He grinned. “Tell her I said hi.”
I walked outside and called Savannah.
“Hey,” I said when she picked up the phone.
“Hi,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
“I just talked to Adam. He told me about what happened yesterday,” I blurted out. “Are you okay?”
She sighed. “I’m fine. I thought he was going to let me tell you.”
“I’m glad he did. I meant to get over there last night, but I was stuck at work long past the end of my shift.”
“It’s okay. I know you have work. I don’t expect you to babysit me and drop everything and run to my side when I get a little freaked out.”
“I’m sorry he’s back. The little weasel needs to get his ass beat,” I growled.
She chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to uphold the law, not encourage the law to be broken?”
“This is different.”
“I feel better now. The next time I see him, or he calls, I can call the police and hopefully get his ass arrested,” she said with firmness.
“Good. So, my parents have Lily tonight. Do you want to go out?” I asked, a little nervous she would shoot me down.
“Emma will be here. She broke up with her boyfriend and is coming to stay for the weekend.”
“I can ask Adam to come along and we’ll make it a foursome,” I said hopefully.
She giggled. “That sounds good. That’ll take her mind off Jake.”
“Perfect. We should be off by five today. I’ll give you a call when we’re off,” I said, excited about our date.
I hung up and jogged back inside, barely sliding into the briefing room before it started.
Adam leaned over. “Everything all good?”
I nodded. “Yep. We’re going out tonight, all of us. Her friend is staying with her for the weekend.”
Adam groaned.
I smiled. “Her newly single friend.”
That changed his demeanor in an instant. “Thanks, man.”
I chuckled. Adam was quite the ladies’ man. He certainly didn’t need my help to get a woman, but I had seen the way he’d looked at Emma. She’d been the forbidden fruit he couldn’t have. Now that she was single, she was his for the plucking. Emma had no idea how charming Adam could be when he wanted. She was a little spitfire, but Adam would disarm her; of that I was certain.
Being back on patrol was nice and comfortable, but I missed the excitement of trying to track down The Cooker. Now that I’d had a taste of it, I wanted more.
“I think I may try to go for detective,” I blurted out to Adam.
“Really? It’s about damn time.”
I nodded. “Yep. I like being on the streets, but I like the investigation side of things. I like being more involved in a case and seeing it through to the end.”
“I think it’s great, man. I really do. Maybe I will too. I’m thinking about going into SVU,” Adam said as we headed back to the station at the end of our shift.
“SVU? That’s a huge responsibility.” I shook my head. “You know how many guys burn out of that unit within a year or two. That is the worst of the worst.”
“I know, but I want to help those who need it the most.”
“It’s very noble. I admire you. I couldn’t do it. I’m thinking I want narcotics or maybe homicide.”
Adam laughed. “Because homicide is so much easier than SVU.”
“Homicide, the victims are dead. I don’t have to see their faces or hear them describe the horrors they’ve been through,” I reasoned.
I pulled into the station, and we parted ways with the promise to meet up in a couple of hours at our usual hangout. I would be bringing Savannah and Emma with me. I didn’t want her alone, even if her friend was with her.
I knocked on her door after showering and getting ready for our night out. “You ladies ready? I’ll be your escort tonight,” I said with a smile.
Savannah smiled back. “I think we are. I’ll order an Uber.”
Emma seemed to be in good spirits despite her breakup. I gathered it had been a long time coming and it was more of a relief than something to cry about.
“There’s Adam,” I said, pointing out the tall man in the corner of the room once we’d arrived.
We made our way over, and Adam immediately focused on Emma. We were at the same club we had run into Asher. I was almost hoping the guy would show up. I wanted to be able to haul his ass to jail.
“Dance with me,” Adam demanded, taking Emma’s hand after we finished our second round of drinks.
“We’ll hold the table,” I told him, happy to be alone with Savannah.
“She seems much friendlier tonight.” Savannah smiled. “I think Adam may have worn her down.”
I laughed. “It doesn’t take much for him. I don’t know what it is, but the ladies tend to flock to him.”
She shrugged. “I don’t.”
“That’s because you’re special, and you’re with me,” I said in a husky tone.
Her eyes dropped to my mouth, and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. I was dying to kiss her. I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, hoping it would satisfy the need. It didn’t. It only amplified it.
“We should probably talk about where this is going,” I mumbled, the desire between us making my body feel hot.
She nodded. “Probably.”
I watched her shift in her seat and knew she was just as fired up as I was. The sexual chemistry was intense. It made it difficult to think straight whenever she was around me. I found myself thinking about her more and more every damn day.
Emma and Adam came back to the table. The heated looks between them told me Adam wasn’t going home alone.
“Our turn,” I said, grabbing Savannah’s hand and taking her out to dance.
It felt good to have our bodies pressed together, slow dancing to a slow country song. Our bodies melded, and I felt the familiar desire spiraling through me.
“Want to get out of here?” I whispered.
She nodded. “I do.”
