by K. C. Lynn
“I get that but it isn’t our department. He needs to let arson do their job.”
“He said Roper is corrupt,” Jake says, wasting no time. “Is that true?”
Cap levels us with a thoughtful look before finally answering the question. “He’s been accused of hiding evidence before.”
“Then why the hell is he on this case?” Jake fires back.
“Because nothing was ever proven.”
“What do you think?” I speak, curious to know his take on it. “Is he guilty of the accusation?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. The case he was accused in involved a longtime friend of his, so it’s possible, I guess.”
“My father thought he was corrupt?” Jake asks, looking for confirmation on what the chief just said.
Cap nods. “He had his suspicions and it’s the only reason why I entertain the idea. Dale always had good intuition.”
Jake shakes his head. “This is fucked up.”
“Listen. Tensions are running high right now with this bastard on the loose but it’s not for you boys to worry about. Roper isn’t the only one working this case. Police have a hand in it too and so does Hamilton. We have to trust that justice will prevail. In the meantime, we keep doing our job while they do theirs. Understand?”
We all nod in agreement but I don’t miss the knowledge in Jake’s eyes. He’s not letting this go. Not by a long shot.
“Are you ever going to tell us what happened between the two of you?” Cam asks the one question that we all have at some point.
“Nope.”
We grunt, knowing it was a long shot.
“Now go on and get out of here,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder. “Go get some sleep.”
At the dismissal, we head to our lockers to grab our bags then leave for home. The entire drive to my house my mind spins with everything the chief revealed, my gut twisting into a giant knot as I think about how wrecked he looked. How lost in grief he still is.
It conjures up images from the night we lost Declan. The look on his face, the fear that washed over him seconds before the flames swallowed him right before my eyes.
The guilt at times is still overwhelming and it doesn’t help that the person responsible for it all is still out there. It has us all on edge as we wait for his next move, having no idea what destruction he will leave in his wake.
My morbid thoughts take a quick turn when I arrive home to find a familiar car parked in my driveway. Climbing out of my truck, shock renders me for all of a second when I see Zoey on my porch swing, swaying back and forth.
“Surprise,” she says, wearing my favorite smile. The dim light casts a glow that makes her look like the angel I know she is.
My angel.
I hang back by my truck, arm slung over the open door. “What did I do to deserve this?”
Standing to her feet, she walks to the end of the porch, looking quite proud of herself. “I left the bar early to see my sister and found out she had a great day so I decided to come spend the night with my favorite guy. I kinda forgot you were on the late shift,” she adds sheepishly.
“How long have you been waiting out here for?”
That slender shoulder lifts in a shrug. “An hour or two.”
“That long?” Remorse fills my chest, hating to know she’s been sitting here in the dark by herself.
She rests against the column, her pretty eyes holding mine in the dark. “Don’t you know I’d wait an eternity for you, Hawke?”
The soft confession puts me in motion. Slamming my truck door, I collect several long strides, closing the distance between us before taking her in my arms and holding her close. The feel of her against me eases the turmoil I was feeling minutes ago. “I’m so fucking glad you’re here.”
She senses the change in my voice, her head pulling back. “Hey”—her hand reaches up, fingers fanning my jaw—“everything okay?”
“It is now.” I don’t give her the chance to question me further. My mouth claims hers, dominating it in a desperate attempt to chase away the haunting images that I can’t seem to erase.
Her arms curl around my neck as she melts against me, breathy moans leaving her in a rush.
My hands slip to her tight ass, lifting her off her feet. She wraps her legs around my waist as I carry her inside, heading straight for the shower.
Her mouth is relentless as I lean over to turn on the water, lips trailing along my jaw before nipping my ear sharply.
Growling, I thrust us both under the spray, the water and my own primal need immersing us further into this pool of desire we constantly find ourselves in. I pull at her drenched tank top, ripping the straps from her shoulders before tugging it down and taking a pink nipple into my mouth.
A harsh whimper breaches her lips, back arching to offer me more.
“So fucking pretty,” I groan, moving to the other nipple, tongue lashing as I drink the hot water rushing down the firm mounds.
“Austin,” my name falls past her lips like a seductive melody. “Now. Please, I need you.”
The need drowning her desperate plea only fuels my own. I make quick work of the rest of our clothes then pin her against the wall, arranging her legs to hang in the crook of my arms before driving up inside of her.
Her cry of pleasure pierces the air, feeding the hunger raging within my blood.
“Goddamn, Zoey. I’ve missed you.” I drop my forehead onto her shoulder, losing myself in the feel of her. Between all the late shifts and her time at the hospital, it feels like an eternity since I’ve had her like this.
“Me too, so much.”
Steam blankets the air, thick and heavy, our bodies merging in a single effort to drive out every single thing around us. Nothing matters in this moment but this…us.
It doesn’t take long before we’re both propelled into mindless oblivion and it drowns out every haunting thought that plagued me earlier.
Afterward, I take to washing her body, cherishing every part of her before turning off the water and carrying her to my room.
