Coming Home to You (The Rockport Beach Series Book 1) (4 page)

If she was trying to make me forget about
Beck she did just the opposite. Thanks to her, all I can picture is him,
shirtless on the dock holding a fishing pole, rather inappropriately I might
add.

Of course now I’m intrigued by Erin’s mention
of hot guys on the dock, so I decide I need to welcome them. I wasn’t the one
who checked them in. I’m just being hospitable.

As soon as I hit the dock, the group of
guys stop what they’re doing and take me in. I’m used it by now. I added the
fishing charter portion of The Rockport Beach Inn when my dad died to bring in
some extra cash. It took off and has been a great source of income, even if it
sometimes means drunken guys ogle me.

“Hi, boys,” I say sweetly as I approach.
I extend my hand to the first guy. “I’m Kelsey Walters, the owner of The
Rockport Beach Inn. I just wanted to introduce myself and wish you a great day
out on the water.”

I shake each one of their hands, and when
I come to the last guy, he squeezes my hand a little harder and a jolt runs up
my arm. Our eyes meet and he winks at me.

“And you are?” I ask.

“I’m Alex, but my friends call me
Tucker.” As he says this he steps a little closer with a confident smile on his
face.

“Oh really?” I say as my hand brushes
along his well-defined arm.

“Yeah, but you can call me whatever you
want.”

“How about you call me when you’re done
here?” I ask and Alex nods. He reaches over and tucks a loose strand of hair
behind my ear. My skin warms up where his fingers just touched and I close the
distance between us. My breasts are nearly touching his arm and I feel my face
flush with heat as his hand moves to my hip. Alex leans in and places a quick
kiss on my cheek.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you later,” he
says before climbing aboard the boat with his buddies.

I start back towards the inn and I know
every one of them is checking out my ass as I walk away. I don’t know what has
gotten into me, but that dream has really boosted my need to get laid.

The day goes by in a blink and by the
time night falls, I haven’t heard a word from Alex. Part of me is relieved
because I have no interest in starting a relationship with a tourist. Jason was
a tourist and look how well that worked out. I think my morning has messed with
my head and made me crave just being close to someone. I miss that feeling, but
I know deep down that no one can replace Beck. These other guys are just
Band-Aids.

As I’m leaving the inn I get a text from
Erin telling me she’s running late, but will be at my house in an hour. I’m relieved
by her latency, since I haven’t had a moment to sit down. I arrive home,
shower, put the lasagna in the oven and open a bottle of red wine before
finally sitting down on the couch. Just as my ass hits the couch, Bella begins
to whine at my feet, looking up at me with those adorable soulful eyes.

“You just went out,” I complain, but she still
pushes me with her nose towards the back door. Reluctantly, I get up and open
the back door as she darts out into the yard chasing a squirrel that seems to
have been taunting her for the last week. Laughing at the simplicity of her and
her entertainment, I trudge back into the living room. Hitting the couch once
again, I exhale loudly hoping for a few minutes of quiet. I grab a magazine off
the end table and begin catching up on all the celebrity gossip I missed over
the last week.

I must have dozed off, because the next
thing I know someone is knocking on my door. I roll my eyes and curse under my
breath.

“Use your key, Erin!” I shout from my
couch. She knocks again, harder this time. “Damn it, you lazy pain in the ass!”

I stomp over to the door making it extra
loud so she realizes how annoyed I am with her. I swing open the door and flippantly
greet her, but it’s not Erin.

I don’t even have an opportunity to
scream or run before his hands are around my neck. Jason shoves me up against
the wall as his hands constrict my breathing, squeezing tighter until I feel
myself grow lightheaded.

For some reason, my thoughts immediately
go to Beck. I remember Googling him this morning, seeing pictures of him,
reading articles and finding out he was recently promoted to detective. He
looked good in a suit—so handsome and professional and incredibly sexy. I
was proud of him even if I can’t seem to forget that he left me. In this moment,
I wonder if he’d be able to protect me from all of this. If I could have just given
in and moved to Boston with him, none of this would be happening.

