Page 81 of Gunner

I rose, walked around my desk, and shut the door. As much as I loathed the guy, the whole office—what little staff was left—didn’t need to overhear everything and repeat verbatim to the others tomorrow morning.

“Just a few days ago, I spoke to you about your insubordination, but you felt the need to make an unfound insinuation about my involvement in this case.” I braced my hands on my desk to ground myself instead of giving in to the explosive anger boiling inside me. He’d been way out of line with his malicious words to Gunner and me earlier. “I’m listening. Goahead and share your thoughts about how I’m working for the Blood Hounds.”

Thoms squared his shoulders. Like I’d suspected, he wasn’t about to make this easy for me. Of course he had to fight back, even though I wasn’t letting the issue go to maintain the peace in the department as I usually would have done. “I’m not insinuating anything. You’ve been chummy with the president of the Blood Hounds. I’m just not afraid to say out loud what everyone else is thinking.”

“And I’ve made it clear the Blood Hounds are cooperating in helping us to find the people behind the baby farm. We need all the help we can get.”

“What help have they offered so far? If you ask me, that scumbag’s only following you around for you to let your guard down so he can use your information to plan his next move.”

“He’s not a scumbag!” I winced. Fuck. Even Gunner wouldn’t argue that he was an actual scumbag, but hearing it from Thom’s lips didn’t sit well with me. “If not for him, we wouldn’t have gotten our hands on those records from Paddy.”

“The Paddy who was killed less than twelve hours later. Don’t you see the pattern? Now a possible witness has been found dead on their property.”

“This motorcycle gang has been around for decades. Do you think they’re so unsophisticated and idiotic to leave a corpse hanging around on their property?” Gunner was a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid. If anything, the incident had made me even more certain the Blood Hounds weren’t a part of this mess. But the question remained whether the body ended up in their dumpster coincidentally or someone wanted it to be found there. I slammed my hand down on the desk, confident my gut was right. “If Gunner or any of the Blood Hounds have done something wrong and you have evidence or witnesses, thenpresent them. Otherwise, you shut your fucking mouth, or the right person will come along to shut it for you!”

“Are you threatening me? Over that no good piece of—”

“That’s it. You’re off the case,” I bellowed, barely hanging on to my anger. “If you can’t be objective, you have no place on this team. Tomorrow morning at ten sharp, every document and lead you’re working on needs to be on my desk. The detectives will report directly to me and not through you.”

“Like hell I am. You can’t take me off this case.”

“Try me.” I leaned over my desk and pinned him with a glare. “Those skeletons you have in your closets have a way of tumbling out, Thoms. Don’t forget that.”

Thoms stumbled back as if I had slapped him, but I refrained from counting my victory too soon. I had a feeling my bluff would work. Someone like Thoms was bound to have a whole lot of skeletons in his closet.

“I knew you were still in there somewhere.” Thoms chuckled, the sound low and disturbing. “There’s the officer who almost beat a suspect to death. You sure kept him locked up all these years, but you never had me fooled for a second.”

“You’re wrong, Thoms. You don’t want to meet that cop. Now get the fuck out of my office.”

Thoms stormed to the door. “You know, you only got this job because you were Dehaney’s fuckboy. They wanted someone just like him, so they chose his partner. But let’s see how long you hang on to it by being that biker’s bitch.”

The door rattled on its hinges from Thoms slamming it shut on his way out. His words didn’t bother me. He had no proof of anything he’d spouted and was just trying to get a rise out of me. Had I protested, I would have been adding fuel to the fire.

I typed up a memo about his conduct, then made a note of our confrontation like Mason had taught me to. He used to recordeverything. When I’d made fun of how meticulous he was at it, he’d remarked that those notes saved his hide more than once.

At least Thoms had gotten one thing right. Mason had been a damn good chief of police, and as much as I paled in his shadow, I tried to practice his work ethic.

What would he think of me sleeping with Gunner?

I shut down my computer and left the office but didn’t go straight to the Blood Hounds’ clubhouse. I dropped in on my sister Alice, who was expected to give birth in less than a month.

“Ben.” When she opened the door, she smiled. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“Because it wasn’t planned.” I pulled her gently into my arms for a hug. “What’s up? How are you doing? And my nephew?”

“Good.” She rubbed her belly. “Eager to get him out so I can see my feet again. Come on in. We’re just about to sit down for dinner.”

“Well, I can’t stay for a whole dinner, but I can hang around for a few.”

“I’ll make you a plate.”

I followed her to the kitchen. “Is there any way you can make two?”

Gunner had used food this morning to apologize. Maybe I could do the same when I explained, and Alice made the best food.

“Two plates?” She grimaced. “For Zeus? Seriously, you need to get a man in your life.”

“It’s not for Zeus,” I said quietly.

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