In the Nick of Time

by Laveen, Tiana

  Over a decade later, bones were found in a shallow grave near Junis Street. A tiny piece of red fabric, no bigger than a Saltine cracker, was also found amongst the debris, and it was determined via dental records and that little red textile sample, that the remains were those of Eldira Serrano. To that day, no one knew who’d taken the girl. The only certainty was that the skull remains were fractured on one side, denoting blunt trauma. As in so many similar cases from impoverished lands, only the residents gave a damn…

  People wanted answers, but nothing came about. Eldira had been a good student and a young lady full of promise. She didn’t run the streets, and barely spoke to strangers. One day, she went out dressed in her red jacket, dark jeans, and white shirt with an oversized collar. The next day, she was never heard from again. Nick had a sore spot for children, one that had grown bigger and bigger over time. He knew it was so because of his own childhood. For if that cop that took him to his mother and his mentor hadn’t intervened, he’d be dead or in prison. Someone had to help the babies… the kids. Someone had to protect them from the underbelly of the streets and many times, from their own families. They were naturally defenseless, but up against a grotesque monster, a grim reaper that feasted upon young souls.

  That grim reaper’s arms represented poverty, his massive chest cavity, abuse… his legs were made of molestation and rape. His hefty feet treaded upon hope and freedom, the tendons filled with the blood of fear. His gut made the home of domestic violence and his heart was darkened, filled with the shadows of the tiny coffins soon to come. His hideous face consisted of metal from bullets used in drive-by-shootings, robberies, kidnappings, and torture… The grim reaper was only a myth to those living in glass bubbles, but the children around him, the ones suckling from the ghetto’s breast, knew better. The Grim Reaper was real, and Nick looked in the bastard’s eyes every day, unable to completely stop him, only able to slow him down…

  He ran his hand over his face, watching, taking it all in. He spotted silver Chevrolet Impalas here and there, wondering. Why he was loitering about, he wasn’t sure, but he felt the need for it. After a while, he got back into his car, and began to slowly drive around, canvassing the area. The good news was that none of the victims had been found dead, but with each day that passed, their chances of still being alive significantly decreased. Still clueless, he reluctantly drove back to the precinct, and settled into his undesired role of paper pushing police officer…

  Four random drug tests later and a tedious psychological exam, he wondered how long this trust building period would go on, but it no longer completely mattered, because he was already knee deep in a sea with bigger fish to fry. He was involved, he was doing it, and nothing was going to stop him. The phone rang; he answered the call.

  ‘Who is this?’

  ‘The streets…’

  ‘I’m on my way…’

  Her finger cramped, digital spasms flashed through the tendons, stretched and pulled like short bursts of lightning.

  “Ahhh.” She sighed in agony as she dropped her pencil, watched it roll away on the floor. Sitting amongst a heap of papers displaying bra designs here and there, she prepared for the meeting with Mr. Rousseau that loomed over her. Just the day before, his assistant had contacted her and asked that she email more of her sketches and answer a series of sweat inducing questions. Anticipatory heat rushed through her body every now and again and mixed with fresh waves of excitement. It was as if destiny had called her by name, and she stood up and reached high, determined to grasp the sucker before it eluded her once again.

  Just then, the front door opened, and the tall shadow of a man cast across the wood. His keys jingled in his hand as he stomped past her. Clad in a dark trench coat, he looked somewhat sinister, shoulders slumped and incoherent mumbles escaping his lips. Frowning, she got to her feet and massaged her palm as she called out to him.

  “No, ‘hello?’”

  “I’m sorry, baby…” he murmured as he made his way to the restroom.

  Soon, she heard the toilet lid lift, smack against the cistern, and as she drew quieter, she heard his zipper coming down. His piss hit the water, and seemed to go on forever. She lowered her head, drew circles on the rug with the tip of her toes. The soft fibers felt good and cool against her bare flesh, playing a game of hurt and tenderness from her spasm-filled hand to the arch of her heel. She got so cozy in her daydream, she startled when his hand landed upon her shoulder. His lips brushed against the side of her neck, the taste soon turning into a kiss upon her earlobe. Then, he playfully smacked her ass, retreated from her and hung his coat up.

