“Yes, in fact,” I said, “I’ve been working on a book.”
She stared at me.
“A book? What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “
Just a story I’ve been working on for quite a while. It’s more of a hobby, though.”
“Well, you always were a good writer, even back in high school,” she said. “What is it
? Romance, horror, mystery?”
“Actually, it has a li
ttle of everything.”
She smiled.
“Can I read it?”
I bit my lower lip
. “Maybe…”
“Seriously, email it to me so I can read it.”
I nodded. “Okay, but just remember I’m only a rookie. Don’t expect too much.”
She shook her head
. “You have absolutely no self-confidence, do you? I have a feeling that’s going to change now that you’ve booted Scott to the curb permanently.”
“What do you mean?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Oh, come on – he basically controlled your life! Kept you from working, didn’t allow you to get out there and spread your wings. Remember back in high school? You had so many dreams.”
I sighed. “He never stopped me
from doing anything. I just became pregnant and things turned out differently. I’m happy with my life, though. Or, I was.”
She reached over and squeezed my hand.
“Well, now things have turned out differently for you yet again. Everything happens for a reason, Linds, and I have a feeling you’ve turned a corner in your life that’s going to open up more possibilities than you could have ever imagined.”
“
I wish I had that same optimism,” I murmured.
She smiled. “You just wait. Your life’s not over, it’s just changed course
and headed towards a whole new adventure.”
Before I could resp
ond, she slammed on the brakes.
“Shit
!” she hollered staring at a pregnant woman who’d sped out of the darkness and was now standing in front of the car, flagging us down.
“What in the hell is that
woman doing?” barked Darcy.
As the stranger
moved closer I recognized her as Tina, the young woman I’d met at the park over a week ago.
“
Do you need some help?” I asked, rolling down the window.
“
Yes, please help me!” she sobbed, her face a mess of mascara and tears.
Darcy unlocked the back door and the woman jumped in. “Do you need a doctor or the police?”
she asked.
She pointed.
“Oh, God, here he comes! Get us the hell out of here!” cried Tina.
We both turned towards a
tall young man rushing towards us. He wore a police uniform and a look of utter dismay.
Darcy turned towards the panic-stricken woman. “
Why in the world are you’re running from a cop? What the hell is going on here?”
“He’s my husband
! Please, we have to leave!” shrieked Tina.
But the man was holding his hands up
defensively and already blocking our path. “Tina, honey,” he said, moving towards my side of the car. “Baby,
what
are you doing?”
Tina
didn’t answer.
He smiled
at me and Darcy apologetically. “I’m terribly sorry; my wife is pregnant and gets a little… emotional.”
Darcy
’s eyes narrowed as she turned back towards Tina. “Are you okay? Would you like us to take you somewhere else to talk?”
I looked at
Tina, whose eyes were now locked with her husband’s. As they stared at each other, you could cut the tension with a knife.
Darcy and I glanced at each other, not sure what to do.
The man smiled coldly at his wife and the look in his eyes even gave me the chills. “Come on, honey,” he said, evenly. “Jenna really needs you. She’s frightened.”
Tina
drew in a sharp breath and opened the door.
“I knew you’d see it my way,” he
said with a smug look on his face.
“Wait, Tina!” I called as she began moving back towards her home. “Can you come here just for a minute, please?”
She walked back
to my window and bent down, a despairing look on her face. “Yeah?”
I whispered
my address and she nodded, slowly. I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Seriously,
don’
t forget it. I’m so close and very willing to help, if you need it. You and Jenna.”
“Tina, let’s go,” commanded her husband.
Without answering, Tina turned away and we watched as she followed him back into their townhouse.
“What in the hell just happened there?”
asked Darcy. “Did we make a mistake by letting her go back in there?”
I rolled up my window. “Considering the fact that I saw bruises
on her face the other day, I think she definitely needs some kind of help.”
“Shouldn’t we call the police
?”
I sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know
what to do. We can’t prove anything and she went back with him willingly.”
“Maybe you should run it by your next door
neighbor? He’s some kind of cop, right?”
I nodded
. “You know, that’s a very good idea.”
After Darcy dropped me off
in front of my house, I went inside to let the kids know I’d returned.
“Holy crap, mom!” laughed Regan. “You look so much better.”
“Watch the language,” I answered, smiling in spite of myself.
Jeremy frowned. “You really are getting divorced, aren’t you?”
I sat down next to him on the sofa. “To be honest, honey, I really don’t know.”
“Well, when Hugo’s mom got divorced, she lost weight, bou
ght a Humvee
and
a giant set of hooters. Now she has two or three boyfriends and he hardly ever sees her.”
Regan rolled her eyes. “
Hooters? You’re so gross.”
“What? It’s true,
” he said.
I smiled.
“I assure you, that won’t happen, here.”
Both of them looked at me as if they didn’t
quite believe me.
I raised my eyebrows. “Look, the only reason I
had my hair done was because I need to find a job. Your father and I could really use the extra income right now.”
“A job?” asked Jeremy. “I thought dad made decent money?”
