This is Reckless (Checkmate Duet 3)

“Mia…” I warn.

She steps toward me.

“Listen,” I say, bringing my face close to hers. “We’re over. For good. I’m not sure how many times I have to tell you this, but you had your chance. Many times. I’m not doing this anymore with you.”

Before she can say another word, I turn and walk away. I’m so pissed; I can’t even think straight.

“It’s because of her, isn’t it?” I hear her shout from behind me. “I always knew there was something going on with you two.”

I spin around as she walks toward me—that smug look back on her face.

“You can deny it all you want, but I saw how she looked at you. You two were a little too close at times. I should’ve known,” she continues.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about. Courtney had nothing to do with the fact that you were a horrible girlfriend. I put up with you for way too long and if it took being with Courtney to realize that, then it was for the best,” I throw back at her. My pulse is racing as I finally tell her off, something I should’ve done months ago.

“Well, I hope she doesn’t mind being second best. You’ll never be good enough for her in the long-term,” she spits right back.

“Go get some help, Mia. You clearly need it.” I walk away before giving her an opening to respond. I’m done wasting my time on her.

“This isn’t over, Drew!” Her nasally voice echoes through the crowd and people turn and look at her. She’s making a scene at one of my work events, and it brings me to a level of pissed off I haven’t been in a long while.

Right now, the only person I need to see is Courtney, but as soon as I look through the crowd, she’s nowhere to be found. I walk over to the bake sale tent and see there aren’t that many of them left, which makes me happy, but then I realize she’s not here either.

“Hey, have you seen Courtney?” I ask one of the ladies behind the table.

I search around and don’t see Kayla so I ask about her too, hoping someone can tell me what’s going on.

The woman looks at me with sad eyes. “I think they said they were leaving.”

“Leaving?”

The woman shrugs, and I pull my keys from my pocket and jog across the grass to my truck. I grab my phone from my pocket and call her. It immediately goes to voicemail. Fuck!

As soon as I make it to the parking lot, I catch a glimpse of Travis and Viola taking the kids out of their car seats.

“Drew!” Viola says loudly, waving and trying to catch my attention. Travis looks up with a smile as he unfolds the double stroller.

“I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll tell you later. Go have fun,” I yell and climb in the truck. I don’t wait for a response before I drive off. I send her a quick text and hope she responds before I search all of Sacramento.

I have to find Courtney.

I have to find her right now.

COURTNEY

After listening to Logan’s speech and truly understanding how dangerous their jobs are, I find myself getting a little emotional. Kayla is too. I’ve always known that being a cop is dangerous and that we should respect the uniform, but Logan’s words about losing his previous partner affected me more than I thought it would. I had no idea he’d lost someone so close, and now I felt terrible for making fun of his hard shell. I glance over and see tears streaming down Kayla’s face, and I wrap my arm around her. We’re way too emotional at the moment.

Drew stands proudly beside Logan, and he looks so damn handsome up there. When his eyes meet mine, I smile and think about how I never want to lose him.

Every time he puts on that uniform and walks out that door is a day he may not return home to me and that single thought destroys me. Too many horrible scenarios run through my mind, and I want them to stop.

Once Logan and Drew walk off the stage, I have this feeling that I just need to go to him and wrap my arms around him. I leave Kayla behind in the tent and rush to find him as fast as I can and tell him how much he means to me.

Everything I want to say to him rushes through my head. I try to think of the right words to tell him. He’s always meant a lot to me, but after the past couple weeks with him, as more than just friends, those feeling have intensified and overwhelmed my heart.

As I round the corner, my heart drops, and I stop moving. The smile on my face vanishes, and my mouth falls open as I watch Mia Fucking Montgomery walk to Drew and wrap her arms tightly around his neck. To make the nightmare more surreal, they kiss. Instantly, I feel sick and empty. I want to speak up, I want to scream out, but I have no words. My voice is stolen while the small crack in my heart spreads. Unable to watch it for another second, I turn and walk away as fast as I can. The anger inside me begs to cause a scene, but I refuse to do that here and because of her.