Coming Home to You (The Rockport Beach Series Book 1) (25 page)

“Yes, yes,” he says, nodding. “That’s not
what I meant O’Loughlin. I’m just saying the press is the pain in the ass here.
They love this kind of shit and the sooner we get a result in this case, the better.”

I sit back, knowing he’s right, in more
ways than one.

“Anyway, you wanted to talk to me?” he
says, dropping his pen and sitting back in his chair, giving me his undivided
attention.

“Yeah,” I say, running a hand down my face.
“Look, I know this is shit timing and I’m already being a pain in the ass going
MIA for the past couple weeks, but as soon as this trial is over, I’m going to
have to head out of town again.”

“Something going on?” he asks, surprisingly
calm about my request.

“Yeah,” I breathe out. “My girlfriend’s
gone and got herself a stalker; really bad news. I’m worried about what the
fucker’s going to do, given his background.”

I watch as the captain tucks his hands
behind his head. “This the same guy Ryan’s been looking into for the past few
days, the ex-cop out of Florida?”

“Yeah,” I say. “My brother’s the chief of
police up in Rockport where my girl lives, he’s been investigating him up
there, but well…”

“You want to be there too?” the captain
says.

“I do, Sir,” I say. “I mean I trust my brother
and stuff, it’s just…”

“I get it, Beck,” he says, sitting forward
now. “Take all the time you need. It’ll have to wait till this trial is sorted,
but once it is, go. And keep me informed. It seems this guy has been fucking
around here in Boston too, so any info we can share will help all of us.”

I exhale a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Sir,” I
say.

He nods and I stand and walk out, ready to
call it a day and meet Ryan for a drink.

“Beck,” he says, just as I reach the door.

“Yeah?”

“What’s gonna happen when you catch the
guy?” he asks. “You planning on coming back to work?”

I stare back at the captain, wondering how
the fuck I’m supposed to answer that. “Not sure,” I eventually say. “Can we
talk about that when we do catch him?”

The captain nods but says nothing and I
walk out, wondering how the fuck I’m going to make this all work.

Twenty minutes later and I walk into
Finnigan’s and see Ryan already sitting up at the bar. “Hey,” I say, sliding
onto the stool next to him.

He grins, but doesn’t look up from his
phone. When I steal a glance I can see he’s texting.

“You sexting Erin this time?” I ask,
ordering a beer.

This gets his attention. “Sexting? What are
you, a sixteen year old girl or something?” he scoffs.

“Fuck off,” I say, laughing. “You’re
definitely sexting and you know it.”

Ryan grins now. “You should try it some
time, Beck. Spice things up with your girl, especially while you’re stuck down
here.”

I roll my eyes as I take a long sip of my
beer. “Trust me, dude, Kels has got no complaints when it comes to our sex
life, and I’m more than happy making up for the ten years we’ve missed out on.”

Ryan laughs, pocketing his cell as he turns
to look at me. “So what was the talk with the captain all about?”

I exhale, running a hand down my face.
Fuck.
“I just told him that I needed to
get back to Rockport, ASAP. Filled him in on the situation with Kels and how I
wanted to be there.”

“And?”

“And he was very understanding,” I say,
staring at the bottles lining the wall behind the bar. “Said I could take all
the time I needed as soon as this trial was over.”

“And what happens then, Beck?” Ryan asks. I
turn to look at him. “When this guy’s caught and your job protecting Kelsey is
done?”

“My job protecting her will never be done,”
I say, my words harsher than I mean them to be.

Ryan holds up his hands as though he didn’t
mean to piss me off. “I know, I know, that’s not what I’m saying,” he says.
“What I meant was, what are you gonna do next, given she’s in Rockport and your
job is in Boston?”

I take a deep breath, letting it out as a
long slow exhale, before turning back to stare at the liquor bottles. “I have
no fucking idea,” I admit.

Ryan says nothing and I get the feeling he’s
trying to come up with a solution to all this as well. If things pan out with
him and Erin, which I’ve no doubt they will, then he’s gonna be facing the same
situation. And as much as both of us love our jobs, I can’t see how either of
us can make both Rockport and Boston work.

