Murder before coffee was never a good way to start the day. ✭ Professor Kelly Abbott, Astronomy PhD
✭ Detective Nick O’Flaherty, Boston PD
✭ Detective Ty Grady, Boston PD
✭ Zane Garrett, Lead CSI Boston PD
Several inches of snow covered Boston with at least a foot more predicted over the next week. The white fluff muffled the normal sounds of the city, turning buildings and cars into a real-life snow globe. But with the roads plowed and salted, city residents bundled up and continued on with their lives despite the freezing temperatures and Mother Nature’s white blanket. The sunset cast the cloudless sky in ribbons of pink, orange, yellow, and red. Long, dark shadows of buildings stretched over the rivers and bays like silent sentinels.
Nick switched the case of beer he held to his other hand and reached for Kelly’s free hand as Kelly knocked on the door to Deuce’s loft apartment. Kelly smiled at him and squeezed his hand gently. Nick grinned and tugged on Kelly’s fingers, pulling him closer so Nick could duck his head and press his lips to Kelly’s. Kelly hummed into the kiss, nipping at Nick’s lower lip before sliding his tongue into Nick’s mouth. As always, heat rose fast between them, and Nick had to tighten his grip on the case of beer so he didn’t drop it.
“Do you two really need to make out in the hallway?”
We posted this final chapter of Rising Star early on Friday, instead of today (Monday) which is its normal posting day. In case you missed it the first time through, here it is. Download links and AO3 links for the whole fic will come later.
Several inches of snow covered Boston with at least a foot more predicted over the next week. The white fluff muffled the normal sounds of the city, turning buildings and cars into a real-life snow globe. But with the roads plowed and salted, city residents bundled up and continued on with their lives despite the freezing temperatures and Mother Nature’s white blanket. The sunset cast the cloudless sky in ribbons of pink, orange, yellow, and red. Long, dark shadows of buildings stretched over the rivers and bays like silent sentinels.
Nick switched the case of beer he held to his other hand and reached for Kelly’s free hand as Kelly knocked on the door to Deuce’s loft apartment. Kelly smiled at him and squeezed his hand gently. Nick grinned and tugged on Kelly’s fingers, pulling him closer so Nick could duck his head and press his lips to Kelly’s. Kelly hummed into the kiss, nipping at Nick’s lower lip before sliding his tongue into Nick’s mouth. As always, heat rose fast between them, and Nick had to tighten his grip on the case of beer so he didn’t drop it.
“Do you two really need to make out in the hallway?”
Kelly grinned against Nick’s mouth and pulled away, winking at Deuce. “Yes, actually. Have you seen how hot my boyfriend is? You’re lucky kissing is all we’re doing.”
Nick smothered a laugh and gave Deuce an unapologetic shrug. He’d learned long ago to just roll with Kelly’s lack of filter when it came to anything romantic or sexual.
Deuce rolled his eyes with a smile. “I’m well aware. Honestly, I’m surprised you two haven’t been arrested for public indecency yet.”
“Oh, it’s way too fucking cold for that,” Nick said as he handed over the beer and walked into the loft.
“Yeah, gotta wait until spring.” Kelly’s tongue poked between his teeth as he grinned. He walked into the loft, eschewed Deuce’s outstretched hand, and wrapped him up in a hug. “Hey, Doc. Merry Christmas.”
Deuce laughed as he squeezed Kelly awkwardly with one arm. He shook Nick’s hand and hefted the case of beer. “I’ll stash this in the kitchen.” He peered at both of them. “You two doing okay?”
“Yes,” they answered in unison.
Deuce snorted and headed toward the kitchen. Nick hung his coat on a hook by the door and did the same with Kelly’s. Kelly rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, his forearms stretching and rolling as he moved. Nick licked his lips and forced his gaze to Kelly’s face just in time to catch Kelly’s mischievous smirk. Kelly reached over and slid his fingers under the cuffs of Nick’s sweater and up his forearms as he rolled up on his tiptoes and pressed his mouth to Nick’s.
“You keep looking at me like that and we won’t make it through dinner,” Kelly warned in a low voice.
Nick made a low sound and pulled away with a smile. He gestured to the loft with raised eyebrows. “After you.”
Kelly narrowed his eyes. They were silvery-green in the light. “You just want to stare at my ass.”
“Actually, I want to nail you to the door right now, but I’ll settle for staring at your ass,” Nick growled.
“You, Detective, are a tease, and that’s not fair.” Kelly wagged a finger in Nick’s face then pushed away with a wink. He shook his head and headed into the loft with Nick trailing behind, wondering for the millionth time how he got so damn lucky.
The past three months had been filled with a lot of healing and even more paperwork. Ty grudgingly took care of as much of the casework as he could on his own. The case was eventually closed two weeks after the incident at the warehouse.
Kelly’s bullet wound required stitches, time in a sling, and a fair amount of painkillers. He bitched about the sling nearly every day. He enjoyed the painkillers, much to Nick’s continued amusement.
Nick had spent a week in the hospital with a major concussion plus trauma to his wrists. His actual memories of the entire kidnapping were hazy at best due to the concussion and the waking nightmare he’d experienced, but he did remember, with stark clarity, Kelly counting in his ear as Nick stared in abject horror at the blood and burns on his wrists. The ropes had been tied so tight that there’d been minor nerve damage. Most of it healed just fine, but occasionally Nick experienced numb patches in his fingers or palms. It was the numbness that brought back memories Nick didn’t want to deal with. Deuce worked with him, talking him through the memories. Nick trusted him with every detail--he didn’t care about what was classified or not. He just wanted to get his brain back on track so he could be with Kelly.
Kelly started seeing Deuce too. Once a week. Every week. Nick never asked what they talked about, but Kelly’s anxiety attacks slowly became fewer and further between. Certain triggers he’d never be rid of, but Nick knew exactly what they were and avoided them at all costs.
They saw Deuce together once a month just to make sure everyone was still on the same page.
Nick had never been happier. Or felt as complete as he had these past few months with Kelly. They were both a little damaged. They carried their demons deep inside. But, as Nick uncovered more pieces of Kelly, the more he fell for the man. The hard-working and passionate professor. The supporting and nurturing friend. The possessive and caring boyfriend. The snarky and dirty-talking lover.
They fit and worked really well together. They clicked in all the right places.
And the sex was fucking hot as sin.
Nick blew out a breath as he followed Kelly into the main living space. Deuce’s loft looked out over downtown, and he lived there with his girlfriend, Livi. It was originally a large, open space that Deuce and Ty had apparently worked on for about a month when Deuce first purchased it to divide it into rooms while still keeping the openness of the space intact. It was warm and inviting. Nick liked it here.
He hugged Livi and kissed her on the cheek. Ty slung his arm around Nick’s shoulders and pressed a beer into his hand. Nick squeezed Ty’s waist and moved away to shake Zane’s hand.
The doorbell rang, and Owen came in with a very pretty young woman at his side. Kelly’s face lit up when he saw his brother. He practically wrapped around a laughing Owen like a koala.
Zane vanished with Livi into the kitchen to help finish up the cooking. Ty and Deuce started tag-teaming stories about each other, trying to embarrass the other brother more. It would never work--both of them were shameless. It was ridiculously entertaining, though.
Nick leaned against one of the bookshelves and stared out at the city. A few snowflakes swirled in the air as the wind whipped the recent snowfall off window ledges and rooftops.
“You okay?” Kelly’s arm slid around Nick’s waist.
Nick hummed an affirmative as he pressed a kiss to the top of Kelly’s head. He examined Kelly’s reflection in the window, his face content and happy. “Move in with me.”
Kelly turned to look up at Nick, his eyebrow quirked. “On your boat?”
Nick nodded. “Your apartment walls are too thin. And you’re noisy.”
Kelly snorted. “Me? Mister ‘Whose name do you scream when you come’?”
Nick blushed as he grinned. “Okay, we’re both loud. My boat’s private and we can take it anywhere.”
Kelly’s face grew serious. “Is that the only reason? Privacy?”
Nick pressed his forehead to Kelly’s and took a deep breath. “No, that’s not the only reason. I love waking up to you every morning. I love making you breakfast. I love coming home to you at night and listening to you bitch about your students. I love being there when you come home from a workout all sweaty and limber, and I can just maul you in the shower.”
Kelly’s eyes widened and he bit his bottom lip as he swallowed. “Nick…”
“Move in with me.” Nick’s heart climbed into his throat while he waited for an answer. It was a big step. Kelly hadn’t lived with anyone since his ex, and Nick knew he was asking a lot.
“I love you,” Kelly said in a rush, his eyes trending toward bright blue in the light.
Nick blinked at him, warmth quickly replacing the initial shock and spreading through him like fire. He grinned. “Is that a yes?”
Kelly grinned back, his eyes scrunching at the corners. “That’s a hell yes.”
Nick sank his hand into Kelly’s hair and tugged him forward for a hard and claiming kiss. “Fucking love you so much,” he growled against Kelly’s mouth.
“Did you two just get engaged or something?” Ty called from across the room.
Nick flipped him off without breaking the kiss with Kelly. He heard laughter, but no one else commented. Kelly pulled back, his eyebrows raised and his eyes sparkling with mischief. “You know…”
Nick swiped his thumb over Kelly’s lips. “How about one life-changing event at a time?”
Kelly rolled his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh. “I suppose.”
Nick laughed and captured Kelly’s mouth in another consuming kiss, reveling in the feel of Kelly in his arms and the taste of Kelly across his tongue. Nothing else had ever felt so right. So perfect.
Kelly bit at Nick’s lip. “Merry Christmas, Detective.”
“Do you two really need to make out in the hallway?”
Kelly grinned against Nick’s mouth and pulled away, winking at Deuce. “Yes, actually. Have you seen how hot my boyfriend is? You’re lucky kissing is all we’re doing.”
Kelly paced the length of his living room and back again. He’d cleaned everything up already. He’d even showered again to get the sweat off and made the bed for lack of anything else to do while he waited for Nick to return. He supposed he should work on his book, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Surely Nick would have called if he was held up, right?
He ran his hands through his hair, tugging on the ends as he glanced out the window. Nothing. He blew out a breath and resumed his pacing, chewing on his lower lip and trying to shake the sour feeling in the pit of his stomach.
His cell phone rang, and he dove for it, nearly collapsing with relief when he saw Nick’s number on the screen. “Hey, babe, I thought something had happened.”
“Babe? How…affectionate.”
Kelly froze. “Who is this? And why do you have Nick’s phone?” His fingers tightened on his phone so hard, the plastic groaned. The sour feeling in his gut doubled, and his free hand started to shake.
“Oh, darling, surely you can figure out how I have the detective’s phone. You aren’t that dull.”
“William?” Kelly sank to the couch in shock. “What have you done?”
“Not what I have done. What I’m going to do unless you meet me.” Bellgrade’s voice stayed even, almost nonchalant, as if he were discussing plans for lunch or a lecture.
Kelly fisted his free hand and dug his knuckles into his thigh. “How do I know he’s still alive?” He barely kept his voice from shaking.
Bellgrade gave a long-suffering sigh, and Kelly heard the muffled sounds of footsteps.
Seconds or years passed while Kelly waited, his heart clawing its way into his throat when Nick’s voice came on the line. “Kels?”
“Nick? What’s happening? What’s going on? Where are you?”
Nick chuckled, but it sounded thin and hollow. “Relax, babe. I’ll be okay.”
Kelly frowned at the edge in Nick’s voice. He knew that sound. It was the same quality Kelly’s voice took on when he was fighting a panic attack in public. Anger rose in him, hot and fast, driving any trace of anxiety out of his system.
Nick was terrified. But he didn’t want Kelly to know.
“Are you hurt?” Kelly’s voice came out calmer than he’d anticipated.
“Bump on the head, but it’s fine.” Nick drew in a harsh breath. “Don’t do anything stupid, Kels. Stay where you are. Stay safe.”
“Nick…”
“I’ll see you soon, all right? I’m just…just a little held up.” The strength in Nick’s voice was brittle.
“Yeah,” Kelly whispered, his heart pounding in his ears. “Yeah, see you soon.”
“That’s very touching.” Bellgrade’s voice replaced Nick’s. He rattled off an address down by the river. “Do you know where that is?”
“Yes,” Kelly answered through clenched teeth.
“You have thirty minutes. Come alone. Unarmed.” The phone went dead.
Kelly stared at his phone, part of him hoping it would ring again and it would be Nick, but, this time, Nick would be okay. That the entire previous phone call would have been some weird, fucked up nightmare.
But it stayed stubbornly silent.
He pulled in a shaky breath, his mind spinning. He couldn’t break down. Not now. Nick needed him. Nick had fear in his voice, and the last thing Nick needed was a man who couldn’t hold his shit together.
But he knew showing up at that address alone would be signing his own death certificate. He knew who he needed to call for help, but the prospect sent a jolt of nerves through him.
Kelly rolled his shoulders back, squaring off, and cracked his neck once. He crossed the room to a little glass bowl where he threw business cards and dug out Nick’s. He dialed the main switchboard number and waited while it rang, pacing the living room again. He rubbed his fingers over one of the still-tender bite marks on his shoulder. It sent a flash of heat through his body and steeled his nerves at the same time.
“Hi, my name is Kelly Abbott. I need you to put me in touch with Detective Ty Grady. It’s about his partner, and it’s urgent. Yeah, I’ll hold.”
