SUSPECTS
Donovan overslept the next morning. Some time in the night, Pax had shut off the alarm clock and he had been so wiped out, that he couldn't wake up on his own. When he entered the nest, he heard the usual bustle of activity. He could hear Cody's voice drifting from the consoles toward the heart of the room. He was probably telling his bad jokes while the rest of them were groaning aloud at their corniness. He wasn't sure if any of them knew if he would be in today. As he drew closer, he realized that there was an extra voice, one not quite belonging to a member of the team. As soon as the others came into view, he couldn't suppress an audible groan. Detective Norwood. What the hell was she doing back? Hadn't she caused enough of a scene at the funeral yesterday? What else did she want to do? Grill his team for information? Donovan grew even more irritated when he noticed that Jake was nearly panting over her. Did he have any sense at all? Once again, she focused all her attention on him and smiled brightly. Perhaps I should have allowed Pax to acquaint your anus with the heel of her shoe. Donovan didn't step any closer to her. He kept a good space of floor between them before crossing his arms before his chest. His reluctance to approach the detective didn't dissuade her movements at all. She turned toward him, her hands stuffed into the back pockets of her jeans. Somehow, she felt the need to show him her service revolver snuggly holstered beneath her arm. Perhaps he should show her his? Who has the biggest gun? Is that the game you're playing today? She was clearly trying to use intimidation to get her way. He could almost see her interrogating suspects this way. He had no time for her. They were up to their elbows in work and they still had the Draper case to crack.
"What do you want," Donovan asked coldly.
"Well, what I want is simple, Agent Donovan. I had to go through hell to get the clearance, but I've obtained a couple of search warrants. One here and the other for your nice little uptown loft. I hope your girlfriend won't mind being interrupted during her morning toilette? I'm waiting for some reinforcement and then we'll proceed." She had chosen the nest. There was no way she wanted to face the girlfriend, not after their encounter yesterday. "First, there are a few things I would like to discuss with you. We can do this out here all nice and public, or we can dismiss ourselves to your office. I don't care which way we do it. Do you?"
Donovan said nothing. He turned away from his team and silently tromped upstairs. Norwood kept her glittering smile and followed him. He didn't ask her to sit, because frankly, he didn't give a fuck about politeness. He sat down behind his desk and again crossed his arms over his chest. The detective sat directly across from him, nursing her search warrant as if it were the Constitution. Perhaps to her, it was. He wanted to reach for the phone, give Pax a call, and warn her. She would still be in bed and she was far from a morning person. He was afraid Pax might do and/or say something that would land her ass behind bars. She had been treading a fine line yesterday when she threatened Norwood. "What is this you want to discuss? I have no time for you. If I am one of your suspects, arrest me and have done with it. I'm tired of seeing your face every time I turn a corner. I'm also not far from picking up the phone and discussing this harassment with your captain. I don't see how you wound up on this case, how you stay on it."
"Oh ho, now you're threatening me. Just one more thing to add to my extensive list of your strange behaviors." Without hesitating, she dug out a small notepad from her back pocket and flipped it open. She began scribbling into it. [She's fucking insane, Donovan thought.] "First one, of course, being a lack of emotion at hearing that the mother of your child was murdered. Yesterday, you were pretty iron faced as well. Of course, you had your lover beside you, and we can't make her jealous, now can we?" She closed the notepad and glanced at Donovan. His eyes had never changed shades. They were cold and black, reminding her of those black holes in space she had read about as a kid. "As far as my working on this case, Agent Donovan, Remy and I weren't close cousins. Maybe third or fourth. Hell, I can't keep up. She was a snot, but family. I can separate my job from my private life. You're not so good at that, are you?" Thoughtfully, she tapped her chin with her ink pen. "I know you're wondering how I know this stuff. Well, I've been digging around in your records. You've had quite a colorful career, except for a long space of time. Makes me wonder where those records got off to. Your buddy in the Academy was a nut. He set up the murder of his sister, whom you were fucking at the time. He set up the murder of a senator, whom Remy was fucking at the time. And then the two of you meet. You had a pretty good thing there for a bit and then it got bad. The CIA got involved somehow. Jeez, your girlfriend, this Jonella Paxton…she was sent to take out Remy, but somehow, you fixed it for her. Now about a year and a half later, she's almost married to you and sort of a mother figure to Remy's daughter. Very nice engagement ring, by the way. I'll bet you shelled out a couple three thousand for that, didn't you? Amazing."
