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Hey, guys, happy Sunday!
Just popping in quick to let you know I’ll be doing what I can to get the rest of my books moved over here ASAP. It’s what I’ll be focusing most of my attention on this week, starting with the Bo Austen series tomorrow.
In the meantime, thank you for your patience!
NOT EDITED
Dallas sat in his car, drumming the fingers of his left hand against the steering wheel. With music quietly playing through his speakers, he kept most of his attention focused on Spencer Fabray. The pedophile had left his house twenty minutes before, and Dallas had been following from a distance ever since.
Unfortunate that he isn’t doing anything interesting, Ed said.
“I know.”
Can we screw the rules just this once and kill him in the pet store?
“No.”
Ed groaned. God, you never let me have any fun, Tex. When I was in charge of it all, I killed whoever I wanted WHENever I wanted.
Dallas sighed, dropping his elbow to the window. “When you were in charge of it all, you got caught and sent to the electric chair.”
That seems unfair.
“Life isn’t fair. I imagine the afterlife isn’t, either,” Dallas said. He tilted his head to the side, resting his temple on his fist. “Your previous methods in life got you caught. They got you found guilty and sentenced to the chair. I’m not going to let you do the same thing to me. You were a killer through and through. I’m not. I have more left to do here than kill people.”
Mm. Like solving little homicides?
“Yes, among other things.”
I still don’t understand how you don’t see the stupidity of your homicide cop angle of life.
“Consider the idea that I don’t care if you see it as stupid or not. I made sure I didn’t join the department that covers the area we display the bodies in for a reason. My brain does comprehend the danger that could lead to.”
Are you sure it does? Because when you became a cop and put your prints in the system, you could’ve fooled me.
“That’s why we don’t leave my prints behind, genius.”
Ed chuckled. That’s technically a fair point. An irritating one, but a fair one.
“Irritating because if you had thought of it, you wouldn’t have gotten caught?”
Hey, listen here, you little shit.
Dallas laughed. “Is this where you give me the speech about DNA and fingerprints and forensics? How they were oh so different ‘back in your day’?”
Yes! Because they were!
“Of course they were, dumbass. But you’re still the one who left every single ounce of evidence behind that you possibly could. Even without the knowledge they could catch me with my DNA, I’d like to think I’d have the self-control not to spit at a damn crime scene.”
Fair. I wasn’t a self-control type of man.
“I’ve been dealing with you my whole life. Believe me, I’m aware.”
Ed laughed in that deeper, darker register of his that always shook Dallas to his very soul. Or whatever the hell was left of it. If you would stop trying to fight the fact that you and I are one in the same, you wouldn’t see me as some out-of-control murderer. You would see me as your partner in crime, you partner in FUN and excitement. Wouldn’t you like to enjoy this life all the time, Tex? No more hating yourself for just… being you?
“I don’t hate myself for being me. I hate the part of me that I allow you to control.”
Ed snorted. Oh, Tex. Whatever helps you sleep at night, dear.
Dallas rolled his eyes. He lifted his head as Spencer walked out of the pet store, a small bag in his hand. “Did you see anything about a pet when you looked him up?”
No, but I know he has family. If he had a pet before prison, they probably took care of it for him and gave it back when he walked free.
“Probably,” Dallas agreed, his voice quiet.
Ed groaned. Jesus Christ, does that mean you’re not going to kill this guy because he has a fucking pet?
“Oh, we’re gonna kill him. No one touches a kid and gets away with it.”
A dark chuckle echoed in Dallas’s head. Good.
Once Spencer drove out of the parking lot, Dallas started his car and followed him out, making sure to keep enough distance so Spencer wouldn’t know he was being followed.
Though his ‘errands’ that day were far closer to being Ed’s errands than his, he didn’t mind. Spencer Fabray was a danger to society, a danger to the children of the country. Dallas had absolutely no problem with stalking Spencer. He had no problem with the knowledge that, after he was certain it was safe, he’d kill Spencer and display him from The Hanging Tree.
It wasn’t often that Dallas felt no disgust at the idea of killing another man, but Dallas knew of non-murderers who believed people like Spencer should be killed and hung in the streets. Who was he to deny them that?
***
Dallas followed Spencer to the mall and parked four spots away and one row over. With a sigh, he pulled the key from the ignition. “All right, Ed. It’s your turn.”
Finally.
Dallas rolled his eyes. “Only follow Spencer. Keep your eyes off anyone who isn’t proven to be a criminal.”
Yeah, yeah, I’ll follow the rules. Let me at him before I can’t find him.
Drawing in a breath, Dallas closed his eyes. “Good luck.”
Ed opened his eyes, tilting his head to the side until his neck popped. He slid out of the car, closing the door behind him. As he headed toward the store, he locked the doors and pocketed the key fob.
Inside the mall, he found Spencer rather easily. The man had headed straight toward the other end of the mall, toward the food court. It didn’t take long to catch up to him. Spencer wasn’t nearly as sneaky as he most likely believed himself to be. When he walked past the man, Ed made sure Spencer bumped into him, a good excuse to touch his skin without drawing attention to his fingers brushing the back of the man’s hand. Ed didn’t care if the man’s feelings were hurt at being touched by a man, but he sure as hell didn’t want to get into a fight.
Not while Dallas’s shoulder injury made for a weak ass right hook.
“Oh, God, sorry, man,” Spencer said. “Didn’t even see you there.”
Ed flashed that Dallas half-smile. He knew he didn’t pull it off with nearly as much charm as the man himself, but that was fine. Even half of Dallas’s usual charm was enough to skate by on. The man had done a marvelous job disguising the serial killer living in his head.
Slashing a hand through the air, Ed shook his head. “No worries. I’m a little clumsy myself these days.”
Spencer nodded toward the sling. “I can tell.”
Ed chuckled. “Yeah. Most can. Take it easy.”
“You too, man.”
Ed turned away from Spencer and walked past the food court, the smile falling from his face as soon as he no longer needed it for the charming facade. He had only learned the benefit of charm during his time with Dallas. When he had still been alive, he had never charmed any of his victims to their doom. He had simply taken them. But to follow Dallas’s rules, charm was, on occasion, a necessity.
As promised, Ed would unfortunately continue to follow the rules.
Ed tucked his good hand into the pocket of his jacket to avoid touching anyone else and headed into the clothing store at the end of the mall. He had no plans to buy anything, but it would be far less suspicious than simply turning around and walking straight back the way he had come.
Spencer owned a turtle. For Ed, that was unbelievably unimportant, but dear old Dallas tended to want to know every last detail about a person. That was Ed’s job. Of course, Dallas assumed Ed gathered that information by stalking their criminal of choice for days or weeks, but that assumption was entirely incorrect. Over the years, Ed had simply worked to hone the psychic abilities Dallas hadn’t used, the very same that Ed had purposely blocked him out of. So long as Dallas didn’t know what he really was, Ed could stay.
He planned to make his stay last for as long as it possibly could, ideally until the day Dallas died.
Tex? You listening in?
Ed waited a moment before shaking his head. It didn’t surprise him that Dallas didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure what Dallas did when Ed took over, but it wasn’t often that he responded. Ed figured it was one more way for Dallas to pretend he wasn’t also a serial killer.
That was all right. Ed was perfectly comfortable killing time for a few good hours while he let Dallas’s psychic shit do all the hard work.
***
Dallas opened his eyes, turning his head to look around. Driver’s side of the car. Parking lot. “Where’d you leave me?”
Relax. You’re a ten-minute drive from home.
After a moment, Dallas nodded. Fortunately, Ed was right. The street sign about half a block up confirmed that much. He started the car and shifted into drive. “What’d you find out?”
Nothing particularly interesting, as if THAT’S a surprise. He owns a turtle named Betsy, stole it from one of his victims.
Dallas’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he drove out of the parking lot. “Do you know which victim?”
Yes. I jotted her name and current address down in your little notebook. It’s tucked into your visor.
“Thank you.”
Mmhmm. He’s got his eyes on a high schooler who works the register in one of the clothing stores in the mall. Likes her dark skin and long legs.
Dallas cleared his throat, right hand balling into a fist. “I thought he only liked white girls.”
White girls got him caught. He’d like to change it up this time.
“We’re going to fucking hang him before he can.”
Ed chuckled. We sure as hell are. When?
“Did you find out anything that would indicate the best time for it?”
No, but I know he’s planning on nabbing her Tuesday night on her way home from work.
“Tuesday,” Dallas echoed. “We can’t do it today, not with Bo at the house.”
Xavier will go back to his ‘week time’ schedule Monday night. Gaming and lights out by ten. I assume your new best friend will line up with Xavier’s schedule quite well.
“Why’s that? Because you think they’re both freaks?”
Oh, please. If you don’t easily fit into society, it’s usually because you’re a monster or a freak. I was a monster. They’re freaks. Get over yourself. And YES, of course because they’re freaks, dumbass. You saw the way Bo flocked to Xavier at the house. He didn’t ask you for permission to continue the tour with Xavier. He didn’t look like you needed to save him. He just WENT with it. To Bo, your brother is the NORMAL of people like him. If Xavier goes to bed at ten, I have a feeling your little babysitter will do the same thing without second thought or hesitation.
