I'd Rather Not

by Vale, Lani Lynn

  I raised a brow at her but didn’t say anything more than that.

  She leaned more into my body and sighed.

  “My landlords are moving to Florida to retire. They offered to let me buy the house. If I don’t want to buy it, then they’re going to list it to sell. They said I could live there until it did.” She paused. “I came up here to see what my options were. I’m not even sure that I can qualify for a loan at this point.”

  I felt things inside of me tighten, but before I could offer any suggestions—like moving in with me—both Justice’s and my radio squawked, breaking the silence of the room.

  “Silent alarm activated at Kilgore First Bank,” the dispatcher’s voice sounded out of our mics at our shoulders. “Unit 6M and 3M, please respond.”

  When we’d stopped for lunch, we’d called in our location of where we were at. Meaning the dispatcher knew we were close—the closest units to the scene.

  The bank we were currently standing in.

  Both Justice and I stiffened.

  The man that’d been bouncing on his toes at the teller’s window paused mid-bounce and turned around as if he was scared of what he would find behind him.

  I felt Oakley’s fingernails dig into my forearm, and without even thinking, I shoved her back into the room that she’d previously come out of.

  Before I could so much as blink, the woman that’d been talking with Oakley had the door closed and locked.

  I sent a grateful look her way and started to move around the side of the room to the best place to have a clear shot of the bouncing man at the window, in case I needed it. One that would allow me to take out the man, and not Justice or the teller behind the counter.

  Justice hadn’t so much as moved when the man turned around and regarded him slowly.

  I reached for my mic and keyed in.

  “This is 3M. We’re currently in the bank,” I said into my mic.

  The man’s eyes flicked to where I was standing, covering the one and only exit. Then he freaked.

  He reached for something at his back—where I assumed was a gun—and Justice reared back and punched him straight in the throat.

  The man went down, gasping and writhing on the floor in agony.

  The gun that he was reaching for skittered across the tiled floor, coming to a stop midway between me and Justice.

  I moved until I could kick it out of the way even more, then walked up to where the man was sprawled.

  “Ummm,” I hesitated. “That’s not where I would’ve hit him.”

  I couldn’t help the laugh that tinged my voice.

  “I would’ve hit him in the face, but he jumped,” Justice said with a laugh.

  There was a door clicking from behind me, and I knew without turning around that it was Oakley.

  I turned to see her with her phone to her ear. She was speaking into it, and she looked a bit dazed for a few seconds as she took in the scene before her.

  I winked at her, causing her breath to leave her in a rush.

  “Who hired Chips to come in here and play rent-a-cop?” I heard said from the doorway. “I totally got all of that on camera, too. You’re going down, dirtbags.”

  It was then that I realized that there was a young man in the doorway filming everything that went on.

  I rolled my eyes and returned my eyes to the man on the floor. The man that was now wide awake, struggling to breathe, and reaching into his pants pocket again.

  For what, I didn’t know, but I wouldn’t be allowing him to pull out a pistol again.

  I moved forward and stepped on his foot with the blade of my prosthetic.

  “Don’t,” I said in a low, deep voice. “Keep your hands up above your head. If you so much as twitch…”

  There wasn’t a need for a threat because the man understood my meaning just by me placing the metal blade against his vulnerable forearm.

  Justice bent down and flipped the guy over onto his belly, bringing his arms up high over and behind his head in the next second.

  I kept my weapon—the one that I’d pulled almost on auto-pilot—trained on the would-be thief as I waited for Justice to clear him of any potential weapons.

  He had three more on him.

  Three.

  One in his pocket—a small twenty-two. And two more Glocks. One on each ankle.

  He’d definitely come prepared, that was for sure.

  “You got him?” I asked just as the head of the SWAT team, Lachlan Downy Senior, walked in the door.

  He sized up the situation with one sweep of his hard gaze and settled it on the man that was still filming. “Please leave.”

  The man shook his head. “I know my rights. I got rights. I also have to deposit a check. I’m not leaving until I have that in my account.”

  “The bank is closed pending investigation,” I said as I replaced my service weapon. “You can deposit checks online through the bank’s app.”

  I was trying to be helpful, but obviously the man didn’t think the same.

  “I don’t know why you’re even talking to me. That other cop really hurt that man!” he said.

  I looked at the man in question.

  “You’d have been more comfortable if he had shot someone?” I wondered idly.

  “I’d have hoped that he wouldn’t have used so much force,” he said. “He wasn’t hurting nobody.”

  Downy rolled his eyes. “You have three seconds before I bodily remove you from the premises. There are cops outside. One is a detective. He’ll take your name and number as well as your video of what happened.”

  “They ain’t takin’ nothin’,” the man smarted off.

  Downy didn’t waste time after that. He just took the man by the arm and led him outside.

  Justice stood up and looked over at the woman behind the counter. “You the manager?”

  She nodded, pointing to her name badge. “Says that I am.”

  I snorted.

