Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds Series Book 2)
Page 21
The only bright spot had been Jude and his creative use of antibiotic ointment. So. Damn. Hot. It had taken his mind off that meeting with his boss. Completely, if only briefly. It had left him a little uncomfortable in his briefs, though.
On the ride over with Lucas he hadn’t been able to think about anything else. He’d blown it off when talking to Lucas, but real fear burned low in his gut. What was he going to do without his job? He’d gone in this morning, desperate for it to take his mind off Melissa, Rowe, Gratton, and the dead man in his home. Whatever fucked up plan Gratton had, if wrecking their lives was his goal, he was succeeding.
Lucas had just draped his coat over his arm when he spotted Ian and pointed. The younger man, still in his wheelchair, had parked it at a big table in the back near the kitchen and away from the main pathways. He still had the full leg cast propped up on pillows. At that moment, his handsome, square face was marred by angry, tight lips and narrowed eyes. Three waiters, who had to be close to his own age, stood around his chair. With one last fiercely whispered word, Ian pointed to the kitchen. The black-clad waiters, faces pale, scurried away as Lucas and Snow pulled out their chairs.
“Yelling at the staff already?” Snow reached for the Italian bread, deciding he might as well splurge on the carbs today. He could burn off his anger at the gym this afternoon before he met Jude. He tore a chunk off and dipped it in the garlic and parmesan oil, then groaned as he chewed. Ian’s recipe for the homemade bread always came out perfectly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.
“Did you hear me yelling? No, I whispered in angry undertones.” Ian smiled thinly at the new waiter who came to fill their water glasses.
Lucas looked around. “What are you angry about? Everything looks and smells great. The place is packed.”
“It’s not entirely work related. That trio is having some kind of lovers’ spat and yes, it’s between all three of them.” Ian paused, rubbing the stress lines digging into his forehead. “Apparently, their silent treatment toward each other has made other staff uncomfortable and I can’t have that. So I told them to go home as soon as their replacements come in and not come back until they screw it out of their systems.”
Snow, barely listening, dipped more bread and chewed, his mind going to the hospital chief’s anger, the patients he’d had to leave. Two especially. He planned to call in, possibly to Dr. Kleinberg, and check on them. He did have friends at the hospital—but it occurred to him that getting information would be a lot easier if he’d bothered to get to know people more. He realized Lucas and Ian had fallen silent and looked up. Both stared at him with wide eyes. “What?”
“Really?” Ian leaned forward. “I just told you those three cute guys are going home to have sex and you didn’t have one comment?” He glanced at Lucas. “Did you see that? He barely looked at them.”
Lucas steepled his fingers, amusement making his eyes sparkle. “It is interesting.”
He refused to accept the heat crawling up his neck, so it better not be visible. “I have a lot on my mind. Being distracted makes sense considering what happened in my home and in Covington.” And the last few nights…
“True,” Lucas agreed, but his smirk didn’t disappear. “But even then, you’d normally look. Could a certain paramedic have you too wrapped up?”
Ian looked back and forth between them. “What’s going on?” For the first time in over a week, life sparkled in Ian’s wide blue eyes, something other than pain and horror. “I know about what happened in your house and we are going to talk about that and about how you didn’t call me. But what’s Covington about? And what paramedic? The Snow I know would be scheming his way into a bed with a three-way. No matter what.”
The waiter came back and Snow picked up a menu.
Ian snatched it from his hands and handed it to the waiter before brusquely shooing the man away. “I’ve already ordered for us. Can you focus here? I feel completely out of the loop and I don’t like it. Someone was killed in your home, Snow. I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling.” He leaned forward to grab Snow’s hand and winced.
Snow frowned. “You need to let me take a look at your leg.”
