Page 7 of Curse

He starts to head back toward us, but when he makes eye contact with me then sees Matti glaring back at him, he drops his gaze and sharply turns to walk up the water’s edge away from us.

Panic claws at my chest, sharp and insistent. Emily’s stuff is still in the truck bed, and I can’t think about anythingelse. I dart my eyes around, scanning for law enforcement, calculating my chances. Could I slip up there and grab her scarf without anyone noticing?

Before I can decide, a weight on my arm halts me. I glance down and freeze. It’s Matti’s hand, firm and commanding, his grip just shy of bruising. His knuckles bear a jagged scar, and the black ink on his hand, a tip of a feather, is peeking out from under his sleeve like a secret.

I look up at him, surprised, and though his face has not softened, he holds my gaze intently. Although it seems like he’s reading my mind and stopping me from taking Emily’s stuff from the truck, I’m oddly comforted.

The moment is shattered by the roar of an engine. We both turn toward the sound and watch as a motorboat pulls up full of items taken from the water as Matti withdraws his hand.

Officer Clifton jumps out and onto the dock, and the other officers in the boat pass him each item carefully: hunks of metal, chunks of machinery, and what looks like more personal items: clothes, a comb, a water bottle, a fabric makeup case.

That’s when I see it.

All my senses shut down except for sight as I lock in on the sage green vinyl roll-up makeup case. It’s handed to Officer Clifton, the sun reflecting off the zipper pulls, and my entire body tenses, urgency overcoming common sense.

I rush down the dock toward the officers, ready for a fight.

5

Siena

“Can I have that? I need that. That’s mine.” I practically knock over Officer Clifton who is kneeling on the dock holding the makeup case, as I try to take it out of his hands.

Officer Clifton is ready for me this time. He shoves me off of him and smacks my hand with the makeup case, then holds it out of my reach.

I don’t realize that Matti has followed me down the dock until he steps in front of me and bends down to Officer Clifton, leaning in close.

In a low voice, he growls, “Don’t fucking touch her.”

The color fades from Clifton’s face. Matti is huge, easily a foot taller than I am even though I’m wearing heels, and his biceps are almost as big as my thigh—and I have thick thighs. One arm is bigger than both of Clifton’s arms put together.

Clifton and I both stare at Matti for a second, trying to figure out what just happened, but I have zero patience for either of them.

That makeup case is everything. There are so manymemories of Emily in that case, as many as are in the scarf, and if I can’t have the scarf, I need to have at least one thing of hers to take with me.

Officer Clifton is still locked in on Matti, confused and scared, and as Matti straightens, I reach for the case again. Clifton again pulls it away, but slowly this time.

Clifton’s tone is more respectful when he addresses me, his eyes locked on Matti. “Ma’am, the answer is no different than it was ten minutes ago. I can’t give anything to anyone right now. We’re still cataloguing everything and trying to figure out what happened.”

“What do you mean ‘what happened’?!” I can barely contain my rage. “The plane fucking blew up. My sister was obviously on it, and that is her makeup case. I want it. I want everything of hers, and not you or anyone else is going to tell me fucking no.”

I lunge for the case, and instantly find myself airborne. From behind, Matti grabs me around the waist with one arm and picks me up, whirling me away from Officer Clifton and setting me down so that I am facing the parking lot.

He grabs my shoulders and sharply turns me back around to face him. His eyes are dark as he glares at me, and I am trapped in his gaze. Bending down so that his forehead is close to mine, he whispers harshly, “Stop.”

His voice is commanding even as a whisper, and I can’t move. Heat emanates off his body, and his piercingly dark blue eyes are intense and absolutely no nonsense. And fuck, his hands are so strong.

But what is actually happening right now? This doesn’t seem like how a law enforcement officer would stop me from assaulting another officer. It feels almost conspiratorial,which makes no sense at all.

Officer Clifton drops the makeup case in a plastic bag, adding it to another bin like the others. I half lunge at him again just to see him flinch, but Matti maintains a tight grasp on my shoulders, holding me in place.

The officer skirts around the two of us, carrying the bin containing Emily’s makeup case to the waiting pickup truck and drops it in in the truck bed, tossing a wary glance at us over his shoulder.

The weight of everything—grief, stress, the relentless knot of anxiety—presses against my chest, threatening to shatter me into pieces. My throat tightens and my vision clouds, but I choke it back. Breaking down is not an option.

Matti’s hands are heavy on my shoulders. They’re too steady, too sure, and I can’t stand it.

“Fuck off,” I snap, trying to shove him off me with more force than I thought I had. His hands remain in place despite my efforts.

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