Love Against the Law

by Justine Klavon

  “Stupid couch,” Mack grumbled to himself, walking over to open the door.

  Mack let Captain Hobbs into the room and Sammi quickly got out of bed, feeling grossly vulnerable. Hobbs explained that a uniformed officer was going to take Sammi to her apartment to get her things and then to either a new apartment or a hotel. Sammi suddenly wished they had tried harder to find her a new apartment the day before.

  “Why can’t I take her to get her things?” Mack asked his boss.

  “The boyfriend could be there, and I can’t count on you to act rationally,” Hobbs told him.

  “Your faith in me is outstanding,” Mack replied sarcastically.

  “I’ll leave you two to plan your inevitable rendezvous,” Hobbs said harshly to Mack before turning to Sammi and kindly adding, “Officer Palma is waiting downstairs when you’re ready.”

  After Hobbs exited the room, there was an awkward silence between the two emotionally stunted cohorts. Mack remained by the door and wouldn’t look at Sammi while she got herself a glass of water and took her morning medications. The thought of returning to the real world with her hideously discolored neck gave her anxiety, but she didn’t want to keep the police officer waiting downstairs. She had just reached the door when Mack stopped her.

  “Stay with me,” Mack said quickly as he caught Sammi’s wrist in his hand.

  “What?” Sammi was caught by surprise and wasn’t quite sure what he meant.

  “I have a spare bedroom. You don’t have to go to a hotel,” Mack replied, trying to sound casual.

  “I don’t think your boss likes you hanging out with me.”

  “He knows about the mall heist and what I did for you.”

  “What did you do, Johnson?”

  “I took your name out of the investigation. Look, I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay with me.”

  “No, I don’t. I want to.”

  “Good. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

  Mack kissed Sammi’s forehead and held the door open for her. He pointed out how to get back down to the main lobby then headed in the direction of Hobbs’ office. Sammi met up with Officer Palma by the front door of the precinct and he led the way outside to his patrol car.

  There was silence in the car on the way to Sammi’s old apartment. Officer Palma wasn’t entirely familiar with the situation he had been thrown into and Sammi wasn’t up for sharing with yet another stranger. She almost wished Hobbs had allowed Mack to bring her to get her things, but she also felt safer being with someone so detached from the storyline.

  As Palma parked the patrol car in front of the all-too-familiar apartment building, Sammi became nauseous with anxiety. She almost died in this place and the man responsible could be waiting inside to finish the job. Before she could change her mind about even wanting her belongings, Palma was out of the car and had opened the passenger door for her.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll clear the location before letting you in,” Palma said after watching Sammi’s hesitation.

  “Thanks,” Sammi replied quietly with her head down, still uncomfortably aware of how bad her neck looked.

  Sammi followed the armed officer up to the fourth floor of the building and waited outside of her own apartment while he went in first to secure the scene. Part of Sammi already knew that Eli wasn’t there. She didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to go to the hideout, but he would have to be even stupider to stick around the city.

  “It’s all clear,” Palma told Sammi, rejoining her in the hallway a few minutes later. “You can take as long as you need.”

  “Thanks. I won’t be long,” Sammi replied, looking at the floor as she let herself into the setting of her second worst nightmare.

  The apartment was quieter to Sammi than ever before. Emptiness engulfed her and the feeling that this wasn’t her home anymore was overwhelming. She let herself be sad as she filled one storage bin with clothes and a few trinkets. On her way out, she saw her favorite black travel mug on the edge of the kitchen counter where she had left it still holding her favorite energy drink.

  In that moment of intense vulnerability, an unexplainable feeling came over Sammi that made her care more about that mug than anything else in the apartment. She gently placed her box of belongings on the kitchen table without even looking away from the mug and quickly crossed the kitchen to it. She picked up the plain and boring object and twisted off the lid. Holding it as if it were the most valuable thing she had ever owned, she poured the stale vice it contained down the drain and scrubbed it clean.

