Slow and Steady 1

by J. H. Croix

  He curled his fist around his glass and pulled it closer. “The suspense is killing me man. What’s going on?”

  “Maclin’s back,” I told him, watching Zach’s expression grow stormy as soon as I mentioned the man’s name. He cursed, taking another swig of beer before setting it down on the table so hard some of it frothed and bubbled over, running down the side of his glass.

  “I thought he’d gone back to Savannah for now.”

  “You and me both.” I took a long sip of my beer. “But he’s back.”

  “He talk to you?”

  “Not a word.” No doubt he would have tried, had I hung around the library. As it was, I wondered what he’d said to Niki when he pulled her to the side. “He followed me to the library.”

  Zach squinted his eyes. “The library? Since when do you have time to read?”

  “I don’t.” Taking a deep breath and a sip of beer to fortify my defenses for yet another person to tell me I was being an idiot for looking into Dad’s case, I came clean to my friend. “I was looking into some things about my father’s case. Got told the library had a bunch of stuff on his trial, so I stopped by to check it out.”

  Zach sighed, running his hand through his hair before taking another swallow of his beer. “I knew about that, but I didn’t think you’d want to know. Ridiculous, if you think about it. It’s only news because he was so big in State politics.”

  “Agreed.” We both took another drink before I carried on. “Don’t know how Maclin knew I was doing some research on Dad’s case.”

  “He probably didn’t.” Zach shrugged. “Chances are better he was following you because of me.”

  There was no telling who, or what, Maclin was really after. The timing of him showing up as soon as I started digging into my dad was suspicious, but it could also have been coincidental. Maclin would bide his time and spring whatever he was up to on us when he thought we were least expecting it.

  Didn’t hurt to be on the same page as Zach anyway. “You heard anything more about the investigation?”

  He leaned back in his seat, shaking his head slowly. “Not a thing. I thought he was moving on to doing some actual work for once, but it looks like we’re not that lucky. Asshole.”

  “That he is,” I agreed. “If he showed up once, he’s going to show up again.”

  Zach nodded, idly spinning his glass in his hand while a haunted look entering his gaze. “No doubt. Fucker apparently has nothing better to do. He’s going to press you for information on me. I’m sorry.”

  “I can handle him,” I said confidently. I’d been dealing with Maclin for years. He tried to block every move I made and kicked so hard against my joining the SWAT team I thought he was going to have a coronary on the day I got the news that I was in. “He might come to you for information on me.”

  “Possibly.” Zach ran his hand through his hair. “Very possibly, if he finds out you’re looking into your daddy’s case, but fuck him. My lips are sealed.”

  “Thanks.”

  He hesitated for a beat, then leaned forward and propped his elbows on the table. “Why are you looking into your father’s case?”

  “Call it a gut feeling.”

  Zach nodded slowly, sympathetically. “You should trust that. Mine are almost never wrong, and I’ve never known yours to be either.”

  I blew out a frustrated breath, relieved to have someone I could talk to about this. “I’m trying to follow my gut, but it’s not easy. I’ve tried getting a look at some of the case files, but there’s a ton of stuff that’s been blacked out. No matter which copy of it I get my hands on.”

  Zach tilted his head a bit to the side, his brown eyes narrowing. “That’s weird. That trial was so public, I don’t see the sense in trying to black anything out after the fact. Even if there was some classified stuff that came up in the investigation, it shouldn’t have been much under the circumstances, and all the evidence was presented in open court.”

  I tipped my glass at him. “Bingo. That’s why I’m curious to know what’s been blacked out.”

  “I don’t blame you. I am now too. But you said every copy is blacked out?”

  “Every copy I’ve been able to get my hands on.” I paused, hesitating to ask for his help because he might be able to scout out a copy I hadn’t come across yet.

  Without me even asking, Zach followed my train of thought. “But you haven’t been able to get your hands on the copies in the evidence room?”

  “You got it.” I drummed my fingers on the table.

