by Naomi West
“Hiya,” she said, trying to keep her voice casual.
“Hey. I was wondering if you could maybe help me out with something.”
For a second, she wondered if this was some cheap line. “Okay.” She prepared herself for the answer.
“I know you like to investigate things being a PI, and even though you might not have interest in Hugh’s death, I found something that might point to the killer.”
Her mouth popped open. Whatever this was about, it would give her the license to investigate further and an excuse on top if anything came up. If she did something suspicious, she could just say she’d gotten interested after his request and couldn’t let the case go. But why now, she wondered.
“Alexa? You there?”
She shook her head to bring herself back. “I’m here. Sorry.”
“Is that a no, then?”
“No, no. Not a no. Yes, I mean. What do you have?”
“Well, the night he died, I went over there to hang out after work, like I often did. I saw this car when I pulled up and a guy got in and took off just as I was getting out of my car. I told this all to the cops, but they didn’t think it was too important.”
That wasn’t true. She had thought it was very important, but only knowing the car’s color, make, and model didn’t give them much to go on. There were lots of black Dodge Chargers out there. What they had needed was a license plate number.
“Tonight, I got called to do a job at a gated community. Jared couldn’t get in there with his tow truck.”
So, that’s where he had gone so late. She had seen him put the baby in the car and was surprised he’d take Damian anywhere in the middle of the night. Not like the baby had been sick or anything.
“I climbed the gate and got in, but when I was getting inside the car, I noticed it had the same sticker that the car I saw at Hugh’s that night did.”
Her heart dropped. The same sticker? That was a bit of a stretch.
“Hawk…” She didn’t want to crush his hopes. “I don’t know that a sticker will really be too informative. I mean, how many cars might have the same sticker?”
“No, no. It’s the same car. It’s a black Dodge Charger, same sticker. I know it is. I got the license plate and the registration. Can you run it and see who it belongs to?”
“I can check it out, sure.”
“Great. I’ll text it all to you.”
“I’ll let you know when I have something.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
He hung up. There was a formality to his voice, almost like a tacit agreement not to talk about what had happened last night, and she bit her lip, wondering if she really wanted him to bring it up.
She sat down at her computer in her living room and logged into the police database. Hopefully, her login info would still work for a while, but they could shut off her access at any point. She’d asked the chief to keep it open, promising that her being a PI would only help them in the end, and he’d agreed. But one bad day and he might change his mind and cut her off, or decide he didn’t like where she was poking around.
For now, it was still working and she was able to get into the DMV database to run the numbers. She looked at the picture from Hawk and typed it in, then sat back to wait. It took several minutes, but a result came up.
Black Dodge Charger. The address was nearby, in a community she knew to be in a nicer part of town. Could be the gated one. She opened Google Earth to check and confirmed there was a gate all around the community where the Charger owner lived. She texted Hawk the name of the owner, Rucker Marshall, along with the address. He probably already had that, but wouldn’t hurt to have it again just in case.
She went to the police criminal database and entered the name. What came back was a criminal record with several entries. Several counts of drug possession. Drug trafficking. Assault. And a pending charge for drug trafficking. This would be his second offense for trafficking. Apparently, ten prior years in federal prison hadn’t taught him anything.
She picked up her phone to text him, but decided to just head over there. Maybe they could go back to how it was before and act like nothing had happened, she was a PI and babysitter helping him out, nothing more. She wanted to see his reaction when she told him about the drug charges and ask him more questions. That couldn’t happen effectively over text.
He pulled open the door with Damian in his arms. “Hey. Thanks for getting the name.”
“I have some more info if you have a minute.”
“Yeah.” He stepped aside to let her in.
As she passed Damian, he whined and reached out his arms for her. She reached back and took him. They sat at the dining room table, and she tried not to think about what had happened there the night before.
“Turns out Rucker is big on the drug scene,” she said. “Has a pending trafficking charge and served a decade behind bars for one already.”
Hawk took in a long, slow breath. “Hugh was into that scene. Started out like it always does. He was copping some weed, and got talking to the dealer. He decided he could make some serious dough, and since he’d just been laid off his factory job, he didn’t have many prospects. He started small and did well, so they gave him more. His girlfriend started dipping into his supply, though. Maybe she caused some trouble, who knows. She died, not long after.”
“And how you were involved in that scene?”
