by Molly McLain
“I feel like something is different with you two, though.” Carissa tipped her head to the side, studying Mark, and Ally followed her gaze. He’d taken off his sport coat and his white t-shirt drew attention to his tanned skin, especially around his thick biceps, when he bent over the table and took his shot.
Ally licked her lips. “Different like how?”
“I think it’s for real this time.”
She hoped so. They still hadn’t talked about how a relationship—a family—might fit in with his work and military commitments, but she had faith they’d work it out. She owed it to her baby to at least try.
Mark looked up after he dropped another ball into a pocket and their eyes met. A slow smile turned up his mouth and a rush of butterflies whirled in her stomach. How could this not be real?
“I hope you’re right,” she told both her friends. “Because I freaking love that man.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Maddie lifted her martini and Ally and Carissa followed suit, clanking their glasses together.
She and Mark would talk it all out eventually. Right now, she was going to ride the high of just being with him. Tonight, nothing else mattered.
***
Ally only lasted at McCauley’s for an hour before she began to yawn and lean on him for support. He’d never been a big fan of PDAs, but tonight, he couldn’t get enough of loving on Ally. Or Ally loving on him.
He tightened the arm he’d draped around her shoulders and curled her into him. She came without hesitation, burying her face in the front of her shirt and slipping her hands around his waist.
“You tired, pretty girl?” Kissing her hair, he closed his eyes and breathed her in.
“Yes, but you’re still playing. I can wait until you’re finished.”
“Nah, Josh can finish for me. Besides, keeping you out late doesn’t bode well with my mission to take care of you, now does it?”
“Shh, just let me snuggle you between shots and I’ll be good.” She pinched his side, then settled deeper into his arms. “Besides, you smell good. And you know how much I like touching you.”
His dick liked her touching him, too, and if she kept pressing her tits against his chest, he might just forfeit the damn game and break his own rules right out of the gate.
“My turn, babe.” He ran his hand up and down her back and she stepped away with a sigh, slipping off toward the corner table where she’d left her drink.
“I’m glad to see you two got your shit straightened out.” Reed, who’d snuck into the bar shortly after he and Ally had, spoke for Mark’s ears only while he considered his shot. “Did she finally see the light after the whole fire debacle or what?”
Mark gave his head a brief shake. “More like I did.”
His friend snorted. “Yeah, I figured you were the real problem.”
“Fuck you, asshole. Far as I can tell, you’ve got no room to talk.”
A shit-eating grin spread across his friend’s face. “Someone’s gotta be the player in this town, since none of you pussy-whipped bastards wanted the job.”
“You wait. Some woman is going to knock you flat on your ass one of these days and we’ll see how fucking cocky you are then.” Mark slid the cue along the groove between his thumb and forefinger and side-railed the three-ball through a cluster fuck of stripes into the corner pocket.
Reed grunted. “Never gonna happen, man, but speaking of cocky, you heard the latest about Chauncey wanting another stab at your job?”
His next shot not only scratched—it fucking bounced across the table. He straightened his back and glared at his friend. “Where the hell did you hear that?”
Chauncey Ellis had retired from the force two years ago after a high-speed chase ended in an accident that shattered his leg. He was too young for Medicare, but he’d gotten a nice worker’s compensation payout from the accident. Since he despised desk duty, he’d taken early leave from his post as one of the county’s senior deputies. Talk followed that he’d also had a problem working under Mark, who’d beat him out in the last election.
That was before he’d won over the sympathy of the entire county as a result of that accident.
Goddammit.
“He came into the courthouse for the primary election paperwork.” Reed shrugged. “I really wouldn’t worry about it, man. You’re doing just fine and Chauncey’s not getting any younger.”
Neither was he. And he’d heard enough muttered comments about his lack of roots in the county. He’d grown up there, for fuck’s sake, but apparently once a man turned thirty, roots only mattered if they involved a wedding band and two-point-five kids.
Well, he was on his way to resolving part of that conundrum, but with competition like Chauncey, it might not be enough.
“Check your girl, bro.” Reed nodded to the corner of the bar and Mark shuffled his boots to see Jason Kelly slink toward Ally.
Oh hell no.
***
“Hey, gorgeous, long time, no see.”
Maybe she should’ve taken Mark up on the offer to head home. “Hey, Jay,” she sighed. “How have you been?”
“Just fine, considering you ran out on me a couple months back. I thought we were having a good time.” He leaned an elbow on the table, blocking her view of Mark, who she prayed would stay away. Nothing good would come from a confrontation, especially given Jason wreaked of whiskey and, if her nose was right, weed.
“I’m sorry I led you on. It was stupid of me.” No point in pussyfooting around. “I’m seeing someone now, so...”
He grinned and the gesture drew her attention to his clean-shaven baby face. Good God , girl, what were you thinking?
“Yeah, I heard about that. The fire chief, right?” He leaned in and she caught another whiff of his breath. Her stomach rolled, but not as hard as it did when he grazed his fingers along her jaw. “That’s okay, baby. I’d still be happy to fuck you anyway. Hell, we could take this to the backroom right now, if you want to.”
