Savin' Me ⚣ ✓

IX.

"Are you sure we're supposed to be looking at these?" Rosie asked. I gave her a shrug.

"Most likely not, but I'm bored, so I guess it's time to help the NYPD solve another case." She laughed at that.

"You're a conceited asshole."

"I'm your conceited asshole." I reminded her. She laughed again.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to eat for a week after seeing these pictures."

I had laid out the pictures from Sarah's most recent case on the floor in front of us. There were two victims. One was a female and the other male. According to the report, neither of them had been found with any form of ID. I zeroed in on the bullet hole that had gone clean through the front to back of their head, execution style.

Well that was odd, I thought to myself. This was definitely a hit, but we didn't see much of those in New York. More so... we didn't find the bodies.

I glanced at the position of the victims. They were laid out too perfectly for the position their bodies would of been in if they were shot judging by the projectile of the bullet. There was slight irritation and build up on the knees of both victims indicating they had been kneeling in some kind of dirt for quiet a while before being shot.

"This is interesting." I whispered to myself. We were so engrossed in the images, we didn't even hear the front door open and close until my bedroom door was busted open.

"Killian!" Sarah scolded. "I told you not to take files out from the precinct! How the hell did you even get in to the precinct?" I gave her a sinister smile.

"Apparently, Your aunt passed away, Sarah. Killian was at the station this morning to deliver the somber news to you." James followed in suit behind Sarah. "Looks like we had just missed him." My eyes glanced past Sarah to James. I was startled that he was here. Right now. Standing in the doorway of my room.

He'd been in here before Killian, I reminded myself.

"Poor Auntie Anne. Old age took her too soon." I sighed.

"Auntie Anne is 34 and lives in Georgia." Sarah replied.

"Well in order for me to get a hold of these files at your desk, Auntie Anne had to die." I explained. Sarah gave me an intense glare.

"Well, in order for me to not get put on suspension for your reckless behavior, I'm going to need you at the station pronto to apologize to Chief Roberts." Sarah countered. My eyes unintentionally glanced past Sarah to James once more.

They had both been wearing some comfortable clothing that was now tattered and dirty. They must have been out in the field all day. James's hair looked pretty messy in comparison to how kept he usually had it. It somehow... suited him? His eyes met mine as he glanced up from his cell phone. He offered me a weary smile.

I could feel the agitation building up, but I didn't want to upset Sarah anymore, so I slid the pictures back into the file and headed back out through the apartment with her. Rosie tagged along not far behind.

-

"Heard you got kicked out of school. Whad'ya do? Break another kids nose?"

"Heard your 4th wife left you. Whad'ya do? Ignore her needs like the 3rd?"

"Killian!" Sarah hissed. I felt her kick my leg from under the desk.

"He started it."

"Actually, You started it." Roberts countered. "You started it when you decided to steal case files from my precinct."

"Should we take a look at the statistics of solved cases handled under Chief Roberts and and his precinct? Now how many of those were solved by Chief Roberts?" I countered. He glared in such a way, it felt like his eyes burned holes through mine.

"Killian." Sarah's voice was dangerously low now. I was pushing it with her patience.

"Anyways," I sighed, "I shouldn't of taken the bloody files in the first place." There was a slight smirk playing on my lips though. I could tell Chief Roberts was really thinking hard before his next words. When they finally did fumble past his lips, it looked as if the words themselves took everything out of him to say.

"What did you find out?" He grumbled.

"What was that?" I asked. A devilish smile had now taken over the slight smirk.

"I won't repeat myself, boy. Tell me what you've found already, damn it." Chief replied. Whatever few seconds of vulnerability that were once there, were now long gone.

"I never thought you'd ask." I slipped the case out from Sarah's carry on and laid it out on the table. "For starters, the body's were moved."

Chief Roberts frowned, but James's eyes widened as he suddenly crouched beside me. "I knew there was something off, but we hadn't even run projectiles for the bullets yet, how did you-"

"The knees." Sarah all but face palmed herself. The indications were faint, but they were there. "I know there's dirt all over both victims, but look at the irritation on the knees. They had been kneeling."

I couldn't focus on Sarah's personal revelation, because I was far more focused on the fact that James was literally a few inches away from my face as he looked on to see the pictures. I could feel his chin bump my shoulder ever so gently, every few minutes.

His breathe slightly tickled my ear. I shivered from the feeling.

"You're a genius." He whispered into my ear.

I was gripping the fuck out of both the file and the arm rest of the chair.

My heart was beating so irregularly, I for sure thought I was going into cardiac arrest.

I mean... There was no other explanation for it, right?

Why I kept forgetting things. Why I was suddenly okay with physical contact from James, or being in close proximity with him.

I had to be dying.

That must have been the most ironic thing I could conjure up, I thought to myself. Because in this very moment right now...

I hadn't felt more alive.