Mia

Nineteen

Pierce

Leaving her a second time was one of the hardest things I had ever done. Those two days in general were some of the hardest of my life. I would never tell her, but her face looked a million times worse that morning. When I left her around 5:00 a.m. to go talk to the captain, her eye was so swollen—I knew she wouldn’t feel great when she woke. 

            I tried to be quick in hopes of making it back before she woke up, but that didn’t work out. Instead, she woke to that text that she had every right to worry about. Now, not only did I have to bust this operation, but I had to make sure Ava didn’t get hurt. It would be nearly impossible. We had an enormous team set up to ambush the site of operation, and the captain didn’t want to waste any time. If they were tipped off, if anything happened that made it so Noah wasn’t there, the whole ambush would be a bust. 

            When I got back to the department, the team was being briefed in the squad room. I wanted to let the captain know the location was confirmed. While he talked about being “swift and efficient,” I stood by the door and raised a hand at him. He nodded, so I went around the tables and came to his side to whisper, “The location was confirmed. It’s a go.” 

            With an appreciative nod, he waved me off. “I’ll meet you in my office in ten.” 

            I went straight there and paced back and forth, going over every aspect of this ambush in my mind. It was going to be tricky, but we could do it. We could wrap it up just right so long as Noah was there. 

            “Hendricks,” someone called from the doorway a few minutes later. I turned to see Officer Turner standing there—a tall guy with short, dark hair who was a little distracted most of the time, but a decent officer to work with when I was forced to. 

            “Hey, Chris,” I greeted him, maybe sounding a little irritated. 

            With a creased brow, hand white-knuckling the doorknob, he demanded, “You got a confirmation on the location? From who?” 

            “That doesn’t concern you,” I told him. 

            “Like hell it doesn’t. I’m puttin’ my life on the line. I wanna know what made you so confident in this being the right location,” his voice raised an octave as he moved further into the office, making my hackles rise. This was not the time for someone to be pushing any of my buttons. 

            “Turner, don’t f**k with me right now. I’m about—”

            “Turner,” Captain snapped from the doorway, “get the f**k out of my office and get your s**t ready.” 

            “Yes, sir,” Chris said with much reluctance, glaring at me before leaving the office. 

            “Sit,” Captain barked, and I complied willingly for once. “I want a name on your tip.” 

            My stomach curdled. No way in hell would I give him her name. “I don’t have one. It was anonymous.”

            He leaned forward, hands pressed flat on the desk. “I don’t think you understand, Corporal. I’ve let you ride this whole case solo. You’re only two years in and partnerless. The chief is up my ass. If this goes south, if it doesn’t pan out, your ass is on the line.” 

            And that was the truth of it. He even had to throw my rank in my face. I was a newbie in their eyes, still had a lot of ground to cover before I moved up the ranks. With how much information I was withholding, I shouldn’t have even had a job anymore. “I understand.” I nodded, gripping my knees to keep from fidgeting. “This is it. I know it.” 

            “Okay. We’ll move in an hour. I don’t want them getting tipped off.” 

            “You got a warrant?” 

            “Of course, I got a f*****g warrant. I want this s**t done for good.” 

            I couldn’t have agreed more with him. “Okay. Can I make one more request?” 

            “What is it?” he snapped, sounding as edgy as I felt. 

            “I think something big might be going down at the prom tonight. We should station some officers there.”

            Rubbing his forehead, he hmmmed. “I can’t spare much. I’ll send Turner and Lawrence, but that’s all we can afford to keep behind.” 

            I refrained from rolling my eyes and thanked him before leaving his office to prep. Turner wasn’t so great, but Officer Sharon Lawrence, she would keep him in line. The moment we had this s**t in the bag, I would go over there myself and probably make a few arrests strictly based on the outcome of this bust. 

            It was two hours later, well into the afternoon, when we were all geared up and headed to the warehouse in a couple of SUVs with a warrant in hand. Prom would be starting in a few hours, but just then, I didn’t care what happened there. I cared about stopping the bad guy. Stopping this drug operation from ruining any more lives. 

            We pulled right up to the front gate and handed the warrant to the guard. He didn’t question us before opening up, and then we arrested him to take in for questioning. The adrenaline pumping through my veins after we got out of the trucks and moved in with our firearms at the ready had my ears ringing. 

