Cover Up Read Online Free PDF Page B

to? I didn’t think you were that old.” His eyes widened as he realized what he’d said, and another blush lit him up to the hairline.
    Ivan’s own skin flushed a little in response. Most of his friends were still into the grunge music and nineties rock that had so intensely influenced their high school years, but Ivan had two older sisters who loved new-wave electronica, and watching videos with them, filled with beautiful men wearing guyliner and tight clothes… Ivan figured out very early on he was gay. His first crush had been every member of Duran Duran. But he couldn’t admit that here, not when he was pretending to be straight.
    “I’ve got two older sisters who I can blame for this.” He chewed on the inside of his lip to keep from grinning. Maybe he’d do exactly that the next time he managed to make it to a family dinner. He wouldn’t be living up to his job as baby brother if he wasn’t pissing off his sisters.
    “I see. I haven’t really heard a lot of this. I don’t even know who a lot of these bands are.”
    Parker blinked again, and Ivan was able to forgive, for a moment, the additional reminder of Ivan’s advanced age.
    “What classes are you taking?” God. He sounded like someone’s father. Again. No wonder Parker had asked if he had kids.
    Parker’s gaze skittered away. “Oh, just a few things. Nothing interesting.”
    The courses may not be interesting, but Parker’s reaction certainly was both fascinating and suspicious. But pursuing it now would be a mistake.
    “What about your dad? Where does he live?”
    The wounded look returned tenfold and gutted Ivan. What the hell was up with this guy and his soul-sucking eyes? Ivan wanted to leap onto the couch and cuddle him and tell him everything would be okay. Totally out of character for him too. Even though he was out—in his real life—Colin had often complained about his lack of affection and had flung that in his face in the wake of Ivan’s discovery of his cheating.
    “I don’t know. I don’t know who he is.”
    “Oh. Sorry.” This wasn’t going well. What had he been thinking, diving into a situation like this, mere hours after he’d shot and killed Dmitri, a young man who could have very easily been Parker? Killing someone, even in self-defense, took its toll. There was a reason for administrative leave, aside from the whole investigation aspect, and somehow that had been overlooked by both him and Martelli. But he was here now, and moping around his own empty home wasn’t going to help his state of mind.
    A tremor shook his hand. “Look, Parker, I’m beat. You okay if I hit the sack? I’ll clean this up in the morning.”
    “No, go ahead. I can clean this up before I start on my homework.”
    A good night’s sleep would do wonders and hopefully get him back on target. Hell, he hadn’t even decided on a fake profession. What if Parker had asked what he did for a living, for God’s sake? What he needed was something that gave him flexible hours, but not as flexible as being unemployed. Wouldn’t that make him roommate of the year? Unemployed, divorced, straight older man. Like Parker’s fucking dream come true.
    Ivan clenched a fist as he dragged himself up the creaky stairs. He had to stop wondering if Parker saw him as anything more than a friend or an acquaintance. Nothing else mattered.
     
     
    T HE unfamiliar slam of a heavy door woke Ivan, and he sat up in bed, breath coming short, as he took in the strange room. He’d awoken in a number of strange beds, but in this one he’d definitely slept alone, if for no other reason than the narrow bed didn’t have much room for anyone besides himself.
    Right. He was undercover. The room he was renting at Parker’s.
    Sunlight streamed unfettered through the windows, making the room both hotter and brighter than Ivan liked. A glance at the alarm clock confirmed he’d slept well into the afternoon. He’d slept heavily and long, but he wasn’t sure he’d slept