A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House)

by Reese, Jaime

  Finally, Cameron looked over to him, and when their eyes made contact, Cam's body became limp. Aidan took the gun from his hands as Cam fell to his knees.

  Hunter rushed over to him on the floor and raised his bound hands around Cam to hold him. He released a breath he hadn't realized had been stuck in his throat. "I told you I was coming back for you," he said softly, rocking Cam in an embrace.

  Aidan came up behind Cam with a knife and freed Hunter of the tape bindings.

  Cam slowly raised his arms up Hunter's back. He lifted his head until their eyes met. Cam's voice shook. "When I heard that shot again—"

  "I'm fine," Hunter said with a smile. "We're fine."

  "I couldn't do it. I couldn't shoot," he said weakly.

  "'Cause you're not a murderer."

  "But she—"

  "She was unarmed."

  Hunter released Cam of the embrace and cupped his face. He had a lost, distant look in his eyes. His face was bruised and blood oozed through his hair. The white of one of his eyes was red, either from a hit or from broken vessels from forced pressure, he didn't know and couldn't bring his mind to think of it.

  "Why couldn't I do it? I did it before."

  "What happened ten years ago was different. Accident or self-defense, at this point, it doesn't matter. If you were a murderer, you could have easily pulled the trigger without thinking about it."

  Hunter watched the play of emotions cross Cam's face. Finally, their gazes met. A youthful innocence made its way to the surface of those brilliant blue eyes.

  "Say it," Hunter said.

  Cam immediately threw his arms over Hunter's shoulders and held him tightly.

  "You need to say it, Cam." Hunter winced when his shoulder throbbed.

  "I'm not a murderer," he whispered.

  Hunter smiled, released Cam, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "No, you're not."

  Cam looked at Hunter's shoulder and his eyes darted back to Hunter's. "You were shot."

  "Grazed, big difference. It just burns a little bit. Are you okay?"

  "I've got a headache," he said quietly, resting his head on Hunter's uninjured shoulder.

  Hunter wasn't exactly sure what the hell had happened, but he didn't care right now as long as Cam was okay. Cam's voice was scratchy, and it cut in and out while talking. Exhaustion trickled into Hunter's body; he was just too damn tired to think right now and there was no way in hell he was going to admit he was getting too old for this shit.

  Hunter wrapped his arms around Cam and helped him stand. He held him close, both for his own comfort and for Cam's support, while Aidan searched the house.

  "If you ever argue about being my hero again, I'll kick your ass," Cam said, muffled against Hunter's chest.

  Hunter chuckled. Every muscle in his body ached. "Right now, I don't think I'd argue about anything. I just want to soak for a bit, grab some painkillers, and sleep for a few days."

  "Sign me up for that."

  Hunter smiled and softly rubbed Cam's back.

  "Is this over now?" Cam asked, looking up at him.

  "I sure as hell hope so. I don't think I can handle a sequel."

  Cam kissed him and rested his head on Hunter's shoulder again.

  "Nice work in there, sir," Aidan said, pointing to the bedroom.

  Hunter smiled.

  Cam looked up at him, questioning. "Why is it okay for him to call you that?"

  "Because I know he's not imaging me naked when he says it."

  "Oh yeah." Cam smiled.

  "I so didn't need to hear that," Aidan commented and shook his head as he continued to write notes on his pad.

  Two scene investigators walked in through the front door with their gear in hand. Aidan briefed them on the crime scene and directed them to the other areas. Two medics arrived at the scene and were immediately dispersed, one stayed with them and the other went into the bedroom.

  "I can get your statements tomorrow on what happened here tonight. This is going to take me a few hours, considering the mess in the room. You guys have somewhere else to go? This house is a crime scene now so you can't stay here this weekend."

  "I'm not giving up my weekend with you," Cam firmly told Hunter as the medic checked the cuts on his arms.

  Hunter smiled. "Yeah, I've got a place I can go. I'll call Matt and let him know to avoid any problems."

  "Good. Do you need anything from the room?"

  "Cam's bag, it's on the couch in there."

  Aidan nodded and disappeared from the room.

  "How do you feel about meeting my dad?" Hunter asked.

  "Is he anything like you?"

  "Worse."

  Cam smiled. "Then I'd love to meet him."

  * * * *

  Cam patiently waited as Hunter used his key to unlock the door.

  "Get in here," Hunter's father said, jumping up from the couch. He shuffled them inside his home. "What in the hell happened? Are you okay?"

  "Hey, Dad. Yeah, we're fine."

  "You look like shit."

  Cameron chuckled.

  "You must be Cameron, the young man who is driving my son to talk to his father about bunnies."

  "What?" Cameron burst into laughter then immediately winced and wrapped his arms around himself as a jab of pain hit him. "Sorry. It's nice to meet you. Um, bunnies?"

  Hunter waved him off. "Don't ask. This is my dad, Thomas Donovan. Dad, you're sure it's okay for us to stay here tonight?"

  Hunter's father looked at him with a smirk. "I already told you over the phone. You know you've got a room set up for you here whenever you want. Besides, you guys already look like you've gotten the crap beat out of you so I figure any moaning will be out of sheer pain."

  Cameron snickered as Hunter's face burned with embarrassment.

