Serve & Protect

by Kayla Carson

  “I may have.” I said, taking the next right onto Fisher.

  “There's still time before the wedding for him to leave you for me you know.”

  I rolled my eyes, putting the car into park. “You know-” I started, but the sound a of gunshot stopped me dead in my tracks. I reached for my radio, announcing our arrival on the scene, as well as the shots fired, before Erin, and I exited the vehicle with our guns drawn. As we began to slowly approach the house, the front door flew open. Mr. Martin was clutching one hand with the other, with Mrs. Martin on his heels holding a shot gun.

  “Mrs. Martin!” I called out, getting her attention. “I'm going to need you to put the gun down so that we can take a look at Mr. Martin, alright?”

  “She shot me!” He yelled with disbelief. “Blown my hand near clean off!”

  “He deserved it!” She yelled back. “Twenty five years of marriage, and he'd rather watch that smut!”

  Erin's eyes widened, and I prayed to God that she didn't start laughing. I took a deep breath, holstering my gun. “Mrs. Martin, I understand you're upset, but we really need to get him to the hospital.” I showed her that my hands were empty. “Please, just set the gun on the porch swing, and come on down the stairs.”

  She nodded, and after Erin got Mr. Martin into the waiting ambulance, I grabbed my cuffs. “I really hate to do this Mrs. Martin.” I said sympathetically, before reading her; her rights and easing her into the backseat of the cruiser.

  When we got back to the station, everyone was talking about the call we went on. “Promise me something Hales?” Noah asked, looking me dead in the eye. “When we get old, if I spank it to a little porn.. promise me you won't shoot my hand off?”

  “Fuck off Steele.” I said, giving him a little shove.

  “Be careful Steele!” Noah's partner, Jack Donovan yelled from across the room. “A girl like James, she's more likely to shoot your junk off!”

  “Fuck off Donovan!” Noah, and I said in unison enticing laughter throughout the station.

  “Steele, James! My office. Now!” Chief Craig boomed.

  The oohs, and ahhs that followed were loud enough to drown out a hurricane. This was one of the reasons I didn't want to wear my ring into work. I don't want my cop buddies to see me as a woman. I want them to see me as a capable officer of the law who won't take their shit. As much as I love how Noah treats me like a lady, I need to be seen as more than that. Which is exactly why I wanted to be the one to knock this dealer to the dirt tonight.

  “I assume you two are ready for tonight? You've gone over all the information, your cover stories are intact?”

  “We're all set sir.” Noah agreed.

  Chapter Two

  Clearly the speech I had given myself inside my head had backfired. God was punishing me. Instead of being the bad ass cop that I damn well knew that I was, I was squeezing into a tiny black dress to be Noah's arm candy. Literally. My cover name was Candy for Christ's sake. I pulled at the dress, trying to cover my ass but every time I did my breasts were exposed even more. It was a lose, lose situation. When I opened the back door of the surveillance van, Noah offered me his hand. I took it, and when I was standing in front of him he looked pissed.

  “Does she really have to wear something so.. revealing?” He asked, as the chief climbed into the van I'd just exited.

  “You're playing a part Steele. Your part calls for a high class call girl. She can't go in wearing sweatpants. If she's uncomfortable, I can always ask Jennings-”

  “I'm not uncomfortable sir. I've got this.” I said with as much confidence as I could muster. Noah had been working this guy for nearly six months to gain his trust, and I wasn't going to be the reason that the deal went sour.

  “Good. Now let's get this show on the road.”

  Before another word could be said, he closed himself inside the van, leaving Noah, and I to our own devices. Placing his hand on the small of my back, he led us towards the entrance of the night club we were meeting our target at. He slid his hand to my hip protectively as we entered the building, and I could feel a million eyes on me as we walked by table, after table of rich men and their companions. I suddenly didn't feel so under dressed. Most of the women here looked like they were in their damn underwear. “Compared to these other girls, I look like a grandmother.” I joked, trying to make light of the situation. Noah gave my hip a slight squeeze then, letting me know that I wasn't funny. I rolled my eyes, just in time to be greeted by our target.

