Kresley peered up at Cade’s face and didn’t see anything there except happiness. He wasn’t trying to rub their engagement in Stella’s face. He genuinely was joyful about their engagement and wanted to share the news. Okay, so maybe he wanted to make it clear he was no longer available, but Kresley couldn’t fault him for that one. He was definitely a chic magnet no matter where they went. At least she wasn’t the jealous type. Much.
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you both”, Officer Shelton stated in voice that sounded like she was eating chalk. Boomer looked from her to Kresley and shook his head, trying not to laugh. Kresley cut her eyes to him, silently stating for him to shut it. Boomer winked at her and just continued to keep his mouth shut. He must not want to die today.
“So, what brings you back to Mercy Springs, Officer Shelton?”, Kresley asked. She hoped it wasn’t about a new case fitting the rapist’s MO. Kresley couldn’t stand the thought of another woman suffering at the sadistic bastard’s hands. She looked up at Cade, trying to decipher if he knew something and hadn’t told her.
“Unfortunately, there are three more rapes and murders that fit the behaviors of the man who attacked and killed Fiona Amaris. I’m here to look through any evidence that’s been found and tagged and to discuss with Detective Grantham and Officer Collins any new information or ideas on who this piece of shit could be.”
Kresley could hear the barely contained anger in the woman’s voice and knew she was more than a little agitated at the number of women who had been hurt or killed so far. She looked Kresley in the eye and stated, “I want to take this son of a bitch down so he can’t do again what he did to your sister and those other women.”
Putting her hand on the arm of Cade’s ex-girlfriend, Kresley stated with sincerity and certainty, “I believe you Stella. The APD is lucky to have you as an advocate for women.”
Officer Shelton looked taken aback for a moment, then took a deep breath, adjusted the sleeves of her shirt, and stated, “Well, I owe it to myself, to you, to your sister, to the women who have died or suffered at his hands, to women everywhere who could be his next target…I owe it to them to make him pay and never have the ability to do this again.”
Cade stated to the room at large, “Well, unless we have anything new to bring up from earlier, I’m heading out with my fiancé to a family get together for the rest of the day. Be careful heading back to Atlanta, Officer Shelton. Boomer, we’ll see you later on at my house? Dinner’s at 7:00 PM, but come earlier so you can help me on the grill.”
Boomer smirked at Cade and jokingly said, “What? You can’t handle your meat, Cade?”
"What's this about Cade, a grill and handling meat?" a new male voice asked from the doorway.
Kresley looked up and saw it was Captain Gunnar Phillips. She had met him previously when she was with Cade. She liked him and he was only two years older than Cade was. It was astonishing that he was a police captain at his age. But Cade had only praise for the man and it seemed they were fast becoming friends as well. Gunnar was the same height as Cade and Boomer, and being in a room with all three of them made her feel like some kind of woodland fairy surrounded by large, strong trees, towering over her. It was a fantastic fantasy that came into her head. She'd have to add a Woodland theme setting to her wedding choices for couples.
"Hello Captain Phillips. It's nice to see you again," Kresley said with a smile on her face. He was as handsome as the other two men in the room, but Cade would always be the ultimate Big Sexy. Hail to the king.
"Happy to you see you, too, Kresley. Sorry we had to drag you in here to view video footage. We wouldn't unless we thought it could be important," Gunnar softly said, looking from Cade, to Boomer to Stella.
He changed topics and said, "Now, what's this I'm hearing about that Cade can't handle his meat? Do I want to know?" Gunnar asked with humor in his voice, his gaze landing on Cade with a suggestive eyebrow.
Cade looked from Gunnar to Boomer, then looked down at Kresley as if he had been waiting to deliver his next one liner. He stated in a dead-pan voice, “Since y'all asked, as far as if I can handle my meats, that’s something only Kresley can answer. Baby?” Cade’s eyes sparked with mischief and humor, watching to see how Kresley would react.
Kresley wasn’t one to backdown from challenges and met Cade’s gaze head on, stating sweetly, “You always serve up the best brats baby. I wonder if your brats now are as good as the ones you used to serve to Officer Shelton?” Kresley batted her eyelashes at Cade and watched his eyes widen, panic setting in to his features. She looked over at Boomer and Gunnar, whose faces had gone red. Boomer acted as if he were choking on his own spit, trying hard not to bellow with laughter. Gunnar just threw in some pretend whistling, staring up at the ceiling.
Cade couldn’t believe that came out of Kresley’s mouth. He looked over at Stella and started a rebuttal. “Baby, that’s not…….”
“I have to say, Cade’s grilling skills and his meats weren’t all they were stacked up to be. I’ve been served tastier things since”, Stella stated with an evil grin on her face.
Kresley lost it and started howling with laughter, leaning on Cade, holding on to his arms to hold her up. If she didn’t, she was going to fall over laughing. She made the mistake of looking up at Cade’s face, and he looked like he
