Tangled Web
Authors: Jade C. Jamison
Tags: #rock star, #Contemporary, #hot romance, #steamy romance, #heavy metal, #rock music
A Steamy Heavy Metal Novella
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 by Jade C. Jamison
Cover image copyright Jade C. Jamison
All rights reserved.
The characters and events portrayed in this
book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to
real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not
intended by the author.
This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
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for Pam B.
Table of
Contents
Connect with Jade C.
Jamison Online
Katie Logan sat quietly, looking at the
pained expression on the woman’s face. The woman had come in to the
Child Protection offices of her own accord, and Katie was part of
the intake team. Any calls of abuse or child neglect went through
her office. And so, at 4:15 that afternoon, Katie sat listening to
this woman’s story.
Libby, the woman, looked up at Katie. “I
just don’t think he’s appropriate around my daughter.”
“Yes, you had mentioned that before.” Katie
looked down at the three-year-old blonde child playing with blocks
on the floor below them, a miniature version of her mother. Katie’s
gaze returned to Libby, whose own blonde mass of hair was piled
into a sloppy bun at the back of her head, uncombed and stringy
underneath the black scrunchie that held it together. “What exactly
have you found inappropriate?”
“Well, he, uh...” Libby paused, letting a
small breath of air escape from pursed lips. “He patted her on the
bottom last night. It wasn’t that but the way he did it. And then
later, she sat on his lap, and he was stroking her thigh. But it
wasn’t affectionate. It was...like she was a piece of meat or even
a date.”
Katie jotted a few quick notes on the yellow
legal pad in front of her. She looked up again. “I can see how that
might be concerning.” She looked back down at her notes. “So, Rod,
you said his name was?” Libby nodded. “Do you know his full
name?”
“His last name is Carriger.” Libby looked
down at her hands. “That’s all I know.”
“About how old would you say he is?”
“About thirty, give or take.” She looked
over at her daughter, then glanced at the pad where Katie was
jotting some notes.
Katie planned to check their files later and
see if this character had a history with her agency. If he’d
already been in trouble before, she could launch an official
investigation. Until she knew, though, she wasn’t going to say
anything to Libby…although she wouldn’t have said anything to Libby
anyway. Libby was the type that would warn Rod it was coming, even
though she
was
worried about her daughter. Katie pressed on.
“How long have you and Rod known each other?”
“Two weeks.”
“Has he acted like this around Destiny
before?”
“This is the first time he’s met her. The
last time he was at my house, my sister watched her.”
“Did he do anything else to her or do
anything else that concerned you last night?”
“Nothing else I can think of.”
Katie glanced down at the pad again and then
focused her brown eyes on Libby. “Okay, well, there’s not much I
can do at this point. Fortunately, he hasn’t harmed your child, but
he’s set your alarm bells off. My advice to you right now is to
listen to your instincts. If you feel like he’s being
inappropriate, he probably is. So the best thing to do now is keep
him away from your daughter.”
A small tear eased its way out of the corner
of Libby’s eye. The woman wiped it away with her index finger. “But
I think I love him.”
Katie’s sigh was inaudible. Seven years ago,
she might have passionately lectured the woman--likely not even
twenty-five-years old yet--sitting across from her. She probably
would have begged her to think about her child’s future, to put the
child’s needs in front of the mother’s. But the time spent on the
job--more than a decade--had dulled her to strong emotions, had
made her feel numb. In one way, it was good. She could maintain a
calm exterior, and the people she dealt with seemed to respond well
to that kind of reaction. More than that, though, Katie didn’t go
home crying at least three nights a week anymore. But it didn’t
mean she was used to it--not by a long shot. Her voice was low and
professional when she responded. “I appreciate that you have
feelings for this man. But I want to impress upon you that you
would never forgive yourself if anything happened to Destiny.”
Libby began sobbing, and Katie grabbed a tissue out of the box on
the side table and handed it to her. Libby took it and began wiping
at her face, streaks of black from her eyeliner and mascara
smudging under her eyes. Katie noticed the dirt under Libby’s
fingernails before she finally started talking again. “I’m not
saying you can’t continue your relationship with Rod, but be
cautious.”
Libby shook her head. “I guess I’m just not
destined to be with someone.” Her sobs grew louder again, and Katie
handed her a handful of tissues.
“Oh, no, that’s not true. You’re young, and
there are plenty of people out there.” Katie sucked in a deep
breath. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost time to
go, but she expected to be here long after the doors locked. Part
of her wanted to tell Libby that if she didn’t frequent bars, she
might find better quality men. But her job was not to lecture, not
to evaluate, not to judge. It was, instead, to protect the welfare
of the child. And right now that child was patting her mother’s
knee, telling Mommy everything would be all right. Katie’s mouth
screwed up into a frown. She didn’t know the last time she felt
like she had actually been able to save a child. Maybe, though, she
could help Libby make the right choice. Libby looked up at Katie,
little gullies of flaked black mascara making trails halfway down
her cheeks where they abruptly stopped, having been wiped clean. “I
know right now it doesn’t seem that way, but--”
Libby gulped and nodded. “No, you’re right.
