Authors: Andrew Hess
We spent hours combing through Blake Ambrose’s house and logging evidence with the C.S.U. team. There were at least two dozen tapes to mark down and log before placing them in a plastic bag before being shoved inside of a paper bag. The case number was written on the outside along with the contents that it held. The daunting task of watching each tape loomed over us. Watching someone else have sex, whether it was for one hour or one minute, was not my idea of fun. But Thornton’s theory had some merit to it. Our suspect was likely female and quite possibly she was one of the women on those tapes. Documenting the tapes was not as disgusting as the tasks the C.S.U. team was charged with. While we worked feverishly to uncover additional evidence, the analysts swabbed the table and cabinet surfaces, dusted for fingerprints, and tested the sheets for any sign of bodily fluids.
“We’re all done here,” one of the analysts said as he and the rest of the group carried out their equipment and samples of everything they collected from the room.
“Great, I’ll take this stuff back to the station and log it in,” Rodney said as he lifted the box of tapes. The exhaustion had taken complete control of him, you could see it written all over his face.
“Are you sure,” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s no problem. Besides, I could use the overtime.”
Rodney was not one to speak up about money. He had never complained about it or mentioned that he needed anything. “Everything all right?”
His lips spread wide with a toothy grin. “Yeah, it’s just that, well…Mia is pregnant again.” My arms flung around Rodney’s neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
“Rodney, that’s great news.”
“Yeah well, it’s putting a hurtin on my wallet already. So I’m pushing for as much OT as I can get.”
“Don’t worry, I can give you plenty of work to keep you busy.”
“Thanks partner,” Rodney said sarcastically. He trudged out of the room with the box of evidence. Thornton walked closely behind carrying more evidence bags.
“What’s our game plan Detective,” Thornton asked.
“We’ll meet tomorrow afternoon to go over the tapes. We’ll need to work with our tech teams to get any kind of facial recognition on anyone in the videos.”
“A day of watching smut,” Thornton paused. “Just another day at the office for me. I’ll see you then.”
I laughed, I mean actually laughed at something Detective Thornton said. That alone was a miracle. Maybe working with him wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe we’d actually solve this case together.
*************************************************************
When I got home that night, I wanted nothing more than to crawl into my bed and forget about the long day I had and even longer weekend I spent camped out in my car. What I got was a surprise that nearly brought tears to my eyes.
I opened the door and entered the house. A tall caramel colored man sat on the couch with his arms spread over the back rests. “Matthew,” I shrieked. I couldn’t believe it was him. He was in my house, in my living room. He stood when he saw me. I ran to him, crashed into his chest and wrapped my arms around him not wanting to ever let go again.
“Hello to you too beautiful,” he said while pretending to gasp for breath. I loosened my grip on him. “I guess it’s safe to say you missed me.”
My hands reached up and grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket. I pulled him closer to me. His scent infiltrated my nostrils and I was loving every minute of it.
“What made you change your mind?”
He rubbed the back of his as if he didn’t really want to say something. “Your sister. She called me yesterday and convinced me to come over.”
“Convinced you? Convinced you how?”
Matthew backed away slowly and reached into his pocket. “Don’t be mad at her.” His finger swiped at the screen and pressed a few buttons. He turned the phone around so I could see the picture. On the screen was an image of me dressed in the denim shorts, gray tank top and the Converse.
“That little bitch. I’ll kill her.”
Matthew laughed as his arm snaked around my back and pulled me back into an embrace. “That picture reminded me of everything I missed about you.”
“Does this mean you forgive me?”
“Do you trust me?”
“I was a complete idiot to ever doubt you. I trust you completely.”
Matthew pulled me into a tighter embrace. His lips pressed firmly against mine. Damn I missed that. I missed everything about him. My hands were tucked between our bodies, resting on his chest.
“Are you staying the night,” I asked.
“That depends. What are your plans for tomorrow?”
I tried to push the case to the back of my mind, but it was yapping like a little annoying dog that won’t go away and won’t shut up. “I have work tomorrow.”
“So call out. Spend the day with me.”
My heart was screaming for me to listen to him. Just call out, no one will miss you. No one will care. But I cared. I was working a case that needed to be solved. If we didn’t just turn up a mountain of evidence to plow through, I’d consider it. Matthew could see me fighting with myself.
“I can’t,” I finally said. There was nothing but disappointment in his eyes. He tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let him. “I want to.” He tried to look away. My fingers latched onto the side of his face. “Trust me, I want to.”
“But you have a case you’re working on.”
“I’m supposed to meet with Rodney and this other detective to go over videos we found today. They could lead us to a potential suspect.” I could see the defeat in his eyes. “I can take a half day tomorrow.”
Matthew turned back towards me. The smile brightened up his face. It was a mischievous smile that told me I was in for a night and possibly morning that I would never forget. His hands dipped to my waist and moved to the front of my pants.
“What the…what if Amanda was home?”
“She’s the one that let me in. She told me to wait for you and told me to have fun.” His fingers started to unbuckle my belt slowly.
“What if she comes home?”
“She told me she was going out with friends for the night.” I knew she was going out with her friends from New Paltz again and would be hitting up the bars all night. “Relax, I made sure she had enough money for a cab and told her to call us if she needed anything.” His hand had released the belt and felt the weight lift off of my waist. He placed it gently on the couch, but grabbed something from the side pocket. Matthew held up my cuffs and grinned. “Oh I think I’m going to enjoy this.”
