Page 15 of Out of Nowhere

“Footage from the cameras in the hall of Brand’s apartment show Pierce both entering and leaving the apartment,” he heard Jase say. “Police picked him up a little while ago on I-95 going north.”

“Where is Brand now?” Seo-jun asked.

“In the waiting room. Colt’s with him.”

Brand. The apartment.A moment of clarity had Dex blinking his eyes open and focusing on Jase.“Sorry,” he murmured.

“Sorry for what?” Jase asked.

Dex’s mind flashed back to the door of Brand’s apartment. “Bottom lock wasn’t engaged. Should have been more careful.”

Jase patted him on the arm. “Just rest. We’ll talk about it later.”

Dex couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. He felt Seo-jun’s hand pulling out of his grip, and he held onto it tighter, happy when Seo-jun stilled. As sleep consumed him, he heard Jase chuckle.

Jase made Dex rest for a week—that meant lying around uselessly. He couldn’t even get on his laptop. After the first day, his confusion and dizziness dissipated. The guys on the team took turns taking care of him. Seo-jun was put on another case. Brand came by to see him, relieved that Matt had beenapprehended and was facing several charges, including assault. Dex was relieved for him.

By the end of the week, Dex was going stir crazy. He had managed to have a couple of phone conversations with his sister the first few days of his convalescence, but Jase put a stop to them when he realized they were making Dex’s headaches worse. After that, all he could do was stare at the ceiling. It hurt his head to read a book or to watch TV, as did his short conversations with his coworkers. Every day it got a little better, though. He missed Seo-jun. He hoped he hadn’t said anything incredibly stupid to him when he was so confused. He asked Jase, but Jase just kept saying that Seo-jun had seemed happy with everything Dex had said to him.

The following week, Dex felt well enough to go back to some of his old duties, although the headaches continued, just not as debilitating. He was happy to be up and moving around. Gradually, he began exercising again. He missed Taekwondo, but that would have to wait for Seo-jun to get back.

West walked into the office late on Thursday afternoon a week after Dex’s enforced bedrest.

“Hey, man. How you doing? Should you be on the computer?”

Pushing away from his desk, Dex swiveled in his chair to look at his boss. Tall and green-eyed, West had a boy-next-door look to him even though he was in his early forties. He wore jeans and a navy tank, and had a tat of a princess crown on his inner right arm that had resulted from a lost bet with Logan. Dex had heard that the two had made crazy bets with each other for years when they were in the Marine Corps, and that it was a bet that had eventually gotten them together as a couple. He would love to hear the full story of that sometime. He probably would have asked by now if he hadn’t felt uncomfortable around West and Logan since the whole thing with his sister happened.

“I’m allowed a couple of hours a day this week,” Dex told him. “I’m following doctor’s orders.”

“Good. How’s Anna doing?” West asked, because he was a nice guy. After the crazy things she’d done, most men wouldn’t have asked. But West maintained that he cared about Anna and wanted the best for her.

“She goes through good periods, but then she does something that gets her privileges taken away at the facility,” Dex said. They talked a little more about her condition, and then West handed Dex a folder. “We have another case for you.”

“You do? Really?”

“Yeah. Why do you look so surprised?”

“Maybe because I royally fucked up the last one and landed myself in the hospital,” Dex said.

“That’s not how I heard it. Things go wrong sometimes, Dex. And according to Seo-jun, it was his fault for sending you back to the apartment alone. And, while we’re at it, Jase, Logan, and I are at fault for giving you so much extra work while you were on a case that you were falling asleep on your lunch plate.”

Dex made a face. “He told you about that.”

West chuckled. “Yeah. I’ve heard avocado’s good for the skin.” He laughed again at Dex’s expression. “Don’t worry, I got the feeling Seo-jun thought it was really cute, although it’s hard to tell with him.”

“How’s his case going?” Dex asked, embarrassed. Seo-jun couldnothave thought it was cute. West was teasing him.

“It’s wrapping up. In fact, he should be able to join you on this new one on Saturday,” West said. “It’s in Newburg. The owner of a gay club there has been getting a lot of vandalism that he can’t seem to catch on camera. He wants a couple of our guys to hang out as customers and see if they can catch someone in the act. Do you mind doing that?”

Dex chuckled. “Did you miss the memo?”

“Well, I didn’t want to assume.”

Dex shook his head. “I don’t mind playing a clubber at a gay club. In fact, I think it’ll be fun. Being out of the closet is awesome. Now I just need to figure out how to tell my family.”

“Okay, great, then. Here’s the file. Tomorrow night we want you to go on your own, just to scope out the place. Then, like I said, on Saturday, Seo-jun will join you.”

Dex took the folder from West. “Okay. I’ll read up on this and then see if I can find something to wear to several nights at a club.”

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