Page 25 of Code Violation

Letting Vik’s spent cock slip from his lips, Forrest rolled to the wall side of the bed.

“That was…”

“Great?” Forrest prompted.

“Great,” Nero repeated with a laugh. “Unexpected and yeah, great.”

A fierce gust of wind blew up. The windows rattled and the door vibrated in its frame. Raindrops smacked against the panes, leaving streaks behind as the water ran downward like tears.

Forrest caught Vik’s eye. “We still need to talk.”

Nero stilled.

“About what happened today. About Ned Barker.”

TEN

Nero – Late Thursday Night

“What kind of things about Ned Barker?” Nero asked reluctantly, relaxed from an intense orgasm and also exhausted by the long-ass day. “There’s not much to tell you, really. In case you don’t know, I left a polite message on your answering machine a while back—with my cell number. We could’ve talked on the phone instead of you ambushing me.” Nero stopped for a second. “Not that I’m complaining about the surprise sex.”

A sex ambush by Forrest Cooper was now Nero’s weakness.

“I didn’t get the message until this morning.”

Nero suspected he’d deleted the message and was low-key tempted to call him on it.

“And what does that have to do with me?”

He didn’t want to be mad after mind-blowing sex but there he was, already getting vaguely pissed off. On the other hand, perhaps being pissed off by Forrest Cooper was just an expected state of mind. He was going to have to ask Magnus.

“Well?” he prompted when Cooper didn’t immediately answer.

Forrest nibbled at his bottom lip before appearing to come to a decision. What Nero would give to know what the man was really thinking. What he was really worried about, more like it.

“I want to know what happened earlier today and the real reason you’re in town.” Forrest looked up at the ceiling before continuing. “Ned Barker was someone I considered a friend. He and my grandfather were friends too. I want to know what happened to him and if the reason you’re in town has anything to do with his death.”

“How would I know if the reason I’m here has something to do with Barker’s death? I didn’t know him; I’d never met him or seen him except when he was driving the mail van. And then I can only assume it was him. It’s not like I saw the driver.”

Besides, if Forrest had been listening in at the pub, he already knew the “real” reason Nero was in Cooper Springs. But if it made him feel better to rehash it all, he would.

Forrest nodded and his eyes narrowed. “Keep talking.”

Over the years, Nero had learned that sharing what had happened to Donny often made the witnesses he interviewed less hesitant to talk to him. They were victims together. Nero may not have been abducted that day, but his childhood had been brutally stolen. In this case, Nero had no idea if his story would make Forrest more or less willing to trust that what Nero told him was the truth, but it was worth a try.

Blowing out a big breath, Nero began. “A long time ago, my cousin disappeared. I was fourteen. He was abducted and I was the only witness.”

A look of horror crossed Forrest’s face. “Oh, shit, that’s awful.”

“It was. The event basically split my life into two parts. Before and After.” Before, when Nero had been just a boy on the cusp of adulthood. After, when he’d learned just how evil humankind was. And how frail hope was.

“So, let’s fast forward.” Nero rolled onto his side to be more comfortable, pulling the cover over them both. This was perhaps the oddest post-sex conversation he’d ever had. And he’d had some weird ones. The major exception was Austin and frankly, Nero should have seen that as a sign.

“In college, I took a class in forensic anthropology—it wasn’t the big field it is now—and things kind of went from there. My degree isn’t in forensics but journalism. I am the king of lost causes. But, because of Donny, I always read up on missing persons and, by extension, Doe cases here in the US. Stranger kidnappings like Donny’s are rare, but there are lots of unidentified remains. Which is how the podcast came about. It was just a side gig up until I was laid off this past fall.”

Forrest nodded. “Okay, so you were laid off and just randomly decided to move to Cooper Springs?”

“Why does it matter?”

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