“You don’t think the idiot would come here with a squad car out front and a house full of people, would you? How would they even know where Brayden lived?”
The bedsprings cried under my weight as I sat next to Jess. “They were able to figure out where Gavin lives, and an LLC technically owns that condo, so it is very hard to trace it back to him. I think she was following one or both of them. Who knows if it’s a dangerous person or not, but I am not going to let Myla and Gavin find out the hard way—not to mention, we have a baby in the house, and the woman I love.”
The word permeated the air. I tried to take it back, but it was too late. I had said it. It was the truth, but it was too soon.
Jess put her hand on my knee. “I get it,” she said softly as she looked me dead in the eyes. “I love you too. I know this entire thing is messy. We jumped into the middle of a relationship. It’s not going to be conventional. This is going to be different. We aren’t going to go through the beginning stages of dating, the awkward getting-to-know-you questions, the weird meeting the family shit, the is it too soon to have sex bullshit, and I am so beyond thrilled because the middle is the best part. It’s when you get comfortable, when you get to be goofy and have fun and not worry if you look fat in those jeans or if I should wear makeup to bed. You’ve already seen me at my worst and best and you’re still here, choosing this. That’s what matters.” Her hand landed firmly on my leg. “Now that’s enough of the sappy shit. Put your shirt back on and let’s go do a legit stakeout. I’ll make the coffee.”
I cracked my neck. “Jess, please sleep.”
“Do not tell me what to do. We’re partners, remember? You ain’t gonna get rid of me that fast. Besides, it’s about time we had some action on this job.”
With big thermoses filled with hazelnut coffee, we sat in the front of the cop car in the driveway of the house.
“Do you have any ideas who it could be?” Jess asked after slurping loudly.
I glanced over at her. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Gavin or Myla, but I have a weird feeling that it’s Marsheila.”
“Gavin’s ex that left him at the altar?” Jess’s eyes were wide as the name registered.
I nodded. “I know I’ve seen that handwriting before. The day she left Gavin, there was a note, and I’m the only one other than him who has ever read it. I burned it the night after she left him. I didn’t want him to ever read it again.”
“Why?”
I hung my head. “He was already in pain, and he’s my friend—I wanted to spare his feelings. I know it wasn’t my place to do that, but at the time, I felt like I was doing the right thing.”
Her dainty hand landed on my forearm. “I think it was very thoughtful of you.”
“Thanks.” I ran my index finger over the back of her hand, up her arm, and down her collarbone.
“You know only one of us has to be alert at a time.” Jess had a devilish sneer as her eyes narrowed.
I chuckled. “With how crowded it is in the front seat with the computer and everything, I don’t think we can pull that off.”
She sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Dammit.”
“But…” A light bulb went off, but I was scared she was going to think I was fucking insane. “That doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself, you know, with me here.”
She sat up a little straighter, shifting to pull her left knee up to her chest. “Would you like that, babe?” Jess unzipped her jacket, pulling her tank top neck down below her beautiful, full breasts, revealing that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
I chewed my lip as I watched her tease her perky nipples. Low moans started as I glanced from her out to the road. Not being able to give her my full attention was kind of exhilarating.
“How do you do it when you’re alone?” I asked, reaching over to run my thumb over her lower lip right after she licked it.
“Let me show you.” She shimmied her yoga pants down around her ankles, pressing her back against the door. With her eyes locked on me, she started to run her right middle finger between her slick folds as her nails dug into her left knee, which she was holding up to her chest.
“First, I tease myself a bit, nice and slow, just like this,” she explained as her back arched and her head rolled toward the window a bit. “I never rush it. The buildup is the best part.”
I tugged at my jeans to move the zipper away from my hardening cock as I took in one of the sexiest sights I had ever seen in my life.
Gradually, Jess started to slip her index finger into her wetness, going farther and faster every time. I watched in awe as my girl worked herself into a frenzy of panting and moaning. Her eyes slammed shut, her back arched, and her mouth opened slightly.
“Fuck, Sean!” She cried as her body shuddered.
“Yes, baby. Do you like playing with yourself with me watching?” I reached over, plucking at her hardened nipples as she flew over the edge.
“Yes, so much,” she moaned as she came down from cloud nine.
“Best fucking stakeout in history.” I winked at her.
As she fixed her clothes, she commented, “We’re going to have to stop doing shit in this car or I will never be able to be in it without getting drenched and having my mind in the gutter.”
Chapter 15
McBee
It had been a week with no contact from Myla and Gavin’s stalker. With Christmas only a day away, the captain decided to just let us finish out the holiday while still being their protective detail. It wasn’t like we weren’t going to be spending the holiday with our gang anyway.
My parents were staying in Florida for the holidays, complaining that it was too cold. Sean’s parents were long gone, as were Brayden and Myla’s folks. I had no idea what Karla’s family situation was; she never talked about it, and I never wanted to pry. It was weird that she was one of my best friends and I had no idea where her family was or even if they were alive or dead, but I just let it be. Gavin was the only one with real family in the area, but with his mom being a stuck-up bitch and his father being the coach of their hockey team, he didn’t want to deal with his family during Christmas.
