Page 98 of Until the Ink Dries

Tears sprang to my eyes as I took in the words.

He loved me. He really loved me.

My heart felt so full. After almost three months, this was a moment of realization. I hadn’t just been slowly falling for him. I was already there. Over the moon, head over heels in love with this man. This wonderful, beautiful, loving and caring man.

It may have seemed fast to people on the outside looking in, but I’d known him practically my whole life on the level of a friend. Now I knew him personally and intimately as a grown man.Myman.

It felt right, and I only had one response for him.

My voice cracked as I spoke. “I love you, too, Benjamin.”

Ihad a full day today to prepare for Charlie’s birthday, but the first on my list was Rose Haven PD. The shit that happened at Shirah’s shop didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t have my girl out here fighting and looking over her shoulder any time she stepped out of the house. I don’t know what the fuck Tierra has been on lately, but something in her has snapped.

I parked along main street and made a beeline for the small, quaint station. Rose Haven wasn’t what you considered an unsafe town. Of course, we had folks out here doing shit they shouldn’t, but it was nothing compared to the big cities. We had a small station that held maybe a few cells and a small number of officers. I used to think that was enough but for the first time, that shit felt inadequate.

I pushed the door until the little bell above it let out a sharp jingle. The front desk officer looked up, and before he could speak, I just held up a hand.

“Wes in?”

He gave a hesitant nod. “Yeah, but?—”

I was already moving.

I found Detective Wes Graham behind his desk, looking like he hadn’t slept in a day or two. Good. Neither had I.

He looked up when I walked in, the tension between us almost instant.

“Ben.”

“You got an update for me, or is she still playing tag with the whole damn department?”

Wes sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Still working on it. We’ve got a few leads out of town we’re checking—someone said they saw her hitching a ride, but nothing concrete.”

“So, she can pop up at my apartment, trash the place, hold a knife to me and try to take my daughter—and now fight my girl and her friend in broad daylight—and y’allstilldon’t know where the hell she is?”

He held up a hand. “I get it. Believe me. But she’s moving reckless, and she’s got nothing tethering her. That makes her harder to track.”

“She ain’t some ghost, Wes,” I snapped. “She’s Tierra. She’s unstable, yeah—but she’s loud. Somebody’s seen her. They just ain’t talking.”

“I’m not arguing with you,” he said, steady and firm. “But you barging in here like I haven’t been pulling overtime trying to find her? That’s not cool.”

I exhaled through my nose, pacing a tight line in front of his desk.

“I’ve got Charlie’s birthday party tomorrow. I don’t want any mishaps that could alter my baby’s day. The fact that y’all still haven’t located Tierra only worries me that she’s gonna show up uninvited and ruin shit.”

Wes’s expression shifted—something softened. “Where’s the party?”

“Altitude Adventure Park.”

“I’ll put a patrol unit nearby,” he said without hesitation. “Unmarked. You won’t even notice it unless you’re looking. If anything moves sideways, they’ll be there in seconds.”

That pulled a little bit of the pressure off my chest.

“I’m not trying to start shit,” I said, quieter this time. “I just don’t feel like I’m doing enough to keep my girls safe.”

“You’re doing exactly what you should be doing,” Wes said. “You got your daughter safe. You moved. You’re protecting the people around you. That’s what a good man does.”

I gave a slow nod.

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