“Okay. I’ll set up a different day with your mom. You should come over to my house when you’re done. It doesn’t matter what time it is,” she whispered.
I looked down at my hands and squeezed them into fists. “Sounds good, Georgia. Thank you.”
“Be safe,” she whispered, then hung up.
I placed the phone down in the receiver and then collapsed into my chair.
I had about eighteen more reports to fill out, and I could really tell that it’d be fun. Not.
It was when I was on my ninth report that I heard a soft knock on the door to my office.
I looked up to see Georgia there.
She was wearing black leggings, a baggy Gladewater Soccer shirt that looked remarkably familiar, and a small smile graced her lips.
“Hey,” I said, setting my pencil down.
My hand screamed in relief, and I stood up to clear my chair off.
She sat before she said anything, handing me food that smelled mouthwatering.
“Oh, my God. How’d you remember?” I asked as I dug into the gas station bag.
I had a soft spot for these chiquitos that the gas station near our place sold.
It was probably unhealthy as hell, but fuck, the taste was out of this world.
She rolled her eyes. “Nico, I remember everything. The way you roll your tongue when you’re concentrating. The way you crack your knuckles when you first wake up in the morning. Everything. Even your love for these vile things.”
I dug in and started to write again while she ate what looked to be a taco salad and played on her phone.
That was another thing about Georgia. She knew how to be silent.
I’m not saying that in a mean way or anything, but I’m not a talkative person, and she accepts that. She accepts me, bad attitude and all.
I finished my last three reports in silence, getting down to the very last report before she finally said something. “You’ll have to give me a ride home.”
I nodded, continuing to write. “10-4.”
She snorted but didn’t say anything else, only started gathering up our trash and tossing it into the garbage can beside my desk.
“I’m going to be tired tomorrow,” she giggled once everything was cleaned.
I flicked my eyes up to her and back down to my report. “It’s only eight-thirty.”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I have to be at work at eight, which means I have to get up at five to workout, feed all the animals, and get to work.”
“Work?” I asked, raising my head.
She nodded. “Yeah, they want me to start tomorrow. Something about one of their other case managers being on maternity leave.”
I signed the bottom of my report and sat it in the stack of mail that I’d take by the chief’s office before I left for the night.
“I didn’t realize you were starting so early. You’ve only been here less than a week.” I stood. “Not to mention it’s the middle of the week? Who starts work in the middle of a week?”
“Social workers, obviously. Foster kids don’t take the weekend off, FYI,” Georgia said dryly.
I waved a dismissive hand. “That’s not what I meant, you little shit.”
God, it was like the last eight years hadn’t even happened.
We were fighting and sparring just as we’d done eight years ago.
As if all those horrible things in her life, and mine, never even happened.
“Alright, let me drop these by the Chief’s office, and then we can go,” I said, gathering up the large stack.
She nodded and fell into step beside me.
I closed and locked the door, and she followed behind me sedately, taking in the still busy bullpen.
“Why is it so busy?” she asked.
I put the reports in the Chief’s box and led her outside to my truck.
Opening the passenger side door for her, she hopped in, and I couldn’t help staring at her sexy, toned ass in her skin tight leggings.
It looked fucking amazing.
“Crime doesn’t just stop at night, you know,” I said mockingly.
She stuck her foot out and pushed me back with her foot firmly planted in my gut, then slammed the door.
I chuckled and walked around the front of the truck to my side, and hauled myself in, starting it up.
“I’m in love with your, truck,” she purred as the new diesel motor hummed. “I want to ride in it forever.”
I looked at her, and with as straight of a voice as I could muster, I said, “This big boy would allow you to ride him forever.”
She burst out laughing.
I was serious, though.
However, I wasn’t talking about my truck.
Chapter 6
Alphas. Because who likes making your own decisions anyway?
-Georgia’s inner thoughts.
Georgia
“Can you give me a bit more info on this little girl’s case?” I asked Mary, the woman who was going over all my new cases with me.
I’d started my new job, on a Wednesday no less, and I was getting the info on one of the children who would be under my supervision in the immediate future.
I currently worked for a non-profit agency which provides a multitude of services throughout the state of Texas. Full Hearts Adoption Services, FHAS, had several child emergency shelters for children who needed a place to stay.
There were also after-school programs as well.
In addition, there were services provided for pregnant women who were thinking about giving their children up for adoption as well.
Mary nodded and flipped her file open that she had on the four-month-old infant.
“No family. Grandfather is in prison for money laundering. No other living relatives. Mother died four months ago. This one is a really high profile case, because it was one of the local police officers who was forced to shoot the mother. The officer involved performed life-preserving maneuvers on the mother until the ambulance arrived. The baby was delivered via emergency C-section in Good Shepherd ER,” Mary confided.
My eyes widened. “Wow, that’s a tough one. Who was the officer?”
