Page 23 of Storm

Her eagerness is extra annoying today, but I bite my tongue. “Here’s the list of what he needs. I’ll take care of my calendar.”Handing over the scrap of paper I noted down the incident reports, I quickly move my hand away when she lets our fingers touch.

With a scowl, I silently wait until she leaves. She seems completely unaffected by my mood. I’m not oblivious to the fact that she’s overly flirtatious toward me and interested, but Sandra is far too young.

So is Miriam…

I’m certain Sandra is closer to thirty, where Miriam is early twenties, but there’s a maturity to Miriam which is more attractive than I’d like. Shoving her out of my mind to only focus work related items, I blanket my thoughts until another knock on my door draws my attention from the domestic call one of my officers wrote three days ago.

“Morning, Coop. What’s cookin’, good lookin’?”

“You know, I could stick you out on patrol with a rookie if you keep acting as though we’re best friends,” I tell Vincent Mercer, only looking up at him briefly. “Tell me where you’re at with this.” I point a finger at the report I’ve been reading, his name typed out at the bottom.

Leaning over my desk, he skims the report, then recognition turns his features to anger. “We got her out of the home with her baby and dog into an apartment a few towns over. This guy is smart, though, so it’s taking longer to find something to pin him on. He hadn’t touched her physically the night of this call, but she repeated a lot of the threats. All of his texts are vague and can be explained away. No voice messages, no photos on her phone. But she’s traumatized. Might be a stalking situation. Guy is a narcissist and likely won’t want to see herwinin his eyes.”

Signing off on the report, I ask, “And the baby? Checked out at the hospital?”

“Both of them have. There are some questionable older injuries for the wife, but the baby checked out. Slightlyunderweight, but they looked at records since birth, and the baby has always been a bit on the smaller side, so the doc isn’t overly concerned.”

I take my time in silence, mulling it all over. My next question begins a bit slower. “You got Max involved?”

Max and Vincent are both involved with the same woman, along with a third, Ethan. Max and Ethan have a business that is basically a rescue program for domestic abuse victims. Vincent told me once that Max started it up because his father killed his mom when she tried to flee, so it’s more of a passion project than a job to all of them.

I’ll admit, Vincent’s connection to them has come in handy more often than not over the past few years.

“Yeah, called him in right?—”

“Captain, I’ve got you a fresh cup of coffee,” Sandra interrupts, strolling into the office.

Vincent shuts his mouth abruptly, raising a brow at me. I let him get away with so much more than most of my other staff members, but his silent question irritates me and has me snapping a tad more gruffly at Sandra than I should.

“Miss Burns, I’m clearly in a meeting. Your assistance isn’t required to keep my coffee hot.” Her eyes widen like a deer caught in headlights, and she looks between Mercer and me, gulps, then backs out quickly. I barely hear a whispered apology, and my irritation grows exponentially.

The low growl I release has Vincent’s other brow joining the first one, practically to his hairline. “Bad day, boss?”

“Get the fuck out, asshole. I need everyone to just do their damn job right now.” With a chuckle, he stands and makes his way to the door, flashing me the thumbs up on his way out. “And shut the door behind you!” I shout.

The door slams shut on his full on belly laugh. Tossing my pen to my desk, I groan, rubbing my hand over my face, feelingthe prickle of whiskers where I shaved them off a few days ago.Fuck, I need to shave soon.

The rest of my morning is filled with endless paperwork and phone calls. Finally, my calendar alarms a reminder to leave for my lunch meeting with Richard. Setting the papers into a neat pile, I shut off my computer and grab my bag. I’m not sure if I’ll be back in today. This past week has been draining. A good workout, then movie and a couple of beers sounds like exactly what I need.

I ignore the way Sandra watches me as I leave, probably disappointed I don’t say anything to her, but she knows where I’m going. No one here needs me to justify my schedule. I put in more hours than most.

As soon as I’m driving toward our regular place to grab a meal, the music is interrupted by another phone call. Glancing at the display, I’m surprised to see Tatum Cadelle calling. We touch bases here and there, normally for emergency related things since he’s an EMT, so I press the answer call button on my steering wheel.

“Cooper,” I call out as soon as the call connects.

“Hey Kev. Listen, we might have a bit of a problem.”

Concerned it may be work related, I lift my foot off the gas, ready to pull over. “What’s going on? You got a call you need an officer to assist with?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s Ezra. I think he’s gone off the rails.” There’s a hint of worry lacing his words, and I can’t imagine what Ezra being off the rails means. It could be that he’s disappeared out into the woods, or he’s talking incoherently about nonsense.Shit, what if he’s having a PTSD episode?

Deciding to keep heading to meet Richard until something changes, I only say, “Explain.”

A loud sigh precedes an embarrassed cough. “So, and I’m not positive I’m right, but I think he’s hunting.”

“The fuck does that mean? Like he’s out in the woods with a gun?”

“Not that kind of hunting. I think he’s hunting Miriam.”

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