Page 50 of By the Book

Reid shifts in his chair, his glare rising towards what he knows isn’t a true mirror. Towards where he knows I’m watching. “Tell your boss that I have no clue what you mean.”

“That’s okay, I have the cases right here,” she says, opening the folder before her. “Let me refresh your memory. When you were in college, you were accused of following a girl home from a party. According to this, you tried to bust down the door of her apartment when she locked you out.”

My blood is boiling, hearing her recount his history. I might have read this already, but it’s entirely different to hear it as the asshole sits in front me. How the fuck could Howard hire this guy?

“That was a misunderstanding, and nothing formal was ever filed. What, did that little scrap of paper come from campus security?” he scoffs.

“The second time though,” Millie continues, “occurred just one year prior. At your last place of employment, a fellow lawyer reported that you cornered her in her office and laid hands on her without consent. Now she’s a partner and you’re starting over in a new town. Pity.”

“Again, nothing formal was ever charged. Pure hearsay.” His words sound confident, but his voice falls flat. He can’t have his employer help him out of this one, because it involves that employer’s daughter.

“Do you have a dock at Foxport Harbor?” Millie asks.

“I’m sure you already know the answer to that,” Reid replies drily.

“Can you show me your key?”

“I don’t have it on me, it didn’t seem like something I should grab to come to a sheriff’s department. My bad.”

“You can go for now. I’ll have another deputy follow you home to get that key,” Millie says, rising from her chair. “Oh and Mr. Delaney? I’d advise you to stay away from Ivy Taylor.”

I remain in the observation room as Millie leads Reid through the lobby. I’m not worried since that other deputy is already outside waiting to tail him. Checking my watch, I contemplate sending Millie to get Jackson now or waiting till tomorrow. I spent most of my time last night digging for something on Reid, and it paid off. But if it is him, then this has no connection to the other instances of vandalism. And I’m starting to like Jackson for those.

Or all of them, I can’t rule that possibility out. And if we go after him without having something to scare him with, it could blow our chances. Stepping out of the observation room, I round the corner to my office next door and sink down into my chair.

“That guy is seriously the worst,” Millie opens with, stepping into my office. “I wish we could arrest him for being a prick.”

“You and me both,” I snort.

Crossing her arms, she leans in the doorway, a smirk forming on her lips. “And is it safe to assume that you took care of Ivy last night? She was on the top of your to-do list?”

“Don’t say it like that.”

She smiles wider, and taking a mockingly innocent tone, says “I just mean, I can cross getting her statement off ofmyto do list, right?”

“Yes, you can cross that off your list.”

“Good, I’m glad. In that case, what’s next? Jackson?”

A yawn halts my response. I never got around to sleeping last night. It took hours to uncover all the buried documents on Reid. And by the time I finished, dawn was creeping in. I spent the remaining time lounging back and enjoying the sight of Ivy asleep on me. She had looked peaceful, at ease. And at some point, one of her hands made its way up to curl around my thigh and tuck under her chin.

“Maybe the café before we jump back into things?”

“Coffee first,” I agree, rising from my seat and following her out the door. If I have any chance in hell of getting back to my girl at a decent time, I’ll need all the help I can get.

Chapter 21

Ivy

Sliding a white ceramic mug across the island to me, my mother adjusts the collar of her robe and studies me with a pointed expression. Nothing gets past Ruth Taylor, and I can tell from the sparkle in her eyes that she’s come to some type of conclusion. Lifting the freshly brewed coffee to my lips, I wait for my family to start back in on me. Instead, they all watch me in silence.

“Okay, this is weird,” I start after a sip. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

My father frowns. “I’m sure I can speak for the whole family when I say we are worried about you.”

“I understand, I made a mistake. But Tripp fixed it.” Tripp, the man who I just kissed outside of my apartment building and spent the night with. The man I’d been wanting to kiss for twelve years now. I close my eyes and replay the evening in my mind, warmth spreading through my center as I do. Everything falls away around me, and I’m back there with him. I can still feel his lips on mine. The way he clutched my waist when I first leaned into him on the sidewalk, held me against his strong, hard body. It was worth the wait. I just hope he feels the same way.

“V, did you hear me?” Wes’s voice cuts through my daydream. I raise an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to repeat himself. “I was saying that you can’t use my friend to clean up your mess.”

---