Chapter 19
Brandon
“Fuck. You all right, baby? Are you hurt?” I roll off Mary and run my hands along her body, checking for wounds.
She nods her head. “I’m fine. Are you?”
I help her up, and we run to Kelsey instead of going after the fucker who took a shot at me, because I know he’ll be long gone. I kneel down and pull my phone out to call it in. While giving directions and a rundown of what happened, I check Kelsey over and make sure not to move her too much. SShe's alive, but has a nasty cut on the side of her head that's gushing blood and probably a concussion. Her eyes roll open, and she moans.
“Don’t move, Kels. An ambulance is on the way,” I tell her, taking off my jacket and covering her shivering body.
Mary digs through her purse and takes out some tissues, applying pressure to the cut on Kelsey’s head. She flinches, but Mary tries to soothe her. “Sorry. I know it hurts, but I’m trying to stop the bleeding.”
I get up and jog down the alley, looking for any sign of the prick. Behind me, a crowd starts to gather around the girls so I head back to them, ordering everyone to stay back.
Fire and medics arrive at the same time as a couple of police squads pull up to the rear of the alley. The officers assess the situation and put their guns away then walk over to us. I give them a statement, keeping an eye on Kelsey as they strap her to a backboard and load her into the ambulance.
“I’m going with her,” Mary states, already trying to pull away from me.
I grab her arm. “No. I’ll take you.”
“I want—”
“And I want you with me.” My tone leaves no room for argument, and I glance over her shoulder at the ambulance.
“You know where to find me if you need anything else,” I tell the officers and walk with my arm around Mary to my car. “You sure you’re okay? You’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she answers. “It was scary, but I’m okay.”
“Did you get a look at the guy?”
“Not really. I mean, I saw a man, but he had his hood up, and I didn’t get a look at his face with his back to us. Then when you pushed me, I lost sight of him.”
I nod, pissed off as fuck. I couldn’t get a good shot off, and it was either protect her or shoot him, so I chose the former. At least I was there this time. That was always my biggest regret, not being there.
“Did you?” she asks.
“Did I what?”
“See his face?”
“Yeah.” I saw it, all right. And it’s burned into my memory.
“I hope Kelsey’s going to be okay.”
“Me, too.”
She sets her hand on my arm. “It’s a good thing you were there, otherwise who knows what could have happened.”
I grunt in response. My thoughts exactly. Kelsey could have been kidnapped or left for dead. The alley was deserted. It would have been easy for him to finish what he started with nobody knowing. Stupid. It was fucking stupid for us to leave her there alone. I knew better.
Mary’s hand slides down onto mine, and I squeeze it, probably too hard, but she doesn’t complain. I park by the emergency room, and after flashing my badge, personnel give the room number where Kelsey is. We walk silently to her room, and I peek in. Doctors are working on her and nurses run around, doing everything they can to make sure she’s going to be okay.
“They’re working on her now. Let’s get some coffee and check back later. We’ll know more then.”
She sits in a booth while I grab some tar-looking liquid and a couple of snacks. I take a sip of my coffee before eating my candy bar in two bites. I look over at her with the intention of asking if she wants anything else, but the sight of her sitting across from me, with one lone tear falling down her face, makes the chocolate in my mouth taste like dirt, and I force myself to swallow it.
I scoot next to her and wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “Shh. It’s okay.”
“Scott held his gun up just like that when he shot your dad. I watched him.” Her voice is empty. “And I froze then. Not able to scream . . . warn him. I did it again tonight. I just stood there.”
“Mary, don’t—”
“What is wrong with me?”
I hold her face in my hands, wishing I could take some of the torment in her eyes away. “There is nothing wrong with you. Nothing. I have training on how to react; it’s my job. It was Dad’s job. Most people don’t know what to do when somebody points a gun at them. You did nothing wrong.” I gently kiss her lips. “Then or now. You didn’t do a damn thing wrong.”
She nods and wipes her nose then drinks her coffee.
We’ve been doing so well. She’s been doing great. Really wanting to get out and do things with her life. I couldn’t be more proud of her. Living together is perfect. After the rough start we had at the motel, everything is fine now. I wake up and go to bed with a smile on my face because I know she’s there.
She doesn’t talk about the past much. I tried to push her at first, but after a few heated arguments I gave up. If she’s ready or wants to, she’ll talk. And what she just confessed, like before, reminds me what she actually went through and how much of an asshole I am for pushing her at first.
