“There’s nothing you wouldn’t do,” he replied in exasperation.
“Exactly! See you later.” She wiggled her fingers at him and then dashed out of the diner. Danny shook his head at her. He felt sorry for her as-yet-unnamed future boyfriend. Whoever they were, they’d end up having more than a handful to deal with when it came to Gina.
Not ready to go home yet, he ordered a coffee and shifted to sit in the window. In the town square across the street, he noticed a guy leaning against a tree, just staring at the diner. Maybe he was waiting for someone. But Danny was fairly sure he was one of those ALP guys Jake had a run-in with a few days ago. Thinking about the radical group that lived outside the town always gave him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Since they were racist, he guessed that anyone who identified as LGBTQI+ probably wasn’t exactly on their list of acceptable people either. He’d always gone out of his way to avoid them whenever they came into town.
Putting the unsettling thoughts out of his mind, he pulled over a rumpled copy of the small Everness newspaper and started reading about the man who’d gone missing as he drank his coffee, trying to distract himself from counting down the hours until seven. It was going to be a long afternoon.
After reading the paper from front to back and finishing his coffee, he supposed he couldn’t put off getting back to the garage any longer. There were a stack of invoices that needed to go out, and with the many, many medical expenses from his mom’s treatments needing to be paid off, his dad was even touchier when it came to billing the customers and following up on missed payments.
When he stepped out of the diner, he noticed the man still standing by the tree in the park, now smoking a cigarette. His heart skipped, as he remembered the night last week when Jake had walked him home from Monroe’s and he’d seen the shadowed figure smoking across the road. He shook his head at himself, refusing to let the paranoia rise within him again as he shoved his hands in his pockets and hurried away from the diner. It was just a coincidence. Plenty of people smoked. Finding the dead body, then the whole thing with the crossbow…. It was just making him jittery.
Still, he found himself glancing over his shoulder several times as he walked back to the garage, even though it was obvious no one was following him. Idiot, he told himself when the garage came into view, and he relaxed a fraction.
There was an older-model Toyota sedan parked out front on an odd angle, three wheels up on the curb and half blocking the driveway into the garage doors. The gone to lunch sign was hanging at a jaunty tilt on the office door, so his dad was probably over at the house. Someone must have dropped off their car and been in too much of a hurry to wait around. He didn’t remember there being any Toyota sedans on the books today. He wasn’t sure they could fit it in this afternoon. He’d have to call the owner and let them know.
He went around to the driver’s-side door and found it unlocked with the keys in the ignition. A bit odd but not totally unheard of, especially for the older people living around town who still didn’t lock their doors at night and constantly went on about how Everness was a safe town. He supposed technically it was… or had been until the murder and missing person. But no way would he leave anything he owned unlocked in this day and age.
He sat in the driver’s seat and glanced at the console, looking for any signs of who the car might belong to. It was neat and well taken care of, no old receipts or papers crammed into the compartment beneath the dash. He leaned over and popped the glove box, but that was empty apart from a pair of safety goggles and workman’s gloves. He shut it again and then reached down to the floor to pop the trunk.
When he rounded the back of the car, he paused, seeing a smear of something dark red on the bumper. At first he stared at it blankly, reaching for the lip of the trunk to pull it open. His mind finally supplied him with an answer, but by then the trunk was already slipping upward on almost-automatic hinges.
Danny sucked in a breath, stumbling back and almost falling on his ass. The man was crammed into the confined space of the trunk, legs and arms in unnatural positions. Just like the body in the car from the accident last week, there was blood everywhere, soaked into the man’s clothes and the gray carpeting underneath him.
Christ.
He should check for a pulse. If the guy was still alive, he clearly needed help. But the man’s lips were a deep blue and the pallor of his skin somehow wrong. He looked dead and without thinking, Danny found himself retreating instead of getting closer. He spun away from the car and walked blindly to the garage wall, leaning heavily against it and trying to catch his breath that’d gotten too short. He swallowed against the churn rising up from his stomach, distracting himself by getting his phone out with unsteady hands.
It wasn’t until Jake answered with a pleased-sounding “Hey there” that he realized he’d called him instead of 911.
“Jake,” he got out, voice hoarse, then had to pause and swallow again.
“Danny? What’s wrong?” he demanded with a deep note of concern. Obviously, Jake had gotten a clue from his strained voice.
“I need—” You he almost said, but he caught himself. “I need help. I’m sorry, I should have called 911.”
“Danny, what the hell is going on? Where are you?”
“At the garage.” He glanced up at the car but couldn’t see anything from here except the trunk standing open. “There was a car here when I got back from the diner. Someone had left it parked out front, blocking the drive. I checked the trunk and—Oh Jesus.”
He gulped a breath, forcing every atom of concentration he had on not throwing up while on the other end of the line, Jake cursed in English and then Spanish.
“Don’t move. I’m two minutes away.”
Jake hung up before he could answer, and he debated calling 911 after all, but figured Jake was a cop, so he effectively had in a roundabout way. He couldn’t just stand there, though. He walked into the garage and got himself a bottle of water from the fridge, gulping several mouthfuls and washing down some of the tension. By the time he went back outside, the distant echo of sirens was getting steadily closer.
