A lot.
Jude rolled over and smelled the pillow Snow had used. His scent was faint, but there, and Jude buried his face in it and snuggled under the comforter. It didn’t escape his notice that the apartment was colder than it had been last night. He wondered what Snow had thought as he crept from the place. He’d certainly been quiet. Had probably dressed in the stairwell—which couldn’t be any warmer. He could see his breath in here.
Crap. That meant the heater had finally given up the ghost.
It would have been so nice to wake up to the warmth of Snow’s long, sexy body. In the early morning hours, right before they’d drifted off to sleep, he’d slid his leg between Snow’s and rested his hand on that taut stomach. Snow had tensed, then slowly relaxed, his hand moving in one long stroke down his back and ass. Jude smiled when he thought of the gift he’d left on Snow’s phone. That smile faded when he thought of how the man had clutched him in his sleep.
He couldn’t help but wonder what made the doctor seem almost fragile when at the hospital he’d most assuredly earned the nickname surgeon general. He had control freak written all over him. Yet last night, control was the last thing he’d wanted. The need in Snow’s eyes, the hunger—the man was starved for true human contact or affection and he didn’t even know it. He’d apparently been equating his soul-deep needs with the release of endorphins through pain. The signs had all been there.
Jude knew because his last serious boyfriend had been like that.
And it had broken them up in the long run. Jude didn’t mind asserting control in the bedroom, got off on it even. Hell, sometimes it came out of him without any sort of effort. But he was not into inflicting pain. Hated it even. Brian had needed the pain so he’d gone somewhere else to find it. And in the end, that had been perfectly fine with Jude.
Several times the night before, Jude had almost scrapped the idea of Snow altogether—especially when he’d first thought he was getting into that situation again. He’d recognized that look of reckless danger the second he’d seen Snow in the bar. But the way Snow looked at him in that alley had made Jude realize he didn’t have a choice when it came to the surgeon.
The whole ordeal at Southgate House had been the real clincher. It had been more than obvious that Snow hadn’t wanted Jude along, but the difficult man had trusted him to watch his back, to help him in a bad situation, when he didn’t know a damn thing about Jude. And while the whole thing had been a nightmare—well, the part where he pretended to be spoiled Eurotrash had been a little fun—he was honored that Snow had trusted him.
They had some kind of connection he didn’t understand, but it felt solid. And strong. He’d bet his left nut that Snow needed a release that came from something much deeper than physical pain.
He wanted to give Snow what he needed, but if he were honest with himself, there was fear, too. He knew without a doubt that Snow could very easily break his heart.
Someone knocked on his door and Jude groaned before rolling out of the warm bed to grab a pair of sweats out of the laundry basket by the table. He tugged them on, hoping Snow had returned. A smile played on his face when he opened the door.
“Dude, by that look on your face, you were expecting a piece of ass. Gross.” His youngest brother, Jordan, strolled into the room, tugging up his too-loose jeans.
Jude eyed the boxers bunched up over the tops of his jeans as he tried to rub heat into his arms. “I seem to remember taking you to buy jeans that actually fit. Where are those? And why aren’t you at school?”
Jordon grinned, his dark eyes just like Jude’s, his braces shiny. “Some kind of teacher catch-up day or something, so I have to help Mana clean out the garage today. I didn’t want to mess up any good pairs.”
“Yeah, right,” Jude muttered, leaning to hug his brother. His black sweatshirt was damp and cold from outside. Jordan showed up often with hunger as an excuse, but Jude knew he still had trouble with Jude not living at home. Jude was the closest thing to a father Jordan had ever had.
Seeing the braces made him happy. His little brother’s teeth had been a mess and it felt good to know Jude was taking care of them. Both he and their other brother, Carrick, did everything they could to help their mother with Jordan. Their father had died when Jude had been nine and Carrick eight, and Jordan’s father had split when he’d heard he was going to be a dad. Their mother never trusted another man after that asshole. So Jude had pretty much been a father to the boy. He’d moved out last year and Jordan had started showing up for breakfast the very first week.