“One more drink, and then we make our excuses?” I asked.
She smiled. “Sounds good.”
When we got back to the table, we didn’t have to worry about making an excuse.
“We’re going back to my place,” Adam announced.
Emma and Savannah exchanged a look. Emma smirked. “Oh please, I saw you two out there. You guys are going to spontaneously combust if you don’t get out of here.”
Savannah laughed. “Fine.” She looked at Adam. “Be good.”
“I guess we’re all out of here then,” I announced.
We ordered two separate cars and finished our drinks while we waited for our rides.
“Ours is here,” I told Savannah, grabbing her hand and practically dragging her out of the bar. I felt a bit like a caveman dragging his woman back to his cave. I couldn’t wait to get her alone and naked.
I could barely keep my hands off her in the back of the car. The driver kept watching us in the mirror. I glared back. By the time he dropped us off in front of my house, I was ready. I didn’t think there would be any time for foreplay. I wanted to bury myself inside her, to claim her and make her mine.
That was a discussion we needed to have. I needed to figure out where this was all going. We burst through my door, and all thought of talk evaporated nearly as fast as the clothes that were hitting the floor. There was no way we were going to make it to my room.
“Cameron,” she said in a plea.
I understood. I lifted her up and dropped her down onto my waiting cock and fucked her hard against the front door.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cameron
Savannah was watching me from her doorway, waving good-bye as I headed off for my night shift. She had stayed over all afternoon. We’d eaten breakfast in bed before another round of heated sex. I couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
As I drove to work, I thought about what we were doi
ng together. I didn’t think I wanted a committed relationship, but I didn’t want anyone else. Lily loved Savannah, which was huge. That meant everything to me. I knew Savannah was fond of Lily as well. Lord knew my parents loved her. The only thing holding me back was me. I had the hang-up.
I met Adam walking out as I was walking in. “Hey. Good to see you’re in one piece,” I teased.
He grinned. “She’s not.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you ever going to grow up?”
“Nope. I’m having way too much fun for that.”
“How was it today?”
He shrugged. “Typical Saturday. I heard the DEA is putting together a task force to serve a couple warrants tonight. I’m guessing you’re going to be on it.”
I smiled. “Awesome. Beats giving out sobriety tests.”
“How about you?” Adam asked.
“How about me what?”
“You and Savannah. What are you doing about all that?”
I shook my head and let out a long sigh. “I don’t know. It’s complicated. She’s got that ex. He could come unhinged and try to exact some kind of revenge on my family.”
“Or you could get in his face and tell him to back off.”
“Already did that. It didn’t work. Stalkers and domestic-violence types don’t play be the same rules as the rest of us,” I said with disgust.
“Well, don’t let her get away because you’re afraid of some crazy. She’s pretty, she’s into you, and Lily likes her. That’s hard to find,” he said, looking me straight in the eyes.
“I know. I’ll figure it out. I better get in there and figure out what I’m doing tonight.” I clapped him on the shoulder before heading inside.
Adam had been right. I was on the task force that would be serving two search warrants in the hopes of tracking down the meth dealer. I strapped on my vest and the jacket that identified me as a police officer and loaded up in the van.
The first warrant was served without any complications. We questioned the occupants of the home, who of course denied knowing anything about a meth operation. According to them, they were completely innocent. I managed to get one of the younger kids to confess to selling meth, which was enough to take him down to the station. I doubted it would yield anything useful, but it was one less dealer on the street for the night.
“Let’s move out!” the head of the task force announced.
We climbed back into the van and headed for the second location.
“This is a hot tip?” I asked one of the guys, looking at the shack that was boarded up. There was no entry point. Both doors and all the windows had plywood nailed over them. It was a bad tip.
“We search anyway,” said the leader of the group.
After ramming the plywood covering the door, we busted inside and found that the only inhabitants were of the rodent variety.
“Dammit!” the team lead cursed. “Let’s head back.”
There was a quick, angry debriefing before I was sent back out on patrol. I was just in time for the drunks to be leaving the bars and hitting the roads. Lucky me.
I drove down the road, looking for any signs of trouble, and thought about Savannah. Was she asleep? Maybe I could call her just to hear her voice. I didn’t get the chance. Dispatch radioed me and sent me to a report of a fight outside a bar.
After breaking it up and getting all parties involved into cabs, it was back on the streets to patrol. My phone started ringing. Any time my cell rang while I was at work, I immediately thought it had something to do with Lily.
I looked down at the number and saw it was Savannah. She was thinking about me as well. It was almost two thirty. She had said she wasn’t going out, but maybe she had changed her mind and I was getting a drunk call.
“Hi,” I said in a deeper voice than normal.
“Cameron!” she shrieked, and the hairs on my arms stood up.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, already steering my car in the direction of home.
“Your house is on fire!”
“What?” I felt my blood run cold.
“I already called the fire department. It’s burning, Cameron!”
“I’m on my way,” I said and hung up before radioing into dispatch that I had an emergency and was out of commission.
