MANTRUM

  MANTRUM

  Jacob Chance

  Copyright © 2020 Jacob Chance

  All rights reserved

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This novel is a work of fiction. While reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to people either living or deceased, business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are only used for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.

  Cover design by PopKitty Designs

  Edited by Ink Machine Editing

  Proofing by Hawkeyes Proofing

  This book contains mature content.

  I will never be perfect for you, but I will always imperfectly try to be.

  Atticus

  Contents

  1. Danika

  2. Rex

  3. Danika

  4. Rex

  5. Danika

  6. Rex

  7. Danika

  8. Rex

  9. Danika

  10. Rex

  11. Danika

  12. Rex

  13. Danika

  14. Rex

  15. Rex

  16. Danika

  17. Rex

  18. Danika

  19. Rex

  20. Rex

  21. Danika

  22. Rex

  23. Danika

  24. Rex

  25. Danika

  Epilogue

  CHECKED

  Chapter One

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  1

  Danika

  I’m in the midst of typing in the truck’s information when I see the visibly angry man coming my way.

  “No. No. You’ve gotta be kidding me.” His voice reaches me, but I keep tapping the keys without making eye contact.

  “Seriously? What was I, like, two minutes over the limit?”

  “Nope, it was twenty.” Glancing up at him, I catch sight of the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. They shift from annoyed to blatant interest when they settle on my face.

  “How about I take you out to dinner and we forget about my tardiness?” He flashes a crooked smile.

  “Sorry, I can’t.”

  “Come on. I know a great place right down the street. We could be enjoying the best Italian food you’ve ever tasted in fifteen minutes. I’m Rex, by the way.”

  “I’m working.” I’m not about to tell him my shift is about to be over.

  “Yeah, but you must be done soon,” he presses.

  Does this guy know how to take no for an answer? Probably not. He’s gorgeous in a manly, lumberjack way that probably has most women catering to his every whim. Well, not this one.

  “Come on. You must be hungry by now. I’ll save you from hunger pains and you’ll save me from another parking ticket to add to my ever growing stack.”

  “You’re a repeat offender?” I arch a brow, biting back a smile.

  “That’s life working in this city.” He runs a hand through his hair in frustration.

  "Try to relax, it's just a parking ticket." I type in his remaining information on my handheld.

  "My point exactly. And if you'd accepted my invitation to dinner, we'd both be relaxed now." He flashes a cajoling smile. "You know what I'm saying? Are you sure I can’t change your mind?"

  This can't be happening, not with ten minutes left on my shift. I take a deep breath, finish printing the ticket, and try to pass it to him. "Here you go. You have a nice day, sir."

  He ignores my outstretched arm. “How can I have a nice day when you refused to let me take you to dinner?”

  I barely hold back the eye roll. “I think you’ll manage.”

  He places his hand over his heart. “I’m not so sure. I’m pretty devastated.” I try to ignore how well his black t-shirt hugs his muscular chest but it’s impossible not to notice. Gaze skipping upward, my eyes sweep from one side of his broad shoulders to the other.

  A resigned sigh escapes my lips and my arm falls down to my side. Why do the challenging situations always happen at the end of my shift? “Please take this, sir.” I hold up the ticket between us once more.

  “Please, call me Rex. You know my name. Why not use it?”

  “Sir, —”

  He cuts me off. “Rex. My name is Rex.”

  “Rex, take the goddamn ticket before I double your fine,” I grit my words out through clenched teeth.

  He chuckles, carelessly plucking the paper from my fingers. I can’t decide if I’m annoyed or turned on by the deep sound rumbling from his chest. Unfortunately, it's more than likely a mix of both.

  He leans in a little too close and I see tiny amber flecks in his blue irises. I push him back against his truck with enough force to let him know I'm serious. "Step back and keep your distance. I won't tell you again."

  He gently eases forward against my palm. "I like a woman who takes charge." Winking, he nonchalantly leans back on the truck, both arms at his sides in a yielding manner.

  Our eyes meet, and together we both peer down at my hand, which I have now left lingering on his chest for far too long. I find my palm tingling from the contact and snatch it back, as if I’ve been burned.

  “Are you going to give him the ticket or a kiss?” A voice cuts in.

  Both of our heads snap to the side to find a twenty-something know-it-all with his phone pointed our way. I immediately step backward, placing distance between us.

  “What the fuck business is it of yours?” Rex barks out.

  “I think everyone wants to know how our taxpayer dollars are spent. And Mary the Meter Maid here isn’t doing her job very well.”

  “I’m a Parking Enforcement Officer,” I clarify. “And I can assure you I was doing my job, sir.” I gesture at the ticket in Rex’s hand.

  “Well, you suck at your job.”

  “Hey. Watch yourself.” Rex steps in front of me, moving closer to the guy and blocking my view. I shuffle to the side so I can see.

