YOU

Chapter 6 (Hayley)

It was April twenty fourth. The clock had struck nine AM about ten minutes ago. Melody, the tech expert had been briefing us all on the situation. It was like meeting with a producer, but the screen showed photos of crime related stuff and the audio was usually traumatizing. I could see why Jake was so broken. His eyes showed this small glow in them. His focus was on Melody's lips and then it moved to the screen. He occasionally typed out notes on his phone. I continued to focus on the details of the seven suspects. A social media Greek alphabet quack. He posted misogynistic shit on the internet all day long. The others were relatively tame. A band member, an influencer, a club owner, and some people with good normal lives. Jake seemed to be a bit tired. Probably because he was up all night catching up on work after we both sat and watched a movie and ended up finally kissing each other in a romantic setting. He called me babe last night as well. I wasn't supposed to be here. If Jake wasn't my case officer, I'd be stuck in a safehouse all day long just hearing the sounds of others living peacefully. I saw Jake being tensed up. He was not calm. Maybe something relating to what happened with Leah's dad a few days ago. He'd been a bit more broken since that day. I wanted to comfort him. He was sitting besides me . The only seats besides us were empty. The seats in opposite to us were occupied. I decided that it would be invisible if my hand accidentally landed on Jake's thigh. I slowly crept my hand on his thigh. I could see his lip twitch for a second. He was confused. His eyes softened. His walls came down for a bit. He grabbed the can of ginger ale in front of him and took a small sip. With a small circle from my finger, his muscles started to return to normal. After the briefing was done, Ella called Jake outside. 'I gotta go babe.' He said. His voice was a light whisper against my ear. He stepped out. He was gonna be with the misogynistic fuck for some time. Ella then grabbed Jake by the arm. She yanked him and he walked along. That's when Bryce, one of his friends and partners came inside the room. His Marshal badge was clearly visible. 'Hey there miss Stewart.' 'You can call me Hayley.' I said. 'Hayley. I really need your help. There's a official thing and a personal thing.' 'Personal ?' I asked. 'It's Jake's birthday tomorrow. He's turning twenty four.' He said. 'The professional thing ?' 'I need help with Jenny Norton's persona.' He said. 'Okay. I'll tell you the professional thing soon. The other, I need time.' I said. He nodded. He handed me a pen and notepad along with a laptop. They were using my skills a bit. Felt good to do something. I couldn't meet Johnny. He had produced my music for a long time. Cassie had called yesterday. She was finally back in LA after a long stretch of filming for some series in Miami. 