He pulled his hand back and waved it. “Later. Right now, I really need to know what’s going on. Everything feels so damn…wrong without Melissa and my heart is breaking for Rowe. I can’t help but feel like this is partly my fault. If I hadn’t suggested we go shopping—”
“Stop right the fuck now.” Lucas leaned over the table and growled before speaking again. “That accident nearly killed you, too, and I for one am thankful that didn’t happen. Plus,” he paused, eyes flicking to Snow and back. “It wasn’t an accident. Hollis told us that a witness saw the whole thing and the hit was deliberate.”
Ian paled, sinking back into his wheelchair. “Someone hit us on purpose?” His voice became small and every last one of Snow’s protective instincts came roaring to the forefront. “But why?”
The bottom dropped out of Snow’s stomach. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of the best way to say what needed to be said. Ian had enough on his plate without being scared about that psycho being back in town. He made the decision then to not tell him about that photo of him in the hospital. He started to launch into the whole painful discussion when a new voice made him open his eyes.
Hollis stood next to the table—right beside Andrei and another huge man Snow didn’t recognize. The blond wall of muscle stood a few steps behind Andrei with his hands clasped behind his back. A typical bodyguard pose. Muscles bulged under his black sweater—his arms and chest impressively stretching the material. He had his long blond hair in a ponytail. Like Andrei’s. For some reason, that struck Snow as funny and he grinned.
“Hey,” Andrei greeted them all before he pulled out the chair next to Lucas. He gave Lucas a smile that held warmth and a wicked bent that Snow recognized immediately. Lucas’s look back held the same heat. Oh, to have been a spider on their bedroom wall that morning, because what he’d heard had been pretty vivid.
“Hi Detective Banner,” Ian said. He pointed at the last chair at the table. “Sit down. I’ll order you some food.” He looked around. “We need to find a chair for your friend.”
“The jolly blond giant isn’t with me. He came in as a part of the ponytail brigade.” Hollis pointed at Andrei, then sprawled in the chair. “Thanks for the offer of food, but I won’t be here for long.” His gaze roamed over Ian, his brows meeting when he got to the cast.
Andrei gestured the huge blond to him and the man bent down. Andrei whispered something in his ear. The man nodded and walked toward the kitchen, disappearing through the swinging door.
“Get something to eat, Banner,” Lucas ordered. “You’ll be here longer than you think.”
Snow sat up straighter at the note of steel in Lucas’s voice, tilting his head in question.
Lucas slowly nodded, his gaze locked with Snow’s. “I think it’s time we let the cops know what we think.”
“What we think?” Ian leaned forward and winced again. This time, it was followed by cursing as he rubbed his thigh.
“Where is that nurse I hired for you?” Lucas demanded. “Mike?”
“I gave him a couple of hours off.”
Snow looked at Hollis. “Why are you here? Is there news about what happened to that man in my home?”
“I’m here about your little escapade last night. I still can’t believe you went into that place like a group of action movie spies. You all need to be locked up.” He sent his frown around to most of the members of their group, then stayed on Snow. “And as for your house, no we haven’t found anything. Whoever did this circumnavigated Rowe’s system and the only fingerprints we’ve found are those of yourself and your friends. It’s a good thing you have that alibi.”
“Wait, what escapade?” Ian asked, his voice going lower, his anger growing. “And what alibi? How do I not know what’s going on?”
“No way! The same paramedic that Lucas was talking about? Is he more than a one-night fling?” Ian demanded, his smile hinting at a comeback.
Snow rubbed his eyes. While he appreciated Ian’s love of romance showing through all the recent pain, this wasn’t the time for it. “Focus, Ian. They thought I was a murderer.”
“Of course it wasn’t Snow.” Ian snorted, brushing aside the idea like it was a bit of tabloid trash. “The important question here is why would someone go through all that trouble to kill someone in his home?”
“Ian,” Snow said, voice low. “The killer used a bat. Split the man’s cheek open.”
Ian went perfectly still and his already pale face turned white. He pulled his hands back off the table, putting them in his lap, but not before Snow noticed a fine trembling in his fingers. “Gratton,” he whispered.
