We had an early dinner since we were working swing shift, which was two in the afternoon until ten or midnight depending on how the shift went. Scarfing down burgers and shoving fries into our faces got interrupted by a call about domestic violence from dispatch. We were by far the closest unit to the address, so we ditched dinner and rolled out. So far, since I’d been teamed up with Barrett, we hadn’t really had any kind of call that made my nerves ratchet up or my doubts grab hold. But domestic violence calls were so unpredictable that I was starting to sweat and breathe a little harder than normal.

The call was for a neighborhood that was on Colfax up past Colorado. Not quite into Five Points but close enough that it made my skin feel all tingly and had all my senses going on high alert.

Apparently the neighbors had called because the couple could be heard screaming through the walls of the apartment complex they lived in. Sadly, most people try to stay out of it when private business between couples explodes in violence, but apparently this neighbor was concerned because the couple was known to have two small children in the home. Along with raised voices and rattling walls, they had reported hearing the sound of stuff breaking. Barrett and I were going to be the first on the scene for sure and we had no idea what we were walking into. We didn’t know if there were weapons involved, if the kids were on site, nothing. All that uncertainty bubbled in my blood and made me hyperaware of all of my surroundings. Backup was on its way, but according to the dispatcher, they were a solid ten to fifteen minutes out.

I led the way up the stairs. Again thinking that it was weird to be in the front. Out of habit I typically let Dom go into any situation first, maybe because I had been following behind him my entire life, just like the shrink said. I couldn’t get distracted with thoughts like that, though, not with the distinct sounds of breaking glass and screams echoing clearly from one of the units. I shot an apprehensive look at Barrett over my shoulder and he just shrugged. It was all part of the job.

I knocked sharply on the door and all noise from inside ceased. No one came to answer right away, so I pounded again and hollered, “Denver police! We got a complaint about the noise.”

I heard shuffling from the other side of the doorway and felt Barrett tense with alertness next to me. The door creaked open and a man peeked his eye out to look at me. His eyes dropped to my badge, then to what my badge was sitting above, and I saw his gaze widen. It was a reaction I was used to.

“We didn’t call the cops.” His voice sounded shaky and I heard a female voice from inside the apartment scream at him, calling him a cheating bastard.

I lifted my eyebrows at him. “No, you didn’t, but your neighbors did. They complained about the screaming and said it sounded like WWE Raw had moved in upstairs. They also mentioned you have kids, and you must know carrying on like that in front of them isn’t okay.”

The woman’s voice from inside ratcheted up in volume, and behind the man I heard glass shatter. He looked over his shoulder and winced.

“The kids are with my folks. Carla and I are just having a little disagreement is all. It got out of hand. We’ll tone it down, I swear.”

“Disagreement! You cheating asshole! I caught you in bed with my sister!”

Yowza. It sounded like the woman had a right to be furious with him. I would probably want to break all his stuff, too.

“Look, we just need to make sure everyone calms down and be sure no one is hurt.” We also needed to make sure the kids really weren’t in the middle of this shit show.

“Look, Officer …” His gaze skated across my chest again, and I felt Barrett stiffen next to me. I was used to this kind of reaction, so I just brushed it off and kept my eyes glued to the guy. “… Hastings. Carla is a passionate woman. We’ll work it all out and be back to making babies in no time. There’s no need for you to …” He trailed off on a curse as the door suddenly fell open and he tumbled out into the entryway at my feet. A big, wooden-handled steak knife was sticking out of his shoulder and a tiny woman stood a few feet away looking down at where he had fallen with unbridled fury and hatred in her eyes. This must be the notorious Carla.

Her free hand was bloody and in her other one she had a much larger knife. It looked like she had raided the kitchen while we were talking to her cheating spouse.

As calm as could be, she pointed the knife in my direction and told me, “I’m going to cut his balls off.”

I blinked because she couldn’t be serious, but then realized she actually was as she started to advance to where Barrett was taking care of the injured man. He had already called for medical and was looking up at me with huge eyes while he tended to the victim.

I couldn’t look away from Carla. I popped open the strap that held my gun in its spot and pulled out the Taser we were all armed with to use in situations like this.

“Carla, you know I can’t let you do that.” I kept my voice steady and refused to move as she inched closer and closer.

“He’s a rat bastard.” She was shaking all over and her fury was almost palpable. “My sister! My own goddamn sister! How could they do this to me?”

I didn’t have an answer for her other than “people sucked,” but that wasn’t going to get her to see reason or have her dropping the knife.

“This is bad, Carla. Bad for you and bad for your kids. You don’t want to make it worse, do you? You need to put the knife down and just come with me.”

I could hear sirens in the distance, which was great, because the idiot cheater had rallied enough to start screaming back at Carla. He was calling her names and telling her that her sister was a hundred times better in bed than she was ever going to be. He was most definitely not helping the situation. Carla was shaking all over and her face went from furious red to sickly pale. She was going to lose it, so I latched on to the only thing that I thought might shift her anger away from her awful spouse.

“Carla, I know you’re mad at him, disappointed, and no one can blame you. What he did is terrible and unforgivable, but what about your sister? It takes two to cheat and she’s your family, your blood. Don’t you want to tell her how you feel about what she did?”

It was like the sun breaking through the clouds on a summer day. I saw awareness dawn, the rage switch from one target to the other and the fresh betrayal slam into this woman’s body like a freight train. The knife fell out of her suddenly lax fingers and she crumpled into a hysterical ball on the floor in front of me. I let out a relieved sigh and looked over my shoulder to where the paramedics were loading the victim onto a stretcher and getting ready to haul him off. Barrett was talking to someone that appeared to be a neighbor, probably getting a witness statement, and the backup unit was just hovering in the doorway watching the show.