The law of deceit, p.3
The Law of Deceit, page 3
“I think a caramel macchiato is what I’ll get for you,” Tate tells me as we stand in line behind a small woman in a PMU hoodie that swallows her. “It’s sweet but still has coffee in it. Plus, before you graduate to iced coffee, you need to learn to love the warm, cozy stuff first.”
I’m amused that Tate is making this whole coffee thing a thing. I like that he’s joined our family. I mean, not technically like Willa did on a random Tuesday this past March when my brother Callum dragged her to the courthouse, but it’ll only be a matter of time. Jude’s so fucking obsessed with him. Tate’s a cool dude, though. He’s one of the few good friends I have who aren’t related to me.
Yet.
“They have chocolate milk just in case,” I tease, gesturing to the kids’ section of the menu.
Tate gives me a withering glare that makes me crack up laughing. The PMU girl who’s wearing a hoodie in the June heat turns to look over her shoulder at us in disdain.
“What?” I ask, grinning at her. “No talky before coffee?”
This makes her smirk and she faces front again. Tate gives me the side-eye, playfully nudging me with his elbow. That’s his thing anytime we go out. He tries to point me in the direction of girls who look interested or laugh at my jokes. Problem is, I don’t want any of them.
“Get her number,” he mouths, discreetly pointing at the girl.
I shake my head, choosing to look out the big windows instead. The mountain gleams in the morning sunlight. It’s pretty. Maybe I could come here some time alone, drink my coffee or at least pretend to, and steal one of the window seats to draw on my iPad.
Thoughts of my iPad bring thoughts of Sloane. After all, everything I’ve done digitally so far has been of her. I took her advice and changed the password on my device because if anyone saw just how obsessed I was with drawing her, they’d have me committed. The only reason I haven’t drawn her naked is because it feels like a violation, especially since my illustrations are delving more into realism with my new digital capabilities.
Tate’s chipper voice starts telling the barista our order. I remain standing in place, admiring the view, when a police cruiser pulls into a parking spot next to the Jeep. The same tight feeling I get inside my chest whenever I draw her forms in the hope it might actually be her.
Stupidly, I look for her in every cop car I see.
Always.
The police officer climbs out of the vehicle, dressed in a crisp navy-blue uniform. Immediately, I recognize the familiar, gorgeous face and my heart stutters. Somehow with no makeup and her blond hair pulled into a severe bun, she’s more beautiful than ever.
Maybe it’s the mountain behind her.
Maybe it’s because she’s doing what she loves.
Whatever it is, I feel lucky as fuck to witness it.
Someone gets out on the other side, but it’s not her usual partner she’s with. It’s a kid—maybe thirteen or fourteen—who climbs out and follows after her.
They’re coming into the coffee shop.
The door opens and Sloane steps inside. Even when she’s frowning and in police mode, she still turns heads wherever she goes. Does she realize she has such magnetism? What would she do if she knew how twisted up I am over her?
Like the good cop she is, she scans the small coffee shop, looking for threats and familiar faces in one quick sweep. When her gaze finds mine, her features soften and a smile tugs at her lips. I don’t know how I managed to earn it, but I’m thankful as fuck to see it nonetheless.
“Officer Do-Good,” I say, sauntering over to her. “Sorry, but they’re fresh out of donuts.”
The kid beside her sniggers. “Aunt Sloane hates donut jokes.”
Aunt Sloane?
“Hey,” I say to the kid. “I’m Dempsey, your aunt’s favorite delinquent.”
She rolls her eyes at me, making her seem closer to PMU hoodie girl’s age than my mom’s. “Dempsey’s trouble,” she whispers to her nephew. “Avoid it whenever you can.”
He grins and I shrug like being a troublemaker is all I know. She steps closer, filling my nostrils with her fruity scent, and squeezes my shoulder. “Keep an eye on Kaden while I order our drinks?”
For a brief moment, I see us as equals. I’m a friend helping a friend. A man looking after another woman’s family.
Not a kid.
Not a troublemaker.
Someone worthy of someone like her.
“Oh, hey,” Tate greets, handing me my caramel macchiato. “There’s a table opening up by the window. It’s a four-seater. You guys can sit with us.”