Paying for things like his brother’s braces made him feel better about getting his own place.
Jude reached out and knocked off his brother’s ball cap. “What’s with that symbol on the hat?” Someone had drawn it small and near the back with a marker—a known gang symbol. Jude knew his brother wasn’t involved. He and Carrick had sworn to beat Jordan’s ass if he so much thought about it.
“It don’t mean nothin’. Lisa thought it was funny.”
“It doesn’t mean anything. What have I told you about grammar? Want people to take you seriously?” Jude snagged a blue sweatshirt out of the laundry basket and tugged it on. “And she’s wrong. It’s not funny and it means something. You really want people to see that and think you’re involved?”
“Nobody who knows me is gonna think that. Come on, Jude.”
His stomach clenched because his little brother had no understanding of the danger just wearing that could cause. “Do you know how many people I help daily because of gangs?”
Jordan threw his arms up. “Fuck a duck, Jude, I know, okay? You don’t have to go into the speech again.” He walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the milk. “Is Rebecca coming to pick you up for work soon?” He grabbed one of the boxes of cereal Jude kept in the cabinet over the refrigerator just for him. Jordan didn’t even have to stretch to reach. He’d passed Jude’s own six feet a couple of years ago.
“Rebecca is fourteen years older than you.”
“She’s hot.”
“And not interested.”
“I know. She likes Carrick. Doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the view.” He dropped into one of the chairs at the table and shoveled a huge spoonful of cereal into his mouth. He got maybe half of it chewed before speaking. “Seriously, sorry about the hat. I forgot Lisa did that.”
He wasn’t fond of his brother’s girlfriend most of the time and this only made him hope his brother clued in fast. The girl was an idiot if she thought it was funny to put his brother in danger like that. “It’s important, Jordan. What if someone is out looking for members of that gang? Someone to shoot?”
Jordan got up, swiped up his hat and stomped over to jam it into the trash by the sink. “Happy?”
“You could just color over it with something else.”
Jordan rolled his eyes, flipped on the television and went back to his cereal.
Jude used subscriptions for shows and movies instead of cable, so he hoped his brother liked the local news because that’s all he could seem to get.
“It’s cold in here,” Jordan mumbled around his food.
“I think the heater finally gave out. The landlord is out of town.”
“I can’t believe you want to live here when Mana still has your room at home. You could be eating her food every day, man. Last night, she made albondigas.”
Jude’s stomach growled at the thought of his mother’s Spanish meatballs. She soaked them in this thick, beefy gravy that made the house smell like heaven. He did miss their mom’s food. “I can’t get laid at home.”
Jordan grimaced. “I don’t need to hear about the details, dude. But are you actually going out with somebody because our mother would sure like to hear that? She was going on about you and a doctor last night again.”
He couldn’t be alarmed over that one. She didn’t mean his doctor. She just had the same dreams as many mothers—her kid marrying a doctor. She’d had trouble with him being gay the first few year
s, then she’d joined a group for mothers of gay children and suddenly took a complete turn. She now supported him fully. Supported him too much most of the time. “You don’t want to hear about me but you ask if I’m dating?”
Jordan shrugged. “I want you to be happy. Even if I don’t get it. So…” he trailed off breaking news came on. “Oh yeah, did you hear about that? You ever go to that gay club?”
Jude focused on the television as the anchor talked about the murder of a man last seen at The Dock the night before. They talked about a bar fight, then put up the victim’s picture and nausea slammed into Jude so fast and hard, he wrapped his arms around his stomach.
“What? You know that dude?”
Jude shook his head. “I was there for that fight.” He stalked to the table and grabbed the remote to turn up the sound.
“We don’t have a lot of information at this time, but sources say a surgeon from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center has been detained for questioning.”
“Holy shit. I gotta go.” Jude ran to his closet and grabbed the closest clean uniform. He’d be late for work, but he was sure they’d understand. He paused on the way to the bathroom. Or he’d get fired. He had no idea what the rules were there for dating co-workers. “I have to get to the police station,” he told his brother.
