Ethan pulled into his parents’ driveway, and a tall, imposing, very good-looking man stood on the porch waiting for our arrival. It was easy to see he was Ethan’s dad. Ethan was a carbon copy, minus the graying hair. Talk about good genes. Some woman was going to get very lucky when she scooped up Ethan and Carson. Unwarranted jealousy bloomed in my chest at the thought of Ethan with a woman.
Shit. Maybe he had a woman in his life. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. He was out of this world hot. He had a nice house, a good job, the sweetest little Squirt I’d ever met. A woman would have to be a flat-out idiot to turn him down. First impressions notwithstanding, he seemed like a nice guy. A little bossy but—
“Wanna come in and see the pool?” Carson cut through my thoughts.
“Another time. We need to start moving Honor’s stuff,” Ethan, thankfully, made an excuse for me.
Shit on a shingle, Ethan’s dad was making his way to the truck.
“Sorry about this,” Ethan mumbled and exited the truck, rounding the hood and coming to my side. Carson had already unbuckled and was waiting for her dad to open the back door for her when, much to my dismay, he opened mine first.
Well, hells bells, it looked like I was meeting his dad.
I tried not to fidget as Ethen made the introduction at the same time he let Carson out of the truck. She yelled hello to her grandfather and ran into the house.
“Dad, this Honor Sullivan. Honor, this is my father, Carter Lenox.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Lenox.”
“Just, Lenox.”
“I’m sorry?”
“No Mister. Just Lenox,” he explained.
He had a funny look on his face as he studied me. His stare was intense, and I was afraid he could read my innermost thoughts.
“Are you Buck Sully’s daughter?” Lenox asked.
My body jolted, and Ethan’s hands came to my shoulders to steady me. “Whoa.”
“I am,” I recovered.
“Anyone ever tell you you look just like him? But you have your mom’s pretty, green eyes.”
“No one has ever told me that,” I choked out. “You knew my dad?”
My mom had been so heartbroken after my dad died she’d rarely spoken about him. I’d heard her in her room at night, crying herself to sleep. In the morning I’d sneak in and find the old letters my dad had written to her spread out over her bed. It was her private time with my dad, and I never intruded or asked about the letters. After she died, I tried to find them, the last of my father, but they were gone.
“Not well. We had a few deployments together. He talked about you and your mom all the time, and there were pictures of the two of you above his cot. He was a good man, I was sorry to hear about his passing. Did you know he was stationed here?”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “I did. I don’t remember it well, but my mom loved the area.”
I was grateful Ethan hadn’t removed his hands, they were the only thing anchoring me in place.
“Your name is fitting. Honor. He served with great honor and sacrifice.”
Ethan must’ve felt my body start to shake because he finally spoke up.
“We’ll be back to pick up Carson in a bit. It shouldn’t take long to move Honor’s stuff.”
“Take your time,” Lenox said, our eyes still locked, and I prayed he wasn’t as observant as he looked. I didn’t want him to see the hurt and sadness I tried to hide. “It was nice meeting you, Honor. I hope Ethan will bring you back when you can stay and visit.”
Lenox finally looked over my head to Ethan and smiled at his son. Damn. I missed my mom smiling at me like that. With a nod he turned and walked back into the house.
Ethan helped me back into the truck and, without needing directions, headed to the motel.
“I’m sorry if my dad upset you.”
“He didn’t. I was just shocked.”
“What happened to your dad?”
I took a few cleansing breaths before I could speak. It had been a long time since I’d been allowed to talk about my father. His very name had been off-limits in Frank’s house. He’d made sure all memories of my mother’s first husband had been wiped clean.
“He died on deployment in Kosovo. RPG took out the convoy. I was ten.”
“Fuck, Honor, I’m so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“Doesn’t matter how long ago it was.” We’d been silent for a while when he asked his next question. “Where’s your mom?”
That question was a direct hit to my heart. Talking about a father I barely knew was one thing, but my mom was different.
“She’s gone.”
