Fight Me

by Lacey Black

  I start to wash up my body as Erin washes her hair. There’s something sensual about watching her cleanse herself in the shower. I’ve taken a few showers with women before but never actually paid close enough attention to the actual act of showering. It’s erotic as hell. But, maybe it’s just her.

  Once she’s finished, I give my hair a quick washing. After all the soap is rinsed, I shut off the water and grab a couple of towels. I wrap the first one around Erin, using my big hands to swiftly dry her body. Once she steps out of the shower, I grab another towel and dry myself off.

  Back in her room, I realize I’m going to have to put back on yesterday’s clothes. Not that I wore them very long since I put them on after work last night. “Hey, Erin. We’ll run by my house so I can change into my uniform and then head uptown for breakfast.”

  “Is that a question or a demand?” she asks with a slightly raised eyebrow.

  I sigh dramatically and decide to rephrase. “So, how about we stop by my house so I can change, and then we’ll run uptown for breakfast? How does that sound?”

  “That sounds great,” she says with an appeasing smile.

  It doesn’t take me very long to get dressed. Since Erin still has to finish getting dressed and do whatever it is that girls do in the bathroom to get ready for the day, I decide to head downstairs and check my phone. “Hey, I’ll head down and wait there, okay?”

  “Okay. I’ll only be a few more minutes.” I don’t believe her for a second. What girl ever only takes a few minutes to get ready?

  I settle on the couch and flip on the television while I wait. While watching Sports Center, Miss Whiskers comes in and rubs against my leg, purring loudly. I’m not really a cat guy. I see myself more as the big dog kind of guy. I try to shoo the cat away, but she’s not having it. She jumps up on the couch and makes herself comfy on my lap. Great.

  About ten minutes later, Erin comes down, ready to go. Ten minutes. Who knew? “Aww, I see Miss Whiskers has made a new friend,” Erin says with a smile as she enters the living room.

  “Your cat is bothersome,” I tell her, fretting annoyance as I give her a gentle shove off of my lap.

  “She is not! Miss Whiskers is a sweetheart,” she says, picking the cat up off the couch and placing a kiss on the top of her head before setting her down on the floor. “Besides, she’s usually a better judge of character,” she smarts off, fighting to keep her smile at bay.

  “I guess I’ll just have to prove, again, how good of company I can be,” I reply before taking her lips with my own. I pull back after only a few seconds, not wanting to get too wrapped up in the kiss - even though there is nothing I’d rather be doing right now. But I know that we need to eat before I head to work so I grab both of our coats as we head out towards my truck.

  On the drive to my place, Erin is telling me about the upcoming City Council meeting that she has to attend to give her first month’s City Library Report.

  “I’m a little nervous. I’m not a fan of getting up in front of people and talking. Plus, these people ultimately write my paycheck, set my budget for each year, and make decisions on how I spend certain chunks of money and apply for grants.”

  “You’ll be just fine, darlin’. I’ve been to a few council meetings and they’re no big deal. Most of the people there are the council members themselves. Those meetings don’t exactly draw a crowd.”

  “I know, but I’m still nervous.”

  “Well, don’t be,” I say as I pull into my driveway. “Wanna come in while I change?”

  “Yes. It’ll give me a chance to snoop around,” she says with a grin.

  I help her out of the truck and head towards the backdoor. “Feel free to snoop around until your little heart is content while I run back to my room and change,” I say as I head towards the hall.

  While I’m in my room changing, I hear her yell from the living room. “You have a beer sign in your living room.”

  “Yeah, so? What’s your point?”

  “You can’t have a beer sign in your living room. This isn’t a college dorm.”

  “It’s a bachelor pad, darlin’. Same thing.”

  “You might as well have a keg in the corner of your kitchen and plastic furniture in your living room.”

  “That would be sweet,” I throw back to her down the hall, but honestly, that doesn’t hold any appeal to me anymore.

  As I’m pulling my service pistol and badge out of the lock box in my nightstand, I hear Erin come in the room behind me. “So this is what your room looks like.”

