I wasn’t worried because I was still one step ahead of them. I wasn’t stupid. I’d never tie my shit back to my work. What I had done was create a copy of our database and used that along with the pictures of students from their student IDs to find my women to watch.
After the cops left, I felt giddy. I was flying high all day and wanted to celebrate my win. I knew Reagan wasn’t working since it was Wednesday, and she only worked Thursday through Sunday nights, but I wanted to go to Judy’s and have a drink to rub it in their faces.
Three drinks in, Jack walked through the door. I knew he frequented Judy’s, and I was secretly hoping I’d run into him, even if he was the director of IT—my boss—and I was more or less a peon who did the grunt work.
His gaze met mine, and we both smiled. I’d always thought he was handsome, especially for an older man. I assumed he was at least fifteen, maybe even twenty years older than myself. “Boss,” I greeted.
He slid onto the barstool next to me. “I didn’t know you came here too.”
I grinned. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
Jack slowly smiled. “Oh yeah? Tell me more.”
I leaned my head close to his and whispered, “Then I’d have to kill you.”
Another drink for me, and three for Jack, and we were both feeling good. We got closer and closer, our shoulders touching, our hands brushing against each other. Then his mouth met mine, and everything changed.
For the better.
I’d never expected to have sex with my boss, but it was so good. So good that I started to think women were no longer my thing. I needed a man to bend me over and fuck me hard. And that was what Jack did in the bathroom of Judy’s.
And many nights after.
Ethan didn’t go to school with me like he had the last two days. Instead, he went to the precinct. I didn’t blame him. I could tell everything was weighing heavily on him. How could it not?
While out in public, I was trying not to show that it was getting to me. If the killer was watching, I wanted him to think I wasn’t scared. But sometimes I’d catch myself worrying about everything, and honestly, I didn’t like it.
Ethan wasn’t sharing any details with me, but given that I was studying CSI, and from what I’d remembered from college, I figured the police probably didn’t have DNA or fingerprints or anything that would lead them to the killer.
When I was at the crime scene, I’d expected to see a disaster, but to my untrained eye, it looked almost staged, though the amount of blood on the couch said otherwise. That led me to believe the woman was unconscious when she was brutally stabbed.
Until Ethan and Shawn solved the case, I was never drinking from anything I didn’t pour myself. In fact, I hadn’t been to the coffee shop except for the day after we found the wood plaque on my wall. It wasn’t because I didn’t trust them, but at this point, I couldn’t trust any stranger.
My phone rang in my purse as April and I walked to class. “I need to get this,” I said to her after taking my phone out. It was Maddie. “Hey, honey.”
“What’s wrong?”
I stopped walking, causing April to stop too. “What do you mean?”
“You usually call me every day while you walk to class, and I haven’t heard from you in days.”
“Oh,” I sighed. Really, I hadn’t called her the day prior, not days as she put it, but it was unusual for me not to call her while I walked to class. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Then why haven’t you called?”
“I …” I looked at April. She looked concerned, but I smiled, hoping she’d know that my phone call wasn’t bad. “I met a new friend, and we’ve been walking to class together. I’m sorry.”
“Oh,” Maddie replied. “I thought something was wrong.”
I frowned even though she couldn’t see me. “No, nothing’s wrong,” I lied. “Are you doing okay?”
“I’m fine. I just … I just miss you.”
My heart sank. “I miss you too. Are you sure you’re doing okay?”
“Yeah. I wanted to tell you …” She paused.
“Tell me what?” I asked after a long moment of silence. April tapped at her wrist, indicating that we needed to hurry so I wouldn’t be late to class. I nodded and started to walk again in the direction of the building.
“I started dating someone.”
I stopped walking again. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I’ve been waiting to tell you for days.”
April and I started up the stairs into the building. “I’m sorry, honey. You didn’t mention it on Monday or Tuesday.”
“Because I didn’t know if it was serious or not.”
“And now it’s serious?”
“Yeah,” Maddie sighed as though she was thinking about her new relationship at that very moment.
“I’m happy for you, but I’m just heading into class now. Can I call you tonight on my dinner break? You can tell me more then.”
“There’s actually a party tonight.”
I grinned. “Right. You’re a college girl.”
“Yeah.” I heard her chuckle.
“Listen, honey. We’re preparing for our final exam that’s next week, and I need to go before I’m late. I can’t wait to meet him, and we can chat more about him later.”
“Yeah—okay.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
That afternoon, I went to work my shift at Judy’s. Neither Braeden nor April were on my detail. This time it was Officer Cash, whom I had met at Ethan’s condo before my shift. The plan was for Officer Cash to already be inside the bar before I got there so it wasn’t obvious I was walking in with a detail.
April saw me off, and when I pulled into the alley behind Judy’s, Ethan was waiting. There was no parking lot for the bar, but given I worked until the early morning, I parked as close to the back door as possible, hoping no one would crash into my car as they drove down the alley. Ethan was leaning against a squad car, ankles crossed. We walked toward each other after I got out of my car.
