Bad Seed

I smiled and kissed her, dancing my lips against hers. She felt so right pressed against me. I could have held her for hours, just kissing her and losing myself in the feel of her body.

She pulled away and sighed, laying her head on my chest and nuzzling closer to me. Now that her father was on board, nothing was stopping us from being together. She was mine, and I was hers. For as long as we wanted.

“Will you come with me?” I asked softly.

“Where?”

“The fire station,” I said. “I want you to meet the guys. Officially.”

***

We walked through the back door, and I immediately heard voices coming from the kitchen. I grinned at Tara and led her through the station. She’d never been here before, and now that I was back at work, I wanted her to see the place.

“Hey assholes,” I said as we stepped into the kitchen. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Tara held my hand and smiled around nervously. The guys all fell silent and stared, their eyes darting down to our intertwined hands.

“Wallet girl,” Greg said.

“That’s just my stage name. I usually go by Tara,” she said, her wit as sharp as ever.

“What the hell are you doing with this idiot?” Greg asked, jerking his head toward me.

“Watch it,” I warned.

“Watch what?” he asked. “You gonna kick my ass with that crippled leg of yours?”

“It’s all healed up now,” I said. “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

“There’s a lady present,” Tyler said, standing up and walking over to us. “Behave yourselves.”

He stopped in front of us, and I felt Tara tense beside me. She recognized him from the party.

“Listen,” Tyler said. “I’m sorry I was such a douche. Alcohol, you know?”

“Just don’t let it happen again,” I said.

“Scout’s honor,” Tyler said, holding up his fingers. “But seriously, Tara, I’m sorry.”

“It’s all good,” she said, laughing. “I’m hot. It happens.”

Tyler laughed, and the guys joined in. They ushered Tara inside and sat her down. We all ate dinner together, laughing and swapping stories. Tara was more alive than I’d ever seen her. She listened to the guys tell stories about me and even shar

ed a few of her own from when we were teenagers. Everyone loved her, just like I knew they would.

“Is anyone actually working?” Chief Johnson asked as he walked inside. “Oh, there’s a girl. A pretty one. Nope. No one’s doing shit.”

“Hey, Chief,” I said. “Did you meet Tara at the party?”

He nodded and extended his hand to her. She shook it politely. Chief turned to me and jerked his head toward the door.

“You okay?” I asked Tara. She nodded, so I followed Chief out to the main part of the station.

He spun around to face me with a stern expression on his face. Dread filled my stomach. Whatever he wanted to talk about, wasn’t going to be good.

“Listen,” he said. “I wanted to talk to you about that leg of yours.”

“Chief, I’m good to go,” I said quickly. “The doc cleared me.”