Times like this made me miss having someone to have these kind of intimate moments with. I was blessed for almost seven years of moments like that before Ella died. I couldn’t complain too much about that fact. I just wished my memories of her weren’t harder and harder to remember in detail as the years went on. Sometimes it felt like she was fading away from me all over again.
I stood and made to clear my plates, but Kara stopped me. “I want you guys to go watch the rest of the game. I’ll take care of this and I’ll bring out some cake in a little while.”
“Picking up after myself is the least I can do after you fed me,” I pointed out and brought my plates into the kitchen. On my way through the dining room into the living room, I bussed Kara on her cheek and thanked her for dinner.
“You can thank me by giving Rebecca a call.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Relentless. “I have plans with someone else. It wouldn’t be right.”
Where did that lie come from and why did it slip so easily out of my mouth?
“You do?” She perked up and latched on to that tidbit.
“It’s no big deal. Just someone I met. Don’t go marrying me off just yet.” I winked and got out of the room as fast as I could. I breathed a sigh of relief once I settled in the couch and was safe from her prying into my love life or lack thereof. I was a man, all I really needed was a warm, wet pussy, and I was happy. Okay, that was a lie. I wanted to tie up said pussy first and have free reign to do whatever I wanted to it. Visions of Megan trussed up and dripping wet filled my head. Oh no… I couldn’t go down that path again. Focusing on the game, I attempted to clear my mind. It almost worked.
“Fuck,” Jacob cursed a while later after we had eaten our cake and the game had ended.
“What is it?” I asked watching him pull his vibrating phone out of his pocket.
“Matthews,” he answered and I cursed out loud. He only answered his phone that way when it was work.
“We’ll meet you there.” He hung up and quickly rose to go find Kara. He knew I knew the drill, so he didn’t even bother to explain anything to me.
I started putting on my shoes thinking it made things easier that we were already together, whatever it was we were about to do.
“Ready?” He asked when he joined me by the front door.
“Yeah, what’s going on?”
“John and Marty spotted our suspect for the homicide from Labor Day. They couldn’t go after him, though, because they would have blown their cover with the drug dealer they are after. We’re going to meet them outside the club he’s at. And hopefully the kid is still there.”
“Martinez?” I knew who he meant when he said kid. Edguardo Martinez was an eighteen year old kid who, from what intel said, became the latest muscle in a big drug ring that had deep roots in D.C. The fact that he was considered lethal and worthy of his position at such a young age was disturbing.
“One in the same.”
When we joined John and Marty at an abandoned warehouse, I knew that if Martinez was in there, we were in trouble. The place was huge and the amount of noise coming from it told us this was an underground club that adhered to none of the regulations a normal club had to, including the capacity of people inside.
“How long ago was he last seen?” I asked the two men.
John looked at his watch and back at me. “Near on two hours. He was covered in pussy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone by now. Sorry, man. We’d help find him, but can’t blow our cover.”
“No problems. What was he wearing?”
John described the perp and they both wished us luck as they disappeared into the night.
“We’ll go in together. You take the second floor, I’ll take the first,” Jacob instructed me.
“No,” I shook my head. “He’s too dangerous and if he’s still in there he has backup with his brothers. We stick together.”
He nodded and followed my lead. Two hours later, we left the club empty-handed.
I was worked up, pissed off and in need of release. A brown eyed girl popped into my head, her eyes submissive calling to me. Fuck, I was so sick of Megan haunting me. I didn’t need a second ghost following me around. If I wasn’t so damn tired I’d have picked up someone at Murphy’s before heading home.
Jacob left me at my truck with a quick goodbye before heading upstairs to join Kara in bed. Much to my dismay, I went home. Alone.
* * *
I was eating a powdered donut and not giving two shits that the powder was trailing down my shirt when Jacob joined me at our desks.
“Made some calls. We got a lead on Martinez. Turns out one of the women he went home with last night wasn’t too big on sharing. Her friend was one of the girls we talked to last night. She got her to flip on the Latin lover.”
“Good work. When we heading out?”
“As soon as you clean yourself up. You’re a mess.” He pointed to my shirt. “You really shouldn’t eat those. Try glazed next time.”
I looked down and brushed the powder from my shirt. Good enough. I stood up and headed towards the door. “You coming?”
“Wow.” He shook his head in disbelief but followed me out.
We pulled up to the house on the outskirts of the projects a half hour later. The neighborhood was fairly quiet given it was still midmorning.
I approached the house from the front, Jacob from the back. A brief look in the front window showed no movement in the house. I knocked on the door and waited. Within seconds, I heard a loud bang and Jacob swearing. I bolted over the side of the porch and sprinted to the back of the house. Jacob was getting off the ground and running towards the fence separating the neighbor’s yard in back. I quickly followed suit and saw what I assumed was Martinez running ahead of us.
We both jumped the fence and continued on through several yards and down numerous streets. The kid was fast, that was for sure.
