Chapter Thirty-One
“Say that again?” Trask huffed in amusement. “The kid is a walking boogie monster x-ray?”
“It’s not funny,” Lamar groaned, rubbing his forehead. “It seems that something in his mixed ancestry allows him to see through deceptive appearances. We have a BOLO out for this Marco clown, but until we find him, we need to keep eyes on Aeren. We aren’t sure if he knows that Aeren can help us find him.”
“Uh huh,” Trask snickered. “So, of course you volunteered to babysit, right?”
“No. He’s tucked into a safe house. The Chief has undercover guys planted every few feet atAfter Ninewith mirrors.” Lamar snorted. “Unlike you, I try to keep my work and personal lives separate.”
Trask laughed out loud. “Damn, that’s rich!” He swallowed a mouthful of water from his bottle. “You remember that I saw him sleeping on the couch in your robe a couple of days ago, right?”
“Okay, so maybe it’s a new policy,” Lamar admitted sheepishly. “Anyway, the Chief assigned guards for him 24/7 while we hunt this Marco down.” When Trask snickered, Lamar groaned. “I am not one of them, asshole.”
“Probably just as well,” Trask joked. “After all, it only took one small female to knock you out when Christian was in trouble.”
Lamar swallowed a curse-laden comeback as Trask’s Omega, Christian, joined them.
“Alex asleep?” Trask asked, burying his nose in his husband’s neck as he collapsed into his lap.
“Mm-hmm,” Christian agreed with a yawn. “What are you two talking about?”
“Coop’s new boy toy,” Trask joked, snickering when Lamar flipped him a bird.
“Boy toy?” Christian perked up. “I want the dirt.”
“There is none,” Lamar sighed, shaking his head. “We hooked up a couple of times and now he’s avoiding me. End of story.”
Christian cocked his head. “Was it that bad?”
Lamar sighed again. “I didn’t think so,” he said. “He seemed pretty happy, but then he got dressed and hopped in an Uber.” He shrugged. “I might have gotten serious too fast. I don’t know.”
“I see.”
Before Christian could ask any more questions, Lamar stood and bent to kiss his cheek. “I need to hit the road. Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.” Christian hopped to his feet and hugged him tightly, shaking his head at the warning hiss from his husband. “I think you should give it another shot. Ask why he left.”
“After the case is over,” Lamar promised, hugging him back. “Can’t hurt to try.”
Then, fully intending to keep his distance from Aeren, Lamar walked out to his SUV and headed off into the night. Five minutes later, an emergency alert sounded through the dispatch app on his phone and all bets were off.
Flipping the switch that lit the red and blue lights installed behind the sedan’s grill, Lamar engaged the siren and dropped the hammer. The sedan screamed to a stop at the end of the line of police vehicles idling at the curb. Pocketing the keys, he trotted to a patrol officer stringing up crime scene tape.
“Get the keys out of all those cars,” he barked. “Anyone complains, tell them to see the Chief!”
“Yes, sir,” the startled young woman responded, dropping the roll of tape and heading for the end of the line.
“Start with the one at the front!” Lamar yelled over his shoulder, pulling his wallet free and flashing his badge as he ran for the front entrance. Skidding to a stop in front of the newly-installed mirrored wall in the lobby, he waited for the Chief to finish issuing orders to speak.
“Good, you’re here,” he said gruffly when he noticed Lamar. “Genov is already with the boy. As soon as the paramedics clear him, we’ll get him out of here.”
“What happened?” Lamar asked, trying to catch his breath. “He isn’t even supposed to be here!”
“Beats me,” the Chief snapped, shrugging. “When Mahoney and Carlson showed up to relieve the detail at the safehouse, they found a broken window, the door unlocked, and the two officers on duty unconscious.” He started down the hall, gesturing for Lamar to follow. “Twenty minutes later one of the security guards here called and reported a hostage situation.”
“Fuck!”
The Chief nodded. “Prick must have realized we were closing in, because he smashed out the window and ran, leaving the Empath behind.”
