Open Wounds (Harbour Bay #2)(32)
“Just about,” Amelia replied with a yawn.
Dean gave her a once over. “If possible, you look worse than we do.”
“Combined,” Nick agreed.
She glared at them both. “Gee, thanks, make a girl feel special. No wonder you two are single. Did you get everything cleared?”
Nick nodded. “Yeah, the fire brigade were washing the streets as we left. Man, that was a bad smash. One of the worst I’ve seen. Thankfully the kid was okay.”
She agreed. She hated when innocents were hurt, worst still when they were kids.
“We tried to locate Lambert but he’s disappeared and right now he’s a low priority to the LAC,” she told them, clearly not agreeing. “Boss wants us to find the little shits who opened fire downstairs. Prescott got a description of the shooters and a make and model of the vehicle.”
“We’ll certainly keep an eye out when we’re on the streets,” Dean said. “I’m going to grab and shower and a change of clothes and get back out there. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll find Lambert but I doubt it. He’ll turn up though, someday.”
“Yeah, but I’d rather question him and not leave it to Stone,” she quipped. “Dead men don’t give up their secrets. I’m heading home. I’m beat and have a ton of shit to do tomorrow. I’ll see you ladies later.”
A moment later she was walking across the parking lot of the LAC towards her Toyota Kluger. She loved the bulky car; it had a sense of imperviousness about it. She climbed behind the steering wheel and a few seconds later she was joining other late night drivers on the somewhat quiet streets.
She stopped in at Tanner’s Steak and Grill, the local dive haunted by Harbour Bay’s police force and other emergency services employees, and quickly ordered a hamburger with the lot to go. She was too tired to cook but her stomach had begun to growl and was reminiscent of a lioness’s roar so she had wisely chosen to feed it.
Amelia devoured the hamburger the moment she got home and now lay on her cool sheets looking up at the dark ceiling, her stomach satisfied. She wondered at the future. Her dreams were so close to being fulfilled—close, but still precariously fragile. She could practically taste her promotion in her mouth.
Kellie had promised to be fair, to judge her by what she saw in the here and now. There had been a time when Kellie knew everything about Amelia. The good, the bad, her wants and needs, her dreams and wishes, her fears and desires, but she didn’t know who she’d become. Just as Amelia didn’t know who Kellie had become after that fateful night. They had both changed, both grew up, both strong, independent women who were more acquaintances than friends. Something she hoped to change.
She didn’t believe she’d done anything wrong; she’d had no other choice. She was a cop, not a kindergarten teacher, so a certain amount of violence was to be expected. She didn’t like playing the female card, but she felt like she was being unfairly judged. Men like Matthews and Hill could use their superior strength to disable a target but for her it took a little brute force to get compliance. It was part and parcel of her chosen profession, something she would have to get used to.
Not unless you’re kicked out, an inner voice taunted.
Amelia took a deep breath and sat up in her queen size bed. She liked her apartment; it wasn’t flashy or decorated with expensive furniture that would take years to pay off but it was home and suited her needs. The external walls showed the red brick of the building, the internal plasterboard painted a sunny yellow—not her choice but the previous tenant’s. She had moved in the same time she’d been hired at the LAC and had been there ever since.
She wrapped the afghan blanket she’d snatched from the end of her bed over her shoulders, immediately feeling the warmth it trapped between her body and the fabric. Having Kellie walk back into her life shook her more than she’d like to admit and not just because she’d always fallen short beside her friend. It stirred up feelings she’d thought long ago dead. Kellie was not only her friend but a constant reminder of a past she could not change.
Amelia liked to believe she was untouchable, but if there was ever a weakness, Kellie was her Achilles heel. Even after twelve years, the friendship they shared was still there, buried deep within two women who fought to get past one event in their lives—the event that changed them forever in more ways than one. Amelia marvelled at how strong Kellie had always been. Even in her darkest hours, Kellie struggled and sought help, not allowing her rocky emotions get the better of her.
While she had been sarcastic and still was, Kellie had more guts than a whole platoon of soldiers. She never backed down from a fight, never gave up, her tenaciousness giving her a solid reputation.
When a lesser person would’ve bowed down and slunk off into the shadows, Kellie had grown stronger, more stubborn, and had the force of a cyclone crashing against the shore.
She admired her more than she would ever know. Could they somehow become close again?
She stood and walked over to her closet. She flicked on the bare bulb, then rummaged through a shoe box. She found what she was looking for and pulled it out, bringing the object with her as she sat back on the bed.
In the photo, Kellie stood beside her. It was the only item she’d kept from her past. The only thing she wanted to be reminded of. A friendship that had never died, if only put on hold. A moment when life had been ahead of her, the world a vast and exciting place.