Page 59 of No Rules

“I know they do, and I don’t understand that either. Child abuse especially. How can you hurt a child? They’re innocent and powerless.”

“That’s why they do it. Because something inside them wants to corrupt that innocence and establish their own power.”

“It’s sick.” Alex spat out the words.

“It is, baby boy. It is.”

Another deep sigh. “Anyway, I’ll write down her name and see what I can find about her while you keep searching.”

He made a move to get up, but Ryan grabbed his waist. “Don’t. Stay.”

“It’s more efficient my way.”

“It’s more fun my way.”

“Is everything always about fun with you?”

Ryan brushed his cheek. “Indulge me.”

“You’re in a weird mood.”

“I know. I’ll be back to my grumpy ass self later, I promise.”

Alex leaned in, then did something he’d never done before. He gently kissed Ryan. “I like it.”

Why that made Ryan’s insides light up, he had no idea. “You do?”

“Yeah. I like it when you’re affectionate with me.”

Somehow, that hit Ryan right in the feels, in itself a rare occurrence. Had he been so stingy with his approval that even this little gesture meant so much to Alex? That thought didn’t sit well with him. But like everything else, he pressed it down so he wouldn’t have to think about it too much. Instead, he took Alex’s mouth in a kiss that was supposed to be brief and sweet but quickly turned heated. Jesus, the slide of Alex’s tongue against Ryan’s alone was enough to make him hard. Add to that the fact that Alex still had that glorious ass pressed against Ryan’s junk, and he was in trouble.

With reluctance, he let go of his mouth. “As much as I love kissing you, we gotta focus on the case,” he whispered against Alex’s wet lips. “But I promise that once we’re done for the day, you and I are gonna spend some quality time together.”

Alex kissed him one last time. “Can’t wait.”

With a deep sigh, Ryan pushed him off his lap. “Gotta let you go, baby boy, or I won’t be able to get any work done.”

“Told you,” Alex said smugly.

Ryan slapped his ass. “Nobody likes a know-it-all.”

Alex grinned. “Oh, but you do. You like me.”

He did. He really did. This was getting complicated, yet Ryan didn’t want to walk away. He’d work it out and get himself back on track. Back to his grumpy self, as he’d told Alex. Though it was damn hard to hold on to darkness with a bright ray of sunshine like Alex near him.

“Let’s go through the reports one by one,” he said and forced himself to focus.

When they’d finished combing through all the reports, they’d found five formal complaints Marilyn had made against fellow owners of racehorses. Two reports could be easily dismissed, as one of the owners was dead and the other had moved to Florida, but the other three warranted more digging. It took a few hours of online research and various phone calls to find details, but finally, Ryan leaned back in his chair. “I think we’re onto something with this one.”

Alex spun his chair around. “Talk to me.”

“Owner’s name is Charles Jeffries, and Marilyn filed an animal abuse report against him for mistreating a horse called Lucky Lady’s Gamble. The report stated Jeffries used multiple forbidden practices to boost the horse’s performance, including electroshocks as a punishment.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Electroshocks? You’re telling me this guy tasered his horse?”

“Yeah.” Ryan rubbed his beard. “And what’s more, an investigation concluded Marilyn had been right. Jeffries was fined a hefty sum.”

“But would that be enough to send him into such a rage?”