“Mr. Newton, my department will be investigating who shot one of ours.” Jamey’s lt. stated, stepping forward.

  “I hope so, because so help me God, I find out your department is half assing the investigation, I will make heads spin and every damn one of you will lose your jobs. My daughter may not have said anything to me, her mother or her brothers, but I know how you people have treated my daughter. I know you all speak rudely about her because she’s not some fashion model looking cop, but she’s damn good at what she does. She has more heart than all of you put together. Find who shot my daughter and it better not be a cover up. I will know.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Everything hurt. Why does everything hurt? What’s that beeping sound? Jamey tried to turn her head until pain literally shot up through her neck into her head causing her to groan.

  “Don’t move baby. Your mom went to get the nurse. You were shot and have been in a drug induced coma.”

  “K…K…” Jamey’s voice was cracked and made her throat hurt like a bitch when she tried to talk.

  “Ms. Newton. Glad you’re awake. You’ve given your family quite a scare. Let me check your vitals and then we can get some cold water in you to help sooth that soreness in your throat.”

  Ten minutes later, she sighed in relief when the cold trickle of water went down her throat. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for several seconds.

  “W…what…”

  “You were shot in the neck, baby. Don’t push it. It’s going to hurt to talk for a while.” Keith softly told her.

  Jamey looked at Keith in disbelief at what he had just told her. Suddenly it all came back. She had just escorted Erik out of the building towards the squad car and had put him into the car. She heard someone call her name and then the sting in the neck before passing out. She made the motion for paper and a pen when her mother handed her a small whiteboard and a marker.

  “Do they know who shot me?” Keith read out loud for her.

  “No. The doctor was able to give the department the bullet fragment that was lodged in the shoulder area. Forensics is saying whoever did was close to you.” Cory answered for her.

  Jamey closed her eyes trying to remember that day before her eyes popped open looking at her brother. “Erik? The kid who had held up the outlet. He’s ok right?”

  Cory read her words and nodded. “Yes. I told everyone what had happened in the outlet. You were crazy as hell putting yourself in that danger, but I couldn’t have been prouder of my baby sister. We’ve been to check on him. Old man Jones didn’t press charges, and neither is the pregnant woman once she found out what was really going on. We’ve been by to check on him, his grandmother and brother. They have all come by the hospital to check on you too…”

  When Cory trailed off, Jamey’s eyes narrowed at her brother. “What?” she wrote on the white board, tapping it several times.

  “Tara has been trying to claim it was Erik who shot you from the back of the patrol car.” Her father finally answered, when both Keith and Cory were hesitant to answer.

  “No! I had his gun. I explained to him why I had to cuff him. His hands were cuffed behind his back.” Jamey wrote fast and messy, shaking her head adamant that Erik didn’t do it.

  Erasing the words already on there, haphazardly, leaving some of the marks still on there. “Someone called my name after I put him in the vehicle. When I turned to look, that’s when I felt the sting to my neck.”

  “Shit, she’s right!” Cory confirmed. “I forgot about that part.”

  Jamey watched as her father stepped out of the room with his phone to his ear. Looking around the room at her brother’s, who had all came when Cory informed them of their baby sister’s accident, to Keith, she was overwhelmed at the support and love she felt with them. She knew they loved her and would always have her back, but seeing it actually happening, it overwhelmed her.

  “It’s ok, babe. We’ve got you.” Keith said softly, kissing her forehead.

  When Keith stood up to go to the door when her father called his name, Jamey started to panic slightly. She gripped his hand that had been in hers and held tightly, not wanting him to leave the room.

  “Babe, I’m just going into the hall. I’m not leaving you. I promise. I’ll be right back.”

  When Keith leaned down to kiss her lips, he leaned his forehead to hers, breathing deeply as if to inhale her scent. She probably smelled freaking horrible since she hasn’t had a bath in a couple of days from what she’s understanding.

  “I’ve got you, baby girl.” Her mother stated, taking Keith’s seat, patting her leg. “Let the men go do their manly talk. I need a few seconds with my baby.”

  While the men were out in the hallway, her mother went quickly into the bathroom and came back with the pink wash tub, soap and a rag. Jamey was torn between horror of her mother giving her a whore bath and relief. She let her mother wash her face, arms and hands, brush her hair and rub lotion on her skin. She hated to admit she felt somewhat better. When she asked about brushing her teeth, her mother gave her a small toothbrush with a bit of paste and had a cup of water on standby to rinse her mouth out. Once she was done, she felt ten times better.

  When the men came back into the room, she could feel the tension between every one of them. What the hell happened in the hall. It wasn’t until her father had stepped to the side when she saw her captain walking into the room with the men that she understood why they were agitated.

  “Newton. I came by to check on you when your father let me know you had just woken up. Last thing I want to do is agitate you.”

  Jamey had to look at her captain in confusion before looking at her father, brothers and Keith. Making the motion to write something down since it was advised to rest her throat at least for today before trying to talk some more, she wrote down her questions.

  “What’s on your mind, captain?” Keith spoke for her, having taking a seat next to her bed, his hand on her arm, showing support.