  “It’s a big risk, Sonny. I’ll see what I can do, but with Maclin sniffing around,” Zach trailed off. “It’s a helluva risk.”

  “I know, but I can’t just let it go.”

  Pausing, he drained the last of his beer. “You could go right to one of the sources. Two of the best ones happen to be part of your family.”

  Dad and Tyson. “I’ve thought about it, but I can’t approach my father with this. We’re not really on speaking terms, and I wouldn’t want to get his hopes up that his case is being reopened or anything anyway. As for Tyson—”

  “I get it. Water that should stay under the bridge?”

  I nodded. “Something like that. He and I are supposed to be on the same side being police and prosecution, but we’re not when it comes to this. If I find something, I’ll go to him eventually, but not yet. It’ll be rubbing salt into a wound that hasn’t nearly healed yet.”

  “Okay then. I’ll see what I can do, but you’ve got to promise me you’re going to be careful in the meantime.”

  “Of course. I’m not about to make Maclin’s job any easier, not when he’s chasing down a bunch of bullshit.”

  Zach stood up from the table as I drained my beer. “Good. I’ve got to get home. I’m meeting my girl soon, can’t leave her waiting too long.”

  Well, that explained the damp hair when he arrived. I’d been wondering why he would’ve taken a shower in the middle of the afternoon. I slapped my palm against his, shaking his hand goodbye. “You better get to her then.” He started to pull his wallet out, but I shook my head.

  “I’ve got it. Catch you soon.”

  He tossed me a wave as he left the bar. After paying for our beer with Bob, I followed him out. The afternoon air was more humid now, the air heavy and damp. I idly wondered if it was going to rain later when I drew to a sudden stop a few feet away from my truck.

  Wayne Maclin was waiting by it, looking smug and wearing a badly-fitted suit as always. “Mr. Lovett. A word?”

  “It’s my day off, Maclin.” I didn’t know how he’d found me here. Best guess was he finished talking to Niki at the library in time to see me leave and followed me. “You can have a word tomorrow when I’m back on the clock.”

  “I’d rather talk to you now. What were you in there talking to Mr. Taylor about?”

  “Zach and I are friends,” I snapped, annoyance flaring up inside. Outwardly, I remained calm. “What we talk about over a beer on our day off has nothing to do with you.”

  “I beg to differ, Mr. Lovett. If I say it’s my business, it’s my business. So what were you discussing with him?”

  “I don’t have to answer any of your questions.”

  “Mr. Lovett.” His voice took on a warning tone.

  Brushing past him to get into my truck, I gave him a sarcastic grin. “We were discussing whether it was better to jerk off using your left or your right hand. Zach says left, I say right. Why don’t you give it a try and go fuck yourself?”

  Slamming the truck into gear, I shut my door in his face and sped away.

  Chapter Six

  Niki

  Saturdays were the best. I loved my job, but having the freedom to lounge around the house all day and read to my heart’s content, well, that was heaven.

  Until heaven got interrupted when someone knocked on my door. I didn’t need three guesses to know who it was. “I’ll be right there, Karen!”

  “Okay,” she called out.


  Sliding my bookmark into place, I set down the empty teacup I’d been cradling in my lap on the table and stretched as I stood up. I snapped a hair tie off my wrist and pulled my hair back as I padded to the front door.

  When I pulled it open, Karen was waiting with two takeout cups of tea from our favorite place around the corner. She flashed a wide smile. Breezing past me into my apartment, she kicked off her kitten heels and set the tea on the coffee table before sinking into the couch.

  “Come on in,” I told her, trailing behind as I watched her get comfortable. “And please, sit down. Make yourself at home.”

  Karen rolled her eyes with another smile but ignored my slightly sarcastic tone otherwise. “You need to get dressed, lazybones.”

  “Why?”

  “We’re getting out of the house today,” she declared without batting an eye. “I’m giving you twenty minutes, then we’re out of here.”

  “But it’s Saturday,” I protested, vaguely remembering the promise I’d made to consider going out with her this weekend. “I thought about it, but I really just want to enjoy my day off.”

