Sullivan"Dispatch, I'm taking lunch," I radio in as I pull up to The Café. It's been a long shift and I'm fucking starving. Rain moved in overnight, and it hasn't stopped in the last few hours. "Gotcha, Sully."Parking farther down than I'd like to, I get out, sprinting to the entrance, doing my best to stay dry. When I get under the awning, I slow my roll, shaking the water off my rain coat. Looking around to find an empty seat, I see the woman of my dreams at a booth by herself. Shelby's got her laptop to the side, a plate of food in front of her, and she's so focused on it, she hasn't noticed me. A spring in my step, I walk up to her table."Is this seat taken?"Her gaze flies over to me, a smile spreading across her face. It's intimate, reminding me of the night we had, less than twenty-four hours ago. My thighs are still burning from the energy I expended making love to her."Hey," she whispers, biting her bottom lip, her eyes moving up and down my body."Hey," I a
ShelbyThe alarm on my phone goes off, letting me know it's time to end this work day. SULLY: Are we gonna hang out tonight?COUNSELOR: Definitely, but I haven't left yet. I'm fixing to, though. Keep in mind I need to go by the hospital to see Montana. I'll be home right after. Do you want to come to my place, or me to yours?"SULLY: You make the decision.COUNSELOR: I'll see ya in a little while.SULLY: Be safe, Counselor.The way he always tries to make sure I'm okay goes straight to my heart. There's been no one in my life that's ever cared about my safety the way he does. If I had someone like that in Houston, I probably wouldn't be in Laurel Springs right now. Just goes to show, things happen how they're supposed to.It takes a few minutes for me to make sure the lights are turned off and I've packed my laptop. I do one more cursory glance around the office before I go to the alarm, setting it quickly and exiting the building. At one point I'd thought I wouldn't n
Shelby"Thanks for meeting me," Kels says as I slide in, holding my coffee."You didn't have to ask me twice. I love the cinnamon rolls here."A Whole Latte Love has become one of our favorite places to meet. "Me too." She takes a drink of her frappé. "I asked to have mine heated up."I giggle. "Yes, that's why I didn't bring it to the table with me.""It was good seeing you at girls night out."This isn't why she's invited me here. I've known her long enough to know she's beating around the bush. One thing I've learned is to let people come to me. In their own time, they'll tell you what they want. "I can see why our cinnamon rolls are taking a few minutes," Kelsea grins, nodding her head toward the cash register. Trying not to be obvious, I slowly turn. "Oh my God," I hiss as I see Devante and Eden talking to one another. They're obviously flirting, if I'm going by the grin on her face and the way he's leaning up against the counter. "Get you some," Kelsea
Sullivan"Are you sure there's nothing I can bring?" Shelby asks me for the third time.Reaching over, I grab hold of her hand, before bringing it up to my lips. "I'm positive. I asked Mason like you wanted me to, and he said to bring ourselves.""Just checking.""You've checked plenty of times, babe. There's no reason for you to worry about this. You know all of these people."She rolls her eyes. "I do, but I know them in an LSERT capacity. Not in a friendly capacity.""Oh, I think you and the girls are very friendly. Especially if you ask Hector," I laugh, avoiding her hand as she tries to smack me."You know what I mean.""No, I don't. Everyone knows you, Shelby.""But they don't me like this.""Like what, babe? You've got to spell this out for me, because I ain't getting it.""As your girlfriend. We're a couple now. Not just Shelby or Sullivan. Now we're kind of Shelby and Sullivan. Shelivan if you will. We've made the jump," she says like I should know."We
ShelbyIt's a quiet day and I'm slightly thinking about leaving early, especially after the day and night I had. Not even the joy of letting Montana know about her good fortune has been enough to soothe my soul about Mrs. Haley.It's a beautiful afternoon, and I'd love to go for a walk. Reaching over for my phone, I debate on who I can ask to go with me. Scrolling through, I stop at Rowan's name. The two of us haven't done much on our own, and if I can see myself being in Sullivan's life, I need to be in hers too.S: Are you busy this afternoon? I'm thinking of taking a walk. R: Ohhh sounds good, what time? I get off at three. Want me to meet you at your office? I have workout clothes I can change into here.S: Me too, I'll see you then.Putting my phone over to the side with a smile on my face, I'm excited to be spending some more time with her. She's the most important person in Sullivan's life, and I know if I want to be in his, I need to be in hers. Sighing, I take
