AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is everyone here?”
“Yes, the whole crowd is out in the waiting room.”
“Paparazzi?”
“No. Your officer friends made them leave. And after the tongue-lashing they gave those idiots, I don’t think they’ll be back anytime soon.”
“Good.”
“How are you?”
“Relieved. Tired.”
“You took a woman’s life today, son. And even if she had it coming, that won’t sit well with you.”
“No, it doesn’t. But she was about to take another shot at Starla, and she probably would have killed her. I didn’t have a choice.”
“No. You didn’t. Remember that.”
She takes my face in her hands and smiles up at me.
“I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“If you need anything, just call.”
I nod and watch her walk out of the room.
“I like your mom.”
I hurry back to Starla and take her hand in mine.
“I didn’t know you were awake.”
“I was eavesdropping. She kissed me.”
“She’s an affectionate woman.”
Starla’s lips tip up in a soft smile. “That’s where you get it.”
“Yeah.” I take her hand in mine and kiss it. “Everyone’s here to make sure you’re okay. The guys booted the paparazzi out.”
“It’s good to have people watching your back.”
“You have a lot of those people.”
“I thought Rachel was one of them.” She sighs. “It makes me sad.”
“It’s okay to be sad. You should be.”
“Will you stay with me?”
“I have nowhere else to be. But there will be rules.”
She opens one eye, just a slit.
“What rules?”
“You have to sleep. Sleep is going to help you get better.”
“And?”
“And no flirting with the male nurses.”
“Done.”~Starla~
“You’re not supposed to be up.”
I glower at Jax, who’s been bustling around Levi’s apartment all morning, cleaning and cooking for me like a mother hen. If I weren’t so sick of staying put, I’d find it adorable.
“I’m sick and tired of being babysat, Jax. I’m feeling much better. Go home.”
“If I leave you alone, you’ll overdo it, and Levi will kill me. So, sorry, little girl, you get to be lazy. I’ll bake you cookies.”
“No more cookies.” I shake my head as if he’s making me eat salamanders. “Please. Give me a carrot. Or some broccoli.”
“You’re weird,” he says, shaking his head. “I’ll give you broccoli if you’re a good girl.”
“I’m weird? Did you just hear yourself?”
He laughs as he walks away. My phone rings.
“Help me. Jax is trying to force-feed me cookies,” I say as I answer.
“Poor baby,” Levi says with a laugh. “Save some for me.”
“You can have all the cookies. Are you on your lunch break?”
“I don’t take lunch breaks. I’m actually calling because I was wondering how you’re feeling today. Do you feel like getting out? I need to show you something, but it’s not fun.”
“Oh. Yeah, I can come.”
“I’ll send you an address. Have Jax drive you, okay?”
“Yes, sir. I can’t wait to be able to drive my own damn car again. It’s been two weeks! I haven’t taken any prescription meds in like ten days.”
“Soon. Now, don’t argue with me.”
“Bossy cop.”
I hang up and call out for Jax. “Field trip!”“Jesus,” Jax breathes as we stand in the living room of an apartment not far from the house I rented from Natalie. “She is weird.”
My photo is everywhere, taped to every square inch of the walls. Some are Photoshopped to show me dead, and others aren’t altered at all. It looks like a murder board with photos and maps and strings that connect them all.
“So, the whole time, Belinda was living here, stalking me.”
“Since you came up from LA, yes.”
“And Rachel did the same thing,” I clarify.
“We believe so.”
“I’m damn popular,” I mutter and rub my forehead with my fingertips. “How did Belinda hide so well?”
“She’s been in the computer field forever,” Levi says. “She could reroute and hide and do all the things I don’t understand. But she confused our best IT guys for weeks. She was arrested the night of the shooting, and she confessed to everything. She had a breakdown. She’s going away for a long time. Whether that’s in prison or a mental institution, I don’t know.”
“It’s interesting, the things that make people crazy,” Jax says. “Jealousy. Tragedy.”
“Illness,” Levi adds. “It boils down to illness.”
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Will I have to testify?”
“No. There won’t be a trial. She’ll be sentenced in a few weeks.”
“So, it’s all over? We can finally move on with our lives.”
“It’s over.”“There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” Levi says later that night as we’re curled up together in bed, watching a movie on Netflix.
“What?”
“Let me ask you something first.” He pauses the TV and sits up on the bed, facing me. “How would you feel about me leaving the force?”
I don’t want to get too excited too soon. This might not mean what I hope it does.
“It depends on why you want to quit.”
He glances down at my hand before scooping it up in his, giving it a squeeze.
“I want to quit and be the head of your security.”
