Chapter 15: Darek - Pisces

Darek was at the coffee pot when Max came in.

“Damn, Darek. You go away with McNamara for the weekend and come back with a rash. I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.” His partner was always busting his chops about Lizzy, and he made up for the weekend away from the office by doubling up on insults every Monday morning. “If that’s what your neck looks like, I’d hate to see your dick.”

Darek finished filing his cup. “You keep on talking, man. I bet you wouldn’t say that shit if she walked in.” He knew he wouldn’t. Lizzy would hand him his ass, and he wouldn’t do a damned thing about it.

“No, I wouldn’t, and that’s why I’m taking advantage of it now.” He grinned wickedly. “So, tell me. Did you two get busy? I know how much you like her, and if I was going away with my hot partner for the weekend, I’d make sure I got laid.”

Darek curled his lip. “Seeing that I’m your only hot partner, I’m not going anywhere with you for a weekend.”

“You know what I mean, and you’re avoiding the question.” Max followed Darek back to his desk. When Darek sat down, Max took the opportunity to lean over his shoulder. “Well, blink twice if you boned her. I won’t tell a soul.”

Darek turned and blinked like a hundred times at him. “Happy?”

“Seriously?” He narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t think you had. I was just kidding around.”

“Does it matter? Look, I’m trying to get my shit done so I can duck out. I have to go see my dermatologist. She called me last night and asked me to come at ten.”

“She? Is she hot?” Max nudged his arm.

“She’s attractive.”

“Who’s attractive?” Lizzy’s voice straightened his back, and when Darek turned around, the sight of her straightened another part of him. She had been dressed so casually through the weekend that he had almost forgotten how hot she looked dressed up for work. Her hair was up, a few tendrils framing her face, and her blouse and skirt made her look more like a naughty librarian than a special agent.

“His dermatologist,” Max said. “What are you doing? Having that rash looked at? He told me you gave it to him Lizzy.” Max gave a playful smirk, and Lizzy played along.

“Yeah, I pushed his ass down into some poison ivy.” She gave Darek a wink and then turned to Max. “You want to know why?”

“Why is that?” Max was an idiot for playing along.

“Because he kept making stupid jokes too early in the fucking morning.” She lifted her chin and dared him to say something else.

“Noted.” Max turned around and faced his own desk.

When Lizzy walked away, he turned to look at Darek. “What’s her fucking problem?”

Darek opened his desk drawer and got out one of his report sheets. “I’d guess it’s your fucking mouth.” He laughed as Max shot him the finger.

“I was just playing around.” He cleared his throat. “Did you find anything while you were there, aside from a piece of ass?”

“You’re really asking for it, aren’t you? And for your information, no, we didn’t find anything. Everything has changed down there. The landscape is way different from the reports. There are new buildings. There have been fires. You name it.”

“Damn, no wonder she’s in a bad mood.”

“Yeah, so cut her a break.” Darek was going to try and be a little more understanding about the Virginia investigation and hoped that from then on, she’d cool it a bit with the theories and focus on the new murders, which would be easier for him to control.

“Yeah, I hear you, man. I’ll lay off.” Max turned back to his desk, and Darek worked on finishing his report.

He got out of the office with just enough time to make it to his appointment. When Marie saw him, she had a big smile for him. She had gained a little weight since the last time he’d seen her, but it was much healthier than what she had looked like before. Darek would never forget how stressed and run down she’d looked, the fear in her eyes for her husband, and that nasty busted lip. The first time he’d seen her since high school, he’d gone on a domestic call, and there she was in her house, her lip busted from her husband, blood-stained clothes, and looking like she’d just seen the devil.

Darek hauled her husband to jail and then went back to check on her. He’d always hoped that she’d grown up and followed her dreams, and at the time, her future didn’t look too bright. She’d tried to go to college, but the abuse had interrupted her education. Darek had learned that when she had invited him inside and told him all about their problems, and even though she said she wasn’t ever letting him back into her life, Darek had been called out again, and that time, the beating had been even worse.

After that, he’d come around for a while, just until she was on her feet. They’d had a little romance, nothing to make the stars align, but he wasn’t looking for drama in his life, which her ex had provided. By the time Darek met Megan, Marie was busy focusing on her career, which she could do once she wasn’t being abused.

“You look incredible,” Darek said as he walked into her office.

“Thank you; you’re not so bad yourself.” She waved him into the room and up onto her exam table. “Yeah, it’s amazing what a little weight will do for a person, huh? I’m not a walking pile of nerves these days.”

