"You," Daisy whispered, suddenly sounding nervous that her creation wouldn't meet his approval.
"Really?" Pierce asked, adding a hint of shock to his voice. "But he's way too good looking to be me."
I huffed out an amused sound and rolled my eyes. Ryan chuckled.
"What are we doing, Princess Daisy?" he asked, eyes back on my child.
"We're having a picnic," she announced. "Every Sunday in the park. You come with us and Mummy makes us a pie to eat, and then you push me on the swing."
And there it was, the little swing from Abi and Ben's backyard, hidden behind the three smiling figures.
"That sounds like a wonderful life," Ryan said softly. "I think I'd like that."
"You will," Daisy declared imperiously, living up to her Princess tag.
"So would I," I whispered, holding Pierce's gaze.
Neither of us realised that Daisy had stopped finessing her drawing, and was instead flicking glances between our faces. Until she announced, "I'm going to show Abi. Leave you two alone."
I closed my eyes and gently shook my head, as I heard Pierce laugh out loud. Then the scrape of Daisy's chair brought me back to the room, and I watched my matchmaking daughter slip out the door, heading towards the lounge.
"Well," Pierce said, breaking the silence left in Daisy's wake, "I can see a lot of you in her."
"Really?" I asked, imitating his tone from earlier.
"Yes," he replied, with a small nod of his head. "That determination when you set your mind to something. That confidence when you're trying to hide how important that something is. I saw it in you that very first day," he whispered, shifting his chair closer to mine, so the length of his thigh ran down the length of mine. "When you stayed under your desk, determined to sort those cables out, even when you knew a man was watching your every move like a horny teenager."
"You mean watching my butt," I pointed out, just as his warm palm landed on my thigh and started to sensually stroke.
"Yes," he agreed, bringing himself even closer, a hot breath away from my cheek. "I openly admit I was ogling your arse, but it was what you were doing, not how you were doing it, that intrigued."
"What do you mean?" I said, a little breathlessly. Every puff of hot air out he made sent tingles through my body. The urge to lean closer was too great. Before he had a chance to answer, I'd manoeuvred my cheek within touching distance of his lips, forcing a sweet peck.
A rumbled laugh followed the kiss.
"Your focus on the task despite distractions," he murmured, interspersing his words with more pecks of his lips against my skin. "But this is where I stray from the similarities between you and your very astute daughter," he added. "Because even when you came out from your hiding spot and saw me, no doubt already putting two and two together to figure out why I was there, you never crumbled, you remained focused, confident, entirely untouchable." A nuzzle of his nose in amongst my hair. "So untouchable I wanted to do just that, so very much."
"Ryan," I said, as his hand swept up my spine, sending shockwaves of electricity through my frame, and then his fingers entwined in my hair holding me captive.
"Say that again," he husked, lips nibbling my jaw, my ear, the corner of my mouth.
"Say what?" I said, sinking into the moment, uncaring if anyone were to walk in on us right then. Ryan could do so much with so little. A simple - or not so simple - kiss, stole all reason, completely.
"My name," he husked against my lips.
I sucked in a small breath and whispered, "Ryan." And that's all it took for him to release his hunger, his desire for more, his need. To allow himself to let go and take what he wanted without conscious thought.
I gave myself over willingly, letting myself be swept away by the firm and demanding press of his lips, the sure and determined seeking of his tongue, the hungry and passionate feel of his touch. We were both so lost to the moment, a moment that was turning X-rated at an alarming speed, that we didn't hear the back door open.
It wasn't until he was standing right before us, arms crossed over chest, fierce scowl on his face, that Ryan pulled back, realising we were no longer alone.
But it wasn't until the guy said, "What the fuck?" very loudly and very angrily, that a sense of dread replaced the lust of before in my mind.
"Harvey," Pierce said, standing immediately to face the man who glared at us with no small measure of shock.
"Jesus Christ, Pierce," the guy said. "You wanna completely ruin your career?"
