Page 2 of Black Heart

In a matter of seconds, the little boy managed to break free and lunged for the door. Tom grabbed the kid before he could jump out of the ambulance and had him back on the board when the kid took him by surprise and kicked him in the balls, dropping him to the floor.

“Get the kid!” Tom bit out when Jeff moved to climb inside only to end up releasing a grunt when the kid jumped out of the ambulance. The kid was like a rabid animal, kicking and screaming as he struggled to break free.

“Grab the restraints and call the police! I can’t handle this kid!” Jeff yelled as Tom struggled to stand up only to have his legs give out as pain tore through his balls. Gasping for air, he crawled to the front of the ambulance and grabbed the portable radio.

“Echo 14 in need of police assistance on scene. I repeat, Echo 14 in need of police assistance,” Tom managed to get out between gasps of air.

“Echo 14, sending police assistance to 13 Derry Road. Is that correct?” dispatch returned.

“Correct,” Tom said, placing his hand over his battered balls as he moved to stand up only to immediately double over in pain.

“Police are on their way, Echo 14. Fire rescue is on its way as well,” dispatch said as Tom dropped the portable radio on the driver’s side seat and-

“I need a hand!” Jeff yelled.

“Aw, fuck,” Tom muttered, taking a deep breath as he grabbed onto the back of the seat and closed his eyes when the pain threatened to knock him back down on his ass.

After a minute, he was able to open his eyes and move without feeling like he was going to vomit. He glanced back and found his partner still wrestling with the kid. Blood was trickling from Jeff’s nose as he moved to place the kid back inside.

Ignoring the pain tearing through his balls, Tom climbed over the passenger seat and managed to climb out the tech door. Biting back a groan, he made his way to the backdoors in time to grab the little boy just as he moved to kick Jeff in the face.

“Gotcha!” Tom said as he pulled the kid away from the ambulance and placed him on the ground, mentally preparing himself for another kick to the balls when he noticed something.

The kid wasn’t fighting anymore.

Wondering if this was a trick, Tom quickly pinned the kid’s arms against his body and held him on the ground. After a minute, the boy’s breathing became more relaxed. He watched as the little boy opened his eyes and slowly exhaled, looking really fucking relieved.

What the hell?

“I’m sorry that I hurt you,” the little boy mumbled quietly, his bottom lip quivering as his eyes began to fill with tears and-

Christ, those green eyes…

He’d never seen anything like them.

So much goddamn sadness.

He felt lost looking into those eyes.

Swallowing hard, Tom released his hold on the little boy and found himself releasing a shaky breath when the little boy reached up and wrapped his small arms around him.

“Please don’t let go,” the little boy whispered, making Tom swallow hard as he wrapped his arms around him and-

“Never.”

CHAPTER1

Present Day

“Tristan, is there anything you’d like to talk about today?” Dr. David Bryne asked, the words leaving his mouth with very little effort or thought, thanks to twenty years of practice.

Biting back a satisfied sigh, David settled back in his favorite faux leather chair as he looked through the thick personnel file on his lap that he technically wasn’t supposed to have access to, but given the patient that he was dealing with, it had been agreed that a few rules needed to be broken.

After a moment of silence, David looked up from his notes to find the patient he’d been dying to get on his couch for years lying on the couch across from him, reading a book, and clearly determined to ignore him again. At least this time Tristan wasn’t planning on glaring at him for the entire session. Even David had to admit that had been a little unnerving. Not that he would ever admit this, but that one session almost had him rethinking taking this case.

“Tristan, this is your third appointment in the last two weeks and you have yet to participate in a conversation. I think it would be beneficial for you to talk about something that’s bothering you,” David drawled, not really expecting a response as he returned his attention to the thick file that would probably take the entire session to read through again and-

“Can it be anything?” Tristan suddenly asked, taking him by surprise since he never expected Tristan to say anything. Perhaps he was finally about to make some real progress with the stubborn man that had intrigued him since he was a boy. At least, he hoped that was the case.

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