"That bitch deserved it. She was pissing me off, leaving me for someone else. When I find out who it is—"
"You'll what? Tell me. You'll hurt him, too. I'd like to see you try," Zeke said with cold malice in his voice. "Are you a killer, Mr. Johnson? I'm starting to think you are."
"I didn't kill anyone. I want my lawyer now. I'm done talking." Mark pressed his lips closed.
"Sure, Mr. Johnson. Let me get that lawyer for you. You're going to need it," Zeke said, grabbing the photo and slid it into the folder.
"I'll be out of here in no time flat, Detective. Make no mistake about that. My father is the best lawyer in town," Mark said with arrogance.
Zeke smiled calmly. "Is that right? Well, my father happens to be the best judge in town. We'll see how fast you actually get out of here."
Zeke turned around after he enjoyed the look of surprise on Mark's face, then stepped out into the hallway with Ben.
Ben closed the door, whooping with laughter. "Whew. I swore you were going to deck the man. You had me going there."
"I almost did. I can't stand it that I couldn't. He hurt her, Ben," Zeke said, breathing hard, his chest heaving almost in pain.
Ben clapped a hand on his shoulder. "She's safe now. He can't hurt her again. Plus, I guess you're bringing dear old dad in. You never use your dad for anything."
Zeke looked Ben in the eye. "I've never loved a woman like I do. I'll do whatever it takes. When my dad hears he's going to be a grandpa and his only son is taming down, I don't think he's going to care."
"I'd love to see that conversation." Ben chuckled.
"Well, what the hell you waiting for? Let's go," Zeke said with a grin as he headed down the hallway. "Better make our move now before Mark's dear old dad gets here."
***
Zeke quietly closed the front door. All the lights were out in the living room. A loud sigh escaped as disappointment swept through that she went to bed without him. He shouldn't be surprised. It was almost eleven o'clock.
Ben had issued a few more unwanted pregnancy advices, according to his knowledge, that were debunk in Zeke's mind. He mentioned that pregnant women get tired—a lot. Adding in with a sly grin, which is why they don't like sex. Zeke had grinned despite himself, as he knew Ben was only trying to get his goat. It slightly worked because he couldn't imagine not taking Zoe whenever he wanted. The urge seemed to strike with the least amount of effort on her part. A simple glance his way and he wanted her without thought. She simply did things he couldn't describe. Probably the reason he fell so hard, so fast.
He silently made his way down the hallway. A dim light spilled out from underneath his bedroom door. His lips curled in delight. She waited up for him. He opened the door. She sat propped up in bed, a laptop resting nicely on a pillow on her lap.
One brief glance and he was hard as a rock, wanting to take her to the height of pleasure and show her the love he truly had. He felt no dismay—yet—that she couldn't say, I love you. They were moving fast. He wouldn't rush her like he told her earlier today. He had faith she would eventually say it.
"You look wiped out. Come here," Zoe said tenderly as she closed the laptop, setting it on the nightstand, and then patted the spot next to her.
"I am wiped out. It was a long, trying day. I worried about you constantly," Zeke said as he unholstered his weapon, laid it on the nightstand next to his badge as well as his phone.
"I'm okay. You saw for yourself. Plus, you arrested Mark, right?" Zoe asked with a slight quiver in her voice.
Zeke took his shirt off and hurriedly tossed his pants off as well. He climbed into bed and pulled her into his arms. A tremble passed through her body. Sadly, he knew it wasn't from his touch, but from the thought of Mark hurting her again.
"Yes, I arrested him. I basically got a confession from him about hurting you. I might've provoked it out of him, though," he said with a grin. "He'll be spending the night in jail. He'll most likely get out tomorrow."
He framed her face and lightly kissed her. "I worry about you because I can't help myself. We have two unsolved murders, a crazy ex-boyfriend, and an unknown person trying to get something from you that you don't even have. I'll always worry even when life goes back to normal."
He kissed her again. He would always make sure she was safe. And he would always worry. No doubt about that.
