Brie didn’t eat bread. One of the ways she stayed so slim was watching her carbs, but she wasn’t about to tell him that now. She just wouldn’t put any on her plate. “Sounds wonderful.”
He held out a chair for her and scooted her in after she sat. Brie liked this gesture. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had done it for her, and it made her feel special. Kade would probably never do that. She began to wonder why she was fascinated with Kade after all.
Jesse turned to the stove and returned a moment later with a plate. A chicken breast smothered in tomatoes and basil lay in the middle of the plate. “There’s cheese on the table if you want to add some on. It should be hot enough to melt still.” He put a bowl of salad in the middle, another bowl with cut up French bread next to it, and then sat down across from her with his own plate.
“This smells delicious. Where did you learn to cook?”
“My mom. I grew up with a big family, and since I was the second oldest child, she taught my brother and I both to cook at a young age, so we could help out. Shall we pray so we can eat?”
“Uh, sure.” Brie still wasn’t sure about this prayer thing, but she needed Jesse to believe she was.
“Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food, for the good company, and for the many blessings you’ve given us. Amen.”
“Amen,” Brie echoed hoping that was the right thing to do. She cut into her chicken and took a bite. The flavors danced in her mouth. Balsamic vinaigrette paired with basil, garlic, and tomatoes. It tasted similar to pricey dishes she’d eaten in Italy during their trip there one year.
"So, does your family live here?” she asked when she finished chewing the bite.
He shook his head and finished his own bite. “No, most of them still live in Montana where I’m from. I wanted to see what the world had to offer, so I moved to the biggest city I could think of.” He smiled. “Ended up here in New York. Joined SWAT and haven’t left since.”
“You don’t have any family around here?” Brie couldn’t imagine not having the support of her father. He worked long hours, but he always made sure he was off for holidays, so they could spend them together. At least he had after her mother died.
“I have my SWAT family, and I try to get home when I have the time. It’s hard though as we are often on call.” As if on cue, his cell phone rang, and Jesse’s demeanor shifted from relaxed to super focused. He answered his phone, his voice low and serious. “Calhoun here…. Right….be right there boss.” He shoved the phone back in his pocket and pushed his chair back. “Sorry, Brie, we’ll have to take a raincheck. Duty calls.”
“Oh, okay, do you think I can ride in with you though? I took a cab here and wherever your headquarters are will probably be closer to my apartment.” She hated asking especially since he looked like time was important, but she didn’t have the money for a return trip and she didn’t want to ask her father.
“I’ll take you to the station and see if one of the guy’s wives can take you home from there.”
“Sure, that will be fine. Thank you for the dinner.” She looked longingly at the chicken she didn’t get to finish as she pushed back from the table.
After strapping on his weapon and grabbing a duffel bag from behind his couch, he opened the door and waited for her to exit before locking it. She wondered what was in the bag but decided she probably didn’t want to know. Guns made her nervous, and her heart was already speeding up from the one on his hip.
He tossed the bag in the truck bed and opened her door. “Here, text Cam and ask if Cara can meet us at the station.” He handed her his phone as she climbed in.
Brie stared at the phone. What was she supposed to say? She didn’t know Cam other than the few minutes she had spent with him at the bar, and she hadn’t been focused on him. She wasn’t even entirely sure which one he was.
Jesse swung open the driver’s side door, climbed inside, and fired the engine up. A moment later, they were pulling out of his driveway and roaring down the street.
Brie tapped the screen and found her way to his contacts, then scrolled down until she found Cam’s number. She paused, trying to think of what to say.
Can Cara meet us at the station? I need a favor.
It was simple and to the point. With the message sent, she handed the phone back to Jesse who took it and shoved it back in his pocket. His eyes never left the road.
Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the station lot and Jesse parked the truck. After opening her door, he grabbed his bag from the bed and led the way inside. Brie followed, unsure what she was supposed to be doing.
