Sullivan"Are you okay over there?" I ask Shelby as we head south on the interstate. She hasn't said much since we left."I am." She turns to me, and although I can't see her eyes behind the cloth covering them, I can tell she's sort of irritated I'm keeping her in the dark. "Slightly bored," she huffs. "Thinking about doing something to entertain myself.""Oh yeah?" I shift gears, getting up to speed to go with the flow of traffic. "What are you planning on doing?""I guess I could show you."The glow from the street lights allow me to see as Shelby sneaks her hand up in between her thighs."Oh, Counselor," I groan, putting the car on cruise control. "You horny?""For you? Always, but I would love to point out that you were up on that stage lookin' all hot.""You should've seen yourself, and fun fact, I have a fantasy about you wearing a skirt and letting me fuck you."She breathes heavily through her nose. "A fantasy?""Yeah, one I'm going to make come true when w
SullivanA Week Later"Are you sure there's no one else you want to take with you?" I ask my sister before I practically inhale a drink of the coffee we stopped and picked up. "I'm not sure I'm the person you want to help pick out a wedding dress."She looks over at me from the driver's seat, a grin on her face. "No one helped me the first time around, and this time, I feel like it's important. You're my best friend.""But I'm not a girl.""You don't have to be a girl," she argues. "You more than anyone, know me. You understand what I like and you've been there for me since the beginning.""But shouldn't you bring Mom or something?""If you didn't want to go, you could have said no," she reminds me."I know." I take another drink. "I do want to go, but I have to be sure you want me here."I invited you!""Okay, okay. I'll stop being so self-conscious about it.""Please do, I'm supposed to be the nervous one."I give her that, especially after the first marriage
ShelbyI'll be glad when this shit is over and I'll never volunteer for anything like this with the LSERT again. I'd been led to believe there wouldn't be anyone not vetted, but I guess money is money. Something told me not to do this, but I'm the new one here and I wanna help all my new friends. I've had a shitty feeling about this since I got the directions to the dinner tonight. All of our correspondence has been done by email. To be honest, I wanted to get this over with, so I agreed to meet them on the first day they requested.It's not in a part of Laurel Springs I've ever been in, and I don't recall there being a restaurant in the building I've been directed to, but I gave my word and here I am. "I'm here," I tell Rowan. "If you don't hear from me in an hour, send help," I half-way joke. "I know this is supposed to be a new place, but it doesn't look open.""Be careful."As I get out of my car, I lock the doors and make sure the pepper spray I like to carry is within
Sullivan"Where is Shelby?" Menace asks as I stride back into headquarters, going to the equipment room to load up on what I feel I need."She's at the hospital. They're going to keep her overnight. Concussion."I don't want to speak to him or anyone else. There's only one thing on my mind and that's finding Frank. "Then why aren't you there with her?" Menace questions."I have other things to do.""You don't want to do this." He grabs hold of my shoulder, stopping me from going any farther."You have no idea what I'm about to do." I throw his hand off me."No, I do." He grabs hold and pushes me back against the wall. "I know exactly how you feel. When Rina was pregnant with Kels, she was held at gunpoint by a fellow teacher. I wanted to run in there and grab her, make sure she was okay, kill the fucker with my bare hands. But I couldn't." He holds onto my arm. "I had to be off the case, I was too close. In my anger I wanted to go in there and kill everyone, which woul
Shelby"This is The Café," I tell my parents as we make the trip down the sidewalk from my office to the place where most people in town go to eat. They've been here for almost two weeks. Since I was brought to the hospital and now that I'm home. They leave tomorrow, and I finally feel well enough to take them on a tour of Laurel Springs."It's all so quaint." My mom grins. "I can see why you love this place.""It's not hard," I admit. We walk in being greeted by so many people who have become friends and family to me in such a short amount of time. Seeing three swivel chairs at the soda fountain free, I lead them to my favorite place to sit. That's when I notice Ransom, Cruise, and Havoc standing in a group together, cracking up."Hey guys." I wave. "What's going on?"Ransom giggles as he looks at me. "Your man is in a slow speed chase.""Slow speed chase?" I ask, not sure what he's saying. I'm not sure I've ever heard of a slow speed chase. "Mr. Honeycutt is refu
Sullivan"I love that shirt almost as much as I love you." I wrap my arms tightly around Shelby's waist. Since she came home from the hospital, I've had her within my reach.She wrinkles her nose up cutely at me. "I have no idea why.""Oh you know." I turn her around in my arms. The front of it says Laurel Springs SWAT Team and on the back it says Baker. One day I'll make her last name the same as mine. We're in no hurry. For the first time in my life, I'm not in a hurry.To prove to my family how much better I am than my brother.To do what everyone thinks I should be doing. Finally, I'm becoming my own man. "You gonna be there at the end?" "Oh yeah, hooting and hollering for the hottest guy on the course."I smile, shaking my head. "You're good for my ego."She reaches up, running her fingers through my hair. "You're good for me period.""So if we win, does that mean I get to do whatever I want to you?" I rub my nose against her neck."I believe you said
SullivanMy heart swells in my chest as Rowan walks down the aisle toward the man who will be her husband. Standing in front of the church, along with the man who she'll give herself to, I swallow hard. The dress I helped her pick out looks incredible as it sparkles in the candlelight of the chapel. As much as I thought she was beautiful then, she's gorgeous now. The wide smile across her face, the wetness in her eyes, and the sparkle that radiates from inside competes with the one she wears on the outside.Our dad is like the rest of us in our dress uniforms. Even though he and I don't always see eye-to-eye, I'm still proud of the awards he wears on his chest.As they step to the altar, Cutter comes down, holding out his hand for Rowan. "Who gives this woman to this man?""Her family and I do," Dad answers, before kissing Rowan on the cheek and heading over to where Mom sits. She wipes at her eyes, which means she's crying. Mom always cries at important moments in her
DevanteAs has become my habit when I'm working the morning shift, I park the ambulance in front of A Whole Latte Love. "You want anything?" I ask Cutter who's feverishly texting. Ten bucks says it's to his brand-new wife, Rowan."Black, one cream, two sugars.""Then it's not black, is it?" "Don't give me shit this morning. Ro gained two pounds and she's convinced she won't be able to fit into any of her clothes now. Never mind we've already gotten married.""This is why you got married, and not me," I remind him. Marriage isn't my deal. Never has been, probably never will be."I'm gonna call her, try and talk her down from the damn ledge.""Good luck with that my man."Gratefully, I leave him in the ambulance by himself. I might be happy for him, but he's driven me crazy talking about this wedding the last few months. Walking into the coffee shop, I expect to see Eden at the counter with a smile on her face.That's how I've seen her almost every day since she opened
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