“You fucking whore!” he shouts and his
grip loosens slightly. I suck in a ragged breath before he realizes he’s
letting up. “I saw you with that guy on the dock today. How dare you press your
fucking tits against him and flirt with him when you belong to me. You. Are.
Mine,” he growls.

I have no idea how I’m going to get away
from him. Bella’s outside and my fear is taking over, making me panic, making
me think he just might kill me this time.

Tears begin streaming down my cheeks and
my body goes lax. I can hear my heartbeat pulsing in my ears, beating hard and
loud, but cutting through it is Erin’s harsh voice.

“Let go of her, you motherfucker.” Her
voice is completely controlled and firm, but it does nothing to shake Jason’s confidence.
I catch her eyes and she flashes me the handgun she carries with her everywhere
she goes. Pressing the gun to the back of his head, she says, “I have a gun,
dickhead, and I’m from the south. I know how to use it.”

Slowly Jason releases his hands from my
neck and backs away from Erin and her shiny little pistol. His hands go up in a
defensive position, but his repulsive smile still remains.
How did I ever get involved with him in the first place?

Just as quickly as he arrived, he’s gone.
And once again, I’m left reeling. I collapse in heap with my head in my hands.
Erin falls to her knees next to me, pulling me into her arms as I cry
uncontrollably.

“I’m calling Finn,” she whispers and I
nod my head.

Only minutes later, Finn and a few
deputies have assembled outside my house and they take statements from Erin and
me as they begin to search the area for Jason. The other officers leave with
direct orders from Finn to find Jason and bring him into the station.

Finn lags behind following Erin and me
into the house as I let Bella in from the backyard. She growls at Finn but once
she realizes who it is, she sits neatly at my feet.

“Where was Cujo when all this was going
down?” Finn asks, his tone condescending.

“Stop it! This isn’t her fault,” I retort
back sharply.

“No, you’re right. You’re the one who got
involved with this prick. What the hell were you thinking, Kelsey?”

I can’t even respond. A sick feeling
takes over and the vomit rises in my throat. Beck’s face instantly comes to my
mind. I wouldn’t be in this situation if he hadn’t left me. Jason wouldn’t exist
in my world if Beck hadn’t chosen Boston and his job over me.

“Whoa, stop right there! Don’t you
fucking dare blame this on Kelsey!” Erin shouts, pointing a finger at Finn.
“Where the hell were you and your band of Mayberry losers?”

“Piss off. Why didn’t you shoot him when
you had the chance, Annie Oakley? Do you even have a permit for that thing?”

Erin throws her hands in the air and lets
out an exasperated sigh. I can’t take it any longer. I realize I brought this
on myself, but there is no reason why I have to sit here and listen to them
argue with each other. I’ve had a hell of a night and this is just adding to my
anxiety.

“Get out! Both of you! Leave now!” I
shout and it startles not only the two them, but also Bella.

“What?” Erin asks completely astonished.

“Yeah, you heard me. Leave. I can’t do
this right now.”

She stares at me wide-eyed and confused.
I know she thinks I shouldn’t be alone, but if she stays, if Finn stays, I’m
going to feel the need to keep it together. I can’t let either of them see me
falter any more than they already have.

“Fine,” they both respond in unison, but
leave unwillingly as Finn tells me he’ll be parked outside whether I like it or
not.

Just before stepping out the door, I run
my fingers along my throat and feel the swollen ridges Jason’s fingers left.
Finn’s eyes dart to my neck and he shakes his head.

I slam the door before either of them can
see the tears.

Damn it, Beck. Maybe I do need you.

“I think I have a lead.”

I look up as Ryan approaches my desk, one
hand on his hip, the other waving a file in my direction in excitement. The now
confirmed rape and murder of Jane Donovan last weekend has stumped us all for
the past week. We’ve had no leads, no clues, nothing. Nobody has even come
forward to report her missing. Her work colleagues barely knew her and short of
a quick visit to her apartment in Brookline, nothing’s jumped out. It’s been
frustrating as fuck and definitely something I don’t need hanging over my head.
Especially when the captain is banging on with a
we need to get these crime solving numbers up
, rampage.