Two cruisers pulled up and Jake was the first one out, rushing past the open trunk with hardly a glance and coming straight over to him. More than anything, he wanted Jake to grab him up against him, but he stopped a few steps away and set a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
He reached out and grabbed a handful of Jake’s shirt at his waist and was finally able to breathe again.
“I’m okay now.”
Jake glanced over his shoulder where the other officers were checking the trunk of the car; one was pulling on a blue pair of gloves while the other was reporting in on his radio.
“Okay, tell me exactly what happened.” Jake’s voice was calm as he turned back to him, his steady gaze anchoring him.
“After you left the diner, I stayed for a coffee and read the paper. When I was done, I walked back here and saw the car parked like that. The lunch sign is on the door; my dad’s probably in the house.” Oh shit, what was his dad going to say about this? And God, was he going to have to make his third official police statement in a little over a week? He pushed the thought aside for now as Jake nodded encouragingly. “So I figured someone had been in a hurry and left it for us to look at, but we’re busy today and I didn’t think we’d be able to fit it in.”
Was he rambling? He paused, forcing his thoughts to slow, and took another breath.
“It’s okay, Danny. You’re doing fine,” Jake murmured, hand tightening where he still had it settled on his shoulder.
“It was unlocked. The keys are in the ignition. I was trying to figure out who it belonged to and when I opened the trunk—” He shook his head, as if that’d stop him from seeing the gruesome image of the dead body crammed in there again. “What the fuck is going on, Jake?”
“I don’t know.” There was a hard glint in Jake’s eyes that seemed to suggest he planned on finding out, howev
er.
“Perez,” one of the other officers called out, drawing Jake’s attention.
“Wait here. I’ll be back in a second.”
Danny made himself unclamp his stiff fingers from Jake’s shirt as he stepped away to talk with the officers and take a quick look in the trunk.
He slumped back against the wall of the garage, the metal hot through his shirt from the sun shining on it all morning. But that was okay; he welcomed the heat, hoping it would burn away the chill that felt like it had settled permanently in his bones.
Chapter Fifteen
“WHAT THE hell is going on out here?”
Jake glanced up from where he’d been talking to Olsen as Grant Jones banged through the side gate leading from the house yard next to the garage. The man’s gaze shifted back and forth between the cruisers with their lights still flashing and Danny leaning against the wall of the garage. Some neighbors had started coming out to see what the commotion was all about.
From the tightening of Grant’s expression and the way he focused on Danny—not to mention everything Danny had told him about the man—it seemed he was all ready to start blaming Danny even though he had no clue what was going on.
Danny clenched his fists, color coming back into his pale features, but since it was most likely caused by the defensive anger he could practically see building as Danny’s shoulders bunched, it probably wasn’t going to help the situation in the least. The last thing this crime scene needed was Danny getting into a fight with his father.
“Olsen, do you mind filling in Mr. Jones?” he tossed at the other officer, as Jake was already heading toward Danny.
Olsen nodded, as though he wasn’t surprised—was Danny’s antagonistic relationship with his dad common town knowledge? From what he’d learned about the way Everness operated, it seemed gossip was a thriving commodity and everyone really did know everything about everyone else—he wouldn’t have been surprised.
“Hey,” he said as he stopped in front of Danny, where he was cagily watching his dad, who’d effectively been intercepted by Olsen. “How’re you holding up?”
Danny shifted his attention to him with a wan smile. “Are you using some kind of concerned cop routine on me?”
“Is it working?” he countered instead of answering.
“I’ll let you know,” Danny murmured, gaze sliding back to his father, who was now at least looking suitably shocked at the news of the dead body and had maybe forgotten about being angry at Danny, at least for the time being.
The sheriff’s SUV patrol vehicle pulled up, both doors flinging open as the sheriff climbed out from behind the wheel and Detective Stevens got out of the passenger side. Jake felt an unaccountable swell of nerves as Stevens glanced into the trunk and spoke to the nearest officer.
Danny had found two dead bodies in just over a week. It wasn’t a coincidence; this made it seem like someone had targeted him. But why, for what reason? The first body, that had to be an accident. The killer couldn’t have known Danny would be the one to crash into the stationary car. But since then he’d been shot by a crossbow in seemingly random circumstances and now this. The problem was, none of the pieces fit together into a picture that made sense, and as Stevens glanced up at Danny, lips pressing into a thin line, that swell of nerves turned into a full tsunami.
Stevens came over to them, sending him a respectful nod before focusing on Danny.
“Daniel, is it?” Stevens asked, holding out a hand to shake.
“Most people call me Danny,” he replied, returning the greeting warily.
“Mind telling me what happened?” Stevens tugged a notebook out of his pocket and flipped it open.
Danny cut him a questioning look, and Jake subtly nodded in return, silently telling him it was okay, that he could trust the detective, all the while hoping he wasn’t doing the wrong thing.
