“That’s awful,” she said, hands worrying the hem of her shirt.
I nodded. It was.
“But I don’t understand why they had to call you in to tell you that. Couldn’t they have just said that over the phone?” She asked.
I shook my head. “The Chief wanted to warn us that there was going to be an investigation into the op, and if we could’ve done anything different. They’re waiting on an autopsy report to find cause of death before they do anything drastic, though.”
Her eyebrows raised, and her eyes tracked my hand as I took the bar of soap and started running it over my body.
I started under my arms, and by the time I made it down to my lower stomach, she was squirming on the counter.
I liked what I saw, which in turn only made her squirm all the harder as I soaped up my rock hard erection.
The soap made my hand slippery, reducing the friction of my rough palm on my sensitive dick.
She licked her lips as she crossed and uncrossed her legs.
“You play dirty,” she accused.
I smiled. “Only way to play, baby.”Chapter 20That’s what.
-She
Luke
My eyes snapped open revealing the blue screen that signaled the end of the movie.
Frozen, for the third time in one day, was not fun.
What was also not fun was waking up to a knock on your front door on Christmas Eve at ten o’clock at night.
I eased myself out from under the pile of women and children who’d made my chest their pillow and walked to the front door, picking my Glock up from the hallway’s top shelf as I went.
Flipping the light on, I glanced out the peephole.
For some reason, I wasn’t surprised to see Detective Pierson Howell standing on my front stoop when I looked out the peephole.
Annoyed, I opened the door quietly, then stepped out on the cold stone steps, closing the door behind me.
“Can I help you?” I asked, raising my brow.
The frigidness of the stone underneath my feet was extremely cold, seeping into my feet and causing goose bumps to break out over my shirtless body.
Pierce stared at me with contempt for a few long seconds before his cop face slid into place.
I heard my cell phone ringing from inside and I cursed, “Hold on.”
I didn’t let him come in, shutting the door before he even realized I was moving.
Moving hurriedly to my phone, I answered it as I saw Rowen stir.
Her eyes fluttered, but fell still after she repositioned her little body.
“Hello?” I answered quietly.
The chief’s voice, just as quietly, said, “He was murdered. And he had a note. It was addressed to your woman.”
I gritted my teeth and walked away from the pile of sleeping girls to the front door. With my hand resting on the knob I asked, “So that’s why Pierson is here?”
He sighed. “I told him to go home. Goddamn him, but yes. That’s probably why. The note wasn’t specific. It was a note from the old man. Said he was sorry he couldn’t do more than what he did. When the man started shooting his door, he went to hide. Apparently, though, he’d gotten hit by a ricochet. Bled out in the six by six by six compartment. He had to remove all the stuff he had in there, which was why it was gone. In the note, he detailed exactly what was in there in case he didn’t make it. Nearly a million bucks, some family jewels, and a shit load of bonds that he couldn’t remember the number to right off hand.”
I listened carefully to the chief’s hesitant reply. “He saw a glimpse of whomever it was from the window of his room. He said it was a really short, fat person. Whomever it was, was all in black, covered head to toe. He said it was an AK-47, what the suspect shot the house up with. He said whomever it was had military experience. The way the person acted and moved. It fits with the professional way the charges in the bedroom were set. The rest he figured out through a phone call that the suspect placed during the time he was in his room. He said that he heard your name being said more than once, and that it sounded like either a deep woman’s voice, or a high pitched man’s voice.”
A knock sounded at the door, impatient and rough.
“Alright, thanks for calling. I’ll want to read the note myself Monday. Anything you want me to relay to Pierson?” I asked, stepping back out onto the porch.
“No. Have a good one.” The chief said, then hung up.
“Sorry about that. How can I help you?” I asked Pierson tersely.
He had his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he glared at me for a few long moments before answering.
“The autopsy for…” I held up a hand, stopping him.
“I know about the autopsy. What do you need?” I asked impatiently.
His mouth thinned. “I need to ask Ms. Doherty some questions.”
I shook my head. “Not possible. She’s asleep, and it’s the night before Christmas. You can ask whatever you need to ask come Monday.”
I heard the door opening behind me and cursed silently in my head.
When I turned around, though, it wasn’t Reese. It was Rowen and she was crying.
I stooped down, keeping my side to Pierson, until I could see her eyes. “What’s wrong, sweet pea?”
“Missed you,” she said, throwing her little arms around my neck.
I wrapped my arms around her little body, gathering up her and her blanket and situating it before I turned back to Pierson. “If that’s all?”
He didn’t answer, instead pinching his lips between his teeth and stomping down the steps.
“You’re warm,” she said, snuggling into my chest.
I laughed and walked back inside to find Reese awake and heading towards the door.
Like a mama bear she was.
Her cub was gone and she knew almost immediately.
When she saw me with Rowen she visibly relaxed.
“She used to do that all the time. I found her outside our old backyard one night, and it scared the absolute shit out of me. She was just swinging along on her swing without a care in the world while I was inside nearly about to call the cops.” She shook her head.