Camden’s Adam’s apple bobbed as the man swallowed.
He shoots. He scores.
The minor action told Elijah he’d stuck a pin in Camden’s “I’m better than everybody else” perspective of himself. With that settled, maybe they’d get some work done since their focus was off how sexy Camden was then—and now, if Elijah was to be honest.
“Executive ADA Warren,” Elijah stated with his matter-of-fact cop tone in play, “why does the Path of Unity want you dead?”
Chapter Four
“I’Mnot the first prosecutor to bring these monsters to trial,” Camden began as he pondered the long history that stretched between his office and the Path. “They’ve been charged and brought to trial twice before by the Brooklyn DA’s office. Each time, the trial began, and the moment the prosecution’s star witness was to take the stand, that witness would turn up dead. We have a witness, someone whose testimony will cinch this thing for us.”
Elijah began to take notes, his head down, his long locs tucked behind his ears to keep his hair out of his face. Camden tightened his hand around the armrest of his chair as he remembered how those dark strands tickled his skin, leaving him in excruciating need. Grateful Elijah was paying more attention to the notepad in front of him than to Camden, he readjusted his position in the chair, hoping to distract himself from the beautiful specimen of man sitting before him.
“So, if they’ve killed witnesses before, why escalate their crimes by killing an ADA? Why not just kill off another witness?”
“Because I’m the only person who knows where she is,” Camden answered. “This witness has been through enough at the hands of these people. I didn’t want her to sacrifice anything more for them.”
“But I’m sure the defense knows who she is and what she has to say. Didn’t you have to turn over that info in discovery?”
Camden shook his head. This wasn’t your typical case, and he’d had to commit some serious legal acrobatics to get things this far. The Path was smart, and lethal. They had no issues with doing whatever was necessary to win. Whether it was a witness or an officer of the court, they’d annihilate any threat to them.
“No. I petitioned the court for an ex parte meeting. After citing the suspicious deaths of the previous witnesses, the judge agreed that I could hide this witness and deliver her to the court for her testimony,” Camden answered as he thought back to his conversation with the judge. Judge Simmons was a by-the-book judge. It would take an act of God to get her to do anything unorthodox in her courtroom. He’d had to put together a compelling argument comprising circumstantial evidence and witness affidavits to get her to even consider allowing him to keep the witness stashed from the defense until testimony. “She’ll grant a brief continuance after the witness’s testimony if the defense so desires, but Judge Simmons isn’t announcing the witness’s identity to anyone until she’s called to testify in court.”
“So, if they can’t kill or scare the witness, they’ll move on to the prosecutor? That’s a ballsy strategy,” Elijah commented as he dropped his pen on the writing pad and leaned back in his chair.
“These people have proven to be ruthless. They’ll kill whomever they need to remain free.” That knowledge made Camden shiver. In doing his job to protect the public, he’d placed himself right in the sights of a murderous foe.
“Cam,” Elijah called to him, his voice colored with compassion and concern. “I know last night couldn’t have been easy. I can’t say I’m happy about being assigned to this case. But I’ll do what I have to keep you safe.”
The intensity in Elijah’s eyes calmed the fear Camden had been struggling with since he’d watched his car explode last night. He’d treated this man poorly, even if it had been for Elijah’s own good, and now, here Elijah sat offering Camden comfort during the most traumatic experience of Camden’s life. Somehow that knowledge hollowed him out, filling the important parts of him with emptiness and shame. Even when he tried to do the right thing, he still screwed it up.
Camden shook his head, trying to crawl out of the weird space his thoughts were taking him to and focused on the issue at present. “So, what’s your plan, Elijah?”
“Well, you’re hiding the witness. So, I will hide you.”
“Where are you going to hide me?”
Elijah leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk and bending his luscious lips into an inviting smile. “That, Counselor, is on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know.”
ELIJAHunlocked the door and took a deep, calming breath when he stepped inside the uninhabited Westchester home. Even though he wasn’t here under pleasurable circumstances, just being inside these walls had a way of healing his restless soul. He stepped aside, holding the door open for Camden, waiting for the man to enter. Once he was inside, Elijah headed toward the living room and motioned for Camden to follow him.
“This is nice,” Camden uttered as he stepped in a slow circle, looking around the room. “NYPD’s safehouses are nicer than I thought they’d be. I was imagining some seedy hotel scene fromLaw and Order.”
“It’s not NYPD’s. It’s mine.”
Camden stopped turning long enough to make eye contact with Elijah. “This is yours? Really?”
Elijah narrowed his eyes, trying hard not to let Camden get under his skin. It seemed the man’s arrogance seeped through all the time. “What, surprised a dumb cop could buy something like this?”
Elijah waved his hand across the expanse of the spacious room. It was a four-thousand-square-foot colonial sitting on three-quarters of an acre of land. Elijah had scrimped and saved for years, taking all of that hazard pay and overtime and putting it toward a sizable down payment for this house. It was the thing he was most proud of, and to have this man insult Elijah in it rubbed him the wrong way.
“No.” Camden raised his hands palm-side up in surrender. “That wasn’t what I was saying at all, Elijah.” Camden dropped his eyes. For someone as arrogant as him, Elijah was certain it was as close to an act of contrition as he’d get. “I was just surprised you’d bring me to your place. Isn’t this a breach of protocol or something?”
“Normally it would be. But my captain wants you somewhere that no one else can trace you to. That eliminates any place connected to NYPD or the DA’s office. And since you and I have no documented history together, this is probably the last place anyone would look for you.”
Camden nodded, still looking everywhere but at Elijah as he spoke. “I guess it just feels a little weird being back in a place of yours again. Especially in this situation.”
“You mean after you fucked and ran the last time?” The slight hint of rose coloring beneath Camden’s creamy skin let Elijah know his comment had hit its mark. “No one knows about this place. The only people who ever come here are my parents and sibling. The only address I have on file is my apartment in Brooklyn. If anyone goes snooping, they shouldn’t be able to connect you or me to this place. It’s the perfect hideout.”
