An Unfinished Life (9 page)

I had to get the hell out of here. I gathered all the strewn papers from the floor and stuffed them into my bag. I phoned my father next.

“Dad!”

“Jacob, are you alright?”

“No, I’m not alright, dad. I’m so fucked right now, and I don’t know what to do. Please tell me you have something for me? Anything on Marino? This guy needs to be shut down, and I mean like yesterday. He’s playing with my mind dad, like no one has ever done before. He knows something about Minela’s death. He’s connected somehow, but I just don’t have any proof of it. All I have is my gut, and it’s telling me to watch my back. And not from Jack Vanelle, but from Dante Marino.”

M
y phone call with my father didn’t put me in a better mood. If anything, I felt worse. He did his best to calm my nerves, but I was heated and needed to find a way to let off some steam.
Zoey Steele would be exactly what I need to accomplish that.
Please let her be waiting for me.

My suite was dimly lit when I entered. Hopefully this was a good sign that Zoey was still here. I called out for her, but there was no reply. My heart sunk deeper down into my chest. She left again, probably leaving just a note with a few lines of her sassy attitude.
Fuck!

I stomped into the bedroom, throwing my suit jacket onto the bed.

“Hey, what gives?”

What?
I turned the light on and there she was half asleep on my bed.

“Zoey! You’re here!?!” I exclaimed.

“You seem so surprised! Why is that? Isn’t my word good enough, Agent Paulson, or do you need more assurance?”

Fuck me, she was sexy, and mine for the taking. I didn’t answer her question…I showed her. She gave me the naughtiest striptease ever last night, so why not return the favor? I removed the rest of my clothing, but she sprang up when I went for my tie.

“Leave the tie. Take off the rest.”

“Do you want to play?”

“Hasn’t it been a great game so far?”

She was now on her knees with one hand on my tie, pulling me closer to her.

“Is that what this is, a game to you?” I asked, but I was beginning to get angry.

I wasn’t some guy that just bedded women, took what I needed, and discarded them without a second thought. And Zoey was different, not like anyone I’d known before, and I hoped to get to know her better.

There was no answer in return, just her lips on mine. I let our bodies speak for us, and for now, the conversation was over.

I ended up taking off my tie and using it on Zoey’s wrists. She didn’t complain and just played the naughty submissive. Everything in me was screaming to take her, own her, and possess every inch of her. She screamed out rather loudly when I took her nipple into my mouth, biting down just enough without causing her pain, but pure pleasure. I repeated the attention on the other, and it was the same reaction, which only excited me more.

“I want you so much,” I said.

“You have me, Jake. I’m right here.”

I left her wrists tethered together but wrapped her arms around my neck as I entered her wet folds. I never had sex bare with anyone other than Minela, but I was clean, and Zoey told me she was too. Another strong emotion I easily felt when I was with her: trust. I had given it to her so easily, never once questioning it. After we were both sated, I finally untied her and just held her in my arms.

“Where did you come from, Zoey Steele?” I asked.

Her naked back was facing me. As I ran my fingers down her spine, I could see faint goosebumps rising on her soft skin. She turned to face me and smiled.

“I could ask you the same question. Maybe when the stars aligned for Tenley and Jagger, the universe had a few to spare for us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a silly, starry-eyed blonde that wishes for her prince before she goes to sleep at night. I’m a realist and pretty much take things at face value, but you, Agent Paulson, proved that theory wrong for me. From the moment I met you, I felt this intense attraction towards you, and I was drawn to get to know you better. At first I didn’t think you even liked me, but then Tenley explained your tough exterior.”

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“Keep your testosterone down, Paulson. She only meant tough because of your profession and how you have to be because of it.”

“I guess so when you summarize it like that, but Zoey, it’s so much more than just coming off like a tough guy. This job requires one hundred percent focus, discipline, and no margin of error, not ever. It can be very rewarding, but it can also destroy all that’s good in your life and replace it with feelings no person should ever have to experience.”

The expressive look in Zoey’s eyes just about made my heart split in two. This was the same look that everyone in my life had shown me since Minela died.
What is it with me? Do I just naturally put out this vibe: feel sorry for me? Well, fuck that, not anymore. I can’t do this with Zoey after she’s the one that has finally made me come back to life.

“Don’t pull away, not now,” she said.

Her hands cupped my face. I leaned up to kiss her.

“I wasn’t going to, even though I should. This life that I lead is just too ugly for you, beautiful girl, and I can’t have it taint you.”

“What if I don’t care? You are worth taking the risk.”

“Oh, Zoey, you don’t know how much I want to, but I just can’t right now. Please understand that these last few days spent with you have meant the world to me. I will always cherish them.”

“Sounds like you’re saying goodbye. Is that what you’re doing?”

Fuck my life!
Now tears were forming in her eyes. I had hurt her. I wiped them away with my thumbs and kissed each one of her cheeks.

“Please don’t cry. I’m sorry.”

I repeated it over and over again until she was down to a quiet sniffle. I held her in my arms until she fell asleep. She felt so good next to me, I didn’t want to let her go, but I knew I had to. I finally managed to dislodge myself from her enveloped arms. I already felt the loss of her warmth.

My heart was so conflicted with my two lives: professional and personal. I was here for work. I had to get my head back into the game and not let any distractions affect my ability to do my job.

I left her sleeping while I closed the door behind me to do some work. I hadn’t heard anything from my father yet on Marino. I then phoned Duffy. He was not only my boss but my trusted friend. I had to get some answers. I phoned his private line and allowed it to ring several times before it went to voicemail. I simply just told him to call me back.

