by WL Knightly
He looked back at the desk with a longing look, and Max chuckled. “Cheer up; she’s not gone yet. Besides, you’ve still got me, partner.”
“I just had something to tell her.” He did, but he didn’t know where to start with them, so her not being there might have been for the best too.
“About New Orleans? She called down there. Didn’t get many answers. I heard Bay Collins was shot.” A smile of satisfaction spread his lips. “I guess he knows the same friends as you.”
“Yeah. It’s Lane Simon’s new place. He was a lawyer here until recently.” Darek decided it was time he mentioned Mia. It was obvious that Max didn’t know she was there. He hated to see him get hurt, and when Bay found out, which was inevitable considering the way he protected his property, there was no telling what he’d do. Max being a cop wouldn’t stand in the way. “You know, it’s funny you should mention him since you’re fucking around with his girl.” Darek raised his brows and waited for his reaction.
Max gave a sly grin. “His wife? I ain’t been messing around with his old lady.” He gave Darek a look, and Darek didn’t miss the point he was making. Bay was a married man. Anyone outside of that was fair game.
“You know who I mean. Mia. She’s kind of a pet of his. That’s why I tried to warn you about her before.” He had seen the way Bay treated the young girl, and if there was anyone Bay might actually love in the word, it could be her.
Max’s face fell, and the muscles in his jaw twitched. “Was she there?”
“They were together in New Orleans. Mia was in the shooting too.” Darek watched as Max’s eyes widened.
“How is she?” He put his hand over his mouth.
“You really didn’t know?” He found that hard to believe, but at least Mia had come to her senses.
“No, she’s avoiding my calls.” He looked away as if embarrassed.
“She came out of it uninjured, but she was terribly upset over Bay’s condition. Wouldn’t leave his side. Maybe it was guilt? I don’t know, but I told you it wasn’t smart messing with her.”
“He’s a married man who has been fucking his sister-in-law. I don’t give a shit what he thinks, but you? I’m surprised you care so much. You sound like you’re on his side.”
Darek held up his hands. “That’s ridiculous. I’m just trying to warn you what you’re getting involved in.”
About that time, footsteps brought Darek’s head around as Lizzy walked into the room. He’d know the sound of her strutting in those heels anywhere. She looked a bit weary, her hair already falling from its bun and darkness shadowed beneath her eyes.
“There’s your superwoman now,” said Max. “So maybe you should focus on your own problems in the love department and let me handle my own.”
“Let her go, Max. Trust me, before one of you do get hurt.”
His cocky smirk made Darek wonder if things were still good between him and his best friend.
Lizzy breezed past Darek to her desk. “Good to see you back,” she said over her shoulder as she dropped her bag on the desk.
“Good to be back. What’s on the agenda?” He was anxious to see what lay ahead for them and if Max was right about her not being around much longer.
She leaned on her desk. “I’ve got to do a write up on the case. Reed wants to see it and review it. It’s my conclusions for the DA.”
“Need any help?” He felt like he was being pushed aside now that the case was dying, and he needed his promotion.
“No, I’ve got it.” She looked over at Max and smiled. “You two comparing weekends? Seeing who had the best trip?” She chuckled.
Darek’s back stiffened. “You were out of town this past weekend?”
“Yeah.” Max shrugged. “I had to go see some family.”
Darek wondered where the family was. “Yeah? Where to?” Max had been out of town, and Bay had been shot? Some men might come to conclusions about that one.
Max grinned and met his eyes like he knew what he was thinking. “Tennessee.”
“Yeah, I remember you saying that you had family there.” Darek also remembered him saying how he had a beef with all of them, and they’d practically disowned him.
Lizzy pulled out her chair and sat. “I saw Bay Collins on my way in. He’s still bandaged up. Had a sling on. Looked pissed off.”
“Good,” said Max. “The guy’s an asshole.” He gave Darek a pointed look and walked over to the coffee bar.
“What’s gotten into him?” asked Lizzy.
“I wish I knew. He’s not himself lately, you know? I mean, we’ve always gotten along, and I think he’s my best friend, but sometimes, I wonder if that only extended as long as we were partners.” Max had been a bit distant other than at work, and he had thought being newly single would strengthen their bond, but he hadn’t even told Darek about Mia, which was rare. He usually showed off his new girls like they were prizes. Especially hot young things like Mia.
“People change.” She fired up her computer and took some papers from her briefcase.
“Are we going to talk about what happened?” He had felt like a real heel after she’d gone.
She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s okay. There’s no need to.”
“Is it true that you’ll be gone soon?” He was upset that she hadn’t told him while she was at his house. “This report is you wrapping things up, right?”
“I’ll be around, I’m sure, but yes, the case is in the DA’s hands now for the most part, so unless something else happens, we’ll be given different assignments.”
He nodded. “Mine with the department and yours with the bureau.”
“Look, I know what you’re asking, and I don’t have the answers, Darek. Go to Reed and ask him about your promotion. I plan on writing a recommendation based on your work on the case, and what happens next isn’t on me.”
