His to Love (Carmel Springs Book 6)

Chapter 8

Stevie~

Two days later, I was still feeling sore and high. However, pulling into the parking lot of the police department, that high was quickly fading. Though I was going to see Clayton in the conference room during our pass down, we had agreed that nothing would change at work. In short, he'd keep ignoring me like he had been, and I'd do the same. The key to all this was to remain professional at work, and if I could have my cake and eat it too, then I was going to do whatever necessary for that to happen.

My apprehension came from knowing that people had already been talking about our hookup, though this thing between me and Clayton was far from a hookup. Clayton was proving to be every woman's dream, and I didn't want this thing going sideways to the point where he really ended up quitting his job to go work with his brothers. While he had assured me that he couldn't care less either way, I knew that everyone in the department valued him. Other than his sourly disposition, no one had a bad thing to say about Clayton Colter, and if the department had a big brother of sorts, it was him.

Walking into the precinct, I said hello to anyone passing my way, smiling as I made my way towards the conference room. According to Clayton, Brett and Jax had today off, so it was just going to be him, and he promised to stay in the back.

As I reached for the conference room door, I felt heat hit me from behind, then saw a masculine arm reaching for the door. "I got it, Whitley."

I turned to see Gilbert smiling down at me. "Thanks, Hennessy."

We walked into the room together, and without even looking, I knew that Clayton's hazel gaze was pinned on me. I could feel him staring at me from wherever he was, and like all new lovebirds, I just wanted to go home with him and get lost in each other again. I didn't want to have to wait another twelve hours just to get a glimpse of him again.

"Okay, everyone settled down," Chief Sergio called out.

Making sure to act as normally as possible, I took a seat in the front like I'd been doing, and looked up at Chief Sergio, ready for our pass down. I had to stop myself from fidgeting, and my heart was beating so hard in my chest that I was certain that everyone could hear it. I wasn't sure if I felt apprehensive or paranoid, but I felt something. If my hand started to sweat, I wouldn't be surprised.

"First item on the agenda is Mr. Hearns," Chief Sergio announced on a sigh, and I knew that I was missing something when a lot of the cops in the room chuckled.

"What now, Chief?" Oliver Miller asked.

"One of his plants died," Chief Sergio answered.

"Awe, man," Gilbert drawled out next to me. "That sucks."

Chief Sergio nodded in agreement. "While I feel for the man, he's got it in his head that someone killed it."

"No one killed his plant," Beck Forrest called out from the back of the room. "C'mon, Chief."

"While I'm very aware that no one killed his plant, after that stunt last month with Colter #3, Mr. Hearns is convinced that people are lurking around the neighborhood at night."

I almost laughed at the Colter #3 comment, but I managed not to. However, that didn't stop me from asking, "Does this mean that we'll need to do more patrols in his neighborhood?"

Chief Sergio looked down at me. "Last month, Mr. Hearns called the police on Jax because he thought Jax was casing the neighborhood. Ever since then, Mr. Hearns has been a bit paranoid."

"Wait." I shook my head in confusion. "I thought the entire town knew who the Colters were?"

"Mr. Hearns hadn't gotten a good look in the truck before calling the police," Gilbert explained next to me. "While Jax had eventually rolled down his window to let Mr. Hearns know that everything was okay, it was too late by then. Mr. Hearns had already called the police on him."