Slow and Steady #1: A Bad Boy Romantic Suspense (Shameless Southern Nights Book 4)

by J. H. Croix

  Zach chuckled, but his laughter didn’t reach his eyes. Dark and serious, they were already focused on the mission ahead. I could practically see the gears turning in Zach’s head as he thought over everything I told him. “I’m with you. A lot of what Maclin’s done makes sense if he’s corrupt himself. I’ve always had a feeling about him, but I wasn’t in the position to do much about it. This could be my shot to see if my gut is still trustworthy or not,” he commented.

  “You can trust your gut. The guy’s dirty. I’m sure of it. I might not know the details, but I will find a way to prove it,” I told him. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced none of what had happened with Maclin was a coincidence. He had to be involved somehow in my father’s case, and I intended to find out how.

  “I’ve got your back, no matter what happens,” Zach said, finishing off his beer. “Want to call Harris now? Might help if we could get a hint about where his head’s at with all this. No time like the present.”

  “Not a bad idea.” I shifted in my chair, pulling my phone out of my back pocket. Calling up Harris’s number, I pressed the phone to my ear and waited for him to answer.

  “Lovett? I thought you were taking some time off?”

  “I am, Chief.” I took a deep breath, wondering how Harris was going to take the news. Jumping into my explanation, I repeated to Harris what I’d told Zach earlier.

  Harris listened patiently, not interrupting once. When I finished, the line was silent. I drummed my fingertips on the side of my chair while I waited for his answer. Having Harris help us could be the difference between success and failure, along with getting Maclin’s focus off of us.

  “I can actually see Maclin being part of something like this,” Harris said finally. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and shot Zach a thumbs up. His eyebrows lifted, but he nodded in agreement. “You’re back at work Monday, right? Let’s talk about it then.”

  “You got it, Chief. Talk to you Monday.” Thank God for understanding bosses. I only hoped having mine on my side with this was going to get me some answers.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Niki

  Sonny lay in bed beside me, one arm resting over his stomach. The sheet was draped across his hips, but he was bare naked otherwise. I sat up slowly, careful not to wake him.

  He looked calm, so much younger while he slept. It was the first time I woke up before him. Since it was Sunday and he would be going back to work tomorrow, I wanted to make him breakfast.

  I didn’t know if he had plans later, but I planned to take advantage of the time I had with him. I was enjoying myself with him, and I wanted this memory—sneaking out of bed on a Sunday morning to surprise him with breakfast.

  With that in mind, I crept out of bed slowly before I could get more distracted by his tempting body. If he woke up to find my eyes practically devouring him, he probably wouldn’t let me leave the bed for hours. Which I wouldn’t mind one bit.

  My mind spun to last night, the feel of his hands and mouth mapping my body. The feel of him sinking inside of me.

  No. I couldn’t let myself get distracted by memories of being in bed with him. If I did, I would probably wake him up myself and demand a replay. Instead, I forced myself to focus. Mission breakfast, no sex.

  I was becoming mildly addicted to Sonny. He teased in my thoughts most of the time. I wasn’t quite sure if it was the newness of this experience for me, or if it was him in particular. With a mental shake, I tugged on a t-shirt and sweatpants and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

  Early morning light was filtering into the kitchen as I started preparing our breakfast. I went all out, chopping up some fruit we bought earlier in the week and making pancakes with eggs and bacon.

  Humming to myself under my breath, I danced across the kitchen. Soon, it smelled heavenly. Breakfast was almost ready when Sonny came out of the bedroom, his chest bare and wearing only a pair of gym shorts.

  He yawned, scratching the back of his head as he walked into the kitchen. “What’s all this?”

  “I thought we could have breakfast together.” I pulled the pancakes and bacon from the warming tray and broke some eggs into a pan, the last step for breakfast to be complete. “Have a seat. There’s coffee on the table.”

  He walked up behind me instead of going to the dining room, wrapping his arms around my waist as I scrambled eggs. Nuzzling my neck, his lips tickled a spot under my ear. “What did I do to deserve this? Smells fantastic.”

  I shrugged, turning my head to press a kiss to his temple. “Oh, you know, you’re an okay guy. I thought you might enjoy a nice breakfast.”

  His answering chuckle sent a shiver through me, his skin warm on the side of my neck as he shook his head. “I think this is a good guy breakfast, not an okay guy breakfast.”

  “Believe what you want,” I told him, not bothering to suppress the smile spreading on my lips. “Help yourself to some food before it gets cold.”

  Sonny took one of the plates I set out and didn’t waste any time making himself a plate piled high, dishing up the eggs when I was done with them. I served up a plate and followed him into the dining room a few minutes later.

  We ate at his dining room table. Sonny claimed he never used it before I came. Now we used it at almost every meal.

  I sipped my coffee before tucking into my meal. We ate in companionable silence together. After I pushed my plate away, I caught his eyes. “How did it go at Zach’s yesterday?”

  When he got home, he’d told me he was worried about his friend because of the pressure he was facing, but he hoped Zach helping him with Maclin would get him out of his funk. He hadn’t told me yet what exactly he and Zach planned to do about the Internal Affairs man.

