Snow Balls

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Snow Balls Page 6

by Tara Lain


  Ryan nodded. “I understand.” He gave a half smile. “At least, I’ll try.”

  JJ sipped his wine. It tasted bitter. The guy sure gave up easy. JJ had hoped he’d been meeting Ryan for a date. What a joke. “So how’s the case?” Might as well make small talk.

  “We got a tip that the weasel you spotted, Earl Shrug, was seen in Laguna. We’ll catch him. Just a matter of time. We never could have gotten this close without you.”

  JJ wanted to escape and cry. “Glad I could help.” He glanced at his watch.

  Ryan’s cell was lying on the table. At that moment it buzzed and vibrated a couple of inches. He picked it up, looked at what must be a text, and frowned.

  “What is it?”

  “Domestic disturbance near here.” He took a sip and pushed the glass away. “I imagine I’m the closest to this, and I start work in an hour anyway. I better get it. These domestic things can be tricky, and I have more experience than some of the other guys.”

  JJ shuddered. Domestic disturbances. Such a fucking polite name for something so ugly. “Sure. I understand.” At least he could go home and stick his head under the pillow.

  Ryan threw money on the table. JJ let him. What the hell? At least he could pretend they’d had two dates.

  Ryan glanced at the text again. “I’m really sorry to run off like this.”

  “It’s okay. Really.”

  “Jaaaayyyy Jayyyy.”

  JJ cringed. He knew that voice, and the arrival of the twins did not promise good luck for keeping Ryan in the closet. “Hi, guys.”

  Bobby slithered up to Ryan as he exited the booth. He slipped an arm through Ryan’s and pressed against his side. “Hello, darling. Where have you been all my life?”

  JJ tried to sound professional. “Bobby, Robin, this is Detective Ryan Star. He’s investigating the robbery and wanted some more information from me.”

  Bobby smiled, but he did remove his arm with some speed. “Ooooh. Thank you for protecting us, Detective. Those robbers took a lot of valuable things from several booths.”

  Ryan frowned. “Did you lose valuables?”

  Bobby laughed his musical trill. “Oh no. We paint ever so big canvases. He would have needed a flatbed to rob us.” He laughed again.

  Robin flipped back his deep black bangs and looked Ryan over from his hard shoes to his short hair. “Are you leaving, darling? Because we’ll take over JJ from here.”

  If his heart hadn’t hurt so bad, JJ would have laughed. Talk about your blatant claim. Ryan Star looked… what was the word from English novels? Oh yes, nonplussed. Good. Go chase your bad guys and leave me the hell alone.

  For one blissful, good-for-JJ’s-ego second, Ryan hesitated. He looked at JJ, then at the twins. The boys might be flamboyant, but they were gorgeous. Ryan started to say something, shook his head, picked up his phone, and walked out.

  Shit and amen.

  The twins slid into the vacant seat. Robin looked at JJ. His voice was always silky and cool. “That was fascinating. Taking an interest in law enforcement, are we?”

  JJ shook his head. “No, I was able to identify a possible suspect. He just had some more questions.”

  Bobby bounced as he waved at the waiter. “Oooh, cool. JJ LaRousse, boy witness.”

  Robin looked pointedly at his watch. “Questions at ten thirty at night at the Shell Bar? The police are more thorough than I remember.”

  JJ just shrugged. Both Bobby and Robin were smart as hell, but Robin missed very little.

  The waiter arrived at their side in record time. Clearly, he knew the twins. “Hi, boys, what can I get you?”

  Bobby gestured grandly to the table. “All three of us need Cadillac margaritas, dear. Large and right away.”

  JJ held up his hand to protest, but Bobby grabbed it. “I said right away.”

  The cute waiter grinned. “I’m on it.”

  Bobby still held JJ’s hand. “You’re looking a little beat-up, darling. Tough day?”

  “No, actually I got to work on my first big commission today.” He tried to smile. Had to get the twins off the scent.

  “Really? Oh tell us everything.”

  JJ started to talk. The waiter arrived with margaritas, and two sips sent fiery little rivulets into his blood. Describing all the things he was doing in Mrs. Esterhays’s beautiful home took some sting out of the evening. The rest of the drink went down real easy.

