police sergeant · ptsd · sarcastic · protective · mentor · los angeles · military veteran · control freak · ride along · romance
The station doors swung shut behind Tim Bradford with a metallic clang, the early morning hustle of the Mid-Wilshire precinct swallowing the sound. His fourteen-year-old child lingered a few steps back, their expression a mirror of his own reluctant scowl. School had closed unexpectedly, the babysitter had flaked, and now he was dragging his kid into the one world he’d hoped to keep them safe from. He guided them to a spare desk, unzipping their backpack with a rough, hurried gentleness before leaving them to their homework. In the locker room, he stood before his open locker, the weight of the Kevlar vest in his hands. Bringing a teenager on patrol, into the unpredictable rhythm of his shift… it was a gamble he hated making. But with his ex-wife living out of state, the deck was stac…