This earns us a wide, thankful grin from Sloane. Suddenly, I’m really fucking happy I’m in a coffee shop. If Sloane comes here a lot, you better believe it I’ll figure out a way to like the stuff if only to get to see her more often than I currently do.
Tate snags the table and quickly cleans if off with a paper napkin. He takes one of the comfy armchairs. I decide to sit on the love seat, wondering if Sloane will choose to sit by me or not. Kaden sits in the other armchair, making my heart rate kick up with anticipation of where she’ll be forced to sit.
“PMU girl looked around your age,” Tate says as he sips his iced coffee. “Oh my God. Heaven.”
I laugh at his orgasmic expression as I sample my own drink. I’m stealing a peek at Sloane’s ass in her tight work pants as I sip. “Heaven indeed.”
“You love it? I knew it!” Tate sets his drink down to clap. “I knew I’d make a believer out of you!”
The drink actually does taste okay. I could definitely drink the whole thing. My appreciation isn’t for the coffee, though. It’s for Sloane Thurman’s perfect, smooth curves.
“What about if we have a session?” Tate asks. “Just me, you, and Nathan. I could act as mediator.”
Buzzkill, man. Fucking buzzkill.
“Why would you want to torture yourself?” I take another sip of the sweet drink and shake my head.
“Helping people is not torture,” he says with a huff. “It makes me happy.”
Before we can dive deeper into the conversation, Sloane arrives. She eyes the only open seat and then sits beside me. My spine straightens as I’m quickly aware of her proximity. She leans forward to hand over a jug of chocolate milk and a pastry to Kaden.
“Where’s my pastry?” I ask Tate, arching a brow.
“Drink your coffee and you can have dessert after.”
Sloane laughs, soft and breathily. “Is he always this bossy?”
“Always,” I say as Tate says, “Never.”
This causes Kaden to cackle with laughter, clearly finding his new coffee friends amusing.
“You working today?” I ask Sloane, casually letting my arm stretch out over the sofa behind her.
“Headed that way after.” She sips on her drink that looks just like mine. When she notices my staring, she holds her mug out. “Cheers to liking the same coffee. Is that a caramel macchiato?”
“Yeah. I’m a virgin.”
Kaden and Tate both erupt with laughter that causes several people—including PMU girl—to glance over at us with curiosity.
“Wait,” I start, feeling fucking stupid right about now.
Sloane shakes her head, smirking, and holds up her hand. “Stop. It’ll only get worse.” She takes another sip of her coffee and motions at me. “How’s the iPad? I keep waiting to get a picture to see your work. Have you even used it yet?”
Used it?
I’ve drawn countless portraits of this perfect woman.
Once, I even beat off to them.
To fucking art.
Shame curdles my stomach. I hate that I’m this way around this woman. I lose all cool and sense of who I am, stumbling over my words and acting like a general idiot.
“I use it a lot,” I assure her, unable to meet her eyes. “I just can’t show you anything yet. Not until I’m better.”
She reaches over and touches my forearm, sending a thrill shooting through me. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Text me soon and show me.”
I find the backbone to meet her stare. She’s being genuine and really wants to see my art. This settles something deep inside of me. I’ll draw her something she’ll love. Something really special.
Kaden burps from his chair, earning everyone’s attention. He’s wearing a chocolate mustache and a goofy grin. I burn the image into my head, knowing exactly what I’ll draw for Sloane.
And then I’ll have an excuse to text her.
All shitty thoughts of Dad and my future and a stupid car vanish.
Everything vanishes whenever Sloane is around.
She’s magical as fuck.
Sloane
Kaden is bored out of his skull and I can’t blame him. I don’t have any other choice, though, but to bring him here with me. The department receptionist, Tara O’Connor, has been nice enough to help me keep an eye on him whenever I’ve had to go out on a call or patrol.
Why won’t Rhiannon call me back?
It’s been a month and she obviously knows her son hasn’t come back home. I’m not exactly adjusting to having a kid in the house, but at least he’s safe, fed, and somewhat happy.