  “It was okay.” He shoveled another bite into his mouth and swallowed it, his eyes thoughtful and faraway. “I spoke to Harris while I was there.”

  “You did?” My brows pulled together. “Isn’t he your boss?”

  “He is, but that’s why I had to talk to him.”

  My pulse picked up a notch, anxiety coiling in my chest. If Sonny was speaking to his boss and making plans with Zach, surely that meant he was getting ready to act on our suspicions. I didn’t know if I was ready for that.

  Knowing we were potentially in danger and inviting it right to the doorstep were two very different scenarios. Didn’t we need more information? Evidence? Anything?

  “What did you speak to him about?”

  Sonny sipped his coffee, his plate almost empty. “I told him we think that Maclin’s involved in my father’s case somehow.”

  “Did he believe you?”

  Sonny lifted his shoulders, pressing his lips together. “He said he could see him being involved in something like this, but he also wants to talk about it tomorrow, so I guess I’ll find out more then.”

  “And if he believes you?”

  A gleam of determination entered Sonny’s eyes, and he lifted his chin just a little as if silently, subconsciously accepting a challenge. “If he believes me, then we get to work.”

  “What happens if he doesn’t believe you?”

  He sat back, taking the last bite of pancake from his plate and chewing it slowly before he said. “If Harris isn’t on board, Zach and I get to work anyway. It will make it a hell of a lot simpler to have Harris covering our backs, but regardless, we’re doing this.”

  “Shouldn’t you gather more information first?” I was grasping at straws and I knew it, but the thought of it being imminent that he was going to throw himself onto this dangerous path was making me feel jittery.

  “We will, but in a more hands-on way. No more reading about past events in old legal files. It’s time for us to go straight to the source, learn about what’s going on right now.”

  “The source being Maclin,” I mused. “You mean you’re going to follow him?”

  “He’s been following Zach for months and me off and on ever since everything went down with my dad. We’re only returning the favor,
” Sonny said, so nonchalantly it was like he was talking about running to the store to pick up some groceries. He was calm, not even the least bit rattled.

  His face dropped as he studied me. I would venture my expression looked frightened. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong,” I started, carefully choosing my words. As a cop, he probably did this kind of thing all the time. Just because it was new to me didn’t mean I could discourage it. Plus, he wasn’t mine in any way, shape, or form. I had no right to tell him what to do, or not to do. This was about his father and the legacy of their family. “I’m really scared for you.”

  Sonny reached for my hand. His fingers laced with mine, his thumb stroking my knuckles. “I’m going to be okay, Niki. So are you. Everything will be fine. Zach and I will be careful, with or without Harris’s endorsement, or help. I’m so, so sorry for getting you involved in all of this. You shouldn’t have to be worried about it. Or about me.”

  “But I am.” Now that I knew him, I couldn’t imagine not helping him, or being worried about him. It was as natural as breathing to me.

  He smiled, giving my hand a squeeze before releasing it. Pushing his chair away from the table with a light scrape on the floor, he spoke, “I know, but how about we try to get your mind off it for the day? You made me this awesome breakfast, let me take you out for the day. Get you out of the house.”

  My eyes widened as I remembered the last time he promised to get me out of my head and my mind off something. My body reacted, my nipples tightening.

  Sonny chuckled. “Not that way. Unless you’d rather do that. I’m always up for it. I was thinking about something else for today.”

  “What did you have in mind?” I asked, ordering my body to behave.

  “Have you ever been to the trampoline park in Savannah? I took Austin there with Jeremy last month. We had a blast. How about we start there and see where the day takes us?”

  “Sounds good.” I hadn’t spent much time exploring Savannah, but I’d always wanted to. “Let me go get ready.”

  “Want some company in the shower?” he asked, collecting our plates. Waggling his brows, he winked and carried the plates to the kitchen.

  I laughed, feeling some of my worry melt away as I did. Playful Sonny always made me feel more at ease. Making my way to his bedroom, I called out over my shoulder. “Only if you can make it there before I lock the door.”

  I heard something crash and took off sprinting down the hall, laughing as I ran to the bathroom. Moments like this, feeling lighter than I ever had and having fun—I know I would treasure them when this was all over.

  In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder if Sonny would still be around once it all was over. I knew he cared about me. At least, it felt like he did. Maybe it was just because he felt bad for getting me involved. I didn’t know anymore.

  Either way, I planned on making the most of the time I had with him. At the very least, I could pretend that he really did care.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sonny

  Monday morning when I got to the station, I expected to find Harris convening the morning meeting and half-asleep colleagues drinking coffee and talking about their weekends. The scene I walked in on was anything but that.

  My colleagues weren’t in the break room or in the conference room, but they were all huddled around the desk closest to Harris’s office. A rookie put his finger to his lips as soon as I walked in, warning me to be quiet.

  I frowned, not even bothering to go change into my uniform as I walked to Harris’s door. Maclin and the Chief were in there, their loud voices angry as they argued. I couldn’t make out every word they were saying, but the commotion made it clear this was no average meeting.

  “Get out of my station, Maclin.” Harris’s voice came through the door, the steel in his tone stopping me in my tracks. “I’ve had enough of this. If IA has a problem with it, tell your supervisor to contact me. I’m done with this.”

