Hidden Wounds

Part 27

"Lina!" I heard a voice call out as I was slamming the trunk of the taxi. I turned and Gray was running up to me, he was dressed in his uniform. His squad car was parked across the street. I smacked my teeth and rolled my eyes, about time he showed up.

"Finally got all my voicemails huh?"

"Look, I wasn't ignoring you. I been on the clock since 4 am. If you listened to my voicemail and dialed my office phone, my work phone would ring on my hip. I don't carry my personal items with me Lina." Gray was standing there explaining himself with no hesitation. I felt stupid; one for jumping to conclusions and two acting like he was my man. My feelings for him were mounting at a quick pace and I was starting to confuse business and pleasure. What did I actually think he was supposed to do for me? "What happened, why are you leaving?" he looked at me questioningly

"Yo! Let's go!" the cabby called out through his window. Gray walked over and told him to pop the trunk.He lifted all of my bags out with one hand and slammed the truck, the driver pulled off immediately.

"I've been trying to call you-" he started to say

"Line's disconnected." I answered

"Where's your car?" 

"Towed." I answered shortly.

"What? Why?" 

"Same reason I'm in this mess in the first place, Anthony. He called me from the county the other day and now all this bullshit been happening to me."

"How can he control your stuff?" Gray asked

"Everything is either in his name or jointly connected to him." I confessed "Technically, it's his shit too."

"Damn, do you want to call Evans?" he asked, Evans was the lawyer that had been overseeing my case. When Gray introduced us he was certain we would have Anthony locked up for as long as he deserved. For the past couple of weeks he recorded my statements of all the abusive encounters from verbal to physical. The purpose of the recordings were to recapture my emotions of fear and anger during the attacks, I was trying to win over the jury with sympathy. Evans was cool so I figured he would know what to do in a situation like this, so I nodded my head at Gray

"Yeah, reach out to him and see what he says." I answered.

"And in the meantime?" Gray lifted up my bags and looked at me

"I can just rent a room at the Motel 6-"

"First of all, no. Second, with what money?" 

"I have some mo-" I paused mid-sentence, maybe telling him about the cash I had lifted from the bank account wasn't the best idea."I have a little to spend." I corrected myself, clearing my throat. 

"Lina, I'm not off until ten tonight. You're more than welcome to stay at the crib and we can figure out where to go from there." Gray suggested as he started walking across the street to the police car, I followed behind him.

"No, that's not what I was asking for Gray. The motel is fine."

"I don't want to hear it. I have to meet with the Sgt. in the next 20 minutes. I don't have time to argue with you. Get in the car." Gray's tone was not controlling, but it still made me obey in a way I didn't mind. I would take him up on his offer to stay at his house, but the moment he left I would figure out how to get my own shit together. I had to make the rest of this money disappear before Anthony realized it was gone. Gray set my bags in the backseat of the cruiser as I slid into the passenger side. 

"Are you even allowed to do this?" I asked, I was sure I shouldn't have been in the squad car.

"You gonna tell on a brotha?"  Gray asked me playfully before hitting his sirens and making traffic part ways. We pulled up to his house within minutes and he hopped out leaving the engine running. Gray grabbed my bags and jogged up to the front door to unlock it. By the time I had made it up the driveway he was coming back out, empty-handed.