Prickly By Nature (10 page)

Avery rolling his eyes was unanticipated and kind of stung.

His ire was even less expected. “You
miss
me?” Avery asked, his tone incredulous. He stood several feet away from the other side of the bed, hands fisted at his side, tendons standing out at his neck while he strained to get his point across. “Well, think of how Mr. Otis feels. I’m here with you. I come home to you every day. He hasn’t seen his daughter in seven months, Dylan. He doesn’t even know where she is.” He didn’t yell. The quiet control of his tone was worse.

“Okay.” Dylan sighed. “You know I’ve got your back, but maybe you need some time off, to clear your head.”

“Then who will look for Lacey?” Avery shot back with a scoff. “Portland PB?”

“Exactly.” Dylan couldn’t have this conversation sitting, not while Avery fumed above him. He slid to the opposite side of the bed, Avery’s side, snagged Avery’s wrist, and tugged him until he sat woodenly beside Dylan. “The Human Trafficking Task Force has the case now.”

Avery gave a humorless snort. He stared straight ahead, stubbornly ignoring Dylan beside him. “We know how well the police bureau handled it last time.”

“Avery, Melnyk, and Harris are out. You can’t paint an entire department, the whole of law enforcement, with their tainted actions. How do you know the task force isn’t working Lacey’s case day and night?”

“How do you know they are?”

“I don’t, but I at least have to give them the benefit of the doubt.”

“Well, I don’t. And I won’t,” Avery snapped, finally throwing his fiery gaze to Dylan. “I don’t trust them to care about her as more than a number. She’s a daughter, a friend. She’s a person, Dylan. And it’s not going to matter if they forget because I haven’t and I won’t.”

“I know she’s a person, babe. I want to find her too, not only for Otis but for you. You’ve put a lot into this, but I’m afraid if you keep banging your head against this wall with no results, you’ll only end up with a headache.”

Tears filled his hazel eyes, and Dylan’s heart ached for him. He wished he could do something to make Avery realize Lacey wasn’t his burden or his penance. He didn’t think Avery knew that, and he didn’t know how to make him see it. Avery’s next words were watery but solid. “It doesn’t matter because Mr. Otis is my friend. He’s who I’m doing this for. I will find her and when I do, it won’t be because the brotherhood of shady cops pretended to hunt down leads. It’ll be because I went out there and did something about it.”

Dylan slid his arm around Avery and tucked him against his side. Avery’s board-stiff posture told him to back the fuck off, but Dylan wouldn’t back down. Especially when Avery needed him.

Avery sat up so fast he just about took Dylan with him. “Sure.” His glare said he didn’t mean it. So did the sugary sweet smile painted on his lips. “Do you think whoever has Lacey will take a break too? A vacation sounds divine.”

“No need to be an ass about it.” Dylan glared right back. “All I’m saying is time away from the case, from home. Taking time off is not a crime, and maybe you’ll come back with a fresh perspective. Maybe being able to look at this thing from a new angle is what you need. But you’re too close to it right now. It’s impossible. I think you need time to regroup.”

The tension in Avery’s shoulders bled away slowly, and his gaze softened. When he spoke, he still sounded stiff and determined, but something in his voice made Dylan think he might be getting through. “And how long a period do you propose?”

“Four days,” Dylan said without hesitation. “Maybe five. A long weekend.”

Avery squinted at him, not in anger, but trying to calculate something. “Where?” he asked with hesitation in his tone. Dylan could tell Avery knew what he would say before he said it.

Leaning over Avery, Dylan pulled open the top drawer to Avery’s Bombay nightstand and took out the crinkled wedding invitation.

Dylan didn’t have to say anything. Avery simply stared at the paper in his lap where Dylan had dropped it.

“It’s a good idea, Av,” he encouraged. “Your brother wouldn’t have sent it if he didn’t want you there.”

Avery laughed bitterly. Not one ounce of happiness colored the sound. “Don’t kid yourself.” He met Dylan’s eyes. “Wyn didn’t send this. He couldn’t care less if I showed or not. This is one of my father’s many manipulations. He has to keep up appearances, after all.”

Dylan didn’t know what that meant, and he wasn’t keen on asking just then. Possibly later. All he could come up with was “Okay, if you don’t want to go to New Orleans, we’ll find somewhere else. At least think about it.”

Avery looked back down at his lap again. A few moments passed before he nodded briefly. “I’ll think about it,” he whispered, his only concession of the night, then glanced up at Dylan again. “Can we go to bed now?”

