Collision Force

by C. A. Szarek

  He didn’t comment, but followed her directions, pulling the Challenger to a stop in front of the vacant building.

  The entrance was still covered with yellow police tape, but Cole wouldn’t care about that any more than he gave a damn about anything Andi had told him. She leaned on the car.

  “You coming?” He arched a brow at her, a frown marring his handsome face.

  “Why bother?”

  Cole shrugged and turned away, heading into the warehouse without another word.

  Damn him, he’d called her bluff. Andi cursed him to hell and back and pushed off the car, resisting the urge to key the damn thing. She followed his path into the building, forcing her feet into an even pace, not rushing after him like she was inclined to.

  Cole squatted down next to where the bodies of James Reese and Rodney Gains had been found. He didn’t even look up.

  “I would bet this is Maldonado’s blood right here. So, looks like you’re not the only one who shot him after all.”

  Andi didn’t get a chance to snap No shit at him because his cell phone rang.

  “Lucas,” he said into it as he got to his feet.

  She busied herself with looking around, drowning out the sound of Cole’s voice as he carried on his conversation.

  What had she missed in here? Had she missed anything at all?

  The scene played in her mind. Pete had been right outside. She’d been tight to him, guarding his back. Routine for them. He always led. She could still see his wide eyes and pale face as he’d gone down. Andi had returned fire. The bastard shooter had cursed as he’d shuffled around the dark corner of the building. She’d hit him, but he’d been gone before she could make out the slightest detail other than male and thin, average height. She’d failed.

  Andi sighed, studying the vast room. Why the hell would anyone pick the place to trade anything, let alone young girls? Wouldn’t it be obvious kids didn’t belong in the area? Even in this part of the city, there was always that one nosy neighbour who was a bit nine-one-one happy.

  “Thanks.” Cole’s voice grabbed her attention as he ended his call. His expression was unreadable.

  “Anything I need to know?”

  “No.” He arched an eyebrow and smirked.

  “Okay, let me rephrase that. Was that about the case?”

  “Nothing helpful.”

  “Dammit, I thought we were over this.”

  “This?” Cole’s tone was a pretty good representation of innocence.

  “You know what? I’m done. I’ll be in the car.” Andi forced a deep breath and an even tone. She wouldn’t give him even one inkling that she was fuming, though her face was hot and stomach tight.

  She turned on a heel, not waiting for his answer. Andi didn’t give him the satisfaction of rushing out. Breathe. Just breathe. He doesn’t need to know he got to you.

  Restraining the urge to slam the car door was almost the straw that broke the camel’s back. Andi made a fist but stopped herself from punching the console. What good would it do? Sore knuckles wouldn’t improve what was obviously going to be the longest day of her career. Would she still be gainfully employed at the end of it, or in jail for murder?

  Cole watched Andi go. She slammed the door and he shook his head. He really shouldn’t have messed with her. The phone call had nothing to do with the case at all. His older sister Cassidy—Cass—had called. He’d not talked to her in a month or so. It’d been too long, and had been good to hear her voice. Husband great. Two daughters perfect. End of call. His only family shouldn’t be abbreviated, but Cole had work to do. Cass understood. She always had.

  His sister never excluded him. Despite the miles that constantly separated them and how Cole always played it off, Cass kept him grounded, connected to the real world—outside whatever case he was working.

  Staring at the door, he almost hoped Andi would come back. So far this morning, he wasn’t scoring any brownie points, not even with the cappuccino bribe. He did want to solve the case. He gave the mostly empty room a scan. Office in the far corner, glass windows so black he couldn’t see inside. The door’s grey paint was scraped and stripped, the ‘O’ and one ‘f’ missing from the metal letters affixed to it. A lone maroon rail container on the far side of the room, one door open. Four bays to his left, roll-up doors down and padlocked.

  “Why this place, Carlo?” he whispered.

  It was out of character for a coward like Carlo Maldonado to jump ship into the unknown. Cole had hung out with the guy for over a year. Carlo liked predictable, routine, his own semblance of safe, considering his career choice. Texas had never been mentioned.

