by C. A. Szarek
Now his cock was hard as hell, the zipper of his slacks cutting into him.
He released the girl and she rubbed her neck. Glared at him. