The Deadliest Secret (The Deadliest Series) (9 page)

              Gwen arrived back at her office and she just fell into her chair. The file was marked confidential, all of her files were marked in the same fashion but this one felt so much more ominous than any others. It was so thick with arrests, warrants, bail revocations, and early childhood reports about his parents.

             
“Bingo” Gwen breathed out uttering the word low.

             
She started reading the in depth reports about Kody’s parents. His sister. His little sister died suspiciously. She read about the marks on Kody’s body. He really never stood a chance with the system.  She was still caught up in her reading when there was a knock at her door.

             
“Come in.” She said without even looking up.

             
“Hey.” It was Torrian’s voice, she snapped the file shut, and he did not need to know what was going on with this prisoner.

             
“Hey!” She sounded flustered; she worked on controlling her voice. “What can I do for you Torrian?”

             
Torrian’s impish grin was too much to handle, she cracked a smile of her own. “I wanted to have lunch with you and ask you out for Friday.”

             
“Friday? I have to go to my parents; I have Friday dinner every week. I missed last week.”

             
“Oh” Torrian’s face fell a bit.

             
“I can ask if I can bring you, as long as you don’t mind my mom trying to have her version of the Spanish Inquisition during dinner? She makes a good spaghetti.”

             
“That sounds good, I don’t mind meeting the parents.” He winks at her, and her heart skips a beat.

             
“You don’t mind?”

             
“Gwen, I like you. I like you a lot. I have wanted to ask you for a date for a while. Now that we’ve gone out, I want to keep going and if meeting your parents is one way I get to spend more time with you then so be it. I should meet them anyways if you want me to be your boyfriend.” He concluded simply.

             
“You’re my boyfriend?” She was dense about things sometimes.

             
“No, but I want to be. It’s up to you.” He was still smiling wide.

             
“After you meet my parents let’s see if you still say that.” She warned.

             
“Deal, but I think I’m still going to want you.” His gray eyes darken with lust

             
“We’ll see.” She winked.

             
The couple sat in her office, exchanging banter while they ate. Gwen felt her nerves ebb slightly, after they both were finished eating she lobbed her trash into the bin. If felt different but the same with Torrian. He was genuine and kind. She was attracted to him.

             
“Do you want to come over to my place tonight?” Gwen was suddenly alarmed with her own question, why did she ask that? It sounded like a proposition.

             
Torrian swallowed hard. “Yes.”

             
Gwen answered with a smile. “I mean so we can talk, I like talking to you.”

             
“Yeah me too Gwen, me too.” Torrian checked his watch and cursed, “damn it’s time to go back to the grind, and I’ll see you later baby.” Torrian bit his lip as if he didn’t mean for that to come out but he goes with it. He kisses Gwen’s cheek and heads out of the office.

             
Gwen goes back to reading the case notes about Kody. She was pained to read about his childhood, his adolescence; she could not stand to read about his college years. That is where they met. She knew how those years went. By the time she stopped and took a look at the clock it was time to clock out and have Torrian over to her house.

CHAPTER Nine

Hours later Kody felt a presence at the end of his bed, he opened his eyes up long enough to see Torrian Ford at the end of it. The guy was full of smiles this time.

             
“What happen? You get your dick wet in the supply closet?” Kody shot at him.

             
“Yeah your mom came by for a visit so we put her to work.” Torrian sneered.

             
“Fuck you piece of shit.” Kody was pissed, he hated what his mother was but still the guard had no right to talk about her.

             
“Get out of that bed, you’re going back to general pop today.” The guard announced.

             
“I don’t feel like it.” Kody laid his head back down.

             
“Get up, or I will get you up and you will lose any respect when they see you getting your ass carried down.” Torrian warned.

             
“Whatever” Kody was exasperated, he kicked the blankets off of himself and started to get out of the bed, he was standing by the edge when Ford grabbed his wrist and unhinged it from the steel of the bed frame.

             
Torrian quickly took the handcuffs off of Kody McQueen and quickly grabbed the guys’ wrists. He had seen a few of the arrest records. The man was lethal if given the chance. This thought irked him more and more. This dangerous man was in Gwen’s office often. He was alone with her. Torrian suppressed his shudder he could not let the scumbag see the effect he had, he needed to exercise complete control over the situation and his emotions.