Smiling grimly, Dylan leaned over and pressed a kiss to Avery’s soft mouth. Not for the first time, he noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

“Yeah.” Dylan scooted back to his side of the bed. When he’d settled in place, he lifted the covers, and Avery crawled in after and curled up to his side. Dylan kissed the top of his head and whispered into his hair, “Let’s get some sleep tonight, all right?”

After flicking the lamp off, the room settled into comfortable silence. He’d almost drifted off when Avery turned in his arms.

“Thanks for being out there tonight,” Avery said, barely louder than a breath.

Dylan was somewhat surprised by the soft-spoken words. He could’ve sworn Avery thought he was being too overprotective, too pushy. He’d never had to step in, but if it came to it, he wouldn’t hesitate.

“I’ll always be there,” he said without hesitation, because he would.

“I… I….” Avery swallowed, wiggling against Dylan. “Thank you,” he breathed against Dylan’s chest.

Dylan had a feeling he knew what Avery wanted to tell him. Dylan wanted him to say it too, wanted to say it back. Instead, he whispered, “I know,” then dropped a kiss on Avery’s head. They were both out within seconds.

AVERY HADN’T
lied to Dylan when he said he’d think about going to the wedding. Maybe Dylan was right. Lately he’d been feeling a bit frayed around the edges. Eventually he’d reach his breaking point. Then what? He’d be useless to Reid, useless to Mr. Otis and Lacey. Not to mention Dylan. He knew how much Dylan worried—about his safety, about how caught up he was in Lacey’s case, about their mating. Maybe a vacation was exactly what Avery needed to view the situation with a fresh perspective, as Dylan had said. What
they
needed after spending so much time apart recently.

Granted, he’d rather be in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora—drinking something tropical and getting fucked to the rhythm of the waves as they surged and ebbed against the pillars beneath them—than keeping up appearances in his stuffy hometown. But he didn’t have the kind of money for those kinds of trips anymore. When he got his trust fund, he’d take Dylan away for a month, just the two of them. In the meantime….

Avery stared down at the cream-colored invitation. He still had a few days to RSVP. Perhaps if they spent a couple of days in New Orleans to let off some steam before the wedding, he could tolerate the farce of pretending to be on good terms with his family for the sake of their beloved reputation. Being a Babineaux in St. Tammany Parish stifled Avery. But New Orleans was always fun, and there were a couple of old friends he wouldn’t mind running into.

Speaking of friends, he had a lunch date with Jaden. The decision about Wynfield’s wedding could wait. If he didn’t leave soon, he’d be late. He and Jaden hadn’t seen each other often since Avery’s apprenticeship with Reid began. He could use some time with his best friend.

Using public transportation, the trip downtown took about forty minutes. At times like this, Avery missed his car, but not enough to seriously consider buying another. His savings couldn’t be stretched to accommodate a car payment at the moment anyway. The insurance had paid out for the loss of the vehicle—it had been reported as a theft—but the check had gone to his father, who was the primary policyholder and whose name was on the title. That meant no down payment for Avery to purchase another one.

He met Jaden at Savor Soup House, one of the food carts in downtown Portland, near where Jaden worked. Thursdays the cart offered a sweet potato, kale, and coconut soup that Avery loved. Jaden, the meat eater, ordered their beef and pork chili, and they settled at one of the wooden picnic tables nearby. Despite cloudy skies, the temperature had hit the midfifties, warm enough for Avery not to mind being outside with only a dark-washed Dior Homme jean jacket—his all-time favorite thrift-shop find—over a tweed vest and long-sleeve button-down shirt.

“How’ve things been going?” Jaden asked as Avery poked listlessly at his soup.

“With Reid, fine. With the Lacey case….” Avery sighed. “I ran into a guy last week. The one I’d taken a picture of at Intrepid. He wouldn’t talk to me. I keep hoping he’ll contact me, but….” Avery shrugged. “How about you? How’s the job?”

Jaden swallowed a bite of his chili. “Same as ever. We help people market their businesses. Some of them try to insist on having things their way even though they hired us because their strategies clearly weren’t working in the first place. Nothing as exciting as detective work, I’m sure.”

“You’d be surprised,” Avery told him. “Stakeouts are boring enough to make me consider taking up knitting. I could make you a scarf next time Reid and I are stuck in a car for eight hours.”

