Oh, this took a turn that I was not expecting. Alright, so I kind of expected that this would happen, but it was a lot darker than I thought. I really hope the ending lives up to everything else that's been done so far. Only a few more chapters before the end!
I hope you enjoy!
Warnings: Violence, Choking, Angst, Hallucinations, Head Injury, Slow burn. Still in the process of writing so check here for new warnings as I go!
If you want to be kept up to date with any upcoming stories or want to ask me to write a story for you please follow me on Facebook 'SilverMidnight52' or on Tumblr under SilverMidnightWrite! I own nothing.
Spinning his keys in his fingers Luca slammed the door of his truck loudly enough to wince. It wasn't all that late in the day, just a little after seven in the evening, but after the day he had the noise made his head feel like it was going to implode. Spending so much time staring at files and screens would do that to a person though.
Still, if it had been up to him he wouldn't have left. It wasn't as if they were any closer to finding something that might help them track Keller down. Hell, it had felt as if he hadn't actually done any work at all.
After he had speculated that Baylon had been the one that was pulling the strings and not the two of them together he had decided to go through everything once more. It wasn't likely, but looking at the information through a different eye might just get some different answers.
Shockingly enough, it didn't. Instead he had a whole new mess of questions to add on top of the ones that he already had. He couldn't believe how frustrating the whole case was given the fact that they only had one more person to catch. It was supposed to be getting easier the more days that passed.
Instead it felt as if there was nothing that they could possibly do to figure out what was going on with the case. Everything about the case made it seem as they weren't actually investigating. It was as if it was all just happening around them.
Normally whenever the pieces fell in place around them it was an easy case. The criminals were idiots that didn't seem to understand what they were even doing in the first place. Those cases were boring and surprisingly okay with all of them.
This was nothing like that. There was nothing simple about the cases or the people that were committing them. Nothing was more frustrating than seeing the answers that were right in front of them when there was no use for them anymore.
The whole thing made him want to scream or hit something. Anything to release the tension that was building in the pit of his stomach. He just wanted to be able to go through a day without feeling as if he was failing everyone.
Which was probably why Hondo and Deacon had stepped in and forced him to go home. Those two knew exactly what to look for in each and every single person on the team to know when it was time for them to step in and point them in the right direction.
That didn't mean that he hadn't wanted to fight them so he could continue to work. He just knew that the men would win and force him home one way or another. At least, this way he could get back to work faster. The last thing he wanted was for his boss to take him from the case completely.
Especially since it would mean that the team would be down another person. They were better when they were all together and though one or two people being gone wouldn't cause too many problems it was not ideal.
Add the fact that the only reason Street was out was because of the case and he was going to do everything in his power to stay there and help. He had to be there to take down the person that had hurt him. At least take down the person that was associated with the man that had hurt his friend.
It was a confusing thing to think about to say the least. It wasn't very common for the bad guys to be in a relationship. Or should he say it wasn't common for them to not end up being killed around the same time.
That was another reason why he was almost positive that Baylon was pulling the strings alone. In every case that he worked where lovers like Baylon and Keller were involved they were almost always found in the same place together. It's why they worked so hard to separate them.
The fact that Baylon was alone that night gave him a lot more questions that he doubted he'd ever get answers to. Even though he knew that those answers were important if they wanted to wrap the case up properly.
With a soft sigh Luca leaned against his truck and pulled out his phone. As much as he wanted to shut his brain off for a little while he knew that until he told someone that it was going to be rattling around in his head.
For the most part that person was Street. The younger man was one of the easiest people to talk to. There was no trying to explain what he was thinking or wondering if he was making any sense. He always seemed to be on the same page.
That was also the last thing that he could do at the moment. After everything that his friend had gone through with the case Luca couldn't bring himself to bring it up. Especially since he knew that it would be the only thing on his mind.
He was actually a little surprised that the man hadn't contacted them. Trying to force their way into cases that hit a little too close was something that all of them did. Even when that was the last thing any of them should do. The fact that Street hadn't called them at all sat like a lead brick in his stomach.
"Luca?" Tan started not bothering with a greeting, "Shouldn't you be relaxing for the night?"
