Chapter 19
Carnage
Waking up next to Rue is quickly becoming a luxury I don’t want to lose. I still don’t know what kind of partner I can be for him or if I’m even good enough, but I know I can give him a safe place to live and explore his options. That’s all I’ve got right now.
He’s curled up against me, his chest pressed to mine, his face buried in the crook of my neck.
His body is like a furnace, but I don’t care.
I touch the purple marks I left on his neck with a sense of pride and possession before I wrap my arms around him, kissing the top of his head.
He murmurs sleepily, pressing a kiss to my neck, but then his breathing evens out again and I know he’s fallen back to sleep.
Stretching carefully so as not to disturb him, I reach for my phone on the nightstand and grab it.
The group chat is quiet, which is a good sign.
I need to figure out how to find Leon, assuming he won’t play along this time.
I underestimated him, but that’s okay. I’ll find him, and when I do, he’s fucked.
After lying with Rue for another fifteen minutes, I extricate myself so I can go to the bathroom. I deal with my morning needs, then hustle downstairs to get some coffee and make a light snack for Rue. Hopefully we have bananas.
As I enter the kitchen, the scent of cinnamon and baked goods tickles my nose. I find Colson and Specter sitting at the island, drinking coffee with two plates in front of them.
“Morning,” Colson says brightly. “Is Rue up?”
“No. Why?”
“I baked banana bread. My mom’s recipe.”
“Banana bread?”
“Our bananas were turning so I rescued them. Rue loves bananas. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I know that. I was gonna bring him one.”
“This is better.” He taps the island. “It’s still warm. Put a little butter on it, and…” He kisses his fingertips. “Chef’s kiss.”
“You’ve been hiding these skills.”
Colson laughs, shaking his head, his long tresses flowing around him. “No, just no inspiration until now. I can’t cook for shit and I’ve only baked a few things, but banana bread reminds me of good times.”
Specter kisses his husband’s cheek as he rubs his back.
“I’m sure Rue will appreciate it,” I say. “It smells amazing.”
I slice a couple of pieces of the banana bread, butter them, then stack them on a plate before filling two mugs with coffee. As I do, I watch Specter and Colson in their happy little bubble of domestic bliss. Specter is the last person I saw settling down besides myself, but look at him now.
A little bubble of hope swells in my chest. Could I have that with Rue?
It’s still so new, and I hardly know him, but I know he makes me feel things I never have before.
Sure, there’s protectiveness, but it’s deeper than that.
He has a calming effect that’s better than any drug I could take.
I just want to make him happy, and even though I don’t have the first clue how to do that, I’m a smart man. I’ll figure it out.
“Thanks for this, Colson.”
He nods, smiling at me. As I’m walking out, Ghost brushes past me, sniffing the air.
“What is that delicious scent?” he asks.
“Colson made banana bread,” I say.
“Oh man, that’s my favorite.”
Phantom stumbles past seconds later. His dark hair is a mess and he’s only wearing loose sweatpants. I always thought he was the hottest among us, in a pretty way. While most of us have more of a rugged appeal, Phantom looks like he should be modeling. He says the same thing of me though.
“Hey, man,” he says. “You working tonight?”
“No, I grabbed an assignment last night.”
“Done?”
“Oh yeah. It was quick and dirty.”
“Just the way you like them.”
“Yep. What are you up to?”
“Stalking some dude who embezzled from a family business.”
“His family hired us to take him out?” Specter asks.
Phantom shakes his head. “No, he’s not part of the family. He just worked there. I guess he went underground once he suspected they knew. No one can find him. Law enforcement was involved, and they even hired two PIs.”
“So now we’re on it,” Ghost says, digging a piece of banana bread out of the pan. “Sucks to be that guy.”
“You make any progress on finding him?” I ask.
“Nah. Just got the case. I’ll find him though.”
“Let me know if you need help.”
“I will. Ghost is coming out with me tonight. Was gonna ask if you were bored but I forgot you have a man now.”
The urge to downplay my status with Rue doesn’t even rear up on me, so I just smile. “Gotta get the coffee to him before it cools down too much.”
“Happiness looks good on you, man.” Ghost winks at me.
“Thanks.” I blow out a breath. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, but I don’t want to mess it up.”
“You won’t,” Colson says. “Because you want this, and that’s the biggest part. Trust me, Specter didn’t know what the fuck he was doing either—neither did I, for that matter—but we figured it out because we wanted to.”
