by Anthology
Our drinks appeared, and I sipped mine, not in a hurry to get to Damon’s. “So, why a paramedic?”
“I like saving lives. It may not always be glorious, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. Why a cop?”
“My dad was. I wanted to help people, stop criminals, make a difference.”
“All admirable reasons. And any man who can’t handle your chosen profession is just jealous he doesn’t have the balls you do.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “And you don’t mind I have a big set?”
“Not at all. Thought I proved that today.”
I drank the rest of my drink and handed the bartender my card. “My treat tonight.”
Smiling, she rang me up, and I left a great tip.
Kenji stood and took my hand before walking toward Damon’s.
“How long have you known Damon?”
“About ten years.”
My brow pinched. Damon had been my partner the last five years. “Why haven’t we met?”
“Had a girlfriend who didn’t like what I do for a long time. So I understand why you’re leery.”
“I see. But it’s not the same.”
“Oh, it is. Her problem was the hours, about me being in danger, about me not coming home on time when it’s been a crazy day and I’m called out toward the end of my shift. Yeah, it’s pretty much the same.”
“My ex used to tell me I wasn’t strong enough to do my job.”
“Your ex sounds like an ass.”
I nodded at the fair assessment. “Let’s not talk about the past.”
He pulled me closer, and I leaned into him with a happy sigh.
“How about the future? What are your goals?” Kenji asked.
“Become a detective one day. I’m working toward that.”
“Even crazier hours.” The warmth in his remark warmed me further. “I imagine more rewarding to have a case you get to solve.” Then he surprised me with the added admiration.
This might just work. “Exactly.”
“Strong, intelligent, beautiful, courageous. All things I admire.”
We walked up the steps to Damon’s, and he pressed the bell.
Damon came down to answer the door with a grin. “There you two are. How are you getting along?”
“Quite well,” I offered. “I admit it. You were right. I should have given him a fair chance.”
Damon hugged me, then slapped Kenji on the back. “Come in. Both of you.”
“Dinner is just about ready,” Bianca called.
I left my coat on the rack and kicked off my boots. Kenji steadied me with his hands wrapped around my hips.
He whispered in my ear, “Come back to my place tonight?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Bianca was radiant. She smiled as she carried the turkey to the table.
“Need a hand with anything?”
“No. Damon has the rest. I hear you were knocked around a bit.” Her brow quirked. “At least you took the guy in.”
“I did. And I’m fine. Your friend cleared me for duty.”
She smiled. “Kenji’s a good guy. We wanted to introduce you two sooner, but neither of you were ever single at the same time. Not until recently.”
“Timing’s perfect.” I smiled over at Kenji, who stared into my eyes. The spark was definitely there. We shared a mutual respect for the other’s profession that I hadn’t found in other men.
For the first time in a long time I believed I might have found the right guy. Maybe this could last.
And our first date was Christmas of all days.
I glanced outside to see the snow sparkling under the street lamps.
Kenji leaned against me and whispered in my ear, “Tomorrow we should spend the day exploring the city while getting to know each other.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Last night was an Eve to remember. One I never want to forget.”
Under Cover
by Rebecca Brooke
Jackson
Christmas Eve
Fuck.
The barrel of the gun pointed directly at my chest. When I got up that morning, I imagined a completely different end to my day. One that didn’t include me watching someone ready and more than willing to pull the trigger to end my life. My heart pounded in my chest, blood roaring through my ears. The plan was set, but none of it included my cover being blown.
I held my hands up, my brain running through every scenario, trying to find a way out. “Ryker?”
“I never saw it coming. You were so fucking convincing. How the fuck did I not see what was right in front of my face?” He raged, the gun waving around, but never straying far from its target.
For a moment, I thought about taking the opening and diving on top of him, but that wouldn’t stop one of the other ten guys from shooting my ass. Somehow, I needed to keep him talking and and prevent firing the gun long enough for everyone to get into place. Every sense I had was on high alert. Adrenaline flooded my system. They knew beforehand that I’d be inside. The original plan had been to arrest me with everyone. From there, I’d be put through a fake processing and eventually sent home for some time off before the next assignment.
Keep him talking. “What are you talking about?”
“You come in here and try to ruin my business. I know you’ve been working for Mason under my nose. That bastard has been trying to take over my territory for years. And you’re fucking feeding him the information to do it.” He stepped closer, the gun almost touching my chest now.
I breathed a small sigh of relief. That I could work with, as long as he didn’t know my true identity. Then again, he currently had a gun trained on me. If I didn’t convince him that I wasn’t working for Mason, I was fucked. There was no way he’d miss or I’d survive at such a close range.
“What makes you think I would turn on you to work for Mason? I’ve done everything you asked and more.”
He nodded his head toward one of the men standing to his left. “Patrick saw you meet with Mason three times in the last two weeks. I asked around and no one could find you those days.”
Because I was checking in about the raid on your drug ring. Not that I could say that out loud. The pieces were falling into place. Patrick, Ryker’s second-in-command, was trying to hide something from his boss. I narrowed my eyes and turned my gaze on Patrick, doing my best to keep calm and ignore the gun.
