Nightcrawler (Trackers #1)

Chapter Sixteen

MIGUEL

After pulling my jeans back up, Raven took me by the hand and led me down the hall to a large bedroom at the back of the house. I knew it was his, the minute I stepped inside. A jar candle burned on one of the bedside tables which flanked a large bed, making the whole room smell like lemongrass. I loved the scent and associated it with a Buddhist temple I’d visited while on liberty in Thailand. The room itself was very Zen with plush bed coverings and plump pillows dressed in creamy earthtones. The furnishings—including a wall-to-wall bookcase stuffed with books, sitting across from the foot of the bed—appeared to be made of bamboo. The only thing missing were the orange robed monks who’d occupied the temple during my visit. At the moment, though, I was very happy the bald dudes weren’t anywhere around.

“This is your room?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

He let go of my hand and turned to me. “Yes.” He hesitated. “The house has four bedrooms. One is for our caregiver, the other for Nana, and then there’s a guest room. If you’d rather sleep there, I’m fine with it but—”

I shook my head, cutting off more silly words and circling his waist, bringing him close. He came willingly. “Would it be too much to ask to stay in here with you?” I asked expectantly.

He beamed. “Would you like that?” He paused the tiniest bit before going on with a cascade of quick words. “Because that’s what I want, Miguel…o-of course…only if you’re okay with it,” he blurted.

I nodded quickly, overwhelmingly touched that even now, after everything, he still didn’t know how much the gifts he’d given me meant to me. The fact that he’d fired Ned after his outburst, that he’d stood up for me to someone who clearly thought he had a right to say what he’d said, meant more to me than I could convey. The fact that he’d allowed me to stay, made space for my only possessions, and given me food and pleasure…how could any of my feelings for him be in question?

Then again, the failing had been mine and mine alone. I hadn’t told him enough what his kindness meant to me or how I felt. I’d boxed all those things away with my clothes and a damned bottle of shower gel.

“I want that too, Sunshine.” When Raven smiled—looking only slightly embarrassed by the nickname—I kissed him, feeling his perfect body immediately melt against me. His submissive nature when he was in my arms was very hot. I had to admit he’d been right. I liked rough sex, and I liked topping, though, I wasn’t opposed to the opposite when the mood called for it. I’d liked forcing my cock to the back of his throat even though he’d gagged. Somehow, that alone, brought out the feelings of control I craved during sex. I had the niggling feeling we were on the same page with that.

When I finally broke the kiss, he batted long eyelashes at me, just making me long for more of the same. Judging by the fatigue on his face, though, he wasn’t ready for any of that, so I forced my desires to the back of my mind. I hoped there’d be time for all the things I wanted to do to him once he’d healed.

“Come on to bed then.” He reached for my T-shirt, and I stepped back, pulling it over my head to save him the extra movement which might hurt his wounds. He stared at my chest, smiling as he came forward, running his hands over my pecs, paying special attention to trailing long fingers slowly over my tattoo. I stood there feeling proud of my body, knowing that even at thirty-six, I was still in good shape. Fuck knows I worked hard enough at it, spending hours at the gym three times a week, and running five miles every morning to keep it that way. “You’re so beautiful, Miguel.” He kissed me again and I gave in to the incredible feelings for a minute or so before breaking the kiss. I was hard again but I deliberately ignored the stiff erection as I squatted to remove my boots. I could feel him watching me as I shed my jeans and then looked up.

“Let me help you out of your clothes.”

He capitulated, no doubt still sore around the middle as I gingerly pulled his T-shirt over his head. He winced only once, and I was relieved to note the clean bandages. He’d taken off the wrap Vonne had used. He slid out of his slacks, shedding his underwear and socks, and once again, I let my gaze wander over his golden skin. Raven’s body was beautiful. I knew he was younger than me by at least a few years. He was in great shape with a smooth, hairless chest and the rest of his body had very little hair, a contrast to my own furred chest. His cock was a work of art, a warm shade of brown and half hard as it stood away from his body.

I allowed him to take my hand again, leading me to the bed where I turned down the covers for him. He slid in first, positioning himself on pillows, and holding out his arms for me. I climbed in, moving close to him on buttery-soft sheets. His bed was luxurious, his pillows soft as clouds. This soft bed was heaven compared to the cheap muslin sheets I owned…had owned.

