Fighting Temptation [Brac Village 11] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (6 page)

Turi nodded and then shook his head. “I’m not sure if he was working with my uncle. But I’ve seen him at least five times at the village.”

Carmine cursed. “I’ll have to write this up as a mugging and then do my own investigation.”

“Why?”

Carmine placed his hands on his hips, staring intently at Turi.

“Oh!” Turi said as realization dawned on him. “Because it’s now a paranormal thing.”

His mate nodded.

“Go wait in the car, Turi.” Carmine turned and walked back over to the stranger he had been talking to. Turi went back to the car. He didn’t want to see a dead body anymore. That would teach him to be curious. He wished he could erase the memory, but it kept coming back to him. Those milky eyes were going to haunt him for a long time to come.

* * * *

Carmine was pissed that Turi had disobeyed him. He wasn’t trying to be a prick, but he knew what it was like to see a dead body for the first time. It had to be Turi’s first time because he was a little too intrigued.

“I’ve never seen you bring a civilian to a crime scene before,” Officer Belgravia said as he stared at Carmine’s car. From the way Belgravia was staring at Turi, Carmine knew the cop was a little more than interested.

He chose not to answer as he walked over to the coroner. “I’ll be by later for your report.” He knew he needed to wrap this case up. As much as Carmine hated to make this look like a mugging, he knew he had no choice. But as soon as he was done here, Carmine was heading out to the tribe village to get some answers.

If he investigated this case any further, Carmine knew he was going to run into Turi’s uncle and father. Was it worth it? Did he want to confront those two knowing his black bear was going to want some answers about Turi?

Carmine knew that in his gut, he was a cop first and foremost. He was going to solve this murder and figure out why Turi’s father was so adamant about the guy mating his own uncle. He just hoped like hell that he didn’t kill both of them in the process.

“Give me twenty-four hours and I will have your report,” the coroner said as he closed the back of the truck.

Carmine headed back toward his car, seeing Turi sitting there as if he hadn’t disobeyed. The guy was looking straight ahead, and it almost looked like he was…whistling? What was with the fey and whistles?

Shaking his head, Carmine crawled into the driver’s seat and started his car. “I don’t want you talking about this case or telling anyone you identified the dead body.”

Turi stopped whistling and turned toward Carmine. “Why?”

“Because if anyone knows that it was you who pointed a finger, you might have even more problems.” Pulling out onto the road, Carmine braced himself for an argument. Turi thought logically, but he also wore rose-colored glasses. The man thought everything was cut and dry when it wasn’t.

To his amazement, Turi didn’t say a word. He only nodded. Maybe there was some hope for his mate after all. Inwardly, Carmine admitted that Turi had been a big help. But he wasn’t going to say that to the guy. He didn’t want to encourage Turi to solve crimes.

The fey was already in a fucked-up situation. Carmine didn’t need him running headfirst into crime scenes and getting himself killed.

As Carmine drove toward the police station, he kept sneaking covert glances at Turi. The man had been quite impressive back there. Not only that, Carmine still felt his claws threatening to break free when he thought about how Officer Belgravia had been looking at Turi.

Turi was his.

Carmine just had to decide if he wanted to keep the man or not. There he went again with his contradictory thoughts. He wasn’t sure if he was coming or going anymore. Carmine was fighting against mating Turi, yet was intrigued by the man the more time he spent around the small fey.

Carmine finished up his report and then filed away the
mugging
. He couldn’t go out to the fey village right away, not when he had Turi with him. For the rest of his shift, Carmine had been watching Turi closely. He was becoming more than intrigued. His mate had decided to become helpful, fetching coffee for the other cops, sweeping up the room, and tidying the place up.

Not only that, it seemed Turi had a gift for chatting. More than once Carmine had caught one or more detectives staring Turi’s way. Carmine was finding that Turi was…charming. He sat back in his chair, watching as his mate laughed and talked with one of the other detectives.

