Five
HALE
Not what I expected.
Present day.
Iwasn’t looking. I fucking swear I wasn’t. But damn, that first time I saw the new cashier at The Cup, I knew I had to meet her. There was something about her; it was in her eyes. She was begging me with those inconspicuous glances and shy smiles to win her heart, but her body language screamed hands off.
It’s been a couple of weeks since that encounter, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that I learned her name.
Laken.
Unique, beautiful, sexy.
She’s closed off, fearful even, of nearly everyone around her. Ophelia gets her to smile, though. To laugh, to remember to enjoy the things around her.
My stalking abilities are questionable. Despite the fact that I’m a lieutenant with the Jacksonville PD, I can’t stop watching her. To the point where I’ve followed her a couple of times when I see her coming or going from the coffee shop.
Her constant companion has realized that I’ve been behind them before and has even tried to discourage me with a glare and the flash of a government badge, but I won’t be swayed. I’m uncertain if Ophelia has explained who I am to her or not and if that could be why she hasn’t spoken to me, but we’re both very aware of each other. The problem is, I have no fucking clue who this person is or why Laken needs her at her side nearly all the time. Sometimes, it takes a few blocks, but I do eventually stop following them because she deserves her privacy and not some cop lurking in the shadows.
I’ve never felt nor acted this way before. Certainly not with Cassidy or anyone before her, and there’s been no one after her either. But all it took with Laken was one look, and I was hooked. Driven by a need to absorb her essence so completely that I can’t breathe without her in touching distance. I get the feeling, however, that she has no fucking clue who I am. Or if she does, she does a damn good job of hiding the fact.
“You’re going to scare her off,” Ophelia whispers in my ear while I sit at one of the outside tables watching Laken through the window as she serves customers.
“I’m trying not to.” I’ve known Ophelia for almost a year now. Since she opened The Cup. We’ve become pretty good friends.
“Go talk to her.” Swinging around to my front, she sits across from me and gives me a stern look. Almost like a protective older sibling.
“I need more information first.” Mostly surrounding the woman who guards her.
Ophelia rolls her hands. “Such as?”
“A last name to start.”
“So you can run a background check on her?” Her eyes narrow. “I don’t think so. No checks of any kind.”
That further piques my interest. “Why?” She fervently shakes her head, suggesting to me there’s no room for argument or negotiation. “Well, whatcanyou tell me?”
Her nose scrunches up as I watch an imposing man approach the counter, and the way Laken shrinks back, trying to make herself smaller while taking a step away, tells me everything I need to know. “Someone beat the shit outta her.” It’s not a question I need an answer to. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it too many times to count. Men think sweet as hell women like her make good punching bags when they should be cherished and loved.
“If she wants you to know, she’ll let you know.” Shrugging, Ophelia leaves and joins Laken inside, taking the customer who has spooked her off her hands.
All too soon, my phone rings, calling me away from my Laken watch and to the scene of a murder. With one last glance, I see her watching me from behind the counter as Ophelia whispers something in her ear. From the blank look on her face, she is telling her about my inquiry.
The drive from Jacksonville Beach to Argyle Forest leaves a lot to be desired after getting stuck for over an hour behind an accident on the freeway across the river. But it gives me plenty of time to think about the number of laws I’ve been breaking while stalking Laken and how Op wants me to ask her out.
Hell, I want to ask her out.
The problem is, if she rejects me, I’m not going away. I won’t stop pursuing her. If anything, my obsession will only intensify. There isn’t a future I can picture where Laken isn’t in it. That should terrify me. I’ve never considered a woman as part of my future before. Just Jesse and me. But since meeting her, it’s all I see. All I want.
“You’re late,” the sergeant who called this in bitches. Wilkes is not a man who likes to wait around. Especially when it affects his shift change.
“Couldn’t be helped.” I don’t mention that if I had been at the station, it could have.
“Yeah, yeah, save it for someone who cares.” Walking away, he leads me to the marshy land where I see yellow crime scene tape blocking off an area.
“The medical examiner here yet?” The look he sends me as he glances back speaks volumes.