Read SEIZED Part 4: A Steamy New Adult Romantic Suspense Thriller (Seize Me Romance Fiction Series) for Free Online

roses. More than any other members of the department, they’re exposed to trauma. Analyzing crime scenes means constantly making yourself simultaneously focus on and detach from disturbing sights. They see the worst of the gore. Their job is to enter the mind of the criminals, and sometimes victims, to help us analyze what happened so we can take action.
    I’m bummed when his message turns into an apology. He tells me he’s had a wrist injury and can’t come fishing. His physiotherapist has ordered rest. I’m disappointed, but I don’t blame him. Fishing would make it worse. Maybe this is a sign that I should be taking George on that trip instead. It’s far enough down the road that he’ll have his cast off. Ryan and I can plan another trip.
    We’ve had some great holidays together. I know he’s got my back. He’s a real adventurer. From water to mountains I can’t think of any other buddies I’d rather hang with. I reply and tell him it’s fine, and he must be at his desk. He replies almost immediately, reminding me jokingly that we can do a repeat of camping in the San Juan hills in Colorado. I laugh because he knows that trip was a scare and a half. I’m normally pretty bear aware, but a grizzly had started the practice of visiting our campsite nightly. One night, it had tried to get into my tent. Somehow, Ryan woke up and caught him at it.
    The bears out there don’t make a practice of attacking, but I’d forgotten to seal the food I had in my backpack. The bear was just hungry. It scared the shit out of me, waking up to hear Ryan shouting to get its attention and scare it away. I’m glad he was there with a cool head. Even the fiercest cops I know would lose their shit in the same situation.
    Instead of replying to his email, I call him back, just as my coffee arrives.
    “Bud! Saw your bad news. Sorry to hear about your wrist… what the hell happened?”
    “Blake man, it was so random. I was test firing a mother of a rifle into our bullet recovery tank, and when I turned off one of those antiquated valves, something just popped. It was weird. The physiologist says it’s just a ligament strain. I gotta be careful, though. Wouldn’t want it to give myself any permanent damage. Wrists are too important.”
    “Yeah man, I get it. No problems. I’m thinking I can take George. It’s about time he learned to fly fish.”
                  “Good idea. It’ll be awesome. I did something like that with my dad back in the day.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah bud. We stayed out for days, didn’t catch anything until the last day. It was a bit of torture, but he eventually taught me to catch, gut and clean a fish. He even taught me the knots. It was a good first trip. I’ll never forget it. Two men trying to conquer nature for a solid week and the fish just weren’t biting. When I finally got a line out… I tell ya, I nearly wet my pants!”
    This guy cracks me up. His childhood was idyllic. Parents who cared about him. Took him fishing. Loved him. I want the same thing for George. He deserves a father figure even though his is not in the picture.
    “We should plan a trip for you, me and George, man,” I tell him.
    “Yeah, definitely.”
    “I need you to be my wingman out there, so take as much time as you need to recover; none of this saying you’re okay bullshit.”
    “It’s a deal,” he answers. “Hey I’ve gotta go now. If you have time next week, let’s talk in person soon.”
    “Why? You got an update for me on this kidnapping case?”
    “No. Nothing major, but let’s find a time soon. Gotta go.”
    I hang up. He’s exactly the sort of good influence we need around George. It’s good to talk to him, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that Carrie is still up here in Jersey, probably getting herself in trouble.

Chapter Six
    Blake
    It’s late. People are trickling out of the café. Even the hipster barista slows down and jokes with the other staff person. I order another