by Nicole Thorn
Her mother.
“Your father couldn’t come,” the woman said. “He was busy.”
Lynnie didn’t seem surprised. “Yeah, I’m sure.” When she looked up, her eyes caught mine and she looked a little more relaxed than before. I didn’t believe it had anything to do with me.
Her mother turned and set her sights on Draper. “Some freak broke into my house and left a heart? Do you wake up every morning and decide to drink yourself half to death instead of keeping garbage off the streets? A fucking killer is slaughtering people left and right, and now someone does this?”
“Ma’am…” The sheriff raised his hands. “…we are doing the best we can. I’m sorry that this happened to your daughter. We’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Again! It shouldn’t have happened once! I want twenty-four-hour surveillance on this house.”
Draper nodded. “I might be able to do that. Just give me a little time.”
“This is my home, sheriff. My home. It should be safe.”
She probably didn’t mean it, but it sounded more concerned about her house than her daughter. Going off what Lynnie told me, her parents had never been warm. Not that I would notice either way.
The woman looked to me next. “What do you plan on doing to keep my home safe, since you failed so spectacularly already?”
Lynnie stood up and rushed over in a second. She stood in front of her mother, all attitude. “Don’t talk to him like that. He didn’t do anything wrong. No one but the psycho who left the heart did. Yelling at the cops won’t undo this.”
Mrs. Blum huffed. “Maybe if they were better at their jobs, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Draper sighed and pulled me aside. “Barker, can you take Miss Blum down to the station? I’ll stay here and speak with her mother. Just wait for me and I’ll talk to the kid.”
I tried not to stare daggers at him. “I can talk to her.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Really? This is kind of sensitive. Might require a gentleness that you may not have.”
When he flinched in reaction to my new expression, I knew it had scared him. I kept the anger from my tone. “I can handle it.”
He breathed out. “If you insist.”
I went to Lynnie while Draper went to her mother. I pulled the girl aside. “I need to take you to the station so I can file a report. Is that okay?”
She nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
I watched her go and get her shoes on before she met me at the door. Her mother didn’t get a goodbye. I walked Lynnie to the car and got her inside. She stayed quiet for most of the drive, but I didn’t try and make her talk. If she wanted to talk about her feelings, I would listen, even if I didn’t know how to deal with them.
When we got to the station, I stole the best chair in the place and gave it to her to sit in. She waited there while I made her cocoa in the kitchen area. I had a mug here, and I hoped she wouldn’t mind using it.
I handed it to her and she thanked me while I sat down. Then I had to force the story out of her. She gave it to me, albeit quiet as a church mouse. I took the whole thing down as she sipped her cocoa.
She set the mug on my desk. “Do you think this was The Ripper guy?”
I sighed and finished the report. “That’s the going theory.”
Her eyes drooped. “So he knows who I am specifically, and he wants to kill me.”
“Lynnie, if he wanted to kill you, he would have.”
That didn’t seem to comfort her. “I just don’t understand how he knows who I am. Or why he cares.”
“I promise that I’m going to find out.”
****
Lynnie sat with me until the sheriff came back. He stopped at my desk, looking exhausted. “I’m gonna get a watch on you, Miss Blum. Just when you’re home, since there’s already one at the school. You’ll need to be extra careful until we get this guy.”
She blinked at him. “So someone is going to be parked outside of my house all night?”
“Yup. Making sure no one touches you. I just have to find someone who’s willing to lose a lot of sleep.”
My mouth started moving without the rest of me agreeing. “I’ll do it.”
Draper looked at me curiously. “You’re volunteering to stay up all night, just sitting outside of a house?”
“Yes,” I answered flatly. “I think that would be best. I live around there. I know the area. I can spot cars that shouldn’t be there. And I know Lynnie.” I looked to her. “Unless you’d rather someone else do it.”
