Caught by Her

by GL Chapple

  between Marcus and Lindsay. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for him to be back at the station and having to deal with all this. I’d tried to convince him to take leave, but he’d been adamant that they needed all hands on deck, and there was no way that leave would be sanctioned. I’d asked him to call in sick but he’d insisted that he needed to see this through. I knew he wanted to be involved in case there were any repercussions for Lena which I appreciated more than he’d ever know, but I worried about the effect this was having on him. I felt as if I was letting him down, unable to do anything other than lie in bed and slowly regain my strength.

  Lena wasn’t happy about staying with him and Kelly but had reluctantly agreed after I’d made it clear that I wanted her to. I knew she was confused, but she’d gone along with it. I think she thought I wanted her to keep an eye on Marcus for me, and I was content to have her believe that.

  I was sitting up in bed waiting for Marcus. He’d texted me to say that he was on his way and needed to speak to me without Lena being present. I’d asked her if she could go to the canteen for me, already feeling apprehensive about what the reason for this visit might be. I had no idea what he wanted to discuss, but it was obviously going to relate to Lena in some way, and there was no way that it was going to be good news.

  My impatience was getting the better of me when he finally walked through the door. His face was blank, not giving away any clues as to why he was there. Luckily, due to my police officer status, I’d been allocated a private room rather than a bed on the ward.

  He closed the door behind him and walked over to sit next to the bed, which seemed to be taking forever, and I clenched my fists to stop myself from yelling at him. He met my eyes, his face serious, “Byron Walker has been found dead.”

  “What? Fuck!” That was the last thing I’d been expecting to hear. I’d thought through numerous scenarios that might involve Lena, but I hadn’t considered anything like this.

  Had he been targeted because he was close to Lena?

  A thousand thoughts were going through my mind. Marcus shook his head as if he could read them. “He’d taken a beating. It seems that he was in debt to the wrong people.” He paused for a moment, allowing me to catch up with him.

  My brow furrowed, and he nodded, confirming the suspicions that were starting to come together in my mind.

  “He was going to deliver Lena to Jason, or at least get her into a situation where she could be taken - possibly that time a few weeks back when he was going to take her to meet him.” He shook his head in disgust. “He called Michael two days ago and left a drunken message, saying he would never have let anything bad happen, that he had fully intended to look out for Lena. Byron had no idea what was going on with Jason; he just needed to make some quick money to keep the vultures away. But he’d not let anything happen to her – apparently ripping off her father and business was alright though… I don’t know if it was drugs or gambling debts but they’d fucked him up good, Nate. He didn’t turn up for work again after the phone call to Michael and probably tried to get away…” he shrugged “…but he was found, either way. He was dumped in an alley.”

  I tried to get it straight in my mind. No wonder nothing had been done after I’d gone to him!

  I’d been waiting to hear back from him, twiddling my fucking thumbs whilst he plotted this. I was furious.

  “Michael knows all this?” I asked, and he nodded. I exhaled sharply, shaking my head and massaging my neck. Lena had been let down again by someone who was supposed to be protecting her.

  If Byron hadn’t been murdered, I think I’d have come pretty close to killing him myself.

  I didn’t feel any sympathy for him at all. I was pissed at Michael, unfairly so perhaps - I knew this had to be upsetting him - but my only focus was Lena.

  “Has this been tied to the case at all?” I queried, and he shook his head. “Nope, no reason to. It’s just going to be put down to bad luck. Nobody knows about Byron’s call to Michael, so there isn’t anything to tie him to this. They haven’t been able to trace the conversations any further than an internet café and, to be fair, Byron had some sense. CCTV has all drawn a blank. Regarding his murder enquiry, we’ve not been able to find anything: his bank accounts are a mess, there are plenty of outstanding debts, and, from the state of him, it’s clear that some heavies were involved. It’s unlikely that we’ll make any arrests. You know how these things go.”