"Who says I'm not relaxing?" Luca replied feeling the smirk pull at his lips.
"Do you actually want me to answer that?"
Chuckling softly he pushed away from his truck and started towards his home. At least that's what he had planned on doing. As soon as he was focused on the building though a rocked formed in the pit of his stomach. For the first time in a long time the place where he felt safest made him want to turn and walk away. He wanted to hit himself for even thinking that.
As much as he hated to admit it, with everything that was going on with his roommate he didn't want to go inside. The idea of sitting in the living room with the shell of his friend was too much. If he even decided to leave his bedroom that day.
Seeing his friend act so differently than normal was scarier than he wanted to admit. He knew who Street was. They had a routine that they followed and, truthfully, the younger man wasn't a fan of breaking routines.
It was something that Luca hadn't thought he'd enjoy. All of his life he had spent in motion. It didn't matter what he was doing as long as he was doing something and was surrounded by people. He didn't do alone very well.
Street was the opposite of that. He didn't exactly like being alone, but he did enjoy a bit of quiet. He would be perfectly content to just being in the living room with Luca not talking at all. As long as he wasn't truly alone he was okay.
That actually helped Luca a lot more than he liked to admit. For the longest time he didn't know how to simply be without having something that he was supposed to be doing. He couldn't just sit there and be. Not until Street showed him that it was okay.
Which made him feel so guilty for what he was doing. Street was his friend. Hell, he was his best friend. The last thing he should be doing was standing next to his truck scared to even going into his own home and see his friend. Especially, when said friend obviously needed some help.
"Luca?" Tan questioned the worried tone cutting through his thoughts, "You there?"
"Yeah," he replied shaking his head while turning from the house, "Sorry, I was thinking."
"That must have hurt."
"Funny. Listen, I was thinking about the case."
"Have a new idea we should be looking at?"
"More of a thought that won't leave me alone. I told Hondo that I thought Baylon was the one that was pulling the strings."
"Right. He told the rest of us a little after you left. You think differently now?"
"No, actually, I'm doubling down on that thought."
"Care to explain?"
"You've seen lovers turn criminal before, right?"
"Once. Sort of. I was new to the force and it was more of an 'after the fact' investigation. We were just piecing things together."
"How did that work out?"
"Well, from what I remember, the couple didn't have a lot of money so they decided to break into places to gather things for their perfect wedding. The last place they hit was a jewelry store. They pulled a gun and the owner pulled a gun. Both of them ended up shooting and all of them ended up dead."
A soft sigh fell from Luca at that. It was one of the more common reasons that criminals gave. They just wanted to give the person that they loved more than anything whatever it was they desired. And in the end, desperate people did desperate things.
For him those types of cases were hard to handle. Mostly because it was so easy to understand why they did what they did. Hell, he often thought that if he had been in their position he would do the exact same thing. How could he arrest someone for that?
"Most stories are like that," Luca offered softly, "They go after specific targets for specific reasons. For the most part violence isn't a factor. All they want is to solve the problem and they believe that doing what they're doing is the only way. They're desperate."
"That doesn't sound like Baylon and Keller," Tan replied the frown clear in his voice.
"No, they sound like the other category. A much more rare one."
"Alright. What does that mean?"
"On rare occasions, the couple decides that they enjoy what they're doing. They find an enjoyment, a connection, in it and don't see a reason to not continue whatever it was they were doing. Sometimes, it's because they weren't able to succeed in getting whatever they needed at first. They no longer have anything to lose so why bother trying.
"Then there's the second that just enjoy it. Whether they met doing something illegal or they just happen to find each other they have no reason other than they can. There's also an added bit that they're in love. Once again there's nothing to lose. As long as the person by their side is there they've invincible."
"That doesn't sound like them either."
"Exactly. I have no doubt that Keller is in love with Baylon. We have enough testimony to that, but I don't think Baylon cared about any of it. It makes more sense if you put Keller in with the victims. His role was different, yes, but I'm almost positive that he was being manipulated just like the rest of them."
"If you're right, that changes everything. You told Hondo about this already though. Did you think of something new that might point us in a different direction?"