==
“I need a gun.”
Ty raised his eyebrows at Kelly. “No, I’m not giving you a gun.”
Kelly pointed at the row of warehouses that lined the darkened riverbank. “He probably has a gun. I’m not walking in there without a gun.”
“I am not giving you a loaded weapon,” Ty growled.
Kelly’s irritation flared. “Look, asshole, just because I teach doesn’t mean I don’t know how to fire a gun.”
Ty gave him a look that said he clearly didn’t believe Kelly.
Kelly repressed the urge to smack it off of him. “My foster brother was in the military. Every time he came home, he took me out and taught me how to shoot. Juice actually said I might’ve made a fair sniper if I’d wanted to.”
Ty eyed him critically. “Juice?”
Kelly rolled his eyes. “His initials. OJ. Juice. Just…forget it.” He held out his hand expectantly. “Gun.”
Ty frowned.
“I didn’t have to call you,” Kelly said in a low voice. “Stop being a dick and give me a goddamn gun.”
Ty’s frown turned into a grin. “I see why he likes you so much. You’re feisty.” He pulled a spare handgun and clip from the trunk of his car and, after a moment’s hesitation, handed them to Kelly. “Load it.”
Kelly refrained from rolling his eyes. He took the items, eyed the clip to make sure it was full, then slid it home with a sharp click and chambered a round with sure movements and a straight face. He arched an eyebrow at Ty. “Anything else, Grady, or would you like to compare dick size while we’re here?”
Ty’s shoulders shook with laughter as he fastened his holster over his Henley. Despite the cold night, Ty’d dressed in thin, dark layers. Kelly assumed they’d be moving and warming up soon enough. Besides, Kelly was so keyed up with anticipation and worry, he wasn’t feeling much of the ambient temperature.
Kelly glanced down the darkened road to the looming, steel buildings. All humor fled as the gravity of the situation once again settled around his shoulders like a ten-ton blanket. A tremor rolled down his arms, but he took a steadying breath. Nick needed him.
Kelly needed to stay strong.
“Hey.” Ty moved into his line of sight but didn’t make a move to touch him. “You okay?”
Kelly nodded. “Let’s go.”
“Before we go,” Ty said suddenly. He looked over Kelly’s shoulder with a frown then met Kelly’s gaze unflinchingly. “I owe you an apology.”
Kelly was tempted to ask “what for,” but the look on Ty’s face plus the gravity of the situation kept the words in his throat. He simply nodded. “Okay.”
Ty nodded once, and they took off at a brisk walk down the road. The wind coming off the river moaned through the warehouses. The lights of the city glittered across the river from the other side and from behind them, but it was like there was this gaping void that sucked away all light. Kelly shivered.
Two warehouses down from where Kelly was supposed to meet Bellgrade, Ty saluted Kelly with two fingers to his brow and melted into the shadows.
Okay, that’s not creepy at all.
Kelly debated putting the gun in his waistband but didn’t want to shoot his ass accidentally. He shoved it into his jacket pocket, keeping his finger on the safety. The mere weight of it made him feel a tiny bit better about his chances.
He neared the address he’d been given. It didn’t stand out from the others in any way. Same corrugated walls. Same square windows high near the roof. Same worn, wooden door set in the center of the roadside wall. A few broken crates were scattered down the alley space between it and its neighbor.
Kelly swallowed hard, trying to settle the nerves in his stomach. He took a deep breath and twisted the cold, metal doorknob. The door opened easily into a small front room with an abandoned desk, a weathered telephone, and some yellowed pieces of paper. The stale, dusty air clogged his nose and made him cough. The only light filtered through another doorway on the other side of the room. He strained to hear something…anything.
Silence mocked him.
He pushed open the second door, revealing a large open space. Steel I-beams gouged the floor every few yards, aiding the support structure of catwalks far above his head. More yellowed papers littered the floor. Moldy boxes and broken crates took up small amounts of space throughout what he could see of the vast warehouse.
He ventured in a few steps, not trusting his voice to hold steady. He didn’t hear or see anyone. His heart plummeted to his toes. Had Bellgrade already killed Nick and gotten rid of his body? The thought made him want to throw up. He clenched his teeth, refusing to entertain that thought anymore. Nick wasn’t dead.
Something cool and round pressed into the base of his skull. “Hello, darling.”
Kelly froze then turned around slowly, trying to glare at Bellgrade and not the very terrifying barrel of a gun filling almost his entire vision. “William.”
Bellgrade smirked at him. “Let’s have your gun, yeah?”
Kelly’s fingers flexed around the weapon in his pocket. “You told me to come unarmed.”
“I did, didn’t I? And you disobeyed me. For a professor, you’re horrible at following instruction.” Bellgrade held out his other hand. “Gun. Slowly. Grip facing me.”
Kelly clenched his teeth, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He did as Bellgrade demanded, a hollow feeling settling in his chest. He really, really hoped Ty was as good as he claimed. He’d heard stories of Recon boys and desperately prayed those stories had an ounce of truth to them instead of being exaggerated legends.
Bellgrade pocketed Kelly’s weapon and gestured with the other one. “Walk that direction, if you please.”
Kelly turned and walked slowly in the direction indicated. They traversed the length of the warehouse, heading for a large wall of wooden pallets and metal shipping containers. When Kelly rounded the corner, his knees nearly gave out at the sight of Nick tied up and lying on his side. “Nick…”
Nick jerked, his eyes flying open then squinting with a moan of pain. “Kels? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Ah, rescuing you. How am I doing so far?” Kelly fought to keep his voice light and easy.
Nick’s smile was weak. “Crazy bastard. I told you to stay safe.”
Kelly crossed the floor and knelt next to Nick, not caring whether or not he was allowed. His heart lurched at the pain in Nick’s eyes even though Nick was trying to keep an easy smile on his face. “We have really bad luck with dates so far,” he murmured as he drifted his fingers over Nick’s face.
Nick laughed, the sound hoarse. “Probably should just stick to fucking then.”
“I like that idea.” Kelly leaned over Nick to steal a glimpse of the bonds.
“Watch yourself, Abbott,” Bellgrade warned.
Kelly shot him a glare over his shoulder. “I’m making sure he doesn’t have a skull fracture, asshole. You have both guns.” Without waiting for a response, he leaned back over Nick, frowning at the blood matting the curls on the back of Nick’s skull. “Jesus…”
“That bad?” Nick managed.
“How many of me do you see?” Kelly asked wryly.
“Enough to know that if it were real, I’d have a wicked amazing time.” Nick’s voice slurred a little.
Kelly laughed. “At least your sense of humor’s intact.” He met Nick’s eyes fondly and ran his fingers over Nick’s lips while his other hand pressed a small blade into Nick’s weak grip. It was a risk based on the slight discoloring of Nick’s fingers and the fact that he obviously had a concussion, but Kelly figured they were dying tonight otherwise so why not go all out. Nick blinked slowly, the corner of his mouth ticking upward slightly, while his fingers closed over the blade.
“All right,” Bellgrade growled. “This is romantic and lovely, but you need to move.” He pressed the gun against Kelly’s temple and shoved.
Nick growled, his eyes narrowing. His shoulders jerked as he struggled against the bonds. “Get your fucking hands off him,” he snarled.
Fear from the gun pressing into his temple warred with the heat that rushed through Kelly’s body at the possessive anger in Nick’s voice. He rested a hand on Nick’s straining bicep. “Save your strength, babe.” He glanced to the catwalks with only his eyes and mustered an encouraging smile.
Bellgrade chuckled. “Why bother? You’re both going to die tragic deaths anyway.”
“How do you figure?” Kelly stood fluidly and faced Bellgrade, planting himself in front of Nick and folding his arms over his chest.
“Murder-suicide, of course.”
Kelly snorted. “You get that from television?”
Bellgrade’s smile was as pleasant as it was cold. “I don’t know why it didn’t come to me sooner. Especially with your past. Both of you.”
Kelly stiffened.
“How tragic, Abbott, to end up with yet another man who bullied you and abused you. I mean, really, look at the size of him compared to you. He could crush you so easily. And he’s been off-balance since he returned from his leave.”
Kelly swallowed hard as his chest clenched. “How the fuck do you know that?”
“And you,” Bellgrade practically purred as he looked at Nick and ignored Kelly, “lost your temper and killed your lover, which was the final straw toward your full and complete meltdown. You came out of your rage just in time to see the life leaving his eyes. Held him in your arms as he died. This time, the pain of failing again was so much that you took your own life.”
Nick made a strangled noise. Kelly’s hands shook, and Bellgrade’s smiled widened when he noticed. “You’re insane,” Kelly whispered.
Bellgrade’s eyebrow quirked. He bit his bottom lip and chuckled.
No...giggled.
Kelly went ice cold. “You? You called me? That was your creepy-ass giggling on the fucking phone for a goddamn year?”
Bellgrade tilted his head. “My, my, what a filthy mouth you have. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh dear…I forgot.”
“Why the fuck are you doing this? Why did you kill those students? Why kill us?” Panic pushed at the walls of Kelly’s psyche, looking for a crack, looking for a way to wrap its tendrils around Kelly and crush the life out of him. But if he broke now, he’d never surface and Nick would die.
Bellgrade’s eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. “You really have no idea, do you? You insolent little prat.”
Kelly straightened. “What?”
“Before you came to this college, every student in Astronomy wanted me for their advisor. Applied to be my TA. My classes were full. My books were selling well. Then you came along with your wounded victim past and your pretty eyes and had the entire college eating out of your hand.”
Kelly’s jaw dropped. “You’re…jealous. What? That leads to murder?” He glanced at Nick to see if he’d been hearing all this correctly. Nick was staring at Bellgrade with wide, confused eyes and a slack jaw as well.
“So,” Nick rasped, “you killed innocent kids, kidnapped a detective, and are threatening to kill two more people because you…don’t like him?”
“When you say it that way, you make it all sound so petty,” Bellgrade said blithely.
Kelly’s eyebrows rose. “Oh my God, you’re certifiable. I mean, completely batshit.”
Bellgrade’s face hardened. His fingers flexed on the gun. “I think we’re done talking.”
Nerves jolted through Kelly’s body and he stiffened, waiting for the boom of the gun. Waiting for the bullet to rip through his flesh and bone like paper. Would it hurt? Would he feel it?
“Kelly!” Nick yelled hoarsely.
Kelly sucked in air and met Nick’s eyes. The green was bright with anguish. Nick’s arms jerked against the bonds, his body shaking with shock or fear or pain or some wrenching combination of the three.
“I tried,” Kelly whispered. “I tried to save you on my own. But I can’t.”
Nick shook his head fiercely. “Kels…”
Bellgrade groaned. “Fucking hell, the melodrama is stifling.”
Kelly turned a steady gaze on Bellgrade. “I can’t save him on my own. That’s why I brought a friend.”
He dropped to the floor, rolling to his stomach as Ty landed with a thud behind Bellgrade, kicking in the back of his knee and grabbing for the gun at the same time. Bellgrade’s gun fired, the bullet flying harmlessly over Kelly and deep into the warehouse.
Kelly pulled himself along the floor toward Nick. Nick still clutched the blade, but his hands were slick with blood where he’d fumbled and cut himself instead of the ropes. Lying on his side behind Nick, Kelly pulled the blade free and started in on the remaining bonds. Nick’s breathing came out harsh and erratic.
“Almost got them, babe,” Kelly soothed right into Nick’s ear so he could hear over the sounds of Ty and Bellgrade fighting.
“Just get them off, Kelly. Please.” Nick’s voice cracked, fear bleeding out of the rends in his armor.
Kelly didn’t ask. Now wasn’t the time. He ducked his head and redoubled his efforts, sawing through the ropes and loosening the bonds. He yanked and tugged and cut until the final rope snapped and Nick’s hands were free.
Kelly scooted down to Nick’s ankles and set to work cutting through those ropes. He had them off in a matter of moments.
The gun fired twice. Kelly heard a ping farther in the warehouse then felt a searing heat in his left arm. He looked down, confused at the spreading red stain across the bicep of his jacket. The rush of pain jolted him out of his confusion, and he gasped as it built and doubled then tripled and oh fuck it hurt.
He heard grunts and skin hitting skin as punches were thrown. A string of curses flew out of Ty’s mouth.
“Kelly?” Nick’s face appeared in front of his. He wavered and sweat beaded on his forehead. Blood trickled down his neck, staining his shirt collar. He reached for Kelly with shaking hands, the wrists bloody and covered in deep rope marks.
Kelly grabbed at Nick. “You shouldn’t be sitting up.”
“You’ve been shot,” Nick whispered.
“Look out!” Ty yelled a split second before an arm encircled Kelly’s neck and he was hauled to his feet.
Bellgrade dragged Kelly backward, his breathing labored. Kelly smelled blood and sweat pouring off the other man. Kelly’s shoes slid across the dust and grime covering the concrete floor. He tried to remember his training--tried to remember everything he’d been taught about getting out of a hold.
But his mind blanked.
Panic pushed in, closing the walls and constricting his breathing. He swallowed against Bellgrade’s forearm across his neck, trying to get a handle on his psyche before the fractures grew too deep to recover.
“Kelly!”