"Don't worry. I'm fine—really. Maybe a little nervous to see Mark again. He'll probably get out tomorrow, huh?"
"Yeah, he would've gotten out tonight because his dad is Lawrence Johnson, best criminal defense attorney in the city. He pushed hard to get him out. We pushed hard right back, especially about Mills and Murphy."
"So, I'm guessing he didn't confess to that."
"No, he didn't confess to that. Tell me, how well do you know him?"
Zoe frowned. "Why? Does it matter? I already feel so stupid for dating the man."
Zeke cradled her face, caressing lightly. "Don't feel stupid. I'm curious for the case. Because honestly, I want to forget he exists, or that he ever held you in his arms like I'm doing now."
"He never held me in his arms like you are. It wasn't that kind of relationship. He was never touchy feely with me. He told me in the break room that I was hot and cold for him. I guess he blames me for that and I'm not sorry either. I took him breaking up with me hard because of the way he did it, the words he said to me. They hurt." Zoe frowned. "I'm not sure what you want to know. I've never even met his parents."
"I want to know anything that struck you as odd. I want to know what you did together. Did he seem distracted? He told you he had a personal issue and that's why he broke it off."
"We mostly went out to dinner, a few shows, hung out at my place a few times. Never his place. He never offered to take me there. I thought that was slightly odd. We talked about work, nothing strange about that. Nothing where I thought he was digging for information, if that's what you're wondering. We only slept together one time. And I'm not sure why I even did," she said, looking away from him.
He nudged her chin back his way. "You're mine now. For as long as you'll have me. I hate the way he made you feel. But what he did brought you to me. So, I don't hate that. I'll keep digging to find out what personal issues he had," he replied, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I love you."
She smiled slightly, but made no response.
"I make you uncomfortable when I say that, don't I?"
She shifted in his arms. "Maybe."
He shifted closer. "Better quit squirming with me. You know how my body reacts to sudden movement." She grinned at him deviously as he continued, "And you better get used to hearing me say I love you. Because I do and I'm not afraid to tell you. We need to be clear with each other since we have this crazy experience misunderstanding each other all the time. If I have to repeat it all day, every day, then that's what I have to do. You'll get used to it, I promise. I love you."
He started to shift on the bed, bending towards her stomach, and lifted her nightgown to reveal her delicate, soft skin. "I love this little monster, too." He kissed her lightly and glanced at her as she smiled brightly at him.
"Why must you call our child a little monster?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Don't know. You can be very scary when you're angry. Turns me on. Although, who am I kidding? Almost everything you do turns me on."
He winked at her, then peppered a few more kisses on her belly, making a small trail until he reached her mouth. He devoured her mouth, moving expertly over her body when he whispered against her mouth, "You're not gonna deny me sex or anything because you're afraid we'll hurt the baby, will you?"
"No. Why? Could it hurt the baby?" A deep worry suddenly filtered out in waves.
"No. Heavens, no. The baby will be fine," Zeke replied with a rushed breath.
She grinned, her body relaxing. "Then why did you ask?"
He shifted his body so he was lying next to her instead of on top of her. "Ben has a big mouth. He put a few whis
pers into my head how pregnancy can be. He's trying to mess with my head."
"Obviously, he's doing a good job. I thought he said he wasn't an expert."
"He's not, but he has four sisters and they've been pregnant before. Hell, I have a sister and she has three kids. I know things, too. Sex will not hurt the baby." He grabbed her hand. "Don't deny me, please."
"I won't. Unless, of course, the doctor says so," she said with a giggle.
"Did you make an appointment? I want to be there for everything, every step of the way."
She shook her head. "No. I didn't even think about it. It's all a little scary. I didn't even tell my parents yet. I might wait a bit on that. I'd hate for my dad to pull the shotgun out because his little girl was knocked up before marriage."
Zeke grimaced. "He's gonna hate me, is what you're saying?"
"Well, he's not going to like it, but he won't hate you. I don't think so anyway. I've never brought a man home to meet the folks before, let alone one that made me pregnant."
