Signed, Sealed, Delivered ... I'm Yours

by Naleighna Kai

  Chapter 9

  Breathe, Erin. Just breathe. Just because the finest man you’ve ever laid your eyes on is standing outside your front door waiting for you to come home is no reason to stop taking in oxygen.

  There were so many obstacles before them. One, he had player swag written all over him. Two, he was a cop—a subspecies of the male gender she had spent years avoiding. Three, the way he made her feel—well, that overrode points one and two. Erin felt beautiful and schoolgirl giddy.

  Rob approached her car looking good enough to sop up with a biscuit. He wore a pair of Levi jeans, a black tee-shirt that had “War” written across the front and a nice pair of soft leather loafers. He opened her door, pulled her out, and kissed her like it was his last night on earth.

  Wow.

  Whatever thought she had about putting some distance between them drifted into the D.C. breeze along with her common sense. She wrapped her arms about his neck, pressed her body to his, and Rob introduced her to a new level of kissing ecstasy.

  The kiss went on forever, and Erin couldn’t find the brain cells to protest.

  Finally, he pulled back, cradled her in his massive arms, and said, “Hello Miss Gray.”

  “It’s good to finally lay eyes on you, too,” she confessed.

  He chuckled and shook his head. “I wasn’t going to take the chance on you getting away from me.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “Okay, so how about dinner? I was thinking Busboys and Poets.”

  “Sounds good,” she said. She looked down at her outfit. “I need to change.” She was wearing a pair of old jeans with a white fitted t-shirt and a pair of slip-on sandals.

  “Nonsense. You look fine. Come on, I’m starved.”

  With that, he escorted her to his car, and they were off to the northwest side of the city for a dinner of good food, great scenery, and even better conversation.

  They were just about finished with the meal when she got up to use the ladies’ room. A child broke away from his mother and slammed into her. Erin’s purse slipped from her shoulder, and the contents spilled out on the floor.

  Rob righted her with his left hand then bent down to help retrieve the scattered items. He frowned at one thing in particular. “What’s this?” He held up a license.

  Erin gasped, “Oh no! He gave me back the wrong one!”

  “What happened?” he demanded. “Why do you have this guy’s license?”

  The tone put her on notice. He seemed upset—too upset. Once a cop, always a cop. And that right there could pose a huge problem.

  They both stood, and she gave him the details of her fender bender.

  “So where’s his insurance information?” he asked, his gaze narrowing on her.

  Where are all these questions coming from?

  “I’m not a child, Rob,” she snapped. “I know how to handle my own business.”

  His frown deepened, and he stared openly at her.

  She shrugged. “We didn’t exchange insurance info. The guy was frantic to get to the hospital to be with his brother, so we didn’t call the police. He gave me the cash instead.”

  Rob nodded, but his eyes had an eerie light behind them. Erin blinked up at him as he returned all the contents of her purse except the cash. “Hey, that’s mine,” she protested, reaching for the money.

  “Go do what you were going to do.” His tone was frigid, and his body language told her this was not debatable. “I need to check something.”

  Erin beat quick feet to the ladies’ room and was back in less than five minutes. As she approached, Rob was just ending a call.

  He took a deep breath. “Are you sure this is the money he gave you?” he asked, holding the license up to her.

  “Trust me,” she assured. “I don’t carry that kind of cash on me, ever.”

  “Smart move, but there’s something I need to tell you.”

  At his severe expression, she dropped down into the seat. “Rob, you’re freaking me out. What is going on?”

  He dropped his voice very low, forcing her to lean in closer to him as he whispered, gesturing to the cash. “This money—all of it is counterfeit.”

  Erin gasped in shock.

  Rob grabbed her hand, lending comfort. “The guy who hit you is wanted for passing bogus bills. That’s why I reacted as I did when I saw his driver’s license.”

  Erin smacked her hand over her mouth, too stunned to do anything else.

