by Carmen Faye
Melissa’s breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t sure how to reply to his questioning, or what he was up to with asking it. “I think anytime someone dies, it’s life changing,” she answered stiffly.
“Yes, but a child is worse.” He continued. “He didn’t do anything wrong. Just showed up in the wrong place at the wrong time. And in most cases, the wrong place is just playing near his house.”
Her body stiffened.
“I can’t imagine how that would feel. Especially for the ones caring for him.”
“Logan, is there a point to this?” Fuller looked up and glared at her boss.
“I just want these gangs off the street,” he replied. “Why, is something bothering you?”
“Only that you are interrupting my ability to work.”
“Sorry,” he stood to walk out. “Why don’t you go home, Fuller? You’ve been here constantly since you got back. Go home and spend some time on your personal life. The file can go with you.” He smiled and walked out with a wave and promise to see her on Monday.
Breathless, Fuller decided to take his advice. She needed space from this office. She’d grab some takeout and head to her apartment to relax. Maybe she’d even pick up a movie. It sounded like the perfect Friday night.
***
“Do you think she knows?”
Logan looked up from his lunch and stared at the object of this business meeting. Sometimes he found himself wanting to smack the shit out of the guy. But that wasn’t very good professionalism and he was nothing if not a professional.
“Knows what?” he asked with a smile.
“Any of it,” the idiot responded. “Especially that you are fucking with her right now?”
Logan looked at his fork and imagined what it’d be like to throw it across the table. The idea alone made him smile. Unfortunately in his line of work there was no choice but to deal with morons. And this particular moron had a lot of power. Enough that Logan could disappear in an hour and no one would ever know what happened.
That was enough to make him obedient.
“No. She has no clue. The whole thing is making her crazy and she is trying not to think of it. That works in our favor.”
“I say we just get rid of her. It’d make life easier.”
“I know it would,” Logan began. “Why do you think she’s working the gang case?”
“To fuck with her head?” the guy questioned, certain he already knew the deal.
“Well, yes.” Logan answered honestly with a smirk. “But when she’s taken down, no one will know who did it. Those gangs are hard to keep track of. And it keeps you and me, out of the spotlight.”
“And Hudson?”
“I’m working on him,” Logan admitted. “He’s tougher. But chances are when she’s taken down, he’s going to do something really fucking stupid. And then he’s going down.”
“I like that idea.” The man chuckled. “Asher Hudson, hopeless romantic.”
“More like Asher Hudson, hopelessly romantic inmate for life.” Logan smiled and raised his glass.
“I can drink to that,” the man picked up his glass and reached out to clink it against the one in Logan’s hand. “Here’s to ending this once and for all.”
***
Melissa seriously hoped no one had seen her rent the movie. Not because it would embarrass her. But she hadn’t seen a damn bit of it. And she’d tried three times over the weekend. She’d also tried listening to her favorite music, reading a book she’d been trying to find time for and even catching up on her favorite TV show.
Nothing worked for her. Instead she found herself lost in thoughts of Asher Hudson. It wasn’t even the sex anymore. It was the loneliness. She missed him. Was that pathetic, she wondered?
She couldn’t stand being home. She was bored. She was alone. She wanted something more. And she knew what that something was about. As she roamed from room to room trying to decide what to do, she thought about the fact she’d spent more than a month locked in a room. One room. And yet she’d enjoyed it more than she’d enjoyed any of the freedom she currently had.
She would almost trade her own life right now to go back behind lock and key in Hudson’s house. And that part terrified her.
Finally, Melissa decided to stop avoiding and just face the facts. She needed to work. It was all she had. And even if the case was going to touch on every nerve she had, she would just do it anyway.
The file had been sitting on her dresser since she came home on Friday. She had refused to open it because she was giving herself a break. From work. From the case. From the memories.
But she wasn’t helping herself. Instead of relaxing, her break had caused her to remember how empty her life was. How void it was. How much she missed the man she shouldn’t miss.
Maybe the twenty four hours she hadn’t focused on the case would give her a fresh perspective. Perhaps she would have a small clue that would help her.
Grabbing another cup of coffee, Melissa sat at her own table and pored over the same paperwork she’d been looking at for a while. Reading the same case details.
She decided to pull out a notebook and jot important facts. She didn’t even think as she wrote them one by one. Dated facts that somehow had to do with her case. At the end, she glanced at the notes she had made.
January 2nd: Drive by. East end. Elderly man shot. Not involved. Witnesses say known gang. Names unknown. Fully automatic. Detective Larsen takes case.