Jesse pulled the door open to a small lobby decorated mainly in grey. A few chairs sat in the lobby as well as a desk that served as a check in. A woman with frizzy red hair and sixty style glasses sat behind the desk, a pencil sticking out of her hair.
“Hey Penny,” Jesse said as he approached her. “This is my friend Brie. She had to come with me, but Cara is coming to pick her up. Can you keep her company until then?”
“Oh, of course. I love meeting new people. Hi, my name is Penelope, but everyone calls me Penny.” The woman stood and stretched out a hand. Every nail was painted a different color which matched her colorful outfit. She must be quite the personality.
“I’m so sorry, Brie, but I have to go.” He threw a wave her direction and disappeared through a door.
“So, tell me about yourself, Brie,” Penny said as the women shook hands.
7
Cam met Jesse as soon as he stepped through the door. “I got your message and Cara will be here shortly. She had to get some gas on the way.”
“No worries, and thanks man. I’ve got Penny keeping Brie company.”
Cam’s brow arched, and he rubbed his strong chin. “Brie, huh? Decide to give the girl a chance after all?”
Jesse shrugged. “I saw a different side of her. I’m still not sure, but I’m taking the opportunity to get to know her.”
“Right on, man. Sometimes they surprise you.” Cam clapped him on the shoulder and the two joined the rest of the men in the briefing room.
“Good, everyone’s here,” Patrick said when they entered. “We’ve got a situation at the penitentiary. Some inmates escaped their cells and have the place on lockdown. I’m not going to lie. This will be dangerous and a long night.”
“We’re ready, boss,” Brendan said.
The rest of the group nodded, and they all headed to the weapon room to mount up.
“Ah, here she is,” Penny said as a petite blond opened the front door. “Cara, this is Brie.”
Cara was nothing like Brie imagined. Cam was so large and muscular, and Cara was tiny. He must dwarf her.
“Nice to meet you, Brie. I hear you need a ride.” Cara stuck out her hand and Brie shook it. She had a slight southern accent, and Brie wondered how she and Cam had met.
“If you don’t mind. I told Jesse I could take a cab from here, but he insisted I ask one of you.”
Cara smiled and winked at Penny. “Yep, that’s our Jesse. Always the gentleman. I have to say, it’s nice to finally see him with a girl. We’ve wanted him to find a nice one for so long.”
Brie swallowed the knot in her throat. Suddenly she felt awful; she wasn’t being nice. She had started seeing him on a bet, but now she was no longer sure she wanted to go through with it. Jesse was a nice guy, and his friends were going out of their way to help her even though they didn’t know her. She would have to tell Ariel the bet was off.
“So, he doesn’t bring girls here very often?” Brie would feel even worse if he didn’t date much.
Cara chuckled. “Honey, he’s never brought a girl here. In fact, I’ve only heard Cam mention a girl once or twice.”
Brie felt like scum. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Jesse romantically, but she enjoyed his company. Not only would she have to call off the bet, but she’d have to make sure he never found out about it.
“Anyway, you ready?”
Brie n
odded and followed Cara out to her car. “Where to?” she asked as the girls buckled in.
“71 Laight Street.”
Cara performed a double take and let out a low whistle. “Whoa, that’s upscale. I gotta say. I did not expect that. Jesse is usually much more low key.”
Brie blushed. “It’s my father’s money. I certainly haven’t earned any of it.” She had never thought about the image she emitted because all her friends were the same but seeing herself through Jesse’s and his friends’ eyes made her feel like the snobby rich girl he had thought she was. In truth, she was that girl, but she was beginning to desire something more. Something that made her Brie Carter instead of billionaire Phil Carter’s daughter. If only she knew what that was.
The SWAT SUV rolled up to the penitentiary and Patrick began calling out instructions. “Jared, you and Carter are with me. We’ll take cell block A. Cam, Brendan, and Jesse, you take cell block B.” He handed a tablet to Cam, who shoved it in an interior pocket of his jacket. “Inmate and guard photos are uploaded. You check everyone. Don’t just accept a guard at face value. We’re looking for four inmates in particular.” He read their names and flashed their pictures up for the men to see. “Communication will be via radio, so make sure you have your ears in. Keep your eyes open and watch each other’s backs.”