Career? Oh God. This guy was a cop, another detective. I could see it now in the clothes he wore; casual, comfortable, but designed to blend in. A jacket over jeans, just like Pierce used, to hide the shape of his holstered gun. The set of his jaw let me know he was disappointed, the look in his eyes shouted his shock. He hadn't expected Pierce to get involved with a witness under his care, and I couldn't really blame him.
But I also had no idea how close he was to Ryan, whether he was friend enough to cover his faux pas or sink him in it.
"I'll, ah, go check on Daisy," I announced, thinking it better to leave the two men alone to battle it out.
"Yeah, I think you've done enough damage here for one day, Mrs Costello," the cop said. I didn't miss his obvious use of my married name, a name associated with a criminal.
But I didn't have time to argue or deflect, or even to just turn the other cheek and walk away, because Ryan launched himself across the space between them and landed an upper cut to the guy's jaw.
Chairs crashed and cupboards banged as the two of them went hell for leather at each other's throats. The women were the first to arrive, having been just in the other room talking quietly amongst themselves. I saw Eva grasp Daisy and swing her up into her arms and head off in the opposite direction, thankfully taking my impressionable daughter away from this scene. But Abi and Kelly had no problem launching into the thick of the action, trying to tear the two men apart.
In the chaos an elbow met Abi's nose. She'd gotten too close to the brawling men and suffered for it. Blood began to pour down her chin, as Kelly swore blue murder, demanding the men, "Act like adults and calm the fuck down!"
Then Ben stormed in, with Nick and Adam behind him. He saw the men still trying to deck each other, heard Kelly's admonishments, and then finally, as if in slow motion, he clocked his woman's bloody nose and face.
"Oh fuck no! Stone, Pierce! Quit fucking around!" Nick shouted, reaching out to stop Ben in his tracks, and being deflected easily with a shoulder shove.
Adam tried to get around a flailing Nick, but the two ended up just getting tangled, as Ben landed on Pierce and the other guy; Harvey Stone, I was thinking. And tore them apart, practically flinging them to opposite sides of the room.
"Who the fuck hit Abi?!" he shouted, and the room went deadly silent.
I'd made it to Abi's side, as had Genevieve, and we'd both pulled her back from the melee and were attempting to stem the flow of blood. Our movements ceased at the threatening tone in Ben's voice. All of us standing there and staring at the Māori warrior who loomed over everyone right then.
Neither Pierce nor Harvey answered, and truth is, I hadn't seen whose elbow had connected with Abi's face. But I sure as hell wasn't going to let Ryan get the blame for it.
"That other guy started it." I pointed directly at Harvey Stone, who cocked his head at me and just blinked. Then a small twitch of his lips, before his face went blank.
"Ah, are you OK, Abi?" Pierce asked, making me think he might have actually been the one who inadvertently caught Abi on the nose.
"I'll live," she mumbled, nasally.
"You two fuckers won't if you don't apologise right the fuck now!" Ben demanded.
"I'm really sorry," Harvey said, beating Pierce to the punch by a millisecond.
"Me too," Pierce added. "We hadn't realised you'd come in the room."
"No?" Ben asked, crossing his arms over his chest and staring the two men down. "So, what was so fuckin' important you had t
o act like cavemen and in the process hurt my woman?"
Again, no answer, just heads tipped down, eyes focused on the ground.
Ah, hell. These people obviously all knew each other, were probably normally good friends.
I sucked in a breath, and said softly, "Ah, that would be me."
Ben stared at me for a second and then huffed out a laugh.
"Fuck me," he muttered. Then as he walked over to check on Abi he added under his breath, "Here we fuckin' go again."
And I had no idea what he was talking about, but everyone else seemed to, because one by one they all began to laugh.
Including the guy who had started it; the detective called Harvey Stone.
Chapter 17
Not Even Glancing In My Direction Once
Tension still hung in the air, thick and oppressive, despite the laughter of only moments before. Harvey Stone stood, leaning against a bench, arms folded, hard look on his surfer boy face. I didn't know the man, but I got the impression that scowling was not a normal facial expression for him. With the sandy hair, tanned skin and ice blue eyes bracketed with laugh lines, I could picture more of a genial personality. But I might have been wrong.
