and they’ve dumped the position of receptionist, putting a uniform on desk duty. The City Council is taking over as Chief and the Cap will report directly to him. That’s a loss of ten personnel. Just Fuller’s salary was over six figures, his inner sanctum also were overpaid. They’re saving a fuckload on that.”
“Is your job safe?” I asked quickly and I watched his mouth get soft.
But his tone was strange, it sounded slightly self-deprecating when he answered, “Yeah, no way they’re gonna get rid of the savior of CPD.”
“Chace,” I whispered but said no more because I didn’t entirely get what he said or, more to the point, how he said it because he was the savior of the CPD. People were dying, his wife being that people, and others were getting framed and doing time for crimes they didn’t commit. Chace and Frank Dolinski had taken grave risks working undercover locally for Internal Affairs in order to witness, document and uncover the corruption that had infested CPD and kept the entire town of Carnal under the thumb of a small-minded, bigoted, self-important tyrant for over a decade. Everyone knew that.
“I’ll look into this library shit,” Chace offered, taking me from my thoughts.
“What can you do?” I queried.
“Ask around. Find out why CPD cut back spending by hundreds of thousands of dollars and, on the heels of that, we’re gonna lose our library.”
“You don’t really have to do that,” I told him.
“You’re right. I really don’t. But I’m gonna.”
I drew in breath.
This was nice too.
Then I whispered, “Okay,” and after that, I took a sip of coffee.
He took a sip of his and aimed his eyes out the windshield.
“Now,” I started carefully, “you were going to show me –”
“Fuck,” he muttered and I saw his eyes were focused on something.
“What?” I asked, turning my head and whispering, “Holy frak,” at what I saw.
The boy was by the return bin. He was crouched, looking through the bags I left him.
I held my breath and I didn’t even notice my hand shooting out and blindly finding Chace’s. Not even when his fingers closed around mine.
We sat, still, silent, watching and holding hands as the boy found my note, read it quickly and shoved it in the bag. Then he shoved some books into the return bin and snatched up all the handles on the bags. Darting a glance left and right but not behind him where we were, he crept around the front of the library and disappeared.
“I’m gonna follow him,” Chace muttered and I heard his door open.
My hand clenched his and he stopped folding out of the truck to look back at me.
“Don’t scare him,” I whispered.
“I won’t, baby,” he whispered back, squeezed my hand, let it go then angled out of my SUV.
He closed the door and I watched him jog to the library and around it until he disappeared.
My eyes shifted to the dash and I saw he’d left his coffee cup there.
I looked to mine, the one he bought me.
I felt the heat pumping in my car, making it warm and cozy.
My eyes went back to his coffee cup and my mind decided I really should get that bronzed. And mine (when I was done). And maybe my passenger seat. And possibly my hand that he squeezed.
Then it hit me all that just happened, Chace showing up with coffee, us talking and it seeming normal if you didn’t count him calling my ass “sweet”, me a “pretty woman”, telling me I was cute and teasing me, that was.
It was like we were friends.
Friends that danced at midnight.
Jeez, I needed to stop hiding and have the girls over for dinner and margaritas as soon as fraking possible.
That was, after I figured out if I should call Chace in an hour or two and find out what he found out about the boy.
* * * * *
Chace
Chace walked up the street, eyes on the library.
He’d never really noticed it, even knowing Faye worked there.
Now, knowing she might lose her job and the town might lose its library, he did.
An attractive building.
“Is your job safe?” I asked quickly and I watched his mouth get soft.
But his tone was strange, it sounded slightly self-deprecating when he answered, “Yeah, no way they’re gonna get rid of the savior of CPD.”
“Chace,” I whispered but said no more because I didn’t entirely get what he said or, more to the point, how he said it because he was the savior of the CPD. People were dying, his wife being that people, and others were getting framed and doing time for crimes they didn’t commit. Chace and Frank Dolinski had taken grave risks working undercover locally for Internal Affairs in order to witness, document and uncover the corruption that had infested CPD and kept the entire town of Carnal under the thumb of a small-minded, bigoted, self-important tyrant for over a decade. Everyone knew that.
“I’ll look into this library shit,” Chace offered, taking me from my thoughts.
“What can you do?” I queried.
“Ask around. Find out why CPD cut back spending by hundreds of thousands of dollars and, on the heels of that, we’re gonna lose our library.”
“You don’t really have to do that,” I told him.
“You’re right. I really don’t. But I’m gonna.”
I drew in breath.
This was nice too.
Then I whispered, “Okay,” and after that, I took a sip of coffee.
He took a sip of his and aimed his eyes out the windshield.
“Now,” I started carefully, “you were going to show me –”
“Fuck,” he muttered and I saw his eyes were focused on something.
“What?” I asked, turning my head and whispering, “Holy frak,” at what I saw.
The boy was by the return bin. He was crouched, looking through the bags I left him.
I held my breath and I didn’t even notice my hand shooting out and blindly finding Chace’s. Not even when his fingers closed around mine.
We sat, still, silent, watching and holding hands as the boy found my note, read it quickly and shoved it in the bag. Then he shoved some books into the return bin and snatched up all the handles on the bags. Darting a glance left and right but not behind him where we were, he crept around the front of the library and disappeared.
“I’m gonna follow him,” Chace muttered and I heard his door open.
My hand clenched his and he stopped folding out of the truck to look back at me.
“Don’t scare him,” I whispered.
“I won’t, baby,” he whispered back, squeezed my hand, let it go then angled out of my SUV.
He closed the door and I watched him jog to the library and around it until he disappeared.
My eyes shifted to the dash and I saw he’d left his coffee cup there.
I looked to mine, the one he bought me.
I felt the heat pumping in my car, making it warm and cozy.
My eyes went back to his coffee cup and my mind decided I really should get that bronzed. And mine (when I was done). And maybe my passenger seat. And possibly my hand that he squeezed.
Then it hit me all that just happened, Chace showing up with coffee, us talking and it seeming normal if you didn’t count him calling my ass “sweet”, me a “pretty woman”, telling me I was cute and teasing me, that was.
It was like we were friends.
Friends that danced at midnight.
Jeez, I needed to stop hiding and have the girls over for dinner and margaritas as soon as fraking possible.
That was, after I figured out if I should call Chace in an hour or two and find out what he found out about the boy.
* * * * *
Chace
Chace walked up the street, eyes on the library.
He’d never really noticed it, even knowing Faye worked there.
Now, knowing she might lose her job and the town might lose its library, he did.
An attractive building.
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