Forever Together

by Naughty Aphrodite

  “Hey!”

  I turned it on, seeing the background photo before he could yank it out of my hands.

  “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to play with what isn’t yours?”

  “Was that your sister?” I asked, having only seen the little girl for a split second.

  “Yes.”

  “She’s adorable.”

  His defensive stance eased and he dropped his arm, letting me see his phone. He was definitely hiding something. But what? Whenever someone was that possessive about their phone, it was never a good sign.

  “She looks just like you.”

  “The good-looking gene runs in the family.”

  “But apparently not modesty.”

  “No, that’s just me. Caroline is very sweet and polite. She always says please and thank you, even if she’s grumpy.”

  “Must have had some really amazing parents.”

  “Actually, I pretty much raised her myself. Since she was two.”

  I furrowed my brows in confusion. “Why?”

  “I’d rather not get into it right now.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” I instantly felt bad. “I didn’t mean to…”

  He held out his hand to stop my rambling. “Don’t worry about it. If you really want to make it up to me… you’ll give me your number.”

  “Why do you think I was trying to steal your phone?”

  “Ohh,” he chuckled. “That makes sense. Alright, give me a second.”

  He unlocked his phone and pulled up the new contact form.

  I filled it in and handed it back to him. I had the urge to go snooping around, but I had the sense that he wouldn’t let me.

  “Success!” he yipped in triumph, thrusting his fist into the air. “Wait a second…”

  He tapped the ‘Call’ button. It rang and rang and rang, but finally, someone answered.

  “New China! Pick up or delivery?”

  He narrowed his eyes in my direction. “Really? A Chinese restaurant…”

  “You weren’t supposed to actually test it out.”

  He shook his head. “You’re a sneaky one, aren’t you? But this isn’t my first time getting a fake number.” He handed his phone back.

  I had no idea why I was being so hesitant. I really did like this guy. He was different from every other guy I had met before. Charming. Witty. Confident.

  Maybe he was right. I was scared to start a relationship and make myself vulnerable.

  I bit the inside of my lip, trying to contemplate what I should do.

  I guess giving him my number wouldn’t be the end of the world… right?

  Chapter 6

  HECTOR

  The next day, I went to my studio. I had some photos I wanted to develop in the dark room. Mostly just nature shots from my hike, but I had also snagged a few pictures of the beautiful Alicia Fox.

  Such a fitting name, I thought to myself with a chuckle.

  I glanced at the film and smiled. I was going to have a lot of fun with those. The only thing that would make it even better would be if I had her by my side…

  Maybe that could be arranged.

  I grabbed my phone, about to dial her number when I hesitated.

  Was I doing the right thing by getting involved with a detective? What if she found some clue that would connect me to the infamous H.P. Emulsion? Then my sister would be without a caregiver and there was no way an orphanage would pay for all her medical expenses…

  I paced around the room, contemplating my decision.

  If I was smart, I would just forget about her and move on, but there was something about her that made me want more. Much, more. I knew I would never be fully satisfied until she was mine, even if the spark only lasted a moment. It would be all worth it.

  Without thinking about it any further, I dialed her number, pressing the phone against my ear.

  For a second, I thought she wouldn’t pick up, but on the fourth ring, I heard the telltale click of someone answering.

  “Hello?” She sounded like she had just woken up. Her voice was still scratchy.

  “Hey, did you miss me?” I asked in a chipper voice. I knew that at times I could be rather annoying, but that was half the fun.

  “Ugh!” I could almost picture her hiding her head underneath a pillow.

  “Did I wake you, Miss Sleepy Head?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Sure, but then you’d have to listen to my breathing through the line and that could get a little creepy.”

  “What the hell do you want? What time is it anyway?”

  “Almost eleven. For you to be still in bed, I’m curious as to what time you went to sleep and what you were doing up so late. Thinking about me, perhaps?”

  “No. My favorite show was on,” she replied way too quickly. It was obvious she was lying.

  So, she was thinking about me. Excellent.

  “Anyway, since today is apparently your day off, I thought you might want to come down to my studio and take a look at some of my photographs.”

  “And why would I want to do that?”

  “Because there are some really nice pictures of you in this batch…” I coaxed, knowing no girl could resist looking at a photo of themselves.

