by S. J. Bishop
"You took it from the crime scene and didn't tell anyone."
"I told you."
I couldn't believe he was giving me shit about that earring. I wished I'd looked at it closer before I gave it to him. Maybe I'd have been able to tell whether it was fake gold or real gold. Not that it would matter, but you never knew.
"Wait a second. You didn't tell those two idiots in homicide about the earring, did you?"
"You mean Detectives Harris and Pike? Yeah, I did. I had to."
"Mac, how could you do that?"
"They were gonna find out anyway when the lab results came back. Which reminds me why I came down here in the first place. There's an envelope on your desk. I think it might be the DNA results."
I laughed. "If it is, those are the fastest DNA results I've ever gotten."
Mac sighed. "Look, before I talked to those two jackasses in homicide, I paid a little visit to Captain Johnson."
My ears perked up. "I'm listening."
"We're working with homicide on this one. Together."
I slumped back on the box.
"Hey, I'm not happy about sharing the case either, but guess what? Four sets of eyes might be better than two, so get over yourself and get on board."
"Fine," I sighed. "I guess you're right. At least we're still on it. Where did you say that envelope was?"
"On your desk."
I jumped up, and Mac followed me out the door. I couldn't help wondering if I was taking my frustration with Caden out on him. Just a little. Caden had really pissed me off the other night when he'd tried to throw us out of his house.
"Sorry if I was kind of a..."
"Bi—"
"Don't you dare say it," I told him. "I was gonna say asshole."
"Is that so much better?"
"Yes. Asshole is a gender-free designation."
"Alright then, you were being kind of an asshole."
"So were you." We both laughed, and I wondered if maybe he had a point about learning to take a joke.
"This isn't from the lab," I said when I saw the envelope. "It's addressed from Baranowski."
"The prison?" Mac asked. I nodded. "Who do you know there?"
My heart thudded in my chest as I tore open the envelope. There was only one person I knew in the maximum security prison just outside Boston.
"I can't believe it," I gasped. The letter was written in chicken scratch handwriting that was barely legible.
Dear Ms. Parker,
I have information which may interest you. It concerns your mother's death. There's more to it than you know. I would like to meet with you.
Sincerely,
Steven Kendricks
I handed the letter to Mac, whose jaw hit the floor when he was done.
"Steven Kendricks?" he asked. "Isn't that the man who..."
"Murdered my mother."
He handed the letter back to me.
"Are you gonna go?"
"Are you kidding? Why should I?" I crumpled the letter up and tossed it in the trash. "I know everything I need to about my mother's murder. Her killer is rotting in prison where he belongs. Fuck him."
Mac nodded. Captain Johnson opened his office door and called Mac over. "You okay?" Mac asked.
"I'm fine. Just go before the Captain gets freaky."
Mac chuckled and went to talk to the Captain.
I sat down at my desk, trying to relax. Ben, the janitor, was going around collecting trash. He picked up my trash can and emptied its contents into his bag.
"Wait!" I cried before he could get away. I fished Steven Kendricks' letter back out, unwrinkled it, and put it in my purse.
16
Caden
"Get your ass down there!" Coach Hall yelled.
I ran to the edge of the field where he was pointing. I'd thrown a bad pass, and the ball had landed out of bounds. Again.
"What the hell is the matter with you today, Scott? Get your head in the game already!"
I picked up the ball and threw it back to Pinocci, who caught it without issue. "That's one," I muttered as I jogged back toward the guys. At least I knew my arm wasn't broken, even though it had been acting that way all morning.
Coach Hall was waiting for me on the sidelines. "That was good," he said. "You think you can do that again?"
"Sure," I said.
"Then get back out there and show everyone you're more than just a pretty face who got lucky with his contract. I want you throwing passes the rest of the day. Nothing else. Pretend you’re a rookie, and go drill."
I let a hiss of air escape between my teeth and went back onto the field. I couldn't blame Coach for treating me like a rookie. I'd fucked up royally in the last game. My total number of passing yards had been less than ten, making every sports announcer around the country question the intelligence of the Patriots for giving me the highest paid contract in the history of the NFL. Hell, I'd been questioning it myself lately.
Fifty passes later, my shoulder was aching, and Coach finally let me off the field. Out of the fifty, I'd successfully completed ten. Coach shook his head as I walked past.
"Caden," he called as I tried to slip away.
"I know. I'm fucking up."
"That's the goddamn understatement of the year. Now look, if there's something on your mind that's throwing your game off—"
"Thanks, Coach, but I'm fine. There's nothing I want to talk about." I turned to go.
"Now you wait one minute, goddammit! I wasn't gonna offer to be a shoulder for you to cry on. I was gonna tell you to either fix whatever the problem is or find a way to let it go because if you have another game like the last one, I'll bench you."
My jaw tightened. "You wouldn't do that."
"Why the fuck wouldn't I? You think I'm gonna let you ruin this season for the rest of the team just to feed your ego? Go get a shower."
He turned away from me, disgusted, and again, I couldn't blame him. I was disgusted with myself. I headed back toward the locker rooms, weighing my options.
