Hale Series Boxed Set

by Marie James

  He tries to wipe my tears from my face and I pull out of his reach.

  “Josie?” he pleads.

  I can’t manage words so I just point at the black and white pictures that have gone untouched on the coffee table. As I glance at them again, they seem grainy like they’ve been pulled from a video. Just great, now there’s video proof my husband is cheating on me.

  “What the fuck,” he says on a gasp, picking them up and flipping through them. “I can’t believe Jessica sent this shit.” He says and begins cussing in Spanish.

  I narrow my red, puffy eyes at him. “Well, it seems Jessica is no longer happy with being the other woman.”

  “Other woman?” His eyes go wide. “No! Josie, these are from a long time ago. How could you ever think I’d cheat on you?”

  “Oh, no you don’t!” I raise my voice at him. “You’re not pushing this back on me! How could I ever think? You’re never home Kaleb. You’ve hardly touched me the past few weeks.”

  “Who is she?” I ask bitterly. “What is she to you?”

  “Her name is Jessica Riley. She works at the PD.” I hiss and he holds his hands up in surrender.

  “What is she to you?” I ask again.

  “Nothing,” he says so convincingly I almost believe him. “We had sort of a friends with benefits thing going on long before I even met you.”

  “Had?” I say in disbelief.

  “Mariposa,” he says calmly and holds the pictures in front of him. I angle my head so I don’t have to stare at him. “How hard did you look at these pictures?”

  “Long enough to see my husband cheating on me with a stacked brunette.” I fire back at him.

  “Look at the pictures, Josie.” The one on top is of him with his eyes closed, bare chest and the back of Jessica’s head. Clearly he’s enjoying the blow job if the way his eyes are closed and his head’s thrown back is any indication.

  “What do you see?” Is he trying to torture me?

  “Besides my husband getting sucked off by some whore?” I raise my eyes to his.

  “I wasn’t your husband then,” he says slowly and calmly. “Have you ever seen me without this?” As he says this he brings his hand up and rubs the short stubble on his face.

  I glare back at the pictures and back at him. Grabbing the pictures from his hands and flipping through them; his beard missing from every one.

  “I had to shave to make entry on a house with swat. They used tear gas and I had to wear a facemask. I don’t get as good of a suction to my face with the hair.” He explains. “These are from February, Mariposa. Months before I ever laid my eyes on you.”

  “Kaleb,” I whisper unable to find the words to say. The only thing worse than not trusting someone is finding out you’re wrong and them knowing you questioned their dedication. I begin to cry again.

  “No, Josie.” He scoots closer to me on the couch and touches my face. “Please don’t cry. I hate it when you cry.”

  “I’m sorry I jumped to the worst possible conclusion,” I say on a sob.

  He doesn’t gloat, he doesn’t get mad at me for questioning his faithfulness; instead he kisses me, passionately.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” I mumble against his lips between kisses. “I’ve been so lonely.”

  “Shhh,” he says and holds his finger against my lips. “Can I make love to you?”

  It kills me that he feels like he has to ask. I resolve myself to getting a few things off my chest, but first I need him as much as he needs me right now.

  “Please,” I whisper past his finger on my mouth.

  He stands and sweeps me up in his arms, kissing me the entire way to our bedroom. He undresses me slowly and then insists that I do the same to him. I run my hands over every inch of his golden skin I can reach.

  Once naked he lifts me and places me in the center of the bed never taking his mouth from mine. He cups my breast, kneading it and rolling the tip between his skilled fingers. Before long his hand is skating down my side and over my mound.

  He groans when his fingers slide easily through my desire. “So ready for me,” he says huskily.

  “Kaleb,” I whisper pleadingly as I rotate my hips on his working hand.

  He lines his body up with mine, the thick head of his cock nudging my lips open, begging for entrance. I close my eyes and wait for bliss but once they are shut the pictures of him with another woman flash in my mind. I squeeze them shut even harder and try to will the images away.