Jordan just watched him with his mouth open, half-chewed cereal visible, brown eyes wide. “What’s going on?”
“That grin you saw when I answered the door? I was hoping it was that surgeon, who was with me all night. I’ve gotta go in and tell the police.” He didn’t wait for more questions, just ran into the bathroom to get dressed and brush his teeth. The whole time, his stomach churned as he worried about Snow.
###
Jude parked his Jeep across the street at the back of the Cincinnati Police Department. The three-story building looked dismal in the cold and rain. A rusty stain dirtied the brown brick next to the doors and two men huddled under the tiny overhang, smoking. Jude jogged around to the front of the building. Expecting noise, the relative quiet of the station surprised him. He watched too much television. The reporters had their story and had already moved on to the next thing.
Stepping inside through a pair of battered double doors, Jude glanced around, taking in the austere furnishing that were faded and worn with age and over use. What had likely been white walls were now unevenly yellowed with age while what little light that came in through the windows was filtered through years of caked-on grime. There was a low murmur of activity as people talked and shuffled about their business without any real sense of urgency. Jude was sick to think that Snow as locked up somewhere in this depressing place.
Before he could grab the closest policeman, a low, deep voice to his left grabbed his attention. He recognized the tall, dark-haired man in the long, black wool coat fuming at a short blond woman. Even in heels, she didn’t reach his shoulders. The man was Lucas Vallois, local millionaire, philanthropist, and best friend to Snow. Jude had seen him around the hospital often. Especially the other night when their friend had been killed. Before that, every time he showed, the staff tended to gossip and follow him around like groupies. If Jude hadn’t been so enraptured with Snow, and if he hadn’t seen the incredibly hot bodyguard Lucas dated in the paper, he might have tried catching the man for a night. He’d seen that bodyguard keeping vigil over Ian and hadn’t even realized it at the time.
Lucas growled, both hands tightened into fists. “You’re saying they can and definitely are holding him for twenty-four hours? I don’t think so.”
The woman’s hair was tucked behind her ears and it swung in a blond sheet as she whipped her head back to Lucas. “They have probable cause. The murder happened in his house. He was standing near the body.”
“Standing?” Lucas growled through a clenched jaw. “He was vomiting near the body! Does that sound like a guilty person?” Lucas spun around and braced his hand on the wall. His coat parted revealing a gray pinstriped suit that probably cost more than Jude made in two months. “Ash can’t stay here, Sarah. There is no way he would have done something like that to an innocent man. He saves lives.”
She stepped in, lowered her voice. Neither had noticed Jude yet.
“He may save lives but as you know, I’ve had to get creative with keeping him out of trouble a couple of times in the past. And the police can argue that he got sick over the horror of what he’d done. That this time, he just took things too far. This would be so much easier if your best friend didn’t have a reputation.”
“You may be my favorite lawyer, but Sarah, even you can be fired.”
“For being honest?” She lowered her voice even more. “Listen, Lucas. A lot of people saw them fighting at The Dock and you and I both know he’s known for being rough.”
“Rough? That’s not rough, that’s slaughter and there is no way Snow did that.”
Sarah sighed, her hand tightening on the handle of the briefcase she held in her right hand. “I admit, it does seem strange that he took the man home and screwed him all night after fighting with him.”
Lucas held up his hand, his eyes narrowing to mere slits. “Do you believe he did this because you sound like you do?”
“Hell no, Vallois,” she snapped, her expression just as fierce. “But right now, he looks guilty as hell and though I kept him to the facts, the one fact he didn’t share was the name of the stranger he went home with last night.”
Jude cleared his throat and they both turned his way. The anger pouring off Lucas felt like it could take off the top layer of his skin.
“Excuse me,” Lucas said through gritted teeth. “We’re having a private conversation.”
“I know and I’m sorry for butting in.” He looked at the woman who screamed lawyer. “They can’t keep Ashton Frost if he has an alibi, right? For the whole night?”
