Free One Tough Cop by Dahlia Rose Page A

brought them closer, and even though he affirmed his love for her every day she never said it in return.
    It didn’t bother him because when he held her, kissed her, or just held her hand, he felt her love. She just had to be in a place where she felt secure enough to say it back. Following Karen’s hints from their first conversation, Max was giving her space to do things in her own time without pressure. But going to court was not going to be something she would do alone. Max was not giving Derek the chance to threaten Nicole in any way. Men like him used fear to make witnesses change their testimony. Max wanted Derek to see him as a very big and deadly buffer in front of Nicole, one that would do anything to protect her.
    Jackie was watching Jules, much to her delight. He caught the way his best friend’s wife was looking at the baby and then looked at Jones. Jones’s face softened and when the couple’s eyes met, he had no doubt that there would be another family member sooner rather than later. He wondered how it would be to be a father and watch a child growing inside the woman he loved, Nicole. That was a ways off, he knew, but a nice dream nonetheless. He never even considered he’d be in a relationship let alone thinking about being a dad. But right now Nicole sat between them both, waiting to be called into the grand jury room as she tapped her foot nervously. He wanted to hold her hand and usher her home but Max knew she needed to do this and it had to be on her own terms and two feet.
    The court officer came out the door and called her name. “Ms. Henry, they’re ready for you.”
    Just as she stood, Derek Grove walked up with a slimy looking man wearing a tailored suit and one could only assume this was his lawyer. Max stood next to her instantly.
    “Hey Nicole, looking good,” Derek sneered.
    “Wrong move trying to intimidate a witness,” Max snarled.
    His lawyer stepped forward. “My client has the right to be here.”
    Max looked at him with disdain. “Yeah, you’re the type to represent scum like this.”
    Derek grinned. “Don’t worry, when this is all over we’ll get together and raise my boy right.”
    “You’ll never get your hands on him,” Nicole raised her head. “I’m not scared of you.”
    Derek stoked his goatee. “You got cop protection, huh? I remember when you were just a tiny little mouse in my world.”
    “You’re world is about to collapse in on you,” Nicole gave him a cold smile. “The thing about mice is that they’re hardly ever seen, which makes it easy to get the cheese. I’ve been collecting info on you for a long time and I gave it all to them. Oh, and this cop isn’t my protection detail, he’s my boyfriend. You should be the one who’s scared.”
    She turned and walked into the room where the court officer waited. She went through the door without a second glance in Derek’s direction. Good for you , Max thought with a grin spread over his face. Jones was a little less subtle and laughed out loud before muttering, “Loser.” Derek was infuriated, Max could see it on the criminal’s face. His lawyer went ahead and as Derek turned to leave Max accidentally bumped into him.
    He rested his hand on Derek’s shoulder before muttering against his ear, “You contact her again, you sneeze in prison and it sounds like her name, you’ll be dealing with me.” Max made sure Derek could see his eyes and know he was serious. “You’re never terrorizing her again.”
    “Are you threatening my client?” His lawyer turned and snapped.
    Max never took his cold gaze from Derek’s face as patted the man’s shoulder. “No, he almost tripped. I was helping him up.”
    Jones shook his head in pity. “He seems a bit clumsy, lucky my partner here stopped him from breaking his face on the tile.”
    Derek went pale under his expensive spray-on tan and moved quickly away. It was the reaction Max wanted. He wanted the slimy fuckhead to know he wasn’t just dealing