24. Chase
24
CHASE
“ Y ou about ready to go?” I hollered through the house as I let Luna back inside and grabbed her leash off the hook by the door. It was poker night and, after a little coercion, Bridget had reluctantly agreed to go.
It would be her first poker night since that night.
Luna wagged her tail, waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs for her favorite human to come down.
“Shit,” I heard Bridget mutter. She appeared at the top of the stairs. “I haven’t done my makeup yet. Why don’t you just go on? I don’t want to make you late.”
“Bee…” I sighed as I trudged up the stairs.
Bridget was in my bedroom, wrapped in a towel, fresh-faced from the shower. “I don’t have time to do my makeup, and I can’t go like this.” She pointed to her face.
Over the last few weeks, her visible injuries had faded from brutal blacks and blues to light splotches of green and yellow. Bridget would let me see her without makeup on, but still went through an arduous cosmetic routine before she’d let others see her. At least she had gotten a little more confident about going out on her own.
“You look beautiful, darlin’.” I tugged at the top of the towel she had wrapped around her boobs. “In fact—” I tossed it aside and pushed her back onto the mattress “—I think you’re the most beautiful when you’re absolutely naked.”
She let out a loud crack of laughter. “Chase!”
I grinned as I nipped at the soft swell of her breast. “Just like this.”
“You’re gonna be late.”
“ We’re gonna be late,” I clarified before sucking her nipple into my mouth.
Bridget let her eyes close as a deep moan escaped her mouth. Wet tendrils of hair were plastered across her shoulders. “We could stay in and have sex.”
I released her tit with a pop and strummed her clit. “As tempting as that is, I promised Jase that we’d both be there.”
She groaned. “I don’t want to hear my brother’s name while you’re touching me like this.”
“Sorry.” I chuckled. “But if you’re a good girl and go to poker for a little bit, I’ll reward you with some orgasms.”
She peered at me through half-mast lids. The prospect of orgasms perked her up. “I like those.”
“Mhmm.” I nuzzled my cheek against her cleavage. I was fucking obsessed with her tits. “Now, get dressed. The sooner we go, the sooner we can come back and get naked.”
“Or we could just stay in.”
“Bee.”
She sat up and sighed, pulling the towel back around her torso. “I’m not ready.”
“We can be late. Who cares?”
“I don’t mean that, Chase.” Her voice quieted. “I’m not ready to see everyone like that. When they drop by the bar, I’m working. But if I go to poker, I know I’ll have to answer questions, and I’m gonna cry, and I just…”
I took her hand in mine and slid the pad of my thumb over the hair tie that was still on her ring finger. I had proposed again before she hopped in the shower.
“Hey,” I whispered.
She stilled immediately.
I laced our fingers together. “They love you.”
“I know,” she admitted. “But I can’t face them.”
“Don’t cut yourself off. As much as I want to keep you all to myself, you need to see your girls just as much as they need to see you.” I pecked her lips. “And I think Jase might kill me if he doesn’t get a little face time with you. Besides—” I leaned in and kissed the sensitive skin behind her ear “—Luna’s getting pissed that she’s not getting all the extra treats she used to.”
“What do you mean?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Every time I’d show up to poker, I’d give her an extra treat if she went over to you.”
Bridget gasped. “You bribed your dog to be nice to me?” She was shocked, but her tone was laced with amusement. “I thought she genuinely liked me!”
“Luna fuckin’ loves you, Bee,” I said as I eased off the bed. “And you can’t really blame me for doing what I had to do. You were giving me the silent treatment. I couldn’t let you completely forget about me.”
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “I’ll slip her an extra treat while you’re gone. I’m just feeling tired and sore tonight. I should stay in.”
“Bridget.”
“Chase. ”
“Come to poker with me. We don’t have to stay long. As soon as you’re ready to leave, we’ll leave. No questions asked.”
Almost begrudgingly, Bridget flew through her makeup routine and ran a blowdryer over her hair. She looked pretty as a picture in the little white sundress she threw on.
We piled in my unmarked cruiser with Luna and made our way to Maddie and Luca’s house.
“I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in here,” she said as she looked at all the tech that was crammed in the front. “It’s kind of intimidating.”
I pushed the swivel-mounted laptop out of the way so she’d have a little more space in the passenger’s seat. Luna took up the entire back seat like she owned the place. “You get used to it after a while.”
“What’s this?” Bridget asked as she reached across the laptop and plucked a photo from the dash. Before I could grab it from her, she cupped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God.”
