by L. P. Dover
The people who gambled on Camden cheered and rushed past the ropes to congratulate him, while the others stood back and sulked. I had to hand it to him, fighting Big John couldn’t have been easy. I’d had my fair share of fights being in law enforcement, and I had to fight dirty too—anything to win. I also knew what it felt like to have broken ribs and fractured bones in my face; it wasn’t fun and it sure as hell didn’t make fighting any easier.
“Well, fuck me,” Hank grumbled. “I just lost fifty dollars.”
Rolling my eyes, I made sure to keep my attention on Camden, who was presently being rubbed up on by two morally questionable women. My job was to keep him safe and he needed it; or at least his wallet did. Every time he’d win a large pot of money, the women would come running. So far on my watch, he’d only been getting action from his hand.
A sick, twisted part of me actually enjoyed watching him suffer. I hated guys who thought they could get any piece of ass they wanted. It turned out my ex was the same way. Before Camden fell to the bottom he’d been used to getting what he wanted, but now things didn’t come so easy to him.
Although, sometimes I found myself feeling sorry for him. He hardly smiled except for the times he was fighting someone or when he surfed the small waves at the beach. Otherwise, he just looked lost, alone.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Hank. Not waiting on his reply, I stalked off toward Camden. He was too busy talking to some of the locals to pay attention to the wildebeests he had following him around. Once I got close enough to the busty blonde, I leaned in behind her and whispered in her ear, “I wouldn’t go home with this one if I were you. He’s got crabs. Believe me, I know from experience. The money’s not worth it.”
“Ew . . . what the hell,” she gasped, turning to face me. “Are you serious?”
Nodding, I tried desperately to keep from laughing and brought my hand down to scratch my crotch. “Dead serious. Crabs in exchange for a lousy twenty second fuck wasn’t worth it. I didn’t even get off.”
Her mouth dropped open and she grabbed her friend’s hand, pulling her over. “What’s wrong?” the other girl asked.
“Ivan has crabs,” big tits whispered. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that shit. Let’s go find someone else.”
“Ew, neither do I. Come on, let’s get out of here before he notices.”
Once they took off, I snuck away. When Camden finally turned to acknowledge them, he was disappointed to see they weren’t following him. A smile lit my face and I snickered as he stomped out of the bar, pissed. Mission accomplished. One day, he would thank me. But now, I had a harder mission to accomplish. Going home.
CAMDEN HAD A tracker on his Jeep, so if I lost him in traffic I would always know where to find him. He was a few miles ahead of me and I wasn’t rushing to catch up. I was going to be in Charlotte soon enough. Thankfully, my phone rang, drawing me out of my despair. It happened to be my brother.
“Hello,” I answered.
“B, what’s up? I heard you’re coming back.”
I groaned. “You heard right. I’ll be there in two hours. Is the condo ready for me?”
“Yep. Right across the hall from Jameson’s. Things are going to change when you get back though. I know you haven’t talked to Mason today, but several of the guys are going to take shifts once you get into town. It has to be a pain in the ass following that tool around every day.”
“I would rather follow him around than come home,” I said. Jason sighed and the line grew silent. Sometimes it was hard to remember he was hurting too. “Jase, I’m sorry. I know you’re not over the accident either. It’s just, I still see it as if it was yesterday. Not to mention the whole Blake fiasco. I mean, who the hell cheats on their grieving partner?”
“I know, and if you would’ve let me, I’d have kicked his ass for it. But we have to live with the choices we make.”
Ready to get off the phone, I hastily added, “That we do. Okay, well, I’m trying to drive. I’ll see you when I get into town.”
Sensing my hesitation, he didn’t push, but he also wasn’t about to let me get off the phone either. “Okay. But hey listen, I told the guys we were going to kick their asses in pool when you got back. I need my partner in crime.”
I guess with some of the others taking over shifts, I’d actually have the time to live a normal life. “Sounds good, Jase. It might be just what I need.”
