Page 16 of The Devil's Embrace

“Titus Mercer is busy,” Reed told them. “He’s the one who assigned Aodhan as the hospital’s representative. You’ll be able to speak with him, but he’s not as readily available as Doctor Solace.”

He’d almost forgotten. No, giving Titus Mercer a wider berth than even the doctor was for the best.

How long had it been since he’d seen the now director? Years, for sure, but he couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment they’d last been in the same room together. Maybe it’d been at the trial, when Titus had surprised him by testifying in his defense rather than against it. As Nero’s surgeon, everyone had anticipated otherwise.

“He spoke at your hearing, didn’t he?” Reed asked, not sounding like he was judging. “I think the chief mentioned it before.”

“Yeah.” He’d spoken in Calix’s defense, had been a big reason why the jury had voted him not guilty. The two hadn’t interacted much back then, but Cal could still recall the way Titus Mercer had made him feel when they were alone in a room together for the first and only time.

Like his soul was being sucked out of his chest and consumed by the damned.

He shivered.

Titus had come along, and Cal had forgotten all about pretty boy Heathe D’Leo. There’d been something almost intoxicating about the older man—who’d been a brain surgeon back then and not the director of an entire hospital. Even though he’d confirmed the point of impact coincided with Cal’s claim that he’d slammed on the breaks as soon as he’d realized what was happening, he’d never been able to tell if Titus actually believed him or not.

Which made being around him dangerous.

Probably still as gorgeous as ever, but dangerous nonetheless.

Troya snorted. “I find it hard to believe a guy who sits behind a desk all day is busier than a legitimate heart surgeon.”

Aodhan Solace was gorgeous in his own right too. And he wasn’t just any heart surgeon either, a renowned one. A quick internet search on the guy had sent Cal spiraling down a rabbit hole of articles about the man’s godlike skills with a scalpel.

Okay.

So maybe the flashbacks hadn’t been the only thing keeping him up last night.

But Calix was chalking it up to the adrenaline rush and the drugs. He’d been vulnerable and out of it, that was all. Thatwas why he’d felt such an instant connection with the doctor, because Aodhan had saved him and helped him. Because he’d still been trapped in that fuzzy state of being after the ordeal, where his brain wasn’t capable of separating pain, pleasure, and a man just trying to do his job and not meaning to elicit either in him. Now that he was in his right state of mind, there was no way he’d have the same reactions.

Cal didn’t do crushes, not since the one he’d had on Heathe in high school—because the mix of strange sensations he’d felt toward Titus Mercer couldn’t be considered a crush.

At least this time, he could be certain his taste had improved. Going off everything he’d read about Aodhan well into the early morning hours, the guy was a relative saint. Nothing like the psychotic rapist Heathe turned out to be.

“We have four bodies and—” Sax stopped talking when the door opened and Bruce stepped back inside.

“One of the heads was just discovered,” he told them solemnly, directing his comments to Cal. “My men are securing the area, and I’ve sent Amory on ahead.”

“We’ll split the team,” Calix suggested and stood. “Troya, go with Officers Binks and Craig to the hospital and meet with Doctor Solace. I’ll head to the scene with the Chief.”

“Sure thing.” Troya never argued when it came to orders regarding the job. At least in that sense, the two of them didn’t make for terrible partners. He collected his things and motioned to the other cops in the room. “Let’s go, boys.”

On the way out of the station, Cal told himself he’d made the choice based on what was best for the case.

Not at all because he was avoiding the sexy doctor and the shame he felt whenever he thought of how he’d seen him naked, afraid, and at his absolute lowest.

Chapter 5:

“Sorry about Amory,” Bruce said once the two of them were on the road. “She’s a good kid, just a little misguided at times, that’s all.” He chuckled. “She’s opinionated. Actually, I think the two of you will get on great once you get to know one another.”

“Are you insinuating I’m opinionated? I’m not sure I fall under that category.” Calix had known Bruce since high school. He’d been the officer on his case back then, and the one person who’d truly stood in his corner from start to finish.

He’d believed him when no one else had, and that’d always meant a great deal to Cal.

In his mid-fifties now, Bruce had moved up the ladder and been promoted to Police Chief only two yeas ago. He was the run-of-the-mill family man with a loving wife, two kids, and a furry pet. Pictures of them all littered the desk in his office, and Calix had easily recognized their faces from the yearly holiday card Bruce sent him.

Technically, once you joined the I.P.F, you had to renounce explicit loyalty to your home world, but that didn’t mean breaking all ties. Calix had kept in touch with Bruce overthe years, looked up to him even to this day. That was a major reason he’d agreed to take on this case as his last before quitting.

Calix couldn’t give two shits about Emergence, but he owed Bruce a lot, and helping him catch this killer and bring them to justice was a good way to pay off past debts.

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