Chapter 14
Aaron sipped the hot coffee and prayed that it would be strong enough to give him the boost of energy he needed after a restless night. He’d tried every sleeping position known to man, but nothing helped him fall asleep.
The fact that he had a raging hard-on that refused to go down every time his mind went to Bethany didn’t help in the least. He’d peeked in on her several times during the night and was glad to see that she was getting some rest.
The problem was she’d kicked off the blankets, and he got a clear view of the lace panties that covered her firm round ass. He’d groaned and closed the door. It was at that moment he decided to do something about the wood straining against his boxers.
It didn’t help him sleep, and at five in the morning, he’d given up on getting any more sleep and took a shower to wake himself up. Now he stood tired and slightly cranky, waiting for Bethany to get out of bed.
“Crunch is here, and I’m heading home to get some shut eye.” Crash entered the safe house.
“I hope you have better luck than I did last night,” Aaron grumbled.
“Little lady kept you up all night?” Crash joked.
“Not the way you’re thinking.” Aaron narrowed his eyes.
“Are you kidding me? I walked in last night when you two were going at it in the kitchen. You guys didn’t even notice.” Crash laughed.
“We kissed, asshole.” Aaron tossed a napkin at him.
“The kiss I saw either leads to a hot night of sex or a painful night of blue balls.” Crash chuckled as he made his way to leave.
“Thanks, Crash. I hope your day of sleep was a good as mine was last night,” Aaron shouted.
“Bastard,” Crash shouted back.
“I’m really not a morning person.” He heard her sleepy voice coming from the entrance to the kitchen.
“You’re certainly beautiful in the morning.” Aaron winked.
Bethany rolled her eyes as she gently pushed him away from the coffee pot. He laughed as she leaned against the counter and sipped the coffee as if it contained the best tasting liquid in the world.
“Why are you up at seven in the morning?” Bethany yawned as she plopped down on the stool next to the island.
“I was actually up at five.” Aaron almost choked on his coffee when her eyes widened, and she shuddered.
“People actually get out of bed that early?” Bethany sipped from her cup again.
“Yes, they do. During the police academy, I had to be up at five every morning for physical training.” Aaron rested his arms on the counter.
“That’s why I wouldn’t have made a good cop.” She snorted.
“I wonder how all the girls are doing this morning.” Bethany grinned.
“Probably hung over. I don’t think any of them will be much good at their jobs today.” Aaron laughed.
They talked about his family and her life in Ontario. He was surprised to know that Elijah was former military. She told him that he traveled back and forth between Newfoundland and Ontario working with some other military guys.
By the time they were ready to head to the station, they’d practically caught up on thirteen years in a few hours. Aaron could never remember talking to a woman as much as he did with her. Even when they were teenagers, they would spend hours talking. It seemed that was the one thing that didn’t change between them.
“Whatever happened to Joey Mayo?” Bethany asked as Crunch drove them to the station.
“Joey’s a dentist,” Aaron explained when Crunch turned into the parking lot.
“Is he married?” It was apparent she wanted to distract herself from the thought of remembering what she heard and seen.
Aaron knew from experience sometimes describing a suspect made people uneasy. Especially if they felt traumatized over the memory.
“Not yet, it’s only been legal for him to marry for a couple of years. They only allowed gay marriage a few years ago,” Aaron explained.
“Joey’s gay?” Bethany’s eyes were as big as saucers.
“Yeah, he came out in university. He and his partner have been together since then. Braden is a little flamboyant, but he’s a great guy.” Aaron didn’t feel any different about Joey or Braden than he did any of his other friends.
Joey helped out at Holy Cross with the after-school programs and sports. Since Joey was one of the best basketball players in high school, Father Wallace asked him to help coach the teams if he had the time.
“I’d love to see him again and meet this Braden guy,” Bethany said as they walked in through the entrance of the building.
“Maybe when this is all over we can get together with them.” Aaron clasped her hand in his.
