The Missing Pieces

by H. S. Strickland

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I really wanted him to say no, but I also wanted him to say yes. I wanted him to say no because I needed to leave and meet Jeremy like now, but I wanted him to be able to open up to me as well.

  “Not right now. I think I’m going to go back to sleep. I’m not in the mood for anything as of right now.” He sighed and leaned back on the bed, closing his eyes.

  “Okay, if you’re sure,” I said, moving a few strands of hair that had fallen in his face.

  “I’m sure,” he mumbled.

  “Well do you mind if I go out for a little while?”

  “No, I don’t mind at all, Killer. Just keep your phone on so I can call.” He must have been really upset over the fight he had with Mary since he wasn’t even asking me where I was headed.

  I kissed him on the forehead and walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind me.

  I met up with Jeremy at our rendezvous point and immediately tensed up because of the grim look on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” I rushed out, and over to him.

  “You need to sit down,” he rumbled.

  “I don’t want to sit down; I want you to tell me what’s going on!” I demanded in a high-pitched tone.

  “Sit,” he demanded, pushing me towards his car.

  The air in my lungs had suddenly disappeared. I couldn’t breathe, and my vision was turning black. I started stumbling to Jeremy’s car, and he noticed I wasn’t breathing.

  “Take a deep breath in, girl,” he mumbled, picking me up and setting me down in the front seat of his car.

  I put my head between my knees and tried to take in as much oxygen as possible, but it was hard. I had a bad feeling about this, I knew something was wrong.

  “Just please tell me what’s going on,” I wheezed out.

  “Do you want to hear it from me or you want me to call Boss and let him explain?” Jeremy asked, crouching down in front of me.

  “You. I want to hear it from you,” I whispered as I looked at him in the eyes and felt a chill run down my spine.

  “Boss ran those pictures I asked him to. Those guys are connected to the guys who murdered your parents. They are in the same mob. One of them that was there was the loan shark that your father owed.”

  I felt all the color drain from my face, and my lungs were completely free of air. I couldn’t gulp any in. I felt like my entire world was falling apart again. What were the chances that the same people who murdered my parents and me, the same people that Ryan’s ex and mother were involved with?

  How was that possible?

  My entire life was falling to shreds again.

  That was the last thought I had before my world went dark.

  Chapter Nine

  Ryan

  “What the hell happened to her?” I roared to a guy I have never seen before.

  “She passed out. We were having lunch and chatting, and the next thing I know she’s passed out cold.” He rumbled.

  “Who the hell are you anyway?” I asked, pacing the tiny hospital room.

  After Sloane had left earlier, I had taken a nap. I didn’t want to examine my mother’s words anymore so I just shut my mind off and had fallen asleep. I woke to a shrilling sound and realized that it was my phone.

  I didn’t make it to the phone in time to answer, and noticed that I had several other missed calls and texts. One of the texts had said that Sloane was at the hospital and that I needed to get there. It was from an unknown number, but I flew out of bed and got to the hospital in record time. I had to lie to the front desk and tell them I was her husband so I could go back to her room.

  When I got to her room I noticed a guy sitting in the chair next to Sloane’s hospital bed. He had dark hair, and even darker eyes. I wanted to explode and beat the shit out of him, but I refrained because Sloane was in a hospital bed next to us.

  Which lead me to where we were.

  “My name is Jeremy. I’m an old friend of Sloane’s. I grew up around her,” he said looking down at Sloane and letting his guard slip to show his pain.

  “Why in the fuck hasn’t she told me about you before?” I growled.

  “Probably because she doesn’t like talking about her past much. After her parents died she closed herself off to the world, and hasn’t let anyone back in until you.”

  Sloane started making a groaning noise, and moved around a little. I rushed to her side and took her hand in mine. “It’s okay, Killer. I’m here.” I soothed her. I pushed the hair off her forehead.

  “Ryan?” She mumbled, finally opening her eyes and peeking at me.

