Page 48 of The Butterfly Killer

Marcus spat but it landed in the snow somewhere he couldn't see.

They stood there on the porch for another minute, glaring at each other. This wasn't a fight Marcus was going to win. He wasn't going to give up though.

Roman pulled him back into the cabin and pushed him toward the chair.

"Sit down or I'll just take your leg next time."

Marcus sagged into the chair. His leg was hurting so bad he couldn't stand on it any longer. He faced away from Roman and waited for the man to leave to his corner.

He did after a minute of staring at Marcus. When Marcus didn't look at him or say anything, he left.

Burns rang the bell of the sandwich shop. He looked behind the counter, trying to spot an employee, but it seemed no one there. He looked at his watch, mentally cursing at how late he was to the station. He'd told Mercer he'd be there by nine and it was already nine-fifteen.

He rang the bell again with a little more urgency. Finally, there seemed to someone scuffling toward the front.

A buff man came through, patting his hands dry with a towel. Burns rattled off what he wanted and a sandwich he knew Mercer would like. After being partners with the man for so long, he knew what foods were acceptable to the picky eater.

The employee of the sandwich shop began to make the sandwiches when Burns's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"By the tone of Mercer's voice, Burns could tell he wasn't in a good mood.

Burns shouldered the phone and paid for the sandwiches. "Getting us brunch. I'll be ten minutes, tops."

Mercer grumbled something Burns couldn't make out. He heard voices in the background and then a door closing."These people are annoying me."

Burns sighed as he walked out of the shop. "I said I'll be over there soon."

Mercer saying he was getting annoyed usually had to do more with Burns not being at his side rather than Mercer not being able to handle other people. Burns knew Mercer wasn't a sociable person and if he was pushed he would snap. If Burns was there, he usually could get Mercer safely away from people before that happened. It seemed Mercer was fairing well anyway. It sounded like he'd found himself a quiet room.

"Have you made any breakthroughs?" Talking about the case they were working on usually helped calm Mercer down.

He opened the car and tossed the sandwiches onto the passenger seat.

"We tracked Marcus's phone twenty miles away from the abduction site."

"Where do you think they're heading?"

"North. Might be heading toward Canada."

"Shit. I'll have to make a few phone calls."

"Don't worry about that. Just get over here, Burns."

Mercer hung up. Burns shook his head. He tossed his phone next to the sandwiches. Mercer was a huge baby when he didn't get his way or things didn't go as he planned.

Burns made it to the station a few minutes later. He just got out of the car and around to the sidewalk when Mercer stepped into his peripheral. He frowned.

"Here." He took Mercer's sandwich from the bag and pushed it into the man's chest.

Mercer took it without looking away from Burns. His dark eyes would have been terrifying if Burns wasn't used to it. He didn't even flinch when Mercer placed his hand on Burns's back and steered him back to their shared cruiser. Burns didn't fight as he was pushed into the passenger seat.

Mercer sat on the driver's side and held out his hand.

Burns rummaged through his pocket for the keys. When he found them, he handed them over.

Mercer started the car and pulled away from the curb.

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