“Really, Patrick? That’s funny because I’ve never been anywhere near Mason’s place. In fact, I was fucking your girl when you weren’t around.”
“Motherfucker!” He reached for me, but was pulled back by another one of Ryker’s men. “I’m gonna cut your dick off.”
He struggled against the hold, but out of the corner of my eye I was paying more attention to Ryker’s reaction. Behind his eyes, I could see the wheels spinning, exactly like I wanted them to be. Time to tip the scales in my favor.
“I think the better question is, if I was with your girl and you were supposed to be following me, then where exactly were you?”
Patrick froze at the same time Ryker’s head whipped around. His gun no longer pointed at me. “That’s a good question. Where the fuck were you?”
Taking Ginger up on her offer was going to save my ass. Not that screwing her was on my list of best decisions. Then again I was single and when you’re undercover you do things you can’t stomach, all to stay alive in a world looking for ways to keep from getting caught.
“Ryker, man, I was trying to—”
A shot rang out and Patrick slumped to the ground, his eyes wide-open, blood dripping from the entrance wound in his chest. That was one way to get them to enter the building. Instinctively, everyone took a step back, wary of Ryker’s mood. In that same moment, the sound of crashing doors and shouting rang through the air.
“Drop the gun!” one of the officers called.
Ryker wasted no time turning, gun still raised. No vest on, I did the only thing I could to stay out of t
he line of fire. I dived behind the couch to my right. No sooner had I cleared the tops, gunfire filled the building. I didn’t dare look up from my hiding space. No gun and a desire to survive the next few minutes kept my head down. Can’t wear a vest when you risk a pat-down every time you show up.
Silence settled in the room. The clang of metal hitting the ground took over. It was easy to imagine guns falling from their hands as the force moved in.
“On the ground,” someone called out.
I spread my arms, hands out and flat on the floor. The drill was always the same. Hopefully, whoever they sent to take me out remembered to keep the cuffs loose and take them off before putting me in the car. It was bad enough I had to ride in the back like every other shit they took in. The least they could do was make sure I was comfortable while they were doing it.
“Keep your hands where I can see them,” someone said from right behind me. The voice was familiar, but without a face I couldn’t place it.
“I’m unarmed,” I offered, waiting while he patted me down.
He pulled my hands down and behind my back, locking the cuffs into place. Whoever was behind me tugged on the cuffs and waited, giving me the opportunity to get my feet underneath me without yanking me up and ripping my arms out of my sockets. Now on my feet, I got a glance of the cop out of the corner of my eye. Mike Gianvittiorio. Thank fuck I wasn’t stuck with some rookie. Mike and I had met our rookie year. After that our careers took two different paths.
Mike turned me to face the room and held me in place. That was when I noticed his partner. Guy was built like a brick shithouse. Must have been a rookie or a transfer. I’d never seen him before. I was thankful Mike didn’t take me away immediately. He was giving me the chance to see all the months of work come to fruition.
“Sarge, want me to take him out to the car?” big guy asked.
“Not yet. Let him watch the shit roll down the hill,” Mike replied.
Big guy obviously didn’t know I was undercover. Ryker lay slumped on the floor, streaks of red covering the floor around him. Damage and destruction surrounded us. Men being cuffed by other cops, paramedics tending to the wounded on both sides. I noticed Blitzken and Amadeus walk in. The two had been assigned to every one of my ops. Ami was the fastest K-9 to locate drugs. My shoulders wanted to slump in relief that this would all soon be over and I’d be able to finally head back to my own place, sleep in my own bed. I had to force myself to keep rigid. Body language gave away as much as words did.
Blitzken tapped on different places around the room, indicating places for Ami to search. Damn, it would have been so much easier to tell them where to look, get everything done quicker. Instead, I was grateful for the chance to see that all of the suffering and my hard work wasn’t wasted. The first bark from Ami at the couch was the most relaxing sound. Ryker had gotten a shipment of heroine the day before, and I knew the shit wouldn’t have had time to cut it yet. As dumb as it was, he kept it in a hidden spot under the cushions of the couch.
I sucked in a deep breath as they started dismantling the couch. At the sight of the first brick, Mike turned me toward the door and led me out to his car. His grip around my arm was loose, unlike his partner’s, who was practically stopping my circulation. When we reached the car, Mike pulled me from his partner’s grip and around to the driver’s side of the car.
“Sarge?”
“Get in the car, Hernandez.”
Hernandez narrowed his eyes, but did what he was told.
Mike stepped closer and whispered, “I’m popping one cuff, just hold them behind you until I get you settled in the car and we get out of the lot.”
I gave an almost imperceptible nod of my head. I felt the metal drop from my wrist, but didn’t move until he turned me and helped me into the car. Without a word, he climbed in and pulled out of the lot. I sighed and pulled my hands in front of me, rubbing my wrists.
Big guy’s head snapped in my direction and he opened his mouth to speak.
