A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House) (36 page)

Hunter shook his head, even though he knew Aidan couldn't see him. "This was different. I'm not sure if I could stand it if—"

"I want you to have your gun with you. Why the fuck didn't you have it last night? You could have easily taken care of everything yourself."

Hunter sighed heavily. "I can't risk Cam getting screwed because I've got a gun in the house. Look what happened last night. He might have a problem now because he touched a fucking gun."

Aidan sighed. "Carry it anyways. I'll talk to Harry and the commissioner about it. As far as I'm concerned, there were extenuating circumstances. What if I hadn't answered the phone? What if—"

"Aidan, I'll carry the gun."

"Thank you."

"Anything else?"

"Yup. Something hasn't been sitting right with me for a while so I did some poking around on the house Cam pointed out in the boonies."

"What about it?"

"Well, I was able to tie the name on the deed to a partnership contact on one of Rick's shell companies. I already went to see Judge Stanford. After last night and this little bit of info, I got a green light on the warrant. I'm here now."

"Did you find anything?"

"Tons. The drug dogs found a stash behind a false wall. They have a room with a small-scale lab setup. I'm totally guessing here, but I think this might be where there was some testing or some initial drug mixes done. No way is this the actual lab for production or distribution. We found documents with formulas on them and files, ledgers, and a stack of other shit we're taking to the station to review. I've got forensics here so I'm hoping we can pull prints for Mackler and the mayor since we know they've been here. That'll help cement things."

"That would be good."

"I had cadaver dogs here, too. It looked like a kennel."

Hunter rubbed his eyes. "Dude, don't tell me there were dead bodies in the backyard."

"No. But at this point, I just wanted to be sure."

"True."

"Go have your coffee and get your brain in gear and your asses into the station for your statements. I should be back there within the hour and we'll talk more," Aidan finished before disconnecting.

Hunter searched his bag and found the red file containing Jasmine's information and texted the address and phone number to Aidan. He changed the bandage on his shoulder then cursed every muscle in his body as he dressed. He dragged himself into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face, trying to look presentable past the obvious bruising.

Finally satisfied that he looked relatively decent, he slowly followed the chatter to the kitchen. He leaned on the doorway and watched his father show Cam how to prepare the ingredients for the pancakes. He smiled at Cameron's focused expression as he listened to his dad explain the dos and don'ts of making the perfect batter.

"Good morning," he finally said.

Both Cam and his father looked up and smiled.

"It's about time you woke up," his dad said.

Cam immediately walked over to Hunter, reached up, and gave him a quick kiss.

As much as Hunter's body hurt, it pained him more to see the bruises coloring Cam's face and neck. He gently grazed his fingers on Cam's cheek. He reached down and grabbed Cam's hand to inspect the cuts on his arms.

"You okay?" Hunter asked. His stomach roiled when he focused on the red hemorrhage surrounding Cam's bright blue iris.

Cam nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I've had worse. Are you okay?"

Hunter closed his eyes with Cam's touch to his face. His bruised cheeks didn't hurt as much as his entire body, but Cam's hand on his skin was comforting. He didn't want to let his mind wander regarding Cam's comment of prior 'worse' experiences.

"I'll survive," he finally said.

"I'll give you a massage later," Cam whispered in his ear.

Hunter groaned and raised his hands slightly to grasp Cam by the waist. "That would be nice."

"Son, go grab a seat before you fall over. Cam and I are almost finished here."

Hunter worked his way to the table and had never been happier to settle in his seat. Within moments, his father and Cam filled the table with food and pushed him to take some pills for the pain.

"Cam filled me in on what's going on. What now?" his father asked, cutting into his pancakes.

"Cam and I have to go give our statements. Aidan's going to be at the station within the hour. Then I guess we'll go from there."

"Do they have any information? Did the guys say anything?" Cam asked expectantly.

Hunter shook his head. "They're not talking but Aidan's at the house you told us about and searching there. He's also out looking for other leads."

"What other leads?" Cam asked.

Hunter hesitated.

"Hunter?"

He deliberately chewed slowly, trying to think of how best to break the news to Cam. Hunter took a sip of juice and paused.

"They're tracking your father and they're going to have your sister come in to give her statement since there isn't one on record."

"Why are you trying to track him?" Cam asked quietly.

He could see the concern in Cam's expression. "We need to know what role he played in all this. We're thinking he can give us more info on the link to Mackler."

"Oh," Cam said quietly. He grabbed his fork again and poked at his breakfast.

"Cam?"

"I know you want me to talk to my sister, and I'll do that for you. But I won't talk to him."

Hunter reached out and placed his hand behind Cam's neck. "You don't have to talk to your sister if you don't want to and you don't have to talk to your dad either."

"Don't call him that," Cam said fiercely.

"Cam—"

Cam looked at him with fire in his eyes. "I don't have a choice in him being my father, but he was never a dad to me. Excuse me." Cam pushed his chair back from the table and walked away.

"Hunter, what's going on?" his father asked when Cam exited the dining room.

He went to stand but his father's hand on his arm halted him. Hunter ran his fingers through his hair. He just wanted all this crap over with already. He hated the tension that pushed beneath the surface when he looked at Cam. Hunter glanced over his shoulder to his bedroom where Cam had disappeared to.

"Hunter?"

He sighed. "I think Cam's father made a deal and sold out his son."

Hunter's father stood from the table. "You stay here, I'll go."

"Dad, please don't push him."

"I did learn a thing or two from your mom. You sit and eat," his father said, pointing at the plate full of food.

Hunter pushed the breakfast around on his plate. He wanted to go to Cam, be with him, and let him know he was there to support him.