I hit my sirens, not caring I was using them for personal use, and hauled ass home. When I turned down my street, I saw the orange glow from the flames mingle with the flashing red lights of the two fire trucks that had responded.
“Holy shit!” I cried out when my house came into view.
There was almost nothing left. I watched in horror as the roof collapsed. I parked my car and slowly walked to the sidewalk, giving the firemen plenty of room to work.
Savannah darted over from where she had been standing with several other neighbors. Her arms were around me and holding me tight.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” she mumbled.
“What the hell is happening?” I said in a voice I didn’t recognize.
A few of the other neighbors came to stand beside me. Each of them offered their apologies and asked if there was anything they could do. The only thing I could think of was to make it so my house didn’t burn to the ground.
That wasn’t going to happen.
“I need to talk to the firemen.” I left the neighbors gathered on the opposite side of the street and approached one of the guys at the truck.
“What happened?”
He looked at my uniform and decided it was safe to talk to me. “Got a call, and by the time we got here, it was fully engulfed. It’s a total loss.”
The words echoed through my head. My home was gone. Lily’s home was destroyed. The home I had hoped to raise my daughter in and use to give her the stability she needed in her life had gone up in flames.
“Any idea what started it?”
The fireman shook his head. “We’ll have the investigators out in the morning. I have no idea at this point.”
I stared at the dancing flames and felt at a loss for words. I watched as bursts of orange and blue shot into the air before extinguishing.
“Are you the homeowner?” the fireman asked, finally realizing the situation.
I nodded.
“Shit, I’m sorry, man. I’m glad no one was home. This was a quick one. Since you’re a cop, I’ll tell you: we believe an accelerant was used. This thing went up quick, faster than a typical house. We can usually save a portion of the home. When the call came in, there were smoke and flames. We got here four minutes after the call and it was burning hot.” He shook his head.
“Thanks,” I muttered and turned to head back toward the group of neighbors.
“Are you okay?” Savannah asked, separating herself from the crowd.
I nodded, not actually meaning it. I was in shock. I felt empty. I was simply going through the motions. Another squad car pulled up behind mine. I knew the officer, but not well.
“Hey, I’m sorry, man,” he said, shaking his head as he watched the fire burn.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“I’m here to secure the scene. Sarge wants you to call him on his personal line,” he instructed.
I sighed and gave him a curt nod. “Keep everyone back. There are some flare-ups that could be dangerous.”
I took a last look at my house, and it was then I noticed firemen spraying the garage of Savannah’s house. The fire was threatening to spread to her place as well as the neighbor on the other side. I knew the fire department knew what they were doing and left them to it. There was nothing I could do.
I called in and was given the rest of the shift off and told to take a few days. I wasn’t sure I could do that. I stood there on my neighbor’s lawn watching the fire slowly die down. Most of the other neighbors were drifting back inside their own homes, confident the firemen would keep them safe.
“Cam?” The sound of Savannah’s voice snapped me back to reality from where I had somehow drifted away.
“
What?” I muttered, not looking at her. The flames had entranced me, and I couldn’t look away.
“Can I get you some coffee, tea?” she asked gently.
I finally tore my eyes away from the fire. “I’m off for the night.”
She gave me a faint smile. “Let’s tell the firemen where you’ll be if they need you. Come to my house, and I’ll get you something.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
“Cameron, there’s nothing you can do out here,” she urged.
For some reason, I didn’t want to leave. I felt like I had to stay, to see it to the bitter end.
“I’m okay,” I repeated, not looking directly at her.
She wove her arm around mine and began to walk me to her place. I found myself willingly going. I just needed a minute. A minute to process the loss. Everything was gone. All of Lily’s toys, our clothes, our pictures, everything.
“Oh god,” I moaned.
We stepped into Savannah’s house, and she closed the door before leading me to her couch. “Sit.”
I sat and put my face in my hands, letting the despair wash over me. I could feel it rolling over my shoulders, threatening to pull me under. It was Savannah’s hand on the back of my neck, slowly rubbing over my shoulders and back, that anchored me. I held on to the feeling of her hand and crawled out of the dark hole of despair I had tumbled into.
“Holy shit,” I breathed out, shaking my head. “Holy shit.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said, her hands moving over my shoulders.
“How am I going to tell Lily?” I croaked out.
“I don’t know. I’d like to tell you kids are resilient and that everything will be okay, but I have no idea. I will tell you I’m here. I’ll do whatever I can to help you two out.”
“I should call my parents,” I muttered.
“I’ll give you some privacy.”
She walked into the kitchen, and I heard her clattering around. I didn’t move to make the call. I couldn’t move, not yet. When she came back in, she set a cup of tea in front of me.
“Thank you,” I said, staring at the amber liquid in the cup. The longer I stared, the more ridiculous it seemed. I started laughing.
Savannah looked concerned. “Cameron?”
Hot Cop Next Door: A Second Chance Romance Page 16