  “Josie,” Kaleb whispers and almost like he’s reading my mind he continues. “Please open your eyes. Look at me, Mariposa. Watch me; see how much I love you.” He strokes his hand down my cheek delicately as he slowly slides inside. “There is only you. I’ve already forgotten anyone who came before you.”

  He slowly begins to slide in and out of me and my eyes flutter begging to close but I keep them open. I’m no expert on relationships, but when Kaleb is looking at me, I’ve never doubted his love and devotion.

  I score his back with my nails on a particularly masterful stroke and he groans against my neck. He fills me so completely body, mind, and soul.

  He rotates his hips on every down stroke, teasing my clit, torturing it slightly before withdrawing. By the first hint of my orgasm I’m wound so tight I’m afraid of the devastation it will leave behind.

  Kaleb reads my body like a book. “Come with me,” he commands softly.

  My body obeys; the first pulse of his orgasm giving mine permission to begin. I moan uncontrollably and he swallows my cries as he kisses me deeply. His hips continue to move slowly for several more minutes as he milks every tremor from my body. I smile against his mouth as he whispers words of benediction and promises against my lips.

  Eventually, he settles in beside me with his eyes closed and his fingers ghost over my overheated skin. He tickles and traces over the entire front of my body, leaving goose pimples in their wake.

  He settles his hand over my lower belly on the tiny bump that is there. Something he used to do before chaos broke out in our world.

  “Josie!” He sits up abruptly and his eyes dart down to my stomach. He’s just now noticing the little raised hill below my belly button. “The baby?” He asks in amazement. I nod and smile. “Can you feel him move?”

  “Still too early for that the books say.” His happiness is infectious.

  He settles back down beside me but never removes his hand from my stomach; his fingers flexing against it periodically.

  He sighs loudly like it’s the first time he’s been able to release his breath in ages.

  “Bad day?” I ask and place my hand over his.

  “Bad couple of weeks,” he answers. “I’m sorry I’ve been gone so much these last couple of weeks. This case is not producing the results I was hopeful for in the beginning.”

  “Just the case has you frustrated?” I know I shouldn’t prod and I’d never tell anyone if he disclosed something to me and asked me not to tell, but I’ve been in the dark with my husband’s life for weeks.

  “I wish,” he says softly. “We had a jail sergeant shove Garrett around while he was in custody. His attorney has asked for charges to be filed against him. I don’t really like the guy but I watched the video and he did what Garrett says he did. Marco’s career could be over from something almost every cop has done out of frustration.”

  My blood runs cold at a memory from my abduction. “Marco?” I whisper.

  I feel him nod against the top of my head.

  “Not a very common name is it?”

  “Not around here,” he answers. “Josie,” he pulls away from me. “What’s wrong? Why are you shaking?”

  “When,” I have to clear my throat and start over. “When I was in the closet,” I swallow around a lump in my throat I can’t seem to clear. “When I was in the closet, I heard them talking about being lucky Marco called and gave them a heads up about a raid on another house.”

  His eyes go wide but he stays silent for a few minut
es likes he’s trying to work something out in his head. “Are you sure that’s what you heard?” He eventually asks.

  “Certain,” I answer truthfully. “They said he worked at the police department. One of the reasons they said they kidnapped me was because the ‘kitchen’ was raided, which I find odd because, what’s the big deal with someone raiding a kitchen?”

  His eyes narrow and I’d be fearful for Marco’s safety if he were in the room with us.

  “They’re referring to a meth lab, Josie.” He stands from the bed and begins to get dressed. He pulls on a shirt, boxers and tugs his pants up his legs.

  I watch as he reaches into his pocket and pulls his cell phone out, selects a name from his contacts and holds it to his ear.

  “Holt,” he barks in to the phone. “Let me tell you about some pillow talk,” he begins. I hear him growl. “If you ever say something like that about my wife again, I’ll forget you’re my superior.”

