On that terrible day, the last time I saw the rat, I woke up disoriented and drowsy in the hospital several hours after Kiki shot Josh. I remembered every detail from that afternoon, every punch and every vile word that came out of Josh’s mouth. My ribs and jaw were broken, and I had deep cuts all over my arms, but the doctors managed to stop the internal bleeding. Tequila was there too and when she broke the news to me that Josh was dead, I instantly felt better. Her face was all swollen and red. She told me that someone must have called the police when Kiki fired a shot. Micah was arrested, along with Hunter and Kiki. I had no idea if any of them were going to get charged with Josh’s murder. After all, it was Kiki that shot him, a girl that ran away from a mental hospital and betrayed us all, her new family. A day later Hunter and Micah were released. The detectives found a video upstairs in one of the bedrooms. Josh was planning to record everything that happened that afternoon, all the abuse that he put me through.
Days later, we found out that Josh had come back to London alone, without his people. Apparently the police had torn apart his newly created gang in Braxton and he had to flee the scene. It took him weeks to reconnect with some of his old friends, and put his final plan into motion. He had Kiki’s little sister and she had no choice but to point him in my direction. That was how his men found out about Tequila’s house.
Micah was determined to avoid prison, so he made a deal with the police, with his ex-boss, Superintendent Clarke. He promised not to go to the press and create a scandal. There was a lot that he could have talked about. After all, he made a decision to walk away from his career as a detective. The fact that Rudolf faked his death, and that very highly placed police officers were in his pocket might have jeopardised the work of the whole department. In exchange, the police agreed to drop any pending charges against him.
I hear the door and several moments later Micah walks into our small flat that we have been sharing together since October this year. Once I recovered from all my injuries and this whole thing was behind us, we both decided to go back to Braxton. I was anxious to finish my degree in psychology, to get back to the life I’d begun as Tahlia Sanderson. Micah, on the other hand, was lost. His life as a detective was over, and after spending his adult life working for the police, he needed to reevaluate his options. Josh had paid the ultimate price for his crimes. He was lucky that his death was quick and he never had to suffer like I had.
Once the investigation was shut down, Micah went to London, to visit Steph’s parents. They needed to know what happened to Steph eight years ago so they could find closure after the loss of their beloved daughter.
Then we began our new life, away from London and everything that was wrong with our old lives. It took a while to heal the emotional and physical scars. The nightmares about that day kept coming back, but we worked through them, attended therapy together.
Micah was headhunted by one of the top agencies in the country, and after some time he managed to secure a forensics technician position in London. He stayed in the city during the week, and on the weekends he travelled back to Braxton. Tequila decided to take some time off. She went away travelling for a few months alone. We haven’t heard back from Hunter since he was arrested along with Micah. Eventually Tequila stopped talking about him and went back to her old life.
“Hey, gorgeous, it looks like you missed me?” Micah whispers when I throw myself into his arms as soon as he walks through the door. His lips cover mine and we stay wrapped around each other until we are both out of breath, lost in a moment of passion. He is back and this time he’s staying for a bit longer than just a weekend.
“Yes, I’ve been counting the minutes until I would see you,” I reply looking at him.
For a long time neither of us believed that we could get past what happened. We lost our family, our new friends and years of normality. For some reason I understood Kiki. Her sister was ripped away from her and she was pushed to pull that damn trigger. I don’t know how this whole thing would have ended otherwise, if she hadn’t followed Micah and Hunter all the way.
“Good. I would be upset if you didn’t miss such an awesome guy like me,” he whispers in my ear, kissing my cheek. I laugh and smack him playfully. “You have a few hours to get ready. We are going out this evening to celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?”
“Us, life, the fact that my boss thinks that I’m hot. Rogers and Lisa are joining us, so make sure you wear something really special tonight,” he adds, winking at me. I look at him slightly confused and let the comment about his boss slide.
We haven’t socialised with anyone since we settled back in Braxton and this is the first time that he even mentioned Rogers and Lisa. Micah wanted to start over completely and I knew that he owed a lot to his old partner, who wasn’t planning to keep his distance. Lisa had stopped over a few times, but Micah always gave her some lame excuse not to go over to see them. It was like he was afraid to get back to his old life.