“He… might,” Dallas agreed, his voice quiet. “We’ll plan for Monday night, then. Worst case scenario, we grab the bastard on Tuesday.”
We should wait until he grabs her.
“No.”
It’d be more fun. You could even get a taste of your savior complex.
“I don’t have a savior complex. I have a morality complex that prevents you from murdering innocent people.”
If that’s what you’d like to call it. Dallas scoffed, biting his tongue on any further responses. Ed would always be an insufferable bastard, but Dallas still had the choice to respond or not. That was almost a sense of control, and when it came to Ed, Dallas needed all the self-control he could manage.
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NOT EDITED
Theodore sat down beside Gina on her couch, eyes landing on Vera. She and Boyd had taken immediate interest in a dance game for the Xbox 360 the very moment they stepped foot in Gina’s living room.
Gina elbowed him in the side. “How’re you doing today, Theo?”
“Not terrible. Though sleeping on a couch doesn’t serve me too well, I like being at Russell’s.”
“He’s… a grown adult without a bed?”
Theodore nodded toward Vera. “He sacrificed the bed for Vera to sleep in. And he apparently sleeps on the couch most nights anyway. Comes home late, grabs a snack, and falls asleep on the couch.”
“Because of work?”
“I think so, mostly. He puts in a lot of hours, and he’s exhausted when he gets home. Since he doesn’t want to wake himself up with a shower and doesn’t want to go to bed without one, he settles for the couch.”
“You gotta tell your man that his back can’t handle that forever.”
“Oh, he already knows. He’s had back problems from when he was still in school.” Gina smiled rather than responding. “What?”
“Nothing. But you didn’t object to me calling him ‘your man’. I like to think that’s progress. At the very least, a step in the right direction.”
Theodore couldn’t help but smile. “It did feel nice not to feel obligated to disagree with it.”
“That’s great. It should feel nice. You should get to feel nice and safe and comfortable.”
“Comfortable,” Theodore echoed. He chuckled. “I let him sleep in my bed. I’ve hugged him and cuddled with him. I’ve spent the night at his house, he’s spent the night at mine. He’s given me rides, we’ve officially had all three meals of the day together. He’s shared some of his bad experiences, I’ve shared mine.” He shook his head. “Is it comfort if, despite all of that, I can’t kiss him?”
“Yes. You don’t have to kiss someone to prove you’re comfortable with them. You don’t have to have sex with someone to prove you love them. Same concept, different extremes.”
“Yeah, I guess that… makes sense.” Theodore cleared his throat. “I feel… bad that I can’t get over the odd feeling the very idea of kissing him gives me.”
“Well, what’s the feeling like?”
“It feels like I’m violating some contract with Shane.”
“You’re divorced. I know it’s not that easy to process that, but you have legal proof that you’re divorced. You have proof that you’re not tied to any man, Shane included.”
“I wish it was that easy to process, though.”
“I know, Theo.” She patted his knee. “What about feeling bad about it? Why is that?”
“I don’t know. I guess… it makes me feel like there’s a part of me that still feels like it belongs to Shane, a part of me that still feels as though it should be controlled by Shane. It makes me feel like I love him, care about him. A-and I hate that.”
“That’s pretty common, feeling like you love them. People like Shane manage to charm us with their ‘good’ side, the side with the dazzling smile and wonderful sense of humor. It’s what they’re good at. There’s nothing wrong with you for still loving that side. It’s hard to let go of the good parts. You’re not bad for that.”
“Thank you.” Theodore leaned his cane against the end table and clasped his hands between his thighs. “Another reason it makes me feel bad, though? I feel like I’m robbing Rusell of the relationship he wants.”
“And what kind of relationship do you think he wants?” Gina asked.
“I don’t know. One where he can be even remotely intimate with his partner?”
“Intimacy doesn’t have to be sexual, Theo.”
“It… doesn’t?”
“No. You already said you guys have been sleeping in the same bed. Or couch. If you’re touching at all when you’re falling asleep or waking up? That closeness is intimacy. Holding hands, touching his cheek, rubbing his back–even briefly–while you’re watching TV, sitting close enough that your arm touches his… Those all count.”
Theodore dropped his head to her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“No problem, Theo.” She touched a hand to the side of his head. “I know it’s hard, but if Russell didn’t want an actual relationship with you, he’d be gone already. If he just wanted sex, he’d be gone already. That man is nothing like Shane, and I have it on pretty good authority that he’ll wait for a kiss from you, no matter how long it takes.”
Theodore smiled. “I like the sound of that. Him… caring about me enough to be willing to wait until I’m ready.”
“You already know it’s true, deep down. You told me he wouldn’t even sleep in bed with you the first time you offered because you seemed hesitant and unsure about it. That man cares about you being comfortable in the pace of your relationship more than anything else.”
“Yeah… He’s a pretty good guy, huh?”
Gina smiled. “He is, and you deserve every damn bit of that niceness he’s willing to offer.”
“You think so?”
“Theo, I know so.”
Theodore shook his head, though a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Thank you, Gina.”
“No problem, Theo.”
***
While Gina and Boyd shopped for new shoes, Theodore and Vera simply walked around the mall, hand in hand. Though his hip was a little tender from spending another night on the couch, his shoulder felt great. Russell had done a damn good job on the follow through of his promise of ‘fixing’ it.
“Daddy?”
“Hmm?”
“Am I gonna have more playdates with Boyd?”
“If you want to, yeah, definitely.”
“Awesome. Boyd’s cool, and I like his name.”
“He has a pretty nice one, huh?”
Vera nodded. “He says that you helped Aunt Gina pick it out when he was born.”
“That’s right, I did. She had chosen a list of names she liked, and I helped her narrow them down.” Theodore squeezed her hand. “Aunt Gina did the same to help me name you.”
“Really?”
“Mmhmm. In the beginning, before Shane… came into the picture, Gina and I wanted to do just about everything together for the two of you.”
“Why did he keep you guys apart?” Vera asked.
“People like Shane want to make sure you’re dependent on them, that you only have them. Making sure I didn’t have family or a best friend to tell my problems to was part of that.”
“Dependent?”
“Sorry. Umm… it means you need someone, like, for everything. You’re dependent on me because I pay for the roof over your head, the bed you sleep in, the clothes you wear, the food you eat. That sort of thing.”
“So… like how Russell’s dependant on us for supper tonight?”
Theodore chuckled. “Yeah, sorta like that.”
“So it’s not always a bad thing? Like it was with Father?”
“Right. Sometimes it can be good or healthy. Right now, I’m dependent on Grandma and Grandpa to pick you up from school, to babysit you while I’m at work. I’m dependent on Gina for rides to and from work. It’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it just means having good parents, good family, good friends.”
“Is Russell a good friend?”
“Very much so. And a good boyfriend to me.”
Vera smiled. “Yeah.” She tugged on his hand, pointing to one of the shops in the mall. “Will you ever let me do that?”
Theodore looked over at the window, where a little boy was getting his ears pierced. “Yes, but not with a piercing gun. It’s safer and more sanitary at a tattoo shop.”
“When?”
“How about… for your birthday?”
“Which one?”
“Number six.”
“But that’s next year.”
Theodore chuckled. “Yeah, but it’s also the next one you have.”
“In February.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine. Besides, come February, we’ll already know everything about it. Which shop we’re going to, what color of jewelry you want, what our other plans are for your birthday… We’ll have the whole thing planned out by then.”
“That… is pretty cool. I like knowing plans.”
“Me, too, baby.” Theodore smiled down at her. “Next year, we can do whatever you want. We can have a party, you can have a sleepover. We’ll finally be able to do whatever you want.”
“Awesome,” Vera whispered. “Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think you’ll still be dating Russell when it’s my birthday?”
“I don’t know, but I hope so.”
“Me, too. He makes you happy.”
“Oh, does he now?”
Vera nodded. “Duh. You smile and laugh more now that he’s around, even when it’s just you and me.”
“That’s probably true. I feel safer now than I did before. Not the way I did before Shane came along, but… I feel safer.”
“Me, too. You always kept me safe and made me feel safe, but Russell has a whole badge that shows he fights bad guys.”
Theodore chuckled softly. “Yeah, that he does.”
“What do you think it’s like to fight bad guys?”
“Stressful, even more so if you’re one of the good guys like Russell is. I also hear those bad guy fighters work long hours.”
Vera nodded. “Have you been to where Russell works?”
“The police station? Yeah, a couple times. Not always to see Russell, though.”
“Is it nice?”
“It’s nowhere near as cool as the bookstore.”
Vera laughed. “Yeah. I like the bookstore.”
“Me, too. Heck, I just like books.”
A smile crossed the girl’s face. “Me, too. Or three.”
Theodore chuckled. “For you? Either works.”
“Awesome.” Vera swung her father’s hand back and forth, eyes wandering over the shops they passed. “Are we gonna go in any of ‘em?”