He pulled into the parking lot of the motel, and I muttered my room number. He found a spot and rolled to a stop. Cutting the engine, he turned in his seat, his gaze assessing and full of something I hoped wasn’t pity.
“She died four years ago in a car accident,” I told him.
It almost felt good to say it out loud. Frank hadn’t talked about my mom after her death. He said it was because it was too painful, he’d lost the true love of his life. He didn’t mean those words, they were just for show; the grieving widower act made for great headlines. He had whores sneaking in the staff entrance before my mother’s body was cold.
“Jesus, Honor. I can’t imagine.”
There was nothing to say to that, so I didn’t speak. I got out of the truck and made my way to the room, trying to remember if I’d cleaned up before I’d left this afternoon. I didn’t want my new landlord to think I was a slob and change his mind. I opened the door and looked around the small space. My belongings were neatly stacked against the wall.
“Is that it?” Ethan questioned, scanning the area for more.
“That’s it. I have to grab a few things from the shower.” I told him and went to gather my toiletries, leaving him alone by the door.
When I came back out Ethan was gone as well as some of the boxes. I was sorry I’d missed him picking up the heavy load. I’d wanted to watch his biceps flex like they had when he’d picked up Carson to help her into the truck. It was probably a little inappropriate for me to have drooled over the sexy way his muscles bulged, but I couldn’t help it. He was a far cry from Sam and his soft, country club friends he’d brought around the house. It was laughable how they used to parade shirtless around the pool, their skinny bodies doing nothing for me, even as a teenager. Sam used to watch my reaction when his friends were over, and if I looked a little too long at one of them, he accused me of being a slut and wanting to fuck his friends. It was done under the pretense of him being a caring big brother. But as I got older, I saw it for what it was—him being an obsessive, disgusting asshole.
“One more trip and we’ll be done if you can grab your suit cases,” Ethan said appearing in the doorway.
“You can’t carry those three boxes in one trip. I’ll help you.”
The sexy smirk that crossed his face was panty-melting or panty-dropping or let-me-take-my-panties-off-myself-and-throw-them-at-you hot. Shit on a shingle he was dangerous.
“Watch me.”
Oh, no, I didn’t want to watch anything. I had a few minutes before, but now that he’d smiled at me, and my undies had dampened, I no longer wanted to look.
He was my landlord—off-limits.
“Honor?”
“Yeah?”
“You ready?”
“Oh, um . . . sure.”
Ethan’s body shook as he silently chuckled before giving way to a deep, rich laugh that sent chills racing over my body. Damn, he was even better looking when he laughed.
Off-limits.
5
“You finally found someone,” Lorenz said, coughing.
“Man, are you sure you’re ready to come back to work? You still sound like shit.”
“Used up all my sick days last week. Besides, I feel fine.” The lung he’d almost hacked up proved his statement a lie. He looked like shit, sounded like it too.
Talking about my sexy roommate had my body thrumming with lust. There was something about her that drove me crazy. The week had been smooth, she was doing her own thing, and Carson and I had our own schedule. Our interactions had been pleasant and friendly. There was nothing she’d done specifically to put my body on edge, it was simply the way she moved, the way she smiled at Carson, and her great laugh, which she shared often. There was no doubt Honor was beautiful, but it was more than that, she was sugar-sweet to her core with a side helping of wit. As the days passed, I could tell she was getting more comfortable around me, then last night, there was a hint of flirtation in her tone. Nothing overt, but it was definitely there. My heart rate had ticked up, and my cock had stirred. I knew it was a bad idea to allow myself to fantasize about my roommate, however, it hadn’t stopped me from taking care of business in the shower with memories of the sexy sway of her hips or her flirty comebacks.
Normally, I hated having to work weekends. It meant getting up early and taking Carson to Mom and Dad’s, disrupting their day. Even if they said I wasn’t, I still felt that way. But this morning I was fucking thrilled to be up early. I came out to get a cup of coffee before I got dressed and caught Honor in the kitchen in a pair of tight as all hell work out shorts and a sports bra, sweaty from a run. I nearly swallowed my tongue as I took in her curves and tight ass. I had never been so thankful for the thick material of my sweatpants. I had to tuck my hardening dick into the waistband to prevent a tent she’d never forget.