“Save it, Hernandez. I undid the cuffs.”
His eyes went wide.
“Hernandez, meet undercover Sergeant Jackson Carter.”
His gaze moved to mine. “Nice to meet you, Sergeant. Sorry about the grip earlier. I didn’t know.”
“I figured.” I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. At least when I got out of the station, I could go home and take a shower hot enough to burn off any of the crap that had surrounded me for months.
“How long were you under this time?” Mike asked.
“About four months. These guys were dumb as shit. Left clues everywhere.”
“Could have been worse,” he offered.
“Maybe, but I gotta say I’m sick of giving up parts of my life for this shit. I should have made lieutenant by now. It’s not like Landry’s planned any of the raids in the last year or so.”
“Fuck. I can’t blame you for being pissed. I keep trying to qualify for my detective badge. Cap threw me Hernandez here. Wants me to train him first.”
I groaned. “Sometimes I wonder if things would be better if people like you and me ran the show.”
A few minutes later, we pulled up out front of the precinct. Mike got out first and helped me from the car, reattaching the cuffs before leading me inside. He escorted me directly to an interrogation room. The guys they arrested would have been taken directly to lockup. It was the easiest way to get me out of the building without anyone seeing me.
The moment the door shut behind me, I walked over to another door on the side of the room and made my way down to the captain’s office. I knocked and a female voice called out to me to enter. Odd. I opened the door and stepped into my captain’s office, surprised to find a woman sitting behind his desk.
“Sergeant Jackson, I’m glad to see you back in one piece. I’m Captain Miranda. I’m covering for Captain Kelso. I’d like a quick debrief with you and then I want you to take off for a few days.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Ma’am? It’s usually a few days of debriefing before I see any time off.”
“Lieutenant Landry will take care of everything. We’ll need to put you back into assignment sometime after New Year’s. We’re setting up the drop-in now and will have more information for you later in the week.”
I braced my feet apart and crossed my arms over my chest.
“I know this isn’t standard, but we have no choice. You’re the only one who will be able to pull off this job.”
I opened my mouth to argue.
“Don’t bother speaking, Sergeant. I’m not sure how things worked with Captain Kelso, but until he returns, you’re under my command.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, drawing blood. Bitching out my commander was not the best career move. Not that it would stop me from having words with Kelso when he returned from wherever the fuck he was.
“Is that all, ma’am?”
She narrowed her eyes at my tone, but waved me off. Pissed off, I stormed from the office, slamming the door on my way out. I needed to get a grip and enjoy the brief time I had off before losing a bit more of myself for God knew only how long. I turned toward Landry’s office, more than ready to debrief and get the fuck out of there.
Melanie
Christmas Day
“Can I get another drink?” a guy yelled from the end of the bar.
Asshole had had enough to drink. The band was on a break. I could hear him perfectly fine. Sometimes working on Christmas was a pain in the ass. Most of the people were great, tipping extra since they felt bad you had to work on a holiday. Then there were the assholes who got into fights with their families and came out to drink away their misery. They were the people who made my life harder.
“What can I get you?” I asked, stopping in front of him.
“A gin and tonic.” He slammed cash down onto the bar. His words were getting heavy. Soon enough I’d have to get Ty to escort him out, if he didn’t leave on his own.
Someone caught my attention while I poured the tonic
in and gave the drink a quick stir. Passing the drink over, I turned to the newcomer and stopped.
Sexy.
Dirty blond hair, green eyes, and a light scruff covering his face. Gorgeous. That was the type of eye candy I wouldn’t mind looking at for a few hours. Hopefully he’d end up staying for the rest of my shift.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked.
He looked up, and I wanted to lose myself in his gaze, but there was something else there. Frustration, hurt, anger? I couldn’t be sure. Either way, my instincts told me that this guy wanted to be alone, or at least he thought that. My guess was in a little while he’d want to vent about something. Whatever the case, I’d be there for another drink or to lend an ear.
It sounded silly, but part of the job meant listening to others people’s problems. The more they drank, they more interested they became in telling me about their lives, even the stuff I thought was too much information.
“Yeah, an Amstel, please.” He placed a twenty on the bar.
I grabbed the bottle from one of the built-in coolers and pushed it across the bar. He picked it up immediately and knocked back a third, if not half of the bottle. Definitely not in the mood. After I gave him his change, I checked on the other people sitting at the bar. When I was sure that everyone had what they needed, I found myself back across from Mr. Amstel himself. I’d replaced his beer twice already and decided to start cleaning up the glasses and bottles I’d put down and set to the side earlier when it was busier.
He hadn’t said more than two words to me since his original order, so imagine my surprise when he spoke up for the first time.
“Ever just want to up and move somewhere else?” He tipped the bottle back and took another swig.
I glanced around to make sure he was talking to me. “Sometimes, I guess. But New York is my home and I don’t want to go back to my parents’ place.” I shrugged. “What about you?”
“Every damn day, especially when they screw me over left and right.”
“What do you do for a living?”
He glanced up and looked away again. “I’m in construction.”