“So that’s it then? What about us, moving forward?”
“I think you should give the dust some time to settle at your house before you do anything else. You obviously had a thing for that woman.” She rolled her eyes. “If the long road brings you back to me, then maybe I’ll be in a better place by then.”
“I don’t want to take the long road, Lizzy. I want us to make up our minds now.”
“No, you don’t. Because I’m still hurt by you moving on to that woman.” Her jaw tightened so much, her words were muffled.
“I didn’t plan on any of it happening.”
“And I need to know that the man I love isn’t going to go looking for substitutes every time things go a little wrong between us.” She raised her voice, and he turned to see that Max had taken his coffee elsewhere and the room was empty.
He got up and walked over to join her. “I fucked up, okay? I’ll own that.”
“Tell me something, Darek. Did the shooting scare her off? Did you send her away to heal, or did she run from you as fast as she could? Because I believe that if she hadn’t gone, you’d still be with her.”
“I feel bad that I got her shot, okay?”
“You got her shot?” She turned her head to the side and glared at him with narrow eyes. “What’s that mean?”
Darek realized the slip, and as his heart raced, he knew he had to play it smooth to recover. “I brought her with me so I wouldn’t have to leave her at my house alone. If I’d just been more trusting, she wouldn’t have gotten shot in the first place. And no, I wasn’t going to kick her out while she was healing.”
“No, you’d have just got deeper and deeper. Look, you didn’t pull the trigger. I’m sorry about what happened. But until you sort yourself out, I’m going to protect my heart. You feeling guilty is enough to prove that you’re not ready for me to be back in your life. And who knows, Darek? Maybe with me not being around as much, you’ll realize that your feelings aren’t what you thought about me. Maybe it’s time we both move on to better things.”
He knew that wasn’t true. He was excited to hear that he wouldn’t have to deal with anymore
Zodiac shit, and it would make his job a hell of a lot easier, but he couldn’t see his career or future without her in it.
He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and walked out to take the call when he saw it was Bay. “Miss me already?” he asked.
Bay chuckled. “Sorry to bother you on your first day back, but I just wanted you to know that I heard from our old friend.”
Darek hadn’t gotten anything from the killer. “Well, what did they have to say this time?”
“It’s how we thought. Ken Sin isn’t involved, and the killer is about as impressed with him as the rest of us. I wondered if you’d gotten any calls in the night?”
“No, none.” Darek couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. “I wonder why?”
“I reached out to them. I doubted I’d hear back from them, but to my surprise, it didn’t take long to get a response.”
“They say anything else?”
“Other than being a smart ass, no.”
“Thanks for calling.” He said his farewells with Bay, and when the call ended, he turned and headed back to his office.
With Lizzy and the others not looking at his every move, he would have to continue the investigation on his own. Even though Ken Sin would take the fall, there was still a killer out there he had to stop.
Chapter 15
Justin
While Justin had never been much for vanity, he wasn’t happy with what had been done to his body. Just having stitches, which were starting to itch, felt too foreign in his body. Having to keep his wound covered while he showered was another annoyance, but he understood the reasoning. He just didn’t like it.
He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist before going over to wipe the mirror. The room was too full of steam to see anything, so he opened the door to let it air out while he peeled off the bandage and checked his wound.
“I can’t believe you’re doing that without me,” said Brandy from his room. She had come in quietly, and her voice had startled him.
“I hated to bother your nap.” She had been sleeping in his guest room, and with Corey’s death still fresh, she had her own wounds to tend.
“It’s not a bother. Besides, it gives me something to do.” She took the bandage from him and tossed it in the trash. Then she washed her hands and took out a fresh bandage and the tape from his wound kit the hospital sent home with him.
Justin wondered if it bothered her that he was in his towel, but she didn’t seem to mind. She bent over to tend the wound, and her cool fingers felt good on his skin. A little too good. He felt the blood start to flow and cursed his dick for getting hard. He reached down and held the towel in place, thankful his front was turned away from her. He took a deep breath and thought of his grandmother’s dentures. How she’d leave them all over the house for him to stumble on. Yep, that did the trick. Erection defeated.
“Are you okay? You look a little sick.”
“Yeah, I’m perfect.” He felt like such a dick. There she was in mourning for her fiancé, who was his friend, and he was thinking of all the other places he wanted her hands to be.
“I made you a follow-up appointment in Sturgis, but they can’t see you until the end of next week.”
He stepped back and gave her a hard stare. “Come on, why did you go and do that? You know I hate hospitals and doctors. Haven’t I been through enough already?”
“You heard the doctor, Justin. You need to let a professional check you out and remove the stitches.”
“They just want money to tell me shit I already know, and I can pull the fucking stitches out myself.” As much as he was in love with her, he was angry.
“Hey, you’re taking care of me, so I’m taking care of you. We’re in this together, old man, so you may as well get used to it.”
“I’m not an old man.” He looked up in the mirror at the small scrape that had nearly healed on his jawline. “I’m just a few years older than you, sweetheart.”