Theodore pointed ahead of them with their joined hands. “There’s a little bookstore up here I thought we’d visit. You can pick out a book or two if you’d like.”
“I’d like that.”
He chuckled. “I thought you might.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze. “After this, we’ll go see how Gina and Boyd are coming along. Sound like a plan?”
Vera nodded. “Sounds good to me, Daddy.”
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NOT EDITED
Just before midnight, Theodore fell asleep on the couch, his head on Russell’s chest. Russell paused Nurse Jackie and set the remote on the end table. He shut off the lamp and wrapped an arm around Theodore. He wasn’t sure how sleep would go for him that night, but he hoped he could manage more than an hour or so. If he ever wanted to find the bastard that had killed Vincent–not to mention Lauren–he would need sleep. He needed even just one day of being well-rested and hangover headache free.
Tomorrow was a Saturday, but that wouldn’t stop him from working. He hoped Saturday would be that well-rested day he needed to gain some traction on the case. As he closed his eyes, he crossed his fingers for a good Saturday.
***
Unsurprisingly, when Russell’s alarm went off, Theodore was already awake and off the couch. Russell pressed the button on the side of his watch, silencing the alarm. Before he could even sit up and open the drawer of the end table, Theodore walked into the room, a water bottle in his hand.
Russell smiled faintly, grabbing the bottle from him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Theodore sat down beside him, hands wrapped around his cane. “Working today?”
Russell tossed the orange prescription bottle back into the drawer as he swallowed the pill. “From home, yeah. Just little things here and there, I guess. But overall, nothing I can’t do from here. Why?”
“I was thinking Vera and I could stay for a while. I mean… if you wanted.”
“I’d love that.”
Theodore smiled. Hesitantly, he patted Russell’s thigh before drawing his hand back to himself. “Umm… I scheduled a playdate for Vera today at noon with Gina’s son. Do you mind if I give her your address so she can come pick us up?”
“Not at all.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” Russell cleared his throat, pulling a leg to his chest. He rested his chin on his knee for a moment before turning to face Theodore, cheek falling to his knee instead. “Can I ask you something?”
“Umm…”
“About Vera.”
“Sure.”
“If Shane’s the only person you ever slept with, is Vera the result of a surrogate?”
“Yeah. Umm…” Theodore cleared his throat. “Gina’s son is Vera’s twin. Uh… Gina and I both wanted kids, we were both single, and we both worked to accumulate the funds for IVF. After two tries and an extra nine months, Vera and Boyd were born.”
“So you have a son, too?”
“Well… technically. For the purpose of logistics, I’m his uncle, just like Gina is Vera’s aunt.” Theodore met his gaze. “Does that bother you?”
“God, no. I was just curious. I’ve been curious about it the whole time.” Russell reached out and squeezed his arm. “So Vera and Boyd don’t know this, either?”
“No. Initially, we had planned on telling them once they were old enough to understand the concept of it, but Shane kept me from hanging out with Gina, and that kept Vera away from Boyd. We still want to tell them, but we’d like to wait until they’re not strangers anymore.” A pause. “They go to school together, but they aren’t best friends or anything. We just want it to be a bit of knowledge that doesn’t harm them in any way.”
Russell rubbed a hand down Theodore’s arm. “You’ll do great. And the kids, I bet they’ll take it great. I don’t know about Boyd, but Vera’s smart, and she loves the heck outta you. She’ll understand why that information had to wait, and it won’t harm her. She’s got you for a daddy, Theo. She’s got the best support system she could ask for, Theo. It’ll be okay.”
Theodore smiled, leaning into Russell briefly. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“You wanna help me make breakfast? Won’t be too long before Vera gets up.”
“I would love to.”
“Awesome,” Theodore whispered. In his usual hesitant way, he laid a hand on Russell’s back. Russell loved the warmth of Theodore’s hand between his shoulders, even though it didn’t happen often. Theodore still had plenty of issues when it came to physical touch, and Russell expected it to be that way for quite some time. But it didn’t change how much he loved his touch in the meantime.
“Do you need a moment? Or are you good?”
“I’m good. Good as I can be.” Rusell offered a smile. “Thanks for checkin’.”
Theodore nodded, patting Russell on the back before he rose to his feet. One hand on his cane, he stuck out his free hand. Russell slapped his hand into Theodore’s, happily accepting the help to his feet. “Thank you for massaging my shoulder last night, Russ. I can finally walk without it hurting every time I move the cane.”
“My pleasure. I hated seeing you in even more pain than usual,” Russell said. “Have you ever considered massaging your hip, too? It’s called massage therapy for a reason, you know.”
“Yeah, my mom suggested that, too. Attending physical therapy in the beginning was hard enough. People…”
“Make you nervous,” Russell finished for him.
Theodore nodded. “Even women make me nervous. My physical therapist was a woman, and I was still…”
“That’s okay. After you’ve been subjected to the darker parts of humanity, it’s hard to trust anyone. It’s hard not to be nervous around others. They don’t have to remind you of your abuser. They just have to be capable of reminding you of that darkness. Anyone’s capable of that.”
“Thank you for being the first person to explain that in a way that doesn’t make me feel crazy.”
Russell smiled. “I hated when I was in your shoes, when people would talk down to me or pity me, when people would try to explain what I was feeling with these long, deepy analogies and metaphors. I don’t wanna be that person. I wanna be the person I wished I had when I was in your shoes.”
“I think you’re doing a great job of it. I mean, if the person you wished you had was simply… incredible,” Theodore said.
Russell laid his hands on Theodore’s cheeks and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “It was, and thank you.” Theodore only nodded. “If you ever want to, I can try massaging your hip. I’m more versed in shoulders and backs, but I’m sure a couple chats with my sister and a few trips through Google would help me get the gist of it.”
Theodore chuckled. “Tempting. I’ll consider it, thank you.” He cocked his head to the side. “Chats with your sister?”
“Yeah, she used to be a massage therapist. I still have issues pop up from that, uh, car accident sometimes, so she walks me through some of the massages I can do myself. I’ve also picked up a thing or two for other people’s shoulders and backs.”
“Now, that, I was aware of.”
Russell smiled. “Enough about me, huh? Come on. Let’s go make some breakfast. Most important meal of the day, right?”
“Right.” Theodore grabbed his hand. “Let’s go make some breakfast then.”
***
Russell sat in his little home office, one of the only rooms he had appropriately ‘decorated’ in his house. It was where he kept his family photos, his high school diploma, his college degree. He had never had an office in any of the places he had stayed when his family had bounced around from place to place. He figured that gave him a sense of security when it came to making the room appear less cold and a bit more homey.
He’d been alone in the house for nearly half an hour. As planned, Gina had picked up Theodore and Vera for their playdate around noon. Since Theodore and Vera’s usual Friday chat had been replaced by time at Russell’s, they planned on spending most of the day together. Russell took no issue with that, despite Theodore’s vocal fears that he would despise the very idea of it.
Russell let out a breath, flipping open his in-progress case file for Vince’s murder. The day before, during his conversation with Marilyn Briggs, he had discovered some details about the missing car that concerned him, to put it gently. For instance, Marilyn had a security camera outside the house, pointed at the driveway. She had given that footage to the police, and as far as she knew, nothing important had come from it.
Or, at least, the detectives had never followed up with her on the security footage, either.
He had requested access to the file for the missing car, but he’d yet to gain permission for it. It was a robbery case rather than homicide. It needed to run through a separate approval system before being handed off to him, as though a homicide officer glancing at the damn thing would jeopardize the case no one had remotely tried to make progress in since it began.
Outside of the chain of command protocol, Marilyn had promised to find the original file of the security footage and send a copy to him. Though he was still waiting for that, he felt reasonably confident in the fact that she would send it. There was no chain of command or approval system. There was only a woman who still wanted her damn car back.
Russell looked down as his phone dinged with a text message from Theodore.
Theo: Do you want us to join you for supper tonight? By which I mean, would you like us to bring supper so you’ll eat food tonight?
A little smile tugged at one corner of Russell’s mouth. It’d been so damn long since he’d been in a meaningful relationship, but even the simplest texts from Theodore made him feel that the wait had been worth it.
Russell: I’ll be fine if you wanna spend the evening with Vera and/or Gina
Theo: Are you sure?
Russell: Yeah I’ll manage. Have fun with your BFF, Theo. You deserve that.
Theo: Okay
Theo: We’ll bring you something after. Do you like Chinese food?
Russell: I do.
Theo: Perfect. My place or yours?
Russell: Which do you prefer?
Theo: I don’t know.
Theo: I like that your house isn’t filled with… Shane, but your house is also very, uh
Russell: Empty as hell?
Theo: A bit.
Russell: We could sit in my office. That’s not empty.
Theo: A grand idea.
Theo: You have an office?
Russell: Yeah down the hall from my room. There’s also a whole master bedroom/closet/bathroom on the other side of the kitchen. Empty except the laundry room though
Theo: Okay, definitely your place, because I need to see this secret section of your house.
Russell cleared his throat, shifting in his chair. He tended to avoid the master bedroom section of the house, but it wouldn’t kill him to show Theodore around just this once.
