Unbreak Me

by Alicia Cicoria

  She studied the photo for a long time before reacting. She brought one hand up to her mouth and covered it, tears tumbling down at the exact same moment. "It was your ex?" Her eyes scanned the clipping, realization drowning her as it had done me.

  It was a question that I wasn't one-hundred percent sure I could truthfully answer. Anyone could have been behind the wheel, though the logical suspect was indeed Mac. I hated her even more for what she had taken from Amberly. My hate for her festered after I had found out she cheated on me, growing when she left and became involved with my best friend, and now it was a gigantic ball of blurry fire. I could handle the shit she threw my way, but when it came to someone I cared about, it wasn't as easy to face.

  "I'll fix this. Somehow." I didn't bother masking the fact I had reservations about how everything would play out. Back when I told her she could reopen the case, I failed to realize that without proof Mac was intoxicated, it wouldn't go far. She wouldn't be punished for anything that happened a year ago. However, there was the hope that I could pin everything else on her and she would have repercussions for tampering with evidence and framing me for drugs.

  I felt like a dick for putting the notion into her thoughts. I had good intentions that left us both hurting, physically and emotionally. If I had never suggested it, she wouldn't be laying in a hospital bed. Her pain was my pain.

  I decided to change the subject, remembering what Cricket wanted me to tell her. "Cricket said she'd be up here in the morning."

  Amberly opened her eyes and stared back at me. "Maybe she will bring me some breakfast."

  "I can text her and tell her to if you want."

  She shook her head. "No. Thank you though."

  I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles, letting my gaze fall down to our hands. Everything about holding her felt right. I had fallen in love with her the moment she came back into my life. "I really love you." I said, without looking up.

  "I love you too, Bryant." She struggled to sit up higher. Her arms wrapped around me and she rested her cheek against the top of my head, as though she was the one comforting me.

  I snuck my arms around her waist and tugged her gently until she was as close as she could be. "I don't know what I did to deserve you. I am sorry for everything."

  She leaned up straight, coaxing me to look up at her. "What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything."

  She had no idea how much I had done. Every shitty aspect of what her life was now was my fault. I knew I didn't deserve her but I was too selfish to let her go. I needed her in my life. I would do anything to make it all up to her.

  "Bryant, what are you sorry for?" Now her voice was quivering, scared of what my reply would be.

  "I brought that bitch into your life." I paused, reliving a painful and stupid memory. "Back when her and I first got together, I raced. I spent most of my time fixing up an old car my dad had bought me. When I wasn't working on it, I was racing. Mac couldn't stand how much dedication went to the hobby. She threatened to leave me if I didn't give all of it up." I shrugged, feeling the anger bring itself to a boil again. "I don't know why losing her startled me. It shouldn't have even phased me, and I have regretted not telling her to walk away every single day." I ran my hand over my head and reclined back against the chair, leaving Amberly's arms empty. "My dad thought I was pathetic. He said I never should let a woman dictate what I wanted to do. He was beyond pissed when I sold my race car. He told me the least I could've done is given it up for someone worth the sacrifice."

  Amberly started shaking her head. Her eyebrows scrunched together at the same time. "Why would you do that?"

  I blew out a frustrated breath. "I have no idea. Not long after, she got pregnant with Delia when she knew damn well I wasn't ready for a child."

  "I hope you know I'll never ask you to give up something for me, Bryant."

  I didn't hesitate, standing up and kissing her with as much passion I could show. Her words meant more to me than anything anyone would ever say to me. I stopped kissing her and rested my forehead against hers, keeping my eyes closed so I could focus on her breathing.

  "You are my everything. My yesterday, my today, and my tomorrow. For always."

  I heard her breath catch on my final words and I kissed her again to finalize what I'd said. "I mean that."

  "You're my everything too, Bryant." She slid over to one side of the hospital bed and I joined her, holding onto her as tenderly as I could.

  I laid with her for a while before an idea popped into my head. A very fucked up idea that could land me in prison for a long time. I didn’t care. What was most important to me right now was helping Amberly accomplish what she’d set out to do since I had even brought the idea to light. I kissed her goodbye, telling her to get some rest while I was out. Lucas still hadn’t called me back so I headed to his house first.

  His porch light was on, the shadow of him standing on the steps. He saw me and put out his cigarette on the ground.

  “Get in dickhead!” I hollered.

  He came closer, his hands hidden in the pockets of the jacket he was wearing. “Where are we going?”

  “I’ve got an idea but I need your help.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t like when you have ideas.”

  I sighed and put my truck in park. “Just get in. I’m doing this with or without you. I’ve got a better chance of not getting caught if you come with me though.”

  He groaned but barreled his way to the passenger side of my truck. “This better be good.”

  “It might be. Depends on if I find what I’m looking for.”

  Lucas turned the radio down. “Couldn’t it wait until, I don’t know, Monday?”

  It couldn’t, at least I didn’t think so. We were on the downhill now. If someone found out Lucas was digging around for me, evidence could be destroyed before we got a chance to look at it. I didn’t have even seconds to lose.

  “Not really?”

