Lani Lynn Vale - [ MC 03] - Kevlar to My Vest

Other Titles by Lani Lynn Vale: The Freebirds Boomtown Highway Don’t Care Another One Bites the Dust Last Day of My Life Texas Tornado

The Heroes of The Dixie Wardens MC Lights To My Siren Halligan To My Axe Kevlar To My Vest Keys To My Cuffs (February 2015) Life To My Flight (March 2015) Charge To My Line (April 2015)

Table of Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Epilogue

Text copyright ©2014 Lani Lynn Vale All Rights Reserved The purchase of this E-book allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. You do not have the rights to resell, distribute, print, or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone, in any format, via methods either currently known or yet to be invented, or upload to a file sharing peer to peer program. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U. S. Copyright Law. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. If you no longer want this book, you may not give your copy to someone else. Delete it from your computer. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Acknowledgements FuriousFotog for taking the beautiful cover photo, and Gary Taylor for modeling. I saw this picture and knew it was perfect for this book! Asli- my editor. What you do goes beyond words. My mother for reading…and then re-reading this book. My mother in law- you’re the bomb. My husband- for just being you. And finally, my kids. This is all for you.



Kevlar To My Vest

You’re the Kevlar… Behind the badge and the pretty face was a heart. A heart that bled just like the rest. A heart that was so in love with Viddy Sheffield that it was humiliating. Trance had been burned before by a woman that couldn’t handle the fact that he risked his life each and every time he went on shift. She was too vulnerable; somehow he had to convince his heart to let her go. His life would chew her up and spit her out. To My… Viddy couldn’t get the man out of her head. Just the thought of Trance put a smile on her face. And when he walked into the same room? Words couldn’t explain. God help her, but she was even in a relationship with another man. She shouldn’t be thinking about the sexy biker with the voice that made shivers dance down her spine. Vest… Then the unthinkable happens, and the sexy cop she can’t stop thinking about is there for her, giving her what she never knew she needed. One moment in time, and she finds herself falling for the man, lock, stock, and barrel. The two of them have a lot of work to do to make this relationship succeed. What they didn’t know, however, was that there were people behind the scenes that were working to keep them apart. Sometimes the saying is true. You can’t always have what you want.

Prologue Viddy

Please don’t leave me. You’re my best friend. -Viddy

“Trance?” I cried into the receiver. “Viddy? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Trance yelled into my ear. I clutched Hemi closer to my chest and gasped in pain. “C-can y-you c-come over? P-please?” I cried out. I heard the sound of a car door slamming shut, and then the roar of an engine as it sped off in the background. Normally, I’d nag at him about going too fast, but I was about ten seconds away from losing it, and I needed him here. Fifteen minutes ago. “What’s going on, Vid? What happened?” Trance asked urgently. He sounded like he was in a tunnel or something, which meant he’d put me on speakerphone. Which also meant he was at work, ‘cause he couldn’t be caught with a cell phone to his ear while he was driving his police issued vehicle. “Hemi’s vet called. They told m-me he h-had cancer and he needed to be put to sleep. I knew it was something bad, but I couldn’t take him in until today. I didn’t have a ride, and Paul refused to take him for me.” I cried. Oh, God. What was I going to do without him here? He was my best friend! Hemi had started acting strange a few days ago. After several frustrating attempts to get my boyfriend, Paul, to take me to the vet so I could get Hemi checked out, he still refused. My sister was on vacation and there was no way I’d call her to come home for this. She and her husband deserved a little alone time before their baby came in a few more months. This morning, when I’d finally gotten frustrated and called a cab, I’d never dreamed that it’d turn into this. First, the cab had nearly refused to transport us due to company policies about pets, but when the dam on my emotions broke, he’d relented, but only barely. Then, as soon as we’d walked into Dr. Tucker’s door, they’d yanked him away from me so fast my

head spun. I could practically feel the condemnation pouring off them at the state he’d been in. Yet, I’d called the vet numerous times in a vain attempt to get one of them to pick him up, and they’d said they didn’t offer those services. That was when I started calling other vets, but with him being a new patient to them, they’d refused as well. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. I’ll be there in just a few minutes. I’m on duty in the residential district right now, but it shouldn’t be more than ten minutes at the most.” Trance’s velvety deep voice said through the receiver. Mellifluous. That was the word that came to mind every time I heard it. So deep. Smooth. Rich and flowing. I wanted to put my lips up against his throat to feel the vibration that poured out with each word that was let loose from his mouth. Trance was a very good man. When I’d had the privilege of being in his company, I felt alive. It wasn’t often that I got to see him, though. He was a very busy man. He was a member of the police department as well as a member of the local motorcycle club, The Dixie Wardens. “Thank you, Trance.” I whispered and then hung up. Hemi was a nine year old English Setter with the silkiest fur I’d ever felt. He was a gentle, mid-sized dog with curly locks around his ears, flank, and face. I’d been told that he was snowy white with brown splotches, but that wasn’t what made him beautiful to me. What made him so perfect was the way he’d help me wind through the house, moving little things that might trip me up. On our walks, around the apartment complex I’d just moved into, he’d steer me in the right direction, and always lead me back to our door. He never barked unless someone was at the door, and always stayed close to my side. Until he started acting weird. He still stayed by my side, but he didn’t move as easily. I’d gone to fill his food bowl up and found it still just as full as it was the night before, and the day before that. Then his bathroom habits started to dwindle. He was going out more and more, staying out longer. Then, yesterday, he stopped drinking water. Now, Hemi had his head pillowed in my lap as I stroked his coat, and tried to do my upmost best not to freak him out with my crying. “Oh, Hemi. I don’t want you to leave me.” I cried, tears dripping down my cheeks and most likely

onto his face. Fifteen minutes on the dot, after my phone call to Trance, I heard the front door open and Trance walk in. The click-click of nails on the hardwood floor let me know that Radar was with him, too. I could feel his presence like a shock, and knew instantly when his body was close. He hunkered down beside the couch where I was sitting with my legs folded underneath me. Hemi’s tail thunked furiously on the couch beside me, making the whole couch vibrate with the intensity of it. I felt the glasses covering my eyes lift to rest on the top of my head, followed by Trance’s thumbs wiping away my tears. “I’m here, baby.” He said reassuringly. Any and all hope of not crying my eyes out fled, and I curled down until my head was buried into Hemi’s fur. “What am I going to do without him?” I cried. I could feel Trance as he stroked Hemi’s head, and finally Trance moved, shifting me and Hemi until we were both situated on either side of him. I curled into his side, moving as close as I possibly could. My head was pillowed on his chest, one arm around his back and the other around his front, clutching at Hemi’s head. Then I felt Radar’s head lay down on my leg, and I cried all the harder. I’m not sure how long we stayed like that. I know it had to be quite a while, because once I was done with my crying, only little hiccups remained. “What do you want me to do?” He asked softly, sifting his fingers through my hair. I felt the rumble of the question vibrate through his chest, and a low deep thrum of contentment coursed through me. One that I never felt when I was in Paul’s arms. Never. Which was why I’d never slept with him, despite his nagging about it. “Will you take him to the park with me? I want him to play...” I started to ask, but the hard pounding at my door startled me out of finishing. Then the yelling started. “Hey, Elise! It’s time to go. Remember? It’s Tuesday, we have to meet my parents for dinner!” Why did he insist on calling me by my middle name? What was wrong with Viddy?

I didn’t move, and neither did Trance. Radar did, however, go over to the door and started growling low in his throat. “Hey, is that guy in there with you again? Is that his stupid fuckin’ dog? What did I tell you about him?” Paul snarled. I lost it again. After everything he’d done to me lately, I just couldn’t handle his shit anymore. Paul was not a nice man. He’d threatened me on more than one occasion on what he’d do if he caught me with Trance again. Not that Trance and I had ever crossed that line, but Paul didn’t care, and wasn’t willing to listen. Everything I did pissed Paul off, and I really just didn’t give a flying fuck anymore. Paul could go fuck a duck. I stomped hard towards the door. Counting my steps, I got to seven and held my hand out, making contact with the door. “Move over, Radar, I’ve got to get rid of the trash.” I said to the big boy who was still growling low at my door. Turning the knob, I felt the full blast of Louisiana heat belt me in the face, as well as Paul’s anger. “What the fuck have you two been doing in there? Your face is flushed, and you’re not wearing your glasses. You know how I hate that.” Paul chastised me. Paul was an asshole. I’d started dating him a little over a year ago, and I’ve been nothing but disappointed since. My sister hated him. My sister’s husband hated him. And Trance hated him. Yes, it was definitely time. “My face is flushed because I’ve been crying, you idiot. Hemi isn’t well, and I’m putting him to sleep later this afternoon. As for you, I would like you not to come back anymore. We’re over.” I said as harshly as I could. Silence greeted me after that statement. Paul’s silence wasn’t in my best interest, because before I could even blink, Paul had me by the wrist. “What are you talking about? You know we’re not through. You’ve said that three times in the past four months, but you always come back.” “Stand down.” Trance’s beautiful voice said from behind me. I wasn’t sure if he was talking to Paul or Radar until, suddenly, Radar’s low growling abruptly quit at my side. Then I felt Trance’s heat at my back, and I involuntarily leaned backwards into him.

His hand went around my waist, and he pulled me backwards until I was flush against him with his arm pinning me to him tightly. “You heard her. Please leave.” Trance’s authoritative tone booked no room for argument. “You can’t tell me what to do. This is my girlfriend’s place. How about you leave? Hmm?” Paul replied snottily. “I want you to leave. Now. Oh, and lose my number.” I said stiffly, before yanking my wrist from Paul’s grasp and closing the door in his face. A snarling snap from Radar had me jumping, and then Paul’s squeal of indignation followed. “What was that?” I asked in surprise. Trance snorted. “He tried to sneak his hand into the door before it closed all the way, but Radar convinced him not to continue with that line of thought.” “Good,” I whispered. Neither one of us moved. My head was still pillowed against his chest, and his arm was still wrapped tightly around me. We stood like that for long moments until Hemi’s heartbreaking whimpering from the couch broke up the moment, bringing us both to the couch. “He needs to go outside, I believe. Would you mind doing that? I want to gather some of his things to take with us before we take him.” I said, looking into the direction I thought Trance was standing. His warm hand cupped my face until he moved it up and to the left, before he replied. “Okay, baby. Just let Radar lead you out when you’re ready. I’ll be outside near the grass.” “Thank you,” I said softly. He broke away after that. I heard the click of the door handle unlatching, followed by the clicking of Hemi’s nails as he walked out the door, before it closed softly behind them both. “Radar?” I called. When Radar’s cold wet nose touched my hand, I smiled and patted his head. “Can you find me the balls?” I’d heard Trance ask Radar that once, the last time he was over with my sister, when they helped me move six months ago. I’d had the balls packed in a box, and I’d wanted to show the guys Hemi’s trick at putting three balls in his mouth. Since I’d had no idea where exactly the toys were, I’d been about to give up when Trance

had said that Radar could find them. And find them he did. Walking stiffly forward, I went to Hemi’s bed and picked it up. A loud bark came from my side as I opened the front door.

*** Trance

“Listen, you need to leave. Things aren’t going to be pretty if you make me remove you. I have things I need to do, and if you make me arrest you, I will not be a happy person.” I said to Viddy’s boyfriend. No, make that ex-boyfriend. Thank God. I didn’t know how much longer I could follow my moral code when it came to taking some other man’s woman. “We always get back together, though. We’ll be back together by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.” He sneered, before he angled into his car that had to be a compensation for a small dick. I took the high road and didn’t reply, even though it went against every bit of my ingrained nature to throw the words at him that were sitting on the tip of my tongue. The main one being, over my dead body. The door behind me opened as I watched Paul back out, making me turn and watch as Viddy dragged out what looked like every single thing Hemi ever owned. Jogging up to the door, I stopped and surveyed all the million balls that were now lining Hemi’s bed. “That’s a lot of balls.” I observed as I scooped up the entire thing and walked back towards my police issued patrol SUV. Opening the back door, I dropped all the contents inside and slammed it shut before returning to the passenger side door. I resisted the urge to offer Viddy help, even though it annoyed the ever-loving shit out of me to do so. It was like rubbing fur in the wrong direction, or walking with sand in my shoes. It wasn’t right, but Viddy hated the fact that she was blind. She hated it even more when someone dwelled on the fact. “Trance?” Viddy called when she was three feet away from me. Her face seemed to lose the determinedness to it and she held out her hand for me, making my breath ease out of my lungs. Taking her hand, I led her around the car’s door and helped her settle in her seat. “Where is Hemi?” She asked sadly. In answer, I picked Hemi up from where he was laying in the grass and placed him on Viddy’s lap before closing the door softly.

Radar, who was sitting on his haunches beside Viddy’s door, came instantly when I whistled and hopped into the back door of the car before I slammed the door closed behind him. “What’s on your agenda?” I asked her once we were on the road back to town. “I want to take him to the water park, and then I want to get him a steak dinner from the Salt Grass Steakhouse. Then, well then, we can take him to the vet’s office.” She explained quietly. I took my eyes off the road for a split second to regard her, and a pang of sadness poured through me as I saw the haunted look to her face. It was pale and clammy. Her eyes were red, having still not returned the glasses that usually covered her sightless eyes. I’d met Viddy through her sister, Adeline. Adeline was married to a member of The Dixie Wardens MC, Kettle. One of my brothers. Adeline and Viddy were twins. Both of them had dark hair, nearly black. Their skin was pale and creamy. However, that was where their similarities ended. Adeline was well rounded in all the right places. Well, more so now that she was eight months pregnant; but even before that, she’d always had more curves than Viddy. Viddy was more what I liked to call...delicate. She was small, fine boned, and trim. Although she did have some meat on her, she really could stand to gain more. Her hair was always braided and out of her way, except for today. Today, the black strands were loose and flowing around her shoulders and back. Normally, I would never catch her in anything less than what I liked to call her combat clothes. Loose jeans, a plain monotone shirt, and a jacket of some sort or another. Today, she was in a fitted tank, a pair of black yoga pants that said Pink across the ass, and tennis shoes. This was the most I’d ever seen of her skin, which made me aware of another difference between her and her sister. “You don’t have any tattoos like your sister?” I asked in surprise. Her head, which had been bowed, tipped up and regarded me. Her eyes moved over my features as if she could see. Then her beautiful mouth tipped up into a smile. “Can you imagine what my sister would put onto my body if I took her with me? I would never really know if she put something offensive on me or not. I can see her doing it, too. She talked me into it once, but we were both drunk. I’m not even sure if it says what she says it does. Luckily, mine’s on my ribs.”

I returned my eyes to the road, trying my best not to roll my eyes. “You and your sister have the weirdest relationship. My brothers would kick my ass if I ever tried to do something like that. Although, they’ve kicked my ass for less, so it’s nothing new. “How many brothers do you have?” She asked as she turned her attention back down to the dog in her lap. I turned down Main Street and went to the park she’d indicated; glad it was still too early for the spray park to be open. Luckily, I knew quite a few of the city workers, one of which I’d called on the way, who’d told me the code to get in the gate. “I have two brothers. Miller and Foster. They’re both SEALS.” I said as I pulled the car into a parking spot directly in front of the gate. “Like the bad ass ones that have to survive being water boarded before they become SEALS?” She asked quizzically, as I shut off the car. I rolled my eyes as I got out of the car, opened Radar’s door, and then went around to Viddy’s. She was still sitting there patiently with Hemi in her lap. Scooping the dog up easily, I backed up until I was out of her way, and watched as she stood, unfolded her cane, and closed the door behind her. “There aren’t any steps. Only smooth concrete once you step up on the curb that’s about six inches in front of your left foot.” I instructed her. She followed my directions, and we walked into the splash pad, only stopping once to input the code. I set Hemi down on his feet, walked over to the button that I’d seen Sebastian’s son hit multiple times during his last birthday party, at this very place. Sebastian’s the vice president of The Dixie Wardens. He’d rented the entire place out for his son’s fourth birthday. Mostly, he rented it out because The Dixie Wardens tended to be off putting to the normal population. Therefore, to save themselves time and heartache, Sebastian rented the place so no other kids, nor parents, could attend while we were there. “Is he playing?” Viddy asked me. I watched as Radar got right up next to Hemi, nudging and urging until, finally, Hemi started walking slowly towards the spraying water. Once the water hit him, renewed vigor started to pour through Hemi, and he started moving a little more jovially until finally he was trotting, keeping up with Radar as they both frolicked and played. “Yes, Radar’s playing with him. He looks happy, honey.” I told her, watching her face.

The next four hours went about as expected. Radar and Hemi played in the water for a good hour before Hemi finally lost his battle with the exhaustion. Once they were efficiently dried off, we took him to go get a steak dinner. Sadly, he only ate about a quarter of it before he lost the desire to eat, and nudged the rest in Radar’s direction, who’d refused to eat it. Then the final moment came as I pulled up to my house that was set off in the woods. At first, I’d been willing to take Hemi back to his doctor to be euthanized. Then, I’d heard about Viddy’s treatment, and knew that I’d never take them there. Instead, I called my good friend, who took care of Radar and my other animals, Kosher, Tequilla, and Mocha. All three were German Shepherds. Radar being the oldest, at nine, followed by Kosher, who was two, and finally to Tequila and Mocha who were still small at nine weeks old. I trusted my good friend, Dr. Zack Toler. Zack had taken care of Radar when he’d been sick or needed a check-up for nine years now, and had taken very good care of him. “Where are we?” Viddy asked when she heard the crunch of gravel underneath the tires of my cruiser. “How do you know we aren’t anywhere we’re supposed to be?” I asked as I put the car in park and slid out. I let Radar out, and then made my way around the car to Viddy, who had her feet up in the seat to allow Hemi to sleep on the floorboard. “The sounds are different. Nowhere I know has that kind of gravel. So, where are we?” She asked as she turned in her seat and placed her feet on the ground. Not thinking about the fact that she hated being led around, I grabbed her by the elbow and took her hand to guide her to the front porch and then to a seat. “We’re at my house. I have a friend who’s a veterinarian. He’s coming over now to help.” I explained as I walked towards the front door, opened it, and moved to the side as Kosher came barreling out. Kosher was a bundle full of energy, which was why I’d moved Viddy out of the way as I’d done. He wouldn’t have understood that she wasn’t able to play like all the other people that came over. When my boys weren’t on the job, they were free to play and have fun just like any other dog. Which included jumping up and licking faces. Viddy, however, wouldn’t have been prepared for the massive dog, and it was best for all if I moved her out of the way, just in case. Kosher didn’t come barreling out, however. He came out slow. Much slower than he normally did, and walked straight to Radar who was standing beside Viddy’s open car door. Both of my boys watched

as I went to the car, lifted Hemi out, and took him inside to lay him on the couch. Hemi lay there, not moving, exhausted from all that he’d done in the last four hours. Feeling the sadness well up, I started to walk back outside but stopped once I saw Kosher and Radar leading her in. She had a hand full of fur from each dog, and was walking slowly forward. She was reading Radar and Kosher’s cues as if she’d done it a million times before. “Your friend is here. I heard him pull up.” She choked out. I walked up to her, pulling her into my body and hugged her tight. She was shaking, and very near to tears. “Do you want to be there with him?” I asked into her ear, breathing her scent in with each inhale. She felt perfect in my arms. The only thing I wished was different were the circumstances. I wish she hadn’t called because she was in a bind. Especially one such as this. “Yes,” she breathed, looking up at me. Not liking that she wasn’t looking at my eyes, I took her face in my hand and moved her until her eyes were connected to my own. Eyes so close to mine. One blue and one green. Both pale. Hypnotizing. That was how I’d gotten my road name. Trance. Loki had given me that name one day when a woman had turned him down after seeing me. “It’s like they’re in a trance. Once they get a look at your pretty fuckin’ eyes, they don’t want to see anything else!” He’d whined. Loki was another member of The Dixie Wardens, and my best friend. We’d met first on the force and, shortly after, prospected for the Wardens together. Both of us had been sponsored by Sebastian, only a year after Sebastian had become a member himself. “Trance, is it okay that I come in?” Zack asked from my front door. I looked up to see him watching Viddy and me. He was a short man. In his late fifties, Zack had been in practice for nearly thirty years. He’d moved here all the way from North Dakota, and I’d found him by chance when I’d needed an emergency vet for Radar when he’d swallowed a chicken bone. It also said something about him that he didn’t just come barging into my territory. Radar and Kosher, although somewhat occupied with Hemi, were not totally ignorant to what was going on, and Zack knew that.

“Zack, come in please. Viddy, this is Zack, the horde’s vet. Zack, this is Viddy. Viddy’s dog, Hemi, is the one I called you about earlier.” I said, leading him over to the couch. Viddy’s hand was still in mine, holding on incredibly tight as Zack cooed and cawed at Hemi. “Oh, Hemi. You’re a strong one, aren’t you? Are you ready to go home, good ol’ boy?” Zack asked as he started to set up his things. Zack had enquired with Hemi’s vet to be sure, and he’d concurred with Hemi’s prognosis. Hemi only had another couple of days, at most, to live and after today, he didn’t have much of an outlook, and would probably be in severe pain if precautions weren’t taken. “Now, do you know what euthanasia is, my dear girl?” Zack asked in his grizzled, no nonsense voice. Viddy was shaking her head before he’d even finished with the question. “No, sir. I don’t have the first clue. It’s not going to hurt, is it?” She choked. Zack patted Viddy’s hand and led her to sit on the couch next to Hemi’s head. “No dear, it won’t hurt. Now you just sit here and talk to him, okay? He won’t feel a single thing, I promise.” Zack spoke throughout, explaining exactly what he was doing, and why, all the while Hemi laid still, taking in the scene around him, but not putting up one ounce of fight. “Now that I have the IV in, I’ll put the solution in. It’ll be exactly like he is going to sleep. One minute he will breathe, and the very next he will not. Do you want to say anything to him before we do it, baby girl?” Zach asked her softly. “I promise to never use your dishes on another puppy. I will forever keep your name sacred, and I will forever remember you. When I go to work and find some of your hair on my shirt, I’ll remember that you used to roll in my clean laundry, and smile. I love you so much, and I’ll miss you like crazy, Hem.” She said quietly into Hemi’s fur. As she spoke, I watched as Zack depressed the plunger on the large syringe in his hand, and counted down from twenty. At seventeen seconds, Hemi’s eyes closed. At eleven seconds, he inhaled deeply. At seven, Hemi took his final breath.



Chapter 1 My job is protect your ass, not kiss it. -Trance to a suspect

Trance

I watched from my position at the kitchen table as Radar played with Kosher. Radar had Kosher pinned to the floor with his gaping maw at Kosher’s throat, and then just as quickly, Kosher was up and pinning Radar to the floor. Radar didn’t know it yet, but he was about to retire. Just as soon as I could guarantee that Kosher was ready. Kosher was a two-year-old German Shepherd. I’d been working with Kosher now for two years. I’d raised him from a tiny puppy, all of six weeks old, just as I’d done with Radar. Radar I’d gotten even earlier at five weeks, but the results were the same. Raised from tiny pups, I put them through vigorous training, exercised them, and worked with them day and night. So much so that I considered them the perfect dogs. They would both protect me with their life, and I knew the day would come, likely sometime very soon, that Radar would need to retire. Therefore, that’s why I’d started working with Kosher. Police dogs got tired just like humans. There was only so much a police officer could take before he needed a break. Sadly, Radar’s break was very near. At nine years old, it was nearly Radar’s time. I already knew Kosher hated being left behind in the mornings as we left, but soon it would be Radar, and I just didn’t know how he’d react to seeing his place in my vehicle usurped by his friend. Mocha and Tequila, not ones to pass up a fight, ran full tilt until they both slammed into the snarling mass of fur, being brought into their tumble out of sheer momentum. The high-pitched puppy barks started to get to me, so I started repeating one word very softly. At first it started out almost like a whisper, but then it turned into a quiet word. “Heel.” I said softly. No reaction from the rat pack. “Heel.” I said again. Surprisingly, it was one of the puppies that reacted first.

“Heel.” I said with a slightly higher pitch. Which was another reason why I thought it was about time for Radar to retire. I wasn’t saying he wasn’t good at his job. I was saying that he was losing his touch, and that touch was paramount to mine and Radar’s life. Mocha, of course, got the towel I kept at my hip for praise, and she held on a good ten seconds longer than she usually did. She basked in the approval I gave her before I finally won and looked at the glaring Radar. That was his towel. Or at least he thought it was. Normally, he was the one who got the towel. “You snooze, you lose, old buddy!” I called to him. I had a feeling he’d be mad at me for a while. Walking away from the horde, I went to the laundry room to grab my uniform I’d picked up from the cleaners last night and then to my room to get dressed. After I stripped down to my briefs, I slipped on thick gray wool socks over my feet. Then I pulled on my uniform pants, zipping but not buttoning. Followed shortly by a plain white undershirt, my bulletproof vest, and then my uniform shirt. Once all of that was in place, I tucked, zipped, and straightened. I clipped on my badge, slipped on my boots, and then belted my gun belt around my waist. After everything was in place, I went to the bathroom and ran the electric razer over my face, brushed my teeth, grabbed my gun off the bathroom counter, and holstered it before walking out my bedroom door. I could already feel the low throb of my lower back from my gear, which meant not good things for me. Today wasn’t going to be a fun day. I hated running the dog through the schools. I hated finding weed and coke in a fourteen year old’s locker. Although today should prove interesting since I was doing it at the school that Viddy and Adeline worked at. Recently, the two schools had combined. Benton High and West Benton High had finally pulled their heads out of their asses and combined the two schools. It was ridiculous that they had two in the first place. Benton had a population of 15,000. It was ridiculous to have two graduating classes of sixty and sixty-two consecutively. What that meant now, though, was that Viddy and Adeline, her sister, now worked in the same school. Which they loved.

I was happy because Viddy was happy. Why? Because I was a love sick fool. I was so beyond in love with that woman that I could barely handle it. I’d been debating for months now on what to do. What stopped me was the fact that she didn’t make a move. If she’d even given me one hint that she wanted me, I’d have said fuck the boyfriend and went for it. But she was nothing but friendly with me, which sucked. I’d never had a problem getting a girl that I wanted. Never. Then that five foot five, black haired beauty walked into my life, and I’d had nothing but problems ever since. Fuck, but I even had to picture Viddy, when I fucked other girls, to get off. Now that was embarrassing. At least I hadn’t called out her name, even though I’d roared it in my head. The last thing I picked up before I left the room was my cell phone, which I clipped onto the last spot open on my belt, at my right kidney, and left the room. I stopped at Mocha and Tequila’s kennels, whistled one sharp burst of sound, and stood to the side as Tequila and Mocha ran full tilt to their cages. Since they were only just now six months, there was no way I was leaving two puppies alone in my house with all the furniture I’d just bought. I’d learned my lesson with Radar. Luckily, I’d planned on tearing that particular wall out anyway. “Alright Radar, let’s ride.” I said as I grabbed my keys off the kitchen table. Just as I reached the door, I turned and gave Kosher a scratch on the head before I armed the alarm and left through the front door, Radar close on my heels. It was a bittersweet moment. This would be the last time I took Radar out on his own for a shift. Next week started a new chapter in our life. Hopefully, that chapter would mean good things.

Chapter 2 Watch out, I’m about to release my bitch. -Viddy to Leona

Viddy “What’s going on?” I asked Leona. Leona answered me quickly, all the while eavesdropping on the happenings of the commotion in the hallway. Leona was my teacher’s aide. She was twenty-two, and set to graduate with her degree in ASL, American Sign Language, at the end of the year. When we returned from summer break, she would be joining my team helping teach the kids that needed special education in the Benton school system. I was the lead teacher of the special education department. I was also clearly disliked by the ladies of Benton High. They were not happy when the two schools merged. They were severely annoyed by the fact that I, just a measly lead teacher from West Benton High, got the job, and not the lead teacher of Benton High, Sandra. Sandra, of course, hated me before she even met me. She also had no problem letting everybody know it. Since I was the one with the most experience, as well as education, I was the obvious choice for the job. Sadly, Sandra didn’t care. I knew she thought I wasn’t fit for the duty due to my disability, but I’d never let my blindness stop me, and sure as hell wouldn’t let it stop me now. Especially when so many people wanted me to fail. “They’re searching the lockers with a K-9 officer. Looks like they found something.” Leona said. I loved Leona. She was inherently curious, and reminded me of my sister, Adeline. Of course, as soon as I’d introduced the two of them, Leona had fit in perfectly. We now had annual movie nights every other Thursday night where we splurged on pizza and beer and watched True Blood and The Game of Thrones re-runs. Adeline didn’t join us as much as she’d want to since she was thirteen months pregnant with a beast of a baby. Her husband, Kettle, didn’t like her going out. He’d rather us come over there, but it defeated the purpose since it was supposed to be a girl’s night. Kettle hovered when he wasn’t working.

“Whose locker is it?” I asked. I was getting down to the finishing touches on my final report of the day, hurrying to finish before I left for the day. Once I was done, I had the JAWS program re-read it to me to make sure I didn’t have any misspellings, and then saved it to put in the student’s file. “I swear I don’t know how you type that fast. Shouldn’t I be able to-Oh, no! They found something in Falco’s locker. Oh, no.” I hadn’t realized I was out of my chair and out in the hallway until I’d already walked half the length. My cane was out in front of me, leading the way. Falco Pendragon, a senior, was one of my favorite students. He wasn’t in special education, but his little brother, Dustin, was. Dustin had CVI, just like I did. I’d met Falco when Dustin, a freshman, had started earlier in the year. Falco was protective of his little brother, and occasionally he’d slip in before going home or on bathroom breaks, just to check on Dustin. He was a good brother, and young man. There was no way on God’s green earth that he would have drugs in his locker. He abhorred them and everything they stood for. “Whose locker is this?” Trance’s deep melodious voice asked. God, the man really did it for me. Too bad he’d never give the poor blind woman the time of day. “Locker 343 belongs to...Falco Pendragon. Hmm. I never would’ve suspected him of that.” I knew that voice too. It belonged to our school resource officer. Lillian Monroe. She was a sweet woman, but she had a zero tolerance when it came to drugs and fighting; I knew it would be hard to convince her, but I was willing to try. “That’s because he didn’t.” I snapped as I came to a stop when I felt something hit the tip of my cane, indicating someone or something was within six feet of me. “Mizz Sheffield, if you could please return to your room during the search procedure, I will come talk to y...” I cut Officer Monroe off. “I will not go inside. I heard you say Falco’s name, and I know for certain it wasn’t him.” “Well then, how do you explain the drugs in his locker?” Sandra asked.

Oh great, just what I needed was the lady luck and her harem. “Ladies,” Trance’s deep voice drawled. “If you would please return to your classrooms, I will be by to get your statements once I’m done.” His tone booked no room for argument, but there was no way I was letting Falco take the fall for something I knew for a fact he didn’t do. “Viddy,” Trance growled, enticing another shiver from me. Goosebumps pebbled on my skin at my name coming out of his mouth. “Get to your room.” Pulling my glasses from my face, I let my bottom lip drop until it was in a small downward curve. I didn’t pull any punches. I even let my eyes tear up a bit. “Do you promise you’ll come talk to me? Will you bring Falco to me and come? Let us explain, I promise there’s an explanation. Please?” I knew I would get his promise. With anybody else, I probably wouldn’t have, but with Trance, I knew he’d listen to me. He trusted me and knew I wouldn’t steer him wrong. “Yes, I promise. Now go back to your room. I’ll bring this Pendragon kid, too.” Trance swore. Knowing I could trust his word, I turned and walked back to the classroom, using the lockers as a guide instinctually until I got to my room. Although, lately I didn’t seem to need it. I was technically blind, although I’ve always been able to make out shadows or dark and light. For instance, if I was walking down the hallway of the school, I could make out shadowed shapes that were people, but I couldn’t make out fine details. High contrast items like a big black circle on a white background I could make out, as well. Then there was a narrow field out of my left peripheral vision that I could see nearly perfectly. Although, it was such a small field, that it would be practically useless to most people. To me, though, it was a miracle. Lately, though, that narrow field was becoming wider. From what was explained to me, normal eyes, combined, have about a 180-degree field of vision. Each eye seeing about 95 degrees. Before, it was a single tiny sliver. If a normal seeing person covered their eyes with their hands, and peeked out through their fingers, you’d see slices of whatever you were looking at. For me, it was as if I could see perfectly out of the left most slice, allowing me about a three-degree window.

Lately, though, that window was getting bigger, and I knew it. Which was why I was heading to my doctor that I’ve been seeing for eleven years now. Maybe he could tell me if it was getting better. And maybe tell me why I was getting headaches from hell to go with it. Secretly, I thought I had a brain tumor or something, which was why I was putting the whole thing off. However, my sister had become increasingly adamant about me seeing the doctor. “How do you do that?” Sandra’s infuriated voice came from my left once I reached the suite of classrooms I turned towards where I heard her voice, tried to keep the annoyed look off my face, and failed. “How I do what...exactly?” I asked with barely contained patience. “Play that poor pitiful me act. You had that guy eating out of your fingers. I bet you’ve fucked him, haven’t you?” Sandra hissed quietly. Not quietly enough, though, for Trance not to hear. “I think that’s highly inappropriate of you to say, don’t you think, ma’am?” Trance’s steely voice said from behind me. I didn’t turn around, but I did turn my head until I could see him. It wasn’t much. Not nearly enough. But something inside of me settled. A cold, wet nose touched my dangling hand, bringing my attention to Radar who was at my side. I didn’t wait for permission to touch him as I usually did. Radar wouldn’t have touched me if he was still working. I dropped down to my haunches, burying my nose into Radar’s furry neck. “Hey, big boy,” I whispered to him. Radar’s tail thumped against the tiled floor, and a pang of sadness assaulted me as I thought of Hemi. It’d been one month since I called Trance to help me with Hemi, and one month since I’d been with him last. “Mrs....” Trance said, waiting for Sandra to tell him her last name. “Johnston.” Sandra said through clenched teeth. “Mrs. Johnston. I suggest you keep your nose out of everybody else’s business. Especially Viddy’s.” Trance said coldly.

There was no venom or rancor in his voice. No hesitation. No nothing. It was a statement, but somehow I knew that he meant every word. And that the threat to her was real. “Okay,” she whispered and then I heard her footsteps leave. “Fuckin’ bitch.” Trance growled low in his throat. I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up out of my throat. Giggling, I said, “I wish you would’ve said what you really meant.” “Believe me, if I wasn’t in uniform, and we weren’t at your school, I would’ve.” “Ms. Sheffield?” A hesitant voice said from behind the both of us, drawing what I would’ve said in reply to him up short. “Falco! Come here, please. Falco, this is Tr-I mean Officer Spurlock. Officer Spurlock, I’d like you to meet Falco Pendragon. Falco please have a seat at the table. We have some questions to ask you.” “Okay,” he said worriedly. “Is my brother okay? Did something happen to him?” “No, honey,” I said shaking my head. “Your brother is fine. Officer Spurlock, please tell Falco what you found.” As Trance explained what was going on, and what was about to happen, I took a seat at the table next to Falco and listened. Once he was finished, Falco, I could tell, was speechless. “But, sir, I didn’t do that. I’ve never even used my locker. I don’t even have a lock on it; anyone could’ve done it.” Falco explained quickly. “Officer Monroe, was the lock we unlocked from the locker assigned to Mr. Pendragon?” Trance asked. I hadn’t been aware that Officer Monroe was even in the room. Radar’s head worked its way into my lap, and I smiled slightly as I petted him. “I didn’t do it, Ms. Sheffield. I swear I didn’t do it.” Falco whispered to me urgently. “I know, honey. I know.” I whispered back, patting his hand. “It’s registered to a...Landon Smith. No, it’s not his lock.” Officer Monroe said. I didn’t know a Landon Smith, but that didn’t mean anything. There were over 800 kids in the school right at this very moment. It wasn’t too surprising. “Please follow me, Mr. Pendragon. We’re going to go look at your locker.” Trance sighed loudly. When I heard the chair next to me scoot out, I turned my head and watched as shadows danced in my

field of vision until no movement was left in the room. Radar stayed at my side, though. We stayed that way for another ten minutes or so. All the while I was thinking how lucky Trance was that he had a dog. I hadn’t realized how much I’d depended on Hemi. The last month had been incredibly hard. I took a lot of things for granted. I now had to scrub my own plates, where before I just had to drop them on the floor for a pre-rinse. Then there was the fact that knocks on my apartment door startled me. Before, I had Hemi to let me know when someone was close to my apartment door, giving me about forty-five seconds of warning before I had to get to the door. I was startled out of my reverie as the alarm on my phone went off, reminding me of my appointment in an hour, and I sighed. Today had been extremely eventful, and it was only ten in the morning. As I went to my desk and removed my purse, I locked up my office behind me and started heading toward the sound of Trance’s voice. Radar’s claws clicked on the floor as we made our way to the lockers, and the closer we got, the more and more upset I got. “Sir, I’ve never even seen the bag before in my life. I don’t even carry a backpack. I can’t afford one. My little brother has mine.” Falco was explaining. “That’s true. He’s been without a bag since the beginning of the semester. His broke over Christmas vacation. His brother explained that he needed the bag, otherwise he couldn’t hold his cane.” I explained as I approached the gathering. Radar, who’d been at my side, leaned on me just as my cane bumped something. I stopped, and waited. Trance didn’t disappoint. “Officer Monroe, I’m inclined to agree with Falco and Ms. Sheffield. Pending review of the tapes, I think we should put this off until we know more about that. How long will it take you to get the surveillance feed?” Trance asked. “Twenty four to forty eight hours or so. The school is monitored through a third party. We’ll have to request the feed from them, and then review it ourselves before we can let you know anymore.” Officer Monroe explained. I heard Falco’s sigh of relief, and moments later a rough, strong palm cupped the back of my elbow.

“Okay, I’ll check back with you tomorrow. Is there anything else you want Radar to check today?” Trance asked. “Nothing today, Officer Spurlock. Thank you for coming. Mr. Falco, please return to class.” Officer Monroe said firmly. I saw the movement of shadows disperse. All but one, that was. “You’re going to get yourself into trouble, Viddy.” Trance sighed. “Who was the chick who called you names?” “Sandra. I took over her job when we merged the schools. She doesn’t like me very much.” I admitted. Trance snorted. “Where are you headed to?” “Fuck! I need to go. My cab is here.” I said hurriedly, rushing towards the exit, and counting the steps out of habit. However, bright windows and doors were the easiest things for me to make out with the difference in not only light and shadows, but also the heat. I could hear the difference as well. The cars outside, or the mowers, the breeze through the trees. Everything together made the sound of outside different from the sound of inside. “Hey, Viddy. Wait up. Where are you going?” Trance asked at my side. “I have a doctor’s appointment. Why?” I said, hurrying out of the door. Once I made it down the steps, Trance pulled me up short. “Jesus Christ, you just scared the shit out of me.” I turned my head towards him, completely confused. “Why?” “You just practically threw yourself down the stairs. You know, they have ramps for a reason.” He growled, taking a hold of my hand and leading me towards...somewhere. “Step down.” Trance said, slowing slightly. I stepped down off the curb before being pulled to a stop. I heard a door being opened, and then my body was being gently positioned until I was pushed into Trance’s cruiser. “Watch your hands.” Trance said just before he closed the door. I rolled my eyes as I waited for my knight in shining armor to get Radar in the car, followed shortly by himself before he started the car up and drove out of the parking lot.

He slowed, though, and I heard his window roll down. Then he said, “She doesn’t need a ride. Sorry about that.” I heard the zzzzzip of the window rolling up, and then silence as we exited the school. “Who usually takes you to school?” Trance asked after a few more long moments of silence. “Whoever’s in the area. Most of the time it’s Adeline, sometimes it’s Kettle. Other times it’s other girls at work. If nobody is available I call a cab.” I explained tiredly. “Where are we going?” He questioned. “There’s a doctor’s office on Main Street in Shreveport. The one in the Business District.” I told him. “That would’ve been a long cab ride. Cost a lot of money.” Trance observed as I felt the car slowly pick up speed. Trance’s acceleration was smooth, not jerky, as he merged into traffic. “You’re a good driver.” I told Trance. “All your movements are smooth and swift. They’re not jerky like some. I like driving with you.” Trance snorted. “Good thing you couldn’t see the 18-wheeler that I just cut off to merge into traffic.” He said dryly. I giggled. “That’s the good thing about not seeing. Sometimes it’s the fear of knowing what’s coming that scares you the most.” Trance made a sound low in his throat. “Can’t say I agree with you. I like knowing whether a man is going to hit me in the face so I can duck.” “Well, that would be unfortunate for me. I have to have hope that I don’t piss anybody off enough to do that to me. It wouldn’t work so well for you since you’re a police officer and all.” I agreed. “Yeah, God forbid that ever happened to me. I have high hopes that Radar or Kosher would protect me, though.” Trance said, switching lanes and accelerating slightly. “Kosher?” I asked as I tried my hardest to focus on him with my limited peripheral vision. It wasn’t easy to do, and most of the time it was just easier to ignore it completely because it always made me have a headache if I tried to focus for too long. However, it was hard to focus on someone and not turn your face to them. It was a thing that people who could see did to give the speaker their full attention. For a blind person, it wasn’t quite the same. We didn’t have to look at you to give you our full attention. We just had to focus our hearing.