Especially since he was still sending daggers my way as though I had lured Pierce to the evil side, possibly destroying his career in the process.
The kitchen was once again filled to the brim. Abi and Ben the only two to have left, and that was out of necessity; Abi's nose hadn't stopped bleeding and Ben, being the type of man he was, needed to tend to his woman more than eavesdrop on Pierce and Stone's continued argument.
The rest of the onlookers though, were eagerly awaiting the fallout.
I wanted to escape and check on Daisy and Eva, but I wanted to take Pierce's back more. Ryan had thrown that first punch because Stone had slighted me, in what I could see now was only an offhand way. But Pierce's quick-fire reaction was almost heartwarming, if you overlooked the aggression and violence of punching someone on the jaw.
In any case, he deserved my support. Funnily, just like Kelly and Genevieve had suggested when I first woke up. Which made me realise I was feeling a little light-headed, exhausted from the small amount of exercise and large amount of emotional turmoil since I returned to the land of the living. I didn't give in to the need to sit down, just swayed slightly on my feet, surreptitiously reaching a hand out to steady myself against the back of a chair.
"You got a problem with this?" Pierce asked, his arms also crossed over a puffed up chest, matching Stone.
"If I did, would it stop you making a monumental fuck-up of your career?" the other guy threw back, effectively knocking the air out of Pierce's lungs with the verbal punch.
"This has got nothing to do with my job," Ryan returned, stance unchanged, despite Stone's sharp edged remark.
"Now that's just plain whacked," Stone said, and I wondered if he was eager to experience another fist to the jaw. "Since when has it been appropriate to get involved with a witness you're protecting?"
I felt more than saw the defeat enter Ryan's body. The truth of Stone's words hitting harder than if he had actually swung a punch towards Pierce's stomach. The whole room became shadowed in concern. If emotions could be felt physically, I swear every person listening in on this conversation would have been giving off dread in waves of crushing pressure. I felt tight all over, as though my chest was being constricted by an invisible force. As though the room was filling up with negative energy that would pulverise me with one small shove.
I couldn't meet anyone's eyes, knowing I'd see their agreement with what Stone was saying. See their judgement of both Pierce and myself. Knowing Stone had a valid point, one that shouldn't be ignored, despite how Ryan and I felt about each other.
This sucked. It actually hurt. The swaying of before had become a trembling and I was determined that no one would see me crumble when faced with insurmountable odds. I briefly considered just walking out of the room, making a quick escape. But I haven't had to face moments of sheer terror in the past and overcome them, to be beaten by the ugly truth coming out of a cop's mouth.
I ignored the stand-off, the fact that Pierce was unable to form a reply, and walked over to the kettle. My movements were a little jerky at first, but as the water from the tap began filling the kettle I breathed through the physical responses my body was making and pulled my once best friend about me like the shield it was. Confidence.
Confidence in the face of adversity. In the face of fear.
And I was scared what this conversation would mean. To Pierce and I, although we hadn't even started. I didn't want us to have to stop exploring whatever arced between us. So, I was scared that we would be forced to. Even if it was the right thing to do.
The kettle lid clunked down and I placed the device back on its stand, pressing the button to start it boiling. I pulled out three mugs from the overhead cupboard I'd seen Abi and Ben use, spooned in coffee and sugar - stuff it, Stone could take his cup of Joe sweet - and then turned to the fridge to extract the milk.
No one talked while I did this. No one got in my way or asked me what the fuck I was doing. Everyone just watched. Silently. No doubt incredulously. But I didn't care. The longer I acted as though nothing could touch me, as though I was encased in a thin sheet of ice, the easier it all became.
The kettle bubbled and steam rose, then with a small hiss and whistle it clicked off. I poured the boiling water over the coffee and sugar granules in the mugs, added milk, stirred and then picked one up at a time and placed them on the table's surface.
