by A. A. Dark
I tried my best to push back emotion, but I could tell by Anna’s expression she knew what I was coming to say. Even if I wasn’t going to flat out say it. God, I didn’t expect this. Maybe I thought with everyone working together, it might pay off like it had with Anna. We’d had Daniel. We’d had him, and now this.
“Braden.” He slowed, stopping as I neared. Boston was jumpy. Even as he appeared to cling to the barricade, his legs were distributing weight back and forth. “Talk to me. It’s not her, right? It’s not Lucy.”
“I don’t want to talk here. Why don’t you and Anna and…” My eyes narrowed on the doctor. Anna told me the story, but I couldn’t stop the unanswered questions. “Why don’t you all meet me down at the station.”
“Meet…? N-No. Just tell me. It’s not Lucy. It’s not… You’d tell me. Bra-den.”
My name came out as a combination between a sob and growl. The doctor wrapped his arm around Boston’s shoulder, whispering something into his ear. Whatever it was had Boston shouldering away from the embrace.
“You have her picture?”
“I do. I have a copy of it in my wallet.”
“And it’s not her.”
“Boston…I’m sorry. I can’t say for sure, but—”
“No. No!”
“Boston…”
More, the doctor tried to calm him, but it wasn’t working. Boston jerked away, shoving Dr. Patron hard as he sprinted to the far side of the blockades, running right toward the crime scene. I didn’t wait. He couldn’t see her like that. She wasn’t in the trashcan anymore, but her battered and broken body was still on scene.
“Boston! Boston, stop!”
Faster, he ran, leaving me in the dust and heading right for the officers pulling patrol on the block. I waved my hands for them to stand down, but they didn’t have a chance to comprehend with how fast he shot past them.
“Don’t! He’s family!”
“Lucy!”
Heads turned, and more officers and detectives gathered as he came right for them. They seemed to know or recognize him as the boyfriend. It didn’t take much to notice the agony in his behavior even if they didn’t.
“Move! Lucy!”
Three officers rushed forward, but Boston ran wide, gaining ground toward the property. I opened my mouth to tell them to get him, but Officer Dade came out of nowhere. Boston flew to the side, sliding along the road as he was tackled by a man nearly mirroring his size. Yelling erupted, and more cops flew toward him. Diego pushed through the men, adding to the chaos as he tried to pull the officers off.
“Let him go! He’s fine. He’s with me.”
I ignored the looks, slowing and making it to Boston as Officer Dade lifted. Boston’s face was dusted with dirt. Dots of blood emerged from where he’d scraped against the gravel surface. He was still fighting, even as Officer Dade helped him up.
“It’s not her. It’s not her. Lucy!”
“Boston, right here.” I turned him in my direction, forcing his attention so he wouldn’t look to where we had her laid out and covered.
“Please, Detective. Braden…I have to see. I have to see for myself.”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea. We’re going to run tests. You have to wait and let us do our job.”
“I’ve been waiting! I’ve waited, and what has it gotten me? This? Lucy found? No! Not this way. I want to see!”
“You don’t. I promise you, you don’t.”
“Let. Me. See.”
“Boston, you’re distraught. I get it. But you have to wait until we can positively identify her.”
“Fuck your tests. Lucy!”
He jerked to spin, but Officer Dade met him face-to-face. Sobs left him while he pushed his fingers through his hair.
“I’m begging, Detective Casey. I’m begging. I can handle it. I just have to know. I have to see for myself. Please. I can’t take it anymore.”
Morality battled more things than I could think about. All I kept feeling was myself being in his place. I’d want to know. It would kill me to suspect, but not have peace of mind.
I motioned to Chasity, one of our crime scene technicians, but kept my focus on Boston.
“I don’t usually do this, but I’m willing to make an exception. I’m going to show you a picture. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes.”
“You can wait. You don’t have to remember her like this.”
“It’s not her.”
The response almost sounded threatening behind his tight jaw. I motioned Chasity closer, watching Boston’s every move.
