The Missing Pieces

by H. S. Strickland

  “Because you are the only one that can identify the man who shot your parents. I’m really sorry baby girl. I wish I could do something more to help you.” He shook his head solemnly.

  “What’s going to happen to me?” I squeaked out. Surely they wouldn’t put me back out in the streets to fend for myself until they had a lineup of guys for me to identify.

  “You’re going to be placed in a Witness Protection Program. You’ll have to stay hidden until we catch the killer, and figure out who he was working for. We have a good idea who called the hit, because we’ve been building a case against them for a while.”

  “Who do you think it is?” I mumbled, finally looking up at him.

  “A loan shark who works for a mob,” he said, gazing at me with tears in his eyes.

  He felt badly for me. Everyone did. I was the little girl with no family because they were shot right in front of her eyes.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sloane – Present Day

  I was lying in bed at Ryan’s house, feeling his warmth at my back. I didn’t want to move, but knew I had to. I needed to get up and get in contact with Zane to figure out if he had any new information for me regarding Ryan’s mother and ex-girlfriend. Zane had been keeping a good eye out on them, but so far had nothing new to inform me of.

  I was seriously getting frustrated with them. I could feel in my bones that they were up to no good, but they weren’t making any moves. We needed them to do something so the FBI could make their move. FBI wouldn’t move in based off a gut instinct. They relied on their instincts, but wouldn’t take the chance of screwing up an almost 20 year old case just for instincts.

  I unwound Ryan’s arm from my waist and slowly lifted the blankets off of me. I slid out of bed as quietly as I could and once I was up I turned back to look at Ryan. He was now lying on his stomach with both of his arms up and under his pillow. His back was bare because the blanket had fallen to his waist. The muscles in his back weren’t tensed, but I could see every dip and curve of his muscles. It turned me on thinking of how powerful he was. I liked knowing he was a take charge kind of guy. I was used to calling all the shots, and he had changed that. I wasn’t the one calling the shots anymore, he was.

  I had no intention of professing my love to him last night for fear of hurting him more when I left. But I couldn’t help it. My emotions were high, and hearing him tell me that he loved me made it easier to share my feelings as well.

  I went to the bathroom and did my business. I had finally gotten around to admitting I was basically living with Ryan, and he forced me to bring my toothbrush, hair and makeup products over. It was very rare for me to be seen at my house.

  I quietly tip-toed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I needed it to properly start the day, especially with a night like last night. I found my purse and pulled my iPhone out, noticing I had several missed calls from Zane. My brows bunched together, Zane wouldn’t call me this early unless it was something super important.

  I pushed the redial button, and shifted around nervously waiting for him to pick up. Four rings later he answered with a gruff, “What?”

  “Holy shit, I’m so glad you answered. I was worried. What’s going on?” I rushed out.

  Zane sighed and said, “Pretty sure I found out where they are keeping the drugs. Your girls were picked up from the mother’s house, and brought here. I stayed here, trying to get in touch with you. About an hour later they came out high as fuck.”

  Well at least now we had a location on something connecting them to the drugs.

  “Have you reported it to Boss yet?” I asked.

  “No. Wanted to wait until I got in contact with you so we could recon the area and see if we can get inside.”

  “Okay. Well go ahead and call Boss. I’m going to spend the day with Ryan and then tonight we can go. Sound good?”

  “You really like him don’t you?” Zane asked, emotions high in his voice.

  “I love him, Zane. Never loved someone like I do him,” I said, feeling my love for Ryan flow through me.

  “It’s nice to hear and see you happy again. Don’t think I’ve seen it since your parents were killed.”

  I bowed my head and sighed. I didn’t want to feel the pain that came with my parents’ death. I tried as hard as I could to block it out of my mind most times. Watching your parents be killed right in front of your eyes was hard. Feeling that loss every day since has been even harder.