  I scowled at him but was grateful that it looked as if Lena was still being kept out of this. With Byron dead, that was all the loose ends tied up.

  This whole shitty mess could finally be put to rest.

  Lena walked back in the room looking upset. She was clutching her phone, her face pale. Her eyes met mine, and she suddenly frowned, looking down at her hands, “Shit! I forgot your coffee.

  “It doesn’t matter. Come here, Sweetheart.”

  Her eyes moved between the both of us, moving from Marcus to rest on me. “You know, don’t you?” she asked simply, and I nodded. She looked over at Marcus before she came and sat next to me, biting her lip as she always did when she was upset.

  “I don’t understand…” she murmured.

  I flicked my eyes to meet Marcus’, making a snap decision that she didn’t need to know about any of this. I wasn’t going to burden her with the reality of just how dangerous and crazy Jason had really been, or how yet another person whom she’d trusted had been willing to betray her.

  She looked at me, her eyes wide and trusting, imploring me to give her the answers that I wouldn’t. “Why would anyone do such an awful thing?” She shuddered.

  I reached out to grab her hand and pulled her up onto the bed, tucking her in close beside me. My own recent actions proved that nothing was black and white, but the fact that he’d put her at risk…I’d condemn him to hell for that alone.

  I couldn’t bring myself to say I was sorry it had happened to him because, in all honesty, I didn’t give a damn. As far as I was concerned, he’d made his choices and he’d lived, or, in this case, died by them. The fact that he was willing to risk Lena because of his fuck ups was unforgivable.

  “The police just called me to ask a few questions. Byron has been murdered…My God! I can’t get my head around it. I couldn’t really give them much information. I told them they should call by the office to speak to my father, that he’d had more dealings with Byron that I had. It’s just so awful, though.” She turned to look at me. “Do I need to know anything?” she asked cautiously, pulling away from me to sit upright and looking nervously at Marcus, who met her with an “I-have-no-idea-what-you’re-talking-about” expression.

  “You know everything you need to know,” I said as I pulled her back to tuck her into my side. She glanced at me, mildly curious and concerned but the overriding emotion was clearly relief. I wrapped my arm around her.

  I’ve got you, Princess. Nobody will ever hurt you or betray you again.

  Marcus stood up to leave. “You’re going already?” Lena asked and he nodded.

  “Yeah, I only called in quickly to see how this limp dick is doing.” He smiled at both of us but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He looked tired and drawn as he walked out, pulling the door closed after him.

  I turned my attention back to Lena. “How’s he doing?” I asked, and she gave me a sad smile.

  “He’s ok, keeps himself to himself. He’s quiet when he’s at the house, which isn’t that often -not that I’m there that much, really. Kelly is worried; she said he seems to be at work or at the gym.”

  I considered this for a moment. I knew from experience there wasn’t anything I could say or do to take away the grief and the pain but it hurt to know how much he was suffering and to not be able to do a damn thing about it.

  Lena leaned in and kissed me, releasing me from my thoughts. “Do you have any more news?” she asked.

  “I told you not to worry, Princess. This could drag on for months, years even. There’s no
reason to suspect foul play. I’m not under suspicion for any wrongdoing. Therefore, there’s no reason for an internal investigation. I just need to let them get on with it. There’s no need for you to be worrying about this.” She still looked uncertain. “The IPCC – sorry - the Independent Police Complaints Commission -”

  She blew out a frustrated breath. “I know what it stands for, Nate. I just hate that you still have this hanging over us.”

  I lifted her face to mine and kissed her. “It’s not hanging over us. This isn’t something to worry about. I’m not concerned. It’s routine because there was a death. If there were concerns, they’d be running an internal investigation as well. Nobody’s ever going to hurt you again. You’ve got me now. If anyone wants to hurt my girl, they need to get past me first...and that’s not ever going to happen, Princess. You are mine; you are safe and you are loved. Now is your time to relax, Lena. Everything that has plagued you…” I stopped and kissed her forehead, correcting myself, “…plagued us, for the last few months, it’s all done with. Your father is recovering. The letters will stop and Jason’s presence in your life is no more. You can move on and put it all behind you. There’s not going to be any more drama, hassle or upset. You are going to smile and laugh every day – I guarantee it. ”

  Her face broke into a wide smile and seeing her so happy helped ease the ache in my gut for my friend.

