fucking hands off of her at least that damn long, would you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And even after,” he continues when I have my back to him, “you better be a hundred percent sure that whatever is going on between the two of you is worth sacrificing the connection this community has with the Cerberus MC. Fucking around with one of the princesses could sever ties we’ve spent decades building.”
Well, fuck.
Sophia isn’t in my office when I return, and it only takes me five minutes and a quick conversation with Gaffey to discover she went home because she wasn’t feeling well. It’s probably for the best.
Her words mix with the chief’s warning in my head as I read the sent letter over and over and over. The dick that wrote the letter wants his brother released from jail. Of course Dennis Milton, the man who shot his girlfriend three times in the chest has a crazy brother that thinks threats will get him released. Just another fucking day in the office as far as I’m concerned. Since the idiot all but signed his own name to the damn thing, it doesn’t take long to get a warrant from a judge to have him arrested. I hand the task off to a patrol unit because I know I’ll strangle the fucker for scaring Sophia. That little pesky fact and that technically I’m considered a victim in the case, which makes me being the arresting officer a conflict of interest.
Unbidden and like always, my thoughts drift back to thoughts of her. From the warning Monahan gave me, I know he thinks whatever I would start with Sophia wouldn’t be worth it in the long run, but as much as I want to know what she sounds like in bed, as much as I want to know the exact shade of her nipples and the way the inside of her thighs taste like, I also want to know a million other non-sexual things.
I want to know how she likes her steak cooked and if she prefers warm showers over hot showers. Does she like ranch salad dressing or does she have more exotic tastes like a poppy seed vinaigrette? Would she smile or be a sore loser if Rick beat her at Monopoly? Does she prefer the beach over the mountains? Would she stick around when things got tough?
I swallow, emotion rising up my throat, at the memory of dream-Sophia smiling up at me with our newborn daughter in her arms.
Would it be worth it?
If she were in a position in her life to share those things with me, then I know without a shadow of a doubt that Sophia Anderson would be worth every single second of my life.
Chapter 20
Sophia
“We’re waiting for the arson investigator,” the fireman says, his eyes still on the smoldering building in front of us. “I can’t give the official word, but I’ve been on the job for thirty years and I can tell you there’s no way this isn’t an arson case.”
“We have three deceased on the second floor,” the voice on the radio on his turnout jacket says. “We’re still working on clearing the third.”
“I need you to stay back,” Colton says as he walks toward the building. “It’s dangerous.”
“If it’s dangerous for me,” I say, snagging his shoulder before he can get away from me, “then it’s dangerous for you, too.”
“It’s too dangerous for both of you. No one goes in until we’re sure of the structural stability,” the fireman says, his eyebrow going up when something inside of the structure collapses. “See?”
An echo of voices come over the radio, letting the fireman know they’re all safe and giving technical details for what’s happening inside.
“Wait in the car with me?” Colton offers when I cross my arms over my chest, making it clear I’m not going anywhere if he’s planning to work this scene.
We both concede, the heat from the sun as well as the fire becoming a little too much for comfort.
It’s the middle of May, and I’m three days, including today, away from ending my internship with the Farmington Police Department. Technically, I’m done. My final grades, including the one for my internship posted last night. The writeups from both Colton and Chief Monahan complimentary enough to earn me an A.
And honestly, it was difficult to show up to the station today because the last week has been much like the weeks prior. Despite the connection I know we shared in his office, Colton has kept