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When he entered the bedroom, Jack was lying on his stomach, obviously not wanting his sore ass to touch the mattress. Mason pulled the covers over them, but Jack winced and Mason carefully lifted them off.
“Turn on your side,” Gray told him. “You know you can’t sleep without covers.”
Jack whimpered but he moved eventually. Mason covered him up and snuggled close to Jack as Gray joined them. He wanted to spoon Jack, but he knew Jack’s ass was too sore, so he just moved close and kissed his shoulder. Mason opened his eyes and smiled at Gray. Gray raised up and kissed him too.
Jack fell asleep almost immediately, and Mason was soon breathing evenly as well. Gray was exhausted but sleep wouldn’t come. He propped himself up on his elbow and watched these two men who meant so much to him. He didn’t know how he’d have stayed sane during his first year as a detective if it weren’t for them.
4
Just as Gray started to doze off, his phone buzzed. Please don’t be trouble. Very reluctantly, he rolled over, careful not to jostle Jack. He checked the screen: Thornton. Hoping to sound coherent, he answered the call. “Sadler.”
“We got a new case and it might be connected to your dead prostitute.”
“Yeah?” Gray asked, trying to wake up enough to process what Thornton was telling him.
“A young woman’s body has been found at the scene of a house fire. The fire marshal’s initial investigation indicates she didn’t die in the fire. The neighbor who called the fire in noticed a woman getting out of a car a few hours before. He knew the driver who dropped her off because he uses the same car service. The driver was easy enough to track, and since the service’s app requires a picture, we got a visual on the girl. Her name is Danielle Mossy.”
“Fuck.” Gray dragged himself from the warm bed and fumbled around for his pants.
“Yeah, that’s about right,” Thornton said. “A bit of digging showed that she’s got a record. She’s been picked up for prostitution twice under the name of Sugar Snow. And here’s the clincher. She is—was—connected to Billy Andreas.”
Andreas was one of the biggest crime bosses in the city. Word had it the sex side of his business specialized in “nice” girls who’d gotten desperate. He was well connected and had never been convicted.
“Are we sure Danielle Mossy is the vic?” Gray asked, cradling the phone against his shoulder as he pulled his pants on.
Thornton sighed. “No. The neighbor never saw her leave. Apparently he spent a good deal of time watching—must be a nosy son of a bitch—but I doubt he had his eye on the house every second. No one else in the area saw her at all.”
“So, she doesn’t live there, and no one else was at the house?” That was sure interesting as fuck.
“Right. The house was empty other than the one body.”
“How old is she?”
Thornton sighed. “Sixteen.”
Gray’s stomach twisted. His other vic had just turned seventeen a week before she was killed. “Where?”
Gray grabbed a shirt from the closet as Thornton rattled off the address. “You want me to meet you there?”
“Yes. I want us to get a look as soon as we can. The scene’s already been under investigation for too long to be fresh. No telling what we’ve lost.”
“Right. I’m on my way.”
Jack didn’t stir, but Mason raised up as Gray ended the call.
“Work?” he asked.
Gray nodded as he finished dressing. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Me too.”
Gray glanced at Jack, but before he could say anything, Mason read his thoughts. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he takes more ibuprofen in the morning if you’re not back.”
“I hope to God I will be, but we got a suspicious death at a fire. It might be related to one of my other cases.”
Mason nodded. “Be careful.” Gray started to protest, but Mason held up his hand. “I know you always are, but I have to say it.”
“And I have to grumble.”
