Book 'Em Bridget

by Danielle Norman

  “Motherfucker.”

  “Now, on to the other stuff.” Sunday moved her mouse and then pulled up another image. “This is Justin’s bank account, he has random ten thousand-dollar wire transfers from an off-shore account, I’m trying to get access to it, but the bank keeps blocking me, which isn’t uncommon with these types of establishments.”

  Adeline slid an envelope over to me. “This is your copy of his bank records and the deposits as well as copies of the obituary and his mother’s death certificate.”

  “Thank you. What should I do now? Let the FBI handle it?”

  “Do you think they are going to let you be now? They know you’re on to them,” Melanie said, her voice full of concern.

  “Then what should I do?”

  “I’m glad you asked.” Melanie handed me a credit card and a tube of lipstick.

  “Okay, what are these for?”

  “Put the lipstick in your purse and keep the credit card in your pocket or bra. They both are GPS trackers; the same type of technology in your cell phone. If something is wrong and you need us to find you immediately, you can pull this label off the card.” Melanie showed me what to most people looked like the hologram sticker. “It’s magnetic and will just make our GPS go fuzzy for a few seconds, which will sound an alarm. If you open the lipstick tube, it does the same thing. Got it?”

  “Yeah.” I took the items from her.

  “Keep them with you at all times.”

  “Shouldn’t I just keep them both on me?”

  “No. If your hands are tied in back, then you can get the card out of your back pocket. If you have to get in your purse to hand something over, like your wallet or your cell phone, then you can get to the tube of lipstick as well.”

  “Got it.” I nodded and slid one tracking device into my purse and the other into my pocket.

  “You have any questions?” I shook my head. “The rest of you have any questions?”

  “I do,” Piper said. “Will someone be monitoring this twenty-four seven? I mean, just in case she sends the alarm for help?”

  “Yes. All four of us will be monitoring it, and on the off chance we miss something, we have it set up to send alerts to our phones if one is activated. We will be notified by the sound no matter where we are.”

  Chapter 17

  Eli

  Sweat beaded along my forehead, and my stomach rumbled. Holy shit, I was thirty-four fucking years old, and I thought that this was what they called butterflies. With a shaking hand, I reached forward and pressed the doorbell.

  One, two, three . . . I counted as I tapped the toe of my shoe. Their cars were here, so they had to be here. How long had I been standing here? I reached up to press again just as the knob twisted and then I saw Colleen standing in the doorway.

  “You crazy, idget, why are you ringing the bell? You know to just walk on in.” She leaned forward and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

  “I didn’t want to interrupt just in case you had Patrick right where you wanted him.” I gave her a wink.

  “Ahh, you are a fresh one. He’s in the living room with the boys, go on in and I’ll bring you a drink.”

  “Thank you.” Their home wasn’t fancy, but it was definitely a place you could get comfortable in. It was a home built on the single income of a hard-working police officer. They had raised three kids, lived modestly, and just chilled. A typical Florida subdivision home, stucco outside, mixture of tile and wood floor inside.

  “Hey, what brings you by?” Callum gave me a chin nod.

  “I wanted to talk with you and your dad.”

  “You need me to leave?” Aiden asked.

  “No, you’re fine, stay.” I took the beer that Colleen held out to me. “Thank you.”

  “I have dinner going; hope that you’ll stay.”

  I nodded, not really giving her a commitment, since after I told Patrick and Bridget’s brothers what I’d come to say, they may kick me out.

  “Spit it out, boy, you look like someone just shot your dog.” Patrick moved to the edge of his seat and rested his hands on his knees.

  “I’m worried about Bridget.”

  “Is there any particular reason why?”

  I glanced at Callum. “She is hell bent on involving herself in one of my cases. Unbeknownst to her, she pulled over one of our most wanted guys. He’s wanted for activity in a sex-trafficking operation.”

  “Fuck. Are you talking about her traffic stop last week? That was what those numbers were?” Callum asked, and I nodded.

  “Does this have anything to do with the break-in at her apartment?” Aiden’s face was painted in worry.

