Read Don't Call Me Hero for Free Online Page B

coffee.
    I tried to stare as unobtrusively as possible. She was even more flawless in the light of day. Her grey trench coat was cinched at her small waist and obscured my view of most of her body. I let my gaze travel down the nylon stems of her legs to her black stilettos that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe.
    My attention swept back up her body to her face, and I nearly choked when I realized she’d caught me staring. My throat constricted. Did she recognize me? Or had she forgotten about the clumsy girl who’d dumped multiple drinks on her dress?
    She tucked a sweep of jet black hair behind an ear to reveal a pearl earring. Her caramel-colored eyes narrowed just slightly as if she was trying to make sense of my face. It was a look that said I was familiar, but she didn’t know how. The club had been dark, and I was sure I looked different to her in daylight. She, however, looked just as beautiful, if not more so.
    “Coffee’s up.” Stan set a lidded cardboard cup on the countertop, breaking the woman’s silent effort to figure out who I was. She placed a five-dollar bill on the counter and gave Stan a tight-lipped smile in thanks. She glanced once more in my direction before leaving. The bell over the diner entrance jangled with her exit.
    I took one more sip from my coffee and pulled a ten-dollar bill out of my wallet. I tossed the money on the countertop and left my breakfast half-eaten and forgotten. I might not have been able to confront her in the diner, but that didn’t mean I was going to let her walk away without a word. I didn’t believe in coincidences.
    After a quick goodbye to Franklyn and Deborah Walker, I left Stan’s and paused on the concrete sidewalk out front. I looked left and then right. The city was starting to wake up; it was busier than when I’d shown up for breakfast, but I saw no sign of the dark-haired woman. I almost questioned if I’d imagined seeing her. Maybe my flashbacks had expanded beyond the desert war zone to include my most recent embarrassing moments.
    My digital watch beeped with the new hour. I’d have to look for my mystery woman later; Chief Hart would be expecting me soon. I had her first name, but there was no way of knowing if the name she’d given me at the club was real. But it was a small town, and I was a good cop. I slipped on my aviators and smiled.
     
    + + +
    I stood in front of City Hall and looked up. The early morning sun was already high in the sky, and it backlit the cream-city brick building. City Hall was the tallest building in town, but at three stories, it didn’t exactly dominate the skyline. My stomach was tight. Picking up the keys to my new apartment hadn’t made me anxious, but reporting to City Hall for my first official day of work was different. It was close to the anxiety I’d felt when I’d been dropped off in the middle of the night with my recruit class at Parris Island for boot camp. This was real. This was really happening. I was going to do this thing.
    I climbed the five concrete steps that led up to a set of glass double doors. The main entrance opened up to a high-ceilinged rotunda. Three skylights allowed natural light into the atrium. I absently rubbed at my bare arms, instantly regretting not bringing my leather jacket. City Hall was aggressively air conditioned even though the late spring weather outside remained unseasonably mild.
    The second and third floors were visible through the carved out center of the building, and a dark wooden banister ran along the perimeter of the higher levels. People milled around, but the volume level was subdued. They talked in low tones and their shoes squeaked on the same white spackled laminate I’d seen the day before in the police department.
    I inspected a sign that provided directions to the various offices housed in the building. Only the police department was located in the basement; the higher the floor, the higher the title and pay grade. On the top floor was the