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Saturday. Darby
Mark woke me up Saturday much as he’d done the day before. With great persistence. As I didn’t remember getting home, and my head hurt even worse, I was a bit viler than I had been the day before.
“Darb, I know you’re pissed, but we’ve got donuts to deliver. Xander’s wondering when we’ll be by.”
“Ugh.” I rolled over and looked at him. This morning, he sat on the edge of the bed near my ankles. “You’re an ass, Mark. Couldn’t you let me sleep?”
He shrugged. “After the night you’ve had, I’m inclined to. Especially with that attitude.”
I rubbed my face. “I don’t remember anything.”
“Not surprising. Your date drugged you. Again. Tried to rape you.” His voice was colder than the Missouri River in February.
I frowned and pulled the sheets up around my neck. “Again?”
“Please tell me you remember you were drugged Thursday night too.”
“I’m not a moron, Mark.”
He put his hand on my ankle. Through the layers of covers, the electricity fired.
“Stop that.” I pulled my ankle away. “Makes my head hurt.”
“Then you need it.” Again, he reached for me.
I whipped the sheets back and jumped out of bed, a bit mortified to realize I was only in my panties and bra. “Was this your doing?”
I covered my breasts, which were only shielded by a thin piece of lace. My panties were only slightly less see-through.
“No, you can thank Melinda for that one. She was concerned about you overheating with the ecstasy. Oh, and the ketamine too.” He smirked. “But I’m not complaining about the view.”
“Bastard,” I retorted. I stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door. Then realized all my clothes were in the bedroom.
I stripped anyway and got a quick shower. Sharp pains from the hot water startled me as they hit my back and legs. What had exactly happened last night?
Mark had said Will had attempted to rape me. Had I fought back? Panic welled up and made me dizzy. I leaned against the cool tile wall and tried to turn the heat down. I had to try it a few times before I got it where it wasn’t encouraging the dizziness.
I took a few deep breaths, then finished up. I had to get to the bottom of this, but I needed to be calmer, be able to think straight.
When I got out of the shower, a glance in the mirror showed I didn’t appear like myself. I looked like I hadn’t slept in a few days. There was only so much I could do with makeup. Actual rest would be necessary.
Wrapped in the thinning bath sheet, I poked my head out.
Mark was still on the bed. “I know you mind, but I wanted to stay close in case you fell. You were pretty drugged up.”
I scowled, then stalked over to my bag, keeping a hand securely at my breast to keep the towel from falling.
“You feeling okay?” he asked, unbelievably civil compared to the iciness from earlier.
“Nothing a couple pots of coffee won’t solve,” I said, dragging out a fresh pair of jeans and a blue short-sleeved sweater.
“You need to eat. And to let me help you heal.”
I stared at him. “You’re not touching me.”
He jerked as though I’d slapped him. “I didn’t say that aloud. I know I didn’t.”
“I heard it. I swear I did.”
He scowled. “I didn’t say it.”
But his lips didn’t move, or even open.
I gaped. “I heard it clear as day.”
“I’m not a super.”
“But I am.”
“You think it could be your second power? Telepathy?”
I bit my lip. “I don’t have time for this right now.”
Oh, God, don’t let my second power be telepathy. That would complicate things.
“Maybe what happened last night brought it on?” His voice was uncertain like he didn’t quite believe what he was saying.
“Perhaps.” I looked back at my bag, unwilling to continue the conversation.
“Can I make you anything? Xander seemed overly eager you fulfill the donut order. Said he had a bunch of hungry techs.”
I shook my head. “I’ll pick something up at Fluffy Fresh.”
Mark stood as I turned to the bathroom. “Darb, I’m sorry about last night.”
“I don’t remember any of it.”
He lowered his head a little. “I followed you. I’m not proud of it, but I had information about Young I knew you wouldn’t believe. And I had to make sure you’d be okay.”
I scowled. “You followed me?”
“It had to be done.”
“So...you saw what happened?”
“Yes.” He gave a half-smile. “You were so brave. You fought him off.”
My heart thudded hard against my ribs. “I shouldn’t have let myself get in that position.”