  “This is it,” I say as I turn towards her, placing my pistol in the holder and clip my badge onto my belt. I walk towards her and say, “I’d give you a tour of all the important parts like my bed, but then we wouldn’t have time for breakfast before I have to be at the station.”

  “Too bad. I guess you’ll just have to give me a tour another time.”

  “Deal. Come on, I’m starving. Let’s go to the diner.” I grab a hold of her small hand and lead her back out to the truck. As much as I’d love to stay and give her a very thorough tour of my bed, I know that would result in calling in sick to work. But damn if I can’t think of any better reason to call in sick than to be in bed all day with Erin. Maybe next time.

  *****

  Maddox and I are cruising towards my parent’s house that afternoon to grab some dinner. Sunday is family dinner night and while we work every other weekend, we still try to head out there and grab some of my mom’s home cooked food to-go. Plus, I always love seeing my niece for those few minutes before I have to head back out again. We’re heading down the familiar country road when a domestic call comes in. “Three Ten David, you copy?”

  “Copy dispatch, go ahead.”

  “Reports of a domestic dispute at Fourteen-Thirty River Bend Road. Caller reportedly has heard arguing all afternoon. Suspect has a history of domestic violence towards his wife. You copy?”

  “Yeah, we copy. We’re not that far. We’re in route now.”

  “Fourteen-Thirty? That’s Jim Handy’s place isn’t it?” Maddox asks.

  “Yeah, I think so. I’m guessing he’s drinking again. Connie always had a hard time controlling him when he starts drinking whiskey.”

  Maddox drives the car towards the Handy’s place. They live on the edge of town in a pretty scarcely populated location near the river. If the neighbors heard anything, it must have been pretty loud. The house is rundown and in desperate need of some TLC. There are two old cars parked in the front yard and a broken swing set on the side of the house near the driveway.

  “Well, let’s go see what the Handy’s are up to this fine February afternoon,” Maddox says as he steps out of the squad car. I’m right behind him, approaching the front of the car when we hear the words that no one wants to hear, especially a cop.

  “Stop right there, boys. You come any closer to this house and I’ll shoot you both where you stand.”

  Shit. “Jim? It’s Officer Stevens. You have a gun in that house with you?” I ask, my right hand releasing the snap on my holster.

  “Yeah, I gotta gun! This bitch hasn’t shut up all damn day about my drinking. I’m sick of her shit. This here gun is the only thing to make her shut up.”

  I hear Maddox radio in our request for immediate back-up and report that a firearm is on the premise. Suspect is now armed, considered very dangerous, and has a hostage.

  I stop walking but continue to engage Jim, trying to pinpoint his location on the property.

  “We’re just here to talk to you, Jim. There’s no need to point guns or threaten anyone. Where is Connie?”

  “She’s right here, crying her eyes out. If she doesn’t knock it off real quick, I’m gonna really give her something to cry about.”

  Maddox slowly approaches my right side and whispers under his breath. “His speech sounds slurred. I’m pretty sure he’s in the front room by the door. Notice it’s open?”

  “Yeah, I agree. How long until back-up arrives?”r />
  “ETA ten minutes. Both of the other cars are on location at an accident on the other side of town.”

  Jim starts to yell at us about getting off his property, his voice becoming more erratic and unhinged.

  “We gotta calm him down or this situation is going to escalade quickly.”

  “I agree. You head around to the back and see if you can gain entrance. I’ll make my way up towards the front door.”

  “Okay. Be careful,” Maddox says before he slowly walks towards the side of the house.

  “Where’s that boy going?”

  “He’s just making sure there’s no one else in the area. Jim, why don’t you put that gun down and come out here and talk with me? I know you really don’t want to hurt Connie.”

  “I do. I do want to hurt her. I’m tired of her shit. All’s she does is bitch and moan; whine and cry. ‘Quit drinking.’ ‘Stop smoking.’ ‘You’re worthless.’ Well, I’m going to show her just how worthless I am.”

