Moving is the only option that comes to mind, and what better place to retreat to than the beauty of the Vermont wilderness he loved visiting in his younger days? After all, he still has family there, and it’s far removed from the sport he’s struggling to walk away from.
Speaking of walking away. Ever since he found proof of his late husband’s infidelity, Jaylon’s been wishing the man had abandoned him long before his illness stole his life. At least then he wouldn’t be torn between fury and mourning, wondering what he’d done to drive away the man he’d loved. He’s way too old to be starting over, or at least, that’s what he tells himself before Crowley “Crow” Davies pulls up to the cabin Jaylon was renting out, a beautiful hitchhiker in tow.
Now he’s got one eye on Crow and one on Owen, a budding new dynamic forming between them, but will it all come crashing down when Crow’s best friend, Jesse, shows up, looking to reconnect? A former fighter who left the sport two years before, he’s been friends with benefits with Crowley since before either stepped foot in a cage to fight. The chemistry between the sheets is smokin’ hot, but there’s always been something missing, something the two never could put their fingers on.
Can the inclusion of Owen and Jaylon provide the pieces they’ve always needed or will someone find themselves left out in the cold?
A Murder for Crow can be found here on Amazon!
And can be purchased direct from Payhip here!
“Did
you know about this?” Crowley growled, as Jaylon reached the bottom of the
steps about the same time as the blond let down steps for Nick, then steadied
him as he got down.
“Nope,
but I’m curious as hell now, I’m just going to sit back here and watch this
blow up in your face,” Jaylon replied. “You wouldn’t happen to have any more of
that matcha green tea popcorn around, would you?”
Whatever
Crowley was going to say was lost in the crack of thunder that made them all
flinch, lightning snaking across the sky so close it illuminated everything.
The sky chose that minute to erupt, heavy drops pouring from the heavens to
splatter on all of them. They surged through the door, with Crowley standing
there looking flummoxed. It would have cracked him up, if not for the grim
looks on the other men’s faces. Jaylon moved so the blond could help Nick up,
intending to be the last one through the door so he and Crowley could have a word.
No,
he didn’t!
Slamming
his hand against the door, he couldn’t believe that the bastard had tried to
slam it in his face.
“This
has nothing to do with you,” Crowley said.
“Too
bad, because I am making it my business, now open the fucking door!”
No
ands, iffs, or ors, no ultimatums, Crowley could either open the door, or this
would be the last conversation he and Jaylon ever had, except to say peace out
when Crowley returned the keys at the end of his lease.
Crowley
shook his head, but he dropped his hand and stepped out of the way, allowing
Jaylon to go past him into the living room, where the mountain and the blond
were both standing, while Nick got situated in the easy chair.
“I
believe a round of introductions is in order,” Nick began, holding up his
finger when the mountain looked like he was about to go off. Big man’s eyes
narrowed, chest poofing out like he was about to start some shit, then he
exhaled, shoulders slumping like all the fight had just been kicked out of him.
Crowley’s
defiant glare swept around the room while he stubbornly refused to say a word.
“Ok-ay,
I guess I’m getting things started,” Jaylon said, locking eyes with him. “I’m
Jaylon, I own the property and up until ten days ago, I thought I was dating
this man but apparently, it isn’t okay to be worried when someone with no
lantern doesn’t come in off the lake before dark!”
“Was
a fuckin’ accident!” Crowley snapped.
“Like
leaving your god damned phone in your room! Like not answering the fuckin’
phone all week, which was a dick thing to do let me tell you,” Jaylon hissed.
“Amen
to that!” both the blond and the mountain chimed in.
“Hello,
I’m Jesse, founding member and former spokesperson for the Ghosted by Crow
foundation,” the blond announced. “Allow me to be the first to extend my
condolences on your induction into the club.”
“Hi,
Jesse,” Nick and the mountain replied, waving with those fake ass smiles you
saw on group meeting brochures, all those messed up people looking for other
messed up people, so they could be completely fucked up together, instead of
toughing it out alone in a place where messy was par for the course. Problem
was most people couldn’t see past their own shit to realize that everyone in
the world was drowning one way or another. They could all relate if you gave
them half a chance.