I leaned back in my chair to close my eyes for a few minutes, and once again Minela came back to life in my dreams. I dreamt about the first time I met the very feisty Detective Minela LaRocha, back when we were NYPD.

“Are you serious, Duff? I’m getting a partner? I don’t want a partner, especially a female. Just what I need: a damsel in distress that I have to look out for. I work alone, and I do it very well.”

“Don’t let the equal opportunity crazies hear you say that. You will be deemed a sexist pig and will probably be tied up by your balls.”

Duff was now laughing at me. I guess I did sound like a dick, but in some way I meant what I said. My last partner turned out to be a waste of space, and I wasn’t in the mood to break another one in, male or female.

“I know what you’re thinking, Jake, and I will tell you right now that you are wrong about this one. She comes from a law enforcement family. Her father is currently the chief of police for the Boston PD, and she has four brothers who are also police officers. Imagine her father’s surprise when his little girl told him that she wanted to follow in her family’s footsteps. I’ve met her, Jake, and I’ve had some very enlightening conversations with her. She’s smart, tough, and can do the job as well as any man I’ve ever met, maybe even you.”

“Gee, thanks, Duff. You’re all heart.”

“I’m just trying to make the introductions a little easier for you. Her record is flawless. She has a high arrest record and has solved and closed seventeen out of twenty cases. Not bad for a young detective just transferred in. I think she will be a good match for you, but…”

“But what? What were you going to say?”

“Just don’t fall in love with her. This job has no room for it.”

“Thanks for the advice, Duff, but I have no intentions of falling in love with Detective LaRocha.”

“Duly noted, Detective Paulson. How about we introduce ourselves first before we plan our nuptials?”

Heat was rising in my cheeks and my manhood was making its presence known when the exotic Minela LaRocha walked through my captain’s office. No freaking way was this woman a cop. She’s too gorgeous not to be a model. God! I hated sounding like this chauvinistic guy, but how could I not notice her face too? She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, detective. You already know who I am, so how about we grab a cup of coffee and get to know one another a little better?” she said.

Her hand was extended, waiting for me to shake it, but I was a goner. Duffy slapped my back to get my attention. What was I, a awkward prepubescent boy who could not speak around girls? Finally coming back down to earth, I greeted her with the standard pleasantries I would use with any cop. But she was the first one I had ever wanted to kiss—and by that I mean fucking devour.

“After you,” was all I said while following her out the door.

I almost put my hand on the small of her back, but I pulled back quickly before I was cited for sexual harassment. Thank God she was a few steps in front of me when I looked over my shoulder to the laughing Duffy.

“Yeah, Paulson. Good luck not falling in love with her,” he said.

I would gladly take his abuse for the next few days. I knew I was acting like a lovesick fool. What could I say? She made it easy.

Fall was upon us, and it was the perfect time to walk in Central Park. The leaves were beginning to change color, and there was still a hint of summer before the brisk nights would follow. Minela and I grabbed some coffee and walked around the lake.

“So tell me about yourself, tough guy. Who is Jacob Paulson? And why do I want to be his partner?”

I laughed at her easy way of breaking the ice with me. I stopped and sat on a nearby park bench overlooking the water with the New York skyline serving as our backdrop for the perfect picture.

I turned to face her. She was waiting for me to talk. She was patient, I’ll give her that. I tried to hide my smile, but I was failing miserably.

“What would you like to know that you haven’t already read in a file or found on Google?”

“Fair enough. Why did you become a cop?” she asked and then finished her coffee, tossing it into the trash can. “Score! Two points,” she screamed.

Damn! Can this beauty actually like sports too?

“After my injury made the decision for me to leave the game, I wanted more from my life. I had already earned my degree and just needed to enter the academy to make it official. No one understood my decision to leave the game behind me, especially my brothers who were playing alongside with me. It was our dream to play in the NFL from the moment we could throw the ball, and one third of the trio was leaving the band.”

“I guess it all worked out in the end for you. You seem to have taken the career change quite well.”

“And only knowing me an hour tells you that?”

“No, but your record is impressive. You found success early on in your career and have moved up the chain of command rather quickly than others, so that tells me that you are one hell of a cop. Maybe playing football was just an appeasement for your father, not really for yourself. Am I close?”

“No, you’re not. I’ve always loved the game. For years, football was all I knew, all I had, and then one day it just was gone. I needed to find fulfillment again in my life, and that’s where the law came in.”

“A natural star on the beat, then Intelligence, and finally detective. You’re my hero.”

“Okay, Miss Nosey Pants, you got me all figured out. What about you? How did the apple of her daddy’s eye become a cop? What are you, a rebel? That’s it. Probably treated like a princess from daddy and your brothers, so becoming a cop might shake up the family tree a bit. Now tell me, Minela, am I close?”

“I’m hungry. How about a dog with the works, my treat.”

“Way to go avoiding answering my question detective, and yes…you can pay.”

The rest of our afternoon was filled with more questions about each other. She was easy to talk to, but not so easy answering my questions. She simply told me that she wanted to be a cop probably as long as I wanted to be a football player. Playing with dolls and tea parties wasn’t her thing, not when she had four older brothers in the house to grow up around. She loved all sports and played them too. I had never met anyone like her and definitely wanted to know her better.

Of course I was right about her father. He was adamantly against her decision to join the force, but her mind was made up. She wouldn’t change her mind, not for anyone. Eventually they came around, she said, and her graduation picture in her blues was placed on her living room wall that joined her brothers’. She said her father had never been more proud of her, but he secretly wished she would occupy a desk job and not the streets. I guess if I had a daughter, I may have wanted the same thing.