One Tough Cop by Dahlia Rose Read Free Book Online

after he figured out quickly that a woman with a kid wasn’t his cup of tea. Why would he want an abused, broken woman like me when there’s a bunch of hot single women right in the midst of Manhattan? she thought miserably. It was late Monday evening and even after a nap she was still tired beyond words. She was laying on the sofa with her hand over her eyes trying to nap while Jules slept in his bassinette. If it was going to be another night of crying she’d need every ounce of energy she could muster. Her mind wouldn’t shut up about Max and all the reasons why he hadn’t called or texted. When the doorbell rang she looked at the door in irritation. When she opened the door and Max stood there, relief coursed through her and then anger.
    “Hey honey,” he said with a smile.
    “Don’t call me that,” Nicole snapped. “What happened to I’ll call you later, we’re going to go out on Sunday? It’s Monday night, thanks for the call.”
    “My phone broke, I had no way to call you until I got it fixed,” Max explained.
    “Uh-huh, I’ve heard that one before.” She gave him a cold look. “Really Max, no need to explain. I get it, poor abused woman and a kid cannot trump a weekend out in Manhattan.”
    “You think I was out living it up and breaking a promise to come see you and Jules?” Max asked in amazement. “I had a call come in. While we like our time off, when you’re part of SWAT you’re always on the clock.”
    “A SWAT call that took over forty-eight hours? Yeah sure,” she retorted.
    “Can I come in and at least talk to you?” he asked.
    “Heck no, neither my son nor I will be your boredom fix, nor will I be your chef when you want a decent meal.”
    “Whoa, where did that comment come from?”
    “Whatever, Max, your time is your own, thanks for coming by.”
    “Stop.” Max cut her words off with the slice of his hand. “If you’re going to play judge, jury, and executioner, then you will hear my side. This doesn’t get to be a Nicole kicks Max out situation until after I say what I need to say. Then if you want me to leave I’ll be gone.”
    He took a deep breath. “First, a call can be as long as it has to be, usually we do not go into a hostage situation unless it’s warranted and we hear the hostage taker breaking down and getting ready to hurt someone. Like in your case, Walter was breaking fast and we needed to get you and Karen out of there. This time it was a drug house with four kids involved. We sure as hell weren’t going to rush it so I could go out later. Second, when we moved in the perp escaped and I chased him for four blocks, then we got in a tussle and my phone got smashed in the fray.” He pulled his cell from his pocket. “See, brand new phone, and I had to download and get my contacts in order. Then a pile of paperwork and a trip to the ER and instead of just calling, I drove right here after they cut me loose.”
    “You were in the hospital?” Nicole gasped.
    He held up his right hand and for the first time she saw the white bandages. “Thirteen stitches.”
    She slapped his chest. “See, that’s another thing. Suppose you had been shot or something and your phone is broken? No one would’ve known to call me, and I’d see it on the news.”
    She saw a smile hinting around his lips. “So you were worried about me?”
    “Don’t you dare smile at me, I’m mad,” Nicole said and pointed to her own face. “See, this is my mad face.”
    “No, that’s your beautiful face, honey.” Max grinned.
    “No honey, I’m not your honey yet,” she replied.
    “We’re working toward that, aren’t we?” he asked.
    “I don’t know since I haven’t heard from you in days,” Nicole pointed out.
    “I have a compromise,” Max announced.
    “What would that be?” Nicole had her hands on her hips and they still stood on opposite sides of the door.
    He used the thumb of his uninjured hand to press a few buttons and put his phone up to his ear. He spoke