JIMIN POV
I was half hard at the station, doing my best to focus on my job.
I scooted a little closer to my desk to hide and glanced around.
There was one deputy at his desk, Jih sat beside me but he was actually paying attention
to what we were doing.
My face burned so hot I was
sure anyone who looked at me would be able to tell what my problem was, All I could think about was Jungkook.
This morning he'd somehow stolen my pillow and was sleeping on it and his own
when I slipped out of bed.
He'd been so excited last night, whispering about babies and
his dreams for the future.
I'd never seen an omega as beautiful as he was when he
lay under me, cheeks flushed and his head thrown back in pleasure, letting me into his
body for the first time.
My whole world was Jungkook.
And now here I was, getting a boner like a teenager in the station.
I should have better control of myself, I let out a long breath.
Damn, I needed to focus on
the footage we were watching.
Jih gave my arm a flick that stung, raising his eyebrows
at me.
We were looking over camera footage from one of Jungkook's neighbor's home security cameras.
Apparently, half the people on
his block had one thanks to
them being cheap as hell on Amazon during Prime days.
Normally the neighbors only
used them to spy on their boring lawns and pets during the day
but they'd been more than
happy to turn things over for some real police work.
There were enough recorded camera feeds that we hoped
to catch the guy who'd
tampered with Jungkook's brakes.
I watched as a darkly
clothed body slouch toward Jungkook's white car.
The person I wanted to say
man but wasn't sure dropped down and rolled under Jungkook's car.
While we waited for the figure
to reappear, I imagined what
he was doing under there.
It was like I could see him cutting the brakes.
Could see his eyes as he snipped away at something that could save Jungkook's life, as he put
in danger the life of the one
man I knew, all at once, that I wouldn't be able to live without.
By the time the person reemerged and bent to place the note on Jungkook's windshield,
I was shaking in fear and rage.
I wished this were real-time
so I could put his head
through the windshield.
I felt more out of control than
I could ever remember being
and if I knew the name of that person and where they were,
I'd already be there, damn the consequences.
"None of that now." Jih dropped his hand on my arm,
restraining as well as calming.
It didn't take a profiler to figure out where my thoughts had gone, I'm pretty sure anyone would want to drop the person trying to kill their loved ones.
"We'll get this motherfucker
the right way."
Shrugging, I nodded but
wouldn't make any promises.
I wasn't sure any words would help enough, though, would
calm the obsessive need for vengeance that was clawing through me.
Everything happened almost
too quickly after that, which helped distract me.
Once I told Tae that we may have caught the culprit, not only of Jungkook's recent scare but someone connected to what
had happened to Jared all those years ago, Tae revealed that he had a connection with an FBI agent, one Special Agent Lance.
Tae called in a favor with him
and then suddenly we had an
FBI agent assisting in our investigation, which sped up a
lot of the paperwork we needed to nail the son of a bitch.
It turned out the camera actually caught a clear glimpse of the culprit's face as he turned
away from Jungkook's car.
Something I had missed
when I'd been watching the
first time because of my own anger and investment.
Jih hadn't caught it because
he was too worried I was
about to lose my shit.
Either way, it meant we had enough to go on to do a facial recognition search.
We found the man's name quickly with Dubois' connections and suddenly, only hours after first watching the video, we
had a name and address to
work with and we were suiting
up to go make the arrest.
Jih pulled me aside as the team was running their final checks, Sheriff Jones himself was even going out into the field for once but before he even spoke, I
beat him to the punch.
"I know and I'm not going."
"I'm too invested in this and
this is too important for that."
"We can't risk losing this guy, this investigation or Jiwoo because I'm too emotional
to make the right calls."
"I know if I saw him I'd beat
the teeth out of his skull for
what he almost did to my
omega and that's if I didn't just end up putting a bullet in him."
Jih let out a low whistle and nodded.
"That's about what I was gonna say." He smiled grimly at me, knowing how much it cost me
to stay behind.
"Didn't figure you had all that gore in you, though."
"I don't normally." I grumped.
Jih let out a laugh that had everyone in the station turning
to look our way.
"Just one thing, partner." I said, halting him as he turned to
leave and join the team.
"Bring him back."
"There's no other option." Jih assured me, It was good
having this man at my back.
His loyalty and steadfastness were things I wanted to make sure I never took for granted.
Movies often overused the term 'brothers in arms but I felt like Jih was my family, especially tonight when he was risking
his life to do a job I couldn't
trust myself on.
