Delusional.

| Chapter 1. |

"Hello everyone," The feedback from the mic sounded in everyone's eardrums. "I just wanted to come up here and give a special congratulations to Detective Jordyn Davis on being the first woman to lead our homicide department in the state!" Chief Parker's eyes twinkled as Jordyn smiled, raising her glass.

"Aht aht," April, best friend of the woman of the night, was being her usual self. Just a bit drunk currently. "And don't forget to mention she is the first black woman."

Noel, a fellow detective, smiled. "To Jordyn."

"To Jordyn!" Everyone in the room put their drinks high in the air, the smile never leaving Jordyn's face. She brought the glass of champagne to her lips at the end of the toast, spilling a bit when April came over grabbing her hands, leading her to the dance floor.

She danced with her best friend, after all, she was her plus one, as they were celebrating at the 2013 Christmas Party for the Essex, Maryland police department (right outside of Baltimore). Along with that, it was tied in as a celebratory dinner for Detective Davis, as she was honored with the woman of the year award for solving 100 cold case homicides in the past year. She outdid herself, proving to be worthy as the one who led the state with pride, and in the aftermath of her uphill battle, was literally squeezing her cheeks together to the point that they started hurting. But she was happy.

She was finally being celebrated for her hard work and passions. For as long as she could remember, she always knew she wanted to be able to give people the satisfaction of knowing what happened to their loved ones after a tragedy and she was the one who provided that. For her, it was personal. When she was only a sophomore in high school, 15 to get technical, she was involved in an accident that caused her to lose almost every ounce of her memory.

She survived though, and for that, she was thankful. But it was tough living life not knowing what happened to her family, or if she even had one. The earliest thing she could recall was waking up in the hospital and then being escorted to some foster home a few hours later on New Year's Day. Anything before that, was nonexistent.

Luckily, she remembered basic things such as: her name, school subjects, and whatever else she needed to seem like a normal teen. She was just without childhood memories. And if it wasn't for the locket that she had dangling around her neck with the picture of a younger version of herself and a man she presumed to be her father inside, she wouldn't have any clue as to if she even really lived a life before this one. But as far as she was concerned, she had to keep going forward, rather than dwelling on the past. And she did just that, with all the determination in the world.

"Girl," April got close to her ear as they got busy on the dance floor. "I know you see that man over there watching you."

"Noel? I'm not worried about-"

April shook her head, grabbing a fresh champagne glass from the staff serving them. "Not Noel. I'm talking about the man over in the corner whose eyes haven't left you since you walked in."

The sway of Jordyn's body didn't miss a beat despite their current conversation. "Not Noel? Well, who is it?"

"I don't know. I've never seen him before," April sipped the drink, shrugging her shoulders. "But he sure is fine."

"Fine?" Jordyn repeated, her interest peaked upon knowing the man was being deemed attractive by someone who was like her sister. She raised an eyebrow. "Where is he?"

She wasted no time in attempting to take a look when April stopped her. "Ooh, don't. He's on his way over here! I'm going to leave so I don't stop the magic. Good luck."

On her walk away, April playfully slapped her bestie's tush, scurrying off and letting her girl do her thing. And no. Neither one of them cared that she was at a Christmas party for work. After all, it was still a party. And Jordyn was young, gorgeous and successful. Her beautiful, blemish free skin was the color of honey fresh from a beehive and her dark brown eyes were like getting lost in chocolate cake batter. Her face card never declined, and she had a body to match. She deserved some attention from a handsome, sorry, fine man.

So, adjusting the beautiful little black number she had on, she made sure that the deep V cut plunge that showed her assets was still both sexy and professional. Then, finishing the last comb through her hair with her fingers, that she had just blown out and put into loose pin curls that were already dropped earlier in the day, she felt a body next to her own. She inhaled, taking in the wonderful scent of the stranger's Tom Ford cologne before she turned to see if his face matched the breathtaking smell.

"Came to speak to the lady of the night? Hi, I'm-" The welcoming smile on her face faded as she watched the mystery man walk right past her, not even giving her a second glance as he moved like a thief in the night, making his way right out the doors of the banquet hall. She didn't even get a look at his face. Just his back as he made his swift exit. A back she wouldn't forget.

"What the hell?" April was right next to her in a flash, while Jordyn was still trying to pick up her jaw off the floor. "Who was that? Why did he just leave?"

Jordyn sighed, her eyes watching the mystifying figure disappear. "I don't have any clue."

-

One year later from her achievement, or 11 months to be exact, the bottom of Jordyn's Nike Revolutions hit the cement hard as she casually jogged through the DMV with Drake's Trophies playing through her eardrums. For obvious reasons, she found the music comforting as she made her way down the street and around the corner, getting in her exercise.

She had too. Yesterday was the day of Thanksgiving and she couldn't help but to feel as if she needed to jog this morning- especially after eating all the extra pounds of food down at the homeless shelter she was volunteering last night. She couldn't afford to gain any weight in her profession, and even with running being such a hassle to her, it really was the only physical thing she needed to do to keep her body toned and in shape. So, she did. Plus, she anticipated the work day being easy since it was the day after a national holiday. No one would be coming into the station, so she would get paid to relax. Therefore, even though she hated it- with a passion- she did it.

Taking a moment to gather her breath, she put a halt to the running, hunching over as she decided it was time for a break. The sun was on its way to rising and she knew that she still had some miles to go before she made her way back home. She reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a water bottle as the cold morning air engulfed her. She lived in a small town right outside Baltimore, and it was dead right in the middle of winter. Which means it was beyond freezing outside, windy and any second it could rain. But there was Jordyn, jogging like someone who had lost their mind.

No pun intended.

She sighed, admiring the environment around her, and taking notice of the newest jet black Nissan Altima, all decked out with the tinted windows and chrome rims parked across the street. She squinted. She had never seen that car around before, but she decided to mind her business anyway, tucking her water away back into her pocket, and starting back on her run as she stepped on a large pile of leaves that should have been raked ages ago. She continued running until she reached the lighthouse, not too far from the apartment she shared with April. Meaning she ran in the large circle around town like she was supposed to. Upon her destination, she then took another break, taking a seat as she sipped her bottle of water again before her music suddenly stopped and her phone began vibrating.

She whipped out the white iPhone, glancing at the number she had programmed as work #1. "Hello?"

"Jordyn, where the hell are you?" The loud and deep voice she recognized as the Chief of the homicide department barked. In response, she couldn't help but to pull the phone away from her ear, licking her dry lips as she spoke.

"Chief. Good morning to you. Uh, I'm jogging. Early in the morning."

There was silence. "Why the hell are you jogging early in the morning when you should be at work? I have an assignment for you."

"Sir, I'm sorry but it's only-" Jordyn looked down at her watch, realizing that she was 30 minutes late to work. "Shit. I'm late."

"Obviously Davis," He hissed, as she stood up from the bench and prepared to begin her way back home. She looked to her left, noticing the same car as before. "Hello?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, chief. I'll be there in a few." She allowed him to get out his response- a grunt, before she hung up the phone call, going across the street to confront the car that clearly had been following her.

But right before she could, they put it in gear, hightailing it out of there before she could even blink. "Hey! What the hell! Why are you following me?"

She rolled her eyes as they turned the corner. So much for a relaxing day.