  “He’s pinched all over the Metropolitan area. We picked up the case a few weeks back. That’s why we were at your school. We wanted to let the public know about this guy before something bad happens. We sent letters home by way of all the children.” He peered at her. “You didn’t read the letter?”

  Erin dropped her hands into her lap and said, “I don’t have any children! I didn’t get a damn letter.” She flinched as a terrifying fact hit her. “Oh my God, if I have his license, then—”

  “He has yours,” Rob confirmed.

  “That man knows where I live!” Erin shot out of her seat and bolted out the front door of the restaurant.

  Rob caught her just as she cleared the entrance and eased her over to the side of the car. She was shaking like a leaf.

  His hands kept stroking her, soothing her as he said, “We’re on the case.” He lifted the license to grab her attention. “This is breakthrough lead for us.”

  “What am I going to do? I didn’t—”

  He cupped her face in his hands. “Hey, look at me.”

  Erin’s mind was racing, with thoughts of the unfortunate incident from college, but his melodic voice pulled her into the vortex of his calm brown eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you. You have my word on that.”

  Chapter 10

  Crenshaw glanced over to Erin. If her leg kept going at that frantic pace, she would bounce herself right out of the car.

  “I don’t want you to worry, sweetheart,” he said in a low tone. “We’re on it.”

  When Erin turned to look at him, the semi-panicked expression that colored the lines of her face broke his heart. He wanted to say something, do something. Nothing was more important than her safety.

  Crenshaw made a few phone calls along the way and had to make some damn quick decisions. Fisher was too far away to make it in time to help him. He and his family were just leaving the amusement park.

  His next call was to the only other person available in a pinch. “Lopez?” The music in the background signaled Lopez might be having a party.

  “Crenshaw?”

  “Yes, kill the volume for a sec,” he commanded.

  Dead silence echoed. “What can I do for you, sir?” Lopez asked.

  Crenshaw shot him the details in code, along with Erin’s address before he said, “I want to nail this guy. Can you meet me?”

  “Does a fat kid love cake? En route now.”

  Crenshaw ended the call and kept a steady speed until pulling around back to park. “Everything’s going to be fine. I promise,” he said to Erin, whose leg was still tapping a thousand beats per second.

  She clutched his hand with such force, he marveled at her strength.

  “You can’t say that,” she turned to look at him, her eyes a bit wild. “This creep knows where I live; he’s seen my face. Didn’t you say how dangerous these types can—” Erin’s entire body seized up as her line of sight left him and drifted out of the window to the entrance of the parking lot.

  “Erin,” he said, trying to get her to focus. “What is it?”

  “R-R-Rob,” she stammered. “Just now, that … that car, it’s …” Erin gestured to the shiny BMW.

  Crenshaw leapt from the car, and removed his weapon in one fluid motion. From his position, he scoped out a male driver and female passenger and ordered Erin to lock the doors and stay in the car.

  He kept his steps slow and steady as he walked towards the vehicle, trying to make it seem as if he were a casual visitor. The BMW came to a complete stop. The headlights dimmed and blinked off. Then
the tires screamed in protest as the BMW burned rubber in reverse down the street.

  “Damn!” he cried and took off in foot pursuit.

  The noise brought several onlookers out into the street. Crenshaw couldn’t risk taking a shot at the car. He holstered his weapon, knowing that he could hit someone other than the perp.

  Lopez pulled up seconds later and screeched to a halt. “Out,” he ordered Lopez. He tossed him his keys and gestured to his Impala. “Protect the woman in the front seat. Call for back up. I’m going after our perp.”

  Within ninety seconds with his sirens blaring, Crenshaw caught up with the BMW as it headed down South Capital Street. The BMW sped up, going southbound, weaving in and out of traffic like a trained professional.

  Crenshaw gained on him, and the driver of the BMW got creative. He punched it and bounced onto the sidewalk, sending terrified pedestrians scattering. Crenshaw saw a break and sped full tilt to get ahead of the BMW. But out of nowhere, a soft drink delivery truck pulled out of a loading area and into the street, between Crenshaw and the BMW. There was no getting around a truck of that size.

