He nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. I haven’t heard Rowen say one thing about the ‘crazy coon lady.’ Since, at least, three or four weeks ago.”
The ‘crazy coon lady’ was what Rowen called the wife. Mainly because Rowen said that she had dark circles under her eyes all the time and screeched like an owl.
“What are you thinking?” I asked slowly.
His eyes lifted to mine. “I have no clue. I’ll need to think on it for a while. Give it some time.”
***
“It’s really odd. Why did he come back when he did?” Luke asked Downy later that night.
Downy sat at the kitchen counter where Luke had bar stools lined along the bar top.
His big, scarred hands were tapping restlessly against the countertop as he listened to Luke talk.
They were brainstorming, trying to come up with solutions to a few of their many problems.
The conversation had degraded the moment Luke brought up my upcoming meeting with Weston.
I sighed in exasperation. “I’ve told you already, it was because of Rowen. He wanted to be closer to her.”
Downy wisely kept his mouth shut, but he was really enjoying the show.
“Why would he leave the job he’s spent years at and move here exactly a month after you did if it wasn’t because he wanted you. Then, you were there anytime he wanted you to be. He could come see his kid anytime he wanted, even if it wasn’t all that often. Then he could leave the exact same way,” Luke said, gesturing with his hands as he did. “Now you move, and suddenly he’s all, ‘I’m going to be there for my child now.’ When before he wanted nothing to do with her?”
I glared at him, poking my head out of the kitchen to make sure the girls were still watching TV before I turned on him. “I don’t fucking know, okay?”
He didn’t react to my outburst.
“If it was really because of the wife that he started to make an effort at bringing Rowen into their lives, then why wouldn’t they be happy? Why do I keep seeing Lydia and him together all over town if they’re so ‘happy’?”
That was a good fucking question.
I threw my arms up. “I don’t know; why don’t we just ask them? Pretend that you want to hook back up with Lydia, ask her if she knows what’s going on.”
I wanted him to do that less than I wanted a hammer smashing all of my fingers, yet I didn’t see any other options. Not if he wanted answers.
He shook his head. “I’ve already told her more than once that I wasn’t interested. In fact, she came by the precinct two days ago asking if I had time to talk to her. I told her no. It’s going to look suspicious if I all of a sudden strike up an interest in her.”
“Well then, tell her to meet you when I meet Weston. That way you can keep an eye on me and tell her you’re not interested at the same time. Maybe you’ll learn something. Maybe you won’t. But you’ll be there if I need you,” I tried.
He glared.
“She has a point,” Downy observed.
Luke threw an unpeeled potato at his head.
Downy caught it with a laugh, launching it back at him like a missile.
“Just try it. What’s the worst that could happen?” he asked.
Apparently, a lot more than we bargained for.
***
Luke
“Listen,” I said, rubbing my hands along my hair. “I know you’re upset, but you and I have nowhere to go. I don’t want you anymore. I don’t even like you. I’ve got a new woman. A woman that makes me happy.”
I knew it’d be a bad idea to talk to her. Meet her.
At least it was in a public place.
“I used to be that woman,” she whispered brokenly.
I shook my head. “You were never that woman.”
She lifted her head, eyes brimming over with tears. “They’re over there eating dinner together. If she loved you so much, she’d never be doing that in front of you.”
I turned my head in the direction of Reese and winked at her. She must not have been enjoying her food, because the entire plate was still filled to the brim with crawfish.
Although, I’d asked her before, and I knew she didn’t like it. Which made me wonder why she’d ordered it in the first place.
“Stop,” I ordered her. “You’ve got no fucking clue when it comes to anybody but yourself. Even then, I’m not quite assured of it. So how about you take your fake tears, and your thousand-dollar shoes, and find somebody else that’ll appreciate it. Because it’s definitely not me.”
Lydia stood and walked around the table, staring into my eyes.
If I’d known what she had planned next, I would’ve moved. In fact, I thought she was just going to say goodbye. The things I’d said to her hadn’t been nice. However, they’d been truthful, and I’d meant every word.
“So,” she said, leaning on the table. “It doesn’t affect you when I do this?”
Then she kissed me.
It felt wrong. All wrong.
And the smell of her made me want to gag.
I yanked my head back, but there was literally nowhere to go since we were in a two-person booth, so I had to push her away from me.
Gently, of course, because it wouldn’t do to be seen ‘assaulting’ a woman. Because I knew Lydia was vindictive like that and would use any advantage she could get.
I wiped my lips free of her lipstick and glared at her. “Listen, Lydia. That was your one out. Don’t fucking do it again. Obviously, if you don’t comply, I’ll need to press sexual assault charges on you. Then I’ll need to call your daddy to tell him that you’re hanging with the trash again,” I growled.
She stared at me like I’d just kicked her puppy. “You wouldn’t,” she hissed.