  Back in the patrol car, still clutching the black mug, Sammi asked Officer Palma if he had any stickers or tape on hand. Without questioning, he handed her an NYPD logo sticker from the pocket in his car door that they usually handed out to children. Sammi immediately removed the backing and placed it neatly on her travel mug, marking this abrupt shift in her life.

  “So where am I taking you?” Palma asked as he started the car.

  “Mack Johnson is expecting me,” Sammi nervously told him.

  “So, you’re the reason he spent the night at the precinct?” Palma replied.

  “Well, he was already on call anyway.”

  “No, he wasn’t. He’s stuck riding the desk until his leg is fully healed.”

  Sammi smiled to herself, knowing that Mack had lied to make her feel better. A short while later, Officer Palma parked the patrol car in front of Mack’s apartment building and Sammi got out with her one sad, little box of belongings. She took a deep breath and headed for the door.

  “Hey!” Officer Palma called through the open window of the passenger door. Sammi stopped and turned to face him. “Johnson is an asshole of a cop, but he is one of the good guys.”

  After Palma drove off, Sammi headed into the massive building. As soon as she reached the lobby, Mack came out of one of the elevators and they immediately made eye contact. Mack hurried over to Sammi and took the actually-not-so-heavy box from her.

  “Perfect timing,” Mack said, smiling at Sammi. Overwhelmed, Sammi just nodded and followed Mack back over to the elevators and up to his apartment.

  Once in the apartment, Mack showed Sammi to an extra bedroom then gave her some time to make herself feel comfortable while he went downstairs to make dinner. Sammi took a whole four minutes to put her things away and then sat on the bed to finally appreciate some time alone. As her thoughts wandered to what used to be her team, she decided she had to call her best friend, wondering why Kodi hadn’t reached out to her first.

  Kodi was three bottles of Patrón deep when her phone rang. Too inconsolable to talk to anybody, she threw the phone across the dark bedroom. She cradled the tequila bottle in her lap as she pulled her sweatpants-clad knees to her chest. More tears rolled down her pretty porcelain face.

  Earlier that day, Kodi had been visited by Howard who informed her that Eli and Sammi had gotten into a fight and that Sammi had suffered injuries she didn’t recover from. Howard was visibly upset by the incident and let it slip that Shay didn’t want Kodi knowing about it. Clearly not accepted by that half of the team, Kodi asked Howard to leave so she could mourn the loss of her best friend and the only person she had had left in the world.

  Kodi brought the bottle to her lips for one more swig before the liquor finally took over and helped her drift into unconsciousness. She wasn’t aware of this blackout, but she would’ve opted to remain there if she could.

  Hours later, Kodi woke up with the neck of the empty bottle still gripped in her left hand. Sunlight was pouring in through her window, momentarily blinding her and bringing attention to the throbbing pain in her skull. She groaned as she struggled to roll off the bed and immediately vomited on the floor.

  Needing water—and ibuprofen, if she could find any—Kodi stumbled toward the door of the bedroom. As she reached the door, she stepped on something with her bare foot. She stopped and looked down to see her cellphone lying there so she picked it up to check her messages while proceeding to the kitchen.


  There was only one new message so Kodi placed her phone on speaker and tossed it on to the counter while she got herself a glass of water.

  “Hey, Kodi, I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner, but things are just now settling down. If you need me, I’m staying with Detective Johnson. I’ll tell you all about that when I see you next. Please call me back when you can. I need my oldest friend right now.”

  Kodi dropped the cup in her hand, causing water, ice, and broken glass to hydroplane across her kitchen floor. She snatched her phone up off the counter and doublechecked the date and time that message came in. Confirming it was less than twelve hours old, she darted back into her bedroom, stepping on shards of glassware with her bare feet. She threw on a sweatshirt over her tank top and stuffed her bleeding feet into a pair of sneakers before rushing out of the apartment.

