by J. M. Madden
“Maybe you should watch where you swing those hips,” he countered and wiped the rest of the sticky, sugar-laced concoction off his hands. His glare melted the instant she lifted one of those eyebrows. Damn, how he loved it when she looked at him like that, daring him to push her.
She leaned her backside against the counter and regarded him, the mug hovering right at her lips. Her dark eyes danced. Something had her in a good mood. “You look like hell. What is that, a three-day growth? Did you lose your razor?”
“Do they think that’s funny in TREX?”
“You didn’t sleep.” It wasn’t a question. She’d always had a sixth sense when it came to him. He both loved and hated that about her. “Bad dream?”
“Waking nightmare,” he countered and tossed the stir stick into the trash. “We’ve got work to do. Leonard should be at the food truck today. If we get there right as they switch over from breakfast to lunch, they double the portions until the breakfast food is gone.”
“He won’t be there.”
Her comment had him skidding to a stop and swinging around, dread and uncertainty mixing with his blood. He knew better than to think he could trust TREX. In an instant, he was in her face. “What did you do?”
“Nash, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. Your fucking agency cost me my last lead.”
She didn’t back down. Hell, she didn’t even blink as he screamed inches from her. “You and I both know that’s not true.”
Screw this. If she wanted his intel, she’d have to pry it from his dying lips. “I guess you have it all figured out. Give my regards to your director.” He spun and walked away, ignoring her protests. She followed on his heels, just as he knew she would.
“Nash, we need to talk.”
“So, talk.”
“I don’t want to fight.”
“Is that so?” He stopped and faced her. She skidded to a stop right before colliding with him. As she met his gaze, that determination and defiance that was so her swirled in her eyes. “Guess you should have thought about contacting me five years ago.”
When she took his hand and dragged him into the director’s office, it shocked him enough that he let her. Lawson glanced up from a mountain of paperwork on his desk, a confused expression on his face. When he spotted Mike, he perked right up.
“What can I help you with?” He folded his hands on top of the papers, as if that made him look more mature and any less like a high-school student.
“We need your office.”
Lawson frowned. “Why my office?”
“Apparently, my new partner has a problem with talking to me in public.” Nash threw her a sideways glare.
“Oh, I have a problem with so much more than that.” She lifted her chin, her eyes gleaming in defiance.
“Uh oh,” Lawson mumbled, his eyes widening as he darted a look between Nash and Mike. He finally settled on Nash. “What did you do?”
Nash growled and narrowed his gaze right back on the director. The kid visibly swallowed and shrank back in his chair. “I’m just being myself.”
“Which equates to being an ass,” Mike snapped.
“I never said I wasn’t.” Nash faced her.
She stiffened and stared at the director. “I need to speak to my partner alone.”
“Well,” Lawson started timidly, a nervous smile shaking on his lips. “Technically, you’re TREX. Anything you have to say needs to go through me.”
There went that eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
When Lawson caught on to that look of challenge, of crossing her at the wrong place and time, he jumped up from his desk and practically sprinted for the door.
“Just…uh…just let me know if you need…uh… I’ll just be out here.” He colored furiously and hurried out of his office, closing the door behind him.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Nash pointed out.
“Cut the bullshit.” She pushed at his chest. He stumbled back. She charged and pushed him again. And again. As she attacked, her words came swift, cutting through the air. “I’m so sick of your pouting. I left five years ago. Five years, Nash. That’s half a decade for you to get the hell over being so butt hurt about it. We have a job to do, a job that’s bigger than you and me. Can you please stop feeling sorry for yourself long enough for us to finish this? You can go back to hating me when this is over.”
He collapsed onto the couch behind him. She stood in front, her hands bunched on her hips, and glared, her nostrils flaring. It was damn sexy, if a bit unsettling. But, it got the point across. Loud and clear. “You’re right.”
“I am?” She dropped her jaw. The pain swirling in her gaze, twisting her expression, had him about to come undone.
“About us having a job to do,” he clarified and stood. When she stepped back, he stepped with her and hooked his arm around her waist to hold her to him. “I don’t hate you. Am I pissed? Hell, yeah. Do I want to put my fist through a wall? Absolutely.” He brushed the hair from her face to see her eyes. She had the most incredible eyes. When they locked on him, he sucked in a breath. “I could never hate you, Mike.”
He slanted his lips over hers, testing her and bracing for contact. Of her fist. Her foot. Her sharp elbow. She hummed into his mouth and opened to him, her tongue searching for his. He thrust his fingers into her hair and caressed her scalp, drawing another soul-stealing sound from her.
Dear God, how did she taste better now? She was like a drug, intoxicating him, making him desperate for his next fix. Hunger filled his veins, tightening his muscles. He broke their kiss and nipped at her lower lip. Now wasn’t the time to finish this.
And they would finish it.
But first, they had a job to finish. “So, we good?”
“For now.”
“And later?”
She simply smiled and opened the door, swaying out and stopping the world for the agents yet again. Nash enjoyed the hell out of watching her go. Snapping out of it, he followed her and caught up to her in time to open the door to the Mustang.
