Page 12 of Rescued Duty

Shane gives me that same radiant smile he’s had on his face all day. “Yes, it was perfect. Stop spoiling me or I’ll expect shit like this all the time,” he says with a laugh.

Taking his hand in mine, I kiss his knuckles, one at a time. “Whatever you want, Shane. I’ll always give you whatever you want.”

His expression softens and he leans into me, kissing me gently. “You already owe me a dog, Zeke. Let’s do that first and go from there.”

Chuckling, I nod, kissing him once more before driving us home so we can enjoy the rest of our weekend.

Chapter Twenty

Shane

Much to my surprise, Zeke and I were able to enjoy our weekend uninterrupted. After we got back to Mellbind, Zeke took me out for dinner, where we shut the restaurant down, sitting and conversing late into the night. We laughed about things that wouldn’t be funny to anyone else, our inside jokes resurfacing while we talked. When we got back home, I had Zeke’s back against the door, his dick down my throat before he could say another word.

The date was perfect. I didn’t think he’d take a throwaway comment about me never having ridden a horse to heart and book an entire trail ride just for us. I’ve never had a man do anything like that for me before. My heart trips over itself every time I think about it. Zeke is fucking perfect.

But now, it’s back to reality. Duty calls for both of us. Zeke has to pound the pavement and look for Kirk and I have cases.

I shudder to think of what will happen to Kirk when he is found. The guys aren’t lenient when it comes to doling out punishments, that’s for sure.

Brushing that thought aside, I focus on my work for the day. I search through my case files to make sure all the flags that were there last week are gone. I’m glad to see they are. I call Perry and his family, letting them know he’s free to pursue his dreams of joining the military.

With that done, I dive into the case I was assigned; a hit and run committed by an affluent doctor. This is one of the cases the firm would rather I pass on, but when they saw the size of the check the doctor handed over, they shut their fucking mouths and got out of my way. Of course they did. Money trumps everything, including wanting a higher win rate.

There’s no way the doctor will get off. There’s just too much evidence. Even I can’t win this case. After I lost Rax’s case, I only have five other losses over the past eight years, including Rax’s second trial. I have one of the best records in the firm, but this case definitely won’t go in the win column.

Regardless, I get started on his defense, wanting to at least get him a shorter sentence. The doctor refuses to take a plea deal, claiming he’s innocent. I saw the video evidence that clearly shows he’s not, but not taking a deal is his choice. I told him I can better defend him if he doesn’t lie to me, but he didn’t listen. Whatever, that’s on him.

The next few hours are spent going over evidence, writing up notes and having Tucker pull some tomes from the law library. It’s monotonous work, but I make some headway. The best I can get my client is a charge for vehicular manslaughter and fleeing the scene of a crime. Since he comes from an affluent family—one of the first families in the town of Mellbind—he won’t be behind bars for long.

I’m just going through the discovery notes when there’s a knock on my door. Without lifting my head, I say, “Come in, Tucker.” He’s been in and out of the office all day. Not sure why he’s knocking now.

“Tucker your new boyfriend?” Zeke asks with a laugh in his voice.

My head snaps up before I give it the command and my heart gallops in my chest. God, he’s so fucking sexy. I’ll never get tired of looking at him. I beam, walking around the desk to get to him.

Zeke wraps a possessive arm around my waist, kissing me deep. When he pulls away, he grins at me. “You look beat.”

I nod and rest my head against his shoulder. “I am. This case is a bear. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“I’m taking you to lunch. This case will be here after you eat.”

To punctuate that I am in fact starving, my stomach lets out a growl that can be heard across the office. Zeke tsks, giving me a look. Sighing, I nod, grabbing my jacket so he can take me to lunch.

It’s just as well he came by. The office was starting to feel stuffy and I would have gotten up to stretch my legs soon anyway. Sometimes, I get a single-minded focus when I’m working and forget to do things like get the blood circulating in my legs and some fresh air. Over the past few weeks though, I’ve been trying not to take on so much, so I won’t be tired when I’m with Zeke. I don’t have to work myself into the ground to be good at my job. Besides, if I make partner, I’ll have plenty of long nights, so I might as well be gentle with myself before that happens.

Zeke rides with me to a small diner up the street from the firm where they have some of the best burgers I’ve ever tasted. We seat ourselves in the back with a few booths between us and everyone else so we can talk without anyone overhearing us. After we put our orders in, Zeke asks me about my day.

“Long,” I answer simply. “New case that I don’t think I’m going to win, the evidence against him is too strong. He won’t take a plea deal, so we’re going to trial in a few months.”

“That’s too bad. That’ll be more long nights for you.”

“Unfortunately.” Which means less time for us to spend together. We always had to find time to hang out when we were just friends, but it seems as if we only have these stolen moments between us since I work so hard and what he does with the club is so unpredictable. It’s like the minute we expressed our feelings for each other, the less time we get to actually explore them.

“That’s okay,” he mutters, folding his napkin into some kind of complex design. “I’ll just have to bring you lunch and dinner every day to make sure you eat.” He gives me a pointed look.

“What?” I ask in mock annoyance. “I eat. There are plenty of granola bars in my desk drawers.”

Zeke’s eyes bug out, like he’s personally offended. “The fuck? Granola bars? Yeah, when the case gets underway, I’ll bring you lunch.” He shakes his head and mutters under his breath, “Fucking granola bars.”