She put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. “Back off, okay? I’m not interested.”
“But you were not that long ago.” He came at her again and she cringed, feeling smothered by his close proximity.
Come on, Mark. Help me out here.
“I bet if we danced, you’d change your mind.” He grabbed her wrist and tugged her off the stool. Being tired and in the shoes she had on, she stumbled. Worse, her ankle turned out and the tendons in her lower leg screamed in protest.
“Ow! Shit. Jesus, Jay, let go.” She tried to pull herself out of his grasp, but he held on tight, his grin feral.
“Not until I get my dance,” he sneered and she saw more than booze and drug-induced haziness flash in his eyes.
“Jason, please,” she begged, because honestly, even if she wanted to move, she wasn’t sure she could. Her leg was on fire.
In a flash, it didn’t matter, because even harder than he’d jerked her forward, he went flying backwards.
Mark’s face appeared over the Jason’s shoulder and she could see the tight grip of his hand around the back of the younger man’s neck.
“The lady asked you to let go, but you didn’t do that. Maybe you’re not familiar with the law, but you just assaulted my girlfriend, Kelly.” Mark’s voice was gritty and intense and from the pained expression on Jason’s face, so was his strength.
“Your girlfriend? You should know she’s fucking Caliendo then,” Jason ground out despite the ten shades of red mottling his face.
Mark spun Jason so fast, the younger man lost his footing and fell into the pool table. Balls scattered and something fell out of his pocket onto the green felt.
Grabbing him by the front of the shirt, Mark pulled him back up, snarling. “I should’ve kicked your ass two months ago, you little fuck.”
Jason laughed. “You wanna hit me, Sheriff? Go ahead. Hit me, bitch.”
Mark hesitated and Ally saw the war raging in his eyes. He wanted to do exactly that, but he knew the repercussion
s would be dire if he did.
Much as she appreciated him defending her honor, she couldn’t let him risk his career for her.
“Mark, don’t,” she called out. “Please.”
With a string of muttered words she couldn’t hear, Mark shoved Jason and dropped his hands, slowly backing away until he stood beside her. Rage rolled off of him in waves, but he kept it contained with careful, shallow breaths, his eyes locked on Jason, who was still smoothing out his clothing.
With the threat of chaos resolved, reality came crashing down around her. The reality that the pain in her ankle had begun to work its way up her leg.
She had to sit down, she had to breathe, she—
“Ally!” Mark’s arms slid under hers as the ground started to move beneath her feet. “Baby, don’t pass out on me. Shit. Someone get her some water.”
“Ice,” she muttered. “I need ice. My leg...”
“What’s wrong with your leg, pretty girl?” He swiped the hair from her forehead with his big hands, his face so close to hers, she could see the darks flecks almost as clearly as she could see his concern—for her and only her now, Jason forgotten.
Funny how one second, she was falling and the next floating. With her uninjured leg still planted firmly on the ground.
“You didn’t have to do that for me,” she whispered.
“I protect what’s mine, Ally. Now let’s get you onto the stool so I can look at your leg.” His hands and voice were gentle and loving compared to the harsh scorn she’d witnessed only moments earlier.
But one glance at her swollen ankle and her fierce protector was back.
“Reed, don’t let that rat bastard out of your sight.”
***
The good thing about living in a small town was that when shit went down, no one wanted the cops around. Of course, the fact that he was the cops probably explained why not a single person in the bar—other than Jason Kelly—cared that Mark had almost driven a fist into the punk’s face.
Didn’t mean putting his hands on the kid was okay, because, even for that, there’d be repercussions. Especially in light of the conversation he’d just had with Reed.
Shit would get a lot messier before it got better.
“Mark, check this out.” Josh picked up something from the pool table and tossed it over, while Carissa helped hold a bag of ice around Ally’s ankle. Reed stood off to the side of the bar, rolling his shoulders and playing guard dog on Jason, who kept making eyes at the door.
“Jesus Christ.” Mark glanced down at the smooth glass pipe in his hand. A quick whiff of the bowl confirmed his suspicion. He glanced back at Ally. “You okay for a minute, babe? Jason and I need to chat.” When she nodded, he wrapped his hand around the punk’s arm and dragged him out the door. Reed followed.
“I knew you didn’t have it in you, Sheriff. You’re just an old man who can’t keep his woman happy.”
Reed was the one to shove the kid this time and Mark made a mental note to buy him a drink later.
While Jason started bitching about it, Mark pulled his phone from his pocket. He didn’t want to go this route, because the ramifications of an off-duty cop nearly getting into a bar fight wouldn’t be pretty. But the red mark that might end up on his record for an almost-assault would be less difficult to overcome than pretending he hadn’t found the punk’s drug paraphernalia just to save his own hide.
Not to mention, Ally sat inside McCauley’s with an ankle the size of his knee thanks to the little shit. Possession charges weren’t the only citations Jason Kelly would be issued tonight.
He put in the call and ten minutes later, Parker and one of the new city PD recruits, Tomlin, pulled into the lot. Jason started pissing and moaning as soon as they were out of the car and Mark let him say his piece before he told his side of the story. When he handed Parker the pipe, Jason cried foul play, but the pat-down that followed made not actually finding the pipe on the man a moot point—he had a dime bag of weed in his coat pocket and two tabs of speed in his jeans.