Shelby"Frank was notified yesterday by certified mail."Montana gapes, her mouth wide open. "She gave all this money to me?""She did." I nod, watching as she looks at the will I wrote for Mrs. Haley. "She knew what kind of a situation you were in. It was her last wish for you to have this and to get away from him."Tears trail down her cheeks. "She knew. This whole time?""From what I understand she did.""He's going to be pissed." Her hands shake as she wipes at the tears. "Not only at me, but at you too.""I can handle him." I shuffle around in my bag. "Here's your first check from the estate. I know you get out of the hospital in a couple of days. If you would like me to deposit this for you into an account we set up for you, I can do that. Then you can start trying to find a new place to live.""How will I move there? I can't lift anything." She's still in shock, looking at me with amazement in her eyes."You let me take care of that. There are plenty of people
Sullivan"Domestic dispute at The Café," dispatch advises, causing me to do a double-take when I hear the location."The Café?" I verify."Yes. Caller states two patrons are having a disagreement."I can hear Leigh screaming on the call. "It's Montana and Frank Gentry. He's cornered her here."Son of a bitch. "I'll be right there."I'm driving a Charger today instead of my customary SUV. As it responds to the way my foot presses the gas, I kind of hope they let me have it for the long haul. Even though I started out halfway across the county, I'm in front of The Café within minutes. There's a crowd, and I can see Frank standing very close to his wife."Frank, back away, or I'm going to have to take you in. You're aware there's an order of protection against you."I don't mention how it'd be my pleasure. I'm still fucking pissed at the way he treated the woman in my life. "Go ahead and take me in," he screams at me. "Ya know what? Turn around, put your hands beh
Shelby"I hadn't quite thought how I would feel to be up for auction when this idea was presented." I pull at the hem of the dress I'm wearing.In front of me Sullivan wears a suit, along with a smirk. A fucking smirk. He looks way too good in the white dress shirt, and dark blue blazer. It sets off the color of his eyes, and the perpetual tan he seems to have. "You look damn good." His gaze eats me up."So do you." I grab hold of the lapels of his jacket, tugging him into me. "Wish I had enough money to spend on you. I'm sure you're gonna go for a ton."I giggle, tilting my head toward him, as he reminds me. "That would be beside the point. Instead of raising money, we'll be spending it."He slides his hand down my back, cupping my ass with his palm. I grin up at him, loving when a smirk spreads across his face. White teeth flash against his skin. "I'd give everything I had for you.""Sullivan Baker, you're too sweet."He dips down, putting his lips to my neck. "Only
MenacePresent TimeIt's been a hell of a day. One where I got here late in the afternoon because I had meetings. Something I've learned since taking this position a few months ago is that it's mostly meetings. It's keeping people happy and kissing a lot of ass. My legs ache to get back out on the street, to do a couple laps around downtown, or to drive a car fast. To chase a speeder with the lights bright and the siren blaring. I miss it more than I thought I would. It's close to midnight and I know Rina will be wondering where the hell I am, but I wanted to get a look at what went on today by reading the reports of the officers. This is something I do everyday so I can try to gauge how my officers are doing. It's important for me to know if there's an issue in town. If someone is a nuisance, do we need to step up patrols in certain areas? Community policing is the name of my game and I take it seriously. Reading the last report, submitted by Caleb
ArcherA Year And A Half LaterNerves make circles in my stomach as I stand outside of Laurel Springs Medical waiting for Alisa to come out. She doesn't know I'm here and, the truth is, I didn't know I was going to be either. I've been carrying this ring around in my pocket for the last year and a half of the two years we've been together. Waiting. For what, I'm not sure. The right time? The perfect moment? We live together. I could've done it a million times, but there's something different about these stars against the inky blackness of the sky. They aren't crazy bright, but they aren't muted either. They're sparkling. The perfect backdrop to the plan I have. Tonight, as I helped a woman leave a dangerous domestic violence situation, I realized I'm wasting precious and valuable time. Even after dealing with Calvert County, it didn't hit me that seconds are to be treated with the same reverence as the big events in life. Lo
Alisa"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" "Yes." I nod as I sit before the grand jury to give my testimony about what happened with Officer Fugate. "Please tell us when you first met him," the attorney instructs. Archer is sitting in the back row, all hot in his uniform. I don't know how he managed to be here, but he has and it's one of the sweetest things he's done for me. I'm not sure I could be doing this without his dark eyes staring back at me. "I met him when he brought a suspect into the ER. It was obvious that man had been beaten badly and it didn't happen only once. After that day, it happened on a regular basis…"ArcherUshering Lis into the station is like sending a babe into the belly of the beast. She's never been here before, doesn't know how things work, and could honestly be scared, given everything she's dealt with. I'd like to kill Officer Fugate with my own two hands.
