Shadows Fall (43 page)

Charlie dipped his head and gave Titus a firm kiss, then looked deep into his eyes, hoping to show Titus that he wasn’t alone anymore, that Charlie would keep him safe. “Then I’ll carry you.”

Chapter Thirty-two

Who knew Charlie would be sitting beside Titus’s hospital bed again so soon? Yet, there he was holding the hand of the man he’d saved—with help—from a serial killer, the hand of the man he might be in love with.

The doctors had said Titus had lost over a third of his blood volume and had over one hundred and forty different wounds on his body, from small to large. The wounds hadn’t been life threatening but a dangerous bout with infection, most likely from the cuts having been bathed in dirty storm water, had nearly killed him.

Titus had been put in a medically induced coma while they tried desperately to infuse his body with antibiotics, lavage the wounds, and bring his fever down. The fever had finally broken the night before, and they were slowly weaning him off the sedatives. All that was left to do was wait until he woke up, to see how much damage had been done by the raging infection.

Charlie stared at Titus’s hand, long-fingered and thin, clasped between his own. He wasn’t so pale anymore, since he’d had several blood transfusions. He’d regained his natural golden complexion, shades darker than Charlie’s own. Charlie tried to take that as a sign that he was mending and getting stronger.

It had been a long week of worrying, pacing, waiting. Charlie hadn’t really let himself think about what had actually happened, how he’d almost lost Titus—no he really
had
lost him, only he’d been just barely able to coax him back with the force of their combined wills. He’d barely slept, only left the hospital to change clothes. He’d been getting text updates from Sonny about David’s arrest and interrogation, but he couldn’t bring himself to give a fuck about work when his heart was lying there in that bed.

Christ, he needed to see those eyes again. He needed to hear that teasing voice and even that Romany attitude. He got it from Hester, but it certainly wasn’t the same.

This beautiful, special man had been poisoned, bled, and drowned. How much torture was one person supposed to go through? How could one person
take
so much and not be broken? The worst part was, Titus had faced his own death knowing what was on the other side, and knowing it wasn’t wings and harps.

Charlie rubbed his eyes and his fingers came away wet. He hadn’t even realized he’d been crying, but once the dam had been broken, he just gave up and let it come. Clenching Titus’s hand in one of his, and twisting the other in the bed sheets, he leaned over, laid his head on Titus’s thigh and sobbed it out.

He didn’t care who heard, he didn’t care who saw, and he didn’t care what they thought. Life was so fucking fragile, and it could be snuffed out like a candle in a rainstorm, at the whim of a psycho. Titus had been given a second chance, and Charlie decided to give himself one too. He wouldn’t hide, he wouldn’t lie…he’d just be.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Sonny’s words interrupted his crying jag and startled him out of his stupor. He wiped his eyes and sat up, but didn’t let go of Titus’s hand. “Excuse me?”

His partner’s chest was heaving and his hands were balled into fists at his sides. Charlie had made no admissions, but apparently De Rossi had gotten the message since he’d camped out in Titus’s room for a week, eschewing everything else in his life.

“We were supposed to be fucking partners. Don’t you think this was something I should’ve known, while we were out there relying on each other to have our backs?”

Charlie kept his voice at a whisper, but it came out deadly. “What the fuck does
who
I fuck have to do with my ability to have your back, De Rossi? Answer carefully.”

Sonny just shook his head and clenched his jaw. His face was sanguine with anger, but there was a little bit of hurt in his eyes that gave Charlie pause.

“I don’t have an answer for that, Hale. All I know is that partners are supposed to trust each other. You obviously didn’t trust me, so I can’t trust you.” He executed a perfect military turn and stomped out of the room.

Charlie sighed and stared off into space until he felt a squeeze around his hand. He jolted and turned around to face Titus, who was regarding him with bottomless blue eyes, the same ones Charlie was afraid he’d never see again. He couldn’t help the stupid grin that split his face. “Hey. You’re awake.”

“I-I’m…” his croaky voice trailed off. He swallowed, licked his lips, and tried again. “I’m sorry…bout Sonny.”

Charlie lifted himself up so that he could brush a kiss across Titus’s chapped lips. “Forget him. We’ll work it out later. Just concentrate on getting better.”

Titus nodded, probably because his throat was still sore from where the trach tube had been the day before. “When…can I…leave?”

“I don’t know, babe. I’ll have to let the doctor know you’re awake so she can look at you and then tell us. Want me to go get her now?”

“In a minute,” he whispered. He lifted a shaking, bandaged arm and stroked his hand down Charlie’s face. “You saved me.”

With a sheepish grin, Charlie ducked his head. “Well, only after Hester saved me first. That’s a story for later, though, when you’re stronger.”

“You didn’t let me become a ghost. You didn’t—you came after me. You didn’t let me fall. No one’s ever done that before.”

Charlie’s own voice broke as he leaned into Titus’s touch. “I’ll never let you fall.”

Chapter Thirty-three

It had been my first day back at work since I’d left the hospital. Things were different. People treated me with kid gloves, like I’d fall apart with the slightest provocation. Riot was moody and distant because Chelsea was still missing, though he’d received a crude note saying that she’d left town. Riot could not be convinced that it was really from her.