She’d apologized profusely about her scantily clad attire and explained she didn’t know I’d be up so early on a Saturday. I didn’t bother explaining why I was up so early, I was enjoying her stuttering and discomfort far too much. Try as she might, her eyes kept dropping to my bare chest. I should’ve apologized as well. I was less dressed than she was, but I didn’t. And when I told her not to change her clothes on my account, her cheeks turned a delicious shade of pink, the color extending down to her very impressive cleavage. I was skirting the line of what was deemed socially acceptable, but I couldn’t give the first fuck.
Honor was the first woman since Carson was born I’d let my guard down with. A woman had never stepped foot in my home. Granted, she was renting a room, but it felt like more. I couldn’t explain it and I didn’t want to. For once, I just wanted to feel, not analyze it to death.
“And he checks out? Good people, you’re comfortable with him being around Carson?”
I loved that Lorenz cared about Carson. He and Maria were good friends, honorary aunt and uncle.
“She.”
“She?”
“A woman rented the room. Honor Sullivan.”
“Is she hot?”
I should’ve told him to shove off, that it didn’t matter what she looked like, she was just renting a room, not entering a beauty contest. But I didn’t.
“She’s all right,” I lied.
There was nothing all right about Honor. She was a fucking knockout.
“I guess all that matters is she pays her rent on time and she’s nice to Carson. Maybe she’ll even babysit so you can finally get laid.”
Lorenz’s off the cuff comment had vivid images of Honor sprawled on my bed popping into my mind. Jesus Christ, the woman was sensational, but I shouldn’t have been thinking about what she’d look like naked, and the sounds she’d make as I moved above her, and I really shouldn’t have been imagining what she’d look like taking my dick in her mouth. But I had, and I was.
“One-Palmer-One, this is dispatch.” The radio in the patrol car came to life.
“One-Palmer-One,” I responded.
“One-Palmer-One, Two-Delta-Five requesting backup at 307 Main Street. Burglary in progress.”
“One-Palmer-One, copy. Any further code response?”
“ASAP. One-Palmer-One.”
“Copy that. One-Palmer-One en route.”
Lorenz flipped on the lights and sirens and headed in the direction of the burglary.
“Think it’s another convenience store?” he asked taking a right corner so fast I had to grab the oh shit bar to keep myself upright. “This would be number five in the last seven days.”
With the drug problem being what it was in the area, increased armed robberies were on the rise. The crime rate had spiked over the last few months, leaving our chief’s ass on the line, as if he could control the criminal behavior in the area. The department was short-staffed, hence most of us were pulling doubles and weekend duty. My once monthly on-call schedule had recently changed to once weekly. I didn’t mind the overtime, but the burnout rate in the department was increasing. I didn’t want to be next.
“One-Palmer-One. Be warned, shots fired. Repeat, shots fired.”
“One-Palmer-One, copy,” I answered.
“Dispatch requesting additional units to the scene, 307 Main. Call in,” Sammy the dispatch operator came back over the air.
“Fuck,” Lorenz barked.
Red and blue flashing lights greeted us as we pulled up to the scene. Two cars—four officers, none of them in sight.
We exited the car, and before pulling my Smith & Wesson .45 acp from my holster I rapped my fist against my bulletproof vest, a habit pressed upon me by my dad and uncles—verify your equipment. I double checked every time, without fail. In a smooth draw I had my weapon in hand. Pulling the radio from my shoulder, I called in our location.
“Two-Delta-Five. Coming in west side—” My transmission was interrupted by two loud bangs.
“Christ,” Lorenz cursed.
“One-Palmer-One, two shots fired. Entering west side.”
I clipped my radio back and waited for Lorenz to open the door. It was an ass pucker factor one-hundred when entering a building with no visual of what’s waiting inside. I nodded, and he pushed it open. I went right, he went left. We had breaching a room down to as much of a science as one could when there were thousands of variables you couldn’t account for.
