Which was why I’d decided to take ten precious minutes to drive home instead of just grabbing something in town like the rest of the cops that were assigned to downtown today.
Pushing open my door, I grinned when I saw King sitting on her perch on the couch.
“Want outside?” I asked her.
She didn’t jump off and instead flopped down onto her side like the little diva she was.
As I walked past her, I gave her head a little scratch, then moved past her into the kitchen to grab a cheese stick.
Chewing on the stick with two more in my hand, I made my way into the bedroom to find the overhead light on, the lamp on, and Amelia passed out in the middle of the bed.
“What are you wearing on your head?” I asked, pulling the covers down to expose her face more fully.
Or what would’ve been her face.
I couldn’t actually see her face because it looked like she had a pair of shorts wrapped around them.
“Shorts,” she said, sounding drowsy. “I was wearing bike shorts to nap in but the sun was really, super bright. And I was too tired to get the lights. So I took them off so I could cover my eyes.”
My lips were full-blown smiling.
I pulled the shorts off of her face to reveal her eyes. “Why are you taking a nap in the middle of the day?”
She licked her lips, drawing my attention to the plump little pillows that I loved feeling against my skin.
“One doesn’t need a reason to nap, Adam.” She rolled her eyes. “See, I just wanted a nap… so I took one.”
I liked her answer. A lot.
Even more, I liked that she was taking a nap in my bed.
“Are you hungry?” I asked curiously, handing the shorts back to her.
As much as I’d like to explore her and her shortless self, I didn’t have time.
Sadly.
I was needed back at work. Everyone was already overworked, thanks to the movie being filmed, but if we weren’t there for crowd control, things would get sticky.
“I could eat.” She paused. “I worked out, ate a snack, took a shower, then decided I’d had enough adulting for today and decided to take a nap. I’ve literally only been asleep for like, thirty minutes tops.”
I rolled my eyes and tugged her to her feet, dropping my mouth down onto hers before pulling away to stare down into her eyes.
“Last day at work, right?” I asked.
She nodded. “Last day.”
“Then what?” I questioned, sliding my hand down her arm until I got to her fingers. Wrapping mine around hers, I pulled her gently toward the living room.
I lost her when we passed the couch because she saw King.
“I don’t understand why she won’t sleep with me,” she murmured as she picked King up and cuddled her close. “Why won’t she sleep with me, Adam?”
I shrugged and walked toward the kitchen.
“She’s always been like that, even when she was a puppy. Loves the cuddles. Loves the playing. Hates leaving the living room. I have no idea why,” I said as I started to open the fridge to see what I had to work with. “When we were out yesterday, I should’ve grabbed some food.”
“What about an omelet?” she asked. “I bought that new omelet maker thing yesterday. We could try it out.”
I vaguely remembered her buying something like that, but…
“I have like, four eggs,” I said. “I have turkey, some bread, and I think cheese. I can make a stale sandwich.”
She rolled her eyes and disappeared from the kitchen, only to reappear sans King, with a large box in her hand.
“I have this panini maker,” she said. “Let’s try it out. Then it doesn’t matter if the bread is stale.”
I was halfway through opening the box when my phone sounded, indicating a SWAT call.
“Son of a bitch,” I growled, knowing that I wouldn’t be eating anytime soon.
“What is it?” she asked worriedly.
I pulled my phone out with the hand that wasn’t covered in butter.
“Fuck.”
“What?” she asked softly.
I repeated myself.
“Fuck,” I said once I read the message for a second time. “There’s an active shooter situation at the hospital. I’ve got to go.”
Amelia leaned forward to read the message over my shoulder.
“You’ve gotta go,” she whispered. “Be safe.”
I leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to her mouth before hoofing it out of the house and to my cruiser.
Lights and sirens on, I hurried to the station and to the back of the lot where quite a few other vehicles had already started gathering.
Nathan and Sammy got out of their vehicles just as I was putting my cruiser in park.
“What the fuck is going on?” I asked as I jogged to catch up with them.
Sammy held the door for me and we all went inside, heading straight to our lockers and stripping almost fully out of our clothes. The only thing to stay on me were my socks, my undershirt, my Kevlar vest, and my underwear.