Since they’re my family, I’m not about to involve social services. From experience, I know they’ll just put him back in the apartment with Rhiannon and Lenny, which is clearly not where he wants to be. My gut churns thinking that I may have to visit Mom and Nevaeh to see if they have a way of getting a hold of her.
“Can we do something fun tonight, Aunt Sloane?” Kaden asks, plopping down in the chair across from my desk. “All you do is work and when you get home, we watch boring cop shows.”
I remember being in his shoes—when I finally escaped hell—and learning that when you weren’t always in a state of distress, life was actually kind of boring. As it is for him, I found it difficult to adjust.
My phone buzzes on the desk and I hold up a finger, letting him know we’ll get back to this conversation in a minute.
Dempsey: It’s not my best work but I hope you like it.
I open the picture he’s attached and find my nephew staring back at me. He’s cheesing for the camera and has a chocolate milk mustache. In the illustration, you don’t see the heartache and pain he’s gone through. All you see is pure joy—the kind a child should have at his age.
It’s beautiful.
My eyes burn and a lump forms in my throat. I knew Dempsey was artistic, but the level of skill he possesses is unreal. He didn’t just draw my nephew. He took a perfect moment and transformed it into something everlasting. Something special and wonderful.
Me: Wow. I have no words. This is phenomenal. Thank you.
He sends me several smirking emojis that make me chuckle. I show Kaden and his eyes bug out of his head.
“Dempsey drew that?”
“Yeah. He’s pretty amazing.” I grin and look down to see he’s texted me again.
Dempsey: You and Cayden should come over for dinner tonight. Mom likes seeing you and I could teach him to play pool. Might be fun.
Me: Kaden is how you spell it. I’ll ask him.
My stomach twists in an unnatural way and I wonder if I’m getting sick. Probably all the stupid sludge coffee I have to drink when I don’t have time to pop into Park Peak Brew.
“He wants to know if we want to come over for dinner tonight and—”
“Hell yeah!” Kaden hollers, jumping up from his seat before I can finish my statement.
I laugh at his antics, ignoring a few sour glares from some of the older officers at our precinct. It may not be cool to bring your nephew to work, but I did get Tanaka to authorize it. They can kiss my ass if they have an issue with it.
“Who wants to earn a king-sized Snickers?” Tara asks as she shuffles over to my desk. “I have some files that need putting away ASAP or they’re going to topple over and bury me in my chair one day.”
Kaden, who loves food and anything to take away the boredom, nods eagerly at Tara. I give her a thankful smile.
As my nephew walks away with her, I try my sister for the millionth time.
No answer.
Surprise, surprise.
“Holy shit,” Kaden says, whistling. “These people are loaded.”
“Don’t say shit,” I grumble. “And please be on your best behavior. Dempsey’s dad can be a bit of a dick sometimes.”
Kaden frowns and I hate that I’ve taken away his excitement. He of all people knows about being around a dickhead. Lenny is the absolute worst.
“Come on. Jamie’s a way better cook than I am. She’ll fatten you up like a tick.”
Kaden laughs as he climbs out of my car. “Anyone is a better cook than you, Aunt Sloane. Your specialty is frozen lasagna and pizza rolls.”
“They’re good, though, am I right?”
He cracks up laughing again. I know he agrees. The kid was catching a ride with his drunk neighbors just to be able to eat. Store-bought lasagna and pizza rolls are probably heaven to him.
I ruffle his blond hair and we walk up to the front door. My knock is sharp and no-nonsense, making me cringe. I even knock on doors like a cop.
Thankfully, it’s not Nathan who answers but my best friend.
“Oh my gosh, Sloane,” Jamie says with a squeal before launching herself at me. “What a surprise!”
A surprise?
What the hell, Dempsey?
“I, uh, I…” I trail off, feeling stupid as she hugs me.
“I invited them, Mom,” Dempsey calls out from inside. “I knew you’d be happy.”
Jamie pulls back and stares at me as though she can’t believe I’m here. I come here sometimes. Okay, so maybe only on special occasions or when the Parks have trouble they need help with. But still, it’s not that much of a shock.
“And who is this guy?” Jamie asks, turning her attention to Kaden. “He looks like you when we first met.”
