Cover Up (25 page)

“C’mon. I’ll catch you if you fall.” Ivan spoke as loudly as he dared, hoping to all that was holy he wasn’t going to get a bullet in the chest while he looked up, waiting for Parker.

He didn’t have to wait as long as he’d expected; Parker’s long body promptly clambered down with a minimum of noise. Later, he’d have to commend Parker for his ability to keep his head under stress. Shit, he was probably doing better than Ivan because he didn’t know how fragile a body was. He didn’t know how much blood a body had. The damage a bullet could do.

The thud of Parker’s feet on the dirt of the garden shook him out of his fugue.

“Where to?”

“Follow me. Fast.” Ivan grabbed the pack and ran, staying close to the houses. As long as they could get to the place he’d observed Parker from, he could get them away, free and clear. But the next few minutes were critical. If Razhin’s men figured out what had happened and came outside too soon, they’d be dead.

Chapter 10

T
HIRTY
minutes later, sweating and panting, Parker stood beside Ivan in front of a quaint little one-story home much closer to his own than he’d expected. Was this a safe house? Parker hadn’t seen anyone following them, but Ivan had been too busy eluding pursuit to talk to him. Second thoughts about following Ivan blindly had come and gone. Now, he was on his fortieth or fiftieth thoughts, but at least this wasn’t as scary as some places Parker could imagine… if Ivan was some sort of crazy stalker instead of a cop. He wasn’t sure right now which one was more believable, but trusting Ivan seemed right and natural.

Parker touched the phone in his pocket. How easy was it to track people by their cell phones? Maybe it was only easy if it was the government after you.

Ivan pressed the doorbell, leaning on it. Under normal circumstances, such rudeness would make him swat Ivan’s arm away, but tension had turned Ivan into a seething mass of nerves, and that anxiousness had more than transmitted itself to Parker. When he wasn’t asking Ivan to talk to him, he kept running over what he’d seen out of the window at his house. Men with guns, possibly sent by Neil, had come to his house. Maybe not for him, but for evidence in his house. Evidence that pointed to him as some sort of drug dealer. Maybe worse. Drug lord? What did you call someone who ran a huge grow-op? He wanted so badly for Ivan to be wrong about everything. He wanted to go back to falling in love with a recently divorced insurance salesman, not running around the city with a paranoid undercover detective who was a complete stranger, despite having lived with him for two weeks.

A man with tousled auburn hair, who was even more muscular than Ivan, yanked open the door with a scowl. He’d barely spit out an angry “What?” before he recognized Ivan, and concern replaced the anger.

“Ivan? What are you doing here?” His eyes shifted. “Is this Parker?” The incredulousness in the man’s tone made Parker drop his shoulders defensively. Who was this, and how did he know Parker’s name?

“It’s gone to shit, Kurt.” Ivan glanced behind them for the millionth time. “Can’t talk out here.”

Kurt didn’t look pleased, but at least now Parker knew he was one of Ivan’s cop friends.

“Come in, then. I thought you were going in tomorrow.”

When Kurt stepped out of the doorway, Ivan pushed Parker into the house in front of him. With Ivan crowding him from behind, he followed Kurt into a plain white living room. Nicely furnished, with a few colorful throw pillows and blankets, but still rather stark. Parker wasn’t a clean freak by anyone’s standards, but he’d never have chosen white as a color scheme for anything but a kitchen. Too hard to keep stain-free and spotless.

“Sit down.” Kurt didn’t sound too inviting but neither did he seem pissed off either.

Parker sat on one of the chairs. Kurt sat carefully on the couch, letting out a quiet grunt.

“Are you okay?” Parker asked.

Kurt flashed him a smile, one that sent a wave of unexpected desire through him. He wasn’t as sexy as Ivan, but this was a very attractive man. Parker smiled tentatively back, hoping Kurt didn’t notice the sudden rush of blood to his cheeks.

The thunk of Ivan’s pack hitting the floor made Parker jump. Ivan glared at him before he sat in the other chair.