“Face only.”
She clicked through the camera, moving in hesitantly when she found the one she wanted to show. I peeked, nodding, and gripped behind Boston’s bicep. The laceration across her cheek looked small in comparison to the black bruising covering eighty percent of her face. A large knot was bulging on one side of her forehead, and it didn’t get any better moving farther down. Black ringed around the exposed part of her neck in the picture, leaving the areas that weren’t directly impacted a pale off-white. The two colors blotched her entire form, minus her feet. The girl had been through so much more hell than the first two.
Boston’s breaths were fast and shaky. Tighter, I gripped under his arm, until the breathing came to a complete stop. Chastity angled the camera, and it was as if Boston’s entire body died in that moment. No breathing. No sounds or cries. He stood frozen, slightly swaying in my grasp.
“Is that Lucy Adams?”
Full lips parted, opening more as a deep exhale of breath pushed free. Tears welled in his eyes, falling as his head shook back in forth. Seconds passed. Still, he refused to speak.
“That’s her,” a deep voice said from behind me. “Boston…I’m so sorry.”
I turned, seeing Dr. Patron not a foot away being escorted by an officer. Boston was still shaking his head as he stared ahead in a daze of horror and disbelief. Chasity excused herself, but still, he didn’t move.
“Can you take him to Anna’s and watch over him until I get there?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t want him alone. Not for anything.”
“I’m well aware what to do, Detective.”
I moved my head, putting myself in Boston’s line of sight. If he was seeing anything at all.
“I want you to go to Anna’s. Dr. Patron will take you. I’ll get there as fast as I can, but I have to take care of things here first. Do you understand? Boston?”
“This is my fault. I shouldn’t’ve brought her here. I shouldn’t have answered that call.”
“You didn’t do this. It’s not your fault.”
“But it is. God,” he said, breaking. “I did this.”
“No,” Dr. Patron rushed in, placing his hands against Boston’s shoulders. “You had no idea this would happen. None. Let’s get to Anna’s.”
“Anna?”
Harder, Boston cried, surprisingly letting Dr. Patron lead him away. Diego approached, watching as the doctor placed his arm around Boston’s waist.
“Sad damn day. I was hoping we were wrong.”
“Me too. Regardless, it was someone’s daughter. Someone’s girlfriend or fiancée. Daniel Stracht. He did this.”
“Probably. Let’s hope he left evidence behind this time, or the worse he’ll ever face is a misdemeanor for what happened at Anna’s.”
“There will be evidence. There has to be. Did you see her body? You can’t tell me he walked away from that without messing up somewhere. There’s evidence, dammit.”
“Nothing’s come back so far from the last two. Nothing we could work with any way. If Daniel Stracht committed these crimes—”
“He did.”
“Well, if so, he’s no amateur. He knows what he’s doing, and he knows how to get away with it. That’s scary as hell.”
“Tell me about it.”
I turned back to the scene, wanting nothing more than to leave and follow Boston back to Anna�
��s. How was she taking it? She had to know. Was it bringing up memories of her time being tortured and almost killed? Fuck, it had to. They sure as hell were eating me alive. I needed to be there for her while she tried to console Boston. I had to show her she could count on me. But I had to do my job too. I couldn’t just leave. Not yet.
“Anything more from the neighbor?”
Diego’s lips tightened. “Nah. Nothing more than he thought it was a damn joke from the kids who lived here. They’re tricksters, I guess.”
“Some are when they get in their early teens. Shit. Nothing. Nobody saw anything.”
“Well…we have a better timeframe. Neighbor gets up around five to commute to Chicago. Says he brought his dog out to the front because he’s doing construction in the back. He doesn’t remember seeing legs sticking out of an almost-full garbage can at around five-thirty. He was out here a good ten minutes. That would put her body getting dumped within an hour of him calling it in. He might have just missed it.”
“He worked her all night. Sick fuck. Fits the timeframe perfectly for Daniel’s release. I say we pull all of our resources and find that bastard so we can pick him up for questioning.”
