Damaged

by Indigo Sin

  Seth sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face as he sorted through the pile of file folders stacked on his desk. Armed robbery, hit and run, domestic assault, it was the same shit in every one. The fact that he had a meeting with the chief to go over his evidence in the pick-pocket case in just a few short minutes wasn’t helping matters either. He was going to want to know what the holdup was, but Seth didn’t have anything new to report. And last night’s events were definitely staying off record. Chief Kesson would have his ass if he found out that he’d let the mark escape. He’d had her right where he wanted her, and he’d choked.

  The phone on his desk sounded with a soft beep before the secretary’s voice came over the line. “Chief Kesson will see you now, Officer Jackson.”

  Seth hit the intercom and leaned toward the phone. “I’ll be right there. Thank you, Sue.”

  Pushing away from his desk, he left his office and made his way down the long hallway toward the Chief’s office. Carlton Kesson didn’t fuck around when it came to the job. He was cold as ice, hard as steel, and could cuss a blue streak that would make a sailor blush. He didn’t take no for an answer, and he always got what he wanted. It made walking into his office to lie right to his face a daunting task. He’d been able to dodge the last two requests for meetings because of emergency calls, but today the odds weren’t working with him. It was time to face the music.

  The massive black man behind the desk sat back in his chair and pulled the reading glasses from his face when Seth pushed through the heavy glass door. The Chief’s keen brown eyes watched him until he was seated in the leather chair across from him.

  “Seth, so glad you could make it,” he stated, his voice deep and dripping with sarcasm.

  He almost smirked, barely maintaining a blank expression. “Chief. What can I help you with?”

  Carlton tapped his pen against the arm of his chair in annoyance. “You know goddamn well what I want, Jackson. What the hell is going on with your case? Every night you’re out on patrol, but you haven’t reported anything back or made any arrests. I’m not paying you to dick off, kid.”

  Kid. The nickname he’d earned after joining the force five years ago at the age of twenty-five. At the time he’d been the youngest, and despite the fact that he was now thirty years old, six foot three and two hundred fifty pounds, the name had stuck among his fellow officers.

  “I’m not dicking off, boss. I’ve been on patrol, but I haven’t had any luck locating the suspect,” Seth lied, brushing imaginary lint from his t-shirt. “The thief is stealthy as fuck, and tracking the boy is nearly impossible. He knows his way around.”

  Carlton stared back at him. The chief could smell bullshit from a mile away, and he was definitely on the scent. “And your excuse for blowing your partner off last night when he was supposed to be on stakeout with you?”

  Now that one he hadn’t prepared an excuse for. Seth shrugged. “I forgot he was supposed to come along.” If that didn’t qualify as pulling something out of his ass, then he didn’t know what would.

  Carlton barely contained his irritation, becoming visibly rigid, tightening his fists. “You forgot.”

  Seth nodded, crossing his ankle over his other knee. “Yup.”

  “It’s insulting that you’d even think I’d buy that load of shit,” The Chief said through clenched teeth. “I should be able to rely on you of all people to make some headway in this case. I need to see some results, Jackson.” He leaned forward, pointing a thick finger at Seth, his face going ruddy. “Pull your head out of your ass and do your job, or I’m putting someone else in charge of this case.”

  The smirk he’d been holding back slipped. “Ten-four, boss.”

  What the Chief didn’t know was that he’d been out watching his mark every night, even the nights he wasn’t on duty. Truth was, seeing her in action was a work of art. Her victims never even saw it coming, and she was long gone before they discovered they’d been had. She fascinated him, yet he was no closer to knowing anything about her.

  Carlton sat back in his chair and slipped his glasses back onto his face. “Get the fuck outta my office, kid. I don’t wanna see your face again unless you’ve got a suspect in custody.”

  “Got it.” Seth rose from his chair and made his way to the door. He wasted no time getting the hell out of there. The big man had a knack for intimidating everyone he came into contact with. Seth had once watched him reduce the leader of one of the biggest gangs in Detroit to tears. It was awe inspiring and terrifying all at once. Best to stay on his good side.