***An hour and few minutes later***

I finally had a good enough persona for the band called "Dark dreams". They were specializing in dark pop. Their lead singer and Bass player had done a good job at making some music. I went out of the conference room. The office was rather modern. The tables were white with wooden finishing. I kept the notepad on Bryce's table and entered the observation room. Ella had a coffee in her hand. She saw the man, Ethan Harrington just sitting there. He was dressed in a tan trouser and black tee shirt covered by a tan jacket. That's when Jake entered the room. His jeans and navy blue sweatshirt. Jake's sleeves were rolled up as usual. His belt was holding his holster and LAPD badge. 'Mister Harrington, good morning.' 'Detective, what am I here for ?' He asked. His voice was charismatic. It would fool an amateur, but not a cop. I believed in Jake. 'You've been suspected of threatening miss Hayley Stewart.' He said. 'Hook.' Ella said. Ethan leaned back on the chair and smirked. Jake's face took an expression I had never seen on it. Absolute rage. 'Look sir. We have more than reasonable doubt. Your content has contained threats to miss Stewart before.' Jake said firmly. 'Look, my fans know the truth you beta. You need that piece of metal near your gun to just make your weak self look strong.' I could see Jake's fists clenching under the table. I had trust in him. He could control himself. 'Look, we have footage of you on Hayley's floor in Sierra Towers. So, I'd suggest that you give me a good cause to believe you sir.' Jake said. 'I'm a popular guy. I was meeting up with someone.' Jake shrugged in disbelief. 'Why Hayley ?' He asked. 'She's everything wrong with society. Women believe that they can take over. It's time that we put them in their places.' Ethan replied coldly. 'So, you believe that you're above the law. Above basic human decency.' Jake said. 'Look at you. You're all riled up. She ran to you beta males. But inside, she craves a mother fucking sigma.' Ethan said. 'Right on the motherfucker.' Ella said to me. I giggled a bit. 'Let me tell you a story asshole.' Jake said. Ella looked stunned. 'Well, that's new.' She said. Ethan looked half interested. 'I once raided a place when I was still just a LAPD detective. The guy was just like you. We entered with SWAT. Three entry points. We found drugs. Coke, Molly, Fentanyl, you name it.' Jake said. Ethan looked a little less stoic all of a sudden. 'Line' Ella said. 'There were girls there. Beaten and bruised by that guy. Each of them agreed to testify. I wonder what would happen if we got a warrant for your place ?' Jake said. 'That's the fucking sinker. I'll text a friend to get that warrant.' Ella said. 'Is that supposed to scare me ?' Ethan said. Jake slammed his fists onto the table. 'Mock me all you want. If we find anything in your house, cause I'm sure there are detectives on the way right now, I will personally put you in a holding cell.' Jake said. Ella then entered the interrogation room. 'He already had a warrant obtained.' She said. She was kinda surprised. Now I know what he was doing at three in the morning. That also explained the people in tactical gear in the parking spot in the morning. 'Hey guys.' I heard. The voice was feminine. 'Bella, just in time.' Ella said. 'Hi.' I replied. 'We haven't met. I'm Bella. I'm the leader of the tactical team. Huge fan.' She said. I smiled. Our focus diverted to Jake and Ethan. 'By the way, Jake just said asshole a few minutes back.' Ella said. 'Where's the swear jar ? His first time is finally happening.' Isabel replied. Jake exited the room. He walked straight into observation. 'Anything Bella ?' 'Yep. Lots of crack and molly. Found his girlfriend with a cigar burn on her neck.' She said. 'Where's the girlfriend ?' 'Your office. She's wanting to talk to the guy interrogating this asshole.' Isabel replied. She grabbed an empty paper cup. 'Put it in Miller.' Ella said. 'What ?' Jake replied. He was confused. 'Swear jar.' Ella replied. 'You guys owe me a million dollars.' Jake replied to play along. They had a small laugh. I hugged Jake. 'He's a pain.' I said. 'You can say that again babe.' Jake replied. I could hear the gasp from the nearby girls. 'What ?' Jake said. 'Nothing.' Both girls replied. It felt like your younger siblings figuring out that you're dating. 'I was gonna tell y'all tonight.' He said. 'Don't reveal it yet.' I said. 'Ten four boss.' Ella replied. Jake went out to go to his office and talk to the girl. I followed. When we entered the room, the girl sat there. I could imagine Jake's strength falling. 'Ma'am, I'm detective Miller. I'm the officer leading the case. Can you tell me a bit about Ethan ?' He asked in a delicate manner. 'When I met him, he was just talking about being stronger and self reliant as a man. I liked him since high school.' She said. Tears fell out of her eyes. Jake grabbed a box of tissues from a small cabinet. He handed the girl the box. 'Ma'am, I..' 'Luna.' The woman interrupted. 'Luna, you're safe here. He can't reach you. We've gotten people armed with the best equipment. Right now, he's in that room there.' He said, pointing to the door of the interrogation room. The woman's arms were covered by the sleeves of a sweater. 'He started to beat me a few months back. He called all these women home and proceeded to get drunk and high with them. When I would try to stop him, he'd beat me up where nobody would know. He almost made me go the hospital a lot of times.' She said. She brushed her hair towards the back and held it as if she would remove a hairband to make a pony tail, but she was showing him a round scar. A burn mark. I could feel the distress coming in Jake's mind. First, it was Leah. He'd seen these scars on her. Now it was something he had to see a lot. Tears fell out of Luna's eyes. Jake went besides her. 'Luna, you're safe. You're with nine LAPD detectives from different divisions and thirteen federal agents from all over agencies. That is not mentioning the twelve special operators that could be the next seal team six.' He said. He won't touch you again. Jake stepped out. I ran to the observation room. Alex and Bryce entered Jake's office. All I knew at this point was that Jake's heart was breaking more. I needed to be there for him. He was family to me. He was the kind of man I always dreamed of as a teen before I even got famous.