All the way there I fought an internal battle. The man in me wanted to have an old fashioned schoolyard beat down, but the tenets of my profession dictated that I couldn't go there, not yet.
My hands were tied until the case was cleared. But as for investigating his ass and bringing him down, that was a go.
***
I couldn't be objective; by all rights I should pass this off to one of my men, because I know I'm going in looking for guilt.
I know this and yet I won't do it, I had to handle this myself. For all the reasons that I shouldn't be handling it!
I was too close to the situation. If not handled correctly, this could all blow up in my face. I'll just have to see that that doesn't happen.
One thing was still uncertain, why was he here? Was it for Shania or was it for the case, or both? If he tried to contact her...I don't know what I would do, speaking of which, I'd been so thrown off guard by the talk of rape that I had forgotten to talk to her.
She picked up on the second ring when I called.
"Don't talk to him if he calls you."
"Donovan?"
"Yes princess it's me, did you hear me?"
"Yes, but I don't see why, I'm not afraid of Dorian, I just don't want to be around him. I think I should be the one to talk to him though if he came after me."
"We don't know that that's why he's here, but either way, I don't want you talking to him. No contact whatsoever Shania, I mean it. I don't trust this guy, I don't want you dealing with him at all."
"Donovan, you're being a bit over dramatic don't you think?"
"This man tried to rape you Shania. I don't think there's anyway I can over dramatize here. Please, just do as I say, stay away from Dorian Carter."
"But what if there's something else going on? I can help, you do remember what I do for a living right?"
Shit, that's the last thing we need, her running her own investigation behind the scenes. Why didn't I think of that before?
Knowing her penchant for sticking her nose in, I would be hard pressed to keep her little sexy ass out of the mix.
"Princess please do me a favor, stay out of it, let the law handle it."
"Uh, he is the law."
"Then let me handle it."
"I don't like this, I mean what are the odds that my ex who has never been here before, will suddenly be investigating the murder of a colleague who just happened to wash up on the shores of my hometown? Hmm, I don't believe in coincidence, something's going on, and since I know him I think I could be of help."
"No, absolutely not."
"Donovan, be reasonable." I notice it hadn’t taken her long to switch from spurned ex to investigator.
"You be reasonable, I just finally got you after all these years, do you think I want you embroiled in something like this, something that I know will be dangerous? No way."
"Isn't it dangerous for you too, how do you think I feel knowing that I might've led whatever this is here?"
Dammit, so she’d already pieced that part together, no wonder she was lauded for her work, it hadn’t taken her long to get there.
"It's my job, and that's just crazy talk. You didn't lead anyone anywhere. Let me just look into things okay, I promise to keep you in the loop as much as possible, but you're not involved, no way no how, and if you try anything I'll have your brothers lock you in your room."
She gasped. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me, there isn't anything I wouldn't do to keep you safe, you're my world baby, have been for a long time.
Now that I have more than just the promise of you, now I know you feel the same, I can't lose you. So no more danger okay, for my peace of mind, please."
I realize I had just pretty much told her I didn't want her going back to work, but what the hell, it was the truth.
Something we were going to have to deal with sooner or later, just not right now.
We both had enough on our plates without adding what was bound to be a bone of contention; that could wait for later, after I'd dealt with her asshole ex.
I got a semi promise from her, which was all I was going to get since she didn't want to lie, before hanging up.
By the time I reached my office, I still hadn't decided whether or not I was going to let anyone else in on my little side job.
I could go to Cap, he already hated the jerk after his behavior earlier, and he would back my play even without that, but I wasn't sure yet which way this thing was going to fly. I still had the Spalding boys to contend with too, shit.
Didn't Shania ever tell this fool about her brothers? Obviously not, or he wouldn't be here after what he’d done.
Unless he thought she was so afraid of him she kept it to herself, in which case I was really going to have to fuck him up, because it would take a lot to scare Shania.
I didn't see him or his partner when I made it back to the station, and Cap's door was closed.
At my desk I pulled up my notes from the scene, studied the missing persons report and anything else I had on the case. Since I wasn't sure which direction I was going in yet, I was going to have to research Boyd on my home Pc, which Derrick had rigged to keep out watchdogs.
I'm a cop yeah, but I'm not stupid. I know there're times when the law doesn't work, when justice doesn't prevail.
That's why I have my PC rigged. I like to know the truth of things, not just what someone else wants me to believe.
I was itching to pull up Carter's name and get started on him, but I couldn't do that here. Everything I did on this computer would be in their database, I couldn't take that chance. Until I knew what the hell was going on I was keeping things close to my chest.
I put it aside for now and focused on my caseload. There wasn't much, since I'd cleaned up that smuggling ring, just some loose ends that I wanted to follow up on.
***
The noise through my door was a little subdued, I had no doubt my men were none too pleased about the case being handed over to the Feds, there'd be grumblings for the next few days at least.
