I could've sworn he said, 'I don't know what he sees in you' but I could've just been hearing things.

We took his truck again, and I accidentally fell asleep.

"Rise and shine, b.u.t.tercup. We're here," Silas' voice woke me.

I blinked my eyes open slowly, and groaned.

My body hurt.

"Thanks," I muttered as I practically fell out of the truck.

He rolled his eyes and started walking knowingly through the front doors, waving to the on scene guard, and then walking forward to a bank of elevators in the very back.

"You've been here before?" I wondered.

He looked at me.

His blue eyes piercingly bright and knowing. "Yes."

It made me wonder, but I wasn't stupid enough to ask the question that was burning a hole in my brain.

He raised his brows, waiting for the inevitable question, but I'd be d.a.m.ned if I gave him that.

I narrowed my eyes and pressed my lips together, causing him to laugh.

The doors to the elevator opened and we walked in; I leaned against the side, already tired.

"You really do look like s.h.i.t," he observed dryly.

"f.u.c.k off," I grumbled.

He smiled and pressed the b.u.t.ton for the third floor.

"So...how about them Saints?" I asked.

He chuckled. "I'm more of a hockey fan."

Now why didn't that surprise me?

"Which team?" I asked as the elevator doors opened and emitted us into a stuffy lobby with the walls decorated in off-white and beige.

"Red Wings. I'm from Detroit," he answered as he led us down a hallway, and straight into the office of the woman I was meeting.

Color me surprised when I saw the DA and the very man I'd met yesterday at the drug store sitting in Dortea's office.

"Silas? Rue, come sit down," Dortea ordered.

I sat down into the seat, thankful that I was able to sit before I fell.

"How are you feeling?" Dortea asked.

I noticed Silas out of the corner of my eye move to take up position in the very corner of the room, propping his shoulder on the wall.

"I feel great."

I'd tried for upbeat, but it came out sounding more like I was high on PCP more than anything, causing the man in the seat next to me, as well as Silas, to laugh.

"Well, okay then. Rue, this is Detective Rector. Rue Loden is the s.e.xual a.s.sault Nurse Examiner who worked on Vanessa White's case," Dortea said to the detective.

I looked over at him through watery eyes and held up my hand in a salute to him. "Still sick."

A smile kicked at the corner of his mouth. "I can see that."

"Do you two know each other?" Dortea asked.

I shook my head. "I snotted all over his bike yesterday."

Dortea let that sink in for a few moments before shaking her head slightly and looking back at the papers on her desk. "Noted," she said as she sat forward in her chair. "Now, let's get started. Detective, why don't you tell us what you have, and from there we'll move on to what Rue found."

The detective nodded. "Vanessa White was found under the bleachers after a football game. She was the head varsity cheerleader, and she and her boyfriend were set to meet under there once he got changed. He was late, and another man found her under the bleachers where he raped her. Later, we found out that she set up this whole scenario so her boyfriend would catch the man, and they'd both be famous when he saved her. It didn't work out that way, though, because the boyfriend never came, and when Vanessa realized it was getting too far, she told Brenden Newland 'no.' He didn't stop. Brenden later left her there after he'd finished, and Vanessa took herself to the hospital."

I remembered this story so well that I could recite each and every word.

What I hadn't heard was Brendan's side of the story.

"Brendan was brought in that night where he showed us the numerous emails between the two of them. Brendan said that they'd met on Craigslist. He told us that they planned the entire thing to the very last detail. Even the part where she'd tell him 'no' and he was to ignore her, because that was what she'd wanted. She'd never said anything about the boyfriend coming in to 'save' her, and they'd even met up the night before at a Starbuck's to discuss what was going to happen the next night. Brendan is a dominant at a local BDSM club, and had been searching for a woman to do this with. Vanessa showed Brendan her fake ID, so the entire time Brendan a.s.sumed Vanessa was twenty one. Their computers records were subpoenaed and the surveillance from Starbuck's was pulled. Everything Brendan said was true."

At the time, Vanessa had been so distraught that I hadn't realized just what was going on. The more Officer Rector explained, the more f.u.c.ked up the entire thing became.

"What a cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k," Dortea said. "Either way this goes, they both lose. Rue, how about you tell us what you found."

I shifted in my seat until I was leaning forward and started my story.

"I was called in on October 3rd to perform a rape kit on Vanessa White. I pulled out samples of hair, fibers, and skin from various parts of her body. She did have evident bruising along her v.u.l.v.a and v.a.g.i.n.a. The rapist had used a condom, so there were no bodily fluids from him, only a scant amount of blood from her. There was no ripping or tearing along the v.a.g.i.n.al ca.n.a.l, and there were no defensive wounds on her body. She'd told me almost verbatim what Detective Rector just said, except she kept saying, 'This was so not how I planned this' over and over again. She was visibly distraught, as well as on the verge of non-compliant. She'd said throughout the entire interview that she should go. That maybe she shouldn't 'do this.'"

