Keeper of the Peace (Graveyard Guardians #2) (12 page)

He wandered into the kitchen and poured
himself a cup of coffee. There was no way that Hannah could have
killed this guy. Well, no, that’s not true. Everyone is capable of
murder under certain circumstances. He had a sinking feeling that
the tread in the picture was going to match the tread on the bottom
of her shoe.

Shit. What the hell was he going to do? He
couldn’t just ignore this, he was a fucking detective. His duty was
to enforce the law. So if it was her, he was bound by law to turn
her in.

But, what if it wasn’t her. They had this
amazing night and he couldn’t ruin it by accusing her of murdering
someone. Yeah, he didn’t see that scenario going over very well at
all.

The problem here was that he would do
literally anything at this point, even sacrifice his job, to
protect her. He didn’t ever want to see her hurt again.

“Hey.” She appeared in the kitchen doorway,
a slight grin on her face. “There you are. I thought maybe you had
left while I was in the shower.”

God, she looked amazing. She was barefoot
with blue jeans and a small, black camisole tank top that showed
just enough cleavage to make him want to lift her up and throw her
back down on the bed in her room. Her dark red hair was damp and
hung down just past her shoulders. It was rare that she wore her
hair down. Well, from what he remembered anyway.

No, there was no way she was responsible for
that guy’s death. Not his Hannah.

Pushing it all back, he decided to worry
about that later and enjoy being with her. He turned and took a
fresh mug down from the cabinet above him. “I wouldn’t leave like
that, not without saying goodbye at least.” He poured her a cup of
coffee and held it out to her.

She accepted it and went to the fridge for
creamer. “I … uh, hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, you didn’t, but I should have been up
long ago. I have to go up to the station for a little while and do
some paperwork.” While she was bent over, looking in the fridge, he
checked out how nice her ass looked in those jeans. Suddenly he got
a glimpse of a tattoo peeking out at him from underneath her tank
top on her lower shoulder blade. “When did you get a tattoo? Let me
see.”

She turned and flashed him a grin as he
approached her. Then, she turned again and moved her hair aside so
that her shoulder was exposed to him. He gently moved her tank
aside and got a good look at the tat. Once he saw what it was, a
smile spread across his face. “Holy shit Hannah! You had the symbol
of the Jedi Order tattooed on you.”

She nodded. “Yes, yes I did.”

“Why did you pick the Jedi Knights, of all
the symbols you could have picked?”

“Because, the Jedi is a protector, a
guardian of sorts.” She faced him again.

He stared into her eyes. “For over a
thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace
and justice in the old republic.”

Hannah narrowed her eyebrows. “For a guy who
grew out of all of this, you sure quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, pretty
well.”

He sighed and shook his head in mock
resignation and then pulled his tee shirt over his head. There, in
almost the exact same spot as Hannah’s tattoo, was a duplicate of
hers. “I got this because officers of the law are supposed to be
keepers of the peace. Like you said, protectors … guardians.”

He felt her fingertips move gently over his
tattoo. “I think this fits you perfectly.” Her voice was soft and
sincere.

He spun around and grasped her still lifted
hand, pulling her toward him. “Well, why did
you
pick this
particular symbol?” He asked, letting go of her hand and gripping
her waist.

She pressed against him, reaching up and
putting both arms around his neck. She looked up into his eyes and
he saw something she was holding back. But, as quickly as he saw
it, it was gone. “I guess I just have a thing for guardians and
protectors.” She chuckled.

“Prove it,” he growled, and then reached
down, pulling her legs up so that he was holding her. He turned and
set her on the counter. Damn, she was so beautiful, even more so
than she was before he left. He leaned down, one hand on her thigh
and the other resting softly on her back, and kissed her.

She returned the kiss, so he knew that last
night was not some fluke from all the tequila she had consumed. She
moaned beneath his lips and their kiss deepened, becoming more
urgent by the second.

He wanted her again.