“Well, I guess you’ll have to take up
sexting after all,” Ryan says, trying to lighten the mood.

I laugh as I turn to look at my friend.
“Fucking idiot,” I say to his grinning face. But at the same time, I pull my
phone from my pocket and open up the message app, thinking it can’t hurt. When
I do though, I see there’s a message from the DA who was handling today’s
trial.

Good
news. Guy changed his mind. Got the deal, he’s going away for 10. Thanks.

“Fuck,” I breathe out, looking up at Ryan.

“What, can’t think of what to say to her?”
Ryan says laughing. “Here, give me your phone.”

I roll my eyes as I shake my head. “No,
trial’s over; dickhead’s taken the deal. Ten years.”

“Shit,” Ryan says. “Thank fuck for that.”

“Yeah,” I say, nodding.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” he says,
gesturing to my phone. “Sext your girl and tell her you’re coming back.”

I grin now, opening up a message to Kels’
new number.

Me:
good news baby, I’m coming home. Make sure you’re naked, I’m gonna need a
couple of hours getting reacquainted with your pussy.

“Nice,” Ryan says, slapping me on the back.

I shake my head. “Fuck off.”

Thankful that the wedding is over, I look
out the window of my office and see the rain is falling hard and the grounds of
the inn are now a wet, soppy mess. The gray cloud covered sky lights up as a
crack of thunder echoes through the inn. It makes me jump, causing Bella to be
on high alert, growling at nothing but the noise. The rain is endlessly pelting
the windows and making the air thick with humidity. This is the worst kind of
the weather, especially during tourist season. Despite the awful weather, I can’t
stop smiling.

Just a few minutes ago I got a text from
Beck saying the trial is over and he’ll be on his way back to me soon.

I press my hands against the cool glass of
the windowpane, looking out onto the water as the last of my charter captains
brings a whale watching tour boat back into dock. The group is all huddled
under a few umbrellas, scampering along the worn decking and back to the inn.

A few minutes later, Tom, my charter
captain, pokes his head in my office. “I’m heading home for the night, Kelsey.
Boats are all tied up and the guests are back here in their rooms.”

When I turn around, Tom is soaked,
absolutely dripping wet, and I feel terrible that he was out on the boat in
this weather. And then after that, spent the last ten minutes making sure all
the boats were tied up. I toss him a beach towel I have stacked on a chair in
my office and he smiles at me gratefully, rubbing it over his face and his
head.

“Thanks, Tom. Have a good night. Go have
yourself a nice warm shower.”

“Will do,” he says, stepping out of my
office and closing the door behind him.

With the wedding consuming most of my time
over the last few days, I take a seat at my desk and finish up approving
payroll before I decide to head home for the night.

Without a car still, I send Finn a quick
text asking if he wouldn’t mind picking me up. I walked to work this morning,
given the weather was quite nice, but clearly things have taken a turn for the
worse and unless I want to get soaked and possibly freeze my ass off, I need
someone to give me a lift home.

My phone chimes with Finn telling me to
give him twenty minutes and he’ll be here.

I hook up Bella’s leash and pack a few
things to take home to work on until Beck gets back. I know the rest of the
night at the inn will be a quiet one and more than likely, should this weather
decide to continue, a lot of the weekend guests will undoubtedly check out
early. I can’t blame them; there’s very little to do in this town without the
draw of the water and the usually beautiful weather.

Looking out the window, hoping the weather
breaks, I notice one of the charter boats floating farther from the dock than
normal. I step out onto the deck just outside my office for a closer look and
realize it has come untethered from the dock.

“Shit,” I mutter, knowing this is exactly
how one of the boats ended up with a hole in its hull a few weeks ago.

The wind has picked up and the sky has
grown darker as the storm increases in intensity. Thunder is crashing wildly,
making me long for Beck to hurry his ass up, as I try to figure out how I’m
going to get that boat back where it belongs.

I quickly go through a list in my head of
the staff that is left, but I realize I’m down to the bare minimum. The desk
clerk, a few kitchen and waitstaff along with Sam, the rookie cop Finn has
stationed here; there isn’t really anyone to send out to do my dirty work.