  The door opened and Michelle walked in, a cheery smile on her face. She’d been the nurse when I’d first woken up to eight days ago, and I’d seen quite a bit of her. She was older than me, but I hadn’t been able to pin an age on her.

  She clicked her tongue as she shook her head at me. “You’ve got your work cut out with this one,” She said to Lena, whilst trying to look cross with me.

  “Don’t I know it!” Lena laughed, beaming back at me.

  “I’ve completed all the paperwork. You still need to wait for the medication from the pharmacy, but I’m trying my best, so don’t start your moaning again. Hopefully, I’ll be back within the hour.” Michelle winked at me before ducking out of the room and leaving me to face Lena’s shocked but gleeful expression.

  “You’re coming home today!” she exclaimed and it made me grin to hear her say that.

  Yep, I was going home, to our home - she just didn’t realise it yet.

  She flushed slightly, a shy smile on her face as she spoke again, “I’ll come and stay with you for a few days to get you settled, just so I know you really are ok after leaving hospital. Then I really will need to get back to my house.”

  I liked the way she referred to my house as ‘home’ and her own as ‘house.’

  She sounded flustered, as if she was backtracking. It amused me, and I smirked at her. There was no way in hell that it was going to be only for a day or two, but there was no need to freak her out just yet.

  “You’re coming home with me. That was never up for debate.” Her lips curled up into a smile at my reference to home, but she stayed silent. “I’m going to need lots of TLC. I need taking care of,” I murmured, nuzzling into the side of her neck, and she slapped my thigh playfully whilst giggling.

  God! It was such a carefree, happy sound I felt my own heart soar.

  “Nate!” She twisted her neck away from me, trying and failing to look stern as her lips twitched in amusement.

  She was fighting back more laughter. “You are to rest and avoid all strenuous activity, Masters!” She winked at me and I pulled a face to show exactly what I thought of that. She chuckled to herself, snuggling back into my side as we sat waiting for the medication so that we could go home.

  Lena

  The next few days were some of the best I’ve ever experienced. Waking up next to Nate every day and falling asleep in his arms felt amazing. Despite the fact that we weren’t able to be physical, I still went to sleep with a smile on my face every night and when I woke each morning, wrapped in his arms or with his leg thrown over me, a warm feeling enveloped me.

  Initially, I tried to tell myself that it was the shock of almost losing him. I reminded myself that I needed to be sensible and rational. I needed to think through the practicalities of the situation.

  I had my own home, one that I’d worked hard for and furnished perfectly to suit me, but the thought of going back there left me cold. I’d always thought that I’d feel stifled living with someone after spending a few years on my own. I’d imagined that I would need to make compromises or feel that I’d lost my own space, but that wasn’t the case at all.

  Nate gave me all the freedom I wanted; the problem was that I didn’t want it anymore, and that terrified me more than anything.

  I forced myself to go back to work, knowing that I needed to get back to being me. I wanted to keep my own identity and work was a huge part of that. My father had stood in for me whilst Nate had been in hospital. He now insisted on staying on for a few more weeks, just on a part-time basis, so that I wouldn’t need to work such long hours and the workload was effectively shared between us. I knew it was more about giving me extra time with Nate rather than a desire to be at work again, and I was incredibly grateful to him.

  It felt good to be back, but my reasons for being there had altered dramatically. Suddenly, I didn’t need to have the almost obsessive level of control that I’d held onto for so long. I felt freer than I had in a long time: the burden that I hadn’t known I’d been holding onto for so long had been removed. It wasn’t just about Jason or any one thing.

