STEAL (Right Men Series Book 2)

by Mayra Statham

  “I know, man.” He patted his partner’s shoulder before getting in the driver’s seat, starting up the car as Tyler got in and settled. They sat there staring at the house, neither of them in any particular hurry to leave.

  “You think she will ever get out?

  “Maybe.” He hoped but didn’t really believe the woman inside that home would. Bryan had seen too much shit on the force. He turned to look at Tyler.

  “Hungry?”

  “Yeah, but how about we get coffee first?” Ty suggested, and Bryan held in his laugh wondering who the hell his partner had a hard-on over.

  “Sure.” He pulled his Explorer out and started driving

  “So, what’s going on with your ex? She stop blowing up your phone yet?” Tyler inquired.

  “I wish, but it’s been about three hours since I got a damn text from her, so there’s hope.” There was no hiding what was going on from his partner. Courtney had been that fucking persistent the day before.

  “Yeah.” Ty chuckled and breathed in, coughing so loud it made Bryan glance over at him. “Hey, you smell that, man?”

  “Man, if you laid one out—“

  “No, man,” Ty groaned, breathing in, sniffing the air. “Perfume.”

  “What?” Bryan asked before taking a deep breath and it him. “What the fuck is that?” he asked at a light, Tyler and he turned, both looking into his back seat. The usually empty seat had what looked like a navy-blue sweater in the center seat.

  “Hey, that sweater yours?” Tyler asked, and Bryan clenched his jaw.

  “No. Why the fuck would I need a sweater in the middle of the fucking summer?” he gritted, pulling over in front of the coffee shop Ty was obsessed with. They both slipped out and opened the back doors.

  He reached for it, the material drenched in strong feminine perfume. When he unfolded it, his jaw clenched as he took in the logo on the front of the hooded sweater.

  “What is it, B?” Tyler asked, but he couldn’t get himself to answer.

  Staring at his high school water polo sweater, the one he had given to Courtney all those years ago, the thing drenched in what he could now make out as her ‘signature’ perfume, he knew Courtney was far from done with her shit.

  His eye twitched wondering what the fuck else she was going to pull.

  VALERIE

  The day had been long and tedious, one of the few where we hadn’t had severe accidents or crazy patients. It had only been made longer by the promise of Bryan and tonight. Pulling my bike up the drive, I scowled, looking at two boxes on the patio, wondering if maybe Bryan had done some online shopping.

  Reaching the boxes, I noticed there were no shipping labels or return addresses. One box had B+C Wedding written all over it with red hearts. The other box, slightly larger, had Happy Times, B+C 4-Ever written on it, the same angry red hearts all over.

  With a frown, I dug for my cell from my backpack and called Bryan.

  “Hey, baby,” his voice rumbled. I couldn’t take my eyes off the boxes.

  “Hey,” I mumbled, obviously distracted.

  “What’s wrong?” he immediately asked, and I wanted to say nothing, but looking at the boxes, fear of what could possibly be inside freaked me out. My imagination was probably worse than reality.

  “I… Umm… I just got home and…” I didn’t know how to say it. Telling him would ruin his day.

  “And what?” he asked. “Valerie? Baby, you there?”

  “I just got home and, umm… Bryan, I don’t think she’s done messing with you.”

  “Talk to me.”

  “I’m home and, well, there are two boxes at the front door.”

  “Okay, I ordered some shit for Garret’s birthday. It could be—“

  “It says B and C Wedding,” I told him gently and heard the whoosh of breath he exhaled.

  “What the fuck?”

  “What is it, man?” Tyler’s voice asked in the background, and I winced.

  “Umm, well, one says that. Umm, the other says B and C Happy Times. They both…”

  “What?”

  “They have, umm, hearts all over them. Red ones.”

  “They heavy?” he asked sternly.

  “I haven’t exactly tried to pick them up, handsome. I saw them and called you.”

  “Good girl.” I smiled and shook my head. “Leave them there and make sure you lock up behind you.”

