AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wasn’t just a cop when I was on duty. It was who I was. And that night, I’d proved it.
It was the first time I’d seen my neverending sense of duty as a hindrance, and that was saying something since I’d had no problem telling on my brothers for causing trouble back in the day. Rules were rules and they’d broken them. It was that simple.
But at that party, my need to follow the law to the letter and never turn a blind eye on Lady Justice was the reason I’d sacrificed something that could’ve turned out to be everything.
And this kid? The who didn’t even remember me? He was the spark that’d lit that dumpster fire.
Nope. It wasn’t fair at all.
I stared down at him, aware that this traffic stop would go down at the most awkward one this town had ever seen. But this kid wasn’t a kid anymore. I wasn’t face-to-face with the eighteen-year-old boy who’d been standing at a crossroads. I’d pulled over the man who’d taken the wrong path thanks to my actions—mychoices.
And now, it seemed I had another choice to make.
If he’d been going two miles per hour faster, my hands would be tied. My dash radar had tracked his speed, and if it’d clocked him going that fast, it wouldn’t be a matter of a warning vs a ticket. I’d be forced to bring him in for criminal speeding. I’d have to call it in over the radio, knowing that Paisley would hear every last word.
“Base to Ocean-213,” Remi’s voice came through my earpiece, but it sounded far away and easy to ignore.
“What brings you two to Charlotte Oaks?” I asked Tyler, my focus glued on him like a fly on paper.
I already knew the answer—or at least, who they planned to see. But I didn’t know why or how long they’d be staying, and most importantly, if Paisley knew he was coming.
“Well, we’re here for a fresh start. At the… Uh, hang on,” he replied, pulling up the map on his phone and reading off a familiar address. Not that there were many I wasn’t familiar with in this town.
“You’re stayin’ at the B&B?” I asked.
“Wait, it’s a B&B? I’m supposed to be stayin’ with my sister, and that’s the address she gave me.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re with me?” Candy asked, her full lips pulled into a pout.
“I told you, babe, you’re a surprise.” Tyler leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Besides, even if she knew you were comin’, she wouldn’t refuse to let you stay with her.”
Anger coursed through me.
If Paisley had given him her address, that meant she had known. Would it have killed her to give me a heads-up? Would it have really been too much trouble to let me know I might come face to face with her brother? That he’d be staying in my town, right under my nose, possibly causing me to do what I did last time and make her hate me even more?
Though, who knew, maybe that waswhyshe hadn’t told me. Maybe she thought I’d go looking for the little twerp.
After all, as far as she was concerned, that was the kind of coldhearted jerk I was.
Brushing those thoughts aside, I got back to business. None of this nonsense needed to keep me from completing this traffic stop like I would if he were anybody else, right?
Except, I’d already decided to do things differently, hadn’t I?
It wasn’t like I enjoyed ruining somebody’s day with a hefty speeding ticket, so I’d like to think I would’ve given anyone else a break… but I couldn’t say for sure. All I knew was, as much as I wanted to teach this kid a lesson with a ticket he’d earned, I couldn’t do it.
“I’m gonna let you off with a warnin’ as a one-time courtesy,” I said, placing my hands on my gear belt and looking him straight in the eyes. “But you better take the warnin’ to heart, ya hear? If I catch y’all goin’ this fast in Charlotte Oaks again, we’re gonna have a problem.”
Tyler grinned, nodding vigorously as Candy giggled and clapped her hands. They thanked me profusely, and Tyler promised not to let it happen again.
“All right, get on your way,” I said. “And if you need any work done to this car,” I added, surprising myself, “check out the shop on Main Street. They do good work for a fair price.”
“What are you sayin’? This baby made it all the way here from California,” Tyler said as he ran a hand over the steering wheel.
“Hey, don’t hate on my stud muffin,” Candy protested. “Not Ty. The car. That’s what I call him. He’s my longest relationship.”
“For now,” Tyler added, kissing the back of her hand.
I stilled as strip of metal caught the light. Her hand held a shiny new wedding band, and it matched the one I hadn’t noticed on Tyler’s left hand.
