Asa (Marked Men #6)(34)

Who said things like that in this day and age? I rolled my eyes and pulled open the front doors of the station. “Mom, I’m at work, so I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Love you. Stay safe.”

“Love you, too.”

I waved to Barrett as I walked in. I still had to put my vest on and grab my radio and utility belt from my locker. It took a few minutes to get ready to go and Barrett was already out in our patrol car when I was finished. I grabbed some coffee and made my way to where he was waiting. He never really cared who drove, which was a major change from riding with Dom. My best friend always wanted to be behind the wheel and I never argued. The shrink’s words about being Dom’s sidekick sort of slammed into my brain and rattled loudly around. I didn’t like the truth that was obviously embedded in them, and it made me quiet and surly for the entire first part of our shift.

Barrett was mellow, liked to talk about his wife and his kids. He was a third-generation cop and had aspirations of making sergeant soon. He had enough years on the force and his record was spotless, so I was pretty sure his goal was entirely reachable. It was actually similar to listening to Dom talk about his future; the passion was there, and the drive, which made me wonder if I sounded the same when I talked about my future on the force.

We had an early dinner since we were working swing shift, which was two in the afternoon until ten or midnight depending on how the shift went. Scarfing down burgers and shoving fries into our faces got interrupted by a call about domestic violence from dispatch. We were by far the closest unit to the address, so we ditched dinner and rolled out. So far, since I’d been teamed up with Barrett, we hadn’t really had any kind of call that made my nerves ratchet up or my doubts grab hold. But domestic violence calls were so unpredictable that I was starting to sweat and breathe a little harder than normal.

The call was for a neighborhood that was on Colfax up past Colorado. Not quite into Five Points but close enough that it made my skin feel all tingly and had all my senses going on high alert.

Apparently the neighbors had called because the couple could be heard screaming through the walls of the apartment complex they lived in. Sadly, most people try to stay out of it when private business between couples explodes in violence, but apparently this neighbor was concerned because the couple was known to have two small children in the home. Along with raised voices and rattling walls, they had reported hearing the sound of stuff breaking. Barrett and I were going to be the first on the scene for sure and we had no idea what we were walking into. We didn’t know if there were weapons involved, if the kids were on site, nothing. All that uncertainty bubbled in my blood and made me hyperaware of all of my surroundings. Backup was on its way, but according to the dispatcher, they were a solid ten to fifteen minutes out.

I led the way up the stairs. Again thinking that it was weird to be in the front. Out of habit I typically let Dom go into any situation first, maybe because I had been following behind him my entire life, just like the shrink said. I couldn’t get distracted with thoughts like that, though, not with the distinct sounds of breaking glass and screams echoing clearly from one of the units. I shot an apprehensive look at Barrett over my shoulder and he just shrugged. It was all part of the job.

I knocked sharply on the door and all noise from inside ceased. No one came to answer right away, so I pounded again and hollered, “Denver police! We got a complaint about the noise.”

I heard shuffling from the other side of the doorway and felt Barrett tense with alertness next to me. The door creaked open and a man peeked his eye out to look at me. His eyes dropped to my badge, then to what my badge was sitting above, and I saw his gaze widen. It was a reaction I was used to.

“We didn’t call the cops.” His voice sounded shaky and I heard a female voice from inside the apartment scream at him, calling him a cheating bastard.

I lifted my eyebrows at him. “No, you didn’t, but your neighbors did. They complained about the screaming and said it sounded like WWE Raw had moved in upstairs. They also mentioned you have kids, and you must know carrying on like that in front of them isn’t okay.”

The woman’s voice from inside ratcheted up in volume, and behind the man I heard glass shatter. He looked over his shoulder and winced.

“The kids are with my folks. Carla and I are just having a little disagreement is all. It got out of hand. We’ll tone it down, I swear.”

“Disagreement! You cheating *! I caught you in bed with my sister!”

Yowza. It sounded like the woman had a right to be furious with him. I would probably want to break all his stuff, too.

“Look, we just need to make sure everyone calms down and be sure no one is hurt.” We also needed to make sure the kids really weren’t in the middle of this shit show.

“Look, Officer …” His gaze skated across my chest again, and I felt Barrett stiffen next to me. I was used to this kind of reaction, so I just brushed it off and kept my eyes glued to the guy. “… Hastings. Carla is a passionate woman. We’ll work it all out and be back to making babies in no time. There’s no need for you to …” He trailed off on a curse as the door suddenly fell open and he tumbled out into the entryway at my feet. A big, wooden-handled steak knife was sticking out of his shoulder and a tiny woman stood a few feet away looking down at where he had fallen with unbridled fury and hatred in her eyes. This must be the notorious Carla.