Justice for Willa (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) (San Antonio First Responders Book 10)

Chapter 10

WILLA

“Oh my god!”

One moment she was trying to stop herself from wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tight.

And the next?

“Stop!”

She tried to squeeze between the two men and break them apart, but she should have known that was going to be an impossible task.

Landon and her grandfather were almost the same height. Her grandfather was likely an inch taller, but Landon had muscle on his side, and she could see that he was holding back.

“You stay away from my granddaughter!”

“Let go of me,” Landon’s voice was calm, but she could see the color rising in his face.

Willa grimaced at the fist sized mark marring his cheek. She stopped trying to squeeze between the men and ended up wrapping one hand as far as she could around each of their forearms.

“Stop it!”

Landon turned to look at her and her grandfather tried to twist the front of his shirt tighter to close around Landon’s neck.

“Grandpa! Stop!”

That got his attention, turning his head, her grandfather stared at her in shock.

She could understand it in a way. She hadn”t called him that before. Not to his face.

Not even in her thoughts.

Grandfather. Sure.

District Attorney Rogers? Absolutely.

But this was all new for her.

Kissing Landon was too.

Great night for firsts.

Not.

Her grandfather stepped back from Landon and she was finally able to breathe.

From the looks of it, Landon was breathing freely too.

He tugged his shirt back into place, keeping her grandfather in his sights.

Willa turned her own troubled gaze at him too. ”Do you want to explain what that was about?”

Her grandfather pulled back as if he”d been slapped. ”Me?”

She nodded her head emphatically. ”Yes, you.”

”What about him?”

Her grandfather took a step toward Landon, but this time Willa was prepared for it and planted herself between the two.

”No.” She gave her head one shake and then stared up at him. ”Absolutely not.”

”Not what? You don”t think he owes me an explanation for mauling you out in the open air?”

Willa laughed and she could tell by her grandfather”s expression and the sound of Landon”s odd gasp behind her that she”d shocked them both as well as herself.

”I can hardly call what he did mauling.”

”Oh?” Her grandfather planted his fists on his hips as he glared at her. ”Then what would you call it, Willa?”

This wasn”t the time to over think the answer.

She knew it might come back to bite her in the end, but really, she didn”t want to ruin her whole night with his confrontation.

”I”d call it the best kiss I”ve ever had before you pulled him away and punched him.” She saw her grandfather open his mouth to argue and she cut him off verbally. ”And you better hope he doesn”t press charges for assault and battery.”

”Assault and battery?” He echoed the words with a look of incredulity. ”Hardly! I”d argue defense of others.”

”Defense of others?” She scoffed. ”Hardly! I didn”t need defending! I wanted that kiss. I told him that I wanted it. No,” she shook her head and saw the way that her grandfather”s expression brightened, ”I told him that I wanted him.”

That admission made her grandfather gape at her. ”Willa-”

”What?” She tilted her head slightly and looked at him.

”You know,” he gestured at her with a vague hand movement, ”with what you”ve been through... are you sure?”

Something in his words, or maybe it was the way he said it, bothered her.

Like that feeling at the back of your throat that might make you cough or trigger your gag reflex when you weren”t expecting it at all.

She found herself on the verge. The verge of disbelief and maybe even anger.

”That man,” she shuddered at the memory that always rolled through her thoughts at the mention of him, ”tried to kill me. He tried to cut through my throat and blood vessels, but he didn”t...” her voice softened, ”he didn”t assault me like he did to Kimmy. He didn”t come after me for that. He came after me because I tried to save her and take her home.

”I”m not... broken. I”m not weak. I”m not damaged or any other label that you might want to plaster across my forehead. I”m a woman. I”m fully grown and I”m making a difference in this world. Or at least I”m trying to. And if you go around punching every guy that I decide to kiss-”

She stopped talking.

Her words, her thoughts had run away with her.

Her mouth, for the first time in a long time, had rushed on, stampeding toward a cliff, but her thoughts had remained behind.

Veering off toward another direction.

”No. If you punch Landon or take out your anger on him, you”re going to be alone in that. I”m attracted to him, grandpa. I think he”s one of the only good things that I”ve had in my life up until I started working to save women from online predators. If he wants to see where this attraction between us goes? Well, I”m going to be right there with him.

”And if you think you can change that, think again.”

A dark cloud seemed to fall over her grandfather”s features. ”It”s hard enough trying to make a go of a relationship with a man in law enforcement, Willa. But a Ranger? Do you have any idea how many hours-”

”Grandpa!” She moved closer to him until she could place her hands on his upper arms. ”Gramps. Please.”

He settled down almost immediately and she smiled as her breath rushed from her lungs.

”We”ve just kissed. Once!”

His upper-lip curled in a vaguely Elvis-like snarl.

