by Claire Raye
“He’s yours though, Sarah.” And the way she says my name makes a chill run up my spine.
“Okay,” I respond as I try to move around her and back toward the house.
She grabs my arm when I try to slip around her. “Did you hear what I said?” she snaps, and her fake friendly tone is long gone.
“Yes.”
“I said he’s yours. I’m giving him to you.” Her breathing is abnormally fast, each breath coming out in short little wisps that float out of her mouth as small white puffs of air in the cold.
“I don’t think you can give away something that was never yours, but okay,” I shoot back, not wanting to upset her, but needing her to realize she’s quite wrong.
She stamps her foot loudly and the wet ground splatters beneath her foot. I move away from her, stepping back this time, putting some distance between us just in case I have to run or possibly hit her.
“Fuck, Sarah,” she screams and it’s so loud that I’m certain Finn’s neighbors will be out at any second. This is a small town and any noise can attract a crowd, especially on a quiet night like this. “He was mine and you fucking ruined it, you whore!”
I’m taken aback by her constantly changing personality and the fact that she’s obviously lost touch with reality.
I have no idea how to handle this, so I once again respond with “okay” and clearly that’s not what she’s looking for because she begins tugging at her hair and pacing back and forth.
“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, don’t you get it? You’re not what he wants.” Carla’s tone is now strangely calm, but also patronizing. “You’re a stupid girl to believe he likes you. You’re just like me…” she trails off, her thoughts a reckless mess of nonsense and I think she might be crying now.
I listen to her suck in a hard breath and exhale raggedly just as a pair of headlights presents themselves on Finn’s street. I look from Carla to the car driving up the road and when I look back again she’s gone.
Finn’s car pulls into the driveway quickly and hauls into the garage. I watch him jump out and race toward me.
“Sarah, what are you doing out here?” Finn demands, but his voice is filled with concern rather than judgment.
I’m starring down the street trying to figure out if I imagined my encounter with Carla or if it really happened. How the hell did she disappear so quickly? But when I look down, her muddy footprints trail along the sidewalk and vanish behind Finn’s house.
“Sarah, you’re freezing,” Finn says, taking my face in his hands so I’m now looking at him. “Oh my god, you’re shaking. What the hell happened?”
“Carla,” I mutter out, her sickening smelling perfume still lingering in the air, “she was just here.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Finn
I feel like my head is about to explode, like actually blow right open here on the sidewalk as a surge of anger consumes me.
“Fucking hell,” I mutter as I pull Sarah into my arms. “I’m so sorry,” I say, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Are you okay?” I ask, even though it’s a stupid question because I can literally feel her shaking in my arms. It’s taking every ounce of self-control I have not to march over to Carla’s house right now and sort this shit out once and for all.
“Come on, let’s get you inside,” I say, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and turning us toward the front door.
Inside, I don’t let go of Sarah, steering her to the bathroom where I immediately start a hot bath. As the tub fills, Sarah takes a deep breath, shaking her hands as she starts to calm down.
“Do you need a drink?” I ask.
She nods. “Yeah, thanks.”
I press a quick kiss to her forehead before walking back to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and two glasses and returning to the bathroom. Sarah’s sitting on the edge of the tub now, no longer shaking as she slips off her shoes.
“Thank you,” she says, offering a small smile as she takes the glass I hand her.
I pour us both a generous amount of liquid and we sip our drinks in silence while the water continues to run. When the tub is finally full, Sarah turns off the faucet, undresses and hops in.
“Join me?” she says, staring up at me.
It’s not exactly big enough for the both of us, but in this minute, I don’t care. Nodding once, I pull off my clothes, stepping out of the bathroom only to lock up my gun and cuffs, even though in this moment a part of me wonders if maybe it isn’t smarter to keep the gun with me.
Then I join Sarah in the tub, sitting opposite her before I pull her over and between my legs, her back resting against my chest.
“This is getting serious,” she eventually says, letting out a long breath as she sinks against me.
I push a hand through my hair, take a sip of whiskey. “Yeah,” I agree. “And I’m definitely going to report this latest incident.”
“Do you think you should?” she asks, leaning back so she can meet my stare.
I nod. “Abso-fucking-lutely,” I say. “This is harassment, Sarah, plain and simple. It’s one thing to come after me with her bullshit, but not you. Never you. I will not tolerate it and I sure as shit will not let her get away with it either.”
Sarah smiles at me as she reaches up and brushes my cheek with her hand.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“You’re so sweet to me,” she whispers. “Thank you.”
I lean down and kiss her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Sarah, okay? I need you to believe that.”
“I do, Finn,” she says immediately. “I trust you.”
I nod, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can you tell me what she said to you?”
Sarah takes a deep breath, her eyes leaving mine as she stares into her drink, her hand swirling the glass and the amber liquid inside it. “A lot of what she said was nonsense,” she eventually says. “Rambling statements that didn’t really form anything coherent. She did tell me that you were mine though, that even though she was your ex, she was still giving you to me.”
