A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House)

by Reese, Jaime

  "I don't think it's a secret how much I want you," Hunter whispered, his lips ghosting over Cam's.

  Cam weakly smiled. It took too much effort to regain control of his body. His heart beat brutally against his chest, drugged with the heat of Hunter's body and the full lips brushing against his own. "It's mutual," he said, barely audible, before he realized the words had escaped.

  Hunter inched back slightly, breaking the spell. "By the way," he began before reaching around behind his own neck and gently grasping Cam's hurt hand by the wrist. He looked at the swollen knuckles then looked up at Cam. "I won't ask what happened, because, if you want me to know, you'll tell me. But I do need to know if you're okay."

  Cam looked away. "Yeah," he responded weakly after a few moments of silence. His throat tightened with emotion. Usually, people cared about 'what' he had done and never cared about how he felt or if he was okay.

  "Good." He grabbed Cam's chin and turned his head to brush a quick, gentle kiss on his lips. "Go out with me."

  "What? Like a date?"

  "Yeah, a date. An actual date outside of the diner. We can do anything you want. I don't care as long as it's just the two of us."

  Cam froze. All the blood drained from his face. Matt was right. He needed to tell Hunter the truth. It was only fair to be completely honest and let Hunter decide if he wanted to pursue this further. But his fear of losing the one person who gave him some peace and made him want to dream for something more prevailed. "I thought you were leaving for a few days?"

  "Yeah, but when I get back."

  "Oh," he said.

  "You don't want to go out with me?" Hunter asked with a frown.

  "I do…soon," he finished lamely.

  "Can I call you while I'm away?" Hunter asked cautiously, confusion coloring his expression.

  Cam quickly recalled the rules on phone calls. Thankfully, Matt's rules were lax on times and length. "Sure."

  "What's your number?" Hunter asked expectantly.

  Shit, what was his number? Heck if he knew. Why the hell would he call himself?

  "Do you have your cell?"

  Cam had left the cell phone back in his room, hoping to avoid any comfort calls from Matt about his run-in with the doorframe. "Not with me."

  Hunter checked his pockets and frowned. "Shit, I raced out of the office to come over here and I left my wallet." He grabbed the pen off the wall clipboard next to the phone and tore off a sheet of notepaper.

  "Call me and leave a voice mail with your number or text it to me. I'll call you after I finish for the day when you're off work. It might be a little late."

  Cam nodded. He could deal with hearing that sexy-as-fuck voice echoing in his ear.

  "I've got to go. I've got a meeting before I leave."

  Hunter pulled Cam into another embrace and nuzzled Cam.

  "You need to stop doing that if you plan on making it out of here," Cam teased. He didn't really want Hunter to let go.

  "I'll see you soon," Hunter said, stepping back, cupping Cam's face then placing a soft kiss on his lips. When Cam opened his eyes, the desire in the silver gaze made him groan.

  "You're killin' me," Cam said, forcing himself to look away. His body screamed for Hunter's heat.

  "I'll be back soon," Hunter said before finally leaving.

  Cam leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He could still feel Hunter's hands on him, the taste of his kiss.

  Bill poked his head into the back room. "Are you okay?" he asked for the billionth time today.

  Cam looked over to him and simply nodded, knowing words were just not possible at that moment.

  He was more than just okay. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this good.

  Hunter raced back to the office, hoping to make it in time for the meeting. He exited the elevator on his office floor and Melanie immediately flagged him over to the conference room. The typical staff members were in attendance in addition to the mayor, Frank Weston, his assistant, Lydia, and the chief of police, Harold Kramer.

  "I want to know what the hell is going on! How close are we to catching this son of a bitch?" the mayor thundered.

  "My team caught a critical player and you guys failed to make it stick," Chief Kramer mumbled.

  "Don't go there, Harry. You know that was out of our hands and the judge threw out the case," Melanie defended.

  "That's a crock of shit," he huffed.

  Hunter sat back and observed the childish back and forth yelling. He hated wasting time and this meeting was headed nowhere. It was just a bitching session. The mayor was pissed his numbers were slipping. An election was coming up and he needed a big selling point—capturing the drug dealer affecting the city would definitely add a feather to his cap and secure a win.

