Hostile Desires

by Melissa Schroeder

  “I hate to tell you, but they’re already wagering on us, love,” he said.

  She shook her head, even though she knew he was right. More than likely, there had been a bet on them for several months.

  “What are you going to do today?” she asked.

  “I’m running down a few of those CIs that we came up with last night. Checking to see who’s still alive, who’s still in the system.”

  “Have fun with that. I have to go over my notes for the Sanders’ case next week. I want to make sure I’m ready.”

  “Lunch then?”

  “If you’re lucky,” she said with a smile, as she walked toward the lift.

  She was still smiling when she stepped onto the lift and hit the button. There was something to be said about younger men. She could not remember smiling this much as an adult.

  The doors slid open and Drew was standing there waiting on her. He was wearing one of his Doctor Who Weeping Angels shirts today, along with a pair of khaki cargo pants. She knew a lot of people would object to Drew’s choice in work clothes, but she couldn’t. First, he was one of the best assistants she had ever had. Second, Drew might not be wearing a suit, but he was always neat. Besides, they lived in Hawaii. Wearing a suit wasn’t normal. You could always pick a haole by what he wore.

  “Good morning, Doc. How are you feeling today?” he asked.

  “Pretty good. How about you?”

  “Counting down the days to the wedding.”

  She smiled and walked over to her desk. “I didn’t see that they needed us for anything up at TFH, and we’re now way down on the list for the HPD, so I thought you could help me prepare for the Sanders’ case.”

  “Great idea. Don’t want to be caught off guard.”

  He went to the filing cabinet and started pulling out folders. He was tapping his foot to some internal song that only he heard. She had never met anyone who was always in such a good mood. Drew was usually early to work, beating her to the office more than once, and he always wanted to help her. Her one worry was that Cat would hurt him. Not on purpose, because Cat wasn’t that kind of person. But she knew better than most how an affair at work could blow up in your face.

  The moment the words sunk in, she realized what she had been thinking. Here she was worried about Drew, and she was the one in the affair with someone at work.

  “Doc?”

  She shook herself and looked at Drew.

  “Are you okay? You look a little off.”

  She sighed. “I just realized that sometimes we make mistakes, and there is just no way to avoid them.”

  He nodded. “Are you talking about you and McGregor?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Is it that obvious?”

  Drew shrugged. “It is to me.”

  “Oh lord.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You know, you have always been nice and funny. But I don’t think I’ve seen you truly happy until these last few weeks.”

  She sighed. “I don’t want my happiness to depend on a man.”

  “Why not? And why is it that he is the only reason? My mother always says that people’s love isn’t based on any known scientific data. Not really. You can’t predict it, right?

  She nodded, fascinated by his enthusiasm.

  “Sure, they can talk about the chemicals your body produces, but that initial attraction is individual. Every person has a personal experience with love and attraction. Plus, Mom says that you should never measure love by how much you need someone. It isn’t always about what you need, but what each relationship builds.”

  She blinked. “Your mother is a wise woman.”

  “Yeah, she is. Dad always says she’s the brains of the business.”

  “And he’s the creative one?”

  He nodded. “See, again, they built something together. Just like I want to do with Cat.”

  Again, apprehension hit her. Drew had been infatuated by the tough officer since they had been introduced about a year ago. Everyone knew about it, and while she knew Cat was intrigued, Elle wasn’t convinced Cat understood how much Drew cared about her.

  “Drew, be careful with Cat.”

  He laid the file on her desk. “I won’t hurt her. My mother raised me better.”

  “I was talking about Cat hurting you.”

  Drew patted her on the arm, as if to reassure her, which was odd. Elle was usually the one who was doing the reassuring.

  “Cat seems all tough, and she is, but there’s a soft heart beneath that armor,” he said. “I plan on being the one she trusts to show it to.”

  She stared at him a long time. Everyone thought of him as innocent, but she knew he wasn’t. Well, not an innocent, but everyone thought he was naïve. Then, there were times like this that he would make a comment that was so bloody insightful, he stunned her.

  “You really understand her.”

  He gave her a wink. “I told you, my mom raised me right.”

  “Right. Okay, let’s get to work.”

  “You have a lunch date with McGregor?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Who texted?”

  “Cat and Floyd.”

  “This is just getting out of hand. You know, one of these days, the HPD is going to get onto this, we’re all going to get arrested for illegal betting.”

  Drew shook his head and said nothing, but she knew that if they figured out what had happened the night before, someone won a big pot.

  “You shouldn’t really care,” Drew said.

  “Why is that?”

  “McGregor is definitely smitten with you.”

  “I’m not the kind of woman men get smitten over, Drew.”

  Drew frowned. “Why would you say that?”

  She shrugged. “I was a nerd in school, and much too serious. Getting straight A’s was more important than getting a date.”

  “I don’t think you realize how amazing you are.”

  She could feel her cheeks heating. “Drew, I think we need to concentrate on work.”

  “No, Doc. You need to know. You know I think of you as my mentor?” She nodded.