He was surprised at how much her hand shook. As much as she acted brave, she was scared. Aaron couldn’t blame her. It terrified Aaron as well. He’d lost her for thirteen years and wasn’t about to let anyone take her away from him again.
John sat with Melinda in one of the conference rooms. The tall, athletic woman stood when Aaron entered with Bethany next to him. Melinda had short blonde hair with pink streaks in the front when her hair fell to the side.
Aaron often flirted with her in the past, but they’d never dated. Suddenly, he felt utterly nervous about being around the cute cop. The last thing he needed was Bethany to think he couldn’t talk to a woman without flirting.
“Hey, A.J.” Melinda held out her hand to Aaron.
“Hi, Melinda.” Aaron shook her hand and then pulled it back quickly.
“Nice to see you again.” Melinda’s lips quirked as she glanced between Bethany and Aaron.
“This is Bethany Donnelly. My girlfriend.” Aaron lay his hand on the small of Bethany’s back.
“Girlfriend?” Melinda’s eyes glanced back and forth between Aaron and John. “You’re pulling my leg.”
“No.” Aaron was a little ticked off at the fact that Melinda seemed so shocked over him having a girlfriend.
“Wow, well you must be an extraordinary lady to get this one to commit to a relationship.” Melinda sat across from Bethany and snickered.
“Could we get on with this?” Aaron grumbled.
“Don’t be such a grump.” Melinda rolled her eyes. “Okay, Bethany, the first thing I want you to do is to try and remember as much detail about this guy as possible. We’ll start with the shape of his face, the color of his hair, eyes, and so on. I’ll show you what I have once we get that and then we’ll fill in the little details.”
“Okay.” Bethany glanced up at Aaron and then back to Melinda.
“You two can go grab a cup of coffee while we work.” Melinda waved her hand toward the door.
“I’m staying.” Aaron leaned against the wall.
“No, you’re not.” John opened the door and gave him a look that said not to argue.
“What is it about the married people in this family and that devil’s glare? Does Nan give you a lesson after you get married or something?” Aaron said when he stepped outside the conference room.
“Yes.” John chuckled.
“Why can’t I stay in there with her?” Aaron cringed when he realized how he sounded.
“Our little brother has finally grown up, but you do sound like a spoiled brat right now.” John wrapped his arm around Aaron and guided him away from the room. “Let me buy you a coffee, and I’ll tell you about the birds and the bees of relationships.”
“Fuck off.” Aaron pushed John to the side, but both of them laughed.
“We’ll keep her safe, bro.” John clamped his hand on Aaron’s shoulder.
Aaron heard that statement so often over the last ten years that it became like a motto for the O’Connor family. With the danger that plagued all his siblings’ relationships, it was surprising they came out of it as happy as they were.
It gave him the hope that he and Bethany would be able to do the same. The first thing they had to do was find the guy who killed Randy Knight. Somehow the man knew that Bethany had seen hi
m and found out where she lived.
“Is there any word on the bullets they found at Bethany’s house?” Aaron asked John as they sat in the lunchroom.
“Looks like two guns. Both forty-five caliber.” John placed the report in front of him.
“Well, that’s something, at least.” Aaron glanced through the forensics report.
“We think we know how this guy found out where she lived.” John pushed several photos toward Aaron.
“What is this?” Aaron shuffled through the photos taken by the forensics team.
“They’re pictures from over a dozen bugs planted at that office. Two were in the office where the shooting happened. Four in Knight’s office. One in the bathroom and several more around the reception area,” John explained.
“They would have heard us say she saw the shooter and that she was going back to Hopedale. It wouldn’t take much for him to figure out what she looked like.” Aaron tossed the pictures on the table. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, and we’ve got Sandy and Smash working to see if they can trace the server that they connect to but according to Sandy, that may take some time. She went on about some techie stuff that made me feel like a complete moron. I just nodded and told her to let me know if she finds anything.” John smirked.
“When Sandy and Smash start talking computer stuff I feel like Charlie Brown listening to that teacher. Blah Blah Blah.” Aaron laughed when John nodded.