  He pulls his phone away from his ear and I can hear laughing from the other end.

  “This is fucking serious, Randy.” Kaleb tells his boss. “My wife said she remembers the people from her abduction mentioning that a man named Marco gave heads up on that raid out on Old Post Oak Road.”

  He pauses as Detective Holt speaks on the other end.

  “I don’t know, but how many Marco’s could there be out there?” He listens. “How about we proceed with the charges against him for police brutality, we both saw the video. See if we can’t get Anthony in with him. People seem to love talking to him.”

  Another pause. “No, I don’t think he started working until after we last used him.”

  Kaleb grows silent once again. “I appreciate that man. You know I can’t take lead on this because of Josie, but I’d like to be able to get more answers on her case. The other seems like a dead end at this point.”

  I wince, knowing he’s talking about Garrett’s case.

  Chapter 26

  Kaleb

  “I hate that I’m leaving you again,” I tell Josie and trail my fingers down her cheek and run my thumb across her kiss swollen bottom lip. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she says not quite convincingly.

  I look at my watch. “Mia will be home in about an hour. I already made arrangements for a uniformed officer to bring her here as soon as she gets back to the station from her training.”

  Her eyes light up and I love that she loves Mia as much as I do. I know that she is a police K9 but that doesn’t make her any less part of the family.

  “I’ll text you,” I promise as I kiss her at the inside door leading to the garage. “Check to make sure it’s one of my guys before you answer the door.” I bend down and pick up my utility bag from the floor at my feet. I don’t really need it but I didn’t want Josie to see me carrying out the envelope with the pictures Jessica sent. I have more than one person to deal with tonight.

  She nods at me and steals one last kiss before I leave. The kiss turns into more the second her lips are on mine. We’ve both been deprived and I hate that I’ve been away so much.

  Her hands roam my body as her mouth explores mine. I unbuckle my pants and push them down, the weight of my firearm dragging them to the ground. I lift Josie so her legs are tangled around my waist and slowly inch us to the wall as she hovers right over the head my throbbing erection.

  “Is this okay?” I ask against her neck.

  “Are you asking me if it’s okay to make love to me?” she giggles and bites my ear.

  I groan. “I’m asking if it is ok for me to fuck my wife against the wall instead of making love to her in our bed.” I qualify.

  “Yes, please,” she answers and I slowly lower her on to me, coating myself in her wetness.

  I spend the shortest five minutes of my life pounding into my petite wife against the door leading into the garage. By the time I’m done she’s so pliable that I have to carry her to bed.

  “Sleep well, Mariposa,” I whisper and kiss her forehead as she snuggles deeper into our bed. The same bed I’ve hardly seen recently.

  Less than two hours after getting home I head back to the precinct which is beginning to seem more like home since I’ve spent so much time there recently. For the first time in my life I’m starting to regret becoming a cop and not a banker like my mother had wanted.

  When I get to the precinct I head straight to Holt’s office. It’s late enough in the evening that the place is all but deserted, which is a good thing considering we are dealing with one of our own on this situation.

  Holt is sitting at his desk as I walk into his office and close the door behind me.

  “What’s the game plan?” I ask as I sit down.

  “We have to process this tomorrow. That gives us time to get Anthony in place. If we pick him up tonight it will look suspicious.” Holt explains. “I drove by his house on the way back up here and there were no cars in the driveway.”

  “He’s probably at Jessica’s,” I mutter under my breath.

  “What’s that?” Holt asks.

  “He’s involved with Detective Riley,” I inform him. “She was wrapped all over him in the parking lot a few weeks ago. I don’t know if they’re still together.”

  He leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers under his chin. “Really?” He asks as if this changes things.

  “Yes. Does this change our plans?” I have no idea why their relationship would change what we need to get from Hernandez as far as him informing on the raid.

  “Detective Riley was in my office when I got the call about Trina Gilbert being connected to Alexa Warner’s shooter, Blake Evans. She sat in here while I made the calls to setup the raid.” He says in a low tone that grows in anger with each word.

