Luca had that problem, too.
I’d wake up in the middle of the night and find him staring at the ceiling counting the proverbial sheep.
Nothing had ever helped. Not exhaustion. Not talking. Not reading. Not medications.
Nothing.
“Luca used to be like that, too,” I said. “If you’re anything like him? I’d guess you just have to get used to it.”
He snorted.
“I was prescribed some sleep meds from my psychologist,” he admitted. “The department made me see him once a week for a mandatory three months due to a few concerns they had with my well-being. Anyway, when I take those, it knocks me out, and I don’t like the way I can’t wake up. It makes me feel… confined.”
I shifted from foot to foot, my feet aching, but reluctant to leave.
There was just something about Riel that drew me in. That made me want to stay. To comfort.
My reasoning was that Luca would’ve wanted me to care for his friend.
“They can give you a different type of medication,” I suggested.
He shook his head. “No. I’m just… I’ll deal with it. Someway.”
I smiled. “Luca used to take naps. During the day. I’d call him, and he’d be asleep. Maybe you should try to get some sleep where you can.”
And maybe you should stop telling him to be like Luca.
“I have to go,” I said abruptly, not liking how eerily right my inner voice was sounding. “Have a good night, Riel. Take care.”
With that, I hurried over to my shitty car, opened the crappy door, and sat down on the dilapidated seat.
Starting her up, I refused to look at Riel or his disapproval.
Instead, I focused on what I would do in the future.
And that would have a whole lot of ignoring Malachi Gabriel Stokes written all over it.Chapter 6Starter fluid.
-Coffee Cup
Malachi
It’d been a week since I’d last talked with Frankie.
A week where I told myself it was for the best.
But, since that night, not only had I slept like utter shit—even worse than usual—but I couldn’t turn my mind off.
Couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Which was why I found myself walking into the ER after escorting a criminal inside to get checked out after he decided to go for a run to try and evade the police—i.e., me.
I was in an actual cruiser today thanks to the rain that had hammered the city of Kilgore.
It’d started two days prior and hadn’t let up for two entire days.
It wasn’t due to let up at all until the weekend. Which was still three days away.
Meaning I actually had room for a criminal to ride in my car.
The uniform, however, was still the same.
Which sucked.
But, it was better than the alternative of not working—which was also a possibility.
There’d been some discussion on whether to keep us on but put us in patrol cars or allow us to have the days off with pay since we weren’t able to ride.
The debate had been hairy.
According to the chief of police, we’d originally been planned to get into a cruiser and use those instead of the bikes on the days that it rained. However, they were about four cruisers down thanks to a hit and run last week, and a police chase this week that resulted in engine failure in one cruiser, while another had suffered minor damage to its side and front thanks to the suspect trying to ram the cruiser in his haste to get away.
The last cruiser was at the paint place getting outfitted with the new KPD stickers.
Leaving me with one of three options.
A new vehicle that hadn’t been outfitted with all the necessary items, things that might be useful - the bullhorn, the lights, and siren, or the computer. Or I take the chief’s vehicle.
The last option was to not go out at all.
I was all for option A or C.
Luke Roberts had chosen option B.
Which was how I ended up making an arrest in the chief’s personal cruiser and the guy bleeding all over it.
Luckily, I was now officially on lunch break for an hour. It would give me time to clean up Luke’s back seat and hopefully get all the blood out of it so it didn’t start stinking.
Unluckily, I first had to drop the little fucker off and wait for backup to arrive and take him off my hands.
Yao had arrived ten minutes ago and relieved me of my duty.
After a quick few words about the foot chase, I found myself heading toward the ER and Frankie.
I found her at the nurses’ station staring into space.
Her eyes, however, found me the moment that I stepped through the glass doors.
Her face lit with a large smile.
One that quickly fell off her face just as fast as it’d arrived.
I felt that hit like a shot right to the gut.
But instead of turning around and leaving like I knew I probably should do, I walked up to her and stopped right where she was sitting, only across the counter.