  I looked at the name on the nametag. “Francesca?”

  The woman’s eyes turned to me. “That’s me.”

  “Do y’all have the video equipment” —I gestured up at the dome on the ceiling— “on the premises? We’d like to see it if you do.”

  “Sure thing,” she said. “I’ll go pull that for you now.”

  With that, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the back.

  I looked over at Justice. “I’d offer to help but you look like you got this.”

  Justice discreetly flipped me off by scratching his nose with his middle finger.

  “Back ‘atcha.” I laughed.

  He sighed. “This is going to be so much paperwork.”

  I turned my gaze to Oakley.

  “You on the phone with the cops?” I asked her as I moved toward her.

  “I was,” she said. “Just wanted to give them a play-by-play of what was going on just in case something happened. Are you okay?”

  I was.

  Grinning, I pulled her into my arms. “I’m okay.”

  “That really scared me,” she said. “For some reason, I kind of thought you’d never respond to stuff like this. I thought it’d all be traffic stops and working red lights when they’re out.”

  I squeezed her tight. “So, you think I’m a glorified traffic control person?”

  My teasing had her grinning despite the tenseness of the situation.

  “Vineyard,” I heard said from behind me. “Tell me what the fuck happened.”

  I turned to find the chief of police there as well.

  “Well,” I said as I turned to Oakley and winked. “It started like this…”

  ***

  I walked in the door of my house and grinned down at the dog that’d run up to meet me at the door.

  Jagger licked my hands excitedly, and I gave him a good scratch behind the ear before I turned to find Oakley standing there waiting for her turn.

  I smiled at her and r
eached for her hand, pulling her into my body and wrapping one arm around her middle.

  “Hey,” I said as I dropped a kiss onto her upturned lips. “Everything okay?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Doctor’s appointment went super well. No problems. Also, I gave my statement at the station and they let me leave after that. I wasn’t there but for about twenty minutes max. I got home in time to get all of my work done, too.”

  “Good news,” I said as I walked her backward and pressed in until her hips were pinned between my body and the couch. “Did you cook dinner?”

  I could smell something that was mouthwatering, but I’d noticed that it smelled faint. As if it was old.

  “Yes, and no,” she hedged, her voice hitching as I ground my erection into her hips. “I…Jesus.”

  I grinned and pulled back from sucking on her neck, my eyes full of mirth as I said, “What?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “You know what, Mr. Vineyard.”

  She punctuated that statement by poking me in the chest.

  “I’m sorry,” I lied. “I have no idea what the problem is.”

  She pushed me gently. “I’ve been waiting for almost an hour and a half for you to get home, and I’m starving like Marvin. Let’s eat…then you can do what you want to do.”

  I grinned as I allowed her to push me away and skirt her way into the kitchen.

  I followed, as did Jagger, and came to a halt when she started to unearth Chinese food from the oven, which was on low.

  My stomach rumbled at the sight.

  “I thought you didn’t like Chinese food,” I said as I watched her pull box after box after box out.

  “I don’t,” she paused. “At least, the food that I tried. So today I went and got one of almost everything on the menu. And these noodle things. I’m hoping that I find something that I like since you like it so much.”

  I’d practically begged her to go with me to a Chinese buffet, but she’d shot me down plain and simple. See, she’d had one bad experience at a buffet when she was fifteen, and since then not only did she not eat at buffets, but she also refused to try Chinese food again.

  Which was sad seeing as that was one of my favorite cuisines.

  But she’d tried…for me.

  My heart swelled in my chest as I stared at her.

  Then, without thought to what I was saying or how I was saying it, I blurted out my inner thoughts.

  “I think you should move in with me.”

  Chapter 14

  Please do not invite me to outside events. It’s hot and I’m fat.

  -Oakley to Pace

  Oakley

  “I think you should move in with me.”

  I blinked at Pace’s words.

  My mind was currently elsewhere as I tried to make my brain compute with what he’d just said.

  Then I stiffened.

  “Pace…”

  “We spend almost all of our free time together anyway,” he said. “Plus…the idea of having you in my house sounds exciting. Right.”

  I couldn’t deny that it did.

  But we’d literally started our new relationship—the one that involved sex—just a few weeks ago. This was still very new, and I knew that he might regret it down the road.

  Then where would I be?

  “Come on,” he urged. “At least you can stay at my place until you find something else.”

  I’d spent all day trying to find something else.

  There wasn’t anything to be had.

  Which sucked because I really, really wanted to stay.

  I liked where I was…or, at least, I liked who I was close to.

  At least, now I did, anyway.

  Before the surgery, I’d honestly planned on going back home once it was all said and done. After a year, and when my anti-rejection meds were finally settled, I’d planned on heading home to Benton. Home to where my family was.

  But then Pace had happened. Ford had moved to Kilgore.

  And I’d found a home I hadn’t realized that I’d wanted.