  “Yeah, baby. It’s me.”

  “What happened?” She muttered.

  Jeremy butted in. “I told him how we were having lunch and you just passed out.”

  “Oh,” she frowned, “I forgot.”

  “It’s okay baby. As long as you’re okay.”

  The nurse fluttered in and checked on Sloane’s vitals and told us that the doctor would be in soon. After that we sat in uncomfortable silence. I was wondering about Jeremy and why she was having lunch with him without telling me about it. Sloane seemed uncomfortable with being in the hospital. Her eyes kept looking around, and she kept shifting in the bed.

  Finally the doctor came in and informed us that Sloane passed out from dehydration. He asked questions about the bruise on her eyes. We told him about the story of my ex punching her in the face. He asked if charges needed to be pressed, and Sloane told him no that it was okay.

  After he walked out of the room, Jeremy excused himself to go to the restroom.

  I immediately started asking questions. “Who is that guy?”

  “Who? Jeremy?” She asked for clarification.

  I nodded.

  “He’s a guy I grew up with. He didn’t live too far down the street from me,” she said, moving in the bed to get more comfortable.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were going out with him?” I growled. I didn’t like that she was out with another man, basically behind my back. Also, I was being a jealous ass. I had no idea who that guy was. For all I knew they could have been dating while they were growing up.

  “You had a lot going on. I figured I would just go out, eat lunch with him and come back home and let you know.”

  “You were just going to ‘come home and let me know’? Are you kidding me? You were out with another man!” I yelled. Running my fingers through my hair, I stood and started pacing the hospital floor again.

  “It’s not like you cared much. I asked if I could go out, and you didn’t even ask where I was going. Like I said, you had your own things going on and I wanted to let you work them out on your own!” She yelled back, then winced and grabbed her head.

  I rushed to her side and took her free hand in mine. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make your head worse.” I kissed her forehead lightly, and then sat back down in the chair that Jeremy had previously vacated.

  “I think I’m going to stay at my place tonight,” she mumbled, looking down at our intertwined fingers.

  “No, Killer. You don’t have to do that. I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated and stressed,” I whispered.

  “Yes I know you are, and that’s why I want to go back to my place. You need time to work shit out in your head, and so do I.” She let go of my hand, and turned her head in the opposite direction of me.

  “Baby, you don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, Ryan, I do.”

  “Okay.” I stood and kissed her forehead one last time before I walked out of the hospital.

  For some reason it felt like she was telling me good-bye. That this was the last of us. I couldn’t help but feel the dread seep in. There was something going on with her that she wasn’t telling me, and Jeremy had something to do with that.

  I pulled out my phone and dialed Callum’s number.

  “Yeah?” He answered on the third ring.

  “You still at the office?” I asked.

  “I was about
to leave, but what do you need?” He inquired.

  “Sloane fainted and ended up in the hospital. There was a guy with her, name’s Jeremy. I want you to find everything you can on him. I don’t know a last name; I just know he’s connected to Sloane’s past.”

  “Fuck, is Sloane okay?” He asked, his voice slightly panicked.

  “Yeah, man, she’s okay. She’s just dehydrated.”

  “Good. I’ll look up this Jeremy guy, but you know for me to find more information on him, I’m going to have to look into Sloane’s background right?” He hesitantly asked.

  I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to do an intensive background on Sloane, but I had no other choice. I needed to find out who he is, and why he was suddenly here. If I had to look into Sloane to do that, then so be it.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Just do it, and get back to me ask quickly as possible.”

  “Got it,” Callum said, and hung up the phone.

  I walked quickly to my car, and threw the car into reverse. I raced home, but noticed I had a tail on me. I couldn’t figure out who would put a tail on me, but I felt that it–once again–had something to do with Jeremy. He wasn’t who he said he was. There was something that he wasn’t telling Sloane, or something Sloane wasn’t telling me. And I was determined to figure out what that was.

