Page 11 of Pain
Even after being in the Army and thinking he'd put the past behind him, he had found himself falling apart at his father's trial. It was only Dyson's strong shoulder and firm words that had kept him going. They'd formed a bond over the weeks of the trial, one that to this day meant more to him than any friendship he'd ever had.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Was just thinking about the team." Xander glanced over at Carter. "Odd how a bunch of fuckups can come together and form a family like we have."
Carter laughed. "Don't let Bryon hear you call us family, or he'll have to stop having all his impure thoughts about Becca."
"Think he'll ever tell her?" Xander loved Becca like a sister, but he wasn't sure big, brooding Bryon was the right fit for her. Bryon saw things in black and white. The world was full of right and wrong with little in between. Becca, on the other hand, was as colorful as they came, enjoying life to the fullest and never letting the darkness of their job get her down. The two were as different as they could be, but everyone except Becca saw how Bryon looked at her.
"I don't know. I wish he would. He could stand to get laid every once in a while." Carter laughed.
"Speaking of…" Xander raised a brow. "Did I see some guy with painted on jeans dropping you off yesterday?"
"Paul, he runs the dairy farm outside of town. We met at the bar a few weeks ago. It's nothing serious, but he's hot as hell in bed." Carter grinned before glancing at Xander. "What about you? Anyone warming your bed?"
Xander laughed. "Right, like I ever bring them home." It was true. He never brought his partners home. He might go to their place, but his house was his escape. Very few people even knew where he lived. His bed was his, and he had no plans on sharing it with others. Sex was a need, plain and simple. He got what he needed, then said farewell. If it was good, he might hook up with the guy again, but he didn't do serious, and he sure as hell didn't do breakfast together the morning after.
"You know, someday someone's going to manage to break through that cold heart of yours." Carter smiled.
"They'd have to find my heart first." Xander chewed harder on the cigarette filter, wishing like hell that he could light it.
"It's the house with the blue truck." Carter slowed, stopping a house down from the one they were going to.
"Cameras?"
"This isn't a hit."
Xander sighed. It wasn't like he could turn off his mind. It was ingrained in him to have a full background on someone before going in. The fact that Carter had all the information this time, and he had none, didn't sit well with him. "Anything I need to know?"
"Nope, just that the guy is fucked up about his daughter. Can't get any worse than that, right?" Carter got out of the car.
"It can, but we won't tell him that." Right now, Faith was just missing. There was hope. Finding a body or seeing her sold on the black market would be much worse for Matthew.
"No, we let him hold on to hope for as long as we can. If he decides to work with us, Bryon, Trenton, and I will watch him closely. We won't let him get too deep just in case. We need to protect him while this plays out." Carter brushed something off his pant leg. "Ready?"
Xander gave a single nod, and let Carter lead the way to the front door. This Matthew guy was less likely to think he was going to be attacked if he saw Carter's pretty face before he had to face his. He still couldn't figure out why the hell Bryon thought it was a good idea to send him. He did the dirty work, not the make people comfortable, come work with us kind of shit.
Carter paused at the door, glancing at Xander. "We'll be lucky if he answers. From what Bryon said, he doesn't even answer for his sister often."
"If it's meant to be, he'll answer." Xander reached out and hit the doorbell.
"Impatient?" Carter laughed.
"If he's not going to answer, then I can get that smoke." Xander shrugged. "No point in wasting time."
"You really need to quit." Carter sighed.
"And you really need to mind your own—" He cut off what he was about to say as the latch inside clicked, then the door slowly opened.
"Can I help you?"
Xander took in the dark-haired man, with deep circles under his eyes, and pale skin as if he hadn't seen sunlight in months. His hair was curling over his collar, looking as if he'd been running his fingers through it for hours.
"Hi, my name is Carter, and this is Xander. We were hoping to talk to you about a few things if you have a minute." Carter smiled.
"Listen, I'm not interested in buying anything, God isn't my closest friend right now, and I donate to my own charities, so I'm sorry I can't help you." The man went to shut the door.
"Wait, are you Matthew?" Carter pressed his hand to the door, keeping it from shutting.
