Chapter 5

Sebastian

Damien wasn'tthere when I returned to the office so I re-locked the outer door and climbed the stairs to my apartment. I took a moment to change out of my apple juice stained pants and then threw myself on the couch. Without Damien there, I could sprawl over all of the cushions, my head propped up on one arm of the couch and my feet propped up on the other.

When he got back, Damien would undoubtedly want to hear about my trip to the hospital, not that I had much to tell him, so I passed the time by playing games on my phone.

My addiction to video games was one of the few things my brother didn't know about me. It didn't matter what game. From stupid little phone games to mainstream console games, I played them all. They were a great way to unwind at the end of the day and make my brain shut up for a while. As long as I was concentrating on the challenge in front of me, I wasn't thinking about anything else.

Blue eyes and freckles still filled my thoughts, so I pulled up a retro version of Pac-Man and started working my way through the levels. I had progressed through the first fifteen stages by the time I heard the front door unlock.

Before Damien could trudge up the stairs to open the door and see what I was doing, I shut off my phone and shoved it in my pocket.

It wasn't that I was embarrassed by my hobby—well, maybe a little—but I liked having something innocent that was only mine. If Damien knew that I liked video games, then he'd ask me about them and I'd feel compelled to answer. Video games were the thing I did when I was tired of talking and dealing with people. I didn't want them to be the cause of more conversation.

A moment later, Damien's familiar face peered at me over the back of the couch. "Hey, Giraffe. Move your legs."

Making a show of grumbling and taking as long as I possibly could to sit up, I created room for him on the couch.

"So, how'd it go at the hospital?" he asked once he sat down.

"Nothing yet. The John Doe's burns were too extensive to identify him at the moment. They're running a comparative DNA test on him and will get back to me. What about you? What'd the FBI want?"

Leaning back against the couch, Damien sighed.

"They've got a new case they want us and the FPA to consult on."

I could tell just from the tone of his voice that I wasn't going to like what came next.

"Actually, it's an old case that's been going on for several years. Someone has been going around the country castrating pedophiles. They aren't sure if it's a single person, or a group of people, but there have been over a dozen victims so far in Baton Rouge alone."

I snorted and didn't bother hiding the sneer that pulled at my face. A pedophile could never be a victim. They gave up that right the minute their hands wandered where they shouldn't.

Even without saying anything, Damien knew what I was thinking and gave his own sad laugh. "Yeah. I know. But that's kind of the problem. Technically, it's still a crime, so the FBI can't just let it go, but stopping someone who's punishing pedophiles will also make them seem like the bad guys. It'll look bad no matter what they do."

"So, the FBI want us to be the bad guys for them? We catch the criminal while they keep their hands clean."

"Basically. Of course, they didn't phrase it that way. It's not something we need to worry about right now. They still don't know much. Today's consultation was just to get us up to speed on the case, so we're ready if they need to bring us in."

"Sounds like we've got nothing to do for the next few days but wait for information."

"Yep." Damien turned to me with a smile. "Max is away on a case and Travis is working late so I don't need to run home anytime soon. Want to order some dinner and put on a movie? I'll let you pick this time."

That was an opportunity I wasn't going to squander, and I quickly selected a title to watch before he could change his mind.

Damien and I agreed on most things, except when it came to movies. He liked traditional action films, with plenty of explosions, car chases, and fist fights to keep adrenaline pumping high.

I, on the other hand, hated anything with violence in it. We had enough violence in our daily lives. I didn't need it in my fictional escape as well. That severely limited my choices, especially among adult movies, so I usually ended up watching something meant for kids. I had seen every Disney movie so many times that I had all the songs memorized.

Except for The Little Mermaid. That movie I had turned off after the first few minutes and vowed never to watch again.

I really hated that singing crab.