  The little shit smirks. “What are you going to do about it?” He shoves the phone in Rex’s face. “Smile for the camera.”

  “You think that bothers me?” Rex laughs, slapping him across the side of his face with a loud crack. His phone falls to the sidewalk as he stumbles to keep his balance and stay on his feet. He looks completely stunned and more than a little frightened. Rex slowly bends down and picks up the phone. Holding it up to his face, he grins at the camera. "Well then, I guess this thing wasn’t protecting you after all.”

  Shit. I need to stop this. “Sir… um, Rex, maybe you should—”

  Whack. He quickly slaps the guy across the face again, hard. I watch in stunned silence as the guy’s knees buckle and he falls to the ground.

  “Owww," he screams. "Give me back my phone."

  Rex tosses the phone down on top of him, causing him to flinch in a fetal position on the ground. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You little piece of shit.”

  “Rex,” I caution in my most soothing voice. I have to diffuse his temper before this situation gets more heated. “Calm down. This has gotten way out of hand.”

  He scowls. “He was rude to you.”

  “It’s okay. He’s not the first, and he certainly won’t be t
he last.”

  “He needs to be taught a lesson.” Fingers clenching and flexing repeatedly and breathing at an accelerated pace, he’s clearly still fired up.

  “It’s not your place. You’re out of line here.” I’m not sure what makes me look away from Rex when my focus needs to be on him, but when I do, I notice a dozen or so people gathered around us. And there’s another camera aimed our way. Fuck me. I hold my hands up, stepping toward the crowd. “Okay, you guys can go now. The excitement is over.” The observers all leave, except the one woman holding her phone up.

  “Hell, no. This is going on my YouTube channel,” she calls out. A niggle of frustration burns in my stomach. God, I hate social media.

  “Turn the camera off and be about your business,” I raise my voice, but she doesn’t budge. “Shut your damn camera off and leave.” It’s like I’m speaking in tongues. There is no hint of acknowledgement that I’ve even spoken. The anger inside climbs upward, growing in strength until it’s a fiery blaze of rage in my chest. “Get the fuck out of here, now.” It explodes from my lips before I can stop it. Though I’m going for an authoritative shout, it comes out in a shrieking tone like I’m just some insane lady. And with the way I’m madly gesturing at her, I must look crazy too.

  “What’s going on here, Officer Putnam?” The sharply delivered question has me spinning around to find one of Boston’s finest closing the door of his cruiser.

  My eyes close without conscious volition. No. No. No. Not Officer Gray. Please be a bad dream. But when my lids raise, my situation remains the same—bleak as the color that’s Officer Gray’s namesake.

  "Step aside. Move." He's through the pedestrians milling along the sidewalk and by my side within seconds. "You ok?"

  He sees I'm fine, and before I can answer, his attention goes to Rex. "Alright, you, turn around and place your palms on the hood."

  "Who me?" Rex looks over his shoulder and points at his own chest, doing his best to act genuinely confused by the command.

  "Turn around, palms on the hood." Gray repeats his directive.

  "Wait…" I try to intervene but it's all happening too fast.

  "You've been told twice. There will not be a third warning." Gray places his hand on his service weapon.

  Rex looks at me, opens his fists, slowly turns his back, and places his hands on the hood of the cruiser. "Looks like I'm going to need a rain check on that dinner." This idiot actually winks at me and laughs as Officer Gray reads him his rights and places him under arrest. He seems completely unconcerned with the fact that he's going to jail and continues talking to me. "I'll settle for your name… and a smile."

  I have no idea why, especially after all that's just taken place, but I can't help myself and it just slips out. "Danika."

  * * *

  I hold up my drink in front of me. “You guys don’t know how badly I need this tonight.” Tipping it back, I down the white wine in one long gulp. “Ah, that’s a little better.” I set the empty goblet down and notice all eyes are on me. “What?”

  “You can’t say something like that and expect us to not want details,” Violet states.

  “Right? How do you not know this by now? How many years have we been friends?” Roxanne presses her lips together and slowly tics her head from side to side.

  Smiling, I reply, “Too many.”

  “Ha ha. Spill.” Roxanne steeples her fingers, waiting for me to continue. I hold my hands up in front of me.

  “Fine. You guys will just pry it out of me after a few more drinks anyway.”

  “She does know us after all,” Roxanne scoffs.

  “The end of my shift was a shit show. I tried to give this guy a ticket and he wanted to take me to dinner. I—”

  “Was he hot?” Violet interrupts.

  “What? No.” He was rather attractive, though.

  Roxanne scrutinizes every inch of my face. “You answered that pretty quickly and your lips have that tight look they get when you’re lying.”

  I press my fingertips to my mouth, tracing out the shape. “What’s wrong with my lips?”

  Violet laughs. “Nothing. They’re perfectly fine.”