            With how compliant the guard had been, something felt off, especially when we started sweeping the building and only found women folding laundry in every room. Some men walked the halls with big carts of garments. There wasn’t a single pill in sight. They all screamed, falling face-first to the floor to be cuffed, handled, and taken in for questioning. I didn’t give a s**t. I wanted Noah and Kenny, if he was hiding here. 

            “Around the back, around the back!” Came shouting over the radio, and I was instantly on the move. “Four cars just exited. We’re in pursuit.” 

            “f**k!” I shouted, booking it to my SUV. 

            I hauled ass for the latest location announced over the radio. “A gold Lexus just broke off and headed south, toward Old Town.” 

            “That’s mine. I’m on it,” I replied, thinking it had to be him. It had to be.

            It was dusk and for once not raining, but the traffic sucked. When I finally came up on the car, they were near my neighborhood, driving at a leisurely pace. My lights were on when I got right up on the back bumper. They pulled right over. I had been ready for a chase, for a fight, but they were pulling over.

            After calling in my location for backup, I got out, approaching the car slowly with my firearm at the ready. My ears kept ringing, and I could barely see straight. The darkly tinted window was rolled down as I approached, the guy behind the wheel giving my gun and then me a cold smile. 

            This was him. He wasn’t particularly significant, but his eyes… he looked like death incarnate. Exactly as Mia had described, down to the dark blond soul patch adorning his chin and the cold blue eyes. Unlike Mia’s blues, his were almost translucent and lifeless. There was a big guy with a buzzed head in the passenger seat, who didn’t make a sound, but I was so focused on this guy, I could barely pay him any attention. 

            “What can I do for you, Officer?” he drawled, a malicious smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

            “You just fled a crime scene,” I barked, holding my gun a bit higher. 

            “I didn’t flee anything,” he said in a bored tone that had goose bumps rising on my arms. Everything about his demeanor made my skin crawl. His hollow eyes, his sharp cheekbones, his crooked smile—it all put me on edge. “I was leaving my place of business for the day.” 

            “I need you to get out of the car with your hands up, both of you.” 

            Another SUV pulled up behind mine with two officers in it when the guy and the giant passenger got out of the car with their hands up without any more arguments. The other officers helped me in patting them down. When I got into his wallet, I saw that his name was Marcus and my heart sank. But this had to be him. This had to be Noah. I went back to my SUV to check his license while Miller and Thompson questioned them. 

            After I called in the information over the radio, the captain called, “We got something in the basement. It isn’t much, but it’s enough for an arrest at least. Bring them both in.” 

            That was all I needed to hear. We read them their rights and got them packed up before heading back to the station. It took some time to get them booked and put in a holding cell, until we were able to question them. But then, they would probably bring in a lawyer pretty quickly. It would have to do as it was. 

            Right when I headed into the office, Captain rushed toward me with a grim look. “We just got a call at the museum,” he told me. My stomach sank. My energy was about spent from the lack of outlet for the adrenaline dumps I had experienced in the last few hours. “Some kid said his girlfriend was attacked while they were on the phone. Lawrence and Turner headed in, but you should head over to see what’s up.” 

            “Yeah. Just don’t question Marcus without me,” I demanded, heading in the opposite direction before glancing back at him. “What was their name?” 

            “Said his name was Cade.” 

            I cursed under my breath after turning. That was Ava’s boyfriend. Still, part of me hoped it might be a different Cade. It might not be Ava. 

            I hurried to the museum, making it in only five minutes as a few other squad cars pulled up, officers surrounding the building. A Bimmer pulled up as I stood guard at the main entrance while the others took care of what was going on inside. Cade got out of the car, coming toward the entrance looking like he might pick a fight with someone. 

            “You can’t go in there,” I barked, holding my hands up.  

            “I was the one who called. It’s my girlfriend in there,” he yelled, taking this fighting stance that I kind of wanted to laugh at. But everything inside me was on fire. This just confirmed it was Ava in there.

            “Sorry, son, you’ll have to wait out here.” I shook my head, lowering my hands. 

            My entire body and mind were defeated. It was Ava. Not only was Mia going to hate me, but Kai would have to be told. If she was dead… I couldn’t even think it. Luckily, while I kept a close eye on Cade, my radio went off, telling me to get an ambulance. She was alive but unconscious. I called it in right before they brought the Trent kid out in cuffs. I couldn’t believe it, wanted to rip him apart, but had to keep my head on straight, especially since Cade went charging for him, demanding to know what Trent had done to Ava. 