  “Yeah. We believe that one of the detectives who works in Callum’s department is involved and may actually be the one who broke in. We have the DNA from the blood splatter, so now we just need to get his.”

  “Then get a fucking warrant and get it,” Patrick demanded.

  “He called the station this morning and put in for a leave of absence, claiming his mother passed away.”

  “Justin Camfield?” Callum asked. I nodded. “He’s one of mine. I’ll kill him myself. You need a DNA sample? I’ll fucking get it.” Callum stood. “You can expedite it, right?”

  “Sit down.” I waved for Callum to take his seat. “Yes, I could expedite it, but at minimum, it is two hours, and that is if there are no cases in front of ours. You and I both know that isn’t very likely.” I let out a long sigh. “The problem isn’t the warrant or the speed of the test, it’s getting to him to get the sample. His mother didn’t die—well, she didn’t die recently. She passed away almost six years ago. He isn’t home, but I have a guy watching his house. My cyber team is checking his phone, as soon as he turns it on, we will have him.”

  “He won’t,” Callum announced, finally coming to the same understanding as me.

  “Nope. He knows how this shit works and how to avoid getting caught. I just pray that he gets cocky and screws up.”

  “How did Bridget figure out Justin was involved? He wasn’t who she pulled over, he wasn’t in that van, she would have recognized him.” Callum ran a hand down his face.

  I started at the beginning, from Bridget pulling over Oman Keith Matim AKA Nazari to her finding the note on Justin’s desk, to involving the Iron Ladies, her friends, and going rogue trying to track him down.

  “She’s going to fucking get killed,” Aiden said in a hiss.

  “If I don’t kill her first,” Patrick warned. “She needs to come here and stay. I’ll call her, I don’t want her alone.”

  I held up one hand. “About that . . .” All three faces turned to me. “That’s the other reason why I came by. She’s safe, I’m keeping her safe.”

  “Of course you are. I trust you, Eli, you won’t let anything happen to my girl.” Patrick’s voice softened.

  “Never. Not on my life.”

  “But it isn’t your job, it’s ours, we’re her family. We’ll do it. You have your own job to do, your own life,” Callum said, as though he thought he was doing me a favor. Patrick let out a small laugh. “What’s so funny?”

  Patrick locked eyes with me and raised one eyebrow. Callum looked at me, then his father, then back at me. Aiden mimicked Callum’s pattern.

  “Whoa, wait a minute. What the fuck is going on?” Aiden demanded. “Are you and Bridget—no.”

  “She’s just a kid.” The look on Callum’s face when he said that was a mix of horror and anger.

  “She’s twenty-six,” Patrick said.

  “Are you telling me that you and my sister? You’re my age, you’re thirty-four.” Callum pointed to me then balled his fist, his face turning a shade of red that made his hair look redder.

  “I’m in love with her,” I said, my voice low but confident.

  “Bullshit. To you, she’s just another piece of ass. What can you have in common with a kid?”

  “Whoa, don’t you ever speak about your sister like that again or I’ll throw you out of this house.” Patric
k beat me to it in his defense of Bridget against Callum’s words.

  “She isn’t a fucking kid, stop treating her like one,” I argued. “And if I ever hear you refer to your sister like that again, I’ll take you out myself, friendship or not.”

  “Get out.” Callum stood and pointed toward the front door.

  “Wait right there. This is my house, and last I checked, you didn’t live here. It’s up to me to say who comes and who goes.” Patrick grabbed Callum’s arm.

  “You can’t seriously be okay with this, Da, she’s twenty-six, the exact same age he was when she was a senior in high school.” Aiden’s eyebrows were practically pulled together, his mouth pinched as he fought to keep control.

  “But she isn’t in high school anymore. In fact, she’s a grown woman, lives on her own, pays her own bills, and doesn’t need either of you”—Patrick pointed to Callum and Aiden—“controlling her life.” He stared at me for several seconds. “Am I to assume that she feels the same for you?”