January 15th: Robbery. Outskirts of city. Convenience Store. Clerk shot. Dead on scene. Second employee in freezer. Said known gang. Name of shooter unknown. Police delayed due to surveillance ordered by ATF. Fully automatic. Detective Larsen.
January 27th: Two fully automatics found in ditch outside city. No prints. No known use. Doesn’t match shootings. Detective Larsen.
February 10th: Just outside city. 6 year old boy shot and killed outside of his apartment building. Witnesses say two rival gang members were arguing. Shooters unknown. Fully automatic. Detective Larsen calls ATF for assistance.
Something about her notes was bothering her, but she wasn’t sure what. She made a mental note to contact Detective Larsen. He seemed like he’d be a helpful person to work with. After all, he’d requested the ATF help.
Besides, Larsen was a decent man. She’d realized that the day he’d picked her up when she left Hudson’s house. He’d been almost as glad to see her as Wallaby was. She felt bad that he was stuck on a case like this. From his end it seemed damned near impossible.
She hadn’t spoken to him since she’d gone and thanked him for the ride. That was about a week or so after he’d picked her up and taken her back to the office. She remembered it because she’d stopped and picked him up a little treat. Valentine’s candy had been everywhere, so her choice had been a giant kiss. She’d smiled and told him that she wanted to give him a platonic kiss for making sure she got back safely.
She hated realizing it was almost Valentine’s Day. It was a not so subtle reminder of the feelings she was trying to avoid. So she’d spent it thanking those that made a difference in her life. Which didn’t include Logan.
She shook her head. It was hard to believe it’d been almost a month since she’d seen him. Touched him. Held him. If she’d waited a few days longer, they might have spent the holiday together.
That train of thought is what made her realize what it was that bothered her about her notes. The dates.
The first was the day after she’d been caught in the closet. The last was right after she was back. All of the shootings had taken place while she was being held in Hudson’s bedroom. Except for the last. That had been two days after she got back.
Her stomach twisted into knots at what that could mean. He was leaving a lot. Taking care of things. She’d heard him herself. He was playing her. He didn’t care if she was dead once her usefulness had worn off. Wouldn’t that mean he was dangerous?
Melissa felt her heart rate increase and she suddenly was dizzy a
nd nauseous. Was Hudson behind the shootings? Was he the one dishing weapons out? She had seen weapons in his basement. Serious weapons.
And drugs.
Fuller looked back down at the file and tried to find any other clues in the details. She didn’t want to feel or think what she was feeling and thinking. She didn’t want this to be the way it appeared. She wished she could wipe away the concerns.
Could it be possible that the work he kept leaving to do was supplying gangs with what they needed to be, well, gangs? She looked for any correlation between the two.
Picking up the phone, Fuller didn’t pay attention to the time or day. She just dialed the numbers and waited on someone to answer. It was the life of an agent. It was the life of anyone that was fighting crime. Your job didn’t have off times.
“Larsen.” The voice that answered was groggy. He had been asleep. That realization was what had reminded Fuller that it was late. But it was too late to take the call back.
“Agent Fuller, ATF,” she introduced herself before she explained her call. “I’m sorry to bother you, Detective Larsen, but I’m working on the gang shooting case and I need to meet with you.”
“Now?” he asked.
“As soon as possible,” she replied. “I’ve got some questions that I need to ask.”
“Can we meet in the morning? Breakfast and coffee?” He suggested while trying to sound like he wasn’t annoyed. But she knew he was.
“Sure,” she answered and conceded that the man deserved sleep. “Is seven okay?”
She heard the grunt before he agreed and named the diner.
“See you then, detective,” she hung up the phone.
Picking the file back up, Melissa knew she wasn’t getting any sleep. If her worry was correct and Hudson was involved in this it meant something she didn’t want to face.
He was responsible for killing a little boy. Right after she’d told him about her brother.
CHAPTER 17
Hudson was pacing again. Something that had recently become a bad habit. Usually he was in his bedroom, but at that moment he was in the kitchen. Trying to decide what he could eat while all he was really doing was walking back and forth.
He’d spent weeks focused on his time with Agent Fuller and he still couldn’t make sense of any of it. She had been perfectly fine the night before. Why did she suddenly leave?
Part of him wanted to believe that she had gotten too close. He wanted to think that maybe her feelings were so strong that she was scared. Obviously she wasn’t trying to harm him. Her initial goal of landing him in jail hadn’t been achieved and she certainly had enough info to do that.
Dakota had told him that he was just having a reaction to being rejected. Especially since the first woman to reject him was also the first woman he’d felt close to. Loved.
As he stood and stared out the small window above the sink, his mind drifted backwards. There had been a night when she hadn’t really talked much. He could tell a lot was on her mind. She’d sat eating her dinner and avoiding eye contact.
