Jaiden found himself standing in the hallway in the house as the techs swept the area. They had bagged the pill that Jaiden had found and started the search the area for any blood that was overlooked. Nate kept grumbling about working overtime but shut his mouth the moment Jaiden sent him a glare.
"We're going to run tests on the pill you two found and we're looking for anything in the bathroom. Seems like they wanted to clean it for a reason." Nate said as his face softened. "You seriously shouldn't have gone in there. You know how you are after a migraine."
Jaiden smiled a little and patted his shoulder. "I got the lecture already. I'll be careful next time."
Nate gave him a skeptical look and turned towards Toni. "This asshole is stubborn as a mule. Next time, just sock him in the jaw. Maybe he'll listen then."
Toni chuckled. "He's still recovering from some pendejo hitting him. Besides, I think I would rather keep his face bruise free."
Toni leaned into Jaiden. "These techs are going to shit themselves soon if we keep breathing down their necks. How about some food."
Jaiden snorted. "Sounds good."
Toni drove him to a small restaurant. It was more of a casita that was renovated to be a family own restaurant. Which clearly meant that this would serve authentic and delicious food. That was the trick - find the least conspicuous place to eat and you will find a gem.
"Haven't been here before?" Toni asked.
"No, but it smells great in here." He closed his eyes and took in the scent of what was cooking.
The waitress approached them and carried on a conversation with Toni. He seemed to be a regular and she was excited to see him with someone else.
Toni introduced her to Jaiden, and she seemed more than enthusiastic to meet him.
"What can I get you to drink, handsome?" She asked with a wink.
Jaiden smiled a little. "Coffee."
"No. You need water." Toni interjected.
Jaiden frowned. "Water doesn't keep me awake."
Toni groaned. "All I have seen you drink is coffee and alcohol. You need water in your diet too."
"Technically, coffee has water in it. It's one of the key ingredients." Jaiden pouted.
Toni pursed his lips, not swayed by Jaiden's words. "Smartass. Water for the both of us."
Their food arrived shortly after they ordered, and Jaiden practically moaned with delight. It looked phenomenal, especially for someone who was a sucker for red chile.
He ate happily but noticed that Toni wasn't eating. He looked up and saw that Toni was watching him with a concerned look.
He stopped and put his fork down with a sigh. "You're looking at me like I'm going to die soon."
Toni was startled by the sudden conversation and looked away. He seemed a little embarrassed that he was staring so obviously. "I'm just worried."
"As a work partner or a lover?" Jaiden asked with a tilt of his head.
Toni snapped his attention back to Jaiden. "What? A lover?"
"Well, we haven't really been on a date unless you count breakroom coffee, so I can't exactly call it dating."
"I thought you didn't want anything like that with me." Toni said with a sigh.
Jaiden leaned back and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm still convinced I'm bad news for you, honestly. But I also said that the after the third coincidence, I won't consider it coincidence anymore."
Toni smiled a little. "I think I should be the one to determine whether you're bad for me or not."
"I don't know. I don't think I trust your judgement considering how we first met, and still decided to sleep with me." Jaiden grinned.
"My judgement is fine." Toni leaned forward and grabbed Jaiden's hand. "So let me answer your question... I'm worried about you as a lover right now."
Jaiden flushed. He posed the question as a bold joke but was still bashful when he heard the words slip from Toni's lips. Lover.
"The migraine you saw is the worst it gets. Normally it's pretty mild, especially if I take care of it right away. But I promise you, there's nothing else wrong. This not going to be one those cliche stories where I suddenly have a brain tumor or something." Jaiden said with a smile.
"Don't say that!" Toni hissed. He took some salt in his hand and tossed it over his shoulder.
"Holy shit. Are you that superstitious?" Jaiden laughed.
Throw salt over your shoulder to ward off bad luck.
Toni frowned. "You should do it too."
Jaiden chuckled but complied and pinched some salt over his shoulder. "You win. You win."
Valeria would make him do it all the time too, so the tradition was nothing foreign.
