home?”
“I’ll go buy some. Are you coming over tonight?”
“Do you want me to come?”
I wanted her to. I could remember dreaming about something weird, and it made my dick hard like granite.
“You know I do,” I said, burying my face in her hair.
I could feel myself swelling against her—rapidly, unexpectedly, painfully. After months of not feeling it, I suddenly felt… God, I felt weak with want. Fucking weak. Literally, because my knees turned wobbly. Legs shaky.
Vic giggled. “Is that a gun in your pocket, Detective, or are you being naughty?”
“The former. No, the latter.”
My brain barely functioned with all the blood pooling to my groin.
“Should I wear my red underwear?” Vic whispered in my ear.
Should she? The idea wasn’t unappealing. But strangely, it wasn’t appealing either. I was just… indifferent to red underwear, probably. And all that thinking made my dick limp.
“By the way,” she murmured, pointing her chin at the spare bedroom. “I presume he won’t be here.”
“Erm…” I frowned, wondering why I was even thinking about it. “No. Of course not. I mean… unless he’s still sick. Then it wouldn’t be fair to kick him out, right?”
She caressed my arm.
“You’re too good, Carter. You can’t allow people to take advantage of you.”
When she looked pointedly toward the spare bedroom, I burst into laughter.
“You think he’s using me? Oh, come on, Vic. He couldn’t use a cap if it fell on his head.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I like him. There’s something sly about him.”
I thought the exact opposite. Tye Thorsen was one of the few honest people I knew. I was sure of it.
“He probably did something bad to end up in the LD,” she added in a low voice. “Maybe even something criminal.”
I chuckled. “He’s not a criminal, Vic. He just can’t keep it in his pants when the mayor’s daughters are concerned.”
Her face brightened up. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
She kissed me and wiped the lipstick off my cheek. “I have to go now, darling. Get better, okay?”
“I will.”
“Vicky, don’t go yet.” A hoarse baritone could be heard from a distance. “Let’s all three of us spend the day in bed and cuddle.”
I rolled my eyes. “What did I say? Asshole.”
Vic giggled and blew me a kiss, and then she was gone. Only after she left, and I returned to the spare bedroom did my smile disappear.
“Not funny,” I said, pointing my finger at Thorsen, who was sprawled on the bed with a goofy grin on his face. I was relieved to see that he looked better. His cheeks were still a little flushed, but his eyes were clear like always. Sky blue.
He chuckled, patting the bed.
“Come here and let me give you a big, sloppy kiss. You nursed me back to health.”
I grimaced, picking up the clothes scattered around the bed.
“I’ll pass.”
When I sneezed, he jumped out of bed, looking alarmed.
“Did I give you a cold? Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. It’s fine.”
“Do you have a fever?”
When he tried to feel my forehead, I pushed his hand away.
“I’m fine, Tye. Knock it off.”
His eyes widened in disbelief.
“You called me by my first name. I’m shocked.”
I went to the living room and slid into my jeans, ignoring his comment.
“I’m going out. I need some fresh air and vitamins. Do you want something?”
“I would kill for a chocolate muffin,” he practically begged. “What’s your first name, by the way?”
I looked around, trying to remember where I left my sneakers.
“Dominic.”
I spotted them under the chair and put them on. When I straightened up, he was grinning like an idiot.
“What?” I said with a frown.
“Dominic,” he repeated, smiling widely. “I like it.”
“I’ll die happy.”
Thorsen
Dominic.
It suited him. His boxers suited him too, which I wasn’t surprised to discover when he crawled out of bed looking like a sex god. One glance at his ass was too big of a temptation, so I looked up, skipping one threat after the other. Namely, a fitted, black T-shirt, the black ink on his arm, messy hair, and gorgeous sleepy eyes. Not to mention his crotch that featured what could have been either impressive morning wood or a full-blown erection. Who was he hard for? Vicky? Or for a certain someone with whom he cuddled all night long?
Stop it.
Unlike his underwear, Vic didn’t suit him at all. Was I jealous? Hell, yeah, but it wasn’t why she didn’t sit well with me. I disliked her because she seemed like a collector, both of pretty things and of pretty people. At some point she’d collected Dominic Carter, and now she wanted to put him on the shelf between her Patek Philippe and Manolo Blahnik. It bothered me because Carter was a good guy, and I wanted him to find an equally good girl who would appreciate him. Or he could choose me. I would appreciate him, too—all night, every night, until my balls would fall off. Days, too. Weekends, especially.