Comfortable silence settles over us as we lie amongst the rumpled sheets of my bed, her body draped over mine while my fingers skim her slender spine.
Rolling onto her stomach, she props a fist on my chest, resting her chin on it as she pins me with those startling blue irises. “What was wrong earlier?”
I consider lying to her again, the last thing I want to do is bother her with shit that neither of us can change but know it would be pointless. She knows me too well.
“Just work stuff. Nothing you need to worry about.”
The answer doesn’t suffice, her disappointment reflecting back at me. “You’re always there for me, Austin, let me be here for you.”
A resigned breath escapes my chest, carrying the burden I feel with it. “I saw the chief tonight and it just brought back everything I’ve been trying to forget.”
“Declan?” she asks gently.
I nod, guilt searing my veins all over again. “Weeks have passed yet it feels like just yesterday he was just with us, fighting for the very thing he died for.”
She reaches out, touching my jaw in a comforting gesture. “I can imagine it’s hard to get used to.”
“Yeah. It’s not the same without him.” I swallow hard and tell her what haunts me most. “I’ve run that night through my head so many goddamn times, Zoey. Wondering what I could have done differently. He was just a rookie for christ’s sake…too eager maybe but he didn’t deserve to die.”
“Of course he didn’t, but you have to know that’s not on you, Austin. His death is not your fault.”
It’s something I’ve tried telling myself time and time again but being his lieutenant it was my job to watch out for him and no matter which way I spin it, I failed. It’s something I’m not sure I will ever be able to forgive myself for.
“Are the police any closer to catching the arsonist?”
“No.” Frustration burns inside of me as I think about just h
ow far they are from catching the bastard. “These fires are unlike anything I’ve ever encountered, there’s no telling what this asshole will do next.”
Silence settles over us with the heavy moment, my gaze on the ceiling as I fight off the images trying to pull me under again.
“Promise me something,” she whispers, fear suddenly edging her voice.
My eyes revert back to hers. “Anything.”
“Promise me that you’ll always be careful, that you’ll always come back to me,” the words are choked out, emotion bleeding within them.
“Always.” My hand cups her cheek, the concern in her eyes tearing apart my chest. “It’d take a lot more than a fire to keep me away, Zoey girl. I’d walk through the raging depths of hell to come back to you.”
A smile tugs at her pretty pink lips, easing the worry that gripped her face moments ago. “You always say the most perfect things.”
Stretching up, she presses her lips to mine. My fingers curl around her neck as I deepen the kiss, claiming what I will never allow another to have.
What will always ever be mine.
Only when I sense her need for her air do I pull back, my thumb brushing her swollen lips. “Sleep, Zoey girl, and know I’ll always be right here waiting for you.”
She rests her head back on my chest, wrapping her body around mine. “I love you,” the words drift through the dark room on the softest whisper but the impact they hold is deafening.
“I love you, too.”
It isn’t long until I hear her breathing even out, the rhythmic sound driving out any lingering turmoil, bringing me the peace I had been searching for.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Zoey
A long, exhausted breath escapes me as I click the lock in place on the bar door and flip the sign to closed. “What a night,” I sigh, walking toward Frank while he shuts off the remaining lights.
“Damn right it was but look at it this way, we made bank.”
I smile, pleased with the number I saw after cash out. “Trust me, I’m not complaining. I’ll take sore feet any day for the money we pulled in tonight.”
It couldn’t have come at a better time because the hospital bill this month was much higher than usual with all the new medication we have been trying for Chrissy. It’s been financially draining but thankfully the newest one seems to be working so far. Let’s hope it stays that way. I’m ready to get her out of there and start building our life together.
Frank slings an arm around my shoulders as we head out the back door, walking me to my car like he does whenever Austin isn’t here. “You headed to go see that man of yours now?”
I can’t deny the way my heart leaps to hear him call Austin mine. “Not tonight. He’s been pulling some overtime lately so I’m going to let him get some sleep and stay with Chrissy again.”
Though, I’m tempted to stop by his place in the morning and surprise him with another session like I did yesterday. Thanks to the key he gave me last week, I caught him while he was in the shower and it was the most unforgettable experience of my life. My body comes alive just thinking about it.
“You tell that sweet girl I said hi.”
“Will do.” After a kiss to his cheek, I hop in my car and drive away. My gaze drifts to the clock to see it’s half past two and it only has my eyes growing heavier.
Lowering my window, I crank my music as loud as it can go, blaring it all the way to the hospital to keep me awake. It does the job.
Just as I pull into a spot at the hospital, it begins raining, big fat drops falling heavy and hard. I rush inside the building, shaking myself dry before walking into the elevator and heading up to the third floor like I do every time I visit.
Some days this is so routine I feel like I’m stuck in that movie Groundhog Day. Where Bill Murray’s character wakes up every morning only to keep living the same day he did before. As tiring as it can be, I know it won’t always be like this. One day Chrissy and I will be living together again, hopefully sooner rather than later.
As the thought filters through my mind, an image of Austin’s house pops into my head, the three of us having the life I’ve always dreamed about. The hope that inflates my heart is undeniable.