“I also have her looking into Knight and Craig Molloy as well. Marina said there’s no way he would be involved in something shady, but I figure we better check him out anyway.” John stood up as his phone buzzed.
“Melinda?” Aaron shot to his feet.
“Yeah, she said they’re done.” John made his way out of the office and Aaron close behind.
When they got to the conference room, they could hear laughter from inside. John pushed open the door, and the laughter stopped. Aaron didn’t like the guilty look in their eyes.
“What do you have?” John asked as he walked behind Melinda.
“She’s incredible.” Melinda beamed.
“You don’t have to tell me that.” Aaron met Bethany’s gaze.
“Seriously, she’s so descriptive. It made it so easy to draw this loser.” Melinda turned the sketch so Aaron could see it.
“Melinda’s pretty amazing too. That looks exactly like the guy that shot Randy.” Bethany pointed at the drawing.
“Great, we’ll get this out and see if anyone recognizes the guy.” John took the drawing. “Thanks, Melinda. We owe you one.”
“You can pay me back by getting me transferred out here,” Melinda shouted as John left the office.
“I’m working on it, Mel,” John called back.
Melinda packed her things as she chatted with Bethany. Aaron sat between them and listened to the conversation but didn’t pay attention to what they were saying. He was too entranced with Bethany’s mouth, and all he could think about was how soft her lips were when they kissed.
“A.J., snap out of it.” Melinda shoved him, startling him out of his haze.
“What?” he grumbled.
“Wow, you got it bad, but I have to say, this one at least has a brain, and I like her. Don’t fuck it up.” She tapped the back of his head and winked at Bethany.
“I need to make sure John doesn’t get you transferred here,” Aaron teased.
“He loves me and so do you.” Melinda stuck out her tongue as she hefted her bag on her shoulder.
“It was nice meeting you.” Bethany stood up and hugged Melinda.
“You too. I hope they catch this guy and soon. Then we can take a trip to George Street.” She grinned as she eyed Aaron.
“Not a fan of George Street but we could go to Jack’s Place.” Bethany laughed.
“Considering all the hot men I’ve seen around here lately, you got a deal.” Melinda made her way to the door. “Don’t lose this one, A.J.”
Then she was gone from the doorway. Aaron stood up and wrapped his arms around Bethany from behind. She leaned back against him and sighed.
“I’m never losing you again,” Aaron whispered into her ear.
“Good. You’d score some major points if you took me to get some food.” She tipped her head back and looked over her shoulder at him.
“Jack’s Place it is.” Aaron spun her around and pressed a kiss to her lips.
“Isabelle said she owns the restaurant on the corner of Beach Street,” Bethany said as they walked out of the station.
“We can go there if you want.” Aaron didn’t mind going to A Taste of Hopedale because Isabelle’s food was great as well.
“I don’t think I’m dressed for that place.” Bethany waved down at her jeans and t-shirt.
“Do you think Isabelle cares about that?” He snorted.
“No, but I’d rather wait until we can go just the two of us without the Secret Service behind me.” Bethany motioned to Crunch leaning against the SUV.
“It’s a date. When we catch this guy, I’ll take you on the most romantic date you’ve ever seen.” Aaron winked and kissed her cheek.
Aaron wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. He glanced at Crunch and the hair on the back of Aaron’s neck prickled. A dark, older model Ford drove slowly down the street next to the parking lot.
Aaron instinctively shoved Bethany behind him and made sure she was out of the direct vision of the car. Crunch opened the back door of the SUV, ready for Bethany to get inside.
“Bethany, as soon as we get next to the vehicle, get in and stay down until we say it’s safe.” Aaron kept his focus on the car as they hurried across the parking lot.
“Okay,” Bethany whimpered behind him.
Bethany practically leaped into the back of the SUV and Aaron slammed the door. Aaron made his way around to jump into the front as Crunch hopped in the driver’s seat.
They sat in the truck and watched the car turn into the parking lot behind Snippy Gals, the beauty salon on Harbour Street. Emily and Sandy’s sister owned the only salon in Hopedale, and though Emily was in her last few months of maternity leave, she still spent at least a couple of days a week dropping into the place.
