His First Surrender (Stonewall Investigations Miami 3)

“I’ll be back soon, all right? Order some food and make yourself at home.”

With another kiss and two shared “I love yous,” Rocky left, the heavy click of the lock echoing through his foyer like a gunshot blasting through a cave.

I swallowed, trying to keep myself calm. I didn’t know any details, but I had to hope that Peter would be okay and that Nick would be caught soon. The fact that he had no remorse for killing Jesse while being in a secret relationship with him didn’t comfort me in the slightest, but I had to believe that Rocky and the rest of the Stonewall detectives were two steps ahead of whatever Nick had been planning.

I walked through Rocky’s now empty house, heading to the one room I found the most comfort in:

The kitchen.

There, I went to the fridge and grabbed myself what I needed to make a quick sandwich. As I was spreading a hefty amount of mayo onto the sliced bread, my phone started to vibrate. I expected Rocky’s name to be on the screen, but it was Hazel’s. She had sent me a message.

It simply said: “Sam, I need you. Please come to the apartment.”

Without a second thought, I left the mayo and bread on the counter and hurried out of the house. I tried calling her on the way there, but no one answered. She didn’t respond to any of my messages either. Something serious must have been happening. I didn’t pay much attention to the speed limits as I raced back to the apartment, a hundred different possibilities swirling through my head.

Did something happen with the case? Is she in trouble again?

My hands felt clammy as I pulled into a parking spot, not caring that I had parked at an angle.

Up the stairs I ran, scared of what I’d find.

“Hazel?” I called as I opened the door. The apartment was dark. All the blinds were drawn, the TV was off, none of the lights were on. “Hello? Hazel? Olive?”

No answer. Where the hell was everyone?

I flicked on the lights. Everything seemed to be where I had left it. I could see Hazel’s room had the door shut, no light coming out from under the threshold. Was it a mistaken text?

“Hazel?”

“She’s not here.” The voice came from behind me. Recognition hit me, but not as quickly as the wooden pole that smashed against the back of my head.

I crumpled to the ground, hitting it just as the lights went out and I lost consciousness.

26

Rocky Hudson

Stonewall Investigations was a flurry of activity. Most of the detectives were in, crammed into the break-room, where a laptop had been set up so we could video-call with Zane Holden, the founder of the agency. It was early morning on a Sunday, so there were various different states of dress. Half of us were still in pajamas, the other in quickly thrown-on shorts and shirts. We sat around a table, chairs brought in from different offices to give people places to sit. Andrew, the manager of this Miami branch, sat at the head of the table, writing down notes in a bright yellow notebook as Zane spoke on the laptop. He had his one-year-old daughter in the shot, suckling happily from a bottle of milk, completely oblivious to the panic and chaos that covered us all like slick from an oil spill.

“All right, run us through it from the beginning,” Zane said over the screen.

“Rocky and I went on a double date yesterday to the fair. After the date, Peter and I went back to my place where he spent the night. This morning, he tells me he has to wake up early. He needed to go back to his place to walk his dog. A couple hours pass by. I called him and didn’t get an answer. I felt like something was wrong, I don’t know how to explain it, but it pushed me to go to his place.”

Angel took a pause, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Everything there was fine. The door was still locked, and Zeus was jumping up behind a window. I could see he had relieved himself in the house, so I knew Peter hadn’t been around. And that’s when I saw the note.” He raised a piece of napkin paper. “This note.”

“What’s it say?” Andrew asked, leaning across Jonah and reaching for the napkin. He brought it over to his side of the table, where Jonah and Fox leaned in to read it with Andrew.

“Angel, I’m done playing games,” Andrew read out loud, “I’ve warned you and Stonewall to shut down. No one listens. And now that’s put me in jeopardy, but I’m taking your boyfriend with me. And if Stonewall doesn’t shut down within the day, there’ll be more angels falling from heaven’s gate. Angels you all care about.”