Jake
Ican’t say I was surprisedwhen Evie pushed away from me like I’d slapped her. If there was one thing I’d learned about Evie so far, it was that nothing with her would be easy. She was stubborn and independent and while I admired both of those things about her, it didn’t make things easy for me.
“I don’t want a relationship,” she hissed. “You don’t have to date everyone you fuck, you know.”
“What’s the problem Evie? We’re both single, and I bet we have a lot in common.”
“No, we don’t,” she snapped. “But even if we did, I told you, I don’t do relationships. And I don’t date cops. Ever.”
I resisted the urge to push, to demand she tell me what her issue was with cops, or better yet, to throw her over my shoulder and take her home and handcuff her to my bed until she realized that despite our differences, we were perfect for each other. I resisted because I didn’t want to push her away, and I was sure that Evie’s feelings about what happened between us were just as jumbled as mine were. What had happened between us was life-changing and as sure as I was about her, I was still the tiniest bit freaked out about it. So, I couldn’t blame Evie for feeling the same way. Not really.
“Okay, let me walk you to your car and I’ll get out of here. We can talk later.”
“I’m sleeping here.” She pointed to the loft area where she had a little café. “I brought a sleeping bag.”
“And your paintball rifle.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah.”
“Okay well, if you’re sleeping over here, so am I.”
I started towards the stairs, and she ran past me, turning to block my way.
“You’re not welcome here, Jake.”
I resisted pointing out that I was welcome enough when I fucked her. There was no way I wanted to get shot again. Those paintball shots hurt more than I thought they would.
“Look, it’s highly unlikely your vandal is coming back tonight, not after there’s been all this ruckus. I’ll ask Johnston to come by every hour just in case, and you can relax in a bed instead of sleeping on the hard floor.”
Just when I thought I was going to have to throw her over my shoulder and carry her out of here after all, she relented.
“Fine. I just need to get my bag.”
I waited downstairs while she went to get her stuff. She returned a few minutes later with a tote bag over her shoulder and a sleeping bag in her hand. We walked through the store together, turning off lights and checking that both doors were locked, not that it mattered. I was pretty sure Evie was right. Someone had a master key. It was the only explanation for why changing the locks hadn’t kept them out.
After walking Evie to her car two blocks away, I headed home, suddenly exhausted. It was almost two a.m. and I needed to be on duty at nine. I set my alarm and collapsed on the bed, fully clothed. My last thought before I fell asleep was of Evie.
***
“We’ve got a big problem.”
The next morning, Assistant Chief of Police Elaine Potter came into my office before I even took a sip of my coffee. She was a good officer who shared my philosophy on policing, and we worked together well.
“What is it, Potter?”
“I doubled checked Johnston’s work this morning to confirm it, but you were right, we seem to be missing a master key from the station.”