But the woman I see today, right now, is fighting that guilt. Pushing it away. Making it her bitch. With a deep breath and a few seconds of her eyes closed, she stands and throws our garbage away.
“Let’s go. I want to check on Kelsey.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The elevator is empty, and she wraps her arms around my waist, burying her head in my chest. “Thank you.”
I rub up and down her back. “For what?”
“Saving me tonight. Putting up with my shit. Just . . . everything.”
Instead of answering, I grip her chin with my index finger and thumb, tilting her head up. My lips find hers, and she opens her mouth. My tongue caresses hers slow and deliberate. She leans into me, and I cup her cheek with my other hand and rub her jaw with my thumb. The elevator dings all too quickly, and she presses a kiss to my chin before walking with purpose to Kelsey’s room.
“What’s up, man?” I ask Jay. He’s a detective I work with and has been assigned the case.
“Hey. You good?” He extends his hand and I shake it.
“Yeah. Pissed more than anything. This is Mary.”
She smiles and he nods.
“Do you know how she’s doing?” Mary motions to the closed door.
“Sleeping. They stitched her up and ran some tests. Everything looks good, just a concussion luckily.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, frustrated that the piece of shit got away. “Fuck.”
“You didn’t have a choice. Don’t beat yourself up,” Jay says with sympathy. And I know he understands exactly how I feel. Watching the bad guy get away creates a horrible feeling of inferiority for anyone in law enforcement.
Logically, I know there was nothing else I could have done. The alley was dark, and even though there wasn’t anyone in the actual alley, there were people out front; shooting would have been dangerous. Plus, Kelsey was inches from him, he could have turned his gun on her.
“Yeah,” I grunt. Mary’s hand holds mine a little tighter, offering support.
“Can we see her?” she asks.
“I mean, if you wanna watch her sleep,” Jay shrugs.
“I want to at least see her. Then we can go.”
“Sure, babe.”
We stand at Kelsey’s bedside, and Mary grabs her hand. Mary’s lips move, but no words come out. It breaks my fucking heart to see her so upset. Kelsey’s head is bandaged all the way down to her eyes, and her cheek is scraped. I rein in my temper and focus on the fact that she’s okay. Mary turns to me, nodding to indicate that she’s ready to leave.
Once I shut the door, I turn to Jay. “She talk at all?”
“I didn’t get a chance. I’m gonna let her sleep for a bit before I start drilling her. Sounds like she knows the guy, though?” He raises his eyebrows.
“Yeah,” I reply. “He said ‘Where’s my money?’”
“She owes him . . . or he thinks she does, at least.” Jay pieces together.
“Yup.” I pop the ‘p,’ curious as hell as to how Kelsey is involved in something like this.
Mary yawns, and I take that as our cue to leave. We say goodbye to Jay and go home. I wait for her in bed, arms behind my head. She takes a little longer in the bathroom than she normally does. I’m about to get up to check on her when she comes in and shuts the light off.
Her slim body, dressed in a silk nightgown, crawls into bed and practically lies on top of me. Her hair is down, and I run my fingers through the soft strands. She sighs, and her breath causes a slight shiver across my bare chest.
I roll on top of her, and she widens her legs so I can fit. It’s like a puzzle, the way we fit together. So fucking perfect. My forearms rest on either side of her head, and she wraps her hand around my biceps. My forehead finds hers, and I rest it there, looking into her beautiful emerald eyes.
Something passes between us. I can’t pinpoint what it is. Another chance, maybe. A realization how quickly we could lose each other again. Peace, finally.
“Love you, baby,” I whisper.
“Love you, too.”
* * *
“Kelsey. Tell me.” I’ve given up trying to be nice.
“I don’t know where he could be. I swear.”
She sits on her flowered couch picking at the afghan. She was discharged this morning; she only had to spend one night in the hospital.
“I don’t believe you.”
She runs her hands through her brown hair and winces. I have to force myself to stay still and not ask if she’s okay, but my gut tells me that she’s protecting her ex by not telling me where he could be.
Her ex-boyfriend got into gambling a couple of years back. He likes to pay her a visit when he’s low on funds. She did give Jay his name last night, but he was nowhere to be found, which leads me to believe he’s hiding. And I think, since Kelsey was with him for four years, she would have a fucking clue where he could have gone.
“I already told you guys everything. Brandon, I don’t know.”
“Tell me again,” I urge.
“Ugh. Why do I feel like I’m being attacked here? I was the one who was in the hospital and you’re acting like I’m hiding something.”