Turi had a dazzling smile. The row of straight, white teeth appeared more than once this afternoon. He also noticed how Turi constantly tucked his hair behind his ear as he talked. Did he know how handsome he was?

Carmine doubted it. Turi seemed very unaware of his good looks. Once when Turi was smiling, he had turned Carmine’s way, and that was when Carmine had seen how his mate’s emerald-green eyes sparkled when he smiled.

It was a good look on him. A very good look. Carmine had turned away so he wouldn’t be pulled into those deep, dark gems. He couldn’t offer Turi any kind of a relationship. Not when he feared giving his heart to anyone. It wasn’t fair for Carmine to make Turi think he had a chance—because he didn’t.

But, as much as Carmine was trying his best to keep his distance, the attraction was there. Lord knew he was fighting the attraction. But somehow Turi’s sweetness was winning Carmine over. The guy’s good looks didn’t help Carmine’s campaign in keeping the fey at arm’s length.

Carmine pushed away from his desk, tired of the other detectives flirting with Turi. As much as he was enjoying watching the guy smile, he’d had enough. “Ready?”

Turi moved over to Carmine, his smile still clinging to his face as he gazed up. Carmine had to look away. The smile couldn’t be returned. “Where are we going now?”

That was a very good question. If he took Turi back to the Lakelands, there was a good chance the father would come after Turi again. Carmine didn’t want to chance that. There was only one place he could think of, although taking Turi home wasn’t at the top of Carmine’s
things he was looking forward to
list. It meant they would be alone, no one around to interrupt them. Clearing his throat, Carmine nodded toward the door. “My house.”

A few of the detectives looked Carmine’s way, smirks on their faces, as if they knew what was going to happen. They would be wrong. Nothing was going to happen. Not that Carmine didn’t want things to happen. They just weren’t.

“Still trying to get me to take candy?” Turi asked, the smile fading. “Why do we have to go to your house?”

It bothered him when Turi looked guarded, like Carmine was the bad guy. “Where else are you going to go?” He didn’t know anything about Turi. For all Carmine knew, the guy could have a dozen places to lay low.

Turi fingered the whistle as he gave a light shrug of his shoulders. Carmine really hoped Turi wasn’t about to toot that damn thing. “Nowhere.”

The despondent look pulled at Carmine. Although it bothered him, he walked past the guy and headed toward the door. He would help like he said he would, but nothing more.

As Carmine stepped out into the balmy night, he felt Turi right behind him. The guy wasn’t doing anything to make Carmine think he wanted something more, so why did Carmine feel so guilty about turning away?

He was determined to stick to his decision about keeping Turi at bay. Carmine headed to the driver’s side of his car, Turi to the passenger. Neither said a word as Carmine pulled from the drive and headed toward his house deep in the woods.

The house was in a perfect location. It was set far enough back from the road to give Carmine the privacy he craved. The land was wide and vast, enough room for his bear to run wild and free without worrying about running into humans.

That was one thing Carmine was thankful of. Maverick Brac enforced the no-hunting law. The man didn’t play around when it came to anyone with a rifle in these woods.

“How far in the country do you live?” Turi turned from the window and faced Carmine. “We’ve been driving for hours.”

No they hadn’t. The two of them had been on the road for about twenty-five minutes. “We’ll be there in about five minutes.”

Carmine had never brought anyone home. Turi would be the first person in his house besides himself. He wasn’t sure what fate was doing to him, but Carmine was surprised that Turi hadn’t refused to go home with him.

When he first met the guy this morning, Carmine had to practically throw Turi into his car. Now the man was willingly climbing in. What changed? Did he really want to examine that thought more closely?

No.

Carmine pulled into the driveway and got out, inhaling the clean country air. The place wasn’t what Maverick lived in, but it was big enough for Carmine. It was the woods that had caught his attention and helped him decide to buy this house.

