Indebted

by Sharon C. Cooper

  “This guy can’t go free. Do you remember three years ago, six teenagers were found shot dead under the Buford Highway bridge?”

  “I remember.”

  “That was Monsuli’s doing. Those kids were drug runners for him and had started using his merchandise. We could never get enough evidence to formally charge him or anyone in his camp. I can give you a handful of other instances off the top of my head where he was involved. And finally, we catch him, with a murder weapon, and you’re telling me he might walk. What type of sense does that make?”

  “Laz, I know the legal system can be frustrating, but it works. We can’t keep him in jail unless we know for sure he did the crime we’re charging him for.”

  “What evidence are they claiming was planted?” he asked, his anger almost at its tipping point.

  “The knife used to kill the victim. It has the vic’s blood on it, and according to forensics, Monsuli’s prints aren’t on the weapon. Yours are.”

  Laz’s mouth gaped open. “That’s crazy!” Even if he was going to plant evidence, there’s no way he’d be sloppy about it.

  “Monsuli insists you’re trying to frame him since you haven’t been able to get anything on him in the past.”

  “I caught the bastard with the knife in his hand, Journey. He wasn’t wearing gloves. When I ordered him to freeze, he dropped the weapon to the floor.”

  “Then what did you do with the knife?”

  Laz didn’t forget details of a case, especially this one.

  The drug kingpin, a supplier of heroin, meth, and cocaine, had been on Laz’s radar for years, but they could never nail him. A few years ago, when one of his customers ended up dead, they thought they had him, but one of his minions took the fall, admitting to first-degree murder.

  “There’s no way my prints are on that weapon. I had the responding officers tag it for evidence.”

  She didn’t speak, only stared at him with her big brown doe-like eyes that were filled with sympathy. He didn’t want her pity. All he wanted was to get to the bottom of whatever this nonsense was.

  “Whatever they think they have on me is bullshit. Either they have the wrong knife, or somebody is trying to set me up. Either way, I’m not taking this shit sitting down.”

  He headed to the door, but Journey caught up to him and grabbed his arm.

  “You can’t say anything about all of this yet, Laz. I probably shouldn’t have even told you since I could lose my job if it got back to my office that I shared confidential information. But…I owe you.”

  He knew exactly what she was referring to, and over the years, memories of that night filtered into his mind. She didn’t know this, but since the night she’d almost been raped, he had kept tabs on her. She still worked late hours, which he hated, but at least now she didn’t use public transportation at night. She had started either driving or ordering a car to get home from work.

  Laz still got the shakes whenever he thought about the night she’d been attacked. The situation could’ve gone very different had he not happened to be in the area and heard her screaming.

  “Baby, you don’t owe me anything, especially where that night is concerned. I’m glad I was there for you.” He caressed her delicate cheek, loving the way her eyes drifted closed as she leaned into his touch.

  What the hell was he going to do about this woman? This adorable, intelligent woman who dominated so many of his thoughts.

  Her eyes fluttered open again, and his hand slid behind her neck, pulling her closer. He wanted to kiss her sweet lips again, wanted just a little taste of her delectable mouth. All it would take was for him to lean down slightly, especially considering how willing she seemed.

  Staring into her troubled eyes, he held onto her, his thumb caressing the soft skin beneath her ear.

  “Thanks for the heads-up. I swear to you, I won’t say a word.”

  He lowered his head, inches from her mouth, but at the last minute settled for kissing her on the forehead. If he had kissed her lips, there was no way he’d be able to leave without stripping her out of her clothes and taking her body the way he’d desired.

  “Lock up, and I’ll see you around.”

  Laz stood on the other side of the door until he heard the lock click into place before strolling to the elevator. He knew he was going to regret not kissing her, not holding her close to his body and feeling her softness against him. But he had to walk away.

  He had to figure out how to leave her alone without actually leaving her alone, because he already knew he didn’t want to go too many days without seeing her.

  Just before pushing the down button for the elevator he stopped, his finger stalling in mid-air as he thought about Hamilton’s words. His friend was right about one thing, Laz did always go after what he wanted and to hell with consequences.

  But this situation was different. Journey was different…special. He’d never forgive himself if any of his actions somehow came back on her or if he ever did anything to hurt her.

  Then again, what would it hurt to go on one date with her?

  Laz released a slow, steadying breath as an idea bloomed in his mind. He wanted to spend a little time with the sexy prosecutor. He returned to her apartment door and knocked before he could talk himself out of doing what he was about to do.

  The door swung open almost immediately. “Laz? What’s going on?”

  “How do you feel about wedding receptions?”

  Her left brow lifted in amusement. “As long as it’s not mine, I’m fine with them.”

  Laz leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest. He studied her, surprised by her response but he decided not to question her about it at the moment.

  “Well, I usually try to stay clear of prosecutors unless I have no other choice,” he said, loving the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed. “This is one of those times where I have no other choice. I need a date. I’m not sure if you remember my friend Hamilton Crosby, but he recently got married. How about being my plus-one for the reception? There will be plenty of food, drinks, and dancing, and maybe even cake. You interested?”

