Read Complicated: A Tainted Love Novella for Free Online

anything that you both have not told us?”
    “We’ve told you everything, Sergeant Winston,” Ben answers quickly.
    “Is there anything we here at the precinct need to know, Miss Welles?” he asks, staring pointedly at me.
    He knows. He knows everything. I go white and my eyes bug out with fright. I stammer out a lie and Sergeant Winston shakes his head. Oh God, I can’t tell him. I can’t let Ben know this. I need Marshall to get here. Now.
    “If we don’t get to the truth here, Miss Welles, we can’t help your friend,” he declares, fixing me with an annoyed stare.
    “Can I talk to her for a minute, Sergeant?” Ben entreats the big, greying man with kind eyes.
    He nods in affirmation. “Yeah, and talk some sense into her, will ya?”
    I cringe, knowing how stupid it is to not say anything; knowing that the smallest thing could help, but I need Marshall here. I won’t say anything without my lawyer, my Savior.
    Ben all but drags me out of the room. As soon as we’re out of earshot of the Sergeant, he pounces, “What the fuck don’t I know, Rachel?”
    “Ben,” I sigh, feeling the panic rise up my neck. I don’t think I can deny him. I need Marshall. He’ll know what to do, what to say
    “Stop with the secrets, Rachel!” he shouts at me, making me flinch. I want to curl up in a ball and shield myself from his anger. He has every right to be angry.
    “This is life or death, so if there’s anything we need to know, you better fucking say it right now,” he demands. “Isn’t Ryan enough of a scare?” I hate that name. “Is he not enough of a motivation to tell the officers everything so we can find her and get our revenge on Rick and Ryan?” I hate both those names.
    His plea is working, though. God, he deserves the truth, leaving him and the Sergeant in the dark is not helping anyone a goddamn. I open my mouth to tell him something, anything…the truth. That’s when I smell that familiar warm, spicy, citrusy scent of the man I once loved…still love. I would know his smell anywhere.
    I suck in a breath, retracting everything I had been about to say. My nipples bead tight, already feeling his hands on me.
    Jesus Christ . What this man still does to me.
    “Rachel!” he calls to me, almost barreling down everyone in his way as he hurries toward me.
    “Marshall!” I cry out and like a magnetic force, I run to him, crashing into his chest.
    I feel a sense of peace and oneness when his arms come up around me and he squeezes me. I forget everything here in his arms like this; everything that kept me away from him emotionally all these years – his infidelity, me constantly picking fights and my wild accusations…our baby. My tears fall freely, uncontrollable. I needed him and he came. He came.
    He holds on to me like his life depends on it, as if at any moment I might disappear. I clutch him back tightly because I feel the same way. The years apart did nothing to assuage the love I have for him, much as I try to deny the pull between us. Every time we slept together since our break up, I felt a little more of me soften toward him. Back then I could have seen us reuniting, but he never fought for me and he was right not to.
    “Shh, baby, I’m here,” he coos reassuringly, his lips to my ear sending a shiver down my spine.
    I wanna climb him.
    “Oh, baby, I know. Shh, I’m here,” he keeps reassuring me. His soft voice lulls me down from my crying and I pull away from him, wiping my eyes.
    “Marshall, this is Ben Hayes,” I announce when I’ve pulled myself together. “Ben this is Sullivan’s lawyer, Marshall Keyes.” They shake hands stiffly, already squaring off against each other. I sense a lot of mistrust between them in this short time.
    “I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Hayes. You’re very popular in the business world,” Marshall says, his voice tight.
    “Nice to meet you, Mr. Keyes, but you can call me Ben,” Ben tells him, his voice also tight, but more friendly.
    I