Chapter 6 #2
“Damn. That must be hard,” I say, unable to imagine the hell he must be going through.
Not to mention, the hell his daughter would be going through as well.
Starting kindergarten is a huge adjustment for any kid, but to show up every day and see your dead mother in the eyes of your teacher must be so confusing.
Vincent gives me a small smile. “It is, but we’re getting there,” he says fondly before diving into all the highlights of Lila starting school.
He chats away for almost an hour, and after finishing the ins and outs of kindergarten, he tells me all about the milestones of his other daughters, talking like the proudest father in the world.
For a fleeting moment, I’m jealous. I had an absent father growing up.
He couldn’t even remember to call on my birthday, and then one day, he just stopped calling altogether.
I don’t even know where he lives anymore.
I don’t even know if he’s still alive, but it doesn’t matter to me anymore.
If he doesn’t care to know about me, then I won’t waste my time being hurt by him.
Besides, it was a long time ago. I’ve more than gotten over it.
Vincent though? He’s what I picture a real father to look like. As for what I think a real man is . . . shit.
Knight fucking Slater.
I’ve always known he was a delicious bowl of bossy snacks, but he surprised me last night.
I wasn’t prepared. I know it’s wrong to think about him like this.
To picture how wildly our bodies would fit together.
To think about the way I’d lick the sweat off his defined chest while he fucked me raw, but damn. That man.
He’s my step-uncle, and that’s as far as it should go.
I shouldn’t want him to bend me into a pretzel, and I sure as fuck shouldn’t want to know how effortlessly he could pick me up and throw me across the room.
With him, the idea of a threesome wouldn’t even cross my mind because if I had all of that, if I was the woman who got to say he was mine, I wouldn’t dare share.
But it’s just a stupid fantasy, and up until now, I’ve been pretty good at keeping it hidden, but now that I’m older and know exactly what I like, the hunger within me is almost impossible to ignore.
Knight Slater is dangerously sexy with one hell of a filthy mouth. He’s not the clean-cut billionaire businessman like his brother who lures women in with his money. He’s rugged and oozes sex appeal, and after the way his dark stare seemed to rake up and down my body . . . I’m a fucking goner.
Knowing I won’t get anything done while Knight circles my brain, I wrap up what’s left of my report and print it up for Dr. McKullan to review and send off first thing in the morning. As Vincent does his thing, I start working out which autopsies need to be prioritized for the rest of my shift.
There are six bodies awaiting autopsies.
Four men and two women, and out of all of them, we have four murders, and two assumed natural deaths.
The natural deaths will more than likely be covered by Dr. Sanders during tomorrow’s day shift.
She loves her job, but she’s a sweet soul, and sometimes these darker murder cases can be too much for her.
On the other hand, I thrive on the darkness.
Out of the four murders, one is particularly brutal, and I instinctively reach for that file. What can I say? I have a depraved little soul that needs to be fed.
I flip through the notes and familiarize myself with the case just as another soft beep sounds through the morgue. My head snaps up, and with Vincent wrapping up for the night, I don’t get the same vicious fear pulsing through my veins as I had when I was alone.
The door is opened wide, and the familiar sound of a gurney rolling on the linoleum tells me that I have another incoming body. I let out a sigh. We’re already stockpiling bodies, and at this rate, we’ll never get through it all.
“Jesus,” I mutter, watching Detective Gray stride in with the coroner, both of them wearing grim expressions, telling me this isn’t just another natural death.
This is another murder, and a horrifying one at that.
“What is going on with the crime in this city? There’s more murder than there is natural death. ”
Detective Gray lets out a heavy sigh as he signs off for delivery of the body. I do the same as the coroner lines the body up with my autopsy table, and after initialing for delivery, I take the end of the body bag and help transport the body over.
“I’m sorry to ask,” Detective Gray says, sounding as though it’s been one hell of a long night. “I know you’re slammed, but this case . . . It has left a lot of us rattled. If there’s any way we could get this report as a matter of urgency, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Oh, sure,” I say, already scooping up the other case file and dropping it back on top of my ever-growing pile of work.
“Thanks, Dr. Madden.”
“Of course,” I say, giving him an awkward smile. I’ve worked alongside him for what feels like years, and apart from him stopping by to demand reports, I don’t really know a damn thing about him. “I’ll get it done through the night, and I’m sure Dr. McKullan will be in touch come morning.”
Detective Gray smiles tightly and nods before hastily getting out of here with the coroner tight on his heels, not even bothering to give me any details on the case.
What’s up with that? The two of them have probably been at the crime scene for hours, and I can guarantee the coroner already has a fair idea of the cause of death, yet they share nothing.
Frustration trickles in as I scoop the file off the top of the body before flipping through the details.
Without any more small talk, Vincent scurries to pack up.
He’s not super fond of dead bodies. In fact, he makes it a point not to come in here while I’m working.
We learned that the hard way in the form of vomit splattered from one end of the morgue to the other.
Since then, we go out of our way to ensure he doesn’t accidentally see human brains cut open on the table.
Vincent rushes out a hasty goodbye, and I offer him a quick wave, my attention already focused on the work in front of me.
The files are barren, and it pisses me off.
Twenty-two-year-old male. That’s it. No other details to go on.
Considering Detective Gray’s urgency to get the final report, I assumed he’d have given me more to start with.
No location listed, no rundown on weapons or substances found at the scene, and nothing about why the hell they both looked so grim.
It’s unprofessional and screams that the job was rushed.
Were they so desperate for answers that they didn’t take the time to write down literally anything?
Shit. If they want to catch this guy’s killer and make a charge stick, then making sure everything is done correctly is an absolute priority. Detective Gray knows better than this.
My gaze turns toward the body bag on the table, and I let out a heavy sigh. “Well,” I say to the body. “If nobody else is going to do right by you, then let me be the one to offer you the respect you deserve.”
And with that, I reach for the zipper at the top of the body bag and drag it down.