Nick’s voice broke through the panic, rasp and all. Kelly was dimly aware of Bellgrade shouting something at Ty and Nick. Ty shouted something back. But all Kelly saw were green eyes fixed on his. There was no fear in them. No worry that Kelly couldn’t take care of himself. Only encouragement and strength. And another emotion that Kelly didn’t want to name in case he was reading it wrong.
Kelly closed his eyes, tightened his fingers around the small blade he still gripped in one hand, and drove it behind him. It sank into soft flesh, scraped across bone, and stopped. Bellgrade howled in Kelly’s ear, his hold loosening enough for Kelly to duck out of it, spin, and drive the heel of his hand into the other man’s nose. Bellgrade stumbled backward, blood pouring from a broken nose. Another stain spread across his side where the knife gleamed from his ribs. He hit one of the support I-beams and slid to the floor, gasping for breath.
Kelly pulled in lungful after lungful of air. His knees went weak and he staggered but stayed upright as he stared at Bellgrade. Watched him fight for air through a shattered nose and a punctured lung. Noise behind him pulled his attention and he turned around.
Ty knelt next to Nick, talking in low, firm tones to him while he pressed his forehead to Nick’s temple. In that moment, Kelly knew these two had gone through something horrific together. Something Nick was fighting against right now, trying to claw his way back from.
Kelly dropped to his knees behind Nick and circled his arm around Nick’s shoulders, wincing as the bullet wound pulled and burned, but he ignored it. “Come on, babe, stay with me,” he murmured directly into Nick’s ear as he tugged the man back against his chest. Ty let him, never taking his concerned gaze off Nick. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911. He frowned and glared at the screen then rolled to a stand. “Be right back.” He set his gun next to Nick’s leg within easy reach of them both.
Kelly nodded but didn’t stop talking to Nick in low, soothing tones. “I’m right here. I’ve got you.”
Nick trembled, his hands clenching and unclenching as he stared sightlessly at the rope burns on his wrists. Kelly reached out and covered the burns on one wrist with his palm, wrapping his fingers loosely around Nick’s skin.
“Kels…” Nick croaked.
Kelly pressed his lips to Nick’s ear. “Thirty…twenty-nine…twenty-eight…”
Between twenty-seven and eighteen, the world seemed to move in slow motion. Nick shaking. Kelly counting. Ty gone. Movement from Bellgrade.
A gun in Bellgrade’s hand.
Kelly’s fingers curving around the grip of the gun Ty’d left behind.
A boom that echoed through the warehouse and exploded in his ears.
Red. So much red spreading across Bellgrade’s chest, eating the fibers of his shirt and turning darker.
Between seventeen and ten, the world sped up. Ty ran around the corner, his eyes wide with shock. Nick lurched forward and grabbed the gun from Kelly’s now-shaking hand. Kelly couldn’t pull his gaze away from the body. Not until Nick grabbed Kelly’s chin and forced his attention away.
“Paramedics are on their way.” Ty’s voice hung in the air around Kelly, but all he saw were Nick’s eyes.
Nick’s fingers furrowed into Kelly’s hair, tugging until Kelly caught on and followed the movement, leaning into Nick’s chest. Nick’s heart hammered under Kelly’s cheek, beating rapidly in time with his own. He clutched at Nick’s shirt and closed his eyes as Nick’s arms swept around him.
Kelly's cell phone rang, and he dove for it, nearly collapsing with relief when he saw Nick’s number on the screen. “Hey, babe, I thought something had happened.”
“Babe? How…affectionate.”
Consciousness came back in stages. Nick kept his eyes closed and his body still as awareness returned slowly. His head felt stuffed with cotton, his brain sluggish and aching. Pain receptors and nerves flared at various points in his body as he mentally felt his way around--shoulders, wrists, left knee, left hip, and the mother of them all, the back of his head. Nausea curled in his stomach, and his entire body was too heavy. He wanted to sink back into oblivion, but he fought the pull, desperate to figure out what’d happened.
He realized he was lying on a cold, concrete floor on his side. His arms were wrenched behind his back at an awkward angle and bound tightly with some sort of rope, which explained the pain in his shoulders and wrists. His ankles were also bound. He pushed against the panic that wanted to bloom at being tied up.
Again.
Nick clawed through his hazy memories, trying to remember what happened or how he got here. He vaguely remembered a body. Something about it connected back to Kelly.
Kelly.
Fear spiked in his chest. Was Kelly okay? Was Kelly here with him?
He cracked open an eye and groaned as light blasted to the back of his skull like a hundred knives.
“Oh, good. You’re awake. I was beginning to think I’d killed you too soon.”
Nick froze at the familiar voice, his breath shorting out and his heart falling to his toes. “It was you all along?” His voice came out hoarse and thin.
Polished dress shoes came into his line of sight. The dark blue slacks shifted and wrinkled as the man in front of him lowered to a squat to peer at him in the harsh overhead light. “Hello, Nick.”
As darkness crept up on Nick again and dragged him under, the last thing he registered was a dark blue gaze leering at him.
And giggling.
When he came to again, it was quicker but more painful as more of his body woke up at once. Pain pounded through his skull, tattooing a drumbeat in rhythm with his heart. Nausea tried to crawl up his throat, but he forced it back down. His fingers were numb from the angle of his arms and the rope cutting into his wrists. He tried to flex them, but sending any signals from his brain to his body just made his head hurt worse so he gave up.
“Are you back? I’m getting rather bored with your naps.” The shoes came back into view. This time, the four legs of a chair slid into view as well with a shriek that sliced into Nick’s pain and nearly made him scream.
Nick tried to pull air into lungs that didn’t want to unclench. “What the hell do you want, Bellgrade?”
“Oh, I believe we’re beyond formal pleasantries at this point, Nick. After all, you are at my feet. You may call me William.” Bellgrade sat in the chair and crossed his legs. Nick heard the snick of a lighter and, moments later, the smell of a cigar invaded his space. “If you’re feeling particularly nasty, you can even call me Liam.”
“What have you done with Kelly?” Nick tried to growl, but his voice came out raspy.
“Nothing yet. He’s at home safe and sound. However, it will be most unfortunate when he’s arrested by your partner for your murder.”
Nick’s blood ran cold. “What?”
“I thought perhaps the other murders would be enough. Your partner seemed to be following Abbott’s scent like a damn bloodhound. But you…You surprised me by actually falling for the little prat. I can honestly say I didn’t see that one coming. He is such an unremarkable fellow.”
Nick frowned, trying to get his bruised brain to work, to catch up, to figure this shit out. “You sound jealous.”
Bellgrade laughed. “Of you and him? Hardly. I just wanted him gone.”
Nick managed to get his fingers moving a little, despite the pins and needles crawling all over them. He found one of the rope knots and started picking at it with his fingernails, fighting against the steadily encroaching panic. “Why?”
Bellgrade snorted. “That really isn’t any of your concern. All I need is your body. Unfortunately, it’s not at all in the fun way.”
Movement caught the corner of his eye, and he snorted at the bat he saw leaning against the chair. “You hit me with a bat?”
Bellgrade hummed. “Had to bring you down somehow.”
Well, that explained the hammering in his head plus the nausea and general cotton feeling. He probably had a concussion.
Nick caught a glint of metal and managed to raise his vision enough to see the circular disc Bellgrade held in his hands. His heart constricted, his breathing coming out in shallow pants. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to banish the images of too-small cells, tools, and blood. Pain flared hot and sharp through his arms as his body started the slippery descent into panic causing him to struggle against the bonds.
“Struggle all you wish. You won’t break them,” Bellgrade said, either oblivious to Nick’s panic or simply not caring.
There wasn’t enough air. He couldn’t get enough air. His head pounded. His heart hammered, trying to batter its way out of his ribcage. His vision blurred around the edges. He glanced around, looking for something—anything—that he could use to his advantage.
Think, O'Flaherty. Think. You aren’t in the desert. Ty is safe. Kelly is safe.
Kelly.
Changeable eyes. Wide smile. Long fingers with blunt nails.
Kelly.
Sinuous body. Infectious laugh.
Nick clenched his teeth, trying to hold onto those images. Trying to use those images to fight the other ones that wanted to drag him screaming into an abyss of pure darkness and panic.
“Oh, good. You’re awake. I was beginning to think I’d killed you too soon.”
Nick froze at the familiar voice, his breath shorting out and his heart falling to his toes. “It was you all along?” His voice came out hoarse and thin.
“How much longer?” Ty huffed from the couch in Zane’s office. He’d thrown his arm over his eyes and sprawled out even though the couch wasn’t quite long enough for his frame. His body ached from the accident earlier, and all he wanted to do was take the world’s longest hot shower and sleep for a week. He idly dragged his thumb back and forth over his wedding ring, trying to use the focused fidgeting to soothe him.
“I’m nearly done,” Zane said patiently. A few papers rustled and a keyboard clacked.
Ty grumbled wordlessly and shifted, trying to get comfortable. He heard Zane’s soft chuckle. “Shut up.”
“Not my fault they won’t let you take out any more department cars for sixty days.”
Ty scrubbed his hands down his face. “The fact that we were run into makes no difference to them.”
“Nope.”
“Why don’t you just give me your keys?” Ty angled his head so he could see Zane at his desk.
Zane peered at him. “You’d just have to turn around and come back and get me. That makes no sense. Stop bitching. I’ll be done soon.”
Ty gave a long-suffering sigh and folded his arms across his chest. He started to doze, his mind wandering somewhere between awake and sleep. He had a vague sense of time passing and figured Zane would just wake him up when he was done.
A smack to his foot jerked him out of sleep’s welcoming embrace and he bolted upright, instinctively reaching for a gun that wasn’t there. He glared at Nick, who stood at the end of the couch, arms folded and expression on the scary side of calm. “What the fuck, Irish?”
“Digger phoned,” was all he said.
Ty’s brain took a few seconds to catch up. Then his stomach lurched at the implications of that statement. “Oh?”
Nick eyed him. “Yeah, he said the gold paint in the wounds was a match.”
Ty hummed. “That’s good.”
“Uh-huh. He also said the blood on the dress shirt wasn’t a match to Kelly, but that it matched the second victim and an unknown male donor.”
Ty swallowed and met Nick’s gaze evenly as he stood. He ignored Zane’s curious looks at the two of them. Zane had seen enough spats between Nick and Ty over the years to know it was best to stay out of it, but to also keep an eye on them.
“Withholding evidence from me?” Nick asked in a deceptively calm voice.
Zane groaned and covered his eyes with one hand. “Tyler.”
Ty ignored his husband and kept his gaze firmly trained on his best friend. “Nick…”
Nick stepped into Ty’s space. “What the hell?”
Ty licked his lips and sighed. “I figured you’d think that I assumed it was Abbott’s blood.”
“And?” Nick raised an eyebrow.
“And what?”
“Did you assume that?”
Ty pressed his lips together.
“Dammit, Ty!” Nick spun away, walked a few steps, and then turned around. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something then shook his head.
Ty grabbed Nick’s arm, irritation flaring at his bullheaded partner. “Honestly, do you blame me? It could have been. And you’re so goddamn Mama Bear protective of him. I had to be sure before you knew.”
Nick glared at him. “It’s not Kelly. He didn’t have any injuries like Cameron described.”
Ty dug deep for patience. “My gut says you’re right, O. Really. But we have to follow the evidence. And you can’t deny that the evidence, for a while there, had him either at or near the damn top of the suspect list.”
Nick’s jaw worked, and he looked away. “You’ve thought it was Kelly since the beginning. And I’m really damn tired of you insinuating that I don’t know how to do my job.”
“He was twitchy, Nick.”
Nick jerked his arm out of Ty’s grasp and shoved him away. “He’s not twitchy. You make him nervous.”
Ty winced when Nick’s hand made contact with his sore shoulder. “I make everyone nervous. What’s the big deal about this one?”
“Ty.” Zane’s quiet voice held some admonishment, but they ignored him.
Nick seemed to be visibly wrestling with what he wanted to say. Ty straightened and folded his arms. “Go ahead. Tell me.”
Nick’s glare softened a little, the anger in his eyes dissipating. “His ex smacked him around. He barely got out.”
The words hit Ty like kicks to the chest. “And he thought that I…?”
Nick shook his head. “No, not that. It’s just the initial impressions. Certain things that make it all come back. He’s working on it and,” he dragged his hands through his hair, “he’s managing, but it’s hard for him.”
Ty thought back to the panic attack he’d witnessed in interrogation and the books and pills he’d found in Abbott’s apartment. “So, he has PTSD?”
Nick nodded. “Pretty much. I’m sure Deuce could come up with an official diagnosis.”
Zane’s desk phone rang, interrupting the moment. Ty frowned as Zane picked it up. There was really only one reason why anyone would call this late.
Zane slammed the phone down and stood. “I hate to interrupt your broment here, but there’s another body.”
==
Ty rode with Nick over to the university. The drive was quiet, but not overly tense other than Ty’s normal jittery behavior at having to sit still in a car. Ty flipped his pen back and forth across his knuckles, stealing glances at Nick every so often. The passing streetlights cut the car into slices of amber and darkness.
“What?” Nick grunted.
“Are you still pissed at me?” Ty asked bluntly.
Nick shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t want to punch you anymore if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Ty chuckled and switched his pen to the other hand, watching the implement flip across his fingers. The movement kept him calm. “I should’ve told you about the shirt.”
