by J. L. Drake
His lips dove down and smothered mine. I couldn’t think; I could barely stand. I hadn’t had anyone speak to me like that before. So many emotions were surfacing. All I could do was hold on until my legs grew weak and I began to sink. He scooped me up and placed me in bed. He carefully helped remove my dress, leaving me in my bra and panties.
He removed his clothes, everything but his black briefs, and crawled in next to me. His hot body was heaven next to mine.
“I want to feel you against me.”
His smooth chest moved to my back, and he wrapped me in his strong arms and breathed me in.
“Perfect,” he muttered before his lips touched the nape of my neck. “Just perfect.”
That was all I remembered before I passed out in a web of wonderful warmth.
***
Mark
What? The hell? What the hell is that smell? I was exhausted but somehow found the will to open my eyes and found a set of bright blue ones staring back at me.
Oh shit!
My mind raced back to last night. Nope, no dogs were present.
One moment he was staring at me, and the next his big pink tongue licked from my chin to my hair.
“Morning…” His green tag dangled in my face. I smirked at the South Park reference. “Butters.”
Butters had somehow jammed himself in between me and Mia. Great, a fuzzy cock blocker. His face tipped to one side like he was wondering why the hell I was in his bed. I rubbed his soft fur.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Mark.” He licked my hand and groaned as he settled back down.
My phone buzzed in my pants, and I mimicked his groan.
“Butters,” I whispered, “go get my phone.”
He yawned and laid his head on Mia’s shoulder.
“I don’t blame you.” I tossed the covers aside and scrambled around until I freed the phone.
Really?
“This better be good, Cole,” I hissed as I moved toward the kitchen.
“You need to come home.”
“Why?”
Silence.
“Cole?”
“He wants to talk to you.”
“Who?”
Then it hit me. Anger burned through my veins, which in turn made me hurt to be in my own skin. Not again. I glanced at Mia, who was now wearing a Butters fur scarf.
“How much time do I have?”
“None. I’m downstairs.” Cole hung up.
Fuck!
I hurried back to the bedroom and dropped to the floor to be eye level with her.
“Mia?” I shook her shoulder. Her eyes opened, but I could tell she wasn’t there. “I need to go.”
“Ah-huh,” she groaned.
I grabbed my clothes and wrote her a quick note.
Welcome to my life. Mark.
With that, I left.
No one said a word as we drove to the helipad, flew to Shadows, and hurried down to the house.
Cole motioned for me to follow him into his office as Savannah raced to go find Olivia.
“Here’s the email.” He handed it to me. “I guess it came through the day before yesterday.”
Quickly scanning the words, I felt that familiar rock land right in the center of my stomach. I used to have it lodged in my gut all the time when I was a child.
Mark,
I am in trouble. If you don’t respond soon, I will have to find you myself.
Manuel.
“Okay.” I shrugged. I didn’t want to deal with this in the least. “I say we ignore it.”
“He’s already contacted Frank.”
“What?” I shot out of my chair. “How?”
“He’s got connections. You know that.”
“Damn!” My fist pounded his desk. “I can’t deal. I won’t fall into this pit again, Cole.”
Cole leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. “I’ll get Frank here, and we’ll discuss this further.”
“Every goddamn time!” I clawed at the roots of my hair. I hated this. “I need to run or something, work out this shit.” I left the room. Halfway down the hall, I ran into Savannah.
“Hey, Uncle Mark.” She held Olivia up to see me. “She missed you. So did you ever find out who Keith’s date was at my wedding?”
In one swoop, that little spitfire was in my arms for a snuggle. She smiled and blew me a spit bubble. “Nope, Uncle Keith doesn’t do personal stuff.” I puffed my cheeks out and made my eyes wide—a face she loved to bat at. “You are one lucky little girl, Livy.” Savannah’s face fell.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No,” I said through a smile. I rubbed my nose over Livy’s as she open-mouth drooled onto my chest.
“You know, I really hate it when you guys keep things from me.” Her chin rose, and I knew she had her back up.
“Same old crap, different day.” I gave her a wink, but I could tell she was upset.
“Is that so?” She brushed by me and swung open the office door.
“Hey, babe.”
“Don’t babe me. What is going on with Mark?” She planted her hands on her hips. I came up behind her. Livy started to wiggle when she saw her daddy.
Cole took two pills before he stood. “Manuel is looking for him.”
Savannah whirled around to look at me, and her hands covered her mouth.
“There’s my girl.” Cole took Livy and kissed her tuft of hair. “Daddy missed you.”
“Mark,” Savannah touched my shoulder, “what do you think he wants?”
I shook my head. “My guess is he got himself in trouble again.”
“But he’s a police officer. Can’t he get someone else to fix his messes?”
“Why would he risk his job, when he has me?” I smiled at her. “Look, don’t worry, Savi. I can handle him.” I ran my tongue along my teeth. My mouth felt dry. “I do need to go burn off some steam, though.”