As long as Blake wasn’t anywhere near me, I’d be fine. I’d ignored his calls for the past four months, but once I got back to Charlotte there would be no escaping him. I only hoped I could be around him and not want to rip his balls off and shove them down his throat.
“B, you still there?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about how complicated it was going to be to be around Blake. My temper gets the best of me sometimes.”
He chuckled. “That’s for damn sure. And I wouldn’t worry too much about Blake. I think he’s sorry for what he did. We all made it hard on him after you left.”
“Good. He deserved it.” It actually made me feel better, knowing the guys were in my corner. “I’ll deal with him when I get back. Do you have the keys to the condo?”
“Yep, I’m on my way there. It’s the very top floor, second door on the right. See ya there.”
After we hung up, I checked Camden’s whereabouts on my phone and continued on my way. Hopefully, the condo had a stock pile of caffeine because I knew once I got to Charlotte, Camden wasn’t going to be a sitting duck. I followed him around like a stalker for the past four months, so it was easy to learn his habits. Downtown was an exciting place to be, much more exciting than the nightlife at Oak Island. The local bars and nightlife would surely appeal to him. I probably knew him better than he knew himself.
By the time I got to the condo, I was excited about getting to see my brother. He was the only family I had left other than our parents who moved to Charleston, South Carolina, after retiring. I’d barely spoken to them after my sister died.
Sometimes I wondered if they’d be happier if it was me who perished in the accident instead of Braylen. She was their favorite, their shining star. I was just an undercover detective who liked to fight and get her hands dirty. Braylen was Miss North Carolina, on her way to competing for the next Miss America. She was beautiful, inside and out, and wanted to change the world . . . but now she was dead. All of her hopes and dreams gone in an instant. Hopefully, one of these days her death wouldn’t be so hard on my soul. I didn’t count on it though.
Once in the elevator, it quickly lifted me up to the top floor and opened to a sprawling hallway. It was ritzy with elegant light fixtures, plush carpeting, and expensive paintings adorning the walls. Not exactly the type of place I would choose to live, but I had no choice. My small, three bedroom house was out in the middle of nowhere and I loved it. I didn’t like being in the heart of the city. Maybe that was why I was good at undercover work; I was good at hiding.
The second door on the right turned out to be all the way at the end of the hallway. Taking a deep breath, I leaned my forehead against the door and smiled when I could hear Jason’s music from within. Slowly, I opened the door and quietly snuck in, eyes going wide at the sight before me. I didn’t care about the size of the condo or that it was filled with top of the line furnishings. The view of downtown, however, was absolutely breathtaking.
A set of hands came down on my shoulders and I leaned in, smiling. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” he asked.
Smile fading, I jerked out of his hold. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Blake lifted his hands in the air and stepped back. Out of the four months I’d been gone, he hadn’t changed much. His light brown hair was a little longer and gelled in messy spikes and his eyes were still the same mysterious gray as before. I knew what he was up to, wearing the shirt I bought him for his birthday and my favorite pair of jeans. He must really think I’m stupid.
“B, you’re h
ere,” my brother called out hesitantly.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at Blake and then at my brother when he came into view. “Yeah, unfortunately I wasn’t expecting douchenozzle to be here.”
Jason sighed and grabbed my elbow, pulling me over to the window. He was two years older than me with dark brown hair like our father but with green eyes just like me and Braylen. Bray and I had always been accused of being twins since we looked so much alike, but I was seventeen months older than her.
Jason blocked my view of Blake. “I know you don’t want to see him, but he wanted to come. Just talk to him, B. You’re going to be working with him again, so it’s best you talk it out now, even if we both want to kill him.” He took my car keys out of my hand and backed up. “I’ll go get your stuff so you two can talk privately.”
“Gee, thanks,” I huffed. “It’s good to see you too.”
Chuckling, he turned and started for the door. “We have plenty of time to catch up. All of us are going out tonight.”