Aaron hovered his hand over his weapon and waited to see what the people in the vehicle had in mind. Crunch turned his dash cam toward the car, and they waited.
“Can I get up?” Bethany whispered from the back.
“Not yet, baby,” Aaron answered.
The back door slowly opened, and two women stepped out. They said something to the driver and chatted as they made their way inside the salon.
“You can get up, Bethany.” Aaron blew out a breath.
“Do you want to tell me why I was laying down in the back?” Bethany leaned on the seats and stared at Aaron.
“Not sure. Crunch seemed nervous about that car.” Aaron nodded toward the van that was now pulling back out of the parking lot.
“Crash said the shooters were driving a black Ford Tempo with tinted windows. He said it was an older model probably late nineteen nineties. Hence the suspicion.” Crunch started the SUV and pulled out onto the road.
“Well, that was fun, but can we go to Jack’s Place? I’m still starving.” Bethany sat back and pulled her seatbelt over her shoulder.
“Hey, I’ll take any excuse to get a plate of fish and chips at Jack’s Place.” Crunch grinned.
Aaron reached back over the seat and snagged Bethany’s hand. He gave it a little squeeze, and she blew him a kiss. Yep, Aaron was a goner.
Chapter 15
Bethany moaned at the taste of the fresh, deep-fried codfish. She’d had fish in Ontario but there was nothing like deep-fried codfish, and Alice O’Connor knew how to cook it.
“A.J., if I were you I’d start to feel a little jealous over the way she’s moaning over that food,” Crunch teased.
“Trust me; I’m not jealous. She’ll moan a lot louder for me,” Aaron growled, and she slapped his arm.
&
nbsp; “Aaron,” she gasped.
“Why do you call him Aaron? Everyone else calls him A.J., except his mother when he’s in shit.” Crunch laughed.
“It’s the way he introduced himself to me. It seems weird to call him A.J., at least to me.” She glanced up at Aaron and had to keep herself from sighing at his smile.
After they’d finished eating and Alice practically ordered her to try a piece of her blueberry pie, Bethany felt as if she was going to bust. She sat back and listened to Crunch and Aaron chat about the renovations Crunch was doing to the house he’d bought in Hopedale.
“I’m not in a big hurry to renovate the other bedrooms. It’s just me, and I don’t see any prospects in the future.” Crunch chuckled, but there was something in his grey eyes that said he certainly wanted someone in his life.
Bethany didn’t say anything but watched him as he kept glancing toward a young waitress serving the tables behind them. She might be mistaken, but there was a hint of interest there, at least on Crunch’s part.
“Is that okay, Bethany?” Aaron and Crunch were both looking at her.
“I’m sorry. I zoned out there for a minute. What did you ask me?” Bethany smiled sheepishly.
“I can see that.” Aaron nudged her with his shoulder.
“I have a lot on my mind.” She nudged him back.
“I know, but I need to go by Holy Cross School to drop off some papers to Father Wallace. I’ve been helping him with the one-hundredth anniversary. I thought you might want to go and see the only school.” Aaron smiled.
“I’d love to, but is it safe for me to go there? I don’t even know when I can go back to work. Oh, wow, I should call Craig and see if there’s anything I can do. Is he a suspect? I know it wasn’t him. He would never….” Bethany stopped when Aaron put his hand over her mouth, halting her rambling questions.
“Can you imagine her and Stephanie in a room together when they are both excited?” Crunch laughed.
“Sorry, I just had all that go through my head at once.” Bethany felt the heat of a blush warm her cheeks.
“I see that hasn’t changed.” Aaron kissed her cheek. “And to answer your questions, you can go back to work, but for now it will have to be from the safe house. He is on the list, but I’m pretty sure he’s not involved. It will be safe to go visit the school because Crunch is coming with us.” Aaron grinned as if he was pretty proud of himself.
Dangerous Witness (O'Connor Brothers Book 7) Page 11