“Floor it,” I ordered.
I heard her Honda’s engine growl as she did, and we all sat tensely as we waited for what was next.
“I made it.” She breathed.
“Saint!” I growled.
Saint had his knee in Marty’s back as he was putting him into handcuffs.
Saint’s head popped up as he finished cuffing Marty, and I gestured at him.
“Let’s go. You can drop me off with my girl before you go to the hospital to have that arm stitched up.” I turned to Luke. “I’m leaving.”
Luke didn’t bother to argue.
“Baby, head to the hospital,” I ordered. “I’ll be there in five minutes. You’ll be there in three if you don’t stop. Not even for another cop, do you hear me? They’re going to be on the lookout for your car, but they know to leave you alone. I have other officers heading toward where you got pulled over, okay?”
“Okay.” Caro sounded like she was about to cry.
Saint was at my side as I looked at Luke.
“You might want to give me an update on whoever the fuck just did that,” I said. “I’ll be meeting with them after I make sure that Caro and Saint are okay.”
Luke nodded his head. “We’ll finish up here and meet you at the hospital.”
I jerked my chin up and hustled to Saint’s SUV. The one that I’d ridden over here in.
I allowed him to drive, and thankfully he didn’t put up any protests or ask any questions.
The moment we arrived at the hospital, he pulled up into police-parking only and got out.
I was already out, waiting at the entrance to the hospital.
“Where are you?” I asked tensely.
“I’m pulling in now,” she replied shakily.
She pulled in, and I pointed at the parking spot next to Saint’s.
I turned to Saint as I walked to my daughter’s car and helped her out.
The moment that she was fully standing, she threw herself at me.
“Daddy!” she cried.
I caught her up in my arms and held her tight, unsurprised to find my body shaking so violently.
“Tell me what happened, baby,” I ordered.
And so I listened to her explain what happened, down to the point where she called me.
“He followed me until I pulled past the police station. Then a bunch of police cars surrounded him and forced him to pull over,” she explained. “Daddy, I have holes in my brand-new car!”
She whirled around in my arms, and I was forced to let her go, watching as she walked to the back of her car and nudged Saint out of the way.
Saint watched her like a predator would another predator.
Watchful and wary. As if she’d go off at any second.
“I just paid my first car payment!” she wailed.
Saint backed away warily, looking as if she was about to break.
She might’ve been.
But she was also pissed.
Which helped because I sure the fuck was pissed, too.
She turned then, surveying Saint.
“Who are you?” she asked. “And why are you bleeding all over the place? Go inside and get that taken care of.”
My lips twitched.
“Yes, ma’am,” Saint said quietly.
He started to walk away, but she stopped him. “You didn’t tell me your name!”
Saint turned around and said, “Saint.”
Caro narrowed her eyes. “Saint Nicholas.”
Caro tilted her head. “Is that a joke?”
Saint shook his head. “No. I wish to God it was. But no.”
Then he was gone, leaving me alone with my daughter who was staring at the door as if she’d just found a new toy.
“Leave him alone, Caro,” I ordered. “Now, what did this guy look like?”
Chapter 8
So tell me what you want. What you really, really want.
-Reese to Luke
Reese
“Is Caro okay?” I asked as we cleaned up the wrapping paper that our children had ripped through.
“Yes,” Luke said, tossing a massive wad my way.
I caught it in the trash bag I was holding and continued to move around the room. “And what happened after you all got to the hospital and saw her car?”
“We didn’t get there until the man that did the shooting was apprehended.” Luke picked up a cardboard box and curled it into itself until it resembled a pretzel. “Lucky we got him to the police station when we did because Michael would’ve torn him a new asshole.”
I snorted. “And what about Saint?”
Luke tilted his head sideways before chucking the wadded up box in Derek’s direction.
Derek caught it and tossed it outside where we had a massive pile of boxes going on.
“Mom wants to know if Caro and Saint are going to be fucking any time…umph,” Derek said when I knocked him in the stomach with my bulging bag. “Ouch, Mom! What was that for?”
“Don’t say fucking in my living room,” I ordered. “And you’re not too old to get your ass whooped by your daddy.”
Derek looked at Luke and sized him up.
Luke rolled his eyes.
“I don’t know what’s going on between those two,” Luke admitted. “All I know is that we were there, and Saint was there, and that was it. He went home by himself. End of story.”
“But there was something there?” I pushed.
Luke frowned. “Where do you even get these ideas?”
“Nikki said she thought there might have been something there,” I told him. “We talked last night after it happened. She went up there to check on Caro who got checked out and saw Saint in the room next to her. Needless to say, she noticed some tension going on.”
Luke sighed. “Honey, female matters don’t affect me any.”
I snorted and moved back to the fire where Katy was currently trying to work with a puzzle that her dad had given her. It had a lot of metal rings and contraptions, and the point of it was to get it all unhooked and in one long string of rings.