“Mario is here.” Savanah made a face when she realized what she just said.
“And how would you know that?” Cole’s tone didn’t match his expression. We all tried to keep the stress out of Livy’s life the best we could.
“In passing.” She made a guilty face.
“Mark, take the afternoon off,” Cole ordered, then turned to Savannah. “I think Mommy and I need to talk, little one. Uncle Mark will take you to Abigail for a bit.”
Livy and I hurried out of the room before their fight and make-up session got in full swing. “Who knows, Livy, they might give you a little brother if Mommy keeps getting caught in that boxing ring.” She gave me a gummy smile and laughed when she pulled at the collar of my sweater.
“You’re home!” Abigail wrapped me in her arms and gave me one of her loving hugs. Livy pulled at her hair and screamed in delight. Little crap. “I have dinner on, but there is a quiche in the fridge, and Savannah made cookies before she joined you at the hospital.”
Placing Livy in her bouncy chair, I sank onto the stool and leaned over the island.
“Problem, honey?”
“He wants to see me,” I whispered.
She started to pour me some milk. “Who?”
When I didn’t answer, she froze, and the milk poured over the rim of the glass and flowed across the counter top. I reached out and took the carton from her.
“Waa...” She cleared her throat. “Why does he want to see you?”
“Not sure.”
She sank onto the seat next to me. “Okay, okay, we will deal with this. Just like last time.”
My head hit the counter and I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Why don’t you go get some sleep?”
“Yeah.” I peeled my tired body off the stool and headed upstairs, where I passed out until morning.
I threw myself into early morning training, working harder than normal. If my muscles weren’t screaming at me, Manuel was. That’s how I spent the next twelve days.
Work out.
Eat a ton of carbs.
Sleep.
&nbs
p; Repeat.
***
Manuel
The man in front of me at the bank had the worst smell. I tried to occupy myself by identifying the stench. It was like a homeless man covered in tomato sauce after being sprayed by a skunk. I wasn’t the only one affected by his odor. The lady behind me kept clearing her throat and looking pointedly at him.
I glanced down at the paper in my hand. We just arrested an idiot for filing a false complaint against a customer who pissed him off at the corner market. I decided to help myself to his checkbook since I was in need of some fast cash, and because he had pissed me off.
“Next,” the clerk said from behind the glass. The piece of human trash moved away, and I was finally able to take a deep breath of fresh air.
I watched as the tellers counted, gave out, and received different amounts of money. It made me giddy seeing all that cash transferring hands. Maybe I needed to think about robbing a bank.
I cashed the check I had made out for five hundred and followed the offensively stinking man to the parking lot. I waited until he was behind a truck before I pulled out my badge.
“Money, now,” I demanded with my hand resting on my weapon.
“What?”
“Give me your money.” I said it slower so he wouldn’t question me again. I hated stupid people. Don’t allow time to think; that’s how you get yourself killed.
He carefully reached for his wallet, but then he leaped forward and charged at me. I elbowed him in the head, and he fell at my feet.
“Really?” I shook my head. “For Christ’s sake, take a damn bath. You smell like a fucking trash bin!” I spat at him as I plucked the cash from his wallet. I dropped it by his head and hurried off, thinking he damn well deserved to be robbed.
***
Mark
Frank had been away the past few days, so I kept busy. Cole checked in often. I knew the house was worried about me, but I was fine as long as I stuck to my schedule. I craved another assignment to Mexico where I could let off some steam without getting into trouble.
My morning run up the mountain felt great, but nothing could shake the dread that stemmed from my past. We all had secrets, and mine were rooted deep. It didn’t help that Manuel was the only one there that day.
“Stop,” I muttered. “Don’t go there right now.”
I took a seat on a cool rock and looked over the lake and tried to clear my head. I munched on a protein bar and sipped my water. I thought about my life and how good it had been. Why did he have to show up again and ruin it? I needed a distraction.
Mark: Hi, things have been a bit rough around here. Just wanted to check in.
A few moments went by before it vibrated in my hand.
Mia: Crazy here too. Sorry I missed your last two calls. I’ve been thinking about you.
I felt the corner of my mouth tug upward.
Mark: So you miss me?
Mia: Kinda. Though I think I forget what you look like.
I smirked, then pulled a twelve-year-old girl move and took a selfie. I attached it to the text.
Mark: I want this mounted above your bed, in a brown frame to match my eyes.
Mia: Damn, you’ve bulked up. I may not recognize you the next time I see you.
A moment later, a picture came through of her in her blue scrubs in the nurse’s lounge. Her hair was swept up into a messy bun, and her smile made me beam…I was glad I was alone.
My phone alerted me to another text. I opened it to see what she had to say when my stomach dropped.
Cole: Frank, thirty minutes, conference room.
Mark: 10-4.
I switched back to Mia’s contact information.
Mark: Sorry, have to run. I’ll try to call you later.
Mia: No problem, be safe.