“Yep.” Nick pulled onto the main university drive, heading toward the flashing lights reflecting off nearby buildings in patches of blue, red, and white. He stopped the car just outside the yellow police tape and killed the engine. “Listen. I get why you didn’t tell me. I’m not exactly unbiased when it comes to Kelly. Not anymore.”
Ty nodded but didn’t say anything. He knew Nick just had to get something off his chest then it would be over. It would be behind them.
Nick glanced at him. “Don’t keep shit from me that prevents me from doing my job. Got it?”
Ty nodded.
Nick rubbed his thumb over his lower lip. “All right. Let’s go.”
They flashed their badges at the cop monitoring the police tape and ducked underneath the plastic, yellow barrier. Their breath clouded the air, and Ty started to wish he’d grabbed his gloves.
Or stolen Zane’s.
“Here.” Zane’s voice came from his left. Ty turned, grinning at the pair of leather gloves in Zane’s outstretched hand.
“You know me so well.” Ty grabbed the gloves and slid them on.
“Sometimes,” Zane hummed as he carried his kit over to the cover tent.
Nick snorted as he held the flap open for Ty and Zane.
Inside, Perrimore stripped off his gloves and stood. “Gentlemen.”
Ty blinked in surprise. “How’d you get here so fast?”
Perrimore gestured at the body. “Three bodies means a serial. Higher priority.”
Ty went cold, and his gaze snapped down to the body of a young man in the grass. “What do you know?”
Perrimore wrote a few notes on his clipboard. “Body’s still warm. Blood hasn’t coagulated yet. Assault happened in the last hour.” He set the clipboard to one side and squatted next to the body. Ty and Nick mimicked the movement as Zane moved around them to start directing his techs.
“Victim was stabbed here.” Perrimore pointed to the side of the young man’s neck. “And here.” He pointed to the man’s temple.
“Weapon?” Ty looked at Zane.
“Looking,” Zane responded.
“Witnesses?” Nick stood and looked at the officer by the tent entrance.
“Just one. He’s outside.”
Ty stood, his mind running over scenario after scenario. He frowned at the body, shared an anxious look with Nick, and glanced at Zane. “Find the weapon.” He couldn’t keep the urgency out of his voice.
Zane nodded solemnly.
Ty smacked the flap of the tent open and looked around until he spotted a very nervous-looking young man standing with two officers. He dug out his badge as he walked over. “Detective Ty Grady. This is my partner, Detective Nick O’Flaherty.”
The kid managed a weak smile. “Mark.”
Ty gestured to the tent. “Did you know him?” He kept his voice gentle.
Mark rubbed his arms. “Yeah, he was my roommate. His name’s Levi.”
“Last name?” Ty asked.
“Brennan,” Mark answered. He cleared his throat.
“Thanks, Mark.” Nick tilted his head, his eyes concerned. “Can you tell us what happened?”
Mark took a deep breath. “I was meeting him here, and we were going to go grab some food. We have tests...I mean, I have tests now, I guess.” His voice wavered.
“Take your time,” Ty said.
Mark nodded. “I got held up by this chick who’s been wanting Levi’s number.” He waved a hand. “Anyway. It took me a few minutes to brush her off. By the time I got here…” He licked his lips, his face paling. “Levi was bleeding everywhere. I yelled for help, but he was already…” Mark waved a hand at the tent and pressed his lips together.
“Did you see anyone else?” Nick asked.
Mark frowned. “Um, I thought I heard footsteps so I looked up to see if anyone was coming to help. There was a guy running away. I think.”
“You think?” Ty pushed gently. It was a delicate process to get witnesses to remember fresh details. And with a murder this fresh, every detail was crucial.
Mark rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, it was dark so I didn’t see his face. But shorter than you guys. Maybe a little skinnier? I don’t…I don’t really know.” He gave them a sad sort of look.
“You’re doing great,” Nick encouraged. “What was Levi’s major?”
Mark frowned at the sudden shift. “Astronomy, why?”
“Routine questions,” Ty answered smoothly. “Was he a TA or applying for graduate studies by any chance?”
Another frown. “Yeah, actually. He’d applied to be a TA for Professor Bellgrade after the other murder. I think he also had an application in with Professor Abbott.”
Ty forced a smile. “You did great.” He pulled out one of his cards and pressed it into Mark’s hand. “Call me if you think of anything else, okay?”
Mark stared at the card and nodded.
“Ty!” Zane’s head poked out of the tent. He waved them over. When they approached, he held up two bags. “Two presents.”
“Tell me one is the murder weapon,” Ty pleaded.
Zane smiled smugly. “Yes, plus one better. Our victim scratched the attacker.”
“Oh my God, skin samples?” Nick’s eyes widened.
Zane nodded. “My guess is he was interrupted by your friend over there before he could clean up any evidence on the body.”
“Christ, Garrett, I could kiss you.” Nick held his hand out for the other bag.
Ty snorted and peered at the weapon in Nick’s hands. It was another star, similar to the first weapon, but with more points and less paint. “Safe bet it’s from the installation Preston talked about,” he muttered.
Nick nodded, his teeth chewing on his lower lip as he thought.
Another tech exited the tent and handed Zane a third bag. Zane frowned at the contents. “Did your witness mention the vic wearing glasses?”
Ty shook his head, his heart tripping in his chest. Beside him, Nick stiffened as Zane held out a bag with a pair of reading glasses inside. They were dark-framed with one lens cracked. They could be from any drugstore in the area, but all Ty saw was Professor Abbott at his lecture the day they met him. A million words wanted to barrel out of Ty’s mouth, but he clamped his teeth around his tongue and waited Nick out. Nick examined the glasses quietly for an endless moment then turned to Ty.
“Let me go talk to him. Before you do anything official.”
“Nick.”
“I was with him all evening.”
Ty tilted his head, his heart hurting for his friend. “Not all evening. You were in Zane’s office with me when the murder happened.”
Nick’s face and voice stayed scary calm. “I didn’t see reading glasses at his apartment. He could leave them in his office at night. You owe me.”
Ty growled but managed a nod. “Go. And, O?”
Nick paused and glanced back over his shoulder.
Ty licked his lips. “Be fucking careful, okay?”
Nick nodded tightly and headed for the car.
Ty’s phone rang as he watched Nick drive out of the parking lot. He pulled the phone from his pocket and answered. “Detective Grady.”
“Hello, Tyler,” Randall Jonas’ voice came over the line. “I have the information that you requested on that professor.”
“Thank you, sir.” Ty took a few steps away from the crime scene so his conversation was less likely to be overheard. “What can you tell me?”
“Well, Kelly Abbott is a year younger than you. He was born in Colorado and was orphaned before he even started puberty. He lost his parents to a car crash and a major illness.”
Ty blew out a breath. “Jesus.”
“He ended up in the foster system, and it was with one of those families that he met a young man named Owen Johns.”
“His lawyer?”
“The very same. Johns appears to be the closest thing to an older brother that Abbott has. Now, this guy is interesting. He was Recon, and it looks like he may have crossed paths with your team on occasion. After he left the Marines, he moved to Boston and studied law. He has his own private practice there in the city. Seems to do well for himself.”
Ty nodded, though he knew Jonas couldn’t see him. Guilt tugged at his heart as he remembered the waver in Abbott’s voice when he’d asked for his lawyer in the interrogation room. Ty realized that he hadn’t just pushed a suspect until he’d cracked or teased an abuse survivor into a panic attack. He’d bullied an orphan who’d given up and called for his big brother.
Ty cleared his throat. “What about Abbott’s time in Colorado, specifically before he moved to Boston?”
“For four years he was involved with a Travis Walters. They met in college and lived together for most of that time. Around one year into the relationship, Walters started raising hands to Abbott, knocking him around, but Abbott never sought medical or legal help. The guy sounds like he was a real asshole, if you ask me,” Jonas said, his tone heavy with disapproval. “Prior to their relationship, Walters had racked up arrests for domestic violence, assault, and one for sexual battery. He didn’t do any time, and the accusers all retracted their claims before anything could come of the charges.”
Ty gritted his teeth as his stomach twisted. When Nick had said Abbott was “smacked around” by his ex, Ty hadn’t envisioned this. “When did he and Abbott break up?”
“Two years ago, Abbott put in a desperate call to his older brother and explained the situation. Johns dropped everything, drove to Colorado, picked him up, and moved him to Boston. Then, once Abbott was settled into his new life there, Johns made another trip out west.”
“Oh really?”
Jonas hummed in agreement. “It was in early spring of this year. Johns had been keeping tabs on Walters to see if he’d tried to make contact with Abbott.”
“He made contact?”
“Not that I can find, but Johns was suspicious. Something about phone calls Abbott began receiving at the beginning of this year.”
Ty snorted. It sounded like the lawyer still operated with his Recon-trained instincts when he wasn’t dressed up in a monkey suit.
“So what about the trip he made?” Ty asked.
“Johns flew out to Colorado to have a little chat with Walters. In the end, I believe he left him with a few presents: a broken nose and a cracked rib among them.”
Ty whistled. “Did Johns have anything to do with Walters’ death?”
“You mean the drunk driver in May?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, not on the surface.” Jonas chuckled darkly. “But you don’t call me for surface work. I dug a little deeper and, yes, through a series of twists and turns, I was able to discover that Johns has ties to the man’s death. The drunk driver was just a coincidence, but the tampering on Walters’ car that made the accident next to impossible to avoid was purposeful.”
Ty released a harsh breath. Now, to ask the question that had really been bothering him for the last few days. “What about that address I asked you about? Who does he know there?”
“Ah, yes. There is a loft in that building owned by one of Johns’ former Recon team members, a Corbin Porter,” Jonas said, sounding like he was reading from notes.
Ty gritted his teeth. If that bastard professor already had a sugar daddy and had been leading Nick on, Ty was going to kill him.
“Porter co-owns the loft with a Del Porter, his husband. Abbott has appointments with both men twice a week for private Krav Maga and yoga lessons.”
Ty snorted. “Johns sounds like a very protective older brother.”
“Indeed.”
Ty rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Do you have anything else on Abbott?”
“Well, he seems to be fucking your partner.”
Ty laughed. “Yeah, I already knew that.”
“Beyond that, no. He seems squeaky clean. Bastard doesn’t even have a parking ticket. Next time, try to give me someone a little more interesting.”
“Thanks, Uncle Randall.”
“Don’t mention it.” Jonas said with a chuckle. “And remember, the weekend after Thanksgiving, you go dark.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Have a nice night, Tyler.”
“You too. Goodbye, sir.”
Ty hung up the phone and blew out a harsh breath.
==
Nick pulled the car into Kelly’s apartment parking lot. He killed the engine but simply sat there, staring at the warm glow of lamplight coming from Kelly’s apartment.
Well, he was still up. That was good. Nick would feel even guiltier if he was disturbing Kelly’s sleep. Memories marched through Nick’s skull, making his head hurt, but his heart hurt more. Kelly’s fascinating eyes. His smile. His lips. His hands. Nick’s lips tingled as he thought of Kelly’s kisses. His body buzzed everywhere Kelly had touched him tonight. His chest burned where Kelly’d scratched him.
Kelly’s sounds of pleasure.
What Kelly looked like when he came.
All of it was forever seared into Nick’s mind and should be making him the happiest, luckiest guy on the face of the whole goddamn planet.
Instead, it weighed him down with trepidation. Doubts crept up again now that he was away from the lust and the haze. He believed with every fiber of his being that Kelly was innocent. That he was somehow being framed. But Ty’s warnings crept in. His years of training both in the military and as a detective couldn’t be silenced just because he--
He what?
What was Kelly to him? Kelly had said boyfriend. But it all felt like so much more.
Nick didn’t know if it had a label or a direction. All he knew was that if something went south, if his instincts had failed him so spectacularly, it would gut him.
He rubbed his hands over his face with a faint groan. He knew what he was avoiding--opening that door and seeing fresh scratches on Kelly’s face or neck. Scratches Nick didn’t give him during sex.
No limping or bruises earlier, Irish.
How many times would the evidence point to Kelly? How many times would it turn out to not be Kelly? How many times before the entire thing blew up in Nick’s face as some massive, brilliant charade?
Nick pushed out of the car and took a steadying breath. No scratches. There wouldn’t be any scratches. Then he could grab Kelly and toss him into bed again and forget about the outside world.
Good plan.
The excruciating pain exploding across the back of his head, the ground rushing up to meet him, and the swift and consuming blackness weren’t part of that plan.
Nick claimed Kelly’s mouth in a quick, rough kiss. When he pulled away, Kelly was out of breath and his eyes were glazed over.
“Remind me what the hell a safe word is again?” Kelly said in a rough voice with a devious smile.
Nick snorted. “It’s just a code word. A word you use when something I’m doing or you think I’m going to do is too much for you. It doesn’t mean we’ll stop everything; it just puts it all on pause while we try to get on the same page.”
“Why can’t I just say ‘no’ or ‘stop’?”
“Because I plan on making you scream ‘No, don’t stop!’”
“Oh, that’s…that’s a very good reason.” Kelly’s voice grew rough, and his eyes darkened.
“Choose a word you don’t normally say during sex. Something you’ll remember.”
Kelly tilted his head, his eyes going distant for a moment as he thought. “How about ‘Helix’? After the Helix Nebula. It looks like an eye.”
“Sounds perfect.” Nick smiled. He didn’t mention that Kelly’s eyes were part of the reason he’d initially been drawn to Kelly. “Do you promise to use the word Helix at any time, whether we’re having sex or not, if things get too crazy or real for you?”
