Pleading the Fifth

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  ~~Pleading the Fifth~~ Book Thirteen Sandrine Gasq-Dion ~~Dedication~~

  To my family

  My LRO readers and the newest ones Jenjo, Kim and Jen

  Kenneth Carter for the cover Terry and Mariah

  Theresa Webber for the third set of eyes © Copyright 2012

  This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or business establishments, events or locales is coincidental. All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. WARNING: This book contains material that maybe offensive to some: Violence, graphic language, homosexual relations, adult situations.

  Chapter One

  Scott smacked his head back into his headrest with a disgusted sigh. Nothing like having to be somewhere in a hurry and being stuck in traffic, huh? He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of his truck, watching the cars on the Five drive inches, then stop. He’d given up on moving ten minutes ago.

  He was late as it was. Wayne had asked him to pick up one of the California pack members from the airport and he’d been late getting off his EMT shift. Their last call had been to a house where a kid was high as a kite. Said kid had not only managed to barf on him, but then proceeded to punch him in his eye as well. Scott rolled his eyes; another lovely day in Washington State.

  He and Jude were the sole occupants of their apartment now. Since Kellan had married Caden, they were slowly getting used to being a twosome. It sucked not having a mate.

  He’d been out on a few dates which consisted of him banging the shit out of the guy and then disappearing before dawn. What was the point of being in a relationship anyway? He’d gotten what he needed and gotten the hell out. None of them were his mates and at almost thirty, things weren’t looking much better in the ‘finding the one’ department.

  Besides the occasional thrill bang, he and Jude were content to go to work, sleep and go out to the bars now and again. But the two of them were becoming restless; he could feel it. The monotony of work, sleep, and bang was getting to them both. The idea of a mate was wonderful. The reality? Scott wasn’t so sure.

  He’d never been the clingy type, not even as a child. Scott winced. His childhood was filled with non-clingy, including his parents. The last time he’d spoken to them was when he had walked out of their house at sixteen and into Alexander’s pack full time. He was gay, therefore he couldn’t be theirs…right? Well, that’s what they apparently thought.

  At least Jude’s father accepted him. But that hadn’t stopped Jude from leaving his own pack and his position as beta and merging with Alexander’s. Where Scott went, Jude went.

  They’d met at age fourteen, when Scott’s parents moved into the same neighborhood as Jude’s. They became fast friends the day they’d met. Both were werewolves, so they had a lot in common and were inseparable.

  Jude’s father, Jonas Brooks, was tall and slightly intimidating at first. As the alpha of his pack he made sure things ran smoothly. Things became complicated when Scott realized he was gay. He’d come out to Jude, and Jude in turn had come out to him. Scott’s parents hadn’t taken it well and threw him out.

  When Jonas offered him the chance to live with them, Scott had been grateful but declined. Living in the same neighborhood as his parents didn’t appeal to him. He’d known Alexander for a while because of the pack meetings and when he’d informed him of his parent’s reaction to his sexuality, Alexander had offered him shelter and unconditional love.

  The car in front moved a bit and Scott inched a little bit closer, trying to see up ahead. Police lights flickered in the distance and Scott exhaled. Crap. An accident. Looking at his watch, he realized he’d been stuck in the same spot for over twenty minutes. His cell phone beeped, alerting him to a message. Scott grabbed it.

  “Where are you?” He sighed as ‘unknown’ popped up above the message. Great, another ‘unknown’ text. It was becoming tiresome now.

  The first time it had happened, he’d gotten ‘I’m hard and ready for your pussy’, to which Scott had responded ‘That’s wonderful! I don’t have a pussy!’

  Unknown texter had kept him busy for months now. He’d thought about changing his number, but why should he have to? Unknown would just have to deal with his tirades if he was going to keep this shit up. Scott texted back.

  “ I’m on the corner flagging cars down with my cock.”

  Scott hit ‘send’ and resumed sitting in traffic. Maybe that would make ‘unknown’ happy for a bit. His phone beeped again. Scott sighed and picked it up.