I tipped my water and let it flow down the back of my throat before I raced back down the hill with Mia on my mind. I really missed her.
“Wow, Lopez, you’ve been working out extra hard.” Frank took in my size. I had bulked up a bit, but I didn’t think it was that noticeable.
“Ha! Someone has to keep in shape around here. How are you, Frank?”
We all took our seats at the long wooden table while Savannah placed coffee and cookies in front of us. She gave my shoulder a squeeze before she left.
“Okay,” Frank opened a file and cut right to it like normal, “Manuel got hold of me two weeks ago looking for your number, Mark.” I shifted in my seat. “No worries, I didn’t give it to him, but I did pass along your email since I knew he already had it. When he didn’t hear back from you, he tried me again. Said it was a huge emergency.” He tossed a Post-It across the table. “Let’s give Officer Lopez a call and see what he wants.”
Cole gave me a nod, then brushed his finger over his lips—our code that he had my back, no matter what.
With a swipe to my jeans to clear the sweat from my hands, I dialed on the speakerphone. Three rings later, his voice barked over the line.
“Manuel!” he offered as a greeting.
“Been a while.”
A door shut on his end, and his footsteps echoed loudly.
“Took you long enough.”
“Been busy, Manuel.”
“How have you been?”
“Heard you’ve been harassing my commander. You have my attention now. What do you want?”
“Typical Marine, aren’t you? Nothing friendly, all business. Can’t take some time for me?”
My temper was about to show itself. “Three minutes.”
“Look, I—ah, got myself into a little trouble.”
“Shocking…”
“I’ve had to skim out of the evidence locker. A deal that went wrong.”
“Poker?”
“Yeah.”
Frank reached for a pen and started to write on a pad of paper.
How much?
“How much?”
“Fifty-five thousand.”
Fuck me!
I prepared to speak, but he cut me off.
“That was just the first time.” My eyes shut. “It became a bit of a problem. Anyway, I didn’t know the sergeant suspected something, and now they have me on tape.”
“And how am I supposed to help?”
“Mark,” his voice changed to the one I remembered from our dark days, “remember I saw everything. I helped you get out of there—you owe me.”
“It’s been twenty-four years, Manuel. You can’t just fuck up and expect me to clean up your messes. That cloud you hold over me covers you too.”
Manuel cleared his throat. “I have you on video.”
“All that could show is a traumatized little kid totally out of his mind. Not like they’re going to try me for it now.”
“Perhaps, but do you really want the truth getting out? Besides, you’re not the only one who has connections.”
“Then use yours.”
Frank warned me to relax.
“You making any more trips to North Dakota?”
Cole lunged forward and muted the line in time as I jumped out of my seat, yelling.
“I’ll fucking kill you if you touch her!”
“Okay,” Cole held up his hands, “this is a game changer, Mark.” He looked at Frank. “What do you suggest?”
“I don’t want to know who is in North Dakota. Tell him you’ll see what you can do just to buy us some time.”
I unmuted the line and took a deep breath. “Give me some time, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“There he is.” Manuel laughed, and my hand curled into a ball. “She’s very pretty.”
I lowered my head to the speaker and leveled out my voice. “If you touch her, kiss our arrangement goodbye.”
***
Mia
“Why don’t you plan a trip to visit, dear?”
“I don’t have the time to take off right now, Mom.” I paced a quiet room in the hospital.
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s true. I have pa
tients who need me.”
“Sweetheart, you’re a nurse, not a doctor. You can take a weekend off and visit your family. We miss you.” I pressed my head to the wall. “Ever since you moved to Minnesota, you haven’t visited us once. Maybe we should come there.”
“No.” I cut her off, hating that I lied to my parents about which job I actually took. “Look, I’ll see about getting a ticket to come out this weekend.”
“Splendid.”
Will Dad be there this weekend?
“Is Dad there?”
“No, sweetie, Dad is away right now. Some hunting thing. Lord knows with him. But if he knows you’re coming, you know he’ll work his time around you.”
My pager started to vibrate. “Hey, hold on a second, Mom.” I hit the button on my radio and spoke into the mic. “Go ahead.”
“Mia, we need your help with Kenny.”
“I’ll be right there.” I spoke back into the phone. “Mom—”
“I know, you have to go. Love you, Mia.”
“Love you too, Mom.” I raced down the hallway.
“Kenny!” Dr. Evans nearly shouted. “You need to calm down, and you need to take your medication.”
“Get out!” Kenny screamed through his tears. “Don’t fucking touch me!”
I wanted to run in the opposite direction. Kenny was getting worse. I hated that everyone was right. I was blinded by my love for the kid.
“Where’s Mia?” Nurse Taylor called out.
“We paged her!” another voice said.
My tears were already on the surface. How much longer could I do this?
“No, you have poison on your hands.” Kenny kicked the tray on the table, and I heard everything go flying. “Where’s my mom?”
Shit. I stepped around the corner and rushed to his side.
