Hetch (Men OF S.W.A.T. #1) Read online

  “Liberty?” Sterling looks up at her name, and then back down at the woman he’s been giving me a hard time about, taking in a better look of her.

  “Yeah, it’s her,” he confirms, brushing a stray blonde hair off her face.

  “Stay there.” I point down at the kid and make my way over to her.

  “Liberty?” I kneel down and place my hands on either side of her face.

  Fuck me. She’s been hit pretty hard. Blood coats her face, dripping down her neck onto her shirt. Hot rage fills my veins seeing her like this while panic weighs me down next to her.

  Who the fuck would do this to her?

  “Lib?” I call again, hoping to stir her.

  “W-what are you doing here, Hetch?” She starts to come to and the fucking pussy who’s taken up residence inside of me since meeting her, enjoys that she recognizes me first.

  Fuck me. Keep your dick in your pants.

  “Mitch?” She tries to sit up but, but I stop her from moving too far.

  “Whoa, hold on there, sweetheart.” I force her to look at me so I can get a better look at her injuries. “You’re bleeding.” Her left cheek has a quarter-inch graze; it’s raised with the start of a bruise already appearing.

  “Hetch? What?” She’s still disorientated. My anger thickens, pulsing through me at a sluggish pace from seeing her like this.

  Who the fuck did this to her?

  “The kid do this to you?” It’s the first thing I ask, still uncertain how to read him.

  She’s still a little out of it, still unsure as to what’s happening, or where she is, but I notice her hand is holding her side as she looks over to where he sits, detained on the side of the road.

  “What? No, Mitch didn’t hurt me.” Her confusion lifts as she tries to sit up again.

  “Hey, hey, calm down.” I try to soothe her but fail when she notices he’s cuffed.

  “What the hell?” Her breath is choppy as she struggles to get her words out, her face contorting in pain each time she takes in air. “Get those cuffs off him. He’s only fifteen.” She tries to fight me, the firecracker in her coming out.

  “He’s being detained right now until I can find out what is happening here.”

  “He was helping me, you”—she takes another deep breath—“fool. He didn’t hurt me.” Jesus, I can’t tell if she’s just winded or has a cracked rib. But something isn’t right here.

  “Then tell me what happened.”

  “Hetch, take the damn cuffs off him.” She fights me, refusing to obey.

  “Stop fighting. You’re gonna hurt yourself more than you already are.” My voice rises at her stubbornness and strong will. Remembering the kid mentioned his brother, I ask, “Did Mitch’s brother do this?”

  Her gaze searching out Mitch’s tells me I’m right.

  “What’s your brother's name, kid?”

  “Dominic didn’t do it,” Mitch answers, and I put their last name together.

  Fucking Dominic Westin, street thug, gang member, a rap sheet probably longer than my dick.

  “Jesus, you’re out here on your own with the likes of Dominic Westin, Liberty?”

  “What am I supposed to do? He’s been hassling Mitch, trying to get him in.” She takes another pained breath. “I showed up and tried to get him home.”

  I turn and look down at the kid. “This true? You’re not part of your brother’s crew?” It’s not that I don’t believe Liberty. I have a feeling Mitch is hiding something.

  “No, sir, well, I-I mean—”

  “You’re either a part of his crew, or you’re not. Simple answer, boy.” Sterling cuts him off.

  “No, sir. I’m not.”

  “Please, Hetch, take the cuffs off. He’s only a kid,” Liberty asks again, her breathing still labored. I nod to Sterling, giving him the all clear as I continue to run my eyes over her body, wondering when the hell the paramedics will show up.

  “So, if Dominic didn’t do this, who exactly did?” I ask Mitch this time, still not sure how to read him. He’s throwing me off with his manners and concern for Liberty, but at the same time, he is Dominic’s little brother. Family tends to stick together.

  “One of Dominic’s boys. I don’t know his name.” I’m about to ask Liberty if she knows them, but the paramedics finally pull into the lot.

  “I don’t need medical attention. I’m fine.” She tries to stand, but can barely get up on her own.