“What’s going on?” Alarm thickened Hollis’s voice. “I heard you guys mention that name last night? Are you saying whoever you think is responsible for the murder had something to do with that auction we took down last night? You owe me.” He pointed at Lucas, then Snow. “I covered for your asses.” He frowned. “And I have no idea why.”
“Auction?” Ian asked in a small voice.
His heart clenched and his gaze locked with Lucas’s. The other man was starting to look green. Ian had been one of the boys slated for an auction years ago until Jagger had decided to keep him for himself. The bread he’d eaten sat like a lump in his gut. He took a deep breath and nodded at Ian.
Lucas sighed heavily. “Ian, I’m sorry. We have been keeping you out of the loop until we had more information. Snow stupidly went alone to one of Jagger’s parties and found out—”
“Hold on,” Hollis growled, interrupting. “You went to a what? What the fuck, Frost? You know how to get into Jagger’s parties? You know where they are?” He closed his eyes and muttered. “Maybe I should quit all the legit channels and just sign on with you guys.”
“You went alone?” Ian asked, sitting up straighter and wincing as he did.
Snow threw a glare at the cop, then shook his head at Ian. “I didn’t go alone and the only reason I went is I found out about it right before it was taking place. I didn’t have time to call cops and explain, and I didn’t know for sure Gratton would be there. Turned out he wasn’t. But I learned about last night’s auction and we managed to save all those boys, Ian.” He leaned closer. “All of them.”
Ian twisted his hands in his lap. “Was Gratton there last night?”
Snow nodded.
“So that means he’s back with the family. He’d have to be for them to trust him at an auction.” Ian grabbed his water and took a drink, then set it back down and twisted his hands up again.
Lucas leaned forward and took the white-knuckled knot of Ian’s hands into his own. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Andrei already has Gidget trying to find out where Gratton is staying and she’s looking for anything she can find on what he’s doing with Jagger.”
“There was nothing to tie last night to Jagger,” Hollis said through clenched teeth. “We can’t catch a break when it comes to him. But we arrested several prominent businessmen. We’ll lean on them hard, see if someone will cough up some good info. But Snow is right, we reunited a bunch of kids with their families.” He ran his fingers through his hair and sat back. “I recognize the name Gratton. You’re talking about Dwight Gratton, Jagger’s right-hand man who disappeared about seven years ago.”
Snow took a deep breath, finding comfort in the smile Lucas directed at him. “We think Gratton is the one who killed the man in my house. The way he was beaten is exactly the way I…beat him years ago. Seven to be exact.”
Hollis’s mouth dropped open. “Fuck,” he breathed. He shook his head. “I don’t even think I want to know why you guys were involved with that group. Gratton must have done something that really pissed you off if you were willing to go up against him and his people.”
There was a long, uncomfortable pause. Snow looked at Lucas and Lucas looked at Ian.
“Are you sure it’s him?” Ian whispered.
Snow nodded. He paused and drew in a deep breath before he could look Ian in the eyes and continue. “I saw him in Covington before the accident. He tried to run me down.” Snow pointed at the nearly healed scratches on his face.
Ian slumped in his chair and Snow was sure nobody missed the shudder that went through his slender frame.
“I need to know everything.” Hollis said. His eyes darted from one face to the next, pinning them with a dark glare, but Snow noticed that he skipped Ian, as if he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at the young man. “Right now.”
“Snow beat Gratton because of me,” Ian said softly. “It happened a long time ago. In another life.”
Snow looked at Hollis. “Suffice to say, I took care of a problem—”
“We took care of a problem,” Lucas corrected in a hard voice.
Snow stopped and looked at his long-time friend, nodding. Yes, Snow had been the one wielding the baseball bat, but Rowe and Lucas had been there too. They had been there to clean up the mess and get Ian out of there. And even Jagger, who wasn’t in any way a good person, had been so disgusted by Gratton taking off with Ian, he’d agreed to their deal. “So, it seems Gratton has come back with some psychotic idea of revenge. And at the same time, he’s obviously trying to get back into Jagger’s good graces.”
