"NYPD show yourselves." Dani leaned to the left as the storage unit door rolled up. Peering into the darkness, she told Malcolm, "I can't see anything."
The profiler stepped forward. "The lights are automated. They should come on if," he waved his arms and a single light on the wall opposite them came to life. "Now." A tiny ta-da exited via his hand and he led the way into the room.
No one was there. His heart sank. Nevertheless he drank in everything around him, searching for anything, any breadcrumb that could continue his pursuit.
The unit wasn't large by any stretch of the imagination, but it was strategically packed with an astonishing amount of items for such a small space. Shelves were stacked with bins and boxes. Medical equipment and oxygen tanks lined the floor. Malcolm's mind was chaos, frantically profiling everything he saw to try and find another clue, something that would lead him to his father.
His eyes reached the shelves on the far end of the unit and the profiler froze. There were enough meds to start a pharmacy. Bottles, syringes, vials everywhere, each filled with a cavalcade of opioids, benzos, and beta blockers. Clearly Dr. Capshaw was up to something. Whatever it was, his father was at the center of it now. They had to find him.
"They're not here. It's over." Dani's voice floated over his shoulder, trying to convince him it was a dead end.
Malcolm knew otherwise and approached the shelf to examine the meds more closely.
"Hey. I did this for you because you needed it. How about you show me the same respect?"
While he read through the labels, the back of his mind registered what she had said. Did she really think he didn't respect her? Her of all people?
Making sure to turn and look her in the eye as he spoke, Malcolm replied, "Dani, I respect you," before reverting back to the stacks of pills before him. "Come over here. Fentanyl," he held up a vial, "Other opiates. Paralytics. Beta blockers. Sedatives." He looked up at her as though this explained everything. It was obvious wasn't it? How could it not be?
When she responded, "She's a doctor. It's not enough," anger surged through him.
HOW?
Tossing the meds aside he half yelled, "When will it be enough?! I need you. I'm not a cop, but I have been right before when everyone else is wrong. And I am telling you, I am right on this."
Dani broke eye contact with him for a moment, then returned her eyes to him; pity but also defiance stared him in the face.
A lump formed in the back of his throat. Fear creeped up his spine.
"We are running out of time to save him."
She took a breath as though she were going to respond. Instead, she looked away from him.
She doesn't want to.
"You don't care," The realization hurt far worse than he'd expected. "None of you care if my father lives or dies."
Finally, Dani spoke, the truth of her feelings revealed, "And what if he did?" Her dark eyes penetrated his. "I'll tell you what. You would be free."
Free.
The thought brought a tidal wave of emotions with it: confusion, hope, guilt. They swirled violently in his mind, too much to bear. Malcolm dropped his head, his trembling hand practically vibrating at his side. In a move that genuinely surprised him, Dani took it in hers and held it tightly in front of them.
What was happening?
The gesture almost broke him. Tears welled in his eyes and the back of his throat stung as he spoke. "What if I need-" the rest of the sentence choked off. Dani's eyes were hypnotic, holding his stare. "What if he makes me who I am?"
Without hesitation Dani replied, "Martin Whitly is a cruel and violent man."
Malcolm knew she was right. The logical part of his brain screamed that at him on an hourly basis. But that wasn't the part of him that longed to find his father.
She continued, her face softening as she spoke, "You are none of those things."
His head tilted to the side. A warmth spread through him at her words, replacing the anger and fear.
"Let him go, Malcolm," Dani implored. "I'm begging you. You could have a life." She stopped.
Was that sentence complete? Or was there more- something she couldn't bring herself to say aloud? As if she heard his thoughts, Dani pursed her lips, a nervous confirmation of his hope. The weight of those unspoken words hung in the space between them, heavy and dense. His thumb brushed across the top of her hand.
Her umber pools somehow managed to consume him and make him forget everything else. There was something more behind them. Something he had never seen from her before. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, as a physical charge filled the air around them. It intensified exponentially by the second, building. His muscles were tense, tightly wrapped coils ready to spring.
His body made the decision for him, leaning forward of its own accord. Dani's did the same, her lips parting in preparation. They crashed into one another and Malcolm's hand grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her to him. Nothing about the kiss was chaste, the way a typical first kiss might be. It was over a year's worth of pent up intensity finally being set free. An explosion of unspoken feelings, hurt, anger, and passion.
Malcolm gasped for air whenever he could, sacrificing breath for the taste of her mouth on his. Her hands grabbed his waist and pulled him against her. Their torsos met, touching in places he'd only imagined. His tongue found hers and they both huffed an exhale of frantic pleasure. Malcolm's free hand wrapped around her, his body pushing against her hard enough that she backed into the shelf with an audible thud. Neither of them even acknowledged it, continuing to devour one another.
Dani fisted his hair while his hand snaked its way up her body. She cooed into his mouth when he found her breast and his hips bucked in response, grinding against her center. The pressure, the friction was everything. Both of them moaned in unison. Their kiss deepened and reached a boiling point. Without warning Dani pulled back only a few inches. They paused just long enough for him to see the same hunger he felt reflected back at him in her eyes.
Then Dani kissed him again, the decision made. Her hands found his belt and went to work undoing it. Malcolm did the same, while she kicked off one of her boots. Their lips only parted in brief spurts as they pulled their clothing out of the way.
Dani wrapped a leg around him, the warmth of her center calling to him, and Malcolm pushed forward. She inhaled in a gasp; he exhaled in absolute pleasure. Then he rocked his hips in and out, as both of them attempted to keep quiet. It wasn't working. Despite his best efforts, Malcolm couldn't contain himself. He grunted and breathed heavily into her ear each time he moved, losing himself in the feel of her. Tiny cries escaped Dani's lips, sounds that drove him wild.
Malcolm bent his knees and reached down. Dani understood. She grabbed the bars of the shelf for balance while he wrapped both her legs around him, thrusting with new fervor. He forced himself deeper and deeper, her body coaxing his release with each pump. He hit a particular spot and Dani bit her lip to keep from crying out.
"Yeah?" he asked, the thought of causing her that much pleasure brought the beginnings of his climax, the tingling between his legs started to build.
She couldn't form a verbal response and nodded emphatically. Her hand grabbed his neck roughly while she whispered, "please" under breath over and over again. Malcolm sped up, watching her face for approval. When her eyes rolled back he kept that pace. He felt her tighten around him as she came, the shelf behind her shaking with their movements. The waves of her pleasure squeezing and releasing finished him. He buried his head in the nape of her neck and stilled inside her, pulsating his own release.
After the high of their orgasms waned, Malcolm pulled back. The two of them stared at one another yet again, both trying to process what had just occurred. A deluge of questions fought for prominence in his mind. It was chaos.
In her pocket, now around her ankles, Dani's phone buzzed. It broke the trance and they each redressed in an awkward rush, Dani pushing her leg through her pants as she answered.
"Hey, Boss."
Malcolm tucked in his shirt and did his buckle, completely missing the conversation between Gil and Dani. All he could think about was how her face looked as the pleasure took over, how it felt to be inside her when it happened.
She ended the call and straightened her blouse, then cleared her throat as if she were going to speak. The second their eyes met whatever it was she had intended to say disappeared.
They stood in the storage unit, intimately close yet somehow miles apart, and stared at each other, neither sure of what to say.
What to do.
Or where to go from here.