You’re right. I guess maybe I can keep seeing him but leave Destiny
at my sister’s when I do.”
“Yes, that’s one possibility.” Katie knew
her calm façade wouldn’t betray the fact that she was disappointed.
Libby had made the choice she would not have recommended, had, in
fact, chosen the one Katie had tried to sway her from. She had to
offer one last bit of advice: “Just remember that if you feel that
he’s not treating your daughter in a manner you think is
appropriate, keep him away from her.”
Katie saw outside the meeting room that some
of her coworkers were shutting off lights here and there and
preparing to leave for the day. She wound up spending another
twenty minutes with Libby, offering her advice but knowing that the
young mother had to make her own choices. Katie just hoped they
were good choices, but she knew she would likely be seeing Libby
again in the near future.
* * *
Dean, one of the workers in her unit,
stopped by her cubicle. “Kate, it’s late. You going home soon?”
She looked up from the computer screen,
moving a wisp of brown hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, I just want to
finish documenting my last visit. I’ll be leaving in ten minutes
tops.”
“Promise?”
Katie’s smile didn’t stretch too far, but
she tried. “Promise.”
“Good. Grant made me vow to keep a good eye
on you while he’s gone. I don’t want to have to tell him you were
down here all night long.”
Katie shook her head, this time her smile
stretching out, her gleaming white teeth making an appearance. “I
have Sam to take care of, so no worries. I promise to leave no
later than eight.” Dean raised his eyebrows. “Just kidding. I
should be out of here by six.”
Dean smiled and nodded. “All right. See you
tomorrow then.”
“Yep.” Katie returned her gaze to the
computer screen and read the last two sentences she had typed. When
she could, she tried to get her documentation over as soon as
possible while it was still fresh in her mind. Yes, she could have
just as easily done it in the morning, but it was safer to do it
now, while the details were still crisp and sharp. She shrugged her
shoulders and rolled her neck around, loosening the stiffness, then
resumed tapping on the keyboard, her slim fingers appearing to fly
as sentences appeared, one after another on the screen. When Katie
finally left the hulking brick building, she was the last one out
the doors, turning off the remaining lights and securing the alarm
system. There was still plenty of light out tonight, so if Grant
asked, she could assure him she hadn’t been here “all night
long.”
* * *
Katie slid the gold key into the lock of the
thick wooden door that was the entrance to her home. She opened the
door and was greeted in seconds by Sam, her white long-haired
Angora cat. Sam uttered a squeaky “meow” and then began twirling
around Katie’s legs. Katie set her purse on the small table beside
the door and bent over. She rubbed Sam underneath the chin. Sam
smiled back. “Yes, I missed you too, silly.” She locked the screen
door, then shut the large wooden door and locked its deadbolt.
After the long day at work, Katie was ready
to ease into her evening routine. She wouldn’t have admitted it,
not even to herself, but because she found her work so
traumatizing, so draining on a daily basis, she had over time
created a safe haven away from work. Stability in everything she
did and a solid routine helped Katie feel comfortable. No curve
balls, no troubles she couldn’t foresee. Katie’s life was
boring
, but she liked it that way.
Her routine was slightly varied now, though,
because Grant, her fiancé, was out of town for work, so Katie and
Sam were on their own tonight. Katie made her way to the kitchen.
She checked her voice mail--no calls. She sifted through the
mail--one bill, one health magazine, and two credit card offers
which she immediately tossed in the trash. Sam continued to purr,
meow, and rub on Katie’s legs. Katie looked down. “I suppose you’re
wanting some canned food, huh?” Katie smiled and walked over to the
pale brown cupboard. She got out a can of gravied cat food, Sam’s
favorite, and pulled the metal lid off. Sam started howling in
anticipation. He continued meowing at her as she walked across the
room, can in hand, until she placed it beside his dry food and
water dish.
Sam taken care of, Katie peeked in the
fridge. There wasn’t much there, so she decided she’d have a salad
for dinner. No sense cooking for just herself. She planned out the
rest of her evening: a workout on the exercise bike, followed by a
shower and dinner, and then she would curl up in bed with a new
book, maybe brushing Sam at the same time.
Almost every evening in Katie’s life
mirrored the one before. Grant usually visited two or three nights
a week, nights when he didn’t have his daughter. Those evenings
revolved around him, but Katie didn’t necessarily prefer those
evenings. In fact, she savored her times alone. She didn’t have
close girlfriends, so she didn’t ever go for a girls’ night out.
She visited her mother every Saturday like clockwork. Katie’s life
was comfortable but dull. She didn’t complain, though, because she
saw what “excitement” could do to families. After working in Child
Protective Services for more than ten years, she had learned to
prefer her own safe, sanitary life to the alternative.