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Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Chapter 8

She kissed him. She kissed him so passionately that every nerve in his body reacted. God, she was so beautiful! He ran his fingers through her hair, over her shoulders, down to her hips. Her skin was so warm. Her smell drove him crazy. She smelled of roses, of sun, of sea. Now she kissed his chest. Her fingers ran over his body, caressing him, tickling him. He smiled, it felt so good. He would go all the way. He would even take his shirt off. She wouldn't be repulsed, He just felt it. She would still be attracted to him. Her fingers did things to him he hadn't felt since Erica. Her hair tickled his chest when she kissed his stomach. He sighed deeply and put himself into a more comfortable position…

BAM! He hit the floor hard. It took him a while to realize he was not lying in his bed, and that there was no Mame there who was just about to… He rubbed his head where it had hit the table. Crap, he had fallen asleep on the couch again. The TV just showed the last minutes of tonight's American Idol. Why was he watching that crap anyways? He remembered he had turned it on because he wanted to think about the case, and he had found out that stupid TV shows always helped him thinking because he could focus on the case.

Now, he got up from the floor, still rubbing his head. He saw it was still early in the evening, and he knew from experience he couldn't go back to sleep anytime soon. He walked to his bathroom and splashed some water into his face. He could as well go for a little evening run now. Hey, maybe he met Delko on the way, and they could go have a beer. Or, better, make that Walter. He put on his sports attire and left the flat. For once, he wished he had a dog. Ivan Sarnoff's people were still at large, and he didn't really want to run into one of them. His team didn't worry, but really, did they think just because Sarnoff was dead that the Russian mob had faded into nothing? It sure seemed like it.

He started jogging away from his block, towards the shore. He had found out long ago that there was really nothing better than to run on the sand, barefoot. It reminded him of the first time he had been in Miami. A little boy of five or six years, running around on the beach, building sandcastles with Ron and swimming in the sea. As he arrived at the nearest shore, he took his shoes off and sat down in the sand. The night was calm. Even the sea wasn't as rough as it had been the nights before. He closed his eyes and breathed the salty air in. Gosh, that felt good. He sighed deeply and lay down in the sand. He should do that more often. He wouldn't think about the case tonight. He would just enjoy the peace and quiet of this wonderful night.

Or so he thought. Suddenly, he heard two people arguing. A man and a woman. Ryan tried to ignore it, but then the man started insulting the woman. So he opened his eyes and got into a sitting position. He could see the two now. They were away far enough that he couldn't make out their faces. But he could see that the man had grabbed the woman's arm and squeezed it hard. Ryan checked his options. He could call 911, or somebody who could help him. Like Nicole. Valera's place was closest to the shore, and with a bit of luck, Nicole was walking Frankie now. The other option was to just go and get in between. As he saw the man raising his hand, he jumped up. He could not leave a woman to herself. He had never done it, and he wouldn't do it now. He started running towards them. Just before the man hit the woman, who had covered her face, Ryan reached them.

He jumped in between and stopped the man's arm in mid motion. "Whoa, hold it right there. You cannot just beat a woman!"

The man who smelled faintly of alcohol and suddenly looked about as tall as Walter, gave him a look, "How I treat my girlfriend is none of your business!"

Ryan let go of the guy's arm, "I'm sorry, but as a matter of fact, it is. My name is Ryan Wolfe, I'm with the Miami PD, and if you don't leave the lady alone now, I'm going to have to arrest you."

The man grinned, "It's my girlfriend, hobbit. Mame, tell him."

Mame? Ryan turned around and looked at the woman for the first time. Mame… And apparently, the man had hit her before. There was a faint line of blood running down her chin. Ryan bit his lip. Okay, cool down. Don't kill him, even if you feel it's the right thing to do. Stupid fucker, you shouldn't have done that.

He turned back to the man, "Mhm, I can't hear her saying something, so you might wanna leave."

"Not without her."

"Yes, without her."

The man came one step closer so that Ryan now had to look up to be eye to eye with him. "I seriously advice you to leave us alone now, Frodo. If not, I'm gonna wipe the floor with your face."

"You didn't get what I was saying… I'm with the police, and I can have you arrested." He's really tall.

"You won't be able to give the police your name when I'm done with you." He raised his fist, but suddenly, a black lightning hit him. He went down. Ryan shielded Mame as the man rolled on the ground, screaming, fighting the lightning. He managed to get it off himself and then ran away like there was no tomorrow.

Now, the lightning remained on the floor, licking its paws and bellowing happily. His eyes landed on Ryan; it got up again and jumped on him.

"Off, Frankie, off! That's Ryan! You cannot lick his face! No, off! Frankie, heel! Frankie, heel!" The last order was more powerful than the others, and Frankie got off Ryan and wandered off into darkness.

Ryan got up, trying to ignore the powerful desire to wash his face with the salty ocean water. "Nicole. That was one hell of a good timing."

Nicole got out of the shadows, a wide grin on her face, "Yeah, I know, I'm great. You okay?"

Ryan nodded, "I am, yes. Thanks to Frankie. Good girl. Give her a goody from me."

"Will do." She looked at Mame, "You need an ambulance or something?" As Mame shook her head, she asked, "You wanna report the guy?" Again, Mame shook her head. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna go home now." She gave Ryan a look, "You're sure you're alright?"

Ryan nodded, clearly understanding that this time she meant Mame, "Yeah, I am. Say hello to Valera from me."

"Yeah, I will. You take care, right? I cannot protect you all the time." She blinked at him and then whistled. Frankie gave Ryan's hand a last loving lick and then followed her mistress.

Ryan turned back to Mame, rubbing his hand on his trousers, "Are you okay? You're bleeding."

Mame brought her hand up to her lip. "Oh, that. No, I'm okay. Thank you…"

Ryan, with his other hand, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out to Mame. "Here, take this."

She did and pressed it to her lip, "That was my ex boyfriend. He just doesn't understand that we've split up." She looked at the hankie. "It stopped bleeding. I'll take it with me and wash it. I'll bring it back, tomorrow, that alright?"

"You can just give it back to me. I'll put my clothes in the washing machine anyways. There's dog drool everywhere." He reached his hand out for the hankie. As Mame gave it back to him, he said, "Shall I bring you home? In case the guy is still around?"

Mame shook her head, "That won't be necessary." She pointed over her shoulder. "Ferguson is still there. I can hear the dog breathing. I'm sure she'll follow me home. And Chris won't come close to me if there's a dog around. He is afraid of them. Thanks a lot for what you've done, but I don't need any more of your help." With that, she turned away and left. Ryan noticed the shadow following her. Okay, with Nicole and Frankie on Mame's heels, she would get home safe. So he could go home too.

He took a last look at the ocean which had suddenly started becoming less calm. It looked more like Davy Jones' Locker now. Ryan smiled bitterly. His heart felt just the same now. Mame would never forgive him for leaving her over this case. He furiously kicked the sand; this could have been it. But no, again work had got in between him and a chance to have a fine working relationship. He reached into his pocket where he had stored the handkerchief. With Mame's blood on it. He would give it to Natalia or Valera tomorrow. They would tell him whether or not Mame was the unknown female donor. And if not, he would go talk to her. And maybe they could start over again.

The sound of the unruly waves hitting the shore haunted him until he was home.

And when his cell phone rang the next morning, he knew what the sudden change in the ocean had really meant.

Cliffhanger! What the hell happened? Did the guy kill Mame at home, when Nicole had already left? Did the dog have a serious disease that now infected Ryan? So many questions.