Page 30 of Laying it Bare on the Run

She nodded.

“You mentioned something about pictures Waik is after. Did your dad have a safe in your home or a safety deposit box that you know of? Maybe your dad was the one with the pictures. Maybe your brother really didn’t know about them.”

“He didn’t have a safe in our house. I’m almost positive of that. And I doubt he had a safety deposit box. My dad would have told us about it.”

“If he had pictures, where else would he have hidden them? I guess they already cleaned out his locker at the hospital. They would have been found if that was where he had hid them.” Possible alternatives rolled through my head. “Did your dad have a really close friend he would’ve trusted with the pictures?”

“Both of my parents had friends they would do stuff with but I don’t know if they would knowingly bring someone into this mess. I’m not even sure my dad had anything. I think Waik is just a fucking liar and used that as an excuse to . . .” Her bottom lip quivered as her hands started to shake.

“Hey, it’s okay.” I took her hands in mine and rubbed my thumbs along her knuckles. “We don’t need to talk about it anymore. I just had some questions. I’m going to figure this out and I’m going to make it safe for you. Trust me?”

She gave me a small smile. “I do. And I know you mean every word of what you are saying but I’m afraid to get my hopes up.”

“It will be okay, I promise. Let’s get some sleep.” Wrapping her in my arms, I tugged her down beside me. Then I pulled her flush to my chest. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I rubbed my hands up and down her arms. “Let your mind drift back to when I had my hands and mouth on you. That’s where my thoughts are going to go. Although I will then have a hard time falling asleep because I’ll want in you again.”

She giggled.

“But I want you to have good dreams. Try not to worry. Focus on us.”

Harper took a deep breath. “I can do that.”

Her snuggled in my arms, the two of us drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, after pancakes, I dragged her out to the store to buy her a TracFone. I wasn’t comfortable with her not having one. I bought her the cheapest one with the cheapest plan to make the both of us happy. I wanted her to be able to get ahold of me when I was at work and I no longer had a land line. She grumbled for a while over my spending more money on her but I told her either that or she was coming to work with me. I was pretty sure she continued to grumble, just not out loud.

The rest of our day was spent in front of the television. However, when the clouds darkened, threatening rain, Harper insisted we sit out on the deck to watch it roll in. We sat snuggled on the swing as sheets of water poured from the sky. I had to admit, the rain brought with it a bit of a calming sensation.

On Sunday, I worked the early shift and was out the door by six forty, leaving her in my bed after devouring her mouth in a hot kiss. I had been nervous about leaving her home alone but she assured me she would be fine and promised not to open the door to anyone. And she had her phone and my number and explicit directions to call me if anything suspicious occurred, no matter how trivial she deemed it to be.

After walking into the station, I made my first stop the sergeant’s desk.

Greg glanced up from his paperwork. “Fuck, Rush. Go check out your assignments first. You don’t have to annoy me first thing.” He rubbed his temples with his fingertips. “His file came up squeaky clean.”

I wasn’t surprised. Pissed as hell, but not shocked. “I wanted permission to search up Waik Fincher. I won’t let my other duties slide but I want to see if I can find anything linking him to something shady.”

“You’re not one to go off of the rails on things that don’t have a reasonable source. See what you can find. But I want you on patrol before lunch.” He shifted his attention back to the stack of files in front of him, signaling my dismissal.

So I strolled down to the end of the hall where my space was located. I liked being at the end of the hallway, less people bugged me. Sitting down at my desk, I booted up my computer and got to work.

However, three hours later, I hadn’t discovered hardly anything about the scumbag. There was barely anything about him online. It was as if he had gone to an awful lot of trouble to keep himself secret. A small photo of him and his age and last known residence was all that existed. Frustrated as hell, I headed out of my cubicle, down the hallway, and toward the exit so I could start my patrol. Well, I guess at least I had a face to go with his name now. I had to maintain a positive attitude; so at least that was something.

When I passed the small break area, I spied two of my buddies. Joe was standing at the coffee maker waiting for Mike to finish filling his cup.

“Get this. I pulled this guy over for going forty in a twenty five zone. And he asks where he can take care of his ticket immediately. He wanted to pay for it and not have to worry about it. Most people want to challenge the ticket not confess their guilt and toss out the money.” Joe shook his head. “I mean it makes my job easier but still. He said he was just passing through and didn’t want the annoyance.” He grabbed a cup and poured the remaining coffee into it before taking a sip and grimacing. “Fuck. How long has this shit been sitting here? I’ll have to grab something when I head out again.”

“I’m heading out now. I’ll grab you guys some on my way back.”

“Thanks, Rush.” Joe tilted his awful brew at me. “Hey, when are you and Harper coming out with us again? It might have started out kinda rocky and then ended with a not so good bang but we like her.”

Mike dumped his coffee down the small sink and then tossed his cup into the trash. “Yeah, we didn’t mean to be so judgmental at first but we know we can be assholes. But we’re fine with her coming out too. She has balls and I think she’d fit right in with us.”

Not that I really needed their approval but it still felt nice to hear. “When all of this shit surrounding her goes away, I’m hoping she sticks around. I think she will.” Lowering my voice, I gave Mike and Joe the details of her story.

“That’s some fucked up shit, Man.” Joe patted me on the shoulder. “If you need anything, let us know. We got your back. And besides, slimy fucks like that need dealt with.”

“I have to hit my route before Sarge chews out my ass. I’ll catch up with you guys later. And I’ll let you know when we want to head out to the bar again.” I strolled out to the parking lot. On my way to my cruiser, I gave Harper a quick call just to check in with her. Her voice brought a huge smile to my face.

Thankfully, my patrol was uneventful and I managed to remember to bring back coffees for Mike and Joe along with a late lunch for me. While I ate, I called Harper again just to put my mind at ease. Then after catching up on paperwork, I made one last pass on my route before my shift ended and I could head home. Taking a small detour, I stopped at a small flower shop to buy her flowers. Knowing she would pitch a huge fit if I bought her a dozen roses, I settled on just getting her one. I wanted to brighten her day and make her smile, not growl.

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