“Promise.”
“All right.”
“Does that mean we can get naked now? Because I’m really over the fact that you’re still wearing clothes.”
Nick laughed. “Yes, that means we can get naked now.”
Kelly pushed at Nick’s chest. “Well, come on. To the bedroom. The couch doesn’t have enough room for you to fuck me properly.”
“Oh my God, Kelly.” Nick stood.
Kelly popped off the couch, landing on his feet. He waved his hands at Nick. “Let’s go. Why are you just standing around?”
“I don’t know where your bedroom is, Kels.” Nick laughed.
Kelly turned Nick by his shoulders and started pushing him across the apartment. “Why didn’t you just say so? And why are you still wearing clothes?”
When they reached Kelly’s bedroom, after Kelly turned on the lights, Nick spun around and walked forward until Kelly was standing with his back to the wall. Nick brought his hands up slowly and placed them flat on the wall on either side of Kelly’s head. Kelly’s eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t protest.
Nick leaned forward and began kissing his way down Kelly’s neck. Kelly's head tilted to give him better access, and when Nick bit into the flesh connecting Kelly's neck and shoulder, Kelly moaned and shuddered under his touch. Damn, he was already addicted to the little noises the man made when he did that. Nick licked at the skin he’d just bitten and blew across the wet, reddening mark. Kelly shivered.
“You’re wearing too many clothes, Kels,” Nick growled against Kelly’s ear.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” Kelly gasped as he started tearing at his own clothes, trying to get them off faster.
Nick took a few steps back, watching Kelly strip, as he slowly unbuttoned his own shirt. Kelly threw his T-shirt on the floor. Nick stared at Kelly’s compact, hard muscles, his breath catching in his chest. Each inch of Kelly’s newly exposed skin demanded Nick’s attention. He wanted to trace it all with his tongue and teeth. Memorize every bump, ridge, freckle, and nuance he could find.
“You’re fucking gorgeous, Kels.”
Kelly’s cheeks flushed. He pushed his boxers and pants to the floor in one dramatic motion and stepped out of them, hands at his side in a flourish. “Like what you see?”
Nick dragged his teeth over his bottom lip, held up one finger, and made a ‘turn around’ motion at him. Kelly turned slowly to face the wall. His hands remained stretched out at his sides like he wanted to show off the goods. Nick let his gaze wander over Kelly’s body, admiring the muscles in his shoulders and arms. Nick’s pulse raced.
Kelly glanced over one shoulder at Nick and gave him a cheeky smile. Then Kelly widened his stance and bent dramatically at the waist, grabbing his ankles.
Nick’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Jesus, Kelly.” Nick released a harsh breath. “Stay right where you are. Where do you keep your lube?”
“Top drawer. Bedside table.”
Nick stripped off his own shirt and tossed it to the ground behind him. He slipped his belt off, but kept on his pants. He walked over to the bedside table and emptied his pockets onto the top. He opened the top drawer, pulled out a couple condoms and a bottle of lube, and tossed them onto the bed. The dildo he saw in the drawer made him raise an eyebrow and bite his lip. He’d have to get Kelly to show him how he used that sometime.
He walked back to where Kelly was still grabbing his ankles. Each step was slow and deliberate. Kelly’s skin was flushed. Nick watched his shoulders bounce and chest expand as his breath hitched.
The sound brought back a flood of memories from Kelly’s office that afternoon. The way he’d clung to Nick, his body tense, as he’d come all over Nick’s hand.
Nick patted Kelly’s hip. “Stand up. Hands on the wall. Keep your legs spread for me.”
Kelly whimpered but did as he was told.
Once Kelly was settled against the wall, Nick stepped closer. He curled one arm around Kelly’s waist, pulling his ass back until it was pressed against Nick’s erection. Nick kissed a line from Kelly’s left shoulder to just below his ear. The noises Kelly made with each press of Nick’s lips to his skin made Nick want to fuck him hard. Claim him well enough that Kelly’d never invite another person to see him like this again.
Nick bit into the skin above Kelly’s collarbone. Kelly gasped and pushed his ass back into Nick.
“Are you ready to get fucked?” Nick rasped against Kelly’s ear.
Kelly’s breath stuttered. “If you don’t fuck me soon, I’ll do it myself.”
Nick smiled. Kelly’s sense of humor and mouth were quickly becoming his favorite things.
Nick hummed before wrapping a hand loosely around Kelly’s throat. “One day we’ll do just that. I’ll have you lie on your bed, pull out the dildo from your bedside drawer, and you’ll show me exactly how you like to get fucked.”
Kelly whimpered and nodded.
“And after you come, I’ll fuck you with it again just to show you what I learned.”
“Oh my God,” Kelly gasped.
“No, you call my name when you come. Not his.”
“Nice ego, Detective. You talk to your therapist about that?”
“Oh, someone thinks he’s funny, huh?” Nick nipped at Kelly’s jawbone, drawing a hiss from Kelly’s lips. “Let’s see if you find this funny.”
Nick let go of Kelly’s throat and grabbed Kelly’s hips with each hand. He thrust against Kelly’s ass. The soft material of Nick’s work slacks clung to his straining erection, adding another layer of sensation with each roll of his hips.
Nick leaned forward, pressing their faces together at the cheek. “You’re going to stand still. Keep your legs spread for me, hands against the wall. You won’t move from that position until I tell you that you can. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes,” Kelly moaned.
“Tell me your word again.”
“Helix.”
“Very good.”
Nick kissed the back of Kelly’s neck before settling to his knees. Thanks to the shrapnel in his leg, he couldn’t remain in this position for very long, but he’d been dying to do this from the first day he’d first seen Kelly’s ass in the slacks he wore when he taught.
He released Kelly’s hips and dragged heavy fingertips across the skin of Kelly’s ass, watching as the skin turned white then pink under the pressure. With his thumbs he pulled Kelly’s cheeks apart and waited a moment to see if Kelly was going to protest. Kelly moaned wantonly and thrust his ass backward. Nick chuckled and licked a slow stripe from the flesh behind Kelly’s balls to his lower back.
“Motherfucking Christ!” Kelly shouted as he dropped his forehead against the wall with a thud.
Nick bit into the flesh of Kelly’s left asscheek. “Wrong name, babe.”
Kelly groaned.
Nick flattened his tongue against the tight bundle of muscles that made up Kelly’s asshole. He curled his tongue slowly upwards, drawing out the sensation. The noises coming from Kelly’s mouth as he did it sent shivers across Nick’s skin. He licked Kelly over and over until the muscles relaxed, allowing Nick’s tongue to dart inside.
Kelly arched into his touch, trying to drive Nick’s tongue deeper inside him. He cursed Nick creatively with each thrust of Nick’s tongue as Nick mimicked what he wanted to do with his cock inside Kelly later.
Sudden, shooting pain from his knee up his thigh had Nick pulling away and gasping. He rested his forehead against Kelly’s ass. His fingers trembled in pain where they’d curled loosely around Kelly’s hips.
Kelly made a questioning noise before turning around in Nick’s grasp and kneeling in front of him. “Holy shit, are you okay?”
Nick clenched his eyes shut and breathed through the pain. He nodded his head, and Kelly snorted.
“Yeah, you look it. What happened?”
Nick hissed and glanced at Kelly. “Sorry, it’s just my leg. There’s an old battle wound that doesn’t appreciate me kneeling for long periods of time.”
“Stubborn grunt,” Kelly said affectionately before slinging one of Nick’s arms over his shoulder. Nick laughed. Kelly wrapped an arm around Nick’s waist. “All right, let’s get you standing. Think you’re ready for it?”
Nick nodded tightly.
Kelly tugged him up and helped him limp over to the bed. Kelly turned them and urged Nick to sit on the edge. He pushed at Nick’s shoulder until he was lying across the bed, his feet still on the floor, before stripping Nick’s pants off of him.
“Finally, you’re naked. Pretty sure I asked you to do that ages ago.”
Nick laughed loudly. “Thank you.”
“Do you need ice or just some Tylenol?”
“I’m fine.” Nick sat up and tried to turn to pull his legs onto the bed with him but winced at the burning spike of pain from his problem leg.
“Yeah, you look real fine. You also look like you’re in pain.” Kelly helped him get his legs on the bed. Nick melted against the mattress once he was fully stretched out. “Stay right there, Marine. That’s an order.” Kelly’s voice took on a deep, commanding edge that would have been right at home in Recon. Kelly giggled when he saw Nick’s questioning expression. “When Juice joined the Marines, I almost went into the Navy but changed my mind and went for astronomy instead. Now, I’m going to grab you some meds. Stay the fuck there.”
“Yes, sir,” Nick said with a smile.
Kelly narrowed his eyes and pointed at him as he left the bedroom.
Nick rested his head against Kelly’s pillow and closed his eyes. Despite the interruption from the pain in his leg, his blood was still boiling in a heady rush of need. He was beginning to suspect that he’d never be able to have his fill of the impish professor. Nick knew he should question that feeling, but at the moment he couldn’t be bothered.
When Kelly returned, he had a bottle of water and a bottle of pain meds.
“Open up, bitch,” Kelly said as he held out a couple of pills to Nick.
Nick chuckled, popped the pills into his mouth, and accepted the bottle of water to swallow them down. Kelly stowed the pills and water on the bedside table and then climbed onto the bed to straddle Nick’s lap.
“You want me to rub your leg?” Kelly waggled his eyebrows.
Nick bit his lip and smiled. “No, but you can rub something else.”
A slow, sexy smile spread across Kelly’s face. His forefinger traced a swooping line down Nick’s chest and stomach before he wrapped his hand around Nick’s cock and stroked him slowly. Nick’s breath hitched. He was already addicted to the feeling of Kelly’s fingers doing wicked things to his body.
After a few strokes, Kelly released Nick’s cock and grabbed the bottle of lube Nick had thrown onto the bed. Nick expected him to spread the lube on Nick’s cock, but Kelly surprised him by winding an arm behind his own back and pressing his fingers inside his own ass. Kelly’s jaw fell slack, his eyes were closed tightly, and Nick’s heart hammered in his chest as he watched Kelly ride his own fingers.
“Goddamn, Kels.” Nick settled his hands on Kelly’s thighs.
Kelly looked down at Nick with heavy-lidded, pleasure-dark eyes. “Suit up, Nicko. I want to take you for a ride.”
“Fuck.” Nick was momentarily stunned. Kelly’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he moaned as Nick watched his arm worked faster. Nick fumbled blindly for a condom. He tore open the package and rolled it on quickly. He grabbed the bottle of lube and coated his cock.
“Let me in, Kels.”
Kelly nodded and removed his fingers. Nick held Kelly’s hip in one hand as he lined up his cock. He pushed in a little bit, reveling in the gasp Kelly gave him. Kelly met his eyes and sank down onto Nick’s cock. Nick cried out when Kelly was fully seated.
“Damn you feel good, Nick.” Kelly rolled his hips. His brow wrinkled with pleasure as he shifted his hips over and over, using Nick’s aching cock to touch him in places Nick’s fingers and tongue could never reach.
Nick’s skin was pulled too tight across his body, and he started seeing arcs of white across his vision from the pleasure. He gritted his teeth. “Kelly, you need to move unless you want to make me come like this.”
Kelly laughed darkly. “Another time.”
He pulled up slowly. When only the head of Nick’s cock remained inside him, Kelly winked at Nick before slamming back down. They both cried out. Kelly let his head fall back, his fingernails digging into Nick’s chest and stomach, as he pulled up and slammed down again and again. Nick’s fingers dug into Kelly’s hips.
Nick shifted on the bed, planting his feet so he had the leverage to meet each of Kelly’s thrusts.
The world narrowed to the sound of their bodies meeting over and over. The tight grip of Kelly’s ass around Nick’s cock was like a fist clenched around his heart. With every thrust, moan, and scratch of their fingernails, Nick felt himself falling a little harder for the smart-mouthed professor.
Kelly cried out and flailed at one of Nick’s hands. He grabbed Nick by the wrist and tugged toward his body. “Touch me, babe, please.”
Nick shivered at the needy sound in Kelly’s voice as he wrapped his fingers around Kelly’s cock and stroked him in time with their thrusts. Kelly kept his hand on Nick’s arm, his eyes were unfocused as his body wound tighter and tighter in anticipation of its release.
“Come for me, Kels. Let me see you mark me with your cum.”
“Fuck, Nick,” Kelly gasped.
Nick tightened his fingers around Kelly’s cock and thrust harder into Kelly’s taut body. A few moments later, Kelly’s fingernails dug into Nick’s chest and forearm, and he shouted Nick’s name as he came all over Nick’s stomach and hand.
Once Kelly was spent, he folded over Nick’s chest. Nick released Kelly’s cock and licked Kelly’s cum from his hand. Kelly chuckled as he watched Nick do it.
“Your turn, Detective.”
“That it is. Think you can take it?”
Kelly leaned forward, his forearms on either side of Nick’s face. With an impish smile, he rolled his hips sinuously around Nick’s hard cock that was still buried deep inside him. Nick groaned.
“Yeah, I think I can take it.”
Kelly captured Nick’s mouth, licking and biting. Nick moaned against his lips as he wrapped his arms around Kelly’s body and thrust into him forcefully. Kelly broke the kiss and arched in his arms. Nick took the opportunity to kiss and lick his way down Kelly’s throat as he thrust into him over and over again.