  Journey twisted her bottom lip between her teeth, studying Laz for the longest time before a slow smile spread across her gorgeous mouth. “Cake, huh? Who can say no to cake? When’s the reception, and can you even dance?”

  “Baby, I’ve got moves that will blow your mind.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Whose car is this?” Dominic asked, when he climbed into Laz’s new Nissan Maxima.

  “Mine. I picked it up yesterday. You like it?”

  Laz had been thinking about buying a new car for the last couple of years but hadn’t taken the time to look for one. The day after Journey had agreed to be his date for the reception, he figured that was as good of a day as any. As far as he was concerned, she was too classy of a woman for him to have her riding around in his twenty-year-old Chevy.

  “It’s nice, but you shoulda got a Mustang like the one Dakota has,” Dominic said, referring to his stepmother’s vehicle. The woman was an adrenaline junkie who operated on one speed when it came to driving. Fast. She had the speeding tickets to prove it.

  “Why’d you come pick me up so early?” Dominic asked as he fastened his seatbelt.

  “This was the time your dad told me to pick you up.”

  Hamilton had called earlier that morning to see if Laz was available to pick up Dominic from a sleepover. “Besides, Dom, it’s not that early. We only have a little over an hour to get there, and you know how this traffic can be.”

  “Yeah, but,” he huffed out a breath, “I was winning Pokémon Duel for the first time.” He spoke the words as if he couldn’t believe it. “Now Johnathan’s going to be bragging every time I see him, talking about how he can’t be beat.”

  “Oh. Well, sorry to mess up your groove, but you don’t want to be late for your dad’s reception, do you?”

  “I guess not,” he muttered, still looking defeated as his lower lip
stuck out. “I really didn’t wanna go to this reception in the first place, but Dad said I’d better be there or else. Glad I only have to stay for the dinner part.”

  Laz chuckled as he drove out of the prestigious subdivision and headed to the highway. The first part of the reception was a sit-down dinner for family and close friends, while the second part of the event would be a party that would include Hamilton and Dakota’s friends who weren’t invited to the dinner.

  “Well, I’m glad you were forced to attend because there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  “Who?” Dominic pulled a handheld game console out of his backpack, a device he rarely left home without.

  “A…friend.” When Dominic didn’t say anything, Laz glanced at him. “What? What’s that look for?”

  “Is it your girlfriend?”

  “I didn’t say it was a woman.”

  Dominic grunted and Laz could almost hear the wheels in the kid’s brain turning. “It must be a girl…I mean, a woman. I can tell ’cause of the way you said friend.”

  Laz tried to fight the smile threatening to break free at the way Dominic said friend, as if it was a dirty word that left a bad taste on his tongue. Laz couldn’t wait until the kid got interested in girls. He was so going to give him a hard time.

  “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

  “I don’t. I told you she’s a friend. We’re on our way to pick her up now so she can go to the reception with us.”

  “Why?”

  Laz glanced at Dominic, splitting his attention between him and the road. “Why what?”

  “Why is she going with us if she’s not your girlfriend?”

  “Because…” Laz started, trying to find the right words to explain why he invited a woman, who he had never spent time with outside of work until recently and who he wasn’t dating, to a wedding reception.

  “If she’s not your girlfriend,” Dominic continued, his thumbs working feverishly as he played the video game, “you must like her like a girlfriend.”

  “Well…yeah, I like her. Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked her to come with us, but she’s not my girlfriend. I just…like her.”

  Laz realized that his responses were like those of a middle-schooler who had a crush on the most popular girl in class. Why did he feel a need to reiterate the fact that he and Journey weren’t an item?

  “Can we stop by GameStop on the way to pick up your friend?”

  Laz frowned. He was glad the kid had dropped the interrogation but surprised by the sudden shift in the conversation. “Dom, I just told you we needed to pick her up.”

  “I know, but since she’s not your girlfriend, maybe she won’t mind if we’re a little late.”

  On that, Laz did laugh. Kids. “Dom, man, you have a lot to learn about women. There’s no way she’d be okay with me picking her up late.”

  A short while later, Laz pulled into the circular drive in front of Journey’s high-rise apartment building. Not much made him nervous, but a bout of anxiousness swirled inside of him. It had been three days since he had last seen her, and a day hadn’t gone by that he hadn’t questioned his decision to invite her to the reception. Not because he didn’t want to spend time with her, but he knew from experience that some women got the wrong idea when a guy invited them to a wedding or wedding reception.

  But this is Journey. She didn’t seem the type. From what he knew of her, her career was her sole focus.

  Laz parked on the side of the driveway. “Dom, hop in the backseat. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.

  Laz entered the building and had just stepped up to the concierge’s desk when he spotted Journey exiting the elevator.

  Wow.

  He didn’t think she could get any more gorgeous, but seeing her in the navy-blue short, one shoulder dress stole his breath from his lungs. He swallowed hard and his pulse amped up as Journey strolled toward him. Thanks to the tasteful side-split in the dress, a toned, bronze thigh peeked out with each long step she took. His gaze went lower.

  Goodness. Those legs.