  “Keep still. You need to get checked over, Liberty.” I’m not in the mood to argue with her, but I will if she fights me on this.

  “I’m fine.” She labors in her breathing, and if I wasn’t worried about her, and what injuries she may have, I would laugh at her stubborn ass.

  “You were passed out when we arrived. You have a nasty grazing under your eye, and you’ve been holding your side since you came to.” She takes a second to take stock of her injuries before releasing a slow and pained huff as two paramedics start making their way over to us.

  “Just let them take a look at you, and if they give you the all clear, you can come and give me your statement.” She doesn’t concede right away. It takes a few beats before she nods and lets the paramedic step in and help her over to the ambulance. I keep her in my line of sight, leaving them to do what they need to do, and walk back over to Sterling,

  “Okay, Mitch, you’re gonna give it to me straight. I find out you’re not telling me the truth, you and I are gonna have issues. You understand me?” I’m not going to pussyfoot around here. Someone in his brother’s crew put his hands on Liberty, and I want a name.

  “Yeah.” He nods, fidgeting his weight from foot to foot.

  “You working for your brother?” He falters for a second, his gaze going to the back of the ambulance where Liberty is being checked over.

  “Don’t look at her. I want you to look at me. You’ve already dragged her into this mess. Let us help get you both out of it.”

  “He wants me to do some things.”

  “What sort of things?” I press.

  “I don’t know, just some shady things. I told him I’m not interested, but he keeps showing up everywhere I go.”

  “You tell your caseworker he’s hassling you? Tell Liberty?”

  “Nah, they’re not going to do anything. Besides, he’s my family, you know? Am I supposed to walk away from him?”

  “Yeah, kid. You are.” Sterling offers his opinion. “You don’t want to be messed up with this life, do you?”

  “No, I don’t. I have a good thing at Boys Haven. I told Dominic that, but then he said it’s not safe for me. Not safe for the people there.” He nods over to Liberty.

  “Liberty? He using her over you?”

  “He told me if I didn’t come out, it would come back on her. I can’t let that happen. She’s all I have right now.” He kicks at the asphalt, trying to hold back his tears.

  Jesus, poor fucking kid.

  “Yeah, I get it, kid,” I tell him the only thing I know to say. This Dominic is a piece of work. The last few years he’s risen up in street cred. Working under their leader, Anton Gibson, The Disciples main revenue comes from drugs, women and using kids to hustle for them. They’re yet to be picked up for anything that can stick, which means we need to be very careful. If this crew have Liberty in their sights, who fucking knows what Dominic or Anton could pull.

  “Can I see Liberty now?” He manages to control his emotions and puts the tough-kid mask back on.

  “Yeah, come on. We’ll get your nose looked at too.” I motion toward the ambulance. Liberty is still being checked over when we walk up to her, but before I come to a stop, she is already arguing with me.

  “I’m not going to the hospital, Hetch.” Jesus this woman is stubborn.

  “Well, you are.” I'm not sure how we are going to get through this one.

  “I need to get Mitch home. He missed curfew, and I haven’t reported it yet.”

  “We’re gonna take Mitch back to Boys Haven,” I tell her ho
w it’s going to play out.

  “It’s fine. I’m fine. I don’t need to see a doctor, and I don’t need a trip to the hospital.”

  “You have a nasty bump on your head. And a blow to your torso. You don’t get a say in this.” I turn to the paramedic. “She’s going in.” He looks at Liberty and me, clearly knowing protocol dictates the outcome. He only has to do what the patient wants and if she doesn’t want to go, he can’t make her.

  “Liberty.” I lower my voice, trying to reason with her. “Mitch is pretty shaken up. He’s worried about you and wants reassurance that you’re okay. Let us take him back to Boys Haven. You need to be checked out thoroughly. You may have a concussion, maybe broken or bruised ribs since your hand is still clenching your side.” I eye her hand placement briefly before continuing on, “I promise we’ll take good care of him, but you have to let us do our job.” I can see her starting to slip, see how she looks between Mitch and me.

