Disturbing His Peace_The Academy

by Tessa Bailey

  Christ. My ankle hurts. The pain is flooding my eyes with tears, but I can’t take off my goggles to wipe them away. Dammit. I get it now. How important it is to trust a team, in addition to my own gut. In the future, I won’t find myself in a situation like this alone. Right now, though, I need to get my shit together. Come on, Silva.

  I try to stand and fire shoots down to my toes, stealing my breath. My butt lands on the ground, and I release a choked gasp. Another round of smoke goes off, rubber bullets hit the wall above my head. Whap, whap, whap. Where’s the exit? Which way did I come in?

  “Danika.”

  Greer. Is here? His silhouette appears in the smoke, and I swear I see bullets bouncing off his shoulders before he’s down on the ground beside me, his powerful back against the same wall as mine. Amazing that even in a smoky battle zone, my breath holds itself in his presence, my spine straightening. Inside my chest, though, that’s where the real chaos happens. It wants to leap out through my mouth and let him take custody.

  His eyes are more than a little wild as he looks me over, attention landing on my swollen ankle. That giant chest lifts and falls on a shudder, and he blows out a slow breath up toward the ceiling. When he leans toward me, I’m not prepared for what he says in my ear. “Get up.”

  Just like that, I want to kill him. “You don’t think I’m trying?”

  “Try harder.” He lifts my chin in a cold hand, seeming to gather his words. “God knows I want to carry you out of here, baby. No one would fault you with that ankle. But I need you to understand something. I know you can do it. I have faith in you.” His swallow shifts the muscles in his throat. “And next time you face something dangerous, you’re going to have faith that I’ll be there, waiting for you, when it’s over. Do you understand?”

  Well, if I thought I was crying before, it’s nothing compared to now. My goggles are going to look like a fish tank by the time I make it out of here. Damn this man. I knew deep down what this exercise was about. I knew, didn’t I? Stupid, glorious idiot. He did this for us, and I’m not going to miss the chance to build the bridge to something real, something amazing, he’s offering us. “I love you,” I blurt. “And . . . in a way, you will be carrying me out, because I’ll be feeling and hearing you the whole way. I do the same for you, right?”

  “Yes.”

  I hold out my hand and he takes it, squeezing. “Partners?”

  I’m not asking to be professional partners, and he’s well aware of it. With my eyes, I’m promising to trust him, to believe in him and requesting the same in return. I’m promising to be more trustful, period. A vow I know I can keep now. “Partners,” he rasps, his expression fierce in the near darkness.

  “Good.” I take a deep breath. “Now get out.”

  He makes a sound and looks away, but that gaze thunders back to mine right away. Bullets ping the wall above his head. “Jesus, Danika. You just made it a lot harder to walk out of here without you.”

  “You love me, too,” I whisper in his ear. “That’s why you’ll be able to do it.”

  Greer’s mouth finds mine in a single, hard kiss, and I hear a few howls out in the darkness. His fingers push through my hair, his lips landing on my forehead, lingering there a moment. Then he’s gone and it’s just me inside the smoke.

  It’s not easy and I get shot twice more, but I find a way to walk on my ankle that doesn’t make me want to scream. Keeping my weapon raised and returning fire when I can, I slide my back along the walls, wincing as I go. Finally, I recognize the series of rooms Nick and I swept during the group drill and limp toward the exit, bursting out into the muted sunlight.

  Everyone is there waiting. Jack and Charlie look ready to murder me. I only have eyes for Greer, though. He’s white as a sheet, and his clipboard is snapped in half, but he’s here. And he’s waiting for me, letting me know that’s how he’ll stay. With his words inside the maze echoing in my ears, I believe him.

  Every fiber of my being is demanding I go to Greer, so I do exactly that. I manage to take three more limping steps before he lunges forward, drops the broken clipboard and scoops me into his arms. “You can’t stop me from putting ice on that ankle and acting like an asshole when you try and run on it too soon. So don’t even try.”

  “No.” I laugh the word into his neck. “I won’t.”

  “I fucking love you,” he breathes, tightening his grip on me. “I love you, I’m proud of you and I need you. Come be with me.”

  Happiness turns me weightless. “Yes.”

  Epilogue

  Danika

  When I was a kid, my father brought me to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. It was the biggest, brightest place I could imagine. As a grown woman, it doesn’t seem quite as huge, but my heart races nonetheless as I prepare to walk onstage and accept my diploma, beneath the massive lights and flashing cameras. No way in hell was I going to graduate with a crutch, so I’ve spent the last few days keeping my ankle rested. I’ve got a limp, but thankfully I should be fully recovered in a couple of weeks. In time to join the force.

  Where have I been resting my ankle? At my apartment during the day. But as soon as Greer’s shift ends, I can set a clock on him striding into my bedroom, sweeping me up into his arms and carrying me out to his waiting patrol car.