  “Get that piece of crap out of the way!” he roared, honking his horn feverishly.

  The precious seconds of opportunity went up in smoke. The bastard got away.

  “Damn!” Crenshaw cried and smashed his fist into the dashboard. After a few moments, he called in the plate tags, direction, and location, hoping another unit could take over the chase.

  Crenshaw leapt from his car and starting punching the air. He turned and saw his unmarked car pull up. Detective Lopez hopped out. “I heard it on the scanner. I guess that was our guy?”

  He calmed down in rolling stages and headed to the Impala with Lopez by his side. “You want me to go after this guy, Rob? I could—”

  “No man, he’s long gone at this point,” Crenshaw sighed, his frustration easing with every breath.

  Lopez slowed down. “If you didn’t want us to pursue, why did you call me?”

  “My lady,” he answered.

  Lopez’s left eyebrow shot up.

  Crenshaw nodded towards Erin, who was standing outside of his car clutching her cell. “That’s my woman, and she’s scared.” He scanned the area, taking in the people who were now focused in on them. “The moment that bastard came to her house, it became personal.”

  They walked toward the place where she stood.

  “I thought I told you to stay in the car!” Crenshaw thundered. He was not in the mood for disobedience.

  Erin froze, and her eyes widened in shock. With three quick steps, he had her crushed in his massive chest.

  Though her voice was a bit muffled, the fear was still quite evident. “You ran away so fast, I didn’t know what was happening,” she whispered. “I was afraid for you.” She gave a wary glance toward Lopez then back to Crenshaw. “He showed me his badge, and I asked him to go after you.”

  She looked up at him, her hazel eyes imploring him to understand. “You didn’t have anyone, and cops get killed all the time.” She buried her face in his chest. “I’m sorry. I needed to know you were all right.”

  Crenshaw felt like a complete ass. The woman had enough to deal with, and he’d just added to it. He rubbed her back in loving circles. “Baby, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have barked at you like that.” He cupped her face in his hands and brushed a soft kiss to her lips. “I won’t let anything happen to you—me—us, okay?”

  She nodded and kissed him again.

  Crenshaw waved his co-worker over. “Erin, this is Detective Lopez. Brian Lopez, Erin Gray.”

  Erin backed away and offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” She looked down at his left hand and smiled. “Single, too,” Erin noticed.

  “Hey!” Crenshaw growled, frowning.

  “Not for me,” she said with a grin. “My girl, Jordan …”

  “How can you go from being scared out your mind to matchmaking?” he asked.

  Her toothy grin and sly wink were too cute. “I’m a woman; it’s what we do.”

  Chapter 11

  Erin looked out of her window for the ninety-ninth time, and felt a sense of relief that Rob’s squad car was still tucked in a hidden spot near the back of the lot. Jordan had come over to sit with her while Rob went into the station to fill out an incident report and bring everyone up to speed on the case. Lopez was on orders to remain in her home until Rob returned. But, in the end, he decided to stay just a bit longer.

  Jordan and Lopez struck up a conversation that went on for a hot minute. Sparks were flying. Erin took it all in, thinking, Jordan, girl, you owe me big time.

  Rob stirred up so many raw emotions in Erin. She was not used to men keeping their word, being there when she needed them. It was two in the morning, Lopez and Jordan were long gone, but Detective Rob Crenshaw had not abandoned his duty to her.

  Erin felt bad that he was spending the night in his car. Just the thought of him caring enough to sleep out in the parking lot was enough to trust him with her heart and her body. From this day forward, she knew she would be putty in his hands.

  She took a seat on the sofa, and after looking at her cell another dozen times, she hit the send button.

  “Hey, pretty lady.” His voice was so rich and enchanting.

  She laid her head down and curled up on the sofa, pretending he was next to her. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you?”

  He laughed. Then she heard something that sounded like a computer. “I’m good. Doing a little work. We sent a car to the man’s place and they just notified me that they picked him up.”

  “So why aren’t you out there making that collar?” she asked.