  *

  When Kodi didn’t answer her call, Sammi calmly placed her phone on the bedside table and leaned back against the pillows on her bed. She wondered what Kodi could be up to and imagined her at a bar talking to her own version of Mack Johnson. Lost in this daydream, Sammi sank deeper into her pillows and her eyelids got heavy. She didn’t know she had fallen asleep until Mack was gently shaking her shoulder to wake her up and tell her that dinner was ready.

  The two sat at the kitchen island for dinner just as they had only a few nights prior. Sammi was distracted while they ate and kept checking her phone, hoping to at least get a text message back from Kodi. Mack was understanding and offered to take her by Kodi’s place the next day if she still hadn’t heard from her.

  “Why are you so kind to me?” Sammi blurted out after she and Mack had finished eating dinner.

  “I already told you. I like you,” Mack responded quickly but without looking at her.

  “Yeah, but no one has ever genuinely cared like this,” Sammi said quietly, looking down at her hands.

  “Hey,” Mack suddenly changed his tune and turned to face Sammi, “just because Eli was a scumbag doesn’t mean you deserved to be treated that way.”

  An incredible urge came over Sammi. Before she could change her mind, she leaned forward, placed a hand on the side of Mack’s face, and softly brought her lips to his. Mack kissed her back without hesitation, but he was the first to pull away.

  Mack jumped up from his seat at the island and hurriedly cleared their dirty dishes from the counter. Sammi was still sleepy from her brief nap, but she didn’t want to abandon this moment with Mack, especially if it meant leaving things awkward after their first kiss. She feared that they would be right back at square one in the morning if they couldn’t get past this discomfort.

  “You look exhausted,” Mack said in a caring tone after cleaning up. “Ready to take the rest of your meds and go to bed?”

  “Do I have to?” Sammi asked.

  “You don’t have to do anything. Want to watch a movie?”

  Sammi nodded and Mack motioned in the direction of the couch where she made herself comfortable while Mack chose a movie. When Mack joined her on the sofa, he sat at the opposite end and Sammi couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She had already made a first move but Mack was being so respectful that it was painful.

  Twenty minutes into the movie that neither of them were paying attention to, Sammi was struggling to keep her eyes open again. She was half asleep until she heard Mack chuckling and quickly opened her eyes to glare at him. Mack was looking at her with adoration in his eyes and warmth in his smile.

  “You should probably go to bed,” Mack said with another chuckle.

  “But I want to spend time with you,” Sammi replied bluntly, through a yawn.

  “Then we’ll make a deal. If you take your meds, we can go watch TV in my room.”

  “But I’m going to fall asleep on you.”

  “That’s the point, silly.” Mack stood up and kissed Sammi’s forehead. “Meet you there in ten minutes.”

  Sammi followed Mack upstairs and they each went into their separate bedrooms. Thinking only about sleep at that moment, Sammi eagerly changed into a pair of sweatpants, removed her bra, and put on a baggy black t-shirt. These sudden strenuous movements made her realize how sore her side was, so she grabbed her prescription bottles and her travel mug off the nightstand and headed back downstairs. She got some water and sat down at the island, taking her time. After taking her medications, she tucked everything in the back of the counter next to the refrigerator and made her way slowly upstairs.

  Mack’s bedroom door was open when Sammi made it back upstairs, but she hesitated outside. She could feel the anxiety of the unknown in her chest but couldn’t figure out why she cared so much. Her attitude toward men had always been one of disgust and disappointment, she never felt like she had to work to impress a man before Mack.

  Taking a deep breath, Sammi entered Mack’s room. Mack was standing in front of the large television and playing with the remote to find a movie. He was wearing just a pair of grey sweatpants and Sammi’s anxiety tripled at the sight of him and his smooth, shirtless body. Without even turning around, he told her to go ahead and make herself comfortable.

  “How does he do that?” Sammi whispered almost inaudibly to herself.

  Feeling out of place, Sammi sat on the bed on top of the blankets, closer to the door. Mack finished with the TV and walked over to the same side of the bed. He asked Sammi to scoot over and slid under the blankets next to her. Sammi scooted to the other side of the bed and lay down, pulling the blankets over herself. Mack hooked an arm around her waist, careful not to bump her injury, and pulled her against his warm body. She tucked her head under his chin and rested it on his chest.

