Captured Again(The Let Me Go Series)

Chapter 9


EMMA rushed into class seconds before the final bell rang. Her head still ached and her body was sore from the concrete floor she’d made her bed on the night before. She’d barely had time to get a shower and gather her things before rushing off to school.

She was a junior in college and having to work her way through, relying upon her part-time job as well as several grants. She was almost through her third year and it would be a waste of her hard-earned money if she screwed it up.

Just as she slid into her seat, she heard someone behind her loudly clear his throat. Emma ignored it. Probably someone just literally clearing their throat. She tried to quietly unzip her backpack and remove her book and notes before the professor noticed her empty desktop and chose her to pick on during class, hoping to trip her up. She didn’t need the extra attention today. She just wanted to blend in and get through the day. She’d called out of work tonight, which was unusual for her, but she was too tired. She planned to go straight home to bed for some much-needed sleep in her own comfy bed, as soon as she finished an errand at Gabby’s house.

She fumbled through the bag, looking for the notes she had worked on yesterday. She’d known there was to be a quiz today, and the professor allowed notes, so she’d spent over an hour outlining pertinent information from the assigned chapters before she’d gone out. She’d done the work, but she couldn’t find it.


“Shit,” she whispered to herself. They weren’t in her bag. She stopped looking in the bag for a moment and leaned her head back, blowing out a frustrated breath. She remembered the notes were still on the table. She’d never put them in her bag. Dammit.

She felt a gentle poke on her shoulder.

“What?” she hissed while turning around to see who was bothering her.

She froze. Officer Rowan was sitting directly behind her, in street clothes—college guy clothes—holding out a sheet of paper. What is he doing here? she wondered. Am I under some sort of freaking surveillance or what?

“It looks like you can’t find your notes. You can use mine. I know the material. I’ve already taken this class once,” he whispered, still holding the paper out to her.

Emma was speechless, trying to understand.

“What are you doing here?” she finally whispered back.

“I sit here every day. You’ve just never noticed. I’m retaking this class to bring up my GPA before I graduate this year. I got a C last time. That’s unacceptable.”

“I’ve... never... seen you here before,” Emma said, completely baffled.

“I know... Like I said, you’ve never looked,” he answered, smiling. “I’ve seen you. But I swear I didn’t know it was you when I pulled you over last night. I was just doing my job.”

Wow. Same guy, but in regular clothes and a smile, he looked like just another guy on campus. Well, actually better than most of the guys on campus. His serious demeanor last night hid a set of unbelievably sexy dimples that now pulled her eyes to his mouth, something else she didn’t notice last night... or this morning: full lips and really white teeth. She couldn’t help but notice they weren’t perfect; one front tooth barely overtook the other, pushing all four of his front teeth out of alignment and crowding them just a little, giving him a boyish and mischievous look. His short hair wasn’t neatly combed as it was while he was in uniform, but rather messed up on top, adding a tousled look to his shocking casual appearance.

Emma’s was drawn to the sparkle in his sexy gray eyes—eyes that Emma couldn’t seem to look away from. She’d never seen gray eyes before. She squinted and looked closer, thinking they must be blue. No, they are gray... smoldering gray with flecks of gold. And omigod, those eyelashes... thick and dark. He’s seriously got the most gorgeous eyes.

“You’re definitely seeing me now. Seen enough yet?” he asked and winked.

She shook herself out of her stupor and quickly snatched the paper, turning around before he could see the burn she felt on her cheeks. She mumbled a thank you from over her shoulder, staring down at the neat writing, outlining the chapters, much the same as hers she’d worked on the night before. The words weren’t registering; they were blurred as she went back through her memory, trying to place him anywhere other than in his uniform the night before. She really hadn’t ever noticed him before. Then again, she never really took notice of any of the guys—or girls. She had no interest in anything except her family, her studies, and her job. She didn’t have time for anything else. Besides, all that other stuff wasn’t for her. She avoided it. She wasn’t the typical college girl. Until she had made something out of herself—or remade—she didn’t want to share her time or her life with anyone new. She was still working on putting the past behind her and working on the new and improved Emma.

As her vision cleared and the words he’d written came into focus, she saw his name on the top of the paper: Dusty Rowan. Dusty... she liked that. It fit his non-cop look. Maybe even “Dust.” That would be a cool nickname, especially with his sexy gray eyes to match.

Emma slightly shook her head again, too amazed at the coincidence to wrap her brain around it, and tried to get her thoughts off the sexy cop/student behind her and onto concentrating on the notes. This changed nothing. He was still a cop, and she wasn’t interested in him even if he hadn’t been the cop to arrest her. She’d give him his notes back after class and go on about her life. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to face him again until her court date, which would be extremely awkward if they became friends. Best to walk away and pretend he was still just a cop. Her life had too many complications as it was.