When Love Intrudes (When the Mission Ends) (3 page)

She’d just finished with her final identification when Eddie rejoined them and shot a guarded, angry look toward Brian. That left him with a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he’d get to the bottom of it after Toni left.

He walked her out to her car and resisted the urge to touch her in some way. The need to feel the heat of her soft skin tugged at him, but he wasn’t an animal who couldn’t control himself. Curling his hands into fists, he managed to resist for the moment.

“You did well in there,” he told her.

She smiled softly as she chewed her bottom lip. He wanted to reassure her that everything would be okay. He couldn’t resist any longer and touched her cheek.

Electricity raced up his arm. It turned out he really didn’t have any control, but the silky feel of her soft skin settled him. She’d always had that ability to soothe him…when she wasn’t making him crazy. But this magnetic pull he felt toward her meant he needed to get away from her as soon as possible. He couldn’t be responsible for hurting her again and now she was a part of this case. They had chemistry, but he wasn’t that guy for her.

Her eyes were guarded and cautious as she reached up and tugged at his hand. “What…what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry.” Frustration tore at him. Why couldn’t he just walk away? She needed more than he had to offer. He pulled his hand away and took a step back from her, a step back from temptation. “I need to go check in with my partner and then we’ll be by the hospital to talk to Nathan. Thanks, Toni.”

He strode away before he could do something else monumentally stupid.

Eddie met him at the door of the precinct and motioned him into an interrogation room. “We have a problem. James Marshall, the punk from the assault, is the son of Senator J.J. Marshall. Daddy and camp are throwing a huge stink and the captain says we have to release them.”

“What? Our witness just positively identified those boys. We have DNA evidence on them and they resisted arrest. There’s no way they should be released until we have all the charges against them settled.”

Eddie shrugged, but the grim look on his face told Brian that he was just as disgusted by this turn of events. “We don’t have a choice at this point. The shots are being called from way above our pay grade.”

“And just what are we going to tell that boy who they brutally attacked last night? We still have to go interview him in the hospital this afternoon.”

“The truth…that the two of us are doing everything in our power to make sure these dirt bags go to prison.”

Somehow at this point in time, that just didn’t seem like enough.

* * *

Half an hour later, Brian and Eddie exited the elevator on the floor where Nathan’s hospital room was located. He’d already explained to Eddie about Toni’s place in all of this and the fact she passed herself off as Nathan’s sister so he could have a support system while in the hospital.

When they arrived in Nathan’s room Toni was reading a book aloud to him. Brian raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw the two half-naked guys embracing on the front of the book. Toni flushed red and quickly shoved the book into her purse.

“Ahem. Hello, detectives. Nathan, these are the guys I told you about—Detectives Brian Barnes and Eddie Walters.”

Nathan started to smile as he reached out his hand to Brian in greeting but then his eyes widened. He dropped his hand quickly and his gaze swung back to Toni. “Wait, is this…?” He nodded his head at Brian and Toni closed her eyes, her face turning red again. She gave Nathan a warning look and an almost imperceptible nod.

She wouldn’t meet Brian’s gaze as he watched the exchange between the two of them. Curious. Could Toni have told Nathan about what happened between them? Shame filled him. He really hated the idea of anyone else knowing what an ass he’d been to her.

Turning back toward Eddie, she asked, “Do I need to stay for this or would it be better if I went and grabbed a cup of coffee?”

Eddie’s lips quirked at the corners in amusement as his gaze lingered between Brian and her. “It would be great if you could give us about thirty minutes, Ms. Vincent.”

“Okay.” She turned back toward Nathan. “I’ll just be downstairs. If you need me before I’m back, just text or call, okay?”

“Thanks, Toni. If you see a Coke or pizza, could you bring me back some?” Nathan asked.

She gave him an indulgent smile. “Sure.” Then she slipped out of the room.

Brian couldn’t help but admire the sway of her ass as she walked out the door. Her womanly curves filled out those jeans in all the perfect places. When he turned back, Eddie watched him with a single eyebrow raised. Not good. He groaned inwardly. He needed to be more subtle, because his new partner rarely missed much.

Brian pulled the tape recorder out of his suit jacket pocket and waved it in the air. “We’re going to record this, if that’s okay with you?”

The kid scowled thunderously at Brian. “Stay away from her.”

Obviously, Nathan knew quite a bit about what went down between Toni and him. Hopefully, that wouldn’t cause a problem with his cooperation. Brian ignored the curious look from his partner and just raised the tape recorder again in question.

Nathan sent a second backward glance toward the door where Toni had disappeared. “I guess that’s fine,” he said as he eyed the recorder warily.

From the research he’d done on Nathan Morrow, he learned that he’d earned his GED a year and a half earlier than he should have and had set to work developing computer software, as well as taking online college classes, and working at a local coffee shop. At this point, he was just barely getting by financially, but the kid was smart.

As he glanced around the hospital room, Brian wondered how much this little attack was going to cost Nathan, because there’s no way this kid had any kind of health insurance. The senator just wanted them to brush it off, but this wasn’t a victimless crime. Nathan was going to lose more than just a few days of work. And those few days were more than he could afford even before the hospital bills arrived. All it took was one little setback for someone in Nathan’s financial position and he could end up living on the streets. It was just one more reason to stick it to the guys who did this to him.

Brian clicked on the tape recorder. “Okay, Nathan, take your time, but we need you to tell us exactly what you remember from yesterday’s attack.”

“I’d just gotten home from work.”

“Were you working at the Grind yesterday?” Eddie asked, consulting his notes.

