The Broken Parts Of Us (6 page)

“Hans, I want all reports on this stalker case on my desk in ten,” I say as I pass his desk.

“That’s my case,” he mumbles through a half-eaten pastry, brushing the crumbs off his shirt.

“Bring me the files,” I command in my no argument tone. I watch him swallow and nod before I make my way to my office, foregoing the poor cup of coffee I usually pour when I get here.

I dial Kyra’s number. It rings twice before she picks up. “Hey,” she says down the line, making me stop my pacing of the office carpet.

“Hey,” I reply and smile. “So you’re up?”

“Yes, I just showered and now I’m waiting for River to come pick me up.”

I exhale, nodding my head. “Okay, good. I want you to come over for food tonight. I’ll pick you up after work.” I hear her breathing and I swear I can feel her smile.

“Erm...”

I interrupt her before she can finish. “You’re coming over to eat with me tonight, Kyra, and I’ll pick you up after work.” Her soft little breaths stir my desire.

“Okay.”

I disconnect as the door opens and Hans places the files on my desk. “The latest letter is still in forensics.”

I nod my head to the door, ordering him to leave without speaking. He nods in acknowledgement and leaves.

I open the first file and look over the incident reports. There's a pattern. I flick to the last page where the pictures are and stop breathing. I recognise her; she's my dry cleaning girl. She had been flirting and had given me her number a few weeks ago.

I grab the next file and flip to the back. A girl I stopped to help when her car had broken down. I took her for coffee.

Fuck!

The connection is me!

Someone is targeting women I know, or is this just coincidence?

I jump when my phone rings. Sammy’s name flashes across the screen and I hit speaker. “What’s up?” I ask, but there's a stutter in my speech.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

I roll my eyes. Sammy can pick up on all of our anxieties and it's fucking annoying. I’m sure River has been teaching him that women can tell a mile off when something is wrong, and Sammy is picking up her intuition.

“Nothing. Listen, this case, the stalker one, I haven’t mentioned it to River because she has a lot going on, but this guy has sent a note to Kyra.”

I hear a rustling and a door slam closed. “What the fuck? When?”

“A week and half ago.”

I hear his panting, his anger building. “And you didn’t think to mention anything sooner? Fuck, Derek! She spends most of her time with River!”

I stand and rub my hand over my head “I know. I’ve been on top of it, you know what River means to me, Sam. I would never let anyone hurt her or Kyra. I just want you to keep an extra eye on River just to be safe.”

“I can’t believe this shit. Who the fuck is this guy?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out and until I do, I need to keep an extra eye out. Be vigilant.”

“Oh, no one is coming near my fucking family. Never again, Derek, never a-fucking-gain. Keep this between us. River is vulnerable right now with Michael and the pregnancy, and she doesn’t need any more stress.”

“Vulnerable is never a word I’d use for River, but I agree. I don’t want her to worry.”

“I want you to do a DNA test through the station. I don’t want her to know, but I need to know for sure just so I can either put her mind at rest or deal if Michael shares
his
DNA and not mine. Whatever happens, Michael is my son. He’s my son, Derek, he’s mine!”

I sit back down. “I know he is, Sam. I’ll get it done, but I’ll need a swab from both of you.” 

“I know, I’ll get you them,” he says before he hangs up.

I dial Hans' desk, telling him to get in my office.

Two minutes later he’s filling my door frame. “What’s up?”

“I want you to patrol Twinkle Toes. Keep your eye out for anything suspicious; any cars that seem to be loitering. I want everything, even if it’s a tramp setting up camp, I want it checked and double checked.” He nods his head and leaves.

I start compiling a list of any and all offenders I had a hand in putting away, then check to see if any have been released. If this is personal, they’re definitely sending me a message.

I
feel it, the chill racing up my spine. The unsettling feeling of being watched has been with me since I woke. It isn’t like when Jasper or Derek watches me; it’s unnerving and leaves a sickly feeling in my stomach. 

 I hurry to River’s SUV and slip in.

“Hey.” She beams and passes me a latte. “So I want to go over the day to day running of Twinkle Toes today. Sammy is already demanding I cut back my hours there. He worries and has already been on the phone three times in the twenty minute drive here.” She giggles; the love in her eyes when she talks of Sammy is an emotion I dream of having, and seeing in the eyes of someone when they talk about me. That heart-gripping emotion that obliterates every other feeling, thought, and sense. The sensation that leaves you gasping for breath and that infuses your soul, creating a moment in time so perfect, so overwhelming that it imprints itself in your memory for all other lovers and life changing moments to live up to. Love is something we all crave. It’s in our DNA and lately I’ve found myself daydreaming about having it. The only problem is, my thoughts are conflicted about who I want it with. 

“Why won’t he bloody pass?” I pull myself from my thoughts as River hoots the horn, waving at a car to pass. The Mustang slowly pulls out and cruises past the SUV, its windows blacked out, so we can’t see the driver.

“I bet he’s totally flipping me off behind that glass,” River states.

“What happened?”

She turns to look at me. “He was riding my ass and when I had to break, he broke hard, so I told him to go around.”

I watch the car speed off. A shudder rocks my body, the sickly feeling still in the pit of my stomach.