Then there were the good parts of my first day back, one good part in particular. Charlie and I were trying our hands at coupledom, and he was sitting at the table in the corner where we’d first met, the one we called ‘our’ table. He wasn’t out marching in the streets, but he was no longer hiding the fact that he was gay. We weren’t sure how many of his coworkers on the force had figured it out, but so far, things had been disturbingly quiet on that front. Neither of us was foolish enough to think it would stay that way.

David Sever had been remanded to the Charlotte Correctional Center to await trial for multiple murders. The Queen City Slayer case had officially been closed, and I couldn’t be more happy about it. Charlie and I could go on with our lives, and maybe have something resembling a normal relationship.

Since my shift was ending, I took my apron off and tossed it behind the counter, then went to sit across from my man. “You’re checking up on me,” I teased.

“Hell, yes. I almost lost you.”

His eyes went stormy again as they often did when he remembered that night. Sometimes I thought recovering from what David did might be harder on Charlie than it was on me. As I watched, those troubled eyes drifted to stare out the window. I touched his hand lightly and smiled when he turned it over and threaded our fingers together.

“Hey, where’d you go?” I asked.

“Well you know I’m on suspension, so I can’t go anywhere near the Sever case. Plus, you and I are…what you and I are,” he said with a goofy smile.

I nodded. Charlie’s captain had put him on suspension after telling him he was lucky she didn’t put him in jail for all the laws he broke—and that didn’t even include the ones she didn’t know about. However, since he’d been instrumental in catching a serial killer in the act and saving me, she couldn’t do that or fire him either. The media would’ve had a field day. So she suspended him, telling the public he was on personal leave.

“Sergeant Rogers from Special Investigations took pity on me and has been texting me with updates regarding the task force that’s looking into SevenTek, since all of the victims other than you were connected through that lab.”

“That’s nice of him. I won’t even bother saying I wish you wouldn’t worry about it since it isn’t your case.”

“Good call,” he said, giving me a tired smile. “Anyway, they executed the search warrant today. He just sent me a text about it.”

“And?”

“They’re gone.”

“What do you mean…gone?”

“They ghosted. The entire building was cleaned out, stripped, locked up, and abandoned. All of the phones and utilities have been disconnected. No forwarding was left with any of the services.

“The guys moved on to the investors, trying to track them down. They’ve all vanished. Accounts have been closed, houses sold, kids pulled out of school, money’s disappeared. It’s like they never fucking existed. So tell me, do those sound like the actions of innocent people?”

“No,” I whispered.

“They may not have been killing people, but they had a hand in this somehow, and we have to find them before more people get hurt.”

Fuck. I knew what he was getting at. “Oh, no.
Hell
, no, that was a onetime thing, Charlie.”

And then he laid those big hazel puppy-dog eyes on me while running a foot up my leg under the table. “Please, Titus. We need you.
I
need you. Come back and work as a consultant, at least until we shut down SevenTek.”

“Geez, I don’t know, what if I have, like, PTSD or something.”

Charlie laughed, and I saw something in his eyes that I couldn’t put a name to, but it made me feel all fluttery inside.

“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Titus. I think you’re doing just fine.”

I stood up, walked across to him, and plopped down in his lap. Bless him, he didn’t even flinch about being in public. “Says you,” I teased, then yelped when he pinched my ass.

“Cheeky,” he said. “But seriously, you have a connection to this, so your…ability might help us find something. Please try.”

Ugh. He had me at the first please. It was rapidly becoming obvious that I’d do anything for my Charlie, and that was just a little bit scary—even scarier than going back to work for the police.

“What are you going to give me in return?”

He pulled my face down for a kiss that lit up everything inside me, floated me away and anchored me at the same time. Then he put his lips to my ear and whispered his answer. “Anything you want.”

THE END…?

Trademarks Acknowledgment

The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following places and items mentioned in this work of fiction:

Ipod - Apple Inc

Sennheisers - Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG

Chucks - Nike, Inc

Ed Sheeran

Avett Brothers

OneRepublic

Motley Crüe

Venti Americano - Starbucks- Starbucks Corporation

Creative Loafing Magazine - SouthComm

Coach bag - Coach, Inc

Charger - FCA US LLC

Cochlear implant - Sonova Holding AG

Quickbooks - Intuit Inc

Duke Power - Duke Energy

Moleskine – Moleskine SpA

Google - Google

Gortex - W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Reebok - Reebok International Ltd

Adderall

Roku - Roku, Inc

Tyvek - E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

The matrix - Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc

Poltergeist - MGM Holdings Inc

NFL - National Football League

Maglite - Mag Instrument, Inc

True blood - Home Box Office

J.K. Hogan

J.K. Hogan has been telling stories for as long as she can remember, beginning with writing cast lists and storylines for her toys growing up. When she finally decided to put pen to paper, magic happened. She is greatly inspired by all kinds of music and often creates a “soundtrack” for her stories as she writes them. J.K. is hoping to one day have a little something for everyone, so she’s branched out from m/f paranormal romance and added m/m contemporary romance. Who knows what’s next?

J.K. resides in North Carolina, where she was born and raised. A true southern girl at heart, she lives in the country with her husband and young son, a cat, and two champion agility dogs. If she isn’t on the agility field, J.K. can often be found chasing waterfalls in the mountains with her husband, or down in front at a blues concert.
In addition to writing, she enjoys training and competing in dog sports, spending time with her large southern family, camping, boating and, of course, reading! For more information, please visit
www.jkhogan.com
.

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Blood in the Valley (Vigilati, Book 2)

The Serpent's Fate (Vigilati, Book 3)