Detective Partners (33 page)

"Sweetheart."
Galen moved his chair closer to hers. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to tell me."

"Yes, I do," Nicole croaked. "I'm tired of burying it. I need to talk about it. Maybe then I can put it behind me."

"I'm listening," he said, holding her hand between both of his.

"I was standing at the dresser taking my jewelry off when all of a sudden pain exploded in my head and everything went black." She took a shuddery breath. "When I woke up I was tied to the bed and n-naked. He was - he was on top of me couldn't m-move. He had his hands all over me. I begged him to stop, Galen. I begged him to let me go. He just laughed at me.
The look in his eyes.
I'll never forget it. It was the look of a crazy man. Even though I knew it was futile I struggled against the ropes. The more I struggled the more he seemed to enjoy it."

"Sick bastard," Galen growled quietly.

"I didn't fight for long," Nicole whispered, tears filling her eyes. "He knew the moment I gave up and that's when he took what he wanted." She paused as a tear rolled down her cheek. "The pain was excruciating. I had never experienced anything like it before.
He r-raped me twice.
The second time proved to be more than my body could take and I lost consciousness. When I came to he was gone and I was free. I pulled myself together long enough to call for an ambulance." Her eyes held a haunted look as she remembered. "It was humiliating going through the exam and answering their questions. I endured it because I wanted him to pay for what he did to me."

"Did he
pay
?" Galen inquired hoarsely.

"Yes." Nicole wiped her face with the back of her hand. "He's in prison on two counts of rape and one count of breaking and entering. Although in my opinion he got off easy. He took my innocence and caused damage that left me unable to conceive children. His punishment for that is a life of ease."

"You can get revenge, honey." He raised her hand and nuzzled it. "Move on with your life and be happy." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you for sharing your story with me. It confirms what I knew all along and that is you're a courageous and beautiful woman. I love you, little one."

She kissed him on the mouth. "I love you," she whispered.

"You're cold," Galen said. "Let's go inside. I'll make you a cup of tea."

"I think I'm going to take a shower and turn in early." Nicole sighed. "It's been a long emotionally draining day. I'm tired."

"I'll be in soon," he told her.

"Take your time." She got to her feet and headed toward the house.

.

Galen picked up the phone, twenty minutes later, and dialed his mother's number. While he waited for her to answer he went around checking the doors to make sure they were locked.

"Hello?" Olivia said, coming on the line.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hello, dear heart," she said. "I'm glad you called. I've been thinking about you. How are you?"

"I'm okay." Galen set the alarm and then moved toward the living room. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well," Olivia told him. "When are you going to drop by for a visit?"

"Soon."
He sat down on the couch. "I promise."

"Feel free to bring Nicole with you," she muttered. "I enjoy talking with her. How is she by the way?"

"Not very well."
Galen rubbed the back of his neck. "Her father died. He had a massive heart attack."

"Oh my," Olivia said softly.

Briefly he filled her in on the last few days.
"To tell you the truth, Mom.
I'm not sorry to see him dead. He made Nicole's life a living hell. Now that he's gone maybe she can finally have some peace."

"I should call her."

"She's resting," Galen said. "It's been a difficult day for her."

"Is she staying with you?" Olivia asked.

"She is," he answered. "I don't want her to be along right now."

"You love her, don't you?"

"I do," Galen confessed. "She told me that she loves me too."

"I'm happy for you both," Olivia said sincerely. "Nicole is a wonderful girl. Does this mean you're finally going to settle down?"

"When the time feels right I plan to propose. She's the one for me, Mom. I know that as surely as I know my last name."

"Am I finally going to get grandchildren?"

"Nicole can't have children," Galen said. "I'm fine with that. You know how I feel about the little monsters."

"If I remember correctly you told me that you would rather have a tooth pulled then deal with a screaming baby."

"I meant that," he said.

They talked for a while longer about less important things and then said goodbye. Galen hung up the phone, turned out the lights, and moved through the dark to the bedroom. Once there, he grabbed a t-shirt and boxer shorts out of the dresser. Crossing the room, he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He turned on the light and then started the shower.

After showering and brushing his teeth, Galen left the bathroom and made his way to the bed. He lifted the blankets and slid in beside Nicole. She rolled over and snuggled up against him with a sigh of contentment. He draped an arm across her hip.

"You're spoiling me," she murmured. "It's going to be hard for me to go home to my own bed."