I worked through to end of shift, with Shania never too far from my mind. I picked up the phone to call her at least ten times throughout the day, but changed my mind.
If I heard her voice, I would only be tempted to go get her, and I needed to be business as usual so as not to call too much attention to myself.
No one else here knew of her connection to Carter and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.
As for the man himself, I had heard his voice going by my office about an hour ago. It had taken all my will power not to go out there and tear his head off, piece a shit.
It was going to be rough being this close to him everyday and not doing anything about it. Since there were no FBI offices here, and the closest was about fifty miles away, it made more sense for them to take over some office space in our station.
Hopefully the degenerate would stay the fuck out of my space, and I could hold onto my cool for as long as I needed to, and not fuck him up on government property.
I found myself sneaking out, so as not to run into anyone. Going straight home, I took a quick shower, grabbed a sandwich and headed to the Spalding residence, but not before setting my computer to do an in depth run on Carter and Riley simultaneously.
I called Shania on the way, to let her know I was coming. I was not going to let her out of my sight any more than I had to for the next little while.
As soon as I got there, which couldn't have been more than ten minutes later, I knew something was wrong. There were too many cars in the driveway for one thing, and I could hear raised voices coming from inside.
Heart racing, I ran to the front door, slamming it open, and barging in. A red haze formed over my eyes when I took in the scene before me.
Justin had Carter cornered while Carter’s partner tried to get between them. The other Spalding men just stood at the ready. Shania looked stricken and white as a sheet, while her mother held onto her.
I wen
t to her first she was my main concern. After I made sure she was okay then I could help Justin tear the asshole apart.
"What's going on here?"
"This fucker had the nerve to show up here after he..."
"Justin."
Matthew cut him off before he could say anything more in front of agent Everett. I guess Jus forgot his mother was present or he would've never sworn like that.
"We're here on official business." Carter was finally released from Jus' hold, and moved from the corner into the middle of the room.
"What official business?"
"We'll be getting to you soon enough Lieutenant Chase, we understand that you and Ms. Spalding found the victim in the water, we have some questions, like what were you two doing there?"
"That's none of your damn business. What we were doing there is of no importance, since the victim had already been in the water for sometime when we found him.
If you want to know how we found him then that's another story, but one that would be best handled by someone other than you and you know why. So unless you want your superiors to know a little more about you than is comfortable I suggest you stand down.
Everett looked confused, I guess his partner neglected to tell him that he was once involved with the witness. I'm damn sure he didn't tell him that he had tried to rape her.
This guy really was a piece of work, to come here like this; he must really think she was too afraid to say anything. Which brought me back to what the fuck had he done to scare her?
I didn't realize I had taken her out of her mother's arms, until I noticed the look on Carter's face. He looked like he wanted to commit murder. When he sneered at her I felt my hackles rise. Then the asshole really stepped in it.
"Didn't take you long did it bitch?"
My fist was in his mouth, blood spurting, before Jus could reach him. I would've landed another one if princess hadn't wrapped her arms around me from behind.
I reached over as far as I could with her clinging to me, to whisper in his ear.
"In case you're thinking of pressing charges remember the statute of limitations for your little rape attempt isn't up yet. Come near her again and I'll bury you. From now on, anything you need from her your partner will handle and not here, you're never to step foot here again."
"Lieutenant Chase you do realize you just assaulted a federal agent and I can place you under arrest."
"I don't think your partner will be pressing charges today agent, are you Dorian?" From the look he gave me I knew this wasn't over. All he did was wipe the blood from his face and shrug it off as he turned to his partner.
"Let's walk." He turned and left the room with the other man following behind.
"I apologize for the disruption, I'm not sure what's going on here but I get the feeling some of you might know my partner, and there's obviously no love lost between you. So from now on, I will handle this side of the investigation. I will need to see you Ms. Spalding, down at the station at your earliest convenience."
"Sure agent Everett, first thing tomorrow I'll be there."
"We'll all be there." The chief was finally heard from. I can't imagine what he was feeling at this moment. He was a retired police chief, who was standing in his living room with the FBI agent who had tried to rape his daughter, and couldn't do anything about it because she refused to press charges.
The Agents left and the Spaldings started comparing notes amongst each other. There were a lot of heated words thrown back and forth, but I had no interest in any of that. Throughout all this, Shania was quiet and reserved; I needed to get her out of there.
"Come home with me." I had her clasped to my chest, my chin rubbing against the top of her head.
I felt her slight nod and turned to her mother, she could tell the others when the shouting match was over.
She rushed us out the door with an admonishment to be careful.
Princess sat very close to me in the front seat. I understood she needed contact; her foundation had been rocked a little. I put my arm around her shoulder as I drove with the other.
"You want to get something to eat baby?"
"No, I don't want to be around people right now, can we just go straight to your house? Unless you're really starving in which case..."