She nodded, her sharp gaze raking him up and down.
“I can attest to the rest of the night after the bar fight. He spent the night with me after we left The Dock together. There’s another witness, Geoffrey—I don’t know his last name—but he seemed to be well liked there. He saw us leave together. Oh, and my work partner can, too. She was at the club with me.” He frowned, his gaze moving to Lucas then back to Sarah. He thought it better that he keep the Southgate House trip to himself. “Didn’t Snow tell you this?”
“He told me he was with someone all night but said it was a stranger he picked up.”
“He did, huh?” Jude’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not a stranger. I work at the hospital. He knows me.”
“He not only knows him, he lusted after him,” a new voice said in an amused draw. The man had just come in from outside. Apparently, he’d been out there a long time because his dark blond hair was plastered wet to his head and his black leather jacket was darkened in places. Little beads of water rolled down the surface. “I caught the sparkage at the hospital between you two.” He held out his hand. “I’m Detective Hollis Banner. You said you were with Snow all night?”
Jude nodded, liking this big, friendly cop.
“Wait.” Lucas’s voice carried a snap loud enough to startle everyone within earshot. It grew momentarily quiet, then noise picked up again. He frowned at Hollis. “Is this enough to get Snow out of here?”
Hollis nodded. “Should be. He’ll still be the number one suspect. The guy was beaten to death in his home and there are signs of sex that happened beforehand.”
“Snow had sex, but not at his house and not with whoever was found there. He was with me and trust me, he crashed when we were done.” He caught Lucas narrowing his eyes out of the corner of his own.
“Wait here,” Hollis said. “I’ll see about getting you to the right people for a statement.”
Jude turned to Lucas and the lawyer once the detective had disappeared into the warren of desks and cubicles holding other police officers. “Tell me what Snow found when he went home.”
“They’re not giving us all the details—”
Jude held up a hand, not caring that Lucas’s eyebrows went up. “Please, I know who you are and I bet you hire only the best lawyer available. Please tell me what Snow found in his own home.”
Lucas stared at him for a couple of moments, then tilted his head. He had nice eyes that looked both gray and green—even though they didn’t look that friendly right at that moment. Jude held his gaze, wondering if this man was deciding his worth and possibly even his future with Snow based on just a few hastily exchanged words. When Lucas finally spoke it was all Jude could do to keep from sighing with relief.
“He walked in to his house to find a mess and blood at the bottom of the stairs. He went up to find the dead man.”
“What did the detective mean about signs of sex?”
Sarah answered this time. “Whoever killed the man screwed him in Snow’s bed first.”
“It wasn’t his bed,” Lucas added and then paused, frowning at Jude. It was like the scales were out again and Jude wanted to reassure Lucas that he wasn’t going to be some fucking one-night stand, that Snow was more important to him than that. “It’s a three-story condo with his bedroom on the third floor.”
Sarah’s expression grew tight with what seemed like genuine worry. “But it was the bed he normally takes men. So whoever did this is very familiar with Snow’s habits. That means he’s being watched or it was someone he took there before.”
Jude shoved one hand in his hair, tightening his fist in it as he battled through the disjointed bits of information in his head. “No. Snow is smart. Why would he go upstairs if he saw blood?”
Lucas’s face paled and for the first time Lucas’s voice softened a bit. “He has a security system—a good one installed by a friend of ours who owns a security company—and the only ones with the keys are me, that friend and another friend. He thought it was one of us.”
Jude shut his eyes. Poor general. He’d watched the surgeon with his friends at the hospital plenty of times and his behavior with them had been what had made Jude try harder. Snow loved those men and his actions had showed Jude that the man had a softer side. Add in that vulnerable expression from the night before and Jude was hooked. And pissed. He agreed with the lawyer. Somebody was fucking with his man. “So, let me get this straight. Someone had sex and killed the man in his home. The man that Snow fought with last night at the club.”
Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds Series Book 2) Page 13