Wannabe: An Against The Odds Novel

by Christa DeClue

  When I finally make it back to my own apartment, I put on girl power music and go to Zaydra’s empty bedroom that I turned back into my home gym. I stretch my tight shoulders and bounce up and down on the balls of my feet. There’s a dummy straight across me, looking an awful like Ryan’s sexy self right about now. Without preamble, I kick it straight in the face and it feels cathartic. I feel some of this ridiculous tension and anger start to leave my body as I continue to pummel my pretend Ryan with blows. After about fifteen minutes, I’m dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. I drop down to one knee and put my forehead against the cold hardwood floor, trying to control my emotions, when I hear slow clapping.

  I pop up in a fighting stance, ready to ninja somebody, when my wild eyes finally settle on a familiar figure. He’s standing there, smirking at me from his impressive height. I let out an audible groan.

  “Danny, what the fuck are you doing here? And why the hell do you think it’s okay for you to sneak up on me? You think I won’t cut you because I haven’t seen you in more than a year?” I growl at him.

  He just laughs at me and shakes his head, then comes over and grabs me in a bear hug, not giving one single shit that I’m sweating like a whore in church. He squeezes me so tight I’m pretty sure I hear my bones creak in protest.

  “Danny…” I choke out, unable to breathe. Realizing I’m seconds away from passing out, he releases me with a sheepish grin.

  “Good to see you, Bella Bear. You can’t cut me, I’m your favorite person. Besides, Michael sent me. He’s got a bad feeling and you’ve apparently picked up a tail. I’m here to save the day,” he announces loudly in the small room. I flinch as he strikes a Superman pose.

  “This is my case; I’ve spent years on this. You can’t come in now and pull it out from under me. Please, Danny. I’ve put everything I’ve had into getting this close. Michael can suck my big toe; he knows I’m the best chance at solving this,” I respond hotly, ignoring his use of my old, endearing nickname. Danny just smiles and stares at me with his bright hazel eyes. He can be an intimidating bastard when he wants to be. He’s six foot five and shaved bald, with a stoic face that can be handsome if he chooses.

  “Bella Bear, I’m not here to steal your case. You’re still the man on the ground, but you have a few complications I’m here to solve. Your tail won’t try anything if I’m always with you, and the detective can’t fuck anything else up if he thinks we’re dating. Problems solved.” He raises his brows at me to emphasize his statement, daring me to contradict him.

  “We… We’re supposed to be dating?” I say faintly, my heart sinking down to my butt. Ryan won’t accept this, or he’ll think I’m a cheating prostitute. I’m not sure which is worse at this moment.

  “Trust me, Delilah isn’t happy about me being here, but she also isn’t happy that you’ve been under this long. She misses you. But she knows I’m a phenomenal actor and I love you second best; she’ll just always be first best,” he says, speaking about his wife with a wink.

  “I miss Del, but I…I fucked up, Danny,” I tell him in a quiet tone. He instantly goes on high-alert, and his gaze is like a laser burning straight into me.

  “Tell me.”

  “The detective, we… I’m in…” I stutter, not sure how to explain myself. He swears softly.

  “You jeopardized yourself. Does he know anything about this?” I shake my head at his question and he blows out a breath. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”

  At my silence, he swears more angrily.

  “Amber, you could have jeopardized the whole thing. Literally everything you have been working towards. Michael almost pulled you when you went and got yourself sliced to ribbons helping him. Why?”

  “You know it wasn’t just to help him. I thought the trafficking ring might have been connected. I made a judgment call, and yes, that judgment almost cost me everything, but it also saved many lives, and I’d probably make the same fucking call again. He doesn’t know anything. He thinks I’m a sex worker, Danny. There’s no future there, he won’t trust me enough. I don’t blame him,” I finish in a soft tone.

  “Bella Bear, I’m here now, this needs to end. You can’t keep him around. Michael will pull you faster than anything,” he tells me in a firm tone, and I nod once.

  “It’s over anyway. This morning was the end of that for me,” I tell him in an equally firm tone. He stares at me for a long time before he sighs and nods slightly.