             
He wanted to hurry this process along; he started marching the prisoner out of the hospital wing towards general population. Torrian had read what else happened on Friday night. He was disgusted, his cell mate was still in the hospital wing, his nose was broken, stitches in his forehead, and he was on a heavy pain killer to keep him sedated and out of the pain his body would undoubtedly be in. Kody was sick, even for McNeil standards this guy was out of it. He quickened the pace just so he could continue with his day. He smiled, after all this was his last thing to do till he turned over command to the next shift officers.

             
Torrian opened the cell after they arrived the sounds from the other prisoners almost hushed as if they knew what Kody was; “inmate step in.”

              Kody obliged without much fight, he wanted to get to work on what he had planned for his beloved Gwen. He followed the ritual and stuck his hands through the bars to be freed by the guard.  He doesn’t say a word as the guard turns and walks away from him. He was finally free to start working on his drawing, and maybe something else for his woman.

             
He hid the drawing between the pages of the book he checked out of the prison library.  He opened the book, the spine creaked with protest and overuse but Kody ignored it, he didn’t really care, he just cared it was big enough to offer protection for his art. He opened to page sixty-nine and gave a wry smile for his crude joke. The smile did not flatter his features; his lips pulled up and looked as if it was a partial snarl, his eyes dark and soulless, his cheeks were hollowed which caused his cheek bones to protrude and make his face to appear more angular. His look was becoming as evil as his heart, not that he cared, he preferred it this way, so no one would dare come near him or what was his.

             
Kody looked upon his picture of Gwen, the drawing was near complete the lips were still off but he would rectify that today. He spent what felt like hours gazing at her lips, he knew every line, every contour, and every curve of her sensual lips. He thought back to earlier today, she was biting her lip and somewhat distracted. Was she thinking of him too? Did she think of him as much as he thought of her? His questions kept going as he slowly drew the outline first. He left a slight gap between her lips as if she were opening them for him to come to her, her mouth inviting his to hers to taste her, to claim her. She used to love it when he did that, he would claim her roughly and her moans would force him to continue, the passion between them was undeniable in the past, she had to come around, his strokes on the paper became more and more urgent as his mind continued to work. He added lines, then creases, and soon the drawing came to life, her lips looked as if they were coming off the page, they were full and perfect. The next part of his plan to win Gwen back was the poem he dedicated to her in college, he remembered every line and every dramatic pause and he began writing the poem out, wanting the poem to be as perfect as the picture he soon became obsessed again. His Gwen was rapidly becoming his entire world again.

              When her alarm chirped signaling four-thirty had arrived Gwen was relieved. She was going to be able to go home and relax; the session with Kody this morning had her stomach in knots still. How could she still even want to remember what happened? She had repressed the memories because of how purely evil he was, but why were they now gnawing at her heart like a rabid dog. She grabbed the file from her desk detailing all of Kody’s crimes against humanity and stuffed it in her case. She had to get going or she would be missing her normal ferry off of the island.

              Torrian was on the boat watching the dock for Gwen’s usual almost late-flustered walk. She never disappoints. Soon the clack of her heels signaled she was there, her eyes were down and there was a pucker between her eyebrows, she was deep in thought. He watched her board the boat not even noticing that he was there. Whatever was in her mind was quite disturbing. Torrian felt he needed to find out; he sat down beside her and nudged her gently from her chaotic mood.

             
“Hey” He tried on his most charming smile, he wanted to dazzle her.

             
Gwen’s breath hitched when she observed his face, Torrian had to stop from chuckling; she spoke slowly. “Hey Torrian. Sorry I was distracted, heavy case load and I just got to thinking too much I guess.”

             
“No worries babe.” Torrian snakes his arm around her shoulders in a friendly but still possessive gesture.

             
“Thanks, about drinks… is that what you really want to do?” Gwen’s face flushed lightly.

             
“Of course, if that’s what you want.” Torrian remembered she was a workaholic just like himself, but she never even took the time to date, or hookup to release that tension.

             
“Yes, I mean I hope you don’t expect anything from me.”

             
“I expect a good drink and some talking, that’s it” He emphasized each word.

             
Gwen visibly relaxed a bit more. “Oh okay, making sure. I just didn’t want to sound too forward.”

             
“I could hope you were but damn Gwen you aren’t that type of woman and I like that about you, you’re different than what I do.”

             
“Really Mr. Ford?”

             
“Yes Doc Bjorkman.” He burst out in laughter when she cringed.

             
“I guess we’re going to my place then for a bit. You can’t stay too late, we both have work tomorrow.” She chastised him, his ego deflated a bit, but he remembered slow and steady may cause blue balls, but it wins the race.