  A minute of silence followed, then Harris’s voice again. “I said, get out.”

  Maclin burst through the door a second later, his face mottled red as he slammed it behind him. His teeth were gritted, and his hands in fists at his sides as he blew past us without making eye contact with anyone. Whatever had happened between the two men, Maclin was pissed and making no secret of it.

  Stomping to the main door, he yanked it open so hard it crashed into the wall behind it. He marched through it, not looking back once.

  “What the fuck?” I muttered, squinting after Maclin as he walked out in the bright sunlight. An engine roared to life, tires squealing as he finally spun his car away from the station. Harris didn’t come out of his office, nor could I hear him inside. The rest of my colleagues filtered away from the door, all of us quiet.

  Assuming Harris wasn’t on a call, I decided to check on him. Knocking lightly on his door, I called, “Chief? Got a minute?” I turned the knob, glancing through the crack in the door. Harris had always had an open-door policy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have checked in like this.

  Harris was seated behind his desk, his back turned to the door as he sighed. “Come in, Lovett,”

  “Morning, Chief,” I said, shutting the door behind me. “Rough day so far?”

  “Just another manic Monday,” he replied dryly, running both of his hands through his gray hair as he turned to face me. The lines on his weathered face seemed deeper this morning, more pronounced. His eyes, hard-edged and annoyed, were reddened. “Have a seat. We need to talk.”

  “What happened?” I’d seen Harris weather many storms. Seen him stare down powerful men and seen him protect me and just about every other person in our department, sometimes from the public who felt wronged by us, other times by bureaucratic nonsense. Yet, he looked different this morning.

  More rundown, more harried and infinitely more pissed. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” The steel in his tone was still there, as was the hardness in his eyes. “Maclin and I had a little disagreement, that’s all.”

  “Sounded like more than a little disagreement.”

  “How much did you hear?” he asked, his eyes drifting to the door. “I thought this office was supposed to be fucking private.”

  I put my hands up. “Not much. Just heard you telling him to leave. You could hear noise inside, but not exactly what was being said.”

  “Good.” He stood up, starting to pace the length of his back wall. “We can’t talk about this here, not if there’s a chance people can hear us. Meet me later? I’ll text you the location.”

  A meeting at a secret location? This wasn’t the way Harris usually worked at all. Whatever happened must’ve been big if he was concerned about someone hearing us. “I’ll be there, Chief.”

  “Is that woman still staying with you?” he barked, stopping his pacing to look me in the eye.

  “Niki?” What did she have to do with this meeting? I wasn’t taking her with me. No way would I put her in jeopardy that way. “She is, but she’s safe there.”

  “No, she’s not,” he bit out. “You have to get her out of there. Wayne knows too much, Sonny. You need to get her somewhere safe.”

  “I’ll talk to her later, we’ll—”

  “No,” he interrupted, holding up his hand to point in the general direction of my house. “You’ll go to her now. Get her out of your house now. You hear me?”

  “I hear you.” I opened my mouth to ask what he meant when he said Maclin knew too much, but his phone rang, and he waved me out of the office without another word.

  Shit.

  Things were happening faster than I was anticipating, but that was a good thing. So long as I could get Niki safe before things got much messier.

  I didn’t even go to my desk, opting to go straight home. Harris told me to get her out of the house now, and I wasn’t going to argue the point with him. If he was that concerned for her safety, I had more to worry about with her than I knew right now.


  Racing back home the way I’d come not twenty minutes ago, I called up Tyson’s number on my phone and wanted to jump through the phone when he didn’t answer fast enough. “Sonny? I can’t really talk now. Can I call you back?”

  “No.” I’d never asked Tyson for a single favor, nothing like this. But I didn’t know who else to turn to or where else to take Niki. “I need access to one of your safe houses. Can you set it up for me?”

  Tyson didn’t hesitate. I heard him order people out of his office before he was back on the line. “What kind of trouble are you in?”

  “It’s not important. I’m not in trouble, but a friend might be. Can you set me up with a safe house or not?”

  “Jesus, Sonny. They’re not hotels. It doesn’t work that way. I need details, case information. Security sweeps need to be done.”

  “I’ll do the security sweep myself, and I’ll give you details as soon as I can. Can you set something up for me or not?”

  He sighed, sounding resigned when he said. “I’ll text you the address to one not too far from here, but Sonny?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m holding you to telling me what you need it for.”

  “You have my word,” I promised as I made the last turn to my house. “Thanks, Ty. I owe you one.”

  “You don’t owe me anything but the truth. Stay safe, little brother.”

  “Talk to you later.” Tyson was going to be angry as hell when he found out the “trouble” I was caught up in was because I was digging around in our father’s case, but I would face that music when it started playing.

  Niki was my first priority. With Tyson’s help, at least I now had somewhere safe to take her—somewhere Maclin would know nothing about and wouldn’t be able to get information about easily. I slammed on the brakes when I got to my house and practically ran inside.

  Niki was reading on the couch when I burst in. She jumped, her hand flying to her chest when she saw it was me. “You scared me.”