Page 35 of Nightcrawler

Jarrett, Thayne, and Cassidy were all sharp and I wondered how many ways they could come up with to get to Connor Ray Howell Jr. without causing any bodily injury to us. Personally, I didn’t think he’d give himself up if we cornered him, even if he saw badges but I could have been wrong about that. I just was sure that the men I knew might think of an angle Miguel hadn’t. Going in there and facing him all alone and without backup was simply insane but now that Miguel knew I knew what his plans were, he had no way to stop me giving my opinions. I’d told him about Thayne and Jarrett but even I wasn’t dumb enough to tell him I’d contacted Cassidy.

Somehow, I thought it might be better to leave that out. If he was going to yell at me anyway, being surrounded by friends and knowing he had the back up of brave men sounded better than having him reject any help at all. As if anyone could look at a tall, dark, brooding, gorgeous man like Miguel Huerta and think of him as a sopping wet pussy. I grinned to myself at the very idea of it.

I headed home to change clothes since I’d been wearing the same ones for two days. After a quick sponge bath and greeting my nana, I left for the meeting, ignoring the feel of Ned eyeballing me as I practically ran out of the house, heading for Sherman Oaks. When I walked into Mel’s diner ten minutes late, I wasn’t surprised to see Miguel already seated at a large table surrounded by Cassidy, Mike, Jarrett, and Thayne. He was laughing at something but when he saw me, he scowled. I ignored it and walked over to join everyone at the table. They all stood and shook my hand, but Cassidy was the first to speak.

“Take a load off,” he said. “Miguel was just regaling us with the story of Gemma Monroe’s silicone boobs.”

I smiled at Miguel as I took a seat at the table across from him.

“How’re you doin’?” Jarrett asked in his distinctive West Virginia drawl. His white hair was deceptive; he was only in his early forties, although he looked younger. He was handsome as hell with eyes so pale a blue, they looked like chips of ice and added to his good looks. His husband, Thayne, had brown hair, equally as dark as my own. They twinkled with happiness as he reached up and patted Jarrett on the back. The couple was so obviously in love, it went without saying. “Cassidy told us you were injured.”

I instinctively put my hand on my side as I nodded. “I was, but according to Miguel as well as his amazing friend, I’m fine…going to be a 100 percent in a couple of days. Really, it’s all thanks to this guy.” I nodded at Miguel. “I fell on something sharp. Couldn’t see what it was in the dark but if it hadn’t been for him helping me, I don’t know if I’d have made it out of there. He pulled me over a wall, got me home to his place, and saw to it that his buddy, patched me up. A couple of shots of antibiotics, lots of good doctoring by Miguel, and tons of rest later, and I feel like a new man.”

Cassidy glanced at Miguel, studied him for a few seconds with a question in his eyes.

“A medic I served with in my Recon unit,” Miguel replied to the unanswered question. “If he says Raven’s okay, he’s okay, Cass. He came back and changed the bandages this morning and gave him a second dose of antibiotics before going to the hospital to work his shift.”

“He’s a doctor?” Jarrett asked.

“He’s a technician in a Cath Lab but he’s a few credits shy of his MSN in nursing.”

I was aware of Miguel deliberately not mentioning names or places. Vonne could lose his job if anyone realized I’d been shot and he hadn’t reported it.

“A technician?” Jarrett frowned slightly.

“He works in there because there aren’t any openings in the system right now for his skill level. That and the fact that he says he really likes the people he works for.” Miguel nodded at Mike. “You can understand that. Chances are you both could have applied for chief of D’s a long time ago if you didn’t like working together.

Cassidy looked across the table at his older partner who was smirking. “You’re right.”

“I may have been his training officer all those years ago when we were out on foot patrol, but Cassidy’s the best partner I’ve ever had. I trust him with my life and I know all of you do too,” Mike said.

“Anyway, he’ll apply for a nursing position once he’s graduated,” Miguel said. “If they don’t have one where he is, he can always go out to L.A.”

I watched Cassidy who slowly nodded. “Okay.”

“Regarding Passantino’s gun, though,” Mike began, “I’m real interested in how he thought he could get away with discharging an unregistered firearm, trespassers or not. And you two are damned lucky you didn’t get your fool heads blown off. Rest assured, Cassidy and I will be paying that moron a visit when we’re done here. You can count on that,” Mike said. He was frowning even as Cassidy nodded his agreement.

“You should have called us before ever entering the premises, Raven. You usually do,” Cass said.

I held up both hands in surrender. “You’re right but I didn’t have any reason to think he would be armed or even that he’d put up a fight,” I explained. “Besides, I had my pepper spray. That thing is packed with .3 percent pure pepper juice and in my experience, has never not come through for me.”

“Unless you’re chasing a suspect armed with a gun,” Miguel growled.

I glanced over at him. “Which your guy Jamie missed too.”

“I could kill him for that,” Miguel said shaking his head. When he met my eyes again, his gaze was softer. “I’m only glad I was there.”

I smiled at him across the table. “Me too.”

“Look at that. It’s real sweet,” Jarrett said. When I turned to look at him, his smile was broad and twin dimples were showing in both cheeks.

“Well, when we get back to the office, we’re going to do our own little investigations about Passantino’s gun,” Cassidy said. “I don’t suppose you got a slug.”

“No, we didn’t hang around to dig it or the any of the others he shot at us out of the woodwork, Cassidy,” Miguel shot back.

“Whoa,” Jarrett said.

“Jarrett—” Thayne warned.

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