“Clear,” we both called out and continued through the stockroom.
The door to the hall was open, guns at the ready, we made our move.
“He’s hit,” an officer yelled.
I fumbled with my radio to call dispatch. “Officer down. Need a bus. ASAP.”
“Suspect fled on foot. Jenkins and Tebbetts followed,” Patterson told us, leaning over his downed partner, applying pressure to a leg wound. “Stay with me, Mike. Don’t close your eyes.”
“Fucking burns,” Mike complained. The growing pool around his thigh was not a good sign.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Patterson yelled. “Where’s that ambulance?”
And as if he’d called it up with his outburst, a wailing siren sounded as the ambulance pulled up out front. Lorenz jogged to the front of the store and I stood guard over the two officers.
My head reeled at seeing a fellow officer injured. I knew my job was dangerous; every day when I strapped on my vest and sidearm I was reminded of just how much. But seeing one of the good guys lying on the ground, bleeding, was a sock to the face. A gut check, reminding me that at any time I could be the one injured or killed in the line of duty. And where would that leave Carson? I was the only parent she had.
The EMT pushed his way in and Patterson stood, his partner’s blood dripping from his hands. I looked around and found an open box of cleaning rags beside the stockroom door. I grabbed a few and tossed them at Patterson.
No words were exchanged—none were needed, all his concentration still on his partner. Mike was quickly loaded onto a gurney, Patterson following out the front door, leaving me and Lorenz alone to stare at a puddle of thick, red gore on the floor.
“Let’s get to work.” He slapped my shoulder, pulling my eyes from the horror.
“Yeah.”
We spent the next two hours processing the scene and three more at the station doing paperwork. By the time four o’clock rolled around, and my shift was over, I was fucking
done. I wanted nothing more than to pick up Carson, grab a pizza, go home, and sit out on the deck in silence.
Talk about a clusterfuck of a Saturday.
On my way to my parents’ house I called the captain to check on Mike. He was out of surgery. Luckily, the doctor was able to repair the damage before he’d bled to death, and he’d make a full recovery. Thank the good Lord.
“Daddy!” Carson came running toward me at full speed as soon as I walked into my parents’ house.
“Hey, little Squirt.” I picked her up and spun in a circle before hugging her close.
“Ouch, Daddy. Your stuff is poking me,” she complained.
My stuff being my vest and utility belt I still hadn’t taken off.
“Sorry, baby. You ready to head home? I’m tired today.”
“All ready. Gran packed up some of the cookies we made so Honor can try them.”
Fuck. Honor.
How could I have forgotten about her? A burglary, an officer shot, and after-action reports from hell was how I’d forgotten about my sexy, new roommate.
“That was nice of you and Gran. I’m sure she’ll like them. Go grab them.”
Carson ran to the kitchen where I knew my mom was because there was loud clanking coming from that direction.
“What’s Mom doing?”
“Cleaning out the cabinets.” My dad rolled his eyes. There was no need to clean anything in my mom’s kitchen. It was spotless. “What’s wrong?”
Leave it to my dad to pick up on my demeanor.
“Officer was shot today. Mike Collins. He’s recovering.”
“The suspect?”
“At large. Fled on foot. Two officers gave chase, but they lost him.”
“Another liquor store?”
“Yep.”
“What is that five or six?” he asked.
“Five,” I confirmed.
“Fuck. When’s your next shift?”
“Monday.” I hated how worried my dad look and I was quick to add, “I’m always safe.”
My father’s green eyes, the same color as mine, pinned me in place. My reminder did nothing to ease the worry etched into his face. He had the same apprehensive look when my brother was home. He’d always told us from a young age he’d support any career choice we made, from being a garbage man to any branch of the military. What he never wanted was for either of us to feel obligated to join the Army like he had. He’d always said he’d answered the call enough for both of us, but it would be our choice.
Chasing Honor (The Next Generation Book 2) Page 4