Scarred: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Cheri Marie

  “This is my money outfit,” she says with a shrug. I just shake my head, not even asking for her to elaborate. “Besides, I could ask you the same thing.”

  “There is nothing wrong with my outfit.” Suddenly feeling inadequate.

  “Yeah, if you were going to a job interview. Slacks and a pretty shirt just aren’t going to work.”

  Walking into my closet, Remington grabs a red, bodycon dress that I bought a while back but have never worn, and my black, Red Bottom stilettos, then hands both over to me.

  “Put this on and be in the living room in ten minutes. I already put in a request for a car pickup.”

  I take the dress and shoes, shutting the door behind Remington. I lay the dress out on the bed and stare at it for a few moments. ‘Remi’s right, with the outfit I’m wearing, VIP or not, there is no way they would let me into a club like Skylines.’ Quickly stripping myself of my slacks and shirt, careful not to mess up my makeup, I slip into the dress. The silky, stretchy material clings to my every curve, stopping just above my knees. Pulling the pins from my updo, I let my long auburn locks fall down my back before slipping my feet into the heels.

  “Damn, girl. Look at you. Hot!” Remington snaps her fingers in the air as I come walking into the living room. “You ready?”

  “Yep. Let’s do this.”

  We lock up and take the elevator to the ground floor where our driver is waiting. His eyes go wide as he takes in the sight of both of us, a sly smile spreading across his face. I lean in close, glancing around to make sure no one else is within earshot.

  “Don’t get any ideas. I’m a cop and I will shoot you if you try anything stupid.” I warn him.

  Remington smacks my arm, but I just ignore her. I know the horror stories that surround these rideshare companies. I’m not about to become another tragic story so I’m always sure to make it clear that I’m a cop and I carry before I get into any of these strangers' vehicles. A couple have refused to drive us, but I am okay with that. Without a word, he opens the back door for us, the smile now gone from his face, and we slide in. An hour later we’re pulling up outside of Skylines, skipping the line, and making our way up into the VIP section. Devon greets us at the door, leading us over to a table and waves down one of the waitresses.

  “Lacey, these are my guests, Cam and Remi. Make sure they’re well taken care of, will ya babe?” Devon tells her.

  “Yes sir. What will it be ladies?”

  “Two shots of Patron to get us started, and then two dirty martini’s, please.”

  “Coming right up,” she says, leaving us to fetch our drinks.

  Devon leans in close to kiss Remington on the cheek before he excuses himself for a few minutes, leaving Remington and me to wait for our drinks. A huge television screen covers the one wall of the VIP room, streaming a live feed of the dance floor downstairs. The dance floor is packed with people, dancing to a mix of house, reggae and hip-hop music. Lacey shows up a few moments later with our drinks. Remington and I immediately clink our shot glasses together in cheers and toss them back. I’m not a big tequila drinker, but Patron goes down like water.

  “Devon looks scrumptious tonight.”

  “Girl, that is one man I just can’t get enough of,” Remington replies.

  “Yet, you can’t remember his name.” I smirk.

  “Who needs a name when he’s got a body like that?” She laughs.

  “Remi, you are awful!” I laugh with her.

  We make small talk about how nice the bar is, with its flashing lights on the dance floor and the low lights in the upper VIP section. We order another round of dirty martinis and move over to the railing to watch one of the large screens showing just one of the dance floors below.

  I watch the screen for a while, sipping my martini as the people downstairs dance their asses off. You can tell who the professional dancers are by the circle of people surrounding them. It looked like something out of a movie, but I was enjoying the view. Then someone catches my eye, causing my heart to race. I lean forward, wanting to get a closer look at the screen to make sure I’m seeing what I’m seeing, but when he turns and looks directly at the camera it’s like all the air is sucked from my lungs.

  “Cam, are you okay?” Remington asks, concern etching her lovely face.

