I couldn’t find it.
I hurried back toward the screens and watched as the lumbering man walked around the house, knife dripping with an innocent man’s blood. I looked for the screen that showed the bastard and saw him fighting with another cop.
It didn’t take long for five cops to drop to one.
And the only one left was Cortez.
“No, no, no,” I cried, staring at the dead bodies on the lawn. The man truly didn’t care. More cops were probably called right now; one could only hope.
Something on the screen next to the one I stared at grabbed my attention. It was Logan. He stood and opened the front door, and Cortez came in. He looked good. Alive. Uninjured. He had his weapon drawn and spoke into his radio. This had to have audio, but I didn’t know how to work anything, and if I touched something and lost the picture, I’d be devastated. I needed to know they were okay.
“We are going to be okay,” I said to myself. I watched as Logan and Officer Cortez stood with their backs against each other, just waiting.
Officer Cortez handed something to Logan, something that looked like a sheet of paper. Logan took it, shoved it in his pocket, and shook his head like he didn’t agree. They weren’t focused, and I wanted to yell at them for not paying attention.
“Where are you?” I muttered, looking for Steven. I checked all the screens and didn’t see him. I sat back, confused, and my head ached at the same time I saw him coming through the bedroom window.
The power was off.
The alarm.
I looked toward the door, waiting for the handle to move. He was here. He was in my bedroom. I covered my mouth with my hands to muffle my breathing and turned my head back toward the screen as he strolled through the room. He looked comfortable like he had done it before, and the thought had bile rising in my throat.
The man smirked as he brought my pillow to his face and inhaled. He palmed his cock, stroking himself to the smell of me, and I turned away. I was going to be sick. After a few seconds, I gathered the courage to look at the screen again, and he placed the pillow down, fluffing it before turning his attention toward the opened bedroom door.
Logan.
Tears blinded me. I couldn’t do anything but sit and watch helplessly as a serial killer got closer to the man I loved and someone I considered a friend.
“Look at the hall!” I whispered harshly, but they were only focused on the back door and front. They weren’t thinking about the windows.
Something bad…
At that thought, something blurred through the air from the hallway and slammed Officer Cortez in the neck.
A small knife.
He staggered and raised his firearm toward the hallway, and Steven threw another knife, hitting him in the leg.
“No!” I sobbed, watching Officer Cortez fall to the ground. He shot his gun, and Steven stumbled back. He had two shots in the shoulder, and it wasn’t enough to take him down.
Logan fired his gun next, shooting Steven multiple times in the chest. Steven tossed another knife, but Logan dodged it, firing another shot that hit Steven right between the eyes, taking the man that ruined my life down. Logan scurried to Officer Cortez and spoke into his radio. I read the words from his lips, not needing to hear what he said.
Officer down. I repeat. Officer down.
Logan held the wound against Officer Cortez’s neck, but from here, I couldn’t see if he was still breathing.
My nightmare ended, but someone else’s was just beginning.
Epilogue
Logan
One month later
It had been a hard month for all of us, especially Maria. Cortez was in a coma, and they didn’t know if he would wake up or not. We were hopeful that he would because he is a strong mother fucker, and he would never leave Maria. They hadn’t mended things before the accident, so Maria visited him every day at the hospital and read to him, held his hand, and whispered in his ear how much she loved him.
But nothing ever changed.
Haden had visited the hospital too. Apparently, he and Cortez had become quick friends, and he wanted to be there when his friend woke up. While things could be better, we were just glad Officer Cortez was hanging on. He lost a lot of blood from the knife in his neck that the crazy serial killer threw at him from the hallway.
When they took his body, they counted fifty knives on him that didn’t include the ones in the chest or heads of other officers.
He was a crazy son of a bitch, but I kept Abigail away, she was safe, my baby was safe, and I knew for a fact it threw her serial killer off his tracks. I was just happy that I was able to roll over in the morning and hold my girl.
I felt guilty because Cortez couldn’t do that, not yet, but whenever he made it out of it, he’d be able to hold her whenever he wanted, and Maria would never second guess shit again. She apologized to me and admitted that she never loved me like that, but it was easier to focus on me than the extent of what she felt for Cortez. I didn’t know Maria’s story; I just wanted her story to end with Cortez.
“How are my loves?” I said, pulling Abigail against me.
Her stomach was still flat, and that worried me, considering my sister popped like a week into her pregnancy. After the incident, I took Abigail to the doctor to make sure everything was on track and it was. Our baby was a tiny little bean, growing happy and healthy. Abigail was just tiny.
“Wanting a chocolate milkshake and bacon,” she grumbled, stretching her arms over her head as she yawned.
“Always with the salty and sweet,” I said, rubbing her belly. I’d never be able to repay Cortez for what he did, for helping me keep her safe. I knew when he woke up, he’d say he was just doing his job, but it took someone special to put on a uniform every day and sacrifice their lives. “You stay here. I’ll be right back,” I told her, placing a kiss on her belly and lips. It was a new thing I did every single day, and I was starting to think it would be our little tradition, even when she wasn’t pregnant.