  "Where the hell is Gonzalez?" the mayor asked. "He was dismissed, not exiled. He needs to get back here. I don't give a shit where he is. Find him!" the mayor yelled.

  In the absence of capturing a drug dealer, it seemed nailing a dirty judge was second best. Hunter was glad Peter was in hiding.

  "I'm the chief of police, not a private investigator. I'm too busy trying to clean up these streets and bust guys for you, just so the two of you," he said, waving his hand over to Mel and Hunter, "can fuck things up and set him free. I'm not going to spend my time chasing after a dirty judge who's AWOL. Go to hell."

  "Guys, we're not going to resolve anything like this. Let's figure something out so we can wrap up these cases. Any suggestions?" Melanie asked.

  Silence.

  "I want this done. The election is in two months, and I want arrests and convictions. This won't look good for me at poll time."

  "I know, Frank," Mel said.

  "This reflects on you as well, Mel, so get on it," he said as he stood. "I'm tired of wasting my time here." He signaled to his assistant to follow him as he left the room. The chief of police and the remaining attendees exited, leaving Melanie and Hunter alone in the room.

  "Sorry about that," Mel said with a furrowed brow.

  "About what? The mayor wanting to get reelected and the chief pissed they threw out the case. Hell, I'm pissed about that too."

  Mel relaxed in her seat. "I know, but I don't want them to make you look bad. You've been working your ass off lately more than ever on these cases."

  "I'm a big boy, I can handle it."

  Mel snorted a laugh. "Yeah, big boy," she drawled, kicking his chair playfully.

  Hunter chuckled. "Hey, I've got to leave town for a couple of days. Is that okay?"

  "Is something wrong?" she asked with concern.

  He hated lying to Mel, but he needed to find Peter without further delay. "Everything's fine. I just need to go check out some places for my dad. He's too stubborn to be on his own. It shouldn't be more than a few days."

  "Any pending case stuff I need to pick up?"

  "Nope. All the depositions are done or scheduled, two of the court dates got cancelled because they accepted the pleas and Jessie is up to date on any of the files I've got in the queue. I have a few case files I need to review but I'll take those with me. If anything comes up, just call me."

  "No problem. Keep me posted, okay?"

  "I'm going to leave in a few to beat the traffic."

  Melanie nodded then rose from her seat. "Pick up a hitchhiker along the way and explore some reckless abandonment." She quickly ducked out of the conference room to avoid the pen that flew across the room aimed at her.

  Hunter shook his head and laughed. He left the conference room and walked back to his office. He pulled out his briefcase and removed the files he didn't need then sorted through his planner to confirm nothing would be left pending.

  "Hey, boss," Jessie said, entering the office.

  "Hey. I'm going out of town for a couple of days. If you need to reach me, just give me a call or text me."

  Jessie nodded then walked a few steps closer to Hunter.

  Hunter peered up from his briefcase just as Jessie looked ov
er his shoulder.

  "What's going on?" Hunter asked, narrowing his eyes.

  "I had a package dropped off on my desk before your meeting started. I opened it and there was this inside with your name on it," he said, handing over an envelope.

  Hunter looked at the white envelope with a blue stripe along the return address area. The envelope was blank other than a single word, Hunter, printed on a stick-on label in the front.

  Hunter stared at the file as if it were a snake that would snap out and bite. He looked up and saw Melanie's assistant approaching the door. He quickly grabbed the envelope and stuffed it into his briefcase.

  "Excuse me, Mel wanted me to grab the deposition transcriptions before you left."

  Jessie shuffled her out of the office. "I've got them at my desk."

  "Jessie, call me if anything comes up," he said with a firm gaze, hoping to telepath his hidden concern.

  "No problem, boss," Jessie said with a nod.

  Hunter had to get the hell out of the office and go see his dad. He finished packing a few files into his case then darted out.

  "Dad?" Hunter asked as he entered his father's home.

  "What's going on?" His father stood in the living room with his arms crossed.

