Sorry, I had another bout of writer's block. It's really not fun. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this, but now I think I know what I'm doing now.
Enjoy this next chapter.
Chapter 10
After the nurses finished treating the minor wounds, Amber was guided to a dimly lit room of the hospital where Logan was resting. She stepped inside and really got a glimpse of the damage that was done by the Purple Dragons. His head was wrapped in bandages, his right hand wrapped in a thick cast and most likely his ribs were wrapped up as well. "Hey, Logan."
Logan turned to look at her, exhaustion written all over his face. "Hey, Amber. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine. Just a few scrapes on my hands." she said as she held up her bandaged hands.
"Good."
"I'm glad you're okay too, Logan."
"Yeah, and I have my guardian angel to thank for that." Logan suddenly had a huge smile on his face.
Amber rolled her eyes. "Jeez, you're still on that?" she asked.
"Yes, I am. If it wasn't for her, I'd be dead. I wish there was some way that I could thank her."
"I'm sure that you being okay is enough thanks." Amber tried explaining it away. "Listen, it was just a coincidence. We were in trouble and someone just happened to be nearby to help us out, that's all." she explained. "There's no guardian." Logan was dead set on this, and no matter what Amber said, he just wouldn't let it go. Finally, Amber gave up and just changed the subject. "So when are they letting you out of here?"
"They're saying that I may be able to get discharged in a few days. Luckily the damage done wasn't too bad." Logan took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he let a yawn escape from his lips.
Amber smiled down at him. "Alright, I'll let you get some rest now. I've gotta get home."
Logan's gray eyes snapped open when she said that. "What? You're actually thinking about going out there on your own after what happened?"
Amber held her hands up to stop him. "Whoa, relax. There's no way in hell that I would walk out there by myself right now." as if on cue her phone vibrated in her pocket. "I got a ride, so I'll see you later, okay."
"Alright, see ya."
Amber started to make her way out of the room as she looked at her phone. On it was a message from her father, letting her know that he was waiting outside for her. She made her way to the front of the hospital and walked through the automatic sliding glass doors. Sitting out front was her father standing outside of his car. When he saw her he quickly pulled her into a hug. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Dad. Don't worry."
He sighed. "You're lucky that RJ and Kylie were there. You could've been killed."
"Yeah, it's just not my week, is it?" Amber asked teasingly, with a small smile on her face.
Mike gave her a look, he wasn't sure what was going on in her head. She just lost her best friend and now she was just mugged. This wasn't really something to joke around about, so maybe it's affecting her more than he thought and maybe she's just putting on a front. Or this could be her way of coping. He wasn't sure which.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Mike asked cautiously.
Amber started to make her way to the passenger side door. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just go home." she climbed into the car. Mike got in the driver's side and began driving off. Amber looked outside, watching the scenery go by. She sighed.
Mike turned a quick glance to his daughter before turning his attention back to the road. He had to keep her safe, but with him and many other resources being used to try and catch their current serial killer. And the rest going into stopping the Purple Dragons, whose criminal activity has increased since the appearance of the killer. It just hasn't been easy. "Listen Amber, maybe you should stay off the streets as much as possible." he suggested.
That got her attention. She turned her gaze to her father. "What? But Dad..." she started to complain.
"Now Amber, I'm just trying to keep you safe." he cut her off before she could really start. "Since I'm not around as often as I would like, that means I can't protect you. The only way I know you'll be safe is if you are inside."
Amber sighed again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. She knew what he was saying was right, so she chose not to argue. She was too exhausted mentally to argue anyway. "Alright, I get it."
"Thank you Amber, I know this is going to be hard for you, but I think it's for the best."
Amber turned back toward the window and waited to get home.
A couple days later
The guys all sat around in the kitchen as they did just about everyday to see what they can figure out about the city's killer. Mason, Dirk and Erica decided to join the conversation this time. They've mostly been spending time inside their own home taking care of their kids so they aren't as updated on info as the others are. They only know what they heard on the news. "So, we have a guy running around, leading women into thinking that they're going to have a good time, only to kill them after having sex." Mason explained.
"That's the basic gist of it." Raph said. "No suspects, no clues. Just a body, every single time."
"So who could it be?" Erica asked.
"Before we can even figure out who, maybe we should ask why." Leo suggested. "If we find out why he's targeting these women specifically then we could have a better chance at figuring out who."
Dirk crossed his arms. "So, do we have anything to work with?
"According to Mike, we have a surveillance video of victim number six, Traci Stevens, walking into her apartment with someone. And that same someone hours later leaving. He had his face pretty heavily hidden so you can't really tell who it is." Don explained.
"Nothing else?" Erica asked.
"Not anything worth noting." Mikey shrugged. "Just a couple of random people also heading home for the night."
"So basically we don't have much to work with?"
"Yeah," Mikey answered. "Pretty much."
