Sullivan"Where is Shelby?" Menace asks as I stride back into headquarters, going to the equipment room to load up on what I feel I need."She's at the hospital. They're going to keep her overnight. Concussion."I don't want to speak to him or anyone else. There's only one thing on my mind and that's finding Frank. "Then why aren't you there with her?" Menace questions."I have other things to do.""You don't want to do this." He grabs hold of my shoulder, stopping me from going any farther."You have no idea what I'm about to do." I throw his hand off me."No, I do." He grabs hold and pushes me back against the wall. "I know exactly how you feel. When Rina was pregnant with Kels, she was held at gunpoint by a fellow teacher. I wanted to run in there and grab her, make sure she was okay, kill the fucker with my bare hands. But I couldn't." He holds onto my arm. "I had to be off the case, I was too close. In my anger I wanted to go in there and kill everyone, which woul

Sullivan"I love that shirt almost as much as I love you." I wrap my arms tightly around Shelby's waist. Since she came home from the hospital, I've had her within my reach.She wrinkles her nose up cutely at me. "I have no idea why.""Oh you know." I turn her around in my arms. The front of it says Laurel Springs SWAT Team and on the back it says Baker. One day I'll make her last name the same as mine. We're in no hurry. For the first time in my life, I'm not in a hurry.To prove to my family how much better I am than my brother.To do what everyone thinks I should be doing. Finally, I'm becoming my own man. "You gonna be there at the end?" "Oh yeah, hooting and hollering for the hottest guy on the course."I smile, shaking my head. "You're good for my ego."She reaches up, running her fingers through my hair. "You're good for me period.""So if we win, does that mean I get to do whatever I want to you?" I rub my nose against her neck."I believe you said

DevanteAs has become my habit when I'm working the morning shift, I park the ambulance in front of A Whole Latte Love. "You want anything?" I ask Cutter who's feverishly texting. Ten bucks says it's to his brand-new wife, Rowan."Black, one cream, two sugars.""Then it's not black, is it?" "Don't give me shit this morning. Ro gained two pounds and she's convinced she won't be able to fit into any of her clothes now. Never mind we've already gotten married.""This is why you got married, and not me," I remind him. Marriage isn't my deal. Never has been, probably never will be."I'm gonna call her, try and talk her down from the damn ledge.""Good luck with that my man."Gratefully, I leave him in the ambulance by himself. I might be happy for him, but he's driven me crazy talking about this wedding the last few months. Walking into the coffee shop, I expect to see Eden at the counter with a smile on her face.That's how I've seen her almost every day since she opened

EdenThe world is hazy as I struggle to open my eyes. It's extremely difficult but I fight against the fatigue plaguing my body. The last thing I can remember is feeling like shit at the shop. Correction, I'd been feeling rough for a few days, but there'd been no way I could take time off or close early. A Whole Latte Love has been barely making it since I opened a few months ago, but business is finally starting to become consistent. The money I managed to bring with me from Chicago has quickly been running out. If only I'd planned to get more. I'd been debating on what my choices were with the shop when I started to believe I was really sick. And then I'd panicked because I'd been alone.No wait, Devante was there. He was there, and I'd ridden in the ambulance.There's a beep, beep, beep, in the background and I wonder if this has all been a dream of some sort and I've slept through my alarm. If I have, I'm late for opening, and I can't afford that. With a burst of energy I

Eden I'm back in that weird space again. Where everything reminds me of a dream, but also feels as if it's staying still. I can't remember how long I've been here or what I'm doing. There's that annoying beeping again. The one that continues in a rhythm, almost like a song I've heard before. I can't place it though, that's what keeps bothering me. It's on the tip of my tongue and I can't seem to make it work.My mouth is dry as the desert and I want nothing more than a drop of water. My eyelids are heavy as I fight against their weight to open them. It's almost too much for me to do, but I keep going. If I can pool together all my strength, I can do it, I know I can."Eden?" It's a voice I recognize.ÊBut my mouth is so dry I can't seem to make it work.Ê"Eden?" The voice says again. "You okay?"No, no I'm not okay. I'm thirsty, and I'm scared. I can't remember what the hell happened to me, and instinctively I know I'm in a foreign place. Where am I?In my mind I've said