Page 9 of The Stolen Dagger

CHAPTER SEVEN

KATHERINE

T he first things I noticed when I awoke the next morning was the warm body pressed against my back and the heavy arm draped across my waist.

Drew.

I smiled and blinked away the sleep from my eyes. Sunlight filtered in through the pale blue curtains draped over the window on the wall in front of me as Drew’s room came into view.

Ever so slowly, I shifted my hips and turned on my back to face him.

Drew’s eyes were closed, and his dark lashes fanned across the top of his cheeks. His tempting lips were just barely parted, allowing his soft breaths to escape.

He looked so peaceful sleeping like this. The crinkle of worry that usually graced the place between his dark brows was nowhere in sight.

He was beautiful. Although, I’d never tell him that. His ego was big enough .

As if he could feel my gaze or hear my thoughts, his green eyes opened sleepily, and he smiled.

Embarrassed at being caught staring at him, I pulled away and twisted to get up from the bed, but the arm around my waist tightened, preventing me from going anywhere.

“Where do you think you’re goin’?” Drew asked, his voice a little raspy.

Succumbing to the sinful combination of his touch mixed with his gravelly voice, I laid back beside him.

Drew hummed, causing my body to heat and tingle all over at the sound. “I’ve missed having you in my arms, darlin’.”

I missed him, too, but I couldn’t admit that to him now, could I?

Even though I had trusted Drew enough to tell him about Adrian, there was still a part of me that wanted to keep him away from it all. I still wanted to protect him as much as I could. That was why I hesitated in admitting my feelings.

But lying here next to him, in his bed, I wasn’t sure how long I could hold on to those feelings before they spilled out of me.

We continued to stare at one another as we laid on our sides. I was desperate to know what he was thinking when he smiled again. I didn’t have to wait long as he reached a hand up to brush my hair behind my ear.

“You’re so beautiful,” Drew whispered.

His gaze flickered from my eyes to my lips as I slowly leaned closer. My mouth parted in anticipation. I wanted nothing more than to kiss him right now.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked against my lips. It was the softest, barely there brush of his lips against mine, but it ignited something desperate in me.

“Please.” I couldn’t help the word from slipping out.

I wanted to kiss him more than was rational. I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t deny this frantic need to have him closer.

Drew closed the distance and pressed his lips to mine in a gentle caress. It was slow and sensual, and I was eager for more.

His hand ghosted up my arm and settled on my cheek as he kissed me. My heart practically skipped a beat when he tilted my jaw and deepened the kiss.

But as soon as his tongue brushed against mine, a blaring alarm sounded and forced us apart.

Drew sighed and reached behind him. The alarm stopped.

When he looked back at me, the moment had passed.

“I should probably get ready for class,” I whispered.

He nodded and ran a hand through his messy hair. “As much as I’d rather stay in bed with you and ignore the world, I should get ready for work, too.”

As soon as Drew got up and walked out of sight, the elation I’d felt moments ago vanished, and all of those dark thoughts of my reality came rushing back in.

Adrian found me. He was coming for me. He wanted something from me. Something I didn’t have. Something he had killed for.

I could practically feel the muscles in my back, shoulders, and neck tighten as I shifted and stood from Drew’s bed. I took a deep breath and calmed my racing heart. Its beat had only increased with every bad thought.

Stop, I told myself.

Drew said to pretend everything was normal, and that was exactly what I would do.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t also find some answers of my own about that night.

After I changed into the pair of jeans and top I had packed the night before, I stepped out of the bedroom and into the open-concept living room to the kitchen where Drew stood with his back to me making coffee.

He was in his dark blue uniform, and his hair was a little messy, but it somehow looked better that way. Drew must have heard me approach because he turned right then with a smile that lit up his entire face.

Cue the swoon.

“Good mornin’,” Drew said all too cheery. “You’re just in time.”

I mumbled a reply before he set a plate down on the white-marbled counter between us.

“Take a seat.” He pointed to the wooden bar stool. “I made you breakfast, an omelet. I know you don’t like coffee first thing in the morning, so I have orange juice for you, too.”

A warm, fuzzy feeling expanded in my chest, and I smiled back at him. He made me breakfast.