Jaden snorted. “You, knitting? Someone would lose an eye.”

“All the more reason to start.” Avery winked, then dropped the levity. “Dylan thinks I need a vacation. I got an invitation to Wynfield’s wedding. He thinks we should go.”

Jaden choked on a piece of cornbread. He thumped on his chest and took a hasty sip of his soda. “Your brother’s getting
married
?”

“Yep. I probably would’ve choked too if I had something in my mouth when I saw that invitation.”

Jaden stared at him, wide-eyed. “And Dylan thinks it’s a good idea for you to go?”

Avery ate a spoonful of his soup. “He thinks it’s time for a reconciliation, no matter how much I tell him that I’m not interested. Neither are my parents, for that matter. They only want me there so people won’t wonder and gossip about why I’m not.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Avery lifted one shoulder. “Haven’t decided yet. Dylan mentioned maybe going to New Orleans for a couple of days before the wedding. That might be nice.”

“When is the wedding?”

“The end of next month.”

“Let’s do it,” Jaden said, his blue eyes sparkling.

Avery looked at him, brow furrowed. “Huh?”

“Let’s go to New Orleans. I can use a vacation, and I never got to visit with you.” He grinned wickedly. “I’m sure I could find a way to keep myself occupied once you guys leave for the wedding.”

Avery shook his head. “I haven’t made any decisions yet. Part of me craves a vacation, just time to not have to think. But another part of me hates the idea of leaving with things unfinished.”

“Av, you’ve been looking into Lacey’s case for how long? Five months? Almost six? Who knows how much longer it’ll be before you find some real answers? I don’t think taking a few days off is going to make or break anything at this point.”

“You sound like Dylan,” Avery grumbled, scuffing at the ground with the toe of his boot.

“That’s because he’s right, and deep down you know it.”

Avery sighed and pushed his soup away. “I have to mail back the RSVP in the next day or two. I’ll let you know what I decide, and of course, if we do go, you can come with. Maybe Dylan could invite Luc too. He’s been a total grumpy ass for weeks now.”

Jaden blinked, his eyebrows arching. “Really? I have a hard time picturing that. I’ve never seen him without a grin on his face.”

Avery nodded. “Yeah. Dylan’s worried about it. I’m not sure Luc has told him what’s wrong. Something clearly is, though.”

“See, a trip could do us all good,” Jaden said. He gave Avery’s food a pointed glance. “And finish your soup. You could use a bit more weight on you. Don’t think I can’t tell you’ve lost a few pounds since the last time we saw each other.”

Avery grudgingly reached for the container and ate another spoonful. A couple of weeks ago he’d realized his jeans were fitting looser. Dylan probably hadn’t noticed since he saw Avery every day—and Avery wore his pants so tight “looser” wasn’t saying much. He could only imagine the fit Dylan would throw when he found out. And he would if it got any worse.

So Avery forced the soup down, though it might as well have been water for all he tasted it. He couldn’t be of any use to anyone if he let his health fall by the wayside. He knew that. Being a shifter didn’t make him indestructible, yet he kept pushing himself like he was Superman. That single-mindedness might become his kryptonite if he wasn’t careful.

Jaden’s quiet voice interrupted his thoughts. “Even if you don’t want to go to the wedding, I think Dylan is right. You need some rest. I barely see you these days. I miss you.”

Annoyance tried to rear up at those words, the way it had when Dylan had said them the other night. Avery batted it down. He didn’t want to fight with Jaden, and he knew Jaden wasn’t trying to be insensitive. “I miss you too.” And it was true. He hadn’t seen nearly enough of Jaden’s smiling, freckled face in the past month or two. He was desperate to reunite Mr. Otis with Lacey, but his own relationships were suffering in the face of his obsession. And in spite of all the promises he’d made to Mr. Otis, Avery knew it would sadden the old wolf to learn of this. Mr. Otis was a friend, and as much as he wanted his daughter back, he wanted Avery well too. “I’ll let you know what I decide.”

Jaden nodded, mouth full of chili.

Avery reached for the bread that had come with his soup and took a bite.

IN THE
end, what decided it for him wasn’t the talk with Jaden or the pressure from Dylan. It was an Internet clip from that evening’s five o’clock news. He’d started watching ever since the warehouse incident, searching for anything suspicious, any kind of pattern or a sudden surge of missing teenagers. Up to this point, nothing had caught his attention. This segment made his stomach roil.