Nick nipped at Kelly’s collarbone. Each time, Kelly made noises that sent spikes of pleasure down Nick’s spine.
His body started to tense. His vision went white, his hips stuttered as they lost their rhythm, and he bit into Kelly’s shoulder. He groaned loudly around the skin in his mouth as he thrust one final time and came.
Several bliss-filled moments passed. Eventually, Nick released Kelly’s shoulder and licked at the skin. Kelly pressed his forehead to Nick’s shoulder as they both panted. Nick’s skin was loose and tingling. He dragged his fingertips down Kelly’s spine, and Kelly arched into his touch.
Kelly worked a hand between their sweat-slick bodies. After a moment he pulled the hand back up and held out two fingers, slick with his cum. Nick sucked the fingers into his mouth and licked them clean. Kelly hissed and narrowed his eyes.
“Kinky bastard,” Kelly’s voice was husky as he pulled his fingers free from Nick’s mouth.
Nick felt his cheeks heat. “You like it.”
Kelly started nodding before Nick finished talking. “Yeah, I really do. I will never get tired of seeing you do that.”
Nick’s heart flipped at that statement. Kelly kissed him languidly, his body melting against Nick’s and his fingers cupping Nick’s jaw. Nick whimpered into Kelly’s mouth. Kelly hummed at him soothingly in return.
Nick had never felt like this about someone before. Like he wanted to be wrapped around them forever. Like he’d die if he didn’t get the chance to do just that.
He wasn’t sure what that meant.
When the kiss ended, Kelly moved off Nick with a faint groan and flopped on his side on the bed. Nick pulled off and knotted the condom before tossing it into the trashcan by Kelly’s bed. They moved to lie under the blanket, neither of them bothering to clean up the spunk and sweat still slick on their bodies. Kelly pulled Nick until he was lying in the crook of Kelly’s arm.
They stared at each other for seemingly endless minutes.
“Do you want to stay over?” Kelly’s voice was hesitant.
Nick swallowed. His emotions were swirling and he was falling hard for the blue-green-eyed man lying next to him. He opened his mouth to say yes, he’d love to stay over—possibly forever—when his phone began to play the station’s ringtone.
“Shit, I need to get that. Hold that thought, please.”
Kelly nodded. Nick rolled away, swiping his phone off the nightstand, and sat up. “Detective O’Flaherty.”
“Hey, it’s Digger. I tried to reach Ty, but his phone went straight to voicemail. I’ve got your lab results ready.”
Nick shook his head and tried to focus. “Bastard probably forgot to charge it or switch it back on. All right, what did you find out?”
“The gold paint on your murder weapons from both crime scenes? They’re a match. Looks like they came from the same source. It’s likely you’re looking for one person for both murders.”
“Okay, that’s what we suspected.”
“I’ve also got the results for the bloody shirt Zane’s team recovered from the Serena Scott scene.”
Nick’s blood went cold. This was the first he’d heard of a bloody shirt. He knew Ty had questioned Nick’s motives on this case, multiple times, but he didn’t realize the man had gotten to the point where he didn’t trust Nick with evidence.
His stomach roiled and he closed his eyes. “What did your results say?”
“There are two DNA profiles on the shirt. One female, matching the victim from that scene, Serena Scott. The second came from an unknown male donor.”
Nick ground his molars and stared straight ahead. He didn’t want to give anything away with Kelly sitting right there. “Did you compare it to any of the samples we collected?”
“Yeah, doesn’t match anyone you’ve brought in for an interview so far. Hence the unknown part of my sentence,” Digger said wryly.
“Thanks, Digger. Do you have anything else for us?”
“I don’t have anything else for you, but…” Digger trailed off, and Nick could hear papers shuffling on the other end of the line. “Ah, here it is. Elias said that he looked into that professor’s security system? It does look like it could be hacked. He put in a request to the company that runs the system to see if they could send him their copies of the logs for the evenings you asked about, so he could check them for tampering. Should have those tomorrow.”
“Thanks, man.”
They exchanged goodbyes and hung up.
Nick stared at the wall as he gripped his phone in one hand. He couldn’t believe Ty had gone so far as to hide evidence from him. Nick needed to get back to the station to confront him. He’d left Ty at Zane’s office a couple hours before where they’d planned to work late.
He turned around and took in the sight of Kelly in the bed. The sheets were rumpled, and their clothes were strewn all over the floor. Kelly had the blanket draped across his hips. Nick caught glimpses of the scratches his own fingernails had left on Kelly’s hips as the man rode him. The sight of the bite marks on Kelly’s shoulders, the darkest of which Nick had left as he came, sent a possessive thrill down Nick’s spine.
Kelly was propped up on one elbow, watching Nick patiently, like he knew Nick needed to calm down from the phone call before he spoke. Nick smiled and crawled back onto the bed, leaving his phone on the bedside table. He captured Kelly’s mouth with his own. Their lips met over and over until they were forced apart by the need to breathe. Nick rested his forehead against Kelly’s temple.
“I would like nothing more than to stay here with you tonight.” He swallowed. “I need to go into the station to take care of a few things first. But if you’ll have me…”
Kelly kissed him gently, and when he spoke again, his lips brushed against Nick’s. “Come back anytime. You’re always welcome here.”
Nick pulled Kelly into his arms and kissed him hard. He didn’t care what Ty believed, Nick knew in his heart that there was no way Kelly was a killer. He broke off the kiss and leaned back, tugging at a lock of Kelly’s hair as he stared into his eyes.
“I will be back tonight. I don’t know when; it depends if anything holds me up.”
Kelly smiled, obviously remembering their conversation from earlier that day. “Then don’t let anything hold you up.”
“Does that mean we can get naked now? Because I’m really over the fact that you’re still wearing clothes.”
Nick laughed. “Yes, that means we can get naked now.”
When Nick pulled into Kelly’s apartment complex shortly after six, he avoided looking in the direction of where Serena Scott had been murdered. He was nervous enough without being reminded of Ty tightening handcuffs around Kelly’s wrists. Or the look Kelly’d thrown over his shoulder at Nick as Ty read him his rights. The confusion, hurt, and betrayal still seemed genuine in Nick’s memory, but his mind couldn’t help playing Ty’s accusations over and over.
Nick shook his head, attempting to clear through the noise, as he parked the car. He grabbed the bags of food he’d bought on his way over, Chinese and some cake-like M&M muffins. During their hours spent curled up on Kelly’s couch on Friday, they’d covered their favorite foods, Chinese being one they shared. The muffins were Nick’s way of quietly apologizing for doubting him if--when--Kelly proved to be innocent.
He steeled his nerves and knocked on Kelly’s door. A few moments later he heard shuffling from the other side. It swung inward to reveal Kelly’s smiling face.
“Good evening, Detective,” Kelly purred, the sound sending a wave of heat across Nick’s skin. Kelly took one of the bags from Nick’s hands and peeked inside. “You brought me muffins? They have M&M’s!”
Nick laughed. “I also brought Chinese food for dinner. The muffins are supposed to be dessert.”
Kelly snorted as he shuffled the bag around and dug out a muffin. He stuffed it into his mouth, winking at Nick as he did it.
Nick chuckled and, after leaving his jacket and shoes by the door, followed him into the kitchen, watching the way Kelly moved. He was dressed in a form fitting T-shirt that showed off his hard muscles and dark jeans. It wasn’t the typical body of a college professor, but Nick wasn’t entirely surprised by it. Kelly seemed like the type of person who enjoyed working out and taking care of his body. Nick couldn’t help the wave of relief that coursed through him when he realized Kelly wasn’t limping as he walked.
Kelly deposited the bag of muffins on the kitchen counter; Nick did the same with the Chinese. They fell into a natural rhythm as they moved around the kitchen, gathering plates, and dishing up food. Kelly spun away from the fridge, drinks in hand, when he stopped suddenly.
“Holy shit. What happened to your face?”
Nick frowned. The movement pulled the muscles in his forehead and reminded him of the stitches he’d gotten above his right eye. “Funny story, actually.”
“I’m sure it is.” Kelly’s voice was stern. He set the drinks down heavily and turned to dig in his freezer. “So what happened?”
Nick dragged his teeth across his bottom lip and went for nonchalance. “Ty and I were involved in a car chase this afternoon. The other car rammed us, and I hit my head on the window.”
“Jesus, Nick. You got a cut on your head severe enough to require stitches from blunt-force trauma? Did they check you for a concussion?”
“Yes, the paramedics did a cursory check to make sure I didn’t get too rattled. I’m fine.”
“You’re fine,” Kelly gritted out, irritation and disbelief mixing together in his voice. He grabbed a thin dish towel and wrapped it around the ice he’d pulled out of the freezer. “Hold this to your cut; it’ll help the swelling go down.”
“Yes, Doc.” Nick’s lips quirked as he did what he was told.
“Let me see you.” Kelly waved a hand and moved to stand directly in front of him, staring up into his eyes. His face was wrinkled in concern. Blue-green eyes narrowed as they studied him.
Nick swallowed hard. He’d never met someone who’d been capable of being this concerned about him this quickly, not even his Recon team. He felt like an asshole as he used the opportunity to study Kelly’s face, searching for the bruises Cameron said he’d inflicted on his attacker. Judging by the cuts and swelling on Cameron’s hand when Nick and Ty had questioned him, Nick had no doubts there would be visible damage on whoever assaulted him.
Kelly’s face was smooth, tanned, and bruise-free. Nick’s heart clenched, and his knees went weak with relief.
Kelly grabbed his chin, holding his face still. “Follow my finger with your eyes.”
“Uh, okay.”
His finger moved left then right, up quickly, and back to the left. The whole time, Kelly had his eyes trained on Nick’s, checking to make sure that his pupils were dilating properly and following his finger like they were supposed to. The treatment warmed Nick’s heart and reminded him of impromptu check-ups in the field back in Recon. Nick smiled as he followed Kelly’s finger; in another life the professor would have made a good doctor.
After a few more moments of finger dancing, Nick noticed the slight tremor in Kelly’s hands. As Kelly’s eyes started to go unfocused and his shoulders hitched, Nick reached out to hold his hip in a loose grip. Kelly gasped, and his breath stuttered.
“Babe, I’m okay. You’re okay.” As Nick spoke, Kelly’s eyes squeezed shut, and he nodded once. “Let’s count together, all right? Thirty…twenty-nine…”
As Nick counted down, Kelly released Nick’s chin and fisted his hands. He leaned forward, forehead pressing against Nick’s chest. Nick’s arm moved to wrap around Kelly’s lower back, his hand smoothing up and down the tense muscles under Kelly’s shirt.
“Twenty-five…twenty-four…”
Kelly’s hands gripped at Nick’s shirt. Nick ducked his head, pressing his nose to Kelly’s hairline, murmuring the numbers against his skin.
“Twenty-two…twenty-one…”
Kelly turned his head, pressing into Nick’s touch as his nose and lips brushed against Kelly’s cheek.
“Nineteen…eighteen…seventeen…”
“Thank you.” Kelly’s voice was hoarse.
“Anytime.” Nick was surprised by the roughness in his own voice. He’d meant the remark to be more light-hearted, to ease the moment. But it hit him how true it was. How much he wanted to be here to get Kelly through all of his attacks--be here until there weren’t any more.
He let the hand holding the impromptu ice pack to his forehead drop and placed the ice on the counter. With his newly freed hand, he pulled Kelly closer. They stood there, wrapped around each other, for a few more minutes. Nick basked in the woodsy scent of Kelly’s soap. His hair was still damp from the shower he must have taken before Nick arrived.
Kelly tilted his head and captured Nick’s mouth in a kiss. It started soft, just the barest dragging of lips, but quickly grew more heated. Kelly licked at Nick’s teeth and bit at his bottom lip, drawing a groan from Nick’s mouth. He brought a hand up and gripped Kelly’s hair, tugging him closer as they kissed. Kelly’s fingers clawed at Nick’s shoulder blades.
Nick’s heart raced as their bodies pressed closer together with each meeting of their lips. Kelly pulled one of his arms out from under Nick’s and used it to grab hold of Nick’s hair. The pull tore a gasp from his lips. He growled as he kissed Kelly again. His hands worked their way down Kelly’s back to his ass, which he gripped roughly before pulling Kelly’s thighs up until his legs were wrapped around Nick’s waist.
“Fucking hell, Nick,” Kelly groaned and tilted his head back as he wrapped both arms around Nick’s neck.
Nick chuckled and began to kiss down Kelly’s neck, nipping at the skin every few kisses. Each time he did, Kelly made a little noise that spurred Nick on. He dragged his teeth against the bump of Kelly’s Adam’s apple. Kelly shuddered under his touch, moaning as his thighs clenched around Nick’s waist.
Kelly tugged Nick’s hair, pulling him into another devouring kiss. Nick whimpered into Kelly’s mouth as they exchanged swipes of tongues and nips of teeth. No one had ever set fire to Nick’s blood the way Kelly did.
He moved his hands to grip the muscles of Kelly’s back harder. His breath caught in his chest as Kelly bit down on his bottom lip and pulled backward, slowly releasing the skin as he did.
Nick took a couple steps across the kitchen and pressed Kelly’s back against the fridge. He rolled his hips into Kelly’s as he kissed the man’s neck.
Kelly stiffened.
He went utterly still in Nick’s arms.