  “Wait...” Her voice sounded more alert. “When did you take a picture of me? I did not give you permission –”

  “Calm down,” I cut her off before she could reprimand me. “They’re all innocent. I promise.”

  “I still didn’t give you permission –”

  “No, you didn’t, but I did it anyway. Are you going to come down and handcuff me? You know, I might like that. Push me up against the wall, give me a strip search… I’ll be one happy man.”

  She groaned. “Text me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can. And I swear, you better not do anything dirty with those pictures.”

  “Whatever could you mean?” I feigned innocence.

  “Don’t play dumb.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  With that, she hung up, leaving me with a wild grin on my face. I didn’t know why I was having so much fun toying with this woman, but I just couldn’t help myself.

  ***

  About an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

  “Why hello there, I’m surprised you don’t have your handcuffs ready to arrest me.”

  “Trust me, if I could, I would.”

  “Do you really hate me that much?”

  “Hate isn’t the word. You’re just annoying.”

  “So if you don’t hate me, then you must like me.”

  “Doesn’t work like that,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. She was wearing a V-neck shirt that dipped down rather low. I could just about make out the light blue lace of her bra.

  A flurry of lust ran through my body at the sight of it. Damn. She was definitely trying to tempt me, no matter what she said.

  “So, are you going to invite me in or what?”

  “Oh, right, right, where are my manners?” I swept my arm, prompting her inside. “Make yourself at home.”

  “This is a rather nice studio. You must be really good at photography if you can afford all of this. Not to mention the car you drive.”

  “I thought it was rude to ask about finances on the first date,” I said, closing the door behind her.

  “If you think this is a date, you’ve obviously never been on one before.”

  “Oh? Would you rather I take you out to a fancy restaurant, suffocate you in overpriced roses, and then bring you back to my place for a nice time between the sheets?”

  “No, but I wouldn’t have minded the free food.”

  I chuckled, “I should’ve known. Food is always the key to any woman’s heart, no matter what they say.”

  “Make it Italian and I might just start liking you after all,” she grinned, a bit more flirtatious.

  I wondered what had happened to change her demeanor l
ike that. Maybe she had a nice dream about me or maybe she just saw reason. Whatever it was, I wasn’t about to start complaining.

  “So, what do you do in here?”

  “Well, this is where I finalize my photos. Since I didn’t use a digital camera on our nature walk, I have to develop all the film. That gets done in the dark room. It’s my favorite part of the job. I really like how chemistry and art come together.”

  “Hmm, I see. Do you mind giving me a little tour?” she asked, a little too eagerly.

  I was starting to think that she wasn’t being nice just to make me happy. She wanted something.

  “Sure. But I don’t want you to bump into anything so you’ll have to hold my hand.”

  “Is that really necessary?”

  “Absolutely. I don’t think you’d want to get any chemicals on your nice clothes… or that blue lace bra of yours.”

  Her cheeks instantly reddened at my comment and she pulled up her shirt. “You perv.” Before I could stop her, she hit my arm.

  “Ow! Jeez. No need to be so harsh. It’s not like I fondled your breast or something.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You were still being a perv.”

  “Okay, okay. Let’s go before you kill me.” I opened the door to the dark room. “And I’m serious about holding my hand.”

  “Fine,” she relented. Our fingers locked together as I guided her through the room. I was so used to it that I could probably navigate it with my eyes closed.

  I started to explain the process of developing a photo. Alicia seemed pretty interested, especially when I mentioned the word ‘emulsion.’

  “Do you mind explaining that last part again?”

  I stopped and looked at her. “Look, I’m not dumb. I know you’re working on the H.P. Emulsion case. Maybe if you let me help you, we can catch this guy – together.”

  “You know I can’t give you any details about the case. You’re a civilian.”

  “You don’t have to tell anyone.”

  She hesitated a moment, biting her lip as she considered her options. “Okay. So, tell me everything you know about emulsion.”

  “Well, emulsion is just a mixture of liquids.”

  “So, it’s not anything special?”

  “No, not really. More of a technique than anything.”

  “So, why would this guy make Emulsion his alias? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Well, if you ask me… emulsion is the mixture of liquids, right?”

  She nodded, “Right.”

