IN THE DARK;
CHAPTER TEN
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👩🏼‍💻🐕🥂| 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤
' who are you in the dark?'

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

Callie was finishing a report with Desiree when Jake marched with an annoyed expression.

"Callie come on." He groaned when he came over to her desk after talking to Charles for a moment and grabbed her hand and dragged her to the Mens room

"Dude I'm busy and you gotta stop bringing me in here." Callie groaned as she flattened her shirt before noticing his gloomy expression

"Jakey what happened?" Callie asked as she she reached for his hand.

"Sal's pizza got burned down." Jake informed making the blonde frown.

" Oh my God Jake. Are...are you okay?" Callie questioned the brunette as she held his hand in hers and traced circles on the top of his hand.

"I don't know. But I know I will be once I find the culprit." He assured.

"I feel a but coming."

"But Fire Marshal nimrod won't let me check out the scene."

"By 'let you' you mean, it's not in our Jurisdiction." Callie paused when she noticed the look he was sending her. " Right, sorry a place where most of your best childhood memories were made just got destroyed, you do not want my sarcastic humor so that will end in 3...2 1." She continued before mentally switching to her more empathetic side.

Callie remembered a time when they hung out. They had been working at the 99th precinct for 6 months and they decided they should go do something fun together. So that day they went to Sal's and Jake was ecstatic to see her reaction at the taste of his favorite Pizza place. Callie had to say she really enjoyed it.

She stretched her other hand out and interlocked it with his other hand.

"Jake breathe, we will find the culprit and put him behind bars. I promise, I'll help in every way possible." She assured before pulling him into a hug.

Jake's arms were around her waist and his head was nuzzled in her neck while Callie's arms were around his neck and her head rested on his shoulder as she rubbed his head.

The two of them didn't understand what was going on between them but they knew, they could feel something was changing.

"Thank you for being my best friend Catalina." Jake mumbled softly making the girl smile, he only used her actual name when he was being extremely serious.

"Any day, any time I'll be there for you. Got it." She said reassuringly.

"Likewise."

✦✧✦✧

Sal, the owner of Jake's beloved restaurant had visited the Precinct and now Callie, Jake and Charles were going after a potential suspect.

The minute they walked into the restaurant, Charles asked for a pizza. Callie honestly didn't have the mental capacity to ask her friend why he would be asking for food when they were supposed to be questioning Mario.

"Mario, this pie needs work. Good consistency on the crust, but the cheese to sauce ratio is a travesty." Charles told the chef before spitting the chewed up pizza into the red bucket beside him.

"Do you have to spit?" Jake whined as Callie scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Boop." Jake chirped to his friend as he poked her nose making her giggle.

"In a word, yes. Amateurs go tasting, they fill up and they lose their palate by the third slice. I take this very seriously." He responded before taking another slice and biting a piece.

"So, Mario. Let me tell you what we think happened. Your credit card Transactions are down by a third in the last six months." Jake started.

"Meanwhile, over at Sal's, it was a bunch of smiling faces and happy stomachs. One night you snapped. A little gasoline." Callie gestured with her hands. "A little match and poof! No more Sal's. How right are we?"

"The night of the fire I was at my father's funeral." Mario told the detectives, the blondes face immediately turned into a frown, she understood what it was like to lose a family member.

"Oh...our condolences." Jake told the owner as Callie mentally crossed off the suspect, Boyle spat into the bucket again

"Boyle...I swear..!" She barked at her colleague.

They said their goodbyes before leaving the pizzeria.

"SHOT GUN!" Jake yelled as he ran to the passenger side while Boyle sulked.

Callie walked to the driver's side because she was driving to their next destination it wasn't to far.

They reached there in five minutes, would've been three but there was a bit of traffic.

Once Callie saw the pizzeria she parked and the three detectives walked to the restuarant. Boyle, like before asked for a pizza.

"Gino, this pizza is much better than last time. You've always dead last in structural integrity and sauce." Charles told the chef.

"Boyle. Get off your ass, you aren't getting paid to eat pizza." She scolded the man as Jake talked to Gino.

"This is a dead end. We've gotta check out that crime scene." Jake huffed as Callie pulled him into a side hug.

"Can't, the firemen locked it down." Boyle answered his friend.

"Grab your spot bucket Boyle, those whose monkeys can't stop us." Jake said as he took Callies hand and walked out.

"Jakey. I have an idea. Let me make a few calls and I can get permission for us to look around." Callie suggested making the man pout, her heart fluttered a little. "I know a lot of people. It won't take too long, besides you've already pissed off Holt, a lot."

