“Stop staring at my ass, Detective.”
“Can’t help it. It’s just…” He whistled again holding his hands out in front of him. “Damn.”
“After you,” she snarled at him with her hand held out in front of her.
He’d do just about anything right now to get her out of those pants and, looking up at her as he moved toward the door, he decided just to throw caution to the wind and—the air rushed out of his lungs as she shoved him against the wall across the hallway.
“What the hell?” The woman had some power in her.
“Don’t try to kiss me again.”
Giving his head a shake and taking a deep breath, Nathan replied, “I didn’t try to kiss you.” Yet.
“But you were thinking about it. We’re on the job, Detective.”
“Oh, so after hours would be fine then. Good to know.” Humming a jaunty tune, he headed down the corridor and wondered what her face looked like behind him.
He was pretty sure she was scowling.
Chapter Nine
Watching Detective Powers’ car pull out of the parking lot, Sienna followed him. She told herself she was not going to think of him in a non-professional manner. She was not going to let his smooth, musky cologne affect her, or those big blue eyes of his, and especially not the fullness of his lips or the cleft in his chin that was covered in a light dusting of dark stubble. She was stronger than that. She was most definitely going to ignore those firm, muscular arms of his, nor would she think about the way they would wrap around her body as he held her tight to that broad chest of his and—damn it, she was thinking about him in a non-professional manner.
Sienna signaled left as he did and told herself to think of the bigger picture. She had a murderer to catch and that was all that mattered. When he pulled into a parking lot only blocks from her own apartment, she told herself it was no big deal. A mere coincidence that in a city as big as Jacob’s Cove, he picked a hotel only blocks from her apartment. Exiting, Sienna met him at the hood of her car. “You’re staying here?”
“That bother you?”
She shrugged carelessly. “Get the letter.”
“All work and no play—”
Sienna stopped him short with a palm planted firmly to that broad chest of his.
“There’s a killer out there taking innocent lives. I don’t play with other people’s lives, Detective.”
He glanced around to her back, lifting his eyebrows. “You hide it well, which is astounding if you ask me considering those pants look painted on.”
“What the hell are you talking about and quit looking at my ass?” The guy had some nerve.
“The stick up your ass.”
“Look, buster—”
“Right this way, Lieutenant,” he interrupted.
She followed him, growling under her breath. If he didn’t have vital information that she needed to help solve this murder case she would deck him good and proper and send his round, tight ass back to where he came from.
She yanked her eyes up when she realized she was watching his butt as he walked.
“How’s the pooch?”
“She’s fine,” Sienna remarked curtly, telling herself to stop letting her hormones get in the way of her job.
“We had a dog when I was younger. Golden Retriever named Casper. We—my sisters and I—would tie him to our sled every winter and have him drag us around. Well, we would have to throw his ball for him to run but we had so much fun with him.”
She softened, thinking about a big yellow dog dragging three laughing kids behind him as he ran for his ball. “I never had any pets growing up, so as soon as I moved out on my own I decided to get a pet. My first step was a goldfish. It didn’t last long.” Sienna was baffled when he stopped halfway up the stairs. “What?”
“Are we having a civilized conversation?”
She didn’t know what she’d been thinking, divulging something so intimate about herself. She normally didn’t talk about herself or her life. “Just passing time. What floor are you on?”
“Third. You know, I think the stick might have come loose for a moment.”
She ground her jaw and narrowed her eyes. “Let’s just get the letter.”
“Sorry.” He stopped her with a raised hand and she narrowed her eyes at him. “That was uncalled for.”
“The note,” she ground out. Inching past him, she continued up the stairs. She didn’t have a stick up her ass, as he so poignantly stated—not normally at least, but this case meant everything to her. It was her first case as lieutenant in Jacob’s Cove and she was determined to put the guy behind bars in a timely manner. It was her case and she was determined to keep it that way.
“Look, I said I was sorry.”
“Great, fine. Apology accepted. The note,” she reminded him and continued up the stairs past him.
“What’s with the leather? I mean, not that I don’t like it, and let me just say how nice and round your ass looks in those pants—but seriously. Leather?”
Spinning around, Sienna glared at him. “Keep your mind on the task at hand, Detective.”
“My name is Nathan and keeping my mind on the task at hand is pretty damn hard to do when I’ve got such a magnificent ass staring me in the face.”
“Don’t make me regret not arresting you.” She might enjoy slapping the cuffs on good and hard and slamming him face down on—sweet God, thinking about it was making her hot.
Damn it!
With a beaming smile bright enough to blind her, Nathan strutted past her to the doors on the third level without saying a word.
Keep your thoughts on the job and not on how damn sexy he looks when he smiles.
She followed him down the corridor to the third door to their right. When he slipped the pass-card from his wallet, slid it in the slot, and opened the door, she waited for him to enter before following. Fool her once.
“Make yourself at home.”
