by Liz Bradford
He looked back past Ty, but Scott was gone. “Where’d he go?”
Ty turned towards Adam. “He just took off. You want me to go after him so you can arrest him?”
“No.”
AJ grabbed his hand. “Let me look at your hand.”
He let her raise his arm. He clenched his fists again. His knuckles ached. AJ examined his hand. It was bloody. He should never have hit Scott, and he knew it. But he had just kept pushing. It was almost as if he wanted Adam to punch him.
Adam walked into the squad room with the sandwiches and resisted rubbing his cheek again. Ty and AJ had checked him over and insisted he press charges, but he knew he couldn’t. As it was, he could be in so much trouble. He had thrown the first punch.
None of the team was in the squad room, so Adam went to the conference room. He found them there.
“It’s about time!” Gavin declared.
Amelia stood and walked towards him. “What on earth happened to you?”
Becca looked up and jumped out of her seat. She came over and grabbed his chin and moved his head back and forth.
“Just had a little altercation, but I’m fine.”
“With whom?” Jared crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
“Doesn’t matter.”
The door closed behind him. “I’d beg to differ.” The Captain’s voice was serious.
Adam turned. “Sir, I promise, it doesn’t matter.”
“But it does. Scott Rebus is in my office claiming you assaulted him in a parking lot.”
The bag of sandwiches dropped from his hand.
Chapter 24
Ella looked up from hugging her students goodbye and saw Gavin Riley walk into her classroom. Her insides froze. What was he doing here? Where was Adam?
Gavin waved at her and smiled.
She could trust him, right? Adam wouldn’t have let him come get her if he didn’t trust him, right? Come on, Ella, you go to church with Gavin. God, I can trust him, right?
The kids ran out the door and Gavin walked over. “Hey, Ella.”
“Gavin. What’s going on? Where’s Adam?”
“He’s fine. Didn’t Becca text you?”
“I haven’t looked.” Ella walked over to her desk and picked up her phone. Sure enough, a new message from Becca was there stating that Gavin was on his way and that Adam was fine. “Would you like to explain why you both insist that Adam is fine?”
Gavin pressed his fist into his palm and smiled. “Because he’s… fine.”
“Now I don’t believe you.”
Gavin’s face turned serious. “He’ll have to explain. I’ll take you to the station when you’re ready.”
She packed up quickly, and they headed out the door.
Ella walked through the door of the police station that Gavin held open for her. They walked across the lobby towards the detectives’ squad room. Her chest was tight. She wanted, no needed, to see Adam. She walked past the Captain’s office; inside Jared was talking to Scott Rebus. She looked back at them when Scott said, “I’m pressing charges. He needs to be on desk duty. He shouldn’t be carrying a gun if he can’t keep his anger in check.” He pulled an ice pack away from his left cheek revealing a developing shiner.
“What happened to him?” Ella whispered to Gavin.
“I’ll let Adam explain.”
She raised her eyebrows at him.
They approached Becca who was standing by their desks. Gavin asked, “Where’d they put Adam?”
“He’s still in the conference room.”
Ella turned and headed straight there.
“Ella, wait,” Becca called after her.
Ella pivoted to look at her friend.
“Ah, never mind, just go see him.”
She furrowed her brow but didn’t wait for anyone to say anything else. In a few more steps she was at the conference room door. She turned the door handle and swung the door open with such fury that it slammed into the wall behind it. “Adam!”
He looked up at her from where he sat with his feet up on the table. He also had an ice pack to his face, and his knuckles looked worse for the wear. She walked to him, and he dropped his feet from the table.
She pulled out a chair next to him and pulled the ice pack away from his eye to see the damage. “What happened?”
“Scott.”
“Good gracious, Adam.”
“You should see the other guy.” His voice was thin rather than light. His attempt at humor unsuccessful.
“I did. And I think you need to work on your right hook.”
A slight smile flashed through his eyes, but his jaw was rigid and his shoulders tight. He was still agitated.
Jared came in the door in a huff. “Your turn, Jamison?”
Adam sat up straight and leaned forward defensively. “Look, he started it.”
“The Captain isn’t impressed.”
Adam tossed the ice pack on the table. “Of course not, Scott’s his little pet. You saw the Captain’s response to our looking at Scott as a suspect.”
Captain Baker came in. “I want to hear your side now.”
“Doesn’t anyone want to listen to my side first?”
The Captain crossed his arms. “No. We’re more inclined to believe you, Jamison.”
Adam relaxed an iota.
Ella had never seen him so angry. She didn’t know what to do other than sit back and listen. She wanted to step in and say something, but she had nothing to contribute.
“Were you the one to throw the first punch?” Captain Baker asked.
“Physical or verbal?”
“Physical.”
“Yes.”
Ella’s heart sank. Adam could be in a lot of trouble. What if his gun was taken away? She shuttered at the thought. Adam’s gun brought a sense of safety, a line of defense.
“But he started it.” Adam practically spit the words out.
“Now you sound like one of my third graders,” she muttered.
Adam heard it and scowled at her. Her heart shrank back.
