Chapter Four
Rachel can't remember that last time she was so happy a shift was over, as she was tonight. Blake drilled for the all the details about what happened between her and Jay, and she was still jet-lagged from her training in Dallas and looking forward to being off for the next twenty-four hours to catch up on her sleep. She waved goodbye to the morning crew and grabbed her backpack. She was looking down at her phone as she approached her car. The worn black cowboy boots caught her attention first, followed by long, muscular legs that led to a perfect bulge between his thighs. Stop it before you drool, Rach. Slowly, she lifted her head and saw Jay, leaning against her hood, holding coffee and doughnuts.
"That's kinda cliché isn't it, Jay? You know, cop and doughnuts," she said, trying to break the tension with a joke.
"I got your favorite—chocolate chip," he said, holding the bag open for her to smell. "I need to go over what happened at the gas station yesterday. Can you spare a few minutes?"
She grabbed the bag and coffee from him and walked over to the old worn-down picnic table beside the fire station. She bit into the chocolate sin and, holy crap, they were still warm. She watched as Jay took the seat across from her and took a long swig of his coffee.
"I talked to Gracie, yesterday; she and Zach are coming home Friday," Jay said, clearing his throat.
"That's great. I've missed her so much."
"Me, too. She sounds really happy," he replied.
She could see the love for his sister gleaming in his face.
"I know you are tired and need sleep, but can you tell me everything you remember about the call yesterday?"
Rachel went over in detail from start to finish about the call. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary for her. She just assumed a gas pump accidentally exploded. Apparently, there was another explosion a few days earlier and he thought they were connected. She watched him take meticulous notes. For a man, he had beautiful handwriting. His fingers were thick with a dark smattering of hair on them. She blushed, thinking about what Jay had done to her with those fingers.
"Rach? Hey, you with me?"
"Yeah, sorry, I'm just tired. It was a long shift," she said, attempting to regain her composure.
"I think I have all I need, right now. If I need anything else, I'll give you a call. You should go home and rest," he told her, getting up to leave.
She sat there watching him as he stood. She knew she should keep her mouth shut and get in her car and go home. She was too tired for this, right now. But she couldn't just let him leave.
"Are we every going to talk about that night, Jay?" she asked, biting the bullet.
He stopped, and she heard him suck in a deep breath. "Are you sure you want to have this conversation here, Rachel?" he asked, slowly turning around to face her.
"I don't want to lose our friendship Jay, but there's something between us," she began.
"Rach, you know I don't do relationships; that's not me."
"That's a cop-out, Jay. How do you know, unless you try?"
"I can't give you what you need or deserve. A home with 2.5 kids, that's not me. I will just end up hurting you and making you hate me. That would destroy me, Rach. You and Grace are all I have in the world."
The look in his eyes told her that he really thought that. She wasn't sure she could convince him otherwise, but she wanted to try.
"I could never hate you, Jay, I l—" Before she could get the words out, he stopped her with a soft kiss.
He leaned his forehead against hers, her hands on his chest. She could feel his heart beating fast through the thin layer of his black t-shirt. "Don't say it, please." He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "I can't say it back." He climbed in his SUV and drove away. Somehow, she made it to her car with wobbly legs she wasn't sure could hold her up. She would not cry. Another lie, she told herself.
Numb, she let herself into her small apartment. Normally, coming to her cozy place after a shift brought her joy, but not today. She threw her backpack on the couch and took a quick shower. She pulled on her NFD t-shirt and crawled into bed. She checked her phone and saw a missed call from Grace. She tried to call her back but the phone went straight to voicemail. She would try her again later. Feeling drained, she finally drifted off to sleep.
***
"Let him go, Jay, shit, man." He felt Mike's hands around his shoulders. "What in the hell has gotten into you?"
"Nothing. Sorry, man," he said as he let Scooter go. This guy had to know more than he was telling them. After his heart to heart with Rachel, this morning, he and Mike had followed up on every lead that Scooter had given them—and nothing.
