2. Baker

CHAPTER 2

BAKER

She isthe most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

As soon as I walked into the building, I saw her, and I couldn’t look away. I know she’s the one I’m looking for, it’s a given with the ice she’s holding to her head, but it wouldn’t matter anyway because I’m not letting her out of my sight.

As I get closer, I see Chloe and Elias, one of Walker’s mercenaries, standing next to my girl. And yes, I haven’t even talked to her, I don’t know her name, heck, I don’t know anything about her, but I know she’s mine. Or she will be, anyway.

I stop next to Elias and position myself right in front of the injured woman. She’s looking up at me with her mouth hanging open. She’s affected by me, that much is obvious.

I lean down because I need to be closer to her. Bent over, I search her face. Without saying a word, I reach for the bag of ice in her hand and lift it from her head. She blinks up at me, speechless. I wince when I see the knot that’s already formed on her forehead. “Oh baby,” I grunt.

Her eyes widen, and I realize I called her baby out loud. She looks down, and that’s not going to do. I like having her eyes on me. I put my hand at her chin and raise it gently until her eyes meet mine again. “Talk to me. Are you okay?”

I try to make sure I’m holding her gently even though anger is pumping through my veins. “Can you tell me if you’re okay?’

She nods, but I shake my head. “Words. I need to hear you say it.”

Chloe leans in. “Cassie, what’s up, girl? Tell him you’re okay. Oh God, is she in shock or something?”

Cassie… her name is Cassie. Something clicks, and I deflate for just a second. Surely not… this can’t be THE Cassie.

She shakes her head and looks at her friend. “No, I’m not in shock. I’m fine.”

Her hair falls across her face, and I clench my hands at my sides to stop from reaching for her and brushing it away. I want to be able to look at her face.

She smiles softly and finally looks at me again. “I’m okay. It was my fault.”

Elias grunts next to me, and it’s obvious he disagrees with her. I would be jealous, but everyone in town knows that Elias likes Chloe. “It wasn’t her fault.”

I don’t have to look at the other man. I already knew it wasn’t Cassie’s fault. Anyone could look at her and know it would never be her fault. She’s too sweet and too innocent looking. “Do you want to press charges?”

Her gasp tells me her answer before she mutters a word. She starts to ramble. “No. Definitely not. It was my—”

I growl at her, and it surprises us both. But I’m even more surprised when she reaches for me, touching my hand as if she wants to reassure me. “No, really. I mean, those men were not nice, and they were starting to fight. I hate fighting, and I thought I could stop them, but I know, I know. I should have minded my own business. But they were fighting over Chloe, and she was uncomfortable—”

This time it’s not me that interrupts her, it’s Elias that puts his hands on Chloe’s shoulders and pulls her to him. “You should have come and got me.”

They start talking, but I tune them out and do what I’ve been wanting to do since I got here. I put both hands on Cassie’s shoulders. “What can I do for you?”

She doesn’t tense up. If anything, she leans into me. “I’m okay.”

I pull up a stool and sit down, putting her legs between mine. “Do you think you can get up?”

She nods her head, and then as if she remembered my request from earlier, she says, “Yeah, I really am fine.”

“Your pupils look okay. Any pain or nausea? Did you lose consciousness?”

She smiles and shakes her head. “I promise I’m okay. I’m more embarrassed than anything.”

I’m about to shake her off and tell her that she shouldn’t be embarrassed, but she giggles. “And what? Besides being a cop are you a doctor too?”

I scoot closer. I love that she feels she can joke with me. “No, I’m not a doctor, but I would love to get you checked out by one. Just to make sure you’re okay.”

She firmly shakes her head side to side. “No, I don’t need a doctor. It’s a bruise and no big deal.”

I’m about to insist when she starts to shake her head. “Look, I’d really just like to go home.”

Chloe reappears and sits down next to Cassie. She’s watching me, no doubt trying to figure out why I’m sitting so close to her friend. She puts an arm around Cassie. “I’ll take you home.”

Cassie is quick to decline. “No, you stay and have some fun. I can call my sister to come get me. She won’t mind.”

“No.” I practically yell at her and then shake my head at myself. Real smooth, Baker. “I mean, it’s fine. I can take you home. I’d like to talk to you a little more about the incident anyway.”

She gathers her hair at the nape of her neck and then wraps it around her hand, baring her neck to me. Already I can imagine pressing my lips to her soft skin. She releases her hair with a soft huff. “There was no incident. The one pushed the other and I guess he grabbed me when he started to fall.”

Chloe’s head is rolling back and forth between us, and she must figure it out on her own. She nods her head. “Right. You should let the uh, the officer, take you home.”

I blink at her because she knows me, she knows my name… and she knows who I am in relationship to Cassie. Somehow I’m going to have to break it to Cassie, but I want to let this play out as long as I can.

“You going to let me take you home?”

She gestures to me. “You’re working. You don’t need to take me home. I can get a ride.”

She tries to get up, but with me crowding her, she can’t. I put my hands on her knees. I’m not only breaking every rule right now but I’m doing it and not giving a fuck. Which should scare the hell out of me. I’m a by the books person, and I always follow the rules. But I guess if it comes to touching Cassie, I’m going to break each and every one of them. “I would like to take you home.”

She’s watching me with curiosity, and I smile at her. She has to be able to see how badly I want to spend time with her. “Go with me. I won’t sleep tonight unless I know you’ve made it home, safe and sound.”

“But…” she starts just as Chloe starts to talk.

“I know you haven’t been back home long, but I can vouch for him. Ba—uh, the officer is a good guy. You know I wouldn’t let someone take you home unless I knew you’d be safe.”

When she still hesitates, Elias jumps in. “And I’ll make sure Chloe gets home, so don’t worry about her.”

Finally, I let out a breath as Cassie nods her head. “Okay, sure. Thank you. I really am ready to get out of here. Plus I have school tomorrow.”

That’s when I try to recall everything I’ve ever heard about Cassie. She’s a teacher over at the middle school. She is twenty-two years old, ten years my junior. She doesn’t have the best relationship with her mom, at least to hear her mom say it. She’s really close with Brook, her sister. But even knowing all that, it’s not enough. I want to know everything about her. I stand up. “Do you want me to carry you out?”

She bolts to her feet. “Carry me? No way. I’m already going to be the talk of the town, I definitely don’t need people saying that a cop had to carry me out of the bar.”

I frown, and even though I don’t like it, I offer, “If you’re embarrassed to be seen with me, I can wait for you outside.”

She jerks back. “Embarrassed? No, that’s not what I meant. I mean that I don’t want people thinking I’m drunk—or in trouble—and you had to carry me out.”

I nod. “So I can walk next to you?”

She laughs and smiles as if she’s surprised by my request. “Yes, you can walk next to me.”

I want to ask her if I can hold her hand, but I hold back. I would love for everyone in this bar to know she’s mine. That way the whole town will know it by tomorrow. But I need to bide my time and not scare her off. She literally just met me and has no idea who I am. I can’t help wondering when she figures it out, will it blow every chance I could have had with her?

And even though I don’t hold her hand, I do stand protectively next to her while she hugs Chloe bye. I nod my head at her and Elias, and then because I can’t resist, I put an arm around Cassie’s waist to help her to the door.

She doesn’t resist me, and I breathe a little easier as we walk out of the bar into the cool night air.