  “Are you serious?”

  Scott chuckled; at least this was keeping his mind off the traffic jam. He texted back.

  “Yes, my nine incher is stopping traffic. I may be getting my dick sucked soon.”

  The car ahead of him moved again and Scott saw that up ahead traffic was finally moving at a much faster pace. They must have cleared the accident to the side of the road. His phone beeped again.

  “You do realize I’m standing here waiting while you flag said cock in the wind.”

  Scott stared at the text and smiled. Then texted back.

  “Would you like me to suck your cock for the inconvenience of waiting?”

  Scott drummed his fingers again, moving a little more down the road. His phone beeped again and he looked down at the message.

  “I didn’t realize you Seattleites were so giving.”

  Scott picked his phone up, texting back.

  ‘Who the fuck is this?”

  “Who the fuck is this??”

  “Oh shit.” Scott sighed. He texted back

  “We’ve been at this for months; it’s been fun, but can you find someone else to sext for a while?”

  Scott picked up the pace now as the cars were moving faster. He wouldn’t text while driving, and put his phone on voice command as he picked up speed. His phone beeped again and he looked at it on the console.

  “Months? I think you have the wrong guy.”

  Scott chuckled. “I’ve always got the wrong guy. Send.”

  Another beep came through and Scott read the message. His jaw dropped.

  “Maybe if you stop flagging cars down with your cock, you’d find the right one. Kind of slutty, don’t you think?”

  Scott gripped the steering wheel and bit his lip. “Maybe, if a horny asshole would stop texting me, I could find the right guy. Send.” Scott’s phone beeped and he smiled at the text.

  “Asshole?”

  ~~ Tristan stood in front of the American Airlines terminal with a frown. Asshole? Since when …ugh…never mind. He really was an asshole. He’d already checked the piece of paper with Scott Delange’s cell phone number on it. He had the right number; Scott must not have programmed him into his phone or he’d know he wasn’t his unknown serial sexter.

  Tristan chuckled, texting back. “Well, at least my dick is in my pants and not waving at the cars passing by.”

  Tristan waited for Scott’s text to come through. He’d been standing there for over a half hour now and was getting ready to hail a cab or get a limo. A beep informed him Scott had texted back.

  “Your dick probably isn’t even big enough to see anyway.”

  Tristan laughed, and texted back.

  “I resent that remark. My dick is just fine and happy in my boxers, where he shall remain until I take him out.”

  “Isn’t he big enough to be out on his own?”

  Tristan smiled texting back.

  “If he were up your ass, you’d know.”

  “You’re a sexual stalker, aren’t you? You probably weigh three hundred pounds and are covered in acne.”

  Tristan hailed the cab coming his way, as he texted back.

  “Yep
, and I watch sci-fi shows constantly, I’m a huge ‘Star Wars’ fan and I own all ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies. In fact, I know them by heart. I’m a complete geek.”

  Settling into the air conditioned cab; Tristan gave the driver directions to Detective Nicholas Stevens’ house. He’d wanted to stay in a swanky hotel, but he actually enjoyed the company of Nick’s fiancé, Sebastian. The kid was funny and very inquisitive. A beep informed him of Scott’s new text.

  “That doesn’t mean you’re a geek, just means you have no life.”

  Tristan laughed texting back . “You must watch the same shows.”

  “I plead the Fifth.”

  Tristan arched a brow. It was time to let Scott know what was going on. He texted back.

  “I suggest you turn around if you are still coming towards the airport, Scott.”

  ~~ Scott stared at his phone. What the fuck? How did this guy know his name?

  “Okay, that’s it, who the hell is this? Send.” The phone beeped and Scott almost hit the car in front of him in shock.

  “Tristan Miles ring any bells?”

  Scott felt his anger rising. “Why didn’t you just say so? Send.”

  “This was way more fun. Next time, program the number into your phone and you’ll know who’s calling.”

  Scott fumed. “I’m almost there. Send.”