Russell: Sounds like a plan to me, Theo. I’ll see you then.
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NOT EDITED
Thanks to Ed and a couple nightmares thrown his way, Dallas had spent another night sleeping like garbage. He scratched at his scalp as he made his way out to the kitchen, still dressed in his pajamas. On his way past the living room, he found Bo still asleep on the couch, legs pulled to his chest. He hardly took up the room a dog would.
At least he had slept. Dallas figured he had to chalk that up to a plus.
Or we could’ve killed him, Ed said. Dallas stopped walking. You were tired, Tex. So, so tired. Do you know how easy it is to take control of you when you’re exhausted?
Dallas took a few steps back and stared at Bo, waiting for any sign of Bo’s life. He lay on his side, the blanket tugged up to his shoulders and tucked under his feet. If he was breathing, there was no sign of it.
Heart pounding in his chest, Dallas walked over to the couch and pressed two fingers to Bo’s inner wrist. It took a moment of feeling around to find a heartbeat besides his own, but it was there. Bo was alive.
Ed laughed, a sudden headache shattering every cohesive thought in Dallas’s mind. Oh, I got you so good, Tex.
Dallas managed to make it to the kitchen before falling to his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut, bowing his head as he slammed his left hand down over his ear. It wasn’t long before he felt a hand on his. He opened his eyes, squinting at Bo, even the dim light in the kitchen proving to be too much to handle.
Bo sat in front of him on the floor, legs folded. He grabbed Dallas’s left hand and, without ever making a noise, rubbed his thumb in a small circle in the space between the base of Dallas’s thumb and forefinger. Dallas didn’t know how long it took, but eventually, the headache faded, as did the loud noises and overwhelmingly bright lights.
“How did…?”
“Acupressure. I assumed it was a migraine, based on… everything.” Bo offered a smile. “How often do they happen?”
“Depends on the month. Sometimes only once, sometimes a couple times a week.”
“I’m sorry you have to suffer through them. Have you seen a doctor?”
“Yeah. We believe it’s an underlying condition that we have to try and treat first,” Dallas said. Unfortunately, that underlying condition was Ed, and Dallas was pretty damn sure that bastard wasn’t going anywhere.
“I hope you find the underlying cause soon.”
“Me too. Thank you.” Dallas cleared his throat. “Was that a pressure point, then?”
“Yes.” Bo grabbed Dallas’s hand again and pressed his thumb into the same space as before. “Right here. You should do it on your left hand. You can massage it with your right hand, even with your arm in the sling.
“Cool. Thank you.”
“Mmhmm.”
Dallas shifted to sit on his ass rather than his knees. “When did you finally head to bed? Or, uh, to couch?”
One corner of Bo’s mouth lifted. For once, it didn’t immediately disappear. “Some time shortly after two o’clock this morning. Xavier made popcorn and introduced me to Uncharted. He was very excited to show it to me.”
Dallas nodded. “Yeah, that’s become his favorite game, that’s for damn sure. Ruggedly handsome hero saving pretty girls and shit.” He smiled. “He’s a fan of that. Did he have you play it?”
“Yes. He showed me all the treasure locations I passed so I didn’t have to search for them myself.”
“Good, good.” Dallas leaned back against the refrigerator, pulling his knees up just enough to rest his forearms on them. “You a gamer, Austen?”
“No,” Bo said, a little chuckle slipping through the monotone facade. “My friends introduced me to gaming, but I still only really do it when I’m with them.”
“I thought you didn’t have friends?”
Bo shook his head. “I didn’t have friends while I was in school. I made a few after graduating. Bridget would be one of them. She enjoys the Halo games. I play those with her.”
“Ah, that’s fair. I guess you did clarify that.”
“I generally do,” Bo agreed. He wrapped his hands around his ankles. “Your brother is kind and… humorous. I enjoy his company.”
Dallas smiled, turning his head toward Bo again. “I’m glad you like him. You believe me on the schedule thing now?”
“Yes. It’s… comforting to meet someone like me in a role like your brother’s.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Which part?”
“A ‘role’ like my brother’s.”
“Oh.” Bo cleared his throat, rocking back for a moment. “Uh, well… a role where he has… someone he lives with all the time. Someone who still… loves him, despite who he is and how he acts.”
“Ah,” Dallas whispered. “You’ve got people that love you.”
“Yes, but I fear staying with my adopted parents for too long. I love them. They say they love me. But I assume love for me runs out after six years. So I space my years out.”
“Is… six years how long your biological parents had you before giving you up?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, man.”
“Thank you.”
Dallas scratched his jaw, shaking his head. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to live with that idea in your head, always thinking that you have to keep track of how long you’ve spent with someone to know how close you are to six whole years.”
“I manage. But it’s… still comforting to know that I may have been wrong.” A pause. “Well, about some people, anyway.”
“Everyone’s not the same. We all don’t fit into one of those baby toy shape box things.”
Bo smiled. “I suppose not.”
Dallas reached out and patted Bo’s knee. “Do you work today?”
“I’m on call, but I’m not at the station unless they need me.”
“Cool. Got any plans for the day, then?”
“I suppose not. Why? Do you have plans that involve me?”
Dallas chuckled. “No, we’ll both take the day off from crime shit. But I have some errands I need to run, so I was just wondering if you wanted to stay here with Xavier or if you needed a ride somewhere.”
“If it won’t negatively affect your brother, I think I’ll stay here. I don’t have anywhere else to be.”
“Nah, it won’t bother him. He might just have you play more Uncharted.”
“I will accept my fate.”
Dallas chuckled. “I’m sure Xavier will appreciate that, man.” He smoothed a hand over his short curls. “You wanna help me make breakfast?”
“French toast?”
“Do you know how to make French toast?”
Bo smiled. “I think it would be incredibly inconsiderate to offer the suggestion if I was unable to make it.”
“That’s fair.” Dallas pushed himself to his feet before cocking his head to the side. “Holy shit. You’ve been making eye contact with me this entire time.”
“Yes. The hungry cat rarely attacks the hand willing to feed her.” Bo grabbed the counter and pulled himself up. “Well, neither does the human whose migraine dissipated with the help of an unknown pressure point.”
I almost like him, Ed said.
“Fair point, Austen.” Dallas smiled. “Let’s see if we have French toast materials.”
“I do believe you mean ingredients.”
Dallas couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, ingredients. Let’s see what we’ve got.”
A/N: Warning in advance, this is the final chapter I currently have completed. Hopefully, I’ll have another ready by next Thursday, but it depends if I make it back around to this book or not. If there isn’t one next week, there should be one the week after. Thank you in advance for your patience, just in case!
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NOT EDITED
Later that evening, as promised, Russell had picked Theodore up from the bookstore at five. Now, they walked through the grocery store, picking out ingredients for the brownies with cookie dough frosting Theodore had found on Pinterest.
“For the record,” Theodore started, “if it wasn’t for one of your hands being busy with holding the basket and one of mine busy with the cane, I’d hold your hand.”
Russell chuckled. “I’d hold yours, too.” A pause. “We still could. You’d only have to let go to grab something.”
“Sold.” Theodore slipped his hand into Russell’s, a smile coming to his face as Russell threaded their fingers together. “This is… nice. Never in a million years would Shane have been caught dead holding hands with me.”
“I’d like to be caught alive holding your hand any day of the week.” Russell lifted Theodore’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “This is nice for me, too. I haven’t really had this since I came out, and before that, I always felt like something was off. I was hiding from a large piece of myself, and even before I knew knew, there was a part of me that was at least, umm, aware. But this feels damn good and damn right. Totally out in the open, I’m not hiding anything from myself, and the guy holding my hand is super cute.”
Heat rose to Theodore’s cheeks. “Thank you. You’re not too bad yourself, Russell.”
Russell chuckled. “Thank you.” He squeezed Theodore’s hand. “What’s the first ingredient on our list?”
“Butter.”
“To the butter.”
Theodore snorted. “Yeah, to the butter. Lead the way, dork.”
***
After their trip to the grocery store, Russell drove out to Theodore’s parents’ place and parked in their driveway. “I’ll stay here while you go get Vera.”
“Are you sure? It might take a few to round up all her things.”
“I don’t mind waiting. I’m just… still in a headspace where I can’t risk your mom asking me if I’m an asshole. Like I said, that doesn’t bother me much, especially given the reason she asked. But my head can’t handle it right now.”
“Okay.” Theodore leaned over and pressed a kiss to Russell’s cheek. “Back in a few.”
Russell smilled. “I’ll be here.”
Theodore climbed out of the car, closing the door behind him. Adjusting his grip on his cane, he made his way up to the house. His mom opened the door before he even got to it. “Evening, Mom.”
“Evening, baby.” She nodded toward the car. “Gina in a new car, or Russell?”
“Russell.”
“You feel safe enough around him to let him drive you around now?”
Theodore nodded. “He makes me feel safe. It’s… nice.”
Bonnie smiled. “That’s great, baby. He doesn’t wanna come in?”