I rolled out of bed and slid a pair of grey sweatpants on. I had to stay naked at night because Abigail woke up four times a night wanting to fuck. Those pregnancy hormones were insane. I loved them.
She hummed when she saw me and cupped my bulge through the pants. Abigail loved my bulge. “Mmm, when you come back, maybe I’ll be hungry for something else.”
“You better be,” I growled, wrapping my fingers around her wrist and pulling her toward me. I kissed her, thinking about all the times I came last night, and I was ready to come again. If she hadn’t been pregnant, last night would have changed that. “Fuck, you’re so hot. Okay, you’re distracting me. I need to go get your milkshake and fry up some bacon.” If she didn’t eat, she got cranky. I only had a small window of time before her mood shifted.
Keep her fed. Keep her fucked.
It was my new motto since that was all she ever wanted to do.
I reluctantly took a step back, then another, and another, still staring at her like I wanted her for breakfast before I disappeared down the hallway. It crossed my mind that I was walking in the same steps as Steven Kirkland when he was in this hallway, throwing daggers at a friend of mine.
It was a nightmare. People died here. I asked her if she wanted to live somewhere else, but Abigail said no. She was happy here, and she didn’t want to run or forget about what happened. She wanted to remember the good and the bad times in her life. I’d do whatever she wanted me to, and if that consisted of living here, then I’d do it. I loved this house too.
One thing did have to change.
I had to replace the hardwood floor because the blood wouldn’t come out of the other. It wasn’t a hardship, but I couldn’t look at it anymore, knowing that bastard got the upper hand on us. We had thought of everything, and I still kicked myself in the ass for not thinking about the alarm being disarmed once the power was out.
When I got in the kitchen, I grabbed a pan and opened the fridge for the milk, chocolate syrup, and bacon.
Closing the door, my eyes came to a picture of all of us, Cortez right in the middle, and my heart ached for my friend. I wanted him to come back, and I believed with all my heart that he would.
I turned on the oven, laid five pieces of bacon in the pan, washed my hands, poured milk and chocolate syrup in the blender, and grabbed some vanilla ice cream. It didn’t take long. In ten minutes, I had what she wanted, grabbed a tray, and then pulled out the Tiffany Co. box from my pocket and placed it next to the plate of bacon.
It was an engagement ring. Three large diamonds surrounded by accent diamond in a rose gold setting. I hoped she liked it.
Shit. I hoped she said yes.
I grabbed the tray and sauntered down the hallway, all while thinking positive thoughts. “Breakfast is—” my words were stolen from me when I saw her lying on the bed, naked, and touching herself. “Served,” I muttered, watching in delight. I nearly dropped the tray when she inserted her fingers in her hole and moaned.
The glass the milkshake was in shook against the metal tray as I sat it down with trembling hands. I snuck the ring back in my pocket and sat down on the bed. She watched me watch her. Her fingers were wet, dripping, and I wanted so bad to put my mouth on her, but I enjoyed the show, waiting for the perfect time to take her hand and place the ring on it.
“Hold on,” I said, my eyes meeting hers. “Give me your hand. I have something that will make this look so much better.”
“Is that so?” she asked, bringing her wet hand up toward my face. I inhaled her sweet scent and then inserted her fingers into my mouth.
I opened the box in my pocket with my other hand, and it took some doing, but I finally got it open and pulled the ring out. I slipped it onto her finger and then placed her hand back between her legs. “Okay, now you can keep going.”
Abigail lifted her hand and stared at the glittering diamonds for what seemed like forever. They were beautiful, and the three diamonds represented the past, present, and future.
“I want to be there to help you through your past, be your present, and grow old with you in your future. I love you, Abigail. I know bad things happen, but good things do too, and you are my good thing. All the bad things, they could never be as amazing, as big and as bright as what I feel for you. Will you marry me?” I asked, getting down on one knee.
“Yes! Yes, oh my god, a million times, yes.” She tackled me to the ground and kissed me, pulled my pants down, and since she was already naked, she thrust herself down on my length, showing me how happy she really was.
It was more than her body. It was her. She was something good.
I felt that.
And I knew I’d feel that for that rest of my life.
Even if she did make a horrible cup of coffee.
The End
Kiss My Boss
Lucy
There were a million things I thought I would never see or do. Space? I was a secretary, not an astronaut. President of the United States? My career trajectory didn’t go that high. I couldn’t even go a single day without using my hands to count. It was a bad habit I was scolded for when I was a child but never managed to overcome it.
Those were reasonable expectations and limitations.
It was just life. It was how it was. Logical, just like me.
What I never thought I’d see— something completely illogical— was my boyfriend of ten years holding another woman in his arms.
In. My. Bed.
The same bed we slept together in every single night since college. He didn’t even see me. I stood in the doorway, holding take-out in my hand from our favorite diner and a bottle of wine, watching him fuck her in a way he never fucked me. Hard, hand around her throat, and plowing into her like he wasn’t worried about causing her pain. My eyes were glued to him, unable to look away from the scene in front of me. It was like a car wreck. I knew I should look away, but the shock made me wonder if what I saw was real.
The girl was a brunette, of course. He always made comments about that—like I should change my hair color at his whim because we were together. I never thought it was a deal breaker.
