Always Mickie (Cruz Brothers Book 3)

by Melanie Munton

  “At least now I know,” he said.

  I panicked at the finality I heard. What did he mean by that?

  When he headed for the front door, my legs moved involuntarily. There was nothing I could have done in that moment except follow him. My body needed to be closer to his. It had been deprived far too long.

  And judging from his actions, it was going to be deprived a little longer.

  He was on the bottom porch step when he looked back up at me. “I hope you’re ready for what’s coming, baby.”

  Baby. He hadn’t called me that in…quite some time. I’d missed hearing it. So much.

  “Because now I know what you’ve been looking for,” he continued. “And I’m not going to stop until you have what you want. Until we both have what we want.”

  My mouth twitched. “That a promise?”

  He smiled darkly.

  Holy shit.

  I’d definitely missed that.

  “For once it’s not,” he replied. He climbed the two stairs, and braced his hands on the banisters on either side of me. “Promises have the chance of being broken. What I’m saying to you now is going to happen. So, no more promises. This time, it’s a fucking fact.”

  He left me standing there on that porch step.

  My heart in my throat.

  My panties in knots.

  Then I went to take another shower.

  A cold one this time.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Dawson

  “Looks like a .22,” Kyle Wilson, my partner of four years, said. He held out the shell casing to me. “What do you think?”

  I didn’t have to examine it to know. “Yeah, it’s a .22.”

  I looked at my partner, his expression as grave as my own. This was the fourth home burglary in this general area within the last month. Though, this was the second one that had the additional element of homicide. In both cases, the perp used a .22 slug to shoot and kill his victim.

  “Think it’s the same guy?” Kyle asked.

  I stepped around the body, working my way about the disheveled room. “The point of entry was the same at all four residences. All took place within the same time frame—sometime between midnight and three in the morning. And none of the houses had security systems.” I nodded, my face grim. “Yeah, I’d say it’s the same bastard.”

  “Lovely,” Kyle muttered dryly. “The son of a bitch is escalating. Nothing like good news to start your weekend off right.”

  We removed our crime scene gloves and exited the house, letting forensics take over and do their thing. It felt so odd that it should be such a beautiful day outside when an innocent man was dead inside that house.

  But homicides happened every day, rain or shine.

  That was the sad reality of our job and the world we lived in.

  Kyle sat in the passenger seat as I drove us back to the station. We had both gotten out of Narcotics at about the same time, and had been partnered together right off. We balanced each other out, so it was a good fit. He was the smartass to my hard ass. He was the smile to my scowl. Even when I wanted to punch him out, I still loved the guy.

  “Thought anymore about the promotion?” he asked after lighting up a cigarette.

  The one bad habit I’d never started. Which, in a cop’s world, showed remarkable willpower.

  “All the time,” I answered honestly. “But I still don’t have an answer.”

  He flicked the cherry out the window and took another pull on the tobacco stick. “What’s your deadline?”

  I tilted my head to the side to rub the tension out of my neck. “Lieutenant Allen gave me a month.”

  It was quiet in the car for several moments. “I’m not just saying this as a way of sucking up to my potential superior,” Kyle said, “but you’re one of the only people at the station I would be willing to take orders from.”

  We didn’t often get sentimental with each other. We’d never make it as cops if we did. But his admission meant a lot.

  “Kiss ass,” I said.

  He laughed, our easy-going camaraderie restored. “Well, if you do go for it, you’re going to have a long road to hoe, buddy. You know half the force and most of the City Council members can’t stand Captain Johannsen.”

  I blew out a breath. “Yeah, I know.”

  “However, the gala in three weeks would be a good opportunity to schmooze over a lot of them,” he mused.

  I groaned, my head falling back against the seat. “Son of a bitch,” I hissed. “Is that next month?”

  Kyle blew out a stream of smoke. “You bet’cha. And boss or not, don’t expect me to be any less drunk at it than I was last year. Especially if we have to endure another hour-long lecture from Commissioner Shafer again.”

  Mickie was always my date to the Annual Boys in Blue Gala. I really didn’t know what this year was going to look like. If she would even want to attend with me. “You taking Christie?” I asked, referring to Kyle’s long-time girlfriend.

  “Yep,” he answered. “She already has her dress, and I didn’t have to go shopping with her to pick it out.” He winked. “It’s a banner year for me.”

  I was glad things were going so well for him. Me, on the other hand…

  “How’s life going with the sex-bots, by the way?” he asked a few minutes later.

  I rolled my eyes at the reminder of my sex-crazed roommates and their amorous nighttime activities. “I’m looking into sound-proofing the walls, if that tells you anything,” I replied.

  He chuckled. “I told you, man. You’re always welcome to stay at my place.”

  “Yeah, and I’m sure your girlfriend would love that.”

  “Christie wouldn’t mind.” He grinned, waggling his eyebrows. “I’ll tell her to keep her screams to a minimum.”

  I huffed out a laugh. “As fun as that sounds, and as much as I appreciate the offer, I’ll be all right. Besides, I think I’m making progress with Mickie.”

