“Sure, Sarge.”
I grab the coffee mug from my desk to refill it in the kitchen, and on the way there, I stop at Kasper Hill’s office door to check-in. Reaching for the door handle, I open it a crack, peeking in to see if the detective is here already or out on a call.
“Oh my God,” a female voice says, horrified, and I push the door the rest of the way open to face the scene in front of me.
“I am so sorry, Sarge.” Katie McCully, who seconds ago had one hand on Kasper’s crotch, backs away when I open the door. She pulls her jacket off the desk and throws it around her shoulders, sneaking past me to bolt out into the hallway. Kasper and I watch her go, and Kasper looks at me with a smile that is so arrogant I envision bloodying his face until it’s unrecognizable. He has a stain of smeared lipstick on the collar of his white shirt, and his hair is tousled.
“Welcome to work, detective,” I say through a tight jaw. “Not really the appropriate place to do that, am I right?”
Any hesitations I’ve had being around Kasper Hill are temporarily void. I’m livid. So fucking disgusted with this man that if it were up to me, I’d fire him on the spot. Her, too, for that matter.
“Oh, come on, Sarge,” Kasper says, that stupid grin growing larger. “We have to get it when and where we can, don’t you agree?”
“No,” I say. “I don’t agree. And I doubt your wife would, either.”
Something flashes over Kasper’s face, a moment of fury that I think might just overpower him this time. His hands ball into fists, and while he continues to smile, rage is simmering just below the surface, ready to explode.
“Don’t you worry yourself over what Tara might or might not think,” he says coolly. “That’s my business.”
“Keep your personal business out of the workplace and get to work, detective, before I write you up for inappropriate work behavior. Officer McCully, too, for that matter.”
“Sure thing, Sarge,” Kasper says with that shit-eating grin that is more sinister than it is innocent. “On it.”
Silently fuming, I go to the kitchen to refill my coffee, then head back to my desk, still thinking about Jami and whether or not I’ll get the pleasure of seeing her again without coming off as a total stalker creep.
“Any fun plans for the weekend, Denny?” I ask, booting up the files on my computer. He gives me a half-assed shrug, eyes on the computer screen in front of him.
“I think Renee and the guys want to have a barbeque or something,” he says. “Something small and chill. Have a few drinks, and roast some burgers. Fun shit.”
“Is your pal Jami going?” I ask, and I wish I could kick myself for even caring about it. Jake finally looks up from his computer and smiles, like he knows what I’m thinking.
“Renee is probably going to invite her, yes. What about you, Sarge? Are you up for a backyard BBQ?”
“Let me check my calendar. I’ll get back to you with an answer.” I turn my chair around, back to Jake, and hide a pleased smile. Maybe I’ll get to see Jami again after all.
As I ponder this, thinking of Jami’s beautiful face, I open up my email and shoot off an email to my good pal Dax in Texas. He’s a ranger, and he has lots of experience with men like Kasper Hill.
Maybe he’ll have some advice on what to do here, because I’m still at a loss.
5
JAMI
The rest of the week seems to drag on and on, a never-ending cesspool of long nights, lack of sleep, and the usual stress and daily grind of life and work. Saturday comes far too slowly, but by the time the weekend is here, I’m more than ready for a small break with friends.
Before heading over to the boys’ house, I bake up my famous cherry pie for the barbeque and grab a couple bottles of cheap wine from the store before heading over. I follow the scent of smoldering coals and lighter fluid to the backyard, where I find my friends.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Matt Nelson says, pulling me into a side hug. He takes the cherry pie from me and hands it off to Aaron Connor, who rolls his eyes but leans in to give me a quick peck on the cheek.
“Good to see you, James,” Aaron says, and Matt releases me.
“Taking care of yourself?” he asks, and I grin at him.
“Always, Matty. What about you two? Are you helping Jake take care of Renee?”
“Oh, you know Renee,” Matt says with a shake of his head. “She’s the Queen Bee. She takes care of us, really.”
“How’s work?”