  “And you still will enjoy it, but with me instead of alone.”

  Crossing my arms, I tried to stare her down, but deep down inside I knew it was useless. Still, I had to give it a try. “I’m not going out.”

  “Yes, you are,” she countered, nodding at my tea. “I’ve let you off the hook twice this week, and I’ve come bearing gifts, how can say no?”

  “Easily. Like this.” I cleared my throat. “No.”

  Karen giggled, shaking her blonde curls out. “Nice try, but you’re still coming shopping with me. I have a date next week, and I need a new outfit. And I know how strongly you feel about my clothing choices for dates, so this time your opinion will count.”

  “That’s a low blow,” I groaned. I was hardly going to say no if my best friend was really asking for help. “I’m going to need thirty minutes.”

  “Take your sweet time,” she sing-songed, pulling her phone from her oversized red purse and scrolling through it while sipping her tea.

  I rushed through a shower. After considering my clothes for no more than thirty seconds, I donned a pair of jeans and a black wrap top. Braiding my hair even though it was still wet, I fastened it and walked out to where Karen was waiting.

  She released a pained sigh when she saw me, rising from her seat. “We’re totally getting you at least one new outfit too.”

  “I’m just not fashion conscious.” Unlike Karen, who always managed to look stylish, adorable and comfortable all at once. So unfair. “Some of us have to settle for comfortable.”

  “Not with me around when you’re shopping, you don’t. There won’t be any settling today.” Karen led me out the door with barely a chance to brush some mascara onto my lashes and marched to her beat-up little green hatchback. “In you go.”

  Climbing in, I slid a pair of sunglasses from my purse over my eyes. A gift from Karen for my last birthday, the sleek black glasses were probably the most stylish thing I owned. “Okay, you’ve got me, so I’m going to make the best of it.”

  “Gee thanks.” She smiled, checking her mirrors before easing us onto the road. Karen was a nervous driver, but like with everything else in her life, she refused to let nerves get in her way. “It’ll be fun, you’ll see.”

  “Shopping for clothes is never fun,” I informed her. “Who’s this all-important date next week with? You’ve never come to me for advice on an outfit before.”

  “I might’ve slightly exaggerated,” she confessed, brown eyes darting to mine before she trained them on the road again.

  “You don’t have a date?”

  Waving her hand, she smiled. “Oh no, I have a date. I just don’t really need help choosing an outfit. I already have the perfect one in mind. I’ve been saving up for it.”

  “By saving up, do you mean you’ve been using a candle at night to save on your electric bill again this week?” Karen had many talents, but saving, or knowing how to save, wasn’t one of them.

  A couple of months ago, she told me she’d figured out the perfect way to save was to switch off the lights in her apartment after dinner and use candles instead of electricity for light. There might’ve been some merit in her argument, had she not gone out to buy ridiculously expensive scented candles.

  Nodding, she flushed and shrugged as she rounded a corner. “I did, but I was better about it this time. The candles were on sale.”

  “Right.” I’d long since given up on trying to talk her out of ideas once she was set on something. I gave her input and advice, such as not to buy the expensive candles, but I didn’t try talking her out of anything. Her quirky nature was one of the things I loved about her. “Did you remember to cancel your subscriptions to all those magazines?”

  From time to time, I also gently urged her to curb her spending habits to encourage her to save since the month was always too long for her paycheck, but my success rate wasn’t high. Curls bopping as she shook her head, she turned into the parking lot at the mall.

  “Not yet, but I will next month.”

  “Okay.” I wasn’t going to push her. My scatter-brained, funny friend was terrible at budgeting, but I wouldn’t want to change her for anything in the world. “Who’s this guy you’re going out with? You never said anything about a new boyfriend.”

  “He’s not a boyfriend.” She sighed dreamily. “Yet. I’m hoping, but this will only be our first real date. We’ve hung out a bunch of times, but this is the first time he’s asked me out. I don’t think you know him. He was in my year at school.”

