"We've only talked about me," I say, eager to know more about this man who has become a giant fixture in my life, literally overnight. "What about you, Damien? You haven't been a cop in town long or I would have met you before. Where did you come from?"

He seems a little caught off guard by my interest. "Baltimore." He clears his throat. "That's where I grew up. When my tour with the army ended, I applied for a job with law enforcement. Transferred south when the captain position opened."

"Of course you're military." I grin up at him. "It's right there in how you stand."

His eyes narrow,...