He enveloped me in his arms, and I wrapped him up, always careful of his wounds. He kissed me softly and I let him, returning the kisses, knowing it would be only this for a while…at least until he was ready to take this any further. I’d promised myself this one night with him but somehow hoped there’d be more… many more in the future. When he broke the kiss and laid his head on my shoulder, I rolled to my back, tucking him comfortably into my side, drifting into the first peaceful sleep I’d had in days.

I woke slowly to the sound of chuckling as I realized there was someone in the bed next to me. Raven was propped up on pillows with slightly damp hair, smelling freshly showered. He wore a ratty old T-shirt and shorts with an elastic waist. He looked unbelievably sexy and sweet as he sat there…with a paperback in his hand. Raisin in my Bum was the title. The author sounded more pretentious than I’d ever heard. I basically stayed far away from anyone with names like Sir Nicholas Margate which was in bold type at the bottom of the cover.

I glanced at the books in the bookcase across from us, reading them over. I was surprised to see the ridiculous titles, one of which I recognized. To Kill or Not to Kill a Mockingbird . Huh . I’d read a review from Nightcrawler on Bestreads for that one and if I recalled, he’d almost liked it. Raven chuckled again and my attention was drawn back to my delectable bedmate as I lifted my arm out of the sheets and turned to look at him. I propped my head in one hand as I stared down the smooth length of his chest. He closed the book and put it on the table next to him before turning to glance over at me.

“I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” He smiled at me and his face was warmer than the sun which streamed through the window in the comfortable bedroom.

I smiled back, sitting up in the bed, letting the sheets fall to my waist. “Not really. It’s just been a while since I’ve woken up cocooned in a bed as soft as feathers.” I cleared my throat, needing somehow to clarify. I ran my hand through my hair, clearing my throat again. “I… ah …was on a mission once… um …far away…where there was a bed this luxurious.”

I turned away, remembering the compound of a South American diplomat where my company had been invited to stay after a mission where we’d tracked one of his ministers who’d been kidnapped. I recalled that the minister had overseen all travel plans for the diplomat and had been captured and tortured for information before we got him out alive…and mostly in one piece. The diplomat had changed his travel plans and the minister after the rescue, but we’d been invited to stay for a couple of nights.

“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime,” Raven said, twisting to face me. He didn’t wince and for the first time since he’d been shot, I noticed that he looked healthy with all the color back in his face. I was relieved as hell as I slid my hand under the back of the T-shirt and pulled him toward me. He came willingly, lifting his face for a kiss.

I sank into the exchange, remembering the night before and the languid kisses we’d shared. As before, his lips were soft and full of promise as I deepened the kiss. He went along, pushing his tongue into my mouth and sighing as our tongues danced. Judging by the position of the sun streaming into the room, I shouldn’t be in any hurry to get up and it seemed, neither was he. We lay there kissing for several minutes before he finally nudged me, and I broke the kiss. His eyes were filled with lust, but it was morning, and we did have a job to do. Pleasures would have to wait until later. I reluctantly pulled away.

Raven groaned, clearly thinking the same things. I grinned at him and then noticed for the first time, a short cat tree sitting in the corner of the room. Stanley was curled into a ball on the top of two tiers, sleeping. I looked back at Raven with a frown. “Was that here last night?”

He grinned, shaking his head. “No. I found it in the garage and brought it in this morning after showering and checking on Nana. Don’t worry. I left the guest room door open so he has access to his litter box.”

“Are you telling me you just randomly happened to have a cat tree?” I looked around, confused for a second, before looking back. “You don’t have a cat…wait, you showered?”

I pointed to the Tegaderm.

He nodded. “Oh, yeah. Anyway…the cat tree?”

“I told you my Nana loves cats. Her old tabby died about ten months ago. I brought Stanley in to meet her this morning and she’s already in heaven. She said it’s going to be wonderful to have a baby in the house again.” He smiled. “See? I told you.”

I sat up, running a hand through my hair and noticing that I didn’t smell nearly as fresh as Raven. I sniffed my pit and grimaced. “Shit. I need a shower.”

“Okay, why don’t you get up and do that while I make you an omelet.” When I opened my mouth to protest that I should be the one cooking for him , he stopped me, holding up a hand. “I want to do this for you, Miguel. Please let me pamper you just a little bit. Besides, you could use that shower, and the nurse is expected to be here by eight. It’s just seven-fifteen, so that’ll give you lots of time to get gussied up.”