  When he returned to his office, he rolled his eyes as he walked through the door. Sitting in the chair next to his desk was his partner, Evan Forester. With his feet propped up on the surface of Seth’s desk, he had his hands clasped behind his head while he lounged carelessly. For three years they’d been together, and that was as close to being married to another man as he would ever get. Evan was always in his business about something, and the look on his face today said that he had a whole lot on his mind.

  “I called you last night to pick me up for stakeout, but you didn’t answer. You didn’t tell me you had plans,” Evan drawled, flipping the toothpick in his mouth to the other side with his tongue. Running his hand through his short black hair, he was the epitome of laid back. He was similar to Seth in size, but an inch taller.

  Seth unfastened his duty belt and placed it on the desk before slumping into his chair. “I didn’t know I had to okay my plans with you, sweetheart,” he mocked. “I had shit to do.”

  Evan narrowed his sharp brown eyes. “What the hell is up your ass today?”

  “You,” Seth retorted bluntly while pulling out a file and pretending like it was the most interesting thing he’d seen all week.

  “Not yet I’m not, but if you continue keeping me in the dark about things, I will be.” Evan knew him better than anyone else in the precinct, and he knew when Seth was talking shit. How did you tell your partner that your head was all fucked up over a girl that you didn’t even know? A girl who was currently a criminal suspect in the case they’d been working for a month? The answer was simple.

  You didn’t.

  Fessing up to that tidbit of info would probably get him suspended, and definitely reassigned to another case. Neither of which he was on board with.

  Seth shrugged. “Then we’re all good, because I’m not hiding anything from you. Get your filthy boots off my desk.”

  Evan reluctantly let his feet fall to the floor as a small smile tugged at his lips. “There’s a woman, isn’t there? You’re getting laid, aren’t you?” He shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. “Dammit, you dog, I knew it.”

  “No.” Seth was going to break his partner’s nose yet. It was definitely happening, and he was going to enjoy it.

  “Bullshit,” Evan snorted. “Who is she? The little redhead from the diner that’s always flirting with you? No wait, I bet it’s that brunette with the tits that works the front desk at the DMV.” He held his hands out away from his chest insinuating breasts as he waggled his brows lecherously. He was such an asshole, but only because he almost made Seth smile with his shenanigans.

  Instead, Seth rolled his eyes and dropped his pen on his desk. Sitting back in his chair, he pinned his partner and friend with a droll stare. “None of the above. Get out of my office.”

  “Aw, man, don’t be like that. If you’re gettin’ a little trim, I’m happy for you,” Evan sighed. “I just feel like we’re drifting apart, you know?” The bastard even pouted his fucking lip as he spoke.

  “You’re an idiot.”

  Evan grinned as he rose from his chair, kissing the air in Seth’s direction. “Okay I forgive you. I hate when we fight.”

  Seth shook his head as the door closed behind his friend. He was a pain in the ass, but he wouldn’t want anyone else watching his back in the line of fire. If shit went down, he could count on Evan. No questions asked.

  When he finally had the room to himself again, he pull
ed the mystery woman’s file from the drawer and flipped it open. Rubbing at the days’ worth of beard growth on his jaw, Seth picked up the pixilated security camera photo of the suspect. It did look like a young boy, but he’d felt every curve of her small body under him. She was all woman under her guise. Her age was difficult to pinpoint, but he estimated her to be about twenty—twenty-two at the oldest. From what he could see of her facial features, she was fine boned, making her appear younger than she probably was. She was attractive, and those eyes…he couldn’t get those honey gold eyes out of his head. She had been terrified, but pure determination sizzled in her gaze. She was a fighter through and through, which only intrigued him more. What had she been through that drove her to the lifestyle she led? There was only one way to learn more about her, and that was to continue watching her.

