Chapter Three

A ringing startled Carver upright. He searched for his phone through the confusion of being yanked from his sleep. He grabbed it from the bedside table. Casper's name showed on the screen.

A different panic hit Carver in the chest. He rubbed his eyes. They lived next door to each other and worked together. Casper rarely needed to call. He quickly answered. "Hello?"

"Are you okay?"

Carver blinked, trying to wake up enough to deal with the panic in Casper's voice. His gaze slid to the spot next to him. It was empty. Disappointment had his eyelids falling. He took a breath. "Yeah. I'm good." Just another day. "What's wrong?"

Casper blew out a breath that sounded loud across the phone, as if trying to steady himself. "Someone trashed my place. There're all these pictures of me on the wall, taken everywhere I go, and even images of me sleeping." Carver's heart raced a little harder with each word. Was that where Ever had gone after sneaking from his bed? "There's another note written in blood."

"Wait," Carver shouted, startling even himself. He didn't reel it in. "What do you mean, another note in blood?"

Casper drew a shaky-sounding breath. "Yeah. Sorry. I'm just a bit of a mess. So much has happened in just a few hours. I can't remember anything. Last night, when I got home, there was a note pinned to my door with a knife. It only said "trick or treat?" Which was fucking weird, obviously. It was written in blood. Now there's another note that says, you'll be next. Like what the fuck, Carver. I don't understand what's happening."

Rage brewed like a volcano beneath Carver's skin. "I don't know, but I'll find out."

"Major's husband is looking into things. I just needed to know you're okay. For now, I'm going to stay at London's place. I don't feel safe here anymore. You should join us."

Carver ground his back teeth. While it was good their boss's husband was on the case, since he ran a high-tech security firm, Carver already knew the problem. It was a dude from South Beach with zero brains who fucked like a dream. Goddamn it. "Don't worry about me. It's obvious this guy doesn't want me. He only wants you." He rubbed his chest. "Let London take care of you. I'll be fine." Maybe. He wasn't in danger from Ever, apparently, but the last of his sanity was a different story. There was some real fear of that disappearing.

"Okay. Be safe. I love you."

"I love you too, Cas. I swear everything will be fine."

"Okay." He sounded so vulnerable, fanning the flames of Carver's anger. "I'll see you at work later."

"See you then." Carver ended the call and stared at nothing. He didn't know what he planned to do. His gaze slid toward the clock. He didn't have a lot of time to figure it out today. It seemed he had slept the majority of the day. He would mull it over at work tonight. Tomorrow, he would find Ever and ruin his life.

Leather Bait was packed, as always. Ever didn't mind. The thick crowd let him get lost. He could blend in and watch Carver without being seen. The giant muscle that had shown up last night and was here again tonight stayed glued to Casper. He also eyed every face, openly prepared for an attack. Ever assumed the guy had been hired because of him. He was observant, but not as much as Ever. The guy was a little too invested. His gaze kept returning to Casper, lingering just a moment too long. He was attracted to Casper, and fair. The twins were beautiful. To Ever, though, this guy looked to be more of a danger to Casper than Ever had ever been. He would look into the guy. Check him out for Carver. He wouldn't be surprised if Carver worried about the guy's too-personal attention as well. The dude looked scary as fuck.

The crowd parted. Ever found himself exposed and staring straight into Carver's gorgeous eyes. Carver froze. A moment passed, and the crowd consumed him once more. By the time he caught sight of Carver again, Carver had his back to the club, grabbing liquor from the back wall. Muscle dude eyed the crowd with a new fire in his eyes. Ever decided he should get back to hiding. He wasn't looking for trouble… unless Carver wanted to handcuff him again. Ever might be into that. He was trying so hard to blend in and not look Carver's way; he didn't see Carver coming. To be fair, there were a lot of people openly performing sexual acts. That was a bit distracting.

Carver snagged his arm and kept going, dragging Ever behind him.

The moment they were outside, Carver turned on him. "You have a lot of fucking nerve showing your face here after leaving my bed to trash my brother's place. What the fuck is your deal? He doesn't deserve this torment. If you want him that fucking badly, you're not winning any points this way."

Ever held up his hands. "Whoa. What are you talking about? I didn't trash your brother's place. The only reason I left your bed at all is because I promised you I would only stay for one night. You're the one I want. Why would I torment your brother?"

Carver's chest rose and fell in a rapid motion, as if he barely stopped himself from physically fighting Ever. There was a deep line between his eyebrows. "Am I really supposed to believe it wasn't you? You haven't exactly proven yourself to be trustworthy, and that trick or treat note. You know that was my mom's thing."

Ever held his stare. "It wasn't me. I swear. I don't know anything about a note." Carver's expression turned more confused by the second. Ever pounced on any chance Carver might believe him. "Seriously, Carver. I wouldn't intentionally fuck up any shot I might have of being with you."

Carver pinched the spot between his eyes. He dropped his hand and held Ever's stare. "What are you doing here anyhow? This is a members-only club."

Ever nodded. "I know. I have a membership."

Carver shifted from foot to foot. "How long have you been coming here?"

"About six weeks."

Carver's gaze slid away. "I haven't noticed."

A chuckle fell from Ever's lips. "That's because I didn't want you to see me. I'm good at my job, and I thought your brother was you." An idea hit. "Let me prove I didn't trash Casper's place. I'm a private investigator. That's what I was doing in Daytona. I was on a job. I'm very, very good at what I do. Let me find out who did this to Casper. Let me prove myself."

Carver shifted from foot to foot again. "Do you really think you can figure out something even people with FBI connections haven't been able to solve?"

Ever chuckled again. Even he heard how overly confident he sounded. "No one is as good as I am." He inched closer and rubbed one of the feathers from Carver's black wings between his fingers. "I love the costume. A dark angel suits you. Very sexy."

Carver stared at him, expressionless. He was completely unreadable. "You look hot as fuck as a fireman." With that surprising comment hanging between them, Carver turned on his heel and left Ever behind. Ever watched him go while smiling like an idiot. Carver didn't know it yet, but he was as good as Ever's.