Beauty and the Badge Read online Ella Fox (Charlotte’s Cove #1)

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense Tags Authors: Series: Charlotte's Cove Series by Ella Fox
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Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
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The woman I picked up earlier was nervous about the attraction between us, but dammit, it was there, and she wasn’t fighting it all that hard. When I dropped her off just now, she had a wall up, and I felt like a goddamn douchebag after a shitty first date.

Night and fucking day in a matter of hours, all because of one stupid fuck-up I made months ago.

I slam the door to my truck and then make sure to click the key fob twice so it locks before I head toward the house. Most of my neighbors leave their shit unlocked, but in addition to being a cop, I lived in a city too long. I like things locked up tight, always. I smile a real smile for the first time in hours when I open the door and find Boo on the other side, jumping up and down like a goof. Gently moving her out of the way, I close and lock the door behind me before I bend down and scratch her behind the ears.

“Hey, girl. Were you good while I was out?”

Her tongue lolls out of her mouth as she stares up at me with the puppy version of a proud smile. Yeah, she was good while I was gone. She always is.

Standing, I head toward the kitchen. Taking down a bag of treats from the cabinet, I pull out two little bones. Turning to look at Boo, I smile when I find her already sitting down. She’s a damn good dog. I dispense the treats and then walk through the house to the back slider. Once there, I open it and follow her out. I can tell how tired she is by the fact that she runs to pee and then quickly returns. That’s her way of saying it’s her bedtime.

Following her back in, I close up after myself and then head into the living room. Boo’s already up on the loveseat, rolled over onto her back so I can scratch her furry belly. I lean down and do just that for about a minute, as is our routine. I bought this crazy dog two beds, but she turned up her nose at both. The amount of coin I’ve dropped on my pup is nuts. I paid a small fortune to have the glass in my slider cut for a dog door in the center, and she only uses it during the day when I’m at work. She uses it to get outside and do her business, but I think the bigger reason is that she loves to take herself down to the Andovers’s for treats, cuddles, and love. Aside from that, the door is of no use or interest to her. If I’m in the house, she absolutely won’t use the door, no matter what. One time, she took a spite shit right in front of the door just to make the point that I should’ve let her out. It wasn’t like I’d been neglecting her—I was in the shower.

The dog has a personality. I just roll with it. When life gives me a swift kick in the ass, it’s good to come home to my dog. She reminds me to smile, no matter what. After dropping a kiss on her snout, I check that the small lamp on the table against the hall wall is on before I flip the switch to turn off the overhead lights. Boo isn’t a fan of the dark.

After using the bathroom, I go into my bedroom. Boo can push the handle down with her paw if she wants in, so I shut the door behind me. After kicking off my shoes and stripping down to my boxers, I toss my wallet onto the dresser, turn out the light, and head to my bed. The room is small enough that I don’t need the benefit of sight to get into bed. Pulling the covers up to just above my waist, I cross my hands behind my head and stare up at the ceiling.

Shit is fucking nuts. I felt confident about taking Ashley to Ted’s tonight, because I knew Rita got banned a few weeks ago for getting into a full-on fistfight with a girl she went to high school with. I should’ve known that nut would figure out a way to get the ban lifted.

The way she went after Ashley was appalling. If I weren’t the chief of police, I’d have gone the fuck off, even though we were in a room full of people. That’s the kind of person Rita is though. She pushes you until you’re at your goddamn breaking point, because she’s a fucking nightmare. She gets a perverted kind of enjoyment from public altercations, similar to the way normal people get off on porn.

She pushed hard tonight. This was, by far, the worst she’s been to date. When being rude to Ashley didn’t make me snap, she flat-out fuckin’ lied and said I had sex with her last week. Oh wait. I got that wrong, and detail is important. She said I made love to her.


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