Page 79 of Renegade

She stopped talking and I looked away from the swings and over to her. Her lip quivered.

“It didn’t stay like that, did it?”

She shook her head. “No, at first I’d use once a week, but then I noticed that I didn’t have as much energy, so I’d use a little more. When the cocaine failed, I switched to meth—was told it would give me a better high. From there it was like a wildfire—it started off small and manageable and just turned into this monster that consumed everything within me.”

Sounded like me and Mike.

The thought startled me. I’d told myself that he was a player and planned to just dip my toes in. Instead, I’d run down the end of a long pier and jumped in headfirst. Now, he occupied most of my thoughts.

Was I being consumed by him?

I’d spent most of the morning feeling guilty. I hadn’t exactly told him about my coffee date—he had enough going on at the moment. AVictoria’s Secretmodel had come to Lubbock to meet with friends and then just disappeared without a trace. Mike had been assigned her case and his every waking moment had been spent at the station or out interviewing potential witnesses.

I convinced myself that I didn’t tell him because I was just trying to be a conscientious girl…friend. Friend who happened to be a girl.Were terms like ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’ even used after high school?

How had we spent two months together without me knowing what we were?

Plus, what cop wants to hear about his person meeting up with her ex-junkie of a mother? Mike had seemed horrified when I told him about her after nearly burning down his kitchen. If he knew I were here, who knew how he’d react.

I reached over and took Monica’s hand in mine. “Okay.”

She gave me a puzzled look, so I elaborated. “Okay. Let’s try this. Let’s give this whole relationship thing a try.”

Her eyes welled up again and she squeezed my fingers. “Thank you.”

The bitterness and anger I’d held onto for too long gave way to something foreign—hope.

Chapter Thirteen

Late August 2014

I couldn’t remember the last time that I slept a full eight hours, uninterrupted.

I rubbed my eyes wearily and took a sip of lukewarm coffee before going back to staring at my computer screen. I was quickly turning into the stereotypical cop—eating the majority of my meals out of a bag and spending the night at the station in front of my desk. When I wasn’t parked in my chair, I was revisiting the places where a missingVictoria’s Secretmodel was last seen. Ekaterina “Katya” Egorichev simply walked out of her hotel room one day and disappeared off the face of the earth.

I was missing something with this case. I just didn't know what.

On top of that, the department had rounded up ten Sons of Death members, but they were like a hydra. It didn't matter how many heads I cut off, three more grew back.

I was also missing the hell out of Lauren. I hadn't seen her, but for brief periods where our work schedules didn't overlap. I picked up my desk phone and dialed her direct line.

“Good Morning,Mulloy Dental, this is Lauren.”

Days and nights had all begun to blend together inside these cinderblock walls, but hearing her voice made me light up like the fucking sun. “Hey, Red. Tell me something good.”

“Hey yourself, Tex. Good news...Good news... I got it. On this day in 1939, they televised a Major-League baseball game for the first time. I'm not sure that falls under ‘good,’ but it’s definitely noteworthy considering how much you love the sport.”

She was so damn cute.

“I’ll take it. How’s work?”

She lowered her voice, “Fine, I guess. How’s it going withthe thing?"

Somewhere along the way, she’d gotten it in her head that we had to speak in code when referring to cases.

I sighed and massaged the back of my neck. Every part of me hurt and longed for my bed. “Honestly, I’m exhausted. I just want a real meal...and you.”

She groaned, “Don’t tell me that while I’m at work. I’m going to have to go home at lunch and take care of this situation now. Any chance you can break away from the office for thirty minutes and give me a hand?”

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