Read Love Lies Bleeding for Free Online Page A

pour for a couple of minutes then taper off. That wasn't happening and the longer he sat there, the more it began to seep into him the rain wasn't about to stop. Reluctantly he pushed from the vehicle, snapped open the trunk, and rummaged through his bags. He found the ones with meats, milk, and ice-cream—things that needed to be refrigerated. Braving the rain, he walked up to his front door. He juggled the bags slightly, hunched over to shove the key into the lock but when he braced slightly on the door, it pushed open.
    That caught his attention instantly because he knew he hadn't left that door open. He had gotten especially paranoid about leaving doors open after his father's death. Anderson straightened his body then used the toe of his boot to push the door wider. The bags he held slid from his hand, crashing onto the ground, and Anderson stood in the rain staring into his home. He had paid so much money to have it decorated perfectly—now everything was a mess. From where he stood, there were markings on the wall, clothes on the floor, and broken cups. He stepped in slowly, glancing around him. He swallowed the angry lump in his throat and moved through the house. The kitchen was completely destroyed. The china his mother had left him in her will was all broken to pieces on the ground. Every glass, plate, saucer, and mug was shattered. Kicking a pot, it flipped to reveal a hole in the bottom. The food he had left in the fridge before was now sitting in the sink and the fridge stood open.
    "Fucking hell," Anderson yelled out in anger.
    He made his way up the stairs and peered into all four rooms. With each room his anger rose higher and higher. Each room was in a sorrier state than the last. Someone had taken a knife to the beds, the furniture, and his mother's chair that sat in the far corner of the blue room. That was her favorite room in his house. Anderson felt as though he was losing her all over again. When he entered his bedroom, he felt a tear slid down his cheek for there, on the ground, broken in tiny pieces was the frame that held the last picture his parents took before his mother died.
    Turning on his heels, Anderson ran out the door. He pulled the detective's card from his pocket and dialed the number.

Chapter Four
     
    Leo was already on his feet and taking a final bite of his sandwich. He'd gotten a chance to sit down and eat something before the call came through. Sure he could have sent a uniform but they would just screw up his crime scene and make him angry.
    He didn't have time to call Daniel and he wasn't sure he wanted his partner to go with him because of his personal stake in the case. The two were close but if any blame came down over how he was handling things, he really didn't want Daniel losing his badge because of it. He knew if something happened, his partner would cover for him and he didn't want to put his friend in that position. He all but dove into the front seat of his unmarked cruiser, flipped the siren on, and peeled from the diner parking lot. He checked traffic quickly and pulled to the left hand to drive down the emergency lane then cut across traffic going south.
    A few cars were slow getting out of his way, so he simply honked at them and went around. He wasn't sure why there seemed to be so much traffic when he was in a rush. He had to drive in the wrong lane a few times but his heart and adrenaline would not let him slow down. He'd loss Jazmon, the only father he'd ever known. He wasn't about to let anything happen to the one connection he had left to Jazmon.
    When he finally got there, he parked on the front lawn and rushed over to where Anderson was standing out front. It dawned on him then he had no idea what he had expected when he showed up. But he was glad it wasn't anything gruesome.
    "Are you all right?" he questioned.
    Anderson nodded. "Fine. There's no one in there. But the house is smashed to fucking smithereens."
    "Okay. Give me a chance to go through the