“Really?” I ask, looking up at him.

Ryan raises an eyebrow at me; something
he does when he’s either pissed or thinks I’m being a smart ass. In this case,
I’m going with the former.

“Really, Detective Asshole,” he says,
sarcastically

I smile back. Yep, pissed. “Alright, spit
it out then.” He throws the file on my desk, as though trying to make a point
and I can’t help but ask, “Something bugging you, Ryan?” Falling into the chair
on the other side of my desk, I grin at my friend as he leans back, hands
behind his head and scowls at me. “You look as though you haven’t gotten laid
in a week or something.”

“I haven’t,” he growls. “But that’s not
what’s bugging me.”

“No?”

“No, smart ass,” he says, leaning
forward. “What’s bugging me is the lack of information about this Jane
Donovan.”

“I thought you said we had a lead?”

Ryan crosses one leg over his knee and
stares at me. “No, I said,
I
have a
lead. Big difference, dickhead.”

I roll my eyes. “Alright, just fucking
spit it out already.”

Ryan sits up. “So, you know how no family
has reported her missing?” he starts. I nod in response. “And that we haven’t
been able to find any family either?”

“Yes, none of this is new here.”

This time it’s Ryan rolling his eyes at
me. “Well, I started digging a little deeper, had the boys go back and look
over her apartment again.”

“And?” I ask, just wishing he would get
on with it. Ryan has a habit of being overly dramatic when he wants to prove a
point. I get the feeling he’s been watching too many crime dramas and sometimes
forgets he’s not actually on TV or in front of a camera.

“Well,” he says. “It turns out Jane
Donovan isn’t her real name.”

“What?” I ask, sitting up straighter now.
This is news.

“No,” Ryan says, smirking at me. “It’s
actually Jane Dixon. Donovan is her mother’s maiden name, which she started
using after an ex-boyfriend went all
Fatal
Attraction
on her ass.”

“What the fuck?” I ask, suddenly very
interested in where this is going.

Ryan nods before continuing. “Yep, the
guy’s a complete dick by all accounts. Only a short relationship, but didn’t
take the break-up well. Started off just following her around, then it escalated
to spying on her. When he started sending her pictures of himself jacking off
outside her house in the middle of the night, it was the final straw.”

“Jesus christ,” I say, reaching for the
file. “Do we know where he is?”

Ryan’s palm smacks down on the file, stopping
me. I look up and catch the gloating look he’s giving me. “Uniforms are
bringing him in now and yes you are buying the beers tonight, thank you very
much.”

I shake my head at him, simultaneously
impressed at what he’s found out and annoyed that he didn’t come to me before
sending someone to pick him up. “You do remember that I am your boss, don’t you
Ryan?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he says, standing
and holding the file out to me now.

As I snatch it from his hand, I tell him,
“So next time, make sure you keep me informed.” Ryan stares at me as though he’s
waiting for more. “And well done, this is good fucking work.”

Ryan scoffs. “Of course it fucking is,”
he says. “Interview room two, ten minutes.”

I can’t help but smile; I’m glad this guy
is both my partner and my friend. Most people are surprised when they find out
we are, but we’ve been close ever since we went through the Academy together.
This bitching and chewing each other a new one, is all just part of the
routine. Underneath it all is a guy I respect immensely, and who I know, always
has my back.

An hour later and the well-rehearsed good
cop-bad cop thing Ryan and I have going has gotten us a full confession from
the ex-boyfriend. Turns out his jealousy reached epic proportions recently, when
he discovered our victim had gotten herself a new boyfriend. His little payback
for her replacing him like this was to rape and murder her. He’s a lying little
shit and as it turns out, totally spineless in the face of two detectives going
to town on him. Fucking asshole. Hopefully a trip to jail gets him a nice
little dose of unwanted up the ass action in return.

“Drinks?”

I look up and see Ryan standing on the
other side of my desk again, arms crossed over his chest and grinning at me.
“You’re pretty fucking proud of yourself, aren’t you?” I say, standing and
slipping on my suit jacket.

“For good fucking reason,” he says as we say
goodnight to the rest of the team and walk out of the station together.