Sensing my opportunity, I cut through an alley and out to the other side just as Martinez was coming up to it. When he made no signs of slowing, I leapt out from between two cars and tackled him to the ground. We landed with a thud and pain shot up my shoulder from the landing.
Jacob skidded to a stop in front of us. Taking out his handcuffs, he slapped them on Martinez. I laid on the ground for several seconds while Jacob read him his Miranda rights.
“You okay, man?” Jacob asked, offering me a hand to get up with. I took it and once on my feet, I brushed off the dirt. “I’m too old for this shit.”
“That move was awesome.” He laughed at the look on my face. I could only guess it was my fuck off expression. “Well, it was. Who knew you had it in you?”
“Fuck you. Call in a car to come pick this sorry piece of shit up so we can get out of here.”
“Whatever you say. You are my hero after all,” he joked, but did what I said anyway.
* * *
“Mack and Jacob take on the world,” Marty joked when we walked into the locker room at the precinct. “Where are your capes?”
“Fuck you,” I said as I flopped down on the bench and ran my towel over my head. “I’m too old for that shit.”
Marty laughed and Jacob slapped my back as he walked by me towards his locker. “Good thing you have me to make you look good.”
“Keep dreaming, pretty boy. Old or not, I can still run circles around your sorry ass.” I threw my towel at him, but he caught it.
He threw the towel back at me and headed towards the shower. “Keep telling yourself that!”
I had already showered while Jacob was on the phone with Kara, so I threw on a change of clothes and went to grab the coffee I left on my desk before heading home. It was a long fucking day, and I couldn’t wait to grab some food and do nothing.
Deciding to leave a note for Regina at the front desk to call me if the paperwork on a case came through tomorrow, I dug through the papers on my desk for a pen. Coming up empty, I turned and spotted one on John’s desk.
He walke
d into the room just as I had the pen in hand and noticed a familiar name on a folder sitting on top of his stack.
“Why do you have this file on Ted Yates? You still haven’t picked the fucker up yet?” I gestured to the thick, manila folder on his desk. I hadn’t heard any more on Yates, so I assumed he was locked up, and I had just missed the news.
“Shit,” he mumbled and set some other files on top of it. The look on his face screamed of unease.
“What the fuck, man? Why are you trying to hide that shit from me?” Dread seeped into my bones as I waited for his answer. There was only one reason why I didn’t know what the hell was going on. Megan didn’t want me to know.
“She didn’t want you to know unless I needed the help,” his explanation solidified what I already figured. He moved the folders he had just placed on top. “Take a look for yourself.”
I flipped open the folder and thumbed through the first few documents which held little information other than a few notes on his last known whereabouts. I stopped at a copy of a restraining order filed by Megan. I’m embarrassed to admit my hand shook as I read the description of the threats Yates had made against her. My stomach twisted violently when I read how John was staying with her when he called to let her know no cop was going to put him off his target.
Sinking down in a seat next to his desk, I read every single fucking piece of paper I could find. When I was done I looked up at John and had to fight the urge not to beat the living shit out of him for keeping me in the dark. He and Marty had been watching her back for almost two fucking months while I walked around a clueless motherfucker.
What if something had happened to her? I couldn’t even bear the thought of losing Megan. Not like I lost Ella. No way. I couldn’t watch the light on another young, beautiful woman be snuffed out. Especially not her. She made the pain inside me ease without even trying. If I was honest with myself, it was one of the main reasons why I kept going back to her even after I’d tell myself not to.
“Start from the beginning and don’t leave a single thing out,” I demanded.
Chapter Twelve
Megan
I screamed and practically jumped out of my skin when there was a knock on the front door, immediately followed by it being thrown open with force and a man stalking in.
“How could you not tell me?” A very angry Mack gritted out between clenched teeth. “And why isn’t your damn door locked?”
“Why hello to you too,” I said sarcastically all the while hoping my heart was not going to explode in my chest from the scare he just gave me. It had been two months since he and I had last spoken and he came at me like this? I didn’t think so.
“Don’t try to be cute, Megan. I’m ready to throttle you. I want to know when the hell you were going to tell me that you were threatened by that scumbag. I warned you this guy was unpredictable and you still decided to keep me in the dark?”
“That’s not really the way it went,” I grumbled. “You didn’t need to know, but I suppose now that you do you’re going to start dictating what I can and can’t do too?” I was grateful for John and Marty for keeping me safe, but I was starting to feel claustrophobic always having someone with me, telling me where I could and couldn’t go. I had yet to voice that concern for fear of throwing it in their faces. It was, however, pushing me to my breaking point. I hadn’t seen or heard from Ted since the whole thing started, so I was hoping that meant he had moved on.
“What I’m going to do is keep your ass safe just as soon as you check your attitude.”
“I think you lost the right to keep my ass safe around the time you oh I don’t know…” I tapped my finger on my chin as if in thought. “That’s right… called me a whore—extremely loudly nonetheless—in my place of employment. Not only did you disrespect me, but you embarrassed me in front of my peers.”
“Would it help if I said I’m sorry?”