“You’ll want to talk to Ally about how he handled her, too,” he told Parker. “Not tonight though. She’s hurting. I’ll bring her by in the morning.” It wasn’t ideal, but he needed her alone and off her feet. Her ankle was far enough away from the baby, but the stress couldn’t possibly be good for her right now.
Parker cleared his throat. “You know Internal Affairs is gonna wanna hear more about this incident.”
No shit. But he couldn’t think about that tonight. Not when Ally was hurting. “I’m aware. Just get this piece of trash out of here and let me worry about that.”
Parker nodded and Tomlin stuffed a more subdued, probably tweaked-out Jason into the back of the SUV.
“You didn’t technically do anything wrong tonight.” Reed fell into step beside Mark on the way back to the bar.
“Doesn’t matter.” He’d been involved in an incident and not with the sole purpose of upholding the law. Nothing serious would come of it, but it would still cast him a questionable light. He’d be painted as a hot head and his relationship with Ally would be even more scrutinized.
Chauncey Ellis would be all over what happened tonight, and who knew how far he’d take it to make Mark look like he couldn’t do his job and handle his personal shit at the same time.
Without a job, he couldn’t give Ally the life she deserved. Hell, maybe he should’ve broken Jason’s nose after all. At least he could say he’d done everything possible to protect the woman he loved.
Chapter Fifteen
He hadn’t planned on bringing Ally back to his place, but there was no way in hell he could leave her alone tonight. All too easily, he envisioned her hobbling around her apartment on one foot, trying to get herself ready for bed and to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and ending up on the floor.
No way in hell would he take that chance.
So he carried her into his house, despite her protests, and didn’t put her down until he reached the bed.
“You’re acting like a caveman,” she complained and it didn’t escape his notice that she winced when she tried to push herself back toward the pillows.
“Too bad.” He folded a small afghan from the footboard and tucked it beneath her swollen, angry looking ankle. “Can you take anything for the pain? I’ve got some ibuprofen.”
She shook her head. “I have no idea what’s safe at this stage of the pregnancy, so it’s probably best to go without.”
“I could call my mom.”
“It’s midnight.”
“She wouldn’t care.”
Ally sighed, a tired smile tugging at her lips. “Stop doting. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine, and you’re not going to give me any grief about pressing charges tomorrow either. We clear?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re making a bigger deal out of this than is necessary. I could have just as easily twisted my ankle walking to the bathroom.”
“But that’s not what happened.” Why was she trying to make light of this? There were ten people standing around the pool table who’d heard her tell Kelly to back off. Ten people who’d witnessed him pulling her off of the stool.
She glanced away, color rising in her cheeks. “I feel like this is my fault.”
Yeah, he’d figured that out when she first balked about giving a statement. “What happened in the past doesn’t matter, babe. Dancing with a man a few times doesn’t give him the right to put his hands on you when you’ve told him not to.”
She leaned her head back against the headboard and shut her eyes. Her way of telling him the discussion was over.
Fine. For now. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Try and relax, pretty girl. I’m going to call Parker and see how things are going.”
Ally nodded and he slipped out of the room. In the kitchen, he gripped the counter and shored up his willpower.
The temptation to drive back to the station and beat Kelly around the interrogation room was intense. But even trying
to talk to the asshole would be a dumb move.
He grabbed a beer from the fridge and slammed it down, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.
This bump in the road didn’t change his plans. He was still fully engaged in the mission to make Ally see how amazing—and real—a future between them could be.
Providing he had a future to offer.
***
By the time Ally woke up on Sunday morning, Mark had showered, dressed, and filled two travel mugs of coffee for the road. He’d also presented her with a change of clean clothes and her toothbrush from home, making no apologies for taking her keys from her purse and swinging by her apartment before the sun had come up.
He was just as matter of fact at the police station, too. Though, when it came to withholding information about the man who’d ushered him into another office while she gave her statement, he was even less apologetic. She suspected he’d been questioned about his involvement in the incident with Jason, but Mark wasn’t talking. It wasn’t until Stella led them to a table in Jose’s Diner that the too-serious cop mask began to slip.
He waved Ally into one side of the booth and, when she expected he’d take the seat opposite her, he slid in beside her instead. What was more, he kept one hand firmly planted on her thigh while he flipped through the menu.
She loved every blasted second of him going protective alpha on her. And if he was trying to make a point to the people who might be watching, he was doing a fine job of it. She wasn’t going to complain. Hell, what woman would complain about sitting hip to hip with a hunky cop?
They ordered their food and made idle chit chat about her hopes for the coffee shop to be up and running in the very near future. The shop’s insurance would cover some of her lost wages, but that wouldn’t come until after the building claim was settled. Thankfully, she’d paid some of her bills ahead last month, so she wouldn’t have to dip too much into her savings.
Just as blessedly, the swelling in her ankle had gone down since last night and she could put pressure on it without pain shooting through her leg. No doctor visit needed, thank God. Now to just figure out her OB bills...