Trance liked it when my eyes were on him, regardless of whether they were actually seeing him or not. Which was why he turned my face to his every chance he got. “Kosher is my two year old German Shepherd. I’m actually starting him on the job next week to get him used to things, and in the process easing Radar into his retirement.” Trance replied, slowing slightly, before I felt the car easing off the road. Now that he’d mentioned it, I remembered, clearly, the dog in question. He was a sweetheart, I just hadn’t realized he was going to be a K-9 officer, too. His pace slowed exponentially until we came to a stop. Shortly after, we accelerated again. “You’re retiring Radar?” I asked in surprise. “Is something wrong with him?” He chuckled. “No, there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s just getting older. His hearing’s not as good. I just think it’s time. He needs a break just like most officers. I’ve been training with Kosher, and it’s time to see what he’s got.”

*** Trance

“That’s actually kind of sad. Are you getting rid of him?” She asked worriedly. Turning on my left blinker to pull into the doctor’s office, I turned and surveyed Viddy’s face. Her beautiful black hair was in its usual French braid. The braid was curled around her neck and resting in between her breasts, held in place by the seatbelt. Her clothes were some of the usual I’d seen her in. Black dressy pants and a white button down shirt. I’ve always wondered how she’d dressed when she couldn’t see, but the more I studied her, the more I realized that she probably just had a bunch of things that were inter-matching. She could probably pick just about anything in her closet and it’d match. “Of course I’m not getting rid of him. What’d make you think that?” I asked, turning into the parking lot between traffic and pulling into a spot near the front door. “I was cruising the internet for dogs last week. I found a website where you can adopt retired police dogs and combat dogs that performed in a war zone. I just assumed.” She replied, still facing straight ahead. Was it me, or was she actually looking at me? Resisting the urge to wave my hand wildly in the air, I exited the car, let Radar out, and went around to Viddy’s side just as she emerged. Stifling the annoyance that surfaced when she didn’t wait, I followed behind her. “There’s a step in about five feet. A single one.” I said, distractedly, as I walked in front of her and got the door. She scaled the step with little effort and walked into the building. “Thank you for the ride, Trance. I appreciate it.” Viddy said. “You can leave now. I’ll call a cab to get me back home.” I snorted. “In your dreams, sweet cheeks. You care if I come in with you?” “Well,” Viddy hesitated. “I don’t think so. It’s not like I’m going for my gynecologist appointment or anything.” The quip was out before I even realized I was saying it. “We can play doctor later. I’ll give you a thorough exam.” I teased.

Then my gut tightened. Would she freak out? She surprised me though, by laughing. “Oh, that sounds like fun. Do men have man doctors like women have lady doctors? I could reciprocate.” She whispered to me and then walked away. I choked on my spit. The woman was surprising, if anything else. I watched as she went up to the receptionist desk, Radar at her side, with Viddy’s hands planted firmly around the collar at his neck. She checked in with the woman, and then turned to regard me. “Where do you want to sit?” She asked. It rankled that she wasn’t quite looking at me, so I walked up close to her and moved her face slightly until she was staring into my eyes, despite the dreaded glasses that were covering them. Pushing them up onto her head, I said, “Anywhere. A couple seats in the very back are open. That okay with you?” “Lead the way.” She said, holding out her hand. I took it gratefully, glad that she was accepting help, even though I knew it rankled her to do so. Once we were seated, I finally replied to the comment she’d thrown at me before. “As for men having men doctors...no, I don’t think so. At least, I’ve had no need for one. The general doc that I see does all the nice prostate checks, though. And there’s no way you’re doing that to me. Just FYI.” I chuckled. As I watched, her face went from a nice porcelain white to a cherry red in 2.3 seconds. “I-I-I....” she stammered. “That wasn’t nice. You’re a shithead.” “Hey! You started it!” I scoffed. “Viddy Sheffield?” A nurse’s voice called from across the room. My head lifted and I saw a cute young woman in bright lime green scrubs holding a chart and standing with her back to the open door. “Oh, that’s me.” Viddy said, standing. And I watched in fascination as Radar went back to his spot at Viddy’s right and started leading her through the throng of chairs until they reached the nurse’s side. “You have a helper today. He’s beautiful.” The nurse replied once they were through the door. “Oh, yes he is. This is Radar. He’s a K-9 officer. But he isn’t mine, he belongs to the handsome man behind me.” Viddy replied, using her thumb to point at me.

I rolled my eyes. “How do you know I’m handsome? I could be covered in pimples and have three double chins for all you know.” Viddy burst out laughing. “Yeah, I’ve been in your arms. I know you don’t have an ounce of fat on you. As for the pimples, I can’t see those. It doesn’t matter. Your voice is beautiful, though. You have a big heart, and you care about me. That’s what matters.” I felt humbled. It was nice, for once, not to be judged by my looks. “Aww, y’all are so cute together! I wish I had a man like yours, honey. I’m jealous.” The nurse cooed. Neither one of us corrected her. “Now, step here on this scale,” the nurse said as she directed Viddy to the scale. “And we’ll get your weight, and then your blood pressure.” “Close your eyes, Trance!” Viddy called. Why I closed my eyes, I’ll never know. Maybe because she asked me to. Maybe because I knew it mattered to her. Whatever the reason, I closed my eyes until I heard her step back off the scale and the nurse move the weights back to the side. After the nurse took Viddy’s blood pressure, followed by her pulse, she led Viddy into a room that had a ton of posters on the walls. One showing the nerves in the head. Another one telling what part of the brain did what. The one that really interested me was the one that spoke about all the common types of blindness. Walking over to the chart, I called over my shoulder. “What kind of blindness do you have?” “Cortical Visual Impairment.” Viddy replied quickly. “Why?” My eyes flicked over the multiple names until I found the one she was speaking of and started to read. “This says here that the vision loss sometimes can be permanent, but most cases that isn’t so. What happened to you, exactly?” I asked over my shoulder. “Viddy has nearly complete blindness in both eyes. When she was in her youth, she had a motorcycle accident that caused her head to make contact with a brick wall. All the swelling on her brain caused pressure to be put on her optic nerves, which in turn, cut off blood flow to those areas that needed it. The tissue became hypoxic and degraded until it only functioned minimally at best. Viddy’s case is one of the worst I’ve ever seen.” A man’s voice said from behind me. I turned to stare at the older man. He reminded me of my pops. He was older with nearly white hair, and a beard that was completely white. His eyes were a cool

piercing green, and he was about my height, maybe a fraction of an inch shorter than my 6’0. He was wearing bright purple scrubs with yellow trim. “A LSU fan?” I asked, extending my hand to him. He smiled and shook it back. “Down to my marrow, my boy. I’m Dr. Morris. I’m Viddy’s neurologist. Are you her husband?” “Ah, no. I’m just a...” I hesitated, looking over at Viddy. “Good friend.” He smiled wistfully as if remembering a ‘good friend’ of his own before turning and regarding Viddy, who was now sitting on the exam table. “Viddy, my dear. How are you doing?” He asked, taking a seat on the round stool near her feet. She smiled, but kept her head pointed at me. “I’m well, Dr. Morris. How is your wife?” “She’s doing perfectly. We have a new grandbaby we get to see all the time. It keeps her lively.” He replied. “So the nurse tells me you’ve been getting headaches. How about you tell me what’s been going on.” Her head dropped as if collecting her thoughts, before she looked up again. This time, though, she turned her head in the doctor’s direction. “Well, for the past six months or so...I’ve started seeing...things. Lights. Movements. The shadows have become a little more defined. Like right now I can tell that you’re in front of me, and Trance is against the wall. Radar is laying in the middle of the floor. Anything in high contrast has become much, much easier to make out. And my good spot over here,” she said indicating the left side of her face. “Has gotten sharper. I can see almost perfectly out of that one little sliver.” My heart had started pounding when she started her explanation, and by the time she finished, I was in shock. I hadn’t realized she could see at all. Then again, I hadn’t really known what, exactly, ‘blind’ meant until I’d read the definition just a few moments ago on the poster. Dr. Morris stood, going over to Viddy and shining his pen light over her eyes. I moved to get a closer look, stopping just at the edge of her left side. I studied her pupils as the doctor shined it in first one eye, followed by the other. “Tell me about these headaches. Do they happen towards the end of the day, when you first wake up? Or are they all the time?” Dr. Morris asked. Then he took his hand and started at one side of her face, circling it around her head. “I can make out that you are moving your hand. I can see that Trance is at my side. As for the headaches, they mostly start at the end of the day. The only time I get them when I wake up is if I’ve left

my glasses on all night.” Viddy sighed. “How do you know I’m the one at your side?” I queried. She snorted. “You’ve got a lot more bulk than Dr. Morris does.” Well didn’t that make me feel stupid? “Alright, Ms. Sheffield. Here’s what I think.” He said, taking a seat again. “I think the headaches are more or less from you using your eyes. You’re probably doing a lot more straining than you think you are, which in turn, is making you almost tense as you study what you’re trying to observe. However, if the headaches start to come more often, and are still there the next morning, I would like you to come back in. As for your eyesight...” He stopped and seemed to search for his words carefully. “You’ve always been my toughest case. You had no damage to your optic nerves. Your brain has always been fine. It’s just one of those phenomenons that I couldn’t quite figure out. I’ve been waiting for a break when it comes to you. You have no medical reason as to why you cannot see. After your head trauma, the swelling put pressure on those nerves, but they’re still intact and have no degraded tissues. Hell, you could wake up tomorrow and see perfectly. It’s just one of those things that I have no explanation for. Maybe your brain is just now catching on to that fact.” Dr. Morris finally said. The thought of her waking up tomorrow and seeing perfectly made what felt like bees, take flight in my stomach, making me almost giddy with excitement. God that would just be absolutely perfect for her. However, life wasn’t always that easy. In fact, it was downright cruel at times to the people that deserved it the least. “I...I woke up one morning a month ago and I could see. At least, I could see for all of thirty seconds, and it went away again. It was just a glimpse, and in fact, I’ve almost convinced myself that it was just a dream, except it’s just too real.” Viddy said timidly. Dr. Morris and I studied her for long moments as we processed what she’d just said. “Tell me what you saw, and what happened after.” Dr. Morris requested. She shook her head, her eyes turning down, and her cheeks flushing. “Uhh, well...” “Come on, my dear. We’re all adults here.” Dr. Morris urged. “Well, I had to put my dog to sleep, and Trance helped me with that. He took me home that night, and afterwards, he tucked me into his bed. When I woke up the next morning, I walked into the bathroom without thinking about the fact that Trance was in there. It wasn’t until I saw him through the shower stall that I realized he was naked...and that I was actually seeing him naked. But my vision was gone just as fast

as it showed, so I just figured that my imagination was very good. I was still really tired, and I’d been crying a lot the day before. I’m thinking I was just daydreaming.” I remembered that day with a crystal clear clarity. I’d already worked out in my in-home gym, ran three miles on the treadmill, and exercised the dogs that morning. I’d thought to slip into the shower while Viddy was still sleeping before I woke her up to take her to school. Only she woke up while I was still in the shower. Masturbating. I’d seen the color rise high in her cheeks when she’d realized she walked in on me showering, but never did I contribute it to her actually seeing me in the shower. “Well, that’s certainly not out of bounds. You’ve got no reason not to be able to see. It is possible that it could’ve happened. Give me some details, and we can compare.” Dr. Morris ordered. “Uhh,” Viddy started. “This bathroom was white...” I saw the bathroom in my mind. It was white. White tiles, white walls, white rug, white shower. But a lot of single men that live alone have fairly utilitarian lifestyles I, for one, have no fashion sense whatsoever. “What else, dear. Tell me what Trance looked like.” Dr. Morris suggested. Viddy’s cheeks pinked, and I knew right then, that she had, for sure, seen me. There was no way she’d be blushing like that if she hadn’t. “Uh, he has a tattoo on his arm. A black one with yellow/gold trim. He has hair was soapy, and his lashes were thick and black. He has a skull and crossbones on his chest, and some lettering on his arm with stars going up to his armpit.” As she was speaking, I started to categorize each of the tattoos she was describing. The police emblem on my right arm that said to serve and protect was one of my first ever tattoos once I entered the academy after discharging from the Air Force. The stars represented each of the friends I’d lost to the war in Iraq. The lettering saying Freedom isn’t Free. The last she spoke of was The Dixie Wardens MC tattoo on my chest. Well I guess I could be thankful that she didn’t give the old doc a heart attack by telling him I was jackin’ off. Dr. Morris catalogued my tattoos and my eyes before smiling wide. “That’s what I’m looking at,” Dr. Morris turned back to Viddy. “Really?” She gasped. Her hands went to her chest, over her heart, and tears started gathering in her eyes.

“Why didn’t you ask me a month ago? I would’ve answered you.” I asked curiously. “Uh, well, I was already embarrassed enough to be honest.” She giggled. “Well then, my dear, my only guess now is try to make your life as stress-free as possible. Get as much sleep as you can. Maybe start with what you did that day, and go from there. It might be that it’s you keeping yourself from going any further, not any medical reason.” “So you’re saying that I’m making myself be blind?” Her voice rose. Dr. Morris chuckled. “No, dear. I’m not. But under the right circumstances, I’m saying that if you’re relaxed enough, that maybe you’ll have the same results for a second time. Now, make sure you call me if the headaches worsen; but other than that, you’re doing fine in my book. Have a good day, you two.” “You ready?” I asked Viddy as Dr. Morris left, closing the door quietly behind him. “Yep, just lead the way.” She said, offering her hand. I took it gladly, and led her out into the bright lunchtime air. “Do you have to go back to school?” I asked once we started to the car. “Nope. I’m done for the day.” It was as she was sliding down into the seat that her shirt gaped, giving me a clear view of her cleavage that I decided that I couldn’t play the ‘friend’ game anymore. I needed her in the worst possible way, and I was going to have her. I was tired of fighting my feelings for her. I’d given her the month. I’d made sure I wasn’t going for her when she was on the rebound from her relationship I wanted her. “Trance, can we go by the phone place so I can get a new number?” Viddy asked as I got into the car and started it up. “Yeah, I don’t have anywhere else to be until seven this evening for my shift. We can do whatever you want until then. Why do you need a new phone?” I asked her. “My ex-boyfriend has made it a point to call me every single day, begging for forgiveness. Needless to say, I’m tired of it.”

Chapter 3 Cop a feel? No…feel a cop. -Thought of the day.

Viddy

I laid down in my bed, eyes heavy from my day. Although it was a short day at work, I’d done way more than I usually did. After my doctor’s appointment, Trance took me to the phone store where I proceeded to change my number, and buy a new phone that was the newest on the market. Android had come out with a new smart phone that worked well for those that were visually impaired. With the new app that was developed, I was able to navigate the touch screen with one swipe of my finger to turn it on. From there, I was able to use the rest just by my voice. Then we went to Armadillo Willie’s for lunch, and followed that up with a walk at the park with Radar. Which made me miss Hemi something fierce. When I got home at six, Trance had given me a small kiss on the cheek before leaving. Not before asking me out on a date, though. I agreed to go for a ride with him Saturday night, and then we’d pick up some dinner the next state over. I was all for that. I loved riding. Ironically, it was how I became blind in the first place. One single act of teenage rebellion had nearly killed both my sister and me in one fatal swoop. My dad had just gotten a new motorcycle that he refused to let us ride on with him. We were both sixteen and stupid. So what do we do? Well, of course, we ride it by our goddamn selves! That’s what! One could guess how that ended. We didn’t even make it out of the driveway before we wrecked. I was thrown from the bike and hit the brick wall of our garage. In the meantime, Adeline was impaled on the shifter of my dad’s 350 Chevrolet motor he had sitting under the carport. We were both life-flighted from our small Texas town to the nearest medical center nearly an hour from our home.

Adeline was the lucky one, recovering in a matter of months. I, however, had brain swelling and had to have a shunt placed in my head to counteract the swelling. They weren’t even sure if I’d be the ‘normal Viddy’ anymore once I woke up from my medically induced coma. And I wasn’t. I was a new Viddy. A blind Viddy. I had a lot of adjusting to do after that, but with the help of our loved ones, friends and family, I made it through. Most influential in my overall progress was the special education teacher, and mentor, Mrs. Abrams. Mrs. Abrams made me realize that I wasn’t actually ‘stupid.’ I just learned differently now. I was picked on a lot in high school due to my bald spot from the shunt. I still, to this day, had the bald spot. Only now, my hair is long enough to cover the eyesore. An especially funny comment from the hero of my audio book had me chuckling, bringing me out of my reverie of the past day’s events. After another ten minutes of listening to the book, my sleep timer went off, and the book quieted down into silence. The air conditioner was humming its usual quiet drone. The sound of my big deep freezer came on, too, making it almost impossible to hear over the sound of the two appliances. I was almost asleep when I heard it. The squeak-squeak that my kitchen window made each time it was opened. My heart, which had previously been thumping at a slow, steady beat, started galloping as the adrenaline shot through my blood. My hearing soared, making me hear the quiet rustle of fabric against fabric, as well as a spoon clink in the sink. I dropped to the floor, grabbing my phone as I dashed underneath my bed. I crawled as quietly as I could, pushing boxes out of the way as I went. Then I nearly smacked myself on the forehead as I realized I probably pushed the boxes out past the bed frame, which would surely inform whomever was in my apartment to where I was. Goddammit, Viddy. What the fuck were you thinking shoving all these boxes under here? I cursed myself. Once I was as far under as I could be, I started to rearrange the boxes before curling into a ball at the top of my bed, just underneath the headboard.

Pulling my phone up to my chest, I said a silent prayer that the buttons on the side of the phone worked to call an emergency contact as it said it would, and held it for the allotted four seconds. Miraculously, it did work, and the number was dialing as I placed it against my ear. “Spurlock.” Trance answered tersely. *** Trance “Sit. The. Fuck. Down.” I seethed. My left hand was covering the side of my face, and my .40 caliber automatic was in my hand, pointing straight at the boy I’d just pulled over. “Get your hands behind your back. Now. I won’t fuckin’ hesitate to shoot you. Not after you just tried to stab me in the face.” I growled. “Unit 5-2. This is dispatch. Do you still need assistance?” One of my favorite dispatchers, Justice Lee (And no, she’s a mother of five… not a stripper), asked through the radio connected to my collar. Letting the bleeding cut on my face go, I reached across my chest and depressed the button before answering. “10-4. I need backup. 10-24. Two patients.” 10-24 was the police code stating that I needed an ambulance. Personally, I thought it’d be easier to say that I needed a medic. The captain didn’t like when we clogged up the channel with useless chatter, though, so everything was kept to a minimum. “10-4. Medic 3 and a blue and white en route.” Justice Lee affirmed. “Don’t move a fuckin muscle. I’m serious!” I bellowed when the driver started to move up to his hands. He dropped back down quickly, letting his arms fall to the ground above his head. The girl was still in the backseat, freaking out, but at least now she wasn’t screaming. Radar was in the back of my squad car, going fucking nuts, which was what distracted me for the five seconds it took for me to look over at him. If he hadn’t barked, I’d have had that knife to the temple instead of it just slicing me from temple to cheek. Walking carefully, I dropped down until I had a knee in the boy’s back, and then cuffed him, leaving him there for the time being so I could go check on the girl. I was on the opposite side of the car when the boy decided to make a run for it, cuffs and all. Sighing, I hurried over to the cruiser, let Radar out, and commanded him to retrieve while I went and

checked on the girl again. I heard the snarling and barking, but didn’t look up. Instead, all my focus was on the young teenage girl who’d been so brutally beaten that a small cramp started up in my stomach, threatening to repel its contents. “Honey,” I whispered softly. “My name is Officer Spurlock. You’re safe.” When she didn’t answer, I tried again. “Sweetheart, can you tell me your name?” “J-j-jenna. J-Jenna H-Hathway.” The girl sobbed. “Jenna, honey, can you tell me what hurts?” I asked slowly, moving the light over her body. “My t-tummy. A-and I t-think my foot is b-broken.” I had a feeling that her ‘tummy’ was actually something else, but I prayed I was wrong. I heard the distinctive ‘buurrrp’ of another unit pulling up, letting it’s siren chirp once. I looked up to find Loki stepping out of the unmarked with a smile on his face. “I passed something about 500 yards that way,” he said indicating the direction with his thumb. “I let Radar continue to play with his toy, though. You need any help?” His eyes were trained on my face, which I’m sure had a very nice gory effect to it. At the negative shake of my head, he nodded once and came up to the side of the car. His eyes darkened with rage when he saw the young girl who still had her head buried in the crease of the backseat. “Jenna, sweetheart. I have another officer here with me now. His name is Officer Rector. He’s going to stay with you while I go get my dog. Is that okay?” “Yes,” she moaned. I took her at her word and left just as two more cruisers and an ambulance pulled up. I ignored them as I took off at a slow jog towards Radar who had the teen pinned to the ground. Radar’s maw was at the kid’s neck, and I slowed down before coming to a stop at the kid’s side. “You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent...” I said as I read him his Miranda Rights. Once done, I called Radar to heel, stood the kid up to his feet, and walked him back to the cruiser where I practically shoved him down into the car’s backseat. It should be fun for him since Radar had to sit beside him. Although there was a divider between the two seats, he still had to stare at Radar’s eyes the entire

ride to the cooler. The cooler was what police called jail, and this boy was going to be in it for a while. Not only did he resist arrest, he evaded the police, assaulted a police officer, and most likely abducted and raped a young girl. The boy was going away for a while, and with any luck, he was eighteen and would be there for a long time. “Radar, in.” I called. Radar went to his side of the car and got in without complaint. I left the door open for him just in case, and went to the side of the vehicle where they were working on getting the girl out of the car. “Hey man, she’s asking for you. Can you get her calm so we can get her in the ambulance?” The medic said from in front of me. The next thirty minutes was excruciatingly horrible. The girl was worse than I’d expected, and wouldn’t go anywhere or do anything unless I was with her. That was how I found myself driving the girl back in my passenger seat because she refused to get in the ambulance. I’d dropped her off at the hospital where her parents were waiting at the ambulance bay. When they saw their daughter, they’d gathered her up and led her over to the gurney that the hospital staff had at the ready. After filling out my report, and chatting with the parents, I was physically and emotionally drained. Then I had twelve stitches placed in my face from temple to cheek, and I still had four hours to go on my shift. “What the fuck was that?” Loki asked me as he followed me to a local diner where we sat to eat. “What was what?” I asked curiously, handing Radar a bread roll. “You getting slashed with scissors. Did you not see them or something?” He asked. I shook my head. “Nope. The girl was moaning in the backseat, and drew my eye for a split second. I was lucky too. Then Radar barked. If I hadn’t moved, he would’ve stabbed me in the fuckin’ eye.” “You’re not so pretty anymore with that cut. What’ll the ladies think?” Loki goaded. I flipped him off and sat back with my own coffee.

“The one that matters doesn’t even see, so how can my scar bother her?” I asked. “Viddy?” Loki asked. I nodded. “Yeah. We’re going riding on Saturday to Texas to eat at the fish place in Waskom. Want to come?” I’d noticed the change in my best friend since he’d taken the last assignment. Knew about the girl that he’d fallen in love with but refused to speak to or explain things to. He’d been working an undercover assignment portraying a tweaker when he’d met his ‘next door neighbor.’ They’d hit it off, but Loki was portraying a druggie, and was good at his job. Then she’d found out that he was a cop, making it even worse. He’d left for Florida, spending nearly a month with his family, and had just gotten back to work after his leave of absence. He didn’t go back into undercover work, though. Now he was a detective. He knew when enough was enough. He’d come back a different man. Harder. He wasn’t so easy to get along with now, either. He had a perpetual bad attitude and he refused to go out on runs. Hell, I hadn’t had him ride with me in well over four months now. Something was seriously wrong, and I had a feeling it had everything to do with the ex-neighbor. Not that he’d tell me. Loki’s eyes met mine, and something shifted in them. Something like guilt. He nodded once. “Yes. I think I’d like that.” Dinner was going surprisingly well for how the night had begun until I got the first phone call of the evening. “Hello?” I said around a mouthful of lasagna. “There’s someone in my apartment.” A whispered voice greeted me. The fork that had been in my hand dropped, clinking against the plate with a loud clatter. I sat forward, staring at my food unseeingly. “Viddy? What’s happening?” “I’m under the bed. There’s someone in my house.” She was speaking so quietly that I had to strain to hear her over the din of the busy restaurant. “Please.” She pleaded.

With no word to Loki on where I was going, I shoved back from the table and took off, calling in backup as I exited the parking and headed towards my cruiser. “Unit 5-2 responding a 10-31 at the apartments South of the lake. Unit 1A. Requesting backup.” I bid urgently. “10-4 backup dispatched.” The dispatcher acknowledged. I had no knowledge of getting in the car, nor driving to Viddy’s apartment. The ten minutes in between leaving the restaurant and arriving were a blur. One minute I was letting Radar in the cruiser, and the next I was parking across three spots, two apartments down from Viddy’s. We went straight up to her apartment. I used the key she’d given me earlier that afternoon in case of emergencies, thankful that she’d done so. I was even more thankful that I’d programmed my number into her ICE-in case of emergency- contact list. I was number one. The police were number two. And Adeline was number three. Radar was close at my heels as I walked in the door, crouching down low just in case. Her apartment was completely black except for the blinking red light that indicated she had a message on her machine. Hitting the button on the barrel of my gun, I turned the LED flashlight on and surveyed the room. There was nothing there. Which was the case in the next two rooms I went through as well. I did notice that the kitchen window was open, the curtain flapping in the breeze. Finally, at the last room, Viddy’s bedroom, I pushed the door open to see a figure hunched over the bed. “Freeze!” I roared. The figure hunching over the bed froze. Reaching over with my free hand, I flicked on the light switch, illuminating the room in a bright fluorescent glow. And none other than Paul, Viddy’s ex, stood there. He was completely naked with a pair of Viddy’s panties in one hand held up to his face and his tiny little dick in the other. “Hands in the air.” I growled.

“Backup. It’s me.” Loki’s voice called from the front room. “In here. Back bedroom. I’ve got him.” I called. Walking slowly forward, I took first one, and then the other hand, cuffing them quickly and efficiently behind his back. Just barely resisting the urge to slam the man’s face into the large wooden pillar that made up the bed’s footboard. Once done, I grabbed him by the wrist and ushered him in Loki’s general direction. With one disgusted snarl, Loki led him from the room. “Viddy?” I called eyes on the bottom of the bed. “Under here.” Came her muffled reply. Dropping down to my knees, I looked underneath to find a shit load of boxes. “Where under here?” I asked curiously. Her little hand poked out from between boxes, and I had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. “How’d you get back there?” I asked as I started moving boxes. Her head poked out, and my breath caught in my throat. Her hair was wild and untamed, just the way I liked it. Then, as her body emerged as she crawled out from under the bed and into my arms, my breath stalled in my chest. She was shaking like a leaf, and it took everything I had not to squeeze her too tightly. The adrenaline that was surging in my body for the second time that night, finally released, and I felt suddenly exhausted and drained. “You okay?” I whispered into her sweet smelling hair. She nodded. “Yes. Oh, God. That was horrible.” I silently agreed, hugging her a little more tightly. My hands ran up and down her back, petting her hair as it fell all the way down to her waist. It was soft. Almost like those slippery sheets that cost a mint. Satin maybe. Radar’s cold nose on her arm made her giggle, and she turned to embrace Radar with one hand, bringing him closer to the two of us before burying her face his thick fur. “She okay?” Loki said from the doorway.

I looked up, startled, to find Kettle standing in the doorway, Adeline standing nervously behind him. I nodded. “She’s okay.” “Move so I can go in.” Adeline snapped from behind her husband. When he started to move, I snapped. “Stop. This is a crime scene. Go back outside until I can get her some clothes. I don’t want to contaminate the evidence by having all these people traipsing through here.” Adeline scowled at me fiercely, but I didn’t relent, which pissed her off. “Fine.” Kettle raised his head until he was staring at the ceiling. “Goddammit. This was such a good night, too.” “Who do I have to kill?” Viddy whisper yelled at me. I looked at her strangely. “Do you mean Paul?” “No. Whomever thought it’d be a good idea to call my sister. My pregnant sister. My so pregnant she’s about to pop, sister. The sister who’s a raging bitch if she doesn’t get enough sleep sister.” “I heard that!” Adeline yelled from the living room. “I wanted you too, you mean bitch!” Viddy yelled from the circle of my arms. Standing up, she used first my arms and then my shoulders to push herself up. “Whore!” “Slut!” “Fucker.” “Lazy cow!” “Rancid vagina-!” Silence. Most likely it was because I’d covered Viddy’s mouth with my hand. Kettle probably had done the same from his end. “That was incredibly disgusting.” I finally said into the silence. “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” Viddy asked happily. “I don’t think I ever want to hear that one again.” I shivered. I sure as fuck didn’t want to be thinking of anyone’s pussy being rancid. “You do realize that there’re about ten cops in or around your apartment right now, don’t you?” I

asked. Viddy shrugged and held her hand out to me. I took it, but I didn’t give her any of my weight. Walking to her drawers, I found a pair of sweat pants in the first drawer, and a t-shirt in the third, which I promptly helped her into before we left the room. Sure enough, there were five cops inside the living room, one being my captain. Then there were the firefighters, as well as multiple members of my MC. “Are they all staring at me?” Viddy whispered loudly. Her question elicited a smile from every face there, including her sister’s. “No, they’re not staring at you. They’re staring at the man who’s still naked and sitting on the floor of your living room.” “What?” She exclaimed loudly. “Yeah, Paul was masturbating to the smell of your panties when I got here. How’d he get in?” I asked, glaring at the man in question. His eyes stayed downcast, but I could see the blush stain his cheeks. “What the fuck?” She yelled. “You sick fuck!” Snorts and grunts of agreement followed her statement. He was a sick fuck. “Can you tell me how he got in?” I asked again. “Through the kitchen window. I heard him open it, and then hit the spoon that was sitting on the ledge of the sink.” She said warily. It was too bad we could only cite him for breaking and entering. We would’ve been able to get him on destruction of property, too, if I’d let him finish. However, at the time I was only thinking about one thing. Hindsight was 20-20 and all that bullshit. “Do you want to press charges?” The captain asked, breaking the silence. “Yes!” She blurted. “I do.” Loki took the embarrassed Paul out of Viddy’s apartment. He’d be out by tomorrow morning. For tonight, though, he was going to be in jail. Tomorrow I’d worry about the rest. “All right, tell me what you need to wear for tomorrow and I’ll go grab it. You’ll be staying with me tonight.” I instructed her. “But-” she started it. “I don’t need to stay with you. My place is perfectly fine.”

“Yeah, well maybe that’s so, but I’d feel better if you’d stay at my place until I could get you an alarm installed.” I said soothingly. She pursed her lips. “She’s staying with us.” Adeline said stubbornly. “I want her with me.” After another ten minutes of arguing between the two women, I had my way and took Viddy home with me, getting Loki to cover the rest of my shift, even though neither women were happy about it.



Chapter 4 No, you assume the position. -Things not to say to a police officer

Trance

“Unit 5-2. Medic 3 in need of a forced entry for a well-being check. 505 West Oak Street.” The dispatcher called over the radio. Reaching over for my mic I said, “10-4,” and pulled a U-turn. The drive was quick. I didn’t go lights and sirens, but I did go over the speed limit to get there within five minutes. When I pulled up, I found Sebastian and Kettle standing outside beside the engine with their arms crossed across their chests. They were in their normal blue uniforms, the shiny strip down their legs reflecting the glow of my headlights as I came to a stop directly beside them. Neither one of them smiled when I pulled up. “You couldn’t get in by yourselves?” I asked them both. Kettle and Sebastian were both members of The Dixie Wardens, and really good friends. Or, at least, they were before last night when I’d pissed Kettle off. Which meant if one was pissed at you, the other was pissed at you out of principle. It was as if they were a gaggle of teenage girls. “The Chief says we have to have PD for every forced entry now. So we called.” Kettle said in clipped sentences. Oh, yeah. He was still mad. Oh, well. Apparently, Adeline had given him shit about the fact that Viddy had gone home with me two days ago, after the break in. In fact, she was still at my place. Her alarm should be installed within the next two days, and then she’d be free to go home. Adeline was pregnant. Therefore rational thought flew out the window when it came to her. Which was why she called constantly to make sure that Viddy was all right, even though she’d been the one to push us together in the first place. Letting Kosher out of the car, I walked to the back of the car and lifted the trunk, lifting the ram out, as

well as the halligan. I walked with them both, one in each hand, up to the door. Moving to the side out of habit to protect the majority of my body, I knocked loudly and called out, “BPD!” When no one answered, I tried again. “BPD! We’re here to do a welfare check.” When still no one answered, I pulled out the battering ram since the door was made of flimsy wood. As soon as the tool made contact with the wood, a loud BOOM sounded and I was thrown back ten feet. Something hit me in the chest so goddamn hard that I couldn’t breathe. My body hit the ground behind me with a hard thud. My head bounced off the unforgiving ground with a thump, and I stared up at the sky for long seconds, unable to take a breath. Starting to panic, I clawed at the hot heavy thing on my chest before strong hands pushed my feeble ones out of the way, deftly working to get the hot metal away from my chest. “Jesus Christ, get his hands!” Kettle yelled. My hands were restrained against the cold grass, and I started to buck. “Mother fucker,” Sebastian growled. I felt something straddle my legs, but I hadn’t taken a breath in nearly a minute and a half, and my vision started going black. Just when true and real panic started to set in, blessed relief on my chest had me taking in a deep gulp of air through oxygen-starved lungs. First one, and then two, followed by more. Deep pulls of air giving my oxygen starved brain it’s much needed nutrients had all my struggles ceasing. I lay on the grass with someone restraining my arms, and another body laying over my legs. It took a full minute of deep breathing for my vision to return to normal, and as I opened my eyes, I found Kettle’s eerie blue ones staring deep into my own. He was close enough that I was sharing his air, which wasn’t something I was used to. “Are you going to kiss me or something?” I rasped warily. “I was going to if I had to. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it or anything.” Kettle laughed, sitting back on his haunches, giving me a clear view of Sebastian straddling my body and holding me down.

“Jesus, I feel like this is some sort of kinky dream.” I laughed, and then groaned when the pain in my chest finally started making itself known. Then I heard the snarling barks of Kosher, and the high-pitched squeals of someone else, most likely being pinned to the floor by him. “Give me the vest back,” I groaned as I sat up. “Get off my legs, dude, I need to check the scene.” Sebastian moved off reluctantly, staring at me like I’d just grown a second head. I stood with the help of Kettle, and then shrugged the vest back on that he’d taken off. My shirt was torn from where one of them had ripped it open, forgoing the buttons for expediency. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway when I looked down to see the large hole from the slug in my vest. When I walked to the door, gun in hand, I dropped and took note of the scene before me. One man lay on the ground in the entranceway, most likely dead. The gun lay at the man’s feet, dropped unceremoniously where it’d fallen from limp fingers. The door was open slightly, and I nudged it with my foot further, taking in the scene before me. No longer needing to announce my presence, I walked in, kicking the gun out the door just in case dead man decided to pull a zombie act and come back from the dead. Upon inspection of his pulse, I was assured that he was most definitely dead, and rounded the entranceway with caution, gun held out in front of me. The entranceway led into a sunken living room that I cleared quickly. Knowing that Kosher had whomever he was guarding, I cleared first the two back bedrooms, the laundry room, and the back yard before finally making my way into the kitchen. What I found was the shit out of a raunchy porno. Shaking my head in surprise, I called to Kosher. “Heel.” Kosher sat on his haunches with nervous anticipation. The man he’d been growling at was already detained...in a manner of speaking. “It’s clear!” I bellowed, making the guy at the table whimper. It didn’t take long for the rest of the fire department to come in, followed by nearly half the force that was on duty today. Sebastian and Kettle flanked me, both watching the scene that was playing out in front of us.

“Do you think he realizes what he looks like?” Sebastian finally asked. I surveyed the man. His large, chubby body was strapped down on his back to the kitchen table with tie straps that normal people used to secure loads to their trucks and trailers. He was completely naked and blindfolded. His cock was duck taped to one leg, and his balls were duck taped to the other. He had a broom handle shoved up his ass, and his mouth was filled with what looked a can of cooking spray. “Do you think this was consensual?” I finally asked, jolting the two men beside me into action. As they removed the can of cooking spray from the man’s mouth, and the blindfold from the man’s eyes, a wide shit eating grin graced the man’s face, “Oh, my God! Aren’t y’all just the cutest things I’ve ever seen! Where’s my master? Did he send you in here for my entertainment?” That was when I left. I didn’t need to see them pull the broom out of the man’s ass. I exited through the garage, and was assaulted by the man’s dungeon of doom, and overjoyed that I had decided to come this way to avoid contaminating the crime scene. I mean, how else would I have known what the man’s hobby was? Each and every wall was covered in fetish toys. I’m not one to complain about another human beings’ proclivities, but I sure as fuck didn’t want to think about two men, both very nearly obese, doing the things I saw today on the multiple pieces of furniture that graced the garage. Luckily the garage door worked, because I wasn’t sure if I could handle any more of my imagination. That and my chest was starting to hurt like a motherfucker. Thank God my shift was only ten minutes from being over. I needed a goddamn vacation after the past couple of days. Which I sure as fuck would be taking.

*** “Trance?” Viddy’s voice called from the kitchen as I entered through the front door of my house. I followed the smell of spaghetti sauce until I found Viddy standing by the stove with a boiling pot of water on one burner, and a pot of sauce and meatballs on the other. My eyebrows creased as my palms started to sweat. How did she cook when she couldn’t see? How would she know if something bad happened? “Trance?” Viddy asked worriedly. “Right here.” I rumbled, walking over to the table and divesting myself of my gun belt and keys. The Kevlar vest had already been turned into evidence, and I had a new one to pick up before I went back on duty in two days’ time. Kosher, who’d followed his nose to the kitchen as well, walked over to Viddy and leaned into her, rubbing his furry head all along her left hand that was dangling at her side. Once all my things that poked and prodded (besides the ones that were attached) were off my body, I walked up to Viddy and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. “How was your day?” I asked, leaning my hips against the counter. I watched as she stirred the pot of sauce as she spoke. “It went well. They found the boy that put those drugs in Falco’s locker. It was another boy that Falco had had a disagreement with earlier in the week. The kid got suspended and has to attend the alternative school for the rest of the year.” That made me happy. After hearing how much Viddy had liked him, I’d hoped that he wouldn’t turn out to be a little shit head like some teenagers. “That’s good. How do you cook when you can’t see?” I blurted as she started heading for the pot of boiling noodles with her pot holder covered hands. I pushed her to the side and emptied the pot into the sink for her, and then poured the strained noodles back into the pot before setting it on the wooden cutting board beside the sink. She glared in my direction, and then threw her hand out innocently. Except it hit my bruised chest right where I’d taken a shot gun slug to the chest only an hour earlier. I doubled over, struggling to keep the nausea that threatened to surge up my throat down. “Trance?” She asked worriedly when she heard me groan in pain. I straightened half way, trying my best to shrug off the agonizing pain in my chest.

“I’m okay.” I wheezed. I told her about what had happened over the past hour, and she looked at me in abject horror. “You were shot?” She cried. I nodded. “Yes. Took a slug to the chest. Knocked me ten feet backwards.” It wasn’t until I saw the tears rolling down her cheeks that I thought about what I’d just said, and how blasé it made me sound. Which couldn’t have been further from the truth. “I’m okay, sweetie.” I said as I pulled her into my chest and wrapped my arms around her. She buried her nose in my chest, and I winced when her chin met the tender spot, but I didn’t let her go. “You scare the hell out of me. Your job gives me the creeps.” She murmured. “It gives me the creeps, too. I’ve been in law enforcement for going on eleven years now. I’ve nearly lost my passion for it. I’m thirty three going on sixty in terms of police years.” I said before giving her a kiss on the forehead. “You got into law enforcement when you were that young?” She asked in surprise. “I was in the air force for five years. I was in the security force. That’s where I got the K-9 bug. I started training my first dog when I was nineteen. From there I became obsessed. When I got out of the Air Force, I hired on with Las Vegas PD and worked with four other K-9 handlers for five years before I came to Benton.” I explained. “Did you like Las Vegas? That seems like a place that would be tons of fun.” She said wistfully. I grimaced. In actuality, I’d hated it there. It was a constant struggle with belligerent drunks, tourists who were there for a ‘good time’ (And FYI, if you fuck up in Vegas, it sure as fuck doesn’t stay in Vegas, no matter how the saying goes.) Then there were the prostitutes, druggies, and constant crime around the strip. I’d worked one part of the strip for years, and I’d gotten burned out at the constant search for drugs. The chases. The shootings. The murders over the stupidest shit I’d ever heard of. It rankled, and I was tired of it. So I’d come to Benton. The smallest town I could find that was hiring at the time. It was the best decision of my life. “It was lots of fun for everyone but the police. It got old really fast. Trust me.” I said, releasing her and heading to the cabinet for plates.

