by K. C. Crowne
I’d had very little control over myself yesterday and had to refrain from coming at least twice. She was as hot in bed as she was walking around the precinct giving the cops hell and investigating cases. Maybe losing her mind was exactly what she needed. I knew that it made me feel good to drive her wild and thinking about it gave me a hard-on.
If we kept it going, we would be fucking a whole lot more, especially after the case was over. Twice wasn’t nearly enough for me. I was insatiable when it came to her, and I’d never been like that with any other woman my entire life. I wasn’t complaining, just worried that when the case was over, my time with her in my bed would end too, and that would be a shame.
More than a shame. It shocked me how much, and how fast, I had gotten attached. And what about her daughter? I hadn’t asked when I’d had a chance, then we’d fucked, and I certainly wasn’t bringing her up after that.
I sighed and did another lap around the cabin, checking the windows, feeling restless and closed in. It wasn’t like I went out all the time back at home, but at least there was stuff to do there. I had chopped all the wood the day before, and the television had four, maybe five channels on a good day. I grabbed my phone off the counter and plopped down on the couch, shuffling through the numbers. I landed on Lopez and figured it was about time I let her know where I was.
“Hey,” she greeted. “I went by your place, and you weren’t there.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m staying at my grandmother’s cabin in the woods for a while. Laying low until the perp is caught. I am, however, losing my damn mind out here with nothing to do. So, tell me something good. I need good news.”
“Let’s see,” she mused. “I had a tuna salad sandwich for lunch.”
“That’s good news.” I chuckled.
“And the captain tripped over a trash can and took a tumble through the pit,” she told me. “It was pretty much the funniest thing all year. Howser pulled the security footage and put it on a loop right at the part where he rolled through the desks. At the end, you can only see papers flying everywhere.”
I laughed. “That right there was what I was looking for.”
“As far as the case is concerned, there may be some headway being made,” she whispered. “I’ve been hearing the rumbles around the precinct that someone in vice is on the take. I haven’t been able to confirm it, but from the sound of it, you could be home free soon. The whole damn city is trying to figure this one out. When they heard you were innocent, they took to arms, trying to track this sucker down.”
“Did the captain say anything about it?”
“No, he’s pretty hush-hush about the whole thing,” she said. “I’m assuming because the perp might be someone in house.”
“It would be nice to get to come home a free man. I want my badge and my gun back. I want my cases back, and for the first time since I started this job, I want some dead bodies to pop up and give me something to do.”
“You are a sick man.” Lopez laughed.
“Hey, I like to solve crimes,” I defended. “You can’t solve a crime if there isn’t one.”
“I can assure you there will be plenty of homicides when you get back,” she laughed. “We’ve been overwhelmed lately. I’m not sure what’s going on with the city.” She paused and spoke more seriously. “I want you to come back too. I’ve been stuck with Fat Mac as a fill-in partner since your suspension, and he’s literally slowing me down. He’s been behind the desk so long his feet have a hard time carrying him on a chase. I thought I was gonna have to abandon a stakeout the other night because he got so out of breath.”
“Oh, man.” I laughed. “That sucks.”
“Tell me about it,” she said and laughed. “I’m not sure if the vice shit is true or not, but I have been hearing the rumors. They’re finding all kinds of shady-ass shit that some of their officers have been doing. I wouldn’t be surprised if the chief benches half the department by the time this thing is through. I know it sucks for you, but we’re gonna really clean house because of all of this shit.”
“We needed to clean house,” I agreed. “We have too many old timers sitting on desks doing shit, taking up the slots that new cops could be filling.”
“Amen to that.”
“Thanks for keeping me updated.”
“Sure thing,” she replied. “It’s my sworn duty to watch out for your dumb ass so you stop doing even dumber shit.”
“Was that in your oath?”
“Sure was.” She laughed. “Oh yeah, how are things with that IA lady? She’s in and out here, and I hear she’s heading up the search for this piece of shit. Is she still busting your balls like she was before?”