  His name was Antonio Garcia, and in the year and a half that he's lived in Georgia he'd managed to get three teenagers killed. Not personally, but with his product. He was bringing it in from Mexico. Not a lot happened in our small town, so a sting like this would be big news. We needed everything to go perfect tonight. So when Garcia raised my hand to his lips to introduce himself, I let him. I smiled, I batted my lashes, and I giggled at all of his jokes. I even let him pull me onto his lap while he spoke “business” with Noah.

  I had to hand it to my fiance, he was handling the fact that some creep had his hand on my thigh pretty damn well. Or so I thought. After a few more minutes of “negotiations” Noah crooked his finger, silently telling me to return to him. I started to stand, but Antonio pulled me back down into his lap, before whispering in my ear. “Whatever he's paying you Sweetheart, I'll double it.”

  Giving him my best flirty smile, I reached in between my breasts, and pulled out a business card. I slipped it into the front pocket of his shirt, and then made my way back to Noah. The instant I was in his lap, I felt him relax beneath me. “We good now?” He asked.

  “Follow me.” Antonio said, signaling to one of his men to go with us.

  Antonio led the way towards the back of the club. There was a long hallway that was tucked away behind what appeared to be a VIP room. His flunky was behind us, and the deeper we went into the lions den, the harder Noah's grip on my waist became. He was nervous. It was times like these that I wished I didn't know him so well, because his nerves, gave me nerves.

  When we finally reached our destination, we were in a large store room. It was cold, and smelled like dead fish. I brought my hand up to my face, trying not to gag.

  “I'm sorry Sweetheart.” Antonio practically crooned. “There's no easy way to hide drugs, but fish seems to cover the scent of everything. My cousin's restaurant you see. Our buildings connect through this shared warehouse.”

  “Smart.” I said, biting my bottom lip as if I were impressed.

  He winked at me, before motioning to his flunky once again. “While he grabs your product, I'd like to count the cash.”

  With his free hand, Noah let the bag he'd had slung over his shoulder fall to his hand before tossing it to Antonio. “What's this? You don't trust me?” He joked.

  “I know you're good for it.” He said, opening the bag and examining it's contents. When he was happy with what he saw, he nodded to his flunky. As soon as the drugs reached our hands we could make the arrest. Noah had two guns on him. The one in the back of his waistband was for me, which is why he still held me so close to him. Flunky tossed a similar bag to Noah, and I pulled the gun from his waistband, still keeping my hand behind his back to conceal it.

  After Noah checked the bag, I stepped away from him, and pointed my gun directly at Antonio. Seconds later, Noah was pointing his at the flunky. “Antonio Garcia.” I said in a stern voice. “You're under arrest-.”

  He laughed, before diving behind a box. Noah had engaged in a fist fight with the flunky, so I followed Antonio. With my gun drawn, I ran around the corner only to find him already gone. Kicking off my heels, I began to follow the path I believed he took. It led me to a door, and when I opened it I saw him. He was still running, and I gave chase barefoot down an empty alley. “Stop, or I'll shoot!” I yelled, but he wasn't stopping.

  He dipped down another alley, and I spotted a short cut. If I could hop this fence, I'd be able to head him off. Running as fast as I could I climbed the fence, and
when I got to the other side he was directly in front of me. “Get down on the ground!” I yelled. He put his hands up, and started to back away from me slowly. “Get down on the ground, or I'll shoot you in your fucking knee cap!” I yelled again. This time he listened. I placed my knee on his back then, grabbing his hands and holding them roughly behind him.

  “If you wanted to play Sweetheart, all you had to do was ask.” He said, causing me to grind my knee into his back a bit harder. He moaned in discomfort just as Noah came running towards us.

  “Haylee! Are you OK?” He asked, taking in the scene. He smirked, and with a flirty smile he said. “Yeah you are.” Before slapping a pair of cuffs onto Antonio and helping me to my feet.

  I pulled my dress down, smoothing it over my body. “Whose idea was it to not give me a pair of cuffs?” I asked, looking around at the other officers who had joined us. “And damn, my feet are cold.”

  “Where in the hell would you have put them?” Noah asked, on a laugh.

  “Did someone ask for shoes?” Chief Craig asked, as he approached us with my heels in his hand.

