by Deanna Lee
"There are certainly less pleasant ways to die.” Kyra sat up and shook back her hair. “I have to get down to the station."
"You know that can all wait until tomorrow. You caught the bad guy, Kyra. Give yourself some time to relax.” He pulled her back down and into his arms.
"Yeah, I got the bad guy.” She frowned, because it still didn't seem true. “Aaron Belton never had a chance of a normal life. He was corrupted from birth."
"Do you think he'll stand trial?"
"Hell, no. He's so damn crazy, I doubt we'll even get a shot at a competency hearing."
"But the system will be able to keep him?"
"Yes. We'll get to keep him inside a facility for the rest of his life.” Staring at the ceiling, she shook her head and sighed. “I hate that I pity him."
"I admire it, especially after the things he did to Glory."
"She pities him, too. Despite all that I know about his life and what made him what he is today, I'd still put a bullet in his head if I thought I could get away with it."
He was silent for a moment, letting what she'd said sink into the darkness around them. “I understand."
"I've only killed in the line of duty twice. Once when I was still a constable and once when I worked Anti-Crime as a detective. For weeks after those two events in my life, I questioned my choices and if I'd made the right decisions. I eventually made peace with what I'd done, but I can still see their faces when I let myself think about it."
"I can't give an accurate account of how many people I've killed."
"Military service is different."
"No, it's just more acceptable. When a soldier kills in the line of duty, it's rarely questioned. When a cop guns down a suspect during a crime, it's investigated and determined to be just or unjust."
"What happened to John's lover?
Alex grimaced. “He took friendly fire in the back."
She closed her eyes at the guilt in his voice. “Your gun?"
"They never did determine which one of us shot him. The bullet was too damaged for a ballistics match. But they could determine that the round was NAU military issue. We were the only unit on the ground, which means one of us shot him in the back."
"Do you blame yourself?
"No, he advanced in position twenty minutes earlier than was planned and never informed anyone in the unit of his new position."
"John Deets thinks you made the kill shot."
"No, I don't think so. It was my unit. I didn't know where Frank was, and I should have."
"I take it you were in a combat situation."
"Yes."
"Do you know who made the kill shot?"
"God help me, I do.” Alex rolled onto his side and looked at her face. “But I'll never let it be known. Frank made a foolish mistake, and knowing the truth would never serve John."
Kyra touched his jaw gently. He didn't have to say it. She could see it on his face and in his eyes. “No, it would never serve John."
Alex leaned down and kissed her mouth gently. “I didn't realize how invested I'd gotten until I heard you'd been shot."
She winced, then blushed. “I'm really going to try harder to keep you in the loop. I want us to be something ... something special, and that can't happen if you're constantly pissed off at me because of my penchant for injury."
He glanced down at the four circular bandages on her arm. “Still no pain?"
"I'm good. The medic told me that the shot he gave me would last about six hours."
"I want that something special, too, you know.” Rubbing his thumb over her lips, he met her gaze. “So, we'll work on it together, and we'll both try hard to keep things on an even keel with us."
"Good, we're agreed.” She sighed. “Now, I think it's time we discuss your aunt Clara."
Alex laughed and rolled onto his back. “I'm not disowning her. She's already made it very clear to me how she feels about you."
"I don't have to go to her house for holidays, do I?"
"No. We usually go to the parents’ house. My father's parents are still alive and living in the Florida Keys."
"Did she tell you about my mother?"
Alex grimaced and focused on the ceiling. “Yeah."
"Good, then we don't have to discuss it.” Kyra rolled onto her side away from him and sighed when he pulled her in to spoon against him.
"Do you know who your father is?"
"No, I never made any effort to locate the man who raped my mother.” She took in a deep breath and slowly released it. “She loved me, and every day I was with her I knew that. My grandmother would have never told me. So I guess in some ways I owe Clara something. She was brave enough to tell me the truth about why my mother killed herself."
"Does it bother you?"
"Being the product of a rape? When I first found out, I was devastated. But I spent time looking through my mother's personal journals, and I realized that she never associated me personally with the act of violence that created me. I don't know how she did it. I don't think I could."
"Babies are easy to love. I'm glad that she at least had that in her life.” He pulled her closer. “What a lonely woman she must have been."
"Yes.” Kyra nodded in the darkness and closed her eyes. “My alarm is going to go off in three hours."
"Sleep, then, and we'll get up and face the world together."
THE END
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