  I turned my head at the sound of loud, raucous laughter coming from the kitchen area.

  “Come on in here, you blasted woman, if you’re gonna eavesdrop you got to remember to be quiet.”

  I smiled when Colleen came from around the corner and moved to sit on the arm of Patrick’s chair. He pulled her down onto his lap, and she let out another squeal of laughter. “Really, you daft man, do you have to ask if Bridget likes him? You and I both know that she’s been in love with him since the first day he came to dinner with Callum.”

  Callum and Aiden stared at their parents and then turned their ire on me once again. “You can’t tell me that you’re okay with this?” Aiden was furious.

  “Why the hell not?” Colleen asked.

  “He’s practically old enough to be her father.”

  I choked on my beer, but Colleen and Patrick cracked up laughing. “Now who’s the daft one? Um, eight years old isn’t exactly fathering age. If you two are so offended by that, then what do you think about your da and me?”

  “You two have nothing to do with this,” Callum barked.

  “Your da is almost ten years older than I am. I see nothing wrong with this, if Eli and Bridget want to date and see where it goes, then so be it.”

  “But, Ma—”

  “No, but Ma. Last I looked, you weren’t Bridget’s parents, and if you two keep acting like a couple of idgets, you won’t be her brothers either. She’ll disown you two, and you’ll probably be out a friend as well.” Colleen looked at me. “So, get your acts together.”

  “He’s known her since she was a kid.” Callum made one last-ditch effort.

  “For the love of god, she was graduating high school, not preschool. Besides, that was eight years ago, and in all of this time, I’ve done nothing, not made a move or asked her out until recently. So, stop talking about me as if I preyed on her while she was on the playground.” I stood and took my empty beer bottle into the kitchen and tossed it before returning to the living room. “Thank you for the dinner invitation, but I’m going to go.”

  “Oh, won’t you—” I held up one hand to stop Colleen from asking me to stay.

  “No, but thank you. Patrick, Colleen, it was lovely seeing you. I just wanted you to know what was going on with Bridget and my concerns over her reckless behavior. I know that she values your input tremendously, and I was hoping that maybe you could help me talk some sense into her.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Patrick looked resigned. “Exactly what is your plan for keeping our girl safe?”

  “She’s staying with me.”

  “For how long?”

  “For however long I can convince her to stay. Because she’s LEO, I’m restricted on what I can do as far as protection when she isn’t with me, but I have several other agents helping me tail her.”

  Patrick nodded. “Thanks, Eli.”

  “Of course.” I lifted two fingers and gave a mock salute before I strolled out, not saying goodbye to my best friend—or was that former best friend?

  Chapter 18

  Bridget

  “Bridget, answer your phone.” I woke up feeling like I was in the Twilight Zone. “Bridget, answer your damn phone.” Eli plopped it on my chest.

  I rubbed my eyes and mumbled, “Hello.”

  “Bridget Ann, we need a family meeting.”

  “Da?”

  “Yes, who’d you think it was?”

  “What time is it?”

  “It’s five thirty in the morning, aren’t you up and ready for work?”

  “No, administrative leave, remember?” It was Friday so I only had today and tomorrow to suffer through before I was back to work.

  “Ah, well, fook me. I blasted forgot. Ne’ermind, now that I gotcha, we need a family meeting. Tonight at Aiden’s.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you tonight.” I disconnected and threw myself back against the bed.

  “What was that about?” Eli peered over me, one hand lightly touching my face.

  “Da has called a family meeting for tonight, want to come?”

  Worry crinkled the corners of his eyes before he said, “I think I’ll pass on this one, but you can bring me something back if you don’t mind.”

  I leaned forward and gave him a quick peck. “I don’t mind. I have to meet with Dr. Nehr this afternoon to prove that I’m not scarred or a loose cannon from the break-in. Then I’m meeting with the captain to get my gun and badge back so I’m ready for Sunday.”

  We had settled into a routine this week, and a part of me was going to miss it, but I needed to head back to my apartment. “By the way, the cleaning crew came yesterday and the painter comes today. Ma is meeting them for me.”