  Lucas shook his head, annoyed with our conversation. “I love the confidence you bring to your answer.” His reply came, snarky.

  I didn’t say another word until we pulled up to the back of the police station.

  “What the hell dude?” Lucas unbuckled his seatbelt but he waved his hands through the air, protesting. “Nope. Whatever it is you’re after, I can get it for you Monday. I’ll make sure I get it then. I don’t even have to list all the things that could go wrong if we do what I think you’re thinking about doing right now.” He slammed his fist down onto my dashboard. “Fuck, man! Are you serious?”

  I punched him in the arm. “Don’t hit my dashboard, fucker.” I shut down the engine and withdrew the keys out of the ignition. “I need this one thing. I won’t ask anything else of you after this.”

  Lucas stared me down. He was hesitating. “Tell me what we’re doing first.”

  “I need all the files from the wreck Amberly was in.”

  Lucas’ shoulders fell. “They haven’t even begun getting everything together. What has it been? One day?”

  “Not this one, the one from a year ago.”

  “This is her second car wreck?” Interested appeared finally. Lucas didn’t know much about Amberly because I hadn’t told him anything. Everything he had been digging into related to the framing of me.

  “Yes, the first one killed her daughter. She says that the other driver was drunk but the police report ruled it an accident due to brake malfunction in the other person’s car.”

  He brought his knuckles to his lip as he registered what I was telling him. “You think we’re dealing with more than some shit from your ex-wife? A conspiracy?”

  “I’m not sure. First, this crap with Sadie Wilcox now someone is trying to pin me at the scene that night. Honestly, I think my ex-wife is even behind this.”

  Lucas chuckled. “What the hell did you do to her?”

  I rolled my eyes and let my body fall back into the cushion of the truck. “I didn’t do anything to her that she hadn’t done to
me first.”

  “Yeah but women never forget shit and they hold grudges for years.” This humored him.

  “Listen, Amberly needs this. It isn’t just about me anymore. A little girl was killed that night. Amberly no longer has her daughter because my ex-wife might have been behind the wheel of the car that ran into them. I can’t let her get away with that, any more than I can let her get away with what she’s trying to do to me. She should’ve been charged with vehicular manslaughter.”

  Lucas’ eyes widened. “Amberly’s daughter?” His eyes softened for the first time ever.

  Lucas wasn’t an affectionate person. I’d never seen him look at a woman as though she were his entire world. He said women would come and go and there was never a guarantee of a life together because they all ended up leaving in the end. He’d given me the speech the night Mac walked out. At the time, it made so much sense. I had even wondered why I hadn’t been living my life the way Lucas had. There was something flawed in his thinking. He didn’t have someone like Amberly show him the way things could be. The way things were supposed to be.

  “Let’s do this.”

  We unloaded out of my truck, careful not to draw attention to ourselves. All of the on-duty officers were hanging out at dispatch, located in another building a few streets down.

  “Turn your phone on silent.” I instructed as I did the same.

  Chapter 31

  Craving You

  Bryant

  I knew everything we needed would be stored away in the old files. When an accident occurred, anything related to that day or night would be put together in a box with a case number. We would need access to the computer system to find out which case number belonged to Amberly’s wreck from a year ago. From there, we’d need to get the box labeled with that particular case number and empty the contents, making copies of everything. The original report would name the parties involved in the crash, something the popular news articles left out when requested.

  Once Lucas had used his keys to enter the building and disarm the alarm, we headed for the main office where the computers were located.

  “What exactly are we looking for man?” I could hear the apprehension in Lucas’ voice as he spoke in a whisper.

  “The case number for that night.”

  He nodded and lead me down to the office, using his keys to obtain access. “If we get caught, I’m saying you held a gun to my head.”

  I laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I owe you big time, man.”

  He took a seat in front of one of the computers and began typing. I watched over his shoulder as he punched in the password to clear the lock screen. “This is easier than I thought it was going to be.” I remarked, feeling anxious.

  “I’ve never had to search for a case file so I have no idea where to look on the computer systems.” He admitted.

  I pointed to a folder displayed as a desktop icon. “Maybe the folder marked case files?”

  That suggestion led us nowhere because once you opened the file, all that appeared was the actual case file numbers, no dates or names to identify which case number went with which incident.

  “We’re going to have to do this the old-fashioned way.” Lucas locked the computer screen and lifted himself from the chair. “Cabinet files.”

  I turned around to the row of cabinet’s. “Do you have the keys to them?”

  “Don’t need ‘em. Chief never locks it since every door leading to the cabinets is put on lockdown and the secretary is always in this room during business hours.”

  I shook my head at how forgetful I’d gotten since I left the force. Of course, the cabinets were never locked. I knew that.

  “What’s Amberly’s last name?” He grinned before pointing at the labels on the cabinets, marked with the alphabet.

  I shared his enthusiasm by throwing him a smile of my own. “Hodge.”

  Lucas pulled out the drawer marked G-I. “Bingo!” He shouted a little too loud. He tugged Amberly’s file up and flashed it in front of me. “We can either make copies of everything here or we can take it to your house, make copies, and I’ll have it back here in the morning.”

