Page 23 of Black Heart

She’d picked them up on a whim on her way into work. She thought it would be a nice gesture on her first day, but she was also nervous, very nervous, and when she was nervous, she ate. Normally, when she got this nervous, she snacked away on her favorite fruit, but she ran out of apples over the weekend and didn’t have a chance to go to the store to buy more.

She really hoped that Tristan calmed down by now. When he stormed out of the office yesterday, she had a feeling that she’d just stepped into a whole new level of hell. Unfortunately, that feeling only got worse last night. Now, she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Perhaps an apple fritter would help him calm down? She could only hope. If it did, she was running out and buying ten dozen apple fritters for him. She’d do anything to keep that side of Tristan hidden from her.

Over the years, she’d heard people bitch and whine about him. She never believed them. It was just gossip, she’d thought. That is until the past couple of run-ins she’d had with him changed her mind. Now, she had to wonder how he’d managed to keep that side of him hidden from her all those years ago. He truly was an asshole and now, she was stuck with him.

Just great.

“Good morning, Marty!” Rosemary, her father’s secretary, said cheerfully as Marty entered the pit. She didn’t know much about the woman other than she was a busybody. The older woman came around her desk and quickly made her way towards her.

“Oh, aren’t you a sweetheart! Here let me give you a hand,” Rosemary said. Her “hand” was gesturing towards the break room and standing back while Marty struggled to place the boxes down without dropping any of them.

Marty stepped back as Rosemary began searching through the bags. “Oh, the boys will love you for this!” Rosemary said as she helped herself to several pastries.

“Is Detective Black in yet?” Marty asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

Rosemarytskedaround a mouthful of bear claw. “I still can’t believe that your father did that to you. I told him that he should keep Detective Black on medical leave and give the rest of us a break, but would he listen? No,” she said, sounding absolutely disgusted as she shoved another bite of pastry in her mouth.

“And now you’re stuck with him, you poor thing,” Rosemary said, giving Marty a pitying look before she turned her attention back to the pastry boxes. “I think your father should at least assign a uniformed officer to drive him around. There’s really no need for you to be stuck with him all the time. Not when you have so much to do.”

“I don’t mind,” Marty mumbled absently, wondering what exactly she was supposed to do. She had a vague idea, but she’d feel more comfortable knowing exactly what was expected of her. “Did my father leave instructions for me?” she asked since her father would be spending the next few days stuck at a conference in Manchester.

Rosemary studied her for a moment before she asked, “He didn’t tell you?”

“He told me the basics, but he didn’t go into detail,” Marty admitted.

“Hmmmmm,” Rosemary murmured as her gaze flickered to the door. “Well, I believe you’re taking your turn watching over the administrative phones when the secretaries take their lunch. You also need to log in some reports that came in over the weekend into the computer. It’s really not that bad. That is when you’re not with Detective Black,” Rosemary explained with a warm smile.

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Marty agreed.

Rosemary’s smile brightened. “I believe your turn to watch the phones is eleven-thirty to one.”

“Okay,” Marty said, not afraid of a little work even if it sounded boring.

“I’m so excited that you’re here with us, Marty!” Rosemary gushed as she helped herself to another pastry.

“I just bet you are,” Tristan drawled from the doorway.

Rosemary’s smile disappeared and was soon replaced by a scowl. “Good morning, Detective Black,” Rosemary said tightly.

Tristan ignored her and focused on Marty. “Are you ready or do you need a nap before we get started?”

“I’m ready,” Marty said evenly.

“Good, because we have a call,” Tristan said before he turned around and walked away, obviously expecting her to follow him.

She was tempted to make him wait, but she couldn’t do that. Technically, he was her boss. So, she found herself throwing one last look of longing at the pastries, knowing that she would be forced to skip breakfast since there was no way that she could drive and eat at the same. Well, there was, but Tristan already made her nervous.

* * *

“I’m supposed to be driving,”Marty said through clenched teeth as Tristan cut through traffic with the emergency lights and the sirens blaring. “And we’re not supposed to be responding to any calls,” she reminded him as she held onto the sides of her seat with a death grip.

“Uh-huh, that’s nice,” Tristan murmured absently. Obviously, he wasn’t going to listen to her father and she couldn’t help but wonder, not for the first time, if this was going to end up being a waste of time.

“Detective Black, what’s your ETA?”the dispatcher asked over the radio.

He shut off the lights and siren as he pulled into what appeared to be a quiet middleclass neighborhood. “I’m less than a minute out. Do you still have the boy on the line?” he said into the mic.

“Yes, he said they’re hiding in the closet in his sister’s room. He also said that he doesn’t think that he can keep the baby quiet any longer and they’re getting closer to his location. He reported that his older sister stopped screaming a minute ago.”

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