The Captain continued, “He wants to press charges, Adam. I’m working my best to keep that from happening, but I’m not sure how much I can do. I will have to take some disciplinary action.”
“You going to take my gun? I have to protect Ella.”
“I know. That’s why I refuse to do that. Instead I’m going to give you a few days paid leave, so that it looks like I did something. You’re a great detective, but I don’t want to be visible in my playing of favorites.”
“You’re favoring me over Scott?”
“Yes, unless you tell me you punched him for no reason.”
“No, sir. He…” Adam swallowed. “He was trashing my sister and Ella.”
“I figured it would be something related to Heather or Ella. And I believe you; you’ve never given me a reason not to. And during your time off you have an under the table assignment. Twenty-four-hour protection duty. You keep Ella safe; do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Guys”—the Captain looked at Jared and back at Adam before looking at Ella—“I don’t think Ella should spend more than a night or two, at the most, in the same location. Mix it up. Don’t give him any reason to know where she is. He got too close last night, again.”
Jared crossed his arms. “What if we drop a rumor about where she might be and set up a trap to catch him?”
“Might be worth pursuing. Ella, I’m not sure school is the best choice either at this point.”
“Actually, sir, we have a long weekend starting tomorrow. They are scheduled teacher workdays, but I think Mr. Withers will understand. We don’t have school again until Monday.”
“Perfect. Looks like you and Adam can have some quality time. You keep him out of trouble; he keeps you safe.”
She smiled at the Captain, and he winked at her.
“We’ll get him, Miss Perkins. Sergeant Johnson, tell your detectives they have until Monday to get this guy.�
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“Yes, sir.”
The Captain left, and Jared looked at them. “Our house is safe, Ella. Do one more night there, and we’ll find another place for you for tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Jared left, and she turned to face Adam again. His face was still taut. She reached out to him, but he stood instead of taking her hand. What was wrong? Was he still agitated about his altercation with Scott?
He moved towards the door.
“Adam?”
He dropped his shoulders and turned around.
“Are you mad at me?” Her stomach came up to her chest.
His eyes softened. “I didn’t appreciate you throwing me under the bus in front of my boss. I get it. ‘He started it’ sounds immature, but I… I don’t know what else to say.”
She felt like she’d been punched in the gut. “I’m sorry, Adam. I had at least three kids say that to me today, but I should never have said that, especially in front of the Captain.” She looked down at the floor and fiddled with her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry.”
Adam came back towards her, knelt on the floor in front of her, and took her hands. “I know. Let’s get out of here.”
She met his eyes. Letting go of one hand she reached up and traced around the wound on his face. “Okay, and maybe we should work on your defenses. He shouldn’t have been able to get a punch in.”
He smiled at her. “You’re going to show me how deflect a punch?”
“Yep, and work on that right hook. You could have done more damage.”
He laughed. “So, should we spend tomorrow at the gym and you can show me all the things you learned in kickboxing that they didn’t teach me at the academy?”
“Yep, that sounds like a plan.”
Ella took the board book Dani offered her and pulled the toddler onto her lap. She read the book to her while Adam and Callie cleaned up after dinner. Becca had run out to the store once they had finished eating, and since Jared still hadn’t been able to come home Ella and Adam had offered to watch the girls. Ella’s heart floated. It was fun to watch Adam interact with the girls and hear them call him uncle.
Dani wriggled down again and waddled over to the basket of books and retrieved another. As Ella waited for the little one to come back to the couch, her eyes fell on Adam’s overnight bag. After leaving the station they had gone to Adam’s for a while and played with Rusty. Adam had packed a bag for the night. He was taking the Captain’s orders seriously. He wasn’t going to leave her side; twenty-four-hour protection. Her heart fluttered.
“Ook, ook,” Dani said, pulling Ella’s attention back.
She read the next book, and Callie came over and hovered around them. Adam followed Callie into the family room and winked at Ella before looking at Callie and asking, “Did mean Miss Perkins give you homework?”
Callie giggled. “Yes.”
Ella shook her head at the glint in Adam’s eye.
“Why don’t we get it done now so you have the next four days free?”
The eight-year-old groaned.
“He’s got a point, Callie. It won’t take you long; just get it out of the way.”
Adam said, “I’ll help you. It’s that or wait for your mom. Who would you rather do it with?”
“You.” She scurried across the room and got her backpack. The two sat at the table working on Callie’s homework while Ella read yet another story to a sleepy Dani.
When Ella finished Good Night, Moon Dani tapped the tips of her fingers together. “More? You want me to read that one again.”
She nodded.
“Okay.” But before she could finish reading it again the little girl had fallen asleep in her arms. “Oh, sweetie, you were tired.” She shifted the little girl against her chest and settled deeper into the couch. She soaked in the sleeping baby’s warmth, but the weight of Dani’s body was nothing compared to the heaviness in her heart. She had held babies from time to time over the last sixteen and a half years, but holding someone else’s baby wasn’t the same as holding the child that you carried inside your body for nine months. Would she ever be called Mommy? After her breakup with Miles she just assumed it would never happen. She had let go of the dream and embraced spinsterhood. No one would ever want her to mother their children. She looked over to the kitchen table where Adam sat next to Callie helping her process her math problems. Tears welled up in her eyes. All her hopes and dreams that had been murdered years ago had been resurrected.