“Never was. I’d already gotten myself into trouble. I had a decent job. I stayed clear away. Never even really smoked or anything. Just a handful of times. Not like Hugh and Jessica did. He told me that every day, she was high. All day. I doubt it was just weed, too. She was in bad shape from what he told me. Then she OD’ed on heroin. I don’t know how long she was on it. Hopefully not while she was pregnant, but I know she drank and smoked up while she was.”
Alexa looked over at Damian. He seemed very healthy now, at least.
“We’ve got to find this guy, Alexa. I want justice for my brother. I want to be able to look Damian in the eyes when he grows up and tell him I did everything I could to make his father’s killer pay for what he did.”
Hawk’s voice shook and he pounded his fist in his palm as he spoke.
“I can’t accept the gang thing. It’s too convenient and doesn’t fit. Will you help me find him? Please?” His voice broke and she saw tears lying low in his eyes. His whole face pleaded with her.
One thing was certain to her in that moment. Hawk did not kill his brother. She’d spent years learning how to read people, and all the signs were there. He was genuine in his plea. No one could fake it for as long as he had.
“I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“Thank you.” He looked at her intently for several long moments. She thought he might kiss her again but he quickly looked away. Hawk stood up and paced the room a few times.
“Do you have any other information that could be helpful?” Alexa asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so, really. I didn’t see the guy. I don’t know for sure that he was in the house. Just seemed like it.”
“How so?”
“The direction he was running from. And knowing Hugh’s drug connections, it fits.”
He continued to pace as she thought. They needed evidence, fingerprints. That would help, but was only circumstantial and Rucker might’ve had his own alibis. A weapon, then? If Rucker had the gun that killed Hugh that’d be more than enough.
She wanted to call up her boss and give him this new info but this wouldn’t be enough for him to reopen the case. Reopening the case would mean a big media frenzy. If she found something solid that would change everything.
“I have to get out of here,” Hawk said. “I can’t just sit here like this. Can you watch Damian for a while? I’m going over to headquarters to blow off steam. And to keep myself from driving over to that house and ripping that guy to pieces.”
“Whoa, whoa.” She stood and put a hand on his chest to stop his pac
ing. “Whatever you do, do NOT go over there. First of all, it’s gated. You’d have to break in and you don’t have a repo order to fall back on this time. We don’t know for sure he did it. What if you attacked the wrong guy? And besides, if he did do it, you killing him would only send you to jail, too. That’s not the way to do this.”
He blew out several hard breaths, but seemed like he was calming down. “Okay. You’re right. I’m going to play some pool and get my mind on something else.”
“That sounds good. I’ll stay here. I’ll keep poking around and see if I find anything else.”
“Thanks.”
He dashed into the bedroom to grab his keys and then headed out the door.
She heard his bike roar to life, then he took off. She looked over at Damian, sitting on his blanket on the floor. “Just you and me again, kid.”
He clapped his hands together happily.
Chapter 15
Alexa read through the files on Rucker to see where they were with his pending charges. Looked like they were waiting for the trial date to come up and were trying to secure some testimony from an informant. He’d already been arrested, but was out on bail. The case seemed fairly strong. She’d been sitting reading for over an hour while Damian played with a toy. But now he was wiggling around, getting bored.
“Okay, kid. Let’s do something.”
She picked him and swung him around. She glanced outside where it was nice and bright, the sky full of fluffy clouds.
“Maybe a walk?” She waited for his answer and when he hiccupped she took that for a yes.
She packed him up in the stroller and went out through the garage. She tucked the garage door opener into her pocket so they could get back in. She hadn’t been out much in this neighborhood since moving in. She walked on the sidewalks, making sure to pay attention to which direction she went so she wouldn’t need her phone to find her way back.
As they walked, she pointed out trees and birds to Damian. He looked around with intense interest. He fell asleep after a while and she turned back. As she hit the door opener and pushed the stroller into the garage, she heard a door slam inside the house and was on instant alert.
Her training kicked in and she pulled out the pepper spray. Hawk’s car was still there and his bike was still gone.
She pushed the stroller closer and stopped. Instead she put the pepper spray back in her pocket and took out her phone and quickly dialed 911. Then she pushed the stroller back out of the house and across the street to wait. At least this way she could watch the house and see if anyone left.
“What’s your emergency?”
She explained what had happened and waited on the phone until the police cruiser pulled up. As she was waiting, she saw a shadow run down the backyard. Someone had left the house and had probably gotten away.
She knew the cop who showed up. “Hey Gary,” she said. “I think he ran out the back. But I can’t be certain.”