  “What secrets do you keep, Officer Vitale… you will tell me, I will make you squeal,” she teased. “You’ve been really distracted lately. What’s going on?”

  “Huh?” He kept his back turned as he meddled with odds and ends in the closet, then slid his shoes off and shoved them with his toes toward the back of the thing. “No, I was just giving you time to get your work done. I know you’ve been busy preparing for the show with your friend Vicki ’nd all and getting some of your newer designs finished.” He huffed and brushed past her once more, avoiding eye contact.

  “You know,” she said with a grimace, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest, “whenever you say, ‘huh,’ I know that you’re lying, Nick. I shouldn’t have told you, because now you’ll be aware of it, but since you rarely lie to me, I figured what tha hell, right? May as well let the cat out of the bag and let you know what a farce you are.” She didn’t have to try hard to imbue sarcasm in her tone.

  He stopped in his tracks, made a U-turn and slowly stepped to her like a panther on the prowl. Lazy, menacing. His thick, dark brows drew together and his face twisted. Before she knew it, he was upon her, looking down at her as if she were some specimen.

  “I’ve never lied to you.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “I’ve omitted some details at times, but never lied. Take it back.”

  “I’m not taking shit back and omitting details is a lie… Same difference.”

  “No it’s not. I tell you what you need to know and you’ve got no room to talk…. You’ve been designing pussy parachutes and tittie holders, and didn’t tell me.”

  “Don’t try to change the subject and it’s not for you to determine what the hell I need to know. You tell me the whole story, not your twisted version of it. I explained to you why I didn’t show you my designs. Now in retrospect, do I regret that decision? Yes, but let’s stick to this right now, please. What happened to our honesty pact?”

  “It still exists, unless you want me to break it. I’m entitled to my own thoughts just as you are. You act like you have to know every damn thing that’s going on in my mind… You don’t, and I keep you safe that way.” He ran his finger over her lips, his eyes hooded… She knew she was in trouble.

  “Stop trying to mind fuck me, Nick.”

  “Fine. How about I body fuck you instead?” In a sudden quick move, he grabbed her, tossed her over his shoulder, and deposited her on the floor in the bedroom like the brute that he was. She looked over at the bed and took in her current predicament with a sense of alarm and excitement.

  “What are you doing?” She crawled back a bit, but he came right after her, violently tearing his clothes off along the way.

  …Monster.

  “Ahhh! Stop it!” He snatched her pants down and tore her panties off, then pushed her down on the on the carpet. Knocking her knees apart with his strong legs, he pinned her down by her wrists, forcing them above her head as he worked to get into position. “Stop it!” she repeated, hating herself for the warm wetness that collected between her thighs at his every utterance and move.

  “Now who’s lying?!” he yelled. “I’m tired of you trying to boss me around! Who tha hell do you think you are? Put that warrior shit somewhere else tonight.”

  “Fuck you!” She laughed.

  “I plan to make you do just that! Ugh!” He surged forcefull
y within her, forcing her up the damn floor.

  “Ahhh! Oh my God!”

  “If you want to jail break into my mind, there’s a way to go about it.”

  “Tell me! Ahhh!”

  He thrust within her again and again, sighing and moaning, eyes closed, lips hanging open as if he needed a moment, or possibly two…

  “Can’t you let me get my ass in the goddamn house first? Jesus! Give me some goddamn space… You don’t come to me demanding shit just because you want answers. You let me fuckin’ relax! Ughhh! Goddamn you’ve got some good pussy, baby, shit!!!”

  “…And what else?” She tucked away a smile.

  “You ask me if I want something to drink, if I’m hungry… just like I’d do for you if I was the one here first today! Ugh!” He kept pounding, going over his rules, driving his point home.

  “Okay… anything else…? Ahhh, shit, shit! I’m cumming!” He pressed down upon her, kissing her hard and heavy on her cheeks as his hips flexed and thrust between her legs.