  “So, maybe he’s trying to hint that he isn’t the only one behind the crimes.”

  She thought about this for a moment. I could almost see the cogwheels moving in her brain. “I can’t believe we never thought of that… H.P. Emulsion must be a hitman working for someone higher up…” she thought aloud.

  “That’s what I think anyway. If he hasn’t been caught yet, he must be smart enough to lay down a clue like that.”

  “But, if he’s so smart, why would he kill all those people? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Maybe he has a reason.”

  “There’s never a good reason for killing someone,” she said, her voice firm. There was a fiery look in her eye and I nearly gulped.

  Maybe I had said too much.

  “Do you want a coffee or something?”

  “Actually, that would be great.”

  I nodded, heading to my office in the adjoining room. I turned my back to her as I operated the coffee machine and measured out the appropriate amount of coffee beans.

  “Do you want black or white?”

  “Regular is fine.”

  I heard her touching something. When I turned around, she had my sister’s photograph in her hand.

  To my horror, the envelope Raul had given me the day before was on the desk. Maria Vasquez’ rap sheet was right beside it.

  Had Alicia seen it?

  I couldn’t be sure.

  I cursed myself for being so careless.

  “You really love your sister, don’t you?”

  I cautiously walked over to my desk, not wanting to draw attention to myself. “Yeah. She’s the only family I have left,” I answered, waiting for her to look at me. When she did, I subtly hid the envelope in a nearby drawer.

  Thud.

  Alicia’s eyes flickered down toward the drawer.

  Quickly, I pulled out some sugar packets.

  “You keep sugar in your desk drawer?”

  “When Caroline used to play here, she always took the sugar off the counter and ate it right out of the packet. I had to hide them here so she wouldn’t get herself sick.”

  “You know, you talk a lot about your sister, but I’ve yet to see her. Where do you hide her?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m starting to think she’s just some kind of elaborate plot to make me fall for you.”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “Then where is she?”

  “In hospital.”

  Alicia’s expression faltered as if I had just slapped her across the face with this information.

  “St. Anne’s if you don’t believe me. Third floor. Room 307. She’s been there on and off for the last two years. Autoimmune disease.”

  “Oh…” her voice fell, “I didn’t know.”

  “Of course not, you just assumed I was some crook who would lie to you.”

  “That’s not what I meant…”

  “You know, maybe you should just leave.” I wasn’t actually mad at her, but pretending to be gave me the perfect excuse to kick her out and stop her from figuring out that I was, in fact, H.P. Emulsion.

  “Hector… I wasn’t –”

  “Look, it’s obvious you’re not interested in me. I’m sorry that I’ve wasted so much of your time already.”

  She frowned, her lips pressed together into a thin line. She looked like she was about to apologize once more, but I silenced her with a wave of my hand. She finally got the message, leaving the studio just as her coffee finished brewing.

  ***

  The moment she left, guilt flooded my mind. But, I had my sister to think of. If Alicia figured out who I truly was, I’d be up a creek without a paddle.

  Feeling a bit jittery, I sipped my coffee. As I set it down, my phone started to ring. The number that flashed on my screen showed up as ‘Restricted’.

  Raul.

  Great, that’s exactly what I needed…

  I sighed, knowing I had no choice but to answer.

  “Hello?”

  “Been having an eventful few days, have you?” Raul asked. His voice had a certain edge to it.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t give me that crap, Price. You know I have eyes all over this city. Even inside that little studio of yours.”

  My eyes widened and I looked around, searching for any bugs he might have planted.

  “Don’t bother trying to find them. They’ll just be replaced with even more,” he said, his voice calm and yet icy.

  The hair on the back of my neck stood on edge. This was bad. Very bad.

  “Anyway, I’ve noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time with a Miss Fox. Or should I say, Detective Fox? Now, care to explain to me why you’re playing with fire? Don’t you know you’ll only get burned?”

  “She doesn’t know I’m H.P. Emulsion.”

  “You better hope she never finds out. Or you’ll be rotting behind bars for the rest of your life. And a pretty guy like you? I bet you’ll be real popular with the inmates.”

  I ground my teeth in frustration.

  “Oh, and don’t think I missed that little tidbit you told Detective Fox.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Playing dumb will get you nowhere, Price.”

  “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”