“This case he’s working has been difficult for him. He doesn’t want to risk you interrogating him,” Theodore said. “He says that doesn’t bother him on a good day. He’s glad you want to make sure he’s a good guy, but his head isn’t in the right place to handle it right now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart. Do you want me to apologize to him?”
“I don’t think he wants you to. Like I said, he’s glad you want to make sure he’s a good guy, that he’s good to me. He just can’t bring himself to get past the idea it might happen right now.”
Bonnie nodded. “You be sure to let me know if I should apologize, okay? I don’t want to tear you two apart. He’s a very nice man.”
Theodore smiled. “I will, Mom.” He cleared his help. “Do you mind helping me get Vera’s stuff?”
“Not at all. Come on.”
***
Theodore put Vera’s things into the backseat of Russell’s car before helping her into the seat. “All right. All buckled in?”
“Yep.”
Theodore couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. “All righty. Gonna close the door now,” Okay, Daddy.”
Theodore closed the door and made his way around to the passenger seat. Russell’s leaned across and pushed it open before he reached it. “Thank you.”
“No problem, Theo.”
Theodore slid into the passenger seat and closed the door. It wasn’t until after he buckled his seat belt that Russell started the car and backed out of the driveway. Tentatively, Theodore reached over and laid a hand on Russell’s thigh. Russell looked down at it before looking over at Theodore. Theodore offered a smile, which Russell thankfully returned.
The detective dropped a hand to cover Theodore’s, curling his fingers beneath Russell’s palm. “If we do this again, I’ll make sure to have a booster seat for her. Neither of us is heading to jail for it, but I’d feel more comfortable knowing she was safe from things outta my control.”
“I have one at the house from when I was still driving. If… I let you drive us anywhere again, I’ll make sure to set it up.”
Russell lifted Theodore’s hand only long enough to press a kiss to the back of it. Theodore’s heart fluttered, heat rushing to his cheeks. It would never cease to amaze him just how much Russell’s actions affected him. He had been deprived of true affection for so damn long that everything Russell did felt like the first time, and Theodore was always left feeling like a blushing virgin.
Not that he was complaining.
Russell asked him… something, but Theodore was too distracted by the slow caress of Russell’s thumb across his knuckles to pay close enough attention to the words.
“Sorry, uh… say that again?”
One corner of Russell’s mouth lifted. “Want me to help with supper when we get to your place?”
“I thought, umm… maybe we could go to your place?”
“Really?”
“Only if you’re okay with it. For starters, I’m certain you didn’t bring your meds with you.” Russell smiled, but he didn’t respond. “And outside of that, Vera and I enjoyed playing Mario with you. You and Vera could stay occupied with that while I warm up the leftovers Mom gave me.”
After a moment, Russell nodded. “All right. We’ll swing by your place, get some clothes for the both of you, and then head to mine.” He lifted his eyes to the rearview mirror. “That work for you, sweetheart?”
“Yeah. Daddy and I talked about it before we left Grandma and Grandpa’s.”
“Awesome.” Russell gave Theodore’s hand a tight squeeze, adjusting the grip of his other hand on the steering wheel. Theodore leaned back in his seat, trying to focus on this feeling being normal rather than new.
No matter what it was, he hoped he could get used to it for a long, long time.
***
A few hours after supper, Theodore tucked Vera into Russell’s bed and came back out to the living room. He stopped behind the couch, laying a hand on Russell’s chest.
Russell tilted his head back against the couch. “Hey. She go down okay?”
“Yeah. She likes that your bed is bigger than hers.”
Russell chuckled. “Glad to hear it.” He reached up, laying his hand over Theodore’s. “You gonna come sit over here so I can fix your shoulder?”
“You use the word ‘fix’, and that concerns me. You aren’t a chiropractor.”
He smiled. “No, but your shoulder isn’t out of place. It’s tense and overworked. You need a massage.”
“Really?”
“It’s not gonna turn into anything other than me rubbing your shoulder, Theo. Nothing sexual about it.”
“No ulterior motive?”
“If the ulterior motive is to help you feel better, then, yeah. If not, no.”
Theodore couldn’t help the little smile that tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Okay, you’ve won me over.” He patted Rusell’s chest and walked around the couch. After only a moment of hesitation, Theodore sat down between Russell’s legs.
The detective kicked out the footrest. “Tada.”
Theodore chuckled. “You’re a dork.”
“Yeah. I like it that way, though.”
“Me, too.”
Russell pressed a kiss to Theodore’s shoulder. “Shirt on or off?”
“Umm… does it matter?”
“No. I can try and massage out that knot either way. It just depends on which one makes you more comfortable, Theo.”
“Well, umm…” Theodore cleared his throat. “Shirt on.”
“Okie dokie.” Russell moved his hands to Theodore’s shoulders and, without bargaining for what he’d get in return, he set to work on the tense, tired muscles in Theodore’s shoulders and neck.
“That feels… amazing,” Theodore whispered.
“I’m glad. Ever had a massage before, Theo?”
“No. I’ve given a few, but I was always talked out of receiving them. Shane used them as bargaining chips in exchange for favors. Eventually, I’d say nevermind, he’d get pissed that I wasted his time, I’d apologize and tell him we can do the massage then, and then he’d say he didn’t feel like it anymore. But this…”
Russell stopped just long enough to press a kiss to Theodore’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Theo. Thank you for being comfortable enough to share that with me.”
“Thank you for making me feel comfortable enough to share it.”
“No problem, Theo.”
Theodore laid a hand over one of Russell’s, stilling the detective’s movements. “I want you to know that… the trust I have for you right now terrifies me. I’m still suspicious about many aspects of you, but I trust the majority of you, and you deserve to know just where that stands.”
“Thank you,” Russell whispered.
“No problem.” Theodore patted Russell’s hand before dropping his own back to his lap. Without missing a beat, Russell’s thumbs went back to working their magic.
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NOT EDITED
Back home, Dallas locked himself in his office and sat down behind his desk. “You stay inside this office at all times. Do you understand?” he asked, his voice low.
Yep. Stay in the office, don’t hurt Xavier, retreat if Xavier calls for you, retreat if your phone rings.
Dallas nodded, closing his eyes. “All right… Research is yours.”
Ed opened his eyes, rolling his shoulders back. The right one strained against the movement, but he didn’t mind too much. Dallas would feel far more of that pain than Ed ever would.
He reached out and opened the lid of Dallas’s laptop. It didn’t take long to bring up the articles of the pedophile Dallas had been referring to. Spencer Fabray, three confirmed victims, convicted on all three charges, spent less than five years in prison. Well, he certainly checked all the boxes on Dallas’s little list of requirements.
Ed grabbed a pen from the desk and leaned back in his chair, twirling the pen between his fingers. He hated being forced to follow Dallas’s little rules. When he’d still been alive, prior to his little adventure in the electric chair, there had been no rules. Ed had killed whoever the hell he wanted, and he had strung them up from trees in their own front yard. No long research process. No long confirmation of criminal actions. All he had to do back in the day was grab a young woman from the street or a young man from a bar. Easy peasy, and his hunger was fed rather quickly.
Despite Dallas’s difficulties, Ed let him have the little rules and checklists. If he didn’t, he knew Dallas would go full throttle when it came to getting rid of him, and for once, he would most likely succeed. Dallas’s previous attempts at getting rid of the ‘voice’ that had been in his head since he was a baby had been weak, hardly more advanced than ignoring Ed and refusing to respond to him.
If Dallas really set out to get rid of Ed, he’d finally find out that the murderous ‘voice’ in his head wasn’t the most trustworthy source of information. Years ago, Ed had told Dallas they were bound together because he had been born at the same exact moment Ed had died. Though the time aspect was true, give or take a few seconds, they weren’t bound together in the slightest. A little bit of an exorcism and ghost warding would keep Ed away forever.
Of course, Dallas–poor, stupid Dallas–had no damn idea Ed was a ghost rather than ‘a voice’ left over from life. The bastard didn’t even know he was psychic, thanks to Ed’s artful lies over the years. So long as Ed continued to follow the rules, so long as he poked and prodded Dallas without crossing any lines, Dallas would continue to be oblivious to his abilities, and Ed would continue to be able to kill people well into his afterlife. He wouldn’t get that from another psychic, and forging a deep connection with a non-psychic would take too long to be worth it.
So he’d put up with Dallas’s rules and checklists. They kept Ed as ‘alive’ as one could be after their state-ordered execution had been carried out. Unless he found a guaranteed way to be in control of Dallas forever, his current situation would simply have to be good enough.
***
Dallas opened his eyes, lifting his head a moment later.
Spencer Fabray. Got his registered sex offender address for you.
“For you,” Dallas corrected.
Ed laughed. Come on, Tex. You know you like holding that blade in your hand almost as much as I do.
Dallas knew better than to contest that point. Though he believed Ed had a big damn part in his ‘like’ for the research, the blade, the actual killing, and the displaying of the body. Dallas had never hurt a living soul–human, animal, or otherwise–until he had finally caved beneath Ed’s constant promise that he would make sure Dallas’s father could never lay a hand on him or Xavier ever again. Dallas didn’t know much, but he knew he wasn’t evil for caving.