"Oh man, I'm dead meat. I don't want your parents to hate me."
She cradled her free hand onto his face. "Don't worry about it. They're good people. Once the initial shock wears off, I'm sure everything will be fine. I'm going to wait until this whole murder mess is dealt with. I don't want them to worry about any of that. I'd have to explain everything and I've never been able to lie to my parents."
"My dad took it well."
"When in the world did you have time to tell your dad?"
"Oh, well, about that. Mark threw his dad's name out there, all smug, thinking he'd be out in a snap. He probably would've been, but I went to my dad and got all smug back. I don't normally use my dad or his position, and quite frankly, I try to avoid dealing with my dad at all costs when it comes to work. I didn't want Mark out right away, so I did. My dad's a judge. He knows I never come to him for stuff and he respects that. Me doing that out of the blue, well, it raised some red flags. I had to confess. He was delighted and insisted on meeting you…soon. Like...tomorrow night for dinner."
Zoe immediately shrank back from him. He wasn't about to let her pull away like that. He pulled her back into his embrace, wrapping his legs around hers. "Why do I get the feeling you don't like that idea?"
"Meeting the parents is a lot, Zeke. What if they hate me? What if they ask how we met?" She tried to move away again, but his arms tightly pressing on her back and his legs encircling her made it impossible. "They will ask that. What do we say? That I was dressed like—"
"A beautiful woman and I couldn't, not for one minute, take my eyes off you. That you pulled me in with one gorgeous glance and I was sunk. I still haven't resurfaced. They will love you, especially my mom. I swear. Will you come with me tomorrow? It wasn't really a question my dad asked. It was more like an order. Which means he told my mom to expect us and I'm sure she's already planning a ridiculous meal. Please, Zoe."
"Ask me when you're not holding me like this," she whimpered.
"Hell, no. Then it'll be a straight no. I told you before, I use what works. Do I need to start nibbling on your delicious body as I ask?" He lowered his lips toward her neck to start the torture, but she moved her head away.
"No. That's not fair."
"Of course not. That's the point," he said grinning.
"What will we say?"
"The truth. I met you one night when I was having a drink. The rest stays between us. It is the truth. I did buy a drink that night. You had one as well. No specifics have to be said. Trust me. I don't want my dad to know. He'd be ashamed of me and the way I acted while I was supposed to be working. I'm ashamed with myself. But in the end, it brought me to you. That's all I care about."
He sighed, brushing a hand over her hair. "I'm sorry. For everything. We don't have to go. I'll make up an excuse. It'll be fine."
"I'm sorry."
Zeke sighed heavily again. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Why are you sorry?"
"For enticing you that night and making you lose focus. For making you forget you're a cop. I didn't know I was so potent like that. It'll never happen again," Zoe replied, a slow grin crawling up into a wide smile.
"Oh, don't say things like that. I like losing focus when it comes to you," he said, smiling, as he rolled her and hovered above her.
"I'll go tomorrow. For you," she whispered, slowly rubbing her hands down his back.
"Everything will be fine. I promise," he said, shivering in anticipation. "Now let me love you. I've been waiting all day for this."
"I don't know what you've been waiting for. I've been waiting since you walked into the room."
He cut her smile off as he dipped his mouth down over hers and began to show her the love he felt.
***
"I've also heard that the first night home from the hospital is the worst. It starts the routine of no sleep, no sleep, and oh yeah, no sleep. Not to mention no sex for like six weeks, because, you know, she's healing down—"
"Knock it off, Ben. I've had it up to here with your talk about pregnancy and your so-called knowledge. You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Zeke said, throwing another pencil at him for the third time that morning.
"But I do. I have four sisters."
"Yeah, big talker. I have one and she's been pregnant three times. I'm no shy goose when it comes to this stuff. I've babysat before and listened to her and Mom talk pregnancy crap."
"Not the same, man. I'm telling you. You're in for it. Four sisters trumps one. I was actually in the delivery room for one of them and nearly passed out from the pain she endured. The screaming and cursing she carried on. I mean, the one thing she kept saying was...No. Sex. Ever. Again," Ben said with a serious expression.