That’s when Nick remembered the way Kelly had tensed in his arms during their first kiss when his back hit the shelf, right before he’d shoved Nick away. At the time, Nick had thought it was just because Kelly’d been pissed at him and hitting the shelf had startled him into the present. Now that Nick knew about Kelly’s panic attacks, he began to suspect there was more to the story.
Nick moved to let Kelly stand on his own. Once Kelly’s feet were planted on the floor, Nick took a step back. Kelly’s eyes were closed and he stood stock-still.
Nick wiped a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” He trailed off, not one hundred percent certain what he was apologizing for, but he knew he had to have triggered Kelly in some way.
Silence lingered between them for several tense minutes.
“Goddammit!” Kelly picked up a mug from where it’d been drying next to the sink and chucked it at the wall. Nick flinched as it shattered. “It’s been two fucking years since that son of a bitch last touched me. I should be able to make out with my new boyfriend without freaking out! I shouldn’t be worried that you’re going to fucking hurt me!” Kelly’s voice broke. His fists were clenched at his sides as he stared at the floor.
Nick ignored the flutter in his chest at the sound of Kelly calling Nick his boyfriend. He was more concerned with talking Kelly down from the edge of a breakdown.
“Babe, it’s not your fault. Whatever that bastard did to you, it wasn’t because of something you did. It was because of him.”
Kelly made a frustrated sound. “Yeah, Nick, I know. I’ve read all the books I could get my hands on about recovering from a shitty relationship. Knowing that it wasn’t my fault doesn’t mean I don’t feel like shit when it still gets in the way of the simplest of things.”
Nick was quiet for a moment. He watched Kelly drag a hand through his hair, saw how his whole body was pulled taut like a piano string.
“I spent ten years in the military trying to break up fights between my teammates before they happened. Because every fucking time the shouting started, it brought me back to the nights when I was little, gathering my sisters in the basement to hide out from my parents yelling and throwing things at each other.”
Nick swallowed against the rush of painful memories. There weren’t many people he’d told about how it was to grow up the way he had.
“When my dad would come stumbling home drunk every few nights, I used to get in his face so he’d beat me instead of my mother and sisters.” Nick blinked away the burning in his eyes as his voice cracked. “I know what that’s like. To have someone who says they love you while they hit you. Believe me when I say it’s not your fucking fault, Kels.”
Kelly turned and looked at Nick with glossy green-blue eyes. Nick stared back, pleading with his eyes, begging Kelly to listen to what he’d said.
Finally, Kelly gave him a sad smile and nodded. “We’re both a little damaged, huh?”
Nick coughed a laugh and blinked at the tears forming in his eyes. “Yeah, we are.”
Kelly reached out and wrapped his fingers in the bottom of Nick’s shirt. He tugged gently, pulling Nick closer. Nick worked his arms around Kelly’s shoulders and nuzzled against his temple.
“We’ll be okay, though.” Nick kissed Kelly’s cheekbone. “You’ll get better, Kels.”
Kelly chuckled and turned to look at Nick’s face. “I like that. When you call me Kels.”
Nick smiled, his cheeks heating. “Yeah?”
Kelly nodded. His teeth dug into his bottom lip, eyes crinkled and sparkling.
Nick kissed his cheek one more time. “Let’s eat. I’m sure it will help even us out a bit.”
After reheating the food that had grown cold on the counter, they made their way to Kelly’s living room. They stretched out on the floor, their backs leaning against the front of the couch, their shoulders brushing, and their legs pressed against each other beneath Kelly’s short coffee table.
As they ate, Nick watched Kelly pluck out a clump of rice with a pair of chopsticks.
“I never got the hang of that,” Nick said.
Kelly frowned. “What, eating with chopsticks?” He looked at the pair in Nick’s hand with a raised eyebrow.
“No, eating rice with chopsticks. It always falls off.”
“I have talented fingers.” Kelly winked and chuckled. “Here, I’ll show you.” He leaned closer and brought his plate over so Nick could see what he was doing. “You want to find the bits that are already clumped together. Like this one.” He grabbed a small bit of rice with the ends of his chopsticks. “After that, the trick is to not squeeze so hard that you break up the rice.”
Kelly smiled as he turned the chopsticks and held them out for Nick to eat from. Nick licked his bottom lip, his face heating once more, before leaning forward to accept the bite of rice.
Kelly cleared his throat, and his eyes grew darker as he watched Nick eat. “It’s a lot easier when the rice is stickier. Most places in the States don’t make it sticky enough to eat with chopsticks.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nick’s voice was rough, and his lips quirked.
They ate quietly for a few more moments, occasionally feeding each other bits of chicken, vegetables, or rice. It was comfortable and easy.
Kelly cleared his throat. “Thank you, for earlier. I know it’s strange to watch someone have a panic attack, but it helps when you count down with me.”
“It’s not strange, Kels. It scares me a bit. I mean, I was terrified that first time when I came in and saw you shaking on the floor. I’d thought…” Nick’s voice cracked. He put his chopsticks down on his plate and shifted so he could look Kelly in the eye. “My last boyfriend died in a really horrible way, and I was there when it happened. That’s a big part of the reason that Ty is skeptical about you and I being together; it’s part of why he’s been a dick to you. He was the one that helped me through the six-month-long administrative leave I just got back from after all that happened. He saw how bad I got, and he’s just…protective.”
Nick looked down at his twisted fingers and took a deep, steadying breath. He hadn’t come across a situation where he needed to explain this to anyone yet.
“You don’t have to,” Kelly whispered.
Nick shook his head. “No, I want to.” He cleared his throat. “I met Ryan on our last case. He was a witness in the Tin Man murders.” Nick winced when he heard the sharp intake of Kelly’s breath. “He, uh, was poisoned by someone hired by the Tin Man killer. We were out at an Italian restaurant, and the poison was in his glass--” His voice cracked and failed.
Kelly’s arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. Nick’s face ended up pressed against Kelly’s throat. Kelly’s hands smoothed up and down Nick’s back. “Hey, it’s okay, babe. You’re not back there; you’re here with me, and I’m fine.”
Nick’s breath hitched, and he closed his eyes.
“I get why finding me like that would scare the hell out of you.” Kelly rested his cheek against the top of Nick’s head. “I remember hearing about those murders. From what I could tell, the poison the killer used acts pretty fast, right? Especially in the high doses he used.” Nick nodded and Kelly continued. “That means it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault that you couldn’t save him, and…it’s not your job to save me. I know, you’re a cop and you’re protective of people you care about. I get that, but I don’t need you to save me. The best you can do is help me save myself.”
Nick was quiet for a long time. His emotions were raw, but Kelly was right. Nick had heard much the same message on multiple occasions from Deuce over the last several months. The problem was, he wasn’t sure how to stop trying to save the people he cared for when they didn’t actually need his help.
“I can try.”
“Just count with me when you see that I need it. Let me try to work through things on my own before you jump in to fix them. And be there when I need someone to vent to or just talk to about my day.” Kelly rubbed his cheek against Nick’s hair. “It sounds so stupid, but I would love it if you’d call me just to complain about the burnt coffee at the station or the sunrise you saw on your boat. Everyone else calls me to make sure I haven’t had a breakdown or to see if I can give them a free copy of my book.”
Nick laughed. “The station really does have terrible coffee. No one will admit to making it that way either. It’s like it just appears in the pot tasting awful.”
“See? I’d love to hear about that shit. Teachers are the same way. I don’t know why no one can make good coffee.” Kelly’s voice brightened.
Nick hated to do anything to take away from that brightness, but the door was open. “Now that I’ve shared some of my ugly story, can you tell me about your ex? I just want to have a better idea of what triggers your attacks so I don’t set you off again.”
“I can do that,” Kelly said, his voice dropping to something a bit sadder. “But, I want you to kiss me first.”
Nick pulled back and looked up at him. “I think I can work with that. Let’s move onto the couch, though. This floor is uncomfortable as hell.”
Kelly chuckled and helped Nick off the floor. They took their plates to the kitchen and cleaned up a bit. When they returned to the living room, Kelly sprawled out on the couch and opened his arms, motioning for Nick to join him in a cuddle. Nick rolled his eyes, a small smile teasing his lips, but he lowered himself to the couch. They settled with Nick leaning against Kelly’s side, his head resting on Kelly’s shoulder, their legs intertwined, and Kelly’s arms wrapped around Nick’s back.
Kelly sighed. “You want to hear about my ex, huh?”
“Only so I can understand you a little better. If I didn’t think it would help either of us, I wouldn’t ask.”
“I need my kiss first,” Kelly said with a laugh.
Nick shook his head and sat up until he was propped on one elbow. His other hand smoothed up and down Kelly’s stomach. Kelly waggled his eyebrows and Nick laughed. He leaned forward and gave Kelly a gentle kiss.
Kelly sighed happily and worked a hand into Nick’s hair. They kissed languidly for a few moments until Kelly’s body curled against Nick’s and Nick’s blood began to run hot again.
Finally, Nick tore away. Kelly tried to chase his mouth, to continue the kiss, but Nick tugged on his hair, holding him back. Nick met Kelly’s eyes and let out a harsh breath. “We need to talk about this, Kels. I don’t want to hurt you, so I need to know more about what happened to you in order to do that.”
Kelly sighed and ran his fingers through Nick’s curls. “Yeah, I know.”
Kelly settled onto his back once more and pulled at Nick until his head was once again resting against Kelly’s chest. Nick melted into Kelly’s embrace as he waited for Kelly to gather his thoughts. The fingers tracing patterns against his scalp calmed him. His eyes were heavy when Kelly finally spoke.
“His name was Travis, and we met in college.” Kelly’s voice was raw. He held Nick’s head against his chest when Nick had tried to sit up. “The first time he raised a hand to me, it was to shove me against our kitchen counter. My head hit a cabinet.” Kelly’s chest rumbled under Nick’s cheek as he cleared his throat.
Nick smoothed one hand up and down Kelly’s side. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. His stomach soured at the thought of someone touching Kelly in any way, especially to hurt him.
“The worst time was a few weeks before I left. I’d been at the university teaching late that night, helping one of my students. Travis showed up with food to surprise me and, when he saw my student, he lost it.”
Nick focused on keeping his body relaxed. He didn’t want to broadcast how badly he wanted to dig the fucker up and kill him again.
“He threw the food and called me all kinds of names. Accused me of cheating on him with my students. He left the campus without me. My student stayed behind to help me clean up the classroom we’d been working in.”
“You didn’t call the police?” Nick asked in a quiet voice. He already knew how a call like that would have been received, but he was compelled to ask.
“And have a couple judgmental cops show up and ask me how long I’d been banging my students after hours? Or if I sucked the Dean’s dick to get the job, because obviously if I’m already taking it in the ass and getting knocked around, I must have done something wrong, right?” Kelly’s voice cracked and Nick felt him shake his head. “No, Nicko, I didn’t call the police. Maybe I should have but…”
Nick turned and pressed a kiss against Kelly’s throat. He made a few soothing, shushing noises as Kelly blinked away tears. “Hey, it’s okay. As much as it pains me to admit, you were probably right not to call.”
Kelly gave him a watery smile.
“We can take a break or talk about this another time if you need to.”
Kelly shook his head. “No, I want to get it all out there while I’m feeling up to it, you know?”
Nick nodded.
Kelly breathed deeply and pulled Nick back down to his chest so Nick wouldn’t be able to watch him while he told his story.
“When I got home an hour or so later, I’d thought he’d have calmed down, you know? I was walking in the door when he threw the first punch, caught me on the chin.” Kelly’s throat clicked as he swallowed heavily. “The next day I had the beginnings of two black eyes, a broken nose, a cracked rib…I called Juice after Travis left for work that day. I couldn’t even bring myself to tell him what happened. We talked about the fucking weather. I was such a fucking coward.”
Nick pulled out of Kelly’s grasp and shifted enough to wrap his arms around Kelly’s shaking shoulders. “Hey, you’re okay.” He kissed Kelly’s temple. “You are not a coward, Kelly. You were scared and ashamed, but that doesn’t make you a coward.”
Kelly sniffed and clutched Nick’s shirt harder. They held each other like that until Kelly had caught his breath again and was able to continue.
“I told the university I had Mono. I did everything I could for a couple weeks after that to make Travis happy. I figured if he was happy, he wouldn’t get so angry and he wouldn’t hit me, you know?”
Nick nodded, his cheek brushing against Kelly’s hair.
“The day I finally decided to leave was three weeks after that night. I looked pretty close to healed by that point, but I was still sore in my nose and ribs.” Kelly’s fingers traced the collar of Nick’s shirt as he spoke. “Anyway, he’d never liked the way I loaded dishes in the dishwasher. He always bitched about how the cups were supposed to go in at a specific angle and all of that.”
Nick snorted. “Picky bastard.”
Kelly chuckled. “Yeah, he was. So, he came home, opened up the dishwasher to grab a glass and saw they weren’t arranged the way he wanted. He fucking backhanded me.” Kelly’s head shook slightly like he still couldn’t believe it’d happened. Nick clenched his teeth. “He caught my cheek and nose. I fell against the counter with my sore ribs. It was then that I finally figured out that he didn’t care about me. That it didn’t matter what I did for him or how many times he apologized, he would never stop hurting me.” Kelly’s voice cracked, and he turned his face until it was pressed more securely against Nick’s throat.