“I didn’t know you were coming by,” I stated.
He reached up with one hand and cupped my face, pressing his lips to mine. “Just wanted to make sure you made it here safely.”
“Yep. Doors stayed locked, and I came straight here.” Of course, I wasn’t taking any chances: get in the car, lock all the doors, don’t stop anywhere, and go straight to work. Check. I only had to drive two blocks given Ethan’s condo was just down the street.
“Good. I’ll come back in a few hours, and then I’ll drive you home.”
“Okay.”
We started walking toward the back door of the bar. “I was thinking we should hire private security for you. That way, you aren’t bouncing you from officer to officer. Eventually, Captain Rapp won’t let me keep using department resources.”
“You don’t think you’ll solve this soon?”
Ethan faced me. “Honestly? No.”
My heart sank. There was a lot riding on finding the killer, including my safety and Ethan seeing his sons. “Maybe I should go somewhere. That way you can get your boys back and—”
“I’m not letting you leave again,” he stated.
As I looked into his deep blue eyes, I understood. Ethan thought that if I drove away, I wouldn’t return for twenty-three years. That, of course, wouldn’t happen. I wanted to stay and not leave. Forever.
“But, it can just be until this is all over,” I suggested. I could leave temporarily—just until they caught the guy, however long that may be—so Ethan could see his kids. They were more important than me.
“No.” He shook his head and pulled me to him, wrapping me in his arms. “Don’t you get it, Buttercup? Our relationship is only easy when we’re together. We spent twenty-three years apart, and we’re never going to be apart again.”
“But—”
Ethan silenced me by placing his finger over my lips. “No buts. Everything will work out the way it’s me
ant to.”
There was no point in arguing with him. “Okay. I should go before I’m late.” If the judge decided in Jessica’s favor, then I would revisit the suggestion that I should leave.
He kissed me again as though he wanted to remind me that he loved me and couldn’t get enough of me. That he was starving for me. We broke apart after several long moments. “Have a good day at work, Buttercup. I love you.”
I smiled and sighed, happy. “I love you too.”
With lingering hands, we finally broke apart. I walked through the door, and Ethan went toward his car. I still had the feeling of being a teenager when I was with him. Ethan kissing me at the door of my work reminded me of when we were in high school, and I worked at an ice cream shop. He made sure to kiss me before I clocked in, and he always drove me home.
As I walked past Judy’s office, I stuck my head in through the open door and said hello.
“Hey, Reagan. You doing okay?”
I smiled at the older blonde who had owned the bar since I was a kid. “Yes, I’m good.”
“I mean with the break-in.”
I gave another small smile. “I’ve been staying at my boyfriend’s. He’s keeping me safe.”
“Well, don’t walk outside alone. We don’t want to take any chances.”
“I won’t. He’s coming back at the end of my shift to drive me home.” I blinked at my last word. Home? Was Ethan’s place home?
“Good.”
I turned and made my way down the skinny hall to where the lockers were, stopping just short when I saw what looked like a flower looped through my lock. I moved closer and saw that it was a light purple Persian buttercup. Slipping it out, I ran my fingers along the petals and realized it was fake. They weren’t in season, so that made sense.
Taking my phone out of my purse, I sent a text to Ethan: Thank you for the flower. I love it and I love you. Always.
I opened my locker and placed my purse and jacket inside. Before closing the door, my phone started to ring, and Ethan’s name appearing on the screen.
“Hey—”
“I didn’t give you a flower.”
I froze, and my heart fell to the pit of my stomach. “What?”
“I didn’t give you a flower,” he repeated. My mouth opened, but no words came out. “Where was it?”
“On my locker.”
The back door flew open, and Ethan stalked through it. It was as though he’d turned his car around when he got my text because he was just down the alley. Or maybe he hadn’t had time to pull away yet. “Let me see.”
A few long strides put him in front of me. I tried to hand him the flower, but he shook his head.
Judy stuck her head out of her office. “Is everything okay?”
Ethan turned to her while I pressed the disconnect button to end the call. “Yes, Judy.” Ethan stuck out his hand. They shook as he continued. “I’m Sergeant Valor and Reagan’s boyfriend. Do you know who put this on her locker?”
“No,” she replied. “I haven’t seen that before.”
“Who has access back here?”
Judy blinked. “Mostly employees.”
“But I just walked in through that door”—Ethan pointed at the back door—“without a key.”
Judy blinked again and opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
Ethan took out a plastic evidence bag that he had in his back pocket that I assumed he’d grabbed out of his squad car. He opened it and, without instruction, I placed the silk flower into the clear bag.
“I’m going to test this for prints,” he stated.
The door that led out to the main part of the bar opened, and we all looked in that direction. Derrick walked through, carrying a black trash bag. He looked at me and then over to Ethan as he stood still.
“Do you know about this?” Ethan snapped.