  "Turns out Peter disappeared before anyone notified him of his dismissal. Honestly, I thought he was AWOL, trying to clear his name."

  His father sighed and shook his head. "Well, this puts a whole different spin on things."

  "I know. They've searched the obvious contacts and places. You said you know someone who's heard from him?"

  Thomas rubbed his chin. "Karyna. She called me yesterday, and I barely understood what she was saying. It's as if she was talking in code or something. I assumed it was some new lingo or something you younger kids do. Now it makes sense. She must have reached out because of Peter but didn't want to mention him by name."

  "No one would think to look for her to find him. I guess she figured hearing from her would jog your memory and you'd make the connection."

  "Probably. Now, go talk to her. And be ready, I'm guessing she'll probably try to jump you."

  "Dad," Hunter chastised. "Don't go there please."

  "Son, I know you don't play for that team," his father smiled. "She always did seem to find an excuse to come over and fish with us when she knew you'd be there to bait her hooks and help her throw her lines."

  "Dad, can we please get back on target here. This is important."

  "I know, I know. By the way, how's your young man doing?" his father asked, waggling his eyebrows.

  Hunter groaned. His father and his tangents were going to stress him out. "Dad, please."

  "Okay, okay."

  "I'm assuming she told you how to get a hold of her?"

  "Yup," his father said, walking over to his phone directory. He scribbled some information on a piece of paper and walked back over to Hunter. "Here you go."

  Hunter looked at the scrap and saw a phone number and address. "Thanks," he said, shoving the paper into his pocket.

  "You leaving now?" his father asked.

  "Yeah and you can't tell anyone where I'm going. Got it?"

  His father nodded. "What excuse did you give for leaving?"

  "I told them I had to look into something for you. Um, I kinda mentioned I was looking at retirement places."

  "Great. Blame it on the old fart who needs looking after," his father grumbled.

  Hunter laughed. "Thanks, Dad. I gotta go," he said.

  "Be careful, Son. Please. If someone's done this to Pete—"

  "I know, Dad. That's why I've got to find him."

  He pulled his father into an embrace.

  His father tightened his hold. "Don't think I haven't noticed how you're avoiding the subject."

  Hunter released his dad and glared at him. "Yes, I saw him earlier, and yes, I asked him out. Happy?"

  "What did he say?"

  "He said 'soon', I guess that's better than a no," he added before laughing.

  "Yes, that's better than a no," his father said then patted him on the shoulder. "You're smiling with your eyes, you know? That tells me you're happy."

  Hunter grinned as thoughts of Cameron flooded his mind. The way he smelled, his taste, the soft yet strong lips when they kissed, the way Cam's body fit perfectly against his. He wanted to believe he was slowly breaking down Cam's iron walls.

  "Yeah, Dad. I'm happy," he said wistfully. "I've gotta go. I'll see you soon," he said before waving bye.

  Cameron called Matt before he left the diner. Rather than ask Julian to pick him up, he decided to walk the few blocks to get back to the halfway house. He didn't want to be a bother—he knew Julian was planning something for Matt's birthday today but didn't have a clue what it was.

  The swelling in his hand had lessened and thoughts of Hunter and a future date lingered in his mind. Where would they go, what would they do? He wanted to enjoy the peacefulness he always felt when they were together. The worries that riddled his mind would vanish, and the fear of trying to fit in, blend, survive, everything just righted itself with Hunter.

  He took the steps up to the house and heard a familiar voice. He walked in and saw Sam talking with Matt.

  "Hey, there!" Sam said before grabbing Cam into a hug.

  "What are you doing here?" Cam asked Sam and looked over to Matt.

  "He escorted over two guys to our house," Matt responded proudly. "J's showing them around. They're getting the green rooms," Matt said with a nod and a smile.

  Cam chuckled. Matt and his fricken color-themed rooms. Cam didn't care about the colors—he just cared that the green rooms were the farthest away from his.

  "Oh, there he is," he heard Julian say as he walked down the stairs. "This is Cameron." He gestured toward him.

  Cam nodded in acknowledgement.

