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“Just that you guys look like a unit. At least from the outside looking in, it appears super solid. But then, who am I to say? My ex-wife took off with a guy she met at NASCAR, of all places.”
“Any kids?”
“Thankfully, no. I gave her a quick and clean divorce. We’re gonna take some pictures of the crime scene. And you’ll need a tow. I’ve got a guy I can recommend for the type of tow truck you’re going to need.”
“Okay. I’ll call them in a minute. I need to find Moira and tell her what’s going on.” I gestured to the vehicle.
Dan winced. “Yeah, have fun with that. And let me know if you decide you want to go to the police academy when you get out. I can write you a letter of recommendation.”
It touched me that he thought so highly of me, even if he was a Flyboy.
“Will do. Be right back.” I marched toward the club entrance.
Inside, the crowd was going wild with Cleo shaking her tits on stage. I passed the stage without a thought. There was only one set of tits I liked looking at these days. And while Cleo’s were certainly nice, they had nothing on Moira’s rack. Earlier in the week, Moira gave me an access code for the employee area. That way I didn’t need her with me whenever I needed to access the back area.
The heavy door separating the two parts of the club muted the sound of the music and the crowd. I strode down the hall to her office without passing another soul. I rapped my fist against the door.
“Come in.” Her voice filtered through the door.
Shoving inside, I closed the door behind me. Moira’s hard glare landed on me. If looks could kill, I’d be a dead man. I knew this would get out of hand fast. “Hey, not to interrupt—”
“Just stop it, Ben. I know about my car tires and that Dan is outside right now. What I would like to know is why you felt the need to keep this from me.”
Grimacing, I approached her desk, keeping my features calm. I could deal Moira’s anger much better than tears. “I wasn’t trying to keep it from you. All I was trying to do was help mitigate the circumstances. That way you could focus on your job.”
“Ben, I don’t need you to shield me. It’s my car and my life. And while I’m not loving the experience with the stupid stalker, I can handle whatever happens. I don’t need you to babysit me or treat me with kid gloves.”
She was magnificent in her anger. I’d applaud her if she wasn’t such a powder keg ready to blow. Trying to defuse the situation, I replied, “I never said you couldn’t handle it.”
Her brows rose, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. It tightened the shimmery silver tank top she had on, framing her stellar chest. “Oh really? That’s not what your actions have been saying. You’ve been treating me like I’m fragile handspun glass all damn week long. I can handle it. I raised my damn self. I’ve built this place with my bare hands.”
“You think I don’t know that you can handle yourself?” I asked her. I ached for the child she’d been. And perhaps I overdid it taking care of her, but someone needed to. And fuck, but I wanted to take care of her and not just for the length of this case either.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s not even the half of it, Ben. And I’m not trying to be a bitch. Although I’m sure that’s not the way it sounds.”
I took a seat across from her. “Then tell me.”
She leaned back in her seat, studying me. “I was three when I was taken from my parents. I remember faded glimpses of people, ones I should know. But it’s fleeting. And years later, when I turned eighteen, I was able to get ahold of my record. My biological parents were into some bad stuff. They were con artists, their con went south, and they were killed. With no other living family, I was put into the system. My early life was traumatic enough, which means I most likely witnessed some horrific shit, enough that I acted out and had screaming nightmares for years. So I was in and out of foster homes often. But nobody stuck with me. Ever.”
My heart broke for the child she’d been, for the trauma she’d survived. But, “How does my helping you undermine your independence in any way?”
“Because I’ll get used to it. Because you make me want to lean. But I’ve learned the hard way that people don’t stick. Men especially don’t. And with you waltzing in and taking over, it has left me flailing.”
Oh, baby.Rising from the chair, I walked around the periphery of her desk.
“What are you doing?” she asked as I squatted before her. Resting on the balls of my feet, I gripped her hands. This stubborn woman, with all her hard edges and soft heart, amazed me. And fuck, the more I knew about her, the more I liked her. She had the fiercest spirit of anyone I’d ever met.
“I need to get this through that thick skull of yours. You’re not alone in this fight. I’m not leaving you to contend with this on your own.”
“But you’re leaving,” she whispered, her emotions on full display.
Fuck, I didn’t want to leave her. “I have to return to base and report back in, but not for another twenty-two days. And I will report back to base because I gave my word. I know not everyone holds the oaths they make sacred, but I do. And I am making you a vow now. You’re not alone any longer. No matter what happens between us, whenever you need me, I’ll be here.”
“Not if you’re deployed halfway around the world.”
Oh, she was a tricky one. The woman was going to make me spell it out for her. “If I am and you need me, I’ll send someone in my stead. That’s one of the great things about being in the military—the brotherhood and community. There are men I trust with my life. I know you’re scared, babe, and I’m just trying to lighten the load you carry.”
“But why?”
