I've Been Watching You: a stunning crime thriller from The North East Police Series by K.A. Richardson Read Free Book Online Page B

probably just over analysing things.’
    Jacob’s eyes were troubled as he looked over at his sister.
    Identical eyes met his gaze, grey with small flecks of green. They both had their mum’s eyes, and stood out because of them. TJ was younger than him, only by a couple of years, but still. She’d always been the responsible one though. When their parents had been killed, several years before he had joined the army, TJ had stepped up. Only sixteen at the time, she had managed to fit cleaning house, and cooking tea into her daily routine around college. He had kept the garden tidy, and done all the DIY. They had pulled each other through the grief.
    He still remembered how hurt she’d appeared to be when he left to enlist. Their parents had died and he had chosen to leave her, opting to defend his country rather than look after his sister. She had only been eighteen. But as hurt as she’d felt, she’d never once blamed him, understanding he needed to deal with things himself. TJ had wrapped herself up in college, getting her degree and then her masters. She had been working on her PhD for the last couple of years.
    ‘You do have a habit of doing that, bro. What’s happened since your flash the other day?’
    Jacob felt himself blush as the image of a freckled red-head popped into his mind. He thought he had gotten away with it, but TJ was too adept at noticing his subtle changes.
    ‘You met someone? Who? Where?’
    ‘I didn’t, not exactly anyway.’ He knew he had to continue. ‘She’s a student.’
    TJ’s eyes widened, ‘Aren’t there rules against fraternising with students?’
    Jacob coughed into his coke, ‘I’m not fraternising. She is a student, a mature student if you must know. I barely even spoke to her.’ Uncomfortable now under her scrutiny, he added, ‘Nothing happened. Nothing’s going to happen. Like she’d go near here anyway with this damn stick.’ His hand swept in a downward motion indicating to his legs, and his eyes had filled with just enough despair to make them darken.
    ‘Bro, how many times do I need to tell you that the right woman won’t see your stick? Or your scars? I get that you hate your stick, I really do, but you need it. You’ll always need it. If that’s all people see then they’re not worth having in your life.’
    Jacob frowned. He knew what she said made sense, but he struggled to accept it as truth. Nobody had ever not seen his stick since he’d started walking again. Why should she be any different?
    He knew TJ understood him more than anyone else, but even she had told him to his face that he was as pig-headed as they came.
     
    TJ knew he hammered his frustrations out at the gym. He always had. And now he was wasting time trying to rebuild muscles that couldn’t be rebuilt. Suddenly she decided she would quite like to meet the person who had grabbed her brothers attention, student or not. His next class was scheduled for 5 th June. Sometimes her brother needed a nudge in the right direction, and it usually fell to her to give him it. She needed to meet the girl who had Jacob all a-fluster, and make sure she wasn’t going to break his heart.
    But, Jacob didn’t need to know she would attend the Uni.
    She gave him an innocent grin, changing the subject and asking how his class had gone.
     
    2nd June, 0915 hours – Tunstall, Sunderland City Centre
    He’d watched as she had gotten dressed that morning: her dark brown skin glistening with the remaining dampness from her shower. He had seen the older woman enter the room, handing Clarice a large pile of clothing.
    He had felt a shiver pass down his spine as she had bent over, putting the clothes away in the bottom drawer.
    He could almost taste her - he would taste her.
    Years before he had surprised his victims, jumping out on them, or using the old 'man off the bike trick'. Now he knew it was easier to get to know them a little first. Not much, not enough so they would tell people about him at any rate.