Chapter Twenty
Mitch
“I’m back on duty tomorrow,” I said to Amy as we cooked dinner together.
“What? That’s soon.” She set down the wooden spoon she’d been holding and narrowed her eyes at me.
“I’m going insane sitting here all day.”
“But—”
“Office duties only. And just for a few hours. I spoke to the boss, and he said that was fine by him as long as I was up for it.”
“And are you?”
“Yes, if I can sit and watch shit daytime TV, I can sit in front of a computer.” I shrugged. “And I went for a gentle jog at lunchtime, no problem.” I flexed my bicep and laughed, making light of the situation. “I’ll be back to full fitness within a few weeks, you wait and see.”
“Mmm, okay then, but don’t exhaust yourself.”
I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. “Don’t baby me, baby.”
She laughed and looped her hands around my neck. “Okay, I just care about you, that’s all.”
“Care?”
“I love you.”
My heart squeezed. It felt so good to be loved, and treated like I was loved after everything I’d been through with Sarah. Sarah, who’d made me feel worthless and unlovable. “Well, I love you a whole lot, more than you can imagine. You should know that.”
She smiled, her cheeks balling. “You do?”
“Yes, surely you can tell.”
“That a big bad thug is in love with me…maybe.” She giggled.
I slid my hands to her ass and used her buttocks to drag her onto my body. “You know what I’m going to get tomorrow, from the station, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Think about it.”
“I don’t know…I…oh!” Her pupils dilated, something that always happened when she was thinking about sex. “Are you really? Can you?”
“Yep, a good sturdy pair so that I can make that dream of yours come true.”
She wriggled. Little minx knew just how to grind her pelvis onto mine to give me a semi.
“Be careful,” I growled against her ear, “or I’ll have you over the counter right now and dinner will burn.”
She brushed my hair back from my face, smiled, but then it dropped.
“What’s up?” I hated to see anything other than a smile on her face.
She swallowed and glanced away.
“Hey.” I cupped her chin and turned her back to face me. “Start talking.”
“I just…I’ve been thinking.”
“About what?”
She sighed, a small, tight sound that was laced with stress. “Jeremy.”
“Okay.” I paused. “And what have you been thinking?”
“That maybe I should try and find him. He’s my twin, after all, and although awful things would have happened if I’d stayed with The Way Forward, or at least I think they would have, they didn’t actually happen. They didn’t happen at all. Perhaps…I’ve been…”
“Hasty? You’re thinking maybe he wouldn’t have gone through with it?” I stroked the back of my thumb down her cheek. I was eternally fascinated by how soft her skin was. “You can’t hate someone for something that didn’t happen. Something he was told to do but didn’t.”
“I know, that’s the way my thoughts have gone lately, I just…”
“Needed to get to this point on your own.”
“Yes.” She nodded and untangled herself from me. “I really did.”
Reluctantly, I let her go.
“I thought perhaps,” she went on, “at the station, with the databases and stuff that you have, maybe it could be a starting point. Or should I come and report him as a missing person?” She picked up the spoon and stirred the sauce. “Maybe even a private detective, I’ve got some savings.”
“No need for that, I’ll see what I can do.” I leaned back on the counter and folded my arms, content to just watch her.
“It’s difficult without a surname, though,” she said. “And anyone other than you would think I was mad not to know it.”
“Bailey,” I said. “That’s the name he’s most likely to have gone by.”
“What?” She spun, spoon aloft, and a drip of red sauce landed on the floor. “How do you know that?”
I grabbed a piece of kitchen roll and stooped to clean it up. “You know I’ve nearly made detective twice. I have my ways and means of finding shit out.”
She quickly went back to the sauce. “Well, that’s great, I mean…yes, that’s a good start.”
“And his date of birth is eighteenth of May, ninety-seven right?”
“Yes, how did you…?” She laughed. “Yes, but that’s an easy one, same as mine.”
Nodding, I recalled that I still had a clue leading to Bristol University, but I kept that to myself, for now.
The next day was spent enduring colleague’s questions about my health and commiserations about getting shot while not even on duty. Eventually, though, I found a quiet moment to make some enquiries about Jeremy Bailey.
Seemed he’d got himself a National Insurance number and a student loan. The loan quickly led me to Bristol, as suspected, and one phone call to the university’s administration department told me he was studying politics.
Not what I’d been expecting.
“Thanks,” I said to the woman on the end of the line. “You’ve been most helpful.”
“Of course, Officer, and if you need anything else, don’t hesitate.”
“You don’t happen to have an address, do you?”
“No, I’m sorry. It says to be confirmed. He was obviously still searching for somewhere to live when the course started, and he hasn’t updated us.”
“Okay, no worries, I’ll find it out. Have a good day.” I hung up.
There was only one thing for it. I’d have to take a trip to Bristol.