  I hoped, anyway. Prayed. I couldn’t live with Mason and Sage and all their lovey-dovey happiness for another month. I’d lose my fucking mind.

  I wanted my woman back.

  Kyle’s head whipped around. “She’s letting you back in?”

  He’d been a helpful ear throughout this rollercoaster ride with Mickie. Between him, Mason, and Parker, I’d had some pretty good confidantes in my corner.

  “No, not yet. But we had an…interesting conversation the other night.” To say the least. “She finally told me what she wants.”

  I want you to want me.

  That had sure as hell stung. The fact that I hadn’t been making sure she realized, without a doubt, that she always had been and always would be the girl of my dreams. That she no longer felt that from me was a real eye opener.

  She was the woman I still fantasized about.

  The only one I could ever possibly want.

  No one made me feel the way Mickie did.

  Kyle narrowed his eyes. “And?”

  “She wants things to be like they were when we were dating,” I replied. “When we were still getting to know each other, and things were new and exciting.”

  I want to know that after all these years, I can still make you crazy.

  How did she not already know that? She made me crazy on a daily basis. Every time I looked at her. Hell, every time I thought about her. And anytime I was near enough to breathe her in?

  I went out-of-my-mind insane.

  He shrugged, nonchalantly. “So? Give it to her.”

  I gave him a wide-eyed look. Did he know something I didn’t? “How am I supposed to do that?” I asked. “We know everything there is to know about each other.” Or so I’d thought. “We have two kids together. How can we go backwards and act like everything is brand new?”

  He tapped his finger against his knee, a tick he had when he was mulling something over. “I don’t think it’s necessarily about making if feel brand new. You just make her feel special, like you did when you were first getting
to know her and trying to impress her. Women need that attention, no matter how long you’ve been together.”

  “And how the hell do you know that?”

  He groaned. “Dude, I have two sisters, and they’re both divorced. I could write a damn manual for men everywhere of what not to do in a marriage.”

  I snorted. “I’d probably be your first reader. Is that why you haven’t proposed to Christie yet? Because you’re afraid you’re going to screw up?”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, dick.” He glared when I laughed. “I haven’t proposed to Christie because we aren’t ready for marriage yet. We’re enjoying things the way they are now. No need to rush anything.”

  “I don’t think three years would be rushing,” I pointed out.

  “You only say that because you proposed to Mickie after, like, six months.”

  And it was still, and forever would be, the best thing I’d ever done.

  “Anyway, back to you,” he said. “Do some of the things you guys used to do when you were dating. Even though your relationship might not be new, you can still experience new things together. Take her—” His face lit up and he pulled out his phone. “Oh, I’ve got it!”

  “If you make another suggestion about taking her to a strip club, I’m going to punch you in the face.”

  “Hey, they’re not just for single men,” he said, his grin mischievous. “Couples can enjoy them together, too.”

  I looked at him in question.

  “And yes, before you ask, I did mean it that way,” he added.

  I closed my eyes and groaned. “Ah, I don’t need to know these things, man.”

  His laugh was loud in the small car. “What can I say? My girl is adventurous. No, what I was going to say was, you should take her here.” He held up his phone for me to see.

  I squinted down at the screen and immediately shook my head. Adamantly. “No. No way. Absolutely not. I don’t do that.”

  He gave me a stern look, similar to the one I often turned on Leo and Gabby when they weren’t behaving. “Knowing Mickie, she will appreciate it. I’m telling you, do it. You’ll thank me later.”

  I wanted to slam my head against the steering wheel.

  How had it come to this?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Mickie

  Four cups of coffee had not been enough.

  “Cynthia,” I called while scanning over the documents on my clipboard.

  “Right here,” I heard from my left.

  “Did you check on the patient in room 233?” I asked without looking up. “I’ve got here that three of his stitches popped earlier.”

  “Yep,” she replied easily. “Wound looks good. Healing nicely. No puss or redness around the incision area. And I replaced the bandages about an hour ago after the doc stitched him back up.”

  I nodded and checked another item off my list. “Thank you.” I flipped through a few more pages. “Um, Stein ordered an X-ray for room 209—”

  “Done,” came a voice from somewhere behind me that I recognized as Lanie’s. “Just waiting on the scans from radiology.”

  Another check. “And did we ever get the Andersons’ insurance information on file?” I asked, referring to a family whose twenty-two-year-old son was in ICU, recovering from a nasty motorcycle accident. “I’m not seeing that we received it.”

  “Last I knew, the insurance company was supposed to be faxing it over,” Cynthia replied.

  I glanced at our ancient fax machine that was still on the fritz and added another item to my sheet. “Someone please remind me to order a new fax machine,” I grumbled. “I’m so sick of walking down to Oncology.”

  The fax machine at the nurses’ station in Oncology was the closest machine to us, and it was one floor down. Stairs were a bitch.

  “Exercise is good for you,” Lanie called out in a sing song voice, sounding way too damn cheery.

  I dropped my clipboard on my desk and slipped my phone into my pocket. “I heard the Oncology nurses telling people us ER nurses are a bunch of grumpy gusses.”

  Cynthia shot me a look. “Uh, Mickie. We are a bunch of grumpy gusses.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Lanie retorted.