When the elevator pings with my arrival, I step out with a wistful smile only to come to a hard stop at the nurses’ station when I see them all gathered together, tears of sorrow streaming down their faces. I immediately know something has happened to one of the patients.
“Dina?” I call her name gently, finding her amongst the crowd as I walk closer.
Everyone’s eyes swing to me and the moment Dina’s gaze meets mine, it stops me in my tracks again. The way she looks at me with such devastation has my heart plummeting straight to my stomach.
It’s not just a patient.
A terrified breath traps in the confines of my chest, thundering in my ears as I feel the walls around me closing in.
She starts toward me, slowly and regretfully.
“No.” I retreat from her approach, dread weighing every step as I try to turn back time, to walk back out of here and change the last several seconds.
“Zoey,” she cries, continuing forward. “Please stop.”
I shake my head, bracing my hands out in front of me to keep her from getting any closer. “Stay back.” The words are choked out, my breathing coming out short and fast. “Please, stop.”
“We tried to call you a few minutes ago,” she says, emotion thick in her voice. “She went into cardiac arrest, we did all we could do, but we couldn’t re—”
“Shut up!” I yell, a sob falling with it. “Just shut up!” Unable to bear hearing another word, I take the stairs, refusing to wait for the elevator.
My legs are quick, strides lost in motion as I flee from the hospital and out into the rainy night. I pass my car in a blur of movement, my tennis shoes eating up the concrete as darkness threatens to close in.
It’s like a nightmare speeding through me, colliding on a dark, deserted highway. I run so hard and so fast that there’s no sense of time—no sense of reality, because what awaits me is unthinkable—unfathomable.
It can’t be true.
“Lo-ve y-ou, Do-o-ey.”
The last words she spoke to me emerge, sending me to my knees in the desolate streets. My head drops back on my shoulders, a sob of agony exploding past my lips. The sound of my pain pierces the night as I will the rain to wash away the brutal reality, but all it does is drown my soul in a black pool of despair, leaving me to die along with my sister.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Austin
The incessant chime of my cellphone yanks me from a deep sleep. Groaning, I roll over and feel across my nightstand, fumbling for the annoying device.
If it’s Cam bragging about the pussy he got tonight I’m going to kill him.
Once my fingers curl around it, I bring it to my ear, not bothering to look at the caller ID. “What?” I bark but it’s weak with exhaustion.
“Austin?”
The crying female voice has me bolting upright. “Who is this?” I pull the phone away, looking at the number but don’t recognize it.
“It’s Sam.”
“Sam?” I repeat, trying to clear the fog from my mind. My eyes dart to the clock, seeing it’s the middle of the night and know this can’t be good. “What’s wrong?” Worry plagues me as I think about Jase, praying I’m not about to hear that something has happened to him. I can’t take losing another one.
“Is Zoey with you?” she asks.
A scowl forms on my face. “No. She’s with Chrissy. Why?”
Another sob fills the line, adding to the fear in my chest.
“Sam, what the hell is going on? You’re scaring the shit out of me.”
Jase comes on the line just then. “Austin, man. You need to find Zoey.”
“I just told Sam, she’s at the hospital with her sister.”
“No, she’s not.” His tone has lead settling in my gut. “Sam just g
ot a call from the hospital. She’s one of the emergency contacts on Chrissy’s medical form. She”—he pauses, his hard swallow audible—“she’s gone, man. She passed away earlier tonight.”
Grief slams into me, fisting the organ in my chest. “No.” I shake my head, refusing to believe it. “That’s not possible. I just saw her this morning. You must have heard wrong.”
“I’m sorry. Sam just got the call from the head nurse. Apparently, Zoey ran out of there. She wouldn’t even hear what happened and no one can get a hold of her.”
Desperation has me bolting from the bed and throwing my jeans on in a hurry.
“You still there?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m here.” I can barely manage the words through my restricted throat. “I’m on my way out. I’ll call or text when I find her.”
“Sam and I will be on the next flight out. We’ll see you soon.”
I hang up, unable to say one more word through the despair suffocating me. It’s storming as I run out to my truck, lightning charging the gloomy sky. I peel out of my long driveway, tires spinning on the wet gravel as my wipers fight through the heavy rainfall. I relentlessly call Zoey’s cellphone only to get no answer like everyone else.
“Fuck!” I slam my fist into the dash, fighting the burn in my chest and eyes as I try to grasp the devastating reality I’ve just been told.
A beautiful, young girl gone. A girl I didn’t know long but affected me as strongly as her sister did. I grind my teeth against the pain and know it pales in comparison to what Zoey must be going through right now. The thought only amps up my concern to find her.
The first place I check is her apartment but find her car isn’t there. Regardless, I jump from the truck, leaving it running, and ring her buzzer a few times just to be sure. When I’m greeted with silence, I drive to the bar next only to find all the lights off.
Fear collides with misery as I wonder where the hell she could be. Having no other choice, I head to the hospital to see if I can retrace her steps. Relief fills my chest when I find her car parked on the street.
