Page 15 of Three for a Girl

Chad groaned. “You’re awful.”

“But you love me anyway.”

Romeo reached for his glass.

“I do.” Chad whispered.

Romeo paused with his glass pressed to his lips. A smile bloomed across his face and he held up his hand, the red wine swirling as he spoke, “A toast.”

Chad raised his glass. “To what?”

“My Juliet.”

Chapter Three

Chad tried to smile at the DI, but the nerves buzzing in his body made him grimace instead. He’d spent all morning in a hot sweat fearing he’d blurt something out about Romeo as soon as he stepped inside the station.

When Detective Inspector Sharpe met him in reception, Chad wiped his hand on his pants, out of sight of the inspector before shaking his hand. It was a brief touch, but Chad couldn’t stand anymore. The DI frowned at his hand, eyeing it like it might have given Chad a shock.

Even though he was the same age as Chad’s last inspector, Inspector Sharpe looked in better shape. He had hair, and blue eyes that weren’t sunken with fatigue, but Chad wagered he hadn’t had a heart attack through stress from searching for a killer.

“How are you feeling about today?”

Chad looked over the DI’s shoulder to the reception staff gawping at him. Even though he’d worked with them for two weeks, they still gawped, minds filled with a hundred questions they were too scared to ask. The eyes itched on his neck, and the whispers carried to him. They never asked him, but asked each other, speculating and creating more rumors.

“Chad, how are you feeling?”

“A bit apprehensive.”

“No doubt. We’re already working a case—I’m going to throw you in at the deep end.”

“I’m more than ready.”

The DI grinned, and started walking. Chad followed, ignoring all the eyes on him. Most people didn’t recognize him by sight, but his name had been spread around the station. It didn’t matter than he’d been there for six weeks, he was still hot gossip.

Chad Fuller captured not by one serial killer, but two.

The DI opened the door to the incident room, and three pairs of eyes snapped to him.

“I’ll do some introductions before we get to it.”

Chad swallowed, eyeing the detectives eyeing him. He reached for the sore patch on his neck, and pressed until the skin throbbed.

Romeo was at home waiting for him.

“The man on the right is Josh.”

Josh pressed his lips together in a grim smile. Blond hair, big build, tattoo on his bicep. Chad recognized the video game character, some bikini clad action hero. Coffee cups littered his desk, and his phone was clutched tightly in his hand.

“And this is Faye.”

Brown hair with a thick fringe, and bright orange lips. She snapped her pocket mirror shut and slipped it in her jacket. Her eyes were wide, and she didn’t smile at him, but her throat bobbed with a hard swallow.

The DI gestured to the last person in the room. “And Detective Sergeant Ally Coulson.”

“But call me, Ally.”

Her hair had a purple hue to it where the light struck, her thick framed glasses were purple, too. Ally grinned at him, a full blown, nice to meet you kind of grin, and it left Chad stunned. He blinked, then smiled back, moving his gaze across all of them. He was a sweaty mess beneath his suit, but prayed he looked calm and collected. He forced down the urge to bolt and tilted his head in greeting.

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