Sinner's Gin (Sinners, #1)

It was a long way to the living room, and the archway back to Miki’s bedroom loomed behind Kane, a haunting space beckoning him to the man’s bed. He was tired, worn down to the bone from the day, but his mind whirred, unsettled by the waves of anguish racking Miki’s body when Kane held him.

He popped the cap off a beer and took a deep pull from the dark, yeasty brew. Their dinner dishes sat on the counter, crusted with food. Kane left them to soak in soapy dishwater along with the utensils, hoping they’d scrape clean later. He returned to the living room, flopped onto the couch, and took another sip of his beer, finally letting the fatigue plaguing him seep down into his bones. His cell phone chirped out a cheery salsa, and Kane sighed, wondering what his partner was up to after the long night they all had.

“Hey,” Kane grunted into the phone. Surprisingly, the ancient couch was comfortable, and he squirmed into its cushions. “What’s up, Kel?”

“Where are you?” Sanchez barked back. “At St. John’s?”

“Yeah, I thought it would be a good idea since he found a bag of severed fingers and cow parts on his porch this afternoon,” Kane said, sitting up quickly. “What’s going on?”

“Some asshole somehow got ahold of one of the photos from the crime scene… one with your boyfriend in it. This same asshole posted a piece about St. John being a prostitute before hooking up with his band.” Sanchez swore, a blistering Spanish curse on the reporter’s mother. “It hit the rag’s website about an hour ago. The chief’s fucking pissed off, and Internal’s looking to cut off someone’s head.”

Kane’s stomach sank down. A sickening feeling spread through him, and he glanced toward the bedroom where Miki slept. “Any picture they got would be when he was a kid. What the fuck?”

“There’s a cease and desist out. The District Attorney’s got a flamethrower going and looking to make some s’mores. Casey’s right behind her. Someone’s going to get his nuts cut off.” Sanchez was running hot, and Kane couldn’t blame him. “Problem is, shit’s already out there. It was out there before we could do anything. God knows what sick fuck’s already downloaded it.”

“Damn it, Kel.” Kane ground his teeth. “Who the hell did this?”

“I don’t know, man. Kane, this shit’s from our files… our evidence room. I can’t fucking believe this crap. I’m going to beat the shit out of the guy who let this out. I swear to fucking God, just give me one minute in a room with him.”

“Shit.” Kane rubbed at his face. “This is crap, Sanchez.”

“Some lawyer called….” Sanchez’s words were lost when Miki’s cell phone sang, vibrating across the table.

“Hold on, let me call you back. Someone’s on Miki’s cell,” Kane said, reaching for Miki’s phone. “If it’s a reporter, I want to chew them a new one.”

“Nah, don’t bother. I’m going to go crash,” Sanchez grumbled. “I’ll talk to you in the morning. Maybe I’ll be able to see straight by then. Have fun chewing.”

“Deal.” Kane hung up on his partner, then debated waking the singer, but, remembering the dark circles under Miki’s eyes, he gritted his teeth and unlocked the phone with a slide of his thumb. “Hello?”

“Who is this?” The woman on the line was angry. Her voice reverberated with it, a tingling, molten fury ready to be unleashed on the unfamiliar voice she found on the other end of the singer’s phone. “Where’s Miki?”

“He’s asleep,” Kane said softly. “I’m a friend of his, Kane.”

“The detective? That friend?” The woman’s tone softened. “This is Edie. Has he told you about me?”

“Said you were a manager or something? I had you down as a cross of Godzilla and Mary Poppins. And that’s a compliment.” Kane tried to recall what Miki said as he poured himself out into Kane’s heart. “He likes you.”

“I like him too,” Edie replied. “You’re a detective. Do you know what’s going on there?”

Kane closed his eyes and tried to rub away the sleep creeping over him. He listened as she repeated Kel pretty much word for word with the exception of the swearing. “How much more is there to know, Edie? I haven’t checked the news or anything.”

“We’ve gotten the site to pull the photos and the story, but other places have picked it up.” A small dog barked in the distance on the line, and Edie shushed it with a tsk. “Of course, we’re going to sue. What does he think?”

“He doesn’t know yet,” Kane said. “My partner just told me. I’ll tell him when he gets up.”

“I can try to be up there in the morning,” Edie promised. “They’re going to be after him… those damned vultures. He’ll need to find some place else to stay.”

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