  “Are you comfortable?” Mack whispered. Sammi only mumbled in response, already more asleep than she was awake.

  Chapter Seven

  Kiss & Tell

  Sammi woke up the next morning to find Mack already awake and quietly watching her sleep. She was still in his arms, so she tilted her head up and kissed the side of his face. Mack smiled and rolled all of his weight to one arm, so he was holding himself up over top of Sammi. Then his lips were on hers as he ran his free hand up her back underneath her shirt. Sammi kissed him back, holding onto his perfectly toned waistline.

  The two new lovebirds lost track of time and kissed for nearly an hour before finally making their way downstairs for breakfast. Sammi was late for taking her medications and she could feel the scratchy, burning pain growing in her throat. She quickly swallowed the meds with an entire glass of ice-cold water, hoping the pain would subside by the time Mack finished cooking their omelets.

  “So, uh, what do you do for work?” Mack asked cautiously over breakfast.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Sammi scoffed. “I’m a thief.” She put down her fork and turned to look at the cop sitting next to her, challenging him to question her.

  “Right…” Mack avoided eye contact by staring intently at his plate of almost untouched omelet.

  “Look, I don’t need to steal anymore; I’m pretty set on money and could get a little, menial job if it makes you feel better. But I am a thief and if my past bothers you, I can leave. I don’t want you to have to live with the guilt of my poor choices.”

  “I’m sick of being called a hero but never getting what I want. You’re the first thing I’ve wanted in quite some time. I want you to stay.” Mack finally looked at Sammi with adoration in his eyes.

  “Then I’m all yours,” Sammi responded with the warmest smile Mack had ever seen.

  Mack leaned in and gently placed his right hand on the side of Sammi’s soft face. Sammi flinched and Mack immediately pulled away with a look of confusion mixed with concern upon his face. Before he could ask her what was wrong, her cellphone started ringing and she leapt up out of her seat to answer it.

  *

  Thirty minutes after rushing out of her apartment on the other side of the city, a mess of a beautiful blonde put all her strength behind her fist as she pounded on an apartment door in an ominous
ly dark hallway. The door flew open and Kodi almost fell forward into the familiar apartment but caught herself on the doorframe.

  Howard and Shay stepped back from the door and took in the sight in front of them. Kodi had mascara and eyeliner streaks halfway down her face. Her long blonde hair, which appeared to have once been held up in a bun, hung chaotically from a loose scrunchie on the back of her head. And there was blood seeping slowly through her all-white sneakers.

  “Oh, my God, are you okay?” Shay asked, focusing on the almost unnoticeable bloody shoe prints. But Kodi wasn’t acknowledging her and, instead, wouldn’t break eye contact with Howard.

  “Why did you tell me she was dead?!” Kodi shrieked as she lunged for Howard. She grabbed him by the shirt and clung to him as she put her face directly in front of his.

  Shay hurried over and peeled the broken girl off of her boyfriend then stood between them, trying to figure out what was going on. She and Howard had been moments away from leaving to join Eli at their hideout and their packed bags were on the floor behind Howard. And as far as Shay knew, Kodi wasn’t supposed to know about any of this.

  “What are you talking about?!” Howard yelled back at Kodi, assuming she had gone crazy with grief.

  “You came into my home and you told me that my best friend was dead! Why? Were you hoping I would just kill myself so you wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore?” Kodi was screaming and still trying to get at Howard but Shay was blocking for him.

  “Kodi, I’m sorry, but Sammi is dead. Eli was there and would know better than any of us,” Shay remained calm as she attempted to talk Kodi down.

  “I don’t know what Eli told you, but I do know that you’re trying to cover something up for him.” Kodi was quieter now, but there was fury in her eyes. Then she saw the luggage on the floor. “You’re going to see him, aren’t you?”