Page 18 of Protected

He kissed her hard and pulled her out of the room. “Take care of that and sit on the couch. I’m going to put on some clothes and clean up the glass and then we’ll talk. Baby, I’m so sorry.”

As she waited for Bradley to clean up the mess, she thought about her visit to Exposure the other night, and was grateful she had talked herself into going. She was saddened at the thought of never seeing the feisty brunette there again. She’d made a point of saying goodnight to Marlie before she left the fundraiser last night, but it had been brief. Tears spilled down Darci’s cheeks as she thought of how short that last conversation had been. Just a quick hug and a ‘see you next weekend.’ How could either have known it would be their last time to speak?

Bradley came back into the room with a dustpan full of glass and some wet towels. He moved around the place as if he lived there, and it made her smile.

He came over and sat next to her on the couch. “What do you need? I can order breakfast, take you somewhere. Anything you need.”

She shook her head. “No. I… I think I need to be alone right now. And I’ll probably need to go to work. I… they… there was a connection to the lifestyle mentioned in two articles I read.”

“Baby, I can’t just leave you. Not like this.”

She gave him a sad smile. “I sometimes handle grief better alone. Please, Bradley? Call me later and we can talk about getting together again. I just need to take a few minutes to mourn. and then I need to get to work.”

He stood and pulled her with him. “OK. I can respect that. But I’m calling you at five and you better pick up or I’m coming to check on you.”

She smiled at his bossy tone. It was sweet. “Thank you. I’ll answer. I promise.”

She walked him to the door where he held her close and kissed her tenderly. “I loved last night. I’m so sorry this is how our time together ended.”

She cupped his cheek and tried not to cry. “Me too.”

When he was gone, she stood in front of her door and cried some more. When she felt like no more tears would come, she took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders, and made her way into her office where she sat at her desk and busied herself with work. For starters, she made a note to feature a memorial to Marlie on her blog—without naming her, of course. Then she sent a text to a few of her friends to see if any of them had more details about her death than the papers. She would also need to call Gage and see if Exposure was at risk. Exposure was private and off the radar, but there were several other more public BDSM clubs Marlie liked to go to. That could be how the press got a hold of her involvement.

She searched Marlie’s public Facebook page. It was filled with condolences and memories from friends. A shiver raced down her spine as she read details of her friends’ death. The murder had been brutal. As she read another article about Marlie, a name stood out to her. She picked up her phone and scrolled until she came to a familiar number.

“Michael, it’s Darci. Is it true you’re the lead detective on the murder that happened last night? What can you tell me about Marlie Dixon?”

“Good morning to you too, Darci. You know I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation,” the voice on the other end replied.

“Come on, Michael. I’m not asking as a writer I’m asking as someone who lives the same lifestyle. Plus, I read you’re primary on the case.”

“I can’t say much, Darci. But do me a favor and be careful.”

“You think it’s a serial killer?” Darci questioned, feeling uneasy.

“Darci...” There was a warning in the detective’s voice. It was not a tone he used with her often.

“I know, I know. You can’t comment,” she said, interrupting him.

“I’m serious Darci. You’re too open about your life with that damn blog. Be careful.” He was scolding her now.

“This coming from the man who chases bad guys for a living?” she teased.

“I have a gun. You don’t. Don’t make me come to your house and spank you,” he snapped. His tone was not at all teasing.

She huffed. Frustrated by her friend’s refusal to help her out. “I liked you better when you were just a cop and not a Dom. Goodbye Michael, I’m late for work. Call me if you can tell me anything.” Laughter rang through the speaker, and she scowled at her phone.

“Bye, Darci. Come to the station sometime and bring me coffee.” His tone had returned to normal. Darci sighed. She couldn’t be angry at him. She put her phone on the charger and went to change for work.

Even though it was Sunday, Darci had to go to work. Even before Marlie’s death, that had been her plan. Gathering what she needed, she headed to the Metro station. Her to-do list was lengthy and now included writing a press release about Marlie’s death since she was a longtime supporter of the ACSL. Michael needed to give her more information so she could write a decent press release. She could swing by his station and bribe him with good coffee. He was always complaining about the stuff they had at the station. She grinned, formulating a plan for later in the morning.It was OK to bribe a police officer when he was your best friend, right?

A half hour later, she stood outside his precinct. “Hi Michael, are you in your office?”

“Yes, what can I do for you, Darci?” He sounded happy, which meant his day hadn’t been too rough so far. That was a point in her favor.

“I’m outside the building. Can I come up?”

“Of course. You didn’t happen to bring coffee, did you?”

---