Page 4 of Evidence of Us

“I’m not surprised. She’s always been brilliant.” Zeke says, looking at me.

“Now…” Kevin says. I pull my attention away from Zeke to look at Kevin. “Do you want to explain?”

“Please,” I say.

“Go ahead. And everyone… no talking, please.”

“Ah. So, uh… I am involved in an open criminal case,” I say. “When I was eighteen, I was attacked and violently raped.”

“What?” Zeke asks, sitting up.

“Zeke,” Kevin says softly.

“No. Fuck no. When, Riss?”

“The night I was supposed to meet you,” I say honestly before looking at Geno and Parker instead. “A masked man broke into my parents’ home where I lived and attacked me. They were at work, so I was alone… Anyway, I was raped and then stabbed. I spent two weeks in the hospital, but the man has never been found. It’s still an open case, and I guess it will flag for everyone now because I am an employee.”

“Christ,” Geno says. “You’re twenty-eight, yes? I think I remember that case coming through. He twisted the knife or something.”

“Yeah, my parents getting home scared him off. My mother was a nurse, so she was able to control the bleeding well enough, so I didn’t die.

“Do they have any leads at all?” Parker asks me.

“No. They have his DNA from the rape kit, so if he ever shows up in the system, they will know,” I say. “It has to be someone I knew, but the only person I could think of that would have had a reason to prevent me from leaving to meet Zeke was a woman.”

“I will be locking the case so no one else will see it, but you all,” Kevin says. “Remember, if you investigate, she cannot be involved at all. You will ruin her chance of them seeing jail time if you fuck up. So if you can’t separate emotion, leave it alone.”

“You got it,” Geno says.

“Alright. So, right now, Mariska, we are working on an unsolved serial case. We have essentially no leads whatsoever, so new eyes on this will be good. I’ll get you all the files digitally on your tablet that is on your desk.”

“Thank you. I’ll start a document for my take on the profile, if you don’t mind,” I say. “I can add everyone so you can see.”

“Looking forward to seeing it,” Geno says.

“I need to make a call,” Zeke says, looking like he is a million miles away.

“Take it out back if you are going to be yelling on the phone with Meghan,” Kevin says, as if this is a regular occurrence.

Why does it make me so happy that his relationship with her is shit? Also, if I had a chance, I’d absolutely let that man fuck me. I don’t care if he is married to Meghan or not. I will tie that bitch up and make her watch me fuck him. I must look amused, because Geno and Parker smirk at me.

“Come on, new girl. I’ll show you where the good coffee is,” Geno says.

“Oh! I do love coffee!” I say happily.

Chapter Four

Zeke

She was going tomeet me… But someone sabotaged that. Someone made sure we broke up, and I know my bitch wife had something to do with it. I feel so fucking stupid for never reaching out to her. I was hurt and confused. Meghan got me so goddamn drunk that I was hungover all weekend. She must have known Mariska was in the hospital, and that’s also why her parents wouldn’t tell me anything about her in the years to follow.

I have a lot of making up to do, but I will get my girl back. What I need to do first is find out if Meghan was involved. I can’t find out who hurt Mariska if I don’t get at least something out of her first. Even if it means I never get a chance to make up for everything I did wrong, I will find out who tried to kill her.

I step out the back door as I am calling Meghan, and she answers pretty quickly. “Hello?”

“Did you know?” I ask.

“Know what?” Meghan asks with a sigh.