“Only if you meant it,” I said knowing by the tone of his voice that he wasn’t. Why did men find it so hard to admit they were wrong?
“Can we talk about this later? Right now I’m taking you to get dinner.”
Hello whiplash. Talk about a change in subject.
“Say what?” We had never been in public together. Unless you counted the shooting range, which I didn’t.
“You need to eat right? Well, so do I. Grab your purse, let’s go.” He crossed his arms not even attempting to hide his impatience. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he started tapping his foot.
“I’m not going to dinner with you.” I raised my chin defiantly and struck my own impatient pose.
He sighed like he was dealing with a child, which only served to add to my ire. “Hard way or easy way? You choose. You got five seconds.”
“You’re delusional!” I turned to walk towards the kitchen when his hand shot out, and he grabbed my arm, spinning me around.
“Hard way it is,” he said right before he dipped and put a shoulder to my belly. Next thing I knew I was going up and was being thrown over his shoulder. He jerked his shoulder to settle me more fully and then he headed toward the door. “You got keys?”
“I can’t believe you just did that!” I screamed and punched his butt—not that it made a difference seeing as how it was rock fucking hard. Damn man and his delicious ass.
“Christ, woman! Just answer the damn question. Where are your keys?”
“Humfph. Fine. My purse is over there.” I pointed towards the chair by the staircase.
He turned, grabbed my purse and strolled out the door. We stopped in front of an older model blue truck. He opened the door and then set me on my feet, gently pushing me into the passenger seat.
I looked at him across the bench seat when he folded in the car. “What happened to your bike?”
“It’s getting colder so I put the truck on the road.” He shrugged and said nothing further.
“Oh… Well… Care to tell me what this is all about?” I finally decided to focus on the matter at hand now that my curiosity had been assuaged.
“We’ll talk when we eat. You want pizza or Mexican?”
“Are those my only choices?”
“Pretty much.”
“Fine. I guess Mexican.” I sighed knowing that if he didn’t want to talk, he wouldn’t. It seemed I did a lot of sighing around him. I’d have to think about why it didn’t always bother me to let him dictate the situation and do what he wanted a little later.
My stomach grumbling was a reminder I had better things to worry about like where we were going to eat. I folded my arms and stared out the window until he pulled up outside of Los Cuates in Georgetown. I always loved the orange and blue façade of the building, and their food was mouthwatering delicious.
“Nice choice,” I reluctantly admitted. He didn’t need me praising him. I was still a little upset with him for the way he stormed into my house after how things had ended with us. Although I had to admit that the longer I was in his presence, the more I was thawing towards him.
“Good food,” he added. Then I was seeing his back as he got out of the truck and rounded the hood to open the door for me.
Surprisingly, he grabbed my hand as we walked into the restaurant. I wasn’t used to any public displays of affection from him seeing as how I stated earlier, we had never really been in public together. And damn my traitorous hormones for being thrilled at this change in events.
Seated at a table in the corner, he chose to sit next to me rather than across from me. “Uh, hello? Personal space? Have you ever heard of it?”
His arm stretched along the back of my chair and his face dipped close so there were only a few inches separating us.
“It’s called controlling the room. If someone wants to get to you, they’re going to have to go through me.”
I had to admit that sounded nice. Well, not the part about someone would have to hurt him to get to me, but rather the fact that he was wasting no time taking control and making me feel safe. I didn’t want to admi
t that to him, so I was thankful when the waitress saved me when she came and took our drink orders—a spicy margarita for me and a beer for him.
“You going to look at the menu?” He asked with a raised eyebrow as he studied his own menu.
“Nope. I always get the same thing when I come here—Chile Relleno. Oh and we need to get an order of Queso Con Chile.” I batted my eyelashes and gave him my most angelic smile. “You are paying right?”
He burst out laughing and shook his head. “Yeah, I’m paying.”
“Good.” I sat back and tried to rein in the excitement I was feeling at the seemingly normal playful banter we had with each other. I had missed him. For as much as I loved John, spending time with him babysitting me wasn’t as stimulating as it was with Mack. Mack had my heart thumping and my blood racing just by sitting next to me. Which could be bad because I was still mad. Yes, I would do well to remember that.
“So what did John tell you about Ted Yates?” I finally asked once our food was served, figuring it was good to get this out of the way because I was, in fact, going to hide from him going forward. I had already resigned myself to a life sans Mack. I didn’t need the drama a relationship would bring into my life. I always planned on staying unattached, and he was hell on my intentions to do that. After the way he treated me, I wasn’t sure he deserved any more than this meal from me.
Mack proceeded to recount all the sordid details that were so burned on my brain that I’d never forget them. My appetite dipped greatly after that.
“Megan, it doesn’t matter what happens between us romantically, I’m always here for you. My job is to protect and serve. Do you have any idea how I would have felt if something had happened to you and I could have prevented it?”
“So this is about your need to protect people?” I threw my napkin down in full out indignant mode.
“Whoa, why the attitude again? I was trying to explain to you why I reacted the way I did earlier at your house.”
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