  “Uhhh! You fuck me… just like this!” He snatched her off the ground, and carried her to the bed, depositing her there so hard, she bounced. Within a flash, he was back inside of her, pounding, thrusting away. Streams of clear sweat rolled down his face and his chain swung back and forth from around his neck. One vein pushed and prodded as if it wanted to burst through his flesh after each lunge.

  “After I unwind, you sit me down and talk to me… Damn, woman!” He laughed lightly then a bit harder, eliciting the same reaction from her. She wrapped her entire body around his beautiful form… His hair, a bit longer in the front, swayed with his efforts and a glow surrounded him, framing him like the damn picture of an angel.

  “God, you are so beautiful…” she whispered as she traced the side of his face with slightly trembling fingertips. She’d forgotten her pain as he forged inside of her; she’d forgotten her frustration, too, and all she could remember at that moment was the love…

  “Oh…shit!” His stormy blues clamped closed as he pushed deeper within her, so deep, she sighed and winced upon feeling head of his dick bumping into the recesses of her vessel. The thick warmth overcame her as he released within her, filling her to the max. He hovered above her, panting, his muscular, lean body twitching every now and again until finally, he opened his eyes and looked down at her while wearing that sneaky, crooked smile that was his and his alone. Sliding off her to lay by her side, he ran his hand up and down his thigh. His breaths came hard and heavy; he closed his eyes once again, snatched the sheets, and covered his dick, as if a sudden breeze had forced him to grow cold. They rested for a few moments, quiet in their respective spaces.

  “Now.” He took a deep breath. “What is it you want to ask me?”

  She hesitated for a moment, then nestled her head on his chest.

  Damn, he feels good. Solid, warm… masculine… intense…

  “What have you been up to at work? It seems like something has you on edge and distracted.”

  He sighed, took a deep breath as he leisurely circled her shoulder with his fingertips. “I’ve been working on a case I have no business dealing with, baby… It’s not mine. But, I have to do it.”

  “I thought you were on desk duty?” Brow raised, she lifted herself off him a bit and looked down at his face. His eyes remained closed, and had she not known the man, she’d mistake him for being in the throes of sleep.

  “I am…”

  She leaned over his body, turned on the alarm radio and sighed as The Brothers Johnson crooned ‘Stomp.’

  “So what is this case?” She ran her fingers over his chest, enjoying the softness of the hair tickling her skin.

  “You know… it’s all over the news.” He grimaced. “The missing little girls…”

  “Oh yeah…” She tapped his chest with her fingertips, snuggled closer to him. “So, what’s going on with that, or can you not tell me?”

  “I can tell you… you just can’t tell anyone else.” His Adam’s apple bobbed under the skin of his long neck as he swallowed. A sheen of sweat collected in the hollow of his neck. The pores were rather noticeable, and the dark brown beauty mark she’d yet to nickname gave her a focal point as she poised herself to hear some shit she knew she may regret even asking the man about.

  “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

  After a few moments, his lips parted and a slight web of saliva danced between them. He quickly licked it away, but kept those damn eyes closed as his breathing returned to its normal rate.

  “Did I ever tell you that, as a little boy, I used to wish a rich, white woman would kidnap me? It was a fantasy of mine.” He smirked.

  “No.” she smiled. “You never told me that… You’re crazy.”

  “Yeah, well, I did. I guess I’d been watching too much T.V.” He shrugged beneath her and licked his lips. “Anyway, that of course never happened but I used to wonder, after a girl disappeared not far from where I lived, who would do such a thing. I could understand why someone would kill someone, hurt ’em, rob ’em, but kidnap a girl that didn’t want to be taken away?” He shrugged. “It didn’t make much sense to me. I figured for a little while she’d probably run away like a lot of kids my age had, but something told me that wasn’t the case, either. Sometimes I’d walk where she’d walk every morning to school. And, I’d think about her and wonder what her last moments were like. I used to look for her, try to see if I could find her… I’d say in my mind, ‘Come out, come out, wherever you aaarrrreee…’”

  “Like hide-and-seek.”