“He drugged you.” He stepped closer. “Melinda ran the numbers. You should’ve been passed out before you even got to the park last night.”
“Park?”
“Yeah, you ended up at Loose Park. Not sure whose idea it was.”
I shuddered. “Can I get dressed? I’m not interested in talking right now.”
He nodded. “We need to talk.”
I shook my head. “No, we don’t. I need to get into headquarters. We can talk tonight.”
“Darb...”
“Please, Mark. Right now, I’m naked but for a towel in my partner’s bedroom with him standing in front of me. I’m not comfortable at all.”
When in doubt, be blunt.
He blinked. “Right. Sorry.”
He took a step back and allowed me to pass.
I scurried into the bathroom and locked the door, leaning against it. I closed my eyes. Too much had happened and I didn’t know how to sort it all out in my head.
Will had tried to rape me. My partner had rescued me. Sort of? My brain was still rattled, and even with the conversation, I was murky on the details.
I dropped the towel and got dressed, applied a thin coat of makeup to try to cover up my fatigue, and strapped on my weapons. When I grabbed my Derringer, I had a brief flash of memory of digging for it while on my back with someone on top of me.
William?
I’d shoved the two-banger into his ribs.
Oh, God, he had tried to rape me. It wasn’t just words or a story.
It had really happened.
Shakily, I put the gun on the counter and lifted my hands to my face. I closed my eyes again, and instead of William on top of me, I had a vision of being up in Rick Pierce’s face. Of Genova trying to get me to calm down.
Had it really happened? Had both of those actually happened?
A sob escaped, but I tamped it down. I could deal with this.
I had to deal.
I had no choice.
I took a deep breath, felt queasy, and darted to the toilet where I heaved.
When I was done, I crawled up next to the counter and leaned against it, my whole body shaking. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and I shivered harder. An after effect of the drugs?
I sat there, shivering for a long time, long enough Mark came and knocked on the door.
“You okay in there?”
“I’m fine,” my voice croaked out. “Just...need a few minutes.”
“You sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
He rattled the door handle. “Any reason you’ve got this locked?”
I closed my eyes. Only to keep you out.
“Darb, I’m not going to hurt you.”
He read my thoughts.
“You didn’t say either of those aloud?”
I cleared my throat again. “No.”
Even through the door, I could sense things tense up. Something was wrong here, and we both knew it.
Shakily, I got to my feet, splashed a bit of water on my face, and unlocked the door.
“Good grief, Darb,” he said at length. “You’re pale.”
I brushed past him. “Gee, thanks, Detective Obvious.”
He followed me to the front of the house, waiting while I gathered my jacket and bag. “Darb, you need to wait. I need to get ready. And you really need to eat something and drink about a liter of water to deal with those drugs.”
I winced. “You said Will nearly raped me. If we’re going to bring him in, I don’t think you have any business being there.”
He folded his arms. “I arrested Will last night, Darb.”
I stared at him for a long moment as half a dozen emotions swirled. Did he have true evidence? Regret that it had happened. Regret that I’d gotten into that position. A little anger that Mark had arrested Will in the first place. Finally, I settled on resignation. “I liked him.”
Mark edged closer. “I think he made you like him.”
“Excuse me?”
“I think he used his powers, and talking a bit with Genova yesterday, I’ve got little doubt about it.”
“How?”
“Think about it. Every time you saw him, did he touch you?”
I thought about it and nodded slowly. “Yeah, he was overly affectionate. I didn’t really think about it until now.”
“The few times I saw the two of you together, he had his hands all over you. Considering you barely let me touch you, it kind of stuck in my craw.”
My breath quickened. “Why would he do that?”
Mark raised his eyebrows. “If I need to explain that one, I’m afraid your time in school failed you. And at the Academy.”
I sighed. I got why, but I didn’t get why. There was no way I was that naïve, and even though I’d spent nearly my entire adult life as a cop, sometimes I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of how someone could want to harm another person.
Mark cut the space between us in half and whispered, “Darby, I promise I’ll never do anything like that to you. You will always be safe with me.”