Our bed smacked against the wall, and both of them were grunting like wild animals. He had sweat on his back, so they had been going at it for a while now. Why did I notice that? It was the last thing I should have been focused on.
“Fuck yeah, you like that, bitch?” He sneered at her, and I flinched because I never wanted to be spoken to like that.
She seemed to love it because she leaned up on her forearms and bit his lips.
“Yes, Daddy. Just like that. Harder. More!” She groaned like she was in the middle of a porn movie. Her pleasure didn’t even sound real.
And Daddy? I would have called him that—if he asked. Hearing it on her lips sent a shiver of disgust through me. The bottle of wine dropped from my hand, and it landed on the floor; the sound of it shattering didn’t even break the shocked daze I found myself in. Red wine soaked my feet, and the dark green glass flew everywhere. It almost cut my feet. I don’t even know if I would have noticed it if it did.
“Oh my god! Brian!” The porn star in my bed pushed my boyfriend off and covered herself up with my blanket.
Brian’s head snapped in my direction, and the color drained from his face as he pulled out of her, his cock wet, and rolled off the bed. “Lucy! I can explain, okay? Baby, listen—”
“Baby!?” The sex doll gave him a confused stare. “You said you were single!”
“I’d offer to introduce myself, but I know exactly where your hand has been. I’m Lucy. Brian’s girlfriend of ten years.”
“Ten…” Her eyes rounded, and her hand flies to her mouth. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry!”
She started to cry, big messy tears, and the only thing I could think about was how I needed to change the sheets again. Actually, I’d burn them.
“She’s nothing, baby. I promise. Listen to me,” Brian wrapped the sheet around his waist and walked around the bed, his cock was hard, and I could see through the white sheet that he wasn’t wearing a condom with this girl. “Janette,” he turned to the girl he had been having sex with. “Wait.” He tried to keep her from leaving by reaching out to her, but she got out of bed and bent down for her clothes.
His attempt to grab her arm resulted in her yanking it away. “You’re an asshole,” she said, tugging on her shirt. She had tears in her eyes, but it didn’t exactly break my heart.
I was obviously in shock. Still trying to process what I was seeing. The fact that he was in our bed with another woman—not even bothering to use protection.
“I can’t believe you. You liar! I don’t mean anything? After you’ve been fucking me for six months, Brian. Six!”
Having sex without protection was our thing. We were each other’s first. We were supposed to be each other’s last.
“Six?” The word left my lips on an exhaled breath. I glanced around the apartment and noticed how all of my things were put away and only his were out. I usually worked until midnight on Wednesdays. So this was what he did. “Get out,” I finally managed to say. I pointed toward the door, and my temper started to catch up with me as my chest rose and fell in rapid breathes from the effort of trying to hold myself together. “Get the fuck out!” I screamed. “Get out of my fucking apartment!” I threw his cologne at him, and the woman took the opportunity to dash out the door, only in panties and a t-shirt.
He dodged the cologne and held up his hands to try and placate me. “Baby, it wasn’t what it looked like.”
I grabbed the lamp and tossed it at him next. The bulb broke as soon as it hit the floor. “So, you weren’t fucking her?” I threw the Rolex watch his father got him and it slammed against the wall, right behind his head. “You’re a real piece of shit!”
“You know I love you. It’s just been always you. You know? I slipped okay. I made a mistake—” He took a step closer.
“No.” I grabbed my jewelry box, lifted it above my head, and grunted when I slung it
through the air.
“Lucy! Oh my god!” The wooden box hit his foot, and he collapsed to the bed, groaning and holding his toes in pain.
Good. I hope I broke them!
“—I love you.” His words came out as a whine. “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”
I pressed my palms to my eyes when they started to burn. I’m going to cry. It was all catching up with me now. “You never loved me. You have been cheating on me for how long?”
He didn’t say anything.
“How long!”
“A few years,” he mumbled, tightening the sheet around his waist.
A laugh that could only be described as disbelief expelled from my lungs. “A few years?” A million scenarios played in my head. Did he have sex with all of them without a condom? How many women? I had to get tested now. It had been a few months since we last had sex, but I never thought he would do this to me. I never thought he was so cruel. “Get out. I never want to see you again.”
“Muffin,” he used the pet name he gave me ten years ago on our first date because I had muffin on the side of my mouth. “Please—”
“You don’t ever get to call me that again. Get out.”
He held his arms out for me, and tears swam in his eyes. The nerve of him! “I said leave!” My voice broke, and he slowly took his keys in hand, gathered his wallet, and stepped over the mess of glass on the floor. “We need to talk about this. We will talk once things calm down. I don’t care how I need to fix this, but I will. I love you. It’s always been you. I fucked up.”
“You’re only sorry because you got caught,” I whispered as he stood next to me. I didn’t look at him. I kept my eyes forward, hating the warmth coming from his body right now. Hating how I smelled the sweat and sex in the air. “I never want to see you again, Brian.” A tear rolled down my face, and I stepped forward, my boots crunching on the glass. I needed to get away from him.
Always The Hero Page 15