Dortea was running her fingers through the hair at her temples, Detective Rector's lips were thinned, and I didn't even bother looking at Silas. His face would reflect more of the same.

I was just as dumfounded as the rest of them.

"Dammit," Dortea said. "I don't like this case. Not one bit. Who's the victim here?"

That was the million dollar question.

Chapter 7.

A boy makes his girl jealous of other women. A man makes other women jealous of his girl.

-How to be a man Cleo "Want to go out to eat?" Loki asked me.

I looked over from the TV, downed my beer, and stood. "Sure."

I was annoyed.

I didn't know why I was annoyed, but I was.

It wasn't like Rue owed me anything, but it still bothered the h.e.l.l out of me that I didn't know where she was.

I'd driven by her house as soon as I'd gotten off shift, and she was gone. I knew she wasn't at work today because I'd transported two patients there, and each time I'd asked about her, they'd said she was gone.

My next stop had been the nursing home, but she hadn't been there either.

Now, with nothing else to do, I was at the clubhouse drinking a beer with Loki.

He'd told me about the meeting he'd had with Rue three days ago, and now I was even more hyped up.

Something big stank about that case, but none of us could put a finger on what it was.

We both walked out to our bikes and drove into the night.

The weather was much warmer at sixty degrees, and it felt really nice out. A perfect night for a ride.

We ended up at Halligans and Handcuffs, the bar that was owned by The Dixie Wardens. It'd become a very popular attraction among the locals, and even garnered attention from the surrounding states, and a majority of the Ark-La-Tex.

The bar was located on the outskirts of Benton, the town where The Dixie Wardens MC called home, and about two minutes from my house.

We pulled into the bar and parked near the front, backing in among the member's parking s.p.a.ces in view of the front window.

I powered off the bike and kicked the stand down before standing up and stretching.

The bar was hopping.

"Lot of people here tonight," I observed.

Loki nodded. "Been like this nearly every night this week. I would know and all since my wife's decided that she now lives at her work."

I snorted.

Channing was a h.e.l.l of a woman. How she opened a business with a kid and a detective for a husband was beyond me.

Loki was beyond busy with work most nights and Channing had set the office up so she could take their baby to work with her if she needed to.

Starting a new business took a lot of work as well as dedication, and Channing had that in spades.

"Stop whining," I said as we made it into the door.

We both waved at Tunnel Morrison, a police officer for Benton PD, and a fellow member of the Dixie Wardens, who was manning the door.

"If I can't whine to you, who would I whine to?" Loki asked.

"How about your wife? Your best friend?" I asked.

Honestly, I was a bit of a loner. I liked being in the back of the room just watching what was going on around me.

I didn't like talking, but when I did, you d.a.m.n well better listen, because it was probably important.

I didn't like large gatherings and being in a loud room made me nervous.

It'd only been four months since I was off full time duty with the PJ's, and I was still a bit jumpy as a whole.

"You don't like listening to my problems?" He joked.

"I don't like listening to problems that have no basis on reality. If you don't like it, fix it. If you can't fix it, then find someone else who'll stay with you at home," I suggested.

Sometimes I came off as an a.s.shole, but this world had a ton of problems that were of more consequence than a man's wife not being at home when he wanted her to be.

That just made him sound like a whiney b.i.t.c.h.

"You're such a d.i.c.k," Loki laughed.

I shrugged and went to the back corner of the bar and took a seat not in front of the bar, but behind the bar.

I really didn't want to have to talk to anyone tonight; I wasn't in the mood to be nice.

"Why do you always sit back here?" Loki asked as he took a seat on the opposite side of me.

He had his back to the room, and I could tell it was bothering him.

Police officers, and those in the military, had habits. Rule number one was knowing your surroundings. Rule number two, was never put your back to a room.

However, he had a mirror, so he was somewhat appeased.

"Because I don't want anyone touching me, and it's the closest door to the exit that everyone else won't have access to," I said patiently.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Going out the front door would be faster."

I shook my head. "No, going out the front door would be longer. If there was truly an emergency, then they'd all be using that one door, or the fire exit across the room. They wouldn't even think to use the back exit."

Loki seemed to think about it before he nodded his head in understanding.

"Gotcha," he said as he leaned over and grabbed two beers out of the cooler. "You do have more experiences in this area."