“Are any of the teammates coming for dinner tomorrow?” I asked Myla as I put the apple pie into the oven.
She hopped up onto the counter, scooping some fresh chocolate chip cookie dough out of the bowl with her finger. “Yeah, Crosby is going to be here, but I think that’s it. Griffin, Gavin’s brother, is coming to escape the Hayes nightmare and hide out here too.”
It was rare that Gavin’s little brother made an appearance. He was closer to my age, being about five years younger than Gavin and Sean. Griffin was an all-star boxer, starting to really make a name for himself in the ring. It was pretty amazing how athletically successful both of the Hayes boys had turned out to be in such different sports.
“What about Jordan?” I started to put the cookies onto a cookie sheet, swatting Myla’s hand away when she went in for seconds.
“She’ll be with her family tomorrow. There are a lot of Bateses running around. I doubt she will be able to slip away from them.”
Karla came in with Lilly screaming. “Someone is refusing to nap.”
Myla hopped off the counter, grabbing her niece. “Go relax for a bit. I’ll give her a bottle and see if I can get her to sleep for a bit.”
“Bless you.” Karla’s sleepy eyes fluttered as she grabbed a bottle from the fridge and handed it to her sister-in-law. “You know how to warm it up and everything, right?”
Myla shooed her away. “Go on, I have done this hundreds of times before.”
Within a few minutes, Myla had Lilly cooing and rubbing her sleepy eyes, on the verge of passing out.
“Do you ever think about that?” I asked, pointing to the baby.
Myla bounced on her heels, gently rocking her niece. “Yeah, I really do and so does Gavin. Eventually we’ll have kids, when the timing is right and all that jazz. What about you?”
“I shook m
y head. I don’t think I even want to get married,” I admitted.
“Not event to the right person?” she teased, looking into the living room where Gavin, Brayden, and Sean were sitting around the TV, watching the news, beers in hand.
“I know I do not want a wedding. If Sean is able to convince me to marry his ass, it’ll be on my terms, and no one will know about it.”
“Fair enough.” She popped out her bottom lip, pretending to pout.
I couldn’t believe Myla was giving in that easily, though. Usually she would throw a fit, saying she would have to be in the loop and demanding that I swear to it.
I watched as she lovingly looked down at Lilly cradled in her arms. “You’re going to make a wonderful mother, My.”
She looked up at me. “And you’re going to be the best auntie in the world to our little ones. To be honest, I think it’s refreshing that you’re so honest about what you want and what you see in your future. More people should be like that.”
“What future?” Sean asked as he grabbed a few more beers out of the fridge.
Wrapping my arms around his wide waist, I looked up into his glass blue eyes. “I just told Myla that I will never marry you or have kids with you.” I stuck my tongue out as he laughed a little.
Kissing my forehead, he shrugged. “Jess, you’ve been my partner for a year—don’t you think I know what your views on kids and marriage are? Still here, aren’t I?”
“Aw!” Myla exclaimed as I pecked Sean’s lips quickly.
Lying in Sean’s arms on the couch with everyone else asleep was kind of perfect. Even though our relationship was new, it really wasn’t—it was just evolving.
“So, should we exchange gifts now?” he asked, reaching over the arm of the couch for a gift bag that was on the floor next to him.
I jumped up, clapping. “Yes! Let’s do it!”
I dove under the lit tree, pine needles falling all around me as I searched for the box I had wrapped for Sean. Finally finding it, I clambered back onto the couch, sitting cross-legged facing him. He brushed a few pine needles off my shoulder with his thumb as he pulled me in for a long, slow kiss.
I threw the small box into his lap. “Open mine first.”
He grabbed it, shaking it lightly next to his ear. “What could it be?” he teased. “It is keys to a jet? Oh babe, you shouldn’t have. That’s just too much.”
“Open it, you goofball!” I pushed his knee as he leaned over and kissed my cheek.
“Thank you,” he said as he tore into the silver paper.
“You haven’t even seen what it is yet.”
“I don’t care, I’m just thankful that you got me something.”
He opened the white box to a hand-stamped copper plate bracelet with coordinates on it. “What location is this?” he asked, eyeing the piece as an excited smile played on his lips.
“Times Square.” I blushed as I identified the spot.
“I love it, thank you again.” Kissing the tip of my nose, he put the gift bag in my lap.
A ridiculous, wide-eyed Santa winked at me while he held his naughty list in one hand as I pulled the green tissue paper out, revealing a framed constellation. I read the date on it, unable to place it in my mind.
Sean tapped on the glass right over the date. “That’s the day I knew I loved you. It was just about two months after you became my partner, and we had gotten street dogs right after responding to a carjacking. You licked mustard off of my cheek because we didn’t have napkins, and that was the night I knew you and I were meant to be together.”
I blinked a few times while taking in the thoughtful gift. I remembered that night well. The carjacking had kind of rattled me and Sean took me to get food as a distraction after the situation was handled. He had always taken such amazing car of me in those types of situations.
“I have no words for how perfect this is.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, scooting into Sean’s lap.