”This isn”t about how many hours he”s going to work. Or even if we will work together as a couple. When we get through the first date, I”ll know more, but,” she held up her hands between them, ”I hope you”ll understand that I”m not going to be discussing what I hope will be my romantic life with you. Okay?”

His exhale sounded more like a growl. Something she wouldn”t want to hear coming from the dark or under a bush. ”I”m okay as long as he understands that I”m not going to stand by and wring my hands if he hurts you or makes you cry.”

She hung her head at that. ”Please, grandpa. We haven”t even had a date yet. This isn”t exactly an actual relationship.”

”Yet.”

She bit into her bottom lip at Landon”s interjection.

Goodness, she sighed, why did he have to push the edge of this particular envelope?

”I don”t recall talking directly to you, Ranger Cooper.”

Willa barely held herself back from looking down to see if there was an actual tide of rising testosterone at her feet.

”This is what I”m talking about,” she gave her grandfather a look. ”I... I”m starting to care for you like family,” she told him, ”but that doesn”t mean that I”m going to be okay with you throwing your weight around in my life.”

She reached her hand back and quickly found Landon”s hand, his fingers easily folding into her own as he stepped up beside her.

Willa felt her face warming with delight. It was nice... No, it was incredible that he didn”t balk at the idea of either gesture. If they kept reaching toward each other... who knew where this thing might go?

”I appreciate that you came over to my house. I”m just not sure why you did.”

Her grandfather straightened his posture and lowered his hands down to his side. ”I wanted to come by and see how you were doing after the taskforce meeting. I know this is something new for you and I wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

Her instinct was to smile and she did.

It was a kind idea. One that she appreciated.

Before he”d clocked Landon for a really good kiss.

”Maybe, next time, call first?”

He nodded and then slowly shook his head. ”That would be a good idea, I think.”

Willa felt Landon squeeze her hand and she squeezed it right back.

”I guess I should head back home,” He hesitated and she didn”t know what to say. ”Unless you two are hungry. I could order something in?”

Willa bit the inside of her cheek wondering what to say and then ended up with the simple truth. ”We just had dinner at my favorite diner. Sorry.”

He nodded and shrugged. ”Well, next time, then. I”d like to see your favorite diner someday.”

The thought brightened her mood. ”I”d like to take you there. Soon.”

They both seemed surprised at her last word. Surprised, but hopeful.

”That sounds like a great idea.” He turned and headed for the stairs at the end of the porch.

Before he made it to the first step, she let go of Landon”s hand and called out to her grandfather.

He turned around and looked back at her. ”Yeah?”

”Thank you for coming to see me. I think... I think we have some work to do getting comfortable around each other. And figure out how to relate to each other.”

Nodding, his smile warmed her. ”That would be a good idea, Willa. Since we are related.”

They both grimaced then and Willa was shocked to see that their expressions were scarily similar. Another connection between them. ”I think,” she shrugged, ”that”s what they call dad jokes.”

He lifted his chin and his eyebrows raised thoughtfully. ”Grand-dad jokes.”

”Right.” She leaned forward and braced her hand on his shoulder.

A moment later, she placed a kiss on his cheek.

”Thanks again for stopping by.”

He stepped back, nodding. ”I”ll make sure to call first.”

”Great,” she agreed and watched him walk out to the end of the driveway where he”d parked his car.

As she watched him drive away, she felt Landon at her side.

”I can”t believe we didn”t hear him drive up.”

Landon”s reply was more of a mumble and she turned to look at him.

”Oh,” she hissed, ”that”s going to bruise.”

She started to reach up and touch his face where he”d been punched, but he leaned away.

LANDON

”Sorry. I wasn”t going to... I mean, I didn”t want to hurt you.”

He wanted to kick himself for leaning away from her.

Honestly, he didn”t even know why he did it.

Pain wasn”t a good enough excuse in his head.

He”d experienced enough pain in his life that a simple touch wouldn”t hurt that much.

Landon knew he”d have to figure it out and quick.

He didn”t want Willa to think he didn”t want her to touch him.

Because he did.

A little too much.

Before she could lower her hand, he reached out and grasped her wrist.

Willa gasped a little, but she didn”t try to pull away.

Landon kept his eyes on hers as he drew her hand closer. He smiled and kissed her fingertip before turning her wrist almost up toward the sky and leaning his cheek against her palm.

”You couldn”t hurt me if you tried, Willa.” He smiled at her bemused expression.

It wasn”t quite the look he”d been hoping for when they”d kissed, but he knew from her words and her open expressions that he”d made an impression with his kiss.

”It”s probably time for me to go.” He hated saying the words, but he knew it was the best thing.

The fact that he wanted to stay so very much was the reason he knew he needed to walk away.

”Oh... Okay.” She stood there until he gently lowered their hands down and gently let go of her wrist. ”I”m sorry about the bruise.”

He shrugged it off. ”I wasn”t going to press charges, you know. Didn”t even think about it.”

She smiled and him and he felt like a damn hero. ”Not even a little bit?”

”Not at all. Once I saw that it was the... your grandfather, I knew why he did it.”

Her eyes widened a little at that and he continued.

”He was protecting you. He didn”t know that you wanted that kiss. So he was trying to protect you. I can”t fault the man for that instinct.”

He tried to keep his hands off of her, but he just couldn”t do it.

Reaching out, he traced his fingertips from her temple down her cheek before slipping his fingers into her hair.

It felt as good as it looked. Silk. Maybe sable.

Heaven against his fingers.

Landon knew that other parts of her would feel as amazing as her hair, but that was for another day.

She leaned into his touch, rubbing her cheek against the palm of his hand.

It did his soul a lot of good to see her leaning into him, craving his touch.

This. This relationship that they were building was going to last.

He felt it, deep down in his soul.

And that was the first time that thought had ever crossed his mind.

No one else had inspired those kinds of thoughts or the passion he felt from just a simple kiss.

”I want to take you dancing.”

Willa leaned back from him, her eyes rounded with shock.

He didn”t blame her.

The thought and the words had come out on their own.

”Dancing?” Her bright smile eased the sting from his loss of control. ”I”m not much of a dancer, but I”m game if you are.”

He nodded and wished that he had his cowboy hat.

It would be a nice gesture to touch the brim of his hat and tell her. ”I”m up for anything with you.”

It was an open comment. One meant to express his current feelings and leave the door open for her to join him.

”But I really do need to get going unless...”

”Unless...” Her voice was almost breathless. ”You want to stay?”

”If you”re concerned for your safety, I”d be happy to. I just know that I need to get some clothes or I”ll be at the office in the same suit and-”

Her laughter broke the odd tension between them. ”Are you kidding? I”ve got a security system that would make Batman jealous. Go.” She lifted her chin toward his SUV. ”You”ll get the alerts if something trips the alarms, right?”

He nodded. ”I can see the cameras and the video feed. I”ll know if something goes wrong, but I don”t think you have to worry about that.”

”No, I don”t.”

She started to walk toward the steps, but he shook his head. ”Go inside and set the alarms, Willa. Once I know everything is set, I”ll go.”

She hesitated for a moment, and he wondered if she was thinking of giving him another kiss.

He definitely wouldn”t turn down a kiss from her, but he knew that if they started kissing again he”d definitely have no problem showing up to the office in the clothes he was wearing.

And he”d be damn happy about it too.

”So, I”ll see you in the afternoon tomorrow,” she reminded him of the schedule that they”d talked about earlier.”

”That”s the deal. I”ll talk to the others in the office about what their progress is like and then I”ll be here to see all the amazing stuff you two dug up. From there, we”ll take the next steps to bring these guys down.”

Willa opened the door and paused just before she stepped inside. ”I don”t know how I got so lucky to have you working with me, Landon, but I”m so happy that I did. I know we”re going to help a lot of people together and that”s... that”s going to make me feel like I”m really doing something right with my life.”

He wanted to argue with her on that.

She”d already done amazing things. Surviving was the most impressive show of courage and bravery that he”d seen. The rest wasn”t just icing, it was honest to goodness good deeds for others.

And she was already planning more if that notebook paper she had tucked away in her pocket was any indication.

”I think I”m pretty lucky to be working with you, too, Willa. In some ways the eight years seems like just a moment, but in others I feel like we”ve lived a lifetime. And now...”

”And now we”re working together to fix things. I like that, Landon. I like that... a lot.”

He gave her a nod in the end as he touched his fingers to an invisible hat brim and once she set the indoor alarm with a satisfying digital chime, he went to his SUV and drove back home.

HIM

He sat there, watching the house.

He watched as she moved around inside.

The shades on the front bank of windows covered most of the glass, but not all of it.

He could see enough.

See when she went into her bedroom.

See the hall light turn off leaving the front room of the house dark and still.

He could sit there and imagine what she was doing in bed.

Waiting for him.

Wanting him.

It had been a long time since he”d seen his girl.

She”d tried to take away his toy.

And then he”d tried to take her life.

But she”d survived and he knew that it meant something.

It had to.

Now he knew where she lived.

That meant he could see his girl.

That meant that he could visit with her, too.

When the time was right.

And it would be right, soon.

Reaching down in the shadows, he gripped his dick through his pants and gave it a good jerk.

Heartbeats later he was painfully hard and wanting her in the shadows with him.

For now, his own hand would suffice, but soon... soon he”d need more.

And he was going to get it.