  I look at her, my mouth opening to answer but nothing comes out. So, I just shake my head as if saying no.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I inhale a deep, quick breath. “I need to go. I need to get out of here.”

  “But we just got here!” Remington pouts.

  “You can stay if you want, but I’m sorry… I have - I have to go. Now.”

  I quickly get to my feet and make my way down the steps and out the door. Clicking on the rideshare app, I put in for an immediate pickup, praying they get here quickly. ‘What are the chances that we would ever end up in the same town, that wasn’t our hometown?’

  I hear the doors open up behind me just as my rideshare pulls up.

  “Camryn?” The voice is a little deeper than I remember, but the voice is one I would never forget. It takes a moment to register that the driver had gotten out to open my door as I stand frozen in place, afraid to move for fear the man whose voice I remember all too well will notice me. But it’s too late.

  “Camryn.” He says again. His voice sends a shiver up my spine and I hear him take a step closer.

  A moment later, Remington comes barreling out of the club after me. “Cam, wait for me, I’m coming with you,” she says, ushering me towards the open door. Without turning around, I take the few steps forward, and as I slide into the back seat, I glance up. Standing not ten feet away is the grown-up version of the boy I had planned to spend my life with. Just a memory of everything that could have been. Without saying a word, I just stare at him as the driver shuts the door and returns to the driver’s seat and we pull away.

  Chapter 2

  Owen

  Entering my apartment, I toss my keys on the entry table, followed by my cell phone and my wallet. I rake my hands through my hair as I move across the room into the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge. I twist the top off and chug half the bottle, before I let myself think about what happened earlier, or rather, what didn’t.

  I still can’t believe I saw her. It’s been a little over eight years. Eight years of searching. Eight years of night after long night trying to figure out why she left without a word. Just like tonight, she left without saying one goddamn word.

  I down the rest of the beer and open the fridge for another, taking it with me to sit on the sofa. My head is spinning with thoughts that are all over the place. ‘Why was she here? Where did she come from? Where did she go?’ I’ve spent every day since she left me, searching for her. Every waking moment wondering where she was and if she was okay. She was within arm's reach, not ten feet away from me, and she just walked away, again... and this time I let her. I should have gone after her, made her talk to me, tell me why she just left without so much as a goodbye.

  Fuck me.

  I twist the top off the bottle and throw it hard across the room. Taking a large swig of the amber liquid, I rest my head back against the sofa cushion. I think back on the night she left. We had made love for the first time. Sure, we had fooled around, made out, but never went all the way, until that night. ‘Was that a goodbye fuck?’ I had wondered that all these years. I guzzle the remainder of the beer and stand up; I toss the bottle in the garbage on my way to the shower. I can’t dwell on this shit right now, I have an early shift tomorrow, and six in the morning comes way too soon.

  Chapter 3

  Camryn

  It’s been a week and I still can’t get the image of Owen out of my head. Seeing him again brought back all of the memories from years ago, making them seem like fresh wounds that hurt just as much, if not more, as they did then. It also made me even more determined in my search for MacKenzie. I have a feeling she’s somewhere near Sunnyville. All of my leads to this po
int have led me here.

  “Barrett? You good?” Director O’Leary startles me out of my thoughts.

  Margaret O’Leary is a tall woman, at least five feet ten. She doesn’t take shit from any man or woman, but at the same time, she will listen to what a person has to say. She wears her dark hair cut in a short pixie style and dresses professionally, usually in dark slacks and a button up. Her makeup is always simple, except for the bright red lipstick that always tints her lips. She once told me that it may be a man’s world, but she can play just as hard as they can, and still be pretty doing it. She has been my director since I became a special agent a year ago and we both were reassigned to the department here in Sunnyville six months ago.

  “Director O’Leary, yes, sorry. I was thinking about a case I’m working on.”

  “Which case would that be?”

  “MacKenzie’s,” I say sheepishly, then I rush on so that she doesn’t think I’m wasting time. “I think I may have found something, but I wanted to run it by you first.”

  “MacKenzie’s case? Let me hear what you have.” She moves around to the other side of my desk and sits in the seat across from me. Crossing one long leg over the other, she sits back and crosses her arms across her chest.

  “Well.” I begin with a deep breath. “I found a name that keeps showing up in everything I’ve been researching. It’s a name that I recognized but couldn’t remember from where. So, I went through my notes from the past nine years and found it.”

  “Okay.” She eyes me curiously, waiting for me to continue.

  “The name is Mick Ryan. It didn’t click at first, but that’s because he went by Micky when I knew him. He was Mac’s boyfriend at the time of her disappearance. I remember how he was around all the time and then how strange it was that I didn’t see him but a time or two after Mac went missing. Now, I think I know why.”

  Director O’Leary doesn’t say anything but I could tell that the name was familiar to her. I decide to continue with the rest of the information I had garnered over the years and see if she would let me put my plan into motion.

  “Mick’s name keeps popping up. He has a long list of breaking and entering, possession with intent to sell drugs, as well as firearms. Yet, as far as I can find, he’s only done two years on a drug charge.” I search through the paperwork on my desk and pull out a folder and hand it to her.

  “What is this?” she asks, opening the folder and flipping through pages.

  “It’s a timeline of when Mick’s name pops up for the last few years, where he was, what he was arrested for, who he was associated with. Which brings me to the other name that keeps recurring around the same time as his… Murphy O’Hare.”

  “Drop it, Barrett.” Director O’Leary tosses the folder onto my desk and stands from the chair suddenly.

  “Drop it? But Director…” I stand as well, looking at her with surprise.

  “You heard me, Camryn. Drop it. Mick Ryan is dead. There are no leads here.” Her voice firm, she starts towards her office, leaving me confused and frustrated with her sudden turn of interest in my information.

  “Dead? Director, Murphy O’Hare is…”

  “The step-son of the leader of Donnely’s gang. I know who he is.” She turns back to look at me. I see her soften just a bit before she continues. “Listen, Camryn. I sympathize with you and your desire to find what happened to your sister, but it was eight years ago. Let it go. If she got caught up with Ryan and Donnely’s gang, she’s not going to be found.”

  Before I could say anything in return, Director O’Leary turns and walks away. What now? I sit down at my desk and pick up the folder that she had tossed back on to my desk. Opening it, I read over the report, noticing the last time I see Mick’s name is a year ago, here in Sunnyville. I open my laptop and start to sign into the N-Dex system. I want to cross-reference Mick’s name with Murphy O’Hare’s, and any possible mentions of Donnely’s gang from the last date noted in my report. But before I could input either of their names, my phone rings.

  “Special Agent Barrett,” I say into the phone. “Stay put for now. I’ll be there in twenty minutes to take over.” So much for my plans. I close my laptop, grab my jacket from the back of my chair, and head out of the office.

  Pulling out of the station, I head towards the industrial area of town to do a stakeout on an abandoned building that is a known hangout for Donnely’s gang. Getting close, I pull off to the side of the road where I have a good visual of the building and put the car in park. I flash my headlights once, count five seconds, and then I flash them again to let Gene know I was there to take over. Gene is an off-duty security guard that is helping me keep track of the comings and goings of Donnely’s Gang. He doesn’t ask to get paid; he just wants justice for his son that got caught up in a heist gone wrong. He flashes his lights once and pulls off, leaving me to watch the building on my own.

  I sit there surveilling the building for over an hour but there’s nothing. No comings or goings or any activity of any sort. Frustrated, I pull away from the curb and do a quick U-turn to head back towards the office.

  I pull up on a four-way stop and when I notice no one else is waiting, I quickly roll through the stop, needing to cut time getting back to the office. Within seconds there are red and blue flashing lights behind me.

  “Fuck!” I curse myself, knowing I should have known better, and pull off to the side and grab my license and registration.

  I watch in my rearview mirror as the officer steps out of the car and my heart stops. Owen. I watch as he strides towards my window, taking the chance to let my eyes roam over him. He looks so different, yet the same. He has the same beautiful green eyes that could make me melt with just one look, the same perfect lips that are now accentuated by a nicely edged up five o’clock shadow. He’s stockier and more muscular, and it fills out his uniform in a beautiful way. Reaching the back of my car, he runs his hand over the trunk and the back door as he peeks in the back window before getting to the driver’s window. I swallow hard and do my best to look unaffected as I roll down the window, and as the realization hits him, he takes a step back.

  “Cam…” My name falls from his lips a breathless whisper. The urge to reach out to him, tell him I’m sorry for everything, comes over me but I can’t. I can’t afford any distractions, especially when I’m so close to finding MacKenzie.

  “What can I do for you, Officer?” I ask, doing my best to ignore the way he’s looking at me.

  Owen regains himself, then leans into my window. “You could start by telling me where the hell you’ve been for the last eight and a half years, and why you just left without saying anything to anyone.”

  “I don’t owe you, or anyone else, an explanation for anything. Besides, I did leave you a message.”

  “A fucking text! We had plans, Cam. We had our future all planned out and you just left.”

  “Plans change, Owen. People change. Feelings… they change. I’m not the girl you knew eight years ago. She died when Mac disappeared. Just please, either ticket me for the rolling stop or just let me go.”

  Owen doesn’t move, he just stands there, leaning in my window staring at me. I don’t say anything else as I stare out of the windshield of my car. I dare not glance at him, afraid that I will cave and break down. Frustrated and without a word, he takes a step back and waves me on, letting me know I’m free to go. I chance a quick glance at him as I throw my car in drive and start to pull away; the expression on his face breaks my heart all over again.

  Chapter 4

  Owen

  Sitting in front of my computer, I type in Camryn’s name and hit enter, praying something pops up. Anything that will lead me to her. But, like it’s been for the past couple years, nothing comes up. No social media. No arrests. No deaths, thankfully. Nothing. It’s like she has disappeared with no trace of ever being. I decide to do a reverse phone number search to see if she at least still has the same number, but it comes back registered to someone else. Why wou
ld she just disappear without saying goodbye? I don’t understand it. I slam the laptop closed in frustration then cringe, hoping I didn’t break it. Getting up, I walk into the kitchen and grab a beer from the fridge, twist off the top and toss it in the garbage, then I lean against the counter and chug it down.

  “Dammit Cam, where are you?” I say out loud to my empty apartment.

  I walk back over to the sofa and re-open my laptop, half expecting to see a shattered screen, surprised when it isn’t broken. As the screen pops up, I decide to try her old email again. Maybe she’ll respond this time.

  Cam- I don’t know where you are or why you left without saying goodbye. But none of that really matters anymore. Just please reply to let me know you’re alive and okay.

  -Owen

  I hit send. Immediately an email hits my inbox and I click quickly hoping that it’s a reply from Camryn. But it isn’t. Instead, it’s an ad for a job. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is looking to hire new officers. They’re offering to pay for people to attend the academy, plus a sign-on bonus. I move the mouse to the Apply Now button, my finger lingering over the mousepad for a moment before I click it to fill out the application.

  I may never find Camryn, and that is something I’m just going to have to accept. But maybe becoming a police officer, I will be able to help keep bad guys off the street and possibly prevent anyone else from having to go through what Camryn and her mother had to go through.

  I slide back into my patrol car and stare at the fading taillights of Camryn’s car, as she drives away from me. Almost nine years I’ve spent looking for her, even though after two I had given up any hope that it would actually happen. Now, I’ve seen her twice in the same week and she seems completely unaffected by the sight of me. ‘Did what we have really mean that little to her?’ I punch the steering wheel in frustration. Realizing that I just let her go without so much as looking at her driver’s license, I punch the steering wheel twice more.