Chapter 19: Darek - Pisces

Darek still couldn’t believe that he’d found someone to help him remove his mark. He hadn’t been so lucky in ages, and now he couldn’t wait for his appointment when he could get it cut off. Having a scar was nothing. A scar could have come from anything, including a cyst which is what he was going to say he’d had removed. The best thing about it was that Marie was not only a friend who trusted his story, but she wouldn’t tell a soul out of confidence. Which was perfect.

He got off work and spent the entire evening shopping for groceries and a few other things he needed around the house. He was relieved to be back home, and he’d replaced all of the groceries Megan had taken with her when she left, not that he would have eaten them anyway. He’d also replaced the toilet paper, which she’d taken, not even bothering to leave one half-used roll. It was her last way of getting the best of him, but the joke was on her. He hadn’t been caught unprepared.

He even went so far as to change the sheets on the bed, just in case she’d done something to them, like let loose a venomous spider in the sheets or covered them in itching powder. He thought he’d be paranoid for the rest of his life, wondering what she’d done to the place. After the first night, he started to feel a bit safer about some things, but he still wasn’t letting his guard down completely.

His phone rang while he was heating up a late dinner, and he smiled seeing Lizzy’s picture on his device. “Hey, how’s my favorite special agent?”

“She’s wondering how her favorite detective is doing. I didn’t get to see you all day, and I was wondering if that attractive doctor had stolen your heart.”

“I don’t know. Have you met?”

“No, why?” She giggled softly.

“Because if she had my heart, she had to take it from you.” He knew it was cheesy, but he didn’t care. He got to her laugh, and that was his goal.

“You’re sweet. But seriously, how did it go?”

“It went good, really. She told me it’s already healing, thanks to my private nurse, and I should be fine.”

“Good,” Lizzy said. “So how do you like being in the house again?”

“Paranoia is getting the best of me, I’m afraid.”

She laughed. “That wasn’t the response I thought I’d hear.”

“Yeah, I can’t be sure she hasn’t rigged the place with boobie-traps.”

“Now, why would you think that? I know she was a witch, but she played fair in the end, right?”

“If playing fair is taking all of the toilet paper with you, I suppose so.” He still couldn’t believe she’d stooped so low.

That made Lizzy belly laugh. “She didn’t!”

“She did, but it was okay. She didn’t catch me with my pants down.”

“Thank heavens for that.” She was laughing so hard that Darek wished he could see her. He was certain her entire face had turned red, and she was probably holding her flat tummy. She had a habit of doing that, and he thought it was funny. He’d learned all sorts of her little quirks on the road with her, and he hated to admit it, but he missed her.

“What did you do with your evening?” he asked. “Kickboxing?”

“I just finished actually, and now me and Bob are curled up on the couch. I need a shower, but I thought I’d call you before it got too late. He’s giving me nasty looks for leaving him kenneled, but I wasn’t going to leave him here to tear up the house.”

“I’m jealous. I wish I was a cat. I’d never leave your lap.”

She chuckled. “I’m glad you’re not. I quite enjoyed the weekend.”

“Me too. Any regrets?”

“No, not regrets, but I am a little concerned that we’re taking things too fast and that if we’re not careful, someone will find out that we slept together.”

“No one will,” Darek said.

“Come on. Even Max was suspicious. I saw the way he was looking at us.”

“Max is an idiot, and he’s not going to tell anyone, even if he is suspicious.” He hoped that Max wasn’t stupid enough to mention it to her like he had to him. He usually had more sense than that, which was why Darek liked him. He knew when it was okay to be an ass and when it wasn’t.

“I just worry about you, is all,” she said. “You’ll be the one to suffer. I’m the golden child, that won’t change, but Reed will be upset, and there’s no telling what he’d think. Most likely that you seduced me and manipulated me into giving you a recommendation.”

“He would think that? Really?”

“Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but he promised Robert on his deathbed to look out for me, so he’s pretty protective.”

“But you’re the strongest woman I know, and you’re professional and not even the vulnerable type.”

“Thanks, it’s good to know that you get me.” She giggled. As tough as she was, she was still a lady. “So, you won’t mind me talking to you about the case, knowing how professional I am?”

“Not at all.” Darek wondered if she had collected her thoughts on the newer evidence and stopped comparing things to the old case in Virginia.

“Well, Hannah Halston said that Tad got the brand while he was there in Virginia, but what if he got it before that and she just didn’t know it?”

“It’s possible,” Darek said. “But who do you think would have done something like that to him?”

“His uncle, obviously. So maybe the case does revolve around a child sex ring. I’m not sure that Hannah didn’t know more than she let on.”

“She’s still missing,” Darek said. “Don’t you think she’s dead?”

“I’m not sure, but if she knew more, perhaps she was trying to create a diversion to buy the killer time, or maybe she ran off to protect herself. We should see if we can get anyone else to come forward about her. Perhaps more of her coworkers, not just her superiors.”