Ed was evil. Ed was a monster. Dallas had simply allowed the situation to play to his advantage. Unfortunately, he knew now that Ed had done the same.
“After we take out this guy, you gotta leave me alone long enough for me and Bo to solve this case, man. It’s hard enough masking your bullshit around other people when you aren’t constantly in my ear.”
That sorta sounds like a YOU problem, Tex. But, hey, I’ll do you a solid and relax as soon as my hunger gets fed. I’m not going anywhere by any means, but I’ll stop threatening to kill the little blonde.
“And Xavier.”
Now, where’s the fun in that?
Dallas closed his eyes, scrubbing his hands over his face. “You’ve known him literally his whole fucking life.”
Yes, and I’ve thus far done you the favor of only SPEAKING about wanting to kill him instead of physically acting on it. I can switch the two around if you prefer.
“No,” Dallas whispered.
Good. We’re bonded together, Tex. You and me are in this ‘life’ thing together. We’re in this little balancing act TOGETHER. The less you throw a shit fit about it, the easier it will be.
“Alternatively, the less you threaten to kill my brother with my fucking hands, the easier it will be.”
Ed chuckled. Potentially. But I wouldn’t be having nearly as much fun that way.
Dallas shook his head. Not responding to Ed was his best choice. It almost always was, despite how often Ed eventually managed to wear down his resolve and get him to respond.
“Dallas?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know someone named Bo Austen?” Xavier asked from the hall.
“Yeah. Why?”
“He’s at the door, says you offered the couch to him.”
“Be there in a sec, bud. Thanks.” Dallas pushed himself to his feet, grabbing his phone from the desk. He checked his text messages, finding one from Bo. I don’t recall responding to this.
Oops. Sorry, did I break the rules? Ed asked.
Dallas rolled his eyes, shoving his phone into his pocket. If he managed to get rid of Ed tomorrow, it still wouldn’t be soon enough. He unlocked his office door and made his way to the foyer. Bo stood there, a duffle bag held in his hands. “Hey, man. You find your way over okay?”
“Yes. I apologize for alarming your brother. He seemed… concerned.”
“Don’t worry about it. That’s on me. Totally forgot to tell him you’d be coming over.” Dallas cleared his throat. “If you wanna kick off your shoes, I’ll give you a quick tour.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I don’t want to be a bother. The couch is fine.”
“What if you need water? Or a bathroom break?”
“I’ll manage.”
“Nah. Not a bother, Austen. I promise.”
After a moment, Bo nodded. He kicked off his shoes and adjusted his grip on his bag. “Okay. Following you.”
Dallas cocked his head to the side. “ ‘Following you’. Did you pick that up from me?”
Bo glanced up at him, meeting his eyes for little more than a second. “As I said, I eventually mimic the people I care enough about to do it. As you are putting forth a genuine effort to befriend me in your way, I am putting forth a genuine effort to do it… in my way.”
“Well, I’m honored.”
Bo smiled faintly. “I’m glad.” He cleared his throat. “Following you.”
“Of course. This way.” Dallas led the way to the living room. “Here’s the couch. Feel free to set your things down here before we take the rest of the thrilling tour.”
“As the house didn’t appear to be a mansion from the outside, I feel I’m safe in the assumption that ‘thrilling’ is sarcasm.”
Dallas chuckled. “Yes.”
“Good.” Bo waved a hand between them. “Same page.” After setting his things down on the couch, he tucked his hands behind his back. “Where to next?”
We could take him to the basement, Tex. It could be fun, huh?
Dallas cleared his throat. “Kitchen. This way.”
“Do you cook often?” Bo asked, following several steps behind Dallas.
“I’m not great at it, but I do cook. Do you?”
“Yes and no. I enjoy cooking and baking, but I generally don’t do it on my own. But when I do cook on my own, I’m still good at it.”
Dallas laughed. “I don’t think you realize how savage you are sometimes.”
“Savage?”
“Yeah. Umm… sort of like bluntly stating opinions or facts. No sugar-coating.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Well, for some people. I just think it’s funny. Like, it brings genuine joy to my life, man.”
Bo offered a smile. “I’m glad. Who may it be a bad thing to?”
“People who are looking to be harmed or offended by what other people say. People who don’t know that you mean no harm. People who don’t get you.”
“In conclusion, most people.”
“That’s usually how it is,” Xavier said. Dallas turned to face his brother. “People who don’t know you have a harder time gauging what you mean and stuff. Like, I understand what Dallas means when he talks more than I’ll ever understand anyone else. And he understands what I mean more than anyone else will ever understand me.”
After a moment, Bo nodded. “That’s how Mister A is for me. I understand the intent behind most of what he says, regardless of his expression or tone.”
“It’s cool you have someone like that. Helps give you a baseline of your normal.” Xavier stuck out a hand. “Now that I’m not so weird, I’m Xavier.”
Bo untucked his hands and grabbed Xavier’s. “I’m Bo. I’m the forensic analyst that’s been assigned the task of babysitting your brother at the station.”
“Oh, dude, that’s awesome. You have a babysitter?”
“That is technically one of the titles he’s allowed to have,” Dallas said.
Xavier laughed. “Ugh, that’s awesome.” He stepped past Dallas and pulled open the refrigerator. “Do you like Pepsi, Bo?”
“Umm, yes, sure.”
“Sweet.” Xavier handed a pop to Bo and grabbed another for himself. As the door swung shut, Xavier pointed the can at Dallas. “Your tour’s boring. I’m giving him a tour of the rest of the house.”
Dallas smiled. “Go for it. Have fun.”
“Come on, Bo. I’ll show you the non-boring rooms.” Bo followed Xavier out of the kitchen without any complaint.
Well, you know what they say.
Dallas shook his head, closing his eyes.
Birds of a feather flock together. That must apply to freaks too, huh?
“Fuck you,” Dallas whispered.
Aww, Tex, come on. It’s not like I’m calling YOU a freak. Just your freakishly abnormal baby brother.
Dallas wrapped a hand around his wrist, fingernails biting into his skin. He knew damn well what Ed’s end goal was. It was easier for him to take unapproved control of Dallas when he was angry. As it stood, with two lives to endanger in his home, he planned on preventing that unauthorized control for as long as he could.
What’s wrong, Tex? Did I bully you into not responding again?
You bully me INTO responding, not out of it, in case you’ve forgotten.
Mm. Fair, I suppose. Still, you’re being pretty unfair, Tex.
Dallas couldn’t fight back the chuckle that fell past his lips. Wow, damn good joke, Ed.
Imagine for a moment that, after you died, you were stuck in some human’s body, and instead getting to be who you were before, you had to listen to his absurdly boring conversations with his freakishly boring brother every single day, and DESPITE that, you’re still not allowed to have control to do the one fun thing you enjoy every once and a while.
Well, first, I’d be honored to listen to those ‘boring’ conversations, since I’m not a murderous, emotionless monster like you were. Second, I let you have plenty of fun, and I let you indulge in it far more often than I should.
Oh, grow up. We’ve hardly killed anyone.
‘Hardly’ would be a laughable statement if the fact that it was a lie didn’t hurt so badly. Including his father and the two men in Texas Ed had killed after getting Dallas drunk enough to take full control of him, Dallas’s hands were covered with the blood of thirty-five people. ‘Hardly’ was far from the truth.
Dallas managed to take some solace in the fact that the overwhelming majority of those thirty-five people had been well-vetted criminals that he had agreed to let Ed kill. He managed to take solace in the fact that if he hadn’t bargained with Ed, it would’ve been thirty-five innocent lives instead. Thirty-five–or thereabouts–dead criminals sounded much better in his mind than thirty-five dead innocents, plus the innocents the criminals would’ve continued wreaking havoc upon.
If he didn’t take solace in something, he’d lose control of everything that made him Dallas Silver instead of Ed Lincoln.
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NOT EDITED
Russell dropped into his desk chair, another fresh cup of coffee in his hand. He took a sip, drawing in a deep breath as he set the mug down. Though he’d been at the station for a whopping six hours, he hadn’t accomplished much. He had started out his very early morning by calling the owners of the three missing guns. Of course, none of them had answered his call, which had been his hope in the first place. He needed the calls out of his way, but he hadn’t been ready to speak to another human being. Hell, he wasn’t sure when he’d be ready to speak to another person that morning.
He had left a message for all three men, including his name and number at the station. Afterward, he had spent a few hours combing through Lauren’s case file, through Vincent’s. Comparing them to find the similarities versus the differences had proven itself a difficult task, but he had managed. It hadn’t brought any new discoveries to light, but he was happy to have done it just to make sure.
Now, he had to move onto yet another difficult task: watching the traffic cam footage near Luaren’s home to see if any of the cameras caught the person who had tampered with her car.
Russell didn’t give a shit what Abby Clouse and Derek Jordan believed. Lauren hadn’t taken out her own ignition cable, and on the incredibly off chance she had, she wouldn’t have done it so he had a reason to pick her up from the house. She wouldn’t have needed a reason. Sam had never been jealous of Russell. He was certain of that. Abby and Derek’s bullshit wouldn’t change his opinion. Hell, it wouldn’t change his knowledge.