"Maybe. It's possible that-"
Before he could finish his sentence a round of loud barks echoed from inside. Chuckling softly at his dogs timing he quickly told Tan to hold on for a moment as he pulled out his keys to the house and went inside.
Instantly, Duke was next to him circling around his feet and pushing at him hard enough to almost fall. Something that wasn't unusual. That's how he reacted after being alone for so long. Except he wasn't alone.
Swallowing roughly he patted the dogs side as his eyes darted around the room looking for any sign of his roommate. There was nothing. Everything looked exactly how it had when he had left that morning.
"Luca?" Tan questioned after a moment, "Everything okay?"
"Yeah. Everything's fine. Look, I'm going to call you back in a minute. Let me check on Street real quick."
"Okay. Tell him-"
Without letting his friend finish his sentence Luca hung up. He knew that he was only going to worry the younger man with the action, but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to really think about Tan. Not when something inside of him was yelling that he needed to go find Street before it was too late.
Standing up he slipped his phone into his pocket and headed towards his friends room. His hand dropped unconsciously to his gun when he noticed that the mans bedroom door was open. He hated leaving his door open. Forcing himself to take a calming breath he slowly crept into the mans room hoping that he was just passed out on his bed. Instead he was met with a completely empty room.
His heart sped up as he took in everything about the room. It looked exactly how it always did. No sign of struggle or anything like that. Somehow the fact that it looked so normal scared him more than anything else.
A small voice in the back of his head told him that he should simply walk out of the room and call Tan. There was no reason to think that something bad had happened. Truthfully, the fact that Street was out of his room should have been a good thing.
Knowing that he was risking his friends anger Luca pushed that voice to the side and started to move around the room. Given everything that had happened recently he knew that the younger man would forgive him, eventually, for what he was doing. Anyway, it wasn't as if he was going to go through all the drawers or anything like that. He just…
He had no idea what he was doing. Seeing Street act so differently from normal threw him off in a way that he didn't know how to explain. All he wanted was to get his friend back and if that meant a little snooping than he could deal with the out come.
At first glance everything seemed as if it was in place. Nothing at all to suggest that he needed to dig any deeper. Coming to stop in front of the dresser he found himself shaking his head at what he was doing. Of course he was overreacting. He did that a lot when the people he loved were hurt.
With a soft sigh he started to turn around when a notebook on the dresser caught his eye. He knew that the last thing he should do was open it and see what the man was writing, but he found he couldn't stop himself as he opened it to the first page.
Feeling his eyes widen Luca started at the page unblinkingly. It was easy enough to identify Street's handwriting, but everything else about what was written through him off. His friend was the last person he'd expect to write like that.
Leaning forward he pulled the notebook closer trying to figure out what had been said. The words were jumbled though. Written over each other in a few places and scratched out with heavy black lines in others. There was only one word that he could make out in everything.
Baylon.
Over and over the name repeated. It almost looked like a high school girls notebook with their crushes name on the cover. Except for how the name was written. It was so heavy in places that the pen had torn through multiple pieces of paper.
Feeling his heart racing in his chest Luca pulled out his phone and took pictures of the first few pages. As much as he wished he could keep his team in the dark about something like this he knew that he needed their help. That Street needed their help.
Grabbing the notebook he started to the door his fingers already searching for Tan's number. Just as he was about to hit the call button though his phone started to ring. Seeing Street's name flash on the screen he felt more relieved than he had any right.
"Street," Luca breathed into the phone, "Thank god. Where the fuck-"
A broken, guttural scream broke in before he could finish. Without thinking he froze where he was. He never thought that he would hear his friend sound like that. So broken and scared and hurt and completely wrecked.
"Jim!" Luca yelled out taking off running to his truck, "Jimmy, I need you to listen to me. Tell me where you are. Okay? I'll be right there. Just tell me where you are!"
The only sound that responded were sobs. Blinking back tears he pulled the phone from his ear and put the younger man on hold. He hated himself for doing that when the man obviously needed help but he needed to get a hold of his team.
"Tan!" he yelled as soon as he heard him, "Track Street's phone! We need to get there. Now!"