  “For everyone’s sake, I hope you’re right. Now, come on. You need to feed me, and we have to discuss what you’re going to tell Michael tonight in the update.” He spins and walks out the door but not before I hear him call back, “I’ve missed you, Bella Bear.”

  “Back at you, Moose. Back at you,” I whisper, finally using his nickname as I stalk after him.

  Chapter Twelve: Ryan

  Nothing I do today seems to be going right. I burned my coffee because I had to reheat it twice. Then, I walked off and forgot it in my apartment anyway. Fredrick gave me an accusatory glare when I left for my morning run and then he didn’t even acknowledge me when I returned to change for work. I left in plenty of time to get to work early, but discovered my tires were slashed. For a moment, I pondered if Amber would do this, but quickly dismiss the idea. She’s hotheaded but she doesn’t have a malicious bone in her body.

  Staring at my Range Rover, I grit my teeth and quickly shoot Titus a text to pick my ass up. He sends me back laughing emojis, and if I wasn’t already done with today, a thirty-five-year-old sending me emojis would have definitely put me over the edge. Dick.

  After arranging a tow with Triple A, Titus’s sedan finally pulls into the parking lot, and I stride to the car and climb into the passenger seat. I stare straight ahead, even though I can feel Titus’s gaze burning into the side of my face.

  “Rough day, princess?”

  I just grunt at him in response and he laughs. When the car still doesn’t move, I turn and give him a glare, only to see him staring at me quizzically before realization has his jaw dropping.

  “Holy shit, you fucked her,” Titus says incredulously. I growl at his words and his eyebrows hit his hairline at the noise. “You fucking did, Ryan. Jesus. You’ve been single for as long as I’ve known you, and you go and fall for a stripper. You really are ex-military, aren’t you? Cliché, man, cliché. You didn’t just fall for her; you swan dived off the cliff of sanity straight into the Magic Pussy Canyon below.”

  “Goddammit, Titus, can you just get us to work?” He snorts but the car jumps forward. After riding in silence for five minutes, I can’t help but open my mouth. “I’m not in love with her. We fucked. Once. Then we fought, and she left, end of story. Now, I’m done gossiping like a teenage girl.”

  He laughs under his breath, and when we hit the stoplight on Madison, he scrolls through his iPhone until he finds what he’s looking for. When the tune of “99 Problems” by Jay Z comes on, I groan.

  “You have one hundred problems, Ryan, and all of them have to do with some pussy,” he says mockingly over the music.

  “Don’t fucking call her some pussy. You know she’s not just that. Fuck, man, what the fuck?” I bite out angrily. The music cuts off abruptly.

  “Man, I was just kidding. I didn’t realize this fight was that serious. You’re tied in knots over this girl and you have been for a long time. No judgment, just be careful. That lifestyle she’s in isn’t known for allowing long-term relationships,” Titus tells me quietly.

  I digest his words as my phone rings. I pull it out and see it’s the Captain calling. “Stone,” I answer quickly.

  “Stone, are you with Masterson?” Captain asks.

  “Yes sir, we’re about ten minutes away from the precinct.”

  “Turn around, you’re heading to the hospital. A girl came in last night with signs of abuse and track marks. It looks like she was administered Narcan, but not by anyone there. No EMS record of her either, it looks like she was dumped there. She’s not
cooperating with the investigating officers, and since it’s drug-related, I’d like you to question her.”

  “Will do. What’s her name and room number? We’re on our way,” I announce as Titus flips a U-turn with his siren on, having heard the captain.

  “Nastassia Bennett, room 304. She’s coming down hard, but we need a lead. Do your best.”

  With that last piece of advice, he hangs up. I run a hand down my face, trying to erase the weariness I’m feeling. Some days, I wonder if I was doing more good in the military, fighting a war we at least seemed to be winning. Fighting drugs as a detective is a never-ending fucked-up story where, at the end of the day, nobody wins.

