Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds 2)

Hollis’s black leather jacket squeaked against the seat as he reached down to fish another bag off the floor between them. He added it to the impressive pile behind them. “It’s been a few. I was headed off to catch a few winks when you called.”

“Guess I should apologize.” Snow knew there wasn’t a hint of apology in his voice and had to smother a grin.

“But you won’t because this whole ride is a ruse, right?” The cop glanced at him, frowned. “What are we doing?”

“Going to a body shop just like I said.” He gave him the name and directions. “It just so happens a little birdie told me there might be something interesting there.”

“Let me guess. Rowe’s birdie?” Hollis groaned, his hands tightening on the wheel until it made a cracking noise. “You and your friends are such pains in the ass. I’m sure if I knew even a small fraction of what that woman does on a computer, I’d have to take her in. What kind of interesting? And why didn’t you call this in officially?”

Snow shrugged. “Don’t know that it’s official. All I got is a nudge, cop. A vehicle matching the description of the one that hit Ian and Melissa was dropped off at this place. I thought it would be nice if you came with me so we do this all above board.”

“Kind of like how you guys got Andrei back a few months ago?” He snorted. Stopping the car at an intersection, Hollis looked over at Snow, as if waiting to see if he would admit or deny it, but after only a second he shook his head and eased the car forward. “Someday, I’ll have to sit all you mavericks down and explain above and below.”

“Oh we get it, cop.” Snow chuckled and knew it sounded dirty. “We just like to straddle.”

Hollis held up a hand. “TMI, doc. TMI.”

Snow rolled his eyes and faced front. “You strike me as one who always wants the raunchy details.”

Hollis stopped at a red light and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, there’s only really one of you with those kind of details I want to know about. GQ looked pretty rough at lunch.” His tone lowered with the last words. “It’s not just the injuries either. He’s taking your friend’s death hard, isn’t he?”

The knot—the one that belonged to Melissa—that felt like a permanent pain in his chest, tightened. “We all are. She was a part of the family. A day doesn’t go by…”

Banner nodded. “I’ve noticed that you all seem close. Seems kind of incestuous.”

“I can assure you none of us are related. We don’t fuck either, not that it’s any of your business.”

“About GQ…”

Something was poking him in the ass, so Snow shifted until he dug out a small pair of binoculars. He held them up. “And you wonder why I don’t want you nosing around Ian?”

Hollis tightened his left hand on the steering wheel and snatched the binoculars with his right. “I’m a policeman, doc. I do police things. I carry police things. It’s all a part of the job.” He grinned. “And the charm.”

“Charm, my ass,” Snow muttered.

“I have no interest in your ass.”

Sighing, Snow tapped the fingers of one hand on his thigh and stared at the cop. He knew exactly whose ass Banner wanted. “Tell me something. You like him so much, why haven’t you asked him out? You’ve had months. And from what I hear, you eat at that restaurant a lot.” His mouth twisted into a half grin. “From the looks of your clothes and your car, I’m thinking you must be dipping into savings to go there so often. The place isn’t cheap.”

“My finances are none of your damn business.”

“You’re interested in Ian, so I say everything about you is my business. Got something to hide? Do I need to have Gidget looking into things?”

“Do I need to string you up by your balls?”

“No interest in my ass, but balls are another story, eh?”

Hollis growled. “Ian is a grown man and you aren’t his father, so I’m not sure what your problem is. And for the record, you have to be one of the most annoying human beings on this planet. How do you even have friends?”

Snow didn’t physically react to the rude question, but the thump of his heart inside was hard enough to pain him. It was a question he’d asked himself many times.

Hollis’s hands tightened on the steering wheel again as he cursed. The wheel actually made a low cracking noise. “Look, I seem to remember a certain talk we had in the hospital not so long ago. A warning. Is your tune changing?”

Snow snorted. “Like anything I say would stop you. So what gives?”

Those hands of the cop’s were telling as he slowly rolled his palms around the wheel. “You think he’d go out with me?”