Page 3 of Love After Darkness

Suspicious. And curious.

“I’d like to have the ME take a look at the blood pattern if you don’t mind,” Naomi is telling Jasleen in an overloud tone. “I know you’re telling me the object that killed him is blunt edged, but the slices would suggest otherwise.”

I know the volume increases when she’s close to losing her cookies. When something bothers Naomi to the point that her body is rejecting every mental barrier she tries to put up between her and the fear. Jasleen, on the other hand, doesn't understand anything about my new partner, and the glance I toss over my shoulder at the scene shows the tech bristling.

“If you’re not satisfied with my initial analysis, then by all means,” Jasleen snaps. “Do whatever you have to do, Detective Ellison.”

“I think you’ve done a fine job of the scene, Jasleen, but it seems to me there are more questions in need of answering, and I’d prefer to have a second opinion. The other bodies we recovered were killed with box cutters. Not this one.”

By the time I turn back to the woman in the crowd, she’s strutting down the sidewalk away from the scene, the distinctive sway of her hips captivating.

I’m not one to ignore nudges, and this woman is nudging hard. It’s a risk to take myself away from the scene and leave Naomi in charge.

“Detective Bishop? Where are you going?” Naomi calls out after me.

“Following a lead,” I call back. I follow after the woman with the red hair and hope my gamble won’t fuck this investigation before it starts.

TWO

aria

The detective isfine asfuck.

Tall and broad-shouldered, he’s got the figure of a man who knows his way around the streets and uses his fists to solve problems. Judging from the look in his eyes, though, the chocolate brown depths simmering with just enough life to make sure he doesn’t look like a walking corpse, he’s stuck solidly to the right side of the law.

As most people see it, anyway.

His hair is black and curly, shaved short on the sides and a little longer on the top. The black T-shirt brings out the deliciously dark tone of his skin, and the camel-colored coat gives him a suave charm.

He’s length, muscle, and wiry strength.

Much as I hate to admit it, he’s got this air about him. This spark. A charisma that naturally draws people to him and forces them to look twice.

Damn, yeah. He’s fine.

Something about the look on his face makes me want to get to know him, to dig beneath his truly beautiful exterior, and find the juicy goodness underneath. I make a mental note to check out his online footprint the second I get back home.

But the man walks like a fucking Clydesdale as he trails me. He was good-looking enough to divide my attention between him and the corpse on the ground, the entire reason I came out today.

Poor Everett.

He didn’t deserve what happened to him. None of my guys did, and somehow, losing this one stings more than the other two. A life cut short. Except this life belonged to me. The first two guys were losses, for sure, but Everett was like my baby, the four years separating us more like four decades.

I hustle away from the scene, leading the detective toward a spot where I know we’ll have some privacy since he clearly marked me. There’s no getting out of it now.

And it’s my own damn fault, too. Like Everett, I get curious, and bad things happen. To me mostly, and I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I’ve had to stop calling it bad luck and start taking a more introspective approach.

“Hey, wait. Stop!” the detective calls out, his hands shoved into fists in the pocket of his jacket when I steal a look at him over my shoulder. “Ma’am, stop.”

Ooh, doggy.

That voice…

It’s made for phone sex. For being told what a good girl you are or to shut the fuck up and take that dick. Told to lay on your back and open your legs.

His rich baritone is as smooth as melted dark chocolate, and of course, it would belong to him. Of course it would send a shockwave through my system. I shake my head to clear it.Focus, Aria.

Hustling forward, I pretend to ignore him, wondering if it makes his dark jaw clench or not.

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