  Roxanne lasers her focused gaze on me. “Don’t get a complex because we can tell when you’re not being truthful with us.”

  I tip my head to the side as I watch her. “Are you making this up?”

  “No, it’s true,” Violet offers, and I know she wouldn’t say this if it weren’t fact. Roxanne on the other hand…

  “Get back to the story you were telling us,” Roxanne cuts in.

  “So, this guy wouldn’t take the ticket, and he was trying to get me to go out to eat with him. Some jackass was recording us on his phone and being rude to me. Rex got mad and slapped him.”

  “Rex?” Violet inquires.

  “Yeah, that’s his name. Anyway, Rex slapped him a second time and then I realized there was someone else filming us.”

  “Oh shit.” Roxanne’s eyes open wide.

  “Yeah, oh shit is right. I tried to get her to stop numerous times and I had to break up the crowd, but she wouldn’t listen. Needless to say, it didn’t go well.” That’s a gross understatement.

  “Don’t stop now.” Roxanne prods.

  “I ended up screaming obscenities at the lady who was filming, and Officer Gray was behind me.”

  Violet gasps. “Oh fuck. Officer Gray?”

  Even my friends know of him and what a hardass he can be. They’ve both had the displeasure of meeting him.

  “Yep. The one and only. He defused the situation, and Monday I have to be in Sergeant Glen’s office at the start of my shift.”

  “How can someone so hot be such a dickhead?” Roxanne sighs.

  “His looks have nothing to do with his personality,” I explain.

  “Well, at least you have the weekend to calm down.”

  I grimace. “I think I’d rather get it over with. I have to wait two days to get reprimanded.”

  “Do you think they’ll take disciplinary action against you?” Violet looks concerned.

  I give a half shrug. “I could get written up over this, I guess. I hope it won’t be that serious.”

  “What happened to Rex?” Roxanne smirks.

  “Officer Gray arrested him.”

  “Oh damn. He went to jail for you. He might be a keeper. Do you know how to get in contact with him?” Roxanne leans her arms on the table in anticipation of my answer.

  I snort. “You would think by your reaction that a guy getting arrested is a plus.”

  “Only because he did it in your defense. Sounds like a nice, protective, dateable bad boy to me. So, do you have his number?”

  “Why? You want to call him?” I jest.

  “Ha ha. Nice try. So do you have it?” Roxanne repeats her question.

  “No. He’s a jerk. One of those can’t-take-no-for-an-answer types. I wish I’d never met him.”

  “Are you sure about that?” She shoots me a look loaded with skepticism. “He doesn’t really sound like a jerk to me.”

  “Well, in Dani’s defense, you have terrible taste in men.” Violet raises a good point.

  “This.” I point at Violet. “To be honest, I just want to forget the situation ever happened. It wasn’t my proudest moment, for sure. I’ll probably be viral on social media by tomorrow, and it’s all Rex’s fault. I hope I never see him again.”

  “Oh jeez.” Violet grimaces.

  “That would be awesome.” Roxanne grins. “You could become an internet sensation. Maybe even a social media influencer. Kylie Jenner’s got nothing on you.”

  “Oh my God. Don’t even joke. If this happened to you, I’m sure you wouldn’t think it was a positive thing.”

  She raises one shoulder in a half shrug. “It depends on how I looked in the video. Hypothetically speaking, are we talking about a good hair day or a bad one? Because that would affect my choice.”

  “Remind me why we’re friends,” I droll.

  “Yo
u’ve loved me since seventh grade when Susie North stole your bologna sandwich.”

  I giggle as I think about how Roxanne marched over and snatched the Ziploc bag from Susie’s hands without a word. That was the last time anyone tried to take anything from me. “You’re right. I’d be lost without you.”

  “Duh,” she teases.

  Raising my arm, I signal to our waitress for another round.

  “Well, look at you having a second glass of wine. You’re really living on the edge tonight.” Roxanne nudges me with her elbow.

  I stick my tongue out at her. “I might even have a third.”

  2

  Rex

  "Did you know that a box of Fruit Loops cereal has several different colors of loop inside, but they all taste exactly the same? Close your eyes sometime and try it." One of my cellmates keeps pestering me with ridiculous questions.

  "Go away."

  "Did you know if you replace the words in the chorus of "Last Kiss” by Pearl Jam with the words to Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess, it sounds like it was meant to be? Go ahead, try it, I'll wait." God, I hate tweakers. "Leave me alone."

  "Well, did you know the official medical name for a butt crack is an intergluteal cleft? I bet you didn't know that one."

  "If you don't shut up I'm going to plant my foot up your intergluteal cleft."

  "Relax, dude, damn. I'm just tryna hit ya with some knowledge."

  No more than ten seconds of silence pass before he speaks again.

  "I mean, are you even aware of the fact that bullfrogs don't sleep? Huh?"