“Just get the letter.” She looked around the tiny hotel room and decided it wasn’t half bad. It looked and smelled clean and that was the most important thing. It was times like this when her heightened sense of smell came in handy. There were no underlying odors that had been covered up by cleaning liquids.
Sienna spun quickly when Nathan came up behind her, catching him off guard.
“A little jittery, Lieutenant?”
She saw the letter in his hand, sealed in a bag, and thought that at least he’d done that right. “I want to get that printed. Wait—why didn’t you send it off for fingerprint analysis?”
“I headed out right after getting it.”
Her brow knit together. “Does he tell you where he is in the letter?”
“He implies I would be smart enough to figure it out.” He held the plastic bag up, turning it. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where he sent this from.”
She saw the Jacob’s Cover return address on the envelope. “So you came after him, thinking he might actually be here? Did it ever occur to you it was a ploy to get you away so he could keep killing?”
“If you knew this guy like I do, you wouldn’t need to ask that. And that is why you need me on this case.”
She scooped the bag from his hands. “No, I need you to back off and let me handle it. Now—”
“The hell I will,” he interrupted, getting right in her face.
It was times like this that her heightened sense of smell was a pain in the ass. His cologne wiggled its way into her nose to slide like smooth whiskey into her body with an arousing tingle. “I can arrange to have you detained, Detective.”
“Bullshit. Why are you so hard-pressed to keep me out of this? I have valuable information that could be useful in capturing this guy.”
“Detective,” she leaned in a
little closer, challenging him, “if you had captured this guy before now, we wouldn’t have to dick around about the whys.” She saw something come into his eyes right before he backed away. “Now, let’s get a tracer put on your cell phone.”
“And how do you suppose you’ll get any information on this guy’s whereabouts without me? This is my cell phone after all and the killer calls me, not you,” he pointed out with a deep, dark tone. “Or did you fail to think of that when you decided you didn’t want my help?”
She hated—hated—being made a fool and right now that was exactly what he had done. She stepped in real close and lowered her voice to match his. “You will remain in this hotel room, waiting for him to call and to ensure you do so, I will have a guard placed outside your door.”
He leaned in a little closer until they were practically nose to nose. “You and I both know you can’t forcibly detain me without just cause.”
Her blood was pumping but not all of it was from adrenaline. She waved the letter in his face. “Obstruction of justice.”
“I obstructed nothing. I came to you, I told you he was calling me and I told you about the letter. You have nothing, Lieutenant. Now, we can stand here all day arguing, or we can get this baby set up with a tracking device.” He waved his phone beside them. “Your call.”
Keeping the snarl to herself, she spun around and headed for the door.
He was a smarmy bastard.
***
The Digital Domain was a computer shop like most other computer shops. There were shelves of computer software and gizmos that would make any techno geek weep. Sienna, thankfully, was not one. To the side of the room was a service desk where a tall, raven-haired woman greeted them with a smile wide on her face. From the color of her dark blue eyes, Sienna deduced she wasn’t a vampire.
“I’ll do the talking,” Sienna informed Nathan as she headed to the desk.
“Good day. How may I help you?”
“Lieutenant Storm.” She flipped her badge. “Is there a Jonah Moore here?”
“Yes, Lieutenant, he’s expecting you. I’ll just buzz him and let him know you’re here.”
“Thanks.” Sienna turned to Nathan who was eyeballing some computer parts on one of the shelves. She had no idea what he was looking at and really didn’t care. Her attention was drawn to the cutie pie who stepped through a doorway at the back of the room. He used a cane to walk, which she barely noticed due to the fact that he was such a cutie. His sandy hair was cut in perfect short layers that accented his charming boy-next-door face. Even the telltale yellow vampire eyes made him look sexy.
This city wasn’t just filled with vampires, but sexy ones at that.
“Jonah Moore.” He held his hand out to her and the smile he beamed at her showed off the dimples in his cheeks. “I was informed that you are in need of a tracking device.”
“Yes, I am—”
“Detective Powers,” Nathan interrupted, sticking his hand out. “I need a tracker for my cell phone.”
Sienna slanted her eyes at Nathan and her jaw tensed as she spoke. “Detective Powers has been contacted by a suspect in a case I’m working on. How long would it take to set up his telephone with a tracker?”
Jonah took the cell phone from Nathan, flipped the back open, made a little humming noise before he closed it up. “Twenty minutes.” He looked up at Sienna and Nathan. “Maybe less. If you follow me to my office, we can get started on it.”
“Perfect.” Sienna purposely stepped in front of Nathan as they were led to the back office. It was her case, after all.
“Does this have anything to do with the serial murders going on lately?” Jonah asked as he sat down behind his cluttered desk in the middle of the room.
Sienna thought it was rather an odd set-up, until he wheeled himself backwards to a shelf at the back of the room. “I’m not at liberty to say.”
