“You can’t do that, Sarge.”
The formidable man faced him once more. “I can, and I will. And before you lose your shit, this comes from City Hall not me.”
“Ah, hell.” Garrett ran a hand over his jaw.
“I have my own boss to answer to. Sometimes, like you two, I have to say or do things I don’t particularly agree with in order to keep my job.”
With that, their unit commander left the room.
“Damn.” Garrett shook his head. “What are you going to do now?”
Gut churning, Alex looked at his partner. “Guess I’m driving us to Eden’s.”
Chapter Two
“Jesus.” Garrett scanned the secluded area through the passenger window. “She must really like her privacy.”
Alex looked at the old, two-story farmhouse ahead of them. “Can you blame her?”
Slowly, he drove his Grand Cherokee down the long, gravel driveway. Parking next to Eden’s black Silverado, he found himself still oddly impressed by the fact that she drove a full-size pickup.
She’d driven them to lunch once, and Alex remembered having an instant case of jealousy. He’d thought maybe it belonged to a boyfriend she hadn’t told him about. When Eden revealed the truck was actually hers, that jealousy had quickly turned to arousal.
There was just something about a beautiful woman behind the wheel of a truck that turned him on. Or, maybe it was justthiswoman.
“What do you think she’s going to say?”
Staring out the windshield, Alex sighed. “Honestly? I’m hoping she tells us to go to hell.”
Garrett studied him a moment. “You really care about this woman, don’t you?”
Alex sighed. “Yeah.” He looked at his partner. “I do.”
Without judgement, the other man opened his door and said, “Come on, then. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can leave her alone to her peace and solitude.”
Nerves churned deep inside his gut as they made their way along the stone walkway toward the covered porch.
“Couldn’t help but notice you didn’t use GPS to find your way here,” Garrett commented as they walked up the wooden steps.
“Your point?”
The other man shrugged. “Just making an observation, that’s all.”
Alex filled his lungs, blowing the air out slowly before raising his fist and knocking on the screen door. “I didn’t lie to Murphy. I haven’t spoken to Eden since she left the hospital that day.”
Garrett raised a single eyebrow. “But you’ve seen her.” It wasn’t a question.
Nodding, Alex used a hushed voice to quickly explain. “I’ve checked up on her a few times since then. Just to make sure she was doing okay. Nothing more.”
Saying it out loud sounded a hell of a lot creepier than he’d intended. Thankfully, his partner knew him well enough to understand his true motive for watching over Eden.
Garrett put his hands up defensively. “I get it. What happened to Eden was shitty. I always liked her, so it’s good knowing someone’s had her back all this time. Even if she doesn’t realize it.”
With a mumbled, “Thanks,” Alex knocked again.
Garrett opened his mouth to say something else when Eden came to the door. Alex’s heart gave a hard thump against his ribs when he saw her.
From the look on her face, she was as surprised to see him as he was to be standing there. After a few seconds’ hesitation, she recovered from her obvious shock and opened the door.