  Like Andi had stated, the bank owned the warehouse now. Cole had done his homework—he’d already looked into that. And none of the names on the former company roster looked familiar. The office supply distributor hadn’t been a cover for anything illegal that he could figure out. Nor did anyone involved with it come with a criminal background.

  He looked back down at the remainder of the bloody stains where Gains and Reese had fallen. The shootout had been at close range. It wasn’t like Carlo to go in guns blazing. Perhaps he had known it was a setup, if it was. Greed aside, the man was a save-your-own-ass type through and through.

  “Surprised you had it in you, Carlo. Killing Big Rod and Jim…”

  Where was he now?

  After a few more mental notes, Cole sighed. There was nothing more to see. He squared his shoulders. There was the rest of the day to get through with Andi. Getting somewhere on the case would be good, too.

  Chapter Four

  “You have got to be kidding me!” Cole took a deep breath. It didn’t help.

  The kid behind the counter took one look at him and blanched. His brass-plated name tag had ‘Assistant Manager’ etched under ‘Michael’. “I’m very sorry, sir. We’ve been calling all the guests that weren’t here all day. Both of the numbers we had for you were bad.”

  Cole groaned. He was about to demand a valid reason why they hadn’t called the police department, but the hotel chain had no idea who he was, or why he was in town—exactly the reasons they didn’t know his real name or have a real phone number for him. It was his fault, but couldn’t have been any other way.

  “Look, Mr Parker, I’m very sorry, as I’ve already said. The sprinkler system went haywire for hours. This situation is bad for all involved. Imagine our loss of business, and loss of money with all the refunds. And the damage. All of our beds, furniture—everything—it’s all ruined.”

  “I don’t give a damn about your inconvenience, Michael,” Cole bit out, restraining the urge to poke the punk in the chest. Assistant Manager? He couldn’t be more than twelve. Was he even out of high school?

  “Bruce…may I call you Bruce?”

  “No.” Cole didn’t even grin at his alias. He’d booked his room under the name Bruce Parker, a combination of two of his favourite superheroes’ real world alter egos.

  “Mr Parker, then. Once again, I’m s—”

  “Like I said, once again I don’t give a damn.”

  “I would be happy to help you get other accommodations.” Michael put his palms up, brown eyes wide.

  “Where?”

  “I can transfer you to another of our hotels, free of charge. It’s about thirty miles from here…”

  “Thirty miles? Hell, no.”

  “The annual rodeo is in town, so I’m afraid there’s nothing closer.”

  Cole cursed and snatched his black duffle that some hotel employee had so graciously cleared from the room he’d been staying in since he’d arrived in Antioch. Good thing he’d never unpacked. He didn’t stop to inspect his things to see if the sprinkler disaster had ruined them. He’d just deal with it.

  He shoved the automatic doors open instead of waiting as he exited, but it didn’t give any satisfaction or relieve any annoyance.

  “Dammit,” he muttered, tossing his bag in the back seat before climbing into his Challenger.

  He
dug his cell phone from his jeans pocket. Cole selected a number from his contact list, pushing harder than necessary on the touch screen.

  “Cole?” The voice on the other end sounded surprised, but friendly.

  “Hey, Dex. I need a favour.” He heard a giggle in the background that was decidedly female. “Are you busy?” Cole hesitated, suddenly guilty. It was well after business hours.

  “Not for you, Cole. Hold on.” There was a muffling sound as if Dex had covered the receiver with his hand. “Be right back, babe,” he heard his friend say, also garbled. “What’s up?”

  “Dex, baby, hurry back,” the giggler called out.

  His long-time buddy and fellow FBI agent, but on the technical side, as a computer expert and analyst, had always been a ladies’ man. Cole was no slouch, but Dex put his antics to shame. His friend certainly didn’t fit the stereotype of computer nerd.

  “I need an address.”

  “Okay…” Cole could hear the patter of typing and Dex would be ready for him in a moment. They had done this hundreds of times. “Name?”