“Give me your trash, baby,” I ordered.
Katy did, tossing it my way.
It went about two feet.
Logan snorted and got up, gathering the trash around their feet and dumping it all into my bag. Then he took the bag from my hands and continued to pick up the trash while our children ignored us.
“Typical.” I rolled my eyes. “We buy y’all presents, then y’all don’t clean up after yourselves.”
Katy looked up from her puzzle, her tongue in between her teeth.
“I’m growing a tiny human here,” she said. “For you.”
I snorted. “You act like it was my idea.”
“You did want grandchildren.” She went back to her game.
“You did,” Derek supplied, flopping back onto the couch with a groan. “When’s breakfast?”
“You have to wait like everyone else.” Luke tossed a box at him.
He caught it and launched it outside.
It landed on the porch with the others with a thud.
“Now y’all open your presents,” Rowen ordered, clapping her hands.
I rolled my eyes and went to grab some coffee. When I came back, there was a massive stack of presents where I’d parked my ass while watching the kids.
“Open Dad’s first,” Katy ordered.
I did, pulling out a small tiny little cruise ship out of the biggest box I was sure Luke could find.
I frowned.
“What the hell is this?” I asked, wiggling it at him.
“There’s more.” He pointed.
I dug through the rest of the box, pulling out an envelope.
I frowned as I opened it, then gasped when I saw what it was.
“We’re going on a cruise?” I nearly shrieked.
Then I threw myself at him, causing him to laugh.
“Yeah,”
he rumbled, his familiar arms wrapping around me tight.
I peppered his face with kisses, then wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed tight.
He choked, causing me to laugh as I backed off.
“Now yours!” I ordered, patting him on the chest.
I didn’t bother moving out of his lap.
He was used to me being on top of him, and opened his present easily with me in the way.
I knew the moment he realized what it was.
“You didn’t,” he whispered.
I looked down into the box.
“Is it the right one?” I asked.
“It is.” He continued whispering. “Holy shit, Reese. Holy shit.”
Luke had been talking about this golf swing analyzer thing for months, and after getting Derek to do a little recon, I found what he wanted and ordered it.
It might’ve been two grand, but seeing the look of glee on Luke’s face was definitely worth the cost.
“Holy shit, Reese,” he continued. “Fuck, I love you.”
Luke had gotten really into golf lately. So much so that he spent so much time there that I’d also done one other thing.
“There’s more,” I said.
He bent down and looked into the box, pulling out an envelope.
He opened it and his eyes widened.
“You got me a country club membership?” he asked incredulously.
“Dad, did you know that you get a discount there if you’re a first responder?” Derek said. “And the man at the counter has a crush on Mom. I went there to pick that up last week and he couldn’t stop talking about her.”
I rolled my eyes, but Luke didn’t look surprised.
“That’s because your mother is hot as fuck,” Luke said, making me snort out a laugh.
“Ewwwww,” Katy said, covering her ears. “I don’t want to hear anything to do with Mom and fuck again.”
Rowen agreed with a shake of her head. “It’s totally gross. It’s like y’all are horny teenagers doing it all over the place. I walked in last week and had to walk right back out because there were things happening in the kitchen that were definitely not cooking.”
I snorted and walked to the kitchen where I once again got started on breakfast.
I’d attempted to do it earlier, but like always, my children couldn’t wait for breakfast to be made to start opening presents.
I was just pulling out a pan to cook pancakes when I felt my husband’s warm body come up behind me.
I looked at him over my shoulder and grinned.
“Hey,” I said, turning around and wrapping my arms around his neck. “I liked my present.”
He smiled. “I can’t wait for us to get to use it.”
I couldn’t either.
I smoothed my hand down over his beard, loving the white strands that were overtaking the blonde.
“I love you, Luke.”
He winked at me and produced a letter.
I burst out laughing.
“I thought this was supposed to be in my stocking?” I teased as I took it and started opening it.
The smile that lit my face when I read it was cheesy, but the man really did great things to me.
Reese,
This year marks our twentieth wedding anniversary.
I know that you think I forgot about it, but I didn’t. I remembered. I just didn’t want to give you the present without first making sure that I could give you the moon and the stars just like I promised you all those years ago.
Every year, just like the year before it, gets better and better.
I’m not sure what I did to deserve this life, but I thank God every fucking day that you were given to me.
I know that being the police chief’s wife isn’t the easiest of jobs. I know that there were more than your fair share of sleepless nights and worry-filled days, but I want you to know that I love it. I love that you’re there for me even when I don’t deserve it.
I love that you still make me dinner and hold it to warm in the oven.
I love even more that every fucking day, you just give me one more reason to love you.
I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.
Your loving, and very grateful even though sometimes he doesn’t seem to be, husband,
Luke
I rolled my eyes at his parting comment.