She must’ve heard the underlying tone of sadness and shame in my voice. Viddy was perceptive as hell, and her next question brought me back to the nightmare that ended my time in Las Vegas. Making it come to a screeching halt so fast my head spun. “Why’d you move here from Las Vegas? Seems like a drastic change.” Viddy said into the darkness. The plates that were in my hands were set gently on the counter, and I planted my hands on the counter, letting my head hang in defeat. My biggest regret. The one I didn’t save. “One case got to me, and I just couldn’t handle it anymore. I needed to escape somewhere that didn’t have so much heartache attached to it. Not quite so much drama.” “Will you tell me about it?” Viddy asked, laying her head against my chest. The story came out of me. Pouring like acid out of my throat.

*** I was headed to lunch. I hated eating out, but at least Subway was one of the healthier choices. To get to Subway from where I was at, I had two options. One was to go the short way and cut through the heart of Las Vegas, and the other was to cross over a large bridge that looped around the city. Normally, I’d go through the city, but I wasn’t up to pulling anybody over. It was inevitable. Every single time. Instead, I pulled onto the street that looped around, and started driving. It’d been a long day, and I was tired. I just wanted to get home. Of course, nothing ever works out the way it’s supposed to. Never. I looked up when I noticed a large SUV barreling down on me. Since I was going nearly ten under the speed limit, I didn’t give it a second thought when the woman passed me. Sure, it was unusual for anyone to pass a cop, but I liked it when people drove normally around me. It was very trying when all I had to do was pull up behind someone for them to start driving as perfect as they could. Like it’s not obvious to me that the only reason they’re going two under the speed limit is that they saw me. And yes, when you stare straight ahead and refuse to make eye contact with the cop, it only makes us more suspicious. I had to smile as the woman passed. It was a breath of fresh air; it took guts to pass a cop, no matter what the situation. It didn’t take long before the woman was around the bend, and I could no longer see her car. I drove for another five minutes before I came to the bridge...and the SUV that had passed me. At an odd angle at the side of the road, I pulled over with a sigh. Like I said, nothing was ever easy. Everything that happened in life had an opposite reaction. I liked to think that things happened for a reason, and by me taking this way, fate had tried to intercept what was about to happen. Getting out of the car, I opened the door for Radar, and we went to check the vehicle out. The SUV’s engine was off, the soft click-click of the let me know that it hadn’t been off for long, otherwise that wouldn’t be happening.

Doing a quick peek in the windows and finding nothing, I started scanning the area. “Ma’am?” I called out. With no answer, I continued to move forward until I was within ten feet of the bridge. When I saw it, my eyes didn’t completely understand. It took a few swings of the body hanging from the rope for me to fully comprehend what had happened, and I started running. The woman on the other end of the noose wasn’t struggling. When I got to the rope, I started pulling the rope up hand over hand. I didn’t have any other option since the alternative was cutting the rope and losing her to the gorge down below. I thanked God the woman was on the smaller side; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to get her up by myself. With quick, efficient pulls, I had her up and over the bridge within moments, laying her limp body down on the hot asphalt. After requesting a medic, I felt for a pulse and didn’t find one. That’s when I started CPR. By the time the ambulance showed, my muscles burned from the exertion, and I was sweating like a pig in the late afternoon sun. “Take over compressions. I’ll tube her.” One medic said to another. I moved, reluctantly, to let them do their job, but I had zero hope. The woman was dead. There was no other explanation for it. She was stiff as a goddamned board. After nearly fifteen minutes of CPR and no pulse, I was fairly sure she wouldn’t be coming back. I’d worked a lot of cases with dead people, and there was just no way.

*** “My fears were confirmed twenty minutes later when I called to check on the patient and they told me she didn’t make it. Her neck had been broken with the impact of the fall.” I said woodenly. “When I performed a search of her vehicle, I found a medal of honor, and a note. The note said that she’d gotten the news that her husband was never coming home from the war. That he’d died in a roadside bomb. She said she couldn’t live without him; that she never wanted to¸ and she decided to join him in the afterlife. That she loved him too much to live without him anymore.” “That’s just horrible. Oh, God. How dreadful.” Viddy whispered sadly. It was horrible. The whole thing was just a completely gut-wrenching situation. One that tanked my career in Las Vegas so completely that I’d been jaded ever since. I couldn’t sleep at night. I had nightmares. I replayed certain cases over and over again. So much of this world was dark and nasty, that at times I couldn’t see the light. Or at least I hadn’t been able to…until I met Viddy. “How about we eat?” I suggested to try to lighten the mood, even though that was the honest to God last thing I wanted to do right then. “Sure,” she said softly. Scooping up a massive amount of spaghetti, and then smothering it with sauce, I sat at the table, watching as she made her plate of food. Not once did she spill, bobble, or even trip. She was doing it as if she was seeing it, and it amazed me. “I hope you don’t get offended by this, but I think it’s truly impressive that you can do all this without your sight.” I said carefully. She shrugged one shoulder as she sat, placing the napkin in her lap and tucking her hair behind her ears before she took her first bite. “I know no different. Seriously, though, what would you do right now if you lost your sight? Would you curl into a ball and whine about what was taken away from you? No. You’d grin and bear it just like I have. I’ve learned to cope. I’ve learned to do things that others thought would be impossible. Hell, I can even do sign language. Do you know how? I felt with my hands each word. That’s how. I listened and learned. Just because someone is blind or deaf or can’t walk doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy life.” “That makes me feel humble.” I said shaking my head. Then I took a bite of her spaghetti even though my stomach was still churning from reliving one of my greatest nightmares. I ate every single bite, and then placed the plate on the floor for the dogs who were

all laying in the middle of the kitchen floor like lumps on a log. Lumps that Viddy had avoided.

*** Viddy “No, no. Nooooo.” Moaning woke me from a deep sleep. Sitting straight up in bed, I was confused for long moments while my brain caught up with my body, and it was then I heard the low moans of Trance. I could hear him from his room all the way across the house. He had me in his guest bedroom. Somewhere in the time that I’d been at his place last and now, he’d gotten a brand new bedroom suite for the guest room. Last time I’d slept in his bed. I’d breathed in the masculine scent of him while I’d slept, gathering peace from the comforting smell. Rolling to my feet, I exited the bedroom, keeping my hand on the wall as I went. Not bothering with the light, because what the hell would be the point? I’d cased the house when I was left alone for the afternoon, and I was fairly sure I knew where everything was. I got all the way to the hallway before I found my first obstacle. Radar. I knew it was him by the long fur. He wasn’t laying, but more like waiting for me in the darkness. He nudged me forward, placing his head under my hand and led me all the way to Trance’s bedside. The moaning had gotten steadily more heartbreaking as I got closer, and by the time I was close enough, I was very near tears just by the raw agony in his voice. “Trance?” I called softly. Trance didn’t move. Didn’t even stir. “Trance,” I called louder, placing my hand on his body. Turned out it was his chest. He was laying on his back. Moving my hand to the side of his ribs, I gave him a good push, but still nothing. He was locked in his own personal nightmare.

Moving to the bed, I straddled his hips and started to move him a little harder, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Trance, honey. Wake up.” I said. You know those times where you watch a movie, and the woman rouses the man from sleep and he wakes up and reverses their positions? Where the woman is flipped sideways on the bed, and she ends up underneath of him? Yeah, Trance didn’t work like that. Instead, he just rolled over and dumped me off on the floor. My head struck the side of the table as I went, causing me to wince. I couldn’t help the giggling, though, which is what eventually woke him from his dream. “Viddy?” He asked. I heard the snick of the light, and then I saw it. Saw it! “Oh, My God.” I breathed. “I can see you with half my left eye.” Trance’s face went from frowning to confused. And then slowly morphed into joy. I was feeling all of those things, too. Joy, confusion, hope, denial, everything and more. Suddenly I was hauled up by my armpits to straddle him the way I’d been doing it earlier. “I can see you from here, over.” I whispered hopefully, starting in the middle of my left eye making a sweeping motion with my hand to the left. His smile was fucking beautiful. Out of all the things in the world I’d wanted to see over the years, his smile and face had been near the top of my list. “You have a cleft chin.” I said, indicating the indention on his chin with my finger. He smiled, and his dimples popped out. Honest to God dimples. He also had a row of perfectly shaped, beautiful white teeth. “God, you really are gorgeous. And your eyes!” I said, leaning closer until I was staring into the left one, taking in the striations and flecks of blue. His breathing stalled in his chest at my closeness, and when I started to pull away, finally realizing what I was doing, he held me firm, refusing to let me go. “Trance,” I said hesitantly. “Uhh, I’m sorry for waking you. But you were having a nightmare.”

He nodded. “I have those a lot. What happened right here?” He asked as he rubbed his finger over the mark on my forehead where I’d struck the night table. “I hit my head on the night table when you rolled over.” I said sheepishly. “I was trying to wake you up. You know in the movies, it never works like that.” He chuckled, and then leaned forward, placing his warm, wet lips on the mark. “I’m sorry. I’m not really a Prince Charming.” “That’s okay, I’m not really looking for Prince Charming,” I said. Leaning closer, I was millimeters away from his lips when the bedroom door crashed open. “What the fuck, Bro! You were supposed to pick me up at the airport!”

Chapter 5 You had me at ‘let’s go to Taco Bell.’ -Viddy to Miller.

Viddy “Who’s the chick?” The man asked, and then hopped onto the bed beside us, lying down and closing his eyes. He was tall like Trance. Same blonde hair color, only his hair was wavy instead of insanely curly. Same cleft chin. Same dimples. He was also about twice Trance’s size, muscle wise, and that was saying something since Trance wasn’t a small man himself. In fact, he was pretty damn huge in my opinion, which made the man now curling up in bed beside me more resemble a Goliath in the muscle department. “Viddy,” Trance growled, covering me up with his sheet. “I’d like you to meet my brother. The asshole.” “I thought I was the asshole.” Another man said from the doorway. “You told me last time I was the asshole. I want to be the asshole. He can be the shit head.” That one was the same height as Trance as well, but his hair was a nearly snow white, and curly like Trance’s. Same dimples. Same cleft. Less muscles. He was more what I would call wiry. Oh, he had muscles, but of the three, he was definitely the smallest. And youngest. He still had some boyish look to him. Their mother and father must be freakin’ gorgeous. Then he, too, got into bed, sandwiching himself between my thigh and the other man on the bed. I giggled. Seriously, who could not giggle at a time like this? I was seeing out of half my eye. Three gorgeous men were with me in the same bed. “Viddy, the one on the far side is my big brother, Miller. The one currently using your thigh as a pillow is my baby brother, Foster.” He chuckled. It was obvious that they were all really close. Especially since Trance hadn’t kicked them out of bed yet.

Even after they’d walked in on me straddling their brother. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you.” I said, smiling slightly at them. “I bet he told you everything bad we’ve ever done, huh?” Miller asked, glaring at Trance. I giggled again. Not one to be left out, Radar jumped from the floor to the bed, settling in by laying across Trance’s chest and my lap, licking Foster’s face. “Stop you big galoot.” Foster laughed. “How did y’all get past Radar and Kosher?” I asked curiously. “They love us. We actually saw you walking towards his room earlier, so we let y’all have a few minutes before we came to announce our presence.” Foster said as he pulled Radar down until he was laying length wise down the bed. Kosher, not one to be ignored either, jumped up on Miller’s side and started licking, too. “The bed’s not supposed to hold this much.” Trance said dryly. I looked around, surveying the space, still practically giddy inside that I was able to see, albeit not very well. It was good enough for me though. If I never got anything back for the rest of my life, I would be happy. “So, since everyone’s awake at...” Trance glanced at the watch on his wrist. “4:43 A.M. we can go to breakfast. I don’t have anything to cook. Cracker Barrel or IHOP?” “Cracker Barrel.” “Taco Bell.” “McDonald’s.” I out right laughed at the exasperation written all over Trance’s face. “Were Taco Bell and McDonald’s even options, dipshits?” Of course, it was the brothers that’d come up with the two suggestions that weren’t even options. I was a conformist. I was a go with the crowd type of person. Although, now that they’d mentioned it, Taco Bell did sound pretty good. Which was how we wound up in Trance’s Tahoe, driving to Taco Bell at five in the morning. “We need some tunes!” Miller declared loudly, as soon as we were pulling out of Trance’s driveway. I was in the back with Foster, while Miller sat up front with Trance.

When the only thing Miller found was news programs, I offered my phone. “I have Pandora. You should be able to find anything you want to listen to.” Greedily, Miller snatched the phone from my hand, plugged it in, and pulled up the Pandora app. Embarrassingly enough, the first song to come on was Hakuna Matata. After a few moments of stunned silence, I found myself staring at three grown men, all of them sporting beards, singing the Disney song at the top of their lungs with the windows down. They were dancing and moving, shaking the SUV with their movement. Miller even pulled out the old school moves with the sprinkler and the robot. Laughing my ass off when we pulled up to the stop light one intersection away from Taco Bell, I looked over to see a car full of teenagers staring at us warily. Then, doing what teenagers do, they revved the engine of their little four door Mazda. Trance, not one to be out done, kept singing, but made sure to rev his own engine. Trance’s was louder. It was a V8 with headers and a Flo Master exhaust. There was never going to be a comparison. The song ended, moving on to the next, which happened to be A Whole New World. Which also happened to be known by each man. Which was how I found myself racing a car full of teenagers to the local Taco Bell as they all sang along as if they were on Broadway. FYI…Trance won.

*** Trance

“I like your girl.” Miller said with a tilt of his beer in Viddy’s direction. “I thought she was blind though.” I looked at Viddy as she threw a stick for Mocha and Tequila. Each puppy would race the other, and then carry it back side-by-side, offering their war prize to Viddy to throw again. “Yeah, she is.” I said, and then explained her condition. “So what, she sees, but she doesn’t see?” I shrugged, just as confused with her condition as he was. “I guess. She was seeing with half her left eye this morning, but by the end of work¸ she was down to a quarter. Seems like stress and her environment affect her vision.” “That just fuckin’ sucks. Still, though, I like her. You should put a ring on it.” Miller said. I snorted. “That woman right there has an independence streak a mile wide. If we got together, there’d be no way I could refrain from helping her on a daily basis, which I think she’d end up hating.” “You want her. What more is there to question?” Foster stated. “Whether she could deal with me being a cop. I got shot yesterday, and she didn’t handle it very well. The day before that I pulled over a teenager and he cut my face open with a pair of scissors. She didn’t handle that well, either. I’m not sure she’s cut out to be a cop’s woman.” I didn’t know who I was trying to convince. Them or me. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Viddy. I did, like crops need the rain. Every day I thought about her. She was the first thing to cross my mind every morning, and the last thing before I fell asleep at night. But I’d done the whole scared-for-her-man girlfriend thing already. I remember exactly what it felt like to get my heart ripped out of my chest by the one woman who was supposed to be there for you through thick and thin, and I didn’t want to deal with that again. That was why I always dated the ones that didn’t have any expectations of me. Tillie, for example. She was a hoe-fo’-sho’, but she gave good head and didn’t ask me for anything more.

Viddy, though, wouldn’t be up for just a quick fuck. She’d demand things of me. Things I wasn’t willing to give anymore. Mainly my heart. I’d learned my lesson. “I think you ought to give her a chance, little brother.” Miller said softly. I glanced at him, and saw the look in his eyes. The one that told me he knew what I was feeling. All three of us brothers had gone through nearly the same thing. Bree, my ex, left me after one particular drug deal that’d gone horribly wrong, leaving me with a scar that spanned from hip to hip at my back. Miller and Foster’s exes left because they couldn’t handle their men being in the military and in danger all the time. Our mother thought she’d gone horribly wrong when it came to her sons. My father, however, knew the score. He’d been in the military for nearly his whole life, and had been lucky to find one that stuck with him through thick and thin. He’d had friends, however, that weren’t so lucky. “What’s she doing here?” Miller asked. “Her ex broke into her house while she was there and started jacking himself off to the smell of her underwear. She was scared shitless so she came home with me until I can get the alarm installed.” I explained. “What happened to him?” Foster asked. “He got out on a year of probation. Wasn’t enough, but I plan on having a talk with him to let him know what will happen to him if he decides to pursue her in any way.” I informed them. They grunted in acknowledgement. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be going alone. Especially since I already had Kettle and Loki chomping at the bit to tag along, too. It’d be one big fuckin’ carnival. Foster, seeing Viddy approaching just as I did, changed the subject. “I think we should go fishing tomorrow. I have another week of leave before I have to go back. I really could use a little relaxing time.” Foster groaned. I glanced at my little brother, seeing the fatigue lining his mouth and eyes. Although he was always in a perpetual good mood, I knew when he was out of sorts. All three of us always knew when the others were hurting. Our parents liked to call it our brother bond. We just liked to call it perception.

We’d been all each other had growing up. We’d lived in Germany, France, and so many states that it was hard to name them all when we were young. Dad went where the Navy sent him, and we dutifully followed. The Spurlock boys always had each other’s backs, and God help anyone that tried to pick on one of us, because the other brothers wouldn’t let you forget whom you fucked with. I could always count on them. Always. “Sure, I have to run by Viddy’s apartment tomorrow because I’m having an alarm installed, but Max and Gabe should be there fairly early, so after that we’re free to go.” I said just as Viddy stepped up onto my porch. Viddy’s mouth was pursed, making me barely contain the smile that wanted to overtake my face. Viddy wasn’t happy that I’d paid for the materials and labor to have the alarm installed. My argument was that I’d been the one to hire the most expensive men in the Ark-La-Tex, so I was going to pay for it. End of story. She’d not had anything else to say to that. My guess was that she didn’t want to fight with me over the matter. She’d figure out a way to pay me back eventually. She was devious like that. I’d have to be on the lookout just in case she tried to start slipping me bills in random spots. “Who’re Gabe and Max?” Miller asked. “They run a modern day Underground Railroad for ladies that are trying to escape abusive situations, along with three other men. James, one of the members of Free, is married to Sebastian’s sister. Sebastian and Sam, another of the members, are brothers. Silas is their father. They have different mothers though. They put up the capital, and together they erase her identity, and give her a new one. They send her on her way with a nice bank account, a new name, and ensure she’s safe.” Viddy explained jovially. As if it was the most awesome thing in the world, what they did. I blinked at her, surprised that she knew that much stuff about them. The men of Free were pretty tight lipped about what they did. They had to be, or the women they helped would be in danger. “How’d you know all that?” I asked suspiciously. “People tend to talk around me. For some reason they see the blind girl and assume I’m too stupid to realize what’s going on. That and I tend to blend into the background in most situations.” She shrugged.

“So what else have you learned?” I asked worriedly. She smiled cryptically. “Oh, not much. Well, a little bit. You’ll have to take me out to see a movie before I tell you, though. I haven’t been able to do that in years.” With that cryptic comment, she left, walking back inside, not even sparing us another glance. Taking half of my heart with her. “Oh, she’s dangerous.” Miller laughed. I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, now you know why I have to keep some distance between us until I know if she can handle my job or not.” “Yeah, good luck with that.” Miller said as he tossed the rest of his beer back. “Now, let’s go eat some of that fried chicken she cooked. It smells fucking amazing.

Chapter 6 Boys will be boys, and men will be…whiney boys when they don’t get what they want. -Life Lesson

Trance

“What the fuck is that?” Foster asked as he pointed to the piece of equipment that Max had in his hands. Max was a big fucker. Tall with shoulders like a linebacker. He was my height with close-cropped hair and one fuck of a scar on his face. Him and Loki were two peas in a pod in the scar department. “This,” Max said as he held up the newest gadget he was installing in Viddy’s place. “This is my newest acquisition from my old CO. It’s a prototype that we’ve been begging to use. It only took the right circumstances. See, his baby sister is blind, too. He knows all the hardships that they go through. He sent extra.” His grin was positively devilish. Gabe was busy giving Viddy a run down on how to work her new system. What to do and not to do. What features she had in case she ever needed them. Right then he was busy putting a remote key chain into her hand. Except he lifted her wrist, used his fingers to open her hand, and then curled his hand around hers to make her clasp the gadget, which made my blood boil. It was irrational. I knew Gabe was very happily married with three kids, one of which turned nine months old last week. I’d even seen him showing off pictures of his baby when he arrived. However, my mind didn’t care that he was married. All that kept screaming through my head was that some man had his hands on her. “What the fuck?” Max exclaimed. All of us turned to where Max was standing near the closet, and what I saw made my stomach flip. No, it wasn’t the arsenal of guns that Viddy had in her bedroom closet. Nor the N’Sync poster she had

hanging up on her closet door. It was the tiny little camera about the size of my pinky finger that Max pulled out that elicited that reaction. Gabe, who saw the little camera from all the way across the room, pulled Viddy out by her elbow before she could see anything, leaving my brothers, Max, and me behind. All staring at the camera. “Is it live?” I rasped. The words felt raw in my throat. Using a red bandana he had in his back pocket, Max took the camera down carefully, being doubly sure not to smudge any lasting prints. “Got a light?” Max asked with a raised eyebrow. Miller was the first to hand him one out of his own pocket. It was a little Mag-Lite the size of a pen. Shining it up into her closet, he found wires leading to a small battery powered box. “Whatever it is, he has to come back in here to check it.” Max said as he showed us the box he ripped down from the ceiling. We all gathered around, staring at the innocent little piece of equipment that probably captured many of Viddy’s private moments. “That asshole boyfriend of hers is going to die.” Foster declared from beside me. I glanced over at him. “Dying is too good for him. I vote sending the fucker to jail and setting him up for some services in the system for a while.” I said as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and made a few calls. After talking to Loki and getting his confirmation that he’d send a team out to dust for more prints and bring the evidence in, I declared, “Viddy’s going to go with us. Do you guys mind staying here till my boys get here? We leave her here much longer and she’s going to figure out what happened. I want to be sure it was actually him before I tell her what’s going on.” “Absolutely.” Max agreed instantly. The same couldn’t be said for the woman in the other room. She was like a rabid beast when it came to her independence. After I assured her that I would tell her later, she agreed. Reluctantly

*** Viddy

I’d never been fishing before in a boat. Nor hung out with a bunch of men that’d been drinking. However, that said, it was the most fun I’d ever had in my life. When we’d first arrived, Trance backed the trailer expertly into the water with Foster and Miller already on the boat. They’d even gotten it off the trailer completely before anybody realized that they’d forgotten to put the plug in. The plug, Trance explained, was a little device that you have to screw in at the back of the boat to keep the water out. Once you’re finished, you pull the plug out, and any water that collected in the boat would drain out. With all the goofing around and name-calling, each of the men had forgotten in their playing that none had done the usual check to make sure they had everything they needed. They didn’t forget their cooler full of beer and cheese, though. Or the earth worms and little baby minnows that they’d be fishing with. After the fiasco of putting the boat in the water and then trying to get it out again before it sank to the bottom of the boat ramp, they set out on the lake to do some brother bonding time, with me in tow. Something had happened at my apartment, but of course they tried to protect me from everything. Each and every man in that room looked at me like I was a poor, pitiful, little disabled woman. I’d reluctantly gone with Trance, Miller, and Foster, leaving the other two men at my apartment that I’d only met once before. They looked trustworthy, though, which was why I left them. Even with murder in their eyes that they’d had the moment I’d walked out the door. “I can’t believe you forgot the fish basket.” Miller grumbled for the eighteenth time. “I’ve got a fuckin’ live well! Put them in there, you stupid son of a bitch!” Trance yelled. I giggled, yet again, as they started arguing like little boys. “How am I supposed to keep mine separate from yours? If I put them in yours, then I won’t be able to gloat about whose is bigger!” Miller growled. The giggling turned to full out laughing my ass off. “What does it matter?” Foster asked seriously. “Viddy was the only one who caught what we were

absolutely sure was a keeper.” That was true. They’d forgotten to bring a tape measure, which meant that the fish they were catching might or might not be legal, so they’d ended up tossing them back. Mine was the only one in the live well at the moment, much to each of the men’s annoyance. “I tried to offer my dick as a measuring tool, but you wouldn’t let me with Viddy here. Although she said it’d be all right.” Miller provoked. Trance’s eyes turned cold and hard as they took in his older brother. “Your dick better stay in your pants at all times. I’m not sure what four inches would do us anyway. We need twelve inches. You’d have to stack your dick three times to get what we needed.” Trance goaded. Trying to stop the inevitable argument before it got to shoving, I distracted Trance by asking Trance about his name. “You know, Trance, it’s really weird that both of your brothers are named after beers and you aren’t.” I said as I looked at his face. Today my vision had returned to the better than normal, as opposed to last night, where it dwindled down to barely anything again. After a quick call to Dr. Morris this morning, he said that it was possible that it would always do that when I got tired, and to just get used to it. It proved to be more annoying than anything. I didn’t know when, at any given time, it’d decide to stop working again. So I was always on edge, waiting for it to leave. “Trance isn’t my real name. That’s just the name I was given when I joined The Dixie Wardens. Killian Red Spurlock is my real one...” Trance said distractedly. He had a fish on the line, making him lose the conversation in the middle as he battled with a fish on his hook. I was worried it’d slip off like it had the last three times, but this time he got it all the way to the boat, and Foster used the net to capture the slippery creature and bring it onto the deck. “My God, that thing is the ugliest, most nastiest thing I’ve ever seen.” I said, walking over to it and crouching down so I could see it more clearly. “What is it?” I asked as I ran my finger up the side of its slimy body. “Buffalo. They’re big fuckers, but we don’t usually keep them. They don’t taste very good to us.” Trance said as he removed the hook from the fish’s mouth. “What was mine again?” I asked.

“Channel cat.” Foster said. “Mine’s prettier.” I decided. “Yeah, Channel Cats are pretty.” He agreed as he tossed his line back into the water. Reaching forward, I cracked open a bottle of Bud. “I guess it’s good that your parents didn’t like Bud Lite. Foster, Miller, and Killian have a much better ring to them.” They snorted. “Our father owns a bar now that he’s retired. At the time each of us was born, he named us after the beer he’d been drinking the night before.” That was explained by the youngest, Foster. “That’s nifty and a lot like my parents’ explanation. My mom and dad named us after songs that they’d heard on the radio when we were born. They fought like cats and dogs for the entire nine months of the pregnancy. The first one was Vidalia.” I smiled wistfully at the retelling of the story. “My daddy liked to say that he had to change the station just in case Jolene came on. Sweet Adeline was the first one that came on the oldies station the minute after Adeline was born.” “Our parents sound like they would’ve gotten along, honey.” Trance said softly, running his smelly fish fingers across my cheek. I was so enamored with his words, and the smile on his face that revealed those beautiful dimples that I didn’t even care about his fish fingers. I just smiled and leaned into his hand, thankful that I was experiencing the moment. Being technically blind left me with many regrets as to what I would never get to experience. But during the next five hours on that boat, it was the best of my life. Why, you ask? The three men that surrounded me. Weather in Louisiana was hot, regardless of the time of year. It was mid-September, and only a mere eighty-nine degrees out. Although on the milder side of the heat index, it still meant that sweating was inevitable. Add to the heat, the humidity, and you had a nice little feeling of baking going on. By mid-morning, all three men in the boat with me had shed their shirts, and all stood bare chested and glistening. My mind had never been so full of perfection before. All three men had tattoos. A lot of them. Trance, however, was the one with the least. His chest and back were only partially covered, whereas

Foster and Miller barely had a free spot on their torsos. Their arms were free of any identifying tattoos, which I suspected was due to their status as SEALS, rather than personal preference. The sweat on their bodies dripped down, pooling in the waistband of their underwear, which rode up just slightly over the belt of their jeans. Funny enough, they all three wore the same brand. Fruit of the Loom. Each man wore a hat, concealing their eyes and faces, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how well they could sell a calendar. Each man was ripped. Each man had scars scattered over their bodies, but Trance’s was the one I was most interested in. His chest had a large bruise just above his chest bone from being shot the day before. Or I suppose nearly shot was more appropriate. It was purple, blue, yellow, and putrid green. The slice on his temple was just as bad. It was inflamed and red, with the black of the stitches sticking out against his tanned skin like a shining beacon. He had what I’d guessed were a few knife wounds, one gunshot wound that went from a point on his right belly to the back of his right flank. A jagged scar that went from his left trapezius muscle at the top of his back to his right lower shoulder that bisected an eagle tattoo that dominated the upper portions of his back. “What are you doing?” Trance asked me in alarm. I had my phone up and I was snapping pictures of the three men standing shoulder to shoulder at the back of the boat. Each man hadn’t even sat the entire four hours we’d been there, leaving me the comfy captain’s chair all to myself. “This is a Kodak Moment, I figured I’d capture it for the women of the world.” I said happily. Trance rolled his eyes and turned back to his bobber. “Hey, send it to my mom. She’d like it.” Foster said offhandedly. “She doesn’t get very many of the three of us.” “What’s her number?” I asked as I pulled it up into a new message. Miller rattled off the number, and I hit send. It was amazing how different it was to rely on my actual sight rather than my voice-activated features. I could seriously get used to this.

The reply to my picture message came instantly. The boys’ mommy: Oh, My God! They are so adorable! Tell them to turn around and take one from the front. I did so, and each man glared at me as I snapped another shot. All three of them flipped off the camera. I hit send, snickering the entire time. The boys’ mommy: Tell them I’ll beat their asses. Tell them to smile this time. “She says to smile or she’ll spank you.” I said jovially. They turned reluctantly, not smiling, as I captured the picture and sent it off. The boys’ mommy: Thank you. Who is this, by the way? Me: I’m friends with Trance. My name is Viddy. The boys’ mommy: My name is Sloan. It’s nice to meet you. Tell me about yourself. That was how I spent the rest of my time –catching fish, listening to the ribbing of the brothers, texting with Trance’s mom, and watching the man candy in front of me. It was one hell of a fishing trip.

*** Trance

“Your girl’s asleep.” Foster said from behind me. Glancing into the rear view mirror, I took in Viddy’s sleeping form slumped against the window. “Mom likes her.” Miller said as he read something on his phone. We’d been getting messages from our mother ever since Viddy sent the picture of us, and I damn well knew my mother liked her. In fact, she’d told me to marry her. And she hadn’t even met Viddy. “Yeah,” I said. My phone rang through the speakers of my truck. Without even thinking about it, I hit the answer button on the steering wheel. “Hello?” I answered. The background noise of the bullpen of the precinct filled the speakers as Loki greeted me. “Hey, man. Got the prints lifted from the camera. They were Paul Russo’s all right. I have a team heading to Russo’s place right now to arrest him and search his place. Gabe and Max found two other cameras and a recording device in the guest room of her place.” My fingers tightened on the steering wheel so tight my fingers popped. “Let me know when you have him. I have a few questions of my own.” I spat. “Alright. We’re here. I’ll keep you updated.” Loki hung up. “Was that Loki? Since when does he do anything that doesn’t have to do with undercover work?” Foster asked. I glanced at him, but then back to the road. “Loki’s not doing undercover work anymore. He hit a bad case and decided it wasn’t for him anymore. Now he’s a plainclothes.” Miller grunted in agreement. SEALs lived under the air of secrecy. My brothers were rarely ever home. They knew what it was like to be burned out on the lies and deceit. Hell, I did too, and I didn’t even have to deal with all the undercover BS that they did.

When we pulled into the drive, I backed the trailer underneath my carport and shut the truck off. Miller and Foster got out, unhitching the boat from the receiver, while I went to Viddy’s door. I opened it and curled my fingers around her jaw, turning her head in my direction. “You are pretty good, girl. Your breathing changed though. I was going to tell you later, but why don’t you go ahead and ask me the questions while my brothers get changed and showered.” I said softly, studying her face. A slow smile overtook her mouth as she opened her eyes. “You’re good.” “I know I am, baby. I just haven’t shown you how much.” She blushed beautifully at my words, and leveraged herself up until her knees were on either side of my hips. “What was on the tapes?” She asked. “I don’t know. My best guess is just about anything you do in your room, he saw. Or would’ve seen. We don’t really know how many actual videos he’s taken so far, but this one was the type where you have to actually come into the apartment to get the feed. That’s probably what he was going to do when he broke into your apartment.” Instead of the fear that I expected, her face was replaced by rage. Pure, volatile rage. “That stupid piece of shit. That goddamn piece of mother fuckin’ shit! Do you have any idea how much of his shit I had to put up with?” She asked, pushing me backwards so she could stand. “That little dick. Do you have any idea what he tried to do to get in my pants?” I looked at her, stunned at the change. When I shook my head, she continued. “That man was hounding me for months! Thank God I told him I wouldn’t sleep with him until I loved him. Jesus Christ.” Her hair was in a braid, but during her tirade, she yanked the band that was at the end of her braid out, and started viciously tearing her plaits apart. “The nerve! Thank God you came along, or I would have. When I met you, everything I thought I had with Paul flew out the fuckin’ window. Then you had to go and give me a ride on your stupid motorcycle, and all of my bad girl tendencies came back.” “Bad girl tendencies?” I asked in surprise. She glared at me. “Yes, bad girl tendencies. The ones where I want to ride motorcycles, and blow off my responsibilities.”

“You blew off responsibilities for me?” Trance asked. My brothers were standing behind me laughing at Viddy’s tirade, all the while she paced. “Yes! I was supposed to go to Adeline’s house and help her deep clean her house, but all you had to do was bring out the dimples and I don’t even have the gumption to tell you no.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared back at her. “You know she’s pregnant, not an invalid. There’re pregnant people running marathons at nine months pregnant. I think Adeline can handle a goddamn house cleaning.” “She told me everything hurts. I was supposed to help.” “You’re blind, or you were blind, what could you do?” I asked. “I’m not blind...per say. I can offer moral support.” She said as she crossed her arms across her chest. “Right. If it’s really that bad, then Kettle can afford to hire some cleaners.” “You just have an answer for everything, don’t you?” She sniffed. “Most.” With a huff, she spun around and walked into the house. I watched the door slowly, waiting for the inevitable, and wasn’t let down a minute or so later when all four dogs were let outside, with the door slammed shut solidly behind them. “You don’t keep her, I will.” Foster said. “You’ll have to wrestle me for her, first.” Miller confirmed. “Fuck off.” I said before doing some exercises with the dogs. “You got it, you got it bad, when you’re on the...” “Shut up!” I yelled, glaring at the two over my shoulder. They were making wrist gestures at me, so I flipped them off for good measure. I wasn’t kidding them nor myself. I did have it bad.

Chapter 7 Feel safe at night. Sleep with a cop. -T-shirt from Adeline to Viddy

Viddy

“You ready?” Trance asked me. Squealing in excitement, I wrapped my fingers around him tightly. “Yes!” He chuckled and started the bike with a throaty growl that set fire to my veins. It was Saturday night and we were taking our ride to Texas and Catfish Village that rested just West of the Texas/Louisiana line. What started out as a small date with just Trance and me, turned into an all-out ride with nearly every member of The Dixie Wardens. Even my sister and Baylee were going, although they were driving behind us in Sebastian’s truck rather than riding. Baylee was Sebastian’s wife, and one of my favorite people in the world. She told it like it was, and there was never a dull moment with her and my sister around to stir things up. Sebastian and Kettle were riding their motorcycles, not ones to drive when they had the option. “How’d your brothers get motorcycles?” I asked into my headphone. Trance moved us from the parking spot in the gas station where we’d met everyone, and merged into traffic, rapidly picking up speed until it felt like we were flying down the interstate. My hair, unbound and wild, flew behind me in the wind, and I relished in it. It’d been so long since I’d ridden anywhere further than just a quick ride here and there. After our accident, there wasn’t much chance to ride, despite the fact that my dad belonged to a motorcycle club himself. He’d refused to even let us near a bike again, and kept that promise until he died in a motorcycle wreck of his own. I’d ridden on the back of Trance’s bike two other times since I’d met him, and each time was better than the first.

“They were parked in my shed. I’ve been keeping them tuned and riding them every couple of weeks to make sure the battery doesn’t go dead on them.” Trance’s deep timber voice said into my ear. That was the last thing we said to each other until we crossed the Texas border. I laid my head onto Trance’s back and savored the ride. “You awake back there, cupcake?” Trance asked. My eyes opened and I leaned up off his back. I was awake, but I hadn’t realized how far we’d come until he broke me out of my daze. “Yeah, I’m awake. We’re almost there?” I confirmed. His head nodded in confirmation, and it wasn’t five minutes later when we were pulling into the parking lot. My vision had returned to only a quarter of the way while my eyes were closed, making me sigh long and loud, drawing Trance’s attention. “What’s wrong, Cupcake?” He asked as he placed the kickstand down. I shrugged. “Can’t see as well anymore. He swung his leg off the bike, and then helped me off before pulling me close and looking into my eyes. I had to work really hard at not turning my face so I could see him better, but in the end it didn’t work, and I turned slightly so I could see him with my limited vision. He smiled, producing the dimples, when he saw my struggle. “Seems to me you should be thankful you can see it at all. Try not to push it. You’re perfect either way it goes.” With a soft kiss on my nose, he grabbed my hand and pulled me in his wake. The butterflies that are always present when he’s within arm distance to me turned into goddamn bats, and I had to restrain myself from making happy little sounds as he guided me into the restaurant. I was just inside the door when I was jostled to the side by a cute little blonde girl. Then, I shit you not, she threw herself forward, pushing me even further away and falling to the floor like a piece of paper. Slow and smooth. Then she started crying. “My ankle!” She cried. Her voice was annoying, and I wanted to kick her.

Trance, of freakin’ course, let go of my hand, and helped the unfortunate girl up. “You okay, Tillie?” Trance asked worriedly. Trance spoke to her as if he knew her. With the satisfied smirk she sent my way when Trance dropped to his haunches to examine her ankle, I knew immediately that they’d been lovers. Trying my best to not run away, I started walking quickly, only for Foster and Miller to flank me. “Where ya running to, Vidalia?” Foster asked as he took my elbow. “Nowhere. I just wanted to sit down. Have y’all ever been here before?” I asked politely. I wasn’t thinking about that woman having her hands on my man. I mean Trance. Trance was not mine. Even though I’d like him to be. But I came with too much baggage. When we moved up to the hostess stand, the young girl stared at the two men at my sides in awe. “Uhhh,” she said. “How many?” I shrugged. I honestly had no clue. Close to twenty though, at least. Maybe I could get a separate table for the snake and Trance. “Thirty?” I asked. “That’s okay. I’ll just give you the banquet room. It seats up to fifty.” The young girl said as she blushed profusely. “That’s fine, thank you.” Foster gave her a devilish smile. Impossibly, she turned even redder before grabbing nearly all the menus and walking away quickly. “I think you have an admirer.” I said and laid my head down on Foster’s shoulder. A not amused voice cleared his throat behind us before saying, “What’s going on?” I glared at him before turning back around, keeping a death grip on the two males’ arms. “Y’all have incredibly large arms. Do y’all work out a lot?” I asked. I hadn’t meant it to be funny, but the two men laughed uproariously. “Oh, God. That was a good one.” Miller said, running the back of his hand across his eyes. “What?” I asked. Miller looked down into my eyes, and I was struck again at how much he looked like Trance. “We work out every single day and then some.” He answered soberly. “This is our first week off in nearly a year.”

I squeezed his bicep tightly before dropping it. Walking to the opposite side of the table, I picked the seat that had the wall to my side, leaving only one opening on my right, and sat down. I’d hoped that Miller or Foster would get the seat, but of course Trance did. Miller and Foster took the seats across from us, while the stupid little bitch, Tillie, took the seat on Trance’s right, effectively ruining my entire meal. My sister and Kettle sat on the opposite end of the table, so they were no help either. Fun stuff. Not. I’d never considered myself lucky to be blind, but right then, I was. With Trance sitting on my right, that meant that I couldn’t see him very well unless I completely turned my head in his direction. Which I didn’t. I could hear him and Tillie talking. I could hear Tillie’s sugary sweet voice cooing at him, and I wanted to vomit. Pulling my phone out, I sent a quick text to my sister. Me: Who’s this bitch sitting next to Trance? Addy- That’s Trance’s ex. Me: Fucking perfect. I think I want to throw a hush puppy at her. Maybe I’ll be lucky and choke her with it with the way she’s running her big mouth. I could hear my sister’s laugh at the end of the table, and I smiled for the first time since I’d met Tillie ten minutes ago. Addy- I could probably nail her with a bowl of horseradish. That okay? Me: Perfect. “Who are you texting?” Trance asked from my side. I ignored him, shoving the phone in the pocket of my jeans before taking a ball of doughy goodness and dipping it in a generous dollop of ketchup. Then I shoved the entire thing in my mouth. It was divine.

