“Hey, Myla.” I closed the patio door behind me as I joined Myla out on the desk. She was leaning on the wood railing watching Seven sniff around the yard.

I handed her a cup of tea as she looked up at me. “Thanks.”

“How’re you holding up?” I asked.

She shrugged. “You know, after my mom died and I finally got over the injuries from the accident, I thought that was the worth shit I would ever have to deal with in my life. This is just fucking with me more than I expected it to.”

I had never talked to Myla about her accident. I never wanted to dredge up those shitty memories for either of us. “I never told you this and I probably should have, but I was one of the responders that night. It was my first really bad accident.”

Myla’s eye grew ten times as she set the steamy mug down onto the wood ledge. “What? How come you never said anything?”

“I didn’t know how to bring it up and it is all kind of crazy how small of a world it is. After that night, I never thought I would see you again.”

“Was it as bad as I think it was?” Her voice was barely audible.

“It was pretty bad, but your mom didn’t suffer,” I lied. I needed to. I didn’t know how to tell her what I had witnessed.

“Did you talk to her?” Myla’s fingers gripped my forearm as her eyes watered.

“She asked me to make sure that you were all right,” I responded. “With her last breath she was making sure that you were taken care of. Myla, I promised her then that you’d be all right and I am keeping that promise for as long as I am alive. I will always do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

Myla wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing me with all of her might. “Thank you so much.”

* * *

After running to get the squad car and dealing with a few of Myla’s freak-out moments, I finally was able to sneak away and get Jess alone for a few minutes.

“Hey babe.” I walked out onto the back porch where Jess was sitting.

She smiled up at me, reaching her hand out for mine. “Hey you. I could get used to the sound of that.”

“Babe?” I asked, leaning over to kiss the top of her head.

“Yep.”

“We never got to have that talk this morning.” I sank down onto the chair next to Jess, pulling hers over so we were face to face. I wrapped her cold hands in mine, looking into her bright sapphire eyes.

She sighed, staring down at our interlocked fingers. “Do we really need to talk it out?”

Her question took me by surprise. “It was your idea to do so.”

Leaning back in her chair, she relaxed her shoulders. “This is how I see it: we’re together. That ship sailed when you kissed me the other night. We’ll be as professional as possible, and when it gets to the point that we have to let the captain know, we will. I don’t want to stress. I don’t want drama. I just want you.”

Relief washed over me as I kissed the back of her hand. “How did I get this lucky?”

A small smirk perked her cheeks up. “I don’t know babe, but I feel the same.”

* * *

Pulling off my shirt, I threw it over to Jess as she sat on the end of the bed in the guestroom. “You can sleep in that if you want. I’ll take the couch downstairs.”

Her brow furrowed as she held her hand out for me. “Why wouldn’t you sleep in here with me?”

I walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “To be honest, I’m going to be up all night checking this damn house. I don’t want to keep you up.”

She sighed. “Well, if you’re going to be up, I might as well keep you company.”

I walked up the side of the bed, pulling the comforter down. “One of us needs to get some sleep, and I would much rather it be you than me.”

“You don’t think the idiot would come here with a squad car out front and a house full of people, would you? How would they even know where Brayden lived?”

The bedsprings cried under my weight as I sat next to Jess. “They were able to figure out where Gavin lives, and an LLC technically owns that condo, so it is very hard to trace it back to him. I think she was following one or both of them. Who knows if it’s a dangerous person or not, but I am not going to let Myla and Gavin find out the hard way—not to mention, we have a baby in the house, and the woman I love.”

The word permeated the air. I tried to take it back, but it was too late. I had said it. It was the truth, but it was too soon.

Jess put her hand on my knee. “I get it,” she said softly as she looked me dead in the eyes. “I love you too. I know this entire thing is messy. We jumped into the middle of a relationship. It’s not going to be conventional. This is going to be different. We aren’t going to go through the beginning stages of dating, the awkward getting-to-know-you questions, the weird meeting the family shit, the is it too soon to have sex bullshit, and I am so beyond thrilled because the middle is the best part. It’s when you get comfortable, when you get to be goofy and have fun and not worry if you look fat in those jeans or if I should wear makeup to bed. You’ve already seen me at my worst and best and you’re still here, choosing this. That’s what matters.” Her hand landed firmly on my leg. “Now that’s enough of the sappy shit. Put your shirt back on and let’s go do a legit stakeout. I’ll make the coffee.”

I cracked my neck. “Jess, please sleep.”

“Do not tell me what to do. We’re partners, remember? You ain’t gonna get rid of me that fast. Besides, it’s about time we had some action on this job.”

* * *

With big thermoses filled with hazelnut coffee, we sat in the front of the cop car in the driveway of the house.

“Do you have any ideas who it could be?” Jess asked after slurping loudly.

I glanced over at her. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Gavin or Myla, but I have a weird feeling that it’s Marsheila.”

“Gavin’s ex that left him at the altar?” Jess’s eyes were wide as the name registered.

I nodded. “I know I’ve seen that handwriting before. The day she left Gavin, there was a note, and I’m the only one other than him who has ever read it. I burned it the night after she left him. I didn’t want him to ever read it again.”

“Why?”

I hung my head. “He was already in pain, and he’s my friend—I wanted to spare his feelings. I know it wasn’t my place to do that, but at the time, I felt like I was doing the right thing.”

Her dainty hand landed on my forearm. “I think it was very thoughtful of you.”

“Thanks.” I ran my index finger over the back of her hand, up her arm, and down her collarbone.

“You know only one of us has to be alert at a time.” Jess had a devilish sneer as her eyes narrowed.

I chuckled. “With how crowded it is in the front seat with the computer and everything, I don’t think we can pull that off.”

She sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Dammit.”

“But…” A light bulb went off, but I was scared she was going to think I was fucking insane. “That doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself, you know, with me here.”

She sat up a little straighter, shifting to pull her left knee up to her chest. “Would you like that, babe?” Jess unzipped her jacket, pulling her tank top neck down below her beautiful, full breasts, revealing that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

I chewed my lip as I watched her tease her perky nipples. Low moans started as I glanced from her out to the road. Not being able to give her my full attention was kind of exhilarating.

“How do you do it when you’re alone?” I asked, reaching over to run my thumb over her lower lip right after she licked it.

“Let me show you.” She shimmied her yoga pants down around her ankles, pressing her back against the door. With her eyes locked on me, she started to run her right middle finger between her slick folds as her nails dug into her left knee, which she was holding up to her chest.

“First, I tease myself a bit, nice and slow, just like this,” she explained as her back arched and her head rolled toward the window a bit. “I never rush it. The buildup is the best part.”

I tugged at my jeans to move the zipper away from my hardening cock as I took in one of the sexiest sights I had ever seen in my life.

Gradually, Jess started to slip her index finger into her wetness, going farther and faster every time. I watched in awe as my girl worked herself into a frenzy of panting and moaning. Her eyes slammed shut, her back arched, and her mouth opened slightly.

“Fuck, Sean!” She cried as her body shuddered.

“Yes, baby. Do you like playing with yourself with me watching?” I reached over, plucking at her hardened nipples as she flew over the edge.

“Yes, so much,” she moaned as she came down from cloud nine.

“Best fucking stakeout in history.” I winked at her.

As she fixed her clothes, she commented, “We’re going to have to stop doing shit in this car or I will never be able to be in it without getting drenched and having my mind in the gutter.”