Page 17 of The Devil’s Bargain (A Devil to Die for #3)

“We’ve found the truck,” Saz told Calix through his multi-slate a couple of days later. “It was abandoned and set on fire. But…”

“What is it?”

“There was a body inside. The corpse was burnt beyond recognition and was found in the driver's seat.”

“You think he committed suicide?” Cal pinched the bridge of his nose and came to a stop in front of Aodhan’s hospital room, wanting to finish up the conversation before going in so as not to disturb him.

Mercy had refused to allow him to leave, stating that if, by chance, someone really had tried to kill him on purpose, it was safer to remain.

Of course, that caused their Second to complain nonstop, lamenting about how bored he was, especially since Cal had guarded against a repeat of the other day's antics.

He didn’t have time to humor the guy. The sooner he found the culprit, the sooner they could all go home.

And now Saz was telling him their only lead was dead?

“I can’t say for certain yet, but there weren’t any obvious signs of foul play. For now, I’ve sent the body to Mitri. The rest of us are still here collecting as much evidence as we can. I hate to ask, but Aodhan still can’t think of anyone who might have had it out for him?”

“No,” Cal lied.

Saz hummed in understanding. “Wonder if this was just a case of guilt and fear then. If he was drunk that night and almost accidentally killed a renowned surgeon like Aodhan Solace, fear of the consequences could have driven him to taking his own life.”

“We can’t rule it out. But we also can’t go making assumptions without anything to back them up. I want whoever did this to be found. If it’s the dead guy in the truck, so be it, but I want us to be certain before we even consider closing this case. Understood?”

“Of course,” Saz said. “Don’t worry, Calix. You know we’ve all got your back.”

As far as Cal knew, Reed and Saz had also kept his secret about being a part of Mercy’s pod.

If they’d told anyone, he would have been screening questions at work without a doubt, so that was nice.

The last thing he wanted to waste time on right now was telling people about his love life. It was no one else's business.

“Thanks,” Cal told him. “For everything. I appreciate it.”

“We’re friends,” Saz replied. “We’ve got to have each other's backs.”

Ironic that Calix had to return to the planet he’d always loathed in order to find the one thing he’d always wanted. A place to belong. A place with people who genuinely cared.

Did it make him feel a little bad that he was sort of lying to the guy about Aodhan and his potential enemies? Yeah. But that wouldn’t change his mind. He’d never compromise his Second, even if he did trust Saz to keep his mouth shut.

He could trust him with another task though.

“Do me a favor,” Cal said. “Call me in twenty minutes.”

“What for?”

“I’ll need an excuse to leave. Unless you want me taking another extended lunch break?”

“Got it.” He chuckled. “Must be nice having someone cling to you the way Aodhan is. You really lucked out. I’ll contact you in twenty.”

“Thanks, Saz.”

Calix hung up and took his time slipping the earbud attachment back into his device.

It was good that they’d finally found something, but disappointing that the something was a body.

Saz’s explanation of things made sense too, and Cal was left wondering if maybe Mercy had been right and he was letting his anger and fear cloud his judgment and read into things that weren’t there.

Maybe it really had been a case of a drunk driver.

Or the man had fallen asleep at the wheel momentarily and run the red light because of that.

It would explain why he hadn’t braked. Aodhan’s accident wasn’t a secret.

A high-profile member of society, such as himself, who was almost killed in a hit-and-run, made the national news.

Up until this point, Calix had only ever had himself. There’d never been anything to lose, and having come so close to experiencing that during those harrowing moments when Aodhan had disappeared from the connection…

A scream tore through his thoughts, and Calix was reacting before he could even fully process that the sound had come from within the room. He tore the door open, blaster already in hand, and aimed the second his eyes locked on a stranger hovering too close to Aodhan’s bed.

The man was young-looking, with the same shade of dark brown hair as Aodhan. His eyes, brown, rested on Cal with less urgency than someone who currently had a gun pointed at them should have.

Calix frowned.

This face was…familiar.

“Be’urn,” Aodhan called out to him and then made a big show of stretching and resting his hands behind his head. “What took you so long?”