  Her captain sighed deeply, his hands going to his waist. “Were you aware that your partner, Tara and Jedidiah were having an affair?”

  Looking at her captain in shock, she shook her head no. “Jedidiah is married. He’s always talked highly of his wife. Granted he did make mention he wished she would lose weight after having the kids, but he loves her.”

  “They have been having an affair for the last six months. His wife found out last week when she saw a text from Tara on his phone while he was in the shower. They got into a huge fight, he admitted it and admitted he was in love with Tara. Turns out he’s been having issues focusing on work and making mistakes because your partner has been pulling away. She’s apparently made comment to a few fellow officers about a bet that she could steal your man.”

  Keith burst into laughter at that last part causing everyone, including her to look over at him. “I’m sorry. Yes, she has tried to get my attention. Even tried to pretend to be Jamey on Tara’s phone claiming her phone had died. I know my girl here. I know how she types. It’s part of my job to notice little things that are out of the ordinary. Especially when my woman has just told me that she was getting ready to do something and would text me in a few hours, then several seconds later I get a different text saying something else.”

  “Has she tried to meet you without Jamey around or anything of that nature?” Jamey’s captain asked Keith.

  CHAPTER 11

  Keith had to really think about a few things, considering what he was just learning from Jamey’s captain. A lot of things were now making sense.

  “We’d just got home from a funeral when Jamey and her partner had come over. Jamey had seemed a little uncomfortable coming over, but I had figured it was because she’d never been inside my house. I’d just bought the house a month before and was fixing it up before officially moving in. As soon as I invited them in, her partner tried to push Jamey out of the way then got a little upset when I paired her with Oscar. Jamey and I went to the loveseat and sat down, talked and pretty much paid no attention to her. She went home with Oscar that night.”

  “Jamey, how did she know about Keith?” Cory asked, moving towards the bed, placing his hand on her foot.

  Keith watched as Jamey blushed as she looked over towards her mother who just smiled. Keith figured it out just from that. So his girl had been talking to her mother about him. He couldn’t help but smile at that thought.

  “We’ve talked about him a few times on the phone. Sometimes I would call during her shift to check up on her, ease my mind a little since my little girl is a cop, even if it is a small town.” Jamey’s mom admitted, taking her daughter’s hand on the opposite side of where Keith was sitting.

  Keith squeezed Jamey’s hand in support and acknowledgement when she nodded sheepishly. God he was crazy about this woman!

  “Ok. So, she knew about him from your conversations. Were you two already dating at this time?”

  “No, sir. We’d only been talking in passing. Being friendly neighbors. I’d ask how her shift went, told her I’d do my best to keep the party noise down, as a joke with all the banging, sawing and stuff I was doing fixing up the rooms I was trying to get done before move in day. She’d ask how the remodel was going and if I needed anything. Thanked me a few times for mowing her yard since her mower had died. But that was it.”

  “Has she tried to see you in person any besides that night of the funeral you mentioned?” Jamey’s captain asked, staring at him intently.

  “I never thought of it before, until your statement. She’s run into me a few times at the local grocery store I’d stop at if I didn’t want to deal with the PX on base. Always had a dress on that showed cleavage or a little more provocative. Oscar, the guy she went home with made comment when I mentioned to him the woman made my skin crawl that she had it out for Jamey, but we never thought she was dangerous. Just jealous of Jamey’s natural ability to make friends.”

  Keith watched as Jamey’s captain wrestled with what he was about to say next. Was this Tara chick the reason his girl was laying in this hospital bed.

  “In the course of our investigation, we’ve uncovered a serious issue. Seems that Tara was sleeping with a couple of men in the department, including your shift supervisor, Jedidiah and two others. Your shift supervisor was the one who came forward about everything first. When we pulled Jedidiah in, he confessed to everything. He was angry at you because he blamed you for putting this young man…” the captain pointed at Keith, “into Tara’s line of vision. She apparently had broken things off once she had him in her sights. Jedidiah stated she was bound and determined to take him away, any way she could. She’s also the reason for the tension on the shift because of statements she was making about you to the others. Telling them you were a rat for internal affairs, you were threatening her with all kinds of things and so forth. We’ve had her under investigation for the last two months. I’m just sorry we didn’t deal with her in time to prevent this. Jedidiah has been placed under arrest for attempted homicide. He was the one who shot you the other day. He’s confessed to it.”

  “Did anyone check Tara’s gun?” Justin asked, stepping forward. “You did state she was planning to get rid of my sister any way she could.”

  “We have also arrested Tara and her weapons are also being looked at. We brought in SBI as well as the state troopers to help with this investigation so that there is no bias. We want this handled properly so that she doesn’t escape. During the course of the SBI and state troopers, we’ve found this isn’t her first department, and Tara isn’t her real name. She had a good hacker who forged her information and she was hiding in North Carolina after doing this exact same thing in another state out in the Midwest.”

  “What the hell?!” Was shouted amongst every male in the room that heard the statement.

