Kelly sat up, scowling. He hoped this was work and not another distress call from one of their friends. The men of their former Recon team, Sidewinder, seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble. And no matter which one of them needed help or what kind of help they needed, Nick was always the first one any of them called.
“I’ll be right there,” Nick spat, then ended the call and tossed the phone aside. He clambered out of the bed and to the closet, talking over his shoulder as he pulled a shirt on. “I have to go. Come with me?”
“Of course.” Kelly scrambled to put more clothes on, but he took his cues from Nick, who didn’t even take the time to put real pants on. He just stayed in his sweatpants and slid his bare feet into a pair of plastic flip-flops as he headed for the steps. Kelly was still struggling to get a shirt on as he followed.
Nick broke a record number of traffic laws on the way to wherever they were going, but the smal , portable flashing light on his dash seemed to make it okay. Was that legit? He’d been in a car with Nick a thousand times, though, and he wasn’t even compelled to hold on to the handle when they weaved through traffic or took a sharp turn. Nick was possibly the best driver Kelly had ever known. Sometimes it seemed ill-advised, but Kelly trusted him implicitly. In the driver’s seat, that was. The one time Nick had flown a helicopter was a different story. Their buddy Owen still refused to get into a helicopter after that trip.
When they arrived at a nondescript hotel, there wasn’t any hustle or bustle like Kelly had expected. No uniformed cops on the streets, no flashing lights, no panicking guests in the almost empty lobby. Nothing but a single man in uniform as they stepped off the elevator. Nick held up the badge on a chain around his neck as he walked by.
“He’s with me, he’s okay,” he said in passing, pointing at Kelly. Kelly nodded to the man, trying not to feel awkward. He had been special operations in the military and was extremely capable both in the field and in any situation stateside. He had medical training that could save a life under enemy fire, and he could break a man’s neck before they knew he was there.
But he wasn’t a cop. He didn’t know the first thing about investigating or the law. The only reason he was here was because he was trailing after his boyfriend. He didn’t like the feeling.
Nick headed for room 319, where another officer stood guard, a plastic chair near him against the wal . Nick showed his badge again, even though each man they’d passed obviously knew him by sight. When they entered the hotel room, a stocky man with silvering hair stood near the bathroom door, shaking his head at Nick.
“What the hell happened?” Nick demanded.
“He freaked. I don’t know. He won’t talk to me. I figured you have the rapport with him, he might respond.”
Nick nodded, frowning at the bathroom door, then glancing over his shoulder at Kelly. “Uh, Kels, this is Detective Alan Hagan, my partner. He’s useless when I’m supposed to have the night off.”
Kelly shook the man’s hand, introducing himself. He didn’t offer his relationship to Nick, though. That was Nick’s job, and frankly, Kelly didn’t know how sensitive the subject was for him. He knew Nick had come out as bi to basically everyone in his life not long after he’d come out to Kelly. How everyone had handled it, Nick had never said.
“You’re the boyfriend?” Hagan asked as he shook Kelly’s hand. “O talks about you all the damn time.”
Kelly flushed, clearing his throat and smiling uncontrol ably. He glanced at Nick again. He wasn’t sure why he kept being surprised by how open Nick was about their relationship. He knew Nick hated secrets, hated having them especially. He should have known Nick wouldn’t hide him.
Hide them.
Nick had his ear against the bathroom door. He knocked gently. “Hey, bud, it’s Detective O’Flaherty,” he called, keeping his voice low and soothing. “You okay in there?”
The response was muffled, but from the way Hagan raised an eyebrow and cocked his head, it was more response than he’d been receiving.
“Come closer to the door, we can’t hear you,” Nick called.
He waited, holding his breath. There was a thump against the door and he moved away a little like he hoped the man was opening it.
“I’m sorry,” the voice said from the other side. “I’m sorry I freaked out. I just . . .”
Nick leaned his shoulder into the doorjamb. “Hey, it’s okay. You got every right to be freaking out, we all know that.
If you feel safer in there, you go ahead and stay, okay? That’s all we want is for you to feel safe right now.”
Nick paused, and his eyes met Kelly’s. He smiled gently and winked. Kelly bit his lip to keep from smiling at such an inappropriate time. He’d seen Nick talk dozens of frightened young Marines down from panicking. He could be soothing, if he chose to be.
“I would like to know what scared you, though,” Nick continued. “Do you feel like telling me?”
“Do you have kids, Detective?” the man in the bathroom asked.
Nick frowned in confusion. “No.”
“I figured you might have toddlers or something. You’re talking to me like one right now.”
Nick’s eyes narrowed, and he gave the door an insulted frown. “Fine! So how about you get your ass out of the bathroom and we’ll talk like adults.”
Hagan inhaled sharply, and the guard on the door tensed.
The man in the bathroom was silent. Kelly winced when it seemed like Nick’s tactic had backfired, but then they heard soft laughter through the door.
The lock clicked and the door edged open. Kelly had sort of expected a neurotic-looking little bald guy in glasses or something, but the man who peered out was maybe six feet tal , just an inch or two shorter than Nick. He was wiry and fit, with a healthy tan and shaggy blond hair that had obviously been bleached by time in the sun. His eyes were a blue that seemed Photoshopped. Fuck, he was kind of Nick’s type.
Nick was still leaning against the doorjamb, one eyebrow raised at the man. “Touché, Detective,” the blond man said.
Nick nodded, crossing his arms smugly.
The guy glanced at Hagan. “Sorry.”
“Hey, I get it. Don’t hurt my feelings any. People always like him better.”
The guy’s eyes landed on Kelly, and Kelly tried to offer him a comforting smile even though he still had no clue what was going on.
“JD, this is my partner, Kelly Abbott,” Nick said as he waved his hand in Kelly’s direction. “Kels, this is our witness who doesn’t know who he is.”