“Oh, he would. Then again, he’s not who you have to worry about. In all honesty, he’s not really allowed to do much since he’s an officer of the law. I, on the other hand, am just a poor soul who doesn’t know the letter of the law. I just saw you trying to kiss my man. I could use being under distress as an excuse when I’m questioned later by the cops on why I had to kick your ass,” Reese spat from directly behind her.
I couldn’t see Reese, but Downy could.
Which was why he moved so quickly to intercept the punch that Reese threw at Lydia’s face.
He caught it easily, twirling Reese around until his front was pressed to her back.
Sadly enough, then my emotions started to get the better of me.
I wasn’t a jealous guy. Not usually. However, seeing my best friend holding my girlfriend like that did not inspire nice thoughts in my brain.
Rationally, I knew he’d never do anything. We were best friends and Downy tended to lean toward women who were docile and meek.
Which Reese was most definitely not.
My irrational brain didn’t have that objectivity. It only wanted to kick ass and take names. It didn’t care about the fact that Downy had my back no matter what.
“Downy,” I said quietly. “Get your goddamned hands off my woman.”
“That’s not what she was telling me moments ago. She told me she was done with you. That you’d even moved on, dating someone else,” Weston replied angrily.
I wanted to grit my teeth.
It’d been a ruse, after all, to get more information out of both parties.
I’d had a sinking suspicion that there was more to the story than what met the eye when it came to Weston.
I’d seen Lydia and Weston getting chummy out in front of Lydia’s store two days past, and I’d been suspicious that something wasn’t right.
And in order to figure out what it was, we needed them both to talk. What better way than to make it look like we’d broken up?
Except Lydia had pulled that stunt and Reese had immediately gone psycho Reese on her.
Not that it didn’t make me feel all warm inside and all, but now we’d not have the same opportunity that we’d onc
e had.
Downy chuckled and ran his beard along her hair, inhaling her scent, and I nearly came unglued.
I was standing face to face with Downy in the next second, glaring daggers at him. “Don’t, pecker head. I’ll kick your fucking ass.”
He bellowed in laughter before letting go of his charge and slapping me hard on the back. “Let’s go eat, fuckers. I’m hungry.”
***
Reese
“I don’t like when you’re touching strange men,” He growled against the inside of my thigh hours later.
I was on my hands and knees, ass in the air as he devoured my pussy from behind.
His hot breath against the lips of my sex had me seeing double in anticipation.
“Please,” I urged, pressing back into him.
His strong, thick hands traveled up my thighs.
Fingers on the outside, and thumbs on the inside.
When he came in contact with the wetness that seeped onto my thigh, he stopped and gathered the wetness on his fingers.
Then, without warning, he plunged both thumbs into my sheath.
I screamed, pushing back and riding his fingers.
His bearded mouth kissed the center of my back as he kissed up my spine.
When he reached the back of my neck, I was on the verge of coming.
He stopped, however, realizing I was on the verge, he removed his thumbs.
I heard the distinct sound of his mouth as he sucked the juices off his fingers, and I buried my face into the pillow, swaying my body back and forth in anticipation.
He didn’t disappoint.
Short moments later, I felt the large, bulbous head of his cock as he lined it up with my pussy and started sliding it in.
It was slow, but no less exciting as he did.
He worked himself inside of me slowly, pushing all the way in before he was forced to stop, then retreated again.
The pace, although slow, was more than enough to have my orgasm riding the thin line of bursting free. I was on the verge.
My hands snuck down between my legs as I searched for that extra little push, but he caught first one arm, then the other, pinning them against the small of my back.
“Not tonight, you won’t,” he insisted as he continued the slow pace.
I groaned into my pillow again, core clenching and unclenching on him.
Anything to try to get him to go faster…or harder.
He had an iron will and impeccable control, though, because he never deviated from his pace.
In, out. In, out.
Slow and steady won the race, he’d said numerous times before.
The head of his cock kissed my entrance when he pulled out, and I got lost for a while as I waited for what he’d do next.
“Luke,” I groaned, pushing back against him.
The head of his cock slipped partially inside, and he groaned.
I felt him tense behind me, dick partially withdrawing before he gave a valiant groan of defeat and started to really fuck me.
My hips fell to the bed as he pounded inside of me.
Arms going up to stop my upward movement, he dropped down until his chest was fully against my back.
Air didn’t seem so vital at this moment as my orgasm poured through me.
My breath left my chest, and I could hear Luke’s ragged breathing at my ear as his control, long lost, continued to spiral.
“Oh,” he growled. “Take it all, baby.”
And I did.
Everything he had to give me and more.
Chapter 22
I thought I was a good person until I started hanging out with you bitches. Now I stand corrected.
-Fact of life
Luke
“Have you been able to find me anything yet?” I asked John as I took a seat beside him.
He didn’t glance up as he spoke. “Not yet, no. But I’ve found some leads that I’m following. I’ll have more for you once I get through this firewall. It’s taking me considerably longer than I thought it would. Whoever did it was good.”
I sighed and sat back. “That’s fine, let me know when you have something.”
He gave me an annoyed look. “You said that the last three times I told you I didn’t have anything.”