Hush puppies were one of my favorites. “Ma’am, what would you like something else to drink?” The waitress asked. “Miller Genuine Draft. In a mug.” I said around a mouth full of food. “Nice choice.” Miller said with a wide smile. I held him a thumbs up and kept eating. For the rest of the night I alternated in between Foster’s and Miller Genuine Draft. I could tell Trance was pissed by the way heat seemed to emanate off his body, but I didn’t relent. Especially when he started talking to the heifer next to him. By the time I was on my fifth beer, I was three sheets to the wind, and I’d forgotten I was mad at Trance. That was the most I’d drank since I got shitfaced in college and had to have my stomach pumped. “Ma’am, would you something else to drink?” The hostess asked. Damn but the woman was attentive. “I want a Killian Red. I’ve wanted a Killian the entire time. Why haven’t you been bringing me those?” I asked her curiously. She looked at me oddly. “Because you told me you wanted Miller and Foster’s. Was I wrong?” “No,” I moaned. “Just make sure it’s a Killian for the rest of the night. Bottle please. I want it straight from the source.” Truly, I never should’ve had that fourth beer. There was always a fine line of when I was just tipsy, and when I was shitfaced, and I seemed to cross it nearly every time. Which was why I didn’t drink much. Chuckles from the man beside me, as well as the two in front of me had me aware that I must’ve said something funny, but hell if I knew what it was. “You want any more fish from this batch?” Miller asked me. I looked up at him and saw the smile on his face. “No, thanks. What kind of beer are you drinking?” I didn’t know why I asked him that, but I felt it very imperative to my well-being at that moment. “Heineken.” He answered. “What about you?” I asked Foster. “Heineken.” Foster answered. “Hmm. What about you?” I asked Trance, elbowing him in the ribs.

He grunted. “Blackened Voo Doo.” I glanced at his beer. “What’s that taste like?” The bottle came into my view, and I took it with my free hand that wasn’t holding my fork. Taking a swig, I saw God. The beer God that was. “This is delicious,” I declared loudly. A small burp slipped out of my mouth, and I excused myself before finishing the rest. “Here, you can have the rest.” I said handing the empty bottle back to him. “Thanks,” he said dryly.

*** Trance

“That’s disgusting.” Tillie sneered when she heard Viddy let out a small burp. I rolled my eyes. “What do you see in her?” She asked in disgust. My cold, hard eyes turned to hers. “What? Your shit doesn’t stink? You’ve never burped in your life before? If you don’t like it, move to a different seat. You rode here with Dixie, how about you go back and sit with him?” Dixie was one of the original founders of The Dixie Wardens. He was one hell of a guy, but right then, I could’ve kicked his ass. “You know we were good together. You damn well know it.” Tillie seethed, clutching onto my arm. I ripped it free of her grip and glared at her. “You can...” “Get your filthy slut hands off him.” Viddy snarled from my other side. I turned to find her standing and leaning over the back of my chair. She was glaring daggers at Tillie, and I had a surge of desire shoot through my system when I saw the look in her eyes as she stared at the woman beside me. I was thankful that she was finally letting her jealously show. I’d wanted to beat the shit out of my own brothers for holding her hand. When we’d arrive at the restaurant earlier, Tillie had purposefully fallen. I’d waited until Viddy was out of sight to call her on it, livid that she wouldn’t take the fucking hint. Tillie wanted more, and I wasn’t willing to give it to her. She wasn’t what my body wanted, and never had been. Viddy was, and I’d told Tillie as much. She hadn’t taken the hint though, and I could see now that it was going to take more from me other than a simple, ‘I don’t want you.’ I’d endured an entire dinner of Tillie being wholly too close to me, and Viddy only talking to my brothers. I’d about hit the point where I was going to physically make her talk to me when she’d started asking about beer. I hadn’t realized how much hearing about her taste in beer meant to me until she’d said she preferred Killian’s to the server. Miller and Foster sat in front of me, giving us both shit eating grins, and I couldn’t help the smile that

overtook my own. “How about we go for a walk, cupcake?” I suggested, standing and taking her hand. She latched onto my own with surprising strength, and followed me outside. When she stumbled for the second time, I stopped and wrapped my arm around her waist until her side was flush with my own. She leaned into me, sighing in pleasure as we walked through the hot, humid night. “I don’t like that woman.” She declared softly. I snorted. She may think she wasn’t being obvious about it, but I could tell. “Yeah, I noticed. I haven’t been with her in over two months now. I don’t know what else to say to her to get that through her head.” I answered honestly. She shrugged. “You probably can’t do anything. You’ll have to just show her.” “How do you suggest I show her?” I asked, turning her body until she was sitting down on the bench beside the large fishpond. Once she was situated, I took a seat of my own and pulled her body in close, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She laid her head on my chest, and stared at the rippling pond that was disturbed by the large waterfall. Koi the size of a large mouth bass in all shapes and colors swam around the water lithely. They were beautiful, and made me contemplate a pond of my own. “I don’t know. Find a woman, and bring her around a lot. Kiss her, hold on to her. Show Tillie that you’ve moved on.” I smiled. “Who should I do this with?” I could feel her body loosening, as she got more and more comfortable against my body. “Someone who adores you,” she said quietly. “Someone who cares about whether you get home safe or not. Someone who understands your job, but won’t make you change anything because she knows how much you love your job. Someone who could fall in love with you. Someone who already is in love with you. Someone who loves your brothers and your club. Someone who adores your dogs. Someone who can’t wait until she hears from you again.” She whispered. My heart started thumping hard in my chest. Did she just imply that she loved me? She just described everything I wanted in a woman. Every single thing. All those fears that I’d been turning over in my mind

for the last couple of days totally disappeared. All that was left was a certainty. A certainty that this woman in my arms was the one. “The woman sounds like somebody that’d be perfect for me.” I rasped. She answered with a soft snore. One that warmed my heart.



Chapter 8 Police officers...because firefighters need heroes, too. -Trance, age 8.

Viddy

“You stupid piece of crap.” I said to the machine in front of me. Placing my hands on the top of the machine, I pushed with all my might, but only managed a small bump in the behemoth. So I started kicking it. “Give.” Kick. “Me.” Kick. “My.” Kick. “Cheetos!” Punch. My Cheetos were hanging on by a thread. The machine was the devil reincarnate. It stole something of mine at least once a week, and one would think I’d know better by now. But I didn’t. No, I fed my dollar into that stupid machine over and over again throughout the day. Luckily, it was after school, otherwise, I would’ve never been able to do this. I was waiting for a ride from my sister, who was over an hour late. I could have called a cab...if my phone wasn’t dead. I’d have called her cell phone...if I remembered numbers. I hadn’t memorized a number since the summer I turned 15 and got my first cell phone. The only one I remembered off the top of my head was the one man I wasn’t talking to because I was too embarrassed. To make matters worse, I couldn’t remember anything from the night before. I was alone when I’d woken, in my own bed, and thoroughly disappointed. I’d called my sister immediately to see what happened the night before, and all she’d had to say was that I’d gotten drunk and had to ride home with them because Trance was worried I wouldn’t be able to hang on for the ride home. Which had deflated something inside of me. I’d been at Trance’s place for going on three days at that point, and being in my own house by myself

really blew. “Need some help cupcake?” A droll voice said from behind me, making me jump and lose my footing. Mostly because my foot was in motion towards the machine for another kick. I was stopped from falling down to the floor, which would’ve surely hurt like a mother, by Trance’s hard, muscular body. “You scared the shit out of me,” I said breathlessly. “I’m sorry. I thought you heard me come up. I wasn’t being quiet.” He apologized, still not letting me go. I shook my head, latched onto his forearm as if my life depended on it, and stood up straight. “No, I was in the zone.” He chuckled and helped me stand back on my own two feet. Turning, a small breath of exhilaration left my lungs at the sight of his muscled body in his tight uniform. My God but the man was stunning. His hair was unruly, as always. The dimples in his cheeks and the cleft in his chin started a fire burning low in my core. The uniform he was wearing was black, and the gold shield on his left breast shone brightly against his chest. The belt at his hips accentuated their trimness, and lead down to muscled thighs. I skipped over his package, not wanting to go there with my current state of mind, and landed on his black tactical boots that looked like they could kick a person’s head in. That was when I noticed two dogs at his feet. “You have both of them?” I asked in surprise, going down on one knee at Trance’s feet to pet them both. “Yeah,” he rasped. “This week starts Kosher’s training. I’ll give them about a month or so to acclimate before I start taking Kosher out by himself.” I don’t know why I looked up right then, maybe it was the gruffness of his voice, or the simple pull of his eyes, but when I moved my eyes up his long body, studiously ignoring the bulge in his snug black pants that was growing by the second, I found myself captured by his eyes. They were burning a hole into my soul that I was powerless to ignore. Releasing the two dogs, I stood, moving closer and closer to his body until we were mere millimeters away from each other.

With a groan of defeat, Trance’s will broke, and he grabbed me by the braid to urge me forward until our lips met. I melted into his body. His mouth was absolute heaven. Wet and hot. When his tongue met my own, he seemed to lose some internal struggle, and I found myself pinned. My back against the lockers, and Trance’s body held my own hostage while he devoured my mouth. His hands were clenched into fists, planted on either side of my head. One hand still held my braid tightly, which I noticed when I tried to move forward and bring him closer. My hands were gripping the front of his shirt in desperation as I tried to meld my body with his. Pulling on his hair, I groaned into his mouth. When he finally broke away from my mouth, staring deeply into my eyes, I fell, long and deep. Jesus, that man was a drug. His breath billowed in and out of his lungs, and he stared at me as if I’d grown a second head. As if I was crazy. “What?” He panted. “Is that a flashlight, or are you happy to see me?” I panted. He looked down and saw the huge baton on his duty belt poking me in the crotch, as well as his gun and walkie-talkie. “Sorry,” he said as he cleared his throat. “I got a little excited. However, I am happy to see you. It’s been a long two days.” I smiled. “Did you get off early?” He shook his head. “Uh, no. Your sister had her baby in the middle of a Dairy Queen parking lot.” I burst out laughing. “Ahh! That’s honest to God the best news I’ve ever heard. Is everyone okay?” He nodded, smiling himself. “Yes, I’ve been sent to collect you. I tried calling but it went straight to voicemail.” “Excellent. Let’s go. I’m so freakin’ excited!” I said jumping up and down against his body and clapping my hands. His eyes closed, and I felt what most definitely wasn’t his baton as it rubbed against my belly. “Sorry,” I said calming down. “I’m just so excited.”

He squeezed his eyes so tightly that his forehead wrinkled before taking a step back. “Follow me.” He instructed and started striding away quickly. I followed behind him dutifully, and those pesky butterflies turned back into those bats again.

*** “She’s just so perfect!” I squealed as I looked down at my little niece. “What’s with all this black hair?” Today was a good day for my eyes, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect time. I was ecstatic to be able to see my niece, and to see my twin sister with so much love in her for her new daughter was icing on the cake. “She is perfect...and what do you mean what’s with all of that black hair. How do you even know about her hair?” My sister thundered. My eyes snapped up from my tiny niece and her perfection to lock on my little sister. “W-what?” I stuttered. My heart was pounding. I hadn’t wanted to say anything. I mean what if my vision decided to go away again leaving me permanently blind? Would I have to endure even more pity? “Everybody out.” She snapped. The room slowly emptied of people, leaving just me, Adeline, and baby Saylor. “You can see.” Adeline said calmly. Not a question. A statement. Not seeing any reason to lie anymore, I nodded slowly. She looked at me for nearly a minute before she burst out crying. “How could you not tell me that?” She cried. I walked slowly over to the bed and sat down on the miniscule amount that Adeline didn’t take up before explaining. “I didn’t want you to worry. My vision,” I said shaking my head. “My vision isn’t that great. I’ve only gotten to about two thirds of the way on my outer eye. I still have a huge blank spot from my nose to a third of the way across my eye until about mid-morning. I didn’t want you to worry. I was planning on telling you after you had the baby.” She looked at me intently before dropping her head. “That’s the best news I’ve ever heard. I thought it would never come back.” I smiled slightly. “Dr. Morris thinks it’s all in my head, that I’m doing it to myself. He said there’s no

medical reason that I shouldn’t have any vision.” “He really said you were doing it to yourself?” She questioned with a raised eyebrow. I shook my head. “Not in so many words, no. But he believes that with time and reduced stress that it could come back. He doesn’t know if it’ll ever be what it was, but it’s possible that I can gain full use back one day. He doesn’t really know.” She harrumphed. “So you can see me?” The whispered words tore at my heart, and I nodded as a tear welled in my eye and spilled over the brim of my lid, trailing down my cheek. “Yes.” “I’ve felt so guilty that I did that to you. So goddamned guilty.” “You shouldn’t curse in front of your baby.” I chided. “But I love you, and you shouldn’t feel guilty. I had just as much a part of our accident as you did.” “Yeah, but mine’s just a scar compared to your sight.” She said gravely. “I wish sometimes that it would’ve been me.” “Yeah, well I’m a bitch. I wouldn’t have done all those nice things that you’ve done for me. It was better for it to happen to me, so I could have you to take care of me.” I teased. “You do have a resting bitch face that I would hate to have to give up.” She laughed. “Hey!” I said indignantly. She burst out laughing before looking down at the newest girl in our family. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?” Adeline asked, running her finger along her daughter’s cheek. The tiny girl turned her mouth toward the finger, rooting for something that I most definitely didn’t have to offer her. “Oops, looks like you started something that I can’t finish.” I said as I held the tiny baby out towards her mother. She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know what to do.” Taking the small girl into her arms, she looked down at the now crying infant helplessly. “Don’t you, just, ya know, pop that boob in her mouth or something?” I asked. She shrugged and started to pull down her shirt. “Uhh, sure. I should’ve taken one of those goddamned breast-feeding classes. Maybe I should just do formula.” “Just pop that sucker in there. I bet she’ll do the rest.” I guessed.

Awkwardly she let her shirt slip off her shoulder and placed the baby to her breast. I laughed as the baby just practically motor boated her. “Here,” I said holding the baby’s head towards my sister’s boob. “Put your boobie in her mouth.” She did, and then yelped as the baby latched on with ferocity. When I tried to take my hands away from the baby, she popped off and started screaming uncontrollably. “Shit,” I said, putting my hand back on the baby’s head and the other on her boob where it had been. “Now what?” My sister had the same grip going on with her boob, with the other placed underneath the bulk of the baby’s body. “I don’t know. It shouldn’t really be this hard.” Not knowing what else to do, I called for help. “Kettle!” He came in seconds later, and then looked at us with surprise. “Not that I mind that you’re touching my wife’s breasts, but this is the hospital after all, and you shouldn’t be doing it in front of my baby.” His eyes were filled with mirth though, so it was obvious he was kidding. “We don’t know what to do. Maybe you should stuff some pillows underneath her arms or something so I don’t have to hold her boob.” Kettle rolled his eyes and went to collect some pillows. “The nurse recommended a Boppy, but I don’t know what that is, nor do I have one of those, so she gave me these.” He said as he shook the pillows at us. “Where do you want them?” After much maneuvering, I finally got to take my hand off my sister’s boob and sit back down. “I should’ve taken a picture of that.” Kettle stated dryly. “Yeah, and I could have gelded you in your sleep.” I replied sarcastically. “How? You can’t even see to get there. You’d have to call me to come get you.” He teased. I looked at him, narrowing my eyes, and he stood up straighter. “You can see!” I rolled my eyes. “This is the man you chose to marry?” “He’s good in bed.” Adeline replied, not even looking up as she ran her fingers along Saylor’s fuzzy head. A knock at the door had us all turning. “Can I come in?” Trance called from the doorway.

Kettle became a whirlwind of movement as he went to stand in front of his wife, throwing a sheet over not only the still eating Saylor, but Adeline as well. “Hold on while Mr. Caveman makes sure his wife’s titties aren’t exposed.” I said dryly. Trance chuckled and waited patiently as I helped Adeline situate the sheet so most of her was covered but she could still look down at Saylor. “Okay,” Kettle snapped. Trance entered the room sans Kosher and Radar, walking hesitantly with his eyes closed. “I really don’t want to see anybody’s boobs. Are you sure everything’s covered?” Kettle rolled his eyes. “Yeah, man.” When Trance opened his eyes, I mock glared at him. “Not even my boobs?” Trance’s mouth opened and closed for a few precious seconds causing me to burst out laughing. He scrunched his nose up before walking to Kettle and offering his hand. “Listen, I’ve got to go back to work, but I can pick Viddy up once my shift is over. Does that sound good?” He finished the question looking at me with his eyebrows raised. “Well, I guess so, but I wanted to go now. I’m going to give them some time to get to know their baby before I go hogging her and pulling the aunt card.” I explained. “Although, I can catch a cab.” Trance was shaking his head before I even finished my sentence. “Well if that’s the case, come on and I’ll drop you off. You’re in my district anyhow.” After kisses from Kettle and Adeline, and sweet Saylor nuzzles who, luckily, was no longer latched on to my sister’s boob, I walked with Trance down the hall. Our hands were both down at our sides, and I practically itched to grab his hand with my own. After the third circumstantial brush, I finally grew a pair and latched onto his hand with my own. He clutched it back, smiling down at me as he pressed the button for the elevator. It was eight o’clock at night, and it surprised me to see two teenagers in the elevator car, seeing as it was so late. Visiting hours been over nearly an hour ago for the rest of the hospital. Even more, it annoyed me that when the doors opened, the two didn’t even bother to disengage their tongues from each other’s mouths. Although, Trance made the ride absolutely memorable. When Trance pressed the button for the ground floor, he stayed facing the couple instead of turning around like most people on elevators do.

Which caught the attention of the young teens, who pulled apart like they’d been cattle prodded when they got a load of the police officer just plain staring them down unflinchingly. They both moved until they were standing on opposite sides of the car, faces flaming, and didn’t say a word. When the elevator stopped at their floor, they practically flew out of the small box and started running, making me smile like the cat that ate the canary. “That was just so righteous!” I exclaimed. He shrugged. “Sometimes it’s good to be a police officer. There’s nothing better than scaring people into acting right.” I looked up at him, studying his profile as we walked down the hospital corridor. God, he looked so sexy. “What’s bad about being a police officer?” I asked. “I’ve already told you of one such instance. It’d just be nice not to have to bust a drunk driving mother with her infant daughter thrown in the backseat. Or, how about when the cops get called to a domestic disturbance and the woman refuses to file charges against the man that nearly beat her to death with a bottle of shampoo. It’s hard to see any good in the world over all the evil.” Trance explained fiercely. “You don’t ever see anything good, though? Most of its all bad?” I asked as he held the door open on his cruiser. He slammed the door closed, and I buckled up, listening to the excited snuffles of the two dogs in the backseat. Once Trance hefted his big body into the seat beside me, he put on his sunglasses, started the car, and put his hand on the back of my seat before backing up. The corded muscle of his arm flexed with the move, and I couldn’t help but think about what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of those powerful arms. What would they look like planted beside me head with his big body pumping into me in deep, powerful strokes? Trance’s deep, amused voice interrupted my devious thoughts, drawing my attention away from his forearm and to his face. He was looking at me funny. His eyebrows were raised above the rims of his glasses as if in question. “I’m sorry, what?” I asked as a slight blush started to rise in my cheeks. “I asked what you were thinking about, but the blush pretty much answers the question for me.” He

observed. His smirk made one of his dimples pop out, making me squirm in my seat. Wanting to put him off his guard, I told him exactly what I was thinking, down to the very position I was in when he was pounding his way inside of me. I crossed my legs, squeezing them together to try to circumvent the burning need, but it only made it worse, making me uncross my legs all the while Trance gaped at me. Although not another word was said, we both knew. We knew today was going to be the day. We’d been dancing around the elephant in the room for too long, and for me, personally, I felt very, very close to combusting. The ride to my apartment from the hospital took fourteen minutes. The entire time I was acutely aware of Trance. His eyes never strayed from the road, but the air in the car felt stifling with the sexual tension rolling off him. I could feel the anticipation hanging between us. I knew he was very aware of my movements, my breathing, and of my need for him. The same went for me. Although I wasn’t looking at him, my body seemed to feel it when his moved, subtly changing positions as to get as close to him as possible, yet not touching him. Somehow, I knew that if I touched him, we wouldn’t be making it home. He’d pull over to the side of the road, and take me, regardless of the consequences. I knew he’d be coming over tonight after his shift. There was only so much a person could take before they couldn’t stand it anymore, and Trance and I were at that breaking point. What I hadn’t expected was for him to call in and report that he was off duty for a while. Was there some sort of code that said you needed some sex, and that you’d be back in ten?



Chapter 9 If I were a ghost, I’d haunt people by knocking on their window as soon as they started masturbating. -A text from Viddy to Trance

Viddy “Unit 5-2 Code 7.” Trance said into the mic at his shoulder. My heart started pounding. The look in his eyes was utterly scary. A good scary, but still scary. He looked like he was about to devour me from the toes up. “Wh-what are you doing?” I asked in surprise. The hand that was at his gun belt finally worked the link loose, and he dropped his belt onto the couch with a loud thunk. Then he unbuttoned the top most button on his shirt, grabbed it by the back of his collar, and drew it over his head in one fluid motion. The shirt went to the same place as the belt, and then he started on the Velcro straps that held his Kevlar vest on. With three quick tugs, he had each Velcro strap released, and he was pulling the vest off in hasty, jerky movements. “Jesus, you should play strip poker with all the clothes you have on. I’d bet you’d win!” I chattered nervously. His eyes never wavered, but the sparkle in his eyes told me he was amused by my nervousness. They pretty much said, ‘As well you should be. I’m about to devour you.’ His white t-shirt was next, followed by the button on his pants. In response to that sparkle in his eye, I, of course, blurted out the most embarrassing thing that I’d ever uttered. “I’m a virgin!” The hands that were in the process of pushing his pants down his hips froze in their tracks, and a feral, almost satisfied look, came over him right about the time his hands found my hair. In between kisses, I explained. “Well, not a virgin, per say. I’ve popped my own cherry with numerous dildos in the past ten years.” I was pulled forward, one arm around my neck and the other hand having a full grip of my hair, until I

was flush against his naked chest. “You couldn’t have said anything sexier to me right now.” He growled, and then my body was flying through the air. I wound up on his shoulder, staring at his fine ass. His pants were riding low, just barely giving me a peek of the muscular globes of his ass. Not able to control myself, I placed a hot, open mouth kiss on each cheek before taking my hands and shoving them down his pants. I cupped the perfection, letting my nails dig in when his grip tightened across my back. “Stop it,” he said smacking my ass. “You’ve already thoroughly ruined my control in the car with your teasing. Keep it up and it won’t be what you need. It’ll be rough, raw, and dirty.” “I like rough, raw, and dirty,” I panted just before biting his ass. I squealed when he tossed me down on the bed. My skirt, which had been form fitting down to my knees, was shifted up by rough hands. “Take your shirt off,” he demanded as his blunt fingers ran up the outsides of my thighs, hooked around my panties and yanked them free. “Shirt!” He growled as I watched him descend between my legs, and hooked my legs around his strong shoulders. A rough, callused thumb swept the outer lips of my pussy, and he growled in appreciation. “I like that you shave here.” He hissed. “And that you’re so wet. Is that all it takes? A little dirty talking from me, and that gets you ready for the taking?” My shirt’s removal was all but forgotten with every button undone, as well as the front clasp of my bra. I had no more willpower to remove anything. Instead, focusing on what he was doing to me. I would’ve answered him. Really, I would have, but my brains exploded with the first lick from his hot, wet tongue. Neurons that had never been stimulated before started to fire. All at once. My brain was on overload, and the only thing that I could seem to get out of my mouth was the unintelligible whore moans that I’d thought were only special to porn movies. My hand moved to his blonde curly hair, and I dug in with all of my fingers. I didn’t guide him, though. Trance wasn’t the type of man that needed, nor wanted, guiding. He was all man, and the last thing he needed was any direction. He was playing my body with his tongue like it was an instrument at his mercy.

A large finger entered me, and that was all it took. I exploded. There were no other words for what my body did. When his finger entered into my wet core, I was gone. Viddy left the building. In my place was a woman that only survived on pleasure. The pleasure of this man. The one eating me, as I’d never even dreamed could be possible. When my orgasm subsided, I lay there, panting, and unsure what to do next. Trance had no such qualms. He knew exactly what he wanted, and he took it. I watched in fascination as he removed a condom from his wallet, tossed the wallet on the floor with a resounding smack, and ripped the package open with his teeth. Even better, I watched as he set the tip of the condom at the head of his cock, pinched it slightly, and worked the latex over his large girth. The condom came to a stop with about a half an inch to spare, but I didn’t have any time to raise the question that was rebounding in my mind because he was there, between my legs. Settling the large head of his cock at the entrance to my pussy. Taking each of my thighs in his large hands, he widened my legs, and opened me up to his penetration even deeper, before he slowly started pushing himself inside. Initially, the intrusion of his cock was a surprise, but with a few shallow thrusts, he was thoroughly coated in my juices, allowing him to enter all the way with his next thrust. He hit bottom inside me, and I looked down in surprise. He wasn’t all the way in, but that was all I was going to be able to take. At least at first. “Jesus, you’re so goddamned tight.” He groaned, reversing his thrust before powering forward again. “That’s probably because your dick is so big. I never had any problem with my dildos.” I teased in between sharp breaths. “You won’t be needing those dildos anymore. You can throw them out.” He said, emphasizing that point with a deep thrust. “Okay,” I agreed readily. “Just make sure you’re here every night so I don’t have to use my hands.” He smiled, giving me a clear view of his dimples, eliciting a rush of wetness in between my legs. “Don’t smile,” I panted. “You’re going to make me go too fast.” He laughed. The fucker laughed. “Oh, honey. You’re going to be coming a lot during the next hour.

Then, when I get back from work, you’ll be doing it all over again. When you sit in your chair tomorrow at work, you’re going to be so sore that you can barely move, but I guarantee you you’ll be coming home and begging for more of my cock.” I didn’t argue with him. It was obvious to me, as well as him, that I was putty in his hands. Which he proved moments later when the hands that were at my hips moved inside until each of his thumbs rode on the outside of my clit. He didn’t move them, though. All he had to do was let the movement of our bodies, and his thrusting, to add the friction I needed. Causing me to detonate, shattering into a million tiny, sexually charged pieces. “Fuck! Yes!” I screamed. With my orgasm gripping his cock so tightly, pulsing around his tunneling length, I set off a chain reaction in his own body, causing him to explode just on the heels of my own orgasm. “Mother fucker.” Trance growled, looking down to watch his cock entering and exiting me. “God, yes.” Trance collapsed, taking my legs with his big body, pushing his cock even deeper into me, causing me to moan. “Jesus. Why do you feel so right?” I groaned. “Because I’m that good.” He said as he got up to his elbows and took in my face. One by one, he let my legs go until they fell limply at our sides. My arms were above my head, unable to do even the simplest of tasks, such as blowing the piece of hair that’d fallen in my eye out of the way so I could get a clearer look at Trance’s eyes. Blowing vigorously, I finally got the hair out of my eyes, only to find Trance looking down at me even more intently. “Your hot cu...” I interrupted him before he could say that naughty ‘C’ word by slapping my hand over his mouth. “Don’t say that word. It’s crass.” I scolded. His eyes lit with mirth, but he nodded sagely, and I dropped my hand. “You don’t like that word?” He queried. “It’s just so...naughty.” I blushed. He pulled out of my body wetly before walking to the bathroom, his cock still just as hard now as it had been when we started.

I heard the water turn on and off, followed by the toilet flushing, before he returned and laid down on the bed beside me. His big body made the bed dip, and I rolled into him involuntarily, not that he seemed to mind. His arm went around my side, and his hand cupped my ass, pulling me close so that I could feel the hard ridge of his cock. He didn’t do anything though, instead only looking at me. “I have to go back to work for another three hours. I took my lunch break, but we ended up using nearly three quarters of it.” He hesitated, and then said. “Do you want me to come back over?” I nodded like a schoolgirl meeting her favorite boy band member, causing him to grin mischievously. “Okay, I’ll be back around two in the morning. I have to take the dogs’ home, and then I’ll be over.” “Do you want me to go to your place? It’ll be easier for you.” His hands that had been sliding down my back and up again stopped, and he looked at me intently. “I’d love to have you at my place, but my brothers are still there, and I want a little time with just you. Plus, then we’d have to be quiet.” “Okay,” I agreed eagerly. “I’ll see you at two. I have some keys on the counter in the kitchen. Max and Gabe gave them to me when they changed the locks.” His eyes darkened. “Not that I don’t like the fact that you’re giving me keys, honey, but let’s not mention another man, let alone two other men, in the bed when we’re naked again, okay?” “Yes, sir.” I said sarcastically. “Now that’s what I like to hear.” He said, giving me a peck on the cheek before he moved to go. “Hey Trance?” I asked just as he stood up straight. He turned, and I got another look at his big cock, causing me to lick my lips. He closed his eyes as if praying for patience before opening them again and backing up slowly. “Yeah?” “Be careful, and hurry back.” He grinned devilishly. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll be counting down the minutes.” Then he stepped into his pants, came back over to the bed, gave me another quick peck on the lips before going to the living room to finish dressing. I stood; slipping on the white t-shirt I’d stolen from him when I’d stayed the night, and followed him out to the living room.

He already had on his vest, and was working on the shirt when he saw me. He took in my braless state and me in his t-shirt, before saying, “Ah, fuck it.” Needless to say, he was fifteen minutes late getting off of his lunch break.

*** Trance

“Lock the door,” I said as I headed to the door of Viddy’s apartment. “And set your alarm. Got it?” She followed behind me, in the same t-shirt that had caused the delay earlier, nodding her head. “Sir, yes, sir!” I turned and pinned her to the side of the door, crushing my lips to hers in a hurried kiss before breaking it off, and smacking her lightly on the ass. “I like that smart mouth of yours. Keep up the attitude and I’ll have to come up with something to keep your mouth occupied so all that sass doesn’t keep pouring out of it.” She snorted at me, opened the door, and made a shooing gesture. “I’ll see you in a couple hours, big boy.” I left, walking down to my car with both dogs hot on my heels. After a quick visit to the grass for their potty break in the field behind the apartment complex, I let the dogs into the squad and called into dispatch. As soon as I told dispatch I was back on duty, I headed for the Loop that was my main drag. I worked the Loop on weekend days since it seemed to be a hang out spot for the people of Benton. Since there wasn’t much to do, the teenagers always found a way to get in trouble by drag racing. Which was why, only five minutes into my first run through, I spotted two cars drag racing with little thought to the other motorists on the road. Picking up my radio, I called it in as I pulled a bitch, flipping my lights and sirens on. “Unit 5-2 responding to a 23109.” “10-4.” Dispatch confirmed. I was lucky that by the time I turned around, the two cars, a white newer model Dodge Charger, and a black Mustang GT, were stopped at a red light, motors revving. They didn’t try to run, which was even better. They both dutifully pulled into the Best Buy parking lot before shutting off their vehicles. I went up to the Mustang first, asked for the young boy’s license and registration, before going over to the other vehicle. This man was older, and damn well knew better. Dumb kids always egging on the adults. Dumb adults for always taking on the little kids.

Men, however, would never change. I’d just done that very thing two days ago with my brothers in the car. Shit happened. After writing them both a ticket, I delivered them, and sent them on their way before picking up where I left off on The Loop. It was another hour into my shift before I got the creepiest call I’d ever gotten while working with The Benton PD. “Unit 5-2, we’ve received multiple prank calls from 511 Baylor Drive on the South Side. Can you do a well-check?” The dispatcher asked. “10-4.” The residence I was supposed to be doing a well check on was completely dark when I pulled up. It was the only one on the street that didn’t have lights, and the yard was so over grown that I knew immediately that whomever was living there before, definitely wasn’t living there anymore. The sign at the front said bank-owned property for sale, and it was evident that it’d been on the market for some time. Letting both dogs out, I walked carefully to the door, stepping over large cracks in the sidewalk, and shining my light on either side of the window. Both windows were still intact, which was surprising. Normally, in abandoned houses like this, squatters tended to stay in them, gaining entry by breaking in the easiest way possible. The glass panes on either side of the door would’ve been the ideal way to gain entry. Knocking on the wood of the door three times, I called out, “Benton PD.” With no response, I knocked again. An eerie sense of déjà vu hit me, and I pivoted to the side as to offer up as little of my body as possible. Which saved my life. Three shotgun blasts went off at the same time, and I dropped down, hitting the intercom on my mic and shouting loudly. “Unit 5-2. Shots fired. Shots fired. Code 45.” Once I was done yelling into my mic, I flipped the switch that would turn it off, and everything went eerily silent. I’d hoped that I’d called out the right code seeing as they changed them just last week, but I assumed they’d figure it out as soon as they didn’t hear anything back from me. It was standard protocol to turn off one’s radio after letting dispatch know about your life being in danger. The radio most likely would be blowing up right about now dispatching units to this location, and if the radio was still on, whomever had

done the shooting would likely hear it seizing with information. Whoever was shooting shotgun rounds through the door went silent after running out of shells, and I stayed where I was, gun aiming at the trashed door without any knowledge of even pulling it out. The dogs, both huddled down close to the ground, were quivering in anticipation, and I was glad that Kosher hadn’t lost his shit as soon as the shooting started. Only after a good minute of no return fire, I started to get worried. I was one single person in the fucking dark, and there could be who knows how many just lying in wait for me to make my move. Which I knew I had to do. Flipping the flashlight on my gun, I poked my head around the door only to be met with a face full of shotgun. A discarded shotgun, luckily. Whomever had had it had dropped it on a table just inside the door and took off. I heard scuffling noises coming from the back room, but held my position. Some sixth sense told me they were going around the house, so I gave an order for Radar to stay, and Kosher to go. When Kosher went, Radar and I went into the house. I knew immediately that something was dead in the house, and had been for quite some time. Snarling from outside the house had me tensing, but I cleared the rest of the rooms, glad to find every one of them empty of any furniture for any suspects to hide under or behind. When I finally came into the kitchen, the concentrated smell of rot seemed to permeate the room, but what had my attention was the growling snarling barks coming from Kosher. I found him on the side of the house, in between the backyard and the front. “Kosher. Heel.” Kosher sat, even though he hadn’t been touching the suspect even a little bit. Only barking and snarling to get the suspect to stay put and not move. What surprised me was the size of the suspect. Oh, and that the suspect was a little fuckin’ kid. “Hands up where I can see them.” I said authoritatively. The young girl whimpered and raised her hands until they were stretched out above the grass above her.

Dropping down to one knee in the grass, I cuffed her hands behind her back and urged her to her feet, walking her beside the house and out into the front yard to find three police cruisers and one unmarked, Loki, running up the front walk with their weapons drawn. “House is clear.” I called out. All the guns went into my direction until I called out, “It’s me, Trance.” Relieved sighs came from the four men as I came out further, both of the dogs flanking me. “What happened?” Officer Torsos asked. Officer Torsos was in our gang division and worked with the neighborhood kids to reduce crime. He’d been on the force for nearly twenty years now, and he had a way with kids. Which would come in handy right about now. “I don’t know yet, other than this little shit right here shot at me through the door instead of just introducing herself nicely.” I growled. One of the other officers pulled a light kit out of the back of his cruiser and set it up while I sat the young girl on the hood of my car. “Why’d you shoot?” I asked bluntly. “You said you were the police.” She said simply. My eyes raised skyward, and I willed calmness into my body as I tried not to explode at the obviously frightened young girl. “Why are you in an abandoned house?” I asked. She shrugged. “Jesus Christ.” I snapped. “How about you go for a walk. I’ll ask her some more questions.” Officer Torsos offered. An offer that I took him up on to go back into the house, Loki following at my heels. “This is like deja-fucking-vu.” Loki supplied helpfully. “Don’t I fucking know it?” I concurred. “Something dead inside.” Loki said as soon as we crossed the threshold into the house. Turning my radio back on, I contacted dispatch. “Dispatch, this is unit 5-2. Can you contact the electric company and have them turn the grid on for this house?” “10-4.” The dispatcher acknowledged.

“That should be a good hour.” Loki laughed humorlessly. I silently agreed. It would be a while. Turns out, it was one long fucking night. “So while we have the free time, how about you tell me about Paul Russo and what you were able to get on him.” I demanded, turning my attention to him. Loki sat down on his squad car and stared up at the sky. “Not much, to be honest. He claims the whole thing was consensual. He said they had them when he was still with her. Has one hell of a lawyer and a shit load of money, too. We have to get a statement from Viddy within the next couple of days. She’ll have to file a report from her end before we can officially charge him.” “Fuck,” I exhaled. I really didn’t want her to know he had a camera on her. She’d feel violated and dirty, and she was anything but. “The guy’s a real piece of work. He needs to go down just on the principle of the matter. If he were to be anyone else, he’d have done some time for breaking and entering. His daddy’s a hotshot criminal attorney. Mom’s a psychiatrist. Their son has been beyond spoiled.” “Well, his luck is about to run the fuck out.” I promised.

*** Viddy

I woke when a warm body slid into my bed behind me. I didn’t jump, though. I knew exactly who it was. Trance. I’d know the smell of him anywhere. “You’re late.” I mused tiredly. “Long shift.” He agreed. “Glad you’re home.” “Me too, cupcake. Me too.”

Chapter 10 Never fuck with a woman whose aim is better than her temper. -Tips on living in the South

Viddy I’d flipped the coffee pot on, and just started scanning the newspaper when a heading in bold on the front page caught my eye. ‘BPD K-9 Officer finds missing teen unharmed I scanned the article, and started reading about the young girl who’d been missing for nearly a week, shooting at an officer. My officer. I started to shiver. According to the article, Trance had responded to prank calls coming from a residence. When he’d knocked on the door, the young girl, terrified of the man who’d killed her mother, shot through the door at Trance. Luckily, Trance had been uninjured. Luckily. What the fuck? Wouldn’t that be something you’d tell your...the girl you stayed the night with? Were fucking? At least, I would think Trance would want to know if it happened to me. Deciding this was a discussion best had when I had time to actually discuss it, I grabbed my coffee and walked out to the curb where my cab was waiting. Trance had said he’d take me, but he’d looked so peaceful sleeping that I didn’t have the heart to wake him. Now, though, I was glad I’d decided to call a cab. I didn’t think I could talk to him about the incident without yelling at him, and he didn’t need my shit after the night he had. Tonight would be soon enough. Except I didn’t take into account the bear of the man I’d fallen head over heels for to come barreling out of my apartment as if his ass was on fire. Shirtless. With his pants zipped but not buttoned. His feet were in his boots, with his pants haphazardly sticking half in, half out of his boots. His abs rippled as he stalked in my direction, and I had an insane desire to hop into the car and take off. He’d only follow me, though. It would be better for me to just stand here and wait for the inevitable.

Leaning into the open window of the cab I said, “I’m sorry. Looks like I won’t be needing that ride after all.” “No problem, darlin’.” Sylvester, one of my regular cab drivers, said. “Have a good day, Sly.” I said as I tapped the window and stepped back just as I felt the heat of a thousand pissed off suns at my back. I shivered involuntarily, and leaned back into the heat of Trance’s body. His arms didn’t encircle my waist as I figured he would. Instead, one hand latched onto my left hip, while the other hand went up to encircle my throat. Not tightly, but enough that I felt a tiny thrill surge through me at the absolute differentness to the gesture. His thumb pressed against the beat of my pulse while the other fingers wrapped around to the back of my neck. “You were just going to leave?” He questioned tiredly. I closed my eyes, basking in the feeling of his body warming my back, and the cool morning air blowing over my overheated skin. “Y-yes.” I answered. My heart was pounding, but not in fear, in anticipation. What would he do? Would he yell? Get pissed and leave? Spank me and then fuck me to death? Okay, the last one was more of a fantasy, rather than a possibility, but a girl could hope, right? “Why’s your pulse racing?” He rasped, running his lips against my neck. “I have to get to work, and you’re going to make me late.” I tried to avert his attention from the way he was making me feel. “Tell me.” He growled. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, barely containing the urge to pant. “How mad you’d have to be to spank me.” I squeaked. He chuckled darkly. “Oh, I’m tempted to right now, and you haven’t even done that much wrong yet.” “I’m not into that kind of stuff.” I teased. “Neither am I. Or I wasn’t. You’ve got me twisted into knots.” He said just before he licked the cord of my exposed neck.

