Chapter 10TUCKER
Chapter 10
TUCKER
Nine.
Ten.
I kept mentally counting to ten, so I didn’t reach out and kill the guy. If I had my way, he’d be locked up for good, because I knew men like him. He was a narcissist and a loose cannon who was about to hurt someone—most likely Patience would be his intended target.
Over my dead body, I thought to myself as I glared at the man that was lying on the ground between mine and Noah’s feet. Noah had the end of a bat buried in his chest, daring the dumbass to move and give him an excuse to use it.
It didn’t take but five minutes before the sheriff arrived and took over Grant, sliding the cuffs on his wrists behind his back. I hope the fuckers were tight. I gritted my teeth, still seething on the inside at the scene Noah and I had walked in on. Three women going up against a volatile man, while others watched on.
My stomach was sick as I thought about the possibility of what he could have done if he had gotten her alone without the customers or her co-workers around. Every instinct I had as a cop told me this guy was a danger where she was concerned, but I also knew at this point the most he would probably get is a restraining order and a slap on the wrist.
That’s one thing about the justice system that I hated. No matter how many warning signs there were, it didn’t matter until something happened. And when something did happen, it was usually a tragedy that left everyone wondering what they could have done to prevent it in the first place?
Rage boiled through my system; unlike anything I’d ever felt before. My patience that I was known for in my career was gone, all because of his inability to walk away from a woman who wasn’t interested in him. All I wanted to do was be there for Patience and protect her from this piece of shit.
I wasn’t here in any official capacity, so saying anything to the locals was not my intention. They seemed to be handling the issue the best they could, given the circumstances and the situation. So, I just stayed in the background, waiting for them to finish taking statements from everyone, and waiting for Patience to come to me.
“Take care of her.” I turned to look at Noah, the guy she’d hugged the night before. His hug had lingered a little too long for my liking that night, but I realized after talking to him, and watching him, that’s just how he was with all women—except the other server, which I found curious.
“I will,” I agreed and pulled my phone from my pocket to check the time.
It was another few minutes before the cops were done taking her statement, and I spent that time talking quietly with Noah while we waited. We exchanged numbers, and he also sent me Griffin and their friend Carson’s numbers as well.
For now, until Grant got it through his head, the three of them would be rotating shifts at the bar to watch over her, and it looked like I had an unofficial part-time job as a bouncer because my ass would be a fixture in the bar when she was working.
“Payton told me to go home,” Patience said as she walked over to me, carrying her stuff.
“Okay.” I stood up and pulled on my jacket and fished my keys from the pocket. Noah followed us outside.
“Patience, give me your keys.” He held out his hand expectantly. She didn’t even attempt to argue but handed them over immediately. “Your Jeep will be in your driveway in the morning. I’ll put the keys in the barbecue pit.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You can text me to come down or go up to my apartment. I don’t want them outside in case he’s watching.”
“You don’t think I can spot someone watching?” Noah looked amused. I knew he was ex-military, like Griffin and Carson. I wasn’t sure what branch they were, but all three of them might as well be wearing neon signs that said they had special training.
“Even if he’s not watching, it’s best not to leave keys accessible to anyone who may be looking for them.”
Noah nodded and smirked. “I’ll concede that point. Fine, I’ll bring them up to your apartment when I bring the car home.”
“Thank you, Noah.” Patience gave him a hug, and he grinned at me over her head, knowing it irritated me. I had to grit my teeth to keep from saying something. My hands were balled up into fists to keep from hitting her friend.
“Patience, unless you want to start a brawl, Darlin’, I think you better stop hugging me so much,” Noah drawled out with laughter in his eyes.
Patience blushed and pulled away from him immediately. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” Her brows furrowed at him.
“I know that, and you know that.” He notched his chin at me. “But Lover Boy over there doesn’t know that.”
If her face was red before, it looked to be on fire after his words, even in the fading light. “Let’s get going,” I uttered, changing the subject and giving her a break from the topic.
“Bye, Noah, and thank you for being here.”
“Always, P. Call if you guys need anything. Griff and Carson know what’s going on, so be expecting calls from them tomorrow.”
Patience let out a small groan. “Do my parents know?”
“I didn’t tell them, but come on, P. In this town, you know it’s not going to stay a secret. The news may have already reached them by the time you get back to the house.”
“Don’t say that,” she grumbled, causing both of us to laugh. “They will never let me leave the house.”
I walked her around to the other side of my new truck to open the door for her. She ducked under my arm and slid onto the bench seat with a final wave at Noah. I exchanged a nod with him as I walked back around to the other side of the truck and climbed in behind the wheel.
“It might be a good idea to take a few days off and lie low a bit,” I suggested, starting the truck and backing out of the space.
“Maybe,” she replied quietly.
I glanced over at her face and knew something wasn’t right. “Hey, what’s going through that head of yours?”
“A lot of things.” She huffed out a half laugh, half sigh.
“Hit me with it.”
She looked at me and partially turned in her seat as much as the seatbelt would allow. “I don’t understand him, Tucker. He seemed sane and reasonable when I agreed to go out with him, otherwise I never would have gone in the first place.”
“What about when you went on your dates?” I wondered, curious as to what tipped her off about him being nuts.
“I don’t know. It was nothing big that stood out and said, ‘Hey, I’m a creepy stalker guy’. I just didn’t vibe with him—not like—” She stopped and looked down at her hands in her lap, cutting off the admission she was about to let out.
“Not like we do.” I finished the sentence for her. My knuckles were white around the steering wheel because I was holding it so damn tight.
“Yeah.” She admitted.
I reached over and took her hand, twining her fingers with mine. The silence settled around us as I navigated the roads back home.
Home . That word meant so little to me for so long, but in a short span of time, Patience had made Brook Cove feel like a home—my home.