  It was cliché and dramatic, but it was as if Nate had opened my eyes to how life could be. I’d never been so content or happy. Everything was finally falling into place.

  My father was back to his old self, and my parents were making plans to visit my sister for a few weeks. The business was doing well, and plans were being drawn up for a new management structure, which, hopefully, would allow me to work fewer hours and have more of a work-life balance - something that I’d resisted but was now openly embracing.

  Since the altercation in the hospital with Jonathan and Clarissa, there hadn’t been any further contact. I felt guilty for pushing Nate to try and keep in contact with them. Now that I had seen their true colours, I had no time or patience for either of them.

  It hurt me to think that Nate had lost his brother, but he continued to point out to me that he’d never had him as a brother in the first place. I knew that he was hurting more over Marcus’ pain than anything to do with Jonathan. There wasn’t anything either of us could do to help with that.

  I’d tried to speak to Marcus a few times when I stayed with him, but he’d always replied that he was “doing fine.”I couldn’t understand why Nate had been so adamant about me staying there when Marcus had his sister there already.

  I’d worried that there might be more to it, but he’d assured me there wasn’t. Part of me felt relieved that if there was anything else, Nate had kept me out of it. My nerves and emotions had been pushed as far as I could handle over the last few months.

  I was sitting at the breakfast bar when he walked into the room behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck. I leaned back into him, closing my eyes and smiling. He released me and checked if I wanted another coffee. He looked disappointed when I shook my head and told him I needed to get going.

  I knew he was fed up of being in the house all day on his own. He couldn’t go to the gym or occupy himself with any of his usual activities. I could only imagine how frustrated he must be getting. “Why don’t you go and visit Gramps?” I suggested as I slipped my shoes on.

  He grunted something in response as I pulled my jacket on and turned to face him. Even in a bad temper he looked irresistible, standing crossly in the kitchen. He was wearing only tracksuit bottoms and standing barefoot. Despite not being able to work out or train for almost two weeks, his body was still hard and toned. I glanced to his abdomen where the angry red mark was still visible but was clearly healing well.

  I looked up and realised that I’d been caught s
taring. His mood had lightened somewhat there was a cheeky grin on his face as he watched me. “See something you like? I promise it’ll be worth being late for.” he taunted, as he walked towards me.

  I grinned back at him. I loved the playful side to him, but I really needed to get to work. Seeing him improving all the time and being this close to him was making it harder to adhere to the doctor’s advice regarding strenuous activity.

  I held out my hand to stop him getting any closer. “Nate,” I warned.

  His smile didn’t waver at all. He stopped just in front of me, slowly dragging his eyes down me as I stood there in a fitted, black dress, small jacket and high heels. He was enjoying himself; he knew how much this had to be killing me, too.

  I folded my arms across my chest and tried to frown at him. “I need to get to work and you, Masters are still not able to…”

  Before I could finish he’d pushed me up against the doorframe, his mouth was inches from mine, challenge in his voice and fire in his eyes. “Let me show you just how able I am.”

  My breath caught in my throat, my body screaming out to let him try, but the sensible part of me was worrying about him hurting himself.

  His lips were on mine before I could formulate a response. We’d kissed plenty of times over the last few weeks but this was something different. My body’s reaction to him was immediate. My hands instinctively went around him, reaching up and tangling in his hair just as his did with mine. I heard a low growl in his throat as I tugged on his hair. His erection pushed against me and I moaned softly, swallowed up by him.

  His phone rang, and he broke apart from me, his hair dishevelled and a wide smirk on his face. I was breathless, my chest heaving and my whole body aching for more. He stood back and exhaled sharply before walking to the counter to grab his phone. He answered it without breaking eye contact with me, but within a few seconds he closed his eyes, his brow furrowed as he sighed, “I’ll be right there. Thanks for calling.” He hung up and turned to me, looking apologetic. “I need to go and get Marcus,”