Page 19 of Ember (Royal Harlots: Yonkers, NY Chapter #1)

S hephard Jackson couldn’t believe that April Magness was friends with his sister-in-law, Karlie.

His assignment was to keep a close eye on her, but on his day off, she was someone else’s problem.

Which led him to his next thought: who in the hell was watching her and his family now?

It made him crazy knowing that someone, who was possibly dangerous, was hanging around his siblings, parents, and his nieces and nephews.

What could he do? He couldn’t let on that he knew who April was or what she knew; that would ultimately put everyone else in danger.

It was just crazy that Karlie and April knew each other from when Karlie lived in Georgia before she married Drew.

What were the odds that his assignment would show up at his family’s cookout for Christ's sake?

What if they found her here? What if they tried to hurt her, here, in front of his family?

April had been Shep’s assignment for the past five months.

And to be honest, she wasn’t a hardship to watch.

Her sexy little body and those curves drove him crazy most nights, while he watched her from his truck.

He felt like a peeping Tom, watching her through binoculars, as she made dinner and watched TV.

He watched her when she took her bath every night, longing to be the one undressing her, washing her, fucking her.

But that job was left unfulfilled, as far as he could tell.

He never saw her with any man, and that made him so crazy, he almost stormed into her little townhome many nights.

But his job was to keep her safe, not fuck her, and wasn’t that a shame?

Drew and Ryan pulled up a seat on either side of Shep, and he could tell that his brothers were going to give him some shit. As the youngest brother in the family, he was often the butt of jokes and the receiver of many wedgies. Still, he knew that in a pinch, they would always be on his side.

“So, little brother, how long are you staying in town?” Drew slung his big arm around Shep’s shoulder and sideways bear-hugged him.

“Yeah, how long will we get to annoy you before you head back to Tennessee?” Ryan tried to pull Shep in the opposite direction, also bear-hugging him. Shep just smiled and shrugged them off. Although he was the baby brother, he was bigger than both of his brothers.

“I leave tonight. I have someone watching Mandy, but she gets antsy after a bit.” Mandy was his golden retriever, and at six months old, she could tear some shit up if she was left too long.

Sometimes, Shep wanted to move back to Alabama to be closer to his family, but other times, he was happy to live two hours away, in another state.

Besides, his cabin in the woods was worth the trip.

He loved isolation and solitude. If his family had a “black sheep,” he’d be it.

“Ya know, that pretty little brunette that you are stalking with your eyes, she lives in Tennessee too- not far from you.” Drew looked pleased with himself as if he had read his brother’s diary and knew exactly what he was thinking.

“What sexy little brunet?” Shep played stupid. Letting his brothers know that he found April attractive or even knew her wasn’t an option.

“He didn’t say sexy, dumb ass,” Ryan slapped Shep on his back, “he said pretty.”

“So, you do find her sexy then?” Drew couldn’t seem to help his smile. “Good to know,” he too slapped Shep on the back. Yeah, it was time to go. His brothers were getting into his business and messing with trouble that they shouldn’t mess with.

Shep stood to say his good-byes, making the rounds with his family, squeezing each of his nieces and nephews until they giggled and squirmed. When he made his way to Karlie, he rubbed his sister-in-law’s very pregnant belly, “Not too much longer, huh?” Karlie smiled and kissed him on his cheek.

“You’ll come back to see your new niece or nephew, right?

” He nodded, a little sad that another Jackson was going to be coming into the family, and he was still completely alone.

The truth was, he longed for what his two older brothers had, but in his line of work, meeting a woman was hard to do.

As a police detective, his nights were usually spent on stakeouts, and his days were filled with paperwork.

That didn’t leave much time for finding the right woman and settling down.

“Shep, have you met April?” Shep turned at the mention of her name and practically ran into her. Shit, meeting April Magness was not part of the plan.

“Hello,” Shep extended his hand and met her beautiful green eyes with his. The way she looked at him, he worried for a moment that she had seen him around, possibly even watching her.

April smiled and returned his handshake, “Karlie has told me so much about you.” Her smile didn’t touch her eyes. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I hear you decorated Ryan and Jenna’s new house?” Shep needed to get out of there, but he didn’t want to be rude or spook April. After all, getting this close to her wasn’t the plan.

“I sure did—I’m an interior designer. I owed Karlie a favor; otherwise, I generally don’t drive two hours to design a house.” This time her smile did meet her eyes, and Shep couldn’t believe how beautiful April was up close.

“I hear we live in the same town. I could use a ride home. Drew picked me up today to come here since my car is in the shop. Would you mind giving me a ride?” Shep panicked.

What was the department’s protocol for something like this?

Each second that ticked by seemed like a giant cluster fuck waiting to happen.

“Sure,” what else could he say? Telling her no might tip her off. “I’d be happy to drive you home, just let me say goodbye to my parents.” April nodded, and Shep strode away, wondering what to do next.

April and he made their way from the party to his pick-up when his phone rang. Shit, his Sargent. “Sorry, I have to take this.” He tried to gain some distance from April to have a private conversation, but Ryan’s driveway didn’t give him much space.

“Jackson,” he barked into the phone.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing, Jackson?

Your assignment is to watch Miss Magness, not fucking date her.

Why the fuck am I hearing from Simons that you are leaving your family’s fucking cookout with April Magness?

” Yeah, they were being watched, and the Sarge wasn’t too happy about the whole mess.

“Sorry, but I really can’t talk now. I’m giving someone a ride home from my brother’s party. Can I call you later?” Shep knew that April was listening, although she tried hard not to.

“You better fucking call me later, Jackson. I think we need to discuss a few things.” The Sarge hung up, and Shep cursed inwardly.

“Girlfriend?” April smiled up at him.

“What? Um, no. It’s just work.” Shep helped lift April into the king cab of his Ram truck, and damn it, she felt good in his hands. He longed to put his hands all over her body, but he shut her door instead.

Yeah, this whole idea was a cluster fuck.