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The gold in her eyes flared when she thought back to the kid before the light took him. The gold burned so brightly that he wondered if she felt it when her eyes shifted. When she caught herself in the mirror or the reflection of the surface on the case board the gold would fade. Unless she looked in his direction.
It had been a full three days since she’d looked at Mel on purpose.
The first night she struggled to muffle her sobs in her pillows. Mel tried to talk to her, but she answered by putting in earplugs so she could only hear him if he screamed. He wasn’t about to yell at her, even if her way of dealing with emotions was tragic.
Mel would swear that she was seeking out the most crowded routes to and from the station, the most crowded cafés to eat in, just so she could avoid talking with him. She had even taken to leaving her earbuds at the apartment, driving the point home. She didn’t want to talk about it.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Mel reminded her from his chair.
Surprise, surprise, she didn’t answer.
She blamed herself. He knew she did. But the thing was, Mel blamed himself. It was because of his damn case they were even in the alley. Did he think the kid would have pulled the trigger? Of course not. Not on Anastacia and not on Knight. He was scared and a kid, but he was no murderer.
Anastacia still hadn’t said anything. He tried again.
“Sammy didn’t do it. Why did White Knight go all trigger-happy?”
“White Knight?” Anastacia glanced at Mel before she returned to the board as if she remembered she wasn’t supposed to look at him. Mel leaned forward in the chair to continue the conversation. Those were the first words she had spoken to him in three days outside of “Not now” and “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Everyone needs a nickname. He did potentially save you. I can’t say for sure the kid would have shot you, but Knight stopped Sammy before he could.” The flinch on Anastacia’s face was so subtle that if he wasn’t paying attention, Mel would have missed it. He continued anyway. “So, yeah, he’s a bit of a White Knight. It fits, but I don’t think he should have been that quick on the trigger. The poor kid was just following the movement. Why did he shoot?”
“The potential for harm was there. Hecouldhave shot at us.” Anastacia’s answer was muffled against her fist at her mouth. "I could ask the same of you. You didn't think he would have shot at us, yet you tried to get between the bullet and me. Why?”
He took a long moment, thinking it over, scanning her a time or two, wanting to choose his words wisely. She finally talked with him and he didn't want to risk her going quiet again by saying the wrong thing. Should he tell her he moved without thinking? That suddenly, she was the only thing that mattered in the alley, much less the world?
Eventually, he shrugged. “Instincts, I guess.”
She huffed and pulled her chair around closer to Mel where she could examine the board from another angle. Her eyes flickered to the side, glancing at him.
“I'm sorry I've been closed off.” She shifted in her chair, discomfort streaming off her every movement and expression. “I don't do comfort. Giving or receiving.”
“I caught that.” Mel nodded and stood in front of her so she could look directly at him while appearing to stare at the board for anyone who looked their way. “I'm sorry if I was pushing you. I get impatient and I forget not everyone is as cuddly as I am.”
“Cuddly?” There was a start of a smirk. It sparked something in him, something that made him want to see her happy.
“Well, we can't touch, so you'll never know, but I'm damn cuddly.”
She hid a chortle under a cough and turned from him to check if anyone noticed. “Sit your ass down.”
Something fluttered in his chest at her laugh, as slight as it was. The list of things he cared about in life was long, but wanting to make someone laugh hadn’t been on it until now.
Smiling wide at his small win, he did as she asked without any further fight.
“Poor kid, huh?”
Anastacia spun in her chair to an officer scanning the board over her head before he turned to Anastacia and held out his hand to her. Mel recognized him as the one who brought the info about the tie clip to Knight.
“Officer Kelse Franz," he introduced himself, shaking her hand. His nose hooked over thin, pointed lips that parted in a forced smile revealing too-sharp canines. Anastacia’s face stayed neutral instead of showing distaste for his obvious, even to Mel, loose and limp handshake. Not noticing her struggle, Franz nodded to the board. “The case is fascinating. You and Knight must be making some good headway against Deblous, huh?”
“The case is going as well as it can at this point.” Anastacia leaned away from the guy, his proximity becoming a bit too much for her. From his chair nearby, Mel swiped a hand through the guy making Franz step back and shiver with a rub to his arm. Mel caught Anastacia mouthing “thank you” while Franz turned away. Mel felt his damn stomach flip and sent her a wink.
Shaking off the feeling Mel imposed on him, Franz focused back on his discussion with Anastacia. “It’s sad when the younger ones try to make a name for themselves out there. One hit too soon and they’re found out.”
“I don’t think it was him.” Anastacia stood up, shifting a bit to stand between the board and Franz. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Franz. “I think he was... just scared.”
“Scared? He had a weapon on him.”
“Which he felt he needed, but I doubt he’s actually used it. He didn’t even know how to hold it. He was scared.”