“We could do that, but what are we going to do about Logan?” Darek asked. “He’s keeping tight-lipped, hoping he’s safer on the inside. I say we shake him up a bit, see if he knows anything else. Now that he’s in prison, he might talk more. I don’t mind going down to check him out.”

“I like that idea,” Lizzy said. “They know more than they’re letting on. I’m afraid this body count is going to keep piling up if we don’t do something. If this is some kind of pattern, and my hunch about a group is correct, there’s another potential victim out there, and I think we should flush those out.”

“But what if they want to remain private?” he asked. “If this is a group-related crime, none of them are going to want to come forward and put a target on their backs.”

“We could offer them protection and maybe find out what kind of connection they all have. Look, Logan knew Tad, so if there are others, maybe they all know each other and have something in common.”

“Or Tad and Logan were in it together?”

Lizzy let out a long sigh. “I just wish we could find Hannah again.”

“I’m afraid when we do, we won’t like it.”

“There is no evidence of her death. Blood doesn’t equal death alone. There could have been an injury.”

“We’re grasping at straws, and we have been since Alicia David.”

“Maybe we should go back,” Lizzy said. “See if she speaks to us again. I mean the evidence, of course, but you know, sometimes fresh eyes will tell us a lot, at least until someone else is killed.”

“Or a lead falls into our lap, which isn’t likely to happen.”

“There hasn’t been one shred of DNA found at the crime scenes other than the victim’s, right?” she asked.

“Not a trace,” Darek said. “Even the branding irons were cleaned. The killer is smart.”

“And they use the same knife.”

“Yes, they did.” She sighed, and he wondered if she was yawning.

“We’ve been going back and forth for a while now; I know you’re probably tired.” He had a long day, too, so he couldn’t blame her for being exhausted.

“I don’t mind talking to you,” she said, her voice soft and sexy.

“Yeah, but this is all stuff we talk about at work.” Darek wanted to talk about much more.

“I know. I guess I just wanted us to take a little time off from being sneaky.”

“Does it bother you?” Deep down, he was afraid she’d tell him it was a big mistake and they needed to end it before it got any worse. Or maybe he was afraid because he knew it was the smart thing to do.

“A little,” she said. “I was trained to take my work seriously and not let anything get in the way of my cases. Sleeping with my partner is what Robert would have called a useless distraction.”

“Ouch.” Darek didn’t want to be useless to her, just a distraction, a healthy one.

“I said Robert would think that, not me.” She sounded a bit defensive, but then she gave a soft laugh. “I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?”

“I just wish that we could be distracted without being useless. I find you very useful.” He realized how horrible that sounded as soon as it came out of his mouth. “Sorry, that was terrible.”

“I don’t mind it so much.” Her words gave him little comfort.

“Well, I’m totally turned on by your voice, and if you were here, I’d show how much. I don’t think that’s useless.”

“I agree. Too bad I can’t come over. It’s too late to go out. Besides, I’d piss Bob off. He’s so content in my lap.”

“I could come over; I’m sure Bob wouldn’t mind.” He hated to invite himself, but he was desperate and pathetic for her.

“I think we need to practice a little bit of self-control when it comes to these late-night calls.”

She might exercise some restraint, but he couldn’t. He’d had the biggest hard-on for her since the minute he’d answered the phone. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She gave another yawn, and he knew he’d have to take care of things himself. “I better go before I fall asleep without my shower.”

“I could come over and wash your hair for you, scrub your back. Then I could give you a nice, long massage.” Nine inches of deep body massage. That was what he wanted to give her. He pushed the foul thoughts aside since they weren’t helping.

“Darek, you’re not being fair. Besides, I’m too sleepy, even though it sounds like heaven.”

“I know, and you’re not making it any easier with that sexy, sleepy voice of yours.”

“Then I should really go.” He could hear the smile in her voice as her tone lifted.

“Wait, how about Friday night, we come over here and have a nice dinner? I’ll cook. I’m not terrible at it, I promise.” He hoped they could make that a regular thing since the two of them really couldn’t go out anywhere in public.

“We’ll see. Sneaking around gets you maybes, I’m afraid.”

“Night, Lizzy.” He hated to say those words without holding her. Falling asleep with her at her home had been perfect, and he wished he could do it every day.

“Night, Darek.” The phone went dead, and he pulled it away, longing for her. He finally had found something real, and there was naturally something holding them back.

He put down the phone and hoped that Friday night would work for the both of them. And even though he’d tried to ignore it, going to the cabinet for his pills and thinking about how he needed to go see his doctor for more, he couldn’t cure the wild thoughts of what he wanted to do with Friday night as soon as his mark was gone. He headed to the shower and took care of his business alone, hoping all of their future conversations wouldn’t end the same.