Specter nuzzles his husband’s cheek. “Colson’s right. It was bumpy at first, but we got there and it was absolutely worth the journey.”
Their words resonate and I feel a little more solid. “Thanks, guys. That helps. He’s so damn precious. He deserves the world.”
“And you can give it to him,” Phantom says, clapping my shoulder. “Never thought I’d see this, but it’s badass. First Spec, then Wraith, and now you. Who’s next on the bachelor chopping block?”
“Not me.” Ghost licks butter off his fingers. “Too many people in the world to just choose one.”
“That sounds like famous last words to me.” Specter grins.
I notice the frown on Phantom’s face, and for a second, I wonder if there’s more than just friendship between them.
They’re almost always together, but their bond has always read more brotherly than romantic to me.
That doesn’t mean there’s not something simmering below the surface that none of us see though.
“I’ve learned never to think you have it all figured out,” Paxon says, approaching the island as he enters the kitchen, and obviously having heard part of the conversation.
“I never would’ve thought I’d end up with Wraith after how things started for us, but now I can’t imagine my life without him in it. ”
“That’s fair,” I say. “Falling for the hit man hired to kill your brother is a unique meet-cute.”
We all laugh.
“Thanks for the pep talk, boys, but I got a man upstairs to woo.”
I hurry back up, slipping quietly into the bedroom to find Rue still twisted in the bedding. A shaft of sunlight is shining through an opening in the drapes, landing softly on his sleeping form, highlighting his beauty. Fuck, I don’t know how he got under my armor, but it feels damn good.
I set the food and coffee on the nightstand, then kiss my way along his neck up to his cheek before softly pressing my lips to his.
A smile tugs his lips up. “Morning.”
“Morning.”
“It smells like—” He sniffs the air. “—banana bread.”
“It is banana bread.”
His eyes snap open. “Where?”
Chuckling, I gesture to the nightstand. “Colson made it since our bananas were overripe.”
“Oh my god.” He sits up and grabs the plate. “I love banana bread. It’s my favorite thing ever.” He holds the plate under his nose, inhaling the scent. “It smells divine.”
“Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells.”
Rue picks up his piece and takes a bite, letting out a moan of pleasure that hits me right between the legs. His eyes are closed and he’s doing a little shimmy with his shoulders.
“He should sell this,” he mumbles with his mouth full.
I pick up my piece too, taking a bite and quickly understanding the euphoric look on Rue’s face. “Oh, it is good. Very moist.”
“The only time that word is good is with baked goods.”
“And meat.”
“No, meat is juicy.”
“Juicy huh? Like your sweet little ass?”
He giggles. “Flirt.”
“It is. It’s so ample and squeezable. It’s definitely not moist though.”
He scrunches his nose. “Eww. People are not moist. Not ever.”
“What about when the humidity is disgustingly high in the summer?”
“Sticky. Still not moist.” He grabs his mug and takes a sip of his coffee. “The more you say moist the grosser it sounds.”
“Moist, moist, moist, moist. Huh. You’re right.”
“I know.”
I kiss his cheek. “You’re so damn adorable.”
“I’d rather be sexy.”
“You are sometimes. Right now, you’re adorable. When you’re riding my cock, definitely sexy.”
His cheeks flush pink. “I accept your distinction.”
“Good.” I finger the mark I left on his neck. “I like waking up with you.”
Rue drags his bottom lip through his teeth. “I like it too.”
“I’m gonna find Leon.”
“I know. You’re gonna get rid of the boogeyman for me.”
Nodding, I sip my coffee. “I can almost taste it.”
He tilts his head. “Taste what?”
“The rage and frustration. The desire to make him pay for what he did to you, and who knows how many others. I want his blood on my hands. I want that for you.”
Rue shudders, and I wonder if I’ve gone too far, but as his eyes heat and he licks sticky crumbs and butter from his fingers, I realize that was lust blooming.
“You’re so hot.” He swallows hard. “I can’t believe I get to keep you.”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
My phone buzzes, barging into my happiness cocoon, so I glare at it.
“Shouldn’t you grab it in case it’s important?”
“You do it.” I toss the phone on the bed. “The password is 1218. The day I changed my name to Carnage officially.”
Rue smiles. “You gave me your password.”
“Nothing to hide from you, precious.”
He looks down at the phone and unlocks it. The group chat has a notification, so I gesture for him to swipe the app open to read it.