            Grabbing him by the shoulders, I dragged him back to the curb away from the crowd that was now forming. “Can you calm down?” I asked him. Maybe I can accidentally let him go so he can break the kids nose again like he did all those months ago. “I don’t want to have to cuff you.” 

            He nodded, slumping to the curb. That is until they brought Ava out on a stretcher and he surged to his feet. I had to hold him back with a hand on his shoulder but couldn’t take my eyes off her. Doing my job came first, but I was numb, not even hearing or registering anything going on around me. Her resemblance to Mia was unnerving. The fact that both of them had been beaten up within a day of each other made me want to murder all the f*****g drug dealers. There would be no justice, at least not for a long time. Not with how poor things had gone. 

            “Can’t I go with her?” Cade implored.

            “Sorry.” I shook my head again. “You’ll have to stick around, answer some questions. She’ll be all right. Her parents were already contacted.” 

            Which didn’t really mean s**t. All it meant was that I would have to go talk to them, and I would have to tell my best friend that his sister got beat up on my watch. After she was hauled off, I stuck around to question the students before heading back to the station. I wouldn’t be able to check on Ava at the hospital until things were squared away with the suspects. A few other students who had been on my list were searched and arrested for possession. On my way there, I checked my phone and saw I had three texts from Mia’s new number. 

            Mia: I heard sirens. I hope you’re okay. 

            Mia: I hate not knowing.

            Mia: I wish you could tell me everything is okay. 

            But how could I? Now I would have to tell her about Ava, and she might leave purely for being pissed at me for letting it happen. When I got to the station, I found the captain in the listening room while Trent was being questioned. He glanced at me with disappointment in his gaze when I came in.

            “This was a f*****g mess,” he told me. “The best thing we’ve got is this kid. His lawyer said he wants to make a deal. Only thing is, he never met the boss in person. The man you arrested, his name is Marcus; he’s the owner of the garment factory. If he actually is the boss, they all know him as Noah. 

            “We found two small bags of pills in one of the rooms, but it’s only enough that he can pass it off to be one of his employees with a good lawyer. It got him here, I guess. None of the employees will talk. Either because we did get the wrong place, or they know what will happen to them if they do.” 

            “They had to be tipped off.” I shook my head, rubbing my neck. It really was a f*****g mess. But that’s how it went down, and now we had to make do with what we had. 

            “The kids you brought in with the drugs on them will be questioned after this kid. Luckily, nothing is enough to bring the Feds in yet, but they may show up simply because this is so big.” He shook his head too, his shoulders sagging. 

            “This kid keeps talking about a girl, Ava’s twin sister, and how she was dating the head kid, Kenny—who is related to Marcus, distantly on his mom’s side—and I’m sitting here wondering why I never saw the name Mia on any of your reports if she was dating him. To top that off, Kenny’s car is the one we found this morning with blood in it. It doesn’t add up. And now we have to question Ava. If she comes to, that is. This kid hit her in the head with a bat.” 

            He jabbed a thumb toward the one-way glass, and my balls twinged. A bat? Kai and Mia were going to hate me, and Ava… Ava had to be okay. 

            “We have to track down Mia and see if she can positively identify Marcus as Noah.” He sighed. “Don’t you know their family? You were friends with their brother in high school?” 

            My stomach hurt so bad. This clusterfuck of my personal life and my job trying to bleed together was making me insane. “Yeah. I haven’t seen them in a long time though. I only ever saw the girls at the school.”

            “You said that Ava wasn’t caught up in this when her car got tagged, and she wasn’t, but it turns out they did that because her twin was dealing and has been trying to get out. Did you not want to put her down because you knew them?” He just stared right at me, his scowl defined by his unibrow. 

            Guilt overwhelmed me, but I had to lie, had to keep Mia safe. Especially now that she was the only one who could identify Marcus. “No, sir.” I shook my head, about to throw up or pass out from the effort of keeping the truth in. “I never even saw her with Kenny.” 

            “Hmm.” He nodded. “Why don’t you head over to the hospital? I got to do the honors of calling the Harts to tell them about Ava. I only questioned a little about Mia, but they haven’t seen her since yesterday. They thought she went to prom with a friend, but no one seems to have seen her there, and now her parents can’t get ahold of her. I’m praying to God we don’t find her in a ditch somewhere. But I think getting the information about what she was caught up in might be easier coming from a familiar face. Lawrence is already over there, but she could use the help. Maybe take a couple others with you.”