Page 62 of New Roots
SIXTEEN
AXEL
It had been three weeks. Three weeks since the fire, and nearly a month since Vince and I had gone to visit Doucet. There had been no new updates, but that asshole hadn’t come into the bakery either. The best part…there were no new letters.
“Did you talk to your boss about declined jobs?” Tex asked me through the phone. “I’m not trying to repeat myself, but as I mentioned last time, you know some clients can get pissed when you don’t take up their cases.”
Tex knew that scenario all too well. I didn’t think that made much sense for this case since Archer and Vince handled most of that. They weren’t getting threats, so it wasn’t likely, but I understood why Tex was asking.
“No,” I told him. “If we don’t take a case, Archer and Vince handle that personally. I am only told about somethingafterwe have already agreed to work with them, so they don’t think it’s a reason for concern.”
“Alright, man, I’ll keep digging,” Tex said, and then we said our goodbyes.
I knew this was frustrating him just as much as it was frustrating me. We both hated not being able to figure thingsout. It was just in our nature to keep digging until we solved a puzzle like this one.
The police had been to Doucet’s house twice now and claimed they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him with anything, especially since his alibi claimed they spent the whole night together at her house—which conveniently had no cameras.
In the meantime, I’d convinced Stella to stay with me, or let me stay with her, like I was now. I’d gotten off work an hour ago and swung by my place to shower and pack an overnight bag since I planned to stay at her place after we’d had dinner.
We’d either gone out to dinner or I’d cooked for her most nights over the past few weeks. She’d offered to cook multiple times, and I appreciated it, but she had a lot on her mind and I wanted to ease her burden however I could. We’d even gone back to her parents’ house for dinner last Sunday.
For tonight, though, she hadn’t backed down and had planned to cook for us.
“You got more cameras in there?” Milo’s voice called out as I walked from my car over to Stella’s door, carrying my black duffel bag.
Jack and Diego had installed three new cameras around her store to cover all the blind spots now, and Milo assumed that was what was in my bag.
“Just some overnight gear,” I answered, and he just nodded in response.
“Hey,” Stella’s voice called from her doorway as I walked up. I wasn’t sure if she was waiting for me or if it was just lucky timing on my part that she was there, but I would never tire of seeing that smile on her face when she greeted me.
“Heyälskling.” I leaned down to kiss her on the threshold before nudging her inside so I could close the door behind me.
I wasn’t sure if it was because we were still in the “honeymoon phase” as Ruthie had called it, or if it was just my natural pull to Stella, but anytime I was around her, I couldn’t keep my hands off her.
I dropped my bag on the floor of her entryway and maneuvered her up against the wall before I kissed her firmly. Her tongue slipped in, and I savored the taste of her.
Her hands instantly went to my hair, and she pulled the hair tie out and weaved her fingers through it while pulling me closer as I ravaged her mouth. My hands were on her waist, and I slid them under the baggy sweatshirt she had on. As I moved them up her sides, brushing against her perfectly soft skin, my thumbs brushed against the curve of her breasts, and I realized she wasn’t wearing anything under that sweatshirt.
“You’re not wearing a bra,” I growled as I moved my mouth from her plump lips to her jawline and down her neck.
“Fewer clothes means less hassle after dinner,” she said, her breathing heavy as she arched into me more.
“What about before dinner?” I suggested just as loud beeps sounded from deeper inside her place.
“Oh shoot! That’s the oven,” she exclaimed, removing her hands from my scalp, and I reluctantly pulled back.
“Hold that thought for later,” she said, smiling up at me, and then she turned to jog up her stairs.
I readjusted myself now that I was rock hard, grabbed my bag, and made sure to lock the door before I joined her upstairs.
We enjoyed a nice meal together as we caught each other up on our days.
After we finished, I carried our dishes into her kitchen to wash them while she cleaned up from cooking.
“So, I have an idea for tonight,” she said as she boxed up leftovers.
“Does your idea involve you being naked?” I asked, part teasing, part hoping I was right.