  I relay the details to Titus, who just looks grimmer with every detail I tell him. He picks up speed, and before I know it, we fishtail into the inpatient parking lot of the hospital. Giving him an exasperated look, I fold my body out of the metal death trap he made his car into. When we walk in, the nurse behind the desk tries to question us, but we both flash our badges at her.

  “I’m Sergeant Stone, this is Detective Masterson. We’re here to question a Ms. Nastassia Bennett in room 304. Would you please buzz us back?” I calmly ask the young nurse.

  “Yes sir, but I will warn you she has visitors right now, and she wouldn’t tell the other officers anything. She’s still recovering, so the doctor doesn’t want her riled up.”

  I give her a quick nod before stalking to the double doors, waiting to be buzzed in. After two minutes, I look back at the desk to see Titus making the young nurse giggle while she plays with her ponytail.

  “Masterson,” I bark and his eyes shoot to mine. He clears his throat and she slips him a piece of paper that I could only assume is her number. She finally buzzes us through as Titus makes it to my side. “Horndog.”

  He just laughs softly. “Buzzkill. I told you I was drowning in pussy,” he states smugly.

  “We’ve got a job to do, so keep it in your pants for a little while longer, Romeo.” I roll my eyes again at the shit-eating grin on his face. His face quickly sobers, and his jaw falls open as he comes to a complete stop and glances over at me. “What, dude? What’s wrong?”

  He gestures ahead of us with a nod of his head. I turn to look forward again and come face to face with Amber and some big fucker leaving the hospital room of the girl we’re here to question. I can feel my face set into a severe expression as her eyes come to rest on mine. She stops just as Titus had, and the big fucker leans down to whisper something in her ear, while his hand comes to rest at the small of her back. It takes everything in me not to rip his arms off for being that close to her.

  She makes every caveman tendency I’ve ever had come to life. I close the distance between us and go toe-to-toe with her. She shakes off whatever was said to her, because she beams beautifully at Titus behind me. “Greybeard! So good to see you when I’m not being arrested.”

  Titus comes to stand beside me. “Well, you not being arrested right now is still pretty up in the air,” he tells her with a wink.

  “Amber, what the fuck are you doing here? How do you know Nastassia? Who’s this with you?” I fire multiple questions at her one after another. She just stares me down with an expressionless face.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but this is Danny. We’ve been together on and off for about six years. Looks like we’re back on. I met Nastassia at a party last night, and I heard something happened to her this morning, so I wanted to come check on her. That’s it. Nothing nefarious, Stoney.”

  I feel my anger rising and I’m not sure I can keep a lid on my temper. “Together? You’re together? Since when? Because you sure as fuck weren’t just hours ago when you came to my place.” I feel a hand on my arm, but I shrug off Titus’s grip.

  I know she can see the rage on my face because she takes a step back, and I’m about to take a step towards her, when Danny is suddenly between us. I growl at him, my fists balled at my sides. We’re evenly matched on our muscular builds but he has a few inches on me. Not that that matters right now. The only thing that’s keeping me from hitting him is that I’m on the job.

  “Yes, we’re together. We talked this morning and my Bella Bear has agreed to give me another chance. So, I suggest you back off. Whatever you thought you had with her is in the past. She’s with me now. She’s just here checking on a sweet girl that she met last night and you’re making a rough situation harder. So, unless we’re being detained, we’re going to carry on with leaving. Are we being detained?” He holds my gaze while completely blocking my view of Amber, and it’s driving me crazy. Before I can snarl back at him, Titus puts his hand on my arm again.

  “You’re free to go. If we have any questions arise, we know where to find Amber,” Titus tells them while Danny and I continue to glare at each other.

  Finally, Amber pulls his arm, and he breaks eye contact to stare down at her fondly. I almost lose my shit right there, but Titus has a firm grip on me. Instead, I watch somebody walk away with my girl, and I can’t do a damn thing about it. I watch them until they are completely out of sight.

  Titus inclines his head to the room and after several moments, and deep breaths, I nod. We both enter the hospital room, and the first thing I notice is how tiny the girl on the bed is. She looks underfed and scared, and her eyes are on our feet. They slowly rise until they meet mine and she flinches slightly.