  “Okay, do you need me to do something?”

  “No, I’m just telling you because that means my apartment will be back to normal, like nothing ever happened. I can move back home.”

  “We’ll talk about it tonight.” Eli leaned forward and kissed me again.

  “Eli.”

  “Bridget. What? I don’t want you to leave. I like you here, is that so bad?”

  “My uniform and my car are there.”

  “Then bring them here.”

  “I don’t know. We’ll talk about it later. You better get ready.” I headed downstairs to fix our coffees. Since I wasn’t in a hurry, I started breakfast as well.

  Was the man on drugs? He had to be on drugs, there was no way I was going to move in with him. He was letting his little head—okay, his not-so-little head—do the thinking for his big head. He didn’t really want me; he wanted sex, sex all the time, whenever he wanted it. I stopped my train of thought as hints of vanilla mixed with leather hit me.

  What was it about the scent of a freshly showered man? I mean, women didn’t smell like that, but men? Holy hell, if they could find a way to infuse that fragrance into pillows so that women could cuddle it, squeeze it, and fall asleep dreaming about it, oh, they would a sell a ton. Wrapping my arms around him, I inhaled.

  “Did you just sniff me?”

  “Yes,” I replied somewhat sheepishly.

  “Any reason?”

  “You smell so good.”

  “You’re weird.” Eli popped a kiss on the end of my nose. “I see you made breakfast. Thank you.”

  “Yep, enjoy it while you can.” He paused and glared at me then shook me off.

  “I’m not playing this game, Bridget. I’ve told you that I want you here. Whether your apartment is ready or not it has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t want you moving back there. I like having you here.”

  “Ah, I get it. If I don’t agree are you going to club me over the head and beat your chest like a caveman? Come on, Eli, we’re both adults. You should know by now that throwing down an ultimatum like that won’t work with me. We are new and I still have four more months left on my lease.”

  He gave me a rakish grin. “Don’t tempt me to pull out the club and leopard skin loincloth.” I cracked up laughing. “You know what I mea
nt when I said I want you here, and we aren’t new. My god, there has been something between us for years. Just because we never acted on it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.” Eli moved and grabbed a plate. “I’m in love with you.”

  “You are?” My knees were knocking, could he hear my knees knocking? I was so excited that I wanted to jump but at the same time I wanted to act cool. Rizzo from Grease was my idol, and I’d spent many years practicing her swagger. If I could just project my inner Rizzo, I’d be set.

  “Yeah, and I want you here with me. If that means your apartment is empty for four months, who cares?”

  “Who cares? You love me?”

  “I already said that. Are you okay?”

  “I’m cool.” Eli let out a chuckle. Okay, maybe I wasn’t really. “I’m good. Yeah, great.” Since I was eighteen, Eli has been there, sometimes like a big brother, sometimes as the man who fueled my fantasies, and sometimes as a protector. But he’s been there. God, I was so in love with him, too. Should I tell him? What would Rizzo do, would she keep him wondering, maybe for a bit longer?

  The only thing that got me through the day was Eli telling me that he loved me and that he wanted me with him.

  I gave one knock on my brother’s door before walking in, shocked to see my entire family already there. “Wow, usually you two come straggling in,” I said as I walked over to place a kiss on Callum’s and then Aiden’s cheeks.

  “Family meeting,” Aiden said a bit coolly. “And it is at my house, figured I’d better be early.”

  I laughed. “Wonders never cease.” But I noticed that neither Callum nor Aiden smiled. What the fuck?

  “All right, everyone, take a seat,” Da ordered. When I walked past him, I gave him a hug before leaning over and giving Ma one as well.

  “Everything okay?”

  “We’ll talk.” That worried me, especially after experiencing my brothers less than warm greeting.

  I moved to Aiden’s table and sat. An eerie feeling crawled over me. Ma sat on one end, Da on the other, and Aiden and Callum opposite me. They never did that. Usually, one was on either side of me. Something about two guys sitting together or some such nonsense.