My Twin Flame

by C C Simeon

  Hunter chuckled. “I’ll lie if I tell you that you haven’t looked better, too.”

  “Is it too late to get my fussing husband back? I think I liked him much better than the honest version of you.”

  “Sorry.” Hunter grinned, shaking his head. “You already made the request. Can’t take it back now.”

  Hayden giggled, but she quickly found that her ribs did not like that. Her giggle turned into a cough, and then an involuntary groan of pain. “As to your second question, I was just jumped. Nothing more, nothing less. I can’t even tell you for certain if it was a guy or a girl, it all happened too fast. Although, I am confident that it was a guy. Was too strong for a woman, I think. I couldn’t fight back. I can take down grown men, never mind a woman.”

  “You didn’t see a face?” Hunter asked, brows furrowed.

  Hayden shook her head but realized she could only move it a tiny bit—too little to actually answer his question. She opted for talking instead, even though her jaw was aching with every movement. “No, they wore a clown mask.”

  Hunter shivered slightly. He hated clowns more than anything.

  “And a hood, so I didn’t see any hair.” Hayden remembered a flash of red, but she wasn’t sure. It could have been blood in her eye. “It was so fast. I can’t tell you what happened because I don’t fully remember myself. All I know is that I shouldn’t have been walking the streets at night. I didn’t keep track of time.”

  “Do you think it was the killer?”

  “No,” Hayden said simply. “The killer would have killed me. Besides, I don’t know why the killer would even come after me. I have no evidence. If I did, he would have killed me and taken the evidence with him.”

  Hunter nodded in agreement before sitting back down on the chair. Only then did Hayden notice the bags under his eyes. “How long have you been here?”

  “All night,” he admitted with a slight smile. “I couldn’t leave you alone after what happened last night.”

  “This is a hospital, Hunter. Do you think the attacker will come here to finish the job?” Hayden raised a stiff eyebrow. Stitches, she thought. She must’ve gotten stitches. “It was just a random attack.”

  “Hayden, they didn’t take anything. Your wallet is still full of cash. Your cellphone. Your car keys are the only things that are missing, but your car is still at the park. I had it towed earlier this morning. Getting a new set of keys and everything. My point is that this was deliberate. If it has nothing to do with your current case, it has something to do with the previous one. This is a person, Hayden. It’s not some random attack. Whoever did it knows who you are and where you would be.”

  Hayden hated to admit that he was right. Whatever this was, whoever had attacked her was either getting revenge or sending a message. She had put so many people behind bars, it would have been impossible to figure out who it was, or whose family member or hired hitman it was. There was no way of knowing if it was the first of many future attempts on her life. “I know,” she said, her voice drifting off. “You should call a nurse and go home. Get some sleep.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. It was nice having you here when I woke up, but I would like some morphine now and then I want to go back to sleep. I can’t do that with you around.”

  Hunter gave her a look with a raised eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. Now, go! My ribs are killing me.”

  With that, Hunter nodded and strolled toward the door, saying something to the nurse outside who scrambled away. Probably telling her to find a doctor. He turned around to look at his wife.

  “I’ll be back.” Hunter picked up his jacket from the chair he was sitting on, along with a collection of coffee cups that he discarded in the trash can by the door.

  Hayden nodded slightly, and when he turned away again, she couldn’t help herself from blurting out, “I’m sorry I accused you of cheating. I didn’t have any proof, and I am so sorry. Please, come back home.”

  Hunter froze, then turned to look at her. “I am not going anywhere, Hayden. I promise.”

  On cue, a nurse and a doctor strolled into the room, introducing themselves by names Hayden was in no state to remember, and Hunter left the room after. She watched him through the blinds and saw him disappear into an elevator. He was rubbing his eyes.

  Soon enough, the morphine was injected after a long discussion that she didn’t understand the half of. She was too high on pain medication to even think straight.

  It was bliss when the pain faded away and the morphine took over. It wasn’t long until she was unconscious and dreaming about red hair and a clown mask.

