Mr. Good Bad Guy

23 - One Step Behind

"Ooh, someone's looking all fresh this morning!" Dr. Kaufmann poured herself another cup of coffee. "Great night?"

"You could say that." I smiled at her. "Are you attending the meeting this afternoon?"

"No, I have a session out of town."

"Oh, that's too bad." I reached for a cup, watching Ashtyn through the window. "I've come to the conclusion that I don't need a bad boy anymore. Especially someone who turns to Ashtyn just to piss me off."

Dr. Kaufmann raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall you ever saying you wanted a bad boy."

I shrugged. "I guess I just assumed. But then again, maybe it's not about wanting a particular type anymore. Maybe it's about finding someone who gets me."

"Wait...so it wasn't Detective Moran you slept with?"

"What? You didn't sleep with Detective Moran?" Dr. Marshall walked into the break room, shutting the door immediately. "Did I hear right?"

"Was I really talking that loud?" Dr. Kaufmann shook her head.

"No, I just have great hearing."

"I never said I did in the first place." I chuckled. "Although, he does have the cutest birthmark on his inner thigh."

"Oh, so you did? Okay, I get it now." Dr. Marshall smirked. "Who's the guy who made your night?"

"Not important. What's important is that he's now mine and I'm not letting him go. Detective Moran...He can have whoever he wants, but it ain't gonna be me."

Dr. Kaufmann raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And how do you know that he doesn't want you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Because he knows I'm not interested in playing games."

Dr. Marshall leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. "Oh, so now you're the one who gets to play hard to get?"

"Maybe," I admitted with a shrug. "But it's different this time. I don't need a guy to make me feel good about myself or prove my worth. I have someone who already sees how great I am."

🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅

Dr. Wellington looked at Captain West, nodding at him to begin the meeting. I was already tired, having eaten a huge lunch with Axel and the girls. Axel didn't want to say anything about our relationship, so we pretended everything was fine. I was sure Jamie noticed how overly romantic we were being, but she didn't say anything. I wondered what was going on with her.

"Two nights ago, our unsub uploaded a series of pictures to the Internet. Upon taking a closer look, we discovered that the women in the pictures were indeed the women who have been kidnapped in the past three months." Captain West showed us a series of pictures, and I recognized every last one of them.

"Klara Basim. She hasn't been missing for long. Her husband, Majid Basim, has been thoroughly investigated and is being held in protective custody. Same goes for Emily Harkin, whose husband, Robert, is currently in the clear. Sarah Melendez. That's where it gets complicated."

Captain West paused for a moment, glancing at the photos on the screen. "Sarah has been missing for more than three months. Her husband, Rodrigo Melendez, has been questioned extensively, and while there were some discrepancies in his alibi, there wasn't enough evidence to charge him with anything. The FBI believes that he may be involved, but we can't prove it yet."

"Wait, wait, wait!" I looked around the room. "The FBI is involved? I thought this was our case?"

Dr. Wellington raised an eyebrow. "It is. The FBI has been working with us, sharing resources and expertise. They've been instrumental in tracking down the location of the server where the pictures were uploaded from." He glanced at Captain West, who nodded in confirmation.