Daniel glanced over at Eli. Had he been quieter than usual since he had come out of there?
Half of him had expected Eli to flip him off and walk out this morning. And what was worse—if he was totally honest—another half of him enjoyed laying down rules, and even more cringeworthy, he’d nearly called them limits. He’d been to a BDSM club while he was still in college and was overawed by watching the Dominants. But life had gotten in the way and he knew training to be a Dom was a huge undertaking he wasn’t sure he wanted, but something in Eli had taken him straight to that mindset. Being able to comfort Eli, to make sure he was looking after himself, was pushing buttons he didn’t even know existed.
He’d even had an initial membership to one in DC, had attended their demo nights, and considered playing as a sub, but that wasn’t him, and then work had taken over.
Maybe when this case was over he would contact Ted Ryker. He would be able to make some introductions now he was back in Tampa to stay. He’d said Daniel was naturally dominant, but Daniel thought he wasn’t exactly that. He had never found any type of pain or humiliation sexy or even cathartic. He’d wanted—still wanted, if he was honest—someone to take care of, but that rarely worked out. His last regular boyfriend called him too controlling, and he was surprised Eli hadn’t called him out on it. When he’d woken hard like he often did, he’d considered rushing out of the room to hide it, but he wanted Eli to know he wasn’t a threat, and the one thing he had liked about the Dominant and submissive lifestyle was the complete honesty they demonstrated to each other. Both very vulnerable in their own way.
They drove to work, and Daniel parked his car. There was something else he wanted to talk to Eli about, and while they were alone and Eli didn’t especially seem anxious, maybe now would be a good idea. “I wanted to talk about yesterday as well.”
Eli undid his seat belt but made no move to get out of the car. “Which part?” It was the most responsive he had looked since he’d picked him up from therapy.
“When you first opened your eyes after passing out, your eyes had changed color. I wondered if that had ever happened before?”
“Changed color?” Eli clarified, and by the surprise in his voice, Daniel guessed it hadn’t happened before.
“When you first opened them. Then you blinked and they returned to brown. I thought at first I was imagining it, but I wasn’t.”
“What did Talon say?” Eli asked quietly.
“I didn’t tell him. Your body, your decision.” Eli seemed to think about that for a minute. Daniel didn’t push. He was happy to sit and give Eli time to process it. “They were violet almost.”
“Violet?” Eli’s laugh was embarrassed.
And one of the most stunning things he had ever seen. Not that he was going to tell Eli that. “It makes sense in a way that you would exhibit some of your abilities.”
Eli gazed very steadily at Daniel. “Does that…bother you?” Daniel knew damn well Eli had been going to say frighten but changed his mind.
“No, why would it? You threaten me and Vance would get you in a headlock.”
And Eli laughed. The sound trickled out of him like it had been trapped so long it wasn’t sure of a welcome.
Daniel chuckled to let him know it was okay. “Just don’t go munching carrots around the office,” he got out before his words had registered.
“Carrots?” Eli scrambled out after him, sounding offended. “You said violet. Rabbits have pink eyes.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Hey.”
They both turned to see Adam and Sawyer watching them with looks of equal astonishment. Daniel turned to Eli, still sharing the joke, but Eli had retreated. He hadn’t gone inside. He was still physically in the same position, but it was almost like he’d turned himself off. “Hey,” he muttered.
“I’ve got your things,” Sawyer explained.
“Great,” Daniel said, wanting to smooth the awkwardness over, even if he didn’t understand it. “We can put it in my trunk.” He clicked it open. Sawyer stored it carefully, and without another word they all walked to the elevator. He had no idea what had flipped Eli’s switch. He’d lived with Sawyer for a year for pity’s sake.
The only thing he was certain of right then was that partnering Eli was going to be like walking through a minefield. And he didn’t want it to blow up in his face.
They spent the rest of the morning checking the full tape and established that Agent Wright had been on the phone to her sister, but she’d also taken a one-minute call to an unregistered number.
“Which proves nothing,” Daniel said. Lin had also been on his phone a couple of times but made no calls. They watched the part where they both went to the door. Lin had paused as to pick up a scratch card from the display as Wright opened the door. He hadn’t bought it though, because just as he put it back down, the gunman opened fire. Wright had flown straight back with the force and knocked Lin to the floor.
“We need to find out when they will be doing tests on the bullets.”
“To see what gun fired it, you mean?” Eli asked.
“Yes, but not just that. I’d be interested to know if it hit anything else first.” Daniel slowed the video that Gael had somehow managed to sharpen. It had been very grainy when they had watched it at the store. “It’s as if he’s already moving sideways before Wright falls back into him.”
“Why does that matter?” Eli asked, peering at the screen. “She was definitely hit first.”
“Just in case he got hit with a stray bullet.”
“Meaning?”
Daniel didn’t know. It just felt off, and he couldn’t say why.
Eli nodded. “And we need their whole itinerary. We need to know if the store was the only place they could have been targeted, and for more sightings of the SVU. Can you get financials?”
“Not without a warrant,” Daniel said. “And I refuse to risk anything that would get thrown out.” Daniel knew they were both thinking of what Gael could do on a computer. “Plus it makes no sense if Wright was involved.” Daniel wasn’t trying to state the obvious.
Gael had already confirmed the black SVU had been seen nowhere near the field office, which meant if the agents had been targeted, they had known where they were going to stop.
They both looked up as Gregory came into the office they were watching the tapes in. “Sir?” Daniel stood up. Eli copied.
“We have nothing to get a warrant on for any of the storage facilities.”
Daniel nodded and glanced at Eli. “Actually, I’m going to be needing somewhere to store all the stuff I’m shipping down here from Washington. I was thinking about going to check a few out.”
Gregory hid his smile and left.
“The largest Tampa one is where Raphael Cruz works,” Daniel said, taking a step to the door. “I don’t want to put you in a difficult situation, and I’m happy for you to stay here.”
“I’m coming,” Eli said curtly.
Daniel nodded shortly and followed him to the elevator.
“What are the chances of Cruz recognizing you?”
Eli shrugged. “I guess it depends if he’s followed the news, or if Caffrey has and said anything to him.” Eli waved at his face. “It’s what I am.”