  “Or you could stay forever,” Pace pushed. “You wouldn’t have to look for a house at all. You could stay here and never look, and I’d be happy as fuck because you gave me what I needed, not just what I wanted.”

  I was starting to melt.

  His words were exactly what I wanted and needed to hear.

  “Can I give you an answer later?” I asked. “Let me think on it?”

  Pace cupped my ass and pulled me in closer. “Of course, you can.”

  We ate in silence after that.

  I found that I did, indeed, like sweet and sour chicken. I also liked the lo mein noodles, as well as the steamed rice. I did not like their fried rice, though. I wasn’t a big fan of veggies in my rice, and the place that I’d bought from had carrots as well as peas in theirs.

  Meaning that I’d have to make a mental note to either ask them to hold the veggies, or not bother getting their rice next time.

  I also found that I liked the chicken egg rolls.

  I did not like the spring rolls.

  Pace had devoured his chicken and broccoli, and had also started on the orange chicken before he physically couldn’t fit any more in his stomach.

  “I’m going to pass out,” he moaned as he leaned back in his chair.

  “You might think about taking off your tight pants,” I suggested teasingly.

  He grinned at that and unhooked his utility belt, placing it on the kitchen chair before reaching for the button on his uniform pants.

  My body went tight at the unintentional show that he was giving me.

  Sadly, like he always did, he stopped without pulling his pants all the way down.

  If there happened to be light of any kind in the room, it was more or less a fact that we were about to do it with him still wearing his pants. The only time he shucked the pants at all was when I left for the night.

  Honestly, that was a big reason that I wasn’t willing to move in with him even though I knew that his offer had been genuine.

  I stood up and started clearing our dishes, shoving four containers of food into the fridge before tossing just as many into the trash.

  I cleaned, scrubbed, and loaded the dishwasher all the while telling myself to let it go.

  But I couldn’t.

  Which was why I turned on Pace, who was busy watching me move around the room, and narrowed my eyes.

  “Do you honestly think that little of me?” I practically snapped.

  He frowned. “Ummm, what?”

  “Do you think that little of me?” I pushed. “Do you think that I’ll laugh? That I’ll look at you and think that you’re disgusting or something? Because let me tell you something, I won’t. I think you’re brave. I think you’re a hero. I think you’re so freakin’ hot that it’s nice that you have something that’s just a little bit normal about you. Sometimes when I look at you, I find it hard to breathe, you’re so gorgeous.” I scowled. “My uncle Foster actually has an amputation as well. I think he made me a little immune to things like that.”

  Pace stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

  I gestured to his feet. “You won’t shower with me. You won’t let me look at you fully. When I let my hands explore, you still them before they get too far.” I paused and took a deep breath, a thought occurring to me. “Is it me?”

  That was when Pace came unstuck.

  He stood up so fast that I didn’t have a chance to evade him.

  He reached me in two steps and pinned me to the counter in the next.

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he said. “But if anything, I think you’re too good for me.”

  I swallowed hard.

  “You’re beautiful and kind. You’re everything that I’ve ever wanted in a woman. I used to dream about the perfect life. And there was always someone exactly like you in my dreams. Someone that would love me for me. Someone t
hat would love dogs and love the things that I love. That would do my hobbies with me even though she thought they were weird.” He smoothed his hands down my hair. “My mother and sister haven’t given me good examples of what women are, but you? You’re the most beautiful and precious thing I’ve ever had in my life.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. He’d literally just spewed his heart out, which was what I’d done a couple minutes before, and now we were left in complete and utter silence as both of us absorbed what was said.

  “Does that mean that you won’t freak out if I say I love you?” I found myself blurting out.

  Of course, I would say that.

  Out of all the things that could’ve come out of my mouth, I had to say those three words?

  Jesus Christ, Oakley. You’ve literally only been dating for like a month!

  “What?” Pace said, sounding confused.

  I chose not to repeat myself.

  Maybe we could both act like I hadn’t just said that.

  “Nothing,” I sighed.

  “No.” He caught me up in his arms. “Tell me again what you said.”

  I swallowed hard and looked at the sincerity in his eyes.

  He knew what I said just as well as I knew what I’d said.

  “I love you.”

  He closed his eyes and then leaned his head against the top of my head.

  “You want to know something crazy?” he whispered against my hair.

  “Sure,” I said, feeling my stomach tied in knots and wondering if I would ever be able to look him in the face again.

  “I love you, too.”

  And just like that, everything was okay.

  All the embarrassment that I’d been feeling was just gone.

  “Then why won’t you let me see your legs?” I found myself blurting.

  He stilled for a few seconds, then started to laugh.

  “I didn’t know that I was hiding them from you,” he admitted.

  I thought about that for a second.

  “Every time we’ve done it, it’s been with your pants on,” I said quietly.

  He paused for a moment.

  “Yeah,” he found himself saying. “That’s true.”

  I skimmed my hands up to his ribs, then smoothed them back down to his waist.

  “I’m not going to freak out,” I promised.