The group nodded and separated into their teams. Jesse sent up a silent prayer for everyone’s safety as he followed Cam and Brendan into the building. An eerie feeling descended as they walked inside. Silence abounded, and a red light flashed as the only warning that something was wrong. Cam took the lead with his rifle in front. Brendan took the middle position, and Jesse brought up the rear. It was a position that took time to get used to as he needed to walk backwards most of the time to keep their flank protected.
The hallway opened into a large room and a commotion off to the right grabbed their attention.
“This is the New York SWAT team,” Cam called. “Come out with your hands up.”
“We’re not going back in,” a voice called back. “Ya’ll gonna have to kill us first.”
“No one wants to kill anybody today,” Cam hollered back. “You guys just put down any weapons that you have and come out nice and easy.”
The response was a round of gunfire in their direction. Jesse, Brendan, and Cam rolled into position and fired back, trying to aim low to injure and not kill.
When the shots ceased, Jesse heard a different voice. “Come on, man, they’ve got more firepower than we do. I don’t want to die today.”
“Fine.” The voice was low and angry, but a gun clattered to the floor and soon slid into view from the inmate’s kick.
Brendan took the lead in retrieving the weapon as Cam and Jesse covered his back. A minute later, two inmates came out from behind the half wall. One was bleeding from his shoulder. The other from a shot to the leg.
“Get them patched up, Jesse. I’ll send over what we have to Pat.”
Jesse pulled the medical bag out of his pack and assessed the two men. The leg injury appeared worse, so while Brendan held a gun on both inmates, Jesse retrieved the gauze and began attending to the wound.
“Why are you fixing us up?” the man asked. “We were set to kill you.”
Jesse looked up at the man who had gang tattoos on his face and lower arms. He had probably lived a hard life. “Because my partner was right. We don’t want to take lives. Sometimes we must to defend ourselves, but our job is to save as many as we can. As a unit and a decent human being, we couldn’t stand here and watch you bleed to death. Whatever you’ve done to land here, you’re still a human being who deserves the same rights to care as everyone else.”
The inmate looked at him with narrowed eyes. “I’ve never met anyone who speaks like you. What makes you so different?”
Jesse finished wrapping the wound as he contemplated how much he should say. He chose to keep it simple. “God.”
“What do you mean you want to call the bet off?” Ariel asked as they sat in Brie’s heat-controlled pool. The outside air might be cool, but she was able to control the temperature of her deck and that of the pool. “It’s only been like four days.”
“I know,” she stretched out her aching shoulders, “but he’s really nice. Cam’s wife drove me home from the station today when Jesse got called in, and she didn’t even know me. How many people do we know who would do that?”
Ariel shrugged. “I would send my driver for the right price.”
“That’s just it,” Brie said with a shake of her head, “she didn’t take any money. She did it for free.”
“How can you expect to get ahead that way?”
“I don’t think they expect to get ahead. They seem happy where they are. Also, Cara told me Jesse never brought girls there. It just seems too mean.”
“But what about Kade?”
Brie shrugged. “I don’t know. If it’s meant to be, it will work out, but I’m kinda enjoying getting to know Jesse.”
Ariel’s brows knitted together. “You can’t be serious. Brie, it was supposed to just be a bet. Have you even kissed this guy yet?”
“Not yet. He said he doesn’t kiss unless he’s sure he could see a relationship.”
Ariel’s nose wrinkled in an unattractive gesture. “Why would he do that? If I don’t like the way a guy kisses, then I know there’s no need to pursue a relationship. I would hate to invest all that work and then find out he kissed like a slobbery dog or something.”
Brie arched an eyebrow at Ariel. She couldn’t remember the last time Ariel had invested in a relationship unless it was with her poodle. And while she could see her point, Brie thought it was kind of sweet that Jesse waited. At least that way he wasn’t kissing half of New York like some people she knew.
