SEIZED Part 1: New Adult Romantic Suspense (Seize Me Romance Fiction Series) by JC Coulton Page A

wasn’t so hard, I stuck to it for a different reason.
    There we were, brother and sister, doing Lamaze classes together. That was over seven years ago, and George is the best thing that ever happened to her. And me, too, to be honest. I love that kid, but he’s only got eyes for his mother. We found our current apartment just after I finished rookie training. It’s in Brooklyn, but it’s big enough for all of us, and the rent is fixed, which is almost unheard of. We have a floor each and share a kitchen.
    Brenda and I make sure we’re nothing like our parents. There’s food in the house. George does his homework. There’s no TV before dinner, and he’s in bed by nine. I think Brenda’s lonely, but she’d never admit it. When George is awake, they’re like glue, talking every minute and any other time she’s not at work or doing chores. It must be hard, but she never complains. She’s an incredible mother, so patient and loving.
    I could never do it. Never give myself so entirely to a little human. That requires one hundred percent sacrifice, and I just don’t have it in me. I’m sure of it. I struggle to stay stick to one carwash, let alone a child. Not only that, but with my genes, any kids of mine would become raging alcoholics. There’s nothing like a generation of drinkers to set you up for a life of misery. I couldn’t put a kid through that shit. I just hope to God the gene skipped George. I watch him sometimes, the way he wants things so intensely, and it worries me. Who knows what will happen. I just gotta let the kid work it out for himself, and make sure he knows I’m here if he needs me.
    Even though it’s the last thing on my list, something makes me turn and ask Carrie, “Do you want kids one day?”
    She seems to have settled into her own thoughts, and looks a little shocked that I brought it up.
    “Why do you ask?”
    I don’t really know the answer to her question, so I fudge it.
    “Well, you’ll probably run into George a lot, so I thought I’d better warn you that he’s a talker. He’ll ask you endless questions. Questions to infinity.”
    She laughs, and her face changes totally. I think I love her in that moment, and I can’t believe how this woman is affecting me.
    “Oh right...to infinity,” she says in a mock serious tone that brings me back to my senses. “I forgot about infinity. It’s the number that trumps all numbers. I’ll make sure George has his fair share of question and answer time, but I used to babysit, remember? I’m pretty sure I can deal with a curious kid.”
    She doesn’t answer my initial question about kids, but it doesn’t matter. It’s clearly a sore spot because the brief slice of humor I saw has retreated back inside that shell. Either that or she’s just exhausted and starving.
    “How about I buy us burger?” I ask. She doesn’t look like a stick figure, but I didn’t even consider that she could be a vegetarian, or gluten free. There’s always a risk in offering meat these day. I don’t want to seem like a caveman, but I’m starving, and all I want is to wrap my chops around a cheeseburger before I hit the sack.
    I need not have worried. The look on her face is priceless, almost joyous, and I’m glad. I like a women I can eat with. Plus, there’s a burger place right next to the supermarket. It’ll be fast and easy. At this time of day, it won’t be busy, so we can slip in there before I stock up on groceries. She’s gonna need supplies at my place. Brenda will lend her clothes, but there’s no way she’s using my toothbrush or going without one. I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy, let alone my star witness, and I have a special budget the Lieutenant approved to make sure she gets what she needs and stays safe.
    I pull into a parking spot outside the burger joint, and Carrie looks pretty bedraggled. I figure she’s not up for going inside, so I offer to get the burgers for us. She shakes her head.
    “I’ll come. It’s