ArcherIt's a gully washer tonight, as my instructor at the Academy always said when it rained hard. Visibility fucking sucks and I've worked more accidents tonight than I have in the previous three months. It's as if when it rains, no one can remember how to drive. It's hard to even see out of my windshield but, as I pass one of the abandoned gas stations on the outskirts of town, I see another cop stopped.They're an eyesore and, at the next city planning meeting, there's going to be a vote on demolishing them. They're a breeding ground for drug use and criminals. We've put up cameras to show what happens at night when there aren't patrols going back and forth. Since it's raining and dark, I figure I'll hit them, just to make sure nothing's going on that shouldn't be.As I round the corner. I'm surprised as fuck to see Alisa's car parked next to a Calvert County patrol SUV. She's kneeling in front of a cop who has a taser pointed at her. My heart gallops in my chest as I wonder
Archer"Chief Harrison wants to see you," Tank tells me as I make my way into the squad room. I have no idea what I've done and am immediately questioning what the hell is going on. I try to do everything by the book and I can't remember anything I might've done that was untoward. My stomach rolls as I head toward his office. I've never been called before him before and, truth be told, I never wanted to be. When I reach the door, I knock with a double tap. "C'mon in." Opening it enough so that I can sneak my head in, I glance at the Chief. "You wanted to see me, Sir?" "Yeah, come in and have a seat. There's a few things we need to discuss." I don't like the sound of this shit at all. Going in, I have a seat in the chair facing his desk and prepare to get my ass handed to me. "Officer Fugate has made a complaint and I'm bound by state laws to investigate those complaints." "I told you what happened," I defend myself. "He'
Alisa"Thank you for coming tonight," he says as we enter my apartment. "You don't have to thank me. You've saved me more times than I can count." I grin, taking my jacket off. "Come sit over here on the couch with me. You look a little stressed." "They do that to me." He waves his hand toward the street where his parents have just left. "They always make me feel like I'm not good enough, as if I should've done something different with my life." "I know how that feels." I beckon him over with a crook of my finger. "Let me take care of this tension for you, Archie. Let me show you what the fuck your parents are missing." Something about the way they don't appreciate their son has me wanting to show him just how much I do. How important he is to my life. One of the ways I can think of showing him is with my body. Fuck if that isn't exciting. Reaching for my shirt, I pull it over my head, motioning for him to do the same. In a lazy game o
ArcherI'm heading into the squad room at the station to pick up some supplies when the phone in my pocket rings loudly. There aren't many people I have set ringtones for, but this one? I hate when it rings. It's my parents. Not wanting to make whichever one this is wait, I hurriedly answer. It's always struck me as odd. They were so quick to get me out of their lives, yet they do everything together, including share a fucking cell phone. That's right, they share this phone, which means I never know who I'm going to talk to when I put it to my ear. Talk about a surprise every time I answer. "Hello?" I wait for the response. It's always delayed as if they're on some far away phone line. "Archer, it's Dad." No fucking shit. "Hey Dad," I answer, wondering if he'll continue on or if I'll have to pull the words from him like teeth. "What's going on?" "Your mom and I will be in Laurel Springs tonight. We'd like to have dinner w
AlisaHis body over mine is equal parts hot and hard in all the right places. Our naked skin slides together as he leans down to take the tight bud of my nipple in his mouth. "Yes." I tilt my head back against the pillows, allowing him full reign over my body. "Please don't stop," I beg as I rake my hands over his strong back before digging my fingers into the hair on his head. "Never gonna stop," he promises as he sucks at the prominent tip, before letting it go and moving further down. I'm still unsure of how we got our clothes off. All I know is they're in a pile next to the bed. He moves down my body, kissing my stomach before he drops onto his knees and pulls me to the edge. Separating my thighs, he props them up on his shoulders, gazing up at me with those dark eyes before he dips down. His warm mouth covers my pussy, going straight for my clit and lapping against the trembling flesh. "Archer," I moan, lifting my hips to meet his mouth. "It's been so fucki
Archer "Look guy." I hope me using that term pisses him off. "This isn't even your jurisdiction. What the fuck right did you have to pull her over?" "It's Officer Fugate," he corrects me, before continuing on. "She failed to signal a turn." I'm real annoyed. "You got that on your dash cam?" I point to where his camera is mounted on the dash. "It wasn't on." He shrugs. "How fucking convenient for you." I smirk, shaking my head. "It's something the garage knows about, but the budget is lean over in Calvert County." He eyes me. My gaze is on Alisa who's sitting in her car with her hands locked around her steering wheel. She's white-knuckling as he and I stand out here, yelling at one another. "I'm not allowing you to ticket her without proof. Did you radio it in?" His cheeks go red, which tells me all I need to know. "You son of a bitch. You think you can intimidate her? Officers like you give the rest of us a bad name." Going in