“I’m her nephew, Kaden.” He offers her his hand, standing tall and smiling wide. “Nice to meet you.”
Kaden is a good kid, but this is different. It’s then I realize he thinks Jamie is hot. Ugh, boys are so weird sometimes.
After Jamie introduces herself, she ushers us inside. Kaden’s crush on Jamie is squashed the second he sees Gemma.
“Oh shit,” he mutters under his breath. “Oh shit.”
I glance down at my panicked nephew. “Don’t say shit and what’s wrong?”
His face turns beet red and he stares unabashedly at Gemma. “It’s Gemma.”
“You know her?”
I mean, it’s possible he knew her from school maybe. Except, I’m pretty sure he’s in middle school which means they wouldn’t have seen each other. Actually, I don’t even know what grade Kaden is in. Crap, another thing to figure out before school starts back up in the fall.
“GemmaParkLovesUx2.”
I wait for him to elaborate, staring at him in confusion.
“She’s an influencer,” he hisses. “She legit has almost a million followers.”
Ahhh.
I still don’t know exactly what an influencer is, but apparently, Kaden does. And it’s a big deal to a thirteen-year-old.
“So basically a celebrity?” I ask, clarifying before I put my foot in my mouth.
“Yes. Oh my God, she’s so pretty in real life.”
Gemma, face buried in her phone, finally realizes she has guests. When she sees us, she grins happily. Kaden withers where he stands, clearly at a loss for what to do.
“This is my nephew, Kaden, and he’s a huge fan,” I tell her, motioning at him. “He’s in shock.”
If looks could kill, I’d be dead. Kaden glowers at me, humiliation turning his cheeks even redder. I’ve seen the same look on his mother’s face a time or two. Well, crap. I really am sucky at this kid stuff.
Dempsey swoops in and saves the day, thankfully.
“Want to see my pool table?” he asks Kaden, ignoring his sister and my faux pas altogether. “We have a mini fridge in the game room and like a million different kinds of snacks.”
Kaden practically bolts out of the room on Dempsey’s heels. Gemma chews thoughtfully on her bottom lip while Jamie runs her fingers through her daughter’s long, dark hair.
“He’s adorable, Sloane. Is he visiting for the summer?”
I like that answer. Why didn’t I think of that? It’s a lot better than his mother abandoned him and he needed rescuing.
“Yup,” I lie. “I really am sorry for popping in unannounced. Dempsey texted and asked us over.”
Jamie’s smile falters. “I didn’t know you and Dempsey text.”
Something about the way she says those words has my blood turning to oil. It clogs every cell and makes me feel dirty inside.
She’s not thinking…
Oh. No.
Absolutely not.
“The iPad,” I choke out, eager to explain myself. “He showed me something he drew of Kaden. We, uh, ran into him and Tate at the coffee shop. Then he invited us over.”
The tension in Jamie’s body releases and her warm smile is back. She and Gemma chatter about PMU in the fall. How they’re trying to talk Nathan into letting her live on campus. Gemma’s major. Etc. Etc. I’m still processing the fact she thought something gross was happening between me and Dempsey.
Hell no.
He’s a kid.
Well, not exactly a kid anymore considering he’s eighteen and has more tattoos than I can count, but he’ll always be the little troublemaker to me.
“I was going to text you today,” Jamie reveals as she motions for me to follow her into the kitchen. “One of Hugo’s colleagues, Oliver, just went through a divorce. He’s been dating a bunch of women who are only interested in him for his money. Oliver is pretty cute and has a great personality. How do you feel about me setting up a blind date for you two?”
The thought of going on a date with some rich lawyer sounds nauseating. But what’s worse is having Jamie think I have the hots for her son.
“Really? Oh, uh, yeah. I’d like that.” I force a smile. “Truly. Thank you.”
I can think of a million other things I’d rather be doing than going on a date with this guy, but I walked myself into that trap. And who knows, maybe I might connect with the guy. The few dates I’ve been on over the years have fallen flat. Most guys get bored with my no-nonsense personality and want to skip straight to the sex. I’m not interested in having sex with someone I have zero connection with. Disappointment on all fronts for everyone involved.
