Page 22 of Love Me Fierce

My worry about this fight being a sign that Logan’s past is surfacing tightens the knot in my chest.

“Glad you got through it,” I say, my tone heavy.

He nods at my computer screen. “What are you working on?”

“That stolen Taurus I pursued might be the same one from Glory Holes last Saturday.”

He arches an eyebrow. “Happy hunting.”

When he disappears behind the cubicle divider, I return to fast-forwarding through the footage. I fly through the early morning when Nate arrives to open, followed by Miranda. The film is silent, and only in black and white, but it’s relatively detailed. The parking lot fills up a few minutes before six and a steady stream of cars and customers speed by the camera on the corner of the building as the light changes with the sun’s movement. I don’t see a maroon Tauruswagon. At nine, I slow the video to 1.5 speed and just catch the tail end of my arrival.

At nine fifteen, Vivian’s Kia cruises into the lot. She helps Mateo out, and with their hands clasped, they pause at the back of their car to check both ways before crossing to the entrance. Even though it’s my job to catch bad guys, it feels weird watching her like this, like I’m invading her privacy.

Vivian resisted pursuing any kind of legal action against this driver, but it could be connected to the stolen vehicle case I caught this morning, so I have a duty to investigate.

I get a feeling she’d object though. Strongly.

Just as Vivian and Mateo disappear from the camera’s view, a Taurus station wagon creeps in and disappears. That end of the parking lot has no exit, so either he’s parking, or maybe turning around. He stays out of sight, almost like he knew the camera was there.

I stop the film and go back, slowing it down. I compare the license plates.

They’re the same.

Leaning back, I coax a full breath in and out of my lungs, willing the pieces to fall into place. How are these two incidents related? Do I have some homeless nutjob zigzagging all over my county for shits and giggles? A tweaker high off his gourd? Or is Vivian at the heart of it?

In the frozen image on my screen, the driver’s wearing a baseball cap with the brim shading his face. He’s male, Caucasian, and I would guess between mid-twenties and maybe forty. Not very specific but anything helps.

I play the video but no one with a baseball cap enters the donut shop. He could have pulled into the parking lot to make a call or for any number of reasons. Or he could be there because he followed Vivian.

My stomach knots.

On the screen, Vivian steps outside, her focus on Mateo. Theincident unfolds just like I remember. A maroon car flies from the right, Vivian yanks Mateo into her arms, dropping the bag of donut holes and her tea to the pavement, and the vehicle disappears.

I stare at that last frame, where I have a hand on Mateo’s back with my eyes locked on Vivian. She’s looking up at me, frustration in her eyes.

In that moment, I thought her fire was directed at me. But now I’m not so sure.

This incident on its own wouldn’t necessarily signify Vivian’s in trouble. But when I consider the way she fled the minute I stepped through the door…

Why is my hand on Mateo’s back?

I tell myself it’s instinct. I’m a parent, too, after all.

Only I can’t remember doing something like that in other emergencies, and I’ve responded to plenty of calls involving kids.

Nate’s question replays in my mind.Vivian’s okay, right?

Truthfully, I don’t know.

And I’m considering breaking all my rules to find out.

Chapter Seven

VIVIAN

SeeingEverett again should not turn my legs to jelly, but the minute they’re gone, I slump into my chair and put my head in my hands. It’s not fair. I bought that vibrator to help me satisfy whatever stupid urge Everett somehow sparked so I could put itandthoughts of his hands on my body to rest. Permanently. But it’s not working. Why does he have to look so damn good in that uniform? Why does he have to be such a compassionate, caring dad?

When I walked into Glory Holes and saw him sitting there, those steady, gorgeous eyes on me, I got flustered. How could I not when the object of my nightly explorations since I put that vibrator to use was sitting right there? It’s his fault I didn’t see that car. Then he suggests that I make a report. Like hell.Yes, officer, I know exactly what happened. I was daydreaming about your mouth on my body and must have missed that asshole driving like a maniac.

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