Once he climbed behind the wheel, he wasted no time heading to their first stop. It wouldn’t take long for the little weasel dick reporter to learn about Mike and do whatever he could to bring her down with Nash. He couldn’t let that happen.
Pulling into the condo’s covered parking, he killed the engine and faced her. “I’ll just be in and out.”
She had just grabbed the door to open it but now hesitated. “Don’t you want me to go with you?”
“No need.” He did his best to play it down. If he so much as shifted his eyes, she’d pick up on it.
“Who lives here?” She narrowed her eyes when he didn’t answer. “You aren’t about to do something stupid, are you?”
“Me? Nah.” He jumped out before she asked him another question and took the stairs two at a time up to the second floor. Pounding on the door, he waited exactly two seconds before pounding harder.
Eric Denaly opened the door and immediately tried to close it. Nash put his foot out, catching the door and kicking it open, sending the reporter stumbling back. “What the hell do you want?”
Nash entered the condo as if invited. Denaly recovered and held the door, watching him with those beady little eyes. Glancing around, Nash spotted the wine immediately. “Expecting company?”
“Yes, actually.” He motioned for Nash to leave. “So, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind,” he tossed back. He smirked at the candles lining the windows. Was that Barry White singing in the background? “A hot date?”
“Something like that.”
“Wine at ten in the morning? It’s a wonder you’re still single.”
“I could say the same.” He moved from the door and into the kitchen to work the foil off the bottle. “Why are you here?”
“Why are you trying to hang me, weasel dick?”
“That’s something I can always count on with you, Nash. You don’t waste time with things like manners.”
“Don’t call me that. Only my friends and the people I don’t want to kill with my bare hands call me that.”
“Is that a threat?”
Nash narrowed his gaze, contemplating his options. He could break a few bones to prove it wasn’t only a threat. If he did, he’d be brought up on charges. If he said nothing, Denaly would print Nash’s threat, and he’d still be brought up on charges. “Answer my question.”
“I’m just out for the truth.”
“Oh, really?” Nash swung his large frame around to face him. “And which truth is that, Denaly? Your version? Or what really happened?”
“It’s not my fault if you have a problem with the truth.”
“No,” he growled, irritation lacing his tone as both edged higher. “What I have a problem with is a reporter with a personal vendetta against me. If this is about your girlfriend—”
“It’s not,” Denaly corrected. “I didn’t even care. You think I was faithful to her? Please.” He paled when Nash stiffened. How did a coward like this guy get to be an award-winning reporter? He recovered just as fast. “The entire bureau is corrupt, and I aim to prove it. You just make an easy target.”
“I bust my ass to keep the streets of this city safe.” Not that it did any good. The public hated him anyway.
“Bust is right.” He opened the wine and poured a nice, full glass before replacing the cork. “The last guy you hauled off had a broken nose.”
“He resisted arrest. I even cited him for it. If you would have bothered reading the report, you’d already know that. Instead, you rely on rumors and make up bullshit to fill the blanks.”
“Speaking of rumors,” he practically sang, his little black eyes twinkling with delight at whatever gossip he was about to spill. “Word around the water cooler is that the bureau got a transfer in yesterday. Not just any transfer, but a seriously hot agent worthy of a wet dream. Tell me, Nash. Will your new partner be the beauty to calm the savage beast in you?”
He tensed at the mention of Mike, especially the way he had. Well hell and damn. This just got a whole lot bigger. He already knew. God, how Nash hated this puny man. With greased-back hair and a moustache so thin a cat could lick it off, Eric Denaly looked as sleazy as the topics he reported. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“She’s an agent with the SBI. If the bureau goes down, she goes down with it.” He sipped at his wine and grinned as he watched Nash carefully. Despite his best attempt, he caught himself clenching his hands into fists, his pulse pounding in his ears. As casual as possible, he relaxed his hands and pushed out a breath. It did no good. Denaly caught on, the perceptive son of a bitch. “Or maybe she’s more than that.”
“Making up more bullshit, Denaly?”
“I’m just making an observation. You look upset. Did I hit a nerve?”
Shit. Shit. This visit backfired. He’d wanted to talk the reporter into focusing on someone else for a change to take the heat off Mike as his partner. He couldn’t let the reporter hang her, too. He’d changed Denaly’s focus, all right. “Stay away from my partner.”
“Or what?”
“Or deal with her directly.”
Nash swung around, his heart seizing from the shock as Mike strolled into the apartment and gave him that look before facing Denaly. Her stiff body language said it all. She was pissed. Shit was about to get real.
“What is this? Good cop, hot cop?” The reporter snickered at his joke. Moron. Denaly looked ready to have a stroke when he focused on her. The sleeveless top showed off her toned arms and sexy-as-hell shoulders. She had great shoulders.
Which were now rising and lowering as she labored her breathing. Oh, shit. She was already pissed when she walked in. The flash in her eyes told him as much before she centered her anger on the reporter. He was about to feel the wrath of Michaela Starr at her finest.
“You must be Eric Denaly.” She offered her hand, shocking the hell out of Nash. What happened to her wrath? “I’m a huge fan. That piece you did on dirty politicians taking bribes really opened my eyes. Corruption on the Council—brilliant.”
