by Amy Briggs
Leaning forward with his arms crossed on his desk, Scott said, “It seems to me that if there’s no hit on this DNA, we are back to square one with nothing. So what’s next?”
“I need to figure out what the weapon here is.”
“Well, I have a friend who is a gun collector; an aficionado if you will. Maybe he would have some insight into what kind of a weapon would work in this situation. I can give him a call if you’d like?”
“I may have you do that. If this is a guy you trust, why don’t you reach out to him and tell him a little about what we’re dealing with and see what he says. It can’t hurt. I’m going to talk to a guy down at the precinct as well.” Clayton knew that there had to be some kind of mechanism that was pushing these bullets out, but it was definitely something he didn’t have any familiarity with and they’d already established it wasn’t a traditional gun.
“All right, I’ll pick his brain about it this afternoon. Is there anything else I can do to help with your end of the investigation? Mine is pretty cut and dry in terms of how the fire started, it’s a matter of charging the guy who did it with felony arson because a murder was committed simultaneously. Other than that, I don’t have a lot of additional work on my side.” Scott felt bad saying it, but it was true. His job was to investigate a fire, determine the cause and then more or less hand the case over to the cops to find the guy that did it. This case was a little different because they’d been working so closely together from the onset, but that didn’t change what Scott’s expertise was.
“Nah, right now that is legitimately helpful. This one is a real thinking game. It’ll come to us, and the evidence will eventually show us the way, but until then, we just keep plugging along,” Clayton said with dismay. The case was becoming more frustrating with each day and his concern that another murder would happen was becoming more real.
Scott nodded. He understood this was a waiting game to some extent and was more than willing to do whatever he could to help, even if it was slightly outside of his everyday purview.
“While I’m here, let’s talk about you and Dani,” Clayton changed the subject.
Becoming a deer in headlights, frozen again, Scott met Clayton’s eyes, hoping that it wasn’t going to get too terribly uncomfortable. “Sure, what would you like to talk about,” he said.
“Things seem to be going pretty well?” Scott didn’t know, but Dani and Clayton had talked earlier that morning after Scott had left her place. She had told him how much time they’d been spending together, and that she was ready to move back into her own house full time.
News that had Clayton surprised, but also relieved that his sister was healing, and it wasn’t lost on him that the timing of meeting Scott and the time they’d been spending together likely had something to do with it. When they’d talked that morning, Dani danced around the topic of Scott a bit until Clayton called her out on it because he knew. Why people always think they can lie or tell half truths to detectives he’d never understand. In any event, he finally got Dani to confess that she was falling for Scott, something she hadn’t expected, but was happy about.
Although Clayton didn’t want to get into the details of their relationship, he did want to make sure that Scott was on the same page as Dani. Regardless of their age, he would always look out for his sister, and that included vetting Scott a little further and asking him of his intentions at that point.
“Uh, yea actually, they’re great,” Scott replied with a sheepish smile. He didn’t want to talk about it but he knew that any good brother was going to have this chat. “I’ll be honest man, I totally dig your sister. I hope that’s okay with you,” he said.
Clayton smiled back, and Scott continued. “She’s different than any girl I’ve ever dated. She’s got her shit together, but she also makes me laugh. Her sense of humor keeps me on my toes, and I love it.”
“Yea, she’s pretty funny when she wants to be,” Clayton chuckled, thinking over their lives. “She can be a real fucking pain in the ass too. You know, as far as sisters go.”
Scott laughed, “I have yet to experience her being a pain in the ass myself, but I’d have to guess that everything else about her makes up for it.”
“Well, in the interest of full disclosure because I like you Scott, it’s pretty clear that you make her happy. She’s come a long way over all, but also just since she met you, and that pleases me. I had to see if you were on the same page as her though, not to involve myself in your relationship so much as to look out for her, I hope you understand that,” Clayton said. He wanted Scott to know that he had no intention of being involved in every detail of what he and Dani had going on, but he also wanted to have a clear understanding that he and Dani felt the same way before Dani got hurt.
“I totally get it man. I have a sister too. I’m totally into yours,” he smiled just thinking about how happy she made him in such a short period of time. “And, my intentions are good, I promise you that.”
“Okay then,” Clayton nodded, closing the door on that conversation. “Let’s regroup later after we talk to our experts and see what we can come up with next. I’ll catch you later.” He gave a friendly salute to Scott with a smirk as he left to go do more digging on the case.
18
After Clayton left his office, Scott sat back down at his desk to think over the case, and to shoot his friend Matt a text about the weapons. Knowing that Matt was working that day, Scott didn’t expect a reply right away and his thoughts turned to the amount of metal that had been found in the blood. All Scott could think about was that the blood, with that much Iron, was almost magnetic and it was stuck on his mind. In thinking about the massive amount of Iron being magnetic, he remembered how Jax was attaching tools to the truck with massive magnets, making him wonder if there was any kind of a connection between magnets and the weapon, something he would ask Matt about when they caught up.
