“First, let me introduce myself.I’m Sergeant Kaleb Hawkins from the Nineteenth District.”
Both men relaxed.
“Good, so you know the drill?”the taller of the two cops asked.
“I do, but right now, my fiancée is resting, and I won’t have her woken up.Leave a card, and I’ll call you when she’s ready.”
“You know that’s not how it works, Sergeant.”
“Well, it’s the way this will work,” Kaleb spit out and then sighed.“Look, she was attacked and almost raped, give her a minute to breathe before asking questions.”Kaleb could see the discouragement in both men’s faces.“I’ve been where you’re at, guys.I know how you’re feeling.Now, I know how the other side feels also, and I’m telling you it sucks big time.I’m holding on by a thread.”
One of the cops closed his pad of paper and put that and the pen away.
“All right,” the other one said and laid a card down on the table next to the one Joel left.“Call us as soon as you can.”
“I will, I promise.Thanks.”
One of them stopped at the door and turned.
“Are you the Hawkins who was in that explosion a few years back?”
Kaleb nodded and touched his cheek.“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious.”
“We were sorry to hear about losing your partner in the blast.”
“Thanks.”
The cops turned and walked out.
Kaleb rested his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes.He would never forget that day as long as he lived.His sixth sense had been screaming when they started walking to the warehouse.Even Dane, his partner, mentioned how uneasy he was.
They were there on a tip about a missing kid and couldn’t turn away even if they knew something was up.The explosion happened as they moved into the warehouse by the back door.
He was told in the hospital that they were both thrown several yards, knocking them unconscious, and then shrapnel from the building rained down on them.It was a piece of metal that pierced Dane’s chest.
All Kaleb could be thankful for was his partner had been unconscious and hadn’t felt anything.
Besides the death of his partner and best friend, the shrapnel had torn through one of his thighs and split open his face, taking his career as he had known it away.The surgeon at the time did the best they could to patch him up, but it left him with horrible scars across one side of his face.He’d been told at the time he could get plastic surgery, but he always felt he deserved to stay scarred because he’d been the one to live.
He woke to Myla moving around on his lap.
“Hey, Baby.What are you doing?”
She stared up at Kaleb like she hadn’t seen him before.Her eyes were so dazed she didn’t even know where she was at first.
“I need the bathroom,” she murmured and tried to stand again.
“Whoa, all right.I’ll carry you in.”
She tried to struggle.“No, I want to walk.”
He didn’t want her upset, so he stood and set her on her feet.He watched her face to see if there was any discomfort.
“Are you steady, Baby?”
She nodded and took a few steps forward before she got shaky.Thankfully, Kaleb had been right there and wrapped an arm around her waist.They made it to the bathroom with Kaleb holding her up and making sure the long IV tube didn’t get messed up.She pushed against his chest at the door.
“I can get this.”
