Kane was waiting for him by the interview room’s door when Miki came out. Sanchez spotted his partner first and glanced back behind him, a worried expression drawing his dark eyebrows together into a point. The singer emerged slowly, and he turned slightly when he saw Kane, glancing at the open door nearby.
They stood staring at one another. Kane held himself as still as he could, trying to read the complicated mix of emotions playing across the other man’s face. Miki splayed his hand against the wall for support, keeping his knee bent to ease the pain Kane could see resonating in Miki’s taut mouth. Canted forward, the singer said nothing, only breathing as he stared up at the cop who was pushing his way into his life.
Then Miki took a step toward him, and Kane closed the distance between them in a single stride.
Chapter 6
I can feel you breaking my skin.
My bones shatter when you walk by.
The blood I taste is from my tongue.
You say you love me but I know it’s a lie.
—Shattered Lies
Kane caught the man up in his arms, sliding his hands around Miki’s slender waist to support his back. Miki fought him, pushing him away, but Kane held him tighter.
“You’re a damned cop, for Christ’s sake,” Miki grumbled. “You can’t just grab people in the middle of the place. They think I killed Shing.”
“We don’t. Well, Sanchez and I don’t,” Kane said. “Right now, how about if I’m just the guy who took you out for dinner and let you ramble on about music. I’ll be a cop again when I let you go, but right now, I’m a guy who’s worried about you. No one will see. Sanchez will keep people out of the hallway.”
“You don’t even know me,” he whispered.
“Yeah, I think I kind of do,” Kane replied and pulled Miki in. “Let’s face it. You need a friend right now. I’ll be that friend, Miki. Let me.”
“I’ve never wanted to fuck a friend before.” Miki’s whisper was almost lost in Kane’s shirt. The singer’s hands came up, slowly finding purchase around Kane’s chest, then around his neck when the cop buried his face into Miki’s soft, long hair. “God, this fucking sucks.”
Kane’s insides churned, as if he’d truly gone through the glass to put his arms around the trembling man. He tightened his embrace and sighed in relief when Miki let himself go. Catching up Miki’s slack weight, Kane held the man up, stroking the small of his back. Kane heard a sob catch in Miki’s throat, but the sound was muffled when he buried his face into Kane’s chest.
They became the eye in the center of a wicked storm. Kane rested his chin on Miki’s shoulder and simply listened to the man breathe, stroking his fingertips up and down Miki’s spine. The singer dug his hands into Kane’s shirt, tightly fisting the fabric as if afraid to let go… afraid he’d fall into something he couldn’t crawl out of if he didn’t have Kane to hold on to.
Kane couldn’t count the minutes they stood together, but eventually Miki looked up from the safety of Kane’s embrace. His face was bare of tears, but the specks of skin on his lips were nearly chewed through to blood. Taking a deep breath, Miki took a small step away from Kane, only enough so he could meet Kane’s gaze.
“I can’t believe I’m fucking crying in the middle of a police station,” Miki whispered. “Did you hear… all of it? Behind that damned glass? God, I want to throw something through it. Creeps me the fuck out.”
“You’re not the first person to cry in a cop house.” Kane kissed his forehead, then leaned back to cup Miki’s chin in his palm. “I don’t think you know how fucking strong you are. I couldn’t have done that. There’s no way in hell I could have stayed through that.”
Miki’s scoffing snort brought a smile to Kane’s lips. He hugged the singer tightly, then gently released him, keeping one arm around his waist to support Miki’s damaged leg.
“I don’t feel strong,” he complained under his breath. “I feel like a whiny bitch.”
“Yeah, well, trust me,” Kane said. “Not a lot of guys could have dealt with that shit. Makes me want to kill someone.”
“Like I had a choice,” Miki muttered. “Can I go home? Or am I stuck here for a bit?”
“Nah, I’ll take you home,” Kane replied. “Just promise me that hellhound you’ve got isn’t going to eat me alive when I get you there.”
“No promises. Dude usually likes everyone. I don’t know why that guy pissed him off. And why the fuck did I leave that damned cane behind?” Miki took a few tentative steps, using Kane’s arm to lean on. “God, I’m an idiot. Aren’t they going to kick you off the case for hitting on a suspect… or whatever the hell I am?”
“Only if you really killed Shing. Then, I’m up to my neck in shit,” Kane teased. “We’ll stop someplace, and I’ll grab you some ice cream. My mom always says ice cream can solve everything. Well, that and a cup of tea, but I’m going to disagree with her on that one.”
“Thanks,” Miki murmured. “For everything. For this. For the ice cream.”