Never Me (28 page)

“What the fuck?”

“Sorry, detective, you need to come with us now.”

“I am also an officer of the law, gentlemen. You will not touch me and no I won’t come with you. What the hell is this all about?”

“He said this would be a nightmare,” one cop remarked to the other.

“Let’s just cuff her.”

“Look, dumb and dumber, I will fuck you up if you take a step near me, I swear to God!” My voice got higher as they came closer. I didn’t have a chance in hell. I wore a skirt today of all things, that in itself kept me from struggling much. In a matter of minutes I was read my Miranda rights and was being escorted downstairs to a holding cell.

“What in the hell is going on?”

“Obviously you’re in some kind of trouble, ma’am.”

“So are you, you stupid son of a bitch. I will have BOTH your badges for this!”

They eyed each other with a worried look on their faces and I continued. “Do you know who I am! Who is the new circuit judge?”

They led me into a holding cell and I saw it was completely empty. I also had my badge, gun and phone. “What the hell are you idiots doing? You haven’t even removed a thing from me or printed me! Jesus, if this is how you book perps—” I stopped mid-sentence. Something was off, way off. “What the hell is going on here?”

The cops smiled at each other and walked out of earshot.

It’s my boss, congratulating me on the case in a sick way. Jesus, Mark, you could have sent lunch. I texted Mark quickly. Maybe I had pissed him off with the job remark.

You are a sick and twisted bastard, Mark. I would really appreciate it if you let me out of here.

A few minutes later I got his reply.

What the hell are you talking about, Rhodes?

You know exactly what the hell I am talking about, sir. I am sitting in a jail cell.

Well at least the world is safe from you for a while.

Very funny, Mark. I am supposed to be celebrating. Can you please get me the hell out of here?

It wasn’t me, Rhodes.

Well can you kindly figure out why the hell I am in here?

Already on it, Rhodes. Sit tight.

A thousand different scenarios went through my head. What the hell was going on?

I called for my arresting officers and no one came. This was way more than a simple arrest.

I rolled my eyes and tapped my phone to look up and see who the new circuit judge was. Panic was beginning to set in. I was waiting for the picture to come up on my phone when I heard a door buzz and an officer mutter, “Judge Diamond.”

My heart did a free fall as my cell brought up a current picture of the circuit judge. Spencer T. Diamond. The picture alone had my heart racing and I could feel the heat in my cheeks. In the picture he looked the same, more professional, just a little older but still insanely beautiful. I instantly was lost.

I was in a state of complete shock and turned to the man standing on the opposite side of the bars as I shook my head back in forth in disbelief. A flood of recognition of who he was and what he meant to me hit me in the gut. My chest instantly filled with a burning. I had no choice but to shed the tears my eyes were holding and laughed through them. It was the only time I did it, with Spencer. I stood quickly, feeling faint, and walked toward him slowly, taking in all the air I could. He wore a familiar devilish grin and his beautiful brown eyes peered at me, making me way more emotional than I thought possible. I gathered my strength to speak.

“Judge, just what in the hell am I being charged with?”

“Ignoring a circuit judge when he calls you. It’s just rude.”

Our matching smiles had to look absolutely ridiculous. He looked perfect. He wasn’t the beach babe I had rolled around with on the sand. He had very much grown into himself, tall, dark and insanely handsome, more so than ever. His beautiful long lashes feathered against his lids and I ached to trace the scar above his eye. His tailored suit fit him to perfection. He had the air of a distinguished gentlemen, but I knew the stranger he was to me now was the same stranger he was to me then. He was in there and his eyes told me so. I had to look down for an instant to make sure I looked the part for him. When my eyes met his again it was an electric connection. Spencer found me. He came.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he whispered.

“What am I thinking?”

“That you won.”

“You told me I did,” I whispered back emphatically.

“I am not the one in jail.” Dimples, Jesus take me now.

I immediately saw my future. I thought of all the wildest most random things. Jonathan Seagull came to mind last. He was here. My heart melted as he wrapped his arms around the bars between us.

I put my hands under his and peered into his eyes.

“So how do I get out of here, Judge Diamond?”

“What did I tell you about the man who gets you?”

Lips parted, I tried to take in steady breaths.

“How do you know he didn’t get me already?” It felt like a clever line, but everything in my body language had to be telling him otherwise.

I saw a perfect eyebrow raise in response. He had to know through office personnel or otherwise I had been living like a monk. My success case ratio was off the charts. I could interrogate a murder suspect for hours, taunt them, bring them to the point of hurting me physically and getting a confession, but I couldn’t look Spencer in the eye for more than a few seconds without losing my composure. I closed my eyes remembering his face as he told me goodbye. I felt that gnawing feeling in my gut that I always did when I thought of him. I opened my eyes and it disappeared. The words came to me quickly.