  Sloane

  I had finally made it home, Jeremy in tow. I told him it wasn’t necessary to bring me home, but he insisted. The doctor gave me orders not to drive for a few hours, since I would be feeling sluggish.

  “Is there anything you need?” Jeremy rumbled, coming to stand in front of me where I was on the couch.

  “A glass of wine?” I asked, hopeful he would oblige.

  “Yeah, you’ve had a long day. Where are the glasses?” He asked, heading to the tiny ass kitchen I had.

  “Cabinet right above the dishwasher,” I replied.

  I heard him opening the cabinet, and then the fridge. He brought me a glass full of wine, and I was bringing it to my lips when my phone started ringing. I sighed; I couldn’t even take a sip of wine before being interrupted.

  I picked my phone up from the couch and answered, “Hello.”

  “Hey Sloane, how are you feeling?” Mace said. I was relieved to hear his voice, it was a welcome after the news that I had received earlier.

  “I’m okay, I’m just tired,” I sighed.

  “Well then, never mind. I don’t want to ask of anything if you’re tired,” he said. I could hear him move the mouth piece away from his mouth and mumbling to someone else, probably Ray.

  “No, it’s okay. What do you need?” I asked. I stood up and began pacing around my small living room. I was hoping he would ask me to come over or something. I really wanted to see him. The news I received earlier just hurt too much, and I knew he could help with that even though he didn’t know it.

  “I was going to ask if you could come over here and sit with Araylia, but if you’re tired don’t worry about it.” He said, distractedly.

  “Oh, I would love to come over. I’m feeling down and out of it, so it would be awesome to sit with Ray. But, why do you need me watching her?” I inquired, confused.

  “There is something I need to do at work, so I can’t be here with her and you know she is due to go into labor any day now. I would just feel more comfortable with someone here with her. You are one of the only people I trust with her and the baby’s safety,” Mace said. Tears sprang to my eyes at his statement of trust in me. I would never let anything happen to Ray and the baby, but his trust was misplaced. He trusted Sloane, not me. He didn’t even know who I was, and it killed me not to tell him. Every time I saw him I was reminded on the lies I had carefully constructed. There’d been a time when the truth yearned to come out, confessing to him that I was someone else and not Sloane. But I refrained because I was afraid he would hate me, for more reasons than one. If he knew my true identity he would have so many questions that only I could answer. He would be so pissed that I had been so close and had not given him those answers. Answers he deserved.

  “I would love to come over,” I told him, snapping out of my thoughts when I heard Araylia saying something in the background.

  “Great. Could you be over here in an hour? I’m sure nothing is going to happen so you and Araylia could probably just chat then go to sleep till I’m back home.”

  “That sounds like a plan, I’ll be over in an hour,” I murmured and hung the phone up.

  I put my head down between my legs and took a deep breath in…then let it out. I wasn’t sure I could keep pretending. It was too hard. If he were to find out the truth, he would hate me for not saying anything sooner. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if he hated me.

  I heard movement, then peeked through my legs and saw Jeremy’s legs bent at the knee. I leaned up just a little, and saw Jeremy’s concerned expression staring back at me.

  “What’s wrong?” He asked, softly.

  I shook my head in the negative. I wasn’t going to spill all my thoughts to him.

  “Don’t tell me no, tell me what is wrong,” he demanded, still softly, but it was a demand nonetheless.

  I once again shook my head, but stopped when Jeremy abruptly grabbed my cheeks.

  “Tell me what’s wrong.” This time it wasn’t spoken softly, it was commanding me to tell him what was wrong with me.

  “You know I don’t take well to commands unless it’s coming from Boss,” I told him weakly.

  “Guess what? I don’t give a shit. Tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours,” he told me.

  “I feel like I’m going to crack,” I whispered, dropping my head back down to my legs. I felt like if I admitted it, then it would happen. I would crack, and everyone would know the truth.

  “You mean letting everyone know who you really are?” He questioned.

