Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Thank you for checking on me.” It wasn’t loud, but he heard it.
Goddamn it. He stopped, dropped his head, took a deep breath and, after waiting a few seconds, he turned.
She was standing by the back of her CRV looking lost.
So fucking lost.
She looked the way he felt the day 5-0 took his parents away and Jemma clung to him, expecting him to be her hero.
He wasn’t a fucking hero. He’d been nothing but a dumb fucking kid who had no idea what to fucking do.
He’d been lost, too.
So, for fuck’s sake, he knew that feeling. That feeling where life just slammed you in the chest so hard that you couldn’t take a breath.
But you do anyway. And you figure it the fuck out.
Maybe Cassidy just needed to take a breath.
She quickly swiped at her cheeks which meant she was crying.
Goddamn it.
“I didn’t want Daisy to hear or see me. We share a room right now at my sister’s. If she sees or hears me having a meltdown, she’ll ask a million questions. Like you.”
Judge said nothing.
“Questions I don’t have answers for. And the ones I do, I’d have to lie about. I don’t want to lie to her if I don’t have to.” Her words ended on another soft sob.
“Sometimes lies are necessary,” Judge said more quietly.
Cassidy nodded. “And sometimes those lies come back to bite you on the ass.”
That was fucking true, too.
The crunch of tires on stones caught their attention and it was hard to ignore the bright spotlight being shone on them both.
Christ. Just what he needed.
He braced as the black-and-white cruiser stopped at a location where the spotlight blinded him.
Goddamn pigs.
He fucking hated that he had to make nice with them. But he did.
The spotlight went dark and the cruiser slowly moved forward until it was next to him with the driver’s side window down.
Inside were two of Manning Grove’s finest, Leah Bryson and Tommy Dunn. He knew them both well since they’d been on the force a while. Unfortunately, Judge knew the whole force better than he’d like.
“Leah. Dunn,” Judge reluctantly greeted them.
“Judge,” Leah greeted back from the passenger seat. “What’s going on here?”
He jerked his chin toward Cassidy. “She’s new in town and got lost.”
“Yeah?” the redheaded Dunn asked. “Heard the club sold this property a while ago. Reason you’re standing on it?”
“Like I said, Cassidy got lost and I was helping her get turned around.”
“That right, ma’am?” he called out of the open window.
Cassidy moved closer. “Yes, that’s right. I’m only learning my way around town and somehow, I ended up here. I’m heading home soon.”
“Pretty late, Judge,” Leah said.
He ducked down and caught her eyes. Was he suddenly sixteen again? He was fucking thirty-seven years old and didn’t need to be in bed by a certain time. “Sure is. Was headin’ home when I saw her, so figured she needed help.”
Leah’s eyes slid from him back to Cassidy. After a few minutes they sliced back to Judge. “Why is she crying?”
“Why do any women fuckin’ cry?” Judge asked her.
Leah’s lips twitched and she pressed her hand to her rounded belly over her maternity uniform shirt. “I have a good reason.”
“Brysons keep having babies, Dunn, you’re gonna lose your damn job. They’re gonna turn it into the Bryson PD.”
Dunn huffed, “I’ll be retired before all their kids are old enough. They want to do this thankless job, more power to them.”
“Turnin’ out to be a clan like the Shirleys.”
“Hey now,” Leah Bryson said.
Judge snorted. “Okay, you all ain’t inbred, so you got that on ‘em.”
“You going to be okay, ma’am?” Leah called out of her window.
Cassidy lifted a hand. “Yes, thank you. I’ll be fine.”
“He looks bad to the bone on the outside, but he’s just a sweet little kitten on the inside,” Dunn yelled out to her. Then he laughed and put the cruiser into reverse. “Head home, Judge,” he said much more seriously.
Judge did not like being told what to do by someone wearing a fucking uniform. But he bit back what he wanted to say and said, “That’s the plan,” instead. Even though he had no plan to head home. At least, not yet. He wasn’t a kid anymore, he no longer needed to stick to any curfew. So, Dunn could go fuck himself.
Then the cruiser was gone and the two of them were bathed in the dark once more.
“How do you know my name?” came from behind him.
Jesus fuck. He screwed up. “Told it to me when Daisy introduced us.”
“No, I didn’t.”
He turned to face her. “Yeah, you did. How else would I know it?”
Cassidy chewed on her bottom lip as she studied him in the dark. “Are you stalking me? Should I be calling those cops back here?”
“Like I fuckin’ said, ain’t gonna hurt you.”
“I’m sure serial killers tell their victims that, too.”