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll see you tonight,” I whispered, and hung up the phone. I usually wouldn’t hang up the phone like that, but I couldn’t handle the rush of emotions that were brought on at the mention of my parents. It was too much.

  “You’re seeing who tonight?” Ryan boomed behind me, scaring the fuck out of me. I whirled around with my arms up in a defensive stance, ready for a fight.

  When it registered that it was only Ryan, I laid my arms down by my side and released a heavy breath. “Why are you always scaring me?” I almost yelled, relieved it was Ryan.

  “Why are you always prepared to kick my ass when I do scare you?” He countered, arms crossed over his bare, broad chest and a scowl marring his handsome face.

  “Uh, cause you scare me,” I said in a ‘duh’ tone, like he should have already known the answer to that question.

  “Now that’s out of the way will you answer my original question, this time with an answer and not a question?” He growled, clearly upset with my going out tonight.

  “Zane. He asked me to diner since he’s going to be leaving soon,” I told him flippantly, rounding him and the island to get my cup of coffee.

  I was stopped when a strong arm wrapped around my waist, halting my very important cup of Joe.

  “Ryan, I suggest you let me have my cup of coffee. You know how I am in the mornings without it,” I warned him.

  “Noted. I also suggest you tell me about your plans with another man before setting them in stone,” he whispered somewhere near my ear.

  I struggled to get out of Ryan’s hold, but he wasn’t letting me go. “Can I please just fix my coffee before we start this?”

  “You plan on starting something?”

  “No, but it seems you are,” I snapped.

  He let go of me and I exhaled, immediately moving to the steaming pot of black goodness. I fixed it how I liked it then turned back to Ryan who was still sporting a scowl.

  “I’m not starting something, but when my woman is on the phone in the wee hours of the morning saying ‘I’ll see you tonight’, I want to know about it. Don’t give a fuck if it is Zane or hell, Mace, I wanna know about it.” He strode to the island and leaned his butt against it, directly in front of me. I assumed it was so he could see my face.

  “I don’t need to tell you every move I’m making. You aren’t my father,” I replied snottily. It was a low blow and I knew it, but still stupidly used it.

  Ryan’s head jerked back and his jaw started ticking. I had officially pissed him off.

  “You in my bed every night?” He asked randomly.

  “Yes, but what–”

  “Your toothbrush in my bathroom?” He asked, again randomly.

  “Yes, what–”

  I was cut off again by Ryan’s words. “My cock in you at night?”

  “Yes!” I snapped. I was highly frustrated with being interrupted and where I thought he was taking this aggravated me further.

  “Then I’m pretty sure I’m not your fucking father, and I’m pretty sure I have a right to know where you are going. I didn’t ask you to ask for permission because I know that is not something you want or need in your life. All I asked was where you were going and who with. Now, sorry if I’m not some pansy ass that will be comfortable with you gallivanting all over with some guy.” He said, seemingly more upset than pissed.

  I let his words sink in, and felt like a total douche canoe. If he were to be going out with someone, I would want to know where he was and who he was with. Not
to suffocate him, but because I was a worry wart. On top of that, I have a mean jealous streak, so yes, if he were to be going to diner with a woman, even Araylia, I would be upset if he hadn’t talked to me about it before the plans were set. I knew he wanted to know I was okay. And whether or not he would admit it, he was also jealous. I knew my man.

  I set my mug of Joe down beside me, and walked to Ryan. I had to tip my head back the farther I went since he was much taller than me. When he realized my intentions he spread his legs for me and uncrossed his arms from his chest. I reached him, planted my hands on his chest and tipped my head back more. I felt his heart beat speed up the longer I sat there in silence, he was nervous as to what I was going to say. I felt the heat of his large hands fall on my hips and I relished the contact. He could touch me in the most chaste place, and I would still feel the warmth of it, still get hot from it.