  “Just like hide-and-seek.” A tiny smile crept across his face. “I liked looking for things… I liked the hunt of a good steal. I’d watch a place, try to find the hidden treasures, you know?” After taking a moment, he went on. “I didn’t want to steal the obvious shit, but the good shit, so, I’d bided my time.” He sighed. “So, back to the girl. She’d disappeared, no one could find her, and I was real fascinated by that. Like, almost obsessed. I have no idea why it took Frederic to bring it to my attention as far as me wanting to be a cop. I’d never even considered such a thing before he was like, ‘yo’, this is what you need to do.’”

  “Well, probably because you didn’t have a good view of police officers.”

  “Yeah, that was probably part of it, but I think it was also something I just couldn’t see myself doing. I didn’t care enough, or so I thought, to go ’nd try to help people. But… that girl, Taryn… She haunted me for years. I used to see her walking to school. I was supposed to be going to school, too,” he said. “I used to think about how pretty she was. She never spoke to anyone; she’d just go on her way. I wondered who nabbed her and what they did with her? My thoughts as a little kid got real crazy, almost psychotic. I wondered if they’d raped her, you know? I wondered if they’d sliced into her, cut her… Shit like that happened all the time, it wasn’t anything new, but she was gone… vanished. That was different. There were no answers… I wanted answers. I needed answers, Taryn.” He slowly opened his eyes.

  “Did they ever find her?”

  “Yeah… dental records, many years later. A body showed up, just bones, and a little piece of her jacket that hadn’t disintegrated.” He took a deep breath. “I got all into the cop shows then… Miami Vice re-runs, shit like that. It’s like I was destined to do it, and not just to be the guy waiting to get off the clock and wear the uniform, Taryn. I wanted to be in the heart of it all, in the middle of the action. I did that, and then I wanted to concentrate on the murders. Soon, I wanted to be a homicide detective… but you gotta earn that. You can’t just walk in.”

  …And he’d gotten so close…

  “That’s why it was so hard, wasn’t it? You know, for you to go into rehab, because you knew then you’d have to start at ground zero.”

  “Yup… and that’s exactly what happened.” He shook his head in disgust.

  “Why didn’t you try to make detective first and then turn yourself in? You said in rehab you were about
to take the tests.”

  “’Cause I knew it would have been too late, baby. I was using borrowed time as it was. I could just feel it in my bones, like a premonition, something like that. I had to do it right then. I had kept putting it off, and putting it off; one more ‘putting it off’ and that would’ve been it.”

  “I totally believe you and understand that. I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

  He nodded and kept on. “So, I wanted to be what I saw in the movies, but as I got deeper into it, I saw that a lot of work and slow starts and pauses come along with that…but you know what? I was fine with that, too. It was like a long ass game of hide-and-seek; maybe that’s why it appealed to me, too. Yeah.” He massaged her shoulder blade as he stared into her eyes. “There are quiet times, moments when you are just hanging around, looking. There are instants when you are gathering information, trying to narrow down where you know they aren’t and trying to figure out where they’d been. And in stealing… yeah,” he said with a grin, “same principles apply.

  “I never knew how much the shit I was into was so similar.” He smirked. “Who’s over to the right? Who’s to my left? Who might be coming and who just left? What days and times does such ’nd such work here? How much inventory do they have? Are there any security guards over there? Is what I need on the top, bottom, or middle shelf? How many cameras are set up? And it goes on and on and on. But you’re just standing there, not doing anything, but in fact, you’re doing everything.” He slowly closed his eyes once more.

  Nick had a way of telling her things, explaining them and breaking them down. The way he opened his world up to her, gave her a front row seat, let her know he trusted her more than any damn body in the entire world. His wretched words pulled her the hell in and she was helplessly in love with his depravity, just as much as with his virtuousness. She was a mere visitor in his sordid, torn down, pissed on world, had never been around children like him when she was growing up, but he loved her all the same…