  “Already got a cab.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Scott yelled. He pulled into the next lane trying to get off the freeway; he missed the exit and almost sideswiped another car. Great, now he’d have to go another mile out of his way for the next exit. His phone beeped again.

  “Thanks for the lovely texts.”

  Scott banged the steering wheel. “I’m already having a shitty day, and now I have to drive back in bumper to bumper traffic because you couldn’t wait? Send!”

  “Not my problem. Should have left sooner. Bye now.”

  Scott got off on the next exit and pulled into a gas station. He beat the shit out of the steering wheel and gripped it, cursing. After taking quite a few deep, cleansing breaths, Scott merged back onto the freeway. Within minutes the Seattle sky opened up on him bringing down sheets of rain.

  “Oh, well that’s just fucking fantastic! Now it’s pouring? What the hell else can go wrong?”

  That question was answered another mile down the road when a popping noise filled the cab of his truck and the steering wheel jerked.

  “Are you kidding me?” Scott roared.

  Pulling over to the shoulder, Scott got out of the truck into a torrential downpour. Sure enough, his back tire was flat. He cursed again and went about getting his spare and jack. He was soaked within seconds. A semi drove past him and coated him in another spray of dirt and water. Scott looked up at the sky.

  “Really?”

  Scott made quick work of getting the flat off and putting the spare on. Jumping back into the truck, he grabbed a towel from his duffel bag and wiped the rain from his face. Pulling back onto the highway, he merged back into traffic and headed down the road with one thing on his mind.

  Tristan –fucking- Miles. ~~

  Tristan sat back on the couch smiling at Sebastian with Nicholas. Even though there was quite an age difference, the two of them seemed perfectly suited to one another.

  He guessed the fates were getting good at handing out mates, although they seemed to have forgotten about him. Not that he really cared at this point. The relationships he’d had lasted less than a week, usually with the other party leaving with a crack about how much of an asshole he was.

  Okay, so he was a bit jaded about love. All right, he was a lot jaded. Cheating lovers could be blamed for that. Long hours at the firm made it almost impossible for him to have a long-term relationship. Besides, he wasn’t the cuddling type, never had been. He’d known he was gay from the beginning. Never one to find women attractive, he lusted after men, got them and then discarded them. None of them were ‘the one’ and so they became useless.

  He’d been born a werewolf and his parents had been killed. He’d been dropped off at an orphanage at 10 years old. The woman who ran it knew of their kind.

  One call to Jackson Murphy and Tristan had a family. He had once asked Jackson how he’d come to find him, and his alpha had explained that the woman who ran the orphanage had been a family friend for years. Once Tristan had displayed werewolf traits, she’d called him right away.

  He couldn’t complain, Jackson had always treated him as a son, put him through college and embraced his decision to join the Navy. It helped that Jackson also had Jacob and Seth who had come to the family in the same manner. As orphaned children, they formed a tight bond.

  “So, um…how was the flight?” Sebastian handed Tristan a bottle of water. “Not bad, it’s a hop skip and a jump from LA to Seattle.” Tristan took a long drink and sat back looking at Sebastian. “So how are you two? I heard you’re back in college and going for a J.D., Sebastian.” Tristan grinned. “Our little talk prompted you to start law school?”

  “Yep, the degree in business is all well and good, but my life took on a different direction.” Sebastian eyed Tristan. He’d never told a soul he knew who Tristan’s mate was. “So, what happened to Scott picking you up?”

  “He was running late; I got tired of waiting,” Tristan yawned.

  The door slammed open and Sebastian jumped off the couch. There in the doorway stood Scott Delange. Drenched. Angry. His chest was heaving and water cascaded down his face from his hair.

  Tristan stood up and turned to face the door. The man standing there was definitely pissed off - and fucking gorgeous. The deep black hair hung down almost covering his eyes. Not quite six feet tall, the man had one hell of an impressive body from what Tristan could see. The jeans he wore were soaked and clinging to his muscular thighs.

  Scott walked in, slamming the door behind him. Standing on the tile, he took his soaked sweatshirt off and threw it on the floor.