I shivered, shaking in anticipation. “I have to go to work.” I tried desperately. “I’m taking you.” He said and then released me. “Go to my bike.” He removed the keys from his pocket, rubbing his knuckles against my ass as he gave me a small shove forward. I moved, reluctantly, and walked over to his bike. I was contemplating how to get on the bike with a skirt that I barely squeezed my ass into when his callused hands went to either side of my skirt, and hiked it up to just about mid-thigh before picking me up and depositing me on the back of the bike. I glared at the man, but he just smiled. “You’re not going to get dressed?” I gasped when walked to my side, still shirtless with his pants riding low. He smiled widely exposing me to his dimples and making me temporarily dumb. Turning to his saddlebags, he removed a leather vest from them and shrugged it on over his shoulders before buttoning the front three buttons. “Wow,” was the only intelligent thing I could think to say. He mounted the bike, handed over the helmet, and waited patiently for me to get situated before starting it up and walking the bike back out of the parking spot. He didn’t take it slow on the way to school. Instead, he weaved in and out of the morning rush hour expertly, giving me a small thrill. Or the thrill might have actually been from the man’s warm naked chest. I’d snuck my fingers underneath the leather, running my fingers over the ridged muscles of his stomach. His stomach contracted and relaxed with each pass of my fingers, and by the time we arrived at the school, I was beyond thinking about anything but the party going on between my legs. It was Trance who chuckled, and patted my leg, urging me to get off. Oh, but did I want to get off. “Your snooty teacher friend is giving you the stink eye. She also has her phone out. Better hurry and get off before she starts up a stink about how high your skirt is hiked up.” Trance said, jolting me out of my wayward thoughts.

I scampered off the opposite side of the bike with Trance’s help, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I get done around two.” He smiled widely, and I heard sighs. Not from me, though, but from the entire girl population of Benton High. “Get out of here before you start making their panties drop.” I whispered. He snorted. “See you around two.” With that, he took off. I watched him until he was too far away for me to see before turning around. I wasn’t the only one watching until he was gone, either, because every single person who was outside was still watching him. Man, women, and teens. “Wow, Ms. Sheffield, he’s smoking hot.” A young girl said from beside me. Turning my head, I studied the young girl’s features, putting them into memory. Jade was a sophomore in my study hall class. I hadn’t seen, nor heard, her in nearly a week due to the Benton High Cheerleading team away at a district meet. She was gorgeous. On the shorter side, but quite muscular, she reminded me a lot of Baylee. “Hi, Jade. And yes, I do agree with you. He’s one fine specimen if I do say so myself.” I agreed. Jade giggled and started walking into the building with me, chatting about nothing consequential. “Ms. Sheffield,” Jade questioned. “Are you going to the homecoming game this Friday?” I pursed my lips in thought. “Well,” I hesitated. “I guess I could. What time does it start?” Jade squealed in excitement. “That’s awesome. I can’t wait for you to see...I’m sorry. I can’t wait for you to be there. There’s never a dull moment. This’ll be my first time on top of the pyramid. Usually the seniors are the only ones that get to go up there, but I beat Chelsea in our weight class...” The girl could talk, that was for sure. She lost me at pyramid. I listened with half an ear as we made it to the Special Education room, and I gave a wave and sent her on to class. “By the way, Ms. Sheffield, bring Officer Spurlock with you Friday!” She said giddily before bouncing away, catching up to one of the men from the football team. The boy-man wrapped little Jade up into a bear hug and carried her to class, making me smile at their

antics. I was one of the laid-back teachers. As long as they weren’t fighting, I was fine with it. “Put her down!” Sandra screeched as she passed them on the way to the Special Education door. Sandra was one of the not so laid-back teachers. In fact, she was a right bitch, and I hated her guts. I didn’t think there was a thing she could do that would make me hate her more, but I was proved wrong moments later when she walked into my office, balled up a piece of paper she had in her hands, and tossed it into the trash before leaving for her own office. Walking slowly to my trash, I lifted out the only thing in the trashcan. The crumpled up piece of paper Sandra had thrown before leaving. Unfolding it and smoothing it out on my desk, I scanned the note, thankful I was able to see it clearly, and fumed. Ms. Sheffield, Please come to my office at your earliest convenience. Ronald. Ronald was the Principal, and technically my boss. Standing up straight from my hunched position over my desk, I stomped out of my office and towards Ronald’s. I only waved at the old bat behind the desk, not nearly in the mood to deal with her surliness, and walked straight into Ronald’s office and closed the door. “Ahh, Ms. Sheffield. I’m glad you could make it this time.” Ronald said turning away from his computer and giving me his full attention. “This time?” I asked confused. “Yes,” he nodded sagely. “I’ve been doing everything short of walking down to your office to get you up here. Calling you, sending you notes. Hell, last week I actually did walk down to your office and Sandra said you were out to lunch.” My eyes closed, and rage simmered in my belly. “Did you end up speaking with Sandra all these times?” I asked softly. His bushy eyebrows scrunched together as his lips purse. “Now that you mention it, yes, yes I did speak to Sandra all of those times. Why?” I shrugged. “Well, I never received any messages, and I actually found this note balled up in my trashcan.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really? Sandra just told me she delivered all of my messages and assured me you were getting them. In fact, she told me she read them to you aloud each time.” His eyes were hard, as if upset that I was ignoring his summons. “I can assure you that I have not gotten any of your messages. In fact, I specifically saw Sandra walk into my office with this note and throw it in the trash can.” It took him a few moments before he finally caught on to what I was saying before he smiled widely. “You can see?” I held my hand out and made a so-so gesture with my hand. “Sort of. In fact, it was about 75 percent in my left eye when I walked into school today, and is now down to about 50 percent. My doctor says it has a lot to do with my stress levels.” He was nodding vigorously. “Well, I’m just happy that you’ve made improvements. Now, all I wanted to really know was how you liked your job. What improvements do you feel that we need to make in the special education department?” I thought about the question before I explained with all honesty. “Well, I feel that the department could vastly improve. Right now we see anywhere from four to eight students an hour, most there for help during tests. Leona has been a super help. I feel that the SE department would do much better if we had some sort of...bonding exercises. There’s still a huge gap between the two schools, and I have no clue how to bridge it. Sandra doesn’t like me because I took her job, and those that were under her at the other school follow her lead.” Ronald was new to the school. The two schools decided that they’d hire out of either school system for the right person for the job. The two previous principals had retired, not wanting to fight what they saw was inevitable when the two schools merged, making it possible to out-source the job. Ronald had been in the public school system for nearly thirty years, starting out as a history teacher after his stint in the marines, and moving up the chain of command from there. He was an excellent principal, and all the students loved him. Even both sets of teachers from the opposing schools. “Okay,” he nodded. “I understand how that could be a problem. I’ll be having a talk with Sandra. From there, I’d like you to plan out your retreat, and I’ll mandate the teachers to attend to count as their continuing education. Win-win for all parties!” His smile was infectious, and I smiled back at him in return. “I’ll get right on that, Ronald.” I answered. “How’s the new baby doing? Did your sister get the flowers I sent from the administrative office?” He

asked. I nodded my head. “Yes, she called to tell me they were beautiful. Saylor is doing wonderful. She was seven pounds even when she was born.” I beamed. Adeline had called early this morning to tell me she’d gotten zero sleep, and that she needed some caffeine. I’d told her to wake her lazy husband up, but she’d refused and told me he’d stayed up the entire night with them. Although I’d thought it was nice of him, I still didn’t feel bad for calling him minutes after hanging up with my sister to tell him Adeline needed coffee. I was on the way to work and he was just lying there. It was time to get used to it. Babies were one hell of a commitment, and being sleep deprived was only one of the new responsibilities they’d have. Although I did promise to sneak a beer in my purse when I came to check on them later. “Excellent. All right, well you brainstorm on what you’d like to do, and get back to me.” He said standing and holding the door open for me. As I walked out of the office, I thought long and hard about what to do with Sandra and her inability to pass my messages along. In the end, I decided that maybe I should just wait to say anything. It really wasn’t a hanging sentence what she’d done, so I would give her another chance. I wasn’t a total shrew, but if she kept it up, I damn sure wouldn’t let her get away with it. After three more stressful hours at work, I decided to stop early since my head was pounding. Not to mention that my eyesight had dwindled down to just barely twenty-five percent. Sandra had been even more of a rude cow than usual. Thankfully, it was my slow day, so I was able to get out of there with minimal juggling of my workload. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I called Trance only for it to end up going straight to voicemail. The same went for Adeline and Kettle. Then, I called the cab company only to find out that the two usual cabs were both busy on assignments and couldn’t come pick me up, which led me to either stay here or walk. Sandra chose that moment to start bitching about how I was doing my reports incorrectly, which made the decision for me. “Leona, honey, I’m going to go early. I’m not feeling well. I’ll be back tomorrow, though, okay?” I said as I started shoving my things into my bag.

Leona looked over at me worriedly, but the small smile I sent her seemed to appease her concern, and she waved as I exited the CE rooms. I was surprised to see Falco in the parking lot when I finally made it out the front door. Falco was on work program, which allowed him to leave half way through the day to go to work. “Hey, Falco. What are you still doing here?” I asked. The bells that signaled the end of third period had rung nearly ten minutes ago, and the work programmers didn’t waste any time high tailing it out of the parking lot, regardless of whether they actually had to go to work or not. “My truck won’t start. Again.” Falco sighed. “Well, that just sucks.” I said sincerely. “Yeah, looks like I’m going to be walking to work today.” He groaned as he turned and headed in the direction of the guard shack and front gate. “Where do you work again?” I asked as I fell in step beside him. He looked at me curiously, but didn’t protest my company. “I work at a pattern shop off of Highway 80.” He said. The guard wasn’t in the shack that checked the comings and goings of the traffic, so we sidestepped the gate and proceeded walking down the paved road. “That’s not too far, is it?” I asked. “No, about a mile or so. Why are you walking with me?” He blurted. I giggled and asked, “Sterling Patterns?” At his nod, I continued. “I’m in need of a ride myself, but no one is picking up their phones. I believe The Dixie Wardens have a clubhouse around that area, correct?” “Uh, yeah. A couple blocks down from there. At the dead end.” “Excellent. I’ll just walk with you then, and then I’ll head on to the clubhouse. Maybe I can find a ride there.” I said, happy that I’d come up with a workable plan. It was only lunchtime, and there was no way I was waiting another two hours for Trance to come pick me up. We walked in companionable silence, and I was struck anew with how good of a person Falco was. He was everything I would hope for in a teenager. Strong, courteous, caring. He worked his butt off. Got good grades.

“You ready for the football game on Friday?” I asked to break the silence. He smiled down at me. Did I mention he was a handsome young man that made all the young girls swoon? His smile was killer, and made him never run short of female company. It didn’t hurt that he was the running back for the football team, either. “Yeah, I think we are. Why, are you coming?” He asked. “I was asked by Jade to come. She said that the homecoming was the best one to come to.” I explained. Falco snorted. “Yeah, it is. We’re playing Kilgore. They’re one of our biggest rivals.” “As in Kilgore, Texas? You play a team a state away?” I asked in surprise. He shrugged, hefting his bag further on his shoulder. “Yep. They used to be 2A like us, but they raised districts, and now they’re 3A. We still play them in scrimmages at the beginning of the season and at our homecoming game. It always turns out to be a really good game.” “Well that’s nifty. I’ve been here how many years now, and I haven’t heard about it.” I joked. He laughed. “Jade’s a nice girl. She probably didn’t realize you couldn’t watch the game. She likes you though, with how you helped her pass her TAKS test last year.” I looked over at Falco, studying him. “You’ve got a crush on her.” He shrugged, but then grabbed my hand and gently moved me out of the way of a pothole I hadn’t seen, before releasing my hand and answering. “Yep. She’s got a thing for the quarterback, though.” I grimaced. That sucked. I couldn’t place right off hand who the quarterback was, but I knew for certain that Falco was a good man, and would be excellent for one of my other favorite students, Jade. My phone chose that moment to ring in my pocket, and I looked down to see the cab company’s number. Ignoring it, I shoved it back into my pocket and walked another half a mile before we arrived at Falco’s shop. “Thank you for accompanying me, Falco. I’ll see you Friday, okay?” I said, patting him on the shoulder before continuing on my way. “You too, Ms. Sheffield!” He called back at me. I tossed him a smile over my shoulder, waving. “Have a good day.”

I’d never actually been inside the clubhouse before. I was a little nervous at what I’d find. I’d gone with Trance the day I’d gotten my new phone, but I’d stayed in the car and spoke to my sister while he’d gone inside. Rounding the street that ran alongside the clubhouse, I cut through the grass to the parking lot, and knocked softly on the front door. There were bikes in the parking lot, but I still didn’t know Trance’s well enough to say if he was there or not. I did know that someone was there, though, and that’s all that mattered. I studied the lettering on the front door as I waited for someone to answer. After another couple of minutes of nobody answering, I tried the knob, and was relieved to find it unlocked. Pushing through the door, I was surprised to see just a large space. It resembled a bar of sorts, but there were sofas and couches interspersed periodically throughout the room. What did surprise me was the ass poking out of the shirt that was straddling someone. Turing my head so I could see more clearly through my limited vision, I found the woman topless with her blue jean skirt riding up over her ass, exposing her underwear that disappeared in between the globes of her butt. I couldn’t make out who was on the bottom, but there were only so many men in the city of Benton who had a dog that answered to Radar. Through a slight haze, I felt my rational thought depart from the cognitive abilities of my brain. With a haze of red covering my limited vision, I took off, grabbing Tillie by the hair and yanking her back by the extensions. Tillie cried out in pain, but I didn’t stop there. I punched the stupid slut over and over again. On the second hook of my arm, I felt the bone in her nose break, making a nice crunching sound. The third a spatter of blood squirted from her nose, and by the fourth, I was unaware of what I was doing. Tillie was wailing like a drama queen, but I didn’t care. She was on top of Trance, and Trance was freakin’ mine! There was no excuses, unless she was performing CPR, but even then, I’d think someone else would’ve been in the room. “What is going on here?” A voice bellowed from in front of me.

I didn’t stop in the introducing of my fist to Tillie’s face, though. Instead, I grabbed her by the hair to hold her immobile seeing as she kept turning her face away from my punches. Then proceeded to hold her still while I got a better hit in. A strong arm looped around my waist, pulling me into that of a big ass body. I wasn’t surprised to find myself in Miller’s arms, but I was surprised he was trying to keep me away from that bitch. Particularly since he was the one to tell me to fight for what I wanted. My arms were wind milling with no effect, so I used the next weapon in my arsenal. Words. “You stupid bitch, if you don’t keep your hands off my man, I’ll fucking kill you. Do you understand me?” I shrieked. I knew I was being irrational, but I couldn’t help it. My mind was taken over by the territorial bitch inside of me, and I couldn’t control her when she was like that. Tillie was being helped up by Silas...well more like dragged since he got her around the arm and yanked her up. “He was fucking mine before he was yours. If he wanted you, he’d have been with you.” She whined nasally. I glared at her. “Fuck you. I have a goddamn job. Unlike you. What do you even do here all day, anyway? Fuck for a living? I bet you offer your body to them just for a little spending money. You wanna know what that’s called, sweetheart? Yeah, it’s called being a mother fuckin’ whore!” She shrieked loudly and tried to launch herself at me, claws first, but Silas’ reflexes showed to be much quicker, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and holding her still “Honey, no matter what you saw, it wasn’t Killian’s fault. He was attacked at your apartment earlier, and we brought him back here so we could figure out what the hell to do.” Foster said as he stepped in front of me. I turned my head until I could see Trance fully, and found him still on the couch, only he wasn’t moving, or reacting to the altercation at all. Well, trying being the operative word. He was very much awake now, but he definitely wasn’t feeling good. In fact, his eyes were already turning black, his eyes looked a bit out of it, and he looked like utter shit. I gasped and squirmed out of his hold until I dropped down on my knees beside Trance’s face. “Oh, baby.” I said running one finger down his jaw. He winced at the light touch. “I’m sorry.” He rasped.

“For what?” I asked in concern. “Tillie. I was asleep.” He groaned. I smiled at him. “It’s okay, honey. I know how she is. Adeline told me all about her.” He let out a relived breath, and then passed back out into his drug-induced haze. “What happened?” I asked in concern. “Doc said he has a concussion. Should be fine in a couple of days, but I poured a ground up pain pill in his shot of whiskey earlier. He passed out shortly after.” Foster said from the arm of the couch where he was sitting. “What reason did they have to attack him?” I asked worriedly. Grim faces followed that statement, and I got a very, very bad feeling I wasn’t going to like what they had to say.

Chapter 11 Sisters are like fat thighs…they stick together. -Viddy to Adeline

Viddy

Phone ringing, I walked out of Trance’s room, and into the hallway so I wouldn’t disturb his sleep. The poor man had been hit on the head while going back to get dressed at my apartment. Apparently, Trance had parked near a panel van belonging to a cable TV provider. He’d seen the man bent into the back of the van sorting through tools, and hadn’t been paying attention to the other car he’d parked next to. He heard the car door opening, but he was already stepping onto the curb to head into my apartment when he was hit from behind with a piece of firewood. The man working out of the van heard the commotion, but only found Trance on the ground with the piece of wood on the concrete next to him. He’d then called 911 and Sebastian had been the one to pick him up. While in the ambulance, Trance had come to and refused transport to the hospital, so they’d taken him to the clubhouse instead. Somehow, during the commotion, the person who’d been in the car had slipped away. Which was later found out to be stolen. “Hello?” I answered quietly. “Viddy?” Adeline sobbed. “I need you.” I didn’t question her, instead I went back into the bedroom and slipped into my tennis shoes with no socks, walking back out into the living room to stand next to Foster’s chair before I answered. “I’ll be there in a few. Same room?” I confirmed. “Yes,” she said desperately. “Please hurry.” When I hung up, I looked at Foster who was staring back at me with a raised brow. “I need a ride.”

*** “What’s the outlook here?” I asked the pediatrician who was standing at the foot of Adeline’s bed. Adeline was holding the baby to her chest with tears leaking down her cheeks in torrents. “Well, I’ve set up an appointment with a specialist for Friday. However, until she’s seen at that appointment, there’s not much more I can tell you. Overall, she’s a perfectly healthy little girl. She just didn’t respond well to the hearing test.” The doctor explained. Kettle was sitting on the chair beside the bed with his hands buried in what little hair he had at the top of his head. Adeline’s face was closed off, as if she didn’t know what to think, and Dixie was sitting in the corner of the room, having arrived just after me. Dixie was one of my favorite people in the world. One of the oldest members of The Dixie Wardens, he was one of the co-founders. Hence the name. When I first met him, he’d introduced himself as Dixie Normus, grabbing my hand and shaking it rapidly. My sister had explained to me that Dixie nearly resembled Santa Claus, only in black leather. And he sure as hell did now that I could see him with my own eyes. “Thank you, Doctor.” I said quietly and held the door open for him. I walked to my sister’s bed and pulled her head into my chest. “It’s all right, honey. You don’t have a definitive diagnosis yet, so you haven’t a clue where this is going to lead.” Dixie, who’d followed me over, sat on the edge of the bed. “Let me hold that girl.” Adeline gave Saylor over reluctantly, but then giggled. “So has she been naughty or nice?” Kettle snorted and finally looked up. His eyes were grave and hard and etched with worry. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. This baby is perfect, and that’s all that matters.” Dixie said softly, running a pudgy finger down Saylor’s cheek. Something in Kettle’s eyes seemed to change when he heard Dixie’s declaration, and when next he blinked, all of his doubt was gone. In its place was resolve and love. I nodded at him and he gave a small smile back at me before standing and moving to the edge of Adeline’s bed, curling her into his side. I moved my gaze from them, feeling like I was intruding on their moment, and instead settled my eyes on Dixie. “You’re good with her.” I observed. He smiled. “I have four kids, ten grandkids, and one great grandkid. I know my way around these

babies.” I looked at him closer, and noticed he still wore a wedding ring, even though I’d seen him with women that were most definitely not his wife, seeing as they were a third of his age. He saw where my gaze was locked and chuckled. “I lost my old lady five years ago to stomach cancer. She’ll always stay with me, though. Right here.” He said touching a fist to his heart. I wanted that. I wanted it so badly. I cared deeply for Trance, and I knew I loved him, but there was no telling if the feelings were reciprocated or not. “You’re a complex man, Dixie.” I said standing. Turning to my sister, I watched as she gazed into Kettle’s eyes whispering softly to him for a few moments before interrupting. “Okay, you sickos. I’ve got to get out of here. Let me know if you need me again, sissy.” I said hugging her to my boobs and shaking them in her face. She cackled and pushed me away. “My turn,” Kettle teased. I rolled my eyes, walked over to my bag, and removed the lunchbox I’d brought from Trance’s house. “Here. I brought you a present.” He took the offering with a moan and removed one of the beers, and popping the top before I could walk to the door. “Goodnight,” he called. Foster was waiting for me when I got into the waiting room. He was reading a Sport’s Illustrated pregnancy edition with a sick sense of horror plastered over his face. “You ready?” I asked on a laugh. He looked at me with his disgusted eyes, threw the magazine down, and stalked towards me. “Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to be hit on by a lactating woman?” I roared with laughter and he glared at me. “You’re sick. The woman was feeding her kid right there in front of me, and I kept getting nipple shots.” I giggled even harder when we got onto the elevator. He started punching the ground floor button with urgency when I didn’t stop. “You’re not very nice. I used to like you.”

I snorted. “Did Miller call you with any updates on Trance?” He stiffened at my question, and his eyes turned to me warily. “Yeah...” he said cagily. “About that.”

*** I walked into the door of Trance’s house on a mission, Foster close on my heels. After what Foster had told me in the car, I was so beyond pissed that I could barely see straight. I found her in the kitchen. Petting my dog. Trance’s dog. Fuck. Radar was sitting at the feet of the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Long blonde hair that was nearly white that flowed in soft waves down her back. Tight black jeans and a red shimmery shirt. The heels she had on made me want to roll my eyes with how ridiculously tall they were, but I didn’t. No, I just walked in like I owned the place. “Hi, who are you?” I asked walking into the kitchen. Miller, who had been leaning against the counter snorted but didn’t say anything. Radar left the bitch for me like she was a piece of trash he’d licked all the good stuff off of, coming to me like he hadn’t seen me in days. “Hey there, big boy. Have you been fed yet?” I asked him. Snow witch scowled at me like I’d stolen her favorite shoes and stood. “My name is Bree. I already fed the dog.” The dog. Not Radar. Looking over at Radar’s bowl, I noticed that it was only the dry food, not the wet stuff that Trance normally gave him. The other three bowls were completely empty, meaning they’d been in their cages for going on four hours now. Walking over to the kitchen cabinet containing the wet stuff, I picked four cans out, picked up the bowls, scooped some dry food into the ones that didn’t have any, and dumped the wet food into them before stirring them all together. Putting the bowls down on the ground, Radar immediately went to his bowl and started eating while I left the room and went to the den where Trance kept Tequila, Mocha, and Kosher’s cages. They started barking their little yips of excitement, and I felt horrible for not letting them out earlier. “I’m sorry, boys and girls. I didn’t mean to leave you in there so long. Daddy was hurt and we forgot all about you, didn’t we?” I cooed at the dogs as I opened each cage. After letting them outside, I threw the ball for them each, making them run and play for a good twenty

minutes like Trance usually did before bringing them back inside. They attacked the meal like starving beasts, and only then did I look back at the woman who’d resumed her seat. “I’m sorry, Bree. My old man got hurt today. Today’s been kind of hectic. Who did you say you were again?” I was going to hell for calling him my old man. Her face scrunched up in anger, and only then did I see the mask slip and the evil rear its head. “I came to check on Killian.” She murmured darkly. “Trance? I’m sorry, who are you again? I’ve not heard him mention a Bree before.” I said slowly. I hadn’t actually heard him mention Bree before, so it wasn’t actually a lie. I’d only heard about her from Foster on the way back. And from what I’d learned, she could be fingered by Wolverine for all I cared. “Bree. His ex-fiancé.” She ground out. “Oh, well that’s odd. I’ve never heard you mentioned once. Who called you?” I asked her. Her mouth pursed like she’d sucked on a lime. “A nurse at the ER called. She wanted to double check his insurance, and I was still listed as an emergency contact.” “Hmm, we’ll have to get that fixed.” I said dismissively as I walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer. “Anybody else want some beer?” Foster and Miller both answered with affirmative grunts. Bree on the other hand had to be difficult. “Do you have any wine?” She asked sweetly. I rolled my eyes. “No, Trance is more of a beer man. I think he may have some JD in here somewhere. I also saw he had a bottle of Jager.” Her lips turned up in a silent snarl, and I brought the beer up to my lips to hide my smile. “I have some water. I drank the last of the Dr. Pepper before bed last night.” “Water will be fine, thank you.” She said primly. “Okay,” I said. “Cups are in the cabinet behind you. Water’s in the fridge door.” “I don’t drink the local water.” She sniffed. “Well, then I guess you have your choice of MGD, Coors, Zigenbach, or Blackened Voo Doo. Personally, I really like the Blackened Voo Doo. It tastes sublime. Trance introduced it to me a couple of weeks ago.” I said smiling.

Turning, I made my way to the table and took a seat directly across from a barely-containing-hischuckles Foster. Miller wasn’t even trying to contain his laughter. He was all out shoulder shaking with his laughs. “Do you live in town?” I asked curiously. “No,” she shook her head. “I live in Alexandria.” “Hmm,” I said. I was about to say something else when a pair of strong, callused hands wrapped around my throat, over my breasts, and came to a stop just underneath my breasts. Trance’s lips found their way to my neck, and I shivered at the touch of his lips. “Hey, baby. Why haven’t you come to bed yet?” He rasped against my neck. “My sister had a crisis. I just got back and met your friend here.” I answered breathily. My nipples had pebbled, pressing against the thin tank top I was wearing determinedly. The pad of his thumb swiped against the turgid peak once before he withdrew. “Friend? Where?” He asked and stood, finally making eye contact with the very pissed off woman sitting across the table from me. “Oh. Hey, Bree. How’s it going? What are you doing here?” “The hospital called. You still have me listed as an emergency contact.” She snapped. “Oh, well I’ll have to get that fixed.” He said dismissively. My lips spread into a cat-ate-the-canary smile, being sure to show the other woman the whites of my teeth. “It’s okay. You can leave me on there if you would like. I always told you you’d get hurt on that job, though.” Of course the woman had to pull the ‘I told you so’ card. Fucking bitch. “For your information, I wasn’t hurt on the job.” He growled. To stall the inevitable firestorm, I diverted Trance’s attention. “I’m really sorry, but I just realized that the pups were still in their cages. I exercised them and fed them. Is there anything else you want me to do with them?” I asked. Trance’s eyes finally broke from the woman’s stare, and he glanced at me before looking back at the dogs. “No, baby, you did good. You about ready for bed? I’m beat.”

I nodded and stood. “It was nice meeting you Bree.” “Hey, can I stay in our guest room?” Bree called to our retreating backs, making Trance freeze. “No, because Miller is staying in my guest room and Foster’s staying on the couch. We have no room for you.” With that he turned, grabbed my hand, and led me into the bedroom before slamming the door. “God I hate that woman sometimes.” He growled, pacing the small room. “What happened with her?” I asked softly, taking a seat on the bed. His hand went to his hair, but he stopped, wincing when his hand met the tender spot. “I was running through my regular beat about five years ago when I pulled into a parking lot that two cars had used to do their drug deal. I walked up to them, asked for licenses and registration. For some reason I didn’t let the dog out of the car,” he said shaking his head wildly. “That was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, not doing that. When I turned to go back to my car, one of the men pulled a knife and sliced my back open from hip to hip. I shot them both. Killed them both with one shot to the heart. I nearly bled out though. Woke up in the hospital three days later pissing blood with kidney lacerations and a note from Bree.” I thought about what he was telling me, what he hadn’t said. “She left you while you were in the hospital, didn’t she?” He sat down on the bed roughly. “She refused to even talk to me after that. Moved her shit out of our house and never spoke to me again. Emptied our bank account, even tried to take Radar. That didn’t last long, though, since I needed him for work.” He smiled through his remembered pain, but I could tell the memory of her still cut him to the bone. “Is this the first time you saw her since then?” He grimaced. “No, we’ve seen each other in passing. Normally she flips me off and goes about her business. Sometimes I see her eating lunch with some of our old friends.” “How...childish.” I said with a shake of my head. He shrugged, as if the entire thing was just a moment in time that mattered little to him. Then all of the things started to click in place. That’s why he didn’t get close, why he was with Tillie. She was easy, and wouldn’t expect more from him than he was willing to give. Right then, I made a promise to myself. I would make sure to prove every one of his notions wrong. I wouldn’t be like that for him. I would be someone he could count on to talk through his troubles. If he had a bad day at work, I wanted to be the one he came to speak to if he ever needed me.

Starting now. “What do you want me to do?” I asked softly. He shook his head again. Which seemed to be the only thing he was capable of doing. “Nothing. I just want to go to bed. Forget she ever even showed.” He didn’t hold me that night, and he was gone the next morning when I woke up. His side of the bed was cold, and hadn’t been slept in in hours. Even his brothers weren’t there. But then I got a message, and it changed my whole outlook on the day. Game on, Trance. Game on.

Chapter 12 When a police officer asks, ‘have you been drinking,’ a good reply is not, ‘are you buying.’ -Viddy, Note to self

Trance “What are you still doing here?” I asked Bree. We were sitting in the diner, and I was in the very last place in the world I wanted to be. “I made a mistake.” Bree whispered gravely. “What kind of a mistake?” I asked taking a sip of my coffee. “One where I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I left you in the hospital torn up by a knife.” She sniffled. A lone tear slipped down her perfectly made up face, and I had to suppress the urge to wipe it away. She knew tears always did me in. Every single time, without fail. Hell, she’d used them on me a lot during our relationship. ‘Don’t go to work today, Trance. I have a bad feeling.’ She’d say nearly every day. Over time, I’d gotten to the point of just acting like I didn’t see the tears, going to work with a sickness inside of me, knowing I was hurting my fiancé greatly. However, my job was very important to me. “Listen,” I said. “I know you may think you want to get back together, but I still have the same job. You’d end up in the same predicament that you left me with.” She was shaking her head before I even finished. “No, I’ve been thinking a lot, and I know I was selfish. I really do know. I’ve been trying to work up the courage to come back to you for some time now.” I was about to reply to her when the door opened, and two women poured through the diner doors. Both of them were hanging on each other as if they needed each other for support. They were laughing and carrying on and I was struck speechless. Then, the younger of the two, turned her eyes to me, and they went wide. Then hard. The older of the two followed the younger’s gaze to me, and her smile slipped from her face as well. Her expression turned remote, as well as disapproving. With that one look, she let me know how she felt.

My mother was utterly pissed at me, and wasn’t against admitting it. Nor showing it. Viddy’s face was closed down, and when she took a seat at the booth with her back to me, I knew it was going to take some major groveling to get her to forgive me for this. I’d left that morning with the thought to get my head on straight. I’d come to the diner for some quiet and peace, but then Bree had come in and sat down in front of me with her pleading puppy dog eyes, and I let her talk. Stupid. Goddamn stupid. Leaning over, I pulled out my wallet and threw a ten on the table before scooting out of the booth. “Where’re you going?” Bree asked in alarm. I spared her a glance and said, “My woman and mom are over there. Hope you get back to Alexandria safely.” Walking over swiftly without looking back, I knew I had to fix this now, or it’d only fester. Sparing my mom a smile, I grabbed Viddy by the arm and practically dragged her out of the booth, kicking and spitting. With one glance at her face, I knew this wasn’t going to be fun. For either of us. Leading her outside, I turned and walked down the alley that separated the diner from the floral shop next door, and didn’t stop until we’d reached the back of the building. “Trance,” Viddy hissed. “Let me go.” I shook my head. “Not until you hear me out. I didn’t come here to meet her.” “Sure you didn’t. That was why you were eating breakfast with her.” She growled, and then swung her fist at me. I caught it without thought, twisted, and held it pinned against the small of her back. She squirmed fiercely, making me pin her to the wall with my body until the only thing that was separating us was the fabric of our clothing. With the only recourse she had left, she leaned over and bit me on the meat of the shoulder. Hard. “Mother fucker.” I growled, jerking away from her and looking down at my shoulder. She tried to use the distance to run, but I caught her by the waist before she could get very far, grabbed her hands in one of mine, and pinned her back to the wall with my body. “Would you chill the fuck out and listen to me.” I ground through clenched teeth.

“Fuck you,” she spat. Closing my eyes, I moved my free hand up until it rested on the speeding pulse of her heart at the juncture of her neck and chin. Opening my eyes, I saw ones just like my own reflected back at me. “I didn’t come here to meet her. I came here to think about what happened yesterday at your apartment. Shit doesn’t add up.” “Sure,” she growled. “I just bet that’s why you two looked so fucking cozy when I got here.” Pressing my throbbing erection into her stomach, I halted her next words in their tracks. “I don’t want my ex. I fucking want you. My dick doesn’t even like the look of her anymore. It only wants you!” I hadn’t meant to bellow it, but she was still trying to get away from me, and I was fucking sick of it. “Your mom is inside waiting for me.” She said softly. “We’ll talk more about it later, but you need to realize that I haven’t thought about Bree in a very long time. I’ve moved on from her. Now it’s you. It’s been you since I found you the night your brother dropped you off in that alley. When you put your arms around my gut, things changed for me in a big way.” I said against her lips, and then took her mouth with a ferocity that could rival a caveman’s. Just thinking about that night made me want to beat Viddy’s brother to within an inch of his life. I’d gone over to Kettle’s house one night after work to meet him, and Viddy’s sister had come over screaming about how Viddy was lost and alone somewhere after her brother had dropped her off. Normally, it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal except, at the time, Viddy’s vision wasn’t what it was now. Then, she couldn’t see jack shit, and her cell phone had died. When I’d found her that night, she’d been scared out of her mind. It’d only taken a few soothing words, and then she was clinging to me like saran wrap, shaking like she’d just come down from an adrenaline high. “Okay,” she agreed. “Just don’t do that anymore. I’ve got this bitch that rests inside of me. She makes me do stupid things when I’m angry.” I snorted. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She smiled up at me, and my breath hitched. She was so goddamn beautiful it hurt. Her long, wavy black hair was up in a ponytail at the top of her head with a pink bandana holding back the stray hairs. The makeup she was wearing was light, but what she did have on made her eyes pop with their intensity.

The jeans she was wearing cupped her ass like a dream, and I highly doubted that she’d be able to sit comfortably in them with how tight they were. The shirt she was wearing was a simple one. Black with the Harley Davidson symbol emblazoned in pink. Her shoes were what stopped me in my tracks, though. They were motorcycle boots, with pink laces. On Viddy, though, they were the absolute cutest thing I’d ever seen. Smiling, I walked hand in hand with her until we reached the front door before saying, “I don’t care who you’re a bitch to. As long as it’s not me.” “Not even your mom?” She asked over her shoulder. She had a grin tipping up the corner of her lips, but I didn’t take the bait. “If that pleases you.” I knew she wouldn’t be a bitch to my mother. In fact, she’d go out of her way not to be a bitch to her. My mom was a hard woman to be mean to. She was friendly and considerate. But she also could give just as much as she could take. She had to with three boys that were all within three years of each other. “Glad to see you could make it back.” My mom said disapprovingly. I shrugged unapologetically. “Sorry.” I took a seat beside my mother and pulled her into a hug. “What are you doing here?” “What, you think that I wouldn’t come see my boys when they’re all in one place for once?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. I snorted. Should’ve known she would be here. She always came down before, and this time she had extra incentive. Mainly in the form of Viddy. “I stand corrected. Viddy, why aren’t you at work?” I asked making a show of looking at my watch. She glared at me. “Teacher in service. You would know if you hadn’t left without waking me up first.” I held up my hands in surrender. “I tried, to be honest. You weren’t waking up, though. After the third time of you telling me to ‘fuck off ’ I left you alone.” She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to answer. My mother thought that was hilarious, though. “Trance has always been a morning person. I remember when he used to wake me up at four thirty in the morning, no matter what I did to tire him out the night before. Do you know how hard it is to tell this cute face no?” She gestured to my face. I rolled my eyes, and found my stare caught Bree’s fuming one, but I quickly looked away, instead

focusing back on Viddy. She was nodding sagely. “The man has dimples. Where did he get the dimples from? I see those and I just melt.” Oh, Lord. “He tried to get away with a lot of stuff growing up. They all did. You should’ve seen him the day they tore my garden up with our new tiller. The entire thing was destroyed, and they all sat there crying with their little dimples, and I forgave them like the sap I am.” She said emphatically. “I seem to remember plenty of times when I got the belt growing up.” I scowled. “From your father. Never from me. He’s immune to the dimples since he has them.” My mother smiled warmly. “Did dad come with you?” I asked. She shook her head. “No, he couldn’t get out of work on such short notice.” Their food came, effectively shutting them up, giving me the time to do my own talking. “Today, I plan on running a few errands. I have to stop by the police station and make a report. Then I have to do some training with the dogs. What are y’all’s plans for today?” I asked. “Movies.” “Lunch.” “Shopping.” “The boats.” Their answers were rapid fire, and it was clear that they’d had this planned out for a while. How they were going to fit all of that in was beyond me, but who was I to say what they could or couldn’t do. In addition, it worked for me. I needed to do some things that I didn’t really want to worry Viddy anymore than she already was. “Okay,” I said and stood. “I’ve got an appointment I can’t miss with Loki at work. Call me if you need anything.” With that closing comment, I gave my mom a peck on the head, Viddy a long, slow, wet kiss, and walked out the door. It didn’t surprise me in the least that Bree was standing by my bike when I got out there. “What do you want?” I asked once I got close to her.

“You know what I want.” She said quietly. I shook my head in exasperation. “A couple of years ago, what you wanted would’ve really been a top priority for me. I’ve got a new woman though. One I plan to ask to marry me. One that’s going to be my old lady once I get the patches for her. You had your chance to have me a long time ago, and you blew it when I needed you most. I honestly could care less what you want. Move your ass so I can get done with my business and get home to my girl.” I hadn’t planned on saying that aloud. Hell, I hadn’t even admitted it to myself yet, and here I was telling the whole world of my plans. Somehow it felt right, and I was going to make sure Viddy knew the way I felt about her. One slow step at a time. Tears started to stream down her face, but I ignored them, got on my bike, and wheeled out of the parking lot. Leaving the woman that tore my heart out behind for good.

*** “There’s no surveillance feed of what happened?” I asked in surprise. The complexes advertised the safety features of the apartments. ‘We have cameras on all angles’ my ass. “No,” Loki shook his head. “We’ve got nothing. The angle would’ve worked if the panel van wasn’t blocking you from its view. And then when he took off, he ran away from the cameras, so all we have is the back of his head.” Sebastian and Kettle, who were sitting at the table with me looking over the surveillance tapes as well, let out curses. “Did it look like Paul?” I asked. Loki shook his head. “No, this guy was shorter. Stockier. He had blonde hair, too. Not brown like Paul’s. Longer too.” “Fuck,” I snarled. “Any prints in the car?” Loki shook his head again. “No. Wiped clean.” “Goddammit. I know it has something to do with that little prick. I bet he sent someone to get the feed, and when I showed up, he used the opportunity.” My head was pounding. From both my most-likely concussion, as well as the fact that Viddy’s exboyfriend just wouldn’t go the fuck away. Sebastian shook his head. “I think you need to...” My work pager went off, and I groaned. “God.” The joys of being a K-9 police officer. You get called out any and all times of the night when they need probable cause. Looking at the number on my phone, I called dispatch. “This is officer Killian Spurlock. I received a page.” Twenty minutes later found Kosher and me at the intersection of Pine and Second Street. There was a white Cadillac Escalade with bright gold rims off to the side of the road, and Tunnel Morrison was speaking to a young Hispanic male at the back of the car. Tunnel Morrison was a prospect for The Dixie Wardens. He was capable enough, but at times, he

seemed too...innocent. He was very young, only twenty-three, and one of the first ones in the club to offer you the shirt off his back. He had a wife and young child at home, and it surprised me that the wife wouldn’t have a problem with Tunnel being in a MC. However, she was a sweet, young girl and supported Tunnel fully. I pulled up directly in front of the Cadillac, backing up some so the Cadillac wouldn’t be able to move unless either Tunnel or I allowed it. Which the young man noticed almost immediately. Going to the side door, I let Kosher out, holding onto his leash, and started walking him around the car. Kosher made his way around the car fully. Going low, not smelling anything at all. Legally, I couldn’t do anything but let Kosher investigate. Kosher would have to give some indication that he found something before I could search the car, or apply for a warrant. Which is what Kosher found when he passed by a second time on his high sweep. He stopped short at the rear passenger side door, and sat. With that one action, Kosher opened up a shit storm for that young man. Mainly in the form of 300 pounds of marijuana in the man’s back seats. He’d thought that he’d been smart, cutting the leather of the seats apart and stuffing the seats full of marijuana. Except he hadn’t counted Kosher’s nose into the equation. He was also a repeat offender, making me realize that some people will never learn. Little did I know that I was one of those people.