  “Thanks Chief.” I smiled, using Noah to lean on while I slipped my feet back into them.

  “Nice work James.”

  “Thank you Sir.”

  “You two head on home. It's been a long day. I'll handle the paperwork on this one.”

  “Are you sure?” Noah asked, raising a brow.

  “I am. Enjoy your weekend kids, you deserve it.”

  “Thank you Sir.”

  After taking a shower and washing the day away, Noah, and I curled up in bed and flipped the TV on. He lay in his boxer briefs, and I was in his favorite black tee shirt with my head resting on his bare chest. “I wanted to knock Antonio's teeth down his fucking throat tonight.” He said, kissing the top of my head.

  I laughed, leaning up to kiss his jaw. “We make a pretty great team Steele.”

  “Yeah, we do.” He smiled. “What's this I hear about Chief Craig putting some rookies on your dad's case?”

  “Oh!” I said, sitting up in bed. “He thinks it will be good to get fresh eyes looking at things. People who didn't know my dad, and weren't close to him. This way they won't go in expecting certain behaviors from him. They'll look at angles that maybe his friends, and colleagues wouldn't have.”

  “You seem excited?”

  “I just want answers Noah.” I sighed, laying back on his chest again.

  “You can't be involved, you know that right?”

  “Yeah, I know. I love you.” I said, snuggling closer to him.

  “I love you too, Sugar. Now get some sleep. We've got the entire weekend off, and tomorrow I'm spending the day with you.”

  “You are?” I said in a sexy sing song voice. “And just what are we doing detective Steele?”

  “I'd tell you... but I'd have to kill you.” He half whispered, half growled in my ear sending goosebumps all over my body.

  “How am I supposed to go to sleep now?” I teased, pressing my lips to his neck softly. “Think you can tire me out?”

  “Anything for you, Sugar.” He said, before disappearing beneath the sheets. “This whole sleeping in my shirt thing is really working for me.” He whispered against my thigh, before spreading my legs apart with his hands. “Underwear is so overrated.”

  Chapter Three

  I yawned, stretching to look at the alarm clock on my bedside table. Eight AM, and Noah had already left the bed. Curious, I tossed his shirt back on smiling at the memory of why I'd taken it off in the first place. Padding barefoot through the living room, I found him in the kitchen. “Something smells good.” I said, leaning in the doorway with a lazy expression on my face.

  “Go back to bed.” He chastised. “How am I supposed to bring you breakfast if you're awake already?”

  I laughed, coming up behind him, and wrapping my arms around his waist. I ran my hands up his bare chest, while resting my head on his back. “You could always come back to bed instead.” I offered.

  “We have plans remember.” He said, expertly flipping the pancakes he was making.

  “Do I smell chocolate chips?” I asked excitedly.

  He laughed, turning to face me then. “I know they're your favorite, Sugar.” Kissing my forehead, he spun me away from him once again. “Now get that pretty little ass back into bed so I can feed you.” He added, giving my ass a hard smack.

  I squealed, pretending to be offended, before making my way back to our bedroom. After brushing my teeth in the adjoining bathroom, I climbed back into bed, checking my phone while I waited. I had a new message from Erin, asking about when we were going dress shopping. I rolled my eyes. We hated each other, but neither one of us had any girlfriends. Our friendship was.. complicated.

  “I hope you're hungry.” Noah said, as he entered the room carrying a large tray.

  “Saved by the pancakes.” I smiled, patting the space beside me.

  Handing me the tray, he slipped into bed beside me, and then we settled it in between us. “Try this.” He said, waving a piece of bacon in front of my face. “I cooked it in maple syrup.”

  “Sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen.” I teased, before taking a bite. “Mmm so good though.”

  “Let me taste.” He smirked, leaning over to press his lips to mine, making me giggle.

  “You couldn't have just taken a bite of the bacon?” I teased.

  “What's the fun in that? Besides, you taste so much better.” He teased back, pecking my lips again.

  “Are you going to tell me where we're going today?” I asked, batting my lashes.

  “That doesn't work on me anymore, James.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, Steele.” I winked.