I grinned, shifting the phone to the other ear. “Let’s just say I don’t mind her bustin’ my balls.”
“Lord,” she said, and I imagined her eyes rolling. “I will ask nothing more about that mess, then.”
I laughed, grateful to have the distraction provided by my partner. I missed being at work, and I hoped what she was saying was true. With the perp still out there, I was still at risk for losing my job. Shit had to start happening, and soon.
Rene
On Sunday, I decided to take Jenny with me to go visit with Bobby and Dante. I’d been so busy with the case that I hadn’t been stopping by for breakfast like I promised I would. Since nothing would be happening at the precinct that early besides mounds of paperwork, I figured it was the perfect time to go and shoot the shit with them, get caught up, and eat some delicious food before dropping Jenny off at her new best friend’s house for a playdate.
I’d been leery of a playdate at someone’s house I’d never met, but my dad actually knew the couple. His hunting buddy was the girl’s grandfather, which made me feel better. I would walk her in and check it out, though I’d already run a background check on the parents. Didn’t feel guilty in the slightest.
I needed someone to talk to anyway. I had so much on my mind, and I needed to get it off my chest if I was going to have any hope of focusing on the case at hand. I’d never had many female friends, probably since my father was a cop and brought me up like a cop. Lack of a mom probably hadn’t helped much, either. Bobby was as close to a girlfriend as I’d ever had, and I was okay with that. I touched my mother’s ring around my neck. Dad had done a great job raising me, but I often wished I had a mom to talk to. Bobby would have to do, and he was an excellent second choice.
“So was Bobby your boyfriend in high school?” Jenny blinked sleepily in the passenger seat beside me. I’d caught her reading in bed again, and she probably hadn’t slept much.
“Best friend. We let everybody think we were dating so boys would leave me alone and nobody would know he didn’t like girls. Mapleton was pretty conservative back then.” I stopped for a gaggle of teens wandering across the middle of the street.
Bobby was the only person in the world who knew all my secrets. Except for what had happened over the last couple of weeks. I needed to talk to someone about Martin, and Bobby would be supportive, funny, and then offer to take him out. That was how it happened every time. He never got close to the guys I dated, always thinking I deserved better.
“Did he know my dad?” she asked quietly.
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tight. Over the last year or so, Jenny had begun asking about her father. I had no idea how to tell her that her dad was temporarily back in my life or that Bobby knew him but despised him. Jenny hated that I wouldn’t tell her anything about her father, and since he was so close, I felt really guilty about keeping him from her. I had tried to explain that I wasn’t sure reconnecting with him would be good for her, but it was getting harder to put her off the older she got. Especially now that I didn’t exactly hate Martin’s guts anymore.
“Not really.”
We found a space right in front of the bakery. I got out of the car and smiled as I opened Jenny’s door for her, breathing in the scents coming from inside. The whole block smelled like fresh baked bread
and cupcakes. It was the most glorious aroma, and I was starting to think I should have rented an apartment above the bakery. Probably better that I didn’t, or I would have to be rolled down the stairs and stuffed in the car like a sausage.
When we walked inside, Bobby and Dante cheered loudly, eliciting stares from the customers already inside. “Hi Rene! Hi Jenny! Coffee? Egg cream?” Bobby asked.
“What’s an egg cream?” Jenny tilted her head.
“It’s kind of like a fizzy milkshake. Comes in the same flavors as a regular milkshake.” He winked at her.
“Oh! Okay. I want chocolate.” She looked at the counter, where Dante winked at her and grabbed a shake glass.
Bobby looked at me. “That’s one. You? Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” I said. Jenny could burn off an egg cream like it was nothing, but there was no way I could get away with both that and pastry.
“Okay, grab a table. I’ll be right over,” he said.
