Page 14 of Someone to Call My Own

“Detective Wyatt, relax.” I stood up from the bed across the one Detective Wyatt sat on in the hotel room. I looked at Dorchester, Weston, and Harris. “Is he always like this?”

“Mostly,” Dorchester replied, “but he knows his shit, so maybe you should stop busting his balls and listen to him for a damn minute.”

“Too bad you weren’t this dedicated when my brother turned to you for help,” I snarled. “Maybe he’d still be alive.”

“Clear the room,” Detective Wyatt commanded. His team obeyed the order immediately. He slowly rose to his feet and squared off against me. “You have every right to be angry over the loss of your brother, but blaming me for his death isn’t going to bring him back. Instead, focus your damn energy on catching his killer by listening to what I’m telling you.” The detective pointed his finger at me and said, “If you go in there half-cocked you could destroyeverything. Are you listening to me?”

I turned and paced away from him, running my fingers through my hair in agitation. I turned to face Detective Wyatt and released my pent-up frustration in one, long breath. I was ready to listen.

“I didn’trefuseto help Nate; he refused to helphimself.He should’ve been up front about everything because it was highly unlikely he didn’t know why he was targeted. He might not have known who, but he might’ve had an idea of why. His asking me to sneak around outside of the law to find his harasser was wrong. He wasn’t forthright with the CPD when he finally turned to them. We can’t help someone who doesn’t want it, Silver.”

“I know,” I said softly. “I was out of line. I’m sorry.” I didn’t truly know a damn thing about the detective, but I was certain that he was an honorable man. He didn’t give me the impression that he would try to railroad Rick into an arrest and conviction just to close his case.

“Trust me when I tell you I know how powerless you feel right now. My brother was killed in a robbery when I was fifteen. He was my hero, and I was devastated,” he told me. “His killer was never arrested, so please believe me when I tell you that I will do everythinglegallywithin my power to solve Nate’s case. I need your help to do that, which means you have to listen to what I say.”

Detective Wyatt was right; I couldn’t start acting like a vigilante if I wanted to bring Nate’s killer to justice. A year ago, I would’ve wanted to hunt the fucker down myself and slit his throat, but I promised my mother that I would find my brother and try to live a normal life. Finding Nate had been easy, but keeping my other promise was harder than I anticipated. That moment in the hotel room with the CPD was my chance to prove that I could change and have a better life than the path I’d been on since I was sixteen years old. Christ, it was a miracle I had reached my fortieth birthday.

“Call the team back in. I’m ready to cooperate,” I said.

The second time around, I listened to Detective Wyatt’s instructions. I committed to memory what he wanted me to say so that I avoided any legal traps. In my last line of business, we didn’t follow too many rules. We saw an opportunity to set things right and did it.

I headed to the restaurant a little early so that Rick didn’t catch me exiting the elevators. It was my favorite place to eat, and the staff knew me well, but that night a young guy I didn’t recognize greeted me as I entered. He was young, blond, and had lips made to suck my dick. Had it been any other night, I would’ve encouraged the arousal I saw blooming across his cheeks and sparkle in his eyes.

“Good evening, sir. My name is Stephan. What can I do for you?” Damn, he said that in a voice that made me want to bend him over my knee and…Focus on the mission, Jon!

“My name is Jonathon Silver, and I have a reservation for two,” I replied coolly.

“Your wife or girlfriend?” he asked, fishing for information.

“Lawyer,” I replied, not taking the bait. I had too much on the line and couldn’t afford the distraction.

“Okay, follow me,” he said in dramatic resignation that made my lips tilt up into a half-smile. He perked up a little when he saw that he got a reaction out of me, even a subtle one, and made sure he swayed his even perkier ass in a way that had me questioning my sanity for denying myself the pleasure. “I hope you have a most pleasant meal tonight, sir. Might I suggest you save room for dessert? I hear the blondie here is exceptional.” Stephan playfully winked before he left me alone at my usual table. I knew damn well he wasn’t referring to the blond brownie dessert on the menu.

An hour later, Rick still hadn’t arrived, and I was getting aggravated. Had he somehow figured out that something was going on and decided not to show? I pulled out my cell phone from my jacket pocket and dialed his number. “Rick, I’ve been sitting here at the restaurant for thirty minutes waiting for you. Did I get the time wrong? Give me a call, buddy.”

I drank another glass of water and ate another piece of bread before my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket, expecting to see Rick’s name on the caller ID, but it read as unknown. A sick feeling washed over me as I stared at it while it rang a few more times.

“Jonathon Silver,” I said into the phone.

“Mr. Silver, this is Detective Dorchester. Can you come back to the room please?” he asked. I could tell by his voice that something bad had happened.

“I’ll be right there,” I told him then signaled for the waiter. “Archie, my dinner guest won’t be able to meet me tonight, and I received a call that there’s an urgent matter I need to attend to at the club. Can you just add the charge for the bread to my tab?”

“There’ll be no charge for the bread, sir.” He shook his head like he couldn’t believe I’d suggest such a thing. “Good luck, Mr. Silver.”

“Thank you, Archie.”

I didn’t make eye contact with anyone else, especially that tempting morsel at the reservation desk, as I made my way back to the hotel room. “What’s going on?” I asked when I entered the room. I could tell by Detective Wyatt’s face that Rick was dead. Why else would he have stood me up?

“Spizer was found dead in his home,” the detective told me. “We’re going to head over to his house right now. I’ll call you when we know more, either tonight or tomorrow.”

Even though he confirmed what I suspected, I was overwhelmed by shock and grief. “I don’t believe it,” I said. “Honestly, I thought there was another explanation for Rick’s involvement instead of him killing them or hiring it done, but this can’t be a coincidence. He was good to me when everyone else was skeptical of my appearance in Nate’s life, including my brother.”

Detective Wyatt crossed the room and patted my shoulder. “I’ll be in touch.”

The rest of the team followed him out, of course, and I stood alone in the center of the posh hotel room. God, whoever killed those other men must’ve killed Rick also. Damn it, had he been involved all along or did he know too much? My brain spun with the possibilities or was it the room spinning? Fuck! How long had it been since I ate a meal? The stress of the situation and low blood sugar was a dangerous combo. I sank down on the edge of the bed and rested my head in my hands and willed my brain, or room, to quit spinning.

I debated leaving and going through a drive-thru of a fast food restaurant but didn’t trust myself to drive. How the fuck could I even be thinking about food when Rick was lying dead in his home? I had truly become the animal my mother had feared. Hunger and disgust warred inside me while my heart ached over the loss of a man I considered a friend. Hunger eventually won out, and I ordered my favorite foods from room service. The hotel wasn’t the kind of place you rented by the hour, which meant the CPD kept a room there or they rented it for the night. Either way, I was physically and emotionally wrecked and wasn’t going anywhere until I got some food in my system.