Donovan hated her even more at that moment. He could have easily reached across the desk and knocked her out of the chair. How had she gained access to those files? It nearly took an act of Congress to simply be in the same room with them. He knew what her angle was and he didn't like it. She was sent to take out Remy, but somehow, you fixed it for her. It wasn't as easy as that. It wasn't as if Remy was terrified. She had visited Pax in the hospital for God's sake. She hated Pax, but she didn't fear her. Although he didn't want to give her the satisfaction, he couldn't prevent the words from erupting. "What you read obviously didn't shed any light on the fact that Jonella Paxton took bullets meant for Remy. She nearly died because of it. I didn't fix anything. What I did was repay a tremendous debt to someone who deserved to live. Why would a paper trail exist at all if I were trying to hide something? I don't like what you're implying, Detective Norwood. I don't like it at all."
She ran her hand through her hair. "Can I tell you what I don't like? I don't like having murders in my part of town. I don't like seeing horrid crime scenes like the one I saw in Darryl Hilton's home. Speaking of which…" She stood up and dug around behind her. She had pulled out a manila envelope and then took her seat again. Silently, she dug out the photos and slapped them onto his desk. "I think you should have a looksie at those, Agent Donovan." She watched as he picked up the photos. It was the first time she had seen any emotion whatsoever. He winced as if someone had pinched a nerve. "So you're not blank all the time then, are you?" She reached across the desk and snatched them back. After stowing them away, she again focused her eyes on his face. "I'm sure what your girlfriend did was noble, but she should have gone down for that. I find it interesting that you and your wife were divorced a little less than six months before you had a replacement in line. A replacement that was sent to kill the very woman you divorced." Blank face had come back. Oh well. She didn't mind. "I have a theory that I would like to share before the boys come to help me out. I think that something was going on between you and Remy right before her death. Perhaps she wanted sole custody of your daughter. Who could blame her? Her stepmother is a fucking assassin. So, maybe you walk in on her while she's bathing. She's fairly good looking, takes care of herself, and she truly stirred you up more than once. Maybe you walked in there and some of the old feelings came back. The new girlfriend isn't quite as hotty totty as the ex-wife, but you're not married, right? You're free to do whatever you want. Maybe for old time's sake, you wanted to fuck her, but she's no longer interested. She has Hilton and you have the assassin. Rejection doesn't sit well with you, so you fly into a rage and make sure that she can never deny you again. Hubby walks in, witnesses what you've done, so you take your shiny black Glock and blow his brains out. Only a man who's seen what you've seen could have done something like this. Hell, maybe the assassin helped you. She tried before, didn't she?"
Count to ten. Take deep breaths. The rage was eating him alive. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had felt like this. He had never heard such an incredible amount of bullshit in his entire life. She thought she knew everything, but she didn't know anything. He didn't know what gave her the right to be so pompous and self-righteous. What did she think she would find? When he could no longer hear his heart pounding at his temples, he thought he might be able to speak without roaring at her. "You have your search warrant. You have spouted your ridiculous theories. You obviously don't have enough to make an arrest. I would appreciate it if you would go downstairs and wait for your colleagues there. I would like to have a moment of privacy before you invade it further. Is that all right with you, Detective Norwood?"
