4
We lied on the bed panting heavily now as the exhaustion took over.
"Fuck you never cease to amaze me." he said.
"Yeah I get that a lot." I panted.
"From your boyfriend?" he asked curiously and I scoffed.
"Why would you assume I had a boyfriend." I replied gently running my hand over his chest to wipe at the teeth marks on his right peck.
"Found the used condom in the trash can." he said placing his hand over mine. I shrugged.
"I am not taken." I replied. He nodded.
"It's okay if you are." he said and I looked him over.
"If I did that meant we couldn't do this anymore. You'd be okay with that?" I asked lightly and he shook his head.
"No. It wouldn't stop me from coming to you and you coming to me. We need each other too much to ever stop seeing each other." he said, eyes staring up at the ceiling now. I sighed gently knowing he was right.
"I couldn't date anyways… it would end up turning to love. And my love died with all of them." I admitted and he turned to me, eyes serious and passionate.
"Love is just a human made emotion. You don't need it." he said and I nodded in agreement.
"Have you spoken to Remy any before he took his life?" I asked. He looked up as if thinking before nodding.
"Yeah a few weeks ago. He seemed fined, didn't say anything about becoming unhinged." he replied. I nodded.
"Anyone new he's been talking to?" I asked. He shrugged.
"I don't know. You know it's been hard for some of us to even be social with others who haven't been through what we have been through… it sort of makes me angry that people can walk around me happy and safe when I can't ever feel that happiness or safeness again." he said bitterly and I shook my head gently crawling over him.
"If you're angry or want to hurt something, you know you can call me, text me or anything. I can take it, you know I can." I replied and he nodded.
"How long can we keep this up? How long until it isn't enough?" he asked and I looked down in thought of his words.
"For as long as it can." I replied. He nodded and just placed his hand over my head and leaned me down to rest on his chest before cutting the lamp off.
I awoke the next morning to a burning ass and mild bruising around my body. Nothing I hadn't felt experienced before. Cesar was gone as he usually was. He did have a life to get back to. He sent me a text letting me know he did lock the door. I sighed and just got ready for work. I had a few cuts and light bruises on my cheek and over my eye brow. No shirt I had would hide the strangulation marks around my neck. Oh well, they'd all heal and I'd be just fine. Tough skin, was what I told myself would be the result.
After cleaning up my room and putting all the knocked over furniture back in place, I headed into work and stopped by the lady's locker room. I put my gym back in.
"More cuts and bruises, huh?" I heard Hailey say and I turned to see her wincing at me. This wasn't the first time I've come into work with bruises, but every time someone asked, I told them I was fine. Most of the cops around thought I was being battered or something.
"Yep." I merely replied placing my gun and badge around my hip.
"The neck is new." she pointed out and I just shrugged.
"I like to keep my love life interesting." I said and she nodded slowly examining my face.
"You know we are always here for you right?" she asked concerned. I nodded smiling gently at her.
"I know you are. Don't worry. If anyone truly wanted to hurt me they'd never stand again." I said and I could still see the worry on her face but she gave a mild smile before nodding and I smiled and walked around her and headed up stairs. I was always early so I knew only Hank would be there. Like it mattered anyways. I walked through the door and headed over to my desk. Hank was just leaving his office and I saw him glance and then do a double take at me. He stopped immediately and turned to me.
"Hey what happened?" he asked swiftly upon seeing my face.
"Nothing worth getting into." I replied only to feel his hand grab my forearm. It wasn't aggressive but it was just firm enough to make me pause and look up at him. His eyes immediately moved inches down and I watched his fingers come up and graze my neck. Immediately his eyes darkened as he looked up at me.
"Give me a name and address and I'll take care of him." he stated. I held back from scoffing and shook my head.
"It's fine, boss. I handled it." I said and he shook his head.
"Levi, this isn't the first time you've come in here with bruises on your face. You're a cop for crying out loud, a detective." he said and I glared.
"Are you saying that this is my fault?" I asked.
"No of course not. You're one of my best detectives and I don't want to see you hurt." he said.
"Aw you care about my wellbeing but you don't trust me to be open about my life." I snapped and he stared at me hard and I looked away remembering that he is my superior. "I will be fine." The door opened and the rest of the team came and in and Hank watched me for a second before nodding.
"Okay then. I won't pry anymore." he said. I didn't even nod or say anything else on the subject. I had to slowly sit back down because my ass was definitely sore and bruised. Hank watched with an arched brow and I just shot him a look and started my computer. He walked away and left the room. My mind started to go back to Remy thinking of our conversation. Unhinged… I couldn't believe he was so far gone that he would use the word. None of the others had used the word. Then again, I hadn't seen many of them either for a while, but they had my number just in case. We had all met last month and swapped numbers. Remy was there, why didn't he call me if he was feeling this way? Did he really think I would lock him up? He knew better, he knew better.