“I
know you’re Nick,” Jaylon said reaching out and shaking the fighter’s hand, “I
saw the fight. Wishing you a speedy recovery.”
“From
your lips to God’s ears, though realistically, I’m going to be hobbling around
for a while,” Nick replied, his grip as firm as Jaylon had expected.
“And
I’m Morgan. Up until a couple months ago, I thought me and this dick were
family, but I guess breaking bread with someone for over twenty years doesn’t
amount to anything.”
“I
don’t know what you want from me, any of you!” Crowley replied, turning his
focus on Nick for a moment, before narrowing his eyes at Jesse. “I cannot
believe you two dragged Nick halfway across the country when he should be
somewhere with that leg elevated like it’s supposed to be. What the hell were
you thinking!”
“Wow,”
Jaylon remarked dryly, clipped words making his throat feel tight. “Sounds just
like what Owen and I were saying to you the last week, only you blew up and
told us to keep our concerns to ourselves. Glad I’m here to see hypocrisy at its
finest.”
“We
don’t want a god damned thing from you except some decency and fucking
respect,” Morgan snarled. “As for dragging Nick anywhere, you’ve got to be
outside of your god damned mind if you think we had a hand in organizing this.
If anything, he dragged us, considering the way you left things the last time
you and me had a conversation. Personally, I would have waited until your
dumbass landed in the ER somewhere with one of our names as your emergency
contact.”
From
the look on Crowley’s face, Jaylon could tell it was something he’d never
considered.
“About
what I figured,” Morgan replied, clearly reading it too. “Since we all know
Crowley, then there is no need for him to introduce himself, so how about
showing some hospitality and offering around a few drinks before we talk about
why we’re here.”
Of
all the fucked-up shit he’d seen in his life, his friends showing up on his
doorstep like this was right up there at the top of the list. Jaydon being
there wasn’t making it any better. He’d never been a man who liked complications
and this was one hot ass mess he had no chance of walking away from.
“What
did I say to you when we first started meditating via video chat?” Nick asked.
Frowning,
Crow struggled to work out how some meditation tips had anything to do with them
being here.
“I
see you’ve blocked it from your memory. Let me help you out. I told you I’d let
your silent treatment routine go on a little longer as long as you kept showing
up for our sessions,” Nick said, leaving Crow gaping at him.
“You’ve
got too much shit to do right now to be worrying about me and a couple
meditation techniques.”
“Are
you really so dense as to think this has anything to do with meditation!”
Morgan bellowed.
“He’s
not dense. I might not have known him as long as you folks have, but if there
is one thing I’ve observed, it’s his intentional obliviousness to everyone
else’s feelings,” Jaylon said. “He knows exactly what he’s doing, and as long
as he can justify it as something that serves a higher purpose, at least to
him, then to hell with anyone else.”
“Weren’t
there two of you?” Nick asked, looking around.
“There
were,” Jaylon said. “Owen is asleep at my place since he felt like he’d worn
out his welcome here.”
“I
never said that shit to him,” Crow growled.
“No
you dismissed him outright when he came to talk to you.”
“Well,
I’d like to see him dismiss us,” Nick said.
Unfuckinbelieveable!
“How
the hell did they rope you into this?” Crow asked, gaze landing on Jesse who’d moved
from the entryway to check things out.
“I
volunteered,” Jesse remarked, raking his eyes over the artwork Owen had hung
when Crow kept putting it off until another day. “No mementoes, not even a few
shots of us hanging out on the beach or wandering Tokyo. I’m kinda hurt there’s
no evidence of your past on these walls. Not even our old high school stuff.”
“Was
trying for a fresh start,” Crow grumbled, pacing near the window.
“You
think I can’t see this for what it is?” Jesse growled. “Shit man, I’ve been
lying to you all for the last year. About the only thing I’ve managed to
restore was some old shelves around the grocery store, seeing as how my folks
decided my retirement would be a good time to drop the place on me so they
could join my aunts in Florida. Been trying to figure out whether I wanted to
keep it or sell it. Been wanting to come clean to someone for a while now, see
if I could get some help untangling the shit in my head, but a certain fucker
won’t answer his phone.”