I waited for her to break a heart that I didn’t have. But she didn’t. Instead, she smiled halfway. “Yeah. I’d rather it be you. If you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” I smiled back. I could keep her safe and be near her at the same time. She would know, and it would actually make her feel safer. I would make her feel safe.
Draper took a deep breath. “Okay then. Barker, you’ll report here, then head off to her house. You’re off when she heads to school. Then you’re back when it’s over. That okay with you?”
“Yes.”
He scratched his head. “You worked all day. I can get someone else tonight.”
“I’m fine,” I said. “I don’t need much sleep. I can go with her now.”
“Miss,” Draper said to Lynnie. “I can’t have my guys following you around, so know that you’re only protected at home. I suggest you spend most of your time there. But it’s up to you.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
I drove Lynnie back to her house once we got the all clear. The box and heart had been removed, leaving almost no sign that it had been there. I hoped it meant that she could get some sleep tonight.
“Wow,” she said when we pulled up to the house. “Mom took off. Her car is gone.”
So her parents are terrible. Good to know.
I walked her up to the door, waiting for her to open it. “I’m going to do another sweep, then I’ll head out to the car.”
Lynnie stepped into the house, looking back at me. “Oh. Okay.” She looked upset.
“What?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know. I kinda thought you’d be in the house.”
Don’t tempt me. “I should keep an eye on the outside. Make sure no one gets in.”
We kept walking and she followed me while I checked the rooms. “Well,” she said, avoiding my eyes, “my parents are almost never here, so really, you’re just watching me.”
I smiled and pushed a door open. “And?”
“And…” She bit her lip and leaned against a wall. “…you kinda need to be watching me. You can do that a lot better if we’re in the same room.”
Oh, what are you doing?
The lamb had no idea that she tempted the wolf, parading in front of me, begging me to take a bite. I still didn’t know if I could stop myself. It almost seemed like she wanted me to take her. Sure, I can keep a better eye on you if I were in the house. I could also keep a good eye on you if I were over you and your legs were around my waist. I would know you were safe the entire time your nails were scraping down my back.
She looked so coy as she watched me for an answer. She had sucked in her bottom lip again and she looked equal parts shy and mischievous. Then she tried to kill me. “We can watch TV in my bedroom.”
If I believed in God, I would think he wanted to punish me for all the wrong I’d done. She literally invited me into her bedroom. She couldn’t be more tempting right now if she stripped and got on her knees. How… how am I supposed to say no?
Oh right, because I am a bastard and she is perfect. I don’t need to undo that.
With infinite fury at myself, I said, “I’m sorry, Lynnie. I really have to watch the house.”
She looked disappointed, but she nodded. “I understand. Gotta go be a cop.”
We finished checking the house. We ended the search in her room. I stared at her bed, thinking about all the things I wanted to do to her on it. I could
picture waking up with her on it. Her head on my chest. What a life that would be.
Lynnie sat on her bed, and I nearly had to look away. Five steps. Five steps and I would be right next to her. Would she lean back and invite me to take what I wanted? I doubted it. That didn’t stop me from picturing it. She leaned in my head, and I crawled on top of her.
“I guess I’ll see you later,” she said, interrupting a daydream involving my tongue between her legs.
I blinked. “Yes. If you need me, come get me.”
She nodded and saluted. “You got it.”
I found the will to leave her in the house and get my ass out of there. I sat in my car, trying to gather myself. My forehead touched the steering wheel and I groaned. Why? Why did the universe send me her? This girl that I could look at but never touch?
I can’t do it. I just can’t. She wouldn’t want me anyway. I thought about this from her point of view: If the though occurred to her, she probably viewed me as off limits with the years that I had on her. I doubted it had crossed her mind. She’d been focusing on school, her friends, her life. I didn’t matter to her. And I shouldn’t have.
Someone tapped on my window, and I looked up. Lynnie stood there, holding a tray of food. She had a turkey and bacon sandwich, complete with cheese and lettuce with a few cookies and a can of soda, along with a bottle of water.