             
“I’ll follow you Gwen.” Torrian said right before the horn signifying they were nearing the dock sounded.

             
As normal Torrian walked Gwen to her Lexus, the air between them was different, it was charged with a tension that kept bringing Torrian closer and closer to Gwen as they walked across the train tracks, shortly before reaching her car when he was sure they were alone he extended his hand and took hers into his, he laced their fingers fast and smiled to himself. The movement was simple but felt right. He was supposed to be holding her hand.  He looked at their fingers his tanned fingers offsetting her white knuckles with a lopsided grin.

             
“What are you smiling at Ford?” Gwen quipped

             
“You” Torrian brought their hands to his mouth and pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

             
“Careful someone might see you being less than your normal hard ass self.”

             
“Don’t care about that Gwen.”

             
“Torrian we could get in trouble if we get caught not stow the romantics and we can go talk.”

             
Torrian relinquished Gwen’s hand and smiled. This was an open invitation to her place. “Okay Gwen,” he helped her into the Lexus, “I’ll follow you there.”

             
He closed the door then walked over to his car, the engine roared to life as he pressed the gas pedal down, showing off a little to make Gwen laugh. He reversed out of his spot and followed Gwen through the streets of Steilacoom till they reached her townhouse in DuPont. It was a relatively short drive but the time apart from Gwen had him a little nervous, what would they be talking about? He jumped out of his car after the engine fell silent and he walked up to her car, he opened the door continuing to maintain his gentlemanly status.

             
Gwen fumbled with her lock again; Torrian knew he made her nervous. She responded sexually to his proximity he inhaled her lightly perfumed scent. She smelled softly of daisies. He was reminded of summer flowers whenever he smelled her. He stayed close, his body in contact with her constantly; his coverage of her was out of his protective nature. He and Gwen had shared stories of their past, she was tight lipped normally about anything that involved her past. She would talk about her high school, her early college sometimes but after that she wouldn’t talk about her life unless it was her career. He wondered why that was. He shared a lot of his life with her, but again that was her job. She didn’t talk about herself, she learned about others and offered her help.

             
Torrian and Gwen walked into her house, the alarm sounded its warning, while Gwen disabled the alarm Torrian looked around. This was the first time he was inside her place. It was decorated simply, she had a few pieces of art but the walls were warm and understated. The décor suited her style. She was a no-fuss type of woman and that made her even hotter to him. When she rejoined him in the living room he was looking at a picture from her graduation from University Of Washington.

              Gwen tried to smile and break the ice, “That’s the day I graduated, I almost cried when my dad told me how proud he was.”

             
“He had every right to be Gwen you’re an amazing woman. I’m glad you came to McNeil.” He said in earnest, which caused Gwen to give her own dazzling grin.

             
Torrian stood and closed the gap between them in three fast steps; Gwen craned her neck to look up at him. Her breath caught in her throat, she stammered, “I…I…I… I…mean would you like a drink?”

             
“Yeah, I guess I do, since that’s what you invited me over for.” His smoldering eyes were an intense shade of steel gray.

             
“What would you like?” She asked, she wanted to be closer to him but she kept her distance.

             
“Whatever you’re going to have is fine, or a beer, honestly just wanted to hang out with you, make sure you got home safe.”

             
“You act like I can’t take care of myself Torrian.” She called as she walked to the kitchen; she was quick with pulling out two beers and disposing of the caps.

             
“I know you can Gwen, its just I wanted to do it for me.” He looked at her while he took a seat on the couch accepting the beer from Gwen when she offered it.

             
“Why watch over me for yourself?” Gwen was slightly confused about why he felt this way she sat down next to him, careful not to touch.

             
“Because Gwen, I have found you attractive since the day you came to McNeil and I’ve wanted to date you since you first got off that boat and introduced yourself.” Torrian adjusted his body on the couch and took a drink of the beer Gwen gave him.

             
“That’s quite a confession Torrian.” Gwen gulped hard.

             
“I know, but it’s the truth and I might as well tell it. You will find out anyways.”

             
“Why? Why would you want me?”

             
“You really don’t see yourself clearly. Gwen you’re a dime, you’re sexy, smart, you are kind, and caring.”

             
“You knew all that the first time you saw me?” She took a long pull at her beer bottle.             

             
“Too much?” Torrian’s eyes seemed to have cooled.