“I agree. I’ll make some calls.”
Diego took off, and I pulled out my phone, hitting Anna’s number.
“Braden, tell me it’s not true.”
“I’m afraid so. Boston’s reaction was enough, but Dr. Patron confirmed. It’s Lucy Adams.”
“I’m packing up now. Boston and Dr. Patron are waiting on me. How…bad was it? What exactly did Boston see?”
“Enough to haunt him for the rest of his life. A picture, but a picture I truthfully didn’t want him to see. Her face was nearly black with bruising. She had a big cut across her cheek. Fuck, Anna, just…lots of bruising. Lacerations. They were everywhere. I’m sure her nose was broken, right along with almost every other bone in her face. Cheeks, maybe. I don’t know. I recognized her from the picture, but…it was pushing it.”
“Poor Boston. I don’t know what to say. I was so sure we’d find her. I thought—”
“Anna, you tried your best.”
“But I gave him false hope, Braden. I made him believe. I believed.”
“And you both did everything you could.”
“But it wasn’t enough.”
“It rarely is, A rúnsearc. Sometimes giving your all doesn’t give you shit. I know. I did everything I could to find you, and I failed. Nothing will make up for that.”
A deep breath sounded.
“Will you be coming home tonight?”
Home. The word helped reel me it in. “Better believe it. But hopefully sooner than tonight. I’ll try my best to get there at a decent hour. In the meantime, stay strong. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Goodbye, Braden.”
“Anna…”
There was a pause. “Yes?”
“I love you.”
I hung up before she could reply. I didn’t say it so I could hear a response. I said it because I meant it with every fiber of my being, and she needed to know that: now, every day, every moment I was capable of reminding her.
Chapter 33
Anna
Sobs turned to crying. Crying to silence. Silence to sobs.
It was a cycle, and it lasted for hours. Sometimes, I joined in and shed tears. Other times, I just held Boston. The emotional peril pulled me back to the moments I carried the most grief. It brought me to Roman, my son. The loss never got easier. It never left me. Especially now, so fresh on my mind. It was easy to share my pain with a man who could relate to such a devastating loss. But it was more than that. Our grief, our heartbreak, and similarities, were one. We were shadows of one another, dark, but always close. It was a connection I had never had with anyone before. With Boston, it came naturally. Fluid, like the way my hand rubbed up and down his back as he crumbled before me. Or the way his face fit into my neck when he didn’t have the strength to hold his head up anymore. One. Bonded through tragedy. Genuine, soul-deep friends.
“This isn’t real. Fourteen years…I’ve been in love with her for over fourteen years. This is not how our story ends. This is a dream. A nightmare,” he said, wiping the new tears away. “But I’m not going to wake up, am I?”
“No. I’m sorry.”
A shuddering breath left him, and Boston angled his knees closer to mine as he sat on my sofa. His hands went back to hold one of mine, loose, but connected. With my other hand, I made a path up and down his back. The silence was broken with random cries. He was trying to hold them in, but he was losing.
“What am I still doing here if she’s gone? Why am I alive if she’s not? We were meant to be together, not apart. This…doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand. Together forever. That’s what we always said. Forever. This isn’t the end of our forever, so why isn’t she here?”
The last came out thick with rage. He was shaking, squeezing my hand tighter.
“Boston.” Dr. Patron moved to the end of the chair catty-corner from my sofa. He was leaned forward, ringing his hands together. For the most part, he had been quiet, watching us, letting Boston work through his pain in his own way.
“Life, it’s not always fair. If anything, it’s cruel. Lucy was your joy. She was joy for anyone who knew her. We have to hold to her beauty and goodness as we work to move forward. You’ll always have her, here,” he said, pressing into his chest. “It’s not the same, I know. You want her physically here. It doesn’t feel like it now, but I promise things will get easier.”
“I don’t want this easier,” Boston bit out. “I want this over. I want Daniel Stracht. I want to make him pay for what he’s done.”