"Go walk it off; I got this," Mike said as he ushered Jay out of the room.
What the hell was he doing? He was a good cop and didn't treat suspects this way. The conversation with Rach kept playing his head. He knew he hurt her and that gutted him. Better a little hurt now than breaking her heart completely. When Jay first met her, they argued all the time. His favorite thing to do was to grate on her nerves. Then, when Grace almost died, things changed. They became so close, and she became someone he had to have in his life. He supposed, if he would allow himself to picture himself with someone, it would be Rachel. But what happens when it ends?
She would hate him and be lost for good. That couldn't happen. His parents had a perfect marriage to the outside world and probably even to Grace. They hid things from her, but Jay saw. He would hear them fighting, tearing each other to pieces. His dad would leave the house angry while his mom would cry herself to sleep. They were both good people. Just not together. Of course, there was the guilt Jay felt about their death. They were coming to see him play. They died in an auto accident, but what he never told anyone is that they were arguing and his dad lost control and didn't see the other truck. If they hadn't been in the car, coming to see him, they would have never died in that accident.
The ringing of his cell phone brought him out of those dark thoughts. There'd been another explosion. He hurried down the hall to interrogation and got Mike. This one was only five minutes from the police department, so they made it there the at the same time as the fire truck and rescue squad. This Music Valley Gas was small and only had two gas pumps. Flames were billowing out of the entire building. Even though the store was smaller than the others, it appeared the explosion was larger. They stood back and let the firefighters put out the flames. He recognized a few of the guys; they were from Rachel's and Grace's house.
It didn't take long before the flames were put out. The only person injured was the store clerk and his injuries were minor. Mike went back to the SUV to call in the crime scene, and Jay went in search of the fire chief, when the first shot rang out. He dove for the chief and they took cover behind the fire engine. Jay crouched down with his gun out, trying to locate the shooter. Before he could, a second shot rang out, and to his horror, he saw an officer go down. He yelled for everyone to get down as he tried to see where the shots were coming from. He radioed Mike, who was pinned down behind the SUV. There were several tall buildings around, and it was getting dark. They were sitting ducks.
The SWAT team arrived and searched each building. Jay hadn't heard a shot in over ten minutes, so more than likely, the shooter was gone. He holstered his gun and checked on the officer who was being loaded in the ambulance. It appeared his injury was a shoulder wound and he should be fine. That was a relief.
"Is this what this fucker wanted the whole time?" Mike yelled. "Take shots at innocent people?"
"We have to get this asshole, now!" The anger was palpable in Jay's voice, as well.
"Mike, they found the shooter's perch. I'm going to take a look, see if we can get any video footage from the buildings across the street."
Jay's legs were shaking by the time he made up the stairs to the rooftop of the bank. All he could think about was how grateful he was Rachel wasn't there. And thankful no one died tonight. The shooter didn't leave much behind but he would have crime scene go over every inch, anyway. He looked around one more time and toed something brown with the tip of his boot. Jay put a glove on and picked it up. It was a cigarette butt. It looked like, in the shooter's hasty retreat, he left something behind. He bagged it and handed it to the crime scene tech, leaving instructions to notify him immediately, when they had something.
Once in the stairwell of the building, he fished his cell out of his pocket and dialed Rachel's number. Even if she was mad at him, he needed to hear her voice.
"Hey, Jay."
The sound of her husky voice was what he needed right now. Loud music was playing in the background and he could have sworn he heard a male voice.
"Rach, where are you? Who are you with?"
"What do you want, Jay?"
"Tell me where you are, right now." He came off sounding like some jealous psychopath. Hell, right now, the green-eyed monster was eating him up at the thought of her being with another man.
"I'm having a drink at the bar downtown. It's my night off. Now, if you don't need anything, I'm hanging up."
"Rachel." The line went dead.