Jesus, is it possible? Could motherhood really be part of my future? What plans do you have for Adam and me? Could we really have something permanent? But will we survive? Or will the monster hunting me ruin it all? Oh, Jesus, please keep us safe.
She tried to blink back the tears, but they were coming on too strong. They silently rolled down her cheeks in steady streams.
“Thanks, Uncle Adam.”
“Anytime, Callie. Why don’t you go put your pj’s on before you play?”
“Okay.”
Ella listened to Callie run up the stairs, but she kept her head down, unsure how she would explain the tears. But Adam came over anyway.
He sat down next to her and put his arm across her shoulders. “You okay?”
She nodded. She kissed the toddler’s head before looking back up at Adam.
“You want this”—he motioned to Dani and the hallway were Callie had just disappeared—“one day?”
She nodded again.
Adam wiped the tears from her cheeks and pulled her closer. “Me too.” He kissed her head.
“You do?”
“With you and only you.”
Adam unzipped the side pocket of his bag and pulled out an old, leather-bound Bible. Ella had gone upstairs to get ready for bed but promised to come back down in a little bit. While she was gone, he would take a minute to look at his Bible again. When he opened it for the first time in twenty years on Sunday, the whole gamut of emotions had washed through him. His dad had given him this book when he was just learning to read. Told him that this book had all the answers he would ever need. He just needed to read it and take it to heart. Too bad his dad hadn’t taken his own advice. He barely spoke to the man anymore. Just a call on Adam’s birthday and one on Christmas. Heather insisted that Adam give their dad another chance, but he just didn’t know what to say. But something was stirring in Adam’s heart, it was probably the Holy Spirit tugging him towards reconciliation. But the Holy Spirit would need to do a little more work before Adam could bring himself to pick up the phone and call his dad. But maybe they could talk beyond pleasantries and trivial chit-chat when his dad called in a couple of weeks on Adam’s birthday.
He stood and walked over to the couch where he would be sleeping. Jared and Becca hadn’t put up a fight at all about him staying here. They understood.
“Adam, here’s some blankets and such.” Becca walked into the room.
He set his Bible on the coffee table and took the stack of blankets from Becca.
“Wasn’t sure what you’d want…”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I can only imagine how you’re feeling every night when you have to leave her somewhere. I know you trust that we’ll keep her safe, but it’s not the same, is it?”
“No, it’s not.”
Becca wandered towards the kitchen. “You really love her, don’t you?”
Adam smiled as his cheeks filled with heat. He followed her and leaned on the breakfast bar, and Becca filled the kettle with water. “Yes, yes, I do.”
“I’m so happy for you, Adam. I can’t wait until this is all over and we can all go out for karaoke again. I want to hear the two of you sing again.”
His heart did somersaults. “Sounds like fun.”
“Have you figured out another place for Ella to stay tomorrow?”
“I have.”
“And…?”
“I’m not telling. Not going to tell anyone. I just can’t risk talking about it at all.”
“Fair enough.�
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Plus, you wouldn’t approve. He knew Ella would baulk at his idea as well, but he didn’t care at this point. Staying alive was more important at this point than propriety.
He looked toward the stairs to see Ella rounding the corner at the bottom. His heart flipped again. She was beautiful. How was it possible that a woman could make pajama pants, a ponytail, and his baggy sweatshirt look so amazing?
“Oh, you’ve got it bad.” Becca’s voice was just loud enough for him to hear.
He shot her a scowl that he couldn’t keep as a smile took over his face. “You could say that.”
“Hey, Ella. Would you like a cup of tea, too?” Becca asked.
“That’d be great, thanks.” Ella walked over to him and put her hand on his back.
“Oh, can’t bother to ask me, though could you?” Adam teased Becca.
“Where are my manners?” Sarcasm seeping from her voice. “Would you like some, Mr. Jamison?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“That’s what I thought.” Becca turned and pulled two mugs out of the cabinet.
Ella laughed. The sweet sound toyed with his heart.
He put his arm around her as they waited for Becca to pour water over the tea bags.
“Here you go.” Becca slid Ella’s tea across the breakfast bar. “Good night, you two. I’m headed to bed. Don’t stay up too late. Oh wait, neither of you have to work tomorrow, but still, what kind of mother would I be if I didn’t say it.” She gave them a toothy grin.
Ella laughed.
“Sure thing, Mom. Good night.”
Becca left, and Adam looked down at Ella who had wrapped her hand around her mug. “Shall we snuggle on the couch?”
“Yes, please.” She moved away from the counter. “I seriously can’t believe I’m okay with that.”
“Me neither, but I’m glad you are.”
They went to the couch and settled in close to one another.
“Is that your Bible, Adam? The one you had as a kid?”
“It is.” He leaned forward and picked it up. “I’ve been trying to read it some over the last few days.”
“Awesome.”
He flipped it open to Psalm 146. “Read this while I ate breakfast this morning. ‘Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save… Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful forever.’”