  Sliding the picture back under the paperclip on the top of the file folder, Seth flipped it shut before shoving it back into the drawer. No case had ever affected him like this before. Placing the belt around his waist, he grabbed his jacket from the hook near the door, swinging it on as he exited. He would go home to change before the stakeout like he always did. Blending in with the crowd was easy in street clothes, and if he got lucky, he’d encounter his suspect out on the prowl. The loot she’d made off with the night before wouldn’t have gotten her enough money at pawn to last her long, and if he was right about her having another mouth to feed, she would be on the streets again tonight.

  Bypassing the front desk, Seth left through the side door, crossing the parking lot to his car. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon, leaving very little daylight left. He had just enough time to get home, changed, and in position. Why he was looking forward to it was a mystery. He should be pumped up, ready to make an arrest, but he wasn’t looking forward to it for that reason. She was becoming a sick addiction.

  He needed to see her again.

  Chapter Three

  “I don’t understand why you have to go out again tonight,” Sarah sighed, pushing her long black hair from her face. “We got enough at the grocery store to last us for quite a while, as long as Jack doesn’t have another growth spurt.” At seventeen, Sarah and Jack were smart as whips, and didn’t miss a thing. It hadn’t taken Sarah long to figure out where the money was coming from. Monica hated that. Explaining to her siblings that she had resorted to petty crime to provide for them had been gut wrenching. She was ashamed to set such an example for her younger brother and sister.

  Monica rolled her eyes as a plastic cup appeared out of nowhere, seemingly hurled at Sarah’s head. She was able to duck in time to avoid it, but wasted no time picking it up to throw back at Jack. “Would you two knock it off already? We can’t afford to buy new stuff, so let’s try to not break anything else, please?”

  Jack slumped back onto the couch. His hair, the same color as his twin’s, fell over his forehead into his eyes. He needed it cut, but he refused every time she suggested it. “She started it,” Jack shot back as he flipped through the channels on their tiny, thirteen-inch television. “Man, it’d be nice to get more than five channels on this piece of crap TV,” he complained, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

  Raising two teenagers at her age should be illegal. She spent more time breaking up fights and stopping petty arguments than she did anything else. Moving to the kitchen, Monica sorted through the mail, a task that was never any fun. Bills, bills…more bills, and not near enough money to pay them. It was amazing how much it cost for a two bedroom apartment, and they weren’t in the best neighborhood either. Every night they went to bed to the sounds of police sirens and shouting. On a bad night, even the occasional gunshot would rouse them from their sleep. It was no place for children to be raised, but they had to live within their means, and that wasn’t much of anything. When she could get a better job, they were moving someplace better, maybe even out of state if she could swing it.

  “Dammit, I swear I just paid the gas bill,” she groaned, tearing the small white envelope open. Well, she had paid some on the gas bill. They were still behind by a hundred and twenty dollars. In fact, they were behind on all of their bills, and August was fast approaching, which meant putting Sarah and Jack back in school. Registration would set them back a lot, but it was a necessary expense. The twins still needed to go to school, no matter how bad things got. Their education was first and foremost on the list of expenses that were vital. Looking for a new job was going to be her first priority come Monday morning, but for now…she had to make do.

  Sarah already had that look on her face when Monica reached for her black hoodie hanging near the door. “Look, Sarah, I have to go out. We have bills, and you have school coming up. I don’t have any other option.”

  “What if you get caught, Monica?” Sarah argued, crossing her arms over her chest. “What will we do then? Huh? We can’t come bail you out. Heck, we can’t even afford cab fare to the police station.”

  Monica smoothed her hair back into a tight ponytail before pulling a dark ball cap on, tugging it low over her eyes. “I wouldn’t expect you to. You two are old enough you’d be okay here by yourselves for a little while. Besides, I’m not going to get caught, so let’s just drop it.” Her confidence wasn’t as high tonight, though. After her run-in with mystery man the night before, she’d been rattled. She had been caught. She could have been turned in and arrested. Sarah and Jack could be sitting here alone right now, with no idea what to do next. The thought made her stomach turn.