I rolled my window down. “Everything okay?”
She smiled and her eyebrows pressed together. “Yeah, I just thought that you might be hungry. You didn’t get dinner.”
I opened the car door and sat sideways, facing her. She wore her pajamas now, those shorts and a thin shirt. She shouldn’t have run me food with the night being so cold. Her comfort mattered more than mine. She handed me the tray and I took it.
“Thank you,” I told her.
She smiled with such joy. “Is it okay? I don’t know what you like. I was hoping bacon would be a winner. I, um, I can make something else if you don’t want it. Or if you’re not hungry, I can throw it away. You won’t offend me or anything.”
“This is great,” I said, hoping to soothe her.
She stopped and nodded, breathing deeply. “Good. I just wanted to give you that. I’m going to bed now. It’s been a long day.”
“Sleep well.”
Her nose twitched and she rocked up on her toes. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Goodbye, Deputy Barker.”
When she turned to leave, I stopped her. “Lynnie?” I waited till she turned. “We’re going to be spending a lot of time together. Or, near each other, I guess. Can you call me Isaiah?”
She smiled again and her whole face brightened. Her hand went to my shoulder and she leaned in. Her lips touched my cheek and lingered. She felt so warm and so soft. I wanted to pull her into the car and keep her forever. God, I wished I could.
Before she went back inside, she said, “Goodnight, Isaiah.”
CHAPTER TWELVE:
It’s My Party, But You Can Die If You Want To
Rocelyn
How do I always get myself in trouble? I just had to go and get a crush on a cop. He had been so sweet and kind to me. He’d been watching the house for a couple of days and he never seemed upset by it. I made him dinner and he ate in his car because he wouldn’t come in the house. I couldn’t blame him. He had a job to do.
And today had to be the day of a party. I already got happy birthday texts from my friends, calling me old for being nineteen and in high school. I could blame my parents for that, moving me around so much that I fell behind. My parents hadn’t even bothered texting me yet, but they always told me the day of or the day after. I figured it would come eventually.
Isaiah still waited outside, sitting in his car. I watched him through my window as I got dressed in the morning. I’d mostly closed the blinds, but I could still see through them.
Oh, I felt stupid, staring at him like this. He probably saw a baby when he looked at me. He wouldn’t look at me twice if he hadn’t been forced to. I could get him in trouble if I tried anything with him. It wouldn’t be illegal, but what did that mean to him? Not much. He’d always be over three years older than me. I’d bore him, if I didn’t get him in trouble before that.
I slipped on a pink dress and purple suede boots that went up to my knees. It somehow made me look even shorter. I had to stop caring that I wouldn’t grow anymore. I would spend the rest of my days having people reach things for me.
I didn’t feel like having breakfast, but I made something quick and easy for Isaiah to eat: A breakfast sandwich and a bottle of orange juice. After I grabbed my backpack and I locked up the house, I brought it to him.
“You don’t have to keep feeding me,” he said, taking it and proving that I did.
I smiled. “You’re risking your life to keep me safe from some psychotic serial killer. I should be giving you more than food. Oh… that sounded bad.”
He laughed and cracked the bottle open. “You give me enough.”
But I wanted to give him so many things… “It’s actually kind of nice to feed someone other than me. My parents don’t come by enough for me to try with them.”
Isaiah got that look on his face again. The one that meant he wanted to say more, but he was too sweet to do so. “Fuck them.”
Ah, so I was wrong.
“Thanks. You should probably get some sleep now. I won’t be back till really late, so you don’t have to be here for a while.”
He finished chewing and eyed me. “And where are you off to today?”
I sighed and frowned. “I’m being forced to go to a birthday party. I seemed to be mistaken when I thought today was about me, because Bird decided that she wanted to throw a party and invite every dumbass that goes to our school. I get to spend my birthday avoiding a bunch of drunk and touchy guys instead of snuggling up with my pillow and watching TV.”