We pull up at the studio. Sammy and Jasper are sitting in the car park, and River’s eyebrows furrow as she switches off the ignition and slips out of the car. Sammy engulf her in his presence, his strong arms swallowing her in a tight hug. I slip out and smile at Jasper, my insides jumping as if I’d eaten a thousand grasshoppers. His pink tongue swipes over his bottom lip and I have to swallow the moan crawling up my throat. 

“Hey.” I nod and he smiles, leaning towards me to whisper in my ear.

“You owe me a massage.”

I pull back and have to bite my lip. “And why is that?”

He rolls his shoulders. “Because last night you made me sweat more than I ever have.”

I jerk back when a slap lands on Jasper’s head. Sammy glares at him and River’s mouth has popped open forming an “O” shape.

  “Hey, you will slap one time too many one of these days,” Jasper complains, rubbing the spot Sammy hit.

Sammy pushes his finger into Jasper’s chest. “You better not have let the beast loose on Kyra. I swear, Jasp, I’ll kick your ass.”

 Jasper scrunches his nose and squints his eyes. “I can do more than just fuck a woman, Sammy.”

My eyes widen and the blush creep over my skin. “We went dancing, nothing more,” I manage to squeak out.

Jasper's phone ringing breaks the uncomfortable moment. He swipes the screen and brings it to his ear while still glaring at Sammy. “Hey, what’s up? I was busy last night. Well, you should have called. Are you okay? No, stay in bed. I’ll go to the pharmacy and be there in half hour.”

He ends the call and turns to Sammy. “Hannah has a bug, and I need to go make sure she’s okay.”

Sammy rolls his eyes and waves him off.

Sammy stayed all day despite me telling him he could kidnap his wife for the day. River kept shifting her eyes to him, curious as to why he was adamant to not leave. I tried to ignore the unsettling feeling plaguing me since this morning. Jasper hadn’t returned and my mind couldn’t seem to focus on anything but where he was, who he was with, and how stupid I was for letting him in, letting him affect me in anyway.

We could never be anything other than friends and I was also having feelings towards his friend. This could not be happening. I needed to stop thinking about him, and concentrate on work.

H
er laughter fills the studio and caresses the walls, bouncing back towards me. It’s been a long time, if ever, that a woman has bewitched me like Kyra seems to have. My mind is racing with possibilities for us; can I actually let her in? Can I love her?

As always, niggling in the darker corners are the thoughts, hopes, and feelings for Jasper, demanding I give them what they crave.

“Hey, baby.” River bounds towards me. I catch her as she launches herself into my arms. I still haven’t spoken to her about Michael; I’m trying to delay it until I have put the results in for Sammy.

“Hey, how are things?” I ask, squeezing her tight before releasing her. I sense Kyra’s eyes on me and I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t do things to me. This girl is changing me, making me feel.

“I’m okay. Sammy has been great and Mikey has been himself, really.” She looks down to the floor and shrugs her shoulders before murmuring. “I know it’s in me, Der, the fear from Danny and what he did.” Her eyes lift to meet mine. “I just…” She sighs. “If he does share Danny’s DNA, I want to know. The not knowing is making me crazy.”

I pull her into me for another hug. “Riv, even if he does, it doesn’t mean anything. He won’t be like him. Danny was ill, River.”

Sammy taps me on the shoulder and gestures for me to follow him out to the parking lot.

“Everything okay? Nothing unusual happen or no one loitering?” I ask, knowing he has been here since the call this morning.

“No, everything is normal, but I don’t fucking like this. It’s already making me edgy and has River questioning why I’m hanging around when I should be working.” 

He opens the boot of his car and slips me an envelope. “Here are the swabs you need. I need this done ASAP, Der.” The look in his eyes is hard to decipher, but this has gone on long enough and they need to know one way or the other. 

I say my goodbyes, taking Kyra by the hand and leading her to my car. The smile on River's face is a welcome sight.

* * * * *

Even in her casual dance wear, she’s still unbelievably stunning. Her full lips purse into a kissable bow as she looks out the window and wrings her hands together in her lap. Her hair is pulled up off her elegant neck. I want to place kisses there and a bite mark. I shift to adjust my growing erection. I hear her inhale sharply as we pull up at her apartment.

I grab her wrist and turn her towards me. “What is it?” I follow her eyes as she looks over at a Mustang parked with the engine running. I pull my gun from its holster without needing her explanation; my intuition is telling me to find out who’s in there.

 “Wait here,” I command as I exit the car.

I lock the doors and make my way across the road. The driver is not visible through the windscreen as he pulls out recklessly towards me. I faintly hear Kyra shouting, but I’m focused on reading the plates as he speeds past me.

I hear the door open and her light footsteps running towards me. “I knew there was something off with that car.” She grips my arm. “I thought he was going to hit you there for a minute.”

I grasp the nape of her neck, gently tilting her face to look up at me. “Kyra, why didn’t you mention this today?”

Her eyes expand and her bottom lip disappears into her mouth before popping free, glistening with the moisture from her tongue. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure if I was just being paranoid,” she murmurs.

“I don’t care if it's paranoia. I don’t care if it’s someone accidently brushing past you in the supermarket. I want to know about it!” I admonish, my tone leaving no room for argument. Her eyes drop to the floor. I grasp her with my other hand, the pads of my thumbs stroking her cheeks as I demand with my grip that she look at me. Her lashes flutter; her green beauties pierce me, nearly stealing my breath. “I care about you. Please, Kyra. I need to know all these things, little or big, okay?”