Jonah (Chicago Blaze 7)

The shame in her tone is all too familiar to me. Kids are often left feeling like what happened was their fault somehow. This girl is going to need lots of therapy after what she’s been through.

“You did everything right, Carly,” I say firmly. “You kept yourself alive, and that took guts.”

She looks down at the worn green carpet in the hallway and then scans the heavily damaged walls, her breathing ragged. Once we get to the living room, her gaze lands on the blood-splattered couch and she bursts into tears again.

“Take my hand if you want to,” I say softly. “You’re not alone anymore. I’m right here with you.”

Her small hand slides around mine and I squeeze lightly. Adrian is at the front door, holding it open, and Carly slides a little closer to me when she sees him.

“This is my friend Adrian,” I say. “He’s a police officer, too. He’s going to drive us to the hospital, okay?”

Carly nods and swallows hard.

We get to the dark SUV I drove here and I wrap a blanket around Carly’s shoulders and tuck her into the back seat.

“I’ll be right there,” I tell her. “I just need to talk to Adrian real quick. I’ll just be a few feet away, where you can see me.”

Adrian and I step aside and I give him an expectant look.

“Found her,” he says in a low tone. “Carly Matthews, kidnapped from a church camp near Cincinnati almost two weeks ago. She’s fourteen.”

I nod and exhale hard. “See if the parents want to come meet us at the hospital. I know it’ll take a while, but it would be better for her if they came here.”

“You got it. I told a Marysville PD detective we’ve got her, and he’s on the way to her house now to tell her folks.”

“I hope those two cocksuckers didn’t die easy,” I say bitterly.

“One of ‘em got shot in the dick.”

“Perfect.” I meet Adrian’s eyes. “I want in on the interrogation of the other one.”

He furrows his brow. “Rey, you can’t beat out a confession; it won’t hold up in court.”

“I know how it works,” I snap. “And I want in, so get me in.”

“Fine, I’ll get you in,” he mutters. “But don’t make me regret it.”

“Stop acting like you’re my boss, dickhead. We’re lateral.”

Adrian scoffs at that. “Yeah, but when I vouch for you, I look bad when you lose your shit.”

“When is the last time I lost my shit in an interrogation?”

His eyes bulge. “Tampa?”

“Fuck you, that was all planned. The detective I was working the interrogation with asked me to do all that.”

“The suspect pissed his pants, Rey.”

“Yeah, and? He also told us everything, so how about if I work the interrogation while you play that dumbass crossword game on your phone and drink coffee?”

He shrugs and says, “Fine with me.”

“First I need to go to the hospital with Carly, though, and stay until her parents get there. Tell the Phoenix guys no one starts without me.”

We head back to the SUV, and Adrian mumbles something about me needing a vacation.

“Yeah, right,” I scoff, pulling my hair out of its ponytail and running a hand through it. “Can you see me laying on a beach drinking mai tais?”

Adrian laughs and says, “Not even a little bit.”

“I’ll leave the vacationing to pussies like you.”

“Sweetest partner I’ve ever had,” Adrian says with a wry smile.

“You’ll have to get by without me for a while,” I remind him. “I’m doing a solo assignment after this.”

“Who’s gonna remind me what a pussy I am every day?” he muses. “I might start to have some self-confidence again.”

“Nah,” I tease as I wrap my hand around the door handle. “I can always text.”Chapter TwoJonah“He looks like the fuckin’ Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.” Luca shakes his head and laughs as Victor makes his way onto the ice.

He does, and I bust out laughing, too.

“What the fuck, man?” I ask my teammate. “If you fall on your ass, you’re not gonna be able to get back up.”

Vic glares at the group of us standing near the goal on the ice. Practice ended a few minutes ago, and since he lost a bet about whether the first or second line would score more goals during a drill, he has to goaltend while every player shoots three pucks at him.

“Yeah, well I know you fuckers are going to try to knock my dick off so I had to put on extra padding,” he says, sulking.

Knox gives him an incredulous look. “You’ve got a dick? I’ve never seen it in the shower. I thought you were the first female NHL player.”

“Laugh it up, assholes,” Vic says, skating over to his spot in front of the goal.

Anton’s first in line to shoot, and he says, “Don’t bitch, man. That bet was your idea.”