I snorted. “Gussied up? Who are you, Marshal Dillon?”

He laughed. “Gunsmoke, huh ? I knew I liked you.” He clapped his hands as he slid out of bed. “Now, get your gorgeous ass up.”

I did as he asked. How could I not? The man was a force of nature—a phrase I’d heard Raven use but it suited him perfectly.

I went into the en suite bathroom which wasn’t as dinky as the one in my crappy, old apartment. There was a single sink sunk into the white marble countertop. The double-sized shower was lined with the same stone and with pleasure. I noted it had a detachable, chrome shower nozzle with a large head as well as the waterfall showerhead. The bathroom was designed with the same bamboo cabinetry as the bedroom and recessed can lights lit up the room brightly, so different from my own bathroom back home.

I turned on the shower, stepping under it a minute later. Raven had a luxurious shower gel which smelled like green tea and lemongrass, two scents I loved when combined. I soaped up and gave myself a nice scrubbing using a shower scrunchie I found hanging from the nozzle. I used his shampoo, some salon brand I didn’t recognize, and came out of the shower smelling like heaven and feeling very clean. The huge bath sheet was also an incredibly good quality and I dried off quickly, before wrapping it around my waist to step back out into the room.

As soon as I did, I heard raised voices coming from somewhere down the hall. I frowned and got back into the clothes from yesterday since everything else was packed in boxes currently sitting in Raven’s garage.

“I didn’t do that!” Raven shouted.

In jeans and T-shirt, I walked down the hall in bare feet. I was shocked to see Raven standing in the living room with two uniformed cops. They were big guys who looked very intimidating. One of them turned and looked at me as he covered the hilt of the gun at his waist. I stopped in my tracks, halfway across the room and held up my hands. “Easy there.”

“Who are you?” the other cop demanded.

“Miguel Huerta. Who are you and what’s going on here?”

“They say I beat Ned up, Miguel!” Raven said. His voice was shaking. “They’re here to arrest me for assault and battery. They have horrible pictures of Ned, and he’s all beat up.”

“We have a complaint from Ned Jeffries,” one of the officers said.

“He says I beat him up and that you threatened him with a gun, Miguel,” Raven said.

I nodded at him. “Don’t worry, Raven. We’ll sort this mistake out.”

“Do you own a firearm, Mr. Huerta?” one of the cops asked, still holding his hand over the butt of his weapon. I noticed he’d unsnapped the holster.

I nodded. “Yes, I do, and it’s licensed which I’m sure you already know. You wouldn’t walk into a house where a gun might be present without checking first.”

“Where is it?” the cop asked, ignoring what I’d said.

“It’s in the locked glovebox of my Ford F-150, parked in front of the house.”

“Take me to it while my partner stays with Mr. Mathis,” he said. His words were calm, but I could hear the edge in them.

“Okay.” I looked down at my bare feet, before looking up at him. “Can I put on shoes?”

“Not necessary. Please take me to the weapon.”

“Fine,” I grumbled as I grabbed my keys off the hook where I’d left them next to Raven’s last night and then led the way out of the house, and down the walkway to the truck. The bricks were cold under my bare feet. I unlocked the central locking as the cop joined me.

“Step back, please,” the officer said, opening the passenger door and peering at the glove compartment.

“It’s locked,” I said, holding out my keys. “The small, silver one opens it.”

He took the keys from me and opened the glove compartment, removing my Beretta. He checked the load and removed the clip, including the chambered round before putting the clips back in the glovebox. He took the gun to his vehicle and put it in an evidence bag.

“Hey, I need that,” I protested.

He turned and looked blankly at me. “You’ll get it back after we conclude the investigation.”

“You’re turning this bullshit complaint into an investigation?”

“Yes, there’s been a criminal complaint of a violent crime. The victim called us out to his apartment this morning where we discovered a man who’d been violently assaulted, so yeah, there will be an investigation,” he said, shutting the evidence bag with my gun into the trunk as he closed it up. After filling out a form, he thrust it at me. “Sign here.”

“Not until I talk to my lawyer. Was Ned shot?”

The cop stiffened slightly.

“Illegal seizure. I won’t be signing that.”

