Till There Was You (3 page)

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L
inc lay awake on the uncomfortable bench for the rest of the morning thinking about what happened the night before while occasionally running his tongue over the split in his lip. He was pissed that he was the one locked up and accused of being drunk and disorderly when he kept the peace and hadn’t had even a sip of alcohol. He’d wanted to drink it, but didn’t, and locked up was what he got for trying to help. He should have spent New Year’s Eve alone.

It had become Linc’s policy to stay away from people. He knew he was somehow tainted. Every time he let someone in to his life, let his guard down and thought he could somehow be happy, some shit would happen and people would get hurt. Those four pathetic excuses for men had deserved it, but he wasn’t safe to be around—he didn’t know when to stop. He had always been reckless.

A shiver ran down his spine as brief flashes of memory resurfaced, brought on from the time he’d spent in a Taser-induced sleep. His cursed past clung to him as close as his own shadow did. It was always ready to haunt him when he closed his eyes, which was why he only slept when he had to, and heavily medicated at that.

Soft snores let him know the sergeant was asleep. Linc sat up and took stock of his surroundings. He was in one of two cells at the back of the small station. In front of him, was an area containing desks and a couple of private offices. The town was small, so there wasn’t a need for a huge police presence. There were less than two thousand locals in Newsham for most of the year, with a population increase only over the winter months when travelers came to see the Northern Lights at their best. Winter was the only reason Linc had been out in public. With tourists around, there were crowds, and where there were crowds, he could blend in—or so he’d thought anyway.

Lying back down, he laced his hands behind his head and attempted to get comfortable while trying to remember what happened in the bar. Mostly, he remembered her—the girl they had called ‘Lily’. He remembered the way she worked the room all night, smiling and happy until those assholes had turned a fun atmosphere into a shit one. After that, all he remembered was the anger building inside him as they continued to hassle her. He kept it under control while she held her ground, knowing local law enforcement would be there soon and not one of those men would walk out of that bar without the help of a stretcher if he got involved. But the moment she looked over at him, her eyes pleading, his restraint slipped. After tipping the drink on the floor, he failed to recall much of what happened next besides the cold fury that powered his fists until that single word pulled him out of it.

“Stop!”

Her voice. It had cut through the sound of blood rushing through his ears and the steely focus that overcame him when his fists were pummeling flesh. Meeting her green eyes and feeling regret over letting his demons take control was the last thing he remembered before waking up in that damn cell, caged up like some kind of animal. Although, maybe that’s exactly what he was...

Linc forced his mind blank, listening to the storm outside until it abated. The gentle light of dawn started to sneak in through one of the nearby frosted windows. When the constable returned, he pretended to be asleep as the sergeant slowly roused and both officers went about a much-practiced routine of making coffee and talking through the work schedule.

The sound of approaching footsteps and the richness of fresh brewed coffee was a good enough reason for Linc to open one eye and stare at the younger officer. His cold, dark eyes made the constable shift from foot to foot, unable to make eye contact before placing the mug on a small ledge to the right of the cell door. Moving from a prone position to sitting faster than he needed to, Linc had the young officer quick stepping backwards in time to the sergeant’s soft chuckling.

“Relax, Doug. Despite his appearance, he won’t do anything unless you provoke him,” the sergeant said from where he sat in his chair spinning in slow circles as he watched on with amusement.

“Well, I’m the one with the keys right now, so if he wants out of there, he’s going to have to play nice.” There was an underlying stutter in Constable Doug’s voice and Linc knew he had hit a nerve.

In response, Linc leaned forward, his eyes still on the constable as he let a broad smile slowly creep across his lips. It wasn’t a smile meant to put the young cop at ease. The split in Linc’s lip reopened, causing blood to trickle down his chin. The color drained from Doug’s face.

“Relax, kid, I’m just fucking with you.” Linc chuckled and wiped away the blood. Then he reached out for the mug, giving the constable a wink as he lifted the hot liquid to his mouth.