  “Fuck,” I collapse back in my chair. “You think she’s involved.” It’s a statement not a question because the answer is obvious.

  “She’s the link to the raid; she’s the link to Marco. I can’t think of another way for Marco to get the information as quickly as he did. Can you?” I shake my head no because it’s so apparent.

  “I think I need to recuse myself,” I tell him.

  “Because your wife is connected to Trina Gilbert,” he provides as reasoning.

  “Full disclosure, sergeant,” I reach down in my bag and pull the envelope out with the pictures of Jessica and me. I hand them to him. “I was in a brief sexual relationship with Detective Riley earlier this year.”

  He slides the pictures halfway out of the envelope and pushes them back in. “Fuck, Perez.”

  “Yeah,” I say in acceptance.

  “This pile of shit just keeps growing, doesn’t it?” He tosses the envelope with the pictures back to me.

  “What do we do now?” I know what he has to do because he’s a by-the-book type of cop.

  “We need Riley out of the precinct before we can even think about getting information out of Hernandez,” he says. His eyes light up with an idea and from the looks of it, it’s going to be one I won’t like. “How do you feel like taking one for the team?”

  ***

  I’m steaming fucking mad by the time I leave Holt’s office. The plus side is I know I’ll never have another issue with workplace bullshit keeping me from doing my job. I’ve never regretted fucking someone as much as I do Jessica Riley.

  I sit patiently at my desk and wait for her to get to work. There’s no way she’s going to get away with sending these damn pictures to my wife, purposely upsetting her and making her doubt my commitment to her. I love her more than life itself but our marriage is still brand new; hell our entire relationship is still new by normal standards. I can’t have some petty, vindictive woman trying to destroy that. It’s absolutely unforgiveable.

  Knowing she gets to work just a little before eight I sit at my desk and fume until closer to nine. I can’t concentrate on work at this point so I don’t even try. I do my best to calm down and normally looking at the black and white photo of my ti
ny son helps, but today the sight of if angers me even more.

  What would I have done if the pictures were harder to prove that they happened in the past and not recently. Without that evidence I could have lost my wife, my son. I place the picture in the top drawer of my desk. I shouldn’t be looking at it while this upset.

  Unable to wait any longer I get up from my desk, grab the photos, and make my way to Jessica’s desk.

  She smiles at me as I make my way to her until her eyes drop to the bright red envelope in my hand. I can’t help but to sneer at her but inside I’m taking pride in the fear and trepidation in her eyes as I watch her eyes dart around, making sure others are near.

  Her smile returns once she’s knows she’s not alone. I specifically waited to make sure others were around. Without them I don’t know that I’d be able to control my temper enough not to pin her to the wall by her fucking throat. Sorry Dad.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing,” I say in a much louder than conversational tone and toss the envelope in front of her.

  She places her hand on top of the offending envelope. “Your bride is not too happy to find out about us, I take it?”

  “There is no us,” I bite out.

  “Well she doesn’t know that does she?” She stands behind her desk, trying to gain more even footing in the argument I know she can tell is going to happen. “If your bed is cold and you apologize for treating me like shit, I might consider helping you keep it warm.”

  “Treating you like shit?” I snarl at her. “I never treated you like shit! And your stupid fucking ploy didn’t work. Josie and I are just fine. Stronger than ever actually!”

  “You used me!” she yells.

  “I fucked you, Jessica. You knew from the beginning that’s all it was!” I run my hands over my buzz cut, trying to gain some composure. “Shit, you’ve fucked over half the guys in the precinct!”

  The entire office is staring at us by this point; many of the men turning their heads away from us in shame at my declaration.

  She ignores my last words. “You’ll pay for how you treated me!”

  “How I treated you? You’re pissed because I fell in love with someone else besides you. Can’t you see how fucking crazy that is?” I scream back at her.