I felt good, like I was back on track. The asshole who’d shot me hadn’t knocked me down for long, yet he was gone forever.
And I had a mission, a guy to find. A guy who hopefully would make Amy’s life even fuller; having no blood family to be in touch with, to care for her, was a crap card to be dealt for anyone, let alone someone so sweet and with so much love to give.
I ducked away mid-afternoon with a pair of cuffs attached to my belt.
My balls tingled as I thought of all the imaginative ways I could make Amy come while I had her fastened to the bed, naked.
Her glorious small tits flushed with desire and her pussy wet.
I’d have her begging for more, writhing with need, my name a series of gasps that caught on her breath.
My cock stiffened. “Fuck,” I muttered, helping myself to a set of patrol car keys. I signed the vehicle out even though it was against the rules. No one would question me, the place was quiet. And if they did, I wasn’t feeling up to the walk home, especially not in uniform, no big deal.
A few minutes later, I drew up outside Amy’s flat, beneath the huge tree that fluttered its leaves beside her window. The place felt like home now. Not sure when that had happened, after I got shot perhaps, but it was a nice feeling after dossing at Rose Cottage for so long.
My phone pinged. A message from my son, Nathan. He was having fun in Florida but wished I was there. He’d attached a photo of him and Harry in front of some scary big roller coaster. They both wore Mickey Mouse ears and big smiles.
My heart squeezed, and I closed my eyes and nipped the bridge of my nose.
How could my emotions fly around so fast?
Seconds ago I’d been glad to be here, right here, and now I wished I was with them…
my boys…my beautiful sons. Why did he get to have fun with them while I was working to pay more than half their damn mortgage?
Heck, probably most of the holiday, too.
A blackbird sang in the tree above me, a twittering lullaby, and I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.
The scent of grass and petals and the sweet smoky tang of a nearby BBQ filled my nose.
I had to get a grip. This was my life now, and at least I had one.
The bullet could have easily hit me between the eyes.
I locked the car and shoved the keys in my pocket. Had to look on the bright side. Always.
Within ten minutes, Amy wandered into the apartment.
“You’re early.” I glanced at the clock. Usually she wasn’t home until five or six o’clock.
“I know.” Her cheeks were flushed, and she dropped her purse on the counter. “I just keep thinking about…”
I was still in my uniform and I stood. “These?” I tapped the cuffs.
Her eyes widened. “I…oh…you did get them.” She swallowed. “And it’s nice to see you in your uniform again. Suits you.”
“Ah, kinky for it, are you? A man in uniform.” I went up to her and tugged her close.
She set her hands on my chest and smiled. “Only you in your uniform.”
I swept my lips over hers. We should get down to business. She’d clearly taken a half day off—plenty of time to have her screaming my name and pulsing beneath me.
But when she ended the kiss, her eyes darted to the right.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I came home early because I couldn’t stop thinking about Jeremy and if you’d found anything out about him.” She looked into my eyes. “Did you?”
Ah, so this is why she was here. “Actually, I did.”
“Go on?” She was breathing faster now.
“He’s in Bristol, at university.”
“What? A student, but…”
“He got a loan, got himself on a course…politics apparently.”
“Bristol, that’s not far away.”
“I guess not.”
“And you have a car…outside.”
“I have.” I tipped my head.
“We should go…now.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now, no time like the present.” She untangled herself from me and grabbed her purse.
I folded my arms and rocked back on my heels. “But he might not even be in lectures today, and I have no home address.”
She bit on her bottom lip. “We could call them, ask where he lives.”
“I tried that, he hasn’t told them.”
“Bugger.” She took out her phone. “Let’s see if we can see where the politics department is.”
I nodded. Not a bad idea.
“Ah…here we go…” She scrolled some more. “The sociology, politics, and international studies building is on Priory Road. That narrows it down.”
“He still might not be there today.”
“But it’s early afternoon, we could be there by the time afternoon lectures end. We might get lucky…I might get lucky…and see him.”
I nodded slowly. “And just appearing in front of him will be a good thing?”
“Yes.” She tightened her jaw, a stubborn gesture I’d seen previously. “It will be.”
“And if he just showed up here. How would you feel?”
“Right now, good, because it would save me the journey to Bristol.” She caught my hand. “Please. I don’t think I can do it without you.”
“Little girl needs her daddy, huh?”
“Yes.” She went onto her tiptoes and kissed me. “I really do.”
The woman had me in the palm of her hand. I was putty when she wanted anything from me. “Okay, we’ll go now. But if we don’t find him, you have to not be too disappointed, it’s a long shot.”
She grinned. “I know, but it’s a chance. And…he’s my twin. I can’t not see him again for the rest of my life. That has to change, and it might be today.”
“It might be.” I scooped up the car keys, tossed them in the air, and caught them. “Come on then, get your sexy ass moving. The cuffs will have to wait…for a few hours at least.”