As soon as the door shut, I glared at Blake. “And by us, that better not be including you.”
“Are you really going to stay pissed at me this long? It’s been six months, Brooke. At the time, I didn’t think you were coming back to me. You wouldn’t let me touch you.”
“I was grieving,” I shouted. “And I was . . .” Wide-eyed, I bit my tongue and turned away; I couldn’t let him know the truth. Being home brought back all my insecurities. He was right though. I hadn’t let him touch me. All I wanted was time, but if he really cared, he would’ve been patient. I didn’t want anyone to see what the accident did to my body.
Blake tried to turn my face toward him, but I slapped his hand.
“What were you going to say, B?”
“Other than fuck you? Not much else.”
“Brooke, I’m sorry for what I did. It was a mistake.”
“No, the mistake was getting involved in the first place. I should’ve known better.”
His jaw clenched. “So what are we going to do? You can’t run away from me forever.”
I scoffed and walked past him into the kitchen, but he followed too closely behind me. “I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I’m going to pretend like none of this ever happened and go on with my life. Our time together doesn’t exist to me anymore. It’s just a bad memory I’m going to forget.”
There was a bottle of wine in the refrigerator. I pulled it out and poured a liberal amount into a glass. Tossing it back, the warmth spread through my veins. I poured another. Blake stared at me with narrowed eyes. Keeping my focus on him, I swallowed the rest of my wine and set the glass down. His body brushed up against mine and I moved back, only to come in contact with the wall. Well, isn’t this fun?
“Something’s different about you, Brooke. I don’t know what it is, but I do know I missed you.”
“And I think you need to back up,” I hissed. “I’m different because I know what I want, and more importantly, what I don’t want. What happened between us isn’t going to happen again. I can promise you that.”
He grasped my chin between his fingers and I jerked out of his hold. “We’ll see,” he murmured. “See you tonight.”
Before I could reply, Jason burst through the door with my two large suitcases. “Damn, B. What all did you pack?”
Blake smiled and stepped back, winking at me before hurrying to the door to help my brother. “I’ll be back at seven,” he said.
Jason gawked at Blake’s retreating form and then back at me. “Did I miss something?”
“Just the part where he’s gonna be a major pain in my ass. Can I shoot him?”
Chuckling, he joined me in the kitchen. “I wish you could. I’m sure he’ll lose interest once he finds someone else to fuck.”
“Let’s hope so,” I said. “Because if not, nothing’s going to stop me from kicking his ass.”
Jason grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and held it up. “Well, here’s to hoping he doesn’t so I can watch you murder him. Maybe you should try to make him jealous tonight. Erickson’s keeping watch over Camden so you’re free to do whatever the hell you want. What ya say?”
I poured me some more wine and we toasted. “I say that’s a good idea. It’s been too long since I’ve had any fun.”
“B, YOU ABOUT ready? The guys are already at the bar waiting on us,” Jason shouted from the living room.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out and twirled in front of the mirror. The guys were going to get an eyeful tonight. The red dress I wore hugged all my curves and flared out at the hip. It was short and showed off my legs. It dipped pretty low too, but I had my hair loose in golden waves down my back. Hopefully, Blake would see what he missed. I wasn’t the same ol’ boring Brooke anymore. I could be carefree and spontaneous.
My red heels clanked across the hardwood floors as I sauntered down the hall. When I got into view, Jason’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit,” he exclaimed. “I had no idea you could pull something like that off. You don’t even look like yourself.”
Smiling, I glanced down at my dress. “Yeah, well, that’s what spending months at the beach will do. Let’s go get into some trouble.”
After he finished his beer, I followed him out and locked the door behind us. He started down the hall, but I stood there, staring at Camden’s door. It was my first night not keeping watch over him. I’d done it for so long, it felt strange not being around him.
“He’s still in there,” Jason whispered. “Now come on. You’re off tonight, remember?” He pressed the button for the elevator and when we got on, the door to Camden’s condo opened.
