Page 3 of Seized by the Lawman

“The very one. I’m heading out. You coming along?” The two had been working on a case that involved dealing a few counties over and several kids got ahold of his mix and died. Crow had often said that Jamison became crazed over the cases that involved kids because he worried about his own daughter.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Crow looked at Nix. “Are we still on for tonight at Lori’s?” Lori’s was a local honky tonk where the gang got together to relieve some tension and stress. That’s where he’d met Melissia. There was always the chance he could accidentally-intentionally run into her again, but from what he’d read, she lived in Boston. That stunk. She was probably back home or on some rich man’s yacht.

“I plan on it,” Nix answered, hearing another chime on his phone that alerted him to a voice message.

Once the two men left, Nix clicked accept and pushed speaker.

“Hi, Nix. I don’t know if you remember me. It’s Melissia Easton. We…uhh…well, we spent the night together—”.

He slammed the speaker on the phone so fast that it popped up and landed on the floor at strappy sandals. He followed thin legs up to a frowning Claire who held a cup out.

Recovering, he plastered a smile on his face. “Is that mine?”

“Yes.”

At the same time that he reached out to take the coffee, she was handing it to him and their hands collided, knocking the cup out of her hand and spilling the hot liquid onto his lap. He jumped up, let out a few choice curse words and hoped there was no permanent damage to sensitive body parts.

“Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh,” Claire repeated like a broken record.

Pushing past the pain on his skin, he patted her shoulder. “It’s okay. Really. It’s okay.” He picked up the cup and shook it. “See, the other half that didn’t spill on me is in here. Thank you.” He took a sip to prove his point but burnt his tongue. “Mother fu—” Seeing her wide-eyed glare, he bit off his expletive and put the cup down.

“I better get back to work.” She raced for the outer office.

Oh shit!

He looked down at his lap and sighed. It was too dark to look like he’d pissed his pants and he guessed that was a silver lining. At least it didn’t get his phone…but then he saw the device…

Oh shit!

He grabbed his cell and gritted his teeth as he watched coffee drip off the corner. He grabbed the first thing he came to which happened to be a T-shirt he was given from a charity and dried his phone.

Across the room he caught Riddle’s smile. “So, I guess the chances of you asking her out are even slimmer now?”

Nix tossed his wet T-shirt at Riddle’s head who expertly dodged it.

Making sure the speaker was turned off, he hit the button to start Melissia’s message from the beginning…

“You programmed your number into my phone while we were at the bar. I’m back in town and I thought maybe we could sit down over a cup of coffee. I have a…,” there was a slight hesitation, “problem of sorts to handle, but if you’re interested call me back.”

Nix’s heart slammed against his ribcage. It was her, the woman who’d been in his every dream, and almost every thought, since they’d parted ways. He started to hit ‘call back’, but he stopped. Hell, maybe he needed to think this over a little better. No impulsive decision ever came without repercussions. They’d had a good time—no, an incredible time—but if they got together, there was a good chance they’d have sex again and she’d leave. She lived in Boston, and according to the internet, she was some reality star who liked dating playboys. Nix lived in the mountains of Wyoming and was married to his career, barely having time to visit his family every Sunday for dinner let alone spend quality time with a woman. How could he invest any more time with someone who lived miles away?

So, he sat his phone down just as the speaker on his desk buzzed. Nix hit a button and Gage Carson’s voice came over the speaker. “Cade? Can you come into my office?”

“Right away, sir,” Nix responded. It wasn’t every day a man got to say that he worked for his hero, and Carson was the bravest that had come along. Awarded the Medal of Honor for saving the most men and women in his career in uniform, Carson was now determined to fight crime on his own soil, and why the Hawks were relied upon. He was a force to be reckoned with, a leader and fair man. Nix hadn’t expected to meet with him today, but he was interested in what his boss had in store. Maybe a new case to tackle? Or congratulations on a job well done today?

Pushing back his chair, he got up and followed the narrow hallway to Carson’s office and knocked. “Come in,” he called from inside.

Opening the door, Nix found his boss seated behind the large, cherry wood desk. He was gray-haired with wrinkles surrounding his eyes and mouth, but he was virile and had large hands that were now pressed flat on the top of the desk. “Cade!” His booming voice gave a glimpse into the man’s authority. “How are things coming along? You know you’re considered family here, son.”

Nix swallowed. Family. He liked that word. Having a large, close family he liked the thought that the men he worked with were more like brothers than co-workers. He’d learned both while in the military and years of working in law enforcement that it was important to give all trust to those around him who had a part in watching his back and possibly would save his life in the future. This was a big reason why he’d accepted the position with Hawks. Upon meeting the team, he’d felt an instant brotherhood among them. And it helped that Gage Carson, a hero among men, had handpicked Nix to come onto the team. That certainly did inflate his ego. “Things are going great, sir.”

“My men have great things to say about you. So far, so good,” Carson sat back in his chair, clasping his long, wide fingers.

Nix shrugged. “It’s easy to do a great job when working with an elite team, sir,” he admitted.

“Have a seat. And cut the sir. Remember, we’re family.” He smiled. “Did you know that your father and I were in the Navy together? Still friends after all these years.”

Nix took a seat in the wide cushioned chair. “He did tell me, si—I mean, Carson. He’s told me stories of days back when you were both on the ship.”

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