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“You will not believe the day I’ve had,” Ray started as he swung the door shut behind him. “Fraser’s got -“ he stopped mid-sentence. Because there was a ghost standing in the middle of his apartment.
Ray rubbed the back of his head and sighed. “Okay, maybe you will believe it.”
“My son has what?” Fraser’s father asked. His voice was authoritative; everything about him spoke of someone used to being listened to, taken seriously. In life, he must have been a hell of a force to be reckoned with.
Ray knew how to work with that type. He dropped his take-out bag on the table and shrugged out of his coat. “You,” was all he said in reply as he grabbed a hanger out of the closet. He took his time, smoothing out wrinkles on the sleeves, waiting. Didn’t take long. For a guy with nothing but time on his hands, Fraser Sr. had little patience.
“Yes he does have me, and you’d do well to remember it.”
Ooh, a little belligerence in the tone. Ray did his best not to roll his eyes as he turned to face the man. “So, that why you’re here? You come to introduce yourself? Or maybe you just stopped by to try and intimidate your son’s partner?”
“Why would I introduce myself? You know who I am, and I have no doubt you wouldn’t tell me who you really are.” Okay, Fraser’s dad called that one right. Still ruffled Ray’s feathers. “I came by to see what your business with Benton is,” he went on.
“Did you ask him about me?” Ray tried to keep his tone casual, like it didn’t matter. He didn’t get an answer right away. Fraser’s dad just stared at Ray, and he made a conscious effort to relax, which considering he felt like he was under inspection was no easy task.
“I’ve been watching you, you know,” Fraser Sr. finally said instead of answering the question, because apparently the redirect thing was genetic.
And of course, Ray did know, not that he was going to let that bit of info out. He’d felt prickly for days, but hadn’t been able to pinpoint the reason until it appeared out of thin air this morning. It had taken a lot to pretend he hadn’t seen the ghost; the fact that Fraser had and was trying to hide the fact made it harder.
Ray stood there, arms crossed over his chest and leveled his gaze at Fraser’s dad, who was giving as good as he got in the stubborn department. A scratch and a clunk got their attention. Both men turned to face the tank, where Turtle was shifting to the far edge, moving toward his favorite spot to nap.
“Fine,” Ray conceded. He could be the bigger man in this. “You’ve been watching, so you’ve seen that I’m not here to harm your son. And you have no reason to believe me, but every reason to believe him,” he indicated Turtle with a jerk of his thumb. “Plus, Dief will tell you the same if you ask.”
“Benton doesn’t know what you are.”
Ray shrugged. “No, he doesn’t. And far as I can see, he doesn’t need to. You gonna disagree with me on that?” he challenged.
Fraser Sr. frowned and looked past Ray, focusing over his shoulder. “It’s hard to believe you’re concerned about his best interests.”
It was a fair statement: Ray knew that. Didn’t make it any easier to hear. “Believe what you want. Just let me do my job.”
He walked closer and looked Ray over again. Ray knew he was doing it to frazzle him, so he let it slide. When it became obvious it wasn’t going to work, Fraser Sr. tried a different tactic. “You aren’t the first to take an interest in him.”
It was supposed to surprise him, maybe shock him into saying something he maybe shouldn’t. Wasn’t going to work though, because Ray had already figured as much. Not the details, but even discounting Wolf, Fraser’d definitely been on somebody’s radar before, possibly several somebodies. So he kept his trap shut; if he could be patient with Fraser, he could do the same with his dad. Hopefully it would get him somewhere.
But it still wasn’t his day. Fraser’s dad didn’t add anything, just moved past him and over to Turtle. The two shared a long look, and possibly an entire conversation Ray couldn’t hear. Turtle did that sometimes, flew under Ray’s radar somehow, and Ray was pretty sure he did it mainly to bug him. After a long minute, Fraser Sr. nodded and turned back to face Ray.
“I won’t say anything for now,” Fraser Sr. told Ray, reluctance obvious. “But I won’t hesitate if I feel I need to.”
And that was it, best he was going to get. “And I won’t let on I know you’re here unless he wants me to,” Ray responded. “Let him be as normal as a guy who talks to ghosts and Wolves can be. That work?”
Fraser’s Sr. raised an eyebrow at that. “Do I have a choice?”
“Free will’s part of being human, or so I hear. And we’re close enough, right?” That got a surprised huff of laughter out of him, and Ray had to fight to hide a relieved grin.
“I can see why he likes you,” Fraser Sr. said, then disappeared before Ray could even respond to the statement.
Ray waited a minute to be sure he was gone, then sank to the couch, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling. Un-freaking-believable day, with no answers, but lots of new questions about just what Benton Fraser’s story really was.
Good thing Ray liked puzzles.