Nightcrawler (Trackers #1)

Chapter Twenty

MIGUEL

Watching Raven sleep had to be right up there with the most favorite things I’d ever done. He was beautiful, lying next to me. He’d slept in my arms the better part of the night and for some damned reason, I’d stayed awake for most of it. I’d only drifted off a few times after realizing where I was, safe in his arms, before I let a peaceful sleep take me for brief periods. Sleeping in a man’s arms was novel for me. I’d never done it before, so I chalked it up to Raven being the reason. In the past, if a hookup made it as far as a motel room rather than just fucking in the bathroom of a gay bar, I got my rocks off and sent him packing.

So, when the alarm on my phone went off at six-thirty, I was slightly disoriented and definitely not ready to face Cassidy, Mike, Jarrett, and Thayne for an in-depth planning session. I wiggled out of Raven’s arms and reached for the phone to shut off the alarm, knowing we both needed coffee…badly.

He woke slowly and looked over at me, before smiling and possibly forgetting for a moment that he was injured when he grabbed his side and grimaced, rolling toward me. I pulled him gently into my arms and gave him a slow, deep kiss, perhaps needing to remind him, for my own sanity and reassurance, what had happened the night before.

“My ass hurts,” he said as our lips finally parted.

I laughed. I didn’t have the same problem, but the reminder of last night’s sex had me hard all over again. I rolled to my back and spoke to the ceiling. “I hate mornings.” When his hand reached over and began stroking my chest, I glanced back at him and smiled. His normally coiffed hair was messy and sticking up in places and his cheeks were flushed a remarkable shade of deep bronze. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, and I wanted to repeat what we’d done last night, all over again. I covered his hand with his own.

“Please tell me you have coffee in this house.”

“The best.” He grinned and rolled away from me, sliding his hand out from under mine and sitting up. I noticed he held his side as I examined the bandage on his back. It was intact and free of any drainage from what I could tell. I watched Raven stand up and admired his gorgeous ass all the way to the bathroom until he shut the door effectively blocking my view.

I looked back up at the ceiling for a few seconds as I reached for my erection, momentarily lamenting the fact that we had no time for such endeavors this morning. When I heard the toilet flush, I reluctantly left Raven’s soft sheets and pulled my jeans on. He came out of the bathroom wearing a towel and smiled at me.

“It’s all yours.” He gave me an up and down look and smiled before turning and opening a drawer in his dresser. It was empty. He glanced over, looking momentarily embarrassed. “Oh, and I… ah …cleaned out a drawer, just in case you wanted to bring your clothes in from the garage.” He looked up at me, noting my surprised expression. “Temporarily of course…unless—”

I didn’t let him finish as I walked around the bed and closed the distance between us. I pulled him into my arms and kissed him. He sighed into my mouth before I reluctantly broke the kiss. “I can’t believe you did that for me, Raven. It’s incredibly nice of you, but I don’t want to be a burden. I swear after this job I’ll have enough money to find a place and—” He stopped my words with two fingers to my lips as he shook his head.

“I want to do this for you. I want you to know you are welcome here, and you can stay as long as you like.” He glanced at the disheveled bedcovers, before looking back. “I want you to be comfortable. Please treat this house like your own, Miguel.”

He nodded, as if reassuring himself that he was doing the right thing, pulling out of my arms and effectively stopping all further discussion of it. He went to a different drawer in the dresser and drew out a clean T-shirt. He looked over his shoulder. “We’re nearly the same size.” He held out the dark blue tee. “Do you want to wear one of mine since yours are still packed?”

I glanced back at the clock on his side of the bed. “Thanks, Raven. It would save me from unpacking the boxes in the garage this morning. We need to meet the guys at eight.”

He nodded, smiling as I took the shirt. I held it up and realized he was right. It would fit. We were nearly the same height, even if my shoulders were broader. I didn’t really care if it fit a little tight as long as it didn’t ride up. Crop tops like the one Ned had been wearing the day I’d met him, weren’t my favorite thing. “Thank you.” I moved toward the bathroom, but turned back, a little embarrassed. “I don’t…I don’t have a razor or a toothbrush.”

“Oh. No problem,” Raven said. “I got you.” He went into the bathroom and reached into a drawer, bringing out an untouched toothbrush, still in its box. He handed it to me and then grabbed his razor. “As for this, it’s the only one I have at the moment…but I really don’t mind sharing,” he added quickly.