  Sarah huffed, letting her arms fall to her sides. “But Monica…”

  “I don’t have any other choice right now, Sarah. What do you want me to do?” The words came out harsher than she had intended, and the hurt was visible in Sarah’s big blue eyes. Regret clawed at her brain. “Sarah, I didn’t mean—”

  It was already too late. She was gone in a swish of silky raven hair, with the bedroom door slamming shut behind her. Monica sighed and let her head fall back. She’d have to mend things later when she got home, but the sun was setting fast, and if she wanted to get her mission over with before two a.m., she needed to go now.

  Pulling the hood up over her hat, she pocketed her phone. “Make sure you lock the door behind me and latch all of the bolts.”

  Jack didn’t even look up from his spot on the couch. He was used to the safety speech. “Got it, Sis.”

  “I’ll have my phone on vibrate. If anyone knocks, you ignore it. Do not answer the door for anyone, understood?”

  Jack rolled his eyes, tossing his head to move the hair from his face. “Well, there goes my evening then. I have three hookers coming at eleven. They’re gonna be super disappointed when I refuse to let them in.” His tone was dry, bored.

  Monica narrowed her eyes at him. “Not funny, smartass. I mean it.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know,” he retorted. In the last few months, Jack had entered some strange phase. He was defensive, angry all the time, and it was starting to scrape at Monica’s nerves. Shit, she was doing the best she could. Yes, she felt terrible that Sarah and Jack couldn’t do the things normal teenagers did, but they had to stay off the radar. If anyone found out where they were, she’d be going to jail, and the kids would be returned home.

  Monica pushed that thought away as she stepped into the hallway, waiting momentarily until she heard Jack move across the apartment to click the locks into place. When he had secured the last mechanism, she shoved her hands into her pockets and hit the stairs. The scent of stale smoke, piss and some other smell that she didn’t even want to begin to analyze, assailed her nose. The carpet lining the hallway to the main door was ripped and worn, the yellowed wallpaper peeling from every surface. It was disgusting, it was nearly inhumane, but it was home for now.

  She moved quickly, terrified of running into the guy from apartment twenty-six. She didn’t even know his name, nor did she want to. Last time she’d come face to face with him, he’d pinned her to the wall, offering her two hundred dollars to suck his dick. Not eve
n she was that desperate. Monica shuddered as she remembered his toothless grin and sour breath, inches from her face while his dirty hands groped her ass. A well-placed knee to his balls had allowed her to escape, but his promised retaliation rang out loud and clear as she ran away, desperate to put as much distance between them as humanly possible. You’ll regret that you little bitch…you’re gonna get raped, and you’re gonna love it. You wait and see! There was little doubt that he’d follow through on those threats if given half a chance, and just the thought of it had bile stinging the back of her throat.

  After passing the apartment in question without a sound, Monica pushed through the filmy glass doors and stepped onto the sidewalk. Clouds had moved in since she’d last looked outside, and light haze of drizzle was filling the air. It wasn’t a good sign. There were less people out when the weather turned, which meant less cover to do her thing. Without the crowd, it was more difficult to blend in—increasing the odds of being spotted. Dammit.

  Regardless of the setback, Monica pushed on, turning into the alley behind her building. Her boots splashed in the puddles as she moved with a purpose, focused on what she needed to do. It was unusually chilly for a summer night. The damp air seemed to seep right through her sweatshirt and jeans, stealing the warmth from her flesh. Suppressing the chill that snaked up her spine, she stopped at the mouth of the next alley, taking a moment to check the street before stepping out. She’d been right. The crowd was dramatically smaller than usual, so she’d need to be on top of her game tonight. She couldn’t afford to be distracted in any way, but after the night before…she couldn’t help but ride that jagged edge of anxiety. She’d been sloppy and reckless. There was no other excuse for what had happened. If she had been paying attention, he never would have gotten close enough.

  Her eyes darted haphazardly around the street, taking note of vehicles and people who looked familiar, but everything seemed to be clear. It didn’t take long to zero in on her first target, a group of young men making their way to a bar. It was obvious that they had started the party earlier in the evening, judging by the way they swayed when walking. One of them even had his wallet sticking out of the top of his back pocket slightly. It was almost too damn easy. Monica passed by, made her grab, and shoved the leather bundle into her pocket. They were none the wiser.