  “We better do it now.” I told him, knowing it would be harder for him to replace the missing file tomorrow.

  Before we had a chance to turn around, I felt something rock hard and cool to the touch at the base of my neck.

  “Not so fast, fuckhead.”

  I would know that voice anywhere. Ian Platt. The friend who had been sleeping with Mac behind my back from the moment we’d met him and his now deceased wife. I lifted my hands into the air as slow as I could manage, seeing Lucas do the same.

  “Turn around.”

  I did as he asked, knowing his dumbass didn’t know how to properly handle a gun and with a temper like his, he could make it fire within seconds.

  He snatched the file out of Lucas’ hands once we were facing him. “What the fuck do you two think you’re doing trying to ruin everything I’ve set into motion?”

  “Ian, put the gun down. We can talk about this.” I tried.

  He shoved the barrel of the gun against my forehead, causing me to wince from the blunt force of it. I wanted to pummel his ass but knew if I showed him I was a threat, my body and Lucas’ body would be dumped into a forest, not being found for days. I backed down instead.

  “Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s talk about this. What exactly is it that you think we should talk about, Bryant? Should we talk about how you fucked my wife when she was alive? We could do that. Or should we talk about how I’m now getting the perfect revenge by fucking yours every single night now?”

  I shuddered at the visual he was putting into my mind. “She’s an ex-wife.” I corrected.

  Anger registered in his eyes before he slammed the gun against my cheek, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the ground.

  “Doesn’t fucking matter. You two would still be together if she hadn’t left you. You know that just as much as I do. How does it feel to know for that one time you slept with my wife, I’ve done it hundreds of times with yours while you two were together?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, every party of my mouth dry as sandpaper. “Ian, you can have her. I don’t care anymore. As far as your wife goes, I’m not sure what Mac told you but I never slept with Jessica. It wasn’t like that….” My words were annihilated the second he applied pressure onto my left hand, stomping on it with his boot.

  “I sat there and watched your pathetic ass all those years with Mac. How you wouldn’t even stand up to her ass. When I found out what you had done, I knew you’d be an easy target. I knew ruining your life would be the greatest thing I’d ever done. But, looks like you grew some balls and decided to go snooping around for the cause of the mishaps going on around you. I didn’t want this to end this way. I just wanted your life to go to shit the way mine had before Jessica died.” He knelt down.

  I saw Lucas out of the corner of my eye but before I could warn him, Ian lifted the gun and fired it, not bothering to look where the bullet landed. Lucas grabbed his chest and fell back, hitting his head on a desk before his lifeless body fell to the ground.

  “Noooo!” I shoved both my hands in Ian’s direction, catching him off guard. I wasn’t quick enough though. He recovered and shot at the ceiling, halting every movement I thought about making.

  He went back into a standing position, staring down at me. “Jessica was my world, I would’ve done anything for her. When you slept with her, you took that away. She never was the same after that, and I did nothing but try my damnedest to be what she wanted. To be like you. Do you know what she made me promise before she died?”

  I shook my head. I had no idea what Jessica could’ve made him promise. Whatever it was, it wasn’t what made him go crazy like he was now. “Ian, I didn’t sleep with Jessica. Not once. I swear, man.”

  He chuckled and used his free hand to wipe the sweat that was gathering across his forehead. He wasn’t listening to
anything I was saying. “She made me promise that I would leave Mackenzie alone. That I wouldn’t be with her. She told me that she had slept with you and Mackenzie and it was only fair that I do the same. So, we did. More than once. Bet you didn’t know that part, did you? The nights Mackenzie was coming to hang out with her friend were really the nights we were all fucking. When Jessica got her prognosis, she told me she wanted me to be happy but not with someone like Mackenzie. She admitted seeing us together killed her but she let me do it anyway.”

  I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I knew Jessica’s death took a toll on Ian. I never imagined it would have him spending the rest of his days trying to make me miserable. Why would Jessica tell him that we slept together though? Did she not remember what really happened that night?

  “Getting with her wasn’t enough though. I wanted to make you suffer even after you two divorced. I hired people. Had them plant evidence in your vehicle so you would lose your job. When I found out about the car wreck Mackenzie had been in, where she was responsible for the injury of a child, I made Trent write a false report that her breaks had malfunctioned so everything would be ruled an accident. Then Mac told me you were seeing someone and seemed happy. That drove her crazy. No way in hell could I let you get to her. Instead, I placed false documentation making it look like you were on the scene that night. Your girlfriend started digging so I had to switch everything up. You’re a little asshole, you know that? Somehow, you make women believe everything that comes out of your mouth.”

  “Because it’s the truth.” I retorted, not bothering to look at him.

  “Not anymore. I realized it wouldn’t be too long before you or Lucas would come searching for the file so I decided that it’d be better if I changed everything in Amberly’s case out. Imagine my surprise when I walked in here tonight and I find you two pricks.”

  “Mac killed that little girl.” The tone of my voice was steady when what I really felt was pent-up anger ready to unleash itself.