“Beautiful and smart. I love a woman with a brain.” He accepted her hand and held it longer than necessary. Nash tensed, eyeing the contact with a burning glare. Denaly had exactly three seconds to step back before he lost that hand.
“It’s my best asset.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
Unbelievably, she smiled. Hell, she even giggled. Nash was going to be sick.
“What are you doing, partner?” He pulled her from Denaly’s grip and stepped between them. He wasn’t typically the jealous type. That didn’t mean he had to sit back and do nothing as the dickhead mentally undressed his girl.
His girl? Where’d that come from? Mike wasn’t his girl. She hadn’t been his girl in a long time. He ignored the pinch in his chest at that fact.
“You left me sitting in the car like a dog.” She tossed a look over her shoulder, centering her gaze on him and wiggling her eyebrows. Ah, hell. What was she up to? “I swear, Nash. You’re a Neanderthal. It’s a good thing the bureau put us together.” Pulling her attention to Denaly, she went on like they were BFFs. “See what I have to work with? How am I supposed to improve his image when he acts like that? I’m lucky we’re not judged by his actions alone. But, what can you do? We’re partners.”
That was the most Nash had ever heard her say on a single subject, at least when she wasn’t pissed. He certainly hoped she knew what she was doing. “Partners that should probably go.”
“What’s the rush?” Denaly hurried to the island and grabbed the wine bottle by the neck. “Can I offer you a drink?”
“It’s ten in the morning,” she pointed out.
“What happened to your hot date?” Nash asked at the same time.
He glanced at Nash as his smiled wilted. “I, uh…”
Oh, hell no. Was he really going to spend some quality time doing what Nash thought he was going to do? Jesus. He’d never be able to get that image out of his head.
“I’d love to, Mr. Denaly, if we weren’t on duty.” Mike used her hip to bump Nash toward the door. “I’m sure you understand. SBI agents are held to a higher, almost unrealistic standard. One misquote, one photo taken out of context, and there goes our badge.”
“I think that’s a bit extreme.”
“You really think so?” She tilted her head. “Maybe I’m jumping to the wrong conclusion. I only know what I’ve read. It’s why I try so hard to be perfect. But no one is, are they?”
He narrowed his eyes as his expression stilled. “No, they aren’t.”
“You are so easy to talk to. I can see why you’re such a great reporter. Sorry to have taken up so much of your time. Don’t hold it against me the next time I see you.” She winked and flashed a killer smile. Denaly swayed, which Nash had never seen a man do. Something else he didn’t need to see.
“I never caught your name.”
“Starr,” she replied as she pushed Nash out into the hall. “Agent Michaela Starr. That’s with two r’s. Have a good day.” She closed the door behind her.
“Way to go, Mike.” Nash grinned triumphantly. When she whipped around and nailed him with an icy glare, he lost it. “What?”
“Get to the car.” When he took a breath to protest, she put up her hand. That glare deepened. No way was he going up against that look.
SIX
Unbelievable. It took all of Mike’s restraint to stop herself from unleashing on the dumbass. What the hell had Nash been thinking going to the reporter’s residence in the middle of the day? At any time of the day?
“What?” he asked and threw her a sideways glance. “Come on. I can tell you have something to say. Just say it.”
“What the hell, Nash?” she snapped when it was too much to hold in. “Did you honestly think paying a visit to the reporter out to print anything and everything he can against you was a good idea? You’re just lucky I walked in when I did.”<
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“Lucky? How?”
“Do you really not know the answer to that? He would have spun your visit into an elaborate story of how an agent of the SBI threatened him in his own home for printing the truth.”
He set his jaw and gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles grew white. “It’s not the truth.”
“Perception is reality. Why does the public hate you? It’s not for doing your job. It’s because of dick reporters like Denaly making you out to be this monster. Jesus, Nash. You’re smarter than this. At least now, he’ll remember the visit because of me instead of you.”
“How do you find anything that fits with an ego that big?”
“You’re such an asshole,” she muttered and remained silent the rest of the ride. Why did she bother? He’d never change. She used to love that about him. Now, it just pissed her off.
They spent the rest of the morning running down leads. It drove her crazy how much time they wasted chasing information that would get them nowhere. He knew what TREX wanted. He knew how to put an end to the dead ends. Why wouldn’t he just tell them?
It was time to find out.
“Let’s talk about your CI.”
“What’s there to talk about? You already have him in custody.”
“I’m not talking about Leonard, and you know it.” They didn’t have time to pretend not to know what the other meant. “Who is it, Nash? Why are you protecting this one?”
He set his jaw and stared straight ahead. His cheeks flushed as he labored his breathing. The mere mention of this CI had him upset. “It’s none of your goddamn business.”
“I’m your partner.”
“You’re TREX!” he roared and slammed his palm against the steering wheel. With a hardened expression, he shot her a quick glare before returning his attention to the road. Jesus, that was a brutal look. It carved through the air and pierced her heart. “You have your own agenda. My partner?” He scoffed. “You’re not my partner any more than Lee is.”
“I’m trying, here. This is my first find. They yanked me out of Gahanna—that’s our training facility—early for this assignment. If I screw this up…”