“I …” Derrick tried to reply. He looked back at me and then to Judy before his gaze landed on Ethan’s again. “No.”
Ethan took a step toward Derrick. “Are you sure? Because I’m going to run prints, and if—”
The bag fell from Derrick’s grasp, causing glass bottles to clink against the concrete floor. He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, I did it.”
“You did what?” Ethan asked and took another step forward.
“I put the flower on her locker, man.”
“Why?” Ethan seethed.
“Because … Because Reagan told me it was her favorite flower,” Derrick stuttered.
Ethan cut his gaze to me, and I shrugged. “It was back when we both first started. He was asking me about you, and I told him it wasn’t his business and if he wanted to get to know me since we were working together, then he should ask things like my favorite color, flower, etc. So, he did, and I told him.”
Ethan glared back at Derrick. “Let’s have a chat, yeah?”
“What? Why?”
“Many reasons,” Ethan replied. “Mind if I use your office for a few minutes, Judy?”
“Not at all. Please….”
Ethan walked to the threshold of Judy’s office and turned to see that Derrick wasn’t following him. “Now,” he ordered.
“Go on,” Judy coaxed.
Derrick looked at me as he passed, and I gave him a tight smile. I had my suspicions he could be the killer, but I wasn’t sure. Before I knew that a serial killer had entered my condo, Derrick and I got along. We both did our jobs, and he had to know that I had a boyfriend even though I told him I wasn’t looking for one because Ethan came in frequently.
Was Derrick hiding in plain sight?
My blood was on fire.
Since Shawn had spoken to Judy, and she’d advised him that Reagan’s address was in a locked drawer and that drawer hadn’t been tampered with, I had put Derrick low on the suspect list. I should have trusted my gut. Something was off about this kid.
“Sit,” I ordered, pointing at Judy’s desk chair. The office wasn’t much, but at least it had a chair. It was small, and I planned to stand, to tower over Derrick and intimidate him. I closed the door as he sat.
“Look, man. I’m sorry.”
I crossed my arms over my broad chest. “Sorry for what exactly?”
“Trying to close in on your woman.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, tell me about that.”
“About what?”
“Your plan.”
He balked. “I didn’t really have a plan.”
I leaned down, placing my hands on the arms of the chair, the evidence bag clutched in one, and caged him in. “But you bought her favorite flower.” I waved the evidence bag in front of his face then put it back down, still caging him in. “Did you think that would win her over?”
He shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know, man. She’s hot.”
“She’s twice your age.” I didn’t mean that as an insult toward my Reagan, but this kid was barely twenty-one. In fact, when I’d looked into him, I found out that he turned twenty-one in June—only five months prior.
“She … She is?”
“Yes,” I confirmed and then asked him where he was the night of Amy’s murder, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer.
He furrowed his brows and thought for a minute. “I don’t know. That was like months ago.”
I stared into his dark eyes as I asked him about the night of Daisy’s murder less than a week prior.
“I don’t know. Probably at home.”
“That’s not a good answer,” I replied.
“Why do you care? It has nothing to do with the flower or Reagan.”
“Doesn’t it?”
He balked. “What? No.”
I pushed off the chair and crossed my arms again. “Okay. Tell me where you purchased the flower and when.”
“The internet, and last week.”
“The internet? What site?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I searched for buttercup flowers and found it. I tried to find them at flower shops and was told they were ou
t of season. Then I tried craft stores for the fake ones, and they didn’t have them either, so I did the next best thing.”
I stared at him, really looking at his face, and looked for any sign that he was lying.
“Are we done here?” he asked. “Are you going to arrest me for giving a flower to your girlfriend?”
I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I wanted to throw him against the wall and scream in his face that Reagan was mine. But, I also valued the badge and Reagan. I didn’t want to cause any more of a rift that this incident would already cause her. “No, but make no mistake that Reagan is mine, and I’m never giving her up. You need to find someone your own age.”
He chuckled and started to stand. “Okay, dude.”
When I opened the door, I saw Reagan and Judy waiting just outside. “Everything okay?” Reagan asked.
Derrick walked passed me.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I replied.
“I know my shift has started, but do you mind if I talk to Ethan for a moment?” Reagan asked Judy.
“Not a problem. I’ll go make sure Tommy’s doing okay.”
“Thank you.”
I started to walk toward the door, but stopped and turned back around. “Hey, Judy.”
She turned, and I saw that Derrick had stopped too. “Can we keep this locked?”
Judy’s gaze moved to Reagan and then back to me. “Yes. I’ll just tell all of the delivery guys that they need to knock.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She gave a warm smile and then turned to walk out to the main part of the bar with Derrick.
I grabbed Reagan and brought her in, wrapping my arms around her.
“What happened?” she asked against my chest.
“He just has a crush on you.”
“I kinda suspected that.”
“I suspected it too since the first night I came in here. I saw the way he watched you.”
She pulled her head back and looked up at me. “Do you think it’s more?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think he’s the guy I’m looking for.”
Watch Me Page 13