Isaiah gave me a look. “Any guy touches you, and you can send him my way. I’ll take care of it.”
I put my hand to my chest. “Such a sweetie, you are, but I’m good. I’ll stick around for a couple of hours and sneak home. Then I can take my pants off and celebrate my birthday as God intended.”
“Um…”
I held my hands up, like that would help. “No, I just meant that I don’t like wearing clothes. Wow, that didn’t help.” I cleared my throat and spoke through the blush, “I don’t like sleeping in too much. Hell, I wouldn’t wear anything if I lived alone.” Shut up, you moron. Do you even hear yourself right now? Look how uncomfortable you made him.
I did. He wouldn’t look at me anymore. He focused on the steering wheel of his car, expressionless. “Okay then.”
“I’m really sorry. Sometimes I just say things and I don’t think about them before I say them. You probably didn’t wanna know I sleep mostly naked. Not that my parents would ever think to check on me to see if I’m breathing, or if I was even there. I could probably live in another house and they wouldn’t notice until the food went bad. So, I could probably just go ahead and take the plunge into naked sleep.” Gah! “Ugh.”
Slowly, Isaiah looked back at me. “You’re fine, Lynnie.”
I loved it when he called me that. Just another reason I liked him on a long list. He even acted nice to me even when I sounded like a moron. He seemed to be doing his best to not make me feel stupid for my mushy mouth.
After a solid minute of awkward silence, Isaiah said, “Well, if you’re going out, you’ll need to get a hold of me so I know when to come back.”
“That would require me having your phone number.” Please give me your phone number. And take your shirt off. Then your pants. Then let me do things to you.
“Okay.”
It took me a second to realize he hadn’t agreed to the graphic pictures in my head. I handed him my phone and watched him put his number in. He handed it back to me.
“Don’t you want mine?” I asked.
“Oh, probably a good idea.”
I did the same to his phone,
allowing me a sneak peek at his contacts list. I found the station, the sheriff’s line, and a few food places that delivered. My number brought the total to eight. Just like me, he had no one. No family he cared about. No girlfriend. It didn’t exactly make my happy. I didn’t want him to be alone like me. But it gave me false hope that he would one day shove me against something and — Hmm. Best end that daydream before I had to hop in the shower and take care of some things.
“I need to go,” I said, sad to do so. “I’ll see you tonight.” I leaned into the car so I could kiss him goodbye. Only on the cheek, because I had a little control of myself. He didn’t seem to mind. He even leaned into it a little bit.
I left for school and the entire time I drove, I wished I’d stayed in bed.
Turned out, school wouldn’t be so bad. When I arrived, everyone waited in the parking lot for me. Bird held a cupcake, and I heard her yell at Seth to hurry up and light the candle before I got there.
“Ahh!” she yelled as she scurried over to me. Her hand blocked the wind as she called it lots of colorful names while she went. “BLOW IT OUT! IT’S BURNING ME!”
I smiled and blew. Cheers and applause greeted me as the others walked up to me. “Thank you,” I told them. Then they yelled out the happy birthday song.
“Wooo!” Seth and Axel screamed at the end.
Bird rolled her eyes at them. “Well, we wanted to do something for you, and you’re already rich as a motherfucker. So a cupcake was the next best thing to a necklace.”
“This is nice,” I said. “I love it.”
I got hugs from everyone before the boys had to run off for practice. They got to skip out on first hour, and it almost made me want to join a team.
I started eating my cupcake while Bird told me about the party. I didn’t pay much attention, but she informed me that I would go to her house right after school. Should be a hell of a day.
****
“You can’t wear that,” Bird said after shoving me onto her bed. Her room was bigger than two of mine, which matched the rest of the house. It might’ve qualified as a mansion. Her father was a judge, apparently, and that brought in a ton of money. To make it worse, her mother came from old money.
