Page 26 of Saving Her Heart
We jump apart to find Brad Hutchins standing in the doorway, smirking.
"Protecting and serving, Officer?" He makes air quotes around the words. "Looks more like fraternizing to me."
"Mr. Hutchins," I say, keeping my voice level. "What are you doing here?"
"I own a unit in this building. Just checking on my investment." He looks at the water damage with satisfaction. "Shame about all this. Really hurts the property values and I’m sure the insurance will go up, too."
"Did you have something to do with this?" Kendall demands.
"Careful, Ms. Greene. That sounds like slander." He pulls out his phone, making a show of recording. "I'd hate to add that to the list of complaints against you."
"Get out," I tell him. "This is a crime scene."
"Is it? Has a crime been committed? Or was this just negligent maintenance?" He grins. "Guess we'll find out at the next board meeting. Oh wait, you barely survived the last one."
He leaves, whistling cheerfully. I want to follow him, to slam him against a wall and make him confess to all his crimes. But that's not how this works. We need evidence, not my fists.
"He did this," Kendall says quietly. "Him and Valerie. I just know it."
"Probably. But we need proof."
She laughs bitterly. "Right. Proof. Meanwhile, my buildings are being destroyed, my residents are suffering, and I'm just supposed to wait for proof?"
"No," I say. "You're supposed to let me protect you while we find it."
She looks at me for a long moment, then nods. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I'm tired of fighting alone." She gestures at the destroyed lobby. "Obviously, I'm not winning."
"You're not alone," I tell her. "You never were."
Not even an hour later, my phone rings. Captain Ramirez.
"We've got a problem," he says without preamble. "Brad Hutchins just filed a restraining order against you and Kendall. Claims you're harassing him."
"That's ridiculous?—"
"I know. But a judge signed it. You can't go within five hundred feet of him."
"He was just here!"
"Yeah, getting evidence for his case. You need to be careful, Jax. This is getting legal now."
I hang up and look at Kendall, who's watching me with worried eyes.
"What now?" she asks.
"Now we play smart," I say. "No more confrontations with Brad. We build our case properly."
"And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime, I do my job and keep you safe while you do yours."
She nods, then surprises me by taking my hand. "Thank you. For all of this. I know I haven't been... easy."
"You're worth it," I say without thinking.