Ten years on the force, and I had never once used or even thought about using any of my gear as a prop for the bedroom. But I won’t lie, the idea kind of brought a newfound thrill of excitement. I grabbed the hand not holding the handcuffs and yanked him towards me. My lips crushed against his. In one quick motion, he scooped me into his arms, letting my shoes dangle from my feet until they fell softly to the ground.
Matthew carried me into the bedroom and placed me on the bed. His hard body hovered over me and refused to break the passionate lip lock. I could feel his fingers making quick work of the buttons on my shirt. Cool air swept over my bare skin as the air conditioner kept the heat at bay. I pushed myself into a sitting position and clawed at Matthew’s jacket. I wasn’t as gentle with it. The smooth fabric that helped make him so damn irresistible was flung across the room landing in a heap by my laundry basket. I grabbed his tie and forced him to follow me up to the pillows.
“Looks like someone wants to play.” Matthew traced a finger up my left arm until it reached my bra strap looping it around his hand. He did the same with the right side. My heart was beating faster. I didn’t know what he planned on doing to me and that had me begging to find out. In one quick motion, he ripped the straps down my arms. His head lowered to my neck and could feel his lips leaving a trail of kisses down to my collar bone moving from side to side.
I leaned forward but his hands pressed me back to the bed. The look on Matthew’s face told me he was in charge. And for once, I willingly gave up control.
**************************************************************
The next morning was like waking up in paradise. The sun peaked through the curtains, shining brightly on me as I lay wrapped in the arms of my incredible man. I pressed my body further into his until I felt the stiff reaction that awaited me. I arched my back and let a brief moan escape. My head swiveled and met Matthew’s sleepy gaze and infectious smile.
His left arm locked around my waist and could feel him holding me tight. “Morning beautiful,” he growled. The sound in his voice made me melt into him even more.
“You been up long?” Okay I admit it was a bad joke, but one that I felt was appropriate given the situation.
“Why? Are you up for another round?”
“Let me freshen up a bit and call into the station to let them know I’ll be in late today.” Matthew released me from his bear hug and rolled onto his back. Hearing me talk about work, even if it was to call in for a half day, was a mood killer in his mind.
I hopped out of bed and dove into the pile of clothes that littered my floor in search of my cell. Once I found it, I brought the phone into the bathroom with me. Last night was nothing like I had experienced before. It was raw and passionate, the kind you could only share with someone you can completely trust; and I did. The light in the bathroom displayed my battle scars which were more like visual reminders of how Matthew conquered me.
First was my hair. It was a curly mess that dreadfully looked like I just rolled out of bed. Half of that was how I looked every morning. But it kept me thinking about Matthew taking a handful of my hair to bring my lips closer to his. I looked down and saw my wrists had the lingering markings from my handcuffs that were used for Matthew to restrain me while he did whatever he wanted. I glanced back at the mirror. A barrage of purple bruises marked up my neck.
Crap, how the hell am I supposed to hide that one?
I picked up my phone and turned it on. It beeped profusely telling me I had four new voicemails. I listened to each one.
The first was from Detective Thornton.
How the hell did he get my number?
“Hey Ali,” his voice sounded choppy and unlike his typical smooth demeanor. “I wanted to apologize for…well…for everything. I know I was an asshole when we first met. You had every right to be pissed at me then and don’t blame you if you still hate me now.” He took a long pause. I thought the voicemail was over. Then his voice returned. “And I know you don’t really wanna talk about it, but I’m sorry for kissing you the other day. It was wrong and unprofessional.”
The phone died out where the robotic woman’s voice told me; “End of message.” After prompting me to save or delete the message, I chose to save it. It could be useful down the road, especially if I wanted to torture him with it. “Next voice message,” the voice said.
“You know what,” Thornton’s voice came back stronger and louder than before. I could hear the drunkenness that fueled his call. “I’m not sorry for kissing you. I’ve wanted to do that since the day we rode around in my car. You looked hot with the wind blowing in your hair. You’re an amazing woman and you need to hear it.”
His voicemail ended. I was taken aback by how candid he was. The alcohol definitely had something to do with it, but he was showing me a different side of him, a more vulnerable side to him. One that made me want to get to know him as a person and not just as some jerk or someone infringing on my case. Part of me wanted to respond to him, but the call came in hours ago. I knew I’d see him later this afternoon. He would have to face the music of what he said.
I skipped ahead to the third message. This one was from Rodney which I found unusual. “Hey Ali, a call came in about a DB found in the steam room at a local gym. I’m going with Reyes to check it out.” I checked the time of the message came in and noted that it was three that morning. I didn’t know why Rodney felt the need to call me about the case. Maybe he was used to me being brought in to work homicides, suicides and anything remotely high profile. But someone dying at the gym wasn’t unheard of.
The final voicemail was from the Lieutenant. “Ryan, where the hell are you. You were supposed to be here at eight.” His voice was loud and angry. “It’s ten after eight. I need you to get down here. Johnson has been at a crime scene all night.”
I ran the water for the shower and felt the hot water splash against me. It was going to be a quick shower. Matthew wasn’t going to be happy, but there was a sense of urgency in the Lieutenant’s voice that told me I needed to haul ass.