The question was an idle one, one that I was just curious about. But the next words out of Mary’s mouth froze me in my tracks.
“Officer Nicolas Pena. He’s a SWAT officer with Kilgore Police Department,” Mary said, flipping through the pages in her folder.
She didn’t notice when I froze, and by the time she looked up again, I’d composed my shocked features into a cool mask of indifference.
Holy shit, Nico had shot someone! A pregnant woman at that? Double holy shit!
“They’re calling her Angel. Angel’s being funded, however, and we’re fairly positive it’s related to the case somehow, but we’re not ones to deny help when it’s given. Angel’s currently at her foster mother’s place inside the city limits. She has four other children, two of which are also fosters,” Mary continued.
I started taking notes again, my mind still reeling.
I’d heard the rumors around town about the pregnant woman killed by a cop, but never in a million years would I have suspected that it’d be Nico.
The catholic man who went to church every Sunday and loved kids with a fierceness that bordered on overprotectiveness. The man who did everything within his power to defend human life.
He had to be torn up inside.
“Do I need to do a drop-in with that family?” I asked, trying to divert my attention away from Nico.
My primary responsibility with FHAS would be to find homes for any and all children in the FHAS child directory. Initially, I’d find them a foster home. Then I’d find them permanent homes through adoption.
The children under my care, as of right now, were already placed in their foster homes, so it was now my job to find them their permanent homes. The homes where they’d be truly loved for the rest of their lives like they deserved.
>
“I’d suggest it. Go introduce yourself to all of them. At least that’s what I would do if I were you.” She nodded, standing.
“Okay, anything else I need to know?” I asked.
She shook her head, and then seemed to hesitate. “These are the children who have been here the longest. The ones who have the least hope of finding a home, besides Angel. I hope you can find them homes. I really do.”
I smiled sadly at Mary.
“I’ll do my best, Mary. Thank you,” I whispered.
That I would try to do. I knew on firsthand account what the label of ‘foster kid’ could do to a child. My brothers had been scared to death after the death of my parents. I’d tried my hardest to keep a positive outlook for them, and none of that would’ve been possible if it wasn’t for the social worker assigned to their case.
Mya Minoa was truly my hero.
Speaking of the devil, Mya walked in with a large smile on her face bearing lunch in her arms.
“Hola, Mary. How are you doing?” Mya asked.
Mya reminded me of Mrs. Pena. In fact, there was a lot about the two that were similar, even their facial features.
That must’ve been why she was able to get into my circle of trust so easily after our ordeal. If it hadn’t been for that, she wouldn’t have stood a chance. Not to my distrusting eighteen-year-old self.
“I’m well, Mya. I see you found Georgia’s weakness,” Mary said with a smile.
That would be because I’d already started digging into the bag of food that’d been in Mya’s arms.
I was positively starving.
Running with Nico, even if it was for a short period, was most definitely a workout. He didn’t let me slack off, even going as far as to taunt me to get me to run further or faster.
I’d nearly died in my front yard once we’d made it back. Then Nico had gone on to run the rest of the loop around our streets, which was over six miles.
He was such a loser.
No, really though, he was in great shape for thirty-one years old. Amazing shape, in fact.
All the while I was scarfing down an obnoxious amount of Chinese food and not feeling the least bit guilty.
“The girl’s always had the ability to eat and stay skinny,” Mya said dryly.
I snorted. That was the best lie I’d heard in weeks.
I ran so I could eat. I ate a lot, so I had to run a lot. End of story.
“Well, I’ll let you two… finish lunch,” she said laughingly. “Have a good day, honey, and let me know if I can help you with anything.”
I just opened my mouth to take another bite when Mary turned abruptly. “I forgot!” she exclaimed.
I raised my brow since my mouth was currently occupied by an egg roll.
She grinned. “Angel’s had someone interested in adopting her, but they’re waiting on legal to get back to us on whether the family is actually gone. I’ll have Missy call you with the details. They expect them to get back to us by Monday morning.”
I held a thumb’s up, and she grinned.
As Mary left, I turned my accusing eyes on Mya.
“You didn’t tell me that all the hoopla with the cop shooting the pregnant woman was Nico,” I hissed.
She grimaced. “I didn’t want you to worry. You were in your last months of school. What would you have done if you’d known?”
I deflated somewhat.
She knew exactly what I would’ve done. I would’ve been there for him.
Now I felt like a complete shit.
I may have been avoiding this place like the plague, but I wasn’t avoiding him.
Or at least that’s what I told myself.
My mind wandered back to that night. The night before my life was ruined.
***
My eyes were closed, and I was trying in vain to go to sleep.
Nikki was snoring away beside me, her glass of water sat untouched next to her bed.
She’d ruined my potential kiss for nothing.
I rolled over on the couch and my eyes snagged on the muted light pouring out from underneath Nico’s door.