It felt like I paced the station
for days.
I wasn't able to stop or focus
on any of the paperwork that awaited me on my desk.
I imagined every possible scenario, the guy escaping out
a back window that someone ignored in an attempt for glory, them finding him but the perp having a weapon and getting shot before I could question
him and the worst one him
just not being there at all.
I couldn't stand the thought
of us losing him before we
ever even had a chance.
I wanted to call Jungkook,
talk through it all with him
but I also wanted to wait
until I had real news, not just impatient fantasies.
I didn't want to worry him, I
just wanted to give him good news.
It only took a little over two hours for them to haul the man back into the station with Jih holding him firmly and possibly
a bit too tight as he lugged
him through the front doors.
Sheriff Jones followed, giving
me a thumbs-up.
They'd taken two other
deputies and Jai beamed as
he brought up the rear.
I still wasn't in a spot to be happy about that but I realized everyone fucked up sometimes.
We marched straight to the interrogation room where the man, named Rodney some run-of-the-mill junkie missing half
his teeth and wearing only one shoe immediately asked for his lawyer.
Apparently he'd spent the two hundred dollars he'd been paid on meth so who the fuck knew how useful he'd be in the long run?
Being careful to do everything
by the book, we didn't speak to him until his lawyer showed up but then we had to keep from gloating as she cursed watching the video.
She knew as well as we did
that we had him.
His face was clear to see and even if she tried to argue that the video didn't show him actually cutting the lines since
he was out of shot under the car doing so she knew as well as
we did that no plea of visibility could displace the amount of damning evidence we had.
She agreed wisely, to talk to
her client.
Watching her from outside
the door to interrogation room one, I turned to Jih.
"I think I like her." I said.
The smell of coffee and laughter carried over from the room nearby, There was a definite
air of victory here today.
"As much as Jungkook?" He teased.
I could tell he was still trying to make sure I was calm and that the violent rage I'd been in earlier stayed tamped down.
He'd been making jokes at me ever since he got back.
"Not like that."I smiled his direction, accepting his help
at distraction.
"I just like how she's working
for her client and for the truth
at the same time."
"Not trying to deny what's
right in front of her."
Jih shook his head.
"What's she supposed to do?"
"It's his face."
"Not sure if that makes her a good or bad defense lawyer
but I'm glad you like her."
He stopping talking as she gestured for us to enter the room.
I could tell her news wasn't
what we were hoping for.
"My client has nothing he wishes to say at this time." she said, clear disapproval in her voice.
She was an older woman and
I'm not sure I would have stood up to the way she glared over her glasses at him.
Rodney was just nervous and twitchy and I'd bet my last buck that he was starting to go through withdrawal.
"I'll be returning tomorrow to continue my discourse with
my client."
Also known as, she'd be returning to keep arguing with him to confess.
Yes, I did really like this lawyer.
It took a few days because the bastard was stubborn but I
tried every method.
I still hadn't told Jungkook that we'd even found the guy and it was starting to feel like a lie rather than a good surprise.
The longer I kept our small win from him, the more I wanted to give him good news when I
told him.
Finally, on the third day,
Rodney cracked.
It was surprising when he did.
I hadn't asked a very difficult question.
It was early in the morning, I hadn't even tried to tire him
yet and suddenly there he was, with both Jih and me in the
room and the recorder on, spilling everything.
"I did it." He sniffed and scratched at his bare arms.
He'd been offered warmer clothes but was sweating
through a T-shirt even though the room was a little chilly.
"I cut the brakes on that
omega's car."
"Great smell he has, too."
Rodney leered at me, obviously smelling Jungkook all over me.
I growled back, for a moment
as much an animal as I'd ever been.
"And." he continued, sitting
back in his chair.
"I also cut the other brakes."
I'd been turning to leave, Jih
had been about to pack up the recording equipment.
We thought the confession was over. We'd won. But now—
"What other brakes?" I asked.
Surely he didn't mean....
"You know exactly what brakes I'm talking about." he said.
"That omega that was fucking that lawyer that was causing problems."
"Why would you volunteer this information now?" Jih asked.
Thankfully he was thinking clearly. I hardly was.
Could this be it?
Was another piece of the unsolved puzzle staving off
the closure Tae deserved
fitting into place?
"Might as well." The guy shrugged.
"Book him." I said.
I knew he was playing at some thing but I didn't even care.
I had to call Tae.
I had to call Jungkook.
I had to tell them this part
of the saga was finally over.