  He gawked at her long shapely legs that tapered down to a pair of sky-high shoes that had a thin strap around her slim ankles. Forget taking her to the reception. He was tempted to carry her back upstairs, strip her bare, and have his way with her.

  Shit. This was Journey Ramsey. Friend. Coworker. Sort of. Whatever she was, he shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like that about her. This evening they would just be hanging out…getting to know each other better. Nothing else.

  Laz unbuttoned his suit jacket and tugged on the collar of his dress shirt, suddenly finding it too tight for comfort.

  “Considering the way you’re checking me out, detective, you either like what you see or you don’t approve of my outfit. Which is it? Do I need to go upstairs and change into something else?”

  “Don’t you dare,” he growled, boldly slipping his hand around her narrow waist and pulling her close to his side. So much for keeping his hands to himself. She was too irresistible. “You’re sexy as hell. I’m a little hesitant to take you out in public for fear I might have to kick some guy’s ass for checking you out.”

  Journey released a lyrical laugh that only made him want her that much more. How the hell was he going to get through the evening without pulling her into the nearest cleaning closet or bathroom stall to have his way with her?

  “You know, with this outfit you might outshine the bride.”

  “Now, I doubt that, and I must say, you clean up well.” With her sweet smile and the way she ran her hand down the front of his jacket, heat soared through Laz’s body.

  He had planned to be a perfect gentleman tonight. However, considering the steady beat of desire pulsing through his veins and the need to have his hands all over her luscious body, the night was going to be pure torture.

  What have I gotten myself into?

  Chapter Eleven

  Journey released a shaky breath in an effort to slow her pounding heart. With a hand at the small of her back, sending delicious tingles spiraling through her body, Laz escorted her across the lobby. She hadn’t been this nervous since the time she faced her first case in court, and even then she’d been prepared.

  But nothing, not even the speech she had given herself while staring into her bathroom mirror moments ago, could’ve prepared her for the sight of seeing Laz looking absolutely delicious in all black.

  At over six feet tall with wide shoulders and hair that always looked as if he ran his fingers through it too many times, he was truly a vision. Add those hypnotic hazel-green eyes and kissable lips, and a girl could lose her mind around him. He was just that good-looking. But throw in a black suit, with a black shirt underneath where the top three buttons were undone, showing a wisp of chest hair, and she was practically fanning herself to keep from hyperventilating.

  It’s Laz. We’re just hanging out. No big deal, she reminded herself.

  But who was she kidding? She was out with Lazarus Dimas—the hot detective who always had her female coworkers falling all over themselves whenever he stopped by the DA’s office.

  Nope, this was no ordinary date, and that became apparent when she spent hours in a department store trying to find a dress for the reception. Normally, she enjoyed shopping, could mall-hop for hours upon hours with the best of them and not grow tired. Today was different, though. Today she had the added stress of wanting to impress Laz. She’d had to find the perfect dress, and if his reaction upon seeing her was any indication, she had done well.

  “I’m to the right,” Laz said, interrupting her musing as they exited through the revolving door. He directed her to a sleek black car with chrome rims and windows so dark, she couldn’t see inside the vehicle.

  “Nice car. New?”

  “Mmhm. I couldn’t have you riding around in my old beater.”

  Journey stopped. “Laz, I hope you didn’t go out and purchase a car just because of me.”

  He shrugged and moved her forward wit
h a hand on her elbow. “Let’s just say you were my motivation to do something I should’ve done years ago.”

  “Well, it’s nice, but you do know that it’s against the law in Atlanta to have window tint that dark, right?”

  He flashed that crooked grin that always made her squeeze her legs tightly together to ward off the lustful throb between her thighs. Whew, this man. She’d been physically attracted to him from the moment they met, but this evening that attraction had reached new heights.

  “Yeah, I think I did read that in one of the police manuals that are currently lining the bottom of my desk drawer. Surely you know by now that I’m not that good at following rules.”

  “Oh, I know oh too well. I just didn’t realize that same rebellious attitude extended to your personal life, too.”

  With his hand sliding around her waist, he slowed, forcing her to also decrease her pace. “Does that scare you, counselor?” he whispered near her ear, his warm breath and deep baritone sending a powerful shiver shooting through her body.

  “You might intimidate others, detective, but you don’t scare me,” she lied.

  Truth was, he scared the hell out of her. Not because she thought he would do her harm. No, it had everything to do with the fact that she didn’t trust herself to use good judgment when it came to him. There was just something about him that made her want to throw out caution and take a ride on the wild side.

  “What took so long, Uncle Laz?” A cute kid with skin the color of caramel and dark serious eyes asked, his head sticking out of the window as he looked Journey up and down.

  She glanced at Laz with raised brows. “Uncle Laz?” It was clear the two weren’t biologically related, but the title had her curious.

  “Journey, this is my impatient godson, Hamilton’s son, Dominic. Dom, this is Ms. Ramsey.”

  “Hi,” he said shyly, still eyeing her warily.

  “Hi, Dominic. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, amused at how he studied her as if trying to memorize every detail of her face. Now that she thought about it, Journey had seen a similar expression on Laz a few times, which made meeting Dominic even more interesting. Maybe they spent a lot of time together.