Page 24 of Beyond the Badge: Nox

The coffee shop wouldn’t be busy then. That meant less chance of getting busted by someone he knew.

See you there. Make sure you show up. Don’t make me chase you down for the third time, because believe me, I will. I need to get my daily steps in somehow, even if I’m wearing heels.

ChapterFive

Two carsand one familiar Harley were the only vehicles in Above the Ground’s parking lot. If she didn’t already know it was a coffee shop, she would consider the name a bit morbid.

With their connection, why the hell he picked a coffee shop with that name…

She sighed.

After slipping her Benz into the open spot next to his sled, she stared at it for a few seconds, surprised he actually showed up. In truth, she expected to be stood up on this little coffee “date.”

Before heading to Knoxville, she fed her boys dinner and told Devyn he needed to keep an eye on his little brother. She assured them she’d be home soon, before giving them both a kiss on the forehead.

Keenan still loved her kisses and hugs. Devyn, not so much. He got them anyway.

Her sons would only be children for a short amount of time, and she wanted to cherish their childhood while she could.

Her childhood wasn’t the best and she was determined to do better with her own kids. While she wanted to give her boys everything, she also didn’t want to spoil them. She tried to find a happy medium.

But she wasn’t meeting the man calling himself Nox to talk about her kids, she was there to listen.

Heading into the coffee shop, she spotted him sitting alone at a corner table and facing the entrance. She was aware that law enforcement avoided sitting with their backs to the door whenever possible. For a valid reason.

Instead of approaching him, she ordered an iced chai latte at the counter and as she waited for the employee to make it, she turned and stared at Nox’s broad back and shoulders.

She realized every time she’d seen him, he wore a baseball cap. It made it easy to hide his eyes and his thoughts.

But tonight, he wanted to share them. With her.

If he was ready to talk, she was ready to listen. If she could help him, she would. The main reason was, people had been there for her when she lost Mark. She wanted to pay it forward. The same reason she decided to get back to leading a bereavement group. It had helped her, she hoped it would help someone else.

She grabbed her drink and went to the table, rounding it to face him.

She stood there waiting until he lifted his head and asked, “Are you only going to stand there?”

“I’m waiting to see if you sprint for the exit before I sit down.”

He sat back in his chair and raked his gaze over her from head to toe. Before making her family dinner, she had changed into a pair of jeans, sandals without a heel and a pastel pink embroidered V-neck top. She also had her hair pulled back from her face with a rolled pink bandana.

“Surprised you didn’t wear sneakers, then.”

“I can run in these sandals,” she assured him.

When he lifted his coffee cup to his lips instead of springing from his seat to make a quick exit, she pulled out the chair across from him and settled into it. “I take it by your semi-relaxed posture, I won’t need to chase you tonight.”

“I invited you.”

His grumble reminded her of a Harley with straight pipes.

“And you shocked the shit out of me when you did,” she admitted truthfully. She took a sip of her iced chai and sighed with how good it was.

“I have questions.”

Well, look at that, so did she. Though, Aaliyah doubted he’d answer any of them. “I thought you wanted to talk.”

“I want you to talk by answering my questions.”

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