I felt my face heat. “Thanks.” I took it from him and closed the door. The reflection of my face in the mirror proved what I already knew. I had dark circles under my eyes and the stubble on my cheeks and chin had grown out dark. I rubbed my chin. It wasn’t a bad look, so I decided to leave it and clean up my neck a bit. I noticed that Raven had left fresh towels for me, so I grabbed a washcloth. In ten minutes, freshly washed, shaved, and wearing a T-shirt which fit tightly, I walked out of the bathroom to the glorious scent of strong coffee. I smiled as I headed toward the kitchen. Raven was coming down the hall with a mug of black coffee and a tray of pastries. He grinned at me.

“Please don’t tell me those are for me.” I pointed at the tray in his hands as I gratefully accepted the coffee.

Raven laughed. “No, those are for my nana. Her nurse will be here at seven so I’m the breakfast guru this morning. You and me get to eat granola and coffee, stud.” He deliberately took a step back and let his eyes sweep up and down my body. “You look like a stallion in my tee.”

I snorted. “Shut the fuck up.”

He grinned. “Meet you in the kitchen in five minutes.”

“Thanks, Raven.” I turned and headed back down the hall to wait, shaking my head and smiling.

As we were about to leave the house, I got a text from Cassidy to meet us at a restaurant instead of their Brentwood station since he and Mike were hungry. I wasn’t about to argue with one of my best friends even though I’d already polished off a bowl of granola with blueberries that Raven picked from his garden. I texted him back and told him we were on our way.

Raven drove his big Dodge Ram into the parking lot of Porto’s Bakery and Café in Burbank a half hour later. We’d arrived a little early and since none of our friends were there yet, we asked the hostess to seat us at a six-top table to wait. Since the only table available and large enough to accommodate six big men was a large booth in a back corner, I slid in and Raven sat down next to me. Cassidy and Mike arrived looking all business in suits and ties.

“How’re you doing?” Cassidy asked as soon as he sat down. His green eyes were sparkling as they always did. I’d always thought of him as a father figure even though he was only ten to fifteen years my senior. Even though he was out and openly gay, he gave off the Navy SEAL vibe of power and infallibility. He was in fantastic shape for a man his age, and I often thought he could probably beat me in a foot race if it came down to it. In the water, the man had a definite advantage. He’d taught me to surf after the death of my parents and I’d seen how strong he was in the water, swimming like a fish.

Mike Williams was more of a grandfather figure to me and the softer side of their partnership in every way. He was ten years older than Cassidy, almost fully gray now, and rounder in the middle by far. He joked about loving doughnuts and his wife, Carolyn’s, cooking all the time, so it was a good thing that he still sported those outdated double-knit slacks with the expandible waistband. He wore his detective’s uniform well and had fantastic law enforcement instincts just like Cassidy. They made a great partnership but that was only part of the reason they were the best of friends. They were men I could count on, and they’d been there the day I’d needed someone the most. I knew I’d never be able to repay them for their friendship or their support.

The server showed up a few minutes after Cassidy and Mike with our other friends following right behind. After greetings were exchanged with Jarrett and Thayne, everyone gave the waitress beverage orders. Since Raven had forced a bowl of granola on me, I was happy with coffee. He ordered the same, and the waitress walked away to collect our drinks.

“Don’t even think about it, Jarrett,” Thayne said.

Jarrett was pointing to a menu picture of a stack of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream.

“But I like pancakes,” Jarrett said. The whine in his voice was hilarious.

Thayne threaded his fingers together, laying them on the table as he faced his husband. “And what did I tell you when you pulled the pillow over your head at my mention of a morning run today?”

“That I was tired.”

“Try again.”

“Jeez, Thayne, we were up late watchin’ that movie,” Jarrett drawled. “It’s not my fault. It’s yours.”

Thayne looked like he could chew nails. “It wasn’t my fault! You could have gotten up and gone to bed but nooo…you stayed up to watch the whole thing.”

“That always happens,” Jarrett argued. “You pick a movie and after I watch for ten minutes, I end up wantin’ to finish it.”

“What movie did you watch?” Raven asked, effectively stopping the amusing bickering between husbands.

Jarrett turned to him, and I could tell by the way he was biting his lower lip, he wasn’t about to tell.

“Come on. Tell us,” Cassidy said.

Jarrett quickly mumbled something behind his hand.

I couldn’t make out what he’d said between his thick West Virginia drawl and the garbled response, so I asked this time. “What movie?”

Thayne grinned, and Jarrett sighed. He looked over at me with ice blue eyes. “Boogie Fuckin’ Nights.”

I exchanged a glance with Raven who was chuckling, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. It was the same thing I’d been thinking about…Gemma Monroe’s fake boobs and the fact that she’d been a porn star right around the time period the movie had been set, in the late 70s.

