“Yes, Ms. Parker. Why don’t you tell me what’s been going on?”
“Well, I forgot to tell the officers today about the graffiti.” I tell him about the spray-painted word on my wall. He asks me a few questions—the who, the what, the when and the where. The conversation was just like being on a cop show. I remembered at the last minute to tell him I took a picture of it.
“Can you forward that to me?”
“Sure. I’ll do it as soon as I hang up.”
“Thanks, Ms. Parker. I’ll be in touch.”
I hand Sam back his phone. He’s staring at me and I’m pretty sure he’s angry. “What?”
“Nothing,” he shakes his head. “There are too many coincidences. There is no way that these two events are unrelated. The police are concerned…”
Holding my hand up, I say, “Sam. The graffiti was just some neighborhood kids.” I shrug. “Nothing to worry about.” I move toward the stairs that lead out. “Heck, the neighborhood clean-up team already took care of it which proves it’s happening all over.
Sam places one hand on his hip and runs the other one through his hair. “No, it….” He sighs. “And the knife?”
“Just someone with a sick sense of humor.” I turn and look at him pointedly. “Thanks for stopping over. I’ve got to get some work done.”
“You’re kicking me out?” He follows me and pulls me into his arms.
“Well, I thought you said you had a busy day. Besides, Lauren…. Hey. Where’s Lauren? She was supposed to be here a long time ago.”
“I saw her car pull up earlier. I sent her home––told her to give us a couple of hours for the police to leave.” Sam looks at his watch. “She should be back soon.”
“How did you know who she was? I’ve never introduced you.”
He points to several framed photos on my shelf. “She’s the woman in your pictures.”
“Oh… right.” He’s pretty observant—that’s probably good, since he’s in the security business. “Why did you ask her to leave? She could have come in while they were here.”
“This place is tiny—there was hardly enough room for the cops and the two of us.” He turns to leave but stops, like he’s remembered something. “Oh, and there’ll be more people here soon.”
“People? What people?”
“Mypeople.”
“You have people?” Again, the joke falls flat. “Why areyourpeople coming here?”
“I’ll tell you later. Nothing to worry about.” He grins, leans down and kisses the tip of my nose. “I’m going, but I’ll be back in an hour. My girl is starving. I’m bringing her some food.” He smirks as he starts to take the steps out the door.
“What do you mean? You’re coming back?” I’m whining. I know it sounds like I don’t want him here but honestly, I’m not sure if I do or if I don’t. I guess I’m going to need to let it play out.
Smiling, he says, “Is Lauren there yet? If not, give her a call. I don’t want you to be alone.”
“Bossy. You’re really bossy,” I grumble.
Chuckling, he and his gorgeous ass walk out the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MACKENZIE WAS A LITTLE LAMB NO MORE
I’m shakingmy head as I walk to my car. That woman is a new contradiction every five minutes. “Jesus, what happened to my submissive little lamb?” One minute she’s crying about that stupid shit I said, then practically the next minute she’s blowing me like a porn star. After that, she tries to kick me out and acts like she doesn’t want me to come back. One thing is for sure, she’s never gonna be boring. I wasn’t sure what had happened to that quirky little woman I saw on New Years’ Eve, but she’s still there. I grin and shake my head again.
I climb into my car and start it. My mind moves from my girl to the asshole who’s messing with her. I’m glad she brought up the graffiti. It saved me from having to show my hand. Something I’m not ready to do just yet. I’m especially glad she didn’t tell fucking Kent. I hate that guy. Seriously. I know I’m not alone in that. Everyone else on the force hates him, too. I much prefer to work with his partner, Hank Flynn. He’s a little moody too, but he’s always got my back.
“Call Gill,” I say to my car Bluetooth.