He’d been worried about his feelings for Danny distracting him from his personal mission, but it was starting to look so much more complicated than that. Whether he liked it or not, Danny had been dragged into the middle of this mess. Part of him wanted to take a step back from his plans for Hobbs, the part that’d started falling for Danny the day they’d met. But a bigger part of him, the part who had watched dirt rain down on the coffin, sealing his younger brother’s final resting place and hadn’t quite been able to believe it was all real, that part told him he was in too deep with Danny and their fledgling relationship was what he needed to step back from.
Now, more than ever, his heart was at odds with his mind, and he had no idea which he was supposed to listen to. The only thing he knew for sure? He couldn’t have it both ways.
Jake hooked his thumbs in his belt loops, trying to hide his inner turmoil and remain inconspicuous as Danny retold the story. Stevens asked him some questions about how he’d opened the car and a few other things, getting Danny to repeat the same information several times over but in different ways. By the time he was done, Danny was looking worried and Jake thought maybe he was right to be concerned.
It was clear Stevens was suspicious—what cop or detective wouldn’t be? But Jake knew in his soul Danny didn’t have anything to do with these murders. He just hoped Stevens figured that out quickly and turned the investigation in a different direction.
“We’ll be in touch,” Stevens said after he’d flipped the notebook closed again. “You’ll need to come into the station and give an official statement.”
Danny nodded, resignation edging into his features. Jake was just glad Stevens wasn’t dragging him off to the station right this second like he was a suspect. For a moment there, the way the questions had been going, he’d been worried exactly that was going to happen.
“Perez, I’ll see you back at the station,” Stevens said in parting, before heading over to the car.
“Is it him?” Danny asked once they were alone. He caught Jake with a steady stare, far calmer now than he’d been when he’d first arrived on scene. “The man who went missing a few days ago?”
“They’ll need to formally identify him, but yeah, it looks that way.” He glanced over to where Grant Jones was talking with the sheriff. “Why don’t we head inside and I’ll make you a coffee?”
Danny nodded, scrubbing a hand through his hair while he avoided looking at both the car and his dad as they headed through the side gate into the yard. Danny led him into the house and through to the kitchen. Things seemed almost unnaturally still and quiet inside after all the commotion out in the street.
“Is your mom home?” he asked as he checked out the coffee machine and then opened the nearest cupboard, searching for coffee grounds and paper filters.
“No, there’s a cancer support group the church runs that she goes to every fourth Saturday,” Danny answered from where he’d stopped to lean against the kitchen bench. “They have lunch and talk about—everything, I suppose. I went with her once, but it was really heavy, you know?”
“I’m sorry. I can only imagine how hard it must be.” Too well, honestly. There were still days he felt like going home and drinking himself into a coma if only for a few hours of oblivion where he didn’t have to remember that his brother was dead.
“Jake.”
There was an odd tone to Danny’s voice, and Jake looked up from where he’d been wrangling the coffee machine to see Danny staring at him, a hint of desperation in his blue eyes.
He abandoned the coffee and started across the three steps separating them. Danny pushed off the bench and rushed to meet him halfway. They collided into each other, Jake wrapping his arms tight around Danny’s shoulders as Danny clung to his waist.
Danny released a shuddering breath, sinking into him. “God, I needed this.”
“Why didn’t you say so sooner?” He tightened his hold, knowing it was probably a dumb question. They both knew why, but it seemed like neither of them wanted to talk about it right now.
“About tonight,” Jake said instead, unable to believe he was about to suggest—<
br />
“We’re not rescheduling our date.” Danny pulled back far enough to frown at him. “In fact, now I want to go even more.”
“Are you sure?” He reached up and cupped Danny’s face, stroking a thumb along his jaw. “If you’re not feeling up to it—”
“I need to get out of this town, Jake, if only for one night.”
Yeah, he could understand that. One night where they could just be themselves, not worry about anything but enjoying each other’s company and getting to know each other better.
“Consider it done.”
A smile tugged Danny’s lips up before he leaned in and kissed him, brief but sweet.
“I better get going,” he said, reluctantly stepping out of Danny’s hold. “You want me to finish putting the coffee on?”
Danny glanced at the machine and then back at him, seeming much more together now.
“Think I can manage. Thanks, Jake.” There was a wealth of affection behind the simple words, and Jake felt his pulse skip a beat, then had to firmly remind himself why he couldn’t drag Danny into the nearest bedroom and kiss him until neither of them could stand up any longer.
Tonight. He’d get Danny all to himself tonight and not have to worry about another single thing. The rest of his shift couldn’t go by fast enough.
As he stepped out of the house, he took a breath, steeling himself and shifting back into cop mode. Whatever happened next, he got the feeling he needed to keep a close eye on Stevens to make sure the detective didn’t railroad Danny to the top of the suspects list. Yes, it was clear Danny was mixed up in this somehow, and honestly it made him almost break out in a cold sweat. And his own feelings were clearly a conflict of interest. But there was no way he was going to stand by and let Stevens or anyone else put Danny through any more crap than he’d already been through.
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