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“Here’s a picture! I’m in it too, is that all right?”
“Yep. I’ll get it back to you soon. I promise.” I looked around the neighborhood, and it was your typical family block which meant whoever had taken it had probably blended right in. “Mind showing me where you left the bike?”
Lila led the way, and a few feet shy of the fence, stopped short. “I remembered something else. A kid, a boy. I saw him earlier when I left with Brittany and her stepdad. I’m not saying it was him, but he doesn’t live on this block and you said everything and everyone out of place could be important.”
“Excellent memory Lila, and that’s right. Do you know his name or what he looked like?”
She gave a quick and vague description. “He hangs out with Todd sometimes, but he’s older and he doesn’t go to our school.”
So he was in high school since Pilgrim only had two public schools. “You did a very good job helping out Lila. I’m really sorry about your bike.” She’d given me more to go on than most adult victims of crime, and I really hoped I was able to recover it for her.
“Thanks Officer Beechum, I know you’ll get it back.” The smile on her face and the certainty in her voice made me feel ten feet tall. I just hope her faith in me was justified.
Chris stayed right where he was even after Lila skipped off, probably to share the news with her best friend, arms folded as he stared at me. Or maybe through me.
“Was there anything else?”
“No,” he growled. “I mean yes. She was really good back there, wasn’t she? Or am I just a biased dad?” Damn that unsure smile really softened the scowl he seemed to wear with every outfit, so much so I had to blink.
Politely, of course. “I suspect you’re biased, but in this instance you’re right. Lila is an excellent student. Remembers everything.”
“Don’t I know it,” he grunted. There he was, looking all appealing again and I had to squash another surge of lust. What was it about this man? Or maybe it was me, the more of a jerk the guy was, the more attractive I found him? Another sign that I shouldn’t be dating at all for the foreseeable future. “Listen, Tara. I’m sorry about the other day. If I came off-,”
I held a hand up and took another step back, because the last thing I needed was a pity apology, and certainly not for just doing my job.
“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Jacobs. No harm done.” He looked dumbfounded and I wondered why, but not enough to stick around and find out. I turned on my heels and made it back to my patrol car in record time.
Chris Jacobs was too hot for my peace of mind, and he was too much of a jerk for me to lust over. His hotness was right on par with his jerkiness, neither of which I needed in my life. So I stepped on the gas and put as much distance between us as I could until my mind focused on something other than his thick brown waves and those hazel eyes that were mostly golden.
Anything else.
Like work.
And stolen trucks.
And bikes stolen from little girls.
Adorable little girls with hazel eyes.
Dammit.
Chris
“You’re a writer, right?” I nodded even though it wasn’t necessary, because Melanie could carry on a conversation without any input from me. Or anyone else. “That’s just so wild! I mean, how do you come up with all those ideas and storylines? What an interesting life you must lead!” She was pretty in a bland kind of way with straight blond hair and clear blue eyes. Fit and smart.
Too bad there was no spark. “It’s not all that interesting, actually. Mostly it’s a lot of research and interviewing people.” This was another reason I had no desire to date, as soon as a woman found out who I was, things were different. Melanie, at least, seemed to be a genuine fan girl and not a gold digger.
“Really? What kind of research? Like did you visit a brothel for Brothels & Berettas?” Her blue eyes were wide with anticipation, probably expecting a more interesting story than the truth.
“I did, but only to get the lay of the land and to see how it all worked, because they obviously don’t answer those kinds of questions over the phone. It was…interesting.” But mostly it was depressing. There were no Pretty Woman types there with bubbly personalities and gorgeous toothy smiles. Mostly it was women too young for me who were already dead behind the eyes.
“Oh, come on. You didn’t sample a little something for the sake of…authenticity?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Absolutely not, and that’s not just some first date line either. All I could think about looking at those girls was my own daughter, and how I’d feel if she was in that kind of situation.”