  “I’m making up for not being able to carry you out of the maze,” he grumbled the first time. Each day after that, though, he only smiled and took me home.

  Home.

  Crazy enough, his apartment already feels like . . . ours somehow. Maybe it’s the way he stuffed every kitchen drawer full of Snickers bars and bought flowery throw pillows for his bed. Imagine that trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Or maybe I feel welcome because he never stops looking at me like he can’t believe I’m there. Or how he whispers in my ear while I’m sleeping that he never wants me to leave. Yeah, I think that’s it.

  God, he looks incredible up onstage in his dress blues, shaking hands and handing out diplomas. In this entire arena, I’m the only one that knows he wears nothing but briefs and a smile when we’re at home. Home. There’s that incredible word again. I’ve been lucky enough to have three of them in my lifetime. My parents’ apartment, which will always hold millions of treasured memories. The three-bedroom where my roommates and I dwelled while succumbing to the L word. Now, Greer’s place. Considering he put a key to the apartment on my ring last night while I was sleeping, I don’t think he minds me calling it home, either.

  Jack must hear my dreamy sigh from his spot ahead of me in line, because he turns and winks at me. I flip him off and we both smile.

  The line moves and I hobble forward. One would think my confidence would be shaken after getting injured in the maze, but it’s stronger than ever. I don’t mind saying Greer had something to do with it, because I know I restored his confidence, too. In the universe. In fate. How to live with knowledge that no one controls either of those things. We have to grab on to happiness when we’re lucky enough to have it offered. We did. And we’ll keep doing it.

  It’s Charlie’s turn to accept his diploma, and I strain my vocal cords cheering. He blows a kiss to Ever in the audience—he didn’t earn the nickname Romeo for nothing—and shakes hands with Greer. Tears cloud my vision seeing them there together, two courageous men that have changed the course of my life in different ways. In the next few decades, that course will change again and again—they’ll be with me when it happens. My friend. My Greer.

  They pose for a picture, and Greer hands over the diploma, but before Charlie can walk off stage, Greer does something that steals my breath. He calls back his brother and pulls him into a bear hug. At first, Charlie is clearly stunned, but he responds quickly, hugging his brother back. Finally, it descends into macho back slapping, which makes me laugh through my tears. Something tells me their relationship is going to be different from now on.

  A few minutes later, a thrill slides over me when Jack shakes hands with Greer and accepts his diploma. I can hear Katie whistlin
g in the audience where she sits beside Jack’s mother, both of them beaming up at the new man he’s become in such a short time. One of the best. I’m so proud of him, I think I could float up into the Garden rafters. Even better, he’s proud of himself. It’s right there on the too-handsome face I’ve known since childhood.

  Before I know it, Greer says my name into the microphone. Navigating the stairs is a joy—not really—and I can see Greer is biting the inside of his cheek, wanting to come assist me. In the end, though, I make it on my own, my gait as even as possible as I move toward him on the stage. Call me a lovesick puppy, but I couldn’t stop walking to him if I wanted to. The love in his eyes is like an invisible conveyer belt, drawing me closer to the place I’m happiest.

  “Hi,” I mouth at him.

  “Hi, baby,” he says back.

  Directly into the microphone.

  My mother’s cackle cuts right through the eruption of audience laughter.

  I’m compelled to kiss him once we’re standing in front of each other—especially after that—because I’m getting used to greeting him that way. It would be so easy to make this moment about us. But Greer doesn’t do that. He shakes my hand and gives me the diploma like I’m someone who’s just gone through months of difficult training to achieve something. And I have.

  I’m a cop now.

  I look out at the audience and find my parents, taking a moment to savor the accomplishment. The pride radiating from Greer only makes it sweeter.

  Greer

  It’s a strange thing, letting go of control.

  Well. Let’s not get crazy, I’m still Lieutenant Hard-Ass, and Danika can attest that I call the shots when we’re making each other moan. As for shutting myself off from experiences life has to offer so I won’t face another loss? I’m done with that. When I lost Danika, I had no option but to let go of the past, and Christ, I feel light and heavy all at once. Light with relief. Heavy with love for my girl.

  There’s still ugliness. There always will be because of the nature of my job. Now, though? I’m feeling more beauty than ugliness because I stopped trying to block it from coming in.

  Now it’s everywhere. Across from me in the pillows every morning. Crying out underneath me at night. Danika. Beauty is her. It’s in the way she tucks her face into my neck as I carry her up the stairs to our apartment right now.

  Yeah, our apartment. As soon as we find out where she’ll be stationed, I’m going to ask her to move in with me. Depending on how far she has to travel, it might be more convenient to live in a different neighborhood, so I’m waiting to find out. I like the idea of starting from scratch and seeing what we create together.

  She doesn’t eat as many Snickers bars as I thought. She seems to be happier with yogurt. At least, I thought she was, until I bought forty varieties of the stuff, then she promptly switched to cereal. Really, she doesn’t have any discernible pattern when it comes to food. But I’m going to keep watching her and trying to nail one down.