“You just stay here while I check it out.”
He went in and she waited again for several minutes. He finally came back out.
“Didn’t find anyone in there. Nothing looks like it was broken or disturbed. There was a…” He pressed his lips together.
“A what?”
“Well, a message.”
She pulled her eyebrows together. “What sort of message?”
“I’ll show you. It’s safe to come on in.”
She followed Gary inside and to the bathroom. On the mirror, in black marker, crude letters formed the words STAY OUT.
She sucked in a breath. “Wow.”
“Any idea who might have done this?”
“No. It’s not my house, I’m just babysitting. I’ll have to question him when he gets back.”
Gary cleared his throat. “We’ll talk to him.”
“Right.” Sometimes she forgot she was no longer a cop and couldn’t just question whoever she wanted or get any info she needed.
“We miss you, you know. You were one good detective.”
“Thanks. But maybe I was a little too good. I wasn’t willing to stop.”
“Well, it is what it is, I guess. I’ll call the homeowner and let him know what’s going on, then ask him a few questions.”
“Can I call him? Please?”
She took out her phone and hit his number but suddenly choked up. Someone had been in the house and had gotten away. She had to remind herself that the reason she hadn’t done anything was Damian. She was keeping him safe.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice wavering, “He got away. I didn’t stop him. I didn’t get him.”
“Damian’s okay, right?”
“That’s why I didn’t go after the guy myself.”
“Alexa, that’s crazy. You can’t go after someone who broke in. You did exactly the right thing.”
“I just feel like I could have done something else,” she said.
“I wouldn’t want you to. Let me be the one to put myself in danger and go after the bad guy. I’ll be the one to protect you and Damian, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Gary stayed and took fingerprints around the house while Hawk raced home. She sat on the couch with Damian, letting the events of the day soak in.
The thought of Damian being in danger panicked her and brought tears to her eyes. She couldn’t let anything happen to him. When Hawk burst in the door, he came right to her. She was on the couch, clutching Damian to her chest, and he scooped them both into a tight hug. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She’d never felt protected like this, and after a near miss, she needed to feel safe and in control in some way. If she couldn’t still be a cop, she had to do everything else she could for those around her. Right now, that meant protecting Damian and finding Hugh’s killer.
He sat beside them on the sofa as he talked to Gary, answering his questions. He went to get the marker cleaned up once the photos had all been taken, then he came back to the living room where Damian had fallen asleep in Alexa’s arms.
“I’ll take him,” Hawk said.
He picked up the baby and walked him to his room. Hawk came back to the living room and sat beside Alexa.
“Thank you for protecting Damian. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t do more, I—”
“Stop that.” He put his hand at the back of her neck and pulled her close to kiss her. “You did everything just right.”
He kissed her again and her heart surged. Maybe all wasn’t lost when it came to him. She felt her longing for him return. She liked feeling protected, knowing that he would do anything to keep her safe. Not that she couldn’t defend herself, but it was nice to know he cared that much about her that he’d put himself in danger. She couldn’t say that about anyone else in her life.
She kissed him back hungrily. She wanted a repeat of the night before. He’d been the best lover she’d ever had and she wanted more. Even if things wouldn’t keep going between them, she wanted him now. She moved herself into his lap so she could rub against his hardness.
“Alexa.” He rang his hands through her hair and whispered into her ear as he kissed along her neck. “You drive me crazy.”
She chuckled softly. “And you drive me crazy right back.”
He stood, holding her tight in his arms as he carried her. He walked into his bedroom and kicked the door closed behind him.
“I’m going to show you just how crazy you drive me.” He gave her an intense stare, full of desire, and laid her down on the bed.
She looked back up at him, her insides warm and full of wanting. Her mind went back to the other times they’d been together and how good it felt, and the longing swelled within her. She pulled her top off over her head and removed her bra. Hawk smiled down at her.
“That’s better,” he said. He pulled off his own shirt and tossed it to the floor.
He leaned down to kiss her again and trailed his fingers over her skin. Her nipples harden
ed, and chills broke out over her stomach in waves as he moved over her.
“I don’t think I can take it this slow,” he said, growling lightly in her ear.
He reached down and nearly tore her pants getting them off in a hurry. He wiggled out of his own pants and slid down between her legs. Only once had a man eaten her out before and, while it’d been a nice enough experience, it was nothing like what Hawk did next. His tongue moved around and in her, flicking as he sucked and pulled. He slipped a finger in and out as he licked around her clit.