Chapter 13 Feel safe at night, sleep with a cop…your own cop, that is. Not mine. -Viddy to Bree

Viddy

“Bad boys, bad boys,” Adeline sang. “Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?” “Hopefully come with them.” I said dryly, making Adeline burst out laughing. “Oh, Jesus. That’s gross.” She said as she wiped away tears. “Why?” I asked as I pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt that had Benton High emblazoned on the front. I was getting ready to go to the Benton vs. Kilgore homecoming game. Trance was already going since it was one of the busiest places on Friday nights, and three quarters of the time, he was required to be there with his K-9. After his big bust yesterday, the town thought he was a hero. Poor Tunnel was thrust into the spotlight, too. “Because you just made me think about you doing naughty things with Trance.” She said in exasperation. I rolled my eyes and went to the bathroom. “What’s that dog doing?” Adeline yelled from the bedroom. I looked to find Radar half in-half out of the bathroom staring at my bedroom, and most likely my sister. “He’s guarding me while I pee.” I yelled as I washed my hands. “That’s...” Adeline started to yell and lowered her voice when the baby started to scream. “Weird.” I thought it was somewhat cool. It was nice to have him there with me. I didn’t feel so alone. I’d even taken him to school with me, much to Sandra’s displeasure. “He’s a good boy, aren’t you Radar?” I asked the dog. He wagged his tail fitfully as I scratched him between the ears. He enjoyed the ear rubs as evidenced

by the lolling tongue and the eyes that were nearly rolling back in his face. “Okay, I’m ready whenever you are.” I told her. She stood from her perch on my bed and handed me the diaper bag while she grabbed Saylor’s car seat. “Sounds good. I have to get back before Kettle realizes I’m not where he left me.” Adeline teased. “Why’d he have to work today, anyway? Isn’t he on maternity leave?” I asked as we walked to the door. She shook her head. “He was. Or could still be if he wanted. But we figured we might need to be saving up his vacation time for when we have doctor appointments and stuff. So he went back to his scheduled shift.” “Wow,” I said in surprise. “He was okay with leaving you by yourself when she is only three days old?” She shrugged. “Not really, no. But Kettle’s mom is coming over later to help out, and I told him I was okay.” “Are you?” I asked as I set the alarm and opened the front door, ushering her out with a sweep of my hand. Radar was already trotting down the stairs as I closed the door, and stopped to sit on his haunches beside Adeline’s rear car door. I locked my door, and followed Adeline down, opening the door for Radar before taking my seat in the front. “Why do you have him, anyway?” Adeline asked as she dropped down in her seat and closed the door. Putting on my seatbelt, I answered. “Radar is retiring, and Trance doesn’t want him to think he’s being replaced. So I’m going to let him hang with me, since technically, I’m still legally blind.” “Well, that’s cool. And he can bite that Sandra bitch if you ask him to!” She crowed. I double fist pumped in pretend excitement, which in turn caused the trucker next to us to pull his horn, effectually scaring the absolute shit out of me. “Jesus Christ,” I jumped and looked over at the truck driver with a broad smile on his face. I waved shyly as he passed. Adeline had no problem laughing at my abject terror though. In fact, she pulled over to the side of the

road. “Oh, God. I’m gonna pee myself.” I glared at the heifer. “Drive or I’ll miss the first pitch.” Adeline snorted. “Kickoff.” She corrected. “Oh,” I said. Then added. “I haven’t the first clue what goes on in football. And I don’t know who I’m going to sit with. Nor if I’ll even see Trance.” “Well, you have plenty of places to choose from. Although, Kettle likes to stand at the fence, so I can’t tell you where to sit or who to sit with. You might see Trance if you stand as well. As for how football is played, you’d have to ask someone who knows. I have no clue either.” The rest of the drive was spent contemplating getting our toes and nails done, and whether we should try to get Kettle to babysit. “What could it hurt? If she cries, you just rock her. You wouldn’t be doing anything different there than you would be at home.” I said in confusion. “Well, yeah. But what if she gets hungry?” “Then you feed her.” Duh! “Kettle would probably have a coronary if he found out I had my boob exposed in public.” She said dryly. Oh dear. We’d had this discussion many times over the last ten months. I, personally, didn’t care about what people thought. Adeline cared too much. So we always agreed to disagree. I was happy when we pulled up to the game. I didn’t want to have another breastfeeding debate with her. “Bye, Addy. Let me know what you decide on getting our toes done in a couple of days.” I instructed as I blew her a kiss and got out of the car with Radar hot on my heels. She drove off with a small wave, and I bought my ticket at the gate. For thirteen effin’ dollars. “Ma’am, you can’t have any pets,” the woman taking tickets at the gate snapped. I rolled my eyes and handed her my disabled license, effectually shutting the woman up in her tracks. I was prepared for events like this. The woman reluctantly stepped aside as Radar and I walked slowly into the very large crowd that was congregating at the back of the concession stand. What I didn’t realize was that Adeline had dropped me off on the visitor’s side; it turned out to be in

my favor since one of the first people I saw was Shiloh, Sebastian’s sister, sitting at the very front center row towards the middle. Me never going to a game before, and being vastly overwhelmed by all the sounds, smells, and sights, I was glad to see a friendly face. Well, seeing the face was new to me. I hadn’t actually seen her for real since my vision had returned. All I’d seen were pictures at Sebastian’s place, or on Shiloh’s Facebook page. When I got within shouting distance (which was only five feet away, because holy shit was the band louder than hell) I yelled her name. Which got the attention of the entire group she was sitting with, including the two men, Max and Gabe, who’d very recently put the alarm into my house, standing behind Shiloh. Shiloh started waving excitedly, and I climbed the stairs and walked over to them slowly, surprised by the sheer amount of people that were there. Holy shit, but did they know how to sit down? The people in the front row most likely couldn’t even see. Not that it bothered the men of the group I was headed to. They were all standing anyway, pissing off the people behind them who were too afraid to say anything about it. “Viddy! What are you doing here?” Shiloh asked as she pressed on the man’s legs at her side to make room for me. The man, blonde, big, and built like a sex God, moved over with a roll of his eyes, never interrupting his conversation with the man beside him. The man beside him was Sam, Sebastian’s brother. Those two looked so much alike it was uncanny. I’d also seen pictures of him at Sebastian’s place, too. Although Baylee was the one responsible for the pictures. No Facebook page for Sam, though. Apparently, it’s an alpha-male rule to not have anything social media related that has your face plastered all over the internet. I’d tried to tell Trance that everyone, and I do mean everyone, had a Facebook. Hell, I was blind and had a Facebook, but he didn’t care. He refused just on general principle. I sat down in between the blonde man’s leg and Shiloh, turning my attention to the game before answering her. Radar made himself very comfortable by sitting on my feet and leaning his massive furry body against

my legs, with his head resting in my lap. I stroked his hair as I answered. “I’ve been asked by multiple students to come watch the game. One of my favorite students is the running back. Number 58, he said.” I yelled. The game hadn’t even started yet, and the roar of the crowd was nearly unbearable to my heightened senses. “Did you come with someone?” Shiloh asked in concern. I shook my head, oblivious of her concern as I scanned the field for Falco’s number and Jade on the sidelines. “No, just me and Radar here.” I said indicating the dog. The man that was at my other side dropped down and sat on the seat beside me and yelled, “Trance let you have Radar?” The surprise in his voice was evident, even over the din of the crowd. I turned and regarded him closely, studying his blonde hair, angular nose, full lips, and square jaw before answering. “Yes. For now anyway. He’s working.” He cracked a smile, and I suddenly remembered the name that belonged to the voice. James. Shiloh’s husband. The SWAT officer for Kilgore Police Department. His eyes studied me back, taking in my ponytail, my school shirt, shorts, and Radar before asking his next question. “If he’s working, why doesn’t he have his partner with him?” He asked in surprise. “He’s using Kosher tonight.” I said simply. His head tilted. “Where’d he get a new dog?” “Why are you nagging my woman, Allen?” Trance’s voice called from the railing below. My eyes turned to see him leaning his arms along the rail, staring up at us. I stood, effectively making Radar stand, too, and walked over to him. His eyes flared the closer I got, and I realized he was looking up my shorts. I snorted and smoothed them down. He smiled unapologetically, and winked at me. Boys will be boys, and all.

He was looking hot himself. He was decked out in his police gear, except today he had on a pair of Ray-Bans that covered his beautiful eyes. Dropping down so my butt rested against the back of my calves, I found myself staring into his eyes. “Hey,” I said, studying the stitches that Trance was hopeful would be coming out tomorrow. The swelling had gone down quite a bit, and all that was left was a thin raised red line from ear to temple. “Who dropped you off?” He asked. I changed the subject; I really didn’t want to get Adeline in trouble, because I knew for certain it would get back to Kettle. “How’s Kosher doing with the large crowd?” I asked. He narrowed his eyes at my evasion, but let me have my way. “He’s a little jumpy, but overall, he’s doing really well.” I agreed with him. “The loud noises and sheer amount of people is kind of overwhelming. We’ve never been in this type of situation before.” His eyes locked onto my face and studied it a few moments before answering. “If you need me, just call. I like that you’re sitting with them, though. They’ll take care of you.” I laughed at that. “Radar won’t even let me pee by myself. I doubt that he’d let anything get close to me that he didn’t deem fit. Let alone hurt me.” “That’s good. I don’t want anybody to get close to you.” I leaned forward and gave him a wet kiss on the mouth before standing. “If you happen to go by the concession stand, I want a plate of nachos, Sour Punches, a pickle, and a Mountain Dew.” He just shook his head and walked away. I watched him until he disappeared in the crowd. Well, his ass, anyway.

*** “Bad boys, bad boys,” Shiloh sang. “Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?” Without even thinking, I answered with, “Hopefully come with them.” The same thing I’d said to my sister only hours before. Which caused a riot of laughter out of the women on the other side of Shiloh. Ember, a badass blonde, had joined us about five minutes ago to come and give her husband, Gabe, a kiss. She was the trainer for the Kilgore Athletic Department. Payton, a nurse, was on the other side of Ember, leaning practically over Shiloh and Ember’s lap to yell at me. “Will you share?” I looked up just in time to see Trance walking towards us with my order from the concession stand. “Fuck no. Trance is all mine.” Payton giggled. “No, dummy. I was talking about the food.” “Oh,” I said. “No. You can’t have that either.” They burst out laughing, and I stood before walking back over to the railing. “Thank you!” I squealed. “I expect payment in the form of sexual favors later.” He said as he handed over my drink, nachos, pickle and Sour Punches. I placed it all on the metal flooring and snuck my upper body through the rails, wrapping my arms around his neck. I could feel the heavy layers of his Kevlar vest underneath my hands, and I leaned back and regarded him. “Is that vest hot?” He raised his hand and made a tiny gap in between his thumb and forefinger. “Tid-bit.” I could tell he was teasing. Mainly because he was sweating like a pig. It was in the low nineties, but the humidity was what made it so sticky out. I offered him my coke and he declined. “I drank half of it on my way over already.” I mock glared at him and gave him one more kiss before he left to do another round with Kosher. Radar watched them go with longing eyes, so I gave him a nacho to make him feel better.

A sudden uproar from the crowd in front of me had me looking up in time to see a man in blue and gold streaking down the field, leaving everyone behind him in the dust. “What number is that?” I asked excitedly. “58.” James, Shiloh’s husband, answered. I started shrieking. “Go Falco! Go! Run those legs off! GO!” When he scored, and the home crowd started going wild, I assumed that he made it to the end zone, and I started jumping up and down in excitement. “Woo hoo!” It was only when the silence of those around me finally started sinking in that I realized I was routing for the home team on the visitor’s side. And all of them were giving me the evil stink eye. Shiloh’s face was priceless. She was also laughing at my plight. I sat down, trying to contain the excited squirms that were happening in me. James snorted. “It’s okay, darlin’. We’ll protect you from those hardcore moms over there.” I looked in the direction that he’d indicated to find myself staring down a gaggle of moms that were painted from head to toe in red and black. All staring at little old me in my blue and yellow shirt. “Oh, shit.” I mumbled. Snorts from all the men this time followed my comment. Ignoring them as best I could, I finished my nachos and pickle, picked up my drink and Sour Punches, and stood. “Alright, I’ve got to go make the rounds before this game ends. Thank you for letting me sit with you” After saying my goodbyes, I walked carefully through the throng of people around the gated track. It was as we were on the way to the bathroom that I encountered my arch nemesis exiting the very door I was about to go into. Radar went from calm and collected, to alert and stiff. He sat, and for the life of me, I couldn’t get him to move. Even worse, he was sitting right in front of Sandra. One I really, really didn’t want to talk to right then. Sandra sneered at me, and then down at Radar. When she tried to get around us, Radar would snarl, halting her in her tracks. “Fuck,” I breathed. “Move out of my way.” Sandra snapped.

I started pulling on Radar’s leash, but he was an immovable mountain. With no other options available, I resorted to the one thing that could make Radar do anything. Pulling my phone out, I called Trance. “Spurlock.” He answered. I couldn’t hear him very well, but I started to explain anyway, in a vain attempt to figure out what the hell was going on. “Get him away from me, Sheffield!” Sandra shrieked. “I’m trying. He won’t move!” I bellowed. I could hear shuffling on Trance’s end, as well as him asking me urgently what was going on. “Listen to me,” I snapped. It might have been at Trance, or it might have been at Sandra. I didn’t really know, but it was good that they both listened. “I can’t get Radar to move.” “Is he sitting down, standing, or laying down?” Trance asked in alarm. Looking down at Radar, I explained. “He’s sitting down. His tail isn’t wagging, and anytime Sandra tries to move, he growls.” “Where are you?” He cursed. “The bathrooms...” I said just as my voice trailed off when I realized which bathroom she’d come out of. It was the men’s bathroom. “The men’s bathroom.” What it looked like to me was that there was the men’s bathroom on one side of the concession stand, and the women’s on the other. I’d gone to the closest side to the bleachers since that was usually how bathrooms were set up. So that had me thinking, why exactly was she coming out of the men’s bathroom? But then, none other than my ex-boyfriend, Paul, came waltzing out only seconds after that thought, and I had a near panic attack. What the fuck? Not that I care that they’re together, but how fucking weird is it that the woman that hates me with a passion and the man that I used to date are both coming out of the bathroom looking extremely...disheveled. And why the hell won’t Radar fucking move? I stared blankly ahead, with the phone down at my side. Maybe if I played like I couldn’t see them, and couldn’t figure out why Radar wouldn’t move, they wouldn’t start anything.

There were a ton of people around. Surely, they wouldn’t try anything. Right? Wrong. The slimy bastard that was my ex walked straight up to me and placed his hand on my face. The same hand that smelled of things that I swear to God I didn’t, nor ever wanted to again, smell. “I’ve missed you, sweetie.” He said softly. My insides were roiling in panic. This was the same sick fuck who was masturbating to the smell of my panties. Who’d broken into my house and scared the ever-loving shit out of me. Sandra’s eyes were murderous, and if looks could kill, I would be bleeding from orifices right about now. “Get your filthy motherfucking hands off of her...now.” Deadly. If his voice could resemble an object, I would’ve compared it to a serrated knife. Jagged and deadly. His tone booked no room for argument, but the dog that was currently between us didn’t wait for him to comply. He just struck. With a deadly attack, Radar launched himself at the man threatening me. The hand that had refused to leave my face was suddenly just...gone. Radar had taken Paul by the leg, and maneuvered him to the floor with a motion so swift that it was hard for me to track it with my eyes. One second Paul was standing, and the next Radar had Paul by the throat. “Heel!” Trance roared. Radar instantly stopped. One second he was at Paul’s throat, and the next he was at my feet, crowding me with his big body. We’d attracted a crowd with Sandra’s screaming, as well as Paul’s whining. “I’m going to sue you, mother fucker. You’ll be lucky if that dog still lives in the morning!” Paul snarled. “Yeah? Well he would’ve never attacked you if he hadn’t felt provoked. I also have a strong suspicion one of you has some narcotics on you. Kosher, search.” My mind was reeling as the crowd started to gather even closer. Some people had cell phone cameras

out; others were on their phones, talking to people. We’d even attracted the notice of the cheerleaders. Kosher searched Paul, his prone body still lying on the floor clutching his wounded leg to his chest. After circling him twice, he went to the screeching Sandra who was now being cuffed by another officer that had arrived on scene. As soon as he got within two feet of her, he sat. Which must have been the sign that he’d found something. In fact, it’s exactly what Radar had done only moments before the altercation. Trance gave Kosher a good rub down and played tug of war with the dog, making Radar whine pitifully at my feet. In response, I got down on my knees and hugged Radar tight, burying my face into the fur of his neck and speaking to him about nothing consequential. Then I snuck him a Power Punch, which he promptly licked the sugar off before dropping it back on the exposed skin of my thigh. “Thanks,” I said dryly to the dog. He responded with a tail thump, and we watched as EMTs got Paul up onto a backboard, and hauled him away, with Sandra being escorted on their heels by the other police officer. Trance squatted down so he was eye to eye with me before making sure I was okay. “What happened, cupcake? Did he hurt you?” I shook my head. “No, he only touched me with his hands.” I shivered. His nose wrinkled in distaste as he stood. “Well,” he said holding out his hand for me to stand. “I think it’s time we get out of here. Game’s over. Now I have to go write a few police reports.” He was looking at Radar who was still leaning against my feet as he spoke. Radar who refused to even look at Trance. Which Trance noticed and frowned. “I think he’s mad at you.” I observed as we started to walk to Trance’s cruiser. “Yeah, I’m sure he is. He did his job tonight, and I didn’t reward him like I usually do.” Trance explained. “But you were working with Kosher and couldn’t. He’ll understand. Maybe if you buy him a bone he’ll forgive you.” I teased as we walked through the gates, the people giving us all a wide berth now that they saw what Radar was capable of.

When we got into the car and started on our way home, I finally asked what was on my mind. “Will he be able to do anything against Radar?” Trance didn’t answer at first. And I knew that somehow that was a bad sign. “Paul is a well-liked physician with a lot of clout. He got out of prison after wanking off on your bed and breaking in with just a slap on the wrist. I think that in this case, he really could do what he said he could do. But that’ll happen over my dead body.” I watched as he opened his mouth to say more, but closed it again before anything else could come out. He did that two more times, and I knew he had more to say. So I waited patiently as he warred with himself. I watched the clock on the dashboard go from 10:22 to 10:25 before he finally worked through whatever he was mulling about in his mind. “He had three video cameras in your house. One in your room. One in your bathroom. And one in your living room.” My eyes widened at his cold tone, and a slow burn started to shimmer in the pit of my belly. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked in outrage. His head dropped until it rested on the steering wheel. “Honestly? I just didn’t want you to have to carry that burden around with you. You already had to deal with the sick fuck breaking into your house. I was just trying to protect you. Loki’s going to need you to file a report. None of the charges are going to stick, though. He said that it was part of y’all’s sex games or some shit. That everything was consensual. And he has a good lawyer.” My teeth clenched so hard I half expected my back molars to crack. “Well, that wasn’t very helpful. I need to know shit like this. Stop trying to fucking protect me. You don’t own me. You have no right.” I wasn’t actually mad at him. I was mad at myself. Disappointed in myself. Everything that had happened lately had happened because of me. I should have known better. I was just so excited to have someone interested in me. Paul was the first one to not treat me with kid gloves, and I relished in that fact. Trance’s head lifted from the wheel, and his burning eyes turned in my direction. He lifted his hand until his hand was cupping my jaw, and he squeezed it just a tad too tight. “You listen here. It’s my fucking right to know everything when it comes to you and your safety. You get a speeding ticket, I have a right to know about it. You fall and scrape your knee, I have a right to know about

it. Hell, you eat all the goddamn eggs, and I have a fucking right to know about it. What gave me the right? You spreading those pretty goddamn legs of yours and taking me into your body. That’s what gives me the motherfuckin’ right.” I blinked at the harshness of his tone, and his adamancy on the rights he received just by fucking me. Well, he was sorely mistaken if he thought I was going to let him get his way just because he pulled the alpha card. “You can’t kill him.” I finally said. He snorted. “Why not?” “Because if you ever want to fuck me again, you know, ‘cause it’s your right, you’ll make sure you don’t have anything to do with him anymore. I’ll file a police report against him tomorrow, but I don’t want you involved anymore. Let Loki handle it. Your job is too important to put it in jeopardy.” “We’ll see.” He hedged. I knew he wouldn’t let it go. I wasn’t stupid. But maybe if he understood that I was adamant about him not hurting Paul, he’d think twice before actually killing him. It also made me feel warm inside. Happy enough that someone cared enough to make sure I wasn’t harmed. However, it wouldn’t be good if he knew I was happy. He’d just be that much more smug about the whole not telling me situation. And that wouldn’t do. It was time for the silent treatment. That would teach him. Which was why, when I got back to his place, I went straight to his room and shut the door. I had some serious thinking to do, and him being in my presence wouldn’t help. It was those damn dimples. They were freaking distracting as hell when you’re trying to hold onto a good snit. I had the best of intentions of rocking that snit too. That was until my head hit the pillow and I fell asleep.

Chapter 14 Do you ever wonder why they didn’t make the Pringles can big enough for normal people to fit their hands into? If they did, I wouldn’t have to pour them directly into my mouth. -Miller to Trance

Trance

Two hours later, I found myself with a house full of guests. My mom had just left after dropping over leftover dinner for Viddy and me with instructions to meet her for breakfast in the morning. One last family dinner before Foster and Miller had to return to the real world. “Viddy!” I called from the kitchen. When she didn’t answer, I walked out of the kitchen to the bedroom. I found her laying in the bedroom staring blankly at the ceiling. Her eyes were open wide, but the soft snore that came out of her mouth let me know she was asleep. She’d done this a couple other times, explaining that she’d slept with her eyes open since she could remember. Although she said that sometimes she got lucky and they would close. If they didn’t, she woke up with itchy, dry eyes. However normal it was, it was incredibly creepy to me. Walking over to her, I removed her shoes, socks, and shorts. Which left her in only her school shirt, bra, and panties. The panties were fucking hot. They were teal and see through. And they made me want to rip them off of her and fuck the absolute shit out of her. Twice. What I wanted to do, and what I needed to do, were two different things though. Sadly, I had Sebastian, Silas, Loki, and Dixie outside waiting for me to come out and try to figure out what was going on with Viddy’s stalker. Reaching forward, I closed her eyelids with a finger, gave her a gentle kiss on the lips, and left the room. Sebastian was kicked back in my recliner as if he owned it, and the rest of the men occupied the couch.

Good thing it was big, or it wouldn’t have held that much weight. I took a seat at the dining room table, and faced the room. “Something needs to happen to him. I vote making him disappear.” Dixie said without preamble. Silas was nodding in agreement as well. “I can’t kill him. He’s too well known in the community, and Viddy made me promise.” “Fucker doesn’t have to die to get the point across.” Silas observed dryly. A slow grin started to tilt the corner of my mouth up, and I agreed. “No, he sure doesn’t.” “Let me run some background checks on him. You should call Jack and see what he can get on him as well. His sources normally work a hell of a lot faster than mine do. Maybe with the two of us working on this, we can find his weakness.” Silas expounded. Jack was another member of Free. He and his wife, Winter, were hell to a firewall. They did illegal things, for good reasons. They could hack into any database and get any information they needed. Services we’d used time and time again. Services that were invaluable. They were practically geniuses in their field. We fell silent as we heard the click-click of nails on the hardwood floor, followed by a rubbing sound, and watched, dumfounded, as Viddy walked into the room followed closely by the puppies. I didn’t know what it was that set me off, but I could tell immediately that she was still asleep. Sleepwalking, as you would say. Adeline had told me that Viddy used to sleepwalk, and to watch out for it. Hearing about it, and experiencing it were two different things. Her eyes were unfocused, and she was using the wall as support. Luckily, the shirt she had on was covering the vitals; otherwise, I would’ve had to gouge some eyes out with pitchforks. Standing up, I walked over to the couch and grabbed the throw that was over the back of it, turning just in time to see Viddy drop down on the couch between Silas and Dixie. She wiggled and squirmed for a good minute making herself comfortable, and then laid her head on Silas’ shoulder and fell back asleep. With her eyes still open. “That is creepy as fuck,” Sebastian said warily.

Moving to Viddy, I tossed the blanket over her lap and went back to my seat at the table with my brothers. “I didn’t think Adeline was being serious when she teased Viddy about sleeping with her eyes open. I thought it was more of a ‘watch your back’ kind of thing.” Foster said dryly. “At least she doesn’t talk in her sleep about random shit. Don’t think I didn’t hear you last night.” Miller sniped. Foster threw his hands up in the air. “It’s not my fault!” I pinned my baby brother with a hard look. “Not Viddy’s fault, either.” He smirked. “It wasn’t in a vicious way. It was a more of a ‘hey, look at that!’ kind of way.” I grunted, refusing to acknowledge him. “Better keep it that way, too. Don’t tease her about it either or I’ll have to shove that nice shiny new rifle you bought today up your ass.” “You could always try...” Foster growled, moving his hands in a ‘bring it on’ gesture. “Boys,” Silas rumbled. “Are we done here? It’s late, and I have some things to take care of.” “Funny,” Dixie mumbled. “I like where I’m at right now.” He would. Where Silas was holding up her head with his shoulder, Viddy’s ass was pressed up against Dixie’s thigh. “Shouldn’t you be at the North Pole...Santa?” I snapped. He laughed, causing his big gut to jiggle. “I know she’s your girl, Trance Dance. Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the view.” The meeting continued as we ironed out some more details, as well as figuring out what the next step in our plan would be. I finally closed the door behind Silas, Sebastian, and Dixie around midnight. I checked the doors, and windows in the front of the house, knowing my brothers would do it in the back. I kenneled the puppies after letting them out, and then scooped Viddy off the couch. She settled more comfortably against my chest, snuggling in until her head was underneath my chin, and she sighed deeply. “You awake?” I asked as I entered my bedroom. I walked straight to the bed and laid her down, waiting for her to answer. “If I say yes, what’ll you do to me?” She replied sleepily.

“Nothing you wouldn’t want me to do.” I quipped. “How’d I get in the middle of a meeting with only my panties on? I specifically remember leaving my jeans on after I gave you the silent treatment.” She whispered into the dark. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I unlaced my boots and tossed them into the corner of the room. “You were giving me the silent treatment?” I asked in surprise as I stood to pull down my pants. I kicked those into the corner, too, before crawling into bed beside Viddy and pulling her in close to my body. “Yes,” she nodded against my chest. Her little hand started playing with the smattering of hair on my chest before it moved down to circle one nipple. “You deserved it.” I snorted. “Of course I did. But why the silent treatment? Shouldn’t I know that you’re mad at me so it can be effective?” “Women are crazy and they do insane things. In my mind, telling you I was giving you the silent treatment was more harmful than good.” She said just before her tongue found my other nipple in the darkness. I stiffened in surprise at the sensation that act provoked in me. “Jesus,” I hissed. “That’s like an electric spark straight to my dick.” She laughed, causing her breath to puff out against the wet nipple. “Yes, it does that sometimes.” I’d never had anybody suck on my nipples, to be honest. Sure, they’d been touched before, but never sucked. My hand went into her hair, and I clutched at the loose strands with one fist, holding her to me as she licked, nipped, and blew on my nipple. The other hand went down her back until I found the hem of her panties just above her perky ass, and dipped inside. Stopping at one globe of her ass, I squeezed roughly, eliciting a startled squeak out of her before letting my fingers trail down the crack of her ass. My fingers encountered her perineum first, and I let my index finger massage the band of flesh for a few moments before dipping down lower. Using my pointer and ring finger, I spread the cheeks of her ass enough to allow my middle finger to find it’s desired location. Her wet pussy. My large finger slid in with ease, making her body arch against my own. I could feel her pebbled nipples, and I bent my head and captured one through the thin material of her

shirt. Viddy’s hips rocked back and forth, using my finger inside her to get herself off. Her hands went down to capture the hem of her shirt, and she ripped it up and off, dislodging my mouth from her nipple in one fluent move. I didn’t let that stop me though, leaning forward and capturing her freed nipple, biting it lightly with my teeth and flicking my tongue over the hard peak. My dick was raging. Her hot pussy was making slick, wet sounds with each thrust of my finger, and I couldn’t take it any longer. “Condom in the bedside table. Get it now.” I rasped urgently against her nipple before sucking it in deep. She moved, and her nipple popped free of my mouth as she rolled over and reached for the nightstand drawer. I used the time she was fumbling around to divest myself and her of panties right about the time she threw a condom in my general direction. It hit me in the chest and fell to the bed, and I ripped it open hurriedly, sliding the latex down over my cock with quick, jerky movements. She was at a weird angle as she rested half on her belly and half on her side. One of her legs was in between my own, so I lifted her outside leg and wrapped it around my back as I lined my cock up to her entrance and let it slowly ease inside her slippery heat. “Oh, fuck,” I growled. “You feel so fucking good. You’re so tight.” Thrust. “And wet.” Retreat. “You suck me in like a goddamn vacuum.” Thrust. The wet sounds of my dick tunneling inside of her were turning me on so much that I was already impossibly close to blowing my load with a few dozen thrusts of my hips. One hand found her ass while the other held her leg up as I started to pound into her. Rough deep thrusts that had her crying out in tandem with the grunts coming out of my own mouth. Sweat was spreading over my skin in a light sheen, making my body slide even more provocatively against hers. I could feel the familiar tingle at the base of my dick indicating my pending release, and I knew if she didn’t come, and quick, that I’d be going without her. She felt too goddamn good for me not to. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to have her bare.

“Make yourself come. I’m so fucking close.” I gasped. Instead of her hand finding her clit like I’d thought she’d do, her hand went down past her clit until she could cup my balls, but also feel where my cock tunneled in and out of her wet heat. She held her hand there, massaging my balls, touching the base of my dick, and I was gone. I thrust into her roughly without any recourse. Pounded away at her while she held my balls firmly in the palm of her hand. I exploded. Stars burst, stealing my vision from me until I was an unthinking beast that could only focus on my own pleasure, not hers. Distantly I was aware of her crying out, but for the life of me, I could do nothing but pound away inside her, working every last drop of come from my balls. By the time I was through, I found myself laying on top of her, pinning her to the bed with my body, panting as if I’d just ran a marathon. “I think you broke me.” I groaned, disengaging from her sweet pussy and rolling over to my back. She giggled. Fucking giggled. One of my eyes popped open and I glared at her. “You think that’s funny?” She nodded her head. “Yes,” she said flipping fully onto her stomach. “I was thinking the very same thing.” Long moments passed as we laid there, catching our breath together, before I found the energy to stand and dispose of the condom. When I got back, I found her underneath the covers with her back to the room. Sliding in beside her, I gathered her to me. Then cursed. “Fuck,” I groaned staring at the lamp. “I forgot the light.” A soft snore answered my announcement making me smile. The light could stay on. I was comfortable.

Chapter 15 I like your dick. It deserves a trophy. -Viddy to Trance

Viddy

I woke up to a rock hard cock thrusting its way inside of me. Reflexively, I arched, urging Trance even deeper, and he rolled, pulling me on top of him. “You awake yet?” He rasped against my neck before sucking the lobe of my ear into his mouth and nipping it. I had to check the urge to nod my head, and instead moaned, “Yes! Very much so.” My chest was plastered against his, and I let my hands roam up and down his sides as I undulated my hips. He urged me with his hands on my ass, moving me at the pace he wanted me to go. “If you wanted to be in charge, why am I on top?” I gasped. He grinned, releasing those dimples on me when I had no way to fight their effects, and I fell. Head over heels in love with him. I admit it. He was the one. The one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. “Because when you’re on the bottom, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” He showed me. His abs constricted as he lifted himself up into a sitting position, and he shoved me up and down furiously on his cock. When my head flew back in rapture, he made his move, sucking my nipple into his mouth My hands latched onto his curly hair and I guided his head to the other nipple. “This is a good reason to be on top,” I gasped. “I’m totally dominating you.” He shook with laugher. “Is that right?” Then he showed me just how not dominated he was, topping from the bottom. All I could do was hold on for the ride as he lifted my hips off his length, and then slammed me back down again. My eyes closed and I listened to the sound of our thighs slapping together, and the heaviness of our

breathing. In fact, I got so into it that I hadn’t realized how close I was until I was already falling over the edge into a powerful orgasm that stole my breath. My back bowed, and I felt Trance’s morning stubble running over the exposed length of my ribcage, causing me to shiver. The scream that left my mouth sounded tortured. But in the most truly exquisite way. Trance’s own groan of completion followed my own, and we collapsed together on the bed in a heap of limbs. Somehow my arm ended up stuck underneath his back, and my hair was tangled up in his fist that was trapped underneath my chest. I was effectively pinned, and loving it. Closing my eyes, I let the words flow from my mouth. The ones that I’ve been wanting to say for a very long time. “I like your dick.”

*** The brothers of which were still sleeping. Or had been, but I’d woken them up. On purpose. Oops. If I had to be up, so did they. Trance had given me an exasperated look as I made sure to slam every single cabinet door on my pseudo search for a coffee cup. Foster had come in the room, handed me a cup out of the cabinet I’d already opened and then slammed with his blanket-creased skin and bed head, glared at me, and went back to bed. Did I mention he was shirtless and in only his boxers? The man could rival Trance in the looks department that was for sure. But Miller, my, my, my. When I’d let the dogs in after their morning training session, I opened and threw the puppies ball on Miller’s bed, which they of course followed dutifully. Miller had been sleeping on his stomach with his face half covered by the pillow. His leg was hanging off the bed, as was his arm until the puppies made a show of licking Miller’s exposed back and neck. “I’m going to kill you.” Miller mumbled from underneath his pillow. I giggled. “You could always try.” “I know 432 ways to kill a person. I’m pretty sure 433 would work on you.” He growled just as he launched himself from the bed at me. I squealed like a stuck pig and started running out of the room. I, of course, went to hide behind Trance who was taking a sip of his coffee. The man was always grumpy before he had his coffee. Which explains why he did what he did next. He set his cup down carefully as to not spill it, and then he moved to the side so my body was left exposed to the man whose hair was flat on one side and sticking up on the other. Miller grinned manically before he was on me, lifting me up over his shoulder, and running towards the backyard. Jesus Christ the man was quick, I hadn’t even seen him move. And his shoulder was like a wall of steel in my stomach. My little piddly hits were nothing against the muscled expanse of his back. Then I was flying through the air and I went under. Did I mention Trance had a pool?

Luckily, the throw was a long one, enabling me to catch a full breath of air before I hit the water. I sank like a stone in my jeans, sweatshirt, and shoes. Only one thought entered my brain in those instants where I was hovering in midair...two could play that game. Which was why instead of going up to the surface, I held my breath and stayed submerged under water. I was up to the count of sixty three when I heard two distinct splashes around me, and I opened my eyes to find two men swimming towards me. One fully clothed, and one in his underwear. They were tearing up the water as if it was ground, and were on me in an instant. Both men grabbed an arm and dragged me to the surface. I felt like I was on a jet boat with how fast I got up to the top, and I gasped a full breath of air, giving life back to my oxygen starved lungs. And then I laughed. “This is like a Baywatch episode.” I giggled. “Do you think we can do that again, but let me film it this time?” Both of them stared at me incredulity. “You can swim?” I snorted. “Of course.” I was being held up by both of them, or was until they suddenly dropped my arms like they were on fire to see if I was telling the truth. When I stayed up with the power of my legs only, they growled the exact same low, menacing growl, and started swimming to the side. “Hey,” I said indignantly. “I wasn’t the one who threw me in! Why are you mad at me?” They were both sopping wet, but my eyes drifted to Trance’s body as he shucked out of his wet clothes. Shirt first, then his jeans. “You’re just lucky none of my stuff was in my pockets. You’d have really been in trouble then.” He said. Two large splashes from the opposite direction had me turning in time to see two very excited puppies swimming towards me. I played with them for a couple minutes, tossing a rubber duck for them to retrieve, much to Trance’s annoyance. “We need to go.” He growled.

“Yes, dear.” I said cheekily. Miller was sitting in the lounge chair on the other side of the pool, so I made sure to throw the rubber duck in his direction as I walked inside, trailing a river of water behind me as I went. Once I was in Trance’s room, I stripped out of my wet clothes and looked around the room. Since I only had the clothes I was wearing, which were now wet, and the clothes from last night, I had to improvise a bit. I could wear my jeans and the camisole I’d had on the night before, but there was no way I was wearing dirty panties, and I wasn’t wearing wet ones either. Which left me with only one option. Going into the bathroom, I took another quick shower to wash the chlorine out of my hair. I got partially dressed with just my camisole and underwear before heading to the bathroom to blow-dry my hair. I was brushing it out when Trance found me. “What are you doing?” He asked looking at me weirdly. Looking up, I regarded him with raised eyebrows. “Brushing my hair?” Duh. “Why are you wearing my underwear?” He asked. I rolled my eyes. “Mine were dirty.” “What’s going on with your vagina?” I looked down and laughed. “It’s my clip.” Reaching down, I grabbed the clip that was still hanging on by one tine out of my underwear and tossed it onto the counter. It blended well, so from his vantage point, all it did was make me look like I was packing. “Why’d you have it there?” He asked. I checked the eye roll that was threatening and answered facetiously. “I was curious.” “About what you’d look like if you had a dick?” He asked warily. Suppressing the grin that wanted to take over my face, I said, “Not necessarily. More like what it would feel like to have something between my legs like you do.” He took in the mirth that danced in my eyes and walked up behind me. “Honey, you’d need a lot more than a clip to fill out these underwear like I do.” He teased. “So my ass doesn’t look good in these?” I asked as I wiggled it against his front.

He gripped my hip tightly, stopping my movement. “Your ass looks fan-fucking-tastic. But we have places to be, so how about you get your ass in gear?” He said just before he smacked said ass. Hard. I yelped and threw my brush at him, but he’d ducked out the door just in time. “Asshole!” I called at his retreating figure. “Always have been!” He called back.

*** “Where are we going?” I asked as I followed Trance through a rear door at the back of the police station. “Through the back. If we go through the front we have to combat the citizens there filing their own reports.” He explained congenially. I knew we were going through the back. It was obvious to everybody and their brother we were going through the back. “Oh,” I said. “So you’re not hiding me?” He turned and gave me a look over his shoulder that practically shouted ‘are you fucking with me’ but didn’t say anything. “Hey, how come you’re wearing your badge if you’re off today?” I asked as I walked behind him. He raised one shoulder before answering. “I don’t know. I always have.” “Well why wouldn’t you wear your gun if that was the case?” I asked as we pushed through a door that was lined with doors. “I am wearing one. In fact, I’m wearing two.” He said as he opened the door near the end of the hallway and gestured me through. I followed dutifully. “Where?” I asked curiously as he continued walking fast in front of me. He held up the back of his shirt in answer and I saw the broad black grips of his gun at the small of his back. “Why are you walking so fast? It’s making me breathe hard.” I said as I took in the large bustling room. It was one big open space with desks every ten feet or so. Probably fifteen desks in all with uniformed and plain clothes milling about throughout. I stopped at a table towards the front of the room that had a box full of donuts and a water cooler for a snack and drink while I waited for Trance to notice he lost me. He disappeared around a corner and I turned to survey the array of delicacies. I decided on a cream filled one first, and finished it off before going to the chocolate covered ones second. I was halfway done with that one when I saw Trance come back around the corner and start scanning the room.

His eyes narrowed on me when he finally spotted me, and I waved at him before shoving the rest of the donut in my mouth. He made a come on gesture with his fingers, and I followed. Not before I grabbed another donut, though. This one was custard filled. “Oh man, these are delicious.” I said to Trance once I reached him. He glared at the offending donut before grabbing my hand and urging me forward at the same pace I told him was too fast earlier. Yanking my hand free of his, I slowed down to a pace representing a walk rather than a sprint across hot coals. He turned around again in exasperation. “What the hell, Viddy? Why are you walking so slow?” “You are trying to hide me, aren’t you?” I glared. He turned his head up to the roof and studied the yellowed ceiling. “No, I’m just trying to get you out of here before Paul gets here. Is that okay with you?” He growled. I crossed my arms across my chest and glared. “All you had to do was say that. I would’ve understood.” His eyes trailed down to my chest, and I followed his gaze to see that the custard from my half-eaten donut had fallen down onto my chest. Without giving it a second thought, he took two steps toward me and bent his head. Licking up the drop that had slid from my collarbone to the swell of my breast. “Can I find you two an interrogation room for private use?” Loki said dryly from in front of me. Trance stiffened and turned slowly. “No, you can take her statement so I can get to breakfast with my mom.” Loki looked at his watch. “Why didn’t you just come afterwards? I could’ve still been sleeping.” He wasn’t joking. I’d only gotten maybe five hours’ worth of sleep before Trance had woken me up. Trance glared. “’Cause I wanted to be gone before...” commotion in the room beyond had us all turning to see Paul coming in with a lawyer. The lawyer looked slimy as hell. His hair was slicked back with what looked like enough product for three people. His suit was pristine, and his pale pink tie only made him look like a haughty douche bag rather than a respectable lawyer. “...that.” Trance finally finished.