  At twenty-three, Karen was two years younger than me. We hadn’t been friends at school. If the guy was her age, she was probably right about me not knowing him. “Does he make you laugh?”

  Karen had a tendency to look for love in all the wrong places. She believed in giving everyone a chance, even if it meant her getting hurt more often than not. If this one made her laugh, he was already ahead in my book. She deserved to be happy.

  “All the time.” Score one for the mystery man. “Want me to find out if he has any friends? We could go on a double date.”

  “Please no.”

  She turned off the car and gave me a look. “Come on, for me? You’re twenty-five, and you’ve never even had a boyfriend. Do you really want to die a virgin?”

  My jaw dropped in mortification. My cheeks heated, and I resisted the urge to deny it.

  “Karen!”

  She shrugged as we walked into the mall, pushing her curls behind her ears. “What? Do you?”

  “No,” I hissed, my eyes bouncing around to make sure no one could hear us. “Why does it matter that I’m a—you know.”

  “Virgin?”

  Groaning, I knew my cheeks were red. “Do you have to keep saying the word?”

  “Aren’t you the one always advocating for saying things as they are, using proper terminology, that kind of thing?” She linked her arm with mine, smiling as she led me into a department store.

  “Yes, but not when it’s about sex.”

  What I didn’t say aloud was this silly self-consciousness applied only to me. Karen could regale me with her dates and the good and bad of her sex life, but I had nothing to share, so I hated talking about it. I knew I was headed on the highway to spinsterhood if I didn’t do something about my state soon.

  Karen giggled softly, stopping just inside the doors of the department store in the sale section to pull a beautiful blue sundress from a rack. “It’s so cute how you’re so shy about sex when you’re so outspoken about everything else. You’re gorgeous. And you’re a young woman who, as far as I know, is completely healthy. Surely you have needs. Is there not even someone you’re interested in?”

  As soon as she said the word needs, my mind spun to Sonny. One look at him and my body has all kinds of ideas. My flush had just started to cool and now bloomed through my entire body. I couldn’t think about Sonny without getting hot and bothered.
>
  Karen caught it, letting out a loud squeal. “Who is it? You have to tell me!”

  Several customers browsing around us looked up at her high-pitched squeal. I dropped my voice to a near whisper. “It’s no one, okay. It’s nothing really. Just this guy who was in the library this week. It’s nothing. We didn’t even talk.”

  “But you think he’s cute,” she stated, drawing the right conclusion from the blush that wouldn’t quit. “Do I know him?”

  “Maybe.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “It’s Sonny Lovett.”

  Karen froze as she was hanging another dress over the blue one she’d kept on her arm. “The Sonny Lovett?”

  “How many are there in Cypress Creek?”

  With her eyes widening, she shook her head vigorously. “You can’t like him.”

  Her voice dropped to a conversational whisper. “You don’t want to get involved with him. That family is a mess.”

  “No, they’re not,” I defended them, even if I didn’t really know them. “Their dad committed a crime, and he’s serving out his sentence. His sons had nothing to do with it. Besides, from what I’ve heard, Sonny’s a nice guy.”

  “He does have interesting eyes,” she mused, adding another dress to her fast-growing collection.

  “He does,” I agreed. Sonny’s eyes were beautiful and mesmerizing. I’d never seen them up close, but I could easily imagine studying them for hours. With one blue eye and one green eye, it was impossible not to notice. They were fascinating and unique. They only added another layer to his already ridiculous bounty of favors from nature in the looks department.

  I didn’t want to talk about Sonny anymore if only because I knew it could never go anywhere. The likelihood of him even noticing I existed was slim.

  Nodding at the dresses over her arm as we moved to another aisle, I changed the topic. “Are you getting all of those?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “I told you, I already know what I’m getting. These are for you to try on.”

  “What?”

  A grin pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Yup. I promised we were getting you at least one new outfit too. We should get you a few though, so you have something new to wear to the library in case Sonny comes back.”