* * *
As soon as Stasia and Donovan were gone, Pax faced two choices. She could either follow routine and go back to bed or she could pack and get the fuck out of there once and for all. She had said her goodbyes last night and made her intentions clear, but she had also told Donovan that there was no way she could leave him. God. What the hell was she going to? She flopped face first onto the bed. She was going to go back to sleep. She would follow routine and do what she had been doing since she moved in with Donovan. It was simple. She couldn't leave. Not now. Not ever. It was time to stop fucking around. Donovan loved her. What other validation did she need? He loved her. It was simple. If he came home tonight, she was going to tell him. She was tired of this shit, tired of hiding her feelings. Fuck it. She wanted to marry him and tonight, he would know. Realizing that her mind was finally made up, she drifted off to sleep. It was at that point when Donovan was making his first eye contact with Detective Norwood. She had no idea that the police were on their way to her and Donovan's loft.
Ringing. What was all this damn ringing? It's driving me nuts. If I had a hammer, I'd smash it. It took Pax a good minute to realize that it was the phone ringing. She opened one eye and gazed at it. She had no idea who the fuck would be calling her. Donovan was the only one, and he knew better than to call her at this hour. Her arm snaked out and snagged the cordless phone. Perhaps it was Ed McMahon telling her that she had won ten million dollars. Wouldn't that be nice? What would she do first? Ah. She'd buy the Chicago Police Department, Precinct 666 or whatever, and boot Sergeant Dumbass right out the door. That would be nice. Before she hit the 'talk' button, she cleared her throat. Her morning frog wanted to choke her today. "Yeah?"
"Jonella, it's Frank. I don't have a lot of time to talk here, but I need to warn you. The Chicago Police will be coming to you shortly with search warrants. Don't argue with them. Let them in and let them do their jobs."
"What the hell," she said.
"I'll explain later, Jonella. Just don't fight them. Don't give them any reason to slap handcuffs on you. I'll tell you more later, I promise."
Before she could say another word, she could hear someone knocking on the door. And the troops have flown in.
* * *
Before Donovan went home that evening, he arranged for a sitter. There was no way he wanted to bring Stasia home. He could only imagine what the police had done to the loft. They had nearly torn apart the nest, Cody almost crying when they touched his precious computers. It had taken the rest of the day to get everything back into some kind of order. None of them had the patience or tolerance to work, not after that. The team had been full of questions, but Donovan couldn't talk about it. He was afraid he'd start yelling. He had so much rage built inside. The only place he would let it out would be at home. He wouldn't do it here. It was the very reason he didn't want Stasia home. She didn't need to see her father losing it. As soon as he stepped inside the living room, it wasn't as bad as he expected. Then again, it appeared that Pax had been busy as well. She had gathered all her hair into a clip and donned a tank top and sweats. She normally slept in such outfits, but today, she was using it to straighten the mess. He wondered how long she had been at it. Hours? All day? When Pax noticed Donovan, she immediately stopped what she was doing and turned to face him. She didn't say anything. Instead, she waited for him to give her the explanation he promised. He didn't know how he could proceed without hurting her. He grew even angrier at the prospect. He approached her and took her hand. They sat together on the couch and Pax turned to face him. She wanted to see every expression, every nuance.
"The esteemed Detective Norwood came by with her search warrants. You know that, of course. She made it no secret that she thinks I had something to do with it. She said she believes that I broke in on Remy, attacked her, and then killed her husband because she wouldn't sleep with me. She spoke nothing but utter filth, Jonella. Trash." His jaw clenched for the slightest moment. This would be the hardest part of it all. "Somehow, she obtained copies of our files. She knows just about everything about us, including the mission that brought you back to Chicago." She immediately tensed and looked away. "Jonella, it means nothing. None of it does. She dug around, found our skeletons, and hung them before our faces. It doesn't matter. It's why I called ahead, because I didn't want you to be faced with any surprises." He placed his fingers on her cheek and turned her face back toward his. "What about you? What did they do here? Did they talk to you? Question you?"