  Cynthia scoffed, waving her hand. “Yeah, yeah. We get it. You’re happily engaged and are having tons of sex. We’re all thrilled for you.”

  I grinned when Lanie winked at me over Cynthia’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back,” I said and headed for Oncology.

  I couldn’t deny that I was even a little envious of Lanie and the glow she’d had since her boyfriend had proposed a month ago. Though I wasn’t one of those people who wished to turn back time and relive my best moments. I’d had my single years. I’d had my time as an infatuated girlfriend and then as an over-the-moon newlywed. I wasn’t asking for another turn because I’d already had mine. And I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.

  I think what I really needed was just a…pick-me-up.

  A refresher, of sorts.

  There was nothing wrong with that.

  Especially after ten years, two children, and years’ worth of busting my ass at work. And that went for both me and Dawson.

  We needed rejuvenated.

  And I decided that instead of complaining and pouting over the situation, like I had been for the last two months, I would come up with a plan to do exactly that—rejuvenate our relationship. It wasn’t fair of me to put everything on Dawson. We were married, after all, which meant we were partners in this. Ultimately, it didn’t matter who had or hadn’t been doing what. It was not one person’s fault. Ten years ago, we had agreed to be in this together. As such, we would have to fix this together.

  I was deep in thought all the way back to the ER station. So, when my good friend Ashley, who must have just started her shift, popped up out of nowhere in the hallway, I let out an embarrassing gasp of surprise.

  “Good God,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “I hate when you do that. Wear a bell or something.”

  She grinned. “I couldn’t do that. My ninja stealth brings me too much joy.”

  I rolled my eyes and went to walk around her. “You can bring me a large coffee later to make up for almost making me pee my pants.”

  “Copy that,” she said, her voice turning into one of amusement. “And you might want to book it over to the station.”

  I looked over my shoulder, confused. “Why?”

  She waggled her eyebrows. “Maybe because a certain studly cop showed up, looking all kinds of fine, and all the nurses are currently drooling at this feet.”

  My heart slammed in my chest. “What? Dawson’s here?”

  She nodded. “Mm-hmm. And I think Cynthia’s on the verge of committing a crime just so he’ll put her in handcuffs. You might want to run.”

  I spun around to the sound of her laughing. What was he doing here? He hadn’t come to the hospital to visit me in a long time. He used to stop by all the time to bring me flowers or take me to lunch. Sometimes, he’d swing by just for a kiss. He said it was the only thing that could get him through the rest of his day.

  I turned the corner to the nurses’ station to see Cynthia, Lanie, and a few of my other nurses gathered around the desk, staring up at Dawson with stars in their eyes. Lord help me, some of them were even blushing. To Dawson’s credit, he looked wildly uncomfortable under their mesmerized gazes as he continued telling some story.

  I loved all of my nurses. Truly. Our group had a rare and wonderful dynamic wherein we hardly ever fought with each other.

  But I didn’t care how many of them were married, engaged, or gay…I did not like seeing them fawn over my husband. Whatsoever.

  By nature, I wouldn’t call myself the jealous type. But with a man like Dawson, you kind of had to be. Wherever we went together, women often lost their minds at how gorgeous he was. I knew I had when I first saw him. And a lot of women didn’t care if he was a married man.

  Damn him and his beautiful face.

/>   And I knew that a suit was his standard uniform as a detective. But why did he have to look so freaking good in it?

  I ground my back molars together and restrained the urge to snap at the women. Of course, that was the moment Dawson turned and saw me standing there. His smile slipped at seeing what I could only guess was a scowl on my face. Then his expression changed, turning almost…inquisitive. He tipped his head to the side, his eyes narrowed slightly, and the corner of his mouth curled.

  I didn’t have a flipping clue what that was about. So, I ignored it.

  “Hey, Mick,” he said softly.

  “Hey.” I pinned all of my nurses with a stern look. “Everyone back to work.” They immediately dispersed, scurrying away. I turned back to Dawson and saw amusement overtake his features. “What?” I asked.

  He slowly shook his head. “I haven’t seen you jealous in a long time. It’s nice to see.”

  “I wasn’t jealous,” I snapped defensively.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Really? You forget how well I know you.”

  Busted. I crossed my arms over my chest, probably looking like Gabby had when we’d told her she couldn’t wear her Elsa dress to school. “Well, what would I have to be jealous about?” I asked pointedly.

  His grin fell, his jaw clenching. “Absolutely nothing.”

  His fierce tone told me he was telling the truth. I probably didn’t have anything to worry about. But I’d kicked him out two months ago. And married or not, a woman became concerned about that type of thing whenever she wasn’t sleeping next to her husband every night.

  Dawson would never do something like that, though. He was way too honorable. Plus, he’d gone out of his way his entire life to become the complete opposite of Sal. And cheating on his wife would certainly fall into the “like father, like son” category.

  “Good,” I said, relaxing. “What are you doing here?”

  He straightened his shoulders, clearing his throat. He suddenly seemed nervous. “I, um, wanted to ask…if you’d like to go to dinner tonight.”