  Chapter 14: A Joyous Friendship

  Amelia had been overly paranoid ever since Hilton had invaded her home and humiliated her to the point of tears. Hilton was far worse than she’d thought, and she wanted to kick herself for being too blind to see it. She’d told herself that he was only a little damaged, that he was broken and needed a little love to help fix him. But Amelia realized there was no way of fixing Hilton. He was like an old car beyond repair, and if you tried to fix it, chances were that you were going to be the one crashing with it.

  Amelia’s senses had been in overdrive for days and she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know when to look over her shoulder and when she was just being paranoid. He’d left her alone for years. After he’d gotten her the job, he’d told her that she had to do her best to get close to her boss. He’d never bothered her again. Not until she actually did get close to him.

  Now, Hilton seemed completely off his rocker, and Amelia was afraid for her life. And not just her own life, but the lives of everyone close to her, too. Nothing and no one was safe from Hilton, and there was nothing she could do. Not without risking him spilling everything about her past. Who knew who was going to believe what? The sad part was that Hilton was going to tell the truth.

  “Ames,” a voice said, waving a hand in front of Amelia’s face. Amelia winced away, her heart beating in her throat. What the hell was the matter with her? Every sudden movement, every raised voice set her off, and she wanted to murder Hilton for doing this to her. It was all his fault. It was all his fault for attacking her, for threatening her, for humiliating her.

  “Jesus, Joy,” Amelia said, a hand over her chest.

  Joy furrowed her brows. “What the hell, Amelia? I was sitting here the entire time and you just zoned out.”

  “I know,” Amelia admitted, shaking her head and taking a deep breath.

  The office was rowdy. That was how it was when Hunter wasn’t at work. Everyone sat where they wanted and spoke to who they wanted. Most of them didn’t even bother with work until it was absolutely necessary. Usually, Amelia enjoyed these days, but now she wished it was quiet so she could hear something sneaking up on her. She wished that everyone would do their jobs, and that she had enough work to do to drown in. She needed something to distract herself with, something that would take off the anxious edge.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “My anxiety is all over the place lately. I feel on the brink of a panic attack all the time.”

  “You have anxiety meds though, right?”

  Amelia shook her head. “Not anymore. I got rid of them. My anxiety’s been gone for so long, I figured I didn’t need it anymore. I also don’t want to go to a doctor for a new prescription. I was too reliant on them for far too long. What if an apocalypse comes along and I can’t get my meds after being reliant on them for years?”

  Joy rolled her eyes. “It’s not as if it’s insulin, Amelia. You won’t die without it. At least it’ll make you feel better now.”

  Amelia wanted to tell Joy that there was no way that pills were going to fix this. The only way her anxiety was going to go away was if Hilton took it with him and never returned. That was the only way that Amelia was going to have any sense of calm again. Even then, she doubted it would completely disappear. It had disappeared before, but she’d gotten attacked in her own home anyway. The
anxiety was here to stay.

  “It’s not like that. I just don’t like to rely on anyone but myself. That was how it always has been and always will be. Even pills. I don’t like them. Too addictive.”

  “Fine.” Joy shrugged. “I have something else that might get your mind off all those demons hunting you.”

  Amelia sighed, knowing all too well where this conversation was heading. “I swear to God, if you suggest going clubbing…”

  “Why the hell not?” Joy looked insulted. Amelia would have felt bad if she didn’t know that Joy was far too thick-skinned to be really hurt.

  “Because your clubbing consists of the two of us shaking our hips in the shortest dresses in our closets.”

  Amelia hated leaving her house in general, never mind going out and grinding against people she didn’t know to begin with. Joy and Amelia’s ideas of fun were completely different, and it pissed Amelia off that they always went with Joy’s suggestions. She was annoyed more than usual that day and she was briefly wondering why Joy was her friend, anyway. Then she reminded herself that she was angry at Hilton and not Joy. Joy was the person that shared some of her light with Amelia’s dreary world, and that was what friends were for. They were there when you needed a little light—a little joy, if you will.