“Russ?”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “Morning, Emey.”
Emelia cleared her throat, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the corner of the desk. “I shouldn’t have told Loo without coming to you first. You should’ve been the one to tell him, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded. “What’re you working on today?”
“Sifting through traffic cam footage.”
“Do you need help?”
Russell offered a smile. “I’ll be fine, Emey. Besides, you and Andy have a case to work, too. I’ll handle this one.”
Emelia watched him for several seconds before nodding. “All right. You’ll let me know if you need something?”
“Sure, Emey. I’ll let you know.”
“Good,” she whispered. She gave his arm a tight squeeze and pushed herself away from his desk. “Good luck, Russ.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” Emilia walked away without complaint or question. Russell considered himself thankful for that. There were a lot of things he could put up with that day. Fielding questions from Emilia wasn’t one of them.
Russell let out a breath, turning back toward his computer. While he waited for the gun owners to get back to him, he’d start with the traffic cam footage forNovember twenty-fourth. If it turned up nothing, he’d move to the days leading up to it, up until the very damn moment that he found the bastard who pulled the ignition cable from Lauren’s car.
***
Though Russell had been a homicide cop for quite some time and a cop for even longer, he had never been more thankful that a house was near a traffic camera than he was that Friday. While watching the footage for November twenty-second, the Sunday before Lauren had been shot, he found exactly what he’d been looking for.
At five AM that Sunday morning, a car had turned onto the road and parked two houses away from Lauren’s place. The driver had gotten out, jogged back to Lauren’s, pulled out the ignition cable, and pulled open the passenger side door. Russell assumed that was when the bastard had tucked it into the glovebox. The driver had jogged back to the car, gotten in, and driven away.
In under five minutes, Lauren’s car had been rendered incapable of going anywhere but the driveway.
Rusell put in the parameters to save the five minute section of the clip to his computer. He tapped over to his email and sent it to Ellie with a request to estimate the height on the bastard. Or, ‘the suspect’, as he chose to detail the man in his email. He knew it would take Ellie more than a minute or two to get around to his email. There had been a homicide late the night before, and Ellie was most likely still busy processing evidence.
So while he waited, he wrote down the license plate number of the vehicle and ran it through the system.
Marilyn Briggs. Russell expanded the alert at the bottom of his screen, shoulders sinking. The car had been reported stolen the same day it had driven past Lauren’s place. Dispatch had received the call about the stolen vehicle around six PM on the twenty-second. Apparently, Marilyn and her husband had been gone all day, returning from an early supper in her husband’s car.
The car had never been found.
Russell leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. How many damn cases would he have to work through before he found this guy?
***
Standing outside the Briggs’s house, Russell knocked on the door. It wasn’t long before a woman opened it. “Can I help you?”
Russell smiled, holding up his badge. “Detective Russell Steele. Last year, you reported your car stolen. I was wondering if you’d be willing to answer a few questions about that.”
“Is there still a point? It’s been almost a year, and this is the first follow-up with me.”
“The… first?”
Marilyn nodded. “There were cops that spoke to me when I reported it, and then it was transferred to a burglary and robbery detective, and that was… it.” She raised a brow, crossing her arms over her chest. “Is it you?”
“No, ma’am. I’m a homicide cop.” Russell cleared his throat, tucking his badge back into his pocket.
“Homicide?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m investigating the murder of one of our own. I’ve traced a connection back to a separate case, where a traffic cam caught your car in the vicinity of… we’ll say a crime scene. You and your husband were out for the day. This around five AM on the day you reported the car missing. I know you were not driving it, but I would love to know if you have anything that could lead me away from the drawing board.”
“Maybe. I-I can see what I can do.” She took a step back. “Would you like to come in for coffee?”
“I would love that, thank you.”
“Of course. Come on in, Detective.”
***
Russell’s phone dinged with a text as he walked into the station.
Theo: Lunch?
Russell: Yes please. Need me to come get you?
Theo: Yes. Unless you wanted to eat in the parking lot again. Then you can bring food?
Theo: But only if you let me pay you for my share.
A little smile tugged at one corner of Russell’s mouth.
Russell: I’m heading out now. Throw some food ideas my way. Be there soon.
***
Russell helped Theodore onto the hood of his car before lifting himself up to sit beside him. “Two slices of Casey’s pizza and a large pop.”
Theodore smiled. “Thank you,” he said, grabbing the bag and the pop from him.
“No problem.” Russell took a sip of his own pop. “How’s today gone so far?”
“Not bad. We’re preparing for a book signing and book reading, so that’s cool. Local author, indie release. Pretty exciting.” Theodore smiled. “For a book nerd, anyway.”
“That’s cool as hell, even for a dumb cop.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Russell smiled. “I know, Theo. I don’t mean you said it. You’d never say anything like that about me. My favorite cop hater was at Casey’s.”
“I’m sorry, Russ.”
“It’s all right. I’m used to it.” He leaned back against his windshield, letting out a sigh. “How was breakfast?”
“Good. Your friends should teach you to cook.”
Russell laughed, holding his cup on his chest. “They should, yeah. But that’d be much less fun than having you teach me.”
Theodore looked back at him. “Why’s that?”
“My friends totally wouldn’t hold my hand to stir things or cut up carrots. My friends wouldn’t touch my back while we wait for the sauce to simmer long enough. They wouldn’t press little kisses to my shoulder. Those are all crucial elements to my learning process, Theo.”
Theodore chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure they are, dickhead.”
Russell smiled at him, teeth and all. That felt damn good. “Hey, speaking of my learning process, after Vera goes to bed tonight, and after I fix your shoulder, you should teach me to make a desert.”
“Are you sure you’re up to that?”
“Yeah. I need tonight to be focused on anything but this case before I become a fucking conspiracy theorist.”
Theodore’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t push the statement. “Okay. What kind of dessert are you thinking?”
“Brownies.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve already taught you how to make brownies.”
“And I’m pretty sure there’s more than one type of brownie.”
Theodore chuckled. “Okay, brownies it is. You’ll have to tell me what kind you’d like before my shift ends. I’ll have Gina take me to the grocery store.”
“Or we can go together.”
“Your shift ends after mine.”
“Yeah. I’ll just be on call for the first two hours or so. Unless, Godforbid, another cop gets shot, I won’t be called in.”
“Okay. You… can pick me up here at five.”
“Lookin’ forward to it.” Russell sat up, laying a hand on Theodore’s knee. “Can you pick out the recipe, or should I? Shit, that sounded condescending, didn’t it?”
“No, I get it. I normally can’t choose stuff because I’m not used to being in control. Not condescending at all.” Theodore patted his hand. “You wanna talk about station stuff? Or just brownies and bookstores?”
“Brownies and bookstores work great for me.”
Theodore smiled, giving his hand a tight squeeze. “Sounds good to me, Russ.”
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**Sorry for the delay! I was editing for someone yesterday and completely spaced the update**
NOT EDITED
Theodore paused his recording of Lucifer and grabbed his cane from where it leaned against the end table. He pushed himself off the couch, letting out a breath as he made his way to the door. After unlocking it and pulling it open, he found himself staring at a freshly showered Russell. “Hey.”
The detective smiled. “Hey.”
“Do you wanna come in?”
Russell held up a bag. “Tupperware, food for breakfast. I’m heading into the station, getting started early. I can’t sleep anyway, so I might as well make my time useful.”
“You made breakfast?”
“No, I watched while my friend made breakfast before heading back to his place. I just wanted to make sure you could have something homemade, even if you were in a bit of pain in the morning.”
“That’s sweet of the both of you.” Theodore wrapped a hand around Russell’s arm and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You wanna carry them in for me?”
“Sure can.” Russell stepped inside, kicking off his shoes as Theodore closed the door. “Figured since it was only a little past two, you’d still be awake.”
“You figured correctly. I was watching Lucifer.”
“I missed the majority of the first season when it was airing. Work gets in the way of a lot of shows.” He smiled. “Maybe after we finish Nurse Jackie, you’ll watch that with me, too?”
“As long as you don’t mind that I’ve already seen it.”
“Not at all.”
“Perfect.” Theodore followed Russell into the kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay, try and get some sleep? You said it yourself, Russell. It’s barely past two in the damn morning.”
“I’m sure. I can’t sleep, so…” Russell shrugged. In silence, he put the food containers in the refrigerator. “The more progress I make before Halloween, the more my night is dedicated to you and Vera. I-I don’t expect to solve the case before then. It rarely happens that way, but you guys deserve as much of my attention as I can offer. I’ll be able to offer the most of it if I’ve made some more progress before then.”
“If you think that’s best, I won’t argue over it.”
“Thank you.” Russell laid his hands on Theodore’s cheeks. “I’m doing my best not to be distant. I’ve always struggled with balancing work and a personal life when I have an actual case on my desk. When that case is Vince…”
“It’s even more difficult,” Theodore filled in.