Zeke leaned back in his chair and frowned. "She did not say that."
"Okay. Maybe she didn't say that, but she was moaning and groaning from the pain. She was definitely thinking it at the time," Ben replied, chuckling, as Zeke rolled his eyes.
"Can we focus back on the case, please? I have enough to worry about already. I convinced Zoe to meet my parents last night and this morning she was hedging about going. I had to pull her into my arms and convince her again," Zeke said, shuddering at the glorious memory.
"Why would you have to pull her into your arms for that?"
"To convince her."
"I get that, but do you have to be touching her to convince her?"
"Hell, yes. She gets weak by my touch. Can't resist me. I use any weapon necessary to get my way. I'm evil like that," Zeke said with a grin. "Plus, she feels delicious in my arms. Something you have no idea what it feels like because you aren't getting any."
Ben frowned this time. "That's just mean. And cruel."
"I could always try to set a double date with Rina and—"
"I'm done talking about your sex life. It was nice while it lasted," Ben said, picking up a piece of paper.
"I don't get why you get all gun-shy when it comes to talking about her. You should ask her out and—"
"I'm done, Zeke. Not going there. She's a woman I will not tangle with."
"Why not?"
"She's too beautiful, for one."
Zeke laughed in disbelief. "You don't think you're good enough for her. Wow. You're an idiot."
"So are you. Let's not go down the list of reasons why. Shut up already about Rina."
Zeke held a retort on his tongue when he saw Young walk into their domain. "Heads up, Young's coming this way."
Ben turned slightly as Young stepped up to their desk. "May I speak with you, Detectives?"
"Sure, Mr. Young, grab a seat," Zeke said, pointing to a chair not far from where he stood.
"I'll stand, thank you, Detective. I'd like to know why you made a spectacle last night and arrested one of my employees," Young said with annoyance.
Zeke grabbed the folder that sat on the corner of his desk, whipped it open, and threw a picture in his face. "I'd like to know why you employ someone who assaults another emp
loyee. Unless, of course, you have no problem with him physically abusing a woman in your break room."
Young took the picture with a trembling hand and stared in surprise at the sight of Zoe's arm. "I had no idea. This isn't what Mark told me this morning."
"Yeah, well, he's a damn liar and there's your evidence to prove it. Makes it suspicious enough to raise our curiosity about the deaths of Mills and Murphy," Zeke said.
"You honestly think he could've killed them," Young said incredulous.
"Or you," Ben threw in.
"What? Why would you say that? I've been nothing but cooperative since everything happened," Young exclaimed.
"Not really, Mr. Young. You've given us access to the company, yes, but you're hiding something. You received a phone call that same day we found Mills's body. You've yet to divulge who called you and why you went running out. Liars usually equate to guilt. Proven fact," Zeke said, grabbing the photo from him and shoved it back inside the folder before his rage boiled over from seeing it.
Young ran a rough hand through his hair and cursed viciously under his breath. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the murders. I did not kill them. They were my friends and my colleagues. My partners, for God sakes. I swear I didn't do it. I'm sleeping with Carly Murphy."
He paused, glancing at their shocked expressions. "Carly called me that morning after you left the house telling her about Mills's death and that her husband was missing. She was frantic and worried about Murphy. I wanted to calm her down. I deeply care about her and it scared me when she called. I didn't mean to lie about it, but neither of us killed them."
"Pretty damn good motive to kill them," Ben retorted.
"Murphy maybe, I'll admit, but Mills? Why would I kill Mills? I did not kill my friends. I'm not lying about anything else. You can tear my company apart, my life apart, and you will not find anything to tie me to their murders. I didn't kill them," Young said firmly.
"You just admitted that you could have reason to kill Murphy," Zeke pointed out.
Young ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Look, he wasn't the world's greatest husband, but he was better than most. I'm sleeping with his wife. I'm merely saying how I could look like a good suspect. I didn't do it, though."
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