Dr. Patron met my eyes, moving his gaze to Boston. For moments, he didn’t speak.
“I’m responsible. I blame myself for not seeing it sooner. Maybe if I put it together a day or two before, Lucy would still be alive. I’ve been so distracted lately, and what’s happened falls on me. For that, you have my deepest, heart-felt apologies. If you want Daniel, I’ll do everything in my power to hunt him down and deliver him to you. He won’t get away with this Boston. We won’t let him.”
“Let’s not talk about that right now.” I brought Boston’s hand to my chest, drawing his full attention. “Revenge will come. If anyone supports that, it’s me. And you can guarantee, I’ll have your back however you may need it. But don’t make the same mistake I made with my son. Lucy does not deserve to have her memory tainted with the repulsive thought of Daniel. This time is about her. Her love. The love the two of you shared. Feel it. Embrace it, knowing it was the purest thing our world holds. Focus on her for the next few days or weeks. Then, when it’s time, and you more than anyone will know…. then, Daniel.”
Boston blinked in quick succession, seeming to take my words to heart as he nodded.
“You’re right. It’s Lucy’s time. She deserves that. She deserved the best. I tried…I mean,” he inhaled shakily, being sucked back under by his grief, “I tried to give her the world. She was my world. Everything I did, I did for her.” He took the ring from his pocket, clutching it in his fist as he lowered his head to connect. My hand moved up his back, and I stood, still facing him.
“I’m going to make coffee and place an order for food. You have to try to eat something. It’s been hours, and you didn’t eat breakfast. Even if it’s something small, you need the strength. Do you want me to choose, or do you feel like something in particular?”
“I…coffee sounds good.”
“What about food? I’m ordering. You can choose, or I can.”
“Boston likes pizza. Meat lovers.”
I nodded to Dr. Patron as Boston lowered his head again. He didn’t speak, and I doubted he’d eat, but I had to do something. I didn’t want him to face the hardships I had when I was finally set free by No One. I focused on revenge when I should have mourned the loss of my son. I couldn’t get that time back. What I could do was my best to see that Boston didn
’t follow the same path.
Putting on the coffee, I called in delivery for the pizza. When Dr. Patron entered the kitchen, I gave him one of the mugs. We both stole glances at Boston. He hadn’t moved much since I’d left. He didn’t even seem to be here.
“I called Joy. She’s just devastated. I told her I’d let them know when I heard a timeline for the funeral. She’s going to make the arrangements.”
“Good. I don’t want Boston having to go through that. It’s hard. He needs to focus on himself right now. On him and Lucy.”
I wiped away a tear, noticing my own shaking. My eyes cut over and widened. I glanced to Boston, trying to stay quiet as I headed for the corkboard. I removed it from the wall, refusing to look at the pictures as I kept them angled away. When I opened the garage door, I placed it just inside, facing the wall. Dr. Patron was waiting when I returned.
“Smart thinking.”
“He doesn’t need to see that. I truthfully forgot it was there. We’ve been using the map. Maybe I should have tried to integrate the two. Maybe if I had…maybe I already did...” I trailed off, grabbing his coffee. I couldn’t think about anything but what-ifs. They were eating me alive. How had I failed? I was smarter than this. I should have found her.
“You had all your bases covered. Nothing on that board would have made a difference. I know. I looked at it earlier. Come on. Let’s get him coffee.” Dr. Patron fit his palm to the middle of my upper back, leading me. Boston glanced over at our approached, his face rapidly changing through several emotions. He kept quiet, taking the coffee while I sat down.
Bloodshot eyes edged over, returning to the dark liquid as he blew across the top.
“Anna…do you love Braden?”
My mouth opened, but the odd question threw off a reply. “I told you I did.”
“I mean, really love him. Like you can’t imagine existing without him. Like every breath, every heartbeat, calls for him. Belongs to him. Do you feel that way?”
“I…”
“Boston.” Dr. Patron gave a hard shake of his head. “Not right now.”