Syd Parker - The Killing Ground

“Yeah.” Matt sat in one of the chairs, and Jordan sank down beside him. “Until Stein is convicted and put away, she’s still worried. Especially after catching the wrong guy.”

“I’m sure she’s just worried about Julie. That somehow he’ll try to come after her.”

“Hell, can you blame her?” Matt stared at his cup. “I don’t think Mitchell’s let her out of the house for months without being attached at the hip.”

“Maybe now they can finally get back to normal.”

“She said she is going to push for a quick trial and conviction.”

“What Mitchell wants, Mitchell gets.” Jordan said softly. “In this case, I think she deserves it.”

“She’s not going to let anyone mess up the investigation or the trial.” Matt nodded down the hall. “Rick says he’s handling it, but Mitchell wants us on his ass twenty-four, seven. She doesn’t want any mistakes.”

Jordan nodded. “No, I know. I just need to make sure Rebecca’s okay. Maybe you could play detective with Rick for a while. I know that’s asking a lot, but I’m not there right now.” She tapped her temple. “In here, until I know she’s out of the woods, I can’t focus on anything else.”

“Yeah, I’m on it.” Matt crumpled his empty cup and stood up with a groan. “And whatever is going on with you guys, fix it. She’s good for you.”

“You think?” Jordan stretched her arms over her head and looked up at Matt. “So, are we good?”

Matt met her gaze and held it, obviously thinking over her question. He was quiet for so long that Jordan worried what he might say. Finally, a smile broke out on his face. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll be okay.”

Jordan watched him walk out of the waiting room and smiled at his retreating form.

She knew that whatever happened, they were good and Matty would always have her back.

“Jordan.” Rick’s voice broke through the silence. “She’s awake.”

Jordan shot out of the chair and practically ran to Rebecca’s room. She took a tentative step into the room and felt Rebecca’s emerald green gaze boring through her. She stood paralyzed, trying to find her voice.

Sensing her insecurity, Rick pulled her towards Rebecca’s bedside and stepped back behind her. He pointed to Jordan and mouthed so only Rebecca could see. “Talk to her.”

He left the room silently, and Jordan laughed nervously. “Hi.”

Rebecca swallowed, and when she spoke, her voice was weak and raspy. “Hi.”

“How are you?” Jordan couldn’t hold her gaze, and she stared at her feet. “I mean, do you hurt? Can I get you anything?”

“Jordan.” Rebecca’s voice penetrated Jordan’s tough exterior and coursed through her veins like healing balm. “Sit down.”

Jordan slid into the chair silently and took her hand, caressing her palm with her thumb. Her eyes drank in Rebecca’s face hungrily. Despite her pallor, Jordan thought she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. “I’m sorry.”

“For?” Rebecca’s eyebrows knitted in confusion.

“For not telling you about Meghan, for not being there to save you.” Jordan smiled ruefully. “I fucked up royally, and I messed us up.”

“That doesn’t matter anymore. It’s the past.” Rebecca shook her head. “And it’s my fault. I didn’t call in backup.”

“Why?” Jordan narrowed her eyes questioningly.

Rebecca shrugged. “I’m stubborn and selfish. At least, that’s what Jonesy calls it. Apparently, I have a habit of doing what’s right for me and not considering anyone else’s feelings. It’s that way with work. In my relationships. That’s why I pushed you away. I push everyone away. I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to push you away. I need you in my life. You ground me. I was wrong. When I’m with you, I’m not distracted. It’s when I’m away from you that I can’t think. I can’t function.”

“Stop.” Jordan put a finger to Rebecca’s lips. “You’re being too hard…on the woman I love.”

Rebecca’s eyes locked onto Jordan's, and she smiled shyly. “You love me?”

Jordan nodded. “I’m sorry to just throw it out there, but I do. Somewhere along the way, you got inside me.”

Rebecca felt her chest clench tightly. It wasn’t hearing the words or seeing the look on her face. It was a feeling. Somewhere deep inside. A sense that everything would be all right because this woman loved her. And with that knowledge came the realization that her heart belonged to Jordan. There would be no pushing her away again.

Jordan grabbed the phone on the last ring. “Gray.”

Rick’s gravelly voice came through the phone. “It’s Detective Jones.” He paused a second. “We got a problem.”

Jordan’s blood froze. “What? Rebecca?”

“No.” She could hear muted voices in the background, and she knew he must be at the precinct. “We got a call this morning. They found another body.”

The color drained from Jordan’s face. The nightmare was repeating itself. “Where?”

“Alley near Adams off Michigan.”

“Give me twenty.” Jordan grabbed her keys.

“We got a small break this time. We’ve got video of the alley. Hopefully, we can get something to identify this bastard.”

Jordan sighed. “I hope so. We can’t afford to be wrong again.”

“Well, you know what they say. Third times a charm.”

Jordan ended the call as Rick’s nervous laughter faded into the background. She pulled her coat on and ran to the garage. Within minutes, she had called Matt, picked him up and was pulling latex gloves on searching for Rebecca’s red hair among the crowd gathered around the body. She knew she would find her at the crime scene despite being shot only ten days before. She had one thing right about herself. She was as stubborn as they came.

She stopped next to Rebecca and lowered her voice. “What are you doing here?”

Rebecca flicked her eyes to the yellow tape. “It’s my case.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Jordan’s voice lowered to a warning tone. “I mean, why are you here? You shouldn’t be here after you know.”

“Jordan, I’m fine. Really.”

“Detective.”

Rebecca pulled her gaze away from Jordan’s face. “What do you have?”

“I think you will want to see this.”

Jordan pulled the crime-scene tape up and she and Rebecca stopped over the body. The M.E. pulled back the victim’s hair. A large bruise discolored the right side of her face from her forehead to her jaw. “This one got the shit beat out of her. These wounds are perimortem. She sustained them right before she died.”

Rebecca leaned over and tried to hide the wince of pain in her abdomen. She hadn’t had the stitches removed yet and pulling against them hurt. “Damn.”

“And look at this.” The M.E. lifted her hand and held out her fingernails. “We’ve got skin and blood under the nails. Probably the perp’s.”

Rebecca studied her hands. “Bag ‘em. I don’t want to do anything to compromise the evidence. In case you didn't notice, the CDD is pretty much the laughing stock of Chicago. Fucking this one up again isn’t an option.”

The M.E. nodded. Rebecca tried to stand up, but the pain stopped her and her breath caught in her throat. Jordan slipped her hands under her arms and pulled her up before anyone else noticed she was struggling. “Thanks.”

Jordan looked at her askance. “This is why you don’t need to be out here. You’re not ready.”

Rebecca’s eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth then shut it just as quickly when Jordan shot her a look. “I’m sorry, babe. I had to be here.”

“You know Rick can handle it.” Jordan cupped her elbow and held the tape up, so she could walk under it. “And there isn’t anything that you will see here that you can’t see in the crime scene photos.”