  “Yes. And if I do crack and Mace find out, he’ll hate me for the rest of his life. I’m sure he has so many questions, and I know the answers to all of them. He’ll hate me for not telling him, and not giving him those answers.” My eyes began to water, blurring Jeremy who had sympathetic eyes for me.

  Jeremy took my cheeks in his hands again, and wiped the tears that had started to leak from my eyes. “He wouldn’t hate you, baby girl. He would just be hurt for a little while. He’s committed to his job, just like you and he would understand the reasoning behind what you are doing. I know if I were in Mace’s position, I would never hate you. I would love you even more for what you are doing.”

  I sniffled and wiped my snotty nose. “I’m sorry for unloading all this on you.” I gave him a weak smile.

  “No need to apologize. I’ve been here for you since I’ve known you and that’ll never change,” he mumbled and moved from his crouched position to the couch next to me.

  I nodded my head, acknowledging his support. “I need to get ready and leave.”

  “Where are you going?” He asked, confused.

  I realized that he hadn’t heard my conversation with Mace just a few minutes ago.

  “Mace called and asked if I would come over to sit with Araylia while he goes and does something. I agreed. It would be nice to have some girl time with Ray anyway.” I said, and jumped up off the couch, suddenly excited to get out of this house and have some girl time.

  “How in the hell are you getting there?” Jeremy rumbled.

  “Uh, with my car,” I looked at him like he had grown two heads.

  “Doctor told you not to drive,” he said, looking at me pointedly.

  “Jeremy, seriously? I’ll be fine. It’s not that far from here anyway,” I said, moving out of the living room and into my bedroom.

  I could hear him following me, and it frustrated me. I didn’t need a damn babysitter. I was fine. I had just passed out because of the shock of Jeremy’s words. Which I still needed to process.

  “I’m not going to agree with you driving, Sloane. The doctor told you not to,” he growled.

  “Well, what a
re you going to do? Huh? Drive me, because that would be a great plan.” I told him snottily.

  “I’ll follow you,” he said, hopefully.

  I mulled over the idea in my head. It wouldn’t be a bad idea. We had to make sure Mace didn’t see him though. I was sure he would recognize Jeremy almost instantly. He didn’t look much different than he did when we were kids.

  “Alright, but you have to make sure he doesn’t see you!” I told him, staring him down, trying to let him know how serious I was.

  He held his hands up in a defensive gesture and bobbed his head to agree with me.

  I grabbed some leggings out of my closet and went into the bathroom to change since Jeremy didn’t seem like he was moving from his spot on my bed. After I had my leggings on, I glanced in the mirror and almost screamed at my reflection. My face was red and blotchy and my eyes were puffy. I quickly found my concealer and dabbed a little under my eyes. I pulled out my stick of eyeliner and brushed it back and forth across my tear line. I stepped back and looked at myself in the mirror and was satisfied with my looks. I put my hair into a bun and stepped out of the bathroom.

  I heard a low whistle coming from the direction of Jeremy.

  “You like?” I asked, sarcastically.

  “You look good, Sloane,” he said genuinely.

  “Thank you,” I said softly.

  I went to my dresser to find a long sweater that I could wear. When I did find one, I looked to Jeremey and asked, “Do you mind turning around?”

  “Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he mumbled, but turning around.

  A while back, Jeremy and I had a thing. He wasn’t looking to get into a relationship because of the job we have, and I was looking for the same thing. I didn’t want to get into a relationship either and then have to leave for who knew how long. It wouldn’t have been fair to the guy I was with. Therefore, Jeremy and I had a purely sexual relationship. We both knew what we were getting into, so there was no way we could hurt each other. We had just wanted a way to release some tension.

  Eventually he was called out for duty so we had decided to end things. That was probably two or three years ago, and it has been platonic since it was ended. I didn’t think Ryan would have appreciated me hanging out with a guy I had had sex with while he was dealing with some family issues, so I hadn’t told him. I felt guilty about it, but I couldn’t tell him because he would start demanding things that I couldn’t tell him.