I couldn’t remember the last time someone did that for me or anything that thoughtful. It felt nice. More than nice. It made me want to round the counter, leap into his arms, and kiss him until I forgot about everything else.

My stomach growled, breaking my stunned silence at his gesture. “This looks great, Drew. Thank you.”

He nodded with that same grin on his face, looking satisfied as I dug into the omelet.

“Now that you’re fed, down to business.” Drew leaned against the counter and took a drink from his coffee cup. “I’m going to look into Adrian today at the station, but I wanted to ask you a few questions about him if that’s all right.”

“I don’t really want to talk about him,” I said and took a sip of the orange juice.

“I know, but I think it’d be good for you. ”

The early morning sun filtered through the kitchen window to the left, casting him in a golden hue and turning his eyes into a mesmerizing green.

“What makes you so sure?”

Drew sighed and set his cup of coffee on the counter. “Talking about it might help jog your memory about the dagger. I also need to understand him a little better in order to come up with a plan.”

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, he had a point. Maybe talking it through would help him understand and find the answers we both needed.

I nodded. “If you think it’ll help.”

Drew leaned forward with his elbows on the counter. His smile disappeared and was replaced with his emotionless cop mask. His dark eyebrows flattened across his forehead in a serious expression.

“When you started dating,” Drew began, “did you know he was in a gang?”

“No,” I said. “I found out the night I left, but I should have seen the signs. He would disappear at certain times, and I saw him with some sketchy people when we went out in public. We dated for about two years.”

His head tilted down in a slight nod. “Do you know the name of his gang?”

I hesitated, not having spoken about this since I ran. “The Phantoms. He told me that after the …” I looked down at my half-eaten omelet, suddenly feeling nauseous, “… incident.”

“Did he tell you about any of his deals?”

I thought back on my relationship with Adrian. He didn’t mention anything about his work life. He usually tried to steer clear of the subject altogether, and I was too passive to ever really question him.

“I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “He rarely talked to me about what he did. Anytime I did ask, he’d get angry. I tried not to upset him.”

Drew’s lips pursed. He stared at me for a few more seconds.

“Okay,” he finally said, but the look on his face told me he wouldn’t forget about that little detail anytime soon. “What about the dagger he thinks you stole from him? Is it possible you have it and just don’t know it?”

I scoffed. “I think I’d know if I’ve been carrying around some dagger with me this past year.”

“I know, I know, but it has to be connected to what happened that night you left. Otherwise, why would he think you still had it?”

I didn’t know why he thought I had some dagger, but I tried to think back on it anyway.

After he found me, he took me back to my house and then left to deal with his mess. When I was sure he was gone, I immediately went to Pearl. I definitely didn’t take anything of his. I made sure not to.

Frustration filled me as I tried to remember more, but most of that night was a blur of fear-induced thoughts and an overwhelming urge to escape.

Drew must have seen my emotions displayed plainly on my face because he stepped around the counter and said, "I know this is hard for you, dredging up the past like this, but you’ll have to face this one way or another. It’s the only way we might figure out how to end it.”

While Drew might have been right, that talking about it would help and give us the answers we needed, he had to know that recounting what happened was like living through it all over again.

Like most of my relationship with Adrian, I had little choice in anything I did. He had always called the shots. He was always in control .

Looking back on it, I kicked myself for ever yielding to a man like him, or any man at all. It was frustrating to think about every little thing I should have done differently.

Drew sighed when I still didn’t say anything, too lost in my thoughts. “I’m only trying to understand this guy and what happened so we can stop him.”

“I know, but I don’t want to understand him,” I said, finally finding my voice. “I want to forget about him.”

Drew’s expression softened. “With everything going on, Katherine, you don’t have that luxury.”

A few traitorous tears filled my eyes. I knew Drew was doing his job, trying to see all the variables, but it was still hard. I had tried to put this all behind me. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Hey.” Drew took my hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. “Take the day, and then maybe we can bring it up again tonight, okay?”

I nodded, grateful he wasn’t pushing me harder on this.

“Good.” He placed a kiss on my forehead when I so desperately wanted it on my lips. “Now, let’s get you to class before both of us are late.”