SONG FICTION ~ TRY

It’s inspired by a melody time again, folks. This month’s pick is TRY, by the BACKSTREET BOYS. No surprise here who picked the song 🙂 It’s one I haven’t heard before by them, but they’ve always had a pretty good sound, so…

Here’s the link video if you’d like to give it a listen. Otherwise, let’s do this…

“Damnit, Kate, I know you’re in there.”  Kurt Baxter banged on the door. Again. “Either open the damn door, or I’ll just kick it in.”

He waited, heat burning beneath his skin as he listened to the silence beyond the closed slab of wood. He’d give her one more minute before he broke the fucking thing down. Muffled footsteps sounded from within the apartment before the lock tumbled over with a resounding click. More footsteps padded away from the door, then nothing.

Kurt reached for the handle, sighing when it twisted within his grasp. He pushed open the door, getting his first look at Kate’s apartment. Modest furniture with a few black and white photos gracing the walls—it was refreshingly comfortable. Not quite the sterile environment he’d anticipated. Not after all he’d learned about the detective. How she’d been orphaned young. Spent the majority of her childhood in foster care before signing up with the Navy. She’d done a few tours in the NCIS then jumped ship—literally— finding her way onto the Seattle police department. She’d made detective within her first year and hadn’t slowed down since. Anything he’d heard about her painted a very professional picture. Honourable. Determined. Detached.

He grinned inwardly. He had a feeling the good detective wasn’t quite as detached as she’d led most people to believe. Which was why she’d holed herself up in her damn apartment for the past two days. God forbid anyone realize she had a heart. That she felt anything.

A voice in his head laughed at him. As if he was anyone to judge. He’d buried any semblance of his humanity the day his father had been killed by the very monster Kurt believed was behind the recent string of murders. And he hadn’t looked back, since. Hadn’t bothered with anything more than quick hook-ups and even quicker goodbyes. Then he’d stumbled upon Detective Kate Stevens six months ago during a joint investigation, and he’d been annoying preoccupied by her ever since. Hell, he’d worked hard to find ways to bump into her under official pretence. Any excuse to spend a hour or a day with her, even if it was going through some evidence just to conclude their cases weren’t linked.

Of course, he’d known that before he’d ever approached her, but damn, there was just something about her. A pull he couldn’t quite explain. One that was slowly driving him crazy—his presence at her apartment case and point. He didn’t make a habit out of checking up on colleagues. If they needed some time to deal with a particular situation, he’d always been happy to give that person some space. He wasn’t a shoulder to cry on, and he sure as shit wasn’t the kind to cuddle on the couch, proclaiming things would be all right.

Things were seldom all right unless taken by the nuts and forced into submission. Not to mention the fact, monsters were real. And the dark was something to be very afraid of.

He kicked off his boots, making his way into the main room. Kate had sequestered herself onto the end of the couch, whiskey bottle half empty on the coffee table, a fresh drink sitting in front of her while an empty glass sat next to hers. She didn’t speak, merely pouring another drink before shoving it towards him.

He walked over to her, lifting her legs off the cushions as he sat next to her. Her breath hitched at the seemingly innocent contact, her muscles stiffening until he placed her legs over his thighs, absently giving one calf a squeeze before taking the drink. He offered a mock toast then downed the brown liquid in a single gulp. Soothing heat burned down his throat and into his gut, finally settling it. He grabbed the bottle and poured himself another, topping hers off. A tentative smile tugged at his lips as he gazed over at her.

He motioned to the liquor. “And here I thought you’d be in the corner, drowning yourself in self blame.”

She glanced at the far end of the room, shrugging. “The floor’s harder than shit. I prefer to self loathe in comfort, if it’s all the same to you.”

He sighed, taking a swig of his shot. “That’s kind of the point. Dave’s death wasn’t your fault.”

Kate’s chin quivered for a moment before she visibly steeled herself. “The hell wasn’t.”

“Kate—”

“Dave was at that damn warehouse because of me. Because I’d asked him to do me a favour.” She looked pointedly at him, chin quivering again. “Because I was too assed to go over and meet him. I never should have left him alone.”

“He was a trained officer.”

“But he wasn’t a match for…” She waved her hand in the air. “This. Whatever this fucking thing is.”

Kurt drew in a deep breath, trying to gauge his best line of reasoning. Though he suspected she wasn’t looking for excuses. For a way out. What she needed was to put all that energy into something else. Something raw. Primitive.

HIs dick pulsed at the thought, and he silently willed the damn thing to back off. First, he needed to get her to understand nothing could have saved her friend. Then…

He reached for her, lifting her chin with a single finger. “As I recall, you were investigating another lead with me when Dave called you. Even you can’t be two places at once. And for the record…if I’d thought for one moment he’d be at risk, I would have dragged both our asses over there. Everything pointed to our location, not his. I should have been the creature’s next target. I fit the profile, not Dave.” He released a weary breath. “Which means, I screwed up. I missed something. If you need to blame someone, I’ve got shoulders to spare.”

She sighed, placing her drink on the table as she curled her legs beneath her. “I don’t blame you, Kurt. Dave was my responsibility. I sent him in blind. If I’d given him more information—what to expect—”

“Right!” Kurt laughed, but not because the situation was funny. “Because folks are so eager to believe that Supernatural creatures are running amok. I mean, it only took, what…having that thing damn near kill both of us for you to jump on board. I’m sure Dave would have embraced the knowledge with nothing more than your assurances.”

She glared at him.

He shook his head. “Sorry. The last thing you need is me acting like a petulant ass. It’s just…we still don’t know what we’re up against. This…thing…it’s behaving differently. Dave’s the first victim without one of those crazy notes. It attacked him in the middle of the damn day at a location that’s way outside what I suspect is its home range. None of it makes sense.”

Kate leaned toward him, taking his hand in hers. “We’ll figure it out. Keep trying until we nail its ass.”

He nodded, lifting her hand to his mouth before dropping a kiss on the back. “That’s my girl.” He motioned to the whiskey. “Another?”

She glanced at the bottle, her expression falling. “It’s not helping.”

“Did you really think you could drown the pain?”

She snorted. “My ex didn’t seem to have any problems drinking anything and anyone out of his head.”

“That’s because he was a douche. I have to say, for a woman of your intelligence, your taste in men…”

She snorted. “So, the fact I’m attracted to you, means… Shit.” She covered her mouth, stumbling to her feet, trying to break his hold when he grabbed her to stop her from falling on her face. “I…forget I said that. It’s the whiskey talking.”

He smiled, holding her still as he closed the distance. “Oh, my dear Kate. Alcohol can be blamed for a number of ill-conceived ideas, but it doesn’t make people lie. Quite the contrary. Though that does present a problem.”

She seemed to swallow with effort. “What’s that?”

“Where do we go from here, because sweetheart, I’m having a very hard time coming up with a single reason why I shouldn’t pick you up and take you to bed.”

 

And that’s it for me. Now that I’ve written it, I’m not sure about it fitting in with the song, but…it’s what popped in my head, folks. So… that’s that. Now go check out the other ladies. They might have even made it relevant to the song;)

Bronwyn Green  |  Kellie St. James  |  Jessica De La Rosa

5 Replies to “SONG FICTION ~ TRY”

  1. By the time we’ve gotten through all the flash fiction prompts, you’re going to have several full length books on you hands! 🙂 Nice job with this! 🙂

    1. LOL. I know. But it’s hard to keep doing new stuff when I like the people I’ve made. Though having pieces of several books to complete…not complaining.

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