Page 13 of Beaten

“Your eyes are so pretty.” I blushed; I hadn’t meant to blurt it outlike that.

“Thank you.” She smiled and looked at the engagement ring she was playing with.

“Are you engaged?”

“Yeah, Jack proposed on New Year’s Eve.”

Jack?I was surprised Chris hadn’t mentioned it. Not that I was jealous, we only went on a few dates before realizing we were better friends.

She lifted her left hand and showed me her ring. It was a beautiful, a round diamond with two smaller heart shaped emeralds, one on either side. “He designed it himself, isn’t it pretty?” Her eyes sparkled as she watched the ring twinkle in the light. She was clearly head over heels in love with Jack. He was a lucky guy. I was about to tell her so when I saw him come out of his office.

“Hey Emily, I see Meg’s showing off her ring.” He put his hand on her shoulder. I could tell from his expression that he was just as head over heels in love with her as she was with him.Good for them. We may not have worked out, but it wasn’t because Jack wasn’t a good guy. He was, and he deserved to be happy.I wonder if I’ll ever find someone like him.

“It’s gorgeous.” I smiled at him. “You’re a lucky guy, Jack.”

Meg blushed and said, “Oh stop, I’m the lucky one.”

At the same time Jack said, “Don’t I know it.”

Chris made a gagging sound. “Oh please.” He dragged out the ‘e’ sound and rolled his eyes.

“Oh come on, you forget I’ve heard you gushing over Vicky, and Zoe.” Jack laughed as he gave my brother shit.

It felt good to laugh with them. Jack and I had been friends in high school and while I didn’t love the circumstances, itwas nice to see him again. I’d lost touch with most of my old friends, especially the males ones, after I started dating Craig. He’d get jealous any time I talked to another man, even co-workers, accusing me of flirting, and asking if I wanted to sleep with them. Eventually I stopped talking to everyone because it was easier. Safer.God,I was so blind. All the red flags were there. But he would tell me he loved me and ask me to forgive him. And I always did, right up until the last time.

Chapter 7

Jamie

Iassigned one of our part-time employees to shadow Emily until I could get there, then called Jack into my office so we could set up a schedule. I wanted to have at least the next seventy-two hours on the books. Knowing it wasn’t a matter of if, but how many, I asked Jack what shifts he wanted. I told him I planned on taking a few shifts.Who am I kidding I’ll be taking as many as I can.

One of the perks of owning my own company was being able to make my own schedule. It almost balanced out the extra paperwork that came with ownership. I could save Chris money by volunteering to work off-the-clock for the evening shifts I covered. It meant fewer nights off, but I didn’t mind, it’s not like I had a full social calendar. Besides, I liked staying busy, especially this time of year.

Jack and I sat down and made a schedule for the rest of the week. We agreed to cover most evenings, the highest risktime, and split the over-night hours among our part time staff, made up mostly of active duty and retired police officers. AJ and Doug would split most of the day shifts. I wasn’t surprised when Jack said he’d volunteer his time, he’d always been the type of guy who’d do anything for a friend. And it didn’t hurt the company because we were only volunteering for hours we weren’t scheduled to work at SSI.

“Does Emily have to pick anything up from the apartment? If so, we should go sooner rather than later so Craig doesn’t destroy everything she left behind.”

“Damn, I didn’t think to ask. She said she took anything of value which means she most likely left some stuff behind. I’ll ask when I send her the schedule. Thanks for thinking of it.”

Jack laughed. “What would you do without me?”

“Probably have fewer headaches.” I tried to sound annoyed but couldn’t pull it off, and we both ended up laughing. “Can you have Meg schedule a meeting before the end of the day, have her include Dad, he’ll want to be kept in the loop.”

“Can do.” Jack saluted as he stood up to leave.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Jack had always been a bit of a smart ass, a fact that had gotten him in trouble in high school and to a lesser degree in the Army. Because I’m a by-the-book kind of guy, I’d expected us to butt heads a lot more than we do. Not that we don’t, but it doesn’t happen nearly as often, or in the ways, I’d expected. He may have been an investor from day one, but we hadn’t assumed he’d be a good working partner just because he was family. Lucky for us, he’d been an asset to SSI from day one.Now I can’t imagine SSI without him.

Funny how relationships evolve over time. Jack and I were brothers and teammates in school, had grown apart in early adulthood, and now, we were not only brothers and business partners, we were best friends.

Doug and I were talking while we waited on Dad, Jack and AJ in the conference room. When Jack and AJ finally walked in they were arguing over which actor was the best Batman.

Jack asked, “Who do you two think was the better Batman: Keaton or Kilmer?” I knew Jack thought Keaton was the best Batman, so I assumed AJ was arguing for Kilmer.

“West.” Dad said from behind them. Both Jack and AJ turned around to stare at him, then plopped themselves into chairs like unhappy six-year-olds. Dad had a way of making it clear that a conversation was over with nothing more than his tone of voice. A skill John Sheppard had learned in the Marines, then perfected as a cop and the father of three rowdy boys. A skill I’d hated as a kid but admired as an adult. A skill I’d tried to mimic as a cop, and hoped to use someday as a father.If I’m lucky enough to find love again.

“Jamie, why don’t you fill us in on the Taylor detail.” Dad took a seat and opened his small notebook to a blank page. I shook my head; some habits died hard. AJ and Jack had printed out the email, and Doug had his laptop.

I filled everyone in, adding in the new development that wasn’t in the email: Jack and I would be escorting Emily, and Chris, to Houston to pick up her remaining thingsand turn her keys in to the landlord. Because of the restraining order, we could easily get Emily removed from the lease. We had to give Craig advance notice so he could leave the apartment. Then I took full ownership of my personal connection to the case, letting everyone know that Chris and I had been friends most of our lives.

---