Adelyn couldn’t figure out Justin no matter how many times she thought about it. He seemed like the perfect law abiding citizen… so why would he be afraid to date a cop? Could it be that he was intimidated because she was a female cop? She didn’t know, but she had to find out, so she walked up a flight of stairs two afternoons after their date and knocked on his door. She waited for a good thirty seconds before he swung the door open.
“Adelyn…” he said, obviously shocked that she was at his doorstep. “What brings you here?”
“Your behavior is what brings me here,” she answered bluntly, pushing by him and into his apartment. “I don’t know what your problem is, Justin, but if you have something wrong with me being a cop, then I think you should tell me so we can get past this.”
Justin looked at her as if she were crazy. “There’s nothing wrong with you being a cop. I told you that.”
“Then how come I never hear from you? How come before I told you I was a cop you told me you were glad we met, and then after I did, you turned into stone and would hardly say a word to me?” She folded her arms across her chest. “So, don’t try to pull this crap about not liking me, Justin, because I can see that you do in your eyes.”
“You don’t understand,” he said, looking away.
“Make me understand,” she demanded.
“I can’t.”
“You can’t?”
“No, I can’t. I already know you won’t.”
“Is it because I’m a cop?”
Justin sighed, finally closing the door and pushing her to the couch. “You just won’t understand,” he repeated himself.
“Try me!” Adelyn sat down on his couch and he sat next to her. “I won’t lie to you, Justin. I like you… a lot, and I want to go out with you again… but you’re making this REALLY difficult for me!”
“Adelyn…” he sighed, hanging his head. “I think it’s best if we don’t go out again.”
“I don’t understand.” She paused, grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at her. “Are you intimidated by me?”
Justin grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his face. “Intimidated? No! Look, this has nothing to do with you… it’s just that I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship now.”
“But you’re the one who asked me out!” Adelyn protested. “If you didn’t want a relationship then why did you ask me out?”
“It was just a date,” he said, looking away from her once again.
Without even thinking, she grabbed his collar and pulled him so close that his face was right in front of hers. Then, she kissed him hard… and she didn’t let up till she was sure he needed a breath. “Just a date?” she asked breathlessly. “Are you sure?”
Justin was thrown by this woman. Everything about her made his heart race… and he wanted her just as badly as he wanted that kiss to continue. Even so, he put on a straight face. “I’m sure,” he lied. “It’s the only way it can be.”
“You’re lying,” she told him, still holding onto his collar. “I can tell you’re lying!” Suddenly, she let go of him and retreated back to her side of the couch. “Why are you lying to me?”
Justin leaned back against the couch, stunned. He didn’t know what to tell her. It was almost as if she had jumped into his mind and now knew his every thought. Well, almost anyway.
When she looked at him, he cleared his throat. “I… I…” he tried to say something, but couldn’t seem to form a coherent sentence.
“Something is going on,” she decided. “And I won’t rest until I know what it is.”
When she got up, Justin sat up straight and watched as she walked to the door.
“This isn’t over,” she announced, her hand on the doorknob while she looked back at him.
“Adelyn,” he said, finally getting his voice back. “Wait a second.”
She turned completely around and raised her eyebrow at him in suspicion.
“Maybe I’m not ready for a relationship right now,” he told her, “but do you think it would be okay if we were friends?” After that kiss? Friends? Who was he kidding?
Adelyn seemed to be debating on whether or not he was for real. “Okay,” she finally decided, and he let out the breath he’d been holding. “If that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want,” he assured her as he got up and walked to where she stood. “Is that okay with you?”
She sighed. “I guess it’ll have to be.”
“I’d be honored to be your friend,” he said, still trying to convince her. When he moved to kiss her cheek, and his lips touched her soft skin, he was reminded of the kiss that they’d shared just moments earlier, and he lingered there a little longer than he should have. He felt her hand on his cheek before he pulled away with a blush.
“So, it doesn’t bother you that I’m a cop?”
Justin looked into her eyes. She was still on that? “Not at all,” he lied. “Like I said, all of that was about me, not you.”
She sighed again, giving his cheek one last pat before she opened the door. “I guess I’ll see you around then.”
He smiled at her. “You can count on it.”
Colby Wyman lived in a mansion on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. He ran his… well, his business, out of his basement, and made millions of dollars at it. For a computer genius like him, it came easy.
He was at the dining table on a Wednesday evening, when his doorbell rang. “Can you get that?” he asked the butler, and then pushed up his wire-framed glasses as he shot a brilliant smile at his girl, Kelly.
Moments later, the butler came back into the dining room. “It’s Justin, sir. Should I show him in?”
“Please do,” Colby grinned. “I always have room for my number one man. Have the cook fix another plate.”
When Justin walked in, he stood at the end of the long table.
“Sit down,” Colby ordered cheerfully, and Justin took a seat across from Kelly.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” he told her, offering her his hand. “I’m Justin.”
“Kelly,” she said, looking at his hand, but not giving him hers. “And I know who you are. Trust me, I’ve heard all about you. You’re all Colby ever talks about! ‘Justin got me this deal,’ and ‘Justin got away with that.’ He thinks you’re the best thing that ever walked this earth.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Justin disagreed modestly, lowering his hand back down to his lap.
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Colby demanded, and then turned to Kelly. He jabbed his thumb in Justin’s direction. “He’s the most accurate man I have. Even with the cops in the building, Justin always finds a way out. He’s brilliant.”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “So you’ve said…” she mumbled.
“Don’t pay attention to her,” Colby told Justin. “She’s jealous because I talk about you more than I talk about her.”
Justin swallowed uncomfortably. He didn’t know what to say to that. Thankfully, he was saved when a plate of food was set in front of him.
“Eat, Justin,” Colby said, and watched as Justin picked up a fork. “So,” he continued, taking a bite of potatoes, chewing and then swallowing. “What brings you here?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner,” he started, but Colby wouldn’t let him finish.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. We don’t mind having company. Besides, you’re always welcome to join me anytime.”
Kelly mumbled something under her breath, but Justin didn’t hear, and Colby ignored her.
“I’m concerned,” Justin continued.
Colby raised his eyebrows. “About what?”
“Last job I was almost caught. I… I think they’re onto me.”
“Of course they’re onto you, Justin. How many buildings have you broken into in the past two years?” He paused, then repeated, “Of course they’re onto you.”
“But-”
“You’ve got to elude them,” Colby interrupted once again. “You have the upper hand, Justin,” he explained. “You have the element of surprise!”
Kelly’s hand fell to the table with a thump. “Oh, please!”
Colby pretended he didn’t hear her. “Do you see what I’m saying?” he asked Justin. “You’ve always gotta be one step ahead. That’s when we’ll accomplish big things.”
Justin looked down at his plate, and pushed his corn around with his fork. “I realize that I should be a step ahead of them,” he admitted, “but I think they know what I’m about… what I’m after. They probably even know where I’m going to strike next.”
Colby rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger, obviously thinking. “I think I might have a solution to your problem,” he finally said.
Justin perked up and looked at him intently.
“Why don’t you take a vacation?”
“A vacation?”
“Yes. The cops will be going nuts trying to track you, but they won’t be able to. And do you know why? Because you’ll be sitting in your apartment writing for that paper of yours. They won’t have a clue! And then, just when the time is right, you’ll hit again… and they won’t be ready for it.”
Justin couldn’t help but smile. He liked this plan.
Colby reached around for his billfold and pulled out a huge wad of bills. He placed them on the table before Justin as Kelly watched with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. “Here’s some vacation money,” he explained. “I’ll call you when it’s the right time.”
Chapter 5
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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