  “Andi—Andrea MacLaren. But it’s ‘Mac’ not ‘Mc’.”

  “Umm…a woman?” Dex asked. His buddy was far too curious.

  “My…partner…from the local Podunk PD,” Cole answered.

  “Same city you’re in?” Dex asked without missing a beat.

  “Yeah.”

  “She hot?”

  Cole sighed. “Just give me the damn address.”

  “She’s hot all right.”

  He growled and Dex laughed. He was hit with a sudden wave of jealousy. What the hell? Dex was fifteen hundred miles away, and his friend would never come between him and a woman. Not that it mattered. Andi was off limits for so many reasons. Besides, he wasn’t even into her. At. All.

  “Well, I’ve got it.”

  “Thanks,” Cole said, jotting down Andi’s address as quickly as Dex had recited it.

  “Need help getting there?”

  “Hell, no. This place isn’t that big.”

  “You’re dying, aren’t you? What did you do to her?”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Cole snapped.

  “God, Cole, you haven’t been this tightly wound in a while. Dude, you need to get laid.”

  “Jesus, Dex. Shut the hell up. Thanks for the address. Later.” He hung up, shaking his head at Dex’s parting laugh. Damn Dex anyway.

  He hadn’t had sex for a while, but so what? He wasn’t tightly wound as Dex had said. He was fine. Just fine, considering the circumstances.

  * * * *

  Andi looked up when the doorbell rang and she glanced at the clock. It was just past nine. Who could possibly be at the door? Maybe Bella had forgotten something, but then again, she barely ever knocked, let alone rang the doorbell.

  Checking the peephole, she let out a string of curses. She was crazy to even consider opening the damn door.

  “Howdy, partner,” Special Agent Cole Lucas said brightly from her doorstep, a black duffle bag in hand.

  Andi blinked, but the jerk didn’t disappear.

  Not a good sign. His statement was reminiscent of Pete, but Cole was not Pete, and he hadn’t wanted to be her partner for either of the last two days, so why now? She eyed him warily.

  “Have a couch?” he asked, flashing an almost charming smile.

  No way would she let those dimples affect her.

  “You have got to be kidding me!” Andi exclaimed.

  Cole laughed. “I was saying that, not twenty minutes ago, really.”

  She scowled. “Cut to the chase. What do you want?” After the day he had put her through, she didn’t even want to see him, let alone have him at her home.

  “I need a place to stay.”

  “That’s my problem, how?” She smirked. He was an ass, but when he needed something, now they were partners? Hell no.

  “Look, I’m not happy about this. I hate to admit it, but I’m desperate. I don’t have a place to stay.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “The hotel kicked me out.”

  “What did you do?” Andi bit back a smile at the wave of satisfaction from Cole’s situation. There was such a thing as karma, after all.

  “Well, it wasn’t just me. It was everyone that was staying there. They had to close down because of some sprinkler system disaster. There’s nowhere else vacant because of some rodeo.”

  “Oh?” Andi said, leaning on the doorjamb and crossing her arms over her chest. The part about the rodeo was true. The two-week-long event was a big deal in Antioch.

  “Yes. So, since you and I are supposed to be working together, I thought—”

  “You thought wrong, Agent Lucas.”

  “Andi, are you going to make me beg?” She said nothing. “Okay, I will beg.” Andi almost laughed out loud as Special Agent Cole Lucas got down on one knee on her doormat. Oh, where was her camera when she needed it? “Detective MacLaren, may I sleep on your couch? One night, until I can make other arrangements. Please?”

  Andi sighed, and they both knew it was one of acquiescence. Cole flashed a brilliant grin, dimples and all, and she ignored the heat in her body, the rushing of her heart. She would not have a reaction to this man. He infuriated her.

  Stepping back, she gestured for him to enter the house. He looked around as he stepped into the foyer.

  “Do you have your weapon on you?” she asked. Their eyes met, and if Cole’s confused expression was any indication, she’d caught him off guard.

  “Of course.” He opened his jacket, allowing her a view of the butt of his semi-automatic Glock.