As the end of the day neared, Scott was excited to go spend some time with Dani. They’d been texting back and forth for a good portion of the day, mostly silly things like their favorite songs, and playing games with each other that included trying to give a song in only emojis to see if the other one could guess it. He’d been snickering about it all afternoon. Scott let Dani know that he was running home to shower and change before coming over and she should order some food and she should definitely not make food.
As much as Dani wanted to be offended by his implication that her cooking was terrible, he was spot on, and she assured him that Chinese food would be hot and ready upon his arrival. She placed the order shortly after they talked, and then flitted about the house tidying up, since she still wasn’t fully moved back in just yet. Dani had talked to Clayton that morning and let him know that she was definitely making her way back to her own house, and while apprehensive at first, Clayton seemed happy that she was moving forward on her own again.
Not long after, Scott arrived at Dani’s with a bottle of Jack Daniels instead of repeating his attempt to pick out another crappy wine since they’d graduated beyond trying to impress each other in that way. As he presented the bottle to her when she opened the door, she laughed loudly, welcoming him in.
“Ah, now we’re talking!” She exclaimed.
“I figured this was far more our speed than some shit wine, wouldn’t you say?” He smiled.
“I would agree. Come in, come in!” She said excitedly, taking the bottle from him.
As she turned to walk away, he grabbed her arm, pulling her to him for a kiss. She melted into him, tasting him passionately, as his free hand moved down to her ass, taking himself a handful as he squeezed,causing her to let out a slight moan.
“I’ve been waiting all day to do that,” he whispered to her lips.
“What a coincidence, I’ve been waiting for you to do that all day as well,” she smiled, then kissed him again.
Finally breaking free, Dani pulled Scott into the house where the aroma of delicious Chinese food hit his nose. “Oh my God
, that smells so good. What did you get?”
“All of it,” she replied, laughing.
“All of it?” He repeated.
“Yes. All of it. It occurred to me that I didn’t know what you liked, and you were already on your way here, so I pretty much ordered some of everything, so I hope you’re hungry,” she waved at the kitchen counter, where there were no fewer than twelve Chinese take out boxes.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” Scott was laughing at the feast before him.
“Do what?” Dani asked.
“Order everything. Like call them and tell them I want all the food. This is fucking awesome,” Scott was in fact hungry, and the fact that he had his own personal Chinese buffet in front him was both hilarious and amazing.
“Well there you go, let’s pretend I knew that and eat it,” she said, grabbing them plates from the cupboard and handing one to him. “Dig in!”
As Scott piled massive amounts of lo mein, fried rice, beef with broccoli, and a few things he wasn’t even totally sure what they were on his plate, Dani made them both a drink and brought them over to the couch. She figured they could just eat there, since the entire table was covered in food. Scott sat himself down while Dani made a plate, and dug in.
“So, how was your day?” He asked in between bites.
“My day was really great,” she smiled sweetly over at him.
“Do tell,” he replied. “I’d love to hear what you were up to today.” Scott had hoped that she’d spent some of her day moving back into her house full time, and wanted to help her if he could, but he didn’t want to bring up a touchy topic if it were.
“Today I moved my clothes and stuff back in here. It felt great,” she beamed. Scott smiled and admired her enthusiasm as she continued, “I talked to my brother about things, and that was good too. We’ve always been friends kind of, but this year we really became close, and it’s been great having his support.”
“I think that sounds like a fantastic day,” Scott replied. “As a matter of fact, I talked to your brother today too,” He added.
“Come on, don’t you think I already knew that?” She teased him. They’d settled in on the couch together, eating their dinner and getting comfortable.
“Ah, touche. I figured you probably knew that. This case has us completely stumped,” Scott said.
“You want to tell me about it? I read a lot of crime in my novels, you never know, maybe I have a crazy idea that will help.”
“Nah, I’d much rather talk about you,” he set his empty plate down on the coffee table in front of them, then finished his drink.
“What is it you’d like to know?” She smiled and set her plate on top of his.
Leaning over to her, Scott gently wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her toward him. Tilting her head to the side, he placed a soft kiss on her neck, then whispered, “Favorite movie?”
Hitching her breath at the sensation of his lips on her neck, she replied, “umm.. the Breakfast Club?” She said in the tone of a question.
Moving his lips further down her neck to the tattoo on her shoulder, he repeated, “mmhmm, Breakfast Club. Favorite band?”
Dani could barely think clearly, Scott’s touch was driving her wild. She pulled him closer to her, as he continued softly kissing her and she forgot the question altogether until he stopped.
“I asked you… favorite band?” He demanded quietly before going back to her neck.
“I.. uh.. whatever band is gonna keep you doing that?”
Scott couldn’t help but to chuckle at her reply, before he continued. Dani nervously laughed as Scott’s tongue graced her earlobe; her senses were heightened by his touch, and chills of desire ran down her spine. She didn’t want to answer any more questions, she wanted to take this to the bedroom immediately.
“Let’s go,” she whispered.
“Go where? You’re not answering my questions,” he kissed her lips, sucking her breath away.
“I’ll fill out a questionnaire later, let’s go,” she tried to stand up, but Scott wasn’t done teasing her, even though her responses made him laugh.
