Dark Blue (South Island PD Book 1) by Ranae Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

face was flushed pink, and her sea-green eyes glittered. “Belle, so help me God, I will not let you become a documentary special. If you didn’t trust me, we wouldn’t have been friends for the past seventeen years. You need to listen to me when I say you need to be careful.”
    “If I carry pepper spray in my purse, will that satisfy you?”
    “You’re not already doing that?”
    “No.”
    “Do you have any sense of self-preservation? What would you do if someone attacked you?”
    “Run, I guess.”
    “I had gym class with you when we were kids, remember? I know you’re not going to outrun anyone under the age of seventy.”
    “I’m probably not going to be attacked by anyone, either.” Belle caught the look in Mariah’s eye and experienced a pang of guilt. “But I’ll get some pepper spray to carry. Better safe than sorry.”
    Mariah’s posture was still rigid, but her expression softened a little. “I’m surprised the cop who wrote the report didn’t warn you to be extra careful. He should’ve known better.”
    The cop had probably had much more pressing matters on his mind than a mystery dildo, but Belle didn’t say that out loud. “If he’d thought we were in any danger, I’m sure he would’ve said something.”
    Mariah shook her head. “He was probably a rookie. Either that or just lazy. You should talk to someone who’s been doing the job for a while. They’d back me up, and they could probably tell you how to stay safe.”
    Belle bit her lip to keep from laughing. “So you think I should find an experienced cop, pull them aside and explain that I need advice because a dildo turned up at my place of work and we don’t know where it came from?”
    Mariah gave Belle a longsuffering look. “Anything sounds ridiculous if you say it in that tone of voice. But basically, yeah.”
    Jackson came to mind, and Belle had to bite her lip even harder to keep from laughing out loud.
    “What’s so funny?” Mariah crossed her arms a little tighter.
    “Nothing.”
    “Nothing my ass – you’re practically turning purple.”
    Belle sighed. “I ran into Jackson Calder the other day, and he’s a cop now. I was imagining what it’d be like to take your advice and ask him to weigh in on this.”
    “You saw Jackson?”
    Belle nodded.
    Mariah’s eyes went wide. “And he’s a cop? Wow, that’s unexpected.”
    Belle admitted that much was true. “He’s an officer with the island PD.”
    “Were you two on a date or something?”
    “No. Why would you think that?”
    “Because you were obsessed with him.”
    “I was not. And that was years ago, anyway.”
    Mariah shrugged. Her eyes still glittered, but the worry there had been replaced with interest.
    Belle wished she hadn’t said anything about Jackson. Mariah watched way too much TV and would probably expect their reunion to play out like a romantic drama, much as she expected the incident at the college to be the work of a deranged criminal destined for documentary fame.
    “You never forget your first,” Mariah said, confirming Belle’s fears, “and don’t think I didn’t notice someone gave you flowers.” She nodded toward the kitchen, where Jackson’s bouquet of lilies brightened the table.
    Belle decided to come clean. Quick and easy, like ripping off a Band-Aid. Then they could move on to other subjects.
    “He pulled me over for speeding. That’s how I found out he’s a cop. Later, he came by with those flowers as an apology. Nothing else happened.”
    She barely managed not to roll her eyes, even though her stomach was fluttering.
    “Wait – did he write you a ticket?”
    “Yep.”
    Mariah snorted. “Wow.”
    “I know.”
    “Still…” Mariah uncrossed her arms and tipped her head to the side. “You should sleep with him.”
    “What?” Surprise arrowed through Belle, quickly followed by a sense of betrayal. Mariah, of all people, should’ve understood that she wasn’t about to casually sleep with anyone.
    “He