  “I had a lot of trouble concentrating on work when I first got hired. I think it was your accent, which is sexy enough to hear for folks on the mainland, but even more exotic here. You are quite the catch, Doc.”

  “That is so sweet, Drew.”

  He smiled. “Thank you.”

  She leaned closer. “And just so you know, if Cat hurts you, I will make her cry.”

  He was still smiling, then it faded. “You are kind of scary.”

  “You don’t know the half of it.”

  * * *

  Adam parked his motorcycle on the street in Aiea and sat there. He’d been making this weekly visit to Jin’s for the last few months, mostly checking up on her, and partly for himself.

  From the moment she had been abducted by the serial killing duo known as The Akua Killers, Adam had blamed himself. His own personal relationship with her had always been strained. He’d been infatuated with her from the start, and she had been using him to get information. So he had avoided her, and she had almost died because of it. He should have known she would go too far. She was always pushing for the best story, looking to make a name for herself. And then, she had been given the story of a lifetime: inside information on a serial killer that was terrorizing Honolulu.

  Those two bastards had known just how to play her. They pulled her in, giving her access to details no one else had. Jin was a good news reporter, but she was still a little green. Because of that, she had almost paid with her life, and she had definitely lost a piece of her soul.

  With a sigh, he stepped off his motorcycle, then walked up the path to her house. She’d never been a gardener, but she had kept it somewhat clean before. Now weeds littered the lawn, and it was at least three weeks overdue for a mow. Hell, there was trash lying there. The Jin he had known before her abduction would have never allowed that.

  Ignoring the mess of her yard, he took the steps up
to her front lanai. He didn’t know why he did this, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. It wasn’t that she really talked to him, and since she had left the hospital, she had only allowed him in her house twice. The second time, she had said it was too much. But, he still couldn’t stop trying.

  He rang the doorbell and waited. The door opened slightly.

  He could see her, barely, but it still wasn’t good. She had lost a lot of weight, and she rarely wore anything but pajamas. She seemed to be getting worse by the day.

  “What do you want, Adam?” she asked. He hated the flat tone. He wanted the bubbly vivacious woman back.

  “I wanted to see if you were doing okay.”

  “I’m fine.”

  The two words from a woman he knew meant the polar opposite.

  “Did you need me to bring you anything by?”

  She shook her head, and started to close the door.

  “Jin, do you think you could let me in?”

  She stared at him without blinking, then she seemed to wake up from a trance.

  “No. Not today.”

  The sound of her voice, the tremble told him she still could barely handle talking to him. Frustration filled him, but he kept his voice steady.

  “Okay. You still have my number?”

  She nodded, not making eye contact.

  “Text me once every few days, just for my peace of mind, okay?”

  She hesitated, then nodded and shut the door. He heard her lock the door. Four locks. The woman now lived in a fortress away from the world.

  He waited, just for a second, wondering if he should demand more interaction, but he knew that was the wrong reaction. He turned and walked away, and realized he had fisted his hands. It was a damned shame one of the bastards had fallen off the balcony, and the other was in a mental institution. Adam really wanted to make both men hurt. Her attackers deserved to suffer for what they had done to Jin. It was hard to see the woman, who had enchanted him so easily, hollowed out. Six months since the bastards had assaulted her, and Adam still couldn’t get to her.

  As he reached his motorcycle, Adam decided he’d have to talk to Elle about it. He knew her history, so she might be able to give him some kind of insight. He needed to do something or he might lose Jin.

  * * *

  Jin peeked out her curtains and watched Adam as he drove away. It was hard on her, harder than he would ever know, to have these conversations. She stayed there, hidden by most of the material, until Adam’s taillights disappeared around the corner.

  With a sigh, she walked away from the window. Most people wouldn’t categorize the interactions she had with Adam as conversations, but these days, it was what she could handle. Other than talking with her group or Elle, she rarely interacted with anyone. It was just easier that way.

  But she lived for these days. Adam had been dropping by once or twice a week for months now. Twice, she had let him in the house. It had taken all of her courage to allow him beyond the threshold. It had been too much.

  Her head started to pound. These days, any kind of stress caused migraines, which led to sleepless nights, but at least then she wouldn’t have nightmares.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next day, Graeme looked over the list of confidential informants, and he wanted to groan. Forty names. He had spent all of yesterday on it, and he felt as if he had made no headway. This was going to take forever.

  “I see that face, but you should be happy Adam worked the list down some,” Del said.

  Graeme scowled, looking up from his desk. Standing in the doorway, Del smiled at him.

  “Quit being so bloody pleasant.”

  His smile widened into a grin. “Sorry. Can’t stop it. Getting married in a few days, and I have a baby coming in less than a year. Plus, my mother is making red sauce with meatballs tonight. All is right with the world.”

  Del’s mother had arrived the day before and apparently hit the ground running. She’d been cooking Italian dishes and babying Emma.

  “Damn, you know how to make a man want to punch you.”

  His boss chuckled, and walked into the room to take a seat in front of Graeme’s desk.

