Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 82282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Viddy was still screaming, which was not in the least surprising seeing as she was naked and covered in blood from the waist down.
Grabbing the corner of the bed spread, I brought it to Viddy’s face and started wiping away Paul’s blood from her face, causing her to finally calm enough to realize that Paul was no longer on top of her.
“T-Trance?” She whimpered, breaking my heart even more.
“It’s me, baby. It’s okay. Shhh,” I said, brushing her hair back, uncaring of the wet that slicked against my hand as I did so.
With one large inhaled breath, she launched herself at me, sobbing.
***
“Goddammit Spurlock. What the fuck were you thinking?” The Chief snarled.
I looked at him from my perch on the couch.
Thank God her sister came over as soon as she heard what happened. It gave me some time to collect my thoughts while Adeline helped Viddy get cleaned up.
That was after they took samples of the blood and guts on her skin for evidence.
My eyes narrowed on the man in front of me.
“What was I thinking?” I asked in a deceptively quiet voce.
The Chief’s eyes snapped to me, taking in my overtly calm demeanor and froze.
“What I was thinking was,” I said quietly. “Was that my wife was screaming. That I didn’t give one flying fuck what or who was in there with her. Obviously, I could’ve done things differently, but I didn’t. I only did what I thought to do at the time. Should I have done things differently? Yes, probably. However, that doesn’t change what’s been done. Nor would I change a goddamned thing.”
The chief sighed.
“Pending the investigation, you’re on administrative leave. The council’s going to have a goddamned hay day with this. First, the dog attacking him, followed by The Russo’s pulling every single favor they ever had with anyone with any goddamn reach whatsoever to get Radar to be put down, and then this. The media coverage this is going to bring to the department alone is going to fucking kill us. The Russo’s won’t let this go, either.” He growled.
I didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. Even now, three hours after the incident with a much clearer head, I still wouldn’t have done anything differently.
“Bring them on.” I snapped at him.
The other officers in the room all turned and regarded me. They thought I was fucked in the head, and I probably was. Forever.
I didn’t think I could ever get the picture of that man between my woman’s legs out of my mind. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t come home?
I laughed sardonically. I knew what would’ve happened. She would’ve been raped. The one person in this entire world that I was supposed to protect above all others, I’d let down. Now there was no telling what kind of emotional state she’d be in. She’d probably need therapy for years to come.
Oomph.
That was the air leaving my chest in a rush as Viddy’s body connected with my own.
Her hair, which was still wet from the shower, pressed against my neck, sending chills down my spine. Reflexively, I gathered her closer, burying my head into her neck.
“How’s Radar doing, Trance?” She asked me.
I lifted my head to find her concerned eyes on me. “He’s doing fine. Silas took him to the vet for me, just in case. He was acting just fine when Silas put him in my truck.”
Radar had been knocked over the head with the same steel beam that Viddy had, knocking him out cold.
“You said he left the door open,” Viddy said with confusion clearly evident in her voice. “Did he not think that Radar would wake up at some point and come after him?”
I’d thought about that myself. The entire situation had been confusing to me. Paul’s actions weren’t the actions of a rational thinking person. Things weren’t adding up, and there had to be something we were missing.
Something that would’ve explained why he only wounded Radar instead of killing him. He knew, quite clearly, what Radar was capable of. By leaving that door open, he gave Radar the capability to kill him. He would’ve never even seen it coming.
Which was the only thing, right now, keeping me so calm. Radar would’ve woken up and done something, just as he was trained to do. Viddy wouldn’t have been alone for long.
“I don’t know what he was thinking, baby. Everything in me tells me that something isn’t right here. That something else is going on besides that. Something that Paul died with.”
She shuttered in my arms.
“Where are we staying tonight?” She asked softly.
My eyes flipped back up to find the room empty besides Adeline, Kettle, The Chief and Loki.
The Chief and Loki were talking quietly in the entranceway to the kitchen, and Adeline and Kettle were looking at us.
They’d left Saylor at their house with Kettle’s mom, who’d been more than happy to watch her on such short notice.
That was the first time I had seen Adeline without Saylor since she was born.
“You can stay with us,” Adeline offered.
I snorted. “No offense, Addy, but I’ve been to your house a lot in the past couple of months. I’d never get any sleep.”
She smiled fondly. “Yeah, I don’t either. Kettle can sleep right through it though.”
“You can stay at my place. I have an extra bedroom.” Loki interrupted.
I looked at Viddy. “That okay?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Feel free to go anytime. Obviously you’re off shift until you’ve completed the mandatory counseling sessions. Remember to turn in your service weapon as well.” He said looking pointedly at my gun that was still planted firmly in my hand.
I wasn’t really too keen on giving it up.
I’d been asked numerous times to turn it over, but I couldn’t make my hands release it just yet.
“I’ll turn it over when I’m about to leave. Can I go in and grab some clothes before we head out?” I asked him.
“You can have Officer Rector retrieve them for you. You’ve seen enough for tonight. They’ll process the scene and continue collecting the evidence by tomorrow morning, and then you can have a cleaning crew come in and take care of the mess. I want you in tomorrow morning by nine AM to see the doc, and then you can give your statement after that. Okay?”