To his pleasure, she apparently wanted him
too because she ran her soft fingertips over the muscles on his
chest and then slid in between the waistline of his pants and the
sensitive skin underneath. His cock suddenly jumped and pushed hard
against his the confines of his jeans.

Their lips separated and they were both
breathing hard. Pushing him forward just a bit, she looked up and
met his gaze. Then, she slipped off of the counter and quickly
unbuttoned her own jeans. She let them fall to the floor, stepped
out of them and then went for the button on his.

Once his pants were off, she went for his
cock, taking the hard length into her hand. He threw his head back
and groaned. Damn, she had a way with those hands. The mere touch
of her almost sent him over the edge.

He turned her around and helped her take off
the little black tank top. She raised her arms for him as he
gripped the edge and lifted it over her head. She braced herself on
the counter, to keep her balance, which in turn pushed her ass up
against his cock.

Holy fuck, she was perfect. He looked down
at her magnificent ass, clad in only a pair of silky pink panties.
“I’m going to take you right here,” he told her, pushing himself
hard up against her.

He reached around and found her nipple,
grazing the hard nub with his forefinger. She arched her back and
moaned. “You better,” she whispered huskily.

Without wasting anytime, he hooked his
finger around the slick material between her legs and pulled it
aside. She moaned again and wiggled her ass, begging him to be
inside her. Using his knee, he spread her legs apart just a little
bit more and then pushed into her.

She cried out, arching her back and
thrusting her breasts forward. Watching her was what he wanted.
Hearing her cry out with such pleasure, a feeling that he was
giving her, had him coming almost immediately.

Gripping her hips, he kept thrusting,
wanting to see and hear more.

Finally, he felt the hot walls inside of her
clench hard against his cock with her orgasm. That did it. He threw
back his head and erupted within her.

His legs practically turned to rubber and he
fell into her, pushing her down onto the counter. “My God, you are
amazing,” he whispered, his lips grazing her ear.

She chuckled, “no, you are.” She backed up,
forcing him to get off of her and then turned around so her
fantastic front was plastered against him.

He nuzzled her neck and closed his eyes,
taking in the scent of her. “Ugh, I have to go to work or the chief
is going to tear me a new one.”

She placed both hands on his chest and
gently pushed him away. “Go to work. I know you have things to
do.”

He stepped back and reached for his pants
again. “Do you have to work today?”

“No, I’m off today and tomorrow.” She was
gathering her clothes off the floor as well.

“Well, I’ll be back in town later today, can
I swing by?”

She nodded, but her eyes took on that
distant look again.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” he
asked

She shook her head. “No, why?”

“Because I can tell there is something going
on and I’m having a hard time believing its work issues.”

“What makes you think I’m holding back?”

“Two reasons. One, I used to know you pretty
well, so I know your expressions … they haven’t changed much. Two,
I’m a detective, it’s my job to know when people are lying to
me.”

“I … I’m not lying,” she stammered.

He held up his hands. “Don’t worry, I’m not
going to push you and I didn’t say you were lying, I just think you
aren’t telling me something.” He paused for a few seconds, “You
know that you can tell me anything, right?”

Holding her clothes in her arms, she offered
him a small smile. “I know, David.” And then she hurried off into
her room.

Aw shit, had that been too much? Had he
scared her off before they even really got started again? Dammit,
if she really had done this, she needed to tell him. But … maybe it
really was something else that was bothering her and he was
completely on the wrong track.

He followed her back into the bedroom and
went for his holster and gun. She was looking through her drawer
and just as he glanced over at her she produced a new pair of
panties to put on.

“I’m going to take another quick shower. Did
you want to take one before you leave?”

Hell yeah he would like to shower with her.
“I’d love to, but I have to swing by my apartment before I head
over to the office. I’ll change and shower there.”

He did, really, really want to shower but he
knew that if the two of them were naked in a room together again
that he would never make it to work.

