Hetch (Men OF S.W.A.T #1)(7)

“I don’t know. I still haven’t met him.” She’s quiet for a beat, something which doesn’t often happen to Payton before she catches up.

“Okay. Then what the hell happened?”

“Well—” I begin.

“No wait, don’t tell me, you picked up a one-night stand, didn’t you? Please tell me you gave him a show in return?” She cuts me off, her mind clearly making up her own scenarios.

Patience has never been Payton’s strong suit.

“Focus, Pay.”

“Sorry. Okay, go ahead.”

“Well, I was lying there, minding my own business, with my vibrator—”

“SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.” She shouts loud enough that I’m afraid apartment nine could possibly hear her.

“Shhh, keep it down. I thought it might help to relieve some of my own pent-up frustration.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m shocked. What happened to your sabbatical?”

“Well, it’s not like it’s penetration, Pay,” I blurt, only to hide my face in my hand. I can’t believe I said that.

“If you say so.” She laughs, still not understanding my need for a sabbatical. She’s been against it since week one. “So what happened next?”

“Well, next thing I know I’m coming, and he tells me to wait for him.”

“OH, MY GOD. THIS IS FUCKING EPIC.” She cackles in hilarity before I hear the sound of a male’s voice.

“What the hell, Pay? You have company?” I sit up faster than needed.

She could have told me before I admitted to getting off.

“Ahhh, yeah. Umm, Jett dropped in to see Arabella.” The way she casually says it, tells me she’s full of shit.

More like dropped in for a booty call.

“Jesus, what the hell are you doing, Payton?” I can’t keep the annoyance out of my voice. The last thing Payton needs right now is Jett sniffing around.

“Well, right now, I’m listening to my best friend tell me about her messed-up life.”

“Don’t deflect. You and I both know this can’t be good.”

I love my brother, but I’ll never be okay with what he did. Not only did he cheat on Payton, but he also walked out when she finally confronted him. Left her and Arabella for the skanky little whore.

“Can we can talk about it later?” she whispers so only I can hear. I decide to leave it be, and not push. If there’s one thing I know about Payton, it’s that there’s a fine line when it comes to getting her to open up. Cross it and she will only close up tighter.

“Later,” I repeat, knowing my later and Payton’s are so far apart. It will be weeks before I get any more info from her.

“Thanks, B. Now tell me what happened next.”

I continue my story, telling her everything from the moment I went to bed, down to the army crawl, to hiding in the shower. I even admitted to the low blow of sleeping out on my sofa. After she spends far too long reliving my horror with too much glee, I come up with a plan to write a note letting him know he needs to keep it down and mind his manners.

Payton’s not sold on it.

“Trust me. I guarantee we’ll be laughing about it next week over drinks on our girls' night out. Give it a few days. All will blow over, and your humiliation will fade with it,” she promises.

I’m not sure if I can see that happening, but wanting to be done with the conversation, I let her words reassure me and tell her I won’t leave it.

“Yeah, we’ll see. Anyway, I’ll let you go. Give my shithead big brother a hug for me.”

“Will do. Love you, girl.”

“You too.” I hang up, dropping my phone back on my coffee table. I don’t bother trying to head back to my bedroom; instead, the rest of my night is filled with lumpy sofa cushions, a small, scratchy pillow, and one sexy, mystery man who follows me into my dreams, telling me to wait for him.



Hey, douche bag, maybe keep it down.



I read over the note written in my neat handwriting and cringe at my choice of words.

“Oh, God, that’s terrible,” I tell myself and tear off the piece of paper, scrunch it up into a ball, and drop it into the trash bin beside my desk.

It’s been seventy-two hours and I still can’t find the right words.

Thinking it over for another few minutes, I start again.



I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I can hear you f*ck.



Ugghh, that’s worse.

“Ahhh excuse me, Liberty, your mom is here to see you.” My eyes move off the crude note I’m working on to find Renee, the newest member of our team, my mother and my niece at the door of my office at Boys Haven.

“What’s wrong, Mom?” I stand almost instinctively. She knows she can’t just turn up here unannounced. While Boys Haven isn’t as strict as some of the other group homes I have worked in the past, we do have structured visitor rules for privacy reasons.

“Working on your day off, how shocking.” She steps past Renee, ignoring my panicked question.

“I’m sorry, Liberty. She said it was urgent. I thought ‘cause you’re on your day off….” Renee offers in explanation.

“Thanks, Renee, I’ll sort it out.” I step forward, motioning my mother and niece into my office before closing the door behind me.