Now, the fun part.
"Give us a few minutes privacy, please," I said to the room at large, hoping my crisp tone wouldn't offend. I still didn't make eye contact with them, but instead acted as though I expected my request - no, demand - would be met.
I sat myself down and took a sip from my mug, noting it was still too hot and my tongue burned. I placed the drink on the table, turned it slightly, so the writing on the front was facing directly outward, and rested my hands in my lap.
Silence. Then when the bystanders all realised I wasn't joking, one by one they left the room until just Pierce, Stone and I were left.
"Take a seat, Detectives," I ordered, then flicked a steady gaze at Stone. "I'm assuming you're a detective too?"
For a brief moment I thought he'd ignore me, but eventually he nodded his head, making his pale locks fall forward over one eye, and then he pulled a chair out and sat down. A small, shallow breath of air slowly leaked from my pursed lips.
Pierce walked around to my side of the table and pulled out the chair next to me, making the next breath of air I sucked in almost hitch in relief... and surprise.
The men didn't touch their steaming mugs of coffee.
"Right," I said, head up, shoulders back and eyes flashing ire at both men. "I feel it necessary to point a few truths out to you."
Pierce's arm came up along the back of my chair, a move so simple, yet screaming for everyone's - especially Stone's - attention right then. I glanced over at him and received an encouraging, if slightly amused, smile.
"You know my history, so I won't bore you with details," I started, "but I will remind you that there is more than just my involvement in this sordid mess to consider." I met Stone's gaze directly, making sure he understood the next words out of my mouth were important. "My five year old daughter is in one of the rooms inside this house. Regardless of what you think of me, or what you think is going on between myself and Detective Pierce, she is innocent and deserves your protection."
"I'd never consider anything else," he replied, eyes hardening.
"Then, I ask you to move past whatever disappointment and anger you have with Detective Pierce until this is over. Until my daughter is safe. Making a scene about it right now is counterproductive."
"I wasn't making a scene," he argued, and I lifted my hand in the perfect ice princess stance and silenced his words with my flat palm up between us.
"You were ma
king a scene," I corrected. "It wasn't necessary," I pointed out. "Nothing will happen between Detective Pierce and myself to jeopardise his career." Ryan stiffened, the heat of his glare on my cheek felt real. "I respect him too much to place him in that sort of position," I added.
"Marie," Pierce said in warning, preparing to argue against my statement.
"I also need him too much to jeopardise his career," I announced over top of his next words, making his mouth slam shut with finality.
I'd chosen my words with care, intending to send a strong message home to Detective Stone, but realising in the process that I would hurt Ryan. Make him think that my need of protection for my daughter was the only reason I was entertaining anything more from him right now. It wasn't, and I planned on explaining this to him when we were alone. Insisting that if we pursued this attraction we shared, it needed to be done in private. So potential thorns in our sides like Harvey Stone could be neutralised, before they became a problem for Ryan's career.
But of course there was a risk he'd take my statements to heart. He'd believe them as I was hoping Stone would believe them. And gaining his trust again would be too hard.
I flicked a quick gaze at Pierce, hoping he saw something of my intentions in my eyes, but whether he did, I couldn't say. His jaw was set, his lips were pressed in a thin, firm line, and his brow was furrowed with either confusion or anger, I'm not sure.
I decided now wasn't the time to placate him, I needed to concentrate on getting Detective Stone on side.
"So, you see, you have nothing to worry about," I concluded, holding Stone's level gaze.
He was leaning back in his chair, his hand up to his chin, elbow resting on a crossed arm. Contemplating. Me. My sincerity. Whether he needed to knock more sense into Pierce.
Part of me expected Ryan to argue further and the fact he didn't left me with a small measure of hope that he'd cottoned onto what I was attempting to convey. Of course, it could have been pure masculine pride. If she's not into you, you don't keep chasing. But at least he wasn't naysaying every word out of my mouth and creating further doubt.
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