“You like Burt Reynolds,” Thayne argued. “That’s why I picked it.”

“Yeah…in Smokey and the Bandit …not as an agin’ producer of pornos!” Jarrett declared. “And you know I got that Playgirl with him as a centerfold in the garage, Thayne. I’m never gonna be able to look at that the same way again.”

“Look at your menu or I’ll order some granola with berries and yogurt for you,” Thayne said.

“The fuck you say,” Jarrett said, frowning down at his menu again. “Had to fall in love with a fuckin’ vegetarian,” he grumbled.

I laughed and glanced over at Raven who was barely holding back his own laugh.

The waitress came over and took everyone’s order, topping up our coffees and setting down juice. After she walked away, we finally got down to business.

RAVEN

“Before we get to your fugitive, Miguel, I wanted to talk to Raven about that asshole, Ned Jeffries.” He glanced over at me as I stopped my coffee halfway to my mouth. I set the mug back on the table and leaned forward.

“You talked to him?” I frowned. “When? You said you had dinner and a man waiting for you last night if I recall.”

“As it turned out, Zack had to work late, so Mike and I decided to pay Jeffries a call at home. He had a few guests with him,” Cassidy said.

“Who?”

“His accomplices in the lie he’d concocted about the assault he says he suffered at your hand, Raven.”

“I never touched him,” I said.

“We know that, kid,” Mike said. “We knew catching him unawares at his apartment was the only way to get him to confess to the lie. As it turned out, he was as stubborn as he could be but his boyfriend admitted all of it after three questions and the promise that we were going to charge him as an accomplice.”

“Boyfriend?” My eyebrows rose. Ned had never mentioned a boyfriend to me before but that didn’t mean he didn’t have one. Still, Cassidy and Mike had pointed out that someone had to break Ned’s wrist and dislocate his arm.

Cassidy nodded. “Yeah. I told you when I ran his name through our database, it turned out he had tried this more than once and it had worked. He’d been on the receiving end of quite a bit of money.”

“His boyfriend—it turned out—had a long criminal rap sheet with several assaults and even an attempted murder conviction,” Mike said. “He’s an ex-con who spent several years in prison and since he already had two strikes, he wasn’t about to be convicted again. Faced with what we knew of him and his past, he confessed to assaulting Jeffries and being in on the scheme to get you arrested and thrown in jail if we wouldn’t pursue charges against him. You know what a third strike means in California?”

“Life in prison,” I said, dumbfounded.

“That’s right, and apparently this guy wasn’t in love with Ned Jeffries enough to go down with another assault conviction. He admitted to going along with hurting Jeffries and that it was done at his request. Ned told him he liked rough treatment, so it wouldn’t be a big thing for him.”

“He put him in the hospital!” Miguel exclaimed. “I’d say that’s a hell of a lot more than his desire for rough sex.”

“I agree. I’ve met submissives who’ve allowed their Doms to inflict rough treatment,” Cassidy said, “but not ever breaking bones or dislocating an arm. Jeffries’ boyfriend took it too far, but Ned insisted the damage had to be significant for a big civil settlement which he promised to split with Hauser and hopefully jail time for you, when it was all said and done.”

“Hauser is the boyfriend?” I asked.

“Yes, Anthony Hauser,” Mike said. “In the end, he folded like a stack of cards.”

“So, it’s over?” I asked, hopefully.

“Yes, we took Ned Jeffries into custody for filing a false police report, stolen checks, and fraud last night,” Cassidy said.

I narrowed my eyes. “Whose stolen checks?”

“We searched his apartment after finding bloody clothes in his kitchen sink. He got nasty and belligerent when we wanted to process them at the lab for your blood, giving us cause, and we found a stack of your grandmother’s checks.”

“What?” I shouted, then quieted when I felt Miguel’s hand on my thigh. “What?”

“We found a complete pad where none were missing,” Mike said. “He was probably planning on draining her account but I’d check if I were you, just in case.”

“You know, after I fired him, I caught him at my grandmother’s desk. He produced his timecard and said he just needed a signature. I’ll bet that’s when he took them.” I felt violated.

“Right,” Cassidy said, “well, check just to be sure.” He frowned. “I thought you told us your grandmother was blind.”

“I write the checks for her when she has bills to pay and she signs them,” I said.

“Okay.” He smiled. “Well, I’m sure we’ll come up with a list of other charges in addition to what we already have, Raven. I promise you, Jeffries will do jail time.” He frowned. “We also questioned two other men who were in the apartment when we arrived. Those two also had rap sheets but we’re convinced that they didn’t know anything about the scheme and were just friends of Hauser’s who probably hoped he’d come into a large sum of money.”