  Robin leaned over the table and put his hands over JJ’s wildly gesturing ones. Oh yeah, he was supposed to keep those hands still, wasn’t he? No. Not anymore. Not any-fucking-more.

  The dusky voice purred. “Why don’t we all go to your place, JJ?”

  Well, hell yeah. Robin gave the best head in Laguna, and Bobby loved to be fucked while his brother loved sucking. That’s what JJ needed. Sex, and a lot of it.

  Bobby got up from beside his brother and slid in so his thigh pressed against JJ’s. JJ felt a hand slip into his lap and grip his balls through his jeans.

  “Shee-it.”

  Bobby smiled and whispered, “That’s what you need to get you right. My ass on a platter.”

  Robin leaned closer. He could whisper since the sound level had decreased in the past half hour, along with half the crowd. “How would you like us to line up like good soldiers and you can fuck both our asses? Doesn’t that sound like fun? It does to me.” Oh man, that voice was melted milk chocolate. JJ might prefer to bottom, but topping both twins sounded excellent tonight.

  He sloshed down the last of his drink. “Yeah, sounds really good.”

  Bobby slid out of the booth and pulled out money. Wow. JJ got to have two pretend dates in one night. Why did he feel like crying?

  Loud voices sounded near the entrance. JJ looked around the edge of the booth. Some guy was talking to three people at the bar and gesturing wildly.

  Robin scooted over and popped up beside his brother. They both smiled at JJ.

  A little woozy, JJ stood, righted himself, and headed toward the front door, feeling the twins’ hands on his butt.

  “Yeah, I saw some of it.” The guy by the bar had wide eyes. “Imagine a shooting in Laguna. That doesn’t happen much.”

  What? JJ touched the guy’s arm. “What shooting?”

  “Some crazy guy was waling on his wife and kid, and this cop tried to calm him down. The crazy dude pulled out a damned gun and fired a couple of shots. Shit.”

  JJ knew his grip was tightening on the man’s arm, but he couldn’t stop himself. “What happened to the cop? What happened?”

  “I don’t know. A bunch of police cars arrived right then. I couldn’t see anything. I didn’t even know the guy who tried to stop it was a cop until later. He was in plain clothes.”

  “What did he look like?”

  The guy shook off JJ’s hand. “Cool it, buddy. Dark hair, I think. I couldn’t see too well.”

  Ryan! JJ didn’t even look back at the twins. He ran out of the bar. The police station was five long blocks away. He took off like a six-foot-four-inch rabbit. Crap. No. Not Ryan.

  Breathing hard, he got to the low Spanish building and pushed the door open as if he were a linebacker on that damned football field. A nice-looking kid at the desk looked up, startled. “Can I help you?”

  JJ gasped for breath. “Ryan Star? Is he okay? I heard there was a shooting.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, I can’t share information about our officers.”

  JJ’s hands fluttered like a hummingbird. “Just tell me he’s okay, dammit!”

  “Sir, I’m sorry, there’s—”

  “I’ll handle this, AG.” JJ looked up at the soothing female voice. She smiled. “I’m Captain Albright. Are you a friend of Ryan’s?”

  JJ nodded his head. It wasn’t quite the truth, but what the hell.

  “He’s okay. He’s still on duty and filling out a lot of paperwork. You can imagine.”

  “But he wasn’t hurt?”

  “No. He’s, uh, fine.”

  JJ grabbe
d one hand with the other. “What do you mean, ‘uh, fine’? What does ‘uh, fine’ mean?”

  She walked around the front desk and took JJ’s arm, leading him outside. Oh shit, this didn’t feel right.

  She looked up at JJ with an expression that somehow managed to be both tough and compassionate. Easy to see why she was in charge. “What’s your name?”

  “JJ LaRousse.”

  “Like Jamison LaRousse, our witness?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, JJ, Ryan had to shoot a man. The suspect is alive, but it’s not easy shooting people, ever. Shootings are very rare in this town, so it’s been a shock all around.”

  JJ frowned. God, he hated violence. “If Ryan shot him, he deserved shooting.”

  She smiled. “I agree with you, but why do you say that?”

  “He’s tough, but he has a good heart.” JJ looked at his tightly clasped hands. “At least, I think he does. I don’t know him very well.”

  “You know him well enough to come running here to make sure he’s okay.”

