Page 82 of Fire in My Heart

I chased him through the brush between Charlotte’s cottage and the garage. Thankfully, he wasn’t in shape and started to lag as we approached the garage and my cruiser. The site of my car seemed to draw him up short, and I was able to tackle him to the ground. I pulled his arms behind his back and called dispatch to report my location.

Rick sneered. “She’s fucking you now?”

“Shut your mouth.” I really wanted to turn him over and punch those words out of his face, but I had to remain professional.

I hated that he’d attacked Charlotte, but I was more pissed that she hadn’t warned me about this situation. I could have protected her. I would have been more prepared. He wouldn’t even have gotten close to her.

Did she not trust me?

A few seconds later, one of the cruisers came back up the lane and parked behind mine.

“We got him,” Officer Reichert said, and I roughly hauled Rick off the ground and handed him off to the other officers.

They got him in cuffs, read him his rights, and pushed him into the back of the cruiser.

“She’s your girl?” Officer Reichert said when he approached me.

“Charlotte?” At his nod, I said, “Yeah.”

He raised a brow. “You didn’t know she had a crazy ex?”

I shook my head, the feeling in the pit of my stomach growing larger. “She didn’t tell me.”

“She doesn’t have a peace order. Think you can get her to file one?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” I felt like an ass for now knowing what was going on in Charlotte’s life. How could she leave meout of something so important? Her life was in danger, and she didn’t tell her cop boyfriend.

I headed back to the cottage where Charlotte stood on the porch holding her arm as she talked to an officer. Her eyes were wide with shock, and she was trembling.

“Are you okay?” I asked, rushing to her side. My feelings were all over the place. I loved her, I was concerned for her safety, but I was angry and frustrated.

Officer Perez said, “I was just asking her a few questions.”

“Of course.” I stayed close but didn’t touch her. I didn’t want to interfere with the investigation. My gaze scanned her body, cataloging a second bruise on her wrist. I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

She clutched the lapels tight. “Thank you.”

Her voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“What happened?” Officer Perez asked, and it took everything inside me to hold back. Why hadn’t she called me? Or told me she needed help?

“I came home from a day of shopping, and he was hiding in the bushes by the porch. I didn’t know he was there. I didn’t see a car. He was my ex,” Charlotte said softly.

My heart pounded in my ears. We’d discussed my lack of relationship history, but we hadn’t talked about Charlotte’s dating past. Was that intentional? I wasn’t usually so negligent about things like that, but then our relationship progressed quickly.

“Things ended badly. I quit my job and broke the lease on our apartment to make a clean break. I lived and worked at Matthews Inn, and I didn’t hear from him for a while. Then he showed up one night when I was working the counter alone. He was angry, insisting I come home. Like nothing happened. Aiden showed up and escorted him out. That’s when I moved here.”

A cold chill settled over me. One I knew I wouldn’t be ableto shake any time soon. I prided myself on knowing who I spent time with but this woman had omitted an important part of her life.

This guy was on my property. He could have hurt my father and the rest of my family. Dad knew more details about this situation than I did and was okay with Charlotte living here. But as a police officer, I was in a better position to assess the potential risk. And it was Charlotte who’d brought Rick Solomon to our door. Rage built inside me even as concern for her warred against it.

Charlotte wrapped her arms around herself. “He wanted me to come home with him. He couldn’t understand why I was living here and not living with him. He told me he loved me.”

“Trespassing and assault,” Officer Perez said to me.

I nodded. “Why didn’t you file a peace order?”

Charlotte blinked. “I thought you had to be living with someone or married to them to file for something.”

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