He smiled at me. “It’s all over, Raven. Ned will do time and hopefully, you won’t have to deal with him ever again. Oh, by the way, you might want to talk to that agency you use for nurses. He was licensed at one point, but his license expired almost two years ago.”

My eyes widened. “That was after he came to work for me, but I will check. I guess I should check Dolly’s license too.”

“Hers is fine,” Mike said. “We checked.”

I nodded, feeling numb from the revelations. I couldn’t believe anyone could be so devious but then again, I’d met a lot of criminals in my line of work. I’d just never met someone who was such a good conman. Ned had completely snowed me.

“Anyway, it’s all over with, Raven. You will probably have to testify at Ned’s trial, but that won’t be for a while,” Cassidy said.

I looked over at Miguel, noting the relief on his face. He was feeling it too. He took my hand, squeezing it under the table. “So, what do we do about my little…or should I say, huge problem?” he asked. He turned to Jarrett and Thayne. “Sorry for taking up so much time on that Jeffries update, guys.”

“Fine with me,” Jarrett said, grinning as he lifted his coffee cup. “Business is business.”

Miguel nodded, looking over at Cassidy. “Did you find out anything about Howell, my fugitive?”

“Well, there’s good news and bad news about your fugitive, Connor Ray Howell Junior,” Cassidy replied as he sat back in the booth, looking across the table at Miguel, coffee in hand. “Mike and I spent most of the afternoon yesterday, finding out about him while all that Jeffries business was playing out.”

Miguel frowned, leaning forward. “What’d you find out, Cassidy? Did you call his parole officer like you said you would?”

Cassidy nodded.

“Okay. What happened?” I asked.

“Well…” Cassidy hesitated. He sighed. “Unfortunately, he’s not working down at the Port of Long Beach anymore.” He lifted his hands. “I’m sorry. I fucked up.”

“You didn’t fuck up,” Mike said. “That idiot did the fucking up.”

Cassidy waggled his head side to side. “I’m still responsible for his actions.”

“What happened?” Miguel asked, crossing his arms. He was frowning even deeper, if that was possible.

Cassidy tore his gaze away from Mike and looked over at Miguel. “I called his parole officer yesterday and talked to him about Howell, but I made the mistake of telling him I had it on good authority that he was working down at the Port of Long Beach as a longshoreman using a fake ID.”

“What the fuck happened?”

“He called me back early this morning,” Cassidy said. “Apparently, that idiot made the mistake of calling someone at the Long Beach PD after my call.”

“Shit,” Miguel said. “And let me guess…those yahoos tipped him off?”

“They went out there yesterday afternoon to arrest him and Howell put both patrolmen in the hospital as well as the parole officer,” Cassidy said, frowning.

“Are they okay?” I asked. I felt sick to my stomach.

“One of the patrolmen came out of it with broken ribs and a broken arm but the other one is in critical condition,” Mike said. “The idiot parole officer got some minor scrapes, a bruised ego, and he’s feeling pretty stupid at the moment.”

“He should be,” Miguel said. “He really blew it by tipping him off.”

I reached over and put a hand on his arm. He uncrossed them as he glanced over. “You were right to accept our help in this takedown. It could have been you in the hospital or even dead, Miguel.”

He looked down at my hand and covered it with his own as he nodded. When I let go, he groaned and leaned back against the booth. “You were right. It was stupid of me to think I could do it on my own.”

Jarrett cleared his throat. “Well, you got us now, so you won’t have to worry about gettin’ hurt.”

“So, Cassidy, any idea how we’re gonna find this jackhole?” Thayne asked.

“Maybe. When I ran his past associates, I found out one of the guys he was busted with before he went into prison, is out on parole.”

“You think he’s alive?” Miguel asked. He sounded so hopeful, and my heart went out to him.

“According to his parole officer, he was alive and well as of two weeks ago when he did his check in, so chances are, it’s our best hope of getting a line on this guy,” Mike said. “Cass and I are going to talk to the parole officer right after breakfast. That’s why we asked to have you meet us here in Burbank instead of Brentwood. The parole officer works in Van Nuys near the courthouse close by.”

“Good,” Miguel said. “I’d like to go with you two if you don’t mind.”

“That’d be fine,” Cassidy said.

“Can I come too?” I asked.

“If that’s okay with Miguel, I don’t see why not,” Cassidy replied.

He looked over at me and smirked. “Well, I don’t really think I have a choice, Cassidy. He’s my ride after all.”

I beamed at him and was still smiling a few minutes later when the waitress came over and began setting down plates of delicious-looking food.