Maybe I should give Raina another call. I'd been weighing the pros and cons of it the entire day. Con: there was no need to drag her into this; she was better off without me. Pro: I hadn't been able to get her off my mind; she was the only thing that kept me calm.
I blinked as a large, bulky figure walked toward me from the fieldhouse.
"Eli Parker?" I called out, forgetting for the moment that I'd just been fantasizing about his sister.
"The one and the same," he said, grinning at me.
I pulled him into a hug. "What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.
"I came to see Raina."
"Oh. She didn't mention it the time I saw her." Why would she? The last time she'd seen me, she'd basically told me to fuck off.
"She told me she bumped into you awhile back but didn't say much about it. Were you two able to catch up?"
"Oh, well, you know, a little. We're both busy. I'm sure you know how that goes. Raina said you work for the city now."
"Yeah. That's right." His face reddened.
"Well? What do you do for them? Raina acted like it was some big secret."
Eli's grin faded the tiniest bit. "I'm a garbage man."
I thought he was joking at first and started to laugh, then immediately regretted it when I realized he was serious.
"Oh, well, that's cool. You get to be outside all day. I know that's my favorite part of this job." Why'd I have to open my fat mouth? I wished Raina had just told me what he did. How the fuck did Eli go from being one of the best running backs I'd ever seen to collecting garbage?
"Forget about me," Eli said, his face brightening again. "I'm boring compared to you. How are you anyway? I saw you out there throwing the ball around. As usual, I could've whipped your ass ten times over."
I knew he was joking, but he was probably right.
"I thought you were supposed to be the star quarterback. It looked like you were trying to set a record for most failed passes in a row." He was smi
ling and laughing and talking loudly. I knew he was kidding around, but man it stung. I must've made a face because his expression suddenly changed.
"You know I'm just joking, right? Giving you a hard time for old time's sake and all that?"
"Right, yeah, I know."
He looked at me doubtfully.
"Hey, let me get out of this uniform, and we can grab a bite to eat."
"I'd love to, but I can't stay. I had to sneak in here, and security caught me. Luckily, I can still run like the wind, but they'll probably be after me any minute now."
My jaw dropped open. "You didn't have to sneak in. I could've put your name on the list."
"Dude, I'm joking."
"Oh," I laughed, feeling stupid.
"Well, sort of." He shrugged. "Anyway, I really should go. I'm meeting Raina for dinner when she gets off work. I've got a surprise that I think is gonna floor her. You should come. I can floor the both of you."
"I don't know..."
The thought of seeing Raina again lifted me right out of the shitty day I'd been having, but if it backfired, it would just make everything worse. I'd already blown it with her twice. I didn't think there was any room left for a third time.
"Come on," Eli said. "I know she used to be irritating when she was a kid, but she's all grown up now. Which means she's even more annoying." He laughed. "Don't make me face that kind of irritation alone."
Eli's grin was infectious. "Alright. Where and when?"
17
Raina
"Engaged?!" I cried, looking from Eli to the woman standing beside him. She had bright yellow hair, green eyes, and was glowing like a light bulb. "Engaged?!" I screamed again. A few of the people in the restaurant turned to look at us. I tried to lower my voice, but that was almost impossible. I was way too excited.
"Surprise," Eli said.
"Damned right, it's a surprise. I didn't even know you were dating anyone," I said, pulling him into a hug. I hugged Harper Vance next, congratulating her on getting my brother off the market.
"Someone had to," Harper responded.
When I let her go, she motioned to the pretty brunette standing next to her. She was wearing a tight dress and had mile-long legs that screamed "model." Even if I hadn't recognized her from the front covers of several popular magazines, I'd still have known this woman was a professional beauty. I supposed with Harper being a fashion designer, it was only natural that she'd know a few.
"This is my friend, Natalie Lincoln."
"Nice to meet you," I said, shaking her hand. She was gorgeous, but I wasn't one of those women with an inferiority complex who was always on a diet. I was wearing a slick black dress that showed off my figure, which was just as nice as Harper's or Natalie's.
We sat down, and the waiter came by a few minutes later to take our drink order. I ordered a red wine and started munching on some bread.
"I don't get a chance to eat much bread," Natalie said. "My agent says there's too many carbs in it for models to enjoy." She was eyeing the dinner roll in my hand like it was cake instead of ordinary restaurant filler. "It looks good."
"Have one," I encouraged, feeling bad for her. What kind of asshole told a woman she couldn't eat bread?
Harper and I made small talk while Eli grinned at us.
"Does dad know?" I asked him. He shook his head.
"I keep trying to get Eli to introduce us," Harper said, but her voice trailed off. Eli simply had no interest in talking to our father. For Harper's sake, I hoped she understood that.
"So, how did you two meet?" I asked.
"At work," Harper said.
I glanced at Eli. His cheeks turned pink. "They needed us to come by and pick up one of those big dumpsters."
"We were changing the sets out for a shoot we were doing, and the bin just filled up way faster than we thought it would."
I could tell Eli was embarrassed, and I tried to change the subject. "So, do you guys know what you want to eat? Should we order?"
"Not yet," Eli said, looking over his shoulder. "I'm waiting for someone."