As much as I’m terrified of storms, I’m
seriously contemplating waiting for Finn to come so I can give him some puppy
dog eyes and beg him to do it for me, but I know he’ll be dressed in full
uniform. There’s nothing wrong with me and there’s no reason I can’t go tie
that boat up myself. Well, other than the fact that every time the thunder
breaks through the silence I nearly wet my pants, but that’s no excuse. And I
know the longer I leave that boat drifting, the more likely it is that it will
become damaged.

“Put on your big girl panties and suck it
up,” I tell myself as Bella cocks her head to the side and gives me a look that
asks why the hell I’m talking to myself.

Reaching down and patting her head, Bella
nuzzles against my legs like she can sense my fear. I smile before telling her,
“Okay, Bella, I’m gonna do this.”

Before heading out, I send Beck a text.

Me:
You’d be so proud of me. I’m about to go out to the dock and tie up a loose
boat…in a storm.
J

Beck:
Good job, baby.

Me:
Love you

I’m giggling as I pull on my raincoat and a
pair of Wellies; I can’t wait for him to come home.

I push open the screen door to a wall of
thick humidity just as a crack of thunder rings out and makes me jump back into
my office, my heart racing in my chest. I shake my head at my ridiculous fear.
There’s nothing to be afraid of and as I watch the boat drift further from the
dock, I know I need to get my ass out there.

Giving it a second attempt, this time my
feet actually obey and I’m running down the dock toward the wayward boat, but
not without my anxiety on full alert and adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Luckily, when I reach the boat, the rope is
still hooked loosely around the cleat and all it takes is a couple of good tugs
before the boat is back in position.

Pausing for a second to wipe the rain from
my face, I laugh at my stupidity. It’s only rain, nothing more, nothing less.

I begin wrapping the rope around the cleat tightly;
making sure each time I pull back on the rope to ensure it doesn’t come loose
again. When I’m done, I fall back on my butt and hang my legs over the dock as
the rain falls all around me. Already drenched and totally waterlogged, I
figure there’s no point in hurrying, so I look up at the sky, and try to find
some enjoyment in all of this.

The evening breeze picks up and carries the
scent of salt water and rain through the air. The water is rippling in circular
patterns as the raindrops hit a million different places. The sky now
completely blackened as night approaches and when a flash of lightning streaks
across the sky, I’m reminded of just why I don’t sit outside and enjoy what
most would call a beautiful summer storm.

When I stand up, I’m face to face with
Jason and in the moment, I let out a blood-curdling scream and forcefully shove
the palm of my hand up into his nose. I hear the cracking of bone as my hand
stings violently, sending the pain radiating up through my elbow.

Jason doubles over, his hands cupping his
face as I see the blood seep through his fingers. I don’t hesitate any longer,
realizing I only have seconds until he recovers from my blow; I begin to run
towards the inn, my boots slipping on the wet dock.

“You broke my nose, you fucking whore,” he
hisses, but I don’t stop to look back.

My chest is heaving and my heart is pulsing
hard against my ribs. Knowing I have a very small window to get away, I focus
on the door to my office. The only sound I hear is the steady rhythm of my
rapid heartbeat echoing in my ears as I see Bella, jumping against the screen
door.

It’s then that I feel his hand grab the
hood of my coat and yank me back. The collar of the coat cuts into my neck,
making me gasp and choke; I pull at it, releasing the snaps and shrugging it
from my shoulders. It slips off easily, but my boots lose traction on the wet
decking and I fall forward.

I’m not going down without a fight; this
asshole will not ruin my life. I scramble on my hands and knees, clawing as I
try to stand up, but finding no purchase on the slippery wood.

Jason’s arms encircle my waist as he heaves
me off the ground and locks me against his chest. Struggling in his arms,
flailing and scratching, but I’m unable to free myself. I scream, “No!” hoping
Sam, the cop stationed at the inn, hears me.

It feels like hours have passed since this
began, but I know it’s only been seconds; I’m exhausted from the struggle and
the adrenaline spike that flared through my body, but I won’t give in.