Then we had a stand-off, but I held my tongue, grinding my teeth. “This will be turned over to detectives?” I asked.

“We’ll decide that down at the station.” He opened the cruiser’s back door. “Please.” He held out a hand, indicating that he wanted me to get in.

“You’ve got to be kidding.” I glared at him. “You’re arresting me?”

“No. We’re taking you in for questioning, that’s all at this point. Now, get in the car, or I’ll put you in the car. Are we clear?”

“As a fucking bell,” I growled. “I need my shoes.”

“I’ll get them. Get in.”

I was pissed but I complied, knowing it was hopeless to argue. “I need my phone,” I said as he shut the door in my face. “MY PHONE!” I shouted as he walked away, leaving me locked in the back of the police car.

I sat there fuming as I thought about that shithead Ned. Raven had said something about pictures. I was dying to see what that little fucker had done to get himself beat up and I thought about my alibi for the time after I’d seen him last. Whatever the hell he’d done, had ended up with me and Raven in a jackpot and I knew it was going to be a bitch to get out of it.

RAVEN

It had taken every ounce of self-control I had not to scream, as I stood in the living room watching the back of Miguel as he was led out of the house by one of the officers. After the door closed, I looked at the other one. “This is a huge mistake. Ned is only doing this because I fired him yesterday. His last words to me when he left the house were that the argument we’d been having wasn’t the end of this.”

“The end of what exactly?” the officer asked. I noticed he was taking notes which was good.

“I’ll start at the beginning.”

“Okay.”

“Yesterday, when Miguel and I got back to the house, he was freaking out because I’d brought home a friend. Before I even got a chance to introduce Miguel, Ned pulled out a can of mace and threatened to spray him. It wasn’t Miguel doing the threatening, it was Ned. You have to believe me. He was the one doing the threatening here.”

The cop frowned at me and then flipped back several pages of the notes, seemingly looking for something. He apparently found what he was looking for because he started reading from them. “So, Mr. Huerta never said that he’d ‘end’ Mr. Jeffries?”

My mouth dropped open. Miguel had done just that. “He said that, but he didn’t really mean it. It wasn’t like he was really going to ‘end him.’” I made air quotes. “Ned was pointing mace at Miguel’s face. What would you have said? He was trying to get the asshole to put away the mace. Seriously, it was only a threat to get him to put the chemical weapon down.”

“So, you’re saying he got all beat up later?” The cop looked smug.

“I have no idea how he got that way!” I waved in his general direction since he had the polaroids in his pocket. “When he left here yesterday, he was perfectly fine, not all beat up.” I thought for a second. “I fired him yesterday afternoon and when he came in to say goodbye to my grandmother, he was perfectly fine. You can ask her.”

“She saw his face? His condition?” the officer asked.

Raven’s heart sank. “No…she’s blind…but please, talk to her. She’s very perceptive.”

“The detectives assigned to your case will no doubt do that. Meanwhile, you need to come into the station for questioning.”

“I can’t leave. No one is here to stay with my elderly grandmother. I’m waiting for her nurse.” I glanced at my watch, noting the time. “She should be here in twenty minutes or so.”

“We’ll wait then.”

I sighed. “Is this all really necessary?”

He frowned again. “If this was a lover’s quarrel or a lover’s triangle that got out of hand, then you’ll really save me a lot of paperwork and trouble if you just admit it now.” The judgment on his words wasn’t lost on me which just made me even more pissed.

I ignored his embarrassing tone. “Ned Jeffries was my grandmother’s nurse until yesterday when he was fired. I’ve never had, nor would I ever entertain a relationship with him. Where’s Miguel?”

“In the car,” his partner said, walking back into the house. “You, too. Let’s go,” he said, motioning me to come along.

“He’s gotta stay with his granny until the nurse shows up, Tom,” the officer with me said.

“How long?” Tom asked, obviously irritated and just as much of a bastard as his friend here.

“Mathis says she’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

“We’ll wait,” Tom said.

“Fine. But I need to make a call.” I reached for my phone.

“To whom?” the nasty cop demanded.

“To friends of mine, Detective Cassidy Ryan and his partner, Detective Mike Williams of the LAPD. They’re out of Brentwood.”

His eyes widened as he nodded.

I hit speed dial, feeling like total shit.