Page 66 of Recklessly Yours

I glanced at my watch.Almost eleven o’clock already? Damn.

Me: We’re heading out for a bit. Why don’t I text you when we’re on our way back?

Hattie: Okay

I tucked my phone away,and when I looked up, Seabass was watching me, one brow cocked.

He shook his head. “Great, another one who can’t keep it in his pants.”

Anger sizzling in my veins, I glared at him.

“Just stating the obvious.” He smirked, raising his hands in mock surrender. “I asked Nick to send a few guys down to help with protection when Hattie visits her new niece.”

“Thanks.” I huffed. “Although I think Kyle is being over-the-top.”

She had plenty of protection between Ethan, Seabass, and me, but Kyle wasn’t satisfied, and our station was small. We didn’t have the manpower to humor him.

“Yeah, maybe. But I get it. He wants to make sure his family is safe.”

Yeah, I supposed I did too. So far, the stalker had stayed in the shadows, but that could change in the blink of an eye.

The whole way to the gas station, all I could think about was what it would be like if I could go home tonight and tell Hattie we got him.

The jolt of excitement was followed by dread, because once we caught the stalker, Hattie would move back to her apartment. I wanted her safe, and I was desperate to get this guy behind bars, but the thought of her being anywhere but in my house with me sat like lead in my gut.

After talking with the gas station manager and the attendant who was on shift that night, we’d gotten no new information. I drove back to the station with my hands clenched tight around the wheel. Why couldn’t we catch a single break in this damn case? Who was this guy? A ghost?

Neither the manager nor the attendant recognized him. The best shot we had of the fucker showed little more than a baseball cap, one ear, and his jaw. The only thing we knew was that he was a white male.

We did find a plastic bag of spray paint behind the dumpster out back, but I had little hope that we’d pull prints from any of the items. If he was smart enough to use stolen tags, it was safe to assume that he’d worn gloves. Though maybe he wasn’t all that smart, since he didn’t bother to ensure the bag of spray paint actually landed in the dumpster rather than falling behind it.

The silver lining here was that I had another night with my girl. Did that make me a selfish bastard? Maybe. But being with her was everything I never knew I’d been missing.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

HATTIE

Tuesday 9:22 p.m.

All the single ladies

Savannah: How’s it going with the sexy detective, Hattie? Please tell us he’s good in bed.

Me:

Sarah: Tina had A LOT to say on this topic when I stopped by to visit.

Savannah: I’m so here for this. Spill the tea.

Sarah: I feel like the mom of the group when you use slang like that.

Brittney: Let’s go back to what Tina had to say.

Me: Don’t you all have better things to do than gossip about my sex life?

Rachel: Did you just confirm that you have a sex life for us to gossip about?

Savannah: I think she did.

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