I sat down in the back with Jenny and watched as Bobby made his way over to the table with a plate full of goodies. He smiled and set it down, taking the seat across from me. He handed Jenny and I each a napkin and a cupcake.
“This is one of our new creations,” he said. “You two are our taste testers.”
“Yay!” Jenny took a gigantic bite at once.
“I love being your taste tester.” I laughed. “Apparently so does Jenny.”
I took a bite of the cupcake and closed my eyes, groaning. Bobby was seriously one of the most talented bakers I’d ever met. Who would have thought that my football-playing mountain of a best friend would end up owning a bakery and being so good at it? The cupcake was a lemon cake with a lemon cream frosting and lemon cream on the inside, and it melted in my mouth.
“This is amazing,” I mumbled around the bite and licking my lips. “Best cupcake I’ve ever had, and I expect to receive these on every birthday, holiday, weekday, and weekend days that start with an S.”
“Me too!” Jenny chirped, icing on her nose.
“That is a lot of cupcakes.” Bobby laughed. “But I think that can be arranged. Maybe one day when you decide to stop being a spinster and marry some fool, I can turn it into a wedding cake.”
“Whoa, whoa,” I said. “You need to tone down the dreams.”
“Damn,” he said and laughed.
We ate and chatted about nothing important. Jenny started getting restless from all the sugar. Cue Dante stepping in. “Hey, so our new dog is out back if you’re getting bored.”
That perked her up immediately. “Is he a big dog?”
“Malamute mix, so he’s big and he keeps trying to talk.”
Her eyes widened. “He sounds perfect.”
I knew why Dante was getting her out of earshot, and I was grateful. I’d promised to bring her, and I kept my promises to my baby. But she really didn’t need to hear about my dubious sex life, especially not with her estranged father who had zero idea of her existence.
Once they were off in the backyard and we heard the giggling and barking start, Bobby turned to me. “So, what’s up? You sounded like you desperately needed to talk when you called and said you were coming to breakfast.”
“Yeah, I do,” I said, blushing. “I have to tell you something.”
“This is going to be good,” he said, leaning forward and rubbing his palms together.
“I’ve been sleeping with Martin,” I confessed quickly.
“What?” he practically screeched, his mouth dropping open. “The Martin. The one who took your V card. The one you obsessed over, and I’m pretty sure had a plot to murder at one point?” He leaned close and hissed, “Jenny’s father?”
I shushed him and looked around us. “Yes, that Martin.”
“Girl, you better tell me everything, and I mean everything,” he ordered, holding his hands up as a measurement. “I’m sure you’ve got good reasons, you’re not stupid, but Martin? How did he even manage?”
“I can’t tell you anything that has to do with work, so I’m gonna skip around those parts,” I told him. “The first time, he initiated in the sauna at the gym, then ran off when someone came in. Well, I went home and couldn’t stand it, so I drove over to his place. We did it standing up against the door.” I groaned and murmured, “It was fucking hot. Then, I went to see him the other day at his grandmother’s cabin. When I got there, he was splitting wood with an ax, shirtless in the yard.”
“Yes, girl. Go on,” he sighed, focused.
“He bent me over the dining room table and did all kinds of crazy things with his mouth before giving me not one, but two orgasms,” I said, holding up two fingers for emphasis. “He’s packing one hell of a pipe, too.”
“No.” He gasped. “What, is that why he’s such an asshole? He thinks the D makes up for it?”
“Maybe. It was the hottest sex I have ever had,” I sighed, cheeks burning. “Seriously, I cannot stay away from this man. Every time we’re anywhere near each other, the lust factor goes up to a thousand, and within minutes, we’re all over each other.” I leaned back, frowning. “I’ve never been with someone like that before. The kind of guy who makes you want to keep coming back for more. It’s like he satisfies me, and then I need more satisfaction, and I’m talking about before I can even get dressed again.”