He'd give his dad five minutes before he broke into the room. He owed his dad the respect of staying put, but he was not about to leave Cam when he needed support.

* * * *

Cam stood by the window and looked out into the yard.

"Cameron?" he heard Hunter's father say as he knocked on the slightly open door.

Cam looked over his shoulder and half smiled. Hunter's dad was so different from his own father. "Sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you by leaving the table."

"You didn't, Son, don't worry about that." He walked over to Cam and stood next to him.

Cam would cringe at the sound of his father calling him son, but coming from Thomas, it sounded so natural.

Thomas placed a gentle hand on Cam's shoulder. "Hunter won't force you to talk to your sperm donor if you don't want to."

Cam chuckled and looked over to him. "I've never called him that, but it fits."

Thomas shrugged. "Some men can be pretty stupid. Luckily that part isn't hereditary."

"I'm glad. Hunter does seem to take a lot after you."

"Well then, I'll take that as one hell of a compliment considering how much you love him."

Cam stilled. Speaking openly about his feelings with his boyfriend's father was definitely new to him.

"Um, we haven't talked about that." He looked away, not really sure what the hell else he was supposed to say.

"Well, it's obvious to anyone who's in the room with you guys for a few seconds. If he's too much of a wuss to tell you then I'm going to have to smack him. He knows we're not on this earth long enough and should enjoy every chance we have with the one we love."

Cam winced. "He's not the wuss, I am."

Thomas slid his arm over Cam's shoulder. He mirrored Cam's stance, staring out the window. "Something tells me you haven't had much luck with people who care about you."

Cam shook his head. He looked down and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Everything changed after my mom died when I was ten. My father hated raising two kids on his own. He worked two jobs and drank every chance he had in between. I was the one who took care of things at home. I was too young to work but I made damn sure he didn't drink away the money he made. We fought a lot. He told me being gay wasn't natural and I needed to work on changing my mind."

"Well, he was an idiot. You took care of him and your sister whether he wants to believe that or not." Thomas shook his head. "You know what the best part of having a gay son is?"

Cam looked over to Thomas and cocked his head. "What's that?"

"I inherit a second son," he said earnestly.

Cam inhaled a shaky breath as emotions tightened his chest. Thomas pulled him into an embrace. "If that asshole father of yours didn't appreciate you, then he doesn't deserve to see you."

"Thank you," Cam whispered. He raised his arms and embraced Thomas's frail body. "Hunter was right."

"That's a shocker. What was he right about?" Thomas asked, releasing Cam.

"He said you were worse than him."

Thomas smacked Cam behind his head. "And you're just as stubborn as he is. You guys are perfect for each other."

They both laughed as Hunter entered the room.

"You good?" Hunter asked cautiously, the worry evident in his expression.

Cam nodded with a half smile hoping to calm the concern in Hunter's voice. He looked over to Thomas then back to Hunter. "More than good."

Hunter sighed with obvious relief. "We need to go to the station to give our statements."

Cam nodded and walked toward the door to follow Hunter out of the room. He looked back at Thomas who shook his head and grinned.

"Few seconds, that's all it takes," Thomas said before finally walking over and joining Cam at the door before exiting.

Hunter reached over and rubbed the back of Cam's neck, hoping to ease some of the tension in the muscles.

"That wasn't too bad," Cam commented after Aidan left the room.

Cameron's father had been detained and was due to arrive at the station at any moment. Hunter didn't have a clue how Cam would react but knew his fidgeting and constant biting of his lower lip were a telltale sign of his nerves.

"That feels so fucking good." Cam groaned and lowered his head, encouraging Hunter's touch. "What happens now?"

Hunter continued to stroke Cam's neck. "Aidan's getting our statements typed up, then he'll be back and we'll sign off on them. Once that's done, we're free to leave."

Cam looked up, his face more relaxed. "We still have some weekend time left," he teased with that half smile that shot a bolt of lust through Hunter's body every time.

"Would be a shame to let it go to waste."

Cam sucked in his lower lip and nodded.

Hunter groaned and pulled Cam in for a kiss. Cam tugged him closer, wanting more.

"You guys should get a room," Aidan said when he returned.

"We did have one. Go away." Cam laughed.

Aidan just shook his head. "I need the room. You want to sit in?" he asked Hunter.

Hunter exhaled and looked over at Cam.

The smile slid off Cam's face. "He's here already?" he said weakly.

"I've got him a few doors down in holding. Hunter said you didn't want to talk to him so I figured I'd give you a heads up."

"You want to sit in while they question him?" Cam asked Hunter.

Hunter reached over and grabbed Cam's hand. "Aidan will be doing most of the questioning, but yes, I want to sit in."

"Okay."

"We can put you in the observation room. He won't know you're there," Aidan offered.

Cam nodded and worried his lower lip again.

When they stood, ready to exit, Cam slid his hand into Hunter's.

Hunter immediately looked over and saw Cameron looking down. Hunter squeezed his hand and gave him a quick peck. "You're stronger than you know," he whispered in his ear.

"I'm not as strong as you think I am." Hunter's chest tightened at the crack in Cam's voice.

"You've already surprised me a time or two. Just take it one day at a time, okay?"

Cameron finally looked up and made eye contact. A rare innocence that twisted Hunter's gut made an appearance in his expression.

He inched closer to Hunter. "Please…just don't…don't give up on me."

Hunter smiled and brushed the hair out of Cam's worried face. "Never." He gave Cam a chaste kiss before they exited the room.

"Cameron, is that you?" Jasmine's voice carried across the room. She sat in a chair, talking to an officer a few desks down. She finally stood and approached them with a smile.