Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
She needed to be loved.
And even though a decade had passed, I loved her as much now as I did back then. Maybe even more. But I had no clue if it would be enough.
Early morning light filtered through the slats of Anne’s bedroom window, falling over her sleeping face in strips of gold.
Fuck, she was gorgeous. Her long hair splayed over the pillow, her face relaxed after the intense and hard night she’d had last night. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay in that bed with her all damn day.
But I couldn’t.
There was something I had to do before we both needed to go to work.
I gave her one last look, my heart filling too big for my chest, and headed to her kitchen. I’d ordered her favorite coffee and breakfast, and left it on the counter with a note explaining where I went. Her alarm would go off in ten minutes, and I didn’t want her to feel alone.
Making my way to the station, I bypassed my coworkers and headed straight to the drunk tank. He was right where I’d left him last night, but the sight of him today? After knowing what I knew?
I wanted to fucking kill him.
I cracked my neck, my hands curling into fists as I headed into the tank. And just my luck, this asshole was alone.
“Finally gonna let me out?” Kent groaned as I stood over where he lay curled in a ball on the small bench in the room.
“After we have a little chat,” I said, reaching down and grabbing him by his shirt, hauling him off the bench and across the room.
“Whoa, man, what the hell?”
I slammed him into the wall a little too hard, and I did my best to get a lock on my anger, but I didn’t let him go.
“What the fuck did I do?” he snapped, trying like hell to shake off my hold.
He couldn’t.
“You know what you did.” I shoved him into the wall again, the line between professionalism and vigilante justice blurring for me.
“I was drunk last night,” he said, like that was an excuse. “I said I was sorry when you chucked me in here.”
“Not last night, asshole,” I practically growled. “Ten years ago. At your grad party.”
His brow furrowed, eyes lilting to the side like he was trying to remember.
“Anne,” I said.
Recognition dawned in his eyes, and he fucking laughed. “Andromeda?” he asked. “You’re pissed cause I fucked your girlfriend ten years ago?”
I yanked him off the wall, then shoved him right back into it so hard he groaned. “You didn’t fuck her,” I said, seething. “You took advantage of her.”
“It was ten years ago, man. I can barely remember it.” He gaped at me. “But we were partying,” he snapped. “She didn’t say no—”
I saw red and sank my fist into his gut.
He doubled over, and I had to take a step back.
“She didn’t,” he groaned, holding his stomach as he looked up at me. “She—”
I yanked him up by his shirt again. “She shouldn’t have had to, you pathetic piece of shit.”
“Okay, okay,” he said, throwing his hands up in defense. “I swear I thought she was into it.”
Disgust washed over me, twisting my gut. How many other girls had he said the same thing about? Anne didn’t want to press charges because she didn’t want a trial that was her word against his, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t dig into his past and see what I could find.
“I’m going to have your badge for this,” he said once he could stand up straight. “You’ll fucking regret this.”
“Regret this?” I dragged him closer, letting him see every inch of my rage. “Try me asshole. I’ll dig up every single piece of your past, which judging from the look of you, is likely littered with shit you’ve had to buy your way out of.”
All the color drained from his face, and he looked close to pissing his pants.
“You take one step out of line, and I’ll end you. You ever come near Anne again,” I continued. “And I’ll forget that I wear this badge.”
He visibly swallowed, sheer terror shaping his features. “You her boyfriend or something?”
“Yes,” I answered even though I didn’t know what I was to her, but it went beyond labels for me.
Fear flashed through his eyes.
Good.
He should be afraid of me.
“I understand,” he said, almost shaking where I held him now. “I haven’t…I won’t step out of line. Just leave me alone.”
I released him, and he stumbled back against the wall.
“Good,” I said, my fingers trembling with adrenaline. “Now get the fuck out of my station before I find a legitimate reason to keep you here forever.”
He gave me a wide berth as he exited the tank, heading straight into Tanner who already told me he would do his out processing.