“Feeling friendlier this morning, I hope,” the sergeant commented as he stopped the spinning of his chair.

“Fuck you, Sarge,” Linc calmly replied before taking another sip of coffee.

“What, are you still dirty about the Taser and sucker punch?” the sergeant asked in a mocking tone.

Linc refused to be baited; he just continued to sip the warming richness of his coffee as he silently evaluated the guy in charge of keeping law and order around town. The sergeant seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties, probably just over six feet tall with a good solid build, brown hair, brown eyes, and passable looks for women who liked that clean-shaven, plain sort of guy. He was nothing like his sister, and Linc wondered which parent each had gotten their looks from.

Finishing his coffee, the sergeant approached the cell door and swung it open without the use of a key, prompting a gulp from Doug, who gave Linc a sheepish look.

Linc’s mouth fell open. “It was unlocked the whole time?”

Nodding, the sergeant stood there for a bit just looking at Linc before he held out his hand and said a simple, “Matt.”

Deciding to take the peace offering, Linc stood, shook the sergeant’s hand, and replied, “Linc.”

Linc watched as Matt turned and made his way to his desk before motioning for him to join him. Glad to be free of the cell, he took Matt up on the offer, allowing his weight to land heavy in the chair opposite him. He was still nursing the remnants of his coffee as he waited for what was to come next.

“All shit aside, I want to thank you for helping out my sister. Doug here got statements from witnesses and everyone involved, and it turns out I may have been a little over zealous with the whole Taser and hitting you in the head thing. But, if you’d seen the look in your eyes, I think you would have done the same thing.”

“Is that supposed to be some kind of apology?”

Matt shrugged. “It’s about the best you’re going to get.”

“Okay then.” Linc finished the last of his coffee, leaned forward, and placed the empty mug on the corner of the desk before looking around for a door that would lead to the toilet. The need to relieve himself was becoming something he was unable to ignore.

Matt must have guessed what he was looking for. “First door on the left, down the back,” he said, pointing toward the back corner of the room.

As he made his way toward the indicated door, Linc could feel Matt’s eyes watching him and knew Doug was still a little uncertain about letting him out after the display he’d shown last night.

In the midst of relieving himself, Linc could just make out that Matt and Doug were having some type discussion. It was most likely about him, because their conversation ended abruptly the moment he reentered the room.

“Listen, Sarge...I mean, Matt, I wasn’t intending to cause any trouble last night, but I am glad I was there to put a stop to it when it happened. The way they treated your sister, they fucking deserved it.”

Matt rocked back in his chair, a slow creak filling the quiet room with his movement. “I’m prepared to forget it ever happened as long as it doesn’t happen again. We can’t have people taking the law into their own hands. Do we have an agreement?” Matt stood and held out his hand.

Linc stood and gave a firm response to Matt’s outstretched hand. “Sure. As long as I never see them again, we won’t have a problem.”

“I think the whole of Newsham will be happy to see the backs of those four.”

“Then, I guess we have an understanding.”

“I guess we do. How about a refill on that coffee? Maybe you can answer a few of those questions you weren’t in the mood for last night.”

“Sorry, mate. If I don’t get home soon, the dog is going to rip the place apart.”

Matt chuckled. “Figures.”

Making small talk, they finalized paperwork and Matt returned Linc’s belongings, releasing him without charge.

“Try to stay out of trouble,” Doug said to Linc’s back as he stepped toward the door.

Linc turned back and smirked. “Only if you grow a pair, kid.” Then he pulled up the collar of his jacket and stepped out into the cold morning, only to run straight into Lily, who, if he didn’t know any better, seemed to be waiting for him.

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I
t wasn’t long after the first light of dawn that Lily had heard the phone ring, waking her from a light sleep. She bounced out of bed, toes curling from the cold of the floor despite the small gas fire that tried and failed to warm her room every night. Then she raced toward the kitchen in a desperate effort to get the call she knew was her brother. No one else would dare wake her this early.

“Hello, who’s this?” Lily answered in a fake sleepy tone as she snatched up the phone.