“Babe…” Nick was at a loss for words.
They remained quiet for a few minutes. Clinging to each other as if getting closer to each other now could make the memories disappear.
“How long were you with him?” Nick really didn’t want to know the answer, but he needed to know.
“Four years.” Kelly swallowed audibly. “He hit me for three of them.”
Nick sucked in a breath. Kelly patted a hand against Nick’s chest. Nick kissed his temple.
“Two days after he backhanded me,” Kelly cleared his throat, “Juice and I moved the few things of mine that we could fit into his car while Travis was at work and…I left. I didn’t hear anything from him after that. I got a notice from an insurance company a few months ago telling me he died.”
“Christ, Kelly. You’re lucky to be alive, and he’s lucky that he died before I had a chance to meet him.” Nick hugged him a little harder, and Kelly’s fingers dug into Nick’s shoulders. “What happened after you left?”
“Juice brought me to Boston. He found me a therapist who immediately put me on medication and got me talking. He helped me replace the things I’d left behind and the laptop Travis had used to stalk me.”
“What a creepy asshole.”
“I know, right?” Kelly chuckled sadly. “There were restraining orders. After a few months of talking, calling in favors, and legal magic, Juice was able to get me a job with the university here. The book I’d written finally sold, and I was able to start over.”
“That’s really good, Kels.” Nick’s voice was rough.
Kelly took a deep breath and nuzzled against Nick’s throat.
“About eight months ago I stopped seeing the therapist and taking the anxiety pills. The side effects weren’t worth it, and the therapist had stopped helping much.”
“It’s been that long since you talked to someone about all this?”
“Yeah. I mean, I told Juice some of it, but…”
Nick cleared his throat. “I, uh. Ty’s younger brother is a psychiatrist. I’ve been seeing him since Ryan died. He’s good and doesn’t really mind when you call him names.”
Nick smiled, remembering the day he’d called Deuce a ‘stupid, head-shrinking robot son of a bitch.’ Deuce had simply nodded slowly, made a few notes, and asked, “And how does that make you feel,Detective O’Flaherty?”
“Anyway, if you want to try talking to someone again, I could put in a good word for you with him.”
“I’d like that.”
“Okay, I’ll give him a call about it tomorrow.” Nick chewed on his bottom lip and rubbed circles against Kelly’s shoulder with his thumb. “What did you do after you stopped therapy?”
“After I stopped, Juice got me hooked up with private Krav Maga and yoga lessons with a couple of his clients. It’s amazing how much easier it is to breathe when you know that if someone tries to hold you down again, you’re actually capable of fighting back, you know?”
Nick laughed bitterly. “Yeah, I know that feeling. My first visit back home after I’d joined the Marines my dad actually looked intimidated by how my muscles had filled out. And I was shocked that he looked so old and small.”
Kelly pressed a kiss against Nick’s neck.
“We are quite the pair.” Kelly chuckled darkly.
“We are. I guess it’s meant to be.”
“You’re a secret, super-romantic dork, aren’t you?”
Nick bit his lip as his cheeks heated. “Hey, I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”
Kelly patted Nick’s shoulder as he laughed. “It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone your deep, dark secret.”
Nick rolled them until Kelly was stretched out flat beneath him. Nick propped himself up on his forearms—one on each side of Kelly’s face—and dragged his fingers through Kelly’s hair. Kelly smiled up at him and rolled his hips.
Nick raised an eyebrow. “You trying to start something here, Professor?”
Kelly worked his hands down Nick’s back until they were gripping Nick’s hipbones. Then he thrust up once, dragging their hardening cocks against each other.
Kelly tilted his head, eyes wide and a smile tugging his lips. “Who, me?”
Nick rolled his hips against Kelly’s. Kelly gasped. “Yeah, you.”
Kelly pulled Nick’s shirt out from where it’d been tucked into his pants. Once it was loose he worked his hands under the fabric and dragged heavy fingertips up the skin of Nick’s back.
“I’m still not sure what you’re talking about, Nicko. Are you feeling well?”
Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Smart-ass.”
Kelly giggled. “Well, I do have a PhD and a very fine ass, if I do say so myself. Seriously, though, you don’t have anywhere you need to be for the next hour or five, do you?”
Nick barked a laughed. “An hour or five? What do you have planned, Kels?”
“Oh, you know, getting fucked in every position possible all across my apartment by a super-hot cop.”
Nick’s body flushed with heat and he swallowed hard. “Jesus, Kelly.” He stared down into mischief-filled, blue-green eyes. “Don’t you think we should talk about this first?”
“We just talked about all kinds of negative things. We’re clearly attracted to each other.” He rolled his hips again with a grin. “We have a few hours where we have no other responsibilities demanding our attention. Neither of us is in another relationship. What’s the problem, Nick?”
“Those are all solid points, yes. But my last lover died. The last person you were in a relationship with hurt you, and…I don’t want to do that. I couldn’t handle hurting you.”
Kelly’s features softened. “Nick, I don’t believe that you’d hurt me. Never intentionally.”
“I don’t want to hurt you accidentally either. I get rough during sex, and I’m still not sure that I wouldn’t trigger a panic attack in the middle of it.”
“Just because I got knocked around by my ex doesn’t mean I don’t want to get fucked through the mattress, Nicky.” Kelly sighed. “How about if you let me know you’re going to push me into something or grab me or turn me over or whatever before you do it? If I know what’s coming and I know it’s you doing it, I should be fine.”
Nick bit his lip and shook his head. “I’m still not sure, Kels. It seems like an awfully big risk.”
“What would make you more comfortable?”
Nick frowned and really thought about an answer. The thing he was most worried about was reading Kelly wrong in the heat of the moment.
“What if we used a safe word?”
“Funny, I didn’t have you pegged as the whips and chains type of guy.”
“I’m not. I like to get rough, but all the ritual and contracts don’t really do it for me.” Nick frowned and shook his head. “Anyway, I think if we used a safe word, I’d feel more comfortable.”
“Goddamn, Nick. It’s sex. I’ve never had a problem during sex with an attack.”
“Have you slept with a lot of people since you left your ex? Were they rough, or was it more of club bathroom situation?”
Kelly’s cheeks flushed. “Okay, so I hooked up with a few strangers a couple times since then. I avoided their apartments and never took anyone home. I guess I can see your point.”
Nick paused. “I’m the first person you’ve brought home since your ex?”
“Well, technically, I didn’t bring you home. You just showed up here and demanded angry kisses.”
Nick’s cheeks heated, and he laughed.
“But, if you’re asking if you’re the first person that I intend on getting very, very naked with who has been in my home since I left my ex? The answer is yes.”
“Goddammit!” Kelly picked up a mug from where it’d been drying next to the sink and chucked it at the wall. Nick flinched as it shattered. “It’s been two fucking years since that son of a bitch last touched me. I should be able to make out with my new boyfriend without freaking out! I shouldn’t be worried that you’re going to fucking hurt me!” Kelly’s voice broke. His fists were clenched at his sides as he stared at the floor.
“They called paramedics and not a coroner, so he’s at least alive.”
“Cross’ll be on the warpath.” Ty bounced one leg and stared out the window.
Nick flipped the lights and siren, using those to get them back to the campus in record time. They located the crime scene quickly enough--an alleyway of sorts between two campus buildings. It curved in the middle, blocking off the view of either end, and was heavily shadowed due to the height of the two buildings on either side. Nick shivered as a chill rolled down the back of his neck.
They flashed their badges at the tape and headed for the ambulance. Cameron sat on the edge of a stretcher, a blanket around his shoulders. As they neared, he looked up and sighed. “Hello again, Detectives.”
“Are you okay?” Nick asked.
Cameron arched an eyebrow and gestured to his face. “I’m perfect. Thought I’d try a new look for fall.”
His lower lip was swollen and split, the bruising extending to his chin and partially up his jaw. He had a cut across his nose and two other shallow ones on his neck. The knuckles on his right hand were starting to swell, and his shirt was torn in two places.
“Anything broken?” Ty asked the paramedic.
The paramedic palpated Cameron’s side, eliciting a wince and a sharp intake of breath. “He might have a cracked rib. We’ll need to take you in for x-rays.”
Cameron groaned. “I really hate hospitals.”
“What happened?” Ty asked, a muscle on his jaw feathering.
Cameron hissed as the paramedic addressed the swelling on his hand. “I was running late to class so I cut between these two buildings. I got about halfway and this guy jumped me.”
“Did you see who attacked you?” Nick asked.
“No, sorry. He grabbed me from behind.”
“You’re sure it was a guy?” Ty asked.
Cameron nodded. “Yeah, a little shorter than me.”
Ty’s eyes narrowed. “How much shorter?”
“Uh…a few inches shorter maybe? I had to bend backward when he tried to put me in a chokehold.”
“Tried?” Nick’s eyebrows rose.
Faint red skated over Cameron’s cheekbones. “Jules taught me a few things. I managed to get free and got in a few shots of my own, but I was dizzy and we were in shadows.”
“Which way did he run?” Nick asked.
Cameron pointed the direction they’d come from. “Some students heard me shout, I guess. Dialed the cops. He ran when he heard the sirens.”
“Where is he? Where’s Cameron?” a voice cut through the air.
Nick turned around at the very angry and impatient voice of Detective Julian Cross. Cross flashed his badge without stopping as he hurried to the ambulance. “Cameron!”
Cameron’s entire body seemed to finally relax in relief when he saw Julian. “I’m okay.”
Julian brushed past Nick and Ty without a second look. “The hell you are, love. What happened? Tell me everything.”
“So you can go shoot them?” Cameron asked with a soft smile.
“Of course.” Julian pushed his way into the ambulance and sat next to Cameron, wrapping an arm protectively around the younger man’s shoulders.
Nick somehow doubted Julian was joking. Cameron repeated what he’d told Nick and Ty already. Julian’s face grew stony, his eyes narrowing as he listened. He glared at Nick. “You have suspects?”
Nick nodded. “We do. We’ll get him.”
“Before or after my lover dies?” Julian snapped.
“Hey now,” Cameron soothed. He slid his uninjured hand over Julian’s knee. “None of that. They’re doing their job, just as you do yours, okay?”
To Nick’s surprise, Julian softened, resting his forehead against Cameron’s temple and lacing his fingers with Cameron’s. He murmured something too low for anyone else to hear, but Cameron nodded and smiled. “I know,” he murmured back.
Ty chewed on his lower lip and glanced at Nick. Nick met his gaze, read Ty’s eyes, and shook his head. “No.”
Ty blew out a breath. “Nick.”
Nick pointed a finger at him, thought better of what he really wanted to say, and walked away a few steps. “Shorter doesn’t automatically mean Kelly,” he hissed.
“I know. But…we gotta ask him. Just to make sure.”
Nick frowned. He looked back at the ambulance. “Cameron.”
The couple broke apart, and two sets of eyes trained on Nick.
“Did you hurt the guy at all? Anything noticeable?”
Cameron thought for a moment. “I got a kick in on his knee. He might be limping a little.” He held up his bruised hand. “I punched him in the jaw.”
Julian smiled proudly.
Nick turned back to Ty. “There. I’m meeting Kelly later. I’ll see if he has any injuries.”
Ty didn’t look entirely convinced, but he nodded. “Okay. You call me immediately if he does.”
Nick didn’t want to entertain that possibility. The mere thought made him want to throw up. He managed a tight nod as he pulled his phone out. His fingers fumbled over the screen, but he brought up Kelly’s number and called him.
“You have magnificent timing, Detective. I’m in between lectures.” Kelly’s deep voice was like being dunked in warm water. Nick instantly felt lighter.
He walked away from the crime scene, the beginnings of a grin on his face. “It’s a gift.”
“At the risk of sounding silly, I was thinking about you.”
Nick’s smiled widened. “Oh? What about?”
“I’m sure you could use your imagination and it might come close.” Kelly’s voice grew a little rough around the edges.
“Tease.”
Kelly hummed. “So, what’s the verdict?”
Good feeling gone. “What’s the verdict about what?” Had he heard about the attack? The car chase?
“Lunch or dinner?” Kelly asked slowly. There were a few muffled sounds then a door closed. “Are you okay?”
Nick closed his eyes briefly. He didn’t feel like talking about the car chase or the attack on Cameron just yet. No need to worry Kelly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just been a rough morning so far. Well, almost a rough morning.”
Kelly chuckled. “Good save. I was almost offended.” He sighed. “Is there anything I can do?”
Nick smiled softly even though Kelly couldn’t see it. The concern flowing over the phone warmed him, wrapped around his chest and held tight. “Just asking that helped.”
“Good. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
“I will.” He cleared his throat. “I have a shit-ton of paperwork to take care of this afternoon. How does dinner sound?”
“Sounds perfect. You want to meet me at my apartment? We could stay in.”
Staying in sounded fucking awesome. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll pick something up on my way over from the station. When do you get home from class?” Nick poked a finger at the stitches above his temple which were throbbing in time with his growing headache.
“Around six if nothing holds me up.”
Nick chuckled. “Well, don’t let anything hold you up.”
“Yes, sir.” Kelly’s smile was evident in his voice. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Hey, Kels?”
Kelly hummed.
Nick licked his lips, his stomach knotting and a shiver skittering down his spine. “Be careful, okay?”
“Always am.” Kelly’s voice was soft, no irritation or annoyance in its depths. The phone went silent as he clicked off.
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