“Rogers and his wife? Are we seriously going out for dinner with them?” I ask, stunned.
“Yes, Tahlia, that’s what is happening. We all are having dinner together tonight,” he snaps back, irritated.
“All right, hot shot, I’ll be ready soon, but first I need to take a shower,” I say, pulling away from him. I start counting—five, four …
“You’re such a tease,” he mutters, bringing my body closer. I know him better than he knows himself now.
I laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, darling.”
“You know exactly what the phrase “taking a shower” does to me. We have a lot to catch up on, and we are starting just about now,” he says, lifting me up and carrying me towards the bedroom.
“Okay, okay, I get your point, but you need to put me down for a second, because I need to tell you something,” I say, touching his face with my palm, letting him know that I’m serious. He frowns but puts me down.
“Hmm, I don’t know if I should be scared or happy when you say serious shit like that,” he mutters. We are standing in the corridor between the bedroom and living room. I take a deep breath, trying not to make a big deal out of what I’m just about to say.
“I want to start looking for my siblings, Micah. We were separated almost nine years ago. I think I’m ready to look for them. I need to know if they had a better life after … after they were taken away.”
Micah watches me for a really long time without saying anything. His expression softens. He grabs my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing my knuckles softly.
“Of course, we will look for them together. I haven’t even realised how hard it must have been for you not knowing what happened to them,” he says, and I nod.
I have been thinking about my brother and sisters for a while now, even the memories about my crack addict mother slipped in sometimes. She was a toxic person, but she did give birth to me. I feel like I owe it to them to at least try to find them. Now I’m happy enough to dig out that other part of my life.
“There is one more thing,” I say slowly. Micah raises his left eyebrow.
“Anything for you.”
“Your parents, Micah, have you … I mean have you considered forgiving them?” I ask gently, knowing that Micah hates bringing up his difficult childhood. Since our time together in Braxton, he never mentioned his parents again. We have talked about them during the therapy, but we never sat down alone and discussed how his life was impacted by the choices that they made, about how much they hurt him.
He sighs loudly but doesn’t let go of my hand. The raw pain fills his eyes. After Josh’s death, we promised each other that we wouldn’t talk about the past until we were both ready and now I truly believe that he is finally ready to forgive them.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it,” he says, looking away.
“But … will you consider it at least?”
There is a long pause, and my heart swells in my chest. When he finally replies, his answer is surprising.
“I’ll do anything for you, but first you need to let me make love to you. It’s been too long. After that we can talk about whatever you want, even serious shit like that,” he says and lifts me again, switching back to being that playful hot shot Micah.
When he throws me on the bed and starts taking his clothes off, I stop thinking about his parents, Josh, and the past and concentrate on that determined look on his face. Sudden joy and love fill my heart. Micah Thomson is mine, and there is nothing else stopping us from being happy, being us.
“I love you, hot shot,” I say, standing up, lifting my arms, so he can remove my T-shirt. He winks at me and throws his shirt over my head instead.
“I know, gorgeous, I always knew.”
The end
Author’s note
Thank you for reading Skimming above the surface (Love & Hate series #4)
If you enjoyed this first instalment, please leave a review.
Also!
With a true desire to appreciate my readers, I am offering a limited gift! Sign up for my fan exclusive newsletter, and receive a novella about side characters from All About You (Love & Hate series #1), upon release!
Click here to get started
Other books by Joanna Mazurkiewicz:
Cutter
(Contemporary romance)
When the clock strikes
(Paranormal Personnel Saga # 0.5)
£6.19 per Witching hour
(Paranormal Personnel Saga #1)
Past the Witching hour
(Paranormal Personnel Saga #2)
Half Past the Witching hour
(Paranormal Personnel Saga #3)
The Whispers of the Sprite
(The Whispers Series #1)
(Currently free)
The Dark Night Whispers
(The Whispers Series #2)
Her Secret Whispers
(The Whispers Series #3)
My Last Whispers
(The Whispers Series #4)
The Whispers Series,
book 1,2,3
All about you
(Love & Hate series #1)
All about me
(Love & Hate series #2)
In too deep
(Love & Hate series #3)
Love & Hate Series Box Set 2 (Love & Hate #3-4) Page 47