Toni looked delighted to see him following suit, but the concern creeped back. "Do you know why you have them?"
Jaiden shrugged stiffly. "Not really. It's not a family condition, which makes it a 'me' condition. They think it's because sleep is hard to come by for me."
Toni wanted to pry more but he saw that Jaiden's body language was closing up and becoming a little defensive. This touched on a sensitive topic that Jaiden was not keen on sharing now.
Instead of pushing the subject, he brought Jaiden's palm to his lips and kissed it. "All I ask is that you tell me when you're hurting so I can help you. Communication and honesty are what I need as your work partner... and lover."
Jaiden's shoulders dropped with relief knowing that Toni wasn't going to pry further. "Yes sir."
Toni raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Yes sir?"
Jaiden immediately flushed, recalling in initial impression of Toni. He never expected to say 'yes sir' without thinking.
"I think I like that." Toni said with a heat in his eyes.
Jaiden laughed a little and Toni rubbed his knuckles with his thumb. "Tell me about yourself."
Toni smirked. "I'm an open book. Ask me anything."
"Have you always wanted to be a cop?" Jaiden asked.
Toni nodded. "Ever since I was a kid. My dad was a cop and I always wanted to be like him. I grew up in the precinct a little North of here because I simply idolized the badge. So, the moment I turned 19, I applied to the force. I had some good years working in the same station as him, but he got shot in the leg and it became too much after a while, so he retired. He wasn't meant to work behind the desk and now he works on the ranch with my brothers." He laughed a little. "I'm like that too. I have to be active and busy, so I knew that this was the only career for me. What about you?"
Jaiden laughed. "No. This just fell in my lap, and I took a chance. Fell in love with the job through the years though. Now there is nothing else I would rather be doing."
Toni lifted his glass of water. "Cheers to that."
Jaiden reciprocated the toast. "You mentioned your brothers. How many siblings do you have?"
Toni sigh. "We're a big family. Four sisters, two brothers and all are married with a fuckload of kids. I've forgotten how many nieces and nephews. God knows how many cousins I have because I have to many uncles and aunts."
Jaiden raised an eyebrow. "Wow. I thought Carlos' family was large..."
Toni chuckled. "Well, the family wasn't supposed to be that big, but my twin sister, Mercedes, and I were an accident."
Jaiden grinned. "Holy shit. A twin? There's two of you running around?"
"What do you mean?"
Jaiden shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Nothing... Just, she must be beautiful."
Toni grinned. "I'm going to accept that as a compliment."
"You should."
Toni laughed and rubbed his chin a little, as if trying to hide the blush creeping up. "Tell me a little about you."
Jaiden looked a little uncomfortable. "What do you want to know?"
Toni had many questions about him but decided to keep to something he was comfortable with. "You've mentioned that the high school you went to was a good place for you. Can you tell me about it?"
Jaiden seemed to light up when he was asked that. "I thought it was going to be the worst experience of my life; I was grieving, weak, and entering an unfamiliar environment. I mean, I was a scrawny kid who was thrown into a place that was known for fighting and being violent. And it was pretty damn violent. The first week there, I saw at least a dozen fights because people were developing some sort of hierarchy to become kings of the campus. Those who won the fights were practically revered. I thought I was going to hate them because I believed that they would turn out to be arrogant bullies, but I was wrong.
"Those who were the strongest in the school genuinely cared about the people there. They even took an idiot like me under their wing and helped me acclimate. We were just a group of abandoned, abused, and frightened boys. So, in the end, we took care of each other because we were all broken in one way or another. We were all we had.
"Senior year was different, though. Got a new guy at the school who was ridiculously strong, and he brought us all even closer together. We bonded as brothers, as cheesy as that sounds. They're great guys and without them, I don't think I would have made it out of that town alive."
His voice was a little quiet and he played with the glass of water on the table. His eyes were glazed over a little, reminiscing about old times.
