Killing Me Softly: A Thriller Romance Novel [FIRST DRAFT]

Chapter 14

Okay. Two people had told me now what bad news Theo was, how he was not someone to be trusted. How he had everyone fooled for years into thinking he actually loved his wife, Mary Jo. But my instinct was they were wrong.

Theo loved Mary Jo very much. I knew because I saw and felt it and was completely jealous of it! I never wanted to be anyone more than I wanted to be Mary Jo Collins. Even in death, I still envied her because I knew, day in and day out, that Theo was probably still thinking about her, loving her, missing her, and wishing it wasn't true, hoping that someday she would walk back through the door, returning to his loving arms.

Theo was not a monster. I knew he wasn't.

Jamie did everything he could to make me stay in Yoakum that Sunday. After my breakfast with Donnie, it wasn't long until Jamie was hot on my trail. He had flipped on his lights and siren, pulling me over for something I knew I wasn't doing.

"You were driving too slow," he had said. "And talking to strangers, who I told you were dangerous."

Jamie knelt down and came eye to eye with me at the passenger side of my car on the side of the main road.

"Don't act like you didn't. I saw you sitting with him in the window of the café. I probably should have pulled him over instead of you, but I had to catch you before you left town. Especially since you won't answer any of my calls or texts," he said, seemingly hurt by it.

"Jamie. I'm sure you have better things to do than spying on me and pulling me over to lecture me about who I was or was not talking to," I scolded him.

"And what were you two doing in that BMW of his? You weren't...you know...messing around in there with him. Were you?" Jamie asked with jealousy written all over his reddening face as he squinted at me.

"Look, what we did in that BMW is none of your business. Alright? Now, if you would be so kind, I'd like to get back to Janice's and see her before her shift starts, and I have to return to Austin."

"Ah, shit. You're right. You have to get back to your life in Austin. I know it," he said and sighed. "Well, keep in touch. You hear me? I'll see you at the funeral, won't I? You going?"

I nodded slowly. "I'm going."

"Okay. Good. I'll see you there then, alright? Only, I might not be able to do much talking. I'm one of the officers escorting the family to the cemetery after the service. So, I might be busy," he said. "Maybe we can hang out after that or something. You plannin' on staying in Yoakum after the service?"

I knew Jamie was desperately firing questions at me left and right, one after another, but I really didn't feel like answering them. I didn't consider staying in Yoakum after the service, but I wanted to be near Theo. Even if he never saw me. Just seeing him and being there for him behind the lines was okay with me. He had my heart, even if he never knew it or needed it.

"I'll see you around," I said to Jamie, shifting the car into drive.

"Whoa! Hey! We're not done here, young lady. License and insurance, please, ma'am." He stepped back from my vehicle and then returned to the window.

"You can't be serious," I said to him.

"You heard me. License and insurance. Get to it," he said and motioned toward my glovebox.

It frustrated me that I had to give it to him, being a law enforcement officer and all. When he went back to his cruiser and disappeared for a while, I wondered what he was doing back there. All I could see in my rearview mirror was he was typing something into the laptop on his dash. He was probably looking me up, seeing if I had anything he needed to know about on my record.