“Ooh, girl,” he said, fanning himself. “That’s the kind of man you need in your life. The crazy sex kind that wants to tie you up in knots and make you holler. I can’t even hear anymore!” He waved his hands dramatically, pulling a laugh out of me. “Too bad it’s Martin Ferrel. Though I have to say, I didn’t see that in him. I am surprised.”
I laughed and buried my head in my arms, shaking it back and forth. I sighed and sat up, grabbing another cupcake and taking the wrapper off it. I bit into it and sat there, thinking about how good but how bad the entire situation was.
I wasn’t supposed to be sleeping with Martin. It was entirely against the rules—my rules and the Department’s. But he had sucked me in. I wanted him all day every day, and telling me it was against the rules wasn’t a strong enough deterrent.
“Why do you look so miserable?” Bobby asked. “You’re getting toe curling orgasms from a guy who seems to have finally fucking grown up—or I don’t see you bothering with him otherwise. You’re too smart.” He paused, watching me. “You moved back home, and you have a new house, and your best friend feeds you decadent desserts any time you want them. I really don’t see what can be so terrible about any of this. At least not bury your head in your hands terrible.”
“Honestly? I think I’m in way over my head with this guy. I mean, it is Martin Ferrel, for God’s sake. He hurt me. He was so unreliable that his own grandma begged me not to tell him about the pregnancy. He still doesn’t know he has a daughter.”
“Well, that part I can’t help you with. He may not deserve to know, though I think Jenny does.” He gave me a pointed look. “But remember, just because you’re fucking him doesn’t mean he owns you. He’s the one who’s in way over his head. He’s extremely lucky you even gave him the time of day.”
“I can handle dirty cops for work all day long,” I said. “But Martin is dirty in the best way possible, and I’m worried that I’m getting in too deep. What if I can’t walk away from him?”
Bobby shook his head. “Just don’t fall in love with him.”
“Love,” I laughed. “God, I don’t even want to think about it, but I know I should be. I’m doing my best not to get attached, but damn it, it’s getting hard. The more time I spend with the guy, the harder it is to remember that he’s the guy who made me hate men for long damn time.”
“You know this could all be solved very easily,” he mused, breaking off a bit of his own cupcake and popping it in his mouth.
“Oh yeah? How?”
“Just walk away now, before it gets too serious.”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” I sighed. “We have to be around one another for work. I quite literally ca
n’t avoid him.”
“Hm. That sucks.” He looked thoughtful. “Do you want me to punch him again for you?”
“Oh, my God.” I laughed loudly, shaking my head. “I don’t think he would be as nice this time about it.”
“I ain’t scared of that pipsqueak,” Bobby announced. “This is 250 pounds of butter and flour right here. I could squash him like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.”
“No, let’s leave him be.” I laughed, standing. “But we have to get going. I have to get some work done today, and Jenny’s netted a play date in record time.” I heard loud laughter outside. “If we can pry her away from your new fur baby.”
“Aw, well, let us know when you want us to come have dinner at your new place,” Bobby said.
“I will. I promise.” I smiled as I picked up another cupcake and wiggled it at him. “I have to take one of these babies for the road.”
I kissed Bobby on the cheek before collecting my reluctant daughter and hugging Dante goodbye. The barking cloud they called a dog got a quick head rub. I could have hung around all day, dishing about the latest gossip, but I had an investigation to close out, a cop to exonerate, and a demon to exorcise. No matter how attracted to him I was, and no matter how much I liked the sex, I couldn’t let Martin get to me anymore.
My job was to clear the charges against him, but at the same time, I couldn’t get my mind off his gorgeous body and his charming smile. Has he grown up enough to date on the regular, like Bobby said? Has he grown up enough to be with, for that matter? Will he ever grow up enough that I can tell him about his daughter?
I was beyond distracted as Jenny and I headed for the car, and as we stepped onto the sidewalk, I heard my name being called. She and I both turned her heads, and I nearly vomited the cupcakes all over the concrete when I saw Martin loping across the street toward us.