“You said he would … claim me right away, and he would shelter me and protect me and…” I saw a small smile on his face taunting me, but his eyes were full of the familiar look. I had to check myself before I lost any more of my ability to function.

“Go on.” He peered at me again through those amazing eyes and I felt my knees weaken.

“He will be a pain in the ass but he will be worth it.” I rolled my eyes at him through the cell.

“And.” He moved his hands down to touch mine and I felt my heart fall further… if that was even possible.

“Spencer … how? How did you do this?”

“What else did I say?” he asked, his eyes intent on mine. I felt his kiss in New Orleans, his kiss in the sea. I exhaled a deep breath. “You said he would touch me and look at me the way you do and he would always be invited.”

“So am I invited?”

“Jesus, Spencer, you moved here?”

“I also said he would be worth it because you are. You still are.” He opened the door and our hug lasted longer than our conversation. I was completely overwhelmed.

“Sorry I’m late. It took me this long to decipher your email.” I laughed into his chest through my tears and looked up at him.

“This is so weird,” I said bluntly.

“But it’s so good, just like it was. I really believed I wasn’t that guy. How the hell I expected to move on past you, Nadine, is beyond me.” I kept my arms wrapped around him tightly. This whole scenario was just insane, and I had never felt more comfortable in a man’s arms.

“So I guess I need to take you on a date?” he said sweetly, lifting my chin to meet his eyes, his smile making me forget the last few years of hardships searching for his equal and coming up completely empty.

“Guess so.” The woman in me sighed into him as he held me close and whispered in my ear.

“How about Pensacola?”

How in the hell was I supposed to act when my daydream was sitting right next to me? I surveyed the interior of the car to keep from staring at him and took a deep breath. I finally looked over to Spencer who was smiling at me. I smiled back. I couldn’t say a word. I was too terrified to screw it up and then again I was completely baffled that he had done the grand gesture of moving to New Orleans without so much as speaking to me first. But this was Spencer, my green, my ideal, the man who had kept me his with the mere memory of those days spent a few years ago. He set the bar and now I found myself worried he couldn’t compete with the memory. I looked at him again as he started the car.

“Just so you know, my move is temporary. I have to be elected to sit as judge and I also signed a three month lease.”

He could still read me.

“So you’re testing the waters?”

“In the same way you are. Looks like you are looking for the lifeboat right now. It’s okay, you know, to feel the way you do.”

“Spencer, please don’t think I’m not happy.”

He stopped from pulling out of my complex, put the car in park and looked at me, really looked at me.

He had followed me home and I had packed a bag quickly. He was really taking me to Pensacola. I asked him to wait because I didn’t want Spencer the man coming face to face with Spencer the cat. It wouldn’t be good. I called Rory and had to beg her to stop screaming and ask her to watch him when she returned from her honeymoon in two days, leaving him with my neighbor George until then. I had to hang up on her to be able to pack. I had a nervous breakdown in my closet and fifteen minutes later I was handing Spencer my suitcase to add to his trunk. I was amazed that he was so sure I would come. Spencer looked at me now and could tell I was terrified. I had no idea why I couldn’t relax.

“Relax,” he said, leaning over to brush my hair away from my shoulder. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“You’re crazy.”

He chuckled and then peered into my eyes. “And your mouth is still a nightmare.” He reached over, so close to me I took in a breath thinking he would kiss me. This was the moment I had been waiting for. I let out a heavy breath when he grabbed my seatbelt and wrapped it around me. Disappointment at the loss of a kiss, well that was a good sign.

“Me too,” he said reassuringly. A wave of recognition hit me as he put the car into gear and we began our trip.

I couldn’t stop eyeing him from the passenger seat. Still in his suit, the view of him was too tempting to pass up. I felt the flutter of my insides go off in random waves with each gesture he made, turning on the radio, setting the air. I quickly realized every time he moved I was bracing myself for his touch. I had been with him less than two hours and already I craved him.

“Tell me how in the hell a two year cop makes detective,” he said, eyeing me for a brief second before putting his attention back to the road.

“I noticed things, and they noticed me. It’s that simple. I just did what I have always done. I’ve always known it’s what I wanted to do.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said, a small amount of hurt in his voice.

“I didn’t want to say it until I was going to do it. You know me and my crazy idea about levels. I didn’t want to put it out there until I really wanted it.”

“Put it out into the universe, huh? And you think that’s how it happens, you wish for it and it comes to you?”

“You’re here aren’t you?” His answering smile was brilliant. I was surprised at my own words, but didn’t regret them. He grabbed my hand and I couldn’t help the small gasp at the electricity of his touch. He slid the pad of his thumb over my hand and I felt my whole body warm.