Chapter 11 Reed
Reed
Sitting at my desk, I study the map tacked to the wall. “Where the hell are you coming next, you son of a bitch,” I mutter under my breath.
My whole body feels like I went ten rounds with Tyson. And lost. Obviously.
“How long are you going to sit here staring at that map? You should head up to bed. Who knows how much sleep we’ll get tonight?”
“I’m not going to get any until I find that son of a bitch,” I mutter under my breath.
He’s out there somewhere and he’s watching me. Watching all of us. But especially watching her.
That damn pin. I run my hand through my hair and tug. That damn pin that she took.
I couldn’t tell her what it was.
“What’s got you so hyped up? I’ve never seen you so crazy. I know that you think it’s Frank but you can’t be sure.”
I lean back and glare at him. “Actually I can.”
“How?” James leans back against the door, his arms crossed.
“Mercy found a pin today.”
“So what? Probably somebody standing around today lost it. No big deal.”
“It was a fifteen year pin. An old one.”
He hisses out a breath, his eyes narrowing. “Why would Frank have his old firefighter pin? He couldn’t take it to prison. There’s no way.”
“Who knows how the hell he does anything? How did he break out of jail and get back here with none of us being the wiser?”
“So why aren’t you home keeping an eye on your woman?”
“Because that fucker saw us out at the fire. He saw the way I looked at her. The only way I can keep her safe is to stay the fuck away from her and catch him before he hurts her, takes her away from me just like….”
I can’t finish the damn sentence. My throat clogs and I gulp a swallow, closing my eyes.
“Just like Roger,” he whispers.
“Yeah. You think he didn’t make sure that Roger went in that damn building first? He knew that would fuck me up and I was getting close to figuring out he set those damn fires! He killed my brother to keep me from catching him!”
James stands tall and eyes me narrowly, his blue eyes ice cold. “Yeah. He did probably do that. But you caught him anyway. And you sent him to jail once. You can do it again. But if you let him fuck up what’s going on with Mercy, you’re gonna regret it.”
“She isn’t even from around here! How the hell is that going to work? I can’t ask her to move.”
“Why not? She can work from anywhere. She just needs to go into her office once in awhile and do what needs to be done. Half the time she’s mobile anyway.”
“And she’s away from me. Away from home.”
“You can’t suck it up for the woman you love?”
“I never said I loved her!”
James cocks his head and glares at me. “You’re an idiot. You’ve got a woman that really cares about you. We all could tell. And you’re gonna let her go because you’re afraid? Are you kidding me? Grow a fucking pair, Reed!”
He whips around and stomps off, leaving me staring at him. Wondering if I’m doing the right thing.
Should I give this a shot? Am I using Frank as an excuse?
Am I about to fuck up the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time?
Leaning back, I stare at the map, my eyes gritty.
There has to be something there. There just has to.