Grave Secrets (Manhunters 1)

“Mom?” Jamison’s worried voice touched Ian’s ears before his gaze settled on the boy, half hiding behind him. His breath billowed in the air while his eyes, darkened by dilated pupils, darted around the group.

“Jamison,” Misty called from the landing. “Come back in here. It’s freezing.”

“Honey,” Savannah said, “Go back inside. I’ll be right there.”

“Why don’t you all go in?” Corwin suggested.

Jamison’s face crunched in a belligerent frown even as his hand fisted in Ian’s jeans at the knee. “No. I’m not leaving my mom.”

“Come on now, buddy, don’t use that tone with a police officer,” Corwin said. “I’m not the enemy. You brought me cookies just the other night, remember?”

“You weren’t mean then.”

“You weren’t mean then, either.” Jamison turned his head away and pressed his face to Ian’s jeaned thigh. Something pulled deep inside Ian. He needed to end this.

He pulled out his phone and stepped around Savannah and Corwin to snap photos of the cruiser’s bumper against Savannah’s. Of Corwin, his nameplate, and his badge number.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doin’?” Corwin barked.

As he moved, Jamison moved, keeping Ian between himself and Corwin. The fact that the boy was afraid of a deputy who worked with his father, a man who, by all accounts, should have been a member of Jamison’s second family, gnawed at Ian.

“Jamison, go back—” Savannah started, turning toward them.

“Put that away,” Corwin ordered.

Ian stuffed it into his back pocket again. “It’s gone, it’s gone,” he placated, lifting one hand in surrender and dropping the other to Jamison’s head to reassure him. “But you should know I already grabbed a video of you pushing her car in front of the hydrant. As a concerned citizen, I feel it’s my duty to enlighten the public to random acts of police harassment. I don’t think you’d want this story reaching media outlets.” He grimaced, sucking air through his teeth. “That wouldn’t be good for you. Not good at all.”

“You piece of—” Corwin made a swipe for Ian, but he was slow, and Ian easily stepped out of reach.

“Actually, I think you might be the one looking like…” He glanced at Jamison. “Well, you know. To the public. To your boss. Tell you what, let’s all walk away and call it good. What do you say?”

Corwin glared at Ian. “I say you’d better watch your back, boy. You’ve just used up your one free pass as a new mucker.” He made a slow turn on his heel, his gaze on Savannah over his shoulder. “Behave, girl. I’m watchin’ you.”

“Same, Don,” Savannah shot back. “Same.”

Corwin sneered as he dropped into the driver’s seat. As soon as the cop retreated to his car, Jamison abandoned the safety of Ian’s legs and ran to Savannah.

She dropped into a crouch in front of her son. “I told you to stay inside for a reason.” She tugged on one of his earlobes. “Do I need to check your ears for wax?”

Jamison smiled and squirmed from her touch. “No.”

She turned him by the shoulders and gave his butt a soft swat. “Inside, now.”

The boy whisked by Ian and reentered the café. Corwin pulled his cruiser away from the curb, and Ian watched all the tension and fear drain out of Savannah. Her face perked up with color. Her shoulders lowered. Her posture softened. And she released a deep sigh.

Savannah crossed her arms and looked up at Ian, hesitant with her words. “Thank you. It was nice of you to intervene, but these guys don’t play by the rules.” She pulled her phone from the pocket of the half apron around her waist. Her screen lit up with a recording symbol. She tapped the stop button and smirked up at him. “You didn’t get a video of them pushing my car, did you?”

“What makes you think that?”

“I didn’t see your phone out at breakfast.”

He grinned, shrugged.

The bell on the café’s door tinkled again, and Jamison ran back out. He offered the picture he’d been drawing to Ian. “It’s for you.”

A pang hit him dead center in the chest. Ah, shit.

With a sigh, he accepted the picture, playing down his interest. “Well, thanks.”