  "Fuck," Hunter groaned.

  "I seriously doubt that's going to happen in your condition."

  "Dad!" Hunter snapped before storming out of the room with Cam's duffle bag.

  Cameron and Thomas laughed in unison then looked over at each other.

  "It's too much fun to mess with him. I can't resist," Thomas said.

  "I usually get him worked up about his age," Cam said with a grin.

  Thomas laughed. "He told me a while ago you called him sir."

  "Still do."

  Hunter's father shook his head. "I like you. I think you'll do just fine with him."

  "Thanks," Cam said quietly. "I hope so."

  Hunter reentered the room and glared at them.

  "Don't give me that look," Thomas said and waved his hand in a shooing motion. "It won't work on me."

  "It damn sure works on me," Cam said in a hoarse voice, which immediately caught Hunter's attention.

  "That's my cue to go back to bed. You know where the sheets and towels are. Goodnight," Hunter's father said before leaving the room with a wave good-bye.

  Hunter remained staring at Cam, never breaking eye contact, as he stalked toward him.

  Cameron's skin tingled in anticipation of Hunter's touch. Hunter's gaze roamed Cam's face with unmistakable desire in their depths. Cam swallowed hard when the warmth of Hunter's body neared him. Cam closed his eyes as Hunter inched forward.

  He placed a gentle peck on Cam's lips.

  Cameron opened his eyes. "That's it? I know you've got more than that in you."

  A slow, seductive grin spread across Hunter's face. "That's all you're getting while we're in my dad's house," he said on a whisper, brushing his lips against Cam's.

  "Evil," Cam responded on a groan as he licked Hunter's lips, hoping to entice him.

  Hunter gave him another quick peck then retreated. "C'mon, I've got a tub ready for us to soak in for a while." He tugged Cameron flush against his body.

  He laughed as he wrapped his arms around Hunter. "I promise to behave as long as you stay this close to me."

  Hunter smiled. "As if you had a choice this weekend."

  Cameron buried his head at the side of Hunter
's neck as he tightened his hold. It was a choice he was willing to forgo for more than just this weekend.

  Hunter reached for the source of the annoying buzzing.

  "Morning," Hunter grumbled into the cell phone without reading the display.

  "Rise and shine," Aidan said. "Is the old fart tired this morning?"

  "I'm going to kick your ass," he mumbled into the phone, in far more pain than he had been in quite a long time. He felt every muscle in his body down to his toes. He refused to lift his head but extended his arm and found that he was alone in bed.

  "When are you guys coming in to give your statements? I'd like to start trying to get this wrapped up sometime soon and actually get some sleep."

  Hunter looked over to the clock on the table and saw it was almost eleven in the morning as he stretched his arms. "Shit, man. Sorry, I didn't realize the time."

  "It's fine, I've been busy as hell."

  Hunter sat up and heard laughter coming from the kitchen. He smiled, glad to hear Cam and his dad getting along.

  "What have you got?"

  "As expected, the guys aren't talking."

  "I figured."

  "I'm going to poke the bear here, get things moving along."

  Hunter rubbed his face then winced when he hit a bruise. "Let me guess, Cam's father?"

  "I don't have a choice, man. At least we'll get some direction on the link through him."

  "Yeah, I know," Hunter said with a sigh. He knew this wouldn't sit well with Cam. "I'm assuming you're going to want to get his sister's statement as well?"

  "Yup. I need the address."

  "I'll text you the information when we hang up," Hunter said on a yawn. "We need to control what info's getting out there about last night. Once Mackler or the mayor hear about it—"

  "I'm way ahead of you. The few guys I had last night were part of my team so I know we can cap some of the grapevine chatter. I'm channeling all communications and case work through a very tight network until we can figure out who's with them. I've already informed the chief that some of the cops from the halfway house break-in were dirty and he's looking into everyone who was there. He's fuming, man."

  "I can imagine." Hunter sighed. "Harry was pissed at that meeting in our office."

  "He's having a field day flexing his authority. He said some of the shit made sense now about searches getting thrown out and other screwy shit with evidence."

  "Yeah, as they say, hindsight's 20/20," Hunter said as he rubbed his face again.

  "Dude, stop beating yourself up. You didn't know about Mel. When are you coming in?"

  "As soon as I get out of bed and eat something."

  "Harry called the police commissioner in the middle of the night."

  "That couldn't have gone well," Hunter said with a chuckle.

  "No kidding. The commissioner was pissed about getting the call but even more so after being told he had some dirty cops. So they're working together on rearranging a few teams and getting the story straight for the media."

  "Dude, how much caffeine have you had today? You're so damn wired you're tiring me out already," Hunter commented.

  "We've also got—"

  "Aidan," Hunter said calmly. He knew his friend well enough to know when he was in crisis mode and dealing with the fear of losing someone. He'd seen it firsthand.

  "What?" Aidan said in an icy tone.

  "I'm sorry."

  Aidan remained quiet on the line. The only evidence of him still on the phone was his controlled intake and exhale. "You ever scare me like that again and I'm going to skin you alive. You got it?"

  "We wouldn't have gotten out of there had you not shown up. Thank you."

  "You would have figured out a way, you always do."

  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."