“Exactly. But I’m trying. I don’t want you to feel like I’m pushing you away or like I don’t care anymore. Because I-I do care, a lot. I’m doing my best.”
“I know you are, Russ. And I know you do. I consider myself beyond lucky that Vera and I met you. A little bit of distance hasn’t changed my opinion on that.”
“God, I like you so fucking much,” Russell whispered.
Theodore snorted. “I like you so damn much, too.” He looked down for a moment, smoothing his hands over Russell’s button-up. “Will you be over tonight for supper?”
“I’ll try to be. As long as I don’t get in any conversations with any of the cops that piss me off, yeah, I should be here.”
“Well, do your best to avoid them. They don’t deserve your time.”
“I’ll try.” Russell pressed a kiss to Theodore’s forehead. “Hopefully, I’ll see you tonight, Theo. Get yourself some sleep, enjoy breakfast, and call me if you or Vera needs a ride this morning or this afternoon. I’m always on the clock, but it doesn’t mean I have to be inside the station.”
Theodore nodded. “I’ll let you know. Good luck, Russell.”
“Thank you.” Russell stepped away, giving Theodore’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I still plan on fixing this tense knot here. You just have to remind me. Okay?”
“Deal. I’ll remind you.”
The detective smiled. “Perfect. See you soon, Theo.”
***
Theodore was still busy warming up breakfast when Vera padded into the kitchen. “Morning, baby.”
“Morning, Daddy.” She looked around, standing up on her tiptoes to look over the island. “Just us?”
“Just us today, yeah. Russell’s gonna try and be here for supper tonight, though.”
Vera nodded. “Okay.” She tucked her hands behind her back, leaning up on her toes to get a look at the stove. “No eggs?”
“Nope. Russell’s friend made breakfast for us, and Russell brought it over this morning so we could have something a bit more… flavorful.”
Vera smiled. “Just like before Father…”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Awesome,” Vera whispered. “Daddy?”
“Hmm?”
“Is Russell still coming out for Halloween?”
“That’s still the plan. He really wants to go with us. That’s why he’s not here today. He wanted to make a bit more progress in his case, free up Halloween for you and me.”
“Russell’s pretty awesome.”
Theodore smiled, shutting off the flame on the stove. “Yeah, I think so, too. He’s pretty darn great.”
Vera nodded. “He makes me feel safe. He keeps away the bad guys, and he protects people like you and me. I like feeling safe.”
“I do, too, baby.” Theodore reached out to tuck her hair back behind her ear. “And… you deserve to feel safe. I’m glad Russell helps make you feel that way. One of the only things I always want for you is a feeling of safety, quickly followed by a feeling of love.”
“Daddy, I always feel loved.” She reached up and poked her father’s chest. “You do that one all the time.”
“Thanks, baby.” Theodore smiled. “So, let’s get ourselves some breakfast, huh? And then we’ll go from there.”
“Sounds good, Dad.”
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NOT EDITED
Through with the car dealer, Dallas slid back into the driver’s seat of the cruiser and handed Bo the picture of the van from the security footage. “Guy in there identified it as a 2007 Chevy Express 1500 Passenger Van. Verified it with two of his colleagues too.”
Bo nodded. “There are a few ways we could take that.
“Yeah. Check all the traffic cameras leading up to the beach, but since there wasn’t a license plate on the front or back, our only hope there is that we get a good enough shot of the driver’s face to run it through the system,” Dallas said. “Based on my experience in narcotics, that’s not likely.”
“My experience says the same, more or less.”
“Okay, so we’re on the same page again. What kind of directions do we have for options? Umm, on the case as a whole, not just the van thing. What are the options there?” Dallas asked.
“We’re still waiting on blood results from the victim, I can use the height of the railing to find out a height on our mystery driver, we can see if we can speak to the victims’ friends from school, or we can work on figuring out how to find the van.”
“Sorry, umm… his friends from school?”
“Miss Sawyer told us that one of his friends spoke of the cult. That was why her son wanted to join. She gave us the friend’s name? Along with two others” Bo prompted.
Sorry, Tex. Might’ve zoned you out a bit too much during that one.
Dallas cleared his throat. “Sorry, man. I must’ve zoned out a couple times.”
Bo nodded. “Sleep deprivation will do that to you. That’s okay. I have my notes at the station. You may look at those as much as you’d like once we get back. So maybe we should start there before we try finding the friend, in the assumption she’s alive and findable.”
“She?”
Again, Bo nodded. “Yes, she.”
“Okay, so… you think she might’ve ended up like our vic?”
“I think the LAPD would’ve found her, if that were the case. But if the cult killed Mister Sawyer–and based on what I found when I cut him open, it’s very likely that they did–there’s a chance that his friend wouldn’t have wanted to be involved in that. She spoke highly of the cult to Mister Sawyer, yes, but she was young and stupid. It’s doubtful the cult was showing her that they really were planning to kill people, her friend included.”
“And if she didn’t want to be involved, they might’ve killed her too.”
Bo nodded. “Yes. There’s also a chance she would’ve been allowed to walk free. It… depends on what kind of people make up the cult rather than the fact that they are a cult.”
“Are you defending a cult? A cult that cut a kid open and stole some of his organs?”
“No, though I do believe he agreed to that. I’m not ‘defending’ a cult. I’m insinuating that every cult isn’t inherently Charles Manson and his followers. The leaders of cults are inherently manipulative, either on their own or with the help of their religion of choice. But they aren’t all Manson or Jonestown. That’s my point.”
After a moment, Dallas nodded. It wasn’t like he had the moral high ground when it came to homicide, anyway. “All right, that’s fair. Not all cults are ‘murder everyone around us’ types, and not all of them are ‘poison our own members’ types.” He cleared his throat. “So… we can go back to the station and look up the gal’s last known address?”
Bo nodded. “I was thinking much of the same.”
“Great.” Dallas started the cruiser. “Then let’s get a move on.”
***
Back at the station, while Bo sat down in the lab to work out the height of the driver of their blue mystery van, Dallas sat at his desk. Bo had given him his notes from the Carol Sawyer interview, as well as a sticky note with the names of three of Robert Sawyer’s friends. According to Bo’s notes, only one of them had ever told Robert about the cult or urged him to join in, but Robert had been close with the other two since elementary. It seemed Carol had hoped one of them would be of ‘more use’ to the investigation than she had.
Jesus, Ed, how much of that interview were you fucking around in my head for?
Quite a bit. You know how hard it is to control my… interference when I’m hungry, Tex.
Dallas sighed, rubbing a hand over his short curls. Can you be patient? If I let you feed your ‘hunger’ as often as you’re hungry, we’d get caught in no time. Just chill the hell out, let me do my job, and we’ll find someone for you to take out. Okay?
Ed chuckled. I’ll hold you to it, Tex.
Dallas shook his head and turned toward his computer. Though Ed was going out of his way to make the job as difficult as possible, Dallas planned to put his best foot forward. If he needed to play detective, he’d play detective. If he and Bo had to play this back-and-forth on how friendly they were to each other or how much of silent treatment one gave the other, he would.
Speaking of all the things you’re willing to do, maybe you should find some addresses, Ed suggested.
Why do you care?
It’s a Saturday. We generally use our off Saturdays to research criminals for our kills. Again, I would like to kill. I am HUNGRY, Tex.
Dallas let out a breath. Patience. I want to find the addresses for these three. Then… I’ll wrap up for the day and let you do your thing.
Burke?
Too soon. If someone strings her up right after I got here, we’re gonna trip up some alarms. There’s been a pedophile in the news, just got out of prison.Once we get home, you have free reign to research him. Same as always, if I give you the reins, you leave Xavier alone. If Bo chooses to take me up on the offer of the couch, you leave HIM alone too. Deal?
Deal. I’ll even sweeten it and leave you alone until then.
Dallas sighed. Thank you.
Ed snorted his response.
Dallas closed his eyes and stretched his neck out to one side until it popped. He moved Bo’s notes off his keyboard and typed his badge number into the system. Logged in and given access, he searched for the last known address of all three people Bo had given him the names of.
He printed off the addresses and headed down to the lab. “Austen?”
Bo lifted his head. “Yes?”
“I’ve got the addresses, but I think we’ll hold off on trying to find these people until tomorrow. We’ve both put in more than enough overtime today, yeah?”
Bo offered a smile. “I’m on shift. Both of our other forensic analysts are on… vacation. I work the day shift week long until one of them returns.”
“Right,” Dallas whispered. “Do you… want to go find these people, then?”
“That’s okay. It can wait until tomorrow. I have evidence that needs to be sorted through. A West Department analyst did evidence collection at a crime scene today, but I still need to officially tag the collected items.”
“All right. You go ahead and call me if you finish that and need something to do, okay?”
“Okay.”
Dallas crossed the room and set the thin stack of papers on the table. “My couch is still open if you want a place to stay that’s not a lab or an empty house.”
“I… will continue taking that offer into consideration.”
“All right. Shoot me a text or a call if you decide to accept the offer, all right?”
Bo nodded. “I will.” He slid the papers into the open folder on the table. “Enjoy your day, Mister Silver.”
“You too, Austen.”
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