I had to take my mind off this or else it would throw me back down a rabbit hole and I'd spend too much time trying to find answers. Antonio walked over to me and winced at my face.
"Your old friend do that to you?" he asked concerned and I nodded.
"Yes, he likes it rough. What's up?" I asked. He looked away with a clenched jaw before looking at me.
"Toxicology report came back. It seemed Remy Yang had a large trace of heroin in his system. Just thought you might want to know that since you have a slight history with him." he said. Heroine. I looked at him confused.
"Windmill is a popular apartment complex they rarely have drug attics in the area." I said. He shrugged.
"Times have changed since your youth. Want to come check it out, knock on some doors with me? Maybe it'll link with that new distributor you've been searching for." he said. I nodded swiftly at the idea. The Clown. I nodded immediately and stood up.
"Yes that would be great." I replied and stood up. We left the office together and headed down the hall. Hank was just passing by and I ducked my head not wanting to say much to him. Luckily Antonio was in front of me so when we were asked where we were going, he answered.
"Heading back to Yang site. Gonna ask some more questions now that we have new evidence of heroine being involved." he said. Hank eyed me and then looked back at Antonio.
"Okay, keep me posted. Both of you." he commanded and we both nodded before heading down the hall.
Once we were in the parking garage, Antonio just stopped in front of me and turned swiftly.
"Okay, what's going on?" he asked and I shook my head.
"What do you mean?" I asked and he leaned in pointing at the ceiling above us.
"You could hardly sit down at your desk? We're not stupid, Ashta we know someone's hurting you." he said. Yeah and I was hurting him too. I gave an assured smile.
"Antonio I'm fine." I said and scoffed.
"Bull shit. Ashta you can talk to me. Were you… assaulted?" he asked and I groaned and shook my head.
"No. I was not in any danger I was not harmed like purposely. It's hard to explain okay." I said walking around him but he grabbed my hand and pulled me into him to hug me and I cried out and flinched and he pulled back in shock and looked down at my stomach. He raised his hand and I just froze and watched him raise my shirt just below my bra. I closed my eyes and scoffed softly as he had a full view of my stomach and sides.
"What the fuck, Ashta." he whispered harshly and I pulled my shirt down.
"It's nothing, Antonio!" I said. "It was just rough stuff."
"This isn't rough! Whoever you're with isn't being rough, he's beating you!" he said leaning in to me. I turned from him feeling agitated now.
"You don't understand!" I said.
"So help me understand." he said walking in front of me now. My jaw tightened now as I was growing more annoyed with this conversation.
"I can't." I replied and he just leaned back, the hurt evident in his eyes. I understand that what I could have told him wouldn't be considered normal which is why I didn't want to tell him.
"If this goes on too long, this guy can kill you." he said and I just stared at him for a moment before shaking my head.
"I'll be fine. Can we go please?" I asked and he just shook his head in frustration before nodding.
"Yeah." he replied. We moved over to his car and got in. I sat down slowly and closed my eyes from the pain. I clicked my seat belt in and I could see Antonio watching.
"Jesus." he said under his breath and just started the car. The car ride was quiet and I just kept my eyes out the window focusing on just finding Remy's killer. I had my doubts The Clown would be involved. Why would he randomly come after the Yang's. They weren't anything bad. I couldn't believe they'd get themselves involved in drugs. We returned to my old neighborhood and I stepped out and looked around slowly. The whole place looked the same as it did when I was I was child. I found the familiar door of the home I lived in and I just stared at it for a moment feeling the memories rush back into my mind and I just felt my fingers curl into a fist at the thoughts.
But I turned and looked at Antonio finally and he just looked around.
"We'll search the Yang's home for drugs then look at the gas stations and stores for any information on if any one's been selling drugs in the area." he said and I nodded.
"Got it." I replied and we moved toward the stairs that would take us back to the crime scene.
Hank's POV
I knew my tolerance level was low after that talk with Ashta. I didn't understand her, she's smart and a great detective. How could she be on the end of domestic violence? I knew it could happen to anyone, I wasn't dumb. But to see her bruised and beaten, I took it personally. I was on my computer now looking through her files to find an emergency contact. If she's dating anyone, I'd be paying them a visit right now.