  “So, how many names are you at?”

  He handed over the list. “I have forty to run down. The easiest part is running them through the computer. I am assuming some of them are dead.”

  “Don’t sound so chipper about wanting people to be dead. The mayor frowns upon it.”

  Graeme shrugged. “Then he should deal with this bloody mess.”

  “Always sunshine and rainbows, McGregor. That’s what I like about you. That positive outlook is a shining example of what Marines can do.”

  Del paused, as if weighing what he would say next. “Is everything going all right with you?” he asked.

  Graeme studied his boss. It was an odd turn in their discussion. Del wasn’t the typical boss, but he rarely “checked” on McGregor.

  “I’m fine.”

  He sighed. “Okay, I tried to be subtle. Are you having any issues? Remember, I know about your time in Iraq, read the reports. You lost a lot of your squad.”

  He leaned back in his chair and realized that he never really talked about it with Del. Of everyone on the team, they were the only two who had seen combat in recent years. Both of them had worked Special Forces and had seen some of the worst of humanity, so Del understood. No matter how far you were from battle, you always carried the scars.

  “I’m fine. I still have dreams every now and then, but that’s why I took a year off in Edinburgh with my family. I took each day as it came. Plus, there’s Dumfries; he’s really helped out.”

  “Good. I just wanted to check in.”

  Graeme studied him again and realized they shared something in common. “You’ve lost someone?”

  Del nodded. “Hard ass sergeant who couldn’t deal with it when he came home. Started drinking, his wife left him.”

  Del didn’t have to finish the story. Graeme knew exactly how it ended. Unfortunately, there were too many of them who understood too well what it was like to lose someone to suicide.

  “I’ve had some scary moments, but I never wanted to go that route. Part of it is the thought of my mother. She would follow me into the afterlife and box my ears.”

  Del smiled. “Yeah. I have a feeling it would be the same for me. Sounds like you like strong women.”

  He nodded. “In my house, there was no doubt about it. Strong women ruled.”

  “I’m assuming that’s why you like Elle.”

  He shrugged, as he started tapping on the keyboard. “More like love.”

  There was a beat of silence. He hadn’t even realized he was going to say that, and especially not to his boss. If there was anyone who should know first, it should be Elle.

  “Want to repeat that?” Del asked.

  Graeme looked at Del. He should hold back, wait until Elle was ready to accept it, but he couldn’t. He was just too bleeding happy, he had to tell someone. “I love her. Kind of hard to hide the fact. I would never get involved with a woman at work if I wasn’t serious.”

  “Love her? As in marry and have babies and all that kind of thing?”

  It was an odd reaction from a man who was doing just that. “Not sure about all that other stuff, but yes, spend the rest of my life kind of thing.”

  Del shook his head. “If that don’t beat all.”

  He shook his head. “You Americans and your weird sayings.”

  “Really? You’re being judgy? You eat haggis.”

  “My father makes the best in Edinburgh. I can’t wait to get back there this summer and have some myself.”

  Del turned gray and made a face. “Please, my stomach’s still off.”

  He chuckled. “Leave me to work. I want to get this done, so I can hunt a few of these wankers down.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Oh, about that trip, I want to take a couple weeks off this summer if that’s okay. I want to make the trip b
ack to Scotland, see the family.”

  “Just give me the dates and we can work around it,” Del said before walking out of the office.

  Now that he thought about it, he would have to convince Elle she needed to go with them. She could meet his family, then she could take him to Inverness so he could meet her Granny. It was too fast, he knew that, but he didn’t give a bloody hell. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy the feeling and the woman who inspired it.

  * * *

  Late that afternoon, Elle was ready to call it a day when the office phone rang. It was a local number and, while she didn’t recognize the number, she decided to take one last call before she closed up.

  “Hello, am I speaking to Dr. Elle Middleton?” a female voice on the other end of the line asked.

  “This is she. Who are you?”

  “My name is Amanda Anderson from Hawaii Now Blog, and I wanted to ask you about a case.”

  She sighed. It was part of the job, she understood that, but she did not like talking about cases. It was one of the things she loved about TFH. Del had a strict no press policy. She shut down her computer before she answered.

  “Dr. Middleton?”

  “I’m sorry, but I cannot comment on an open investigation.”

  “This one is closed. In fact, you helped close it seven years ago. I assume you are able to talk about closed cases, correct?”

  Something tickled at the back of her throat, as dread slipped over her. Dammit, what the hell was going on?

  “Seven years ago?”

  “Yes.” Elle could hear the woman clicking on keys. “You worked with a Gerald Walton, is that correct?”

  Her shocks dissolved as her anger started to rise. She would kill him. Better yet, she would tell her father, and he would kill him. Knowing her father, it would involve some kind of painfully slow-acting poison.

  “I don’t understand why you would call me about an old case like that. The perpetrator was caught and convicted. He’s still in prison for murder.”

  More keys tapping. Elle wondered if she was really looking for information on the case or logging into a social media site.