Page 81 of His Pet

The nurse rushes in, eyes blazing. She opens her mouth to yell at Small, but he raises his hands. “I’m already leaving.”

She crosses her arms in front of her chest. Her glare would wither lesser beings to ashes. “Good,” she says primly. “No more interviews until Mr. Palmer is feeling better.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Small glances at me over his shoulder as he steps through the door, and that look chills me to the bone. Fuck. Fucking fuck. He can’t hurt Cameron, right? “I need a phone.”

Chapter 50

Small

“Asshole!” I punch the steering wheel. A nurse crossing the underground parking lot doesn’t look at me. They probably see a lot of angry outbursts here. Tragedy strikes often in the hospital. This isn't a tragedy, though. This is a brainwashed idiot refusing to see the truth.

“Fuck!”

How did that even happen? There’s no doubt Matthews kidnapped that kid. He kept him in a freaking cage like an animal. Raped him. Yet the stupid idiot is lying to protect him.

What does Matthews have on Palmer? Or is his dick just that good?

I was so sure I had it. Everything was supposed to come together. The moment the street cameras confirmed that Matthews was holding Palmer captive, I knew I’d finally have him where I needed him. I’d close the case, save a kidnapped kid, and recruit a valuable informant with intel on every important criminal in the city. The IA would give me a slap on the wrist, but I’d be a fucking hero. I’d clean the streets. Keep people safe.

Now I have nothing. With Palmer refusing to cooperate, Matthews is going to walk, and I’ll be lucky not to end up in jail myself.

How did everything go to hell so quickly?

I want to grab Palmer and shake some sense into him. He’s supposed to take my side! On paper, he’s a good kid. Churchgoer, good grades, no record. His roommate said he had to actively drag him out of their room if he wanted him to have fun. His family was devastated by his disappearance. And now the bastard claims he wasn’t kidnapped at all? That Cameron Matthews is his freaking boyfriend?

I let my head fall on the steering wheel. None of this makes any sense, and it’s all Matthews’ fault. Everything. I just wanted him to act like a decent human being for once.

One would think it’s not too much to ask. But no. Cameron Fucking Matthews doesn’t care about people dying on the streets. He thinks he’s entitled to keep people in cages. To freaking rape them. He thinks he’s better than everyone.

I’ll prove him wrong.

He might have won this round. He might have taken everything from me, but the war’s not over yet. He’s about to see what a person with nothing to lose is capable of.

I have everything ready to start over somewhere else. This time, I won’t follow the rules. What’s the point? Half the criminals I caught went free anyway. Like that asshole Ventresca. I literally caught his people receiving a shipment of girls from Southern Asia. On his direct orders, and he wasn’t even prosecuted. Some low-level grunt took the blame, and Ventresca was free to go back to his partying.

Half the force takes money from one organization or the other. The DA is on Triton Syndicate’s payroll. And the judges? They’re the worst of all. I begged for months for someone to sign a warrant to search Matthews’ house. As soon as they heard his name, they sent me away. Like he’s fucking untouchable.

Why work within the system when the system is broken?

Next time, I won't waste time finding evidence and arresting criminals. I'll be putting them down. And I'll start with Matthews.

Chapter 51

Justin

“Yes, I know he’s in police custody. That’s the whole point!”

I hate yelling at people whose job is to pick up phones and who are in no way responsible for what I’m complaining about, but I’m freaking out. “I have a strong reason to suspect detective Small is going to hurt him,” I repeat for what feels like a hundredth time.

Just like before, the desk officer replies, “Sir, our officers follow strict procedures. There’s no way one of them would hurt a suspect.”

Under normal circumstances, maybe that’s true, but I’m not sure Small is following any procedures anymore. “Can’t you just prevent him from seeing Cameron?”

“I can make sure your concern is logged and passed on.”

I bite back a scream. “That’s not enough!”