I swallowed hard and couldn’t get quite enough air. I turned and sat on his couch. I knew what he was saying, but I couldn’t think about it right now, not with the weight of last night on my shoulders, especially not being able to remember it.
It would help so much if I could remember. The likelihood of that happening wasn’t great, not with the ecstasy and ketamine. They were both virtually guaranteed to wipe my memory of the events.
Mark crossed and put his hands on my shoulders.
I closed my eyes, unwilling to break the connection, but desperately wishing to. “Mark, I need breathing room, and you’re not giving it to me.”
He squeezed, and the electricity ratcheted up. My headache flared, and I wanted to run for the guest bathroom.
“You need to let go.” It came out strong—an order.
“No, I don’t.”
I shifted, trying to force him to let go. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to help.” He grit his own teeth. “Same as you’ve done for me.”
I tried to break his hold. All it did was give more contact area. “What the hell is going on?”
“You tell me, Darb.”
“Are you trying to kill us?”
“I don’t think either of us could.”
The pain and nausea increased and I closed my eyes against it, taking shallow breaths. “You have to let go.”
“I can’t. Remember!”
I screamed as the electrical intensity continued to rise, then just as quickly, dropped off to nothing. We both stepped back, panting hard.
Sweat had broken out on Mark’s face. He stumbled to the couch. He plopped his elbows on his knees and cradled his own head.
A swarm of memories I hadn’t recalled before flooded my brain. Everything I’d said and done on Thursday night.
Everything that had happened on my ill-fated date the night before.
I even had a few that didn’t seem to be my own—had I picked up some of Mark’s memories?
“What was that?” I breathed deeply, trying desperately to calm my racing heart.
“Me. Helping you.” He swallowed audibly and looked at me through his fingers.
“But what did it do to you?” I wanted to sit next to him, had an almost uncontrollable desire to sit next to him. But I refrained, barely.
“I think I’m sick. It wasn’t like this when you got shot last month.”
Now I did go to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Mark...are you okay?”
He nodded and covered my fingers. “I’ll be fine. Did it help? Do you remember what happened?”
“Yeah. With crystal clarity.” My mind roamed the memory of nearly being raped and I shuddered, pulling away. “I can’t believe this.”
“I can.”
I looked at my hands. “I need the physical evidence.”
We’ve got it. I’ve got infrared videos, Melinda’s got the blood work, and I daresay if we get you under some UV lights, we could find his hand prints on your body.
He didn’t say any of it aloud, but it was as clear as though he had.
I swallowed hard, a nervousness growing in my belly. The talking without speaking wasn’t something I was sure I could wrap my head around.
“It’s okay,” he said, this time verbally. “I can’t hear everything. But when we were connected, it was pretty strong.”
I nodded, turning away. “I’d better get those donuts to the lab before I have a mutiny on my hands.”
“Let me get changed.”
I winced. “I can handle this.”
“No, you can’t,” he said gently. “You need someone there for support. I need to be there to give the captain my statement anyway, but you don’t need to face this alone.”
I pressed my lips together and looked toward his fireplace, then slowly nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
He gently touched my chin with only the very tips of two of his fingers and turned my face to him. “Hey, kid. That’s what partners are for.”
I couldn’t say anything. The emotion caught in my throat. Instead, I threw my arms around him and hugged tight, my face pressed against his bare chest.
He seemed surprised at first, as his arms didn’t come around me immediately. But slowly, he rested his arms against my back and pulled me tighter.
I could feel his strong heart thumping against my ear, and was surprised at how mellow the electricity was between us after it had been so powerful just minutes before.
I hope you know how much I care for you, Darby.
I knew it had come through his mind. I hadn’t felt his baritone rumble in his chest. This is going to take some getting used to.
“Yeah,” he said aloud and chuckled. “My thoughts exactly.”
He tightened his grip around me a little more, then released. I pulled back and looked up at him. It was still the same face, but it was like I was seeing him in a new light. It was a good light, but it kind of startled me.
I licked my lips, took a deep breath, and said, “We’d better get to the lab.”
“Let me get changed.”