"You can stay with me for as long as you want." He stroked her back. "I love having you here with me. The house feels more like a home with you here." He pressed a kiss to her head. "Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but that's alright." Nicole kissed his neck. "Thank you for standing by me these past few days. I couldn't have gotten through them without you."

"You're welcome."

"I don't-"

"Sleep, sweetheart," he told her. "We'll talk in the morning."

"Okay."

Galen held her tight and closed his eyes.

C
hapter  33

Nicole woke in the shelter of Galen's embrace. Instead of getting out of bed, she laid there and stared at the sunlight streaming in through the blinds. Her mind drifted and she thought of many things, her father, Judas, telling Galen about the rape. Slowly, she turned in his arms and gazed at him. In sleep, he looked peaceful. She leaned in close and kissed him tenderly on the mouth. His arms tightened around her as he opened his eyes. They looked at each other for a moment and then he kissed her.

"Good morning," he muttered.

"Good morning," Nicole repeated. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did," Galen answered.
"How about you?"

"Other than a bad dream, I slept fine." She raised herself up on her elbow and glanced over his shoulder at the clock. "It's six-twenty. We should get moving. I'd like to be at work by eight."

"Are you sure you're ready to go back?" he asked, frowning.

"I'm sure." Nicole settled back against the pillow. "I need something to keep me busy. Besides, I want to be at the station in case Judas calls."

Galen sighed. "I'll be glad when he's in jail."

"That makes two of us." She kissed him and then moved toward the edge of the bed. "I'll put the coffee on and let Charlie outside."

"I'll get dressed and join you," he said.

Nicole left the bedroom and made her way to the kitchen. Once there, she found Charlie standing by his food bowl. "You're a little pig." She bent down and scooped him up. "Why don't you go out and potty first? When you come back in I'll feed you." She crossed to the door, unlocked and opened it. Kissing his head, she put him down and he took off. She shut the door and stepped to the coffee pot. She flipped the switch to on and the coffee began to brew. While she waited for it to get done, she poured food into the dog's bowl.

By the time, Galen entered the kitchen the dog was back inside and the coffee was ready. Nicole made him a cup and then one for herself. "I think we should take separate cars to work," she said, stirring sugar into her coffee. "I want to stop by my house. I need to get my mail and pick up a few things."

"I don't mind stopping by your place on the way to work," Galen told her.

She arched an eyebrow. "Afraid to let me out of your sight, are you?"

"No." He took a drink of coffee and put the cup down on the counter. "I just want to spend a little more time with you before I have to share you with everybody."

"Oh." Nicole smiled at him weakly. "Okay then. We'll take your car."

"Before we stop by your house we need to drop Charlie off at my Mom's," Galen informed her. "I have someone coming on Friday to install a doggy door."

"I bet your Mom is looking forward to that." She looked down at Charlie. He was wolfing down his food; bits of it littered the floor. "You should find a vet and take him to get checked out. He's going to need his shots, and unless you want a bunch of little Charlie's running around the neighborhood you might want to have him fixed."

Galen grimaced. "I don't know if I can do that to the little guy. It would be as though I was betraying him."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "I'll take him to have it done."

"I'll pay for the procedure." He shook his head.
"Poor guy."

An hour later, Nicole opened the mailbox and removed a stack of envelopes. Closing the lid, she sorted through the mail and saw it was mostly bills. She moved toward Galen, who was waiting for her in the driveway. "Bills," she told him. "It seems like that's all I get." She took her keys out of her purse and led the way toward the porch. Climbing the steps, she unlocked the door and let them into the house. She dropped the mail on the table and then deactivated the alarm. "Let me grab a few things from my room and then we'll go."

"I'm not in any hurry," Galen stated, shutting the door behind him. "We have-"

At that moment, the phone rang.

Nicole hurried to the living room, where she snatched up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Nicole."

"J-Judas," she stuttered. "Good morning." She glanced at Galen. A muscle was twitching in his jaw. She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Is it really a good morning, Nicole?" he said coolly.

"Is something wrong?" Nicole asked, finding it strange that she was asking a serial killer if something was wrong.

"Yes," he snarled. "You are sinning, Detective Goodwin. Having intercourse with a man when you are not married to him is a sin. Do not try to deny that you are sleeping with him. You have
been staying with him for the past two days. You cannot tell me that you stayed with him and nothing happened between you two."