  Only when he silently urged me to start talking did I. “I’m sorry. I know I need to start letting you in more, and try to be less independent. For years that is all I knew how to do. Since my parents’ death I learned that I was the only one who was going to take care of me. I knew a bunch of foster parents weren’t going to take care of me. They only wanted me for the check. When I finally realized that, I didn’t take to it very well. Before that I had always had a mom and dad who cared about me. Someone that truly loved me, not just because I was giving them extra money. It took a while, but it was finally drilled into my brain that I was the only one looking out for myself. That didn’t change until I met Zane. He looked out for me as much as possible. Took care of me when I didn’t have the will to do it myself. I was just preaching to you last night about protecting each other together, and I’m going to listen to my own advice for once. So, I’m sorry for being a douche bag just then.”

  Ryan didn’t say a word, but stared into my eyes for the longest time. I had begun shifting nervously when he burst into laughter. His whole body was shaking with his mirth, while I stood there completely confused.

  What the fuck?

  “Um, Ryan?” I mumbled.

  I was sure he hadn’t heard me over his own laughter until he looked at me, his eyes still dancing with humor and said, “You’re fucking adorable when trying to apologize.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I yelled, taking a step away from him although I did not get far. He snagged me around the waist and pulled me into his body once again. His shoulders were still jumping up and down from his chuckles, pissing me off more.

  I glared at him, waiting for him to take a look at me and realize he had pissed me off. When he calmed his laughter he glanced at me, and obviously couldn’t help it when he started cracking up again.

  “What in the hell is so funny!” I demanded.

  “You,” Ryan gasped out between his fits of laughter.

  I, again, gave him a confused look.

  “You realized that you called yourself a douche bag, right?” He asked.

  I face planted in his chest, not able to hold my head up any longer. I also couldn’t help the fit of laughter that burst out of me either. Watching Ryan laugh was amazing, and it was hard fighting the smile that wanted to break through. I finally gave up the fight, and laughed along with him. His hands shifted through my hair until he reached the nape of my neck and squeezed.

  “Love the sound of that,” he whispered, lips at my temple.

  “The sound of what?” I asked, the giggles stalling.

  “Sound of your laughter. It’s quite beautiful actually,” he murmured.

  I picked my head back up and gazed into his eyes. Every emotion he was feeling was flying through his eyes. I always knew to look into his eyes if I wanted to get a read on him. I raised my arms and stood on my toes to put them around his neck. My forehead hit his neck, and I kissed his pulse tenderly.

  Bringing my lips to his ear I whispered, “Love you honey.”

  His arms tightened around my waist, almost to the point of pain. “Love you, Killer.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ryan

  I kissed Sloane one more time before shutting the door and leaning against the wall, my head in my hands. I was so damn frustrated. I wasn’t sure what to do. I heard Sloane’s earlier conversation with Zane, and it confused the fuck out of me. Sloane had told me that she was going to dinner with Zane because he was leaving soon, but deep down in my gut I knew that wasn’t the truth. She had told Zane to go ahead and call Boss. I wanted to know who the fuck Boss was. I knew the only way I was going to get answers was to follow Sloane and figure out what the hell was going on. I didn’t want break Sloane’s trust though. I knew if she caught me following her it would completely ruin anything we had. Honestly though, was there any other way to get the answers I was dying for? No, there wasn’t another way.

  I knew from the moment I met Sloane that there was something she was hiding. I could tell by the look in her eyes. There was a wall up, and it hadn’t come down yet. Not once. I wanted to find out what was going on and finally put a piece of Sloane’s puzzle together.

  With my mind made up, I slid my shoes on, grabbed my keys and slammed the door shut on my way out.

  I pulled into a parking area that was deserted, except for Sloane and Zane’s cars. I parked far enough back that they wouldn’t notice me and shut off the truck. I surveyed the area, noticing nothing but a run down warehouse. The top of the warehouse had most of its windows busted out and it appeared that no lights were on.

  My eyebrows drew together in confusion. I wasn’t sure why they were here. It seemed as if this warehouse was vacant, so what were they doing here?