  “Because it was more important to be here with you.”

  Her heart swelled at the admission. She fingered the pillow threads as she kept her focus on his car. “Rob, can I tell you something?”

  “Sure. One sec,” he said. The sounds of him clicking on a keyboard faded. “Okay, I just wanted to turn everything off so you have my undivided attention. I’m ready now.”

  Erin wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to talk to him about, but there were some things that had to be said. “Remember when I told you that my dad was a policeman?”

  “I got the feeling that there was a story behind that, and not necessarily a good one.”

  She smiled, realizing that she had to remember that Rob was more perceptive than most men. It was part of who he was, not just a byproduct of the job. Erin wasn’t sure what exactly it was about him, but she felt comfortable enough to trust him with everything, even her heart.

  “He let me down so many times, I stopped counting,” she said, shifting on the sofa. “I wanted to love him but …” She let out a long breath. “When he passed away, I couldn’t even cry because he had always felt like a stranger.” She inched back the curtain and looked out to his car. “I don’t know where this is going, but before we go any further, I have to know, is that your life, too?”

  Rob hesitated, and in that short spell of time, her heart sank.

  “I work a lot, Erin, but I’m not a slave to my job,” he admitted. “I want a life outside of this work. I want a wife and babies, and this feels right.”

  “What feels right?” Her stomach started doing flips because this—whatever it was—did feel right. She had just shared her deepest feeling with a man who filled her with an abundance of hope. “May I ask you another question?”

  “Go ahead, Erin. You can ask me anything.”

  The next one took so long to surface that Rob finally said, “Erin?”

  “I’m still here,” she whispered.

  “You all right?”

  “I never talk about my dad,” Erin admitted. “Didn’t think I could.”

  The slam of the car door on his end made her look out of the window. He was closing the distance to her building. But at a certain point he froze and said, “Erin, will you let me in.”

  “Okay.”

  Only then did he move
forward at a rapid pace. Minutes later, he was crossing her threshold. He took her in his arms and held her for what seemed an eternity.

  “Talk to me, baby,” he cooed.

  “I trust you,” she whispered into his chest. “I don’t know why I’m saying these things, but it’s how I feel.”

  Crenshaw placed a kiss on her forehead and rocked her as they stood in the center of the living room. She looked up at him, and he pulled her closer, close enough for him to taste her.

  The kiss was slow and seductive and everything soothing and sensual.

  His mouth danced over hers, and all rational thought fast-forwarded to the bedroom. She hungered and ached for more, but was she doing the right thing? Feeling Erin pulling back, he held her tighter, closer, if that was even possible.

  “No, don’t think. Feel,” he said, reclaiming her mouth again. “Trust me, Erin.”

  That kiss proved that Detective Crenshaw was the master teacher, and for once in a long time, Erin didn’t mind being the pupil.

  “I trust you … with everything,” she breathed.

  With those words, his mouth swallowed hers again, and this time Erin was game on.

  The echoes of her neighbors’ song drifted into her apartment.

  “I swear they play that song fifty times a day,” she complained.

  Rob tilted his head and gave a listen before he smiled. Then he lifted Erin off of her feet and held her for a moment. Then he asked, “If I promise to take care of your heart, will you trust me to take care of everything else?”

  Her face snuggled into the crook of his neck. Erin lifted her eyes up to the eyes of the man she loved. “Only if your love making can get that crazy song out of my head.”

  To that, he chuckled and carried her into the master bedroom.

  Candy Jackson hit the literary scene with her first published novel, Pink and Patent Leather and followed with two M-LAS collaborations: Baring it All: The Ins and Outs of Publishing and Signed, Sealed Delivered … I’m Yours. She’s a schoolteacher who has a proven track record of success with students who have not been given the chance to show what they’re made of. Her passion is writing quality stories for readers who will find them not only entertaining, but may find some life lessons between the pages. Her life story is one of survival and strength, and she incorporates her experiences into her work in hopes that they will inspire and uplift her readers. For more information, visit www.candyjackson.net