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter as I wonder just how delusional this woman is. Maybe I’ve been wrong about her, maybe this is more than just some weird obsession built off one encounter back in high school.
“I think what scared me most though,” she continues, once more leaning back so she’s looking up at me. “Is that she knew where you were tonight, knew you were working late.” Sarah puts her drink on the ledge around the bath and turns now, so she’s facing me, lying on top of my body. “I mean I wouldn’t normally be afraid of someone standing in front of me spewing random shit,” she continues. “But there was just something about her, something unhinged that had me scared to be alone with her.”
I put my glass beside Sarah’s and wrap my arms around her, pulling her closer so I can press a soft kiss to her lips. “I’m going to take care of this Sarah, I promise you,” I tell her, my words serious.
“I know you will,” she says, smiling.
“You’re important to me,” I continue. “Really important. And I’m never going to let anything happen to you.”
Sarah’s smile widens as she slides higher, resting her forehead against mine. “I really love this sweet caring side of you,” she whispers. “The side that only I get to see,” she adds before kissing me.
I spend most of the night awake, fingers flying over the tiny keyboard on my phone as I make a note of everything that went down tonight. Sarah sleeps peacefully beside me, her breathing slow and even and I’m glad that she’s able to get some rest, that she isn’t as rattled by this whole incident as I am.
After I’d found the magazine clippings in my trash, I’d made copies and sent them to Detective Greenwood, explaining where and when I’d found them. I still hadn’t told him about the video, but he’d acknowledged the magazine pictures with Sarah’s face superimposed over them was something to be concerned about.
But I’d heard nothing from h
im since then. No updates on the investigation and no report on what had happened about the pictures. There’d been nothing else from Carla though and a part of me couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Detective Greenwood had gone to see her. Had spoken to her about what I’d found in my trash can and maybe scared her into stopping with all of this.
Clearly not after tonight’s incident.
The next morning after I drop Sarah at the train station, I head into work and immediately type up everything that happened to Sarah last night. I attach the word doc to an email and send it to Detective Greenwood.
I don’t expect a response but by the time I walk back to my desk with a cup of coffee, there’s an email from him in my inbox.
Thanks, this is concerning. Would Sarah be willing to talk to us? Make an official statement?
I swallow hard, hating the fact that she’s now getting caught up in all of this. Hitting reply, I type out a quick response.
Yes, I’m sure she would.
Detective Greenwood again responds immediately.
Great, I’ll be in touch. Let me know if anything else happens. To you or Sarah.
My mind immediately flicks back to the video I still have. Given everything that’s happened, especially after last night, I know I should tell him about it. At the very least, they could trace the sender, which would hopefully lead us back to Carla.
But I can’t bring myself do it. Not yet. Not when there’s a small chance I might be able to spare that part of Sarah.
Exhaling hard, I don’t reply to his email, instead filing it away in the folder I’ve created for all of this shit. Then I pull out the file containing last night’s duty officer report and flick my eyes over it to get up to speed.
Suddenly my phone chimes out with a text, my pulse immediately racing as I imagine it’s some new message from Carla. Maybe her gloating about last night. A wave of relief washes over me though when I see it’s from my brother.
Beck: so I had Joe, a guy Ryan & I used to work with in BPD run the records on your phone. Numbers a bust though – burner phone and no way to tie it back to her. Sorry.
I exhale in disappointment, even as I can’t help but be amused at my brother’s explanation of how he knows Joe. Clearly he’s forgotten I met the guy when we took down Erin’s ex.
Me: thanks for trying, Beck – appreciate it.
Beck: sorry I couldn’t be any more help. Hope things have been better. Talk soon.
I don’t bother to tell him about last night because really, what’s the point. There’s nothing Beck or anyone else can do at this point and I just have to hope that Detective Greenwood does his job.
Or that Carla fucks up and gives us a reason to prove all of this is her doing.
Before I leave work, I make a quick phone call before grabbing a few things from supply. I then head home to change and grab a change of clothes for Sarah before heading over to the train station to pick her up. Even though she’s technically staying with Erin and Ryan, she’s pretty much spent every night at my place since she came to Rockport. It’s almost assumed that’s what will happen now. She’s even kept my spare key and right now, I honestly have no intentions of asking for it back.
Because even though I’d never entertained the idea of this before, I actually love the thought of her being in my house. And once again, I’m surprised by how easy it’s all been, how much I love the idea of coming home to her every night and waking up beside her every morning.
There’s been no more talk of her moving to Boston either, which I’m not sure how to take, especially given how she feels about her job and this dickhead boss she has. Knowing how she feels about him though, only confirms what I’m about to do with her tonight.
I also don’t want her to think I’ve forgotten about him or her worries. The last thing I want is for her to feel like her problems aren’t important to me.
“Hey,” she says, as she hops into the passenger seat and leans over to give me a kiss. “You okay?”
I nod, smiling at her as I pull her in for another kiss. “Yep, you?” I ask. “How was your day?”
Sarah cocks her head as though she’s thinking about her reply, shaking a hand as if to say so-so.
My smile disappears. “Your boss do something?”