“He’s fine.”

“I’m fine,” Kurt repeated without rancor. “Just had surgery a couple of weeks ago, and it’s taking longer to recuperate than I expected. What happened?”

Ivan jabbed a thumb in Parker’s direction. “I should have been investigating his friend Neil. Somehow, Neil’s setting him up. I just don’t know how yet.”

“Okay. But what’s with the urgency?” At least Kurt hadn’t asked if Ivan was sure. After seeing all that money and those invoices, Parker was almost sure he’d bought all that shit himself.

“My cover got blown, and Neil found out we knew about the money. Didn’t take long before Leo Razhin and a buddy showed up at the house, armed.”

The truth was, Parker had fucked up. It was nice of Ivan to cover for him, but that didn’t make up for all the lies. For sleeping with Parker under false pretenses, like just about every other guy—admittedly few—who’d gotten into his pants.

Kurt’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Ivan. “And you came right here? Did you call anyone?”

“No.”

Eyes closing, Kurt let his head fall back on the sofa. Exasperation seemed an odd reaction for Kurt, who as far as Parker could tell was only peripherally involved.

“You still got your burner phone?”

Ivan didn’t answer, just pulled out the phone in question and dropped it on the coffee table.

“Call the police. Report it anonymously.”

Those words were like a slap in the face, and Parker stood. “I thought you guys were the police. Why would you need to call the police?” Because they could have done that from his bedroom instead of escaping like fugitives. This whole terrifying episode could be over already.

Ivan stood and faced him, brows drawn together. “Doubting me again? I’m not the bad guy here.”

“Aren’t you? Aside from one weird call from Neil, all this shit started as soon as you arrived in my house! How do I know this isn’t some elaborate game? Maybe you’re in it together.”

The eye rolling made him want to punch Ivan, but the guy had already been through a lot, even if he was a crazy fuck. Being angry and in denial was easier to deal with than the tearing pain of losing the “what might have been.” He hadn’t realized how deep his feelings for Ivan had become until he’d found out the Ivan he knew didn’t exist and the happy ever after he’d envisioned could never come to pass. Anger was easy in comparison.

“In what together? What reason would I have for such an elaborate sham?”

Parker shrugged, and Ivan got angry. Well and truly angry. The kind of anger that, if he was a cop, probably got confessions on the spot. His fists came up, one of them still carefully wrapped from Parker’s first aid, and Parker took a step back.

Horror quickly replaced Ivan’s fury. “I wasn’t going to hit you.”

“I know.” But he was maybe lying. Ivan sensed his uncertainty, because his nostrils flared and his eyes filled.

“Never. I swear. I’d never hurt you.”

But he already had. Just not physically.

Ivan turned and ran out of the room, slamming the door on what was presumably the bathroom, but Parker wasn’t sure. He turned to Kurt, who sat straight up, mouth hanging open.

“Shit. I had no idea it was this bad.”

“What?” Parker had no fucking idea what had just happened. He dropped back into the chair.

“I’ll explain in a minute. What’s your address?”

He’d lost all energy for fighting. Whatever was happening wasn’t putting him in danger right this minute, and that’s about all he was equipped to process. He told Kurt, who immediately picked up the phone Ivan had left behind.

“Hello? Yes, I’d like to report a break-in. My neighbor’s house. Two men I didn’t recognize, and they had guns.”

There was a pause while Kurt listened. He gave Parker’s address and a decent description of Neil’s friend, although he was way off on the other guy. “My name? No, I’d rather not say. But please hurry. They looked angry.”

Kurt clicked off the phone and tossed it back on the table.

“What the hell is going on? Why did you do that?”

“If they’re still there, which I doubt, this might keep them busy for a bit. Get them arrested and out of our hair while we figure this out. Half an hour is a long time, but maybe they won’t have had a chance to thoroughly trash your place.”

“Trash my place?”