He remembered feeling rejected then. As if she wanted to be away from him. But he was okay. He didn’t pace and worry himself to death. It made sense. She was captive. She wanted a man she’d vowed to catch. And thanks to him she was all sorts of sexually frustrated.
He didn’t like seeing her so quiet. That had made him tell her something. Something from his childhood. It wasn’t even really an important story. Just something that let on to who he was and what his life had been like. Something he told a dozen people through the years.
But she wasn’t those people. She’d immediately looked up, eyes full of curiosity. She’d focused on his words as if they held the secret to life. She’d listened and nodded in the right spots. She’d commented when it was a good time. Mostly, she’d watched him. Enjoying him talking. And when he was done she’d smiled.
He remembered asking her what about the story made her smile and her answer had been so simple and so honest it had stuck out in his mind.
The fact you shared it with me.
It was in that moment that he’d known. The feelings stirring inside him were more than lust and control. He’d felt something real. Something he’d never really known. And it was because of her.
All he’d wanted to do that night was brush the hair from her eyes and pour his soul out to her. But he’d been afraid. Too dangerous. So instead he’d made a sexual comment and watched her blush. Then he’d gotten up and left to go downstairs. He told her he was doing business, but really he was avoiding. His feelings. The girl. The idea that she could someday smile at him as his wife. He’d spent the rest of the night pacing and trying to decide how to regain control of his heart. His mind. His reactions.
It had been another several days before he’d let himself fall into it. Spend time with her. Talk to her. Share. Hope. That someday she’d see he wasn’t what she thought. That they could share something. That he could be with her for more than a few weeks and without locking her inside.
Hudson was angry. He remembered telling her she could venture upstairs. Why the fuck had no one told him about secret passageways and tunnels. He would have taken precautions.
But why had she waited. She’d had access to the upstairs the night before. Why did she wait until morning to leave? Especially since he’d been meeting with the guys and she was alone.
Granted, he was glad she hadn’t tried to leave. What if she had? She may have heard him say those things. She wouldn’t have known they were for her protection. Knowing her hot-headed little ass she’d have confronted him. He’d have to lie to her face to protect her.
He was just glad that hadn’t happened. But he still didn’t understand why she’d left at all. Or why she’d waited.
That was when he decided she must have plotted the move. Maybe she’d explored and found her way out the night before. She was pretty smart. She had to know that she needed time to get away. At least an hour before they looked for her. Otherwise he would catch her and he’d have no choice left but to do something about it.
The guys would never let her get away with that. They’d never let him get away with it. He wondered if she’d left any clues. Dropped anything that might tell him why she’d taken off like she did. What her plans were.
He opted to go check out the passage to the basement and the tunnel again. He wasn’t frantic this time and he might see something they’d missed.
It took about ten minutes to find the shelf. But once he did, it was easy to get it open. Asher made his way inside and took his shoes off before making his way down the steps. He didn’t want the guys to hear him.
About ten or so steps down he heard voices.
“I’m concerned,” he recognized Dakota instantly. “Asher isn’t himself right now and I can’t really go to him. “
The words pissed him off. He could always be approached. He thought his guys knew that. Being sad and hurt didn’t mean he couldn’t function. And for Dakota to assume that was the worst.
“What’s up?” the other voice was audible, but muffled slightly. Asher wasn’t certain who it was.
“Someone’s not on the up and up.” Dakota said.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a lot of information being discovered that is strictly club info,” Dakota answered. “Things that no one outside of us should know. Yet it’s getting out. So that tells me that someone is talking.”
Hudson heard mumbling from the other person but couldn’t make out what was being said. Obviously Dakota was closer to whatever source was carrying the voices.
“It was happening before the agent was here and it’s getting worse,” he spoke clearly. “I think we have a leak inside the club.”
Hudson was mad. He wanted to go find Dakota and ask him what was going on. But he didn’t want them to know he’d spied on them. It might make them feel violated. Hell, he almost felt like he was deceiving them just by listening. He did, however, decide that he was going to skip goin
g through the tunnel. He needed to be with his guys. Obviously he was missing quite a bit by staying to himself.
Climbing back up the stairs, Hudson decided he’d look around and see if Dakota was nearby. Then he’d chat with them and hope that someone would warn him of what was going on.
The living room wasn’t far from the stairs and Dakota sat in the recliner that was placed in front of the heating vent. There was no one else in the room.
“Sitting alone?” Asher asked his friend.
“Yes,” Dakota answered. “Knowles was here, but he went to call his wife.”
That explained why Asher could barely hear. Knowles mumbled all the time anyway. Hearing him through a vent would be damned near impossible.
