Wanted: A Bad Boy Romance by Maya Hawk Read Free Book Online Page A

    Titan
presents today after being charged with willful assault and booked at the Cox
County jail on New Year’s Eve. He presents with a mild manner but chooses to
speak only when spoken to. We spoke briefly about his family and the recent
death of his sister and mother, though the patient appeared to grow agitated
when discussing those matters in depth.

 
    I glance out the door once again
before returning to the document, absolutely certain I’m going to get caught at
any moment.

 
    Titan
is well-groomed , with a higher-than-average vocabulary
and a generally mild affect. Before his arrest, he was studying structural
engineering. He describes his childhood as typical, with no claims of abuse,
neglect, or trauma.

 
    I skim the page, looking for
something, anything that might help me understand him better.

 
    When
asked how he was feeling the night of the alleged crime, Titan says he doesn’t
recall. He “blacked out.” When he “came to,” he realized his victim was within
an inch of his life, and a passer-by had already called the police.

 
    I scroll to the bottom of the
document, hoping for another tidbit of information in the summary.

 
    It
is my professional opinion that Titan Blackstone’s crime was not planned and
was carried out in the heat of the moment. He is of sound mind and judgment at
this time, however, there is concern of an underlying anger issue if this
patient is not treated for his grief and anguish.
    I
can confidently assert that Titan Blackstone is not a threat to those around
him at this time, and that his crime seems to have been an isolated incident.

 
    I click out of the document and
log out of Kent’s NCIC, slipping back into the spare desk chair before he
waltzes in with a cup of coffee, whistling some out-of-pitch tune. Our day has
just begun, and Kent has spent the first fifteen minutes preparing his coffee.
    “What’s on the itinerary for
today?” I ask. My heart still pounds in my chest as I watch him stare at his
computer screen. It’s as if he knows something was moved.
    He pulls in a careful sip of his
coffee, lifting up his mustached lip and showing his front teeth. He winces and
then smacks his lips as he gulps the drink. “Oh, let me check my schedule here.
We’ll have some appointments. Make some phone calls.”
    His mouth widens to a huge grin
followed by a belly laugh. I glance at the screen. He’s reading his email and
apparently someone forwarded him a comic.
    Whew.
    Thank God.
    I should be in the clear…
    I slink back in my seat and grab
my notebook and pen off the edge of his desk, trying to hide the rampant
disappointment on my face. Looking up Titan in the system was a bold move. I
could’ve lost my internship.
    And yet I’m still no closer to
knowing what makes him tick.
    Well then.
    Guess I’ll have to go straight to
the source.

 

CHAPTER EIGHT
– TITAN

 
    “You hear someone got beat up
leaving Hammerhead last night?” The whirring of a power drill nearly drowns out
KJ’s voice as he works beneath a hoisted Buick in the bay next to me.
    “Oh, yeah?” A zing of heat sears
down my back as my heart damn near stops cold. The last thing I need is someone
noticing the bruised and battered assholes that climb out of the basement of
that joint.
    Kyle assures me he’s got
spotters, and he claims he’s never had any problems, but it’d be my fucking
luck that someone would see something and call the cops.
    “What’d he look like?” I ask,
doing my best impression of a guy who doesn’t give two fucks.
    “Shit, man. I don’t know. It’s on
the news.” KJ nods toward a flat screen T.V. hanging in the waiting area. I
squint through the clear glass pane to try to read the scroll at the bottom of
the screen.
    They’re saying the victim was
beat beyond recognition, but they believe him to be a Hispanic male, upper
twenties, heavy build.
    The guy I fought last night had
sandy brown hair. Just like Kyle’s. I distinctly remember that