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Chapter24
JJ
Asecond man came forward to press charges—Joseph Delaney’s first victim.Same as the third and Mason, Terrance Hertz had a scar on his chest in the jagged shape of a J.He’d confronted Joseph’s father after the attack and had accepted payment to keep quiet.But having learned Joseph was about to go on trial for doing the same to another man, he stepped in with his story, all but promising a win for the DA.The verdict would still be up to the jury, but the prosecution’s evidence was irrefutable.Add in the videos found on Joseph’s laptop that showed him in living color and had perfectly recorded every word spoken while assaulting all three men, and he’d nailed his own coffin shut.
That case settled in my head, I had attempted to move onto the next task, but Alex hadn’t been available to meet with me, supposedly due to catching up at his office after being in detox.I didn’t trust his excuses, but Teresa seemed sure he hadn’t been getting high when I’d called her to check in.
He worked a lot though and oftentimes didn’t answer his cell for either of us.
His behavior made me wary as fuck, but I no longer cared if he ruined his life.His wife and kids were another story, so I stayed in the loop for their sakes.
Kellen still had me blocked.No calls, no texts went through, tying my hands up tight.Five times I’d driven past his place to find his SUV missing from his parking spot.He’d ghosted me, but I couldn’t blame him.
Since I’d been assigned another case, I poured myself into it, focusing on one thing at a time as always.
But at night?
I longed for Kellen—his presence, his warmth.The yearning went beyond my dick.Everything inside me ached for him.It felt like I’d ripped off a layer of skin, the pain stinging and constant.
I tried shutting down my personal life, and the resulting emotions while working weighed heavily on me.Constant tiredness rode my shoulders and began to make my brain fuzzy to the point I couldn’t focus properly.
After a week, a mere couple of days before Joseph’s trial began, I couldn’t fucking handle any more silence between us.Ihadto take care of the Kellen issue before I could wrap up my current case.I called the one man who might be able to point me in the right direction.Fingers crossed he would prove helpful for the first time ever.
“Mason,” I said when he answered, “it’s Detective Jenner.”
“I haven’t changed my mind,” he stated stubbornly.
I chuckled at his tone, his usual adamance.“I’m not calling about that,” I said, shifting on my office chair and pushing my pencil side to side.“But I do need your help.”
“With what, Detective?”
“I’m looking for your friend.Kellen Roberts.”
He hesitated.“Can I ask why?”he questioned quietly, his tone cautious.
“Because I unintentionally hurt him, and I need to apologize.He never answered my last text, and he’s blocked me.He’s no longer listed on EEMM’s website, or I would go so far as to book a night with him in order to see him face to face.”
“He wouldn’t get your calls even if he wanted them.He’s up north in the middle of nowhere without service.”
Well, that explained my inability to locate his fine ass, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
“Can you tell me where he is exactly, or would that be going against the friendship code?”I questioned, hoping like hell it wasn’t because I’d reached the end of my rope and needed to see Kellen as badly as my next breath.
“Kellen hasn’t told me anything that’s been going on between the two of you, but he’s been hurt enough.If he’s blocked you, it must be for a good reason.”
“Look.”I pinched the bridge of my nose, knowing I grasped at straws, but the sense of misery over the uncertainty of where we stood turned desperate.“We connected in a way I never have with someone before.There’s a long story behind what happened that made me walk away from Kellen, which I can’t get into, but it was an emergency, and I didn’t have time to explain.I would really like to do so.I just need a second chance, Mason.Can you help me out?Please?”
“Yes.”
I blinked my eyes open, surprised by his answer.Whenever I’d spoken with Mason in the past, asking him for something—to press charges—he’d denied me.“You will?”
“Yes,” he repeated.
My breath left in a rush, elation sweeping through me.“Thank fuck—I’ll owe you one.Seriously.You ever need anything, call me.”
“Even if he won’t listen to what you have to say and tells you to fuck off?”
“Even then,” I swore, although the idea of him doing so turned my stomach.“I have to get on my knees and beg him to hear me out.If he won’t, that’s my problem, not yours.”