“Things are tough right now, even for him,” I said.
Just then, m
y cell phone started ringing. I grabbed it out of my purse and groaned inwardly.
Scott.
Shoving it back into my purse,
I noticed it was almost nine o’clock. “You both should get ready for bed. You have school tomorrow.”
“
Fine. By the way, dad called for you,
again
,” said Regan. “You’re supposed to call him back.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I said. “Now, take a shower and get ready for bed.”
After the kids were settled in for the night, I looked out the window and noticed that Jake still wasn’t home from work, so I decided to wait for him on my porch. I grabbed my Kindle and a blanket then settled into my glider bench and began reading the rest of my sensual detective story. Soon my eyelids grew heavy and I dozed off.
The sou
nd of thunder woke me up some time later and I was slightly irritated. I’d been in the midst of an erotic dream, my faceless lover devouring my skin with kisses, driving me wild. I wanted more, and oh… he was about to give it, I could just sense it. But then I was ripped from the dream and forced back to reality.
Dammit.
Even my dreams leave me sexually frustrated.
Sighing, I pulled my blanket in closer and watched as thick raindrops beg
an to fall onto the steps, wondering if I should just go inside. But then, Jake’s unmarked sedan pulled up to his driveway as the rain began to pour.
I
got up, put my blanket and Kindle back inside, and rushed over to his garage through the rain, where he was grabbing a beer from a small refrigerator.
“Jake?”
He turned around and stared at me. “Oh, hey, Lindsey.”
“Sorry to bother you,” I said, shivering slightly from my wet clothes. “I…um…there was an incident today and my friend suggested I talk to you about it.
You mentioned you were a cop, right?”
“
I’m actually a Narcotics Detective.” His eyes narrowed. “What’s going on, did Scott do something?”
I shook my head. “No, nothing like that.” I then explained what had happened earlier with
Tina while he listened.
He sighed.
“Well, I could check it out if you think she’s in any real danger.”
“I definitely
believe she’s being abused; there were bruises on her face and also on her child the other day at the park.”
He frowned
and then put his beer back into the fridge. “Want to take a ride?”
I nodded.
He motioned for me to get into his car and then joined me. As we were backing away, he glanced at my shirt and smiled. “Chilly?”
I looked down and my cheeks grew hot. My
T-shirt was wet, and through my bra you could see that my nipples were at full attention. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Damn rain.”
He chuckled and turned on the heat. “I
certainly didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
I sighed.
“No, it’s fine,” I said, dying to change the subject. “Anyway, Tina lives near the park, by the newly constructed townhomes.”
O
ur eyes met. “You said he was a police officer?”
I nodded. “Yes
, but he certainly didn’t look like he was ready to protect and serve.”
He chuckled.
“Well, I’ll check it out while you wait in the car.”
“Okay
. Thanks again, Jake.”
“No problem.”
As we drove near Tina’s, I could smell a trace of his cologne, a slight woodsy scent. It made him even more appealing and I groaned inwardly at my growing attraction towards him.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I wondered, laying my head back against the seat.
Was I turning into one of those lonely, desperate housewives? Would I be hitting on the pizza man or the cable guy, next?
“You okay?” he asked.
Our eyes met again. “I’m fine.”
“We’ll get this figured out,” he said. “I’m pretty good at re
ading people. If she’s hiding something, I’ll know within the first thirty seconds. Then we’ll go from there.”
“
Okay.”
Tina’s house was dark and quiet by the time we pulled into her driveway.
“Lindsey,” said Jake, “you wait right here. I’ll be back.”
I nodded and watched as he approached the house
in the rain, knocking on the door. A minute later, the husband answered and Jake pulled out his badge. They spoke for a while and then Jake followed him inside.
I stared at the house and noticed a little face peeking out of an ups
tairs window.
Jenna.
She ducked away and my stomach tightened with worry. How could anyone hurt a child – especially, a cop? I could only pray that Jake’s appearance would knock some sense into Jerry, or that Tina would come to
her
senses and tell Jake the truth. Deep down I knew it wasn’t that easy.
Ten minutes later, it had stopped raining and Jake stepped back outside, still talking to Jerry. When they were finished, Jake turned and began walking back towards the car as Jerry watched. When he saw me in the passenger side, recognition spread across his face. He waved at me with an eerie smile and I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.
Jake got in and closed the door. “Well, I spoke to Tina and
her husband, Jerry. Even checked on their daughter and everything seems calm at the moment. Tina claims it was her hormones that started the fight earlier.”
I frowned.
“She’s scared of him.”
He sighed. “
Personally, I felt something a little off, too. Unfortunately, there’s nothing more we can do, right now. I was actually surprised that he let me in.”
I stared out the window.
“He’s a cop. He probably doesn’t want any trouble.”
“Of course not
.”
I sighed. “S
o, let me get this straight, unless she turns up missing or dead, we can’t do anything else to help her?”
“
Not much, but you could call Child Protective Services and let them know you saw bruises on the little girl. They might be able to do something.”