“Figures. Oh well, I’ll just ask Trin. Okay, I can set this baby up to a regulation police comp or I can set it up with a laptop you could take with you wherever you go. The laptop will allow you to take it with you when you go home at night—or whenever you go home.” He wheeled back with some sort of tool in his hand.
Did everyone know the mayor personally? “The laptop would be great.” That way she could have it in her car, or like he said, take it home, and she would be able to monitor the calls. “I’m told that police services have an account with you.”
“That they do.” He smiled and that boyish charm quickened her heartbeat. “Laptop it is.” He popped the back cover off again, then wheeling himself around, began to work on the cell phone.
“This will be perfect. I can carry it with me wherever I go and that way if he calls, I’ll know his location instantly.”
“Wait a minute there, hot pants. What do you mean you’ll have the laptop on you? I’ll be the one with the laptop.”
She shifted onto one hip and gave him a sideways glance. “I don’t think so. And don’t call me hot pants.”
“My cell phone, sweet cheeks.”
She narrowed her eyes and had a fleeting thought to slam the heel of her hand into his sexy nose. “You can keep the cell phone but the laptop is JCPD property. Since I am the lieutenant in charge of this homicide it will be my choice where it goes, and I chose me.”
He stepped into her face. “You’re not on the job twenty-four/seven, Lieutenant.”
“When I am off duty another officer will be in charge of it.”
“You’re just being a hard ass now.”
“Watch it, Detective.”
“Finished.”
They both turned to Jonah as he rolled his chair back to the desk. “Now all I have to do is calibrate it to the laptop and you’re set.”
“Perfect.” Sienna shot Nathan a heated glare.
“I take it the two of you aren’t partners?”
“What?” Sienna snorted. “No, no, he doesn’t even work at the JCPD.”
“I see.”
“I’m thinking we might make a good partnership outside of the business though.”
Sienna spun on Nathan with a heated glare. “Might I remind you we are here on business, Detective?”
“Nope.” Nathan grinned foolishly.
Jonah’s lips curved up in a sly smile. “Okay, here you go.” He held a small laptop in his hand that looked like it could actually fit in her pocket. “Let me just show you how it works and you can be on your way.”
Moments later as they left the Digital Domain Sienna rounded on Nathan with a feral look. “When we are on the job we remain professional. Is that understood, Detective?”
“It was just a comment.”
“One that was uncalled for given the situation. I just took over the position as Lieutenant and I don’t need you muddying my reputation.”
“How long?”
Her brow creased. “How long what?” The guy was giving her a headache.
“How long have you been here as lieutenant?”
“A week,” she snarled it, yanking her car door open.
“Where were you before coming here?”
“Kansas. We’re on the clock now, Detective. Enough chit chat.”
Chapter Ten
The woman was fascinating to say the least, but he really liked her tenacity and determination. Plus, when she was mad her eyes got all fiery and Nathan was sure they’d be just as heated in the throes of passion.
“I’m going to be keeping an eye on this puppy and as soon as he calls you again, we’ll get his location. All you have to do is sit in your little hotel room, watch some sports, and have some beer.”
“Yeah, you keep believing that. So, what’s with this city and yellow eyes?” It seemed everyone was sporting them. Not that they were that bad to look at, yellow just wasn’t his s
hade of preference for contacts.
“I already told you. Vampires.”
She startled him when she leapt over the car and bolted across the road. Nathan had no idea what she was doing, but her speed was extraordinary. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anyone move that fast. Taking off after her, he burst into the small shop just as Sienna was apprehending a young man. She had him pinned to the wall and the way she stood, her legs spread slightly apart, posed a very sexy picture.
Then she shoved her hand into the kid’s pocket and pulled out a gun.
“You’re under arrest for attempted robbery.”
“I wasn’t doing anything but shopping,” the kid griped, struggling to break her hold.
“Yeah, and I’m the Fairy Godmother.” Yanking the cuffs from her back pocket—and that still amazed him that anything fit in those tight pants—she slapped them on the kid’s wrists.
“Get bent, lady. I wasn’t doing anything wrong and you can’t arrest me just because I had a gun in my pocket. It’s not illegal to carry a gun.”
“Tell it to someone who cares.” She shoved him out the door and across the street. Nathan followed.
He waited until she had him securely fastened in the backseat of her car before speaking. “How’d you know he was carrying?”
“Intuition.”
He stepped away from the car when she climbed behind the wheel and as he headed to his car, she pulled away.
If she thought he was letting her work this case alone, she had another thing coming. Keeping his distance, Nathan followed her as she headed back to the precinct. He wondered if she would be more inclined to involve him if they were personally involved. Might be fun to try. Now all Nathan had to do was find a way to win her over, personally, before wiggling his way into her professional life.
Pulling up along the curb, Nathan watched her drag the kid from the back of the car. By the looks of it the kid was still bitching about his rights and some such shit. Nathan wished he could read lips. Might be interesting to find out what they were saying to each other.
He imagined it might go something like this.
“You can’t arrest me for something I didn’t do.”
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