Mason felt that something was missing, like there was more to it that they just weren't seeing. No one should be this good at cleaning up after a murder. "What are the police working on now?"
"Questioning anyone that had any contact with the latest victim."
"Oh, Amber's friend, right?" Mason asked. "How is she?"
"Not so great. Along with losing her friend, I think she got mugged pretty recently as well." Don said to him.
Mason sighed. "I need to go check on her. I haven't seen her in a while."
"That's what happens when you have a kid."
"I guess. I just hope she isn't too distraught about the whole thing."
Sierra, Paige and Melanie waited for Vanessa to show up to Tasty Delights for lunch. It was Melanie and Paige's first time at this little cafe and Sierra was kind of excited to introduce them to the new place. "I'm telling you guys, you are going to love it here."
"I'm sure we will." Paige said.
"I don't care where we go as long as there is food." Melanie added rubbing her stomach. "I'm starving."
"I know you are, and we'll get to the food soon. I promise."
As soon as Vanessa arrived they were soon seated at one of the cafe's outdoor tables by the hostess. "I will admit this place is kind of cute." Melanie stated as she fiddled around with the white flower centerpiece.
"I'm glad you approve." Vanessa giggled.
A waitress popped up next to their table. Her long, wavy, brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had almond shaped, green eyes. By the way she basically skipped over to the table, anyone could tell that she was just a really bubbly person. "Hey, I'm Jaime. I will be your server today." the girl greeted with a bright smile.
All of them just went with water for now and ordered their food. Jaime collected their menus and headed toward the kitchen with a slight skip in her step. "She was doing too much." Melanie deadpanned.
"Oh come on, she was just keeping things light and happy." Paige nudged her sister with her elbow.
Melanie shook her head. "Still too much. No one is that happy."
Sierra rolled her eyes "What if she is, Mel?"
"Then something's wrong with her." Mel answered.
Sierra quickly changed the subject, trying to get the attention off of the poor waitress. "So Vanessa, how's your favorite patient doing?"
Vanessa groaned out loud and laid her head down on the table. Jaime came back with four glasses of water. "I can't take it with him anymore. I don't know how much longer I can do this." she took a long sip of her water as the waitress made her way back to the kitchen. "He must've hit the emergency call button ten different times throughout the day even though absolutely nothing was wrong with him. There wasn't any sort of emergency. He just hit the call button and when I got there, he either criticized how long it took me to get to his room or he just complained about something that he didn't need to complain about."
"Well, he sounds fun." Mel said sarcastically.
"You have no idea. I mean, it's not like he's lonely or anything. At least then I could understand, but his family is there all the time." Vanessa leaned back in her chair and took a quick glance around when she caught a glimpse of a familiar face. "Hey guys, look who it is."
The remaining three women turned their heads to see May-lee sitting at a table near them. "Well, look at that. I wonder what she's been up to." Sierra murmured before catching the look that Paige was giving the young red haired woman. It was clear that Paige's mood instantly soured at the very sight of her. If looks could kill, May-lee would have dropped dead right now. May actually looked up and made the mistake of locking eyes with Paige. Embarrassed and nervous at possibly meeting the wrath of her ex's mother, she looked away.
Paige scoffed and turned away when a man sat down at the table with May. He had red hair just like May's and pale skin with hazel eyes. He wore a tight shirt to show off his chiseled, muscular chest and arms and a dark pair of jeans. "Oh, that explains it."
"You okay Paige?" Vanessa asked cautiously.
"Never better." Paige responded, still slightly bitter.
"Just ignore her sis, it'll be okay."
"Kind of hard to ignore the girl that hurt my son and left him alone with my granddaughter."
"Don't look at her, pay her no mind. She's not important."
Paige took a deep breath to calm herself down. "You're right. She's not worth it."
"Atta girl." Melanie gave her a pat on the shoulder.
Jaime returned with their food, carefully placing each dish in front of each of the women. She also placed a glass of iced tea in front of Vanessa. "Umm... I didn't order this, did I?" Vanessa questioned.
"No, the guy right over there did." Jaime pointed to a guy sitting by himself. He had brown, messy hair and blue eyes and he looked really familiar. The young man raised his glass when Vanessa made eye contact.
"Wait a minute. Doesn't he work here?" Sierra recognized him as the waiter that served her and Vanessa the last time they were here.
Jaime sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he does. That's my idiot brother, Trent, but since he's off the clock now he tends to sit around and flirt with the women that come through here. It doesn't work, but at least you get free drinks out of it."
"Well, if you're sure."
Jaime waved her hand dismissively. "Oh yeah, go for it. He paid for it. Anyway, enjoy your meal." she happily skipped away.
"Oooo, Nessa's got an admirer." Paige teased. "I'm telling Don."
"You are going to keep quiet." Vanessa snapped and Paige giggled.
Okay this is where I'll end this chap.
Let me know what you think.
