The police station was crowded. This was the first time I've ever been in here and I was ready to run out the door again. I clutched the plastic bag against my stomach as I walked over to the counter.

"Excuse me?" I called out to the woman.

She looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I'm here to see Officer Daniels." "Do you have an appointment?"

"Well n-no, but it's important-"

"Make an appointment and you can see him," she muttered, as her he focus dropped back to her computer.

I sucked in a breath as I tried to control my temper. The bag crinkled between my fingers. I opened my mouth ready to make a scene, but a man appeared. He glanced at the woman and then at me.

"You here to make a complaint?" He had a faint southern accent, and a deep voice. His blue eyes caught mine.

"I want to see Officer Daniels," I told him softly.

He raised an eyebrow as he stepped closer to the counter. His blond hair was messy but he looked neat in his uniform. The man was an inch or two taller than me. He had a slim but muscled body. "May I ask what it's about?"

"It's personal."

The statement made interest flash in his eyes. "Name?"
"Alia."

His eyes snapped to mine. I frowned as he smirked at me. "Ah, your Stephen's girl," he said. "Stephen is busy, but if you don't mind waiting I'll take you to his office."

"Please."

He gestured to a door on my left. I walked through it and met him on the other side. We walked down a short hall that opened into another room. It was bigger than the front of the station. Tables were placed around neatly in a specific order. Officers lingered around. Some working on the computers and others laughing as they talked to others. I kept my eyes focused on the man's back as he led me between the desks. The place had fallen silent the moment they became aware of me. They were staring and I hated that. A door opened a second later. The man stood aside as he gestured to the office.
"I'll let him know you're here as soon as he's done."

"Thank you," I muttered.

He nodded, and then he was gone. I turned and took everything in. A desk stood in the middle of the office. It was littered with papers. A computer stood on the edge close to the medium sized window. On the left, pushed against the wall, was an old leather couch. Dropping the bag next to the desk, I hesitated before taking a seat on the leather chair behind it. The files on the desk caught my attention.

I was curious. Swallowing, I leaned forward and pulled it closer. There were photos of different men and girls around my age. The deeper I dug the more I wished I hadn't looked. Cremated bodies of girls found. Photos of them beaten. Some were even ripped apart with body pieces missing. I closed the file and pushed it aside just as the door opened. My eyes snapped to Stephen. He stood half in the office and half out. Someone was talking to him. He glanced at me over his shoulder before looking back at the person. A few minutes later he stepped into his office, and closed the door firmly behind him.

"Alia," he muttered.

Stephen dropped something on the desk as he walked around it. I stood on shaky legs. It's been weeks since I last saw him, but it felt like the first time all over again. My hand clutched the desk tightly as I waited for him to speak. He didn't. Stephen stepped forward, paused, and the closed the space between us.

"You look like shit baby," he whispered, stroking my cheek.

I laughed. "Thank you."

My eyes filled with tears the longer I stared up at him. He had dark circles beneath his eyes. I reached up to place my shaky hand against his cheek.

"Stephen," I whispered, "I-"

"I'm so fucking sorry baby," he cut me off. "I shouldn't have said that about the abortion. It wasn't right of me to do that. I've never had a good role model of a father growing up. Handling these kind of situations is new to me. I fucked up and I'm really fucking sorry baby. Tell me what I need to do to make it up to you."

"Kiss me."

His lips brushed mine. I groaned. I wrapped my arm around his neck. My lips pressed against his harder. Stephen didn't kiss me the way I wanted him to kiss me. He kept the kiss slow and gently.

"Stephen."

He smiled against my lips, and then he was kissing me like a starved man. His tongue seeked entrance and I gave it to him. The utility belt was digging painfully into my stomach. It didn't allow me to feel him like I wanted to. With my hand buried in his hair, I kissed him harder. I kissed him with an urgency that felt foreign to me. An urgency that scared me.

"Slow down baby," he muttered as he broke the kiss.

Instead of listening, I started trailing kisses down his neck. He groaned, gripping my hips tighter. I pulled one hand from his hair and moved it between our bodies. He was growing against my hand as I stroked him through his pants.

"Fuck." Stephen gripped my ass and lifted me onto the desk. "Alia baby," he whispered, gripping my wrist. "Not here. Anyone can walk in."

"Then lock your door," I moaned.

He chuckled. Stephen looked down at me with humour in his eyes. "I may have an office, but I'm not important enough to have a lock on the door."

My head dropped to his shoulder. We were both breathing heavily. I spread my legs as he pulled me against him. His familiar smell filled my nostrils. For the first time in weeks I felt myself relax.

"Tell me about yourself," I whispered. "Tell me about yourself and I'll forgive you."

Stephen tensed. The moment we shared was broken. I quickly wrapped my legs around his hips before he could pull away.

"I have the right to know something about you," I paused. "That night at the mall, I heard some things about you that I find hard to believe. Everyone is saying something else and I don't know what's the truth anymore Stephen."

He swallowed loudly. Something flashed in his eyes. Reaching out, he wiped his thumb beneath my eye. Stephen opened his mouth but then closed it again. He seemed to be struggling with what he wanted to say.

"Okay," he said. "I will answer your questions."

"Good."

Fear settled when I realized that my time was running out. I had to get home before Michael saw me here. Unhooking my legs, I pushed him away. I felt sick as I bent to pick up the plastic bag. Without saying a word I pulled out a few photos and placed it on the desk in front of him. He picked one up. Then another and another until he looked at them all. Stephen suddenly started cursing. His eyes were focused on one particular picture.

"Where did you get these?"

"Someone placed them on the wall in one of the bathrooms at school." He silently started stacking them on top of each other. Stephen grabbed the bag and the placed them inside again.
"Has anyone touched them beside you?"

"Only Emily." He frowned at me. "She saw them and told me about it," I explained. He nodded as he picked up the bag. "I'll take care of it baby, don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry Stephen," I whispered. "You got dragged into this because of me."

With a small smile, he wrapped an arm around my waist. His lips brushed my forehead.

"I'm happy that you care about me baby, but I'm a grown-up. I don't give a fuck what other think of me. They can say what they want, but if they start calling you names, they better start running." He hugged me against him. "Don't worry your pretty little head about this. I'll take care of it."

I wanted to believe him, but I couldn't. Something in me was warning me that things were only getting started. This was the start of something I didn't want any part in.