“All right.” She hurried over and gave him a
quick kiss. “I’ll see you when you get back to town.” She pulled
away and headed for the bathroom again. “Be safe out there,
detective.” She smiled as she closed the door behind her.

“I will,” he called back.

He didn’t want to leave her, but several
minutes later he was on the highway headed out of town.

On the drive, he called Mrs. Davis and made
plans to have dinner with her and the sheriff at six. She told him
she had a turkey already thawed and if she put it on right away it
would be done in time. It was really nice to hear her voice and he
realized that he couldn’t wait to see her.

Then, his thoughts turned to Hannah again.
The night had gone far better than he thought it would, but at the
same time, he was worried about her. This whole deal with the
pebble was something he was going to have to check out and he was
terrified that it was going to match up.

Under any other circumstances he would have
confronted her about it. The problem was he didn’t want to scare
her off when he finally got close to her again. He didn’t want her
to think that he had pursued her because of the case.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Well, first things first, he had to check
the photos.

Before going in to work, he swung by his
apartment, which was in a cheap complex in a shitty part of town.
He hated the place, but didn’t want to spend any more money than he
had to in order to live in a place he didn’t even want to be.

He could probably get a place in Summer
Hollow now, or close by, and drive to work every day. Hannah drove
to Santa Rosa for work, lots of people commuted.

After a quick shower, he threw on a new pair
of jeans and a different white tee. Over the top of the tee shirt
he slid on a black long sleeved button up shirt. He wished he could
opt out of the jacket, but he had to wear one to cover his gun. Not
that he was hiding it, but people have a tendency to freak out when
they see a guy walking around with a gun.

He spent less than twenty minutes in his
apartment and then he was out the door again.

He pulled into the station, parked his
Chevelle next to one of the patrol cars and stepped out into the
sweltering summer heat. He checked to make sure his phone was in
his pocket before heading in to face the music.

“What the fuck, Foster!” The chief didn’t
even take him into his office. He laid into him right in front of
everyone who happened to be in the area.

“I told you, I slept in, I’m sorry,” David
apologized.

“And you’ve never heard of a telephone, you
know, one of those little gadgets that allow you to speak with
someone and let them know what you’re doing?”

“Yes, sir, I know what a telephone is.”

“Do you need someone to show you how to use
it?”

“No sir.”

“Why didn’t you answer the last ten times
you’ve been called today?”

“My ringer was off. I was sleeping.”

The chief closed his eyes and let out a
long, frustrated breath. “I think you’re full of shit, Foster. You
were on the shit list when you got here, this kind of shenanigan is
not helping your case any.”

“I’m sorry sir, it won’t happen again.”

“It better not. Now go get some fucking work
done and check in like you’re supposed to.”

The chief stormed away, grumbling about
assholes and common sense. David let out a long breath and headed
over to his desk, ignoring the stares and comments from the other
officers along the way.

Once he was at the computer, he took out his
phone and uploaded the photos of the footprints and the ones of
Hannah’s shoe. He hit print and waited. He didn’t want to look at
any of them until they were all printed out and he could see them
all at once.

After the longest ten minutes ever, he
lifted the stack of photos off the printer and brought them to his
desk. One by one he flipped the photos, laying them on the flat
surface. He turned the picture of the footprint and then finally
the one of Hannah’s shoe with the pebble.

Fuck. It was a match.

The tread pattern and the placement of the
pebble was exactly the same.

He dropped his head into his hands and
closed his eyes. What the hell was he going to do now?

One thing was for sure, he
had
to
talk to Hannah about it now. He gathered all the photos off of his
desk and put them in a file folder.

“I’m heading to The Hollow, Chief,” he
called out as he passed the open door of his office.

“Just answer your god dammed phone,
Foster!”

“Roger.” He pushed open the glass doors and
a blast of heat hit him hard, after being in the air conditioning
so long, he instantly broke a sweat. “Ugh.” he jogged to his car
and leaned in to start his baby up. There was no way he was getting
in there until it was a few degrees cooler inside.