“It’s nothing compared to how perfect you are, Jess.”
Chapter 16
Whistler
Christmas dinner was upon us, and everyone was in the dining room and kitchen finishing up the last of the holiday meal prep like it was any other holiday.
We were acting normal, but I was still completely on edge about the whole stalker thing. It was weird that Gavin and Myla hadn’t gotten any more notes or anything. Chad had been going to check on their condo daily, getting their mail and talking to the doormen—nothing. I really couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was off about the situation.
“What’s up, Sean?” Gavin asked with a knowing look on his face.
I shook my head. “I’m just still in cop mode. You guys are under my protection, you do know that, right?”
He tried to hand me a beer, but I refused it. He shrugged, opening it for himself instead. “Do you think it was just a one-time thing?” Gavin asked as he set out the stuffing and gravy on the decorated table.
Griffin was busy carving the turkey, and the girls finished the last-minute sides then set the table. “Dude, when that psycho was stalking me, she waited weeks in between contact. Turned out she had rented an apartment in the building across from mine with a direct view into my bathroom. Fucking crazy as hell.”
Myla threw a dishtowel at her brother-in-law. “Not helping,” she shouted as she made her and Jess Tito’s and cranberry with lime.
Griffin threw his hands in the air. “I was just telling you guys to not let your guard down. You’ll end up with a paper bag full of hair and toenail clippings left at your doorstep.”
“Did they ever catch her?” Jess asked before taking a sip of her pink drink.
“Yeah, she’s actually locked away. I wasn’t the only person she had stalked, and apparently, she had gotten violent with someone at one point. I kind of feel bad for her.”
“Hopefully she’s getting the help she needs,” Jess remarked as she put the cherry and apple pies into the oven to warm up. One of my favorite things about her was that she was a master baker. My waistline hated it, but it was just too good to ever pass up.
Crosby leaned on the counter across the kitchen. “Man, I just don’t get women sometimes. Like, all of you are so normal”—he motioned to the girls before continuing—“and then you get crazy bitches like my ex or this woman leaving threatening messages. It just blows my mind.”
“Fuck if any of us have the answer. No offense, Gavin, but I would not kill someone to be with you. If you left me to be with another woman, you and her could go fuck yourselves and I’d just rake in my alimony while sunbathing on a beach somewhere with a sexy scuba instructor.” Myla nudged her husband with her elbow as she leaned up on her tiptoes for a kiss.
“Now that right there is true love.” Gavin smiled down at his wife.
Karla waved her hands in the air. “The baby is only going to sleep and leave us in peace to eat for so long. Enough talk about crazy psycho chicks—let’s dig in.”
Right as we were settling into our seats and dishing our holiday feast out onto our plates, a brick crashed through the front window, rolling all the way to my feet. I kicked at it to make sure it was just a brick—no note or anything more dangerous—as I removed my gun from its holster.
Seven leapt up, growling and barking at the front door. Jess was on her feet, gun in hand, waiting for my signal.
I nodded to her and she started to usher Karla and Myla into the den with Lilly. Brayden had his shotgun propped in the crook of his shoulder, covering me as I made my way to the front door.
“Go stay with the girls, send Jess back out to me. We’ll clear the perimeter.”
“Got it.” Brayden fell back as the other guys followed him into the den to stay with Myla and Karla. I was thankful none of them felt like they needed to play hero and just let Jess and me do our job.
“Backup is on the way. I just got off the phone with the captain,” Jess whispered as I opened the front door.
“Are you good?” I asked as s
he came up behind me.
“What do you mean?” She put her hand on my shoulder, letting me know she was right on my flank.
“How much did you drink?”
“Not even a full drink,” she answered.
“If there is a shot to be taken, let me take it.”
She didn’t protest. She knew if there were an investigation, because I hadn’t even touched a drop of booze, it would be best that it was me with gunshot residue on my hands.
The street was dark and quiet. I looked up to see that the street light had been busted out.
I glanced over my shoulder at Jess. “I have a very bad feeling about this.” The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and we made our way around the side of the house. Seven was trotting next to us, her shoulders hunched like she was ready to pounce at any moment. I had never taken her for being such a protective dog, but I supposed instincts had taken over.
Rustling came from the bushes. I whipped around as a woman burst out, grabbing Jess from behind. My gun was trained on her head as I started to try to think of the best way to play this. It took a few seconds for me to recognize her, but in her ravenous, blonde fury, I saw it was Marsheila who had Jess in a headlock with a Glock pressed against her temple.
“Now, Marsheila, you do not want to do anything stupid,” I said in a calm voice. “Jess here did nothing to you. She didn’t even know any of us until the year after you and Gavin were done. Put the gun down. We can talk this out.”
“You put your gun down or you pretty girlfriend gets to meet her maker.”
“Take the shot,” Jess mouthed to me over and over, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Off in the distance, sirens started to blare.
“Marsheila, those cops are not going to be as forgiving as we are. If you let Jess go now, there is still hope for you to walk away from all this.” My entire body was shaking. I was watching a madwoman threaten the only woman I had ever truly loved.
The Shots On Goal Series Box Set Page 45