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I pause when I hear tires screeching. A moment later I hear glass shattering, and it sounds like it came from below. Running to the front door, I quickly get the locks and grab my phone. What if a car crashed into the front of the building and I need to call for help? I send off a text to Cooper, telling him I need him and rush down the stairs. By the time I get to the front of the building, my phone is buzzing in my hand. But all my focus is on the large front window partially shattered with a giant hole in the center. There’s a red brick lying on the ground with broken glass all around it. The word WHORE is written across it in white.
What the hell? I stand there in shock that someone would do this, and my eyes burn with tears. The sound of sirens grow louder until Cooper’s SUV comes sliding to a stop in front of my building. Another patrol car pulls up right behind him, but I’m almost numb.
“You answer your phone when I call!” Cooper shouts as he gets out of the car. He uses the key on the front door before he’s right in front of me, and finally the tears escape.
“Fuck, baby. I’m sorry.” He cups my face and tilts my head back so I look up at him. I can see the worry in his eyes, and he softens. “I didn’t mean to be harsh. You scared the hell out of me.”
“It’s okay.” I texted him that I needed help and then didn’t answer when he called. That would freak anyone out.
“Don’t cry.” He kisses my cheek. The act is so sweet it only makes me cry more. “It’s a window. I’ll have it fixed tomorrow.” I shake my head as he drops his hands.
“It’s not the window I care about.” I point to the brick that two other uniformed officers are staring down at. Once he reads it, Cooper’s whole body goes rock hard.
“Don’t touch anything,” he says to the men before he wraps his arms around me and walks with me upstairs. Once there, he helps me down on the sofa and kneels in front of me.
“Get dressed. You shouldn’t be running around out there with only a robe on.” I roll my eyes at him. “And pack a bag,” he throws out as he starts to head down the stairs.
“What? Why do I need to pack a bag?” I shout, but he’s already gone.
I grit my teeth. If he keeps walking away from me like that, he’s going to find himself alone. I’m not the kind of woman to do what I’m told without asking questions. And I’ve got enough of my own after that incident downstairs. Cooper Cross might be ready to claim me, but he better be prepared to hang on.
7
Cooper
By some luck when I got called out to the Blair house at the edge of town, the patrol from the next town over was already there. Betsy Blair is an older woman that lives almost on the border of two towns, so when she calls we always go. We don’t want there to be a time when she needs something and the other town doesn’t show up.
In this instance it helped because when I got the text from Juno that she needed me, I grabbed the guys, and we hauled ass back to town. I was there within a matter of moments, but it felt like forever.
“We’ll send it off to the lab and hopefully have something back for you by tomorrow,” Terrance, the other town's chief of police, tells me.
“I appreciate you coming, and I’m thankful for anything you can do to help me out.”
“She’s something special to you?” he asks, nodding up at the second floor where I left Juno.
“She is,” I admit out loud.
This might be the first time I’m allowing myself to consider what the future with Juno might appear to be, and I fucking love it. I’m just not sure she’ll ever feel that way. She’s so bright and full of light. She’ll get tired of my overbearing ways and take off.
“Cute little thing,” he says, mostly to himself, but I feel my hackles rise.
“Watch it, Terrance.” My voice is cold and cutting.
“Hey, no offense.” He holds his hands up and smiles like he’s seeing me in a new light. Maybe he is. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks,” I say and nod to him and his guys as they pull out from their spots and take off.
I look over the broken window we patched with some cardboard and tape. It’s not secure, but nothing will be until the glass gets replaced. I called the auto shop in town, and they’re going to come by tonight and measure it so they can cut a piece to replace it. Thankfully we’ve got good people here that can help as soon as possible. But my biggest concern is who the fuck did it to begin with and why they would target Juno’s business.