  “She’s wanted by three other states for homicide, attempted homicide or inciting a homicide. This is her M.O. She always does this to a woman who is plus sized to make herself feel better, from what we’ve learned of the other crimes.” Jamey’s captain stated, stepping closer to the bed. “Jamey, you are ordered to take all the time you need to truly heal because this department wants you back. What you did for that young man, Erik, that’s the kind of cops we need on our force. Your shift supervisor, and the other two officers who have caused you grief have been fired. The other’s in our department have all come forwards and expressed their mistakes and when you’re ready, they will come to you one at a time and apologize. It will be up to you if you accept their apology. Me, personally, if I were you, I’d make their asses suffer because a real cop wouldn’t have taken that bitch at her word. Now, young lady, you let this man who showed how he really feels in the face of a barracuda make sure you get better and I look forward to when you return.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Jamey’s captain shook hands with her father and Keith and walked out of the room. Keith was at a loss for words. Never in all of his years had he thought of that kind of scenario. He really could have lost his future!

  “Sir…” Keith spoke up, so that he and Jamey’s brothers could hear him. “I know this is probably not done this way, but after what I’ve just heard, I’m not wasting time. I know this is fast, I just met your daughter a month ago, but with your permission, if she’ll have me, I’d like your permission to marry your daughter. Her laughter, her smile, her everything, I can’t live without. She’s the sun to my darkness, she’s my Harley to my Joker, even though she’s more of the joker than I am, but she makes me want to be better. Our talks are the highlight of my days. I know I can be shipped out at any time, but knowing she’s waiting for me at home, or I’m at home waiting for her to get off and I can make her smile when she steps into the doorway, that’s my reason for breathing.”

  Keith knew he should be looking at her father, but when he was speaking, all he could do is look at Jamey. She was the one he wanted to make sure knew what he was truly feeling. He wanted her to know he was crazy about her, knowing it was just a couple of weeks, she was it for him. He’d never felt that kind of pull for anyone and knew he wouldn’t ever again.

  “Son, time means nothing. I met my wife and knew the second I saw her she was it for me. I couldn’t handle being without her and begged her to put me out of my misery two weeks after we met. Everyone said we wouldn’t make it and here we are, thirty plus years later and she still takes my breath away. If my daughter wants to marry you, then you both have my blessings.”

  Keith had to look over at Jamey’s mother when he heard her break out into a sob. He actually got scared for a moment, causing her sons to laugh when he looked up in a panic at Jamey’s dad.

  “Relax, son. These are happy tears. Jamey is her baby, our only girl and that’s all we’ve ever wanted for her was someone to love her as much as we love each other and we love our daughter and sons. Welcome to the family.”

  Keith looked down at Jamey who had tears in her eyes, smiling up at him. He couldn’t help but lean down and kiss her lips.

  “I love you, Jamey Allyson Whiskey Newton. I look forward to the rest of our lives together, whatever comes our way. Having you by my side, I know our lives will be amazing.”

  THE END

  CARRY YOU

  MICHELLE MORHAIME

  CHAPTER 1

  “Hello?” The door chime rang out as I made my way to the front desk. “Anyone here?” I could barely hear how frantic my voice was over my heartbeat. I leaned on the counter, trying to peer around the doorway behind the desk.

  Finally, I saw someone appear. For a moment, I forgot why I was here. Standing in front of me was a tall guy with dark hair that was buzzed on the sides but longer on the top. His hair flopped casually in front of one of his eyes and he shook it out of the way. He was wearing scrubs, but I could see part of a partial sleeve tattoo peeking from the sleeve hem. His skin was much deeper than mine, as if he spent most of his days in the sun.

  “What can I do for you?” His smile reached all the way up to his deep eyes and he tilted his head.

  “Um.” I started then shook my head to focus my attention. “My dog. She ate chocolate.”

  He peered around me and furrowed his brow. “Where is she? How much did she eat?”

  I felt my face flush. “A dozen cake donuts?”

  “Glazed or powdered?” His face was serious, but I still had to stifle a nervous laugh as he came around the counter.

  “What?” What did that have to do with anything? Was he just trying to get me to calm down? Because it wasn’t working.

  “Glazed with more chocolate or powdered? Helps me get a better understanding of how much she consumed. And I’m guessing she’s in your car?” He looked past me and made his way to the door.

  I scurried to catch up to him, my short legs taking twice as many steps. “Um, powdered. And yeah. She was already starting to throw up.”

  “That’s good.” His voice was calm as he made his way to my car. It was the only one in the parking lot and, admittedly, was parked haphazardly—like someone was in a hurry.

  “G-good?” I stammered, feeling my back sweat more.

  “The more that comes up means the less I have to pump from her stomach.”

  “Oh, okay.” I popped open the hatch to my small SUV and we both came face to face with a rather lethargic Great Pyrenees laying in a pool of vomit. The smell hit both of us immediately. I staggered back but the guy—that I assumed, and hoped was the vet—forged forward, scooping both arms around Izzy and heaving her up. I watched with my mouth open as he turned and carried my ninety-pound fluffy dog without a problem.