Page 8 of The Sins That Bleed

A shiver threatens to roll over me, but I suppress it as I take in the woman before me.

She’s a whole head shorter than me but her presence makes up for her height.

I can’t make out much of her face, the black cap and sunglasses, the kind someone famous would wear to keep from being spotted, are keeping her well-hidden from me.

Except her lips.

I’m drawn to them, the fullness of them. How the perfectly defined cupid bow is glazed with a cherry-red shine that makes me want to lean forward and taste them. The more I continue to stare, the stronger I can smell cherries. I’m hypnotised.

Just one taste, I need to taste them.

“Valeska Beaumont, at your service.”

Her sinful mouth wraps around the words and I’m enraptured.

The name suits her perfectly with the way she holds herself.

She’s regal. The contrast of the vibrant colour she’s painted on her lips with her pale, almost paper-white skin should be jarring, but it’s breathtaking.

She looks like she stepped out of an oil painting, a masterpiece belonging to a museum, stirring an itch under my skin with the urge to see all of her unveiled.

My hand lifts and I cannot stop the inevitable, to swipe my thumb across her plump mouth and put it in mine to get a taste of her.

My mouth waters at the thought of satisfying my craving.

I’m halfway to her face when she slips her delicate hand in mine, cold from being out in this weather.

It snaps me out of the trance I found myself in.

What the fuck am I doing?

“Agent Rai Moreau.”

She shakes my hand with a firmer grip than I expected her to have and then she’s letting go as she takes a step back and I’m forced to look into the black lenses of her sunglasses. I’m fuming at myself for whatever the fuck just happened when I’m on the job.

Everything around me comes back into focus, as if I was in a vacuum and nothing else existed but her in that moment. Fortunately, not much time has passed while I was stuck fantasising about her lips. Nobody is looking at me weirdly, only the odd glance here and there at the newcomer.

“What are you doing at my crime scene?” I demand.

She ignores me and turns to a petite woman standing behind her that I hadn’t yet noticed.

She wears the same cap and dark sunglasses, a flash of red-and-pink hair poking out from underneath.

It makes me glance back to the woman calling herself Valeska, suddenly desperate to know what her hair looks like too, as if my next breath depends on it.

Sleek black hair, styled in two braids pulled forwards.

I follow the length of them to her waist. I want to wrap them around my fists and tug whilst she’s straddling me.

I force myself to shut down that thought and continue perusing her hair, the way it blends in with her all-black outfit that matches the same gear I have.

I conclude that she must be another agent that I’ve not met yet, pulled in from another division or district to help.

She thrusts something at me and I look down, finding a large bundle of fabric in her arms. Blankets , she has blankets for the victims. I move into action, taking them from her and marching towards the first person now free from the restraints.

I wrap him in the blanket as they sit him down and wait for medical help. I keep moving, draping blankets over as many people as I can. I notice Valeska and her shadow are doing the same on the other side. I’m grateful that they won’t have to wait for me to get around them all.

I am still expecting tears or some kind of reaction from the victims, but they’ve been traumatised into silence.

I step back into the rain with Nico when Valeska and her shadow come and stand with us.

I’m exhausted and don’t have it in me to discuss anything with them right now until I know what their role is here since they never clarified.

“Can I fucking help you two?”

It’s rude and usually I wouldn’t be like this, but her presence is getting under my skin. Nico cuts me a look to try and get me to pull myself together but before I can apologise, Valeska responds to me.

“Do you always speak to people this way?”

Her voice, like earlier, is soft but I can hear the undercurrent of steel. She’s not one to take shit from people it seems. I can’t say I blame her; I’d respond the same way to myself but there’s something about her that gets my back up.

I look over to the woman with her, drawn to her face but unsure why. Like I might know her from somewhere but I would remember someone with such bright hair.

“Ignore princess here, he’s tired and needs his beauty sleep.” Nico jokes, and I catch the wink he throws at the petite woman who I still don’t have a name for.

“Aww, mon amour, why didn’t you say so? I’m sure we can wrap this up without you,” she coos.

“Listen lady, I don’t know who the fuck you are or why you’re here. If the next thing that comes out of your mouth isn’t related to helping with this case in any way, piss off.”

My chest is heaving as the adrenaline floods through me, my heart pounding in my chest. I’m riled up and can feel the frustration rising in me, but I have no idea why she’s bringing this out of me.

My gut tells me something is off with these two but I don’t know what. I flick my gaze to the woman with her to make sure she gets the message too.

“Dude, take a breath.” Nico has pulled me back from where I’d stepped up close to Valeska to block my view of her. “Look, go home. I’ve got things here; you’re not being yourself and you need to sleep.”

He’s right. I hang my head in shame for being such a dick. He pats me on the shoulder and moves back to my side.

“Forgive me, it’s been a long day, ladies. You can speak with agent Nico here. I apologise for speaking out of turn and appreciate the assistance.”

Valeska’s head tilts slightly to the side as she considers me. “I accept your apology, but before you leave, I need to speak to both of you.”

I tamp down the remark that wants to slip free and nod at her to go on. Part of my mind is already on the cleaning I’ll do when I get home, using it to take my mind off this day. I need a clear head for tomorrow when I start preparing the case stacking up against these bastards.

Valeska looks around to make sure nobody else is in earshot, her movements quick before her attention lands back on us, on me. My fingers burn with the need to remove her sunglasses and see her eyes, an instinctual need to gaze into them and find out the secrets they hold.

“You’ve got a bigger problem on your hands than you think.”