  “Um, hi Scott.” Sebastian bit his bottom lip to hide his grin.

  Tristan arched a brow. “So, this is my late, raunchy texter?” Tristan had to grin - slutty texter was downright edible.

  Scott walked forward, rage consuming him. He pointed at Tristan. “You know what? Fuck you! First off, I had to work today. I got puked on, punched in the eye and then had to drive in gridlock to pick up your stupid ass! I got a flat, and now I’m soaked! You couldn’t fucking wait?”

  “Stupid ass?” Tristan smirked.

  “That’s all you got from that?” Scott roared. He grabbed Tristan by his suit jacket and hauled him to his face. “You piece of fucking shi—” Scott gasped as Tristan’s scent invaded his senses. By the look on Tristan’s face, he’d realized it too.

  “Oh no…” Scott let go of Tristan’s jacket. “Oh, hell no.”

  Nicholas looked at Tristan’s face. He’d never seen the man in shock before. “What? What the hell is going on?”

  “Tristan is Scott’s mate,” Sebastian informed him, crossing his arms.

  “What!?” Nicholas said.

  Scott backed off; Tristan still hadn’t said a word. “This is a joke, right?” Scott looked up towards the ceiling. “You can’t be serious! You make me wait years and now you give me this?”

  “Excuse me?” Tristan finally came to his senses. He eyed Scott from head to toe. “You aren’t exactly my type either, for one; you’re too short and two…” Tristan wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You stink.”

  “What!?” Scott thundered.

  Nicholas jumped between them before the fists started to fly. “Whoa guys!”

  “I stink? Well gee fucking whiz, Mr. Wizard, I wonder if that’s because I was stuck out on the side of the road, splashed by cars, oh, and let’s not forget I got off work and drove to Sea-Tac to pick up your stupid miserable ass!” Scott yelled.

  “You forgot about being short,” Tristan drawled.

  “Fuck you!”

  “Not until you shower,” Tristan sneered.

 
Nicholas grabbed Scott before his claws ripped through Tristan’s dress suit. Shooting a look at Sebastian, Nicholas took Scott to the back room. He sat him down on the bed and crossed his arms. “Scott…”

  “What!” Scott snapped.

  “I think you should go home until you can calm down. Tristan is your mate.”

  Scott stood back up. “I’m supposed to be happy about that? He’s an asshole! Do you know what I went through today? Then I had to go get his stupid ass from the airport! He left before I even got there!” Scott paced the room.

  “I am going home; I can’t be in the same room with that man. Mate or not, this is going to be one of the cases where one of the mates hates the other one!” Scott slammed the bedroom door open and stalked down the hall. Walking through the living room, he shot Tristan a look of anger.

  “Leaving so soon?” Tristan said wryly.

  “Kiss my ass, dickhead.” Scott stalked out the front door, slamming it behind him.

  Tristan smiled; his mate was one hell of a spitfire. “Well, that went smashingly.”

  Sebastian slumped down on the couch with a frustrated sigh. “Tristan, Scott is your mate; shouldn’t you have at least tried to be a little nicer? He had a bad day and you made it worse.”

  Tristan regarded Sebastian. “You knew. All this time you knew.”

  Sebastian nodded. “Yes, but I couldn’t say anything. Wayne made me promise not to tell people what I see in my visions.”

  Tristan ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter; the fates got this one wrong. Scott and I are not suited for each other.”

  Sebastian smirked. “Oh really? Is that why you had a hard-on when he grabbed you?”

  “Why were you looking at my dick?” Tristan asked with a wry smile.

  “Nice deflection.” Sebastian stood up. “I think my neighbors could have seen your excitement. Admit it. You’re attracted to Scott whether you like it or not. The fates make mistakes, yes, but not in this case.” Sebastian walked to the kitchen. “It’s going to happen whether you want it to or not. You and Scott will be pulled to each other,” Sebastian called over his shoulder.

  Tristan walked to the window. The grey Seattle sky was finally allowing some sun to peek through. He finally had a mate. The question was did he want one?