“You act like you’re eighty. Like some crotchety old fart who misers his money and hates everyone. Well, you can just get over it. Because we both know you have money to pay the doctors, and I’m not letting you take your dirty ass buck knife to those stitches.” She nudged his shoulder, but he didn’t move. She reminded him of a scrappy kitten, and he took great pleasure in getting a rise from her.
He wasn’t used to anyone taking care of him and had always been the one to do the caring. He had taken care of both of his grandparents in their golden years and started working in their stores when he was just twelve years old.
Brandy shook her tiny fist at him teasingly and made him chuckle, so he doubled his up and held it next to hers. He was a beast compared to her beauty, and he wondered if she could be interested in a man like him for more than a savior. He sighed. “Fine. Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s more like it.” She walked out into his room and sat on the bed, and Justin joined her, still wearing nothing but the towel.
It didn’t seem to bother her one bit as she lay back on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. “The funeral home called, and they’ll be sending Corey’s ashes down as soon as the cremation is done tomorrow.”
He walked to his dresser and found a clean pair of jeans to put on, so he turned away from her and dropped the towel to put them on. “That’s good news.”
She didn’t say anything, and he turned to see that she was laying on her side watching him do up his pants.
She stared at him blankly. She’d done a lot of that lately. He couldn’t even tell if she’d liked what she’d seen.
“Are you all right?” he asked, walking over to join her. “I mean, how are you holding up?”
She shrugged and sat up next to him. “I guess I feel bad for not feeling bad enough. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m miserable and angry, but I think I cried more when I was six and my puppy died.”
“It’s normal,” he said, reaching out to stroke her hair.
“I’m not normal. I’m obviously damaged and incapable of showing emotion.”
“Yet you have tears in your eyes.” He wiped one away.
“That’s more for being confused than anything. I loved Corey. I fell hard and fast for him, but I can’t stop thinking about what comes next in life, you know?”
Justin understood completely and wondered the same thing. What would be next with the two of them? He wished he’d not let impossible dreams keep them apart.
“Why didn’t you ever want me, Justin?”
The question caught him off guard. “How do you know I didn’t?”
Her eyes lit with surprise. “You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not. Why would I?”
“To make me feel better. You were in love with whatshername.”
“Betty.”
“That’s right,” she said with laughter in her voice. “BlackheartBetty2000. She sounded like a fucking robot.”
He couldn’t argue with her. “Okay, I’ll give you that much. But Betty wasn’t fake. She was real.” He had always felt the need to defend his online relationship because even those closest to him had told him that it was a lie.
“Maybe she was a real, but it was never going to amount to shit.” She turned to look away from him.
Brandy sounded jealous, but he wasn’t about to dignify the subject by continuing. “If I had to do things over, I’d do them differently, okay? Does that make you feel better?”
“Right. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to bust your balls. I just have a lot on my mind. Past and present, it’s all one big blur.”
Talking about Betty made him think about Corey’s phone. The number was similar to the one he had used to message Betty during their sexting sessions. “This might sound stupid, but do you mind if I see Corey’s phone?”
She laughed. “No, I don’t mind. Your friend was asking me about his phone back in New Orleans. Darek. He asked if I had gotten it from the hospital. I made sure I didn’t let it out of my sight.”
“Did he
say why he was so curious?” Justin hadn’t liked Darek’s involvement in the case from the start, and now that he was rooting around trying to get in Corey’s phone, he had even stronger suspicions that the crooked cop was in on it all.
“No. I think he was just giving me a friendly reminder, but it’s kind of odd thinking about it.” She let out a long breath. “Look, you told me about your past, and Corey told me enough too that I can piece things together to form a pretty sick picture. I know he came here for a reason, and meeting me wasn’t in his plans. But considering he killed someone, I’m guessing you want to know if there were any conversations.”
“I’m actually more interested in the number. I don’t need to read his private conversations.”
She smiled. “Thought so.”
“Look, don’t go digging around in this. And whatever you do, don’t try and respond to that lunatic. He’s taken out half of our group.”
“So, you do think it was related.” Her narrowed eyes bored into his. “And all of this random shooter talk?”
“I’m not sure.” All he knew was the number was familiar. “I just want to rule out any suspicions. I’m sure the number is just close.” He needed to make sure that he hadn’t brought hell down on everyone.
“What if it is the same number?”
“Then Betty was fake after all, and someone used me much worse than I already suspected.”
Brandy furrowed her brows. “What did you guys do? Who did you hurt?”
He wasn’t about to answer. “If it concerned only me, I’d tell you everything, Brandy. But since it doesn’t, I think it’s best you don’t know.” He had only ever spilled his guts to one other person about parts of that night, and even though he’d loved Betty more than he should have, he hadn’t even told her the whole of it.
Brandy’s hand rested on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I understand. But if you ever change your mind, you know me. I’m your secret keeper, Justin. Just like you’re mine.” She got up and took his hand. “It’s in here.” She gestured toward the door.
He got to his feet, and she dropped his hand, taking the lead. When they got to her room, she walked over and took it out of her bag. “Do me a favor and don’t erase anything.”