  Well, shit. This situation is escalading quickly and back-up is still eight minutes out. If I don’t get in there and get that gun out of his hands, who knows what he’ll do. “Jim, I’m coming up to the front door. I’m setting my gun down on the hood of the car. See?” Yeah, huge no-no, but it’s all I have to work with here. There is a hostage inside with a gun probably pointed to her head. Jim peaks his head out the front window and watches me set my pistol down. “See? It’s down. Now, I’m coming up the front walk very slowly. I just want to talk to you. Okay?”

  “Don’t come inside, boy.”

  “I won’t. I just want to talk to you through the front door. I want to see Connie.”

  “She’s fine! For now!”

  I get to the front door and peek inside. The rifle is pointed at Connie’s head as I feared. She’s crouching on the floor, curled up in a tight ball, and balling her tired, worn eyes out. “Alright, Jim. I need you to put that gun down. You don’t want it to accidentally go off and hurt Connie. You’d never hurt your wife like that.”

  “Shows what you know,” he slurs as he takes a drink of whiskey straight out of the bottle.

  The good news is that while Jim is talking to me, his hand gets tired and he slowly starts to lower the rifle. It’s pointing at a downward angle; still pointed at Connie, but at least not at her head.

  “Jim, you’re gonna be in a hell of a lot of trouble over this. Why don’t you go ahead and put the gun down before someone gets hurt. Don’t make it worse than it already is.”

  I reach down and slowly open the front door. Jim is watching me, but doesn’t make a play for pointing his gun at anyone, myself included. When I step inside, I notice movement towards the back of the house. Maddox is inside, too, and slowly creeping up on Jim from behind.

  I make eye contact with my partner, silently communicating our strategy. He nods to Jim and then points to himself and then points to me, Connie, and the front door. He’s telling me that he’ll take Jim and try to neutralize the threat, and I am to get Connie out of the house. I give him a very slight head nod, acknowledging the plan, as Jim focuses his attention back on yelling at his wife.

  I know that I need to get his attention off of her and onto me so Maddox can make his move. “Hey, Jim. Did you see the Super Bowl game a few weeks back?”

  My distraction works because Jim looks over at me, relaxes the gun, and gives me a questioning look. “What?”

  Just then, Maddox runs into the room, diving at Jim’s back. Jim senses the motion behind him and starts to raise his gun. I’m moving and diving towards Connie just as the gunshot rings out. The only thing I can hear now is the sound of Connie’s panicked screams. I land hard on top of her, rolling away with her body in my arms, away from the struggle going on between Maddox and Jim. During the forward motion of my body and trying to protect Connie, I crack my head on the coffee table and instantly see stars. My gut twists and I have to force myself to not vomit. My only thought is getting Connie out of the house.

  As I pull her back towards the front door, I notice Maddox easily has the upper hand on Jim. He’s straddling Jim’s back, pulling both of his arms tightly behind him. The last thing I see before I’m out the front door is Maddox pulling his cuffs from behind his back.

  Once I get outside, I keep moving, dragging Connie towards the squad car. She’s screaming hysterically, arms waving widely, as she tries to get away from me. “Calm down, Connie. You’re safe now.”

  Connie instantly starts to settle, but I can tell by the wide look in her eyes that she’s still scared to death. “Oh my God, you’re bleeding!” she exclaims as she reaches up to my head.

  The pain in my head is intense to say the least, but right now I need to focus on making sure Connie wasn’t hit by that stray bullet.

  As I’m checking her over for any sign of blood or injuries, I see the other two squad cars tear down the road and stop in the street in front of the Handy’s. Maddox comes down the front steps with a handcuffed, stumbling Jim. He walks him straight to our squad car and places him in the backseat.

  “You alright?” I ask over my shoulder.

  “Yeah. You?” Maddox looks at me for the first time since the ordeal started. “Shit, Jake, you’re bleeding!”

  “I’ll be okay. Just bumped my head on the table.”

  As the emergency service workers come rushing over, I try to stand up. I see stars again and the most intense pain radiates down my entire body. I close my eyes and feel myself starting to fall. Maddox instantly grabs a hold of me and gently helps me down to the ground. “Jake?” he asks, but I can’t seem to open my eyes or answer him.

