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He doesn’t even stop when the edges of his vision darken, pressing in on his consciousness.
He doesn’t stop.
21
Kai’s memories start playing through my mind like they’re on fast forward, each one fleeting and brief. Almost as if he no longer paid attention to life after his sister’s death, and his memories mirrored that.
His surgeries, his sister’s funeral, his physical therapy after taking three bullets to the chest, his court appearances at his step father’s sentencing; it all just keeps zooming past. It doesn’t even slow down as he recovers and moves forward in life. Not when he runs through a number of meaningless hook-ups and sexual encounters. It barely even pauses when he finds purpose in becoming a cop. Nothing stops the torrent of time that seems to race past me as if it doesn’t want to be seen, as if it doesn’t matter.
Until…
Time slows as Kai stands in front of a welcoming group of cops, detectives, and office jockeys alike. Alan stands beside him with a wide smile on his face as he speaks, but his words go unheard. Instead, Kai’s gaze is magnetized to something else. A short girl in a leather jacket with aviators hiding half her face. Slipping into an office while everyone is busy, she pulls a tab on a cylindrical object in her hand–glitter rocketing out over every surface–before slipping right back out as if she was never there.
He loses sight of her for a moment, his neck craning to see where she disappeared to as if searching for land while being stranded in the ocean, until there she is…right in front of him.
“Shut up, Snuffles, I can introduce myself.” She sasses the chief, her lips pulling up into a wicked grin as she reaches her glitter covered hand out towards Kai–only it’s pointing slightly off to the left. His gaze flicks to her face, taking in the sunglasses in a whole new light as he catches sight of the scars peeking out from around them. “Hi, stranger. I’m the precinct’s biggest badass and psychic extraordinaire. The name is Bell Wicked and don’t you ever forget it.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Kai chuckles, grabbing her hand regardless of the glitter, using it as a lever to turn her more directly towards him. Instead of shaking it, he bends forward and places a delicate kiss over her knuckles which causes her to freeze in place. “I’m the precinct’s new sexiest detective. The name is Kai Zhao, but you can call me your future husband.”
“Oooh. You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?” Her grin widens to split her face in half as she pulls her hand away from him.
“Me? Trouble? Never!” Kai scoots just a little closer to her, but she doesn’t back away. Instead, her cheeks flush bright pink and she shifts on her feet.
“That’s okay. I see your lies.” She taps the side of her head and leans towards him, lowering her voice. “And I’ve got a big mouth.”
“I plead the fifth!” She giggles at his answer, smacking a sloppy kiss on his cheek before spinning in place and flouncing away, far too at ease for a normal blind person.
“Holy fuck…” Kai mutters, his gaze zeroing in on her ass until someone steps into his line of sight.
“I’d be careful with that one,” Chief Alan drawls. Kai’s gaze snaps to the chief’s face, taking in the fatherly fondness as he glances over his shoulder in Wicked’s direction.
“Huh?”
“Wicked!” A furious accented voice yells from the office Wicked had snuck into and a knowing grin lights up Alan’s features.
“She’s far feistier than she looks. Good luck.” He pats Kai once on the shoulder before walking away, leaving Kai staring at the blind girl lounging at her desk with tworaccoonscrawling over her legs. He flicks his gaze to the people at the desks around her before rubbing his hands together in front of him.
“Let’s see if any of you wanna switch seats while the teacher isn’t looking, shall we?”
* * *
Time continues to pass by in Kai’s memories, each one slow and bright as if each one was being savored and held onto. All of his pranks, jokes, and flirting. He centered them all around me. If he wasn’t bothering the hell out of Nic to make me laugh, he was right there next to me whispering dirty jokes and promises in my ear. He learned to laugh again through me. He learned to live againbecauseof me.
Yeah, he flirted around, but every single time he did it, it was to further a case, or to find something out. That’s just his particular talent: his charisma. Not once did he look at any other woman like he did me. And not once did he ever take a single one to bed. If they grew too interested, he turned them down and backed off. There were even a few of them who wouldn’t let it go and he had to get restraining orders for.Thatpart was true.
But the gossip and the false memories? Those weren’t.
“Kai.” I breathe out his name as I surface from his mind, the exhaustion at overextending myself present, yet held at bay by the shock filtering through me.
There’s so much to unpack, to process, and I have no idea where to start.
“Izabella.” He murmurs, our breaths coalescing in the short space between our faces where we’re still pressed tightly together.
“What did I do to deserve you?” I finally voice the question that runs through my mind on a daily basis. A question that now feels far heavier than anything before.
“You revived me. It’s only fair that I spend the rest of my days worshiping the goddess who gave me a second chance at life.”
“You are…” I smirk. “...such a dork.”