  “What’s wrong with that?’ Joy seemed genuinely confused. “We get free drinks, don’t we?”

  “Yeah, from guys who think we are putting out for those drinks. I’m not going out clubbing with you.” Amelia crossed her arms and shook her head.

  “Come onnnn,” Joy whined, and Amelia considered whacking her with her notebook.

  “Why are you like this?” Amelia asked, rolling her eyes.

  “Because Derrick is out of town the whole weekend and it’s time for girls’ night.”

  “We can have a girls’ night. I just don’t feel like partying.”

  “We’ll talk about it when we get there,” Joy said, and Amelia knew that they were not going to talk about it. Joy did what Joy wanted to do—and right now, Joy wanted Amelia to go clubbing with her.

  Amelia was determined not to give Joy what she wanted this time. She had the sneaking suspicion that her rebellion wasn’t going to sway Joy in the slightest. It may just even encourage Joy to try even harder. Amelia didn’t have the strength for that.

  Deciding that it was time to change the topic, Amelia motioned to the rowdy employees. “Do you think this is gonna go on until Mr. Radley returns?”

  Joy raised an eyebrow. “You know, you could just ask me outright if I know where he is. You don’t have to work your way up to it.”

  “Do you know where he is?” Amelia said through gritted teeth. Why was Joy getting on her nerves so badly? Was the issue with Amelia or Joy? Amelia settled with the issue being with her. Joy was being her usual sassy and quirky self. Amelia was the one who was a bundle of hatred.

  Joy shrugged. “Fran said it was a family emergency. Someone is in hospital and he took a few days off to be with them. Honestly, he’s such a good guy, don’t you think?”

  Amelia rolled her eyes. “You know, you could have told me where he was without the commentary. I would appreciate that very much. Especially since the entire office is listening in on our conversation.” There was a throat being cleared in the background, confirming what Amelia said. They were busted.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Joy grinned slyly. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s up with you and the big man?”

  “Nothing’s up.”

  Joy gave Amelia a look, her face amused by the accidental innuendo. Amelia shook her head.

  “Nothing is going on between us. We are just working together, that’s it.”

  “Is that what the kids call it nowadays?”

  “You’re annoying,” was all Amelia said before turning back to her computer.

  She didn’t get any work done that day. There were two things on her mind—two people, to be exact. One was taking care of a loved one, and the other was threatening to hurt Amelia’s loved ones. How could such two different people be connected in any way? How could an evil man and a chivalrous one’s paths ever cross? How was that possible?

  Amelia would never know, and she would have done well accepting that. She didn’t, though, and her mind kept on racing for the remainder of the day.

  Chapter 15: Discos and Bartenders

  It was disco night at the local club and Joy had done her absolute best to dress up the sluttiest she could. Derrick was out of town for the weekend, as promised, and so she had decided that it was time for girls’ night. This included putting on their skimpiest dresses and highest heels, then dancing their sexiest dances to get strangers to buy them drinks.

  It was just another night out in town.

  Amelia, of course, would have much rather stayed at home with her dogs, watching reruns of House M.D., and eating pizza and ice cream. But, no, Joy was set on girls’ night. Amelia had even offered to host a girls’ night at her place. She’d suggested the reruns and pizza to Joy, thinking it was the perfect girls’ night, but Joy had flat out refused. Girls’ night, apparently, didn’t actually consist of it just being the two girls. No, girls’ night meant drinking and dancing with strangers until they were too drunk to stand upright and had to get the bartender to call them a cab. The next day was hangover galore and Amelia wasn’t sure she was quite ready for that. No matter how much Amelia protested, no matter what she told Joy, there was no way her friend was giving in. Which meant that giving in was Amelia’s job.

  The music in the club made Amelia’s bones thrum and her ears ring. Joy held on tightly to her hand so they didn’t lose each other in the overcrowded dance party. Oddly enough, there weren’t many people dancing. They lingered at the bar, at their tables, and by the entrance and exit. There wasn’t a single person in the club who didn’t have a drink in their hands, and Joy decided that it was a shame they were the outcasts.

