Chapter 21
Luz
Thorsen
Luz was not what I’d expected. First, he was a strikingly good-looking guy. Slim, athletically built, tall. He had a deep, raspy voice that somehow didn’t suit him. He was a manly guy, but he had a bratty aura about him that was in contrast with his looks. I could also tell that he was a provocateur and a natural-born liar, but he wasn’t lying today, because he looked scared. It was probably why he wanted us to meet in the club known for attracting football fans rather than a club like Nirvana.
“I heard on TV about Sophie,” he muttered, sipping on his mojito and looking around the club nervously. “Tough shit.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t contact us until someone else died,” I said, tossing a piece of gum into my mouth. “Not very compassionate.”
“What else was I supposed to do?” he growled. “I was scared. I was with Sophie the night she died and whoever killed her could have been after me, too. And if he saw me talking to the cops… no way, man.”
“Maybe you were the one who killed her.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. Do I look like a killer to you? Besides, would I call you if I were the killer?”
“Why did you call us?”
“That other girl… Roxie. Was it the same guy who did it?”
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” I replied, leaning back in my chair.
Luz snorted. “Of course it is.”
“Where did the blue hair go?” Carter asked him, scribbling into his notepad.
“I dyed it,” Luz said, running his fingers through his wavy hair that was now blond. “This is my natural color. Do you like it?”
He was a flirty little shit, and it pissed me off.
“Why blond?” I asked him, but he was looking at Carter.
“They say the blondes have more fun,” he replied, shifting his gaze to me. “Wouldn’t you agree, surfer boy?”
“Call me surfer boy one more time, and I’ll break all your fingers,” I said when Carter put his hand on my thigh in a warning. It did the trick, but it also gave me an erection.
“Calm down, Tye. Luz is here to cooperate. Aren’t you, Luz?”
“I am, and I already like you more, Detective Carter. What did you say your first name was?”
“He didn’t,” I cut in. “Now say what you have to say, or I will make you speak in ways you never thought possible.”
“I didn’t kill Sophie,” Luz said, raising his chin in defiance. “I only stumbled upon her in front of Allure. She seemed lost, so I asked her if she needed help. We started talking. She told me she was lonely and didn’t have any friends, so I offered to give her a good time. We went to Allure, we drank, and we danced. After that, we went our separate ways. That’s all.”
“What do you mean by separate ways?” Carter asked him.
“She took an Uber home while I went to Nirvana.”
“Do you remember the car model or the license plates?”
“No, I was wasted.”
“Why did you go to Nirvana?”
“To get laid.”
“So, you didn’t have sex with Sophie?” I asked him, already knowing his answer.
Luz chuckled. “Really? At least you should know which way I swing. I know which way you swing.” Then he looked at Carter, smirking. “You, I’m not so sure.”
“What about the bouncer who threw you out?” I said, suppressing the need to strangle him.
He shrugged. “Just like you said, he threw us out. But he didn’t kill her either, if that’s what you’re thinking. He’s incapable of killing his own shadow. He’s just a homophobic bully.”
“Do you have an alibi for September 8th, between 2 and 4 a.m.?” Carter asked him.
“I was at home, sleeping in my bed, alone,” Luz replied. “And you know I didn’t kill anyone, so stop threatening me because I’m scared enough as it is.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause there’s a guy out there killing people, and he’s not a well-adjusted human being. Sure, he’s killing women, but he might change his mind. He might start killing pretty, blond gays like me.”
Carter chuckled, and for some reason, it made me angry.
“Would you mind giving us your full name, Luz?”
“Not to you, handsome. My name is Lucius Zablonsky. Hence, Luz.”
I reached into my pocket and gave him my card. “If you remember anything else, call this number. Anything at all.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Luz said with a sigh, shoving the card into his pocket. “So, Detective Big and Detective Bigger.”
He smirked at his own joke, sizing us up. “What’s the story with you two? Are you really the best SPD has to offer? Or are you just the handsomest of the bunch? This goes especially for you, pretty boy.”
When he looked at Carter, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re barking up the wrong tree, pal. He’s straight.”
“Perhaps,” Luz said, shifting his gaze to me. “But you aren’t.”
I cocked my eyebrows. “Are you for real?”
“Too good to be true, actually,” Luz replied, licking his lips sensually. “And I’ll tell you something else, big guy. I like them big. And you’re the biggest I have ever seen. So how about we go to that toilet over there, and you show me if your gun is as big as the rest of you?”
The sound of a gun cocking made me reach for my own piece when I spotted a gun in Carter’s hand pointed at Luz.
“Whoa!” Luz said, raising his hands in surrender. “What the fuck?”
“How about this gun?” Carter asked him, unblinking. “Is this gun big enough for you?”
“Calm down, partner,” I said, ignoring the startled looks coming our way. “Can’t you see the little shit is doing it on purpose?”
“Have I made myself clear?” Carter said, still staring at Luz.
“Crystal,” Luz mumbled, pale in the face.
I touched Carter’s hand, making him look at me.
“Partner? Are you still with me?”
Damn, but those jungle greens were filled with rage.
I looked at Luz and pointed my chin at the exit, hopefully communicating to him that he should get the hell out of here. He stood up when something flickered in his eyes, and I knew it was trouble because he was a troublemaker.
