The very last person I wanted anything from was Officer James Rucker. If there was any option at all, I wouldn’t call him, but I had no choice. I needed a cop.
To my surprise, he came. He helped. He was the guy everyone else knew instead of the @$$ he always was to me.
I didn’t know what to do with that. It was easy to keep him in the box I put him in. To tell myself it didn’t matter how sexy his smile was or how hard my insides clenched when he left with another woman.
No. No. No. I wasn’t going to think of James like that. I couldn’t. I wanted fun in my life, and he was the polar opposite of that.
We weren’t right. We weren’t an option. It didn’t matter if he was starring in my dreams. Or knocking on my door…
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Excerpt from His Curvy Frustration
I was not weak. I was strong. And I was smart. I did all the things you should do. He caught me off guard.
Thankfully, I was close to O’Kelley’s and Hudson was there. He took one look at me when I walked in the door and ushered me back to his office. He stood guard while I used his private bathroom.
I finally worked up the nerve to check out my reflection in the mirror. Better than I expected. My hair had something in it, and my lip was bleeding and already starting to bruise. All of it could be fixed. Later. I knew the drill.
I heard murmured voices outside the door and knew the cops were there. Hudson asked before I went in if I wanted him to call. I hated the thought, but I was not going to let that guy get away with it.
I flushed the toilet and debated not washing my hands in case there was evidence on them, but that was going too far. I washed them and snarled at the substance in my hair. It was going to be a pain to wash it out. I’d just washed my hair that morning, but I needed to do it again when I got home.
I took a breath and told myself I was strong. The cop was there to help. I didn’t do anything wrong. I could tell him what happened and then go on my way.
I opened the door and the voices stopped. Hudson was right there in front of me. I’d never seen him look so concerned. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine. Shaken up, but I’ll survive.”
“Good,” the other man said. “Then maybe you can explain to me what the hell you were thinking?”
Officer James Rucker. The bane of my existence. He’d been a thorn in my side for a year, and the look on his face said he wasn’t done.
He also wasn’t in uniform, which made me wonder why he was there at all.
“I thought you were going to call the cops,” I said to Hudson with a growl.
“I am the cops,” James replied. “I was on my way here and heard the call. I’m a cop, which you know.”
I gave him my sweetest smile and said, “Well, if you’re not on duty, then why don’t you go on about your night and I can talk to someone who isn’t going to immediately assume I’m a criminal.”
He growled and took a breath. I glared at him, waiting for him to give in. Then he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
“Officer Rucker, badge number 2857. I’m at O’Kelley’s with the call that just came in. Will you send Hughes out here?” He paused. “Yeah. Okay, thanks.”
He hung up the phone and looked at me. “A female officer is on the way. You can speak to her and tell her everything that happened. Until she gets here, I’d like to ask you a few questions, if that’s okay.”
“I don’t need to talk to a female cop. The guy stuck a gun in my face and…” I broke off, emotion and fear mingling inside me. I stared up at the ceiling and tried to stop the tears that I knew were coming.
The office door opened and closed, and when I looked, James and I were alone.
“Trinity, I’m sorry this happened to you. I should have started with are you okay?”
That did it. That was all he had to say, and I lost it. I crumbled. I sank to the floor where I stood and put my head in my hands. Tears poured down my face. Fear overwhelmed me.
Then he sat down next to me and held me while I cried.