My heart stopped the moment he stepped out into the hall. His blue eyes focused on mine and I froze. It was the first time I’d really looked at him head on and I couldn’t turn away, at least not until the elevator doors closed. I wonder where he’s going.
“He’s never seen you before has he?” Jason asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t think so. I did pretty good staying hidden. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. I guess it was the way he looked at you.”
“Trust me,” I replied, “that boy looks at everything with a vagina.”
Once off the elevator, I linked my arm with his as we exited the building and started down the road toward the bar. “So tell me what’s been going on while I’ve been away. You dating anybody?” I asked him.
A small smirk splayed across his lips. “Not exactly. I’m enjoying being non-exclusive at the moment.”
“Ah, so you’re pulling a Blake, is that it?”
“Fuck no. I’m not like that cocksucker. These girls know up front I don’t want anything serious. One day I’ll settle down, but I’m not ready for that.”
I was starting to wonder if any man was ready to settle down. They all wanted their cake and to eat it too, including the ice cream. It was seven o’clock and the bar was already packed. Jason knew the owner so we were always allowed to walk inside and make ourselves comfortable. It was after hours when the fun really began. Not only were there pool tables in the main building, but there were more in the basement, along with a couple of card tables. I was known to dominate those tables.
Jason opened the door and as soon as I walked inside, whistles erupted from the bar. It just so happened it was some of the guys from the department. “Hot damn, B,” Gabe shouted. “You look sexy as hell tonight.”
Smiling from ear to ear, Gabe Mitchell—one of my closest friends on the force—slid off his bar stool and approached with open arms. Everyone was there, including Blake who stared at me like a wolf hunting its prey. There was no way in hell I was going to fall for his tricks again. Gabe had on his usual attire: jeans, cowboy boots and a plaid button down shirt. He was in his early thirties with ash brown hair, chocolate colored eyes and a short trimmed beard.
Scooping me in his arms, he held me tight. “We’ve missed you, B. How ya been?”
He squeezed me so hard I could barely
catch my breath. “Oh, I can’t complain, other than not being able to breathe.” When he set me down, I sucked in a gulp of air. “It’s good to be back though.” It was a lie, but I had to put on a good face.
“We’ve all missed you, that’s for sure.”
Taking my hand, he led me to the bar and before Blake could take the seat beside me, Jason beat him to it with a smug smile on his face. The owner, Peter Simkus, winked at me and set out three shot glasses. He was my brother’s best friend and my sister’s crush for years. He was a good looking man with shaggy auburn hair and a bright smile. I always thought him and my sister would hit it off. He was devastated when she died.
“What’ll it be, sweetheart? It’s on the house.”
“You’re not trying to get me drunk so these guys can beat me in pool, are you?”
He beckoned me closer with his finger, keeping his gaze on something over my shoulder. “Actually,” he whispered, “I’ve been told to up my charm tonight. It appears we need to make a certain someone jealous. And judging by the way he’s glaring at me, I’d say it’s working.”
“Believe me, I don’t give a rat’s ass about making Blake jealous. There’s no way in hell I’m taking him back.”
“Oh, I didn’t think you would. But how about we take it to the next level?” He turned his face to the side, baring his cheek. “Give me a kiss and I’ll pour your shots.”
“How can I say no to that?” I leaned over to kiss his cheek, but he turned quickly and I ended up kissing him on the lips. The guys pounded on the bar and whistled. “You are so bad,” I said, shaking my head. “I think you need to give me an extra shot for that.”
“Oh, I’ll give you a little something extra,” he bit his lip and winked, making all of the guys hoot and holler.
I didn’t need to look over at Blake, I could feel his heated stare on my back. Hopefully, it pissed him off. I wasn’t the type to play games, but he needed to know I wasn’t the same person he fucked over months ago. I may not have experience with many men, but I knew the way I wanted to be treated and it wasn’t by someone like him.