  “Okay,” she finally concedes.

  “Good girl, we’ll be up later to take your statement. Okay?” I let her know we’re not done here tonight.

  We’re not done outside of tonight either, I think too, but push the thought down and away for later.

  “No, no statement. I’m not pressing charges,” Mitch interjects like he has some say in the matter.

  “Mitch, you know that can’t happen.” It’s Sterling who tries to make him see some sense. Mitch needs to learn he can trust the system. Letting his brother get away with this is not doing him any favors.

  “But it’s only going to make him angrier. He’s just trying to look out for me.” Jesus, even after being hurt by his own brother, he’s still trying to protect him.

  “Mitch, your brother's not looking out for you like family should.” I try this time, but he’s not listening. He only has eyes for Liberty.

  “Please, Liberty. I don’t ask for much. Please don’t make me press charges.” His voice wavers, like he’s unsure he really wants what he’s asking for.

  “How about we talk about this later?” I step in before Liberty can waver. “You need to get to the hospital, and Mitch needs to get home.” I can see her wanting to argue, but Mitch cuts her off.

  “Please, just get checked out, Liberty.”

  “Don’t think this is over, Mitch,” she concedes, her breathing becoming shallower. “I’m not letting this go.” She scolds him in a disciplinary way only she manages to make hot.

  Jesus, Sterling’s right. She’s under my skin. The only problem is, I don’t have time to sit there and pick her out. There are, however, plenty of other successful ways I can get her out of my system.

  My cock in her pussy is one of them.

  “You're lucky it wasn’t anything more, Miss Jenson,” the doctor tells Liberty four hours later after giving her a diagnosis. Bruised ribs and a slight concussion.

  “I told you I was fine.” She turns to face me, pain etched over her forehead.

  “Better to be safe, Liberty,” I tell her, not in the slightest bit put out I made her come in. After dropping off Mitch to Boys Haven, we came back to take Liberty’s statement. While she gave us what she could, we didn’t get much in a way of a lead. We left to finish up our tour with a few more domestics and traffic violations before I headed back over to check in with her.

  “Officer Hetcherson is right, which is why tonight I suggest you have someone around to keep an eye on you. Is there someone I can call?”

  “Ahh,” she pauses, “is it really necessary?” she asks, looking more put out than before.

  “You’re more than welcome to stay the night here,” he offers, probably thinking she doesn’t have anyone.

  “No, it’s fine. I really want my own bed. I’ll call my dad,” she concedes, not looking happy about it.

  “Good. So I want you to take it easy for the next couple of days. No working. Headaches are normal; however, if anything becomes too severe, come straight back here. Understood?”

  “Understood. Thanks, Doc.”

  “Let me get your release papers ready and you’ll be on your way. Be sure to pick up your meds for pain relief.” He hands her a prescription to get filled and steps out, leaving us alone.

  “You want me to call your dad?” I ask, wondering why she hasn’t called anyone already. When I rocked up earlier, I was expecting some family present.

  “Honestly, Hetch, I'll be fine.” The little witch had no intention of calling in anyone to stay with her.

  “You heard the doctor. You’re not being released without someone to look after you.”

  “Please, Hetch, my parents are old, they'll be asleep already. I don’t want to stress them.”

  “Do you have anyone else you can call?”

  “I don’t want to bother anyone.” I don’t say anything right away, frustration over this woman burning stronger with every interaction I have with her.

  “Then I’ll take you home and stay with you,” I offer blindly. She arches a brow like she’s ready to argue, until the nurse comes in with some paperwork, stopping all conversation.

  I step back, letting her do her thing, listening to Liberty’s answers to her questions.

  “Will you be taking her home tonight?” the older nurse asks me, bringing me into the conversation.

  “Yes.”

  “No.” We both answer at the same time. The nurse’s brow spikes as a knowing smirk covers her face.

  “Yes, I will be taking Miss Jenson home tonight,” I answer again, leaving no room for argument.

