Chapter 17

"Hunter, how are things?” Denny answered.

“I’m pissed and I’m going to make your day worse,” I honestly told him.

“Fuck, what have you done?”

“Me? Nothing, yet. Did you send a man to Hana Bishop today?” I asked.

“Yeah, Mike is heading over there. Wait, have you done something to Mike? For fuck sake, Hunter. You can’t go after my men,” he scolded me.

“I told you I haven’t done shit. You should thank your lucky stars I got here after things had been dealt with or your man wouldn’t be just unconscious right now,” I growled. I knew it wasn’t Denny’s fault. But I was pissed and I knew he could take me unloading on him.

“Unconscious? What is going on?”

“Your man came to Hana’s apartment, he didn’t identify himself as a policeman, he just demanded to talk to her. When she told him no and tried to get away from him, he grabbed her. So she rightfully defended herself by using the taser I gave her and your man fell and hit his head. What the fuck kind of department are you running?”

“Well fuck. I have told him a hundred times that he needs to identify himself. The fucking idiot. I’m sorry Hunter, this is his mess up. But is he okay?” Denny asked.

“Yeah, he will wake up with a headache and I think she got him pretty good with the taser so he should be checked out. Why was he alone?”

“I’ll send two of my men to collect him and take him to the emergency room. Clive, his partner, called in sick last minute. I thought Mike could handle it on his own. Sorry.”

“Hana was traumatised, Denny. She was convinced she had killed him, and when she found out he was a cop, well it didn’t make it any better. I need you to keep your men away from her.”

“I’m sorry, Hunter. I truly am and I will make sure Mike apologises when he comes to. But I can’t leave her out of the investigation.” There was a heavy sigh on the other end. “How much have you found out about Simon’s situation?”

“He has fucked things up royally. The mob and everything,” I said.

“Right. So you know that this investigation isn’t really mine. There are players above me that have an interest in getting things done. I need to play this by the book. And that means putting pressure on your daughter-in-law.”

“Ex,” I added.

“Sorry?”

“Ex daughter-in-law. They are divorced,” I clarified.

“Right. So, she will need to answer our questions and if she could refrain from knocking my men unconscious, it would be appreciated,” Denny told me.

“She’s been through things. I don’t know what, but it looks like it’s been tough. Can you do me the favour of letting me know when you’ll send your men? I’ll make sure she talks to them, I just don’t want her to be alone.” There was a huff on the other end.

“Didn’t know you had become an ambulance chaser, Hunter. But sure. I can do that if you promise to make sure she talks to us and that this stays between you and me.”

“I promise.”

“Well then. I’ll send some men over to collect Mike.”

“You do that. I’m going to leave him to his own devices for now. He is moving a little so I think he’s coming to,” I said and I shut the door and locked it. Leaving the mess outside for later.

“Sounds good. Thank you for calling, Hunter. And thank you for making sure my man’s alive,” Denny told me. I chuckled as I walked into the apartment.

“Yeah, yeah. Train them better and I won’t end up killing them,” I said and hung up. Hana was sitting on the couch. She had stopped crying but she had pulled her legs up to her chest and was hugging them. I took the blanket from the couch and draped it over her shoulders and sat down next to her. “Are you okay?” I asked. My tone had changed completely. It was soft and calm. I could see how Hana was fighting to regain control over her emotions. “It’s okay to not be okay,” I added. She looked at me and then shook her head.

“No. I need to get a grip. I need to clean up the mess outside and figure out what to do with an unconscious cop,” she said. I had to smile at the sound of her to-do list.

“I have phoned his boss, he’s sending someone over to collect him. He’s not your problem. So we will sit here until his friends take him away. Then I can go outside to see if some of your shopping can be saved. We also need to have a little talk about the detectives, but that can wait until you feel better,” I said. She looked at me in surprise.

“You’ll help me pick up the groceries?” she asked, as if that was the one thing in all of this that seemed foreign to her.

“Yeah. I can see that your feet are still hurting and you have had a nasty shock today. The least I can do is to help you clean up the mess.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s okay. So, how are you feeling?” I asked and placed my hand on top of hers. They were tiny and my hand covered both of them. I could feel a light trembling in them.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry I was such a mess and that I ruined your shirt,” she told me. I smiled at her.