I blow out a breath and apologize. “I want this fucker, Kels. Please, just one more time.”
“Fine. The last time I saw him was a couple of weeks ago. He called me at about three in the morning, and instead of having his drunk ass in my apartment, I met him in the parking lot. I only had two hundred extra dollars, but he needed five more. He got mad and hit me. I ran inside and he left.” She’s void of all emotion. I’m starting to believe that maybe she’s not covering for him after all. Liars usually vary their story, but hers has stayed the exact same every time she tells it.
“He didn’t say why he needed the money?”
“No. But it’s either gambling or booze.”
I cross my arms and lean back in the kitchen chair I pulled across from her. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
She sits up straight and looks me in the eye. “My problem.”
“It’s not anymore.”
“He was my first love. I was so stupid. It really didn’t start out bad. He had nobody else then, and I know it hasn’t changed. He’s alone, and I feel like it’s my responsibility to do whatever I can to make sure he doesn’t end up dead. I broke up with him because of the gambling, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about him at all. He’d never hit me before that night, either. So things must have gotten really bad for him.” She shrugs and closes her eyes, resting her head on the cushion. “He’s also never sent anybody to get money. I swear to you I have no clue who that guy was.”
“How often did he ask for money?”
“Only once a month or so. Not a lot. But it started getting more frequent, and I . . . Look, I’ve gotta tell you something, but I don’t want you to be mad.” Her eyes barely open, and she bites her lip.
“What?”
“Promise you won’t be mad.”
“As long as Mary doesn’t get hurt by it, there’s not much that could piss me off. Does it involve Mary?”
“No.”
“Then I promise.”
“That time you came home in the morning . . . and I was here.”
She said she came to feed Kat. I remember that. And with everything going on with Mary, I forgot to talk to Kelsey about it. “Yeah.”
“I lied. I spent the night there because I saw him walking up to the building. I’ve snuck into your place a few times to avoid him. I’m sorry; his visits were getting more frequent and I didn’t want to deal with him and—”
“Kels,” I cut her off. “I’m more pissed that you didn’t tell me. I don’t give a shit about you staying at my place to keep yourself safe.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I lied to you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I scrub my hands down my face. “I’m here right now as a friend, not a cop, okay?” She nods. “Let me know if you need anything. If you hear from him, if you see him, anything.” She nods again. “And if you get scared, just come over.”
“Thanks.”
I start to walk out but turn in her door. “You might wanna knock first, though.” Now that Mary’s here, I don’t want our privacy interrupted.
Kelsey laughs. “Yeah, okay.”
I get to my place, and I lose all the air in my lungs when my eyes find Mary naked on the bed, except for those damn gray boots that go up to her thighs.
She stands and walks toward me, swaying her hips with a naughty smirk on her lips. My dick is already hard for her, standing proud behind my zipper. She reaches me and takes my long-sleeve black thermal off then drops to her knees. Before she even touches me, my heart rate accelerates in anticipation of anything and everything she’s going to do.
Her hair is down again, so I push it to one side and hold it in my fist so I can watch. She pushes my pants and boxers to my knees and sucks me to the back of her throat.
“Jesus.”
She’s on a fucking mission, sucking me hard and fast, her fist matching the strokes of her mouth. Last night was painfully slow. She begged me to move faster, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to savor every second; I wanted it to last.
“Is this your idea of revenge, baby? Gettin’ down on your knees and sucking me so good I can hardly stand?”
She pulls me out but continues to stroke me with her hand. “Revenge? No,” she laughs. “I missed you today and wanted to suck your cock. Is that okay?”
“Fuck. Yeah, it is.”
She circles the tip with her tongue before sliding her warm, wet mouth around me again. It doesn’t take long until I’m almost there, so I lean down and lift her under her arms. I press her against the door then lift her by her butt. If she wants hard and fast, then that’s what she’ll get.
Her legs slide around my waist, and she reaches between us and grips my dick to align it with her dripping entrance. Nothing hotter than my girl getting wet from sucking my dick. I push balls deep in one thrust, and she screams.
Then I fuck her. Hard. Fast. Loud. “Is this what you want?”
“Yes!”
“Fuck, Mary.”
I start to slow down, ‘cause I’m already about to come, but she squeezes me with her thighs. “No. Don’t stop. I’m so close, please. Faster.” She pants out her words.
“Hold on to me.” She grips my shoulders and I tilt her by her ass a little bit then pound into her like she asked. I’ll always give my Mary anything she asks.