“Cut the crap, sis. I’ll be surprised if you slept much at all after last night,” Matt responded, his tone mocking.

Lily thought of a hundred and one different things to say to her annoying brother, but went with her favorite and remained silent until the waiting got the better of him.

“Listen, I don’t have long while your white knight’s out of the room. We aren’t charging him and he’ll be free to go as soon as we’re done with the paperwork.”

“How long is that going to take?”

“Ten minutes. Why?”

Hanging up without responding always drove her brother crazy, but this time, Lily did so in her haste to get ready, not her usual sisterly teasing. She wanted to talk to the stranger who helped her last night. She wanted to thank him, and maybe offer him breakfast...she didn’t really know exactly what she was planning to do, only that she had a few minutes in which to do it.

She practically ran back to her bedroom and threw on the first set of clothes she laid her hands on. Rushing for the door, she donned her jacket and boots, then picked up her keys. Giving her appearance a quick once over in the mirror, she almost fell over.

Her bright green eyes were dark-rimmed and looked heavy from lack of sleep, her shoulder length blonde hair was sticking out all over the place, and in the corner of her mouth, was that—was that dried up drool?

“Holy crap,” she moaned, racing to the bathroom to stand in front of the sink. She threw ice-cold water over her face and pulled her unruly hair into a tight ponytail. When she was done, her cheeks and lips looked flushed against her pale complexion. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than the wreck she was before.

On the drive over, all Lily could think about was when her eyes had locked with the stranger’s for the briefest of moments. It was probably her imagination, but she felt as though she could read pain and loss in his dark eyes. Her heart went out to him, and her mind had spent all night trying to figure him out instead of letting her get the sleep she desperately needed.

Pulling the truck to a stop outside the station, she took a few deep breaths to calm the jittery butterflies deciding to take flight in her stomach. She stepped out into the biting cold and barely made it two steps before the door of the station opened, and there he was.

“Hey,” she said, rubbing her hands together to produce warmth as she stood before him.

He simply looked at her, confused, or perhaps startled.

“I, um...thought you might want some breakfast—my treat. I want to say thanks for your help last night.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, making a move to step past her, but she blocked his path. Placing her hand on his very hard chest, she looked up into his face and saw his lips were still open and uncared for.

Leaning around him, Lily yelled into the station for her brother. “You’re such a shit, Matt. You haven’t even taken care of his lip yet. Doug, get me the first aid kit.” She bossed everyone around as though she was the town sergeant.

Matt appeared in the doorway, an amused expression on his face as she stood there glaring at him.

“Lily, this is Linc. Linc, this is Lily.” Matt made the introductions.

Pressing his lips together slightly, Linc gave Lily a cursory nod. “Listen, I really need to get going.”

Lily placed her hand on his chest again, causing him to bite back a growl of frustration. “Just let me look at your lip. I’m trained in First Aid,” she insisted, using her other hand to take the small first aid kit from Doug as he appeared in the doorway.

“Yeah, and I’m a CFA. I say I’m fine.” Realizing he’d given away a slice of information about himself, Linc grimaced, then moved his face away and sidestepped her as she tried to look at his lip. “Listen, you’re welcome for last night, but I don’t need your help and I don’t need breakfast. I just need to go.”

Lily gave up with a small sigh, pushed the kit back into Doug’s hands, and looked at her brother with her hands raised in a what-the-hell gesture.

“Breakfast?” Matt asked with a raised brow.

“I wanted to say thank you,” she argued, before moving after the guy she couldn’t get a read on. They’d spent months watching each other from afar. From the first moment Lily had noticed him in town, she’d been intrigued by him. But he always avoided her. Then they’re finally thrown into each other’s path and one moment, he was the white knight coming to her rescue, and the next, he was an impatient jerk spurning her efforts to treat his wounds.

“Where’s your car?” she called after him as he began trudging through the snow-covered streets.

“Don’t have one,” he responded, shoving his hands into his pockets and leaning forward as he picked up his pace.