“You’re going to keep seeing him, aren’t you?”
Brie shrugged. She wanted to see Jesse again, but she didn’t like having to defend herself to Ariel.
8
Jesse felt stiff and sweaty as they rode back to the station early the next morning. The mishap at the penitentiary had taken almost ten hours to get completely under control. Thankfully, no one had been seriously injured and all the inmates were accounted for and back in their cells.
“That was good work in there everyone,” Patrick said looking at each man in turn. “I know tomorrow is Sunday, but we are on call again, so get some rest when you get home and make sure your phones are with you.”
“You gonna see Brie again?” Cam asked leaning closer to Jesse.
“Probably not today. I’m too tired, but I invited her to church with me tomorrow.”
Cam whistled softly. “Church already? You’re gonna scare the poor girl away.”
Jesse shook his head. “Nah, any girl who won’t go to church with me isn’t someone I want to date anyway.”
Cam chuckled. “Yeah, okay, if you say so, man.”
“Hey, thanks again for Cara picking her up. Not the way I wanted our date to end, but such is the way it goes.”
“No worries, man, I got your back and believe me, Cara knows only too well how that happens. She probably explained it all to Brie if she didn’t scare her away. Being married to a SWAT member takes a special kind of woman.”
Jesse knew that was true. It was one reason he was so careful. His own mother had been married three times, and while he enjoyed having lots of siblings, the divorces had rocked the house each time. He planned to make his marriage last if he was lucky enough to find a wife, but Cam was right. It wasn’t easy being married to a SWAT member. They could rarely plan vacations because they were almost always on call, and he couldn’t count how many birthdays and anniversaries the other guys had missed. A woman had to be independent and understanding, and Jesse wasn’t sure Brie was. But, something about her intrigued him. So, he would give it a few more days and a lot more prayer.
When they returned to the station, Jesse forced himself to shower before heading home. Not only did he need to wash off the grime, b
ut the hot water would wake him up enough for the drive home.
“She seems lovely,” Penny said as he passed the reception desk on the way back out.
“Yeah?” Jesse didn’t need Penny’s approval, but he knew she believed like he did, so it carried more weight than some of the guys.
“I mean I didn’t see her in her natural element, but yeah. She appeared smart and nice. Does she go to church?”
“She’s coming with me tomorrow.”
Penny flashed a thumb up sign, and Jesse shook his head as he walked off. He didn’t know many other thirty-year-old women who flashed thumb up signs anymore, but Penny walked to her own drum. It was one of her more endearing qualities.
Bugsy greeted him when he arrived home, and after a quick sandwich to tide the growling monster in his stomach - he never had finished dinner - he brushed his teeth and crawled in bed. He didn’t think he would sleep the whole day, but just in case he set his alarm for the following morning and sent Brie a quick text letting her know he would pick her up at nine thirty on his way to church if she still wanted to come.
Brie smiled at the text on her phone again. Though still a little nervous about going to church, she looked forward to seeing Jesse again, especially after their last time together got cut short.
“Aren’t you going to buy anything?” Ariel asked as she held up a designer dress.
“I’d love to, but I can’t.” Brie’s father hadn’t explicitly said she couldn’t buy anything else, but she was pretty sure that his ultimatum included that detail. Besides, she didn’t need anything else. Brie realized some of her shopping had been out of boredom, but since having to get a job, she didn’t find herself bored very often. Tired? Yes, but bored? Not so much.
“Come on. Just a little something small for yourself?” Ariel scanned the shelves and grabbed a small bag. “Here, how about this?”
Brie shook her head. “I don’t need a new bag. Besides,” she leaned in and turned the price tag over, “it’s two thousand dollars. My dad made me get a job because I spent too much, remember?”
Lawfully Pursued (Christian Opposites Attract Romance): A SWAT Lawkeeper Romance Page 5