  I watched as Sloane and Zane got out of their veichles and walked around to the trunk of Zane’s. I was too far away to see what he was pulling out, but I swear I saw Zane pull out a gun and hand it to Sloane. She placed the gun in the back of her pants, and held her hand out for the next item Zane was ready to hand to her.

  I really should have brought binocluars with me.

  Sloane bent over and put her hair on the top of her head then grabbed something that was lying on tail of the trunk. She put it over her head and it dawned on me that it was a bulletproof vest. I felt my hands ball into tight fists in anger. What in the fuck was she doing that she needed a kevlar vest? Had she gotten herself into some kind of trouble that she couldn’t tell me about?

  Zane put on a vest and shut the trunk. They walked around to the front of the cars and put something in their ears then began walking toward the warehouse. I took my gun out of the glovebox and opened my door. I made sure the saftey was on then shoved the gun in the back of my pants. I wasn’t going to let Sloane walk in there without more backup.

  I shut the door quietly, and walked toward the warehouse. I had gotten ten feet from my car when I heard the click of a gun behind me. I whirled around, taking my gun out and aiming it. I never expected the face that was before me.

  “Mom?” I asked in an accusatory tone.

  “I suggest you put the gun down and come with us,” she told me.

  “Why the fuck are you here? What the fuck are you doing with a gun?” I asked instead of doing as she asked.

  “Ryan, I don’t want to have to hurt you. Please, put the gun down,” she pleaded with me.

  “I’m not putting my gun down, Ma. Why don’t you put your gun down? I really don’t think you know how to handle it.” I cajoled. It wasn’t a good idea to be rude to your mother when she was holding a gun to your head and probably high.

  “I’m not putting the fucking thing down! Listen to me Ryan!” She screamed.

  I held both of my hands up, showing her I wasn’t going to harm her. “I’m going to set my gun down now.” I bent one of my knees and lowered my right hand, with the gun, down to the ground.

  “Good. Now come with us,” she said, waving the gun towards a black van a few feet away from my truck.

  “Who’s us?” I asked, trying to stall for time. Hopefully Sloane and Zane would come out any minute.

  “Farrah an
d me, now get in the damn van. I will shoot you if I have to, Ryan.”

  I weighed my options and thought that going with her was best. Sloane would see my truck sitting here and call Mace. He would know what to do. I knew I had at least a hundred pounds on her, and a hell of a lot more height, but there was a gun in the mix and I didn’t want to take a chance on getting shot.

  I took tentative steps toward her, my hands still up, until we reached the van. My mother walked in front of me to open a side door then moved aside and shoved me in. I caught a glimpse of Farrah’s dingy blonde hair before I felt a stinging sensation in the back of my head and the lights went out.

  Sloane

  Zane and I walked out of the warehouse, completely confused. There was nothing in the old building, absolutely nothing.

  “Are you sure this is where they were?” I asked Zane.

  “I sat here all fucking day, so I think you know the answer to that,” he rumbled, clearly pissed off.

  There was something we were missing. Like Zane said, he was sitting here all day. Nothing could have come in or out without him noticing. Something was off here. I felt it in my gut when we first got here, and the feeling was just getting worse the longer we stood here.

  “Zane, call Boss and ask him to see who this warehouse is registered to. Something is seriously wrong here.” I ordered.

  He nodded and opened his door to get his cell. I leaned against the hood of my car and thought hard about what could have happened. They couldn’t have moved all the drugs that quickly, even if Zane hadn’t been sitting here. Moving a crack house would take longer than a day. Everything should have been in there. I glanced up, back down and then back up. My eyebrows snapped together.

  No, that couldn’t be.

  “Zane!” I yelled.

  He rushed out of his car and over to my side. He followed my eyes, and stopped on the same thing I did.

  “What the fuck?” He growled.

  My thoughts exactly, buddy.

  “I’m going to check it out,” I told him.

  “Hang on, I’ll go with you.”