Sarah looks away, eyes staring out the windshield as she says, “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Sarah,” I say, turning in my seat as I reach out and gently turn her so she’s facing me again. “What happened?”
She lets out a long breath, eyes searching my face as though she isn’t sure what to tell me. “It’s nothing, really,” she says, even though I can tell it is.
“Bullshit, baby,” I say gently. “Talk to me.”
Her eyes drop, her words a mumble as she speaks them into her lap. “He’s just gross, that’s all. A dirty perv who likes to say things that are borderline inappropriate.”
I grab her hand, pulling it into my lap as I say, “You need to report him, babe.” I lift her hand to my mouth and kiss the inside of her wrist. “He should not be allowed to act like that.”
“I know,” she says, lifting her eyes to mine. “But everyone seems to turn a blind eye,” she admits. “As though it’s just him and it’s harmless, nothing to worry about.”
“It’s not fucking harmless,” I say, my words coming out harsher than I intend them too. I brush my thumb across her knuckles in apology. “You need to report him, Sarah,” I say. “If not to HR, then to the police,” I add. “Maybe Ryan’s old partner, Joe,” I continue, remembering my earlier conversation with Beck.
Sarah smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I know, Finn,” she says. “I will say something, okay? I promise.”
I stare back at her, willing her to mean it, even though I know I can’t push her too hard or try to interfere. Eventually I nod. “Okay,” I say, smiling before changing the subject. “So, I know it’s late, but think you might be able to wait an hour or so for dinner? There’s something I want to do first.”
Sarah smiles now, an eyebrow raised as she looks at me. “Oh really,” she says. “And what might that be, Chief? Something physical perhaps?”
“Always thinking about me naked, aren’t you, cheeky girl?” I tease. “But sort of.”
“Sort of?” she asks, head cocked to the side. “Now I am intrigued.”
I chuckle. “Well, I brought everything we need from home so if you’re good to go…?”
“Oh, I’m always good to go, Chief,” she says, turning back in her seat and reaching for her seat belt. “Punch it,” she adds, pointing her finger at the road.
Ten minutes later and we’re pulling into the mostly empty parking lot of the local community center. Sarah looks at me quizzingly, but I just grin, switch off the ignition and hop out of the car. I grab a bag from the trunk before taking her hand and leading her inside.
Troy, a friend from high school waits at the front desk, grinning when I walk in.
“Finn, hey, how’s things?” he asks, eyes flicking to Sarah.
“Good, you?” I ask, before introducing him.
Troy shakes hands with Sarah before handing me the keys and saying, “Lock up when you’re done? I’ll grab these from you tomorrow?”
I nod. “Sure thing and thanks again for letting us do this.”
“No problem,” he says with a wave before walking out the front door. I lock up behind him, grateful we’d chatted earlier on the phone about why I wanted to do this and answering all his questions about the rumors running rampant around town. Even though Sarah clearly knew Carla was creating trouble, I didn’t need her hearing all the questions I knew Troy would have.
“What are we doing here?” she asks as I lead her back to one of the training rooms.
“Well, first of all,” I start, dropping the bag before I reach in and grab her clothes. “You’re going to need to get changed,” I say, smiling as I hand her the things I grabbed from home before I went to
pick her up.
Sarah takes the clothes, eyeing the leggings, t-shirt and sneakers I’ve brought for her. “Okay,” she says, looking around the room. “We’re the only ones here right?”
I nod, grinning as Sarah immediately starts to undress in front of me. She knows I’m watching too, deliberately teasing me with the way in which she lowers her skirt, the seductive way she undoes the buttons of her blouse. When she’s standing in nothing but her underwear and heels, it takes every piece of self-control I have not to just say fuck it to my plans and instead lay her out on these mats and have my way with her. But I don’t, instead handing her the leggings, laughing as she pouts at my apparent lack of interest.
“Alright,” she says, hands on hips when she’s done. “What are we doing?”
I grin, stepping toward her. “We’re going to teach you some self-defense,” I say. “So you’ll never have to feel scared about Carla or your boss ever again.”
Sarah cocks an eyebrow at me. “I already know self-defense,” she says confidently.
“Oh you do huh?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Please,” she says, waving a hand. “You do know who my brother is, right?”
I laugh, I should’ve known that hard ass would have taught her a thing or two. She’s his baby sister for fuck’s sake, like he was ever going to send her out into the world unable to defend herself.
“Really?” I tease. “And what about weapons?” I ask. “You know how to use a baton, or pepper spray?”
Sarah’s eyes widen. “I’m getting pepper spray?”
I laugh. “You are.”
I watch as a grin tugs at her mouth, obviously excited at what I’ve got for her. “That might be the best present anyone’s ever given me,” she says, rocking on her heels.
I can’t stop the laugh as I step toward her, arms wide. “Alright tough girl,” I say. “Wanna show me some of these moves of yours?”
“Oh, you better believe it, Chief,” she says, lowering her hands as she steps closer. “You ready?”
“I’m ready,” I tell her, giving her a quick wink.