  There was that. “We were together. I mean, I was meeting with him to, uh, discuss the Winter Fantasy case when he heard about the, uh, domestic disturbance. When I heard about the shooting, I guessed it was Ryan. Detective Star.”

  She cocked her head and smiled. “He’ll probably be home by five or six.”

  “I don’t know where he lives.”

  “Oh.”

  JJ shrugged. “Thank you very much for telling me he’s okay. I really apprecia—”

  “It’s 807 Cherry Hill Circle. Top floor.”

  “What?”

  “That’s where he lives. In case you wanted to check on him.” She smiled. “Everyone needs a friend.”

  “Wow. Thank you, Captain.”

  “My pleasure. You need to write it down?”

  “No. I remember: 807.”

  “Yep. And thanks for being such a helpful witness.” She walked back into the police station.

  CRAP. HE felt like crap. Ryan dragged his body up the stairs of his condo. It was a converted house made into two units, and his was on top. Great view, if you liked that kind of thing. Today he wished his bed were more comfortable.

  He hit the second rise of stairs and stopped. Propped against the banister was a body, and beside it was a big shopping bag. Big body. Ryan’s hand went to his holster and flipped open the restraint on his gun.

  The body didn’t move. Dead? No, it was breathing. Ryan took one more step.

  Well, hell, he recognized the pretty brown hair falling over the high forehead. He resnapped the holster latch and reached out and nudged JJ’s shoulder. “JJ. What are you doing here? JJ?”

  Big eyes opened. What a gorgeous guy he was. “Oh, hi, Ryan.”

  “Don’t you know that sleeping outside a policeman’s house can get you shot?”

  JJ grinned. “You wouldn’t shoot me.” The guy was still half-asleep. Ryan made no guarantees on the shooting thing. Shit.

  “How long have you been here? And now that I think of it, how the hell did you get here? I never gave you my address.”

  JJ stretched. All those lean muscles wanted to pop out of the blue sweater he was wearing, kind of like Ryan’s cock was showing an interest in popping out of his pants. “I went to the police station, and your captain gave me your address.” He looked at his watch. “I guess I’ve been here a couple hours.”

  Ryan’s mouth was still opening and closing like a damned fish. “She what? They’re not supposed to give out my address.”

  JJ shrugged. “I’m irresistible.”

  Hell, he sure as fuck had that right. “So why are you here?”

  “Wanted to see how you were doing.” He pointed at the bag. “I brought food.”

  Damn the man. “I’m fine. You can see I’m fine. They must have told you I’m fine.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So? Why are you sleeping on my stairs?”

  “You don’t look fine. You look like shit.”

  “Good morning to you too.”

  “What have you got to eat in the house?”

  Ryan frowned, but it was tough to not crack a smile. “None of your business.”

  “I’ve got some eggs and bread and bacon in this bag. I’m also a good cook. Open your fucking door, and I’ll make you breakfast.” JJ put his hands on his hips and looked for all the world like a very tall mother.

  “Okay, okay.” Truth was, he felt like shit, and somebody feeding him sounded like heaven. No, JJ feeding him sounded like heaven.

  Ryan opened the door and stepped aside. JJ walked in. He stopped and looked around. “Wow. Some view.”

  “Yeah.”

  JJ’s handsome head slowly turned from side to side. Okay, maybe the place was a little… spartan. JJ looked at Ryan with an eyebrow raised. “Doing our decorating at Ace Hardware, are we?”

  Ryan looked and tried to see the place like JJ would. Blocks and boards with books on them; blocks and boards as a coffee table; thrift store sickly green-colored couch… and a $5000 flat-screen the size of Utah. “Got something against lumber?” He had to grin.

  “Let me go get the rest of the food.”

  JJ walked out and left the front door open. Ryan went into the bedroom and tossed the sheets and blanket over the unmade bed. He picked up a couple of stray articles of clothing and stuffed them in the overburdened hamper. Why the hell was JJ here? Ryan had left him in the hands of those twins last night and figured that was the end of it. More important, why the hell was Ryan so happy to see him?

  The sound of pans banging came from the kitchen as Ryan undressed and got into the shower to wash the crappy night off him. Jesus. How did this night happen? People didn’t carry in Laguna. How could that asshole have had a gun in his waistband? Like Ryan had told the investigators, the man must have planned to use it on his wife and kid. Otherwise, no way he would have had it on him. Ryan leaned his head against the tile wall. Pulling that trigger? Shit, it took him back.

