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“I dated her sister in high school.” My jaw ached with how tight I ground my teeth together.
Max slipped into an easy smile. “She seems to get more than her fair share of parking tickets.”
“She parks in no-parking zones.”
He tipped his head to the side. “Parking isn’t exactly your patrol area, is it?”
I didn’t go out of my way to track her down, but I couldn’t help but notice her baby blue Volkswagen bug she insisted on parking wherever she felt like it. “She’s a little lawbreaker.”
Max grinned. It was a little too self-satisfied for my liking.
“She’s like a little sister.” My tone held a warning.
Max smiled wider. “Keep telling yourself that.”
I ignored him because Remi was my ex’s little sister. Even if I were attracted to her, she was off-limits.
Behind the bar, Max asked, “I can count on you for our next Shops on Main meeting?”
I rested my hand on my duty belt. “When is it?”
“This Monday.”
I wondered if Remi would be there. “I’ll be there.”
I waved at Mallory and headed out.
I’d graduated a year after Max, so I knew him from school, and we’d become friends since I’d returned and gotten a job with the police department. I had interacted with most of the shop and restaurant owners at one time or another.
I wanted to solve this case so locals and tourists weren’t worried about their safety. Annapolis had a small-town feel despite its proximity to Baltimore and Washington DC.
It had only been a day, but I wondered if Remi scheduled the installation of a security system yet and if she was being careful. I told myself I had a duty to Delilah, but we hadn’t talked in years. Not since we broke up in college. We went to different schools, and the distance was too great. We’d drifted apart.
After my friend got in trouble, I realized college wasn’t for me and enlisted in the Marines. At the time, it felt like something I had to do, but now, I wished it was something I had completed before enlisting and then becoming a cop who wanted to advance through the ranks. I didn’t need a four-year degree to get promoted, but it wouldn’t hurt.
* * *
Monday night, I stopped by Max’s Bar for the Shops on Main meeting.
I wanted to stress the importance of being careful but not cause anyone to panic. Standing in the space on the second floor, I stood next to Max while shop and restaurant owners walked in and sat at the long table.
Sophie approached. “Thank you so much for coming. We meet once a month to go over any issues in town.”
I made a mental note to drop in at the next one. It would be a good way to keep apprised of any concerns.
Remi slipped past me in the doorway, her fruity scent tickling my nose. “You know what the current parking rules are?”
My heart rate picked up at her proximity. “The no-parking zones are clearly marked.”
Her hair fell out of a messy bun; her pink shirt hung off one shoulder, leaving a swath of tantalizing bare skin.
Remi arched a brow. “Are they, though? Is that why the courthouse is packed with confused drivers on the traffic docket?”
I refocused on her words, trying to remember what we were talking about. “Not the ones who pay attention.”
Remi shook her head, sitting next to Savannah, the owner of Lavender, and Hailey, the owner of the Spice & Tea Shoppe. Sophie had already taken her seat while I was talking to Remi.
Max leaned in. “She’s irritating like a little sister, isn’t she?”