  She tried to ignore how his tight shirt clung to the muscles of his chest, averting her eyes without trying to be obvious. The last thing she needed was to be caught ogling him.

  “Why?” he asked.

  Andi opened the closet door and unlocked her gun safe before stepping back. “I need you to put it in here. I will show you how to open it.”

  “Why?” he repeated.

  Heat rushed her cheeks as she met his eyes. “Because I have a child.” She berated herself. What did she care about what he thought?

  Cole’s eyes widened, and Andi had to stop herself from a scathing retort. He definitely wouldn’t check her out anymore. He wasn’t the kind of man that was interested in women with children. She ignored the pang of regret that rushed her. He was an ass. She didn’t care anyway.

  “You have a kid?”

  Andi glared. “Yes. And he has to live in this house, just like I do. I’d appreciate if it was impossible for him to get his hands on things that could hurt him.”

  “Okay.” He pulled his gun from its holster and handed it to her.

  “I’ll show you. There’s a keypad and a code.”

  Cole nodded and took a step towards her.

  Andi was all too aware of how close his body was to hers as she showed him how to get into the gun safe. Her breath caught when she turned to see if he’d understood the combination as she’d pressed the numbers in and found his face only inches from hers. Cole was looking into her eyes, not at the gun safe. The small closet was claustrophobic. Her stomach roiled and heat crept up her neck. Her face had to be crimson. She took a step back.

  She cleared her throat and Cole took a deep breath. The floral fragrance of her hair teased his nose and he had to restrain himself from touching her. She had no patience for him and his hands on her would infuriate her, so he planted his fists at his sides. But she smelt so good. Like fresh flowers mixed with clean linens.

  Andi looked great in the jeans that were clinging to her every curve and the tight Green Bay Packers T-shirt that was accentuating the generous bosom her previous shirts had hidden. She looked even better than she had in the khakis and button-down he’d seen her in during the day. He wanted her.

  He’d never become involved with a woman he’d worked with, and he wasn’t about to start. She was a mother—that’d shocked the hell out of him, and should have been an even further d
eterrent, but somehow, it wasn’t.

  “Did you see what I just did?” she asked.

  No, Cole hadn’t seen a damn thing, except how her jeans and T-shirt clung in all the right places. “Can you do it again? I need to memorise the combo, after all, right?” He tried to keep his tone light so she wouldn’t catch on that he’d been watching her body, not her hands.

  “Yes.” She was already exasperated with him.

  He flashed her another grin. Unfortunately, she seemed to be as immune to it as she had been to the others he’d given her. What the hell was with that? Women always responded to his grin.

  Cole had her show him how to get into the gun safe several more times, then tried it himself so he was sure he could get his gun. When they were both comfortable he’d grasped the technique and memorised the combination, he whispered his thanks. Andi gave him a small smile and nodded. That was all he was going to get from her.

  They stepped out of the closet and she closed the door. Her house was nice—spacious and sprawling for a one storey. She guided him into her living room and he looked around. The tan couch, loveseat and recliner all matched and were arranged in a manner that encouraged conversation.

  The huge flat panel television on the wall was a guy’s dream. There was a fireplace in the corner of the room, the mantel full of family photos. The opposite corner contained a red, blue, green and yellow toy box. Right next to it was a table and four tiny chairs consisting of the same primary colours. The room was practical, decorated simply and, somehow, totally Andi. Lived in, but not messy.

  He wandered over to the fireplace, looking at the pictures and knick-knacks that decorated the mantel. There was a small boy with bright red hair in a large picture at its centre. He was dressed like a cowboy, sitting on a bench, a rocking horse in the background, grinning at the camera. Cole smiled.

  “Is this him?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

  Andi stiffened, but nodded. “His name is Ethan.”

  Cole looked back at the mantel, spotting a picture of Andi with a handsome, redheaded man. Both were in full police dress uniform, and the man had a big smile on his face. Andi’s smile was shy in comparison. There was a medal displayed in a dark wood case standing next to the photo frame.