Page 15 of Catch
MILES
“You feeling better?”Linc asked as I walked into the station the next day.
“What?” I blinked, too distracted by my own thoughts of the pretty blonde I had sleeping in the room next to mine.
Instead of asking again, he just looked at me, a mix of confusion and concern in his eyes, then shook his head like I’d lost my mind.
“Oh yeah,” I muttered, remembering I had told him I was sick. I started faking a cough trying to sound convincing. “Just a little cold.”
Linc was my best friend, someone who had known me since we were kids, and there was no way in hell he was buying the bullshit I was trying to give him. Not even for a second. He knew me too well, and he wasn’t letting me get away too easily.
“A cold? When has a sniffle ever stopped you?”
“It was more than a sniffle,” I tried defending myself. “It was also a cough and…” Fuck, I couldn’t think of anything else that remotely sounded like a cold symptom. All I could think to do was turn around and walk away before I could dig myself any deeper.
“Are you sure it wasn’t organ failure?” Linc called after me, his voice loud enough to make everyone in the station glance up. “Maybe a severe infection? Or shit, maybe you had an electrolyte imbalance? Because it was definitely something that caused a little delirium.”
Lord, if only he knew.
And I wasn’t about to tell him.
Linc was the second biggest Loxley Adams fan I knew, right after Jesse. The night Loxley played in Harmony Haven, Linc was supposed to be on duty with me, but he somehow ended up in the crowd, swaying and belting out every song like he was part of the show.
Afterward, he came to my house still riding high on the music. He spent two hours talking about how much he wished he could’ve met her. He even mentioned howmaybeif he’d gotten the chance, he could’ve ended up with her. As if someone like her—famous, talented, and impossibly beautiful—would drop everything and fall for a small-town cop.
He was the one who was delusional.
So, no, he’d never know that Loxley Adams was in my house. Nor would anyone else. Even my body cam had been turned off when I pulled her over. And I never made a report for her stop, either. But it wasn’t like I was policing the streets of New York City. This was Harmony Haven, where the stakes were smaller. My captain wouldn’t ever notice the body cam being off unless something happened. And it hadn’t.
I was just about done trying to convince myself I wasn’t lying, and sign out for patrol, when Captain Sullivan called me into his office.
“I need two minutes,” he gruffed, waving me in before I could respond.
“Sure thing,” I nodded, already feeling a tight knot in my stomach. I stepped into his office, shutting the door behind me. “Everything okay?”
“I wish it were,” he sighed, sinking into his chair and motioning for me to sit as well. “But I had a very sensitive situation come across my desk this morning, and I need to read you in.”
I’d sat down automatically, as instructed, but as soon as his words hit me, I was on my feet again. “Fill me in.”
“This doesn’t leave this room,” his eyes locked onto mine and he pointed at me. “I chose you for this because you’re the one I trust the most.”
“Of course,” I reassured him, though the words felt strange since I had just spent five minutes trying to assure myself that I hadn’ttechnicallylied to him when it came to the traffic stop on Loxley.
He leaned back, releasing a slow, deep breath before sitting forward again, motioning for me to take a seat again. Which I did, as he asked, “Do you know who Loxley Adams is?”
Oh fuck.
I felt my face drain of color. I couldn’t think of the right answer even though a simple “yes sir” would have worked.
“She performed at the Harmony Haven Music Festival a couple months ago,” he added, like I needed the reminder, though I could already feel my stomach twisting.
He was trying to help me remember, but I really just needed him to give me a minute to prepare myself for whatever he was about to tell me about my new roommate.
Was she in some kind of trouble? Was there more to her story than she’d led me to believe?
“Yes,” I finally blurted. "Indeed."Who the hell said the word, “Indeed?” Maybe I should just turn my badge in, I wasn’t any good at hiding anything.Captain Sullivan thought he couldtrust me, but I wasn’t even sure I could trust myself at that moment. Just the name Loxley Adams, had my heart racing.
“Well, I’ve been notified that she’s gone missing,” he shook his head like the news he just delivered to me was tragic. And I guess it would have been if Lox wasn’t in my house. "It’s being kept quiet for now. Hitting the desks of the captains in surrounding areas, so we know to keep an eye out. I’m gonna need you on high alert. You know what she looks like, and they’ve sent a picture of her as well."
