Davina: Blue Belles Investigations, #2

By Tee Smith

Appearances can be deceiving. Davina, the quiet, hardworking receptionist for Blue Belles Investigations has given up on the perfect family. She has her son, Logan, and that's all she needs. She would do anything to keep him safe

Then Drew came along. From the very beginning she's drawn to the tattooed courier, his eyes seem to fill the emptiness in her heart. He even loves Logan. Maybe she can have a happily ever after, after all?

Drew has a secret in his past, a big one, He's lied about it to everyone, even Davina. But everything he's tried so hard to leave behind comes to light when Logan goes missing.

Can they find Logan before the unthinkable happens? Can Davina look past the mistake he made so long ago and love the man Drew is now? Or has he forever lost his chance to love Davina.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tee Smith
• Release date: Apr 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393864363

Book preview

Chapter One

The tattoo gun buzzed as its tiny needles pierced her skin over and over again, etching out his name. She closed her eyes and hummed a tune in her head to block out the pain. She’d take a thousand times more pain for this. To have her boy’s name seared on her skin. He meant everything to her and to think she could have lost him. It didn’t bear thinking on.

Are you okay? the tattooist asked. His voice laden with concern.

She turned to the man and nodded. He hadn’t been what she was expecting. In fact, he was a little nerdy looking. None of that mattered, as long as he did a good job.

Looking down at the text that was forming on her collarbone, she saw an L, O and the beginning in a G. Half way. Phew.

Her mind wandered to Drew. The man she’d had a crush on since the day he’d walked into Blue Belles. The man who had no idea she even existed. She wondered what he would think of her getting a tattoo. Like it mattered. Like he’d ever see it.

Nearly there, Davina. Hold still, the tattooist whose name she had already long forgotten told her. She hadn’t even realised she’d shifted in her seat.

Sorry, she muttered, before finding a spot on the wall to focus her attention on.

Yeah, that’s exactly what I want. The voice wafted through the thin wall. It was him. How could he be here? Of all the places and all the days. It was him.

Her ears strained as she tried desperately to listen closer. His voice was deep. The tone rattled through her. She had never had a crush like this on anyone. Not even Logan’s father. That had been a disaster.

All done, the tattooist announced. How’s that? Are you happy with it?

She looked down at the artwork, the way her son’s name stood glaring back at her; the skin around the black ink, red and raw.

Perfect. Thank you. She smiled proudly.

Good. You will need to keep it covered for the next little while, and I will give you some cream to apply. It’s important…

Her mind wandered off as he gave her care instructions. She wanted to hear Drew’s voice again. That was all that mattered. She wondered what work he was having. What part of his body was he exposing in the next room?

She made her way to the reception desk and dug into her purse for her credit card. Drew’s laugh rang out from behind her, and she spun on her heel, coming face to face with him. Or face to chest as the case was; his sexy hard chest.

Hey, he smiled. That same gorgeous smile he always gave. The one that didn’t give away whether he actually recognised her or he was just being friendly.

Hey, she managed out in response. Her voice small and pathetic. She had dreamed of all the things she’d like to say to him. But here, given the chance, she had just fallen flat and made a fool of herself.

Clutching her receipt and list of instructions she turned for the door. Wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. If she’d known she was likely to bump into him, she would have done something better with her hair or worn something nicer. Instead, she wore her single mum who has been awake with a toddler all night, look.

Who was she kidding? The likes of Drew would have women falling at his feet. There was no way he would be interested in a nerdy, single mum. She just had to face the truth. She had made her bed; she had to lie in it. Logan was worth it. He was the most important person in her life. He needed her, and she had no place thinking she could be looking for love. That was the domain of the unattached. The smart girls who didn’t get themselves knocked up before they finished school. She just needed to remember her place in the world.

But there was no harm in dreaming, was there?

Chapter Two

G ood morning, Davina, Mercy called as she entered the office five minutes after nine. It was very unlike her to be running late. She was usually the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Morning Mercy, she called back. She liked her boss. She was a good, fair woman. There were never any questions when she needed to bring Logan into the office with her. She tried to keep him away as much as she could. An office was no place for a child.

I have these files for you, Davina said as she followed Mercy down the hall to her office.

Oh, thank you. Mercy turned and took the stack from her. How’s our boy? she asked, placing the pile down on her desk and reaching to switch her computer on.

He’s good, thank you. At home with grandma today.

That’s good. So, she is feeling better, then?

Each day is different, Davina shrugged. She still gets exhausted.

Davina’s mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer the year before, throwing their whole lives into chaos. Before her diagnosis, she had taken care of Logan’s childcare needs.

But she’s done with her treatment for now, right?

Sure is, she had her last radiation treatment last week. Now we have to wait on her results, but her oncologist is saying he thinks it’s going to be good news.

What an awful time you guys have been through. Mercy offered her a sad smile. She was such a genuinely caring person. Finding people like her in the world was hard. Her job at Blue Belles Investigations had been the best thing to happen to her other than her son.

It’s all good, Mercy. Honestly. It’s not your fault what happened to Loges and hey… he’s still with us right?

Mercy’s sad smile lifted slightly into a brighter one, but she knew the woman felt responsible for Logan having been shot. Whilst it had been the most terrifying incident in her life, Logan had made a decent recovery. In time, he would learn to live with the effects and may not even remember the trauma.

If there is anything you need for him… she persisted.

Yeah, I know. The therapists are all really happy with his progress. He is learning some basic signs, so we are learning to communicate.

The incident had only caused a flesh injury to her son, tearing off part of his ear. There had been