“I’m enjoying myself right here,” he replied. Shifting them in one movement, he scooped her in his arms, bringing her onto his lap. As she straddled him with her breasts practically pouring out of her shirt into his face, his cock came to full attention, causing him to adjust himself.
Settling herself on his lap, she too realized her chest was right in his face. As she leaned back a bit, Scott gripped her hips, pulling Dani tight into him. Unable to resist, she started to lightly grind on him feeling his hardness between her legs, grabbing the couch behind him. He slid his hands up her sides, taking her breasts in both his hands, kissing the top of her cleavage before pulling her tank top and bra down, exposing them completely.
As Scott took her right nipple in his mouth, Dani’s legs opened wider so she could feel him even more, wishing there were no clothes between them. Scott tugged at her other nipple gently, noticing how hard it had become while he continued devouring the other, gently scraping his teeth against it as he sucked. She moaned softly. She was lost in the pleasure, almost forgetting they had their clothes on as she felt an orgasm build up. Scott’s cock was throbbing as Dani continued grinding on him harder and he switched his attention to her other nipple with his mouth. He couldn’t get enough of tasting her, and having her pert little nipples in his mouth was bringing him to the brink. He could smell her perfume, it reminded him of a warm summer day, and it had become a smell he daydreamed about as it had been burned into his memory.
“Fuck Scott, I’m going to come like this!” She cried out.
Taking that as his cue to keep going, Scott grabbed her ass with one hand, pulling her as tight to him as he possibly could, while continuing to suckle on one of her tits with more fervor. He could feel Dani’s release coming as she started to shake and pant, grabbing at his hair with one hand, and pushing herself into him with her other. As she felt her release take over, she tossed her head back, causing Scott to grab a small handful of her long hair as she rode out her orgasm, all while they were still completely dressed on the couch.
“Jesus Christ!” She panted out as she finished.
“Well that was fun, maybe we should take it to the bedroom now,” Scott replied. He gently fixed her top, and helped them both stand up, Dani still reeling from the moment.
“Yes. Yes, that’s definitely what we should do. Now,” she grabbed his hand, practically running to the bedroom and pulling him behind her.
19
Early the next morning, unable to sleep any longer, Scott grabbed his phone from his pants, trying not to wake Dani up. He gazed at her beautiful red hair strewn across the pillow and thought how lucky he’d become. Not only was she wanton in the bedroom, she was beautiful, smart and funny. His eyes scanned over the tattoo on her shoulder; a raven scene. Most likely inspired by the books she read; he reminded himself to ask her about it later, it was beautiful, and sexy.
While obviously distracted by Dani earlier, the case was not far from the forefront of his mind. As he scrolled through his phone, Scott saw that Matt had replied to his earlier message.
Sorry for the delay man, busy day. There’s only one kind of makeshift ‘gun’ I can think of that uses magnets, and that’s a railgun. Hope that helps. Drinks soon.
What the fuck is a railgun and what does that have to do with the Iron in the blood, he thought. Smartphone in hand, he looked up railguns. Absolutely floored by what he saw, pictures of railguns filled his screen, and in that moment, he knew they had their deadly weapon.
Scott got out of bed almost immediately; he needed to get to Clayton with this information as soon as possible. He decided to get home to shower quickly so he could head over to the precinct to see the detective. Once he’d gotten dressed, he leaned over Dani, trying to wake her gently.
“Hey, Dani?” He whispered, and kissed her cheek.
Her pouty lips formed a s
mile before her eyes opened sleepily. “Hey there, good morning,” she replied quietly.
“I’m sorry babe, but I gotta go.”
“Oh, no. Is everything okay?” She started to sit up, looking concerned.
“Yes, yes, everything’s fine. I think we have a break in the case, I gotta go talk to Clayton as soon as possible,” he replied.
Leaning back onto the pillow, she yawned. “At this hour, he’ll be at his desk. Have fun. You should bring coffee though,” she giggled.
“Good tip babe. Thank you,” he laughed, and kissed her sweetly again. “I’ll hit you up later.”
“Yup, sounds good. One more kiss though please,” she demanded in a whisper.
“You got it,” he complied, and leaned over to kiss her one last time, running his hands through her hair gently.
“Ok, see ya,” she rolled over to go back to sleep as he let himself out.
Scott went home to get a shower, thinking that if he was going to be staying at her house this often, he should have some extra clothes in his car so he didn’t have to keep going home. He was planning for the future and for more sleepovers already. It seemed completely natural, and he even felt excited about the thought of staying all night in the same bed with Dani as often as possible.
Finding himself in a relationship so quickly wasn’t exactly on Scott’s radar before he met Dani, but he wasn’t planning to fight it. He was a firm believer in taking advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves, not when you thought you were ready, because you might never feel ready and then you missed out. Meeting Dani when he did, was obviously meant to be; for him it was natural. Her sense of humor, that was probably her best feature besides that ass of hers. She loves giving me shit about the most ridiculous things, and I haven’t laughed that hard in years. And forget about how sexy she is. Without fail, the minute I see her, I can’t keep my hands to myself. Jax gave me advice one time, and he said if you can find a chick that makes you laugh, and chases you to the bedroom, you keep her. He was right. I found that girl.