"They taught me a lot, including how to use my fists. Which honestly, may not have been the best idea with my short fuse." He chuckled a little. "But we're still friends even now. I went to every single one of their weddings. I try to join every big event that they have, every milestone. We still text pretty much every Saturday and watch the fights together."
Toni couldn't help but to smile with Jaiden when he saw pure happiness when talking about his old friends. "That's actually really awesome. I can't think of anyone from high school that I still talk to."
Jaiden laughed. "The gang from high school is great. They're patient with me, even when I don't deserve it."
"Why wouldn't you deserve it?"
The atmosphere shifted a little around Jaiden. "I did what I do best and distanced myself... literally. Left the town, ran away to here and never shared anything personal with them. They had no idea what I was doing or even where I was at. They never forced the issue when I blew off their casual get togethers, or just texted generic messages."
"Can I ask why you did that?"
Jaiden shrugged. "Embarrassed, I guess? I was the only one who didn't really have my shit together... I only give personal updates when something really important happens, like when I got detective. Actually, the only update I gave them was when I got detective. I guess I haven't found anything else that was really great about my life to share with them again."
He chuckled nervously and waved his hand, like he was trying to push away his shortcomings. "I'm a shitty friend, but those stubborn bastards still deal with my bullshit. They even came down to Cruces two years ago to help me out of a tough spot."
Toni had noticed that Jaiden was become a little tense and uncomfortable, like they were treading on a difficult subject. "They're your family. I'm glad they're there for you. Nate is a bad influence, and I would hate if he was the only one you had to rely on." He decided to help lighten the conversation up.
Jaiden's shoulders relaxed a little and he laughed. "Nate is a dumbass, but a good guy."
"You two have always lived together?"
Jaiden shook his head. "Just since we moved up to Albuquerque. We got hired at the same. By the way, thanks for that."
Toni cocked his head a little with confusion. "For what?"
"The job. If you didn't go to Colorado, they wouldn't have needed me here." Jaiden grinned.
Toni's face bloomed brightly. "Mierda... So, I guess I'm the reason why you're here."
Jaiden let out a breathy snort. "Don't break your arm by patting yourself on your back so much."
Lunch ended far too quickly for the both of them and they found themselves back in the office and pouring through their data. Their flirtatious moments were sidelined by this horrible case. And with both being perfectionists in their work, it was easy to shift into a professional mindset.
They worked until the afternoon turned to night and the sun had long gone. It wasn't an 18-hour day like before, but the hours they put in was nothing to scoff at.
Toni and Jaiden stood outside of Toni's car smoking a cigarette. "Are you ready to come home with me tonight?" Toni asked, breaking the silence.
"Are you sure I'm not intruding?" Jaiden said with a laugh.
Toni rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have asked this morning if I thought you were."
"Well, we were both... distracted." Jaiden grinned.
Toni looked Jaiden up and down, soaking in his frame. "Believe me, I don't need you naked in my shower to know that I want you back at my place. Besides, where are you going to sleep in your apartment? The couch again?"
"Couch? How did you know?" Jaiden was surprised he knew and wondered if Nate spilled everything about their current arrangement and Patricia.
"You forget I'm a detective too. Your apartment had evidence that someone was designated to sleep on the couch. Patricia is pregnant and you would never allow her sleep there, and Nate doesn't seem like the type to offer. No offense to your friend."
Jaiden laughed. "Well, you got it right. He also tends to sleep around so that would be awkward to barge into... again."
Toni raised an eyebrow and practically choked on the cigarette. "Again?"
"I may have stormed into his room once without knowing what was happening." Jaiden chuckled.
Toni leaned towards him, obviously trying to not laugh and ruin the moment. "Stay with me." He said, his dark eyes captivating Jaiden.
Jaiden felt his reasons to say no fly away. "Fine. I'll stay. But this isn't going to be an every night thing."
Toni smirked triumphantly. "Sure." He opened the passenger door for him and watched sit down.
*****
Sorry that this update was a bit delayed. I wanted to be consistent with updates, but I kind of gutted this chapter. I have a feeling that this may happen again soon, but I won't leave you hanging for too long!