  She led them toward the bar, through grinding bodies and women who wore too much perfume and men who didn’t wear enough cologne. The music was far too loud and Joy had to shout at the bartender. The bartender still didn’t hear, so she pointed toward the drinks on the menu stuck to the surface of the bar. It wasn’t long until both of them had a mojito in hand. Joy sipped it, made a very questionable face that should have been reserved for the bedroom, and headed back into the crowd.

  Amelia sipped at her drink. She was going to need the liquid courage if she was going to survive the night. She didn’t know why she let Joy talk her into these things when it was quite apparent that she didn’t enjoy it in the slightest. But Joy was her friend, and she couldn’t let her come alone—which she would have—with a killer on the loose. There was a stiffness in the city that wasn’t familiar to Amelia, and it freaked her out. She figured they had a better chance of surviving if they moved in groups of two or more.

  The lights in the club started flickering, and for a moment Amelia thought that the power was about to die, but then she realized that it was merely the lighting effects to create an ambiance. It was enough to trigger an epileptic episode. Amelia looked around, expecting writhing bodies on the floor, but instead she found that the crowd was making its way to the dance floor. There was a large screen behind the DJ that showed a fake disco ball.

  Amelia thought it couldn’t get any worse, but then a bad remix of an old disco song started blaring from the speakers. She wanted to leave, certain her ears were going to start bleeding if she didn’t get out soon. As if sensing Amelia’s reluctance to join her on the dance floor, Joy tightened her grip around Amelia’s wrist in warning. Amelia could do nothing but allow Joy to lead her into the lion’s den. She imagined the dance floor as the lion’s gaping mouth, and everyone that was already moving to the horrible rhythm was its teeth. It was a terrible image.

  Joy started moving her hips, and despite Amelia’s best efforts not to, she joined in. She hated dancing. She had never liked it. Why was she even here?

  “Stop loo
king so miserable,” Joy said with a sigh, rolling her eyes. The only way Amelia knew that was what her friend had said was because she’d read her lips in between flashing lights. Joy’s eyeshadow was as sparkly as her dress, shining silver with every light that hit it. It was blinding.

  “Too many people,” Amelia mouthed, not even bothering to put any sounds behind her words. Her lips were all Joy was going to see or hear, anyway.

  Joy rolled her eyes again and turned to dance with the closest person to her. The man wrapped his arms around her waist. Amelia wanted to grab Joy and pull her toward the exit, but the man’s hands made her stop in her tracks. Tattoos peeked from under his leather jacket, and his rings shone like Joy’s dress. Amelia dragged her eyes upward, her stomach dropping when her eyes met Hilton’s.

  Joy didn’t look up at him as she turned around, grinding her butt against him. The smirk on his face made Amelia want to grab Joy and tell her that she was being a complete slut. She had a boyfriend. This wasn’t worth free drinks, especially not when she was grinding up on Hilton, of all people.

  Amelia’s nostrils flared and she pushed past them, knocking Joy slightly off her feet so she didn’t see Amelia grab Hilton’s arm before dragging him away. When Joy regained her balance, Hilton’s back was already turned to her. Amelia could have sworn she’d heard her friend yell something, but it also could have just been the music.

  Amelia didn’t let go of Hilton’s wrist until they were out the back exit. She pushed him into the alleyway, but he didn’t stumble. He seemed amused. The streetlights illuminated his dark hair and made his jaw seem sharper and more chiseled.

  “An alleyway, Amelia? Really? I heard there was a detective who was attacked in one a couple of days ago. Do you really want to risk this?”

  “What the hell are you doing here, Hilton?” Amelia snapped. “Are you following me?”

  “I’m a single guy out on the town, Amelia,” he said with a grin, moving his hips in a grinding motion. “It’s not my fault you hang out at the places I go to.”