Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“Deal,” I teased. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Her brows rose. “You could stay here if you’re the one giving me a ride…”
“I’d fuckin’ love to,” I said. “But I have to go get Boss fed, then I have to get my uniforms cleaned, so I have something to wear tomorrow. But maybe I’ll pack a bag and some dog food, and we can have a sleepover tomorrow.”
“Orr…” she suggested. “I could pack a bag, and I could finally check out this house.”
“Fantastic.” I pulled her in for one last kiss, keeping it fairly chaste this time in order to be able to leave. “Get inside. Dead bolt the door.”
She turned around and did just that, leaving me outside with the strangest feeling of fullness in my heart.
I had no idea if she liked coffee.
Also, I had no clue what kind of Danish she’d like, so I got her a lot.
I also got her a few to take into the office so that she might or might not be liked a little more by the office staff.
Not that anyone wouldn’t love her.
There was no way that would ever happen.
But they weren’t above being bribed.
I’d just pulled up to the curb in front of the apartment building when I saw a man standing there that looked familiar.
It took me a few seconds to place him, but when I did, my eyes narrowed.
I got out of my cruiser, leaving the coffee and food behind, and started reaching for my handcuffs.
If this fucker so much as stepped into that building…
He was staring up at it with narrowed eyes, not quite close enough to reach for the door, but still close enough to count, if you asked me.
The handcuffs were in my hand, and it was the clink of me opening them up to put around his wrists that had him backing up and turning around with a smile.
“Well, hello, Officer.” He grinned.
I didn’t show any outward sign of annoyance like I really wanted to.
“You are perilously close to breaking the trespassing order,” I replied. “Why are you here?”
“I was waiting for Lea to come out, but she’s late.” He shrugged.
My eyelid twitched.
“The next step in all of this is a restraining order,” I said. “That would label you as a stalker, though. Are you ready for that? Because people that run background checks can see you have a restraining order against you.”
“I already have a job, and they won’t require a background check because it’s family. Therefore, I’m not sure that your threat is valid,” he drawled.
This pompous jerk.
“Anyway…I thought y’all broke up?” Joseph asked, a gleam in his eyes.
This bitch…
“No,” I said simply. “We didn’t.”
“Then why haven’t you been around?” he asked.
My eyes narrowed. “I have…but that brings a bigger question. Why are you stalking her enough to know that I ‘haven’t been around?’”
Joseph shrugged as if he couldn’t care less that he’d just revealed that he was around enough to know her habits.
“I mean, if you’re this nonchalant about things, we could just go and get a restraining order because you can’t leave her alone. I’m sure that a judge will have no problem issuing that to a woman that was blinded by the man that’s stalking her,” I offered.
“I didn’t blind her. That rock did,” he countered.
“You’re splitting hairs,” I explained. “You were fully able to stop your hike and bring her back down the mountain to a doctor. Because you didn’t, she suffered a significant brain bleed that impaired her optic nerves. Had you gotten her to the emergency room instead of leaving her there to finish your hike, she would’ve been able to see today.”
“That’s not what happened.” He rolled his eyes.
“That’s exactly what happened because I was the man that carried her down that mountain after she’d been sitting there, terrified and hurting, for two hours.” I took a threatening step forward. “I saw her that day. I picked her up in my arms and held her close. I soothed her worries. I held her hand when she was scared that she’d never be able to see again. So yes, I know exactly what happened. And mostly, what I know is you’re a poor excuse for a man. You don’t deserve to be on the same planet as her, let alone breathing her air or wanting a second chance. Now, for once, think about someone other than yourself, and leave her the hell alone. She’s been through way too much already.”
“I think you’re exaggerating a little bit. And the rock that hit her was tiny. How was I supposed to know it was that bad?” he asked.
I immediately wanted to throat punch him.
The thing was, my eyes had landed on the small boulder that hit her. It’d been on the side of the trail about to tumble down the mountain to nail another unsuspecting victim.