  Slowly, I ease her down outside the door and let us in. “Are you hungry?”

  Her sleepy hum wraps around me. “I’ll make us grilled cheeses.”

  This is what I’m talking about. How am I supposed to shop for her when she doesn’t require a set menu? “We don’t have the stuff for that.”

  “We have cheese, butter and bread.”

  “We do?”

  God, her smile is sexy. “We do.”

  This is a game we’ve been playing, seeing who can use the words our, we or us the most times in a sentence. It’s a fun game, okay? I never want to stop playing it. Also, I win most of the time, which leads to her fake pouting. Which leads to kissing and eventually hot, sweaty fucking.

  See? Great game. “Do you want to sit at our table or our couch?”

  She slides toward the kitchen, giving me a seductive look over her shoulder. “Either one is fine for us.” Bending forward, she opens a cabinet and removes the skillet, giving me a nice look at her tight ass in those uniform pants she wore for graduation. I’ve never wanted to kiss her more than I did on that stage tonight, but it was damn fulfilling watching her shine. I’ll never stop being grateful I had the privilege of witnessing her setbacks and triumphs along the way. I love this girl. I loved her the day I saw her, but that love is so deep now, no one will ever find the bottom of it.

  As if she can sense the sudden seriousness of my thoughts, Danika sets down the skillet on the stove and turns. That restraint I used onstage is colliding with the hunger she always makes me feel . . . and I just want us skin to skin. I’ll never get enough of her, and I can’t seem to stop proving myself right.

  “We . . . should eat later,” I rasp.

  She’s already limping toward the bedroom. “Race you to our bed.”

  I scoop her into my arms with a growl. “Don’t you dare.”

  Seconds later, I lay Danika down on the bed and start to undress her, but she frames my face with her hands, drawing my forehead down to meet hers. Everything narrows down to her. This. It’s like she waves a magic wand and relieves me of any grief or worry I’ve ever felt, leaving nothing but us in the present. “I won the game this time. You’re slipping.”

  “Am I?” I slide my tongue into her mouth, working both of us up with a slow, wet kiss. “Feels like I won pretty huge. Feels like it every second of the day now.”

  “I won, too,” she whispers, capturing me with a look. “Let’s call it an indefinite tie.”

  My smile feels more natural than ever. “It’s a deal.”

  “I love you, Grim Reaper.”

  “God, I love you, too.” My fingers travel into her panties and find their mark, shooting her hips off the bed. “Let me show you how much.”

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you so much for reading this book, guys. I know. I always seem to leave that one couple on the back burner, letting them simmer until they’re just right—thank you for waiting and being excited for them along with me. Greer and Danika have a big, spacious home in my heart. Right now, they’re totally getting their cuddle on and Greer is saying words with his mouth, but in his head, he’s thanking fate on an endless loop for giving him Danika. She’s doing the same.

  Thank you to my editor, Nicole Fischer, for helping me shape this story and series up to the final moment—what an awesome, stress-free working relationship we have. Let’s never change. Thank you to my husband and daughter for getting out of the house so I can work in silence—sometimes that’s all it takes! Thank you to my Bailey’s Babes Facebook group for being spectacular and inappropriate. And a huge thank you to the bloggers and readers who review my books at the expense of their own time or come to see me at signings. It does not go unappreciated.

  I love you all! x

  The Academy Series

  Is this your first time reading The Academy series?

  If so, you won’t want to miss the first two books in the series . . .

  DISORDERLY CONDUCT

  Charlie and Ever’s story

  INDECENT EXPOSURE

  Jack and Katie’s story

  Available now from Avon Books!

  About the Author

  TESSA BAILEY is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans, and laptop, and drove cross-country to New York City in under four days. Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at KDees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend, and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention. She now lives on Long Island, New York, with her husband and daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

  www.tessabailey.com

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  By Tessa Bailey

  The Academy Series

  Disorderly Conduct

  Indecent Exposure

  Disturbing His Peace

  Romancing the Clarksons

  Too Hot to Handle

  Too Wild to Tame

  Too Hard to Forget

  Too Close to Call (novella)

  Too Beautiful to Break

  Made in Jersey Series

  Crashed Out

  Rough Rhythm

  Thrown Down

  Worked Up

  Wound Tight

  Broke and Beautiful Series

  Chase Me

  Need Me

  Make Me

  Crossing the Line Series

  Risking it All

  Up in Smoke

  Boiling Point

  Raw Redemption

  Line of Duty Series

  Protecting What’s His

  Protecting What’s Theirs (novella)

  His Risk to Take

  Officer Off Limits

  Asking for Trouble

  Staking His Claim

  Serve Series

  Owned by Fate

  Exposed by Fate

  Driven by Fate

  Standalone Books

  Unfixable

  Baiting the Maid of Honor

  Off Base

  Copyright