  “Miss Bennett, how are you feeling?” I ask softly. She stares at me with a vacant expression.

  “I feel like I almost died,” she answers finally, not looking at either of us, and she starts to pick at the dirt under her fingernails.

  “Yeah, well, according to the doctors, you almost did. Do you remember anything about last night? Who you got the heroin from?” I question.

  “No. I don’t remember anything,” she tells us, shaking her head and still not looking at us.

  “Well, can you tell us how you met Amber, the lady who was just in here?” Titus asks in the same soft tone I used, trying a different approach.

  “I don’t remember meeting her. I guess I met her in the bathroom.”

  “The bathroom where?” I cut in. She flinches slightly again.

  “Some bar or club, or something. I don’t remember, I told you. I’m an addict, addicts aren’t really known for their reliable memories, dudes. Can’t you just leave me be, I told the same thing to the other two guys. I don’t remember, I don’t think I’ll be of much help. I’m tired. I’d like you to leave, so I can sleep now,” she rushes out.

  After a few moments of her not saying anything else, Titus and I share a look.

  “Okay, Miss Bennett, we’ll leave for now, but we’re going to come back later with more questions. But between now and then, if you remember anything at all, please call me.” I hold out one of my cards out of my wallet. When she doesn’t take it, I set it on the roller tray right by her hospital bed. She finally stares up at me with dead eyes as Titus and I rise and leave the tiny hospital room.

  “She’s hiding something, Ryan. That, or she’s covering for someone. That heroin was laced last night, she’s very lucky she didn’t die,” Titus tells me in the hallway, far enough away from her door where she can’t overhear us.

  “I know. She seems like she was abused as well. She’s protecting someone. I’m just wondering how Amber fits in to this. That girl came close to death, and my bet is somebody helped her get there.” I rub my hand down my face again. My life seems to keep getting more complicated by the minute.

  Chapter Thirteen: Amber

  Silent tears leak down my face as Danny and I exit the hospital. The confrontation with Ryan is tugging at my heart. Danny is leading me to his truck by the hand, my mind a jumbled mess of Nastassia’s pale face and Ryan’s livid one. Danny looks back at me and, seeing my tears, his tense expression softens. He opens the truck door and gently ushers me inside. I jump slightly at the sound of the door slamming, having been lost in my own thoughts for a moment. As the driver’s side door open
s and closes, I finally swipe the tears away and look over at my partner.

  “He’ll be all right, Bella Bear. This was the cleanest way to cut ties. You have to know that,” he tells me quietly.

  “You don’t know him, Moose. He won’t give up, that’s not his way. He’s like a dog with a bone,” I retort hoarsely.

  “Are you the bone in the situation, or is you being in that hospital room the bone? Because now you’re on their radar as more than a stripper, Bella. This is not a good thing. Michael isn’t going to be happy with this new development.”

  “Michael can jump up my ass, Moose. He was the one who wanted us to come see this girl, he told us where she was. What did he think was going to happen? That the local precinct wasn’t going to get wind of a girl being dropped at the hospital, who had been administered Narcan, where there is no documentation of her being administered it?” I swipe my hand through my long hair. “That’s just wishful thinking and you know it.”

  “Bella, he’s already not happy that you told that girl about yourself. Thorne, or whatever her name is. You could have jeopardized the whole operation. Everything that you’ve been working towards these past few years,” Danny tells me hotly, and he starts the engine of the truck, having given his opinion on the matter.

  “Briar. Briar is her name, Daniel, and she was my original ‘in’ with the club. And with Dark Angels, for that matter. All the progress I’ve had can be closely attributed to her. I had no way around it. I had to tell her, she has more information than she was telling me. Now, at least she knows I’m one of the good guys. I trust her. You should too. She won’t blow my cover.”

  He looks at me for a long time, in that intense way of his, before nodding slowly. I let out a gust of breath I had been holding as he takes off back towards my apartment. We ride in absolute silence for fifteen minutes before his voice floats over to me.