“I assume the money’s in there.” Kurt waved a finger at the bag. Parker had almost forgotten about the money. No, not almost, he’d just tried desperately to forget about it. He tilted his head and assessed Kurt. Was that what Kurt was after? Maybe they were lying about being cops and were just after Neil’s money. Maybe Neil wasn’t setting him up, but was trying to keep the money safe by hiding it at Parker’s.

Kurt snorted and shook his head. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” The discomfort in Kurt’s movements was evident, and Parker should have recognized the careful way he held himself. He’d seen more than enough trauma patients move the same way.

Parker had enough time to wonder about Ivan’s disappearance before Kurt returned.

“Here. My badge and ID.”

Fingering the items Kurt handed him, Parker couldn’t see any reason not to believe Kurt.

“Please. Help me understand.”

Kurt gripped his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him before he sat back on the couch.

“First, the phone call. Calling in anonymously means Ivan won’t be exposed, and no one will expect you to be around to answer questions. The questions will come, but this gives us a bit of breathing room.”

“And what’s with Ivan?” He should care more about the trouble Neil had gotten him into, and he was still fucking angry at Ivan for treating him like dirt, but Ivan’s upset cut at him worse than the betrayal. Deep down, Parker believed Ivan wouldn’t hurt him physically, but he’d also never seen Ivan furious before.

With a glance at the hallway, from which the faint sounds of running water emanated, Kurt turned back to Parker. “What has he told you? About his real life, I mean. About how he came to be working on this investigation.”

Investigating him. A flare of anger burned away some of the confusion. “Not much.” Parker outlined what he’d been told. After hearing it again, he was amazed he’d fallen for it. Even though Ivan had apparently been telling the truth—that time—he must have a tremendous capacity for getting people to like him, believe him. Which made Parker’s decision to sleep with him all the more suspect. Had he been manipulated from the beginning? Had Ivan had some ulterior motive, like trying to get a confession?

Kurt leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I was afraid of that. I’m worried about him. This is so….” Kurt stopped himself and peered into Parker’s eyes.

“What?”

“Look, I barely know you, and if you’re going to make trouble for Ivan, I will deny I ever said anything.”

Make trouble for him? Parker was never going to see him again after this was over. He shouldn’t care what was going on with Ivan, for precisely that reason, but he wanted—needed—to know.

“I won’t. I promise.”

“This investigation was highly irregular, enough so he could get fired over it, even though it’s not his fault. But that’s not the worst of it.”

Fired? And that wasn’t the worst? Parker gestured for Kurt to continue. If Ivan returned from the bathroom, he’d probably never get to hear the rest of it.

“Did you hear about that drug bust a couple of weeks ago? Ended up in a shoot-out. The press crucified the police.”

“Yes, of course.” He didn’t watch much news, but that hadn’t escaped his notice. Happened the day before Ivan moved in.

Kurt patted his shoulder. “That’s when I got shot. That’s when Ivan killed his first man.”

Parker gasped. “Killed?”

“Yeah, one of the young enforcers, maybe a year or two younger than you. It was life or death, and I know he tried to save the kid, but couldn’t. His boss grabbed him before he’d even washed the blood off and sent him after you, using administrative leave to cover the fact that this wasn’t an official investigation.”

“But what about… internal affairs? Didn’t he have to talk to them?”

“Special Investigations Unit. Yes, he did. He was cleared pretty quick, actually.”

“Then how is he… wait. He should have also had counseling, right?”

Kurt nodded. “But he’s had to lie through his teeth to his therapist because he doesn’t know where the departmental leak is coming from. His boss is using his counseling as an excuse to extend his leave, but he’s not going to get better until he can come clean with the shrink.”

Ivan had killed a man. In the line of duty. Parker slumped back into the chair. No wonder Ivan had been so jumpy around the house. So much became clear. Then, like he’d been electrocuted, Parker sat up straight. “Oh my God. He’s heading toward a case of full-blown PTSD.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Kurt glanced back at the hallway again. “And it’s not getting any better for having been put in this situation.”