"Okay, I'll see you later." He said as he brought up her hands to kiss them making her giggle.

"Of course." She said as she slowly let go of his hands, fingers separating before she walked down the side walk.

She only hoped he wouldn't be impatient, considering how close this case was to him.

✦✧✦✧

Back at the Precinct, Catalina had been making a few calls to try get some permission to look at the crime scene.

"Detective Rodriguez." Holt called as he walked over to her desk.

"Yes, Captain?"

"I need you to accompany me to the fire department."

"May I ask why?"

"Peralta went over his Jurisdiction..." Holt started as Callie grabbed her badge and followed after her boss.

The two drove in silence before reaching their destination. They joined Jake, Boyle and the Fire Marshal.

"I apologize Marshal Boone for Detective Peralta's actions. Something I find myself doing quite frequently." Holt told the shorter man.

"In my defense I was the only one saying we should stop hitting." Jake explained making Callie furrow her eyebrows.

"Okay, I'm a reasonable man, so I'm just gonna say this. Fire Peralta immediately. He started a fight, he overstepped his Jurisdiction  and he's obsessed with this pizza place." Marsgal Boone listed.

"What I'm obsessed with is how you're bungling this investigation. They should write a song about it called welcome to the Bungle." Jake said quickly before high fiving Boyle. "Seriously why are you dragging Sal's pizza through the mud that place is special."

"Why's it special?" Holt asked him.

"Because it's the best pizza in the neighborhood."

"Well..." Charles started.

"According to Charles's email blast, its actually number eight." Holt said.

"Captain reads my blast." Charles beamed with a small smile.

"Of course I do , it's the only one that measures mouth feel."

"For real?" Callie asked the two.

"This isn't about pizza. What's it actually about." Holt asked.

"Jake you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Callie whispered to him.

"No, it's okay." He assured to her, he took a deep breath as Callie rubbed small circles on his palms to keep him calm. "When I was a kid I was shortstop on my little league team."

"Oh my God." Boone groaned earning a sharp glare from Callie.

"Its the truth, it's not a brag. My dad was the coach and after every game, he would take the team to Sal's. Halfway though our last season he left me and my mom, and worst part was that I couldn't go with him to Sal's anymore." Jake explained as he gripped Callie's hand every now and then.

"Well, that's certainly not what I expected this to be about." Holt said before Boone broke down.

"I'm sorry that happened to you. What kind of dad, just leaved his son like that?" He paused as he walked over to Jake who's arm was linked with Callie's. "Look, you're a cop and I'm a firefighter but underneath all of it, we're just two boys whose dad's abandoned them and you and I, we're gonna solve this thing, together. Okay" Boone sobbed before Jake agreed. "But first let's hug like men." He sobbed before pulling Jake into a hug and sobbing into his chest.

✦✧✦✧

They managed to get the file from Boone and were currently in his office. Callie started replaying the investigation in her mind. She then ended up remembering something as she looked through the file.

"This cabinet was forced." She said as she showed Jake and Boyle the picture. "Probably with a crowbar." She continued before smiling with pride, Jake noticed and smiled too. "I know who did it, come on I'll explain on the way." She said before shutting the file.

"Wait... I can't believe I'm actually offering this to a cop but, do you want to take the pole down?" Boone asked the trio.

Jake went first, he watched from below to make sure that Callie got down safely. The other two didn't get the chance to go as they were running out of time.

They arrived at Gino's a few minutes later and arrested him and now Jake, Callie and Boyle were back at the Precinct.

Captain had just told Jake to open his drawer to fines it filled to the brim with shaving creme. Despite Captain telling him not to retaliate she knew he would do the opposite.

"Jakey." She called from her desk.

"Yeah Cals?" He said as he turned to her.

"Are you okay, I know how much you loved Sal's."

"I'm okay."

"Well, maybe tonight you can come over and we could watch Ghostbusters and eat some of Sal's finest. I ordered two large pizza's yesterday and only finished one." She offered to her friend.

"This is why you're my best friend, you always know how to make me feel better." He started as took her hands. "I'll meet you at your place around five and I'll bring cookies and creme ice cream." He said as he poked her nose.

Like before, they both knew that something was obviously changing between the two. To others this was their normal flirty behavior but recently its become more. And if they were to be honest, it was kind of scaring them.

Hehe uh hiii

So...its been awhile

Yeah...

I think I can officially label this book as slow updates bc I lose motivation easily 

I'd like to thank every single one of you for getting this book to 10k reads ily all

I'm so sorry for making you all wait so long

Any who I hope you enjoyed :)

Feel free to check out my other things :)