Smash

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chelsie

Chelsie threw herself down on her couch. Her twelve-hour shift had been brutal. Her eyes had just closed when her cell phone rang. Chelsie hit her lock-screen button to mute the call. She didn’t have the energy to even answer it.

She closed her eyes again and tried to slow her racing mind. So many things had gone wrong at the plant during her shift, and as the lead operator she was responsible for all of them. Her boss, Gary, was constantly riding her ass, looking for a reason to fire her. Chelsie was afraid he might have actually found a reason after her last shift. She had worked hard to keep the plant running in the midst of the storm, but in the end it had shut down anyways, costing the company valuable time and money.

Her cell phone rang again.

“I don’t want to talk,” she groaned as she clicked her phone over to vibrate.

No sooner had she set her phone down that it started to vibrate against her coffee table. Chelsie sat up and snatched her phone up.

“What?” she grumbled into the phone.

“Chels, I need help,” her brother’s scared voice came across the phone.

“What did you do now?” Chelsie asked as she stood up and grabbed her car keys.

“Please save the lecture. I’m in jail, can you come get me?”

“Ugh, Jeff, I don’t know. Maybe that’s exactly where you need to be,” Chelsie said as tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of leaving her older brother in the slammer overnight.

“Please, Chels. I can’t stay here overnight, it’s too dangerous. I’m begging you.” His voice trembled and Chelsie could tell he was truly scared.

“Fine, I’m on my way.”

Chelsie hung up before letting him say anything else. She was still in the sweats she had changed into after work, but she didn’t feel like changing again. No one at the police station would give a s**t what she was wearing anyways. She had to search for her checkbook, figuring her brother would require some sort of bail money for his release.

Tears clung to her eyes as she drove over to the police station. Her older brother hadn’t always been the screw up he had morphed into these past few years. Chelsie could remember looking up to him for the better part of her life. He had always excelled in sports and school when they were younger. She would have never dreamed that she would be bailing him out of jail now that they were pushing thirty.

Jeff had started disappearing for weeks at a time, and then show up when he needed help. Mostly help meant he needed to borrow money or a place to crash. Chelsie always loved it when he needed both. Her bank account would end up seriously depleted, and his dirty clothes and dishes always littered her living room. Every time he would take off, she’d promise herself she wasn’t going to help him anymore. For some reason, though, she just couldn’t seem to say no.

She parked her Jeep Cherokee along the street, surprised to have found the police station parking lot completely full. Apparently they were having a busy night. She climbed the stairs, taking them two at a time, anxious to get the process over with.

The police station was a madhouse. Men were scrambling everywhere while criminals waiting to be processed were lining the walls. Chelsie looked around and tried to figure out where she was supposed to go. Finally, she spotted a man in plain clothes but with a gun holster wrapped around his shoulders. She tapped him on the shoulder, hoping he would be able to help her.

When he turned around, her breath caught and she felt her lips part. His eyes widen for a brief second before quickly going void. She could have sworn she heard a slight growl escape him, but with the noise level in the station she couldn’t be sure. Her mind was a jumbled mess as she starred up at the gorgeous man in front of her.

His hair was sandy blonde and he had just enough facial hair that she could imagine how rough it would feel if she slid her fingers along his powerful jawline. His eyes were a piercing shade of blue. They almost seemed to glow. His shoulders were broad and powerfully built, along with the rest of his body. Chelsie was shocked he had even been able to find a gun holster that would wrap around his giant frame.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” he asked, his voice gruff.

“Oh,” she whispered, still flustered.

“Are you here from the party?” he asked her with a certain amount of anger that caused her to come out of her haze.

“Party?” she snapped. “I’m here for my brother. I’m just trying to figure out where I go to bail someone out?” She narrowed her eyes at the man, hoping she seemed stern.

“Depends on what he’s been booked for if you can get him out tonight. That window over there is where you need to go,” he said, turning and pointing behind him.

Chelsie’s shoulders sagged when she saw the line of people already waiting.

“Thanks,” she mumbled as she started to skirt around him.

Her shoulder brushed his chest, sending a shot of desire racing through her body. Their eyes collided, and Chelsie was positive now that his blue eyes were actually glowing. Her legs seemed to falter, but she quickly righted herself and hustled over to the end of the long line. Fighting her urge to turn around and look at him again, she pulled out her cell phone and started flipping through her messages.

An email from her boss made her stomach tie up in knots and instantly took her mind off of the gorgeous man. He wanted to see her in his office the next day. Chelsie hated the fact that tears rushed to fill her eyes and she swallowed hard hoping to hold them off. Greg was an asshole and he loved playing her emotions since she was the only woman that worked for him. She shoved her phone back down in her purse and tried to focus on her the daunting task ahead of her‒ bailing her stupid brother out of jail.