At the sound of the front door opening, I threw myself on the sofa and turned on the TV, willing my boner down. Carter closed the door behind him with his foot, holding a bunch of bags in his hands. How did he manage to return so quickly? Or was I daydreaming again?
“A chocolate muffin with extra chocolate,” he said, as I jumped to my feet and helped him with the bags. “And groceries.”
“I could kiss you right now," I mumbled, biting into the muffin with relish. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” he replied as I handed him the milk so he could put it in the fridge. “A walk in the fresh air felt good. By the way, I washed your clothes last night. They smelled bad.”
I swallowed the rest of my muffin, staring at him. Big, bad Dominic “The Trigger” Carter washed my clothes while I lay sick in his bed, and the realization fucked me up.
“Aww," I said, walking up to him. “That’s so sweet. Thank you.”
And then, because I’d been a gambler in my previous life, I hugged him. I couldn’t help myself. He did something sweet, and it moved me, and I wanted him to know it. Was he happy with my expression of gratitude? Undecided. He tensed up, but he didn’t push me away. He didn’t punch me, but he didn’t hug me back either. I glanced around to make sure his gun wasn’t near when I got an awkward clap on the back that made me smile. Dominic Carter wasn’t a hugger. I knew that. Which made this a big deal. I would have kept on hugging him too, but I had to pull away because I was getting hard again.
“I appreciate it,” I said when my eyes met the jungle green gaze. “Really.”
For a moment, we just stared at each other. I wanted to look away, but that emerald abyss was pulling me in.
Look away, you moron.
“Erm… yeah,” he muttered, averting his gaze first. “No problem. I’ll… uh… I’ll take a shower.”
“Are you sure you don’t have a fever?” I yelled after him as he headed to the bathroom. “Did you buy the vitamins?”
“Yes, and yes, Mom.”
“I’ll make us some coffee. How do you like it?”
“One sugar, no milk.”
While he was in the shower, I tidied up the living room a bit, scowling at the photos of him and Vicky. I made a mental note to buy him a new toothbrush when something I heard on TV ruined my day.
“Sophie Malik, a young woman brutally murdered in her apartment on Sycamore Street, is still waiting for justice. Her killer roams free while the investigation remains ongoing with no suspects apprehended to date. Will she be yet another unsolved case in our city, plagued with the highest homicide rate in the country? SPD police chief Arthur Bibb wants us to believe the opposite.”
At the sound of Chief Bibb’s voice, Carter peeked out from behind the bathroom door, followed by a cloud of steam.
“What the—”
“Shh,” I shushed him, turning on the volume so he could hear Chief Bibb speak.
“My best men are on the case. Detective Carter is a highly decorated police officer and a credit to his profession. Detective Thorsen is a newcomer, but he’s known for his tenacity and commitment to the job. They’re both dedicated to finding Sophie Malik’s killer and making sure he gets the punishment he deserves. Justice will be served. It’s just a matter of time.”
“Great,” Carter murmured. “Now it’s on us.”
Time. It was the one thing we didn’t have, not while being stuck on sick leave.
When Carter’s phone rang, I handed it to him. I glanced at his body, but I couldn’t see anything with the damn door blocking my view of him.
“Hey, Bruce,” he answered as I reached for the hair tie wrapped around my wrist and tied my hair into a bun. “We just saw the news. What’s up?”
After a few moments, Carter chuckled and gave me a pointed look.
“You won’t believe it, Thorsen, but our old pal Bob ended up in the hospital. A case of lead poisoning, it seems.”
I grinned, leaning closer to hear the conversation.
“Please, don’t tell Chief Bibb that I told you,” Bruce whined. “He’ll kill me. What are you going to do, Carter? Please, say nothing.”
“We can’t do nothing, Bruce,” Carter replied matter-of-factly. “We have to at least visit Bob to make sure he’s okay.”
I was already putting my pants on.
“Of course, we won’t hurt him,” Carter said, sounding amused. “We wouldn’t dream of it, would we, Tye?”
“Never,” I replied, smiling because he called me by my name again.
After Carter hung up and got dressed, we were ready to go.
“Do you have the car keys?” Carter asked me, tucking his gun into a holster.
I nodded and opened the front door for him. “Let’s go, babe.”
He made a face. “Please, don’t call me that, not even for fun.”
I shook my head decidedly.
“Not a chance in hell. You saved my life last night. I will owe you forever.”
“You’re exaggerating. And you called me babe just to annoy me.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Babe.”