She shook her head. "No. They said about two words to me. They seemed more interested in our bathroom than anything else. They took hair from combs and brushes."
His brow furrowed. "Hair? From us both?" She nodded. He clenched his teeth and fist at the same time. He was livid and fuming. "This is ridiculous. There probably is hair from us both at that house. It transfers very easily from person to person. I don't know what the hell kind of game they're playing. Goddamn them."
So much for what I needed to tell you tonight. There was no way she could say anything now. He was completely too angry. Then again, maybe it was for the best. She could just imagine how bad their relationship looked on paper. The woman who had been sent out to assassinate Frank Donovan's ex-wife was now engaged to marry him. None of it made sense. "How many times did the word assassin come up?"
He shook his head. "It's not important, Jonella. She doesn't know anything. She read things, but didn't dig into them. She's on a vigilante kick and that's it. Your past is your past. You're not the same person you were when you first came back."
"I so want to kick her fucking ass," she said through clenched teeth. "I wish I had gotten hold of her yesterday. Cop or not, doing time would be worth it. She can spit on me all she wants. I'm not pristine and I don't care to admit it. I've fucked up, I've done things I wish I could take back a thousand times over, but she's messing with you. What have you done? You've done nothing. All you've done is taken up with me and since you have, look at everything that has happened to you. So my black marks have become yours."
"Jonella, it doesn't matter," he repeated emphatically. He was hiding it from her and hiding it well, but the shit Norwood said had cut him. It had cut him as deeply as if she had been saying it about him. Hell, she might as well have said it about him. Whatever touched Pax touched him and it was the same way with her, regardless of her harsh words or gruff exterior. If she didn't feel that way, she wouldn't try to scratch people's eyes out. "It's not important," he repeated. He wished he could find something else to say. He felt quite ineffectual.
"Sure it's not," she said vaguely. "It was so unimportant that she felt the need to dig it up and shove it into your face." Donovan wanted to say something else, but she shook her head. "No. I don't want to talk about this anymore. Where's Blondie? What did you do with the kid?"
He bit into his lower lip and chewed on it for a few seconds. She wanted to change the subject, but he had no intention of letting it drop. Yet, he didn't want to push her either. Both of them were quite pissy at the moment and it was best that they waited until they weren't so angry. Fighting with Pax wasn't easy. It always became physical. Sighing, he said, "I took her to a sitter. I didn't want her to see us like this. I'll bring her home later."
She nodded and then without ceremony, she brought herself to her feet and took off upstairs. Moments later, he heard the shower running. He wanted to follow her, but he also wanted to stay down here and brood until his anger passed. There was still a chance for a full swing fight to occur at any moment. He didn't want that to happen. It had been several months since they had really had a true fight. There were arguments and bitch fights, but nothing like the ones they had when she came back to Chicago. Not knowing what to expect from this, he stood and made his way upstairs.
Pax sighed heavily the moment she realized that Donovan intended to join her in the shower. It wasn't that she didn't want him in with her, she did, but what she had wanted to say to him was all fucked up now. It was fucked up and she didn't know if she would get her nerve back or not. She sure as shit couldn't do it tonight thanks to that bitch with the attitude from hell. Gee, Pax. She sounds like you, doesn't she? You've seen this game played before, right? You've played it. She's playing your game. She can do what you can't. She doesn't have such a…checkered past. Back off. Back off and leave like you started. Marrying him is a huge laugh. One arm went around her waist as the other came across her chest. A few moments later, she felt his lips at the side of her throat. As she felt his hand move below her waist to her lower abdomen and then lower still, she literally prayed for the strength to push him away. It was no use. The fucker knew what he was doing, knew what she was feeling. Why else would he come into the shower with her? God it was no use. She couldn't do anything. She was his goddamn slave. He knew this. He knew it and used it to his advantage every fucking chance he got. Just before he entered her, he whispered to her emphatically: I love you. Do you understand me? I…love…you. Poor bastard.
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To be continued…