I shrugged. “I know.”
Bennett sat down hard on the seat next to me with a loud sigh.
I gave him a raised brow. “What?”
His jaw clenched. “That fucker, Pierson, cornered me in the goddamned bathroom. What exactly did he want me to do? Admit that I killed the old man?”
I shook my head. “I’ve hopefully already taken care of it, but in case he doesn’t catch the hint, just keep telling him the truth if he asks. Don’t let him keep you from your work, though. Let me know if he says anything inappropriate.”
He nodded. “Got it.”
Bennett was a big man, nearly five inches over six foot.
Five years ago, I’d have never thought that he’d be like he was now. I’d have been wrong.
He’d put on nearly forty pounds since he was a teen, and at twenty-three, he could surely pass for a much older man. Especially with the same huge bushy beard that nearly the whole SWAT team sported.
Although Bennett was the newest, and youngest, on the team, he was far from the least experienced.
He’d served five years in the Navy, and three as a SEAL before he got out.
It’d been a tough decision to make, but he’d done it for his daughter, which was what most would do. Hell, three of the men on our team right now got out of the military because they had kids waiting for them. James had done it for his daughter, same as I’d done for mine. That was just a sacrifice you made when you became a parent.
“What time is the K-9 officer getting here?” Michael asked as he fell into a seat on the opposite side of Downy.
I looked at the watch on my wrist, then at the door. “Right around now.”
KPD was getting a police dog.
I’d done quite a bit of research over the last year when the dog had been approved, and I’d finally gone with a man out of Benton, Louisiana who was a K-9 officer himself. He was also a member of The Dixie Wardens MC, so I’d seen him a lot since my sister married Sebastian.
However, I’d done my research. And I was choosing Officer Killian ‘Trance’ Spurlock not because of my connection to the man, but because he was the best at what he did.
Today, he was just doing some demonstrations to get us familiar with the dog.
He’d then choose one of us with the best affinity with the dog. That man would then become her handler.
Speaking of the man, Trance walked in with three large dogs at his side. All German Shepherds. One was pure black, but his mask of white around his face showed his advanced age. The second was the standard color one thought of when they heard ‘German Shepherd.’ Tan coloring, black face. Large black splotches.
The last one, though, was the dog who would be coming to work for us; hopefully, very soon.
Beautiful snowy white, the large girl named Mocha, took in the room with sharp eyes and a keen interest.
I stood, and each dog’s eyes latched onto me, taking me in as the primary threat to their master.
“Trance,” I said, approaching slowly with my hand out.
He nodded and took my hand. “Luke. How’ve you been?”
I shrugged. “Same shit, different day.”
He grinned, “I know that’s right.”
He looked at all the other men and I introduced them to Trance.
“Trance,” I said indicating Downy. “This is Downy. That’s Michael, John, Bennett, Nico, and you know James.”
He nodded at each of them, shaking each of their hands before he looked down at his dogs. “This is Radar,” he said indicating the older dog at his right. “He’s retired, but I bring him along, so he doesn’t feel totally useless at home. This,” he said pointing down
at the standard brown one. “Is Kosher. He’s currently my K-9 partner. And this,” he said pointing at the white German Shepherd. “Is Mocha. She’s going to be the one we fit you guys with. And please, for the love of all that’s holy, do not tell my wife that she’s so close to home. She’s been crying for days since I told her that someone needed Mocha’s services.”
The men all nodded solemnly. We all knew how attached women became to things, and it’d be the same in my own home.
“Alright,” Trance said, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s get started.”
***
Two hours later
“I can’t believe she chose you when she could’ve chosen anybody,” Michael sneered at Downy.
Downy grinned and kept petting the newest member of his family. “Yeah, I’m awesome like that.”
“Alright, boys. Let’s take this back inside. Trance, when do you…” I trailed off as Pierson Howell came out of the back doors with a look on his face that would’ve flayed the skin on lesser men.
My men, though, weren’t even affected by his demeanor, which only enraged him all the more.
“You goddamn little piece of monkey shit!” he yelled, spit flying from the corners of his mouth.
So he got his warning from the Chief. Good.
“Listen, Howell. Take your shit back inside and meet me in my office if you want to discuss it. We’re not doing this outside in the middle of the fucking town,” I said calmly.
He hissed. “Fuck you. You’ve cost me the biggest goddamn case of my career.”
I most assuredly, had not. His attitude had.
After he’d decided to come over the night before Christmas against the Chief’s orders, he’d gotten a warning. One I hadn’t had any hand in. Then he’d started harassing my team. Going by their houses. Talking to their wives. When he’d cornered Rowen in my own goddamned yard the day before yesterday, I’d given the Chief an ultimatum.
Either he took Pierson off the case and put someone on who wouldn’t hound his fellow officers, or I was gone.
Naturally, he chose me.
“Pierson,” I said, holding my hand up.
He lunged, however, Radar was in front of me before I even realize he’d moved, snapping his teeth at the enraged man.
Code 11- KPD SWAT Box Set Page 15
