Any Day Now - Lani Lynn Vale Page 0,58

into my view, and my keg was in place before I could so much as think about switching it.

I looked over to see Adam hunkered down on his haunches.

“You’re playing with fire,” he growled.

Then he returned to his seat.

So he had noticed.

Good.

I intended to do a lot more than just play with fire. I intended to set everything to flame while I was at it.

Because I hadn’t had Adam inside of me in way too long.

I was having withdrawals.

And, as I looked at the clock above the bar, I had another thirty minutes to make him want it as bad as I did.

Because, when I got him alone in his bedroom? I hoped that he would be extra excited just like I was.

I’d been thinking about him all day today.

And at this point, I wouldn’t care if he ripped my one and only pair of jeans in his haste to get to me.

I shot him a smirk over my shoulder.

One could only hope.

Chapter 17

That’s a terrible decision. Want to know why I know? Because I’ve made that decision and already know that it’s no bueno.

-text from Amelia to Adam

Adam

I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but whatever she was doing was making me hard as hell.

My phone pinged and I pulled it out just as Nathan said, “Does Amelia know Reggie?”

I looked over at him. “I’ve heard her talk about Reggie. I assume she knows her. Why?”

“Because she said something during that episode after she got sprung from jail. And it’s been weighing on my mind,” he grumbled.

“The one where she was talking to that girl with Tourette’s?” I asked.

“There’s a girl that has Tourette’s?” Sammy asked from beside me.

“Yep,” I confirmed. “She’s the girl that we rented our duplexes from. Her father is a retired police officer for Longview PD.”

My eyes, however, weren’t in the conversation we were having.

They were all for the woman that was doing her level best to kill me.

A tug of a bra strap here, a lick of her fingers there.

All the while, she would make sure to stay in my line of sight.

“I didn’t rent my duplex. My sister did. I’ve never met her.” Sammy paused. “What are you staring at, Stoker?”

I didn’t even look away.

“What do you think I’m looking at?” I grumbled.

“Something that doesn’t get off for another thirty minutes,” Nathan teased.

I surreptitiously readjusted myself in my pants and turned to glare at Nathan.

“Shut up,” I grumbled.

He laughed. “You taking her for a ride in your cruiser?” he asked. “How’s her car getting home?”

I hadn’t really thought about it.

“I can take it,” Sammy said. “I rode here with Malachi.”

“You’re telling me that we have three cruisers sitting out in front of a strip club?” Nathan chuckled. “People are going to wonder why we’re here. The cruisers are too flashy.”

That they were.

A local wrapping business that put new decals on cars had redone the six cruisers that the SWAT team used when we were on shift. The entire back half was wrapped in an American flag. The front half was wrapped in a Texas flag.

And the middle sported a black wrap with a thin blue line bisecting the middle of the car and flowing into the blue stripe of the American flag.

It was cool as fuck, but a lot of people noticed it. And took pictures with it.

“We responded to an emergency.” I shrugged. “I’m sure they got plenty of calls to back that up.”

“We’re gonna hear from Foster or Bennett in the morning. What do you want to bet?” Malachi took a sip of his water.

At least we weren’t drinking.

There was one small favor we were doing the Kilgore Police Department.

We weren’t drinking in our uniforms with our cruisers parked out in front of a strip club.

“Maybe,” I admitted, watching as Amelia absently snuck her hand underneath her shirt and started to scratch her belly.

It was an innocent move, showing off just a hint of skin, but that hint of skin was enough to send the blood in my veins up in flames.

“You really have it bad, don’t you?” Malachi asked.

I licked my lips and looked away from my girl to Malachi.

He was grinning at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You have it bad,” he repeated. “I’ve been telling you a story about work today for going on a minute and a half, and you haven’t once said a word.”

I shrugged. “What was it?”

“I said that I gave your sister a ticket,” he repeated.

My brows raised. “You did?”

He nodded.

“Well, kind of. I gave her