Page 49 of Necessary Roughness

Jordan could hear footsteps in the entryway. Star must have let the cops in. Even worse, Tanner had no idea what she’d said to the cops. If she could get downstairs, maybe she could help him. She took the stairs as quickly as she could.

Instead of the sweet morning after that Jordan had envisioned before she’d fallen asleep last night, she was in a war zone. The officers were patting them down as they ensured nobody had a weapon. Star was screaming. It was taking everything Tanner had to keep Sadie under control.

“Officers, this is Star Jenkins, but most people would recognize her as Flowerbomb. She broke into my house.”

***

SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, Star was in handcuffs, Sadie was in her crate, and Tanner was apologizing to Jordan.

“I had no idea she was going to do something like this. I’m sorry. I wanted this morning to be special for us,” Tanner said. He rubbed a hand over his face.

“You’re apologizing to her? Apologize to me! I’m the one you left. You didn’t give a shit about me. I should get the apology!” Star shouted.

“Sadie, quiet. We’re fine. It’s okay to stop barking,” Tanner said.

Star was still insisting at the top of her lungs that she had done nothing wrong, she wanted to leave, and she was the victim. Tanner stared at her without saying a word. He was quiet until she screamed out, “Barb told me you tried to fuck her!”

“What?” he said.

“Oh, yeah. Don’t try to deny it. I know all about it. I sent her over here to make sure you weren’t with anyone else, and she told me that you tried to get her in the shower.” Star’s eyes were wild. “I know. I know.”

Jordan put one hand over her mouth.

“Were you invited here this morning, Ms. Jenkins?”

“Not exactly.”

The officer recited Star’s Miranda rights, which left her momentarily speechless. That didn’t last long. She started screaming again about how she was the victim, Tanner cheated on her, he never loved her, and she would get her revenge on him.

Jordan heard Tanner’s voice in her ear. “Do you think she realizes she just committed another crime in front of police officers?”

“Probably not.”

One of the other officers approached Tanner and Jordan. “We have additional questions. We’d like to talk with both of you if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes.”

The officer glanced back at the three officers who were escorting Star out of Tanner’s house. She was kicking and screaming, and she tried to dig her heels into the highly polished floor. It didn’t work. They half dragged, half carried her out. A few minutes later, one of the police cars pulled away with Star in the backseat.

***

THE REMAINING POLICE officers cleared out of Tanner’s house about an hour later. Jordan sank onto the living room couch. She realized he’d already apologized for what happened and it might be a good time to chill, but she was a little freaked out about the whole thing.

“I need to ask you a question,” she said.

“Do I want to run off to a tropical island for a few weeks? Hell yes,” he said.

“I like that question.”

“I’m fond of it too. What’s up?” He sat down next to her, threw his arm around the back of the couch, and pulled her closer.

“Does that kind of thing happen often?”

“People breaking into my house? Nope.” He stared at the floor. It must not have been a great subject for him.

“How did she get in here?”

“She had the codes to the gate and the security system.”

Jordan turned to stare at him in shock. “Why? You broke up.”

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