I could tell the moment Paul realized that Trance and I were there. Mainly because he raised a finger and started yelling. “I want to press charges on that man for assault. His dog, too. His dog needs killing. I’m going to have that dog’s life if it’s the last thing I do!” “He’s going to try to have Radar put down.” I gasped. The lawyer’s beady eyes turned from the young woman officer in front of him into our direction, and he smiled. His teeth were extremely fake looking and entirely too white. They reminded me of the gum I used to chew when I was younger. The white rectangle kind that you had to press through the foil package before you could eat it. The more I looked at them, the bigger they seemed to get. “Do his teeth remind you of horse teeth? Or is it just me?” I whispered to the two men at my sides. Loki snorted, but Trance didn’t find it funny like we did. “He’s going to be trouble.” Trance observed. “Yes, yes he is.” Loki agreed with his arms crossed tightly across his chest. “He’s going to try to have Radar put down for sure, but it won’t be happening. They’ll have to go through me, and about nine tenths of the police force to accomplish that. Radar has saved countless lives, and saved the department millions of dollars. We’ve got insurance on him for this very reason.” Trance confirmed. My eyes narrowed on Paul’s, and suddenly I just couldn’t hold my mouth anymore. I started stomping in his direction. Trance’s arm swept out for my wrist, but I twisted out of his hold easily, and started walking across the room. Paul saw me coming, and his eyes widened in satisfaction. When I got close enough to him, I smiled sardonically. “So you think you can come in here and threaten a defenseless animal, and I’d be okay with that?” I asked sweetly. His eyes narrowed on my face. “He’s anything but defenseless, sweetie.” My eyes narrowed on him. I always hated when he said that to me. He said it so condescendingly that I wanted to smack him each and every time. This time being no exception. “You may be correct, but he is a trained police dog, and would’ve protected me with his life only if he sensed a threat. Tell me,” I said as I got in really close to him. “Do your parents know about your spying habit? What would they say if I told them I found a camera in my house pointed at my bed? Would they cut

you off of your precious trust fund? What would they think if I told them you liked some more...prolific sex acts than the majority of the US population?” His eyes narrowed, and he had a tick going on with his right cheek that showed his annoyance. “You wouldn’t dare. I could have you fired from your precious job. Then what would you do for a living? Not many people are willing to hire a blind girl. One little word from me about you being unstable and unable to be around the public, and your little job would be gone. Sandra was very forthcoming about your inadequacies.” His smile was evil, and I wanted to slap his face. How I refrained, I don’t know. I just smiled widely, baring my teeth in a feral grin. “You think so? Sandra was arrested last night for drugs. At a school function no less. You’d be lucky to get anyone to trust her word. Who’s the public going to believe? A slimy doctor with no bedside manner, who refuses to see patients if they’re poor? Well, you’ll see them, but only if they have someone that’s willing to sleep with you. Preferably young and virginal. Or me...an upstanding, blind citizen who’s dating a town hero. Please, sweetie, I wish you’d try.”

Chapter 16 There’s only one thing worse than pissing off a cop. And that’s pissing off his wife. -Words of wisdom

Trance

“In front of the entire police department no less. That man would have to be fucking crazy to say anything now.” Loki said to the bar. I was still pissed. I knew I didn’t have a right to be. I was the one who hadn’t told her about the cameras. Maybe if I had, we could’ve used her magical words earlier, but now there was so much shit swirling around our feet that I wasn’t so sure it would make a difference. Joshua Fine was a good lawyer. A crooked one, but a good one. Just last week, he’d gotten the young rapist I’d pulled over off on charges by none other than the Romeo and Juliet Law. The Romeo and Juliet Law was initiated to help those minors that had been together before the age of consent to keep ‘supposed offenders’ off the sexual offenders list. Not to keep a nineteen year old boy from going to prison after raping a sixteen year old. Previous relationship or not. No was fucking no. “He’s not finished.” Viddy said quietly from her perch at the bar. We were at Halligans and Handcuffs Bar and Grill. The MC’s pet project. Surprisingly enough, Dixie was the one to bring up the idea of a bar only a few months ago. From there, it’d just somehow...taken off. Things had come together quickly. Dixie and Silas had put a lot of work into it in the past couple of months, and now we were at the ‘grand opening’ or more like the ‘MC grand opening.’ Since it was more for the members of the MC and their family rather than an opening for the public. The public opening wasn’t set until next Saturday, six days from now. “Why do you say that? You had him by the balls.” Loki questioned her. I was the one to answer. “He doesn’t like being made a fool. He won’t let this go. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m not called into the chief’s office tomorrow before duty. He’s not going to be able to let this slide. Paul’s got enough supporters for this to turn to shit really quickly.” I don’t know if it was some sort of precognition or what, but I just knew this wasn’t over. However, I vowed that I would enjoy this evening. It was my brothers’ last night, and I had to take

them to the airport tomorrow morning at four. They would be flying back to Las Vegas for another week, and from there they’d be stationed somewhere in Sand Land. Dixie came out with a large platter of hot wings and placed it into the middle of the table we were gathered around, causing us all to fall on it like starving dogs. “Oh Jesus, this is perfection.” Viddy moaned. The sticky, sweet mess was all over her face and fingers, and I couldn’t resist leaning over and capturing one of her messy fingers in my mouth and sucking off all the delicious juices. “Yum,” I said after her fingers slid from my mouth. Her eyes were dilated, and it definitely was not from the bar’s dark lighting. “You really shouldn’t do this here.” She scolded breathlessly. “Why not?” I asked, tilting my head. She wrinkled her nose, making me want to laugh at the face she produced. “Because you can’t follow through, you teaser.” She growled low in her throat. I smiled, showing her the dimples before moving so close to her that she could feel my erection pressed up the back of her butt. “You think I won’t fuck you here?” I rasped into her ear. She shook her head frantically. “Absolutely not.” “Dixie,” I called, turning my attention to Dixie as he walked back towards the door behind the bar. Dixie stopped and turned with a raised brow in question. “Yeah?” “Can I borrow your office for a few?” I asked, turning my attention back to Viddy so I could see her face. It was the color of her shirt. A bright red. I grinned at her obvious discomfort and leveled my gaze back on Dixie with my own raised eyebrow. His knowing grin was enough for me; I grabbed Viddy’s hand, barbeque sauce and all, hauled her into the kitchen, and then further beyond to Dixie’s office all the while listening to the catcalls behind us. “I cannot believe you!” She hissed in outrage. “Believe it, baby,” I said as I closed the door behind us and then slammed her up against the wall, pinning her with my body. “Now, shut up and use your mouth for good.” I released my belt, unbuttoned my jeans, and then unzipped them while looking into her eyes.

Her breathing sped up as I took my cock out, and then grabbed her hand to place it on my aching dick. With a smile of mischief, she dropped to her knees and lapped at the head. Short tiny licks, circling the tip as if she was catching the drips off an ice cream cone. Effectively driving me out of my mind. “Take more.” I demanded. Her eyes went from my cock up to my face, and they stayed connected with mine as she took first the head, followed by half my length. Only stopping when her lips met the top of her hand. The same hand that was working my length in tight, slow pulls. “Aw fuck,” I groaned as I looked into her eyes. “Get up here so I can have you now.” Her answer was to suck even harder, moving her head and fist in perfect sync. I lost her eyes when my eyes started to lose focus, and during that time, she let me go with a wet plop and her talented tongue found my balls. She sucked first one, and then the other into her mouth, and I nearly lost the ability to stand. “Stand up,” I rasped as I leaned forward and placed my elbows on the wall above her head. Her ‘uh-uh’ moaned against my balls had them drawing up and nearly ready to blow. “Seriously, I need your pussy. I don’t want to finish in your mouth.” I was panting, trying to work through the need to come with sheer, iron will. When she finally released my balls and stopped working my dick with her fist, I grasped her by the hair and helped her stand; turning her around and ripping the tights she was wearing down to the floor. Then I bent her over. “Grab your ankles.” She did as she was told, grabbing her ankles until I got a perfect view of her weeping core. “Oh, fuck.” With that one groan, I lined my cock up to her entrance, and thrust inside, causing her to squeak in surprise. Which was quickly followed by a moan. “Oh, God. You feel like heaven.” I snarled, pumping into her furiously. “Jesus, baby. Harder.” She cried. With those three words, I started slamming inside of her, bottoming out inside of her with each plunge. “Why.” Thrust. “Do.” Thrust. “You.” Thrust. “Feel.” Thrust. “So.” Thrust. “Fucking.” Thrust. “Good.” Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. “I’m coming!” She cried loudly as she clamped down hard on my cock, making my eyes cross.

“Oh, yes. Fuck you’re so tight.” I groaned and pulled out at the last second, finally realizing why she felt so good. The pleasure came from deep inside me, starting at the base of my neck and shooting down my spine in ecstasy. My eyes closed as I released onto her back, spurting hotly against the exposed skin. Once. Twice. Three times. “Yes,” I growled once the final spurt was freed, and I grabbed her ass for support. Taking a weary step back, I said, “Stay there for a minute. Let me find something to clean you off.” I took my time though, enjoying the view. Which she caught on to pretty quickly. “If you don’t hurry, I’ll just use this jacket that’s hanging on the back of the door.” I rolled my eyes and dug my hand into the Kleenex box at the end of the desk, grabbing a handful. Then I walked back to her and wiped her off quickly, throwing the dirty tissues in the trash beside our feet. “You really need to get on the pill. I don’t think I can go back to a condom after that.” I told her as I watched her button up her pants. She winked at me. “Already ahead of you, big boy. I’ve got an appointment; not this week, but next.” “You read my mind, cupcake.” I told her as I wrapped my arms around her back, bringing her in close to my body. “Let’s go finish dinner. Then we need to get home. I have to get up early in the morning to get them to the airport by four.” I said against her lips before kissing her one last time and opening the office door. We arrived back to cold food and knowing grins from my brothers, but nobody said anything rude. The grand pre-opening was a success, and we had a great time with friends and family.

*** The next morning arrived early, and I left Viddy in bed snuggled up to Kosher and Radar while I went to drop my brothers off. “You should try to come and visit for a couple of days. Dad would really like to see you.” Miller said as we stood together at the terminal gates. I nodded. “I’ll think about it.” “And bring that girl of yours. Maybe you can get married in Vegas and mom and dad could be there.” Foster teased. I shrugged. “She’d probably never do that. I’ll bet she’s more of a wedding with a long train and a thousand guests’ type.” “You won’t know until you ask.” Miller observed lightly. I looked at him from under the brim of my hat. “Just say it.” “I think you should marry her. Yesterday.” Miller told me point blank. My head bowed. I thought about all my hopes and dreams, and how Viddy filled, then surpassed every single one of them. “Yes,” I agreed. “I plan on it.” Foster shouted in happiness. “Fuck yes, maybe now it’ll get mom off our backs for a change.” I blew a breath of air out. “Doubt it.” His eyes narrowed. “Take it back.” “Now boarding for flight one-seven-seven, Shreveport, Louisiana to Las Vegas, Nevada.” A disembodied voice said from above our heads. Standing, Foster and Miller tossed their bags over their shoulders, and then slammed into me, smashing me against them in a bear hug to end all bear hugs. “I love you, man.” Foster said in one ear while Miller said it in the other. “Love you guys, too. Be safe. I’ll let you know if I plan to come.” I said to them. Then watched them walk towards the gate. “Thanksgiving is in two weeks. School’s out. You could bring Viddy.” Foster yelled over his shoulder before he disappeared into the tunnel.

“Be safe!” Miller pounded his chest with his closed fist before he, too, disappeared. Bozos. God I loved them.

*** I arrived home to utter chaos. Pulling my truck into my drive proved to be a feat due to all the police cruisers and news vans. Oh, and the South Louisiana Dog Catcher’s vehicle. The first thing I saw when I finally made my way into the driveway, using the grown over grass to drive through, was Viddy standing on my front porch in sweat pants and a t-shirt yelling at the chief of police. A sick feeling started to swell in my gut as I parked under the awning and shut my truck off. The news vans started to swarm my truck, but I didn’t let it happen for long. Stepping out onto the concrete, I said, “I want you off my property in five minutes or I’ll have you arrested. Now.” My tone booked no room for argument, and they all obeyed, albeit reluctantly. They moved until they were no longer on my driveway, which I guess was as good as it was going to get. The only other cars were the Chief’s and two other black and white’s. Our Chief of Police, Cabe Warren, was a good man. He was older though and set in his ways. At times he could be hard to deal with, but he seemed to like me most of the time. The other two at the scene were Tunnel Morrison, a very soon to be member of The Dixie Wardens, and another rookie that I didn’t even know the name of, and really could care less. I gave them both slow nods and walked up until I was standing directly behind the chief. Viddy hadn’t seen me because of the angle at which she was standing, but then again, her focus was all for the chief. “You can take your good intentions and shove them up your ass. I will give you Radar over my cold, dead body.” She bellowed. “Listen, ma’am. All I’m here for is Radar. Nothing will happen to him, but his behavior needs to be witnessed in front of an animal behaviorist. Once he’s cleared, he can come home.” Cabe said patiently. “He’s not going anywhere.” She snapped. “She’s right. He’s not going anywhere. It doesn’t matter what your animal behaviorist says. He’s not leaving me until he dies of old age. I can promise you that.”

My tone was devastatingly dark and deadly. I’d fight to the death for that dog, because that is what he would do for me.

*** I didn’t like her. The supposed animal behaviorist was standing on my front porch, and I knew instantly that she wasn’t a professional. A professional wouldn’t have gazed first in my eyes, and then at my crotch. A professional wouldn’t have asked first how much my house cost and walked straight past the dog she was supposed to be studying without a backwards glance. If the chief hadn’t mandated this to keep my job, I wouldn’t have even let her past the threshold of my door. The woman, Jezebel Plight as she introduced herself, was in a skintight black knee length dress that hugged her skinniness like it was something to fawn over. Personally it made me want to puke seeing bones where there should be curves, but hey, that might get someone off. Someone that wasn’t me. My eyes were only for Viddy’s curvaceous body. She was currently sitting on the couch next to Kosher, who had his head in her lap. Mocha and Tequila were at her feet, half under the couch chewing on a bone the size of Utah. It was so big that both puppies each had an end, and there was still room to spare. “Mr. Cabe,” Jezebel said happily when she saw the chief sitting in the recliner opposite Viddy. “How are you?” Cabe regarded her with a closed expression. “I’m fine Ms. Plight.” “Of course you are. Now, which beautiful Belgian Malanois are we studying today?” Belgian Malanois was a close breed to a German Shepherd, but there were enough differences in them that an animal behaviorist who works with many police departments should know them. Belgian Malanois were a smaller, more lithe, breed that were becoming more and more popular as of late. German Shepherds were stockier and fuller, and were always the breed that you thought of when you thought of a K-9 officer. “German Shepherd.” Viddy snapped. I had to resist the urge to snort as I called Radar from behind me to go sit in the middle of the room. He followed directions hurriedly and sat, looking up at Ms. Plight.

She looked down at Radar and smiled a wide, fake smile. “Hello there, big girl.” I rolled my eyes heavenward. “Did you do any research at all before you showed up?” She giggled like I’d just told the funniest joke in the world, and dropped down to her haunches to stare him in the eyes. Then the torture started. She asked inane facts about Radar’s habits. What he liked to eat. What every dog likes to eat. Where he liked to sleep. On the floor next to my bed or in bed with me. What his favorite toy was. His towel. What he did when he wasn’t at work with me. Sleep or play. Where he used the bathroom. How was that relevant? “All right, well I think I have everything I need. I’ll let you know my observation when I check my notes.” She smiled serenely. We checked her empty hands, which hadn’t written a single note in the entire time she’d been asking the questions. What fuckin’ notes was she talking about? “Not to interrupt here, Ms. Plight, but how are any of these relevant to Radar’s state of being. You haven’t once asked anything about what he does at work. Nor have you asked about the incident at hand. Have you made your judgment?” The Chief asked in surprise. “Absolutely not, I have to confer with my colleagues, and then I’ll get back to you.” She said before heading to the door. Her eyes had a wary light in them, like she wasn’t being entirely truthful, and I knew right then that she’d made the decision already, she just didn’t want to be here when it was relayed. After the door closed behind her, the chief came up to stand beside me while Viddy let the dogs out into the backyard to play. “I won’t let anything happen to Radar. It’s the city council’s directive to have her come see him. Although it may come down to him not working anymore, nothing will happen to him. The city owes him too much to ever let that happen. I can promise you that.” The chief reassured me. I explained to him that I’d already retired Radar last week, and he was extremely surprised. “Why didn’t I know about this?” I shook my head. “I don’t know. I told my superior. He was the one who signed off on it. Radar was officially retired on Wednesday of last week.” The chief nodded. “We should have a retirement party for him like we do all the other officers.” I completely agreed. “He’s fond of the splash pad, sir.” He guffawed. “Noted. I’ll be going. I’ll relay the news once I hear back. Okay?”

We shook hands, and he left. It wasn’t twenty minutes later that the chief got back to me and told me the news. The city council had sentenced Radar to euthanasia. For biting a citizen who wasn’t resisting arrest. Wasn’t resisting my ass. After many reassurances that Radar would not be in danger, we decided it would be best for me to be on administrative leave pending an appeal, which was scheduled to happen in a week’s time when the city council met for its monthly meeting. The citizens of Benton would decide his fate. Which meant I had free time on my hands. After some planning and calls, Viddy was able to get out of work for the week, too. I didn’t tell her where we were going, much to her consternation. It would’ve been slow anyhow with it being the week before Thanksgiving break, and thanks to her boss, Viddy now had two full weeks of vacation time. Needless to say, we went to Vegas.

Chapter 17 If he puts his hand on your head to keep you from bumping it when he helps you in the car. -You might be a police wife

Trance

“Can you at least tell me where we’re going?” She asked impatiently. I laughed as I took her hand and led her to the gate we were departing from. “It’s a surprise.” “Now boarding the last flight from Shreveport, Louisiana to Las Vegas, Nevada.” The announcer’s voice said over the loud speaker. I threw my hands up. “What a bitch, ruining my surprises and shit.” She rolled her eyes and walked hand and hand with me to the plane. I really, really hated flying. At least I was able to have Radar on the plane with us instead of the cargo hold. Her blindness was the perfect reason. Even being a police dog wouldn’t have made it possible for him to ride with us, but him being a ‘seeing eye dog’ made it not only a moral issue, but a lawful one. Which was the last thing the airport wanted associated with them. “I hate flying. Like really hate it.” I told her as we took our seat. We had a window seat, and Radar laid at our feet. It was a tight fit, but it would do. “I’ve never flown before.” She admitted. I stared at her in suspicion. “You’re kidding. You’re twenty six years old!” She lifted one shoulder. “I’ve actually only been to Louisiana and Texas. This’ll be entirely new to me in more ways than one!” I was able to smile through my nervousness and her excitement. I had to drink, though. Otherwise I’d have to think about how high up we were, and I was deathly afraid of heights. Which was how I ended up drunk getting off the plane, and not remembering the next sixteen hours since I continued to drink. Even after my brothers picked us up.

The last thing I remembered was going to The Strip. From there, nothing.

*** Viddy

I woke up to a pounding headache, and a sore ass. Oh, and I was naked. I peeled my eyes open just enough to see a solid wall of muscle at my front before closing them again with a groan. Pain lanced through my head like a hot fire poker, and I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. “My head,” I moaned. “Shut up.” Trance’s muffled voice came from in front of me. “You’re making my ass hurt.” One of my eyes popped open to see Trance’s back again, and I followed it down until I had a good view of his ass. My eyes were bleary, and my limited vision was even more limited than usual. However, even through my bleary eyes I could see a big splotch of color on Trance’s smooth, tanned skin. “You have something on your ass.” I told him. He grunted but didn’t say anything. Then my own throbbing ass started to make itself more known, drawing the attention from the throbbing of my head to the throbbing of my ass. “My ass hurts, too.” I told him wearily as I managed to make it up to one elbow. My vision was ridiculously bad, and it got even worse when I put pressure on whatever happened to my ass. He rolled over, and laughter bubbled out of my throat. “Wow.” was all I could think of to say. His hair was a mess. Normally his curls were soft and wispy. Today, they were crisp and hard. Oh, and brown. “Why is your hair brown?” I asked with barely contained laughter. His eyes opened, and blood shot eyes looked in my direction. When they landed on me, they widened. “Why is yours in all those braids?” My hand went involuntarily to my head, and I took into account the braids that resembled cornrows down the back of my head. When I gave them a little shake, I heard the distinctive sound of beads clicking and clacking together. “I don’t remember.” I said honestly.

He groaned and sat up. Then handed me his phone. “Take a picture of my ass. It feels like a tattoo.” Warning bells started to go off in my head as he turned and presented me with his bare ass. I could most definitely make out the ass now. And the large tattoo taking up three quarters of one cheek. The wording was simple though. “The beast.” I read aloud. He snorted, making the muscles in his ass flex. “Take a picture and let me see it. Then turn around.” I snapped a picture, ignoring the fifteen missed calls and twelve texts. I was reluctant to even look at my own phone. Handing the phone back to him, I turned around and heard him take a picture. And then another. And another. Followed by another. “Hey!” I said in indignation. Then I tossed the pillow nearest my hand at him on principle. Not that I cared. I wasn’t worried about Trance having pictures of me naked. He’d never let anyone see them. “What does mine say?” I asked as I flopped down on my stomach. “The beast’s old lady.” He said with a hint of pride. “How come I don’t get a claim on your body?” I asked in a nasally whine as I tried to be as obnoxious sounding as I could. In truth, I wasn’t upset at all. As long as that’s what my butt actually said, and not something like insert here. “Oh, you got your claim all right.” He said cryptically making me look up from my lazy sprawl. That’s when I saw the tattoo over his heart. “What does 10-7 mean?” I asked as I saw the heart over his chest and the numbers 10-7 in bold blue ink just over his beating heart. “Can you see the letters that make up the heart?” He asked. Scooting towards him, I moved until my face was only inches away from his chest. “It’s my name!” I gasped. He nodded. “10-7 is the code Kilgore PD uses for Home.” I gasped.

10-7. Home. Then my name, Vidalia Elise surrounding the scanner code. My God, that was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard of! “How did you come up with this shit while you were drunk?” I laughed through my tears. He gathered me up into his arms and placed his scratchy jaw over my head. Rubbing my hair with his cheeks. “I don’t know. I’m sure my brothers had something to do with it.” That reminded me. “You had quite a few missed calls and texts.” Letting one arm drop from around my shoulders, he pulled out his phone and started going through the texts first. By the way his chest bounced, I could tell they were amusing him greatly. A sound from his phone had me turning and looking at the video playing. I couldn’t see much, my eyes were still really blurry, but I could tell just by the big white dress that it was of someone getting married. “Do you, Mr. Killian Red Spurlock take Ms. Vidalia Elise Sheffield to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, from this day forward.” The biker in leathers asked. My breathing stalled in my chest, and I gasped looking at my finger. Sure enough, I had a ring. A ring shaped like one side of a handcuff. Reaching out quickly, I found one on Trance’s finger, too, only much, much larger. “Holy shit,” I breathed. “I now pronounce you biker and wife. You may kiss your old lady.” The priest/biker said. The video ended, and Trance went to the next video, which was of us riding out of the chapel on a rented Harley. “That’s awesome.” I gasped in excitement. “Do you think they took a wedding video?” Trance’s eyes met mine, and the emotion in them was nerve wracking. Excitement. Hope. Love. Reluctance. Joy. They all flitted through his eyes rapidly, and I was left knowing he needed to hear my reassurance. “I love you, Trance.” I said into his eyes. His head bowed, and he rested his cheek against my own before replying. “I love you more, cupcake.”

*** Foster and Miller didn’t look any better than we did. Although they weren’t wearing any wedding rings like we were, so that was a plus. They were both wearing camo fatigues and annoying smiles. “There’s the newlyweds!” Foster called loudly, making everyone in the vicinity turn and watch our progression. We were walking down into the hotel lobby about to catch a ride to Trance’s parents’ house. Trance sighed and pulled me behind him, giving me an up close and personal view of the cut on his back. It was fairly simple. The top patch, or rocker like Trance liked to call it, was curved with The Dixie Wardens embroidered on it. The bottom ‘rocker’ said Louisiana. There was a small patch to the side that said simply ‘MC.’ The last thing was the wraith like woman wearing a long flowing dress. The entire thing was done in shades of black, white, and grey. On our way out of the hotel room earlier, Trance had told me he’d already started the club’s resident seamstress on making me a vest of my own. I still wasn’t too sure what I thought about the whole ‘ownership’ thing, but I believed in the saying ‘whatever makes him happy.’ My own father had come from a MC, and I vaguely knew the ins and outs of the club life. I knew what getting involved with a club member meant, and I was happy to do it. That wasn’t to say I was completely comfortable with it all, though. “Hey sister.” Miller said before he pulled me into a bear hug. I hugged him back tight, enjoying getting to see him again. Foster was the next to engulf me in a hug, and I giggled when he shook me like I weighed nothing. The smile that lit my face when they both hugged me in turn made Trance smile, and then his face fell. “Where’s Radar?” He shouted. Miller and Foster both turned and started bellowing in laughter. “Oh man, you were so drunk last night. Mom and dad took Radar home with them because they didn’t trust us with his safety.” “How do you remember everything?” I asked suspiciously. He shrugged. “Been drunk a lot over my thirty two years. I can hold my own. Trance, there, outdid himself last night though. He was plastered before he got off the plane,. Which we expected. The boy doesn’t fly well.”

“Even though he was in the air force, might I add?” Foster said gleefully. Trance narrowed his eyes at his two brothers. “I was MP. They don’t fly.” They both shrugged and led their way out to a brand spankin’ new Challenger. It was cherry red with white racing stripes. I fell in love as soon as I saw it. I’d always hoped that my dad would get me a Hunter Green Camaro when I was sixteen, but then the accident had happened and any hope or dream of driving a vehicle flew out the window. “Nice car,” I said as I trailed my fingertips along the fender. Foster smiled at me. “This is my baby. It isn’t driven much. I keep it parked in my mom’s garage while we’re on missions. She’s the love of my life.” The ride to their parents’ house took around thirty minutes as they lived on the outskirts of the city. They pulled up into a quiet, mid-income level subdivision, and parked in front of a perfect little cookie cutter house. “This looks like a house that would be off a Christmas card.” I mused as I stepped out onto the spongiest grass I’d ever felt. I could totally take a nap on that grass. All three men walked up the front walk and walked inside as if they still lived with their parents. Then each walked straight into the kitchen, grabbed a beer, and took a seat at the island bar where an older version of the three men stood, also drinking a beer. It was very obvious that this was their father. Hell, he could nearly be an older brother. His hair was curly and blonde like his sons, but it was also silver around the edges. He was in shape like his sons, but you could tell the muscles weren’t quite as hard, nor quite as toned. And Jesus, those dimples. As soon as he saw me he smiled, and I mourned the fact that I didn’t remember our first visit. “Viddy, my dear,” he said in his deep baritone voice. “I’m glad you could come.” His smile was contagious, and I gave him one of my own before leaning against Trance’s side. “It’s nice to see you again.” “Micah.” Trance whispered into my ear, tickling my neck and ear with his breath. I winked at him and returned my attention to Sloan, who came bustling in the room on the heels of Radar. When she got close enough, Micah snuck an arm out and wrapped it around her waist, stopping her before she could make it around the counter. “Oh, you look even prettier today than you did yesterday. Thank you so much for letting me walk you

down the aisle.” She gushed. My eyes widened and I looked over to Trance who was just as surprised as I was. “Uh, ma... we don’t really remember what happened yesterday.” She looked astounded at that announcement. “Had you been drinking? You seemed like you were of perfectly sound mind to me. Micah, oh no, they regret it!” By the time she was done with her tirade, she was wringing her hands and looking quite a bit upset. Her face looked crestfallen, and she was on the verge of tears. “We don’t regret it, ma. It would’ve happened sooner or later, in any case. It was just a surprise. Did you take pictures?” “Oh yes, you got the deluxe package. The one that came with matching tattoos.” She beamed. “I’ll go get those now.” “So...” Micah started. “When do I get grandchildren?”

*** I don’t know what made me check. Call it intuition. Call it a sixth sense. Call me curious. But after the third and final trashcan, a peek under the bed, behind the bed, on the couch, under the couch, and nearly every other hidden surface where things could hide, I was officially worried. “What are you doing?” Trance finally asked as I walked in front of the TV for the fifth time. I turned to him, startled that he’d actually noticed me, and froze. His eyes narrowed on my fish expression, and he sat up from his lounge on the bed. “What?” I shook my head. “I can’t find the evidence.” “The evidence of what?” he asked in exasperation. “Of...of our...love fest.” I stuttered out. His eyebrows rose as I said the words, and then a mocking grin tilted up the corner of his mouth. “Why do you think we had a...love fest?” He asked, emphasizing the last two words as if they were some dirty obscenity. “It hurts.” I explained patiently. “What hurts?” Oh my God I was going to slap him. He knew exactly what hurt. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at him when I said, “My vagina.” “So it’s a little bit sore...or a lot sore?” He teased. My eyes narrowed, and I threw the closest thing I could at him, which happened to be a snow globe of the Las Vegas nightlife. He caught it easily and stared at me. “What’s the big deal? So what? We’re married.” My mouth opened and closed twice before I finally calmed down enough to realize that it really wasn’t that big of a deal. “Now, come here and rest. I want to finish this movie and then we’ll go to sleep. Give your vagina time to rest from our love fest. We’ve got an early day tomorrow. I want to show you some of my old haunts.” I laid down in bed with him reluctantly, but he must’ve known me better than myself, because as soon as my head met his chest, I was out like a light.





Chapter 18 How do you know you’re a police wife? Bullets in the washing machine. -Viddy to Adeline

“Is that the last of it?” I asked Trance as he, Sebastian, Kettle, Loki, and Silas brought one last box in a piece. “Yep. We got it all. What are you doing?” He looked at me. I set the hand full of bullets that I’d collected from the washing machine only moments before on the table. “I washed one of your clips. I haven’t found the clip, yet. But I found five bullets. How many were in the clip so I know when I’ve found them all?” I asked. A smile tilted up the corner of his mouth. “9.” I nodded. “Got it.” “Nice shirt.” He said as his eyes focused on my boobs. I looked down and then back up, fluttering my eyes at him. “It’s new.” The shirt said, ‘Cops like big busts,’ and I’d gotten it with him specifically in mind. “I got it in the mail today. Along with a few others.” I said. “They all like that one?” He asked, looping his finger around the belt loop of my jeans and pulling me until I was plastered up against his side. “Maybe.” I hedged. He grinned devilishly and gave me a peck on the lips before putting the box he had in his hand down next to the other boxes on the far wall. “Are you wearing that to the city council meeting?” He asked. I gave him a ‘are you kidding me’ look and walked into the bedroom where I stripped out of my jeans, t-shirt, and socks. Then I slipped into a purple long sleeved shirt and black dress pants. I didn’t want to look like a slouch when I went up there to fight for Radar’s life. Trance had made the decision to go up there, not in uniform, but in his Dixie Wardens cut. I’d fully supported him. I’d have worked my property patch, too, if it’d been ready. Sadly, it was still in two pieces, according to Minnie, the one who was making the vest for me.

I would stand at Trance’s side. I was very proud of everything he did, and I wanted to make sure everyone in the town of Benton knew it. “You ready, baby?” Trance asked from the doorway. I turned around and handed him the hairband I was trying to tie onto the end of my braid. I’d learned pretty quick that the best way to tame my long locks while on the back of Trance’s motorcycle, was to make sure I had my hair plaited down my back. Once we got there, I’d undo it from its braid, since Trance liked it down. “Yes,” I said. “Just need to use the facilities and put some deodorant on.” He nodded in agreement. “Okay, meet me outside when you’re ready.” When he left, I went and picked up Hemi’s favorite stuffed chew toy, stuffed it into my bag, and walked out of the house, setting the alarm and locking it behind me. Trance was already mounted on his bike, and I walked quickly towards him, anxious to get the meeting over with. The decision to leave Radar at home was a difficult one. Trance had thought it’d be best to keep him at home, just in case. I’d argued that it’d be best for the town to see what a well-behaved dog Radar was, but I was overruled. Overall, it was Trance’s decision, and I wanted him to be comfortable at this meeting. Once I mounted the bike behind Trance, he handed me my helmet and I strapped it into place. When I wrapped my arms around his chest, Trance took off out of his driveway, heading to the town proper. We arrived at a quarter ‘til six, and walked inside. Trance and I were flanked by Sebastian and Loki. Behind us was Kettle and Dixie. In front of us was Silas. I was beyond surprised to see the men of Free as we passed, and I waved to Shiloh as Trance dragged me in his wake. She waved back and gave me a reassuring smile before I lost sight of her. When we reached the front, Trance gestured to a seat that was in the very corner of the room that allowed the largest view of the room and exits. Which I’d found was normal for Trance. Anytime we went out to eat, he always placed his back to the wall, and made sure he knew where all the exits were. As did his brothers and club members. Now that I think about it, the men of Free were in the same spot, just in the very back corner giving them a view of the room and a quick exit if needed. I shook my head. Alphas. They were all the same. “What’re you shaking your head for?” Trance asked, not trying in the least to keep his voice down.

Most of the town attended, and they all were watching us avidly. As if we were a spectacle to be ogled. Which made me want to squirm. I hated being the center of attention. It always made me feel like they were judging me. ‘Hey, look at that blind girl, there. She can’t even match her clothes for herself.’ Not that that was much of a problem anymore, but back then it used to be. I’d always hear the whispers, and the not so whisper whispers. They thought they were being conspicuous, but they weren’t. “The fact that you have to have your back to a wall.” I said quietly. He lifted his head in understanding. “I like to see what’s coming at me.” I was intelligent enough to understand that without him telling me, but I’d let him have the illusion that he was telling me something new. Silas stood in the corner beside my seat, leaning against the wall with one beefy shoulder. He was pretty awesome looking today. He was wearing faded blue jeans with a cut off grey t-shirt. His cut was on over the tee, and his beard. My God his beard. There were really no words. It was long, almost to his chest, and braided. The hair tie at the bottom of the braid was red, standing out starkly against the grey. He had a red bandana covering up his gray close cropped hair, and a pair of wrap around sunglasses that covered up his pale hazel eyes. He must’ve sensed my perusal because he looked down, caught my stare, and smirked at me. “What?” He rumbled softly. I shook my head. “Nothing. I was just thinking I really would hate to talk to you. You come off as unapproachable.” He nodded in understanding. “That’s the way it’s been for many years. I won’t be stopping now.” The clanging of the gavel brought my attention to the ‘judge-like table at the front of the room with seven primly dressed individuals. Three women and four men. The crowd around us quieted, and my eyes locked on the panel of judges who would be deciding Radar’s fate. *** “All I’m saying is that it would be best for the city of Benton not to have Radar on the payroll anymore.” Eleanor, panelist number seven, said. My eyes narrowed on the woman that was spouting all of that nonsense.

Without putting much thought into it, I stood and walked to the podium in the middle of the room. I ignored the growl of disapproval by every single person that was a member of The Dixie Wardens, and stopped when I got to the microphone. Panelist number seven kept speaking about how horrible it would be if Radar killed someone who was just passing by and what kind of lawsuits that could bring the city when I interrupted her. “Excuse me,” I cleared my throat. The seven members, who were all shaking their heads in understanding, stopped what they were doing and regarded me with a range of expressions. Some were annoyed, others were bored, while one was openly hostile. That being panelist number seven. “I’d like to tell you about Radar if you’ll let me.” I said softly, really working the fragile woman card. They also didn’t know I wasn’t ‘blind’ anymore. And I wouldn’t be enlightening them. “And who are you?” Eleanor snarled. “My name is Vidalia Elise Spurlock. Officer Killian Spurlock is my husband.” I said softly. Eleanor hissed at the mention of my husband. “And what would you like to enlighten us about, Mrs. Spurlock?” She said Mrs. Spurlock with so much venom that a normal person would’ve taken a step back. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. “Do you work, ma’am?” I asked her. She narrowed her eyes at me. “Yes, I do. I’m my husband’s secretary at his law firm that he shares with another partner.” “If your husband were to ask you to, say...make him some coffee, would you do it?” I asked. Her head tilted, wondering where I was going with this line of questions, but she inevitably answered, not suspecting the trap. “Yes, sure. I do that every day.” “What about if your husband has a suspected rapist to defend. Would you take him a cup of coffee?” I asked. She looked a little nervous but nonetheless answered. “Umm, I’d be a little uncomfortable with that.” I nodded in understanding. “Yes, I would be too. How about this. If someone came into your husband’s office, and was wielding a knife, would you put yourself in front of the knife wielder to protect your husband?” She paused. “I would hope I would.”

My eyes moved from Eleanor to the rest of the panel who were all looking at me in alarm. Then I scanned the crowd, settling on Trance. I could tell he knew where I was going with this line of questioning, and he gave me a ‘good girl’ look that bolstered me. “Well, I would hope I would too; but to tell you the truth, I hope I never have to experience that.” I said softly. My eyes returned to her, but she was busy looking at the man in the front row I was trying my upmost hardest to forget. Paul. And next to Paul were his parents. “Do you have a dog at home, Mr. Mills?” I asked him sweetly. Mr. Mills was the one that was most neutral about it all. He was a native Texan, and had moved to Benton only a few years ago, according to Silas’ research. He was also pro-gun and pro Second Amendment. His eyes flipped to mine, surprised by my addressing him. “Yes, ma’am.” “And your dog, would you expect him to bark if someone showed up at your house?” He smiled fondly. “Oh, old Blue barks at anybody that knocks on the door. I love it.” “Would you hope that he would alert you if danger was imminent?” I asked. He saw where my line of questioning was going. “Yes ma’am, I surely would.” “What about protect you from a break in? Would you want him to protect you from the intruder?” I probed. “Yes ma’am. I have three young children at home. I would want all the help I could get.” He answered. “Mr. Burns, would you work for free?” I asked panelist number two. He shook his head. “No. I most definitely would not.” “What about going into a dangerous situation, and not getting paid to do that. Every single day. Would you do that?” I asked. “No. I would not.” He affirmed. “And you Mrs. Sims,” I said addressing panelist number five. “When was the last time you were in a public school?” She tilted her head and pursed her lips as she thought about it. “Well, it would have to be a couple of years ago. My daughter used to be a cheerleader in high school. I went for her pep rallies.”

“Did you know they have a drug dog that sniffs out drugs every other week? Do you think a person could do what Radar does?” I asked serenely. “No, I guess they couldn’t.” She confessed. “On a daily basis, Radar goes to schools in Benton to make sure they’re free of drugs. He checks lockers and vehicles...all before his shift even starts. They may have a couple of hours to kill from there, but then they’re on shift for another twelve plus hours. He conducts traffic stops. He helps detain fleeing subjects. He protects his human officer with his life. Most of those are on a good day, too. He is the hardest working officer on the force...all without pay. Do you want to know what he gets out of it? Love. He gets loved. By Officer Spurlock. By the kids that he meets while visiting schools to teach them about safety. Do you know he even goes to visit kids at the local hospitals?” I asked. When no one answered or said anything, I continued talking. “A few shifts ago, he saved my husband’s life. When my husband was entering a home for a well check, he was shot through the front door. Radar saved my husband’s life when he went in after the armed suspect. He also didn’t kill him. If that had been any other officer, they would’ve had to use lethal force, and that suspect would’ve been dead. Never having to face his crimes. At the football game last week, Radar protected me, just as any other officer would have. Next time you see a K-9 and his human officer, you think about all of the things that K-9 does for this city, and make sure to thank him. Because he’s doing it because he wants to, not because he has to.” When I left the podium, I saw genuine smiles on nearly every single one of the citizens that I passed. And when I got close enough to Trance, he locked his hand onto my wrist and pulled, bringing me down hard into his lap and burying his face in my neck. “I love the fuck out of you.” He growled softly. I laughed lightly. “I love you, too.” The ruling was in Radar’s favor six to one. The one opposing figure being Eleanor. Whom I suspected was conspiring with Paul, as well as his parents. Paul’s steely gaze followed me as I walked out of the town hall, his eyes promising retribution.