  "This is Cole," Julian said, pointing to the guy wearing a knit beanie, then he turned to the tall guy with the serious expression. "And this is Luke."

  Cameron extended his hand in greeting. Cole gripped Cameron's hand enthusiastically. He was constantly shifting from one foot to the other, unable to stand still. He was a ball of energy, with a devilish grin and a mischievous glint in his mismatched eyes. He wore a beanie low over his forehead and thick black hair peeked out along the back. He was about a head shorter than Cam and stocky, couldn't have been much taller than five-eight, give or take an inch.

  "Dude, this place is awesome!" Cole said with a huge grin and a wealth of enthusiasm.

  "Yeah," Cam answered. He turned to Luke who stood silently, observing. "Nice to meet you."

  Luke firmly shook his hand then made eye contact. A clear you-leave-me-alone-and-we'll-be-fine vibe screamed from his gaze.

  "Ignore Luke's tough guy act. You should have heard him with his girlfriend on the phone."

  "I'm going to beat you in your sleep if you don't shut up," Luke said with a sideways glare targeted at Cole.

  "Cam, keep everyone busy here for two minutes," Julian said to Cam in a whisper.

  Cam simply nodded. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to entertain anyone or keep them busy.

  He noticed Matt's curiosity piqued and the man looked ready to follow Julian into the kitchen. "I wouldn't do that," Cam said.

  Matt looked over and bit his lip. "What the hell is he doing?"

  Cam shrugged. He did know it was Matt's birthday but he couldn't even acknowledge that without risking a chance at Matt figuring anything out.

  "So how long have you been here?" beanie guy asked.

  "Couple of weeks," Cam responded.

  "What did you do?"

  "What did you do?" Cameron asked.

  "I boost exotics and sleepers," Cole said with a grin.

  "Boosted, Cole. Past tense. The goal is to not do that anymore," Matt corrected.

  Cole guffawed. "Dude, if a Ferrari pranced in front of me, I can't promise I'd have that much self-control."

  "Then we'll have to work on that," Matt said
with a smile. Matt had a distant look on his face then tugged the back of his hair. "What are sleepers?"

  Cole moaned. "They're the powerful sexy ones no one pays attention to. But I do."

  Cam chuckled and took pity on Matt. "They're cars that don't look fancy on the outside but have a lot of power under the hood. Think of it as high performance in disguise."

  "Oh, I get it," Matt said shyly.

  "Dude, you're totally giving me a hard-on right now," Cole said to Cam.

  "Keep it in your pants, Boost Boy," Cam said as Julian walked out of the kitchen and glanced over to Sam moments later.

  As if on cue, Sam started herding the new arrivals to the kitchen. "I'm starving. Matt you got anything we can nibble on? We didn't get a chance to grab anything on the way here."

  Matt fidgeted. "Um, we might have something…I think." He looked around and saw Julian lingering then looked back over at Cam. Matt raised an eyebrow then stood in front of Julian, arms crossed. Julian half smiled, grabbed him, and pulled him into the kitchen.

  Cam followed the others into the kitchen. On the table was a birthday cake with a single candle and two wrapped gifts, one noticeably larger than the other. Everyone applauded and Matt's face immediately flushed when everyone broke out in unison to sing him "Happy Birthday". Even Luke looked as if he was mumbling the words. Julian wrapped his arms around Matt from behind and rested his chin on Matt's shoulder as he sang. Cam had never seen Julian with such a huge smile on his face. He transformed into a different person right before Cam's eyes.

  Matt blew out the candle and everyone chanted to open the gifts. Julian handed the large box over to Matt. When he unwrapped the gift, he gasped, then immediately looked up to see a smiling Julian staring back at him. Matt pulled out a beautifully carved, square wooden sign that read 'Halfway House'. Along the edges were additional carvings.

  Matt looked up at Julian with such emotion even Cam's chest began to hurt. "J—" was all he was able to say before Julian rushed to his side and resumed his position behind Matt, arms wrapped around his waist and chin resting on his shoulder.

  "You guys really called this place 'Halfway House'? Um, you never actually gave it a name?" the beanie guy asked.