“Yes.” His startled gaze lingered on the folder Eddie held. “What else do you know about me?” But immediately he raised his unbroken arm and shook his head. “Never mind, I don’t really want to know.”

Nathan took another deep breath and began again. “I didn’t realize anyone followed me home, so I headed to the laundry room. There are vending machines in there and I wanted to get a candy bar.” His eyes darted to his hands folded in his lap, his fingers nervously working the edge of the cast that extended down onto his hand. “I was standing in front of the machine, digging the change out of my pocket when they jumped me. I didn’t hear anyone enter the room behind me, but I don’t remember hearing the door shut behind me, either.”

“Did you see who grabbed you?” Eddie asked.

“No, I was grabbed from behind and someone pinned my arms to my sides while someone else pulled something over my head and face—maybe a stocking cap.” He glanced up at the two detectives. “It felt itchy and hot like a winter stocking cap usually does.”

“Did they say anything?” Brian asked.

Nathan swallowed hard and his voice lowered as he began to recount the details of his attack. “The guy holding me said, ‘You shouldn’t look at the ass of straight guys, faggot.’ And then someone kicked me in the balls. The guy holding me let go and it became a free-for-all. I curled up on the floor and tried to protect my head and torso.”

“Was anything else ever said?”

“There was a lot of laughing and homophobic stuff said. They threatened to rape me and kept shoving something against my ass,” he looked down at his hands, “but one of the guys stopped it. Then they just beat on me some more using their fists, feet, and some sort of stick. I must have passed out at some point because the next thing I remember was waking up, and Toni was there.”

“You said they followed you home, but if you never saw them, why do you think that?”

Nathan ducked his head as he blushed and mumbled, “Um, I was looking at a guy’s ass at the Grind. One of his friends saw me do it and took offense. He told me I was going to regret it.”

“So were there only two guys or were there more?”

“There were four of them.”

“Do you think you could identify them if you saw them in a lineup?”

Nathan shook his head, looking miserable. “No, the whole time they were in the coffee shop, I was busy making coffee. I just glanced up and noticed the one guy’s body because it was hard
to miss, especially from behind.” If possible, he flushed even redder. “But I never made eye contact with any of them. I know better than that. I try to keep my head down and stay out of people’s way. I sure didn’t go looking for any trouble.”

Eddie snorted and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t think looking at a guy’s ass would cause a problem?”

“I didn’t realize one of the other guys would see. Besides, when you were seventeen, I bet you checked out every girl’s rack who walked by.” He scowled at Brian again as he pointed toward him. “And I know you just saw him check out Toni’s ass,” he growled. “It’s just a natural thing for a guy to do.”

Eddie backed down and mumbled, “Point taken.”

Brian smirked at Eddie for a moment before refocusing on Nathan. “Is there anything else you can think of that might help our investigation?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Have they told you when they’re letting you out of here?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, it should be either tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on what the doctor says when he checks me this afternoon.”

“Okay, well, we’ll be in touch. Get some rest kid and let your body heal. Here’s my card if you have any concerns, questions, or remember anything else.” Brian extended his hand.

Nathan surveyed it and looked for a moment like he was going to refuse as he pressed his lips together. Whatever Toni had told Nathan about him, he planned to hold it against him.

So he added, “Detective Walters’ information is on there, too, if you’d feel more comfortable calling him.”

Nathan gave a sharp nod of his head and reached to take it. He leaned back and closed his eyes, his face almost as pale as the pillowcase. Well, the parts without bruises anyway. Brian swallowed against the anger again. How hard had they been hitting him to cause that kind of extreme bruising? Toni was right; he was a good kid who deserved better. The simple fact that the kid was protective of her proved that much.

As they exited the room, Brian pulled the door closed behind him, but didn’t see Toni. He really wanted to talk to her before they left, so he turned to face Eddie. “I’ll catch up to you at the station. I have something else I need to take care of here.”

Eddie gave him a knowing look. “Feeling a hankering for some coffee of your own, huh? So what’s the story between you and the girl? There’s a history there.”

Brian glanced down the hall and lowered his voice. “She was Pete Larson’s girlfriend.”

Eddie’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me that sweet little thing is the one who killed Pete and saved your life?”

Brian clenched his jaw. “Yes.” Pete had been a fellow policeman. He’d missed—they’d all missed—the warning signs of depression and madness. It had almost cost him his life. It had cost him a kidney, but it cost Toni a lot more. She’d shot Pete dead. She hadn’t had a choice, but that didn’t make it any easier for her to live with the fact that she’d taken the life of someone she cared about. He knew better than most how devastating that had been for her.

“And now she’s caught up in this mess,” Brian continued. “I just want to make sure that there aren’t any surprises for her and that she and Nathan are both taken care of. I owe her that much.”
And so much more
.

“Be careful,” Eddie warned. “This case is liable to get sticky enough without you becoming involved with the key witness.”

“Don’t worry. There is zero danger of that happening.” No matter how bad he might want her, she would never forgive him. That ship had sailed and he’d blown it out of the water. He’d regret that for the rest of his life, but Eddie didn’t need to know that. If anything, that whole situation proved once again that he was better off alone. Toni couldn’t count on him.

* * *

Brian found Toni in the cafeteria, sipping a coffee, and reading an e-book. He bought a coffee and walked up to her table. “Can I join you?”

She glanced up with a wary look in her eye that tore at his soul. “If you’re finished with Nathan, I need to go back to his room.”

“It will just take a little bit. I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.” She gave a reluctant nod. “But it needs to be quick because I don’t want to leave him alone for very long.”

“Good book?”

“Yeah, it is, but I don’t think you really want to talk about literature do you, Detective?”