Page 37 of All of Me

“If that’s the only way I can have you, then I promise,” he said, then reached behind my neck and pulled my lips to his in a kiss. The kiss was soft at first, a gentle press of lips, but it quickly deepened as Shae's tongue sought entrance. I groaned, pulling him closer, my hands roaming down his back to cup his ass. The heat between us was instant and overwhelming. I wanted nothing more than to lift him up, carry him to the bedroom, and make good on my earlier threat.

But a small giggle from the cot reminded us we weren't alone. We broke apart, both breathing heavily. Shae's eyes were dark with desire, his lips red and swollen. It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to dive back in for another taste.

"Later," I promised for a second time, my voice rough.

Shae nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I'm holding you to that."

We turned our attention back to Tammy, who was watching us with wide, curious eyes. The elephant was clutched tightly to her chest, one ear in her mouth. Maxie had woken up and was wagging his tail, clearly hoping for some attention.

"I think someone's hungry," Shae said, reaching down to scoop up Tammy. She came willingly, settling against his chest with a contented sigh.

"I'll finish up that casserole," I offered as Shae took her into the bathroom, and I scooped up a wriggling puppy to take him outside. I was scared—terrified to believe I might have just gotten myself a family.

For however long it lasted.

Chapter Fourteen

Drake

We were all a little bleary-eyed when we met at the office the next day. Tammy had woken up crying almost every two hours through the night, and we’d struggled to decide whether it would be better to bring her bed in with us or not. I knew we needed some advice and thankfully Carol had messaged Shae with the name of the therapist she recommended. Because of Tammy’s age and the trauma she’d endured, we’d managed to get an appointment on Tuesday.

Maxie had refused to leave her, or rather Tammy had refused to let go of him, which meant he’d eventually peed on the new princess rug around three a.m. Leaving either of them was an impossibility, so we rolled into the apartments a little after eleven in the morning looking like we’d been on a six-day bender.

Pink was a huge comfort. She took charge of every single dog and a certain human that we’d realized wasn’t actually three for another three weeks when we checked the paperwork, and shetook them into the living room area. I glanced at Danny, who looked amused in a resigned kind of way that Sadie had deserted him.

He wasn’t fooling anyone, though, as I’d seen the non-verbal command Danny had given her to stand down.

Tammy still hadn’t spoken a word, even though Maxie seemed to understand her and stuck to her like glue. And of course there were three other dogs, each one seeming to think protecting Tammy was their new mission in life. Pink squeezed the life out of Shae and promised him Tammy would be fine while we were in our meeting.

Shae sat down and banged his head on the table. “How do people do this every day?”

Rawlings chuckled. “I was lucky that Pink was already there.”

We all sat at the conference table and Danny once again showed his screen on the wall. “Aisha Greene apparently OD’d four days ago.”

“Apparently?” Shae was quicker than me to question his inference.

Danny nodded. “She was a qualified health care assistant. Good grades. Grew up in a group foster home but was lucky enough to stay in the same one since she was eleven with her twin sister. All her school reports say she worked hard and was well-liked, but then her twin was diagnosed with acute leukemia and died when she was seventeen. Aisha understandably took it badly and went off the rails for a few months. Alcohol and weed, but no hard-core drugs. There’s a witness statement from her work colleague, Zoe Carter, who says Aisha met Tammy’s dad in a bar when she was drunk. They saw each other a few times over the course of four weeks, but when Aisha found out she was pregnant, she sobered up and got her act together and moved to Jacksonville.”

“Did my dad know?” Shae asked.

“According to Zoe, Aisha called your dad, told him she was pregnant, and that was the last time she heard from him.”

Shae glanced at me. “I’m not surprised.”

“The report says the apartment had drug paraphernalia scattered about, but one cop said it was still very clean, so he didn’t believe a word of it, and personally thought it was staged. Tammy was clean and well cared for. Nothing to indicate there were any long-term drug problems. Unfortunately, there's no leads, no current boyfriends. There also doesn’t seem to have been any recent interaction between her and your dad at all, other than three unanswered calls she placed to him over the last month. Family services only knew who he was because his name is on the birth certificate, and he’s still in her phone as Tammy’s dad.”

“I’m surprised she kept his number,” Shae said.

Danny took a breath, glanced at Shae, and I knew what was coming. “According to Zoe, Aisha wanted to go to school to study medicine. Single parent, med school and a full-time job because of Tammy wouldn’t work. Aisha tried to call your dad a few times, but he didn’t respond. She’d already seen a lawyer about suing him for child support payments, but I have no idea how far she got with that. He also has an airtight alibi for her death as he turned up at the ER with symptoms of possible appendicitis. He was cleared and discharged the next morning. Gave an accurate if temporary address on admission.” Everyone was silent, and I reached over and squeezed Shae’s hand under the table.

“A little convenient,” Rawlings drawled.

“Are there any sightings of him in Jacksonville at all?” Shae asked. “Or if he wasn’t answering the phone, is it likely she drove here?”

I glanced at Danny, hoping he could answer Shae’s question. Finding Shae’s dad wasn’t something we’d cared about, but Tammy put a new spin on everything. “I haven’t had time to do adeep dive, but I have a lot of facial recognition programs running and if I get a hit, I’ll let you know right away.” Danny clicked another couple of buttons.

Kane sent Shae an apologetic look. “But isn’t murder a little extreme to get out of child support payments?”

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