"Oh? Another surprise?" I asked, lifting my brow at him.
"Kind of. I saw Caden this afternoon and invited him to join us."
I felt my jaw stiffen. "You what?"
Eli looked at me funny. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy. He said you two never got much of a chance to catch up."
"We didn't," I said, trying to recover. "It's just... he's got some big games coming up. He should really be resting, not hanging out with us. He's got a reputation to keep up. How would it look if the NFL's biggest star showed up too tired to play?"
Natalie's eyes lit up. "You're not talking about Caden Scott, are you?"
"Yeah," Eli said. "He's an old friend of ours."
"Oh my God, he's so hot. Why didn't you tell me he was gonna be here? I'd have worn something sexy."
My eyes automatically moved to the line of cleavage that was probably visible from the moon. The dress she wore was strapless and so short it left little to the imagination. I didn't know what she thought would have been better than this.
"Is that him?" Harper asked.
Eli and I both looked at where she was pointing.
"That's him. Caden, over here!" Eli called.
Caden smiled and walked toward us. He was wearing dark jeans, a crisp white shirt, and a camel sports coat. He looked gorgeous. We all rose to greet him, and Natalie practically shoved her tits into his face.
"I'm Natalie," she purred. "I'm a model."
I saw Caden glance at her boobs and wanted to kick Natalie's ass.
There's no reason to be jealous, I reminded myself. You're not even dating him.
"Hey, Raina," Caden said, leaning tentatively in to give me a one-armed hug. I let him, not wanting to make it obvious that things between us were weird. I didn't need Eli interrogating me on my love life.
The waiter came by and asked if we needed more wine. "Make mine gin," I said.
Our food was delicious, but I couldn't enjoy it. Every time I looked up, Natalie was finding some way to touch Caden or laughing at something he said, even when it wasn't funny.
"Oh my God!" she squealed, squeezing his bicep. "You're so big!"
Caden blushed but also looked flattered at the attention.
"You know what else is big?" I asked, and everyone looked at me. "Your tits. How much did they cost?"
Natalie looked offended but didn't contradict me. Eli kicked me under the table. "Sorry," I said. "There's nothing bigger in this restaurant than Caden's head."
Caden's eyes bulged in their sockets, and Eli took the drink out of my hand.
"Okay, I think that's enough for you," he said, trying to laugh off my comments. Harper leaned over and whispered something into his ear. Eli's eyes widened, and he looked from me to Caden and back again.
"I'm zonked out," Harper said. "You guys ready to clear out of here?"
Eli's brow scrunched tightly together. "I guess," he said. He pressed his lips together.
"Not me," Natalie said. "You three go along. Caden and I aren't ready to turn in yet, are we?"
My insides began to burn. I balled my napkin up in my hand and tried to remember to breathe.
"Actually, I'm pretty tired myself," Caden said and looked at me.
"Oh, I could wake you up," Natalie purred. She rubbed her hand up his arm, stopping at his collarbone. Caden pulled away.
"I think Caden is more than capable of deciding whether or not he's tired," I said through clenched teeth. "I certainly am." I stood up and pushed my chair back.
"Where are you going?" Eli asked. His voice was laced with concern.
"Home."
"You can't drive. You've had too much to drink."
"I'm fine."
Caden stood up. "I'll drive her."
"I don't need any favors."
"I need the air," he said and gently took my elbow. The second he touched me, I melted.
"If you're sure," I said uncerta
inly. He nodded.
"Well, alright," Eli said, but he didn't look happy.
"I'll make sure she gets home safe," Caden told him.
"Yeah. Her home, right? And remember, she may be a grown woman, but she's still my little sister."
18
Caden
Raina kept looking at me while I drove. It was distracting. Her eyes were liquid in the moonlight, and every time she looked at me, all I could think about was how good it had felt when I'd been inside her.
"What's your address?" I asked.
She blew off my question for one of her own. "Did you like her?"
"Who?"
"You know who. That girl. That model. Natalie."
Whoa. Was she jealous? I'd thought as much at the restaurant but had convinced myself I was imagining things. My heart thudded in my chest as I licked my lips. I didn't want to blow this again.
"No, I didn't like her. Are you kidding?"
"I saw you checking her out."
I couldn't think of a good response for that one. Natalie's tits had been huge. It had been impossible not to look at them at least once. But once had been enough. Especially with Raina sitting next to me, brushing her leg against mine.
"No one compares to you," I finally said. Apparently, that was the right thing to say. She put a hand on my thigh and began rubbing it up and down. My cock tightened in my pants.
"That's kind of distracting, you know."
"Mmmm..."
"What was your address?" I asked again. I wanted to take her back to my place, but the gentleman in me was fighting the surge of testosterone Raina's hand was sending through my body. If I took her back to my place, I'd fuck her for sure, and I didn't know if that was a good idea. She was drunk as shit, and I didn't want her waking up regretting anything.
She finally gave me her address, and I headed in that direction, relieved.
When we got to her place, there was an inside stairwell to contend with. She kept stumbling up them as we tried to get to her floor. She was four floors up, and we made it to the third before she tripped and almost went careening all the way back down.