“It’s from Colson. ‘Hey Carn, can you pass along a message to your man please?’”
I take the phone, curious what Colson wants to tell Rue.
Me: What’s up?
Colson: I’m rehearsing a new routine for Saturday night and could use his input. Bellamy is coming over too. We’re like the hit man wives club.
I snort a laugh at that, except Bellamy isn’t attached to any of us that I’m aware of, but maybe Colson knows more than I do. He always does when it comes to Bellamy.
“What’s funny?” Rue asks.
I hand the phone back to him. “Colson wants to know if you want to hang with him and Bellamy while he practices a new routine.”
“Where?”
“Down in the gym.”
“You have a gym?”
“Yep. It’s pretty nice too. I’ve been slacking since I met you, but that’s where we work out and keep in shape. Specter decked it out with everything Colson needs.”
“That sounds fun. If it’s okay with you.”
“Of course it’s okay. I want you to have friends and Colson’s a good one.”
“And Bellamy?”
“I don’t know him well, but if Colson likes him then he’s fine by me. Specter wouldn’t let a loser get close to his man. Besides, Shadow clearly has feelings for the guy, so in my book he must be pretty special.”
He smiles. “Okay then.”
I reply to Colson and he tells me to let Rue know they’re meeting at two.
“I guess we should make plans to go to Segreto Saturday night, unless I manage to find Leon first.”
“How will you find him?”
“We’ve got contacts all over the city, and between Whisper and Boone, we have a good chance of tracking him down. We have his phone number, which Whisper can use to see if we can get location data. Leon is smarter than I gave him credit for.”
“He’s not smart. He’s a coward. He was too scared to face you.”
“I’ll use that to my advantage.” I rub his leg. “Don’t worry though. I’ll find him.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Want to take a shower?”
He nods happily. “Yes, please.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing,” Whisper says. “I don’t think he’s using that phone.”
“Fuck.”
“I think I found something though,” Boone says, looking up from his laptop.
The three of us are huddled together in the rec room while Boone and Whisper clack away on their keyboards.
“There’s another phone in the vicinity of the number we have, but it’s not always there. So maybe it’s an associate of his. Think we can hack it, Whisper?”
“Give me the number.”
Boone rattles it off and Whisper goes to work, his brow creased with concentration. After a few minutes, Whisper grins.
“It’s registered to someone named Melissa Riley.”
“A woman?” I ask.
Whisper nods. “Hold up.” He types on his keyboard, leaning close to the screen. “Oh, interesting. There’s a Melissa Riley on Facebook who lives in Mistone, but she’s fourteen.”
“Fourteen. The fuck?”
I watch as Whisper clicks around, then his smile grows. “Ah. She has an older brother who’s got an interesting background. Boone, can you check out Matt Riley, Mistone, twenty-eight, graduated East Mistone High.”
“On it,” Boone says.
I sit back, watching the two of them connect dots that would elude the rest of us.
“Oh, there’s another brother.”
“Josh,” Boone says. “Goes by JRile on the street. Been arrested three times before for possession with intent to distribute. Molly. Oh, got a sexual assault here four years ago, but the charges were dropped. Try this number.” He rattles off ten digits that Whisper jumps on.
“Hello there.” Whisper grins. “JRile is sitting right next to Matt in…” He types on his keyboard, then his smile dims. “California.”
“California. Fuck.”
“Hold on, man,” Whisper says, still focused on his computer. He and Boone talk about things that make no sense to me for a few minutes, wires and pings and tracking shit.
“Got him,” Boone says. “That’s a VPN.”
“He’s not in Cali?”
Whisper shakes his head. “Doubtful. We need to find more associates so we can connect them to Leon. For all we know, these guys just did business with him and nothing more.”
Boone looks up at me. “Give me time. We’ll find them.”
“We could take Rue up on his offer to direct us to the house,” Whisper suggests, earning a scowl from me.
“No. Too dangerous. Besides, we don’t even know if he’s there. He’s obviously going to a lot of trouble to make himself harder to find. Why would he just be sitting in his house waiting for us to show up?”
“Fair.” Whisper nods. “But we should keep it as an option in our back pocket. It’s a start.”
I nod, but I have no intention of letting Rue get anywhere near that man. Who knows what he might do out of desperation? Rue could get hurt, and I promised him that wasn’t going to happen.
If I have to tear this city apart to find Leon then that’s what I’ll do. I got no problem with that.