"Nope, home it is, I can throw something together or we can order in."
"Don't go to any trouble, I'm not all that hungry anyway, I lost my appetite."
"What did he say to you?"
"He never really got the chance to say anything. As soon as they introduced themselves Jus went on the attack." I felt her body shudder under my hand. Yeah, Carter was in for a world of hurt.
***
At my house I got her settled on the couch with the remote and went into the kitchen to see what I could make for dinner; hungry or not, I was going to see that she ate.
I defrosted the chicken breast before going to join her in front the TV.
"How about some wine love?"
"Sounds good." She smiled at me, but it wasn't the smile I had grown accustomed to in the last few days. It was missing something. Yeah, the light in her eyes was dimmer, damn.
"Red or white, we're having chicken for dinner."
"White it is then, why don't I help you in the kitchen?"
"Uh, that's okay, if I remember correctly you're not exactly Julia Childs." I tried teasing her out of her mood.
"Hey, I will have you know I'm am excellent cook." She twitched her eyes at me.
"Since when, you use to make a mess of anything you tried to make, remember the Mac and cheese incident?"
"Hey it was Angela's idea to add flour to thicken the sauce, she just didn't know how to do it."
"Whatever, that almost put me off Mac and cheese for life." I was full of shit because after that fiasco, she had applied herself to learning how to cook and had become pretty good at it, before leaving home for college.
"Yeah right, what about those grilled peanut butter and cheese sandwiches of yours, those things were beyond nasty." She turned up her cute little nose at me,
"Babe, don't knock it until you've tried it, those things were amazing."
"Funny, I don't see you guys eating them anymore, if they're so good why give them up?"
"Maybe we've moved on to bigger and better culinary delights." I pulled her under my arm while sitting next to her on the couch.
"Lord help us all, I don't want to hear about it whatever it is, maybe I should keep an eye on you in there, make sure you're not experimenting with my taste buds."
"Not tonight babe, we're having linguini with chicken and broccoli in a light garlic sauce."
"Hmm, that sounds good, you sure I can't help."
"Nope, I'm taking care of you for the rest of the day, you can keep me company if you like though."
"It's a deal, but I don't need to be taken care of you know, I'm perfectly okay."
"Humor me, come on."
I pulled her up from the couch and headed for the kitchen and the wine.
Conversation was light throughout dinner. We didn't discuss the case or anything to do with it. Instead we spent the time reminiscing about when we were younger and I picked on all the knuckleheads she dated when she could slip one by her brothers.
"You should talk, you must've dated every big breasted bimbo between here and L.A."
"Hey I was young and stupid, you can't hold that against me, you'd be pleased to know I've learned the error of my ways and now am only interested in one...perfectly breasted sweetheart of a woman."
"Sweet talker you." She gave me a real smile this time.
"But true nonetheless. Why don't you go find us a movie to watch while I clean this up?"
"You cooked, I should clean."
"No can do, I got it, you go on in. I might have a chick flick or two in there, my sister sneaks one in on me every once in a while."
Couldn't have her thinking I made a habit of bringing women to my place. I don't think I've ever cooked for another
woman, other than my mother or my sister in my life.
I wanted to have a lot of firsts with her, this was only one of them; if I had my way there would be many more to come in the not too distant future.
She called out movie titles while I cleaned up, until she found one we could both stomach. It must be true love, because I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a tuning fork than watch that shit.
We spent more time necking and making out like horny teenagers than watching the movie. Damn my baby could kiss.
I've never been this hot from just kissing a woman before. Our mouths mated, as our hands roamed all over each other. I tried telling myself to go slow, she’d had an upsetting day, but somehow I wasn’t really listening.
I finally had her behind closed doors with no one to bother us, and I planned to make the most of it.
I wasn’t sure where the evening was going to lead, I know where I would like it to, but I wasn’t about to rush her.
I underestimated her need for me. Up to this point, in my head I was the one in need, the one who’d waited for her to see me. But her reaction told me that she really had been wanting me as much as I was her.
Her kisses were wilder than they had been and the way she moaned into my mouth was making my blood hot.
I had her shirt up around her neck, and my lips wrapped around her nipple, as her hands played in my hair.
Things were getting hot and heavy as I ground my hard-on into her, while holding her beneath me on the couch.
When I felt like I was going to shoot off like a green boy I knew it was time to pull back.
Now was not the time, I wanted our first time together to be special, not a coming together to scratch an itch, or to get over a bad day, and definitely not with the taint of Dorian Carter to mar the experience.
"We have to stop baby." I said this as I tried to swallow her breast. Her taste and scent made my cock ache, the feel of her against me, so soft, so warm. I wanted to love her in the worst way.
"Walk away Shania." I breathed into her neck.
"Not yet Donovan, just one more kiss." She recaptured my lips, her taste making me crazy.
The Homecoming Page 7