“See,
that’s why we’re here,” Nick supplied. “You went all radio silent, so
with no proof of life after several days what else were we supposed to do?”
Rubbing
his forehead, Crow tried to think up an argument, tripping over himself several
times when he recalled the promises they’d made to one another and the friends
they’d lost over the years. Who better to know the mindset of a fighter than
another fighter? In hindsight, it was a shitty idea to turn off that phone and
shove it in a drawer.
Instead
of commenting he went to the fridge, brought out a six pack, and plunked it on
the coffee table in full reach of everyone.
“Anyone
else notice how quiet he’s been since we swarmed his door?” Morgan pointed out.
Hanging
his head, Crow leaned against the wall beside the bay window, the furthest he
could get from them, flipping his hands over to try and show he was at a loss
right now.
“I’m
guessing you’ve already said all there was to say so what’s the point,” Crow
growled.
“You
really think I’d do that?” Morgan shot back.
“Wait…you
know what’s going on?” Jesse asked, turning away from the room he was perusing
to check back into the conversation.
“Part
of it.”
“Okay,
so when do the rest of us get to be filled in?” Jesse demanded.
“Yes, Crow, when exactly will this momentous event take place?” Nick asked.
“Why
aren’t we discussing what Jesse said about lying to everyone?” Crow asked.
“Deflection,
and not even subtle about it,” Nick replied. “That’s bad form. If you’d
answered your phone, or checked your messages, you’d know we already addressed
that. By the way, your voice mail is full, you might wanna do something about
that before more people get squirrely and end up here.”
“How
the hell did you find this place?” Crow snapped.
“Remember
that real estate listing you sent when you were considering where you wanted to
go?” Nick replied.
“God,
I forget how shit you are at deleting things.”
“Well,
in this instance it paid off. Otherwise, I might have looked into more drastic
measures,” Nick supplied.
“What
could be more drastic then this bullshit?”
“Sending
the cops to do a welfare check,” Jaylon replied, the shrug a reminder that Crow
would get no help from him.
“Oh
for fuck’s sake, none of you would….” Crow began, only to look around at their
faces and know, with all certainty, they would.
Defeated, Crow shook his head, muttering damn under his breath at the realization of how far out of their way his friends had gone to make sure he was good.
“Now
you are starting to get it,” Morgan said, “Though it shouldn’t have been a
question after twenty years.”
“You
couldn’t let me tell my truth in my own time?” Crow asked, fighting every step
of the way to not have to tell anyone else the diagnosis.
“If
you’d kept your word about showing up I would have,” Nick replied. “Did you
think a busted leg would mean I wouldn’t show up on the feed, even if it was to
stare glassy eyed at you squirming around struggling to clear your head?”
“Hey,
wait a minute,” Jesse interrupted, turning to study Jaylon. “Didn’t you say you
were going out up until ten days ago?”
“Sure
did.”
“Just
remember it was your shitty idea for the three of us to get together,” Crow
shot back, shoving away from the wall. “If you recall, I was the one who told
you to date Owen and leave me the hell out of it.”
“And
I told you that was never what I wanted!” Jaylon replied, getting just as loud
and in Crow’s face. Jesse slid between them, whistling loudly, the sound
echoing in a room filled with tension.
“Ding
fuckin’ ding motherfuckers get back to your respective corners,” Jesse said,
remaining firmly between them until they returned to their previous places.
“There
sure as shit is enough heat between you to tell me it meant something,” Jesse
said, staring Crow down until he couldn’t meet his best friend’s gaze anymore.
“Fucked
that up when I said shit I shouldn’t have,” Crow grumbled.
The
moment he saw Jaylon puff up he knew the man was fixing to go off on him again.
“You best believe that! The only thing we disagree on is which statement it
was.”
“I
did not tell you I’d suffered neurological damage so you’d fuckin’ treat me
different,” Crow growled. “It was your worrying and fussing like a mother hen
that ruined everything!”
“You….”
Nick said, and Crow could practically see the wheels turning in his mind, his
expressive eyes giving away the myriad of emotions he was experiencing as he
worked it out.
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