“I take it Eddie didn’t come back around.” He had often wondered if she’d let the man back into her life.

“Hell, no. He took off to Colorado where he hit the wrong woman. He’s dead now.” She gave a little laugh, and it wasn’t the reaction he expected her to have.

Darek couldn’t blame her, though. “Well, I’m sure that’s horrible news for someone, but I can’t say it’s me.”

“So, let’s see this rash.” She pulled on a pair of gloves and waited while he undid the buttons on his shirt and showed her his neck. “Oh yeah, it got you good. It looks like poison ivy. You must have come into direct contact with it when you fell. I’m surprised it didn’t spread, but you might only have a mild reaction. I’ll get you some stronger cream if you want, but it’s already going away.”

“Thanks.”

“I see you still have that horrible brand.” She’d never liked his mark and had only seen it a couple of times when they’d gotten more intimate years ago.

“Yeah, I wish I didn’t. The things we do when we’re in college, you know? It’s a spring break I’ll never forget because of this shit.” He had always told everyone who asked the same spring break story.

“I could get rid of it for you, but then you’d just be left with another scar.” She shrugged like no one would ever want that.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, it wouldn’t take a lot, actually. No more than if I had to remove a cyst, but I usually don’t do unnecessary procedures.” She took off her gloves and tossed them in the trash.

Darek knew he had to convince her. “Would you do it for me? If I really wanted it?”

“If you could explain to me why you want it removed, then I’d consider it.”

Darek nodded. “It’s simple. I’m being considered for a job at the FBI, and I feel like it’s unprofessional. I see so many others who did the same crazy shit, and it’s embarrassing.”

“I can understand that.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her prescription pad and pen. Then she drew a football shape and put an arrow inside it. “This is how I’d cut you, taking out the unwanted flesh, and then I’d pull these two cut edges together, giving you a straight scar. You’d have a wound to tend to, but if anyone asks, you just got a cyst removed.” She shrugged as she put the pad and pen away.

“How much would something like that cost me?” He wasn’t going to let money get in the way and would dip into his savings if he needed.

“Considering you saved my life, I could do it for free.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, we could charge your insurance for cyst removal, but that would be fraud, so it’s the least I can do for all you’ve done for me. If you hadn’t come along in my life when you did, I’d be dead, Darek. You’re a good man, and I want to help.”

He needed to be reminded more than ever of some of the good he’d done, and even though no good deed could make up for the horrific ones, it was good to hear.

“I was just doing my job, but since you put it like that, when can I get this done?” He closed his shirt and started working on his buttons.

“I could see you Wednesday morning if you can be here at eight-thirty? I usually leave that window for my morning workout, but I’ve pulled a muscle, and it’s at the point where if I don’t give it a rest, I’ll be the patient.”

Darek smiled. “I’ll be here. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much it means to me. I really didn’t think there was a way to get rid of it.”

“I’ll be glad to see it gone, too, and I’ll do my best to give you a good cosmetic stitching to minimize the scarring.”

“You’re the best.” He hopped off the table, and she closed the distance between them.

“I heard about your divorce.” She surprised Darek with that one, and he wondered where the subject might lead. He wasn’t interested in revisiting old romances and preferred his new one with Lizzy.

“Did you? Small world, I guess.” He didn’t realize that he and Megan had been such a big deal.

“Yeah, I heard from a friend of hers actually. She couldn’t believe that Megan had stepped out on a great guy like you. I totally agree with that. I can’t believe she thought that she’d do better. You’ve always been such a sweetheart.” Her smile and mannerisms became flirtier, and he couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“Yeah, I’m trying to enjoy life a bit before getting into anything too deep. I have the FBI to focus on, which would be a huge step up for me. I’m trying to behave long enough to get in, anyway.” He gave her a wink and then looked at his phone.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you on Wednesday morning,” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder and rubbing the spot over his brand. “I’ll help you put one more mistake behind you.” She winked and then gave a soft laugh, and he joined her.

“That’s what we seem to do for one another, fix our mistakes. That’s what friends do, I suppose.”

“I suppose.” The way she looked him up and down, he had a feeling she’d like for them to be more than friends. He hoped he could get away before she came on any stronger.

“Thanks again, Marie.” He put his phone away and headed out, wondering if she was watching him go. He couldn’t wait to get back to Lizzy, especially knowing that before long, nothing was going to hold him back from her.