My eyes went to the wall clock in the corner, noting that it was less than three hours until I had to get up for the day and be back home.
I don’t know what made me do it.
But, suddenly, I found myself in front of Nico’s door.
I listened to the sound of the TV through the closed door, wondering what exactly he was watching. It sounded like a comedy of some sort, because there was laughing in the background.
I found myself knocking without conscious thought.
And I froze for a solid two seconds before I decided to make a run for it.
I was two steps into my flee when a steely arm slid around my belly and pulled me into the room.
I gasped in surprise and stared at the closed bedroom door in shock. The wrong side of the closed bedroom door.
I could feel the hard length of Nico at my back.
My bare thighs, the ones no longer ensconced in shorts, were pressed up against the thin fabric covering Nico’s lower half. I started panting in anticipation of what he’d do next.
“Why are you running?” he rumbled against my back.
I shook.
“Um,” I licked my lips. “I forgot to put my shorts back on.”
I felt him pause, and then, very slowly, he let his free hand slip down the outside of my thigh.
He started at my hip where my t-shirt came to a stop. But it ended just below the curve of my ass. Then… nothing but my panties.
I hated sleeping in restrictive clothing.
If I didn’t live with a house full of brothers, it’d probably be even less than panties and a t-shirt.
His hand froze once he felt the smooth expanse of my thigh.
Everything I’d ever thought was true about Nico was put into crystal clear clarity in the next moment.
For instance, his beard did feel wonderful against the soft skin of my neck.
Also, his body felt perfect against my own. His arms felt like they were made to wrap around me.
And his penis. There were no words. His penis was definitely large. Larger than I’d ever imagined as I felt him pressing against my backside.
I swallowed thickly and took the chance.
I turned in his arms.
He let me, and suddenly I had an eye full of hot, sexy Nico. My best friend’s brother. The man I never, ever thought I’d have a shot in the dark with.
His hands froze as I turned, and, slowly, returned to where they’d been before. Which had been the front of my thighs. Except now it wasn’t the front of my thighs anymore, it was the back of my thighs. And he was extremely close to the part of me that felt needy for him.
I inhaled, and the smell of him entered my lungs. Spicy, like I’d always imagined he’d smell up close.
I leaned forward and kissed his collarbone, causing him to inhale as well.
“You’re playing with fire, niña,” he rumbled darkly.
I looked up at him, saw his taut, clenched jaw, and the tic at the corner of his eye.
I held my hand up and ran the tips of my fingers along the scruff of his beard, coming to a stop when I reached the seam of his lips.
His mouth opened, and the tip of his tongue licked the pad of my thumb.
I hissed in a breath and pressed more fully into him.
He growled, and suddenly I found myself not standing anymore.
Instead, I was on his bed with Nico between my thighs.
And he was kissing me.
Kissing me well, too.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” he breathed.
I concurred.
It was awful to want your best friend’s brother.
I felt like I was betraying Nikki by wanting him.
Right now, though, she wasn’t even the least bit on my mind. Only him. Only this. Only now.
**
*
“Alright,” Mya said, standing up. “I’ve got to go to work again. I just wanted to run your lunch back.”
I jolted back into the here and now, surprised that I’d not had a spontaneous orgasm like I usually did when I thought back to that night.
How embarrassing would that have been?
I stood hastily and smiled at her. “Thanks for lunch.”
She smiled at me warmly.
Mya knew how I was.
I was what one would call a dreamer.
I spent a lot of time inside my head or admiring the world around me.
That was why Nico and I worked so well.
He didn’t talk, and I didn’t care if he didn’t talk.
“No problem. I’ll see you later,” she whispered.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful as I worked through the mountain of paperwork, getting to know each individual child who would soon be under my charge.
They were all cute kiddos, ranging from ages four months all the way up to fifteen years old.
The fifteen-year-old would, by far, be my hardest to placement.
From what I’d learned over my time interning, and then my rotations during school, was that potential adoptive parents weren’t looking to go with teenagers. Especially older ones.
They wanted something new, something that wouldn’t be hard to handle, and teenagers were already set in their ways at their age.
I’d do whatever I had to do to find her a home, though. She deserved nothing less.
Chapter 7
I hope you fall down with your hands in your pockets.
-E-Card
Georgia
“I’ve missed you so much, hija,” Mrs. Pena whispered fiercely.
Lolita Pena was a beautiful woman. She didn’t look a day over forty, and her personality made her seem even younger. She was two inches below five foot and she looked like a child from behind. She liked to say that it was her kids who kept her young, but it more contributed to her good genes, because even her mother didn’t look much more than sixty, and I knew for a fact that she was nearing seventy.
I hugged her back fiercely. “I’ve missed you even more.”
The smell of her perfume was like a soothing balm against my bruised soul, and I was so happy to be back in her arms that I couldn’t begin to express my happiness.
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