Page 77 of Protected By West
Or the way she'd crumble to the ground when the news would talk about an officer shot or killed on duty and then she'd wait, pacing between the door and the telephone, her eyes red and raw from tears.
Over the years, those memories had dulled in her head, but after she'd seen the news and then all the follow-ups. Some of the footage online from cell phone cameras showed law enforcement officers wearing SWAT vests. She recognized the faces of the Rangers shown, but the scene was filled with officers, press, and vehicles all over the place.
When reporters tried to interview law enforcement officers, everyone was tight lipped about what happened and after a while all she heard was what wasn't being said.
Her mind was full of all the things they weren't saying.
They said they were going to have a press conference at the San Antonio Ranger Station and that's when she had to turn everything off.
The TV was off.
The internet was off.
All of the possible news notifications on her phone were off.
Sure, some of those notifications might be good ones, but at this point she didn't want any news.
She looked at the bottle ofEspolòn's Reposado Tequilaon her desk and it made her smile. The exaggerated expressions of the skeletons on the label looked really funny after the three or four shots she'd enjoyed.
Well, enjoyed wasn't the word that clearly described it.
The first shot was always like a hard crack of a slap across her cheek. The taste like fire in her throat.
It was only the second and third shots that really brought out the flavors.
It tasted like spicy fruit and caramel. The color of the tequila might help with that impression. Brewed and bottled in Texas, if she was going to pick a liquor to burn out the anger and frustration she was feeling, it was good to pump some money back into the Texas economy, right?
She poured another shot into the glass she always kept in her desk drawer and managed to spill a little on the blotter of her desktop.
It wasn't the only mark on there.
She let out a breath and realized she didn't want to drink it.
She didn't even want to stay there at the credit union anymore.
She'd go home and if the asshole showed up, she could tell him where to step off and then she'd go inside.
And, she growled to herself, if he tried to stop her and talk to her... Well, then she'd call the police!
Smiling to herself, Tracy couldn't help the self-satisfaction of that idea. Calling the police on a Texas Ranger!
Wouldn't it be like stalking?
He had been to her house over and over that night and calling her!
Her anger deflated a moment later.
As angry as she was, she wasn't about to use 911 for a stupid reason. She doubted if she'd ever getthatdrunk.
She sighed and pulled open her desk drawer and took out her purse and her keys.
No, she wasn't that drunk either. But she knew she wasn't going to be able to drive.
She picked up her phone and turned it over so she could open it up and call a ride share car to take her home.
Being more than a little bit angry and feeling childish, she closed her eyes and swept the notifications away.
There were more than a few of them, including texts.