  “I can bring them in.”

  “I know you can, baby, but a little bit ago, I was working a case, and when we got back, my old high school sweater was in my car.”

  “It’s eighty-five today, why would need a sweater and… Wait, from high school? It still fits?”

  “Babe. I haven’t seen that shit since I left for my freshman year at college and I gave it to her to keep for me.”

  “What?” My body completely stilled, my eyes pinned to the boxes at my feet.

  “I gave it to Courtney. I don’t even remember it from when we were married. But when we got in the car, there it was in the back seat reeking of perfume.”

  “Oh.” Chills slid down my spine at how obsessed she was with him. The hairs on my neck standing on end, I looked toward the street. No one was around, not even my nosey neighbor, Mrs. Cortez, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me.

  “Val? Baby, you there?”

  “Yeah, sorry.”

  “Go inside, lock up. I’ll be there soon, okay?” His voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

  “Okay,” I agreed softly, opening the front door and walking around the bulky boxes.

  “You inside?”

  “Yeah.”

  “The house okay?” he asked weirdly, and I looked around.

  “Do you think she came in here?”

  “Babe, does it look okay?”

  “Yeah.” It looked the same as it did before I left for work. “It’s all clear, Detective,” I sassed stepping into the kitchen.

  “That’s Detective Handsome to you, doll face.” I laughed at his stupid comment.

  “How gumshoe of you,” I joked trying to get him to relax.

  “You going to stay in?” he asked, not easily distracted.

  “Yes, sir.” I couldn’t help answering like a smartass.

  “I can call Garrett see if he can stop—“

  “Babe, I’m okay. I don’t think you need to—“

  “I’ll call him.”

  “Bryan,” I sighed. “I’m tired, honey, my week was a little crazy and all I want to do is soak in the tub, maybe sit outside on the hammock with a good book and a glass of—”

  “How about you take a shower tonight? I’ll pick up some bath shit, and you can take a long bath tomorrow, and I can sneak in there after?”

  “Bath shit?”

  “Bubbles or a bath bomb.”

  “I don’t know if I should be happy that a guy like you knows about bath shit or if I should be worried.”

  “Babe, right now isn’t the best time for you to bust my balls.”

  “You love me,” I remind him.

  “I do, and because I do, I’m asking you to wait until Garrett or someone can get there for you to go outside.”

  “You really think she’s, you know…that cracked?”

  “You are who you are to me, so that means I’m not about to take any fucking chances. Not after just meeting you and sure as shit not years after having you.” Wow, that’s incredibly sweet.

  “Okay,” I whispered, walking to the coffee maker to get a pot going before I started something to eat for dinner.

  “Ty reached Garrett. He’s a little far, but I’ll get someone—“

  “Bryan, babe, I’ll be okay.”

  “Just amuse me, will you, Blondie? Please? I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, and I’ll probably take longer if I’m distracted worrying about you.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me, Bryan. I am a big girl and—”

  “Are you mine?” he asked, and my stomach had butterfli
es. I liked being his.

  “Yes.”

  “Then give me this. Please?”

  “Fine.” I couldn’t say no. He wanted to make sure I was safe. It had been longer than I cared to admit that anyone could have cared about my safety.

  “I’ll be home as soon as possible.”

  ***

  “You need to stop this crap, Court.” His growl was loud and clear from where I was blatantly eavesdropping. Is it eavesdropping if he knows I’m sitting here?

  He was in the kitchen, his eyes glancing to me and then looking away as he heard whatever she was saying to him, while I sat on the couch in the living room. “I don’t give a shit if you think that shit was you being cute or…”

  “Would you like something to drink?”

  “I’m good, Valerie. I should probably get out of here.” Donnie stood from the far end of the couch. I stood, too.

  Donnie had been sent, since Bryan’s buddy from the academy had been out of town. There was something about Don Bosco that was interesting, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. The guy was in a suit. Even in the heat of the summer, he hadn’t rolled up the sleeves of his wrinkleless dress shirt.

  “Thank you for coming by,” I told him, smiling politely

  “No worries. I just hope Courtney calms her ass and tamps down the crazy shit.” He shrugged. “Maybe that ass chewing he’s giving her will get her to cool off.”

  Bryan had only arrived fifteen minutes earlier. Stepping into the house, he came straight to me, kissed me hard, asked if I was okay, and when he heard my confirmation, he nodded before stepping back out to the front patio. Donnie and Bryan brought the boxes into the kitchen, chucking them onto the dining table.

  “I’m telling you, Court, this shit needs to stop. If it doesn’t…” His voice quieted down then picked up. “No, that’s not a threat, Courtney, it’s a damn promise.” The angry tone in Bryan’s voice carried, and Donnie hesitated before leaving.

  “You okay?” Donnie asked softly, and I met his gaze.

  “I’m fine.“

  “You want me to stay, make sure he’s cooled down?” Donnie offered, and I frowned.

  “What?”

  “Bryan can be a little bit of a hothead—“ Donnie started to insinuate, but I stopped him from saying anything else.

  “He would never hurt me,” I answered confidently. Donnie nodded.

  “He wouldn’t. He’d cut his right arm off before raising it to a woman. But a man yelling like that can make a woman a little nervous.”

  “I’m not just any woman.” I rolled my eyes and then winked, smiling when he chuckled.

  “I can see that. Alright, tell him if he needs me, I’m a call away.”

  I nodded and watched as he moved through the front yard. Locking the door behind him, I turned only to find Bryan staring at me.

  “I’d never hurt you. No matter how pissed I am.

  “Bryan, I know that. I told him—“

  “Never.”

  “I know,” I repeated walking over to him and right into his arms. He held me close, and I breathed him in. “So?” I asked into his strong chest. “What was in the boxes?”

  “Pictures and shit.”

  “Pictures?” I leaned back so I could look at him and met his stare head-on.

  “Pictures. Things. Stuff that…”

  “That made up your time together?” I guessed, thankful my imagination had been worse than reality and she hadn’t pulled a Fatal Attraction boiled bunny or something.

  “Yeah.”

  “Right,” I whispered, stepping away from him. I kept staring at him and didn’t like that I couldn’t read him. Though, who the hell am I kidding? I wasn’t a Bryan expert. We’d only known one another a couple of weeks. Did he look like that because he was remembering all the great times with his ex?

  “Stop,” he rumbled.

  “Stop what?” I scowled trying to take a step back from him. I needed to gain some kind of mental clarity, because God knew I was a hazy mess in his sexy arms. But he didn’t let me back away. His fingertips pressed into the small of my back.

  “Stop imagining something that isn’t there. Court and I—“

  “Were together for a very long time,” I stupidly pointed out. I really shouldn’t remind him. What if he changed his mind on me? I looked away from him.

  “We were, Blondie.” His finger tipped my head up, so that I could meet his eyes.

  “And looking at all those things”—I pointed toward the kitchen—“probably stirred…”

  “Stirred what?” he coaxed, and if I weren’t so worried about the fact that I had let myself fall completely for him, I would have seen the glint of amusement in his eyes. But I was worried. Sheer panic was working its way from my toes to the top of my head. Everyone leaves, a voice reminded me.

  “Stirred emotions,” I answered looking at the boxes in the kitchen, my mind running wild with images of Bryan in a tuxedo gazing lovingly into Courtney’s flawless face as she stands in bridal perfection.

  “Babe.” His lips twitched and I could tell that he was trying to hold back.

  “I’m serious.”

  “Val, listen to me, and baby, when I say listen to me, I’m being serious. Really listen to me.” I frowned looking at him and my heart clenched a little. “Courtney and I, that happened. But that happened a long time ago. You and I…”

  “Are new.”

  “Blondie, we might be new, but this is solid. You and me, we’re solid, baby.”

  “Are we?” I asked as he suddenly turned blurry.

  “Valerie, I love you. I fucking love you so much, you are all I can think about. When I think about the future, all I see is you and me,” he shared sincerely. My nose tingled and I sniffled.

  “I don’t cry. Ughh…” I buried my face into his front, hiding the tears from him.

  “Hey…. shh… but, baby, if you’re going to cry, I’m going to be the man holding you, wiping away your tears.” I shook my head and laughed through the tears, while he held on to me tighter.

  Once I calmed down, I looked up into his grey-blue eyes filled with so much love. And what he did next made my heart melt further. This was because his hands held on to the sides of my face, his fingers at my temples in my hair just as his thumbs wiped away the tears on my face.

  “I love you, Blondie,” he repeated. I nodded.

  “I love you, too, handsome,” I found the courage to say out loud, letting myself believe his words, because I felt the same way. We might be new, but we were solid.

  We were long-term solid, and I was done letting doubt win.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  VALERIE

  “You left me,” he grumbled sleepily into my ear.

  “I didn’t leave you.” My lips twitched at his words and how grumpy he sounded.

  “You did. You’re not here.” His voice was raspy, obviously still slightly sleepy.

  “I told you yesterday that I was meeting Tania for breakfast and then I had to run to the pharmacy.”

  “Pharmacy?”

  “I need the refill for my pills,” I informed him.

  “Pills?”

  “Birth control, Bryan,” I cleared up for him, picking my purse off the floorboard of my compact Honda Civic.

  “Oh.” The line went weirdly silent and I blamed it on him being only half-awake.

  “What time did you get to bed last night?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “Handsome, I felt you leave after you and I…” My cheeks turned a stupidly pink shade at the memory of how we had decided to go out to eat after the mess with the boxes, and when we stepped back into the house, he had taken me straight to his room.

  There he had made love to me.

  Real, soul shattering love unlike anything I had even read about in romance novels.

  Slow and intimate. Sweet, soft touches and long, passionate kisses. Not one dirty word uttered. It wasn’t until the end that we picked up the speed, both of us racing
to jumping over the edge of pleasure together, simultaneously. We were nothing but a heap of boneless bodies, breathing hard with sweat-slicked skin.

  “I wanted to get the boxes out, so you didn’t have to see them.” he mentioned, and I smiled.

  “Figured that out when I walked into the kitchen and they weren’t there. Why don’t you get some sleep, and I’ll see you in a couple of hours?”

  “Okay,” he finally answered.

  “I’ll bring you breakfast.”

  “You don’t have to do—“

  “I know. I want to. How does eggs, bacon, and pancakes sound?””

  “Great. Thanks, Blondie.”

  “Rest, and I’ll see you in a little bit.” I ended the call and threw my phone into my purse as I folded myself out of the car.

  Walking in, I didn’t see Tania, but I went ahead and took the table for two that the hostess offered in the patio area. Sitting there, guessing she might be a little late, I took my phone out, pulled up my kindle app, and dove into a book I had been dying to read.

  A hand touched my shoulder, making me jump out of the story that engrossed me. “Tania,” I said but couldn’t say another word when I realized it wasn’t her. It was the last person I would want to deal with, ever.

  “You don’t mind if I join you, right?” She smiled brightly. Too brightly. I could feel my face scowl.

  “What do you think you are doing?” I asked Courtney as the woman rounded the table and sat down across from me.

  “Having breakfast,” she filled me in, and my stare narrowed on her.

  “Look, I am meeting a friend, so you should—“

  “Tania, right?” She scrunched her face and shook her head. “She’s going to cancel.”

  “Why?” The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when Courtney grinned, her perfect white teeth shining bright as I took in her hair was lighter. No longer a dark brunette but more of a light brown, much like Tania’s hair color.

  “What did you do to her, Courtney?” I asked her, trying to stay calm as knots tied themselves up in my gut.

  “Stay away from Bryan. He’s not yours,” she started to spout, ignoring my question about Tania.