  “Shit! Officer down! I need the medic now! Jake’s been shot!” I hear Maddox yell, but it seems like he’s miles away. The pain in my head is so intense it feels like it might actually explode off of my shoulders. But now there’s a new pain, too. My arm is tingling and burning and has a wet sensation. Did I get hit by that stray bullet?

  That question is the last thought that goes through my mind as I succumb to the darkness around me.

  Chapter Ten

  Erin

  I despise painting. If I never have to pick up another paint brush and roller again, I will be a very happy woman. But, when this last coat of paint goes on, my painting projects will officially be over! The last room is my office, den, and library. And once these walls are complete, I can begin constructing those beautiful barn wood shelves I found on Pinterest. Okay, so I can find someone to build me those shelves. Maybe Jake can do it? He has proven to be pretty handy around the house, but we haven’t exactly gotten to ‘woodworking’ on the list of his many, many talents.

  When my phone rings, it’s a very welcome reprieve. “Hello?” I answer a little breathless from the exertion of painting these huge walls all day.

  “Erin-” I hear someone say but the line is full of static and noise.

  “Hello?” I ask again a couple more times. I’m about ready to hang up. I’m sure the caller will call back when they have a better signal.

  “Erin, its Avery. Can you hear me?”

  “Hey, Avery. You sound like you’re driving through a tunnel. What’s up?” I ask, but there’s no reply. I start to think that maybe I lost her due to her poor signal. As I start to bring the phone down from my ear, I hear another voice. A male voice.

  “Erin, are you there?”

  “Yes,” I ask starting to get a little concerned at the urgency in his voice.

  “Erin, this is Travis. Where are you?”

  “Oh, hey Travis. I’m at home. What’s up?” I ask, a little more cheery after discovering who it is.

  “Erin, Jake’s been shot,” Travis says and a cold chill spreads down my spine.

  I have no idea how long I stand there, staring at my wall. I struggle to get the thick air in my lungs. It feels like I can’t breathe and my vision is blurry. Cold fear takes over my entire body and I start to shake uncontrollably. I slide down onto the floor, my legs no longer able to hold up my too-heavy body. I
vaguely hear a voice in the distance yelling my name. I look down and realize I dropped the phone.

  When I pick up the phone, I hear myself whisper, “I’m here.”

  “Nate is almost to your house. You need to get in the car with him, okay Erin? Can you do that?”

  “Yes,” I whisper again.

  A few moments later, as I listen to Travis as he tries to calm Avery down in the vehicle with him, I hear a heavy pounding on my front door. I can’t make myself get up off the floor and go down to answer it.

  “Erin?” I hear behind me. Nate is crouching down in front of me a moment later. He takes the phone from my shaking hands and puts it up to his ear. “I’ve got her. We’re on our way,” he says into my phone and then clicks it off, dropping it into his coat pocket.

  “Where’s your coat, Erin?” Nate asks as he helps me stand up. Nate’s almost just as big as Jake. He has many of the same striking features - tall, dark, and handsome - but he’s not Jake.

  Jake. Is Jake still alive? What will I do if he dies?

  I focus back on Nate as he half drags, half pulls me down my stairs. He grabs a coat from my closet and helps me put it on. I have enough sense coming back to me to grab my handbag sitting on the foyer table as we walk out the front door. I’m in Nate’s car before I know it and we’re tearing out of my driveway, heading towards Rivers Edge Health Center. Heading towards Jake.

  Inside the hospital, I see the faces, the lights. I hear the voices, the beeping, the pages overhead. But I can’t focus on any of that. I only want to see Jake.

  Nate drags me into a large waiting corridor where his family is gathered. Elizabeth and Michael are holding hands and sitting on a plastic covered loveseat along the wall. Travis is pacing the length of the room, back and forth and then back again. Avery is curled up against Maddox who is holding Brooklyn on his lap. Everyone has solemn faces; their fear as evident as the sunshine outside.

  When we walk in the room, everyone stands up immediately and rushes to Nate and me. I’m pulled into a very tight embrace with Elizabeth. She starts to softly cry against my head. I want to cry - I probably should cry - but I just can’t make the tears come.