Chapter 19 Looks like today’s got shit storm written all over it. Trance to dispatch

Viddy I awoke to lips skimming over my cheek. “Baby,” Trance said into my ear. My eyes opened to slits and I stared at the dark room. The only light there was, was coming from the direction of the living room. Trance got dressed in the spare bedroom that was all the way across the house, since he had to get up about four hours earlier than I did. He always came to kiss me goodbye, though. We’d been married for two blissful months now, and each time he left me alone to go on shift, he said the same thing. Today was no different. “I’ve got to go to work. The .45 is in the nightstand. Love you to pieces.” Trance said softly. Then I reciprocated with the same thing that I replied with every time he left me to go on shift. “Squeeze you back together.” I whispered. “Stay safe. Watch your six.” He chuckled, as he always did, and gave me one last kiss on the cheek before leaving. As I listened to his retreat, and Kosher’s claws following in his wake, I felt around for Radar’s head and pulled him in close to my chest. Then I whispered the same prayer that I did every time he left me to go on shift. “Keep him safe, day and night. Give him courage, strength and might.” My eyes closed, but as soon as I started to drift off to sleep, Radar started doing the dreaded barfing sounds that makes every pet owner shoot up out of bed as if their ass was on fire. Running through the house at a sprint, I made it to the door and yanked it open, ignoring the alarm. Radar rushed past me, barely making it to the grass in time to yak up God knows what. I was surprised to find that the wind was blowing like crazy since I never even heard the storm approach like I usually did. And dammit did it suck. I hated when Trance had to work in the rain. Not to mention his rain parka was hanging up in the laundry room. Bolts of lightning streaked one after the other across the sky, followed quickly by the boom of thunder.

Following the second boom of thunder, the neighborhood, and the house behind me went deathly still. Which meant the lights were out and I’d have to get dressed in the dark. Yay. Once he was done yakking, Radar came to my side, head hung. When I turned around to head back inside, I dropped like a stone. I never even saw it coming.

*** Trance

Lighting streaked across the skies, and thunder boomed, shaking my cruiser with its intensity. Looking up, I could see the clouds moving at a fast pace. Which meant we were in for one hell of a storm. Then I remembered that I’d taken my coat out of the car since it was covered in mud from the previous storm. Viddy had washed it for me, and hung it up on the rack just inside the laundry room door, but I’d left it there each and every time I passed it. Luckily, I was only two, three minutes tops from the house. That would’ve sucked to not have it today. If I hurried, I wouldn’t even be late. “Damn!” I yelled as another streak of lightening lit up the sky, scaring the absolute shit out of me. I pulled a bitch in the middle of the road, and pulled up to my driveway just in time to see every single light in the entire subdivision go off. “Wonderful,” I muttered under my breath. Leaving the truck running, I locked the doors and made a beeline for the front door. I didn’t use it often, so once I made it under the overhang of the roof, I had to search for the key. I was lucky I did, or I would’ve never heard my wife scream. After one heart wrenching second, I decided to let Kosher out of the truck, and then I called in backup. “I need some fucking help. I’m at home.” I said, and then pressed the little orange button that I’d never pressed in my entire career as an officer of the law. The button was simple. Press it in case of emergency. It wasn’t easy to press, which surprised me. In all the years of having that button, never once had I tried to press it. Kosher was vibrating with tension at my side as we walked around the side of the house. I’d been gone for no less than six minutes. It wasn’t long. But it was long enough to have the lights go out, and someone to get in. I don’t consciously remember that walk around the house. All I remembered was my heart pounding, and my vision honing. The backdoor was wide open, but

there was a large black lump just on the outside of the porch that I knew was Radar. My gut told me it was him without even needing to confirm it. Stepping over his lifeless body, I came to a stop, crouched down low, just inside the back door. I listened and concentrated on the sounds of the house. Nothing was coming from the room off the back of the kitchen, but I cleared it out of habit rather than desire to do so before I pied the corner of the living room. ‘Pieing’ a corner is a strategic move where the only thing showing when you check around the corner is the barrel of your gun. Once I confirmed there was nothing there, I turned the corner and pied the corner to the hallway that led to the two back bedrooms. I’d done so well, not flipping out. I’d managed to shut my mind down and stop myself from reacting like every cell in my body urged me to do. Instead, I contained myself, and fell back on my training. I was about to send Kosher ahead when I heard the soft crying of my wife, followed by Paul’s sadistic reply. “Sit still bitch. Or I’ll tie your legs to the post and make it really good for you.” What I heard made every single part of me freeze and then explode in motion. In hindsight, I never should’ve done it. I knew better, but I just couldn’t stop myself. I burst through the door and found Paul between my wife’s legs. She was crying, and blood was coating the front of her face and chest, soaking the grey ‘POLICE’ t-shirt she’d stolen of mine. I raised my gun, tightened my finger on the trigger, and fired. If I were thinking more clearly, I would’ve used my Taser. Or at least gotten him to come towards me before shooting. With the way it happened, the bullet entered at the base of Paul’s head, and exited out the very top, blowing it to pieces. Blood, bone, and grey matter spread in a fifteen-foot arc across the room, and Paul’s lifeless body collapsed on top of Viddy. Viddy screamed in fear, and I grabbed the body by the collar of his shirt and hauled him backward, letting him drop unceremoniously to the floor with a loud, meaty thump. Viddy was still screaming, which was not in the least surprising seeing as she was naked and covered in blood from the waist down.

Grabbing the corner of the bed spread, I brought it to Viddy’s face and started wiping away Paul’s blood from her face, causing her to finally calm enough to realize that Paul was no longer on top of her. “T-Trance?” She whimpered, breaking my heart even more. “It’s me, baby. It’s okay. Shhh,” I said, brushing her hair back, uncaring of the wet that slicked against my hand as I did so. With one large inhaled breath, she launched herself at me, sobbing.

*** “Goddammit Spurlock. What the fuck were you thinking?” The Chief snarled. I looked at him from my perch on the couch. Thank God her sister came over as soon as she heard what happened. It gave me some time to collect my thoughts while Adeline helped Viddy get cleaned up. That was after they took samples of the blood and guts on her skin for evidence. My eyes narrowed on the man in front of me. “What was I thinking?” I asked in a deceptively quiet voce. The Chief’s eyes snapped to me, taking in my overtly calm demeanor and froze. “What I was thinking was,” I said quietly. “Was that my wife was screaming. That I didn’t give one flying fuck what or who was in there with her. Obviously, I could’ve done things differently, but I didn’t. I only did what I thought to do at the time. Should I have done things differently? Yes, probably. However, that doesn’t change what’s been done. Nor would I change a goddamned thing.” The chief sighed. “Pending the investigation, you’re on administrative leave. The council’s going to have a goddamned hay day with this. First, the dog attacking him, followed by The Russo’s pulling every single favor they ever had with anyone with any goddamn reach whatsoever to get Radar to be put down, and then this. The media coverage this is going to bring to the department alone is going to fucking kill us. The Russo’s won’t let this go, either.” He growled. I didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. Even now, three hours after the incident with a much clearer head, I still wouldn’t have done anything differently. “Bring them on.” I snapped at him. The other officers in the room all turned and regarded me. They thought I was fucked in the head, and I probably was. Forever. I didn’t think I could ever get the picture of that man between my woman’s legs out of my mind. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t come home? I laughed sardonically. I knew what would’ve happened. She would’ve been raped. The one person in this entire world that I was supposed to protect above all others, I’d let down. Now there was no telling what kind of emotional state she’d be in. She’d probably need therapy for years to come. Oomph.

That was the air leaving my chest in a rush as Viddy’s body connected with my own. Her hair, which was still wet from the shower, pressed against my neck, sending chills down my spine. Reflexively, I gathered her closer, burying my head into her neck. “How’s Radar doing, Trance?” She asked me. I lifted my head to find her concerned eyes on me. “He’s doing fine. Silas took him to the vet for me, just in case. He was acting just fine when Silas put him in my truck.” Radar had been knocked over the head with the same steel beam that Viddy had, knocking him out cold. “You said he left the door open,” Viddy said with confusion clearly evident in her voice. “Did he not think that Radar would wake up at some point and come after him?” I’d thought about that myself. The entire situation had been confusing to me. Paul’s actions weren’t the actions of a rational thinking person. Things weren’t adding up, and there had to be something we were missing. Something that would’ve explained why he only wounded Radar instead of killing him. He knew, quite clearly, what Radar was capable of. By leaving that door open, he gave Radar the capability to kill him. He would’ve never even seen it coming. Which was the only thing, right now, keeping me so calm. Radar would’ve woken up and done something, just as he was trained to do. Viddy wouldn’t have been alone for long. “I don’t know what he was thinking, baby. Everything in me tells me that something isn’t right here. That something else is going on besides that. Something that Paul died with.” She shuttered in my arms. “Where are we staying tonight?” She asked softly. My eyes flipped back up to find the room empty besides Adeline, Kettle, The Chief and Loki. The Chief and Loki were talking quietly in the entranceway to the kitchen, and Adeline and Kettle were looking at us. They’d left Saylor at their house with Kettle’s mom, who’d been more than happy to watch her on such short notice. That was the first time I had seen Adeline without Saylor since she was born. “You can stay with us,” Adeline offered. I snorted. “No offense, Addy, but I’ve been to your house a lot in the past couple of months. I’d never

get any sleep.” She smiled fondly. “Yeah, I don’t either. Kettle can sleep right through it though.” “You can stay at my place. I have an extra bedroom.” Loki interrupted. I looked at Viddy. “That okay?” She nodded. “Yes.” “Feel free to go anytime. Obviously you’re off shift until you’ve completed the mandatory counseling sessions. Remember to turn in your service weapon as well.” He said looking pointedly at my gun that was still planted firmly in my hand. I wasn’t really too keen on giving it up. I’d been asked numerous times to turn it over, but I couldn’t make my hands release it just yet. “I’ll turn it over when I’m about to leave. Can I go in and grab some clothes before we head out?” I asked him. “You can have Officer Rector retrieve them for you. You’ve seen enough for tonight. They’ll process the scene and continue collecting the evidence by tomorrow morning, and then you can have a cleaning crew come in and take care of the mess. I want you in tomorrow morning by nine AM to see the doc, and then you can give your statement after that. Okay?” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, instead just agreeing to save myself the time. “10-4.”

Chapter 20 I’m old, bitch. I’m looking death in the face. The only thing that’d scare me was if I woke up with my dick gone. -Silas’ words to live by

Trance

“You got a minute?” I looked up and found Jack standing next to me with a file folder in his hand. Silas was standing behind him with a grim look on his face. It was two days after the shooting, and the weekend. Which meant an impromptu party at Sebastian’s house. As was usual with The Dixie Wardens MC. Despite the fact that it was the middle of winter. Fifteen minutes ago, I was surprised to see all of the men from Free show up with their wives. Now, not so much. “Sure,” I said glancing over at Viddy who was currently whispering excitedly with her sister. “Take a seat.” “When are you going to have one of your own?” Jack asked as he sat. I looked down at the sleeping Saylor and grinned. “Soon, hopefully.” Jack grinned back. “They change your life, that’s for sure. For the better though.” Jack had a little girl that looked exactly like him and one on the way, seeing as his wife looked like she was about ready to pop. His gaze followed mine and he grinned at me. “What have you got for me?” I asked finally. The smile died on his face, and his demeanor instantly changed from comfortable to tense. He handed the folder over to me, and I took it, holding it open with one hand. I read the top paper once, and then re-read it again. “What the fuck?” I asked in surprise. “That’s about what I thought, too. It surprised the shit out of me, and then some, when I found those on the mom’s computer.” Jack agreed.

‘Those’ were a compilation of emails Paul Russo’s mother, Annette Russo, wrote to her sister. In a nutshell, she admitted that Paul was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor that was slowly taking Paul’s mind from him. In it, she explained how she gently nudged Paul in Viddy’s direction, feeding him lies, causing him to do things he wouldn’t normally do. “His fucking parents must be stupid or something. Why would she write all this down?” “That’s translated. The original was in Cherokee. Which I happen to know.” Jack explained. I shook my head. “They can’t seriously think they can get away with this. What could they possibly gain by having him do what he did?” I queried. “Sympathy. It makes them more human. When Mr. Russo runs for senator, he’ll have the ‘my son was shot by a cop’ card.” Jack shrugged. My eyes narrowed on the translated email. “But he was trying to rape my wife!” “He said, she said.” Jack said. My gut was roiling at the implications of this file he’d given me. I’d thought there was more to the story, but I didn’t think that Paul was only the tip of the iceberg. I’d thought this was fucking over. How wrong I’d been. “Is there any way you can turn this over to the police for investigation...legally?” I asked. He was shaking his head before I even finished. “No, but I turned the same information over to Silas over an hour ago. He told me to wait until after we ate to give it to you.” Jack said apologetically. That was when I noticed that Silas was nowhere to be seen when he’d been there only moments before. Neither was Dixie. Or Loki. Or Sebastian. Or Kettle. Hell, even Grayson was gone. Grayson was the life of the fucking party. It’d take a minor miracle to get him to leave. Hell, even the prospects were gone. “Fuck,” I said in aggravation. “That’s why he handed me his kid. To distract me. Getting more beer my ass.” Fucking Kettle. Fucking Silas. They were trying to protect me.

“Well,” I said just before a slow smile started to tilt up the corners of my mouth. “This should be interesting.”

*** Silas

“You can’t come in here!” The old woman screeched in indignation. I laughed as I continued to walk forward, pushing the old woman out of the way as I went. I found the husband in the foyer, reading glasses in hand, as he stared at us in shock. “Get out, now!” He boomed. I rolled my eyes. “Here, how about you read this since you have those glasses so handy.” I said, shoving the file folder into his chest. He looked at me warily, but nonetheless did what I asked, scanning the packet. His face blanched as he read, going from red, to pale, to white. “Annette,” he gasped. “What did you do?” Annette looked at him innocently. Or as innocently as one could with blood on her hands. “What do you mean, darling?” She asked in feigned surprise. “You told him to rape that young girl?” He yelled, dropping the papers. They floated to the ground, scattering all over the marble floor, disrupting the pristine condition of the house surrounding us. “I...I...don’t know what you mean.” She stuttered. Old man Russo’s hands went to his hair and he looked so utterly lost that I almost felt a twinge of pity for him. Almost, but not quite. The man was the one to marry the old bitch. He should’ve known something was off with how the son was acting. “What,” he cleared his throat. “What do you want me to do?” He eyed my cut warily, as well as the five men behind me. We’d come in force in hopes that it would scare the patriarch of the family. Lucky for us, it worked.

“Turn the old bitch in. That’s all.” I said simply. “Morton!” The old bitch shrieked. “You can’t do that!” Old Morton turned to his wife. “Do you think I’m fucking stupid, Annette? You don’t think that I’ve survived all these years married to you without a backup plan? I sure as fuck can turn you in. If you don’t, your precious sister and her husband will be on the streets faster than you can say ‘pre-nup.’ What did I tell you when I married you?” He hissed. “N-not to lie.” She cried softly. “That’s right. I told you not to lie. Honestly, Annette. I’ve put up with your shit for years. With your stupid sister and her dimwitted husband. When they fucked up and started dealing with those...vagrants, in order to stay in their posh lifestyle... I told you the only way I’d keep supporting them was if you never lied to me again. Yet, here we are. I should’ve known something was up when you insisted that your sister pushed to have that dog euthanized. Hell, I didn’t see the big deal. But now...now it makes all the more sense.” Turning to me, Old Russo asked, “What do you need her to do?” “Lucky for you, we have a police officer who’ll take Mrs. Russo’s confession. We even brought a cruiser just for her.” I replied happily. His eyes narrowed on me. “What happens if I don’t go along with this?” He asked after a second. “I ruin your life.”

*** Trance

“Trance,” Viddy gasped. “Stop teasing me. Please.” Ignoring her request, I skimmed my nose and lips down her neck, over her turgid nipple, across her stomach, and finally stopped at the apex of her thighs. Her hands found my hair and she yanked, disrupting the feast I was about to dig into. I allowed her to roll me over, and then straddle me. She sheathed her hot pussy over my cock in the next instant, making my back bow in pleasure. “Yes, fuck. Ride me, baby.” I demanded, bucking my hips up in time with her descent. She gave me a satisfied smile as she rode my cock. “You feel so good inside of me. You fill me up to overflowing. Like another little fraction of an inch would be too much.” She gasped. She was good on my ego that was for sure. “Oh baby, you say the sweetest things to me,” I grunted, thrusting upwards, nearly displacing her. She squeaked, falling forward until her breasts were smashed tightly to my chest. Her nipples poking seductively into me. She slowly ground her ass into my lap, pushing my cock further into her until I was bumping her cervix. Buried so deep we felt like one. “You’re so beautiful,” I told her, cupping her face with my hand. Her eyes closed as she listened to my words, and then opened again. “I hope you think the same in about seven more months when I’m as fat as a house.” “Honey, your ass can grow as big as it wants. It’s your pussy I’m interested in.” I teased. The implications of what she said didn’t register at first. It was only when she stopped her moving and looked at me with a small, shy smile on her face that I finally replayed what she’d said in my mind, realizing what she meant. And when that happened, I froze. “Are you pregnant, baby?” She giggled before she started to move again. “Apparently, not everything that happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

Moving lightening quick, I had her on her back with her feet over my shoulders, fucking her with all I had. All the pent up energy left in my body, flowing out of me with each thrust of my hips. Each plunge of my cock into her tight, wet heat. She gasped as her eyes rolled back in her head. Her body bowed, tits thrusting in the air, tempting me. Still working her, I bent down and captured her nipple between my lips, sucking hard as her orgasm burst through her, making a hoarse shout of exultation burst free from her mouth. It wasn’t long after her pussy started clamping down on my cock in rhythmic pulses that my own release started boiling up my spine, and shooting out of my cock in thick pulses. “Fuuuuck,” I groaned, snapping my hips forward in jerky thrusts. As I came down, I realized how uncomfortable it must be to have her knees up by her ears, so I pulled out, and dropped to my side next to her before pulling her into my chest. “To answer your question, yes I’d still like you when you’re as big as a house. For some reason, knowing you’re carrying me around inside of you really turns me on.” I said against her hair. Her body shook in laughter. “I’ll remember you said that.” *** “Holy shit,” Viddy screamed from the living room. “Paul’s dad is on the news!” Dropping my dish rag in the sink, I walked into the living room to see Paul’s dad giving a statement about his decision to drop out of the senatorial race. “...I’m deeply saddened by the choices my wife has made. Due to those actions, I do not think I’m fit to run for senator at this time. I appreciate your words of support in my trying time. As of nine this morning, I have filed for divorce.” Morton Russo’s words were extremely heartfelt, and felt genuine. Even if they weren’t surprising. I’d gotten a complete rundown on what had gone on at The Russo’s, as well as what would happen next. What I hadn’t done was share any of that with Viddy. I’d hoped to tell her later this evening, only just hearing it all myself an hour before. “Did you know about this?” She gasped. I tilted my head to the side in acknowledgement. “That was what the phone call was about with Silas,

about an hour ago.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Honestly? I was happy about the baby. I didn’t want to ruin it with that filth.” I said truthfully. Her shoulders slumped. “Well, I guess that’s a good reason. But fuck,” she growled. “I was with that man for nearly a year. I had no clue he had a brain tumor. Nor did his mom act anything but nice to me. That’s so fucked up it’s not even funny.” I gathered her into my arms. “Life’s fucked up, babe. You just take it how you can get it. Use the cards you’re dealt and move on.” “So poetic, Officer Spurlock.” She teased, wrapping her arms around my neck. I bent down and kissed her upturned mouth. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Mrs. Spurlock.” “Love you to pieces.” She said, tightening her arms as she uttered the words I loved hearing. The meaning behind the words meant a lot to her since her parents had said the same to each other throughout their marriage. Now she was carrying on the tradition with me, and that made me feel fuckin’ high as a kite. “Squeeze you back together.” I promised.



Epilogue If you’ve ever passed your husband while he was making a bust, and you don’t make eye contact. -You might be a police wife.

Trance 4 years later

“Uhh, Unit 5-2, we’ve got a child on the line for you.” Dispatch said over the radio with a touch of amusement in her voice. The table of cops surrounding me all turned to look at me, and I sighed. “10-4. Patch her through.” I moaned, covering my face with my hands. Sometimes I wanted to beat my head against a table for my stupidity. Unknowingly, I’d taught our oldest child, Oakley, how to dial 911 if she ever needed me. Well, not necessarily me, per se, but the police in general. I’d told her if she was ever in need of help, to call me or daddy’s friends. She took it seriously. In the two weeks she’d known how to dial 911, she’d called it no less than five times since. I’d yet to tell Viddy that she was doing it, though. I kind of liked that she knew she could call me if she needed me. I only wished she didn’t dial 911 to do it. I’d have to break her of it sooner or later, but since we were such a small town, everyone looked at it to be more ‘cute’ than annoying. “Daddy?” Oakley’s cute little voice said over the airwaves. Everybody with a radio had to be smiling with how cute and sweet she sounded. Hell, I was beaming from ear to ear. “Yes, baby.” I answered. “Mommy won’t let me get more chocolate milk.” My little angel said. The chief’s face showed longing as he listened to the encounter, and I knew he wished his children were that small again. My kids loved The Chief and he loved them back. “You know you only get one cup of chocolate milk a day.” I chastised her gently. Loki’s eyes were bright with laughter as he listened to our conversation. He was Oakley’s godfather and she had him wrapped around her little finger.

“Fort ate my darts again.” Oakley whined. Fort was actually named Ford, and was our fifteen-month-old son, and he was a little hellion. Then again, so was Oakley. “You know mommy told you not to shoot those with your brother around.” I explained to her. I’d bought her a Nerf gun for her birthday after she started to show interest in my own side arm. In the interest of early gun safety, I taught her all the rules that came with having something special like a gun, and she loved it. The only problem was the fact that our son liked to chew on the spongy darts because they felt good on his gums. “Yeah, that’s what mommy said. Gotsta go, daddy. Mommy’s cawin’. I lub you.” She sang. Before I could answer she was gone, and every single man at our table had a soft smile on their face. “You’re daughter’s a spitfire, just like her momma.” The Chief observed. I nodded. “You’ve got that right.” I confirmed. “Alright, let’s hand out the grids and get y’all on patrol.” The Chief announced, effectively putting an end to my good day.

*** Viddy

I walked through the house picking up toys and trash from the kids. My eyes closed as I listened to the quiet peace that filled the house. Today had been a long day. Trance had gone in at eight, and had worked a sixteen-hour shift. It was now 1224 hours, and I listened intently for the garage door to go up. I’d made it another four feet into the living room and tossed no less than twelve more toys into the toy bin when I heard the blessed sound that made my heart start beating correctly again. The kitchen door that led to the garage opened, followed by the sound of the garage door closing. Heavy boot steps and the click-click of Kosher’s clawed feet walked inside, and I rushed into the kitchen. Radar beat me to it, though, going straight for Trance without a second thought. I heard Trance greet Radar, and smiled. They still had a very strong bond, even four years later. Radar was still going strong at thirteen years old, and a lot of that was due to our kids. He loved them to pieces. The distinct sound of Trance taking off his Kevlar vest, followed shortly by the clink-clink of his many utensils and pins being placed on the top of the dryer was a reassuring sound to my ears. Every time I heard the sound of that Velcro, I said a silent prayer of thanks for getting him home safely and in one piece again. Just as I rounded the kitchen island, Trance exited the laundry room, sans belt, and opened his arms wide. I barreled into them, burying my nose into his damp shirt. It’d been raining again. I hated the days when it rained the most. That, holidays and full moons. It seemed like every single dumbass from this side of the Mason Dixon Line made an appearance, and liked to ‘release the crazy’ as I liked to call it.

Inevitably, it meant that I spent a lot of time with just myself and the kids. “Hey,” he said gruffly as he ran his nose along my temple. “Hey,” I breathed him in. “Did you save me any dinner?” He teased. I rolled my eyes at him and disengaged from his arms, walking to the microwave and pressing the one button to heat his, now cold, dinner up. It was only spaghetti and meatballs, but it was food. I didn’t have much energy to cook today. I was just plain exhausted. Trance bent down and picked up a stray bottle of Ford’s that was wrapped in hair ties from the floor and tossed it into the sink. “Rough day?” He asked as he took me in. My hands were at my back where they were most comfortable for the burgeoning weight of my belly. I was seven months pregnant, and so beyond ready to not be pregnant anymore it wasn’t even funny. “Yes,” I said closing my eyes. “Oakley was a real shit head today. All she did was cry when she didn’t get what she wanted, which was most of the time. She cried when I took the potato peeler away. Cried when I took her ‘stickers’ away, which were most definitely not stickers... they were pads. Then she threw her cup of chocolate milk at Ford, who immediately started crying bloody murder and wouldn’t stop. I just got him to bed, by the way.” “Sounds like you ran just as many 415’s today as I did.” He observed dryly. 415’s were police code for ‘arguments.’ Trance started saying 415 at home during our first official fight as a married couple, and we’d been saying that ever since. I shook my head. “Yes, if not more so.” He grabbed his plate out of the microwave, followed by a beer out of the fridge, and then sat at the table with it. “Hey, will you plug my Maglite in?” He asked offhandedly. I managed to hold in the sarcastic ‘sure honey,’ that normally came with that request. I did the same thing every time he worked a shift. I never failed one time to move the pins over from his uniform, nor forget to plug his shit in. I walked to the laundry room and grabbed the Maglite. Followed by the Taser and his radio, and walked into the bedroom where he kept the chargers beside our bed. Once I had them plugged in, I changed out of my chocolate milk stained shirt into one of Trance’s

department issued ones before walking back out to sit with him. He was shoveling in the last of his food, which was, I’d leaned, the way a police officer ate. “How was your day?” I asked as he leaned back and started to drink his beer. His beautiful eyes turned to me. He looked tired. His day had started early when he’d made a sweep of the local schools, which took up the first four hours of his day, followed by his patrol duty. “Picked up some drugs at Benton High this morning. Nearly a hundred pounds of weed in a kid’s trunk. Fuckin’ dumb ass.” He sighed. I grimaced. “Sorry,” I apologized. He lifted an uncaring shoulder. “Nothing you could do about it.” I really couldn’t do anything about it. I just learned to lend an ear when he wanted or needed it. I’d made some good friends with a few of the LEO’s wives of the parish, and I’d learned that most of the time that was really all you could do. I no longer worked at Benton high. I stayed home with the kids, which made Trance extremely happy. Maybe one day I’d go back, but not until the kids were all in school. “Tomorrow’s your day off, at least. What time is the softball game?” I asked for confirmation. He pushed his chair back and patted his leg for me to sit in his lap. Following orders, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and buried my face in his neck, relishing in the unique leather and Dial Soap scent. One arm went around my back while the other took up its usual spot on the curve of my belly. The baby, the one where we still didn’t know the gender of, moved happily around inside of me, kicking and punching away. My stomach was contorting to all kinds of shapes and sizes, and his eyes lit with happiness. Trance loved me being pregnant. Which was why I’d been pregnant three of the last four years. Oakley came along nine months to the day of our wedding. Ford followed on her heels, one year later. I got pregnant again when Ford was five months old; now, we were adding our third child to the mix. Trance thought we’d have more, but I’d been working on him to get a vasectomy. I loved my kids, but I really hated being pregnant. The mood swings. Dear Lord the mood swings were killer. One minute I’d be perfectly content, then Trance could walk into the room and bring the smell of chocolate with him, and I’d be a raving lunatic.

I had gestational diabetes with all three of my kids so far, and I really needed my chocolate fix. I could give up cokes, cakes, and cookies, but take away my chocolate and I’d turn into a right bitch. Trance tried to help by eating healthy with me, but there were times he’d try to sneak in a candy bar while I wasn’t looking, and I’d know. He couldn’t keep that kind of thing away from me. “Yes, the Halligans vs. Handcuffs third annual softball tournament will be at nine. We’ll play best two out of three.” He agreed. I checked my watch and blanched at the time. “I’ve got to go to bed if you expect me to get anything done tomorrow. I’m beat.” He stood with me in his arms, and I squalled. “Put me down! I’m too big!” He laughed, a deep, rich bellow of sound, and I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his chest. He dropped me off in the bathroom, knowing my nightly routine even better than his own, and went to the bed, tossing out toys, cups, and brushing off crumbs. Once I was done in the bathroom, he held the covers up for me to crawl under, and I groaned in peace at the perfection that was our bed. “Keep groaning like that and I’ll have to fuck you. We both know we’re too tired for that.” He growled against my back as he curled up behind me. I snorted. There was no way in hell I was having sex. I was way too damn tired. Trance, of course, knew how to coax my tired body back to life, and with one well-placed hand, he had me ready to go. “Are you sure you’re still tired?” He asked as his talented finger worked my swollen clit. I groaned. “I really am tired.” He laughed into my hair and maneuvered me until I was on my hands and knees, and he was directly behind me. There weren’t many positions that worked when you were pregnant. One of the tried and true was doggy style, which, this late into the pregnancy, was our go to move. He always made up for the same old position by doing and trying new things, and using new toys; but, today, he settled for just plain, old vanilla sex. I’d tried one time to get him to handcuff me, but he looked at me in horror. He’d said, “I’m sorry, but just no. Every time I get those handcuffs out, all I can think about is the last criminal I put in them. It’s never going to happen baby.”

The hard head of his cock spread my outer lips, parting them like a drill press as he coated his length in my fluids. The head of his cock nudged my pulsing clit, and suddenly sleep was replaced by the lust. Lust for my man. My old man. My law enforcement officer. I pressed my ass back, and he chuckled and he pressed the crest of his cock to my entrance and forged forward until his balls rested against my clit. He didn’t waste any time. Neither of us needed any warm up. I’d learned over the past four years that you took it when you could get it. With his job and the kids, I knew that we could be interrupted at a moment’s notice. So I took our lovemaking seriously and went at it with him at a 100%. There was no time to be wasted, and he knew it. With every thrust of his cock, his balls would swing and hit my clit, giving me that barely there touch that had me soaring high before I even knew it. Within the next three thrusts, I was bursting into flames, and burying my face into the pillow so I didn’t wake up the kids. His soft curse let me know he was close, as well as his hastened pace. The hands on the globes of my butt tightened hard before I heard him groan in completion. “God, it keeps getting better and better,” he rasped. “That’s because I’m awesome.” I teased and then hissed as he pulled out of me. I ignored the come that followed his exit, and stood to make my way to the bathroom and clean myself up. Once I was finished, I walked back to the bed and found him fast asleep, melting my heart all over again. I loved him like crazy. These last four years together had been beyond perfect. There’d been a lot of adjusting on both of our parts. The hardest thing for me to adjust to was Trance’s schedule. He was a very busy man being the city’s only K-9 officer. There were even some instances where he’d be hired by neighboring cities to perform drug checks in their high schools. On a good week, he’d only work sixty-five hours. Other weeks he’d work eighty plus. There were times we went to eat with him, and he’d be called out for a traffic incident in the middle of dinner, causing us to be stranded eating by ourselves. It got to the point where now we both drove,

knowing there was a very good chance he’d be called out. But we loved him. I loved him. I had two, soon to be three, beautiful babies by him. When he finally did get to spend time with us, he more than made up for his time away. Trance shifted beside me, moving me so I was over his chest. Right where his tattoo lay. The ‘home’ tattoo that he’d gotten four years ago now had two more rings added to it, and very soon there’d be a third. One for our daughter, Oakley Rose, and a second for our son, Ford Bryce. As I fell asleep in his arms, I kissed his chest, and thanked the Lord that he was the one to rescue me the day my brother stranded me in the middle of nowhere. Because without that one horrible instant in time, none of this would be possible.

*** Trance

“What’s your 10-20?” I asked into my phone as I watched the ‘Handcuffs’ team start to warm up. Viddy laughed into the phone. “I’m almost there. Ford had a blowout and we had to find a change of clothes.” I grimaced. At least he didn’t have it here. That would’ve been awkward. “Okay, baby. We’re on field two. See you in a bit.” I said before hanging up. Viddy was driving now. Five years ago, she’d have never thought it possible. However, two weeks after Oakley was born, Viddy’s vision in her left eye became nearly one hundred percent and stayed. When she was tired or stressed, she’d have to slip on her glasses to relieve the strain, but overall, she had full vision out of her right eye, enabling her to get her license. Although she still didn’t’ drive far, or much. She was deathly afraid to go over forty miles an hour, even though her vision hadn’t diminished in the four years since she’d gotten it back. She always had that feeling that things could go wrong again, which essentially controlled everything she did. When she’d had Oakley, she’d made the decision to stay at home with her because she would’ve had to do the majority of picking up and dropping off since I worked constantly. Which was A-Okay with me. I liked the fact that she was home with our kids instead of them getting sick at daycare regularly. Kettle and Loki rode up on their Harley’s moments after I hung up with Viddy, and I laughed at how ridiculous they both looked. The Handcuffs shirt was lime green whereas the Halligans were neon pink. The back of the fire departments shirt said, ‘I’m a BFD.’ The back of the PD’s shirt said, “Sometimes firefighters need heroes, too.” The game had grown quite competitive since its creation the year Viddy and I got married, and ever since, it has been a huge crowd gatherer. We charged four dollars to watch the game, and all the proceeds went to a ‘wounded in the line of duty’ fund that the PD and the fire department shared. “Where are the chains to your balls?” I asked Kettle, wondering where Adeline and the kids were. He grimaced. “They were decorating my truck before I left. Fucking shoe polish. That shit’s going to be a bitch to get off. Anyway, I told them I wasn’t riding in that, and she told me to find my own way. So I did.”

I suppressed the urge to double over in laughter. Kettle would be paying for that later. Most definitely. I was about to ask Loki the same question when I saw my wife pull into the parking lot. Abandoning my fellow club members, I walked quickly and weaved through the cars to BF Egypt. She always parked in the very back of the lot, no matter what. I found her struggling to get the stroller out of the back of the truck, so I gently pushed her aside and lifted it in one hand, folding it out with ease. “Showoff.” She muttered as she rounded the truck to get Oakley unstrapped. I did the same to Ford, placing him in the stroller once I was done. Then I strapped him in for good measure. The boy was an escape artist. A very good escape artist. “Hi, daddy.” Oakley said in the cutest little voice I’d ever heard. I smiled at my girl, pulling her into my arms and giving her a loud smacking kiss on the cheek, causing her to giggle. “Did you take a nap for mommy?” I asked her. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, making her blonde ringlets swirl about her head. “Absofucking-lutely not.” I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed that Viddy hadn’t heard that, but when I turned and saw the expression on her face, I knew I wasn’t that lucky. Even more so when Kettle and Loki started laughing like goddamned hyenas. “Eat shit,” I muttered as I passed them. Then, of course, Oakley had to yell it over my shoulder at them. “Don’t make me kick your ass!” She said in her badass pixie four-year-old voice. My head hung. “You’re going to make mommy mad at me,” I told her. She looked at me with calm, serious eyes. “No she won’t. I won’t let her.” And for some reason. I believed her.



Coming Soon Keys To My Cuffs February 4, 2015

Chapter 1 Loki 1 year ago “Will you please, please, please mow the lawn, Andrew? Please,” my next-door neighbor pleaded. She was begging her husband...brother...lover...roommate? Hell, I didn’t know what he was. They didn’t look anything alike, so I was inclined to think that they weren’t brother and sister. I had only heard him call her Channing. But they sure as hell didn’t act like lovers...or even husband and wife. Their relationship wasn’t a normal one. It was as if they only tolerated one another, which was why I leaned towards roommate, more than anything. They worked opposite shifts. She was a nurse or something at the hospital at nights; based on the black scrubs she left the house in every night. He worked in an office during the day, as a manager or something. She worked outside a lot, making their home the best looking on the block, while all I ever saw him do was play video games from his chair in the living room. She was always the one who bought the groceries. She was always the one who washed the car. She was also the one who mowed the lawn. She got the mail. The list went on and on. Except this day. She looked...rough. Like she hadn’t slept in days. Her red/brown hair was in a messy bun on the top of her head, tendrils falling out all around her face. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants that said, Destin, FL. on them, and a white tank top that showed off a slight pudge that was adorably cute on her. She was on the heavier side than what I normally went for, but there was something about my little neighbor that made me want her. Hell, even right now she was hot. I was on a creeper under my truck, changing out the oil. No, not a creeper as in a creepy person, but a flat board-like device on wheels that let me lay on my back and move around under the car. Our houses were small, and our yards were even smaller. Which meant I was about fifteen feet away from her and I could hear every word. Especially when Andrew (the douchebag) told her, “Fuck off, I had to work all day.” “I know, Andrew, but I have someone coming to quote how much it’ll be to fix the foundation, and I can’t have them look at the foundation if we don’t mow the lawn. Please, I feel really awful today,” she pleaded.

She did sound awful, that was for sure. Her voice was nasally, and she coughed every couple of seconds. My guess was the flu. “Sorry, sister dearest, but I really am tired. Reschedule the appointment,” he told her. “Maybe next week when you can mow the lawn yourself.” So...he was her brother. Good to know. I’d been wondering about that for nearly five months of living next to them. I could’ve, of course, found out. But I was supposed to act like I didn’t know anything about anybody. Which would’ve been hard to do with her. She had this...magnetism that made me want to know every little detail. With that he took his ‘tired’ self, inside. It was only minutes later that I saw him sit down on the chair I could see through the living room window. He slipped on a pair of headphones, took a sip of his beer, and started playing. Lazy bastard. Going back to my work to distract me on how irate it made me feel that he wouldn’t help his own sister out when she was sick, I was surprised to hear the sound of the lawn mower going. Scooting out from under the car completely, I found the stubborn woman mowing the lawn. She made two passes right across the part of the yard that was closest to the foundation before she physically had to stop. I was on my feet without conscious thought, watching her to make sure she was okay, when she finally called it quits and stopped the lawn mower in the middle of the yard. She bent over, coughing and wheezing, and it was then I walked over to her, scared shitless. “Hey, are you okay?” I asked her from a far enough distance back, as not to scare her. She looked up, giving me only her light green eyes, and nodded. “Yes, I just have asthma. And I’m pretty sure I have a cold. Normally, I wear a face mask, but I forgot.” I remembered the facemask. She looked ridiculous with it on, and I’d always wondered why she wore it. Asthma was a good explanation, though. “Do you need something?” I asked in concern when she dropped to her knees. “In-inhaler,” she wheezed. “P-purse on table.” I left her there, on her knees, and walked straight into their house. The little fucker playing Call of Duty didn’t even look up as I walked through the living room to the kitchen table. Grabbing the pink polka dotted purse, I dumped its contents on the table. Fishing through the sheer amount of shit, I finally found two inhalers, one brown and one red.

Fisting them both in my hand, I walked out of the house, directly between the TV and the man playing his war game. He snarled, but didn’t say anything as I hurried back outside, finding the woman on her hands and knees, trying her hardest to take a deep breath. “Red or brown?” I asked as I dropped down to my knees beside her. Her answer was to grab the brown one, uncap it, and take two puffs. Long moments later, her breathing began to slow, and she pulled a long, deep pull of air into her lungs. She repeated this two more times as she looked at the grass. On her third deep inhale, her head finally lifted, and her eyes locked on my own. Then she froze. Yeah, that was normally the reaction I got out of people. At least lately. I was undercover for the Benton Police Department trying to take down Varian Strong. Strong was a ‘suspected’ rapist, and dealer in the area. I said ‘suspected’ very loosely. We all knew he did it, we just couldn’t prove it. The BPD had six women come forward with their suspicions, yet not one single shred of evidence could point towards him. He’d been questioned, warrants had been served, and wiretaps were put on his phone. Which had been monitored nearly 24/7 for three months before they made the decision to put someone undercover in his construction business. What better way to do that than making someone look like a druggie wanting his next hit of Meth? Someone desperate. Someone who’d look the other way when their boss did something shady. Yeah, that’s what I looked like. Long, shaggy hair down to my shoulders. Bruises and needle sticks from sterilized needles at the bends of my elbows and in the webbing of my fingers. Shitty clothes that hung off my form. I was big though, no doubt about it. I couldn’t hide the muscle with anything else but baggy clothes. I looked like a vagrant. Then her eyes locked on the scar on my neck. The one I’d gotten at sixteen, when a gang member from my hometown slit my throat for his initiation into the gang. A gang that I was trying to get out of. A gang that didn’t let people just leave. I’d survived having my throat sliced open because of a police officer. The local gang officer that’d cruised the gang’s territory trying to keep gang activity to a minimum. He’d saved me with his quick thinking, and kept an eye on me for the duration of my high school years. Oh, and married my single mother, and was now my stepfather. Trying to do him proud, I’d joined the Coast Guard, and went to school to get my paramedic degree. After six years in the coast guard, I got out when my mom got sick, and got triple certified as a firefighter, paramedic, and police officer.

I moved to Benton because of its nearly nonexistent gang activity. I didn’t want to deal with gangs. But I did want to make the town, and the surrounding area, better. Going undercover wasn’t my original goal; but, overtime, it was certainly a bonus. I became good at being a different person. Or maybe I was just that person, trying not to be me. I mean I was in a gang for five years. I lived on the streets while my mother worked her ass off at a diner, working the night shift. I was most definitely not supervised, which is what led to my destruction at the ripe old age of eleven. “T-thank you,” she said after a while, finally finding her voice. “No problem,” I said and walked away, leaving her there in the grass. Her eyes were terror filled, and I knew she wouldn’t be able to walk with me that close. She was in a vulnerable position: sick and scared. I gave her the only reassurance I could. My back.