“And now I know which way you swing, pretty boy,” he said, moving swiftly before Carter could catch him.
“Enough,” I growled, pushing Carter back into his seat. “Don’t let him rile you up.”
Carter slapped my hands away and tucked his gun into the holster.
“If you’re done flirting with the murder suspect, let’s go,” he said, throwing a bill on the table. “Unless you want to follow that little asshole so you can finally get laid.”
Carter
On our way back, Thorsen was as silent as a tomb, but I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. He went through a pack of gum, so I knew he was anxious—as he should be considering how unprofessional he’d behaved today. The way he talked to that little prick, the way he laughed at his jokes, the way he looked at him… it was dumb, unethical, and just goddamn tacky.
Still, his silence bothered me. He was always yapping, always saying something, but now he was quiet and tense.
When we passed by his apartment and he kept following me, I informed him of the fact.
“You missed your door, Thorsen. And a floor, for that matter.”
“For once in your life, shut it, Carter.”
“As if I’m the talkative one,” I grumbled, unlocking the door to my apartment. “And I’m not inviting you in.”
“I’m not a vampire,” he said, pushing me away so he could walk inside. “I’m your friend.”
He said the magic word that immediately improved my mood. He was my friend. What did we even argue about?
“What do you want, Tye?” I said with a sigh. “My fridge is empty, so if you want to eat, we should go to your place.”
“What the fuck was that?” he exclaimed.
I took a bottle of tequila out of the fridge, refusing to look at him. “What do you mean?”
I filled a glass and drained it without offering him a drink because I wanted him to leave, not stay.
“You know what I mean, Dominic.”
“You know what I mean, Dominic,” I mimicked, rolling my eyes.
“Why did you pull a gun on him?”
“He pissed me off, and so did you.”
His eyes widened in disbelief. “Why?”
“Because you were flirting with that little weasel, and it made me sick. How pathetic can you be?”
“I wasn’t flirting with him!” Tye snapped. “He was flirting with you before switching his attention to me just to fuck with us both. And you let him do it.”
I pointed my finger at him. “I didn’t let him do anything, but you encouraged him. I could see it with my own eyes.”
He blinked, and a few moments passed with him staring at me in dead silence.
“What?” I said with a frown.
“Are… are you jealous?”
His question made me laugh.
“Are you insane?”
He kept staring at me. Why was he staring at me?
“Stop looking at me like that, Thorsen. You’re creeping me out.”
He started to pace the room with his hands on his hips, muttering something under his breath. It made me nervous.
“What the hell are you saying?”
He looked at me, chewing on his lip. “Give me your gun.”
I frowned in confusion. “Why?”
“Just give it to me!” he bellowed, extending his hand.
“Fine,” I muttered, reaching behind my waist and handing him the weapon. “Jeez. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”
When he pulled out his own piece, I took a step backward, raising my hands in surrender.
“What the hell?”
He scratched his forehead with a barrel of a gun before opening the cabinet drawer and leaving both weapons inside. Then he turned toward me.
I’ve been faced with a man planning to shoot me too many times in my life, and his eyes looked the same. They had, if not the bullets, the same intention. But he wasn’t going to shoot me because he stored his gun away.
No.
I stepped backward, hitting the writing desk behind me.
“Stop,” I said as he started to stride toward me. “Tye… stop… d-don’t… don’t you dare kiss me…”
“Don’t you dare punch me,” he said and slammed his lips on mine.
And just like that, the amnesia thing from Nirvana was gone. My memories were back with a vengeance because suddenly I could remember everything. The scent of him, filling my nostrils. The heat of his body. The size of it. The taste of him. Right now, he tasted the same, only better. And that damn mint on his tongue was messing with my mind, so I gripped his head and tilted his face to my fucking liking. I slid my tongue into his mouth, sucking on his tongue as if it was candy, hungry for that minty taste. He moaned, gasped, and maybe even struggled, but I wouldn’t stop. I bit into his lip as if it was a ripe cherry, only it tasted sweeter than a ripe cherry.
Then I felt his hands on my ass, lifting me up, all two hundred pounds of me. I found myself seated on top of the writing desk, spreading my legs like a goddamn girl, but I couldn’t care less. I only wanted to devour, inhale, and absorb him until I was sated, and this horrible feeling of want was gone. So, I wrapped my fingers in his hair, and I kissed the shit out of him. I pulled at his hair, avenging every single moment when I wanted to touch it and I didn’t. I wanted to punish him for making me feel this way. I wanted him to suffer like I did. Only when our hard dicks grazed did I jerk away, stunned. Shocked.
“Putain,” Tye whispered, wide-eyed, gulping air. His blue eyes were almost black, his pupils blown. His lips looked ravaged.
“Fuck,” I muttered, feeling oxygen-deprived, dizzy, and so damn horny my vision was blurry. “What the fuck was that?”
He blinked, looking at me as if he was seeing me for the first time in my life. He seemed speechless, which wasn’t an easy thing to accomplish.
“Something to think about, I’d say,” he said hoarsely before turning around and limping toward the door while rearranging himself in his pants. “See you later, yeah?”