I didn't think much of her when she first transferred here. Pretty girl, innocent doe eyes, but vicious when taking down the bad guys. She kept her distance from everyone not wanting to step on any toes, but even after everyone had trusted her, she still looked at all of us like we were stranger to her. She says she trusted us, but I don't think that was entirely true. As far I could remember she was single and lived on her own. Her files don't say anything about her family or siblings. She doesn't even have an emergency contact after all this time. As far as knew, she was alone. I thought about having her transferred at one point, but for some reason I kept putting it off. Maybe the fact I knew nothing about her made me somewhat attracted to her. Hell I'd never tell her that, but I still wanted to know who she was. She seemed to have some sort of connection to the Yang case, and even though it was a small connection, I had my suspicion that she may have personally know someone who was a victim of the Chicago Butcher. Maybe she herself was a victim. My desk phone was ringing and I answered it.
"Voight." I replied.
"We got another homicide down on North and Jermaine." Trudy responded.
"I'm heading over." I replied and stood up grabbing my gun and vest. I moved out into the den and looked at everyone.
"Let's saddle up. Got another homicide on North and Jermaine." I said. Adam stood up now.
"Boss, just got another call from dispatch, there was another murder just two neighborhoods over on Monroe's street." he said. I frowned heavily.
"What the hell is going on? Okay Kevin and Ruzek we're going to North and Main. Halstead, Hailey and Kim take Monroe's street. Someone call Antonio and Levi and let them know what's going on. Antonio meets up with Halstead's team and Levi will meet our team. Let's move out!" I demanded.
Ashta's POV
We knocked on the door four doors down from the Yangs after we cleared the house of not having drugs. The door opened and a familiar old woman was already waving her hand at us.
"I already told the cops yesterday that I didn't seen nothing." she replied moving to close the door, but I stepped closer to the door upon remembering her face. She had been her since I was a little girl.
"But maybe you will talk to me Mrs. Bernstein?" I said and she stopped and looked at me through her thick round glasses. She blinked a bit and opened the door more.
"Ashta?" she asked and I nodded and her pale blue eyes lit up like the night sky. "Oh Ashta it's so good to see you!" We embraced each other and I smiled feeling her soft hands rub my back.
"May we come in, Mrs. Bernstein?" I asked.
"I'd be insulted if you didn't." she said and moved back to let us enter. I glanced at Antonio and moved inside with him behind me. The house always smelled tidy and clean. "Please sit." I sat down on the soft pink couch she had and Antonio joined me.
"Mrs. Bernstein, we're investigating the Yang murder down the hall." he started but she was already nodding as she entered from the kitchen with a cup of tea. I could smell the chamomile from here.
"Horrible what happened to them. I mean you lose four kids and then your own kid kills you. It's tragic." she said and Antonio and I looked at each other before looking back at her.
"Did you ever see Remy hanging out with other characters, maybe some that would make you worry?" I asked. Mrs. Bernstein looked up in thought.
"Well I can't say for sure. He comes and goes and was always running errands for his parents to keep him out of trouble. Now I did see him with a really tall man a few days ago." she explained.
"Tall man?" Antonio asked and my eyes flexed some at her words.
"Yes. As tall as a tree, strong looking too. Clean shaven face, some big tattoo on his arm. I've seen them together quite a lot. I did voice my concern to his parents but they said the young man was from his support group." she said. My entire body stiffened now at her words and I shifted a bit to the edge of my seat.
"What support group?" I asked lowly. Mrs. Bernstein hummed in thought.
"A group for all the children who were victims of that horrible Chicago Butcher. I think it's called the Forgotten Children's Support group." she said. I was frowning more than I knew and I looked away in thought. That fucking liar. "Sounds depressing doesn't it. But that's what they wanted to name it I suppose." After we were finished with Mrs. Bernstein we headed to the door.
"Thank you for your help Mrs. Bernstein." I replied with a dry smile, but she smiled sweetly and took my hand.
"I know what happened to you too, Ashta. You're not alone. Go to that group if you're feeling lost" she said. Oh she had no idea how alone I was. I just continued to smile before nodding and separating from her. Antonio was waiting for me a few doors down when I met him.
"So Remy was hanging with some guy from their support group. Maybe he's supplying the heroine through the support group?" he asked. I nodded.
"Maybe." I said, but I knew it wasn't true. I'm a cop none of us would do drugs during out get togethers. But it wouldn't hurt to ask. "Shouldn't be too hard to figure out where the group meets. I'll go check it out." I replied. Antonio looked me over.
"You need any help?" he asked and I shook my head.
"No. Should be fine." I replied and he nodded before pulling his phone from his coat pocket.
"Dawson… what… shit. Okay we're on our way." he said and hung up. I noticed how alert he looked as he looked at me. "We got two more homicides. Hank wants us at each one. I'm going to drop you off on our way in." I winced and nodded and we hurried to his car and took off. Please don't let these homicides be connected.