  “You don’t have to.” Of course, Liberty still argues.

  “Considering I’m going the same way, to the same place, why don’t you just say 'thanks, Hetch, I’d appreciate it'?” She bites her lip, holding back either a smirk or a smart retort.

  Probably both.

  “Thanks, Hetch. I’d appreciate it.” She shocks me with her compliance.

  “You’re welcome.” I turn back to the nurse, ready to give her any information she needs.

  “Well, now that’s settled, I just need a few signatures here, and you’ll be good to go.” She gives me a wink, letting me know she likes my play.

  Liberty signs where she needs to, and within twenty minutes, we’re heading down to the main lobby, Liberty in a wheelchair, me pushing her along.

  “This is ridiculous. I don’t need a wheelchair, Hetch.” She’s been bitching about the damn chair the moment it was wheeled in.

  “I think I’m starting to get you, Liberty Jenson,” I tell her, coming to a stop at the glass front doors.

  “Oh, yeah?” She looks up as I walk around to face her.

  “Yeah.” I hold out my hand, helping her to her feet. “You just like to argue for the sake of arguing. Do you get off on it, Liberty?” She’s a little wonky on her feet, so I keep a hold of her and walk her the rest of the way out to my truck.

  “Whatever, Hetch. You won’t ever get me.” I don’t know if she means physically or logically. My cock would more than love to get to know her physically, but what worries me more is that my head likes the thought of logically.

  “We’ll see,” is all I say as I help her up into my truck.

  “No, we won’t.” Again with the arguing.

  “Sweetheart, I’m already halfway there.” I watch her carefully. The soft sprinkling of freckles that she didn’t bother to cover with makeup today makes me like her a whole lot more.

  “Are you ready?” She doesn’t comment on me already having her figured out, so she hides behind the uppity-snob routine she’s perfected so well.

  “Yeah, you hungry?” I ask, wondering if I need to stop and pick something up for her.

  “Not really. Just want to get home.” Her gaze sweeps around the poorly lit parking lot, revealing the vulnerable side she works so hard to hide. My chest tightens in anger.

  The little punk is going to pay.

  “Then let’s get you home, sweetheart.”

  “Stop calling me sweetheart. You’re freaking me out.”


  Fuck me. If I wasn’t so opposed to love, I think I could find myself falling for her.

  Eight

  Liberty

  The ride home in Hetch’s truck is quiet. After a long and stressful night, all I want to do is close my eyes and find sleep, but I don’t want to let my guard down around Hetch. I don’t need him to see the vulnerable side of me. It’s bad enough I’m back in his vehicle, not only relying on him to get me home but now he’s in my business with Dominic, and he’s seen firsthand what I’m dealing with when it comes to Mitch.

  “You doing okay over there?” His deep rumble fills the truck and pulls me out of my thoughts.

  “Yep.” My reply is too chirpy, even I know it, and I wait for him to call me on it.

  “Gonna get the fuckers who did this to you. Don’t worry about it,” he tells me, letting me know he knows where my head is at.

  I hate he can see through my façade, but at the same time, I find comfort in it. In my line of work, you always have to stay neutral, and not let your emotions drive you. Add in a family who are always on my case about the dangers of what could happen with me getting too close, I never have a chance to allow the vulnerable side to show.

  In a way, it’s refreshing.

  “You always get personally involved with these kids?” His interrogation turns, and it takes me a second to catch up.

  “I’d do anything to help them, yeah.” He doesn’t reply right away, and it makes me wonder what he thinks about me, knowing I’m that way inclined.

  “I want you to be careful, Lib. Dominic and his crew are not the type of people you want to get into trouble with.”

  “You don’t think I know that, Hetch?” I turn a little too fast. Pain strikes through my head and slashes through my side, forcing me to flinch.

  “Take it easy there. Are you okay?” He notices my discomfort and slows the truck down, pulling off to the shoulder of the road.

  I take a minute to get myself together before answering. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I can tell he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t press. Instead, he takes the conversation back to Dominic.