Hollis finally looked at Ian and visibly swallowed before turning his attention back to Snow. “I need proof and because I am familiar with how that asshole works, it’s going to be extremely hard to come up with it. He left no trace in your home—not a hair, a print—nothing.” He leaned over the table and grabbed a piece of bread. “I was on a couple of cases involving Gratton when I first moved here.” He began shredding the bread on his plate.
Snow recognized the gesture. The man needed to do something with his hands. His lips had thinned so much, they nearly disappeared. Snow glanced at Ian, hating the sadness that pulled the young man’s mouth down as he took in Hollis’s new awkwardness. If the cop was familiar with Jagger, he probably had some idea of what had happened to Ian. And Ian would hate that.
“So if he’s the killer,” Hollis continued. “He’s probably the one who rammed Rowe’s SUV. I take it that ‘we’ was more than just Snow and Lucas involved in whatever happened in the past. Rowe was as well.”
None of them said a word.
Hollis snickered, but it was a dry, raspy sound. “You guys are so damn tight, I’m surprised I got this much out of you.” He looked up at Snow. “You do understand you’re going to have to share everything with me, right? Every last detail.”
“No, I don’t.” Snow leaned closer to him and curled his lip. “I’ve told you all I know. I beat the man years ago the exact same way that man was beaten in my home.”
“Without the death part,” Andrei added.
“I should have killed him,” Snow grumbled.
Hollis glanced at Ian quickly, then away. “Probably,” he murmured. “You didn’t hear that. Look, I know there’s more to the story and—”
“And Snow is never going to tell you the parts that involve me.” Ian straightened in his wheelchair, still pale but thankfully, anger seemed to have snapped him back to attention.
Snow held up a hand to stop Ian, then stared at Hollis. “I’ve seen Gratton in Covington. He was watching us the night we played pool at Molly’s. And he was at that auction last night. That’s all I know.” He sat back. “That should be enough for the police to go on.”
“He was there with us that night? He was inside that bar?” Ian cleared his throat. “I need to check on something in the kitchen.” He pushed his chair away from the table and began to maneuver around the table. When he got t
o the door to the kitchen, he slumped.
“His wheelchair won’t fit in the narrow aisles of that kitchen,” Lucas murmured. He turned and snapped his fingers at the blond giant who immediately moved to Ian. He leaned close and when Ian nodded, he gently lifted him from the chair and carried him through the door.
“Who the hell is that?” Hollis snarled as he jumped up from his chair and threw a fiery glare at the door. “Why is he picking him up?”
“Sit down, cop,” Andrei said with a slight sneer that reminded Snow of Lucas so much, he chuckled.
“I need to talk to Ian,” Hollis said as he took a step toward the door.
“He said sit down,” Lucas said. “Sven is the bodyguard we hired for Ian. With Gratton in town, Ian is in danger and because he’s hurt, he’s even more vulnerable. Sven works for Ward Security.”
“Damn.” Snow murmured. “A big blond named Sven? Really?” He laughed harder. “Between him and the massive stunner you hired as his nurse, Ian should have plenty to keep him from worrying at home.”
Hollis jerked around to face the table again, his eyes narrowed on Snow. “What nurse?”
“That one.” Snow pointed at the tall, dark-haired man who’d come into the restaurant and walked up to frown at the empty wheelchair. He picked it up, showing off nice arm muscles, and moved it out of the walkway, then disappeared into the kitchen.
Snow wondered if the cop realized his hands were clenched into tight fists as he kept staring in that direction.
“Maybe we should move Ian into the Ascent until we figure out what’s going on?” Snow said. “With me there, it’ll be like a slumber party.”
Lucas smirked. “I already tried to talk him into that. The kid is independent as hell. Andrei decided Sven would be perfect for Ian.” His amused gaze locked with Snow’s as he mouthed the word “straight” at him, while Hollis continue to stare at the kitchen door. “Nothing like a gorgeous Swede to take a man’s mind off things.”