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I clear my throat and say, “After last night, I absolutely agree. I’ll get with Spatch to develop a training regimen. Good enough?”
Sadie hops up and grabs another chocolate. “I don’t know. Ask Bash,” she says with a wink.
I shake my head as she walks out, flinging her auburn ponytail behind her. Dodged a bullet right there. Yep. My phone starts ringing before I finish the thought, and I get the feeling I just jinxed myself again. The name of the caller proves my theory.
A groggy voice rings out before I get a word out. “Dammit, Crenshaw. I thought I told you to stand down.”
I jump out of my chair to shut the door, not wanting any passersby to hear this. “It was too late, Detective. He’d already agreed to the meet-up. If I had backed out, I would have lost this guy.”
“I don’t care!” Detective Cooper growls, though whatever medication he’s on has dulled some of his bite. “One asshole isn’t worth putting yourself at risk. Especially when there are hundreds more lined up right behind him.”
I know he’s right, but my eyes water thinking about Amelia. I’d give anything for there to have been someone to stop her killer. “You’re wrong, Detective. If I saved one child, it was damn well worth it.”
The line goes silent after my outburst. When Cooper speaks again, the anger has leached from his voice. “Birdie, I know how you feel. God, believe me, I know. But you’ve got to recognize something very important here. Only big city police forces have enough resources and manpower to dedicate teams for preventing these crimes. God knows small towns have no shortage of monsters and only a precious few people hunting these bastards before they create victims. If no one’s out there stopping these predators, they can do whatever they want. Then, all the police can do is support the victims. And you know as well as I do that some cops don’t care or simply don’t have the resources. If you start taking these guys down on your own, you might end up disappearing one day. Who could you help then?”
Cooper doesn’t know how right he is, and I’ll never forget. Despite all my protective measures, I couldn’t help the shudder of panic when Tom grabbed my wrist. Nor could I temper my relief when I recognized Bastien’s angry roar. He rushed out of nowhere, forcing Tom to let me go and placing me behind his broad back.
I’ve never had anyone stand up for me like that. I also can’t say I’ve ever needed it before, either. Shoving up my sleeve, I study my bruised wrist and decide not to share details of the frightening encounter with Cooper. It would not help the situation. I do stretch the truth a little to get him to calm down. “I wasn’t alone.”
Ok, so Bash had been there by chance, but even without him, I had way too many security measures in place to be in any real danger, no matter how freaked out I was. The lie slides too easily off my tongue. “A former SEAL was with me.”
Like a kid, I actually cross my fingers, hoping he bought it. Cooper doesn’t respond right away, prompting nervous lips to flap again. “Don’t worry, Coop. I’m not going rogue on you, but I won’t miss an opportunity like that. You may not have been able to pick this guy up last night, but he knows he’s exposed. He won’t touch anyone, and if he tries to run, I can track him.”
Another pause and then, “You had backup?”
Though I’m not technically lying, I keep my fingers crossed. “A licensed private military contractor was with me before, during, and after the altercation.”
Cooper huffs and grumbles, “I’m going back to bed.”
“Take care, Coop.”
The call disconnects, and I drop my head into my hands. I’ve lied to four people this morning, via omission or otherwise. Four people.
Hell of a way to start the day, Birdie.
Bastien
“Damn, man, who pissed you off?”
Sweat drips down my face as I force the bar back up, holding ten pounds less than my max. That’s the most I’ll risk without using a spotter. “Nobody,” I grunt in response.
“Let me guess. You’re just giving every piece of equipment in this gym a thorough safety testing, right?”
Cade sits on the bench across from me as I rack the bar and sit up. He’s dressed in civilian clothes, ready to head out at the end of another workday. “What do you want, Cade?”
Used to my brusque demeanor, Cade doesn’t ruffle at my angry tone. “Nothing. Just heard somebody clanging around in here and thought I’d check it out.”
Swiping a towel across my face, I say, “Nothing to check out. Just working on my figure.”
“Not going there,” he laughs before asking what he really wants to know. “So, what was with you this morning? I was looking forward to kicking Sadie’s ass for that bloody nose she gave me last week.”
Glancing outside, I look for Birdie’s car to be sure she hasn’t left yet. It’s still there, so I face Cade again. “Should have kept your hands up.”
“That’s what she said,” Cade mocks in his awful Michael Scott voice.
Movement outside the window catches my eye, the appearance of Birdie signaling it’s time to go. I jump off the bench and shake out my arms. “I’m out. See you tomorrow.”
Cade grips his chin in one hand and muses, “Hmm. Urgent need to spar with Sadie, and now you’re on two-a-days?”