  Before I knew what was happening, the breakfast tray was being lifted from the bed, and Noah's body was pressed against mine. I couldn't help but smile up at him. “Damn, that smile.” He said, pressing his lips to mine in a soft kiss that soon turned carnal. We were full on making out now, my arms wrapping around his neck, and my legs opening to cradle him between them. I could feel his growing erection, as his tongue darted expertly in, and out of my mouth and I couldn't help but moan into his.

  He swallowed the sounds, and ground his hips against me impatiently, the only barrier between us were his boxer briefs, so I moved my hands from his neck, down to his waist in an attempt to free him from them. He growled against my lips, and seconds later he was slipping inside of me. There was nothing slow, or gentle about our lovemaking this morning. It was urgent, and frenzied, and we couldn't keep our hands off of each other.

  I tangled my hands in his hair, as he thrust into me deeper, and deeper hitting the depths of my pleasure zone. Our chemistry has always been off the charts, especially since our relationship started out with sex. But being with someone, loving someone, and really giving your all to someone was a whole new experience. I'd never been with a man who made me feel the things that Noah did. He made me come alive in ways that I never thought were possible.

  He dipped his head down to my neck, nipping me there and my grip tightened on his hair. “Noah.” I breathed out, as I felt myself being brought closer, and closer to the brink. I felt him smile against me, and with a few final thrusts we were going over the edge together. I cried out, and he captured my lips with his roughly, before resting his forehead on mine. “So much for our morning run.” I whispered, still catching my breath.

  He laughed. “Sex burns more calories than running anyway.”

  “And now I'm starving!” I laughed back, pretending to shove him off of me.

  “Message received.” He smiled, rolling off of me, and onto his side to reach for the discarded breakfast tray. I gave his bare ass a little tap, and he nearly dropped the tray making me giggle. When it was between us again, he gave me a stern look. “What am I going to do with you, Sugar?”

  “Love me?” I said shrugging my shoulders, with a cheesy grin on my face.

  Then with the most serious face he c
ould muster, he cupped my face in his hands, and whispered. “Done.”

  I gave his lips a quick peck, before returning to my breakfast. I don't know how I got so lucky to find a man like Noah. I still can't believe that I fought the inevitable for so long. The first six months of our relationship was strictly friends with benefits. It took losing my dad for me to realize that life was too damn short, and Noah was too damn perfect to let go.

  After our morning romp, eating, and showering, we were a good hour and a half behind Noah's schedule. I still didn't know where we were going, but as I got dressed I overheard him on the phone apologizing for missing his appointments, as in multiple. I was curious by nature, but being a cop made me even more so. I decided on a pair of ripped black skinny jeans, and paired it with a white tee, and my leather jacket. I wasn't a dressy kind of gal. After sliding my boots on, Noah and I finally found our way to his truck.

  “Are you going to tell me where we're going now?” I asked, as I fastened my seat belt.

  “No.” He paused. “You look good today.” He winked, as we pulled out of the driveway.

  “Stop changing the subject.”

  He laughed. “Can't you just let me take you somewhere without asking a million questions for once? After this weekend, we'll be on different shifts for a while. Let's enjoy this.”

  “You're right.” I said, relaxing in my seat. I had forgotten Noah would be working the graveyard shift until we found a few more police officers to cover the shift.

  “What?” He asked, with mock shock. “Can you repeat that?”

  “Shut up!” I laughed, swatting his shoulder.

  Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to a tiny white church surrounded by trees, with a beautiful flower garden in front. “Noah?”

  “Surprise.” He said, putting the car in park. “We're looking at wedding venues!”

  “Venue.” I corrected him. “This is it. I've wanted to get married here since I was a little girl! How did you know?”

  He shrugged his shoulders, acting like this wasn't a big deal, but it was. It was huge. The Lovely lane Chapel at Epworth by the sea. I remember driving past one summer with my dad, and seeing a beautiful bride with her hair blowing in the soft sea breeze. I told him that I was going to get married there one day. He didn't even question it, just promised to be there with me on my special day, walking me down the aisle. Only he wouldn't be there now. Suddenly, I was struck with a deep sadness that hit me hard in my chest. I closed my eyes, and tried to breathe the pain away, but the tears came anyway.