Chapter Thirty-Nine

Graves

“Officer Graves, are you there?” Carla Willows's voice comes through the radio, followed by screeching static. I seriously wish she would learn how to use the two-way properly. I pull myself away from Mallory, pick up the radio and reply.

“This is Officer Graves. Is everything okay, Carla? Keep it light, I’m not alone.”

“There’s been another one.” Carla keeps it short, thankfully.

“Where?” I reply.

“Same location as before.” Fuck.

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Mallory is watching me so intensely. Does my power turn you on, baby?

“ETA?” she asks, probably to notify my uncle.

“About two hours, maybe less. I have a prior engagement.” I click the radio off, waiting for her reply. The dead air lasts longer then I’m comfortable with. I shift the truck into reverse and back out of the driveway.

“What the hell do you mean you’ll be two hours, Graves?Where are you?” Ahh, there’s Captain Graves now.

“Driving my girlfriend to work.” I shift into drive and sneak a look at Mallory. She’s blushing. Good.

“I beg your pardon?” I knew that would throw him for a loop and bide me the time I need.

“You heard me, uncle.” I’m chuckling to myself as we tear down the dirt road on our way to the Silverberry Hotel & Restaurant.

“You’ll be spilling your guts over dinner tonight, boy. Drive safe.”

“Yes, sir. 10-4.” I put the radio back into the centre compartment and pick up the coffee mug, taking a long swig. I place the mug back in the drink holder and then coffee shoots out my nose as I suppress a laugh to prevent choking to death.

Mallory starts cackling, laughing so hard she’s practically wheezing. I need to pull over before I drive off the road.

“Are you okay?” she gasps out between gulping down lungfuls of air.

I almost pull my shirt up to wipe my face but have to stop myself. Instead, I start rooting around the back seat for napkins or wet wipes or something. Bingo. I find some napkins from our fast food dinner last night. Cleaning off my face, I hand her some to clean up the nasal spray that made it to the dash in front of her.

“Bone Daddy?”

“Stop, I can’t laugh anymore. My sides hurt,” she replies.

“What does your mug say?” I grab hers, it has a pirate on it and reads, “I swear this isn’t rum.”

“It’s funny because… The rum is always gone.” We say the last part in unison.

“Yeah,” she smiles. “I’m glad you get it, I always have to explain it to people.”

I weave my fingers through hers and pull her hand to my mouth, placing a gentle kiss on the top of it before pulling back onto the road.

We sit in comfortable silence, but I swear I can hear the questions rattling around in her skull. I run my thumb back and forth over the top of her soft skin and that must be whatever reassurance she needed, because her voice is the next thing I hear.

“Is everything okay at work?” Damn, I didn’t want to talk about another murder happening just minutes away from her house. I actually don’t even know if she is aware of the ones that have already happened. If she is, she hasn’t brought it up to me at all. At first I just appreciated the reprieve from the job, but maybe she is completely oblivious. She squeezes my hand twice, gently pulling me back to the present.

“You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to. Or, if you can’t.”

“It’s not that. I was actually wondering if you were aware of what’s been going on at the mill for the past few months?” She shakes her head and my gut drops into my ass. She doesn’t know someone is murdering women in what is basically her back yard. Why do I have to be the one to tell her this?

For the rest of the drive, I explain the situation as lightly as I can manage. I leave out all the grisly details but let her know there is now a serial killer targeting young women and leaving their bodies in the Henderson Mill. She’s visibly taken aback. Maybe you should read the news, just once in a while would be better than not at all.

I pull into an empty spot beside her Civic and see she has a flat. Fuck this day.

“UGHHHH!” She expels her frustration in an adorable fit of rage and cuss words. Don’t fret, I’ll be your knight in shining armour once again.

She slams the car door after retrieving her purse and phone. I wrap my arms around her and squeeze her excessively tight until she starts to laugh again. Music to my ears.

“Give me the keys, I’ll fix it. It will take me like…ten minutes.”

“No, I can pay a tow, you have to go be Officer Graves now and catch the killer,” she objects.

“Call me Officer again,” I whisper, crowding her space. Forcing her body up against the car and pressing my growing erection against her hip.

“Yes, Officer,” she breathes.

I press my lips against hers, desperate to finish the kiss that was interrupted earlier. Her arms encircle my neck and I slip my hand into her purse and pull out her keys. Swiftly sinking them into my pocket.

“Hey!” she mumbles against my mouth. I thread my fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck and pull, holding her to me and silencing any thoughts she had brewing.

“Mallie!” That’s Rita’s shrill voice cutting through the early morning air and shrivelling up my cock. I unlock my lips from Mallory’s as her face flushes with embarrassment. I raise my hand and wave.

“Officer Graves, is that you?” Who the fuck else would it be?

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Sorry to interrupt!” she hollers across the sparsely filled lot, then dips back inside the back entrance door. You’re definitely not sorry you interrupted, now you have new gossip to spread around town.

“Get going, Miss Knight, you’re already late.”

“Shit. My keys though…” She’s torn between going inside and standing here to banter with me just a bit longer. I’ll check that in the win column for Nox.

“I’ll come find you when I get it all fixed up, promise. Now, go. Before Rita comes back.”

“I’ll pay you back, thank you so much.” She reaches up on her tiptoes and plants a quick peck on my cheek. “My saviour,” she says quietly and I smile in response. If she only knew how wrong she was.