  “Breakfast in five minutes.” The voice came from outside the slightly open bathroom door. Hey, JJ could have come in. He could have come right into the shower and given Ryan some appetizers before breakfast. Ryan slapped a hand on the cool tile. Get over yourself, asshole.

  He turned off the water and stepped out into the sunny white space. His crappy decorating couldn’t ruin this room. The black-and-white tile and the sink that sat on top of the counter instead of in it had come with the house. Of course, his towels looked like the Army had used them before he got them. When had he quit caring? A fucking stupid question.

  He put on some sweats and a T-shirt. No way he was dressing up just because JJ wanted to make himself at home, but when Ryan stepped into the hall, the smell made him think maybe a tux might have been in order. Shee-it, his mouth watered.

  He walked out to the living area and stopped. On his coffee table were two placemats. Were those his? Black coffee steamed in cups, and JJ walked in from the open kitchen with a couple of plates heaped with food. He set them down and put mismatched forks beside them with some paper napkins from the stack Ryan kept on the counter. He smiled. “Dig in.”

  Another stomach rumble. Who knew he was hungry? “This smells good.”

  “Tastes better. Try it.”

  Ryan sat cross-legged on the floor so JJ could take the couch, but the guy slipped down onto the hardwoods Indian fashion. Ryan grabbed the coffee like his next heroin fix. God. Rich, with the sweet edge of bitterness he loved. “Who made this coffee?”

  “I did.”

  “It’s not takeout?”

  “Nope.”

  JJ took a bite of eggs and chewed.

  Ryan was almost scared to taste them. He raised his fork and slid the eggs into his mouth. Not just eggs. Some peppers and tomatoes and some kind of… “Cheese?”

  “Feta.”

  “Wow.”

  JJ was grinning, but he didn’t ask if Ryan liked it. It was pretty obvious. Ryan tried a bite of some baked thing.
It was great too, but not as good as the eggs.

  JJ motioned toward Ryan’s mouth. “I didn’t make that. Bought it at the bakery.”

  They ate in silence for a couple of minutes, but the food tasted so good it didn’t even feel uncomfortable.

  “Want more?”

  Ryan leaned back. “No, thanks. I’m good.” The truth was he had been starving, but his food wasn’t sitting too well.

  JJ picked up the plates, piled the cups and forks on top, and carried everything into the kitchen. Ryan started to get up to help, but he felt dizzy. He scooted over to the couch and managed to get on it and put his head on the arm.

  JJ came back in and frowned. “You look gray.” He walked over to the couch, sat on the far end, picked up Ryan’s feet, and deposited them in his lap.

  Ryan raised his head, then had to put it right back down. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Rubbing your feet.”

  “You’re joking.”

  JJ smiled. “Don’t you like your feet rubbed?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  JJ looked so amazed, Ryan felt kind of weird. Was it that strange to have never had a foot rub? His family weren’t touchers, and his love life hadn’t been full of touchy-feely moments.

  JJ smiled. “It will be my pleasure to awaken a foot rub virgin.” He began to rub. Ryan laughed and pulled one foot away. “Stop.”

  “Hang on. It gets better. Just testing the landscape.”

  “The landscape is ticklish.”

  “Ah, good to know.” Then JJ dug his thumbs into Ryan’s arch.

  “Holy shit.”

  Those strong hands rubbed, stretched, and caressed. Ryan moaned. “Sweet Jesus, this may be better than sex.”

  JJ shook his head. “No. I’m better at that.”

  Ryan believed him, but right now…. “This is just what the doctor ordered.”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “Naw.”

  “Come on. My dad used to beat my mom. I know what it’s like.”

  Ryan startled. JJ said it so matter-of-factly. Poor kid. “That’s tough. Sorry.” JJ kept rubbing. Ryan’s eyes closed. God, it felt so damned good. Maybe he wanted to tell JJ. “I went to the house that I got the call on. The wife had managed to get her kid out to the lawn, I guess trying to escape. The man had caught them. He was beating on that woman, and the little boy was trying to stop him. As I came up, he hit the kid across the face and sent him flying.” Jesus, he hated when parents hit kids. Men hitting women was just as bad. He took a deep breath. Those big hands felt so great.

 

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