The doctor was lounging in bed, seated against the headboard, seemingly as relaxed as a kitten, despite having made a sound of alarm only a minute ago.

“Hello,” the man standing at the foot of the bed said in a calm voice. “It’s nice to meet you, Calix. My name is Zane.”

“Zane Solace?” It was the guy from the photos Cal had seen during his past investigation. “Aodhan’s brother.”

“Baby brother,” Aodhan corrected, smirking when both Calix and Zane rolled their eyes simultaneously.

“Tell me, baby brother,” Calix put emphasis on the word, statement filled with sarcasm since he was clearly addressing a full-grown man, “Are you a threat, or is he just being a drama queen as per usual?”

Zane grinned. “The last one. Absolutely.” He turned to Aodhan. “Congratulations on finding someone who understands you and is still breathing.”

“Was that a corpse joke, brother?” Aodhan snorted. “Your humor is the same as always. Too bad you didn’t bring my brother-in-law with you. I’ve missed him terribly. Also, it’s kind of rude of him not to show, don’t you think? I was pretty badly injured. It’s only right he pay his respects.”

“Titus Mercer the fifth not doing enough for you?” Zane drawled, trying and failing not to fall for Aodhan’s goading.

“Careful,” he warned with the smile still on his face. “Calix doesn’t take kindly to people badmouthing his First.”

Cal was still holding the blaster aloft, and he tipped his head when Zane glanced back at him. “I take it you’re not a fan?”

“Of Titus?” he snorted. “No.”

“Good.” Calix holstered his weapon.

“Good?” Aodhan pouted. “No fun.”

“I’d rather your married brother not be interested in Mercy,” he explained, moving up to his side to press the back of his hand to Aodhan’s forehead. “Your fever’s gone.”

“You were feverish?” Zane asked. “I thought you were better?”

“It was a severe brain injury,” Calix explained. “He still needs Mercy to funnel energy into him every day. But there’s nothing to worry about. He’ll be fine.”

“Says the guy who was freaking out the most,” Aodhan teased.

“Should I go get into a horrible car accident so you can experience what that’s like for yourself?”

His arms wrapped around Cal’s waist and he pulled him close, resting his head on the center of his chest. “Nope. I’m good.”

Zane blinked at them. “I’m not sure whether to be disgusted or worry the brain injury is having lasting effects.”

“I’m always like this with my Third,” Aodhan helpfully told him. “Don’t be jealous because I have two hot pieces of ass and you’ve only got the one, baby bro.”

Caliz sneered down at him but didn’t pull away. “Seriously?”

“What?” He gave him a mock look of innocence. “Don’t like being referred to as a piece of ass?”

His eyes narrowed. “Say how hot you think your brother’s husband is again, do it. I dare you.” He settled his hand pointedly over his holstered blaster. “Better yet, give me a second to call Mercy and put him on speaker first so he can hear it as well.”

Aodhan tightened his hold and smoothed a palm up Cal’s spine. “It was a joke, Be’urn. Pavel Hart who?”

“Aren’t you two the same age?” Zane crossed his arms, clearly wanting to put an end to their awkward flirting.

“I’m older,” Aodhan stated.

“By a few months,” Calix reminded.

“Still counts.”

Cal’s multi-slate started to ring, but when he tried to step back, Aodhan clung to him. “Let go.”

“Never.”

“Aodhan.” He stared him down until the doctor finally sighed and released him. It only took him a second to pop out the earbud and place it back in before accepting the call. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I may have found something,” Mitri’s voice greeted him, getting straight to business. “Are you still at the hospital? Can you come down and take a look?”

“Yeah, I’m still here.” He started to turn and then thought better of it, pausing. “One second.” Cal motioned to Zane. “Keep your eye on him for me, will you? Don’t let him do anything stupid.”

“Where are you going?” Aodhan pursed his lips. “You literally just arrived. I’ve been waiting for you all day.”

“Stop being a baby. I’ll be back as soon as I’m able. I’ll just be—”

“If now isn’t a good time—” Mitri began, but Cal didn’t let him finish, heading toward the door before his Second could come up with any more complaints.

“No, no. Now works fine. I’m on my way.”