Page 28 of Chasing Forever

Warren’s face began to turn a splotchy red as he fought to maintain his composure. “This has to be some sort of mistake. Gentlemen, I can assure you, this is completely unnecessary.” He turned up the charm, but it didn’t hide the fact the mask he kept in place was beginning to slip. The laugh he let out sounded more manic than humorous. “My wife has these... spells. You see, sometimes her mind gets a little muddled. I’m sure we can all work this out.”

I pulled in a deep calming breath. I was not going to lose my cool and do something to give the prick the upper hand. “And I can’t assureyou, this absolutely is necessary. At least according to the judge who saw the pictures of the bruises that covered a large portion of Ms. Bell’s upper torso.”

You can bet your ass I said that loud enough for the Snoopy Stephanie back there to hear.

Warren began to bluster. “Howdareyou! You have no right coming into my place of work and spreading filthy lies. I’ll have your badge for this. You mark my words!”

“Consider them marked.” I started to turn, but stopped myself. “Oh, and as for yourestrangedwife and these so-called spells? Well, she’s been living with me for almost three weeks now, and if you ask me, she’s sharp as a tack.”

“You fucking son of a?—”

He attempted to lunge in my direction, but Harrison stepped in and got between us, blocking his path and stopping him with a hand to the chest. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Not unless you want us to cuff you here in front of the lovely Stephanie”—he shot the woman a wink that made her blush, the fucking flirt—“and take you in for assaulting a police officer. Your morning’s started off pretty rough already. If I were you, I’d quit while I was ahead.”

My partner gave the man a beat to see if he’d heed the warning, and when it was clear there was no longer a risk, we turned and headed out the door.

“Christ, man. You had to mash that button, didn’t you?” he grunted once we were out of the building and heading toward our car.

I couldn’t stop the shit-eating grin that stretched across my face. “You know I did. Especially after all that shit he’d said about her.”

He blew out a sigh as I beeped the locks, rounding the car and pulling open his door. “Can’t say I blamed you. That was seriously fucked up.” He turned to me and arched a brow. “That make you feel good?”

I let out a laugh. “Hell yeah it did.”

Harrison smirked. “Good enough to stop off at Muffin Top for a couple coffees on the way back?”

I threw the car into gear without answering but ended up stopping off anyway, because the answer was,yes, I did feel that good.

Chapter Sixteen

Tristan

Iturned onto my street, anticipation swirling in my stomach the closer I got to the house. Since Levi and Merritt moved in, I couldn’t wait to get home at the end of the day so I could see them.

Over the past month, the three of us—well, the three of us and Doc—had fallen into an easy rhythm that had honestly become the best part of my day. I’d been a bachelor for so long and enjoyed the privacy that came with that. I’d never really looked at my future and thought about a wife and kids, but things were changing. Rather than going to the bar, I preferred to go home and watch Pay-Per-View wrestling with Levi. Instead of casually dating or looking for a one-night stand, I enjoyed spending my evenings with Merritt, each of us enjoying a drink at the end of the day as we wound down. Getting to know the woman who’d been consuming my thoughts for months was better than the thought of hooking up with anyone else.

I wanted to be with them. I enjoyed their company more than anyone else’s.

I guided the Suburban into my driveway and saw that everyone was outside. Merritt was pacing back and forth along the front porch, while Levi lay in the front yard as Doc jumped around, pouncing on him as the two played.

I climbed out, my gaze bouncing between a giggling Levi and an anxious Merritt.

“Tristan’s home!” Levi shouted exuberantly, like he hadn’t seen me in weeks. It was the same way he greeted me every evening, and I had to admit, it felt damn good to have someone so excited to see me.

I braced for collision. That was a lesson I’d learned a long time ago with my own nieces and nephew that definitely benefited me with Levi. He launched himself at me like one of those wrestlers, and I managed to catch him before he could bust his head open. “Hey, kiddo. You have a good day?”

“Yeah, it was awesome! Matt Bernard fell off the monkey bars durin’ recess and busted his nose. There was bloodeverywhere!”

I swallowed down my chuckle at his excitement at seeing blood. It was such a little boy thing. Hell, a lot of grown ass men would get a kick out of the gore too.

“Was Matt okay?”

“Yeah, the nurse said he was gonna be okay, but he still got to go home early.Lucky,” he said on a sulk, even though I was sure poor Matt Bernard wasn’t feeling particularly lucky. But kids didn’t consider stuff like that. At Levi’s age, I’d been convinced I was made of rubber and totally indestructible.

I caught movement from the corner of my eye as I put Levi back on his feet, glancing over to see that Merritt was still pacing, and she’d started chewing on her thumbnail.

“You and Doc keep playin’, buddy, I’m gonna go have a talk with your aunt.”

“Okay.” He picked up a stick in the grass and gave it a heave across the front lawn. “Doc, fetch!”

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