Page 55 of Heart Me Up
What the hell?
I wanted to run into the house and make sure Craig was okay, but I had to let the captain lead the way.
He walked.
When we finally got inside, my eyes went first to Craig, who was standing against one of the living room walls. He appeared unharmed. Malcolm, whose face was bruised and bloody, had his arm over Craig’s shoulders to keep himself upright.
I called out to them, and they seemed relieved to see me. I elbowed Carlos out of the way and apologized to the captain when I slid by him.
“Oh, thank god. Are you guys okay?” I put my arms around both of them together, though I tried to avoid the blood that had dripped down Malcolm’s front.
“Detective.” The captain’s voice was understanding but firm. “The scene still hasn’t been processed.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. I stepped back. I might have squeezed Craig’s hand on the sly.
Craig’s smile was a little strained. “We’re okay. Well, this one,” he tipped his head toward Malcolm. “Probably needs to see a doctor.”
“No, I don’t. I’m fine.” Malcolm rolled his eyes as if he always walked around with that much blood on his face and shirt.
Amy whacked me on the arm. “Foster, look! Craig, did you do this? It’s impressive as shit.”
Amy pointed at the perp trussed up on the floor. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but he was a nondescript brown-haired man in jeans, a hoodie and a red ballcap. He was arguing with one of the officers about not being allowed to get up. He was on his stomach, and a leather leash had been wrapped around his arms and… his neck?
I had to crouch down a little to be sure what I was seeing. “Holy shit!” I covered my mouth and laughed. Amy had already taken her phone out to get some photos. One of the patrol officers was approaching with a pair of scissors and some handcuffs, so I straightened.
The patrol officer said, “Excuse me, Detective,” warning me I needed to get the fuck out of his way.
I shuffled closer to Malcolm. “Sorry, Officer.”
He glanced up, then did a double-take. He stared at me for a few seconds, then at Craig, then looked down at the suspect. “Huh,” he said. He peeked at me again before getting to work cutting the leash off and putting the handcuffs on.
“Yeah, Craig is the kinky hero of the day, for sure,” Malcolm drawled.
Craig shook his head, smiling. “I didn’t do anything until you jumped for the gun. And Corrie slipped the leash to me. And Drew called the cops. It was a group effort.”
Holy shit. I didn’t understand exactly what went down yet, but my insides were cold just thinking about everyone being in danger. I wished I could put my arms around Craig again.
Then I absorbed what he’d said. “Wait,Drewcalled 911?”
Before Craig could answer, Carlos came over. “I hate to interrupt, but we need to get statements. Let’s go outside.” He moved to step away, but then smirked at me. “The collar is on point, Foster. Nice job.”
Oh, shit. The collar. Craig and Malcolm, along with everyone else in the room, turned to get a look.
My face burned. “Um.” I shrugged at Craig, feeling like an idiot. “It was going to be a grand gesture.”
He examined the rhinestone letters spelling outCRAIG’Sand smiled, his eyes shining. “I love it,” he said. “Though I can’t believe you wore it to work.”
I sighed. “It’s a long story. Let’s go outside.”
“Can somebody get my crutches first?” Malcolm demanded. “Also, where the hell is Mariposa?”
Chapter26
Craig
We weren’t allowedto wander around the house unescorted, but one of the officers was kind enough to get Mariposa’s carrier and follow me to Malcolm’s room, where I was able to manhandle her out from under the bed.
We returned to the living room to find Foster had been unable to negotiate the release of Malcolm’s crutches since apparently Ballcap Guy had touched them. Malcolm vehemently refused a wheelchair, so Foster took Mariposa from me and then he and I each got under one of Malcolm’s arms to help him outside. One benefit to me and Foster basically carrying him was that Malcolm couldn’t refuse to go to the ambulance to get checked out.