“You’re such a weirdo,” I teased as I lifted up onto my tippy toes to press my lips to his.
He pulled me in tight.
“I got a text from everybody.”
My brows lifted.
“Everybody?” I laughed.
He nodded.
“The first one came from Foster. He met his kid’s baby’s father,” Luke said. “He’s in love with him. Apparently he’s some badass hotshot fighter pilot who’s stationed in some super secret location. He was able to confirm it with Silas. And also they’re married and having a baby. I talked to Michael, who was able to check on Caro this morning. He found Saint at her house.”
I groaned.
“Then Nico texted to say that his wife got him a horse, too. So now they have two brand new horses.” Luke continued. “I talked to Miller, who apparently got his kids some big gift. And they all surprised him by buying him a car. A fuckin’ Chevelle. Mint condition.”
My eyes widened.
As he went through the list of all of his family—of my family now, too—I couldn’t help but smile at his recap.
These last years hadn’t been easy.
The life of a SWAT officer was definitely not for the faint-hearted.
But what it was, was quite rewarding.
Had I not had Luke, I wouldn’t have Miller and Mercy. Foster and Blake. Downy and Memphis. Michael and Nikki. Bennett and Lennox. James and Shiloh. Nico and Georgia. John and his wife.
We were a family.
One that fought, loved, and were there for each other just like real families.
Their kids were just as much my kids and vice versa.
Knowing that they were happy made me happy.
And knowing that they had kids that were now going to be on the SWAT team with Derek? Yeah, that nearly sent a quiver of fear straight to my heart.
On the other hand, though? They were grown adults.
That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway.
But then Derek came into the kitchen, shot his father with his new dart gun, and I was transformed right back to when he was ten and doing the same damn thing.
Luke laughed and let me go, running after his kid like he was thirty again and not an old man.
And my heart?
That was definitely full.
Smiling wide, I made my family breakfast.
Hours later, like always, I met with my extended family—the SWAT team and their wives.
And we exchanged gifts.
They weren’t much.
Honestly, they were funny or cheesy.
But they were everything to me.
The SWAT team was everything.
And I couldn’t wait to see where SWAT 2.0 would lead us.
What’s Next?
Just Kidding
SWAT Generation 2.0 Book 1
1-7-20
Prologue
Hey, I like your personality.
Me-Thanks, it’s a disorder
Me- when I’m trying to make friends
Rowen
“Theo!” I smiled as I took the seat across from him. “How are you? How’s your job going? I thought that you were working!”
It was a complete and utter accident running into him, but I couldn’t say that I was upset.
In fact, I was rather excited.
It wasn’t often that I saw him out.
He was a busy man and most of the time when I invited him out somewhere, he said no.
It was always work-related, though, so I understood.
Theo looked u
p, and instead of the welcoming smile I expected, there was a frown.
“Rowen,” he said, looking confused. “What are you doing here?”
I’d met Theo when I lived in Kilgore, Texas. He’d actually had a thing for my sister, Katy. My sister had dated him for a while, but it’d never gone any further than a few dates. My sister had gone through a lot of shitty relationships, her one before Theo having been the worse. So, when Theo had come along, she hadn’t been in the right frame of mind.
Then, Logan, her now husband, had come along and changed all of that for her. Causing Theo to finally see that Katy wasn’t the one for him.
Me, on the other hand?
I’d always had a thing for Theo.
It was a pain in the ass, too.
I mean, he was all hung up on my sister while I was hung up on him! What kind of person did that make me, wanting my sister’s cast-off?
But… I couldn’t help the way it made me feel.
I frowned. “I saw you sitting here, and I thought I’d come say hi while I waited for a few of my colleagues to arrive. Am I interrupting?”
He was quick to shake his head.
“No, actually,” he said. “I’m here meeting a… friend.”
I blinked, then felt something in the pit of my stomach start to churn.
“Oh?” I said, feeling my belly tighten.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, it was a last-minute thing…”
“Theo, you made it!”
I blinked and turned my head to see Shondra, a woman that worked with me.
Shondra, the woman that made it her life’s mission to do things to me, inside and outside of work, to make me look bad.
Luckily, I’d yet to experience anything that I couldn’t come back from. And me not retaliating was driving her insane. She hated that I didn’t fight back.
Me? Well, I just hated her, period.
I officially had two more weeks at Tool & Associates in San Antonio, Texas before my ‘real life’ began.
I had officially graduated, I’d passed the Bar, and now I was on my way to the real deal—a grownup job with a firm that would put my skills to use. Well, I would be when I found a job, anyway.
The only problem was, I kept expecting Tool & Associates to offer me a job since I’d been interning with them for a year now. Yet, all I heard were crickets. I didn’t get an offer or anything. I mean, I’d given them a year of my life that I didn’t have to give.
Code 11- KPD SWAT Box Set Page 147