The land was breathtaking. This was the only time Carmine truly relaxed—when he was at home. There was just something so majestic about the place that made him feel at ease. Maybe it was the tall pines, or the open field behind his house. Whatever it was, Carmine always had an urge to shift and run when he got home from a hard day’s work.

“Nice place.” Turi got out and closed the car door, glancing around the area. “Very private.” His tone was suspicious, but he didn’t say anything out of the way to Carmine. Maybe Carmine would be suspicious as well if he was going home with someone he just met this morning.

But then again, Carmine would have already taken care of the problem if someone was after him. In a way, Turi had his hands tied. The people after him were relatives. That had to suck.

Carmine strode through the front door. He never locked the place. No one was ever out this far. He immediately kicked his shoes off and hung his car keys on the hook by the door. His routine at home was filled with nothing but habits.

Turi stood in the doorway, glancing inside. Carmine left the man to go in the kitchen and pour some iced tea. He would let Turi move around at his own comfortable pace and get used to the place. Carmine didn’t plan on having the fey there for long. He was going to figure out how to help the guy and then send him back to the Lakelands.

“Mind if I have a glass?”

Carmine pointed toward the refrigerator. “Help yourself.” When Turi walked further into the kitchen, Carmine walked out. He settled in his usual chair and grabbed the remote.

“Do you mind if I make something to eat?”

Glancing toward the kitchen, Carmine saw Turi standing there. He shrugged. “Go for it.”

Maybe Turi would make enough for Carmine as well. They had skipped lunch and Carmine was starving. As he channel surfed, he began to smell something cooking. It smelled delicious at first, and then Carmine noticed the aroma had changed.

Something was burning. Why did it smell like cardboard?

Jumping from his chair, Carmine hurried into the kitchen to see Turi trying to throw water on the fire that was eating its way from the stove to the countertop. What the fuck? “Don’t use water!”

He grabbed the fire extinguisher he kept under the cabinet and aimed the nozzle at the fire. Pulling the pin, Carmine doused the flames in white foam. The kitchen was a damn mess now. He was pretty sure the counter was totaled.

“I’m sorry!” Turi said as he ran back and forth, his hands pulling at his hair. “I didn’t…it shouldn’t have…”

“The fire’s out,” Carmine said as he set the extinguisher on the floor. “What were you doing?”

Carmine’s heart dove into his stomach when he noticed quite a few of Turi’s hairs were singed. The left side of his hair looked a bit clumpy. “Were you on fire?”

Turi held up his index finger and thumb, barely spreading them apart. “Just a little.”

The man was going to give him a damn coronary. He did not need this shit this late in the evening. Carmine assessed the damage and knew he would be replacing his damn counter. “How did the fire start?”

Pointing toward the stove, Turi said, “I was trying to cook the can of biscuits.”

Carmine moved closer, seeing the burnt can on the stove. It wasn’t in a pan and the man hadn’t even taken the biscuits out of the can. The charred piece of doughy cardboard was just sitting there on one of the eyes. He turned back toward Turi. “Do you even know how to cook?”

“I do,” Turi quickly defended. “I’ve just never used that thing before.”

The guy was pointing at the stove. Carmine groaned. “Why didn’t you say anything? I would have made them for you. Do you know what could have happened?” What
did
happen. The man’s hair had caught fire. Carmine shuddered at the thought of Turi hurting himself.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Turi glared at him. “I would have asked, but you aren’t the easiest person to approach. You seemed quite content at ignoring me and making sure we weren’t in the same room. We don’t have all these modern things in the village.” Turi pointed to the stove and refrigerator.

Carmine grabbed a towel, unsure of what else to do, and started cleaning up the mess. What he really wanted to do was pull Turi into his arms and tell him that everything was okay. He wanted to pet the man, comfort him.

“I never knew fire could go that high inside someone’s home.” Turi grabbed a towel as well, joining Carmine as he helped clean up. He tried to keep his distance, but every time he turned around, Turi was right next to him, wiping something close by. Carmine didn’t think the guy did it on purpose, but the closeness was causing havoc with his body.