Dangerous Affairs Ch 02

"Man, this is some shit! There are allegations of all sorts here. Harassment, bribery, excessive use of force, and so much more it makes me sick. Who is this Michael Tempton and why on earth wasn't this investigated before? I mean, there are complaints here from more than three years ago." Brian wondered.

"That's the thing, someone might have been covering for him. According to this, he is even accused of conspiracy to commit murder," Damien interjected, showing Brian the name on a page of the file that had caught his attention.

"Assistant Chief William Grayson! I'll be damned! Apparently his daughter was the one to imply that Detective Tempton had been involved."

"Well, then I think we should check her out. I am curious to know what made her think he was implicated." Brian said and he turned to the computer. "Let's see what the late Assistant Chief's daughter is up to."

*************

Leigh was just finishing organizing a few files; it had been a busy day. It had been hard to keep up with the work cases. The office was short of staff and she had to work double shifts. She was exhausted and she had almost managed not to think of Damien. "Oh, God! This is insane." She said burying her head in her hands.

But how could someone forget something like that? When he spoke to her something happened that made her forget where she was and what she was doing there. It was just a brief contact but long enough to send shivers down her spine. Everything else ceased to exist. There was only him touching her and Leigh didn't find her voice to reply to his question. She had never felt anything like it before. She had spent most of her time studying and trying to avoid Michael's constant harassment. There had been no room for romance in her life.

The phone ringing brought her back to reality. She checked the time and it was way passed the end of her shift.

"Miss Grayson, there are two gentlemen here to see you"

"Margaret, could you make them an appointment to see me tomorrow? I was just about to leave."

"They said it's very important. They're with Internal Affairs." Margaret, said in a sympathetic tone, almost apologetically.

Giving a deep sigh, Leigh resigned. "Send them in, please."

Leigh had just finished organizing her files when the door opened. Standing at the door was a very handsome man, light brown hair and an amazing pair of green eyes. But he looked vaguely familiar. She just couldn't figure out where she knew him from.

" Hello, Miss Grayson. Nice to meet you. I am Brian Howard form The Department of Internal Affairs." Brian said, extending his right hand.

" Nice to meet you too, but as you can see, I was on my way out; so, could you please explain what is so important to see me that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Leigh said impatiently as she shook hands with him.

"Well, since you are in such a hurry." Brian said noticing her irritation.

"Brian! Sorry, I had to take that call." Damien said as he came into the room, but he didn't have a chance to finish it. "You.. Damien murmured.

Leigh felt shivers run through her body as soon as she saw him standing there looking devilishly handsome. "This man is pure temptation" she thought.

They stood staring at each other, not saying a word. Tension filled the room. It was Brian who broke the silence. "Ahem so, Miss Grayson, this is my partner, Damien Crook."

"Now, speaking of coincidence." Damien said with a huge grin stamped on his face. But Leigh didn't return the smile, she quickly recovered from the shock of seeing him, ignoring his comment and with all the business facet she could muster she turned to Brian and urged him to continue to explain their reason for being there.

Damien was taken aback by her reaction. Had he misread her reaction to him in the gallery? Maybe she hadn't been as affected to him as he had been for her. No, he knew she had. "But Why is she acting like this?" he wondered.

"We need to discuss with you the allegations of misconduct and complaints of harassment you made against Detective Michael Tempton." Brian started since Damien seemed to have lost all ability to speak.

"Are you serious? Those complaints were made a few years ago, and only now you took interest in checking them out?"Leigh said exasperatedly. She simply couldn't hold back her anger every time Michael's name was mentioned, and on the top of it, she was getting uneasy with Damien's constant focus on her. She wasn't looking in his direction but she could feel his eyes on her.

Damien finally broke his silence when he took notice of how nervous she seemed. "Look, We are sorry it took so long, but more complaints have been filed and we would like for you to help us with any information you might have"

Turning to Damien, Leigh looked straight into his eyes, making him hold his breath for a second. "Mr Crook, the department of Internal Affairs did nothing for me five years ago, what changed? Why now? I have been getting complaints about the lack of cooperation from the Police Department regarding Detective Tempton, and suddenly you show up here at the Office to ask me for information? Would you be honest and tell me what this is actually about?"

"We can't say, sorry...confidentiality issues." Brian said.

"I see. Well, I have no information for you. It's rather late and I am exhausted. Since we have nothing to share, I think you should leave." Leigh said hoping they wouldn't notice the slight tremor in her voice. She needed help dealing with Michael, but she wasn't sure who she could trust in the department. And why did this man, who had been in her dreams for the past two months have to be on the force? Years ago when all the trouble with Michael began she vowed never to get involved romantically with someone on the police force.

"Miss Grayson, we can see this is not the right time to have this discussion. We'll come back tomorrow." Brian said and headed to the door, not giving her the chance to dispute. However, Damien remained still.

"Damien, are you coming?" Brian shouted from the corridor.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Damien murmured while lightly touching her forearm and looking straight into her eyes he gave her a slight nod. Then he turned around and left.

Leigh closed her eyes and sank into her chair. She felt overwhelmed, the touch felt so familiar, so reassuring, and yet it made her heart rate increase considerably. What am I gonna do? she asked herself. There was nothing she could do about it now, she would have to wait and see what else they had to tell her tomorrow, with that thought, she grabbed her purse and left.

**********

"Care to explain what the hell happened with you, man?" Brian asked when they got into the car.

"Sorry. It's just that I got a bit surprised. Didn't you recognize her?"

"Why should have I recognized her? Never saw the girl before today!" Brian said in a exasperated tone.

"The gallery...She's the girl from the gallery." Damien explained.

"Oh shit, Damien. No, I didn't recognize her because I really hadn't looked at her face." Brian said ruefully. "All I noticed was her body!" He added with a teasing grin in his face, knowing it would piss Damien off. He needed his partner to snap out of this mood fast.

"Fuck you, Howard! You don't get to check out her body!" Damien shouted which made Brian laugh hard.

"Yeah, it worked." Brian thought, pleased with himself. Damien only called him Howard when he was really annoyed.

"Possessive much? What if she has a boyfriend?" Brian continued teasing.

"Back off, man! My mind is already fucked up as it is. I don't need you adding extra stress!" Damien said dejected.

"Besides, getting involved with her right now wouldn't be very wise. You know we have a job to do and she's part of it." Brian finally became serious; knowing his friend already had it bad for the girl.

"Shit!" It was all Damien could think of to say.

************

Another sleepless night and thanks to a much vivid dream, her body was aching all over. Leigh was lying on her bed breathless after another orgasm had taken over her. She had spent the night thinking of Damien Crook . "The way he was looking at me...those his lips...hands... Damn it!"

The buzz of the alarm clock on the bedside table brought her back to reality, much to her frustration. She had to get up and get ready for another day of work. But today was going to be different, she knew. She had yet to decide if she would share with them what she knew about Michael. She wasn't sure if she should mention him stalking her, because that's what he was doing. Even though he claimed to be only looking out for her, as he had promised her father. "Bullshit" She thought. She knew his real intentions.

As she was about to lock her front door, Leigh was grabbed by the waist and shoved inside the house. Her assailant had one hand covering her mouth and the other one had twisted her wrist behind her back. He had her face pinned against the wall in the hall. She tried to break free but to no avail. He let go of her wrist only to grab her hair and with the weight of his body he pushed hers violently against the wall again. This caused Leigh to split her lip; she could taste her blood. She closed her eyes tightly praying for it to be a nightmare.

"I've got a message for you, bitch. Back off!!" Speaking in a menacing tone, he hit Leigh on the head and all went black.