“I think you handled it remarkably well, and the shirt isn’t ruined. How about I get you something to snack on? Get your blood sugar up and dilute the adrenaline,” I suggested.

“I can do it,” she said and started to detangle herself. I put pressure on her hands.

“Sit, I will get it. And besides, it gives me a good excuse to see if you have any cookies I can inhale,” I told her. She gave me a smile, it didn’t reach her eyes, but it was a good start. As I stood up I had to battle the compulsion to bend over her and place a kiss on her head. It felt like the most natural thing to do. But I managed to stop myself and redirect my body to walk into the kitchen.

“The cookies are in the cupboard above the kettle,” Hana called from the couch.

“Thanks, sweetness. Do you want coffee or tea?” I called back.

“Um, milk?” she answered and I chuckled. I found a tray and loaded it with two glasses of milk and a big pile of cookies. When I returned to Hana she was starting to look better. She had got some colour back on her cheeks and her body looked more relaxed. I sat down and we enjoyed the milk and cookies in silence for a while. They were just as delicious as yesterday and I took my time savouring each bite. My phone buzzed, it was Denny letting me know his men had come to collect their colleague who was now conscious. I emptied my glass of milk and turned to Hana. She was looking into space, deep into her thoughts as she was nibbling on a cookie.

“I’ll go and clean up the mess outside. Can I borrow your key so I can lock the door?” I asked her. She looked at me and nodded.

“Sure, there is a spare one in the bowl on the side table in the hallway,” she said.

“Ok, and a dustpan?”

“In the first cupboard in the kitchen. Are you sure I shouldn’t help?” she asked.

“I’m sure. It won’t take me long,” I insisted. I made my way out to the chaos and locked the door behind me. I wasn’t worried that someone would get past me, but I wanted Hana to feel safe. Most things that had scattered were salvageable. There were no perishables so nothing had been spoiled. I picked it up and placed it back in the bags and leaned them against the wall next to the door. The bag of flour and two other things had to be thrown away and I tidied it up. I took pictures of the packages and then headed downstairs. I knew there was a supermarket at the end of the block. It took me a while to find what I was looking for, and on my way back I stopped to buy some pizza. I guessed Hana wouldn’t be up to cooking and I didn’t want to intrude. The kitchen seemed to be her safe space and I would respect that. As I walked up the stairs I wondered how the hell Hana had made it. Just the three things I had in my bag and the pizza was enough to make me feel strained going up the stairs. The bags she had been carrying would have weighed three times as much. It got me pissed, she didn’t deserve to live like this. Every day was a struggle for her and I wished she would let me help her more. I sighed as I unlocked the door and took everything inside.

“I’ll put everything on the counter and let you sort it out when you feel like it. I would put it away for you but I have no clue where you keep it,” I called out.

“Thank you, I appreciate it. I guess I need to go back to the store tomorrow,” she replied.

“No need, you have everything.”

“What? But I saw the flour all over the floor,” she objected.

“Yeah, I did a quick trip to the store while I was at it to replace the things that I couldn’t save. And I got pizza as I didn’t think you would be up for cooking,” I said as I walked up to her, holding the pizza box, napkins and sodas. Her eyes got big.

“Thank you. How much do I owe you?” she asked. I waved her question away and opened the box.

“Nothing at all. If it’s okay with you I was planning on staying and having a slice or two with you. That saves me from having to cook as well.”

“Sure. It would be nice with some company,” she said. Then she looked at the pizza and hesitated. “I really shouldn’t eat this,” she said.

“Why? Don’t you like pepperoni? You're not vegan are you? Is it an allergy?” I asked, feeling like an idiot for not asking before I got the pizza.

“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just. I have already eaten cookies today and I don’t need to put on more weight,” she told me. She was looking down at her hands that were fiddling in her lap. I covered them with one of mine and wondered who the fuck had put ideas like that into her mind.

“Sweetness, you are perfect. A couple of slices of pizza will not change that.” The words had slipped out of me before I could stop them. They were true, god knows I had spent enough time fantasising over Hana’s body. But maybe it wasn’t right of me to think about her like that.

“Really?” she asked. The tone in her voice told me just how hard she had believed me. I fucking hated that. She should know how gorgeous she was, that her body did things to me that made me feel like a teenager. But that would be crossing the line.

“Really, now tuck in before it gets cold.”