“Here we go,” I muttered.
“You still have it.”
“It’s my good luck charm.” I reached across and held her hand. “You keep me safe.”
She was still staring at the photo. “I can’t believe you still have this.” Bridget was dumbfounded. She turned the thumbnail photo from our senior yearbook toward me. “Is this the one, or is it a copy?”
“It’s the same one,” I said, training my eyes on the road. “Never made a copy. Never had to. Always kept it on me.”
Right before we graduated high school, Bridget cut the photo out of her yearbook and gave it to me with the order to stay safe.
She was staying in Beaufort, but I was going to Greenville to get my criminal justice degree at ECU. I wouldn’t exactly be in life-or-death situations sitting in lectures, but I held on to the photo. First, so that I could see her pretty face when I was missing her. Then later, as my good luck charm when I was sworn in as a cop.
“When I was a rookie, I used to keep your picture in my hat. Knowing you were up there helped me keep my head on straight. Helped me make good decisions. One time I got in a foot chase and lost my hat. I was angrier about almost losing the picture than getting sucker-punched by a perp. Now I keep it here.” I patted the dashboard. “And here.” I pressed my palm to my heart.
Maddie and Luca’s driveway was full. I pulled in behind Hannah Jane’s car and cut the engine.
Luna’s tail thumped against the back seat. She knew everyone would spoil the heck out of her, and she was ecstatic.
“I can’t,” Bridget whispered, staring at the house. “God, I can’t face them. I—I lied to everyone. For years. Steve tried to ask me about it once, and I bitched him out. I put Melissa through hell. I kept my brother in the dark…” She choked on her words. “They should hate me.”
“But they don’t.” I reached over and gave her thigh a gentle squeeze. “None of this is your fault, Bee. You didn’t deserve it, and there was no excuse for it.” I sighed. “But they’re hurting, too. I think a little poker and normalcy will do everyone good.”
“Like we’ll actually play poker,” she grumbled as we got out.
I laced our fingers together, walking hand-in-hand as we made our way around to the back door. Luna trotted faithfully beside me.
She tried to wiggle her hand out of mine, but I kept it in a firm hold. “Chase…”
“Hm?” My tone was even, but my poker face was bullshit. It was the first night I was taking my girl to poker. No votes. No asking permission.
“I don’t know how to do this in front of them.”
“Do what? ”
“I dunno… Be a couple?”
I stopped under the dim glow of an exterior light. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna go inside, and you’re probably gonna get hugged, so prepare yourself for that. Then we’re gonna eat pizza. I’m in a hard cider mood tonight, so I might go for that over a beer. You’ll probably sit on the couch with the girls and talk about Maddie’s baby or Mel and Jason’s wedding. The guys and I will sit at the poker table and talk about our fantasy football league. I will definitely brag about getting TJ Bryant Jr. on my team, and will shit-talk anyone who dares to question his record.”
Her brows drew together. “That just sounds like…”
“A normal night?”
She shrugged. “Yeah?”
A smile pulled at the corner of my mouth. “Did you expect me to make you sit on my lap and eat out of my hand or something?”
“I dunno.” She laughed nervously and ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s just… What if they ask about us?”
“I’m not going to lie to them,” I said. “Being your man is the greatest honor of my life.” Leaning in, I kissed her gently. “But if you want me to exercise a little more discretion, I’ll keep my hands to myself until we get home.”
Bridget didn’t say anything else as we walked to the French double doors. I could tell that she was steeling herself for the inquisition—well-intended as it may be.
I whispered, “I love you,” as I put my hand on the door handle.
Her pretty pink lips twitched with a smile. “I love you too. Don’t ever doubt it.”
The moment I walked inside, the man cave went deadly quiet. It was the eerie silence when you walked into a room and knew, for a fact, that everyone was just talking about you.
Every eye was trained on me.
Bridget stepped in behind me and slid her hand into mine, twining our fingers. She looked up at me as she gave my hand a gentle squeeze.
That’s my girl.
“Hey, y’all,” she said, battling a nervous tremor.
Maddie was the first to rocket out of her seat, her long legs eating up the expanse of the room. Tears were already running down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she apologized preemptively. “It’s not you. It’s the stupid pregnancy hormones. I cry over everything now.” She threw her arms around Bridget. “I missed you, babe.”
Bee mumbled something that sounded like, “Missed you, too.”
One by one, Bridget made her way through hugs. Steve brought me a drink, but I didn’t move. I stood beside her as the poker club asked gentle questions about how she was feeling.
“You alright?” I asked quietly when the crowd broke and people meandered back to where they had been sitting. “What do you need?”
Bridget eyed the stacks of pizza boxes on the counter. “Pizza.”
The moment she had a slice on a plate, the girls pulled her into a conversation about the trip to Target they were planning. It was like nothing had ever happened.
Jason tipped his head toward the poker table. I snuck Luna a treat and told her to go hang out with Bee.
“How is she?” Jase asked as he shoveled in a slice of pizza.
I popped the top of my cider. “Up and down,” I admitted. “She’s had a hard time sleeping. Nightmares and stuff. Had her last doctor’s appointment last week. Seems to be healing up.”
He eyed me warily. “She still sleeping in the cottage?”
“Nope.” I wasn’t lying to Jason. He wouldn’t respect me if I did.
Jase hummed something noncommittal.
“Is this where you threaten to kill me if I hurt her?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I saw you at the hospital, remember? Pretty sure the place could’ve been burning down, and you wouldn’t have left her side.”
Jason wasn’t wrong.
Steve took a seat at the table, followed by Isaac, Will, and Luca.
“Any updates on Kingsley?” I asked.
It seemed like everyone had a hand in the pot. Everyone except me.
Steve was spearheading the case. Will had been brought on as a civilian consultant. Isaac and Luca had been calling in favors and paying people off to hunt Kingsley down.
Steve shook his head. “Thought we had a lead at a campground in Little Washington, but it was a dead end.”
“Little Washington?” I took a pull from my cider. “Thought you said he was heading west when he ran?”
“We found the phone,” Will said. “Kingsley wasn’t with it. We found tape residue on it. My guess is, he knew enough about all of us to know that as soon as we found out, we’d start tracking him. I think he taped it under a random car. Either the driver found it, or it fell off.”
“Shit,” I muttered. “So when Bee thought she saw him in the yard during that storm…”
“Could’a been him,” Steve confirmed with a shrug. “Haven’t had any other sightings, but my gut is telling me she wasn’t hallucinating.”
“Everyone up and down the coast is looking for him,” Luca said. “You really think he’d stick around?”
I looked over at Bridget. She was smiling as she sipped her wine and chatted with the girls. She looked happy—the way she should be.
“How can one fucking psychopath evade everyone?” Isaac mused .
Steve glanced at Bridget. I knew that look. Knew what he was going to say.
“Go ahead,” I grumbled. “Say it.”
“Say what?” Jase asked.
Steve leaned back in his chair and scratched his beard. “Bee knows more about him than anyone. She may know something that could help us find him. She just hasn’t been able to remember it yet.”
True to my assumption, we didn’t play poker. The conversation moved on from Kyle Kingsley to this year’s fantasy football league.
I was gonna crush those motherfuckers.
Bridget lasted nearly two hours before she slipped away from the girls and whispered that she was getting tired.
The attack had taken a toll on her physically and mentally. She took a nap almost every day and rarely stayed up late. As soon as she started going back to work, she refused to take another pain pill. Working while injured slowed her down, but she didn’t let it knock her down.
She had a weary look in her eyes, though she was hiding it behind a happy smile as she promised the girls that she would be around more often.
I tossed my plate and bottle in the trash and caught Bridget’s hand.
“So,” Kristin said, pointing her finger at our joined hands. “Is this… Are y’all…”
Bridget cut her eyes at me. “We’re?—”
I didn’t bother looking at anyone other than Bridget. I loved them like family, but she was the one I was in love with.
“Yeah,” I rasped, looking down at her. “We are.”
There were squeals of delight from the ladies and echoes of called it from the guys. But it was all in one ear and out the other .
Because things were finally the way they were supposed to be. Bridget McGrath was my girl.
After another round of hugs, this time paired with congratulations, Bridget, Luna, and I made our way back to my car.
Bridget’s phone vibrated as we crossed the driveway. She pulled it out of the pocket of her dress and swiped the screen.
My arm yanked back as I walked, jolted by her sudden stop. I looked over my shoulder to see what she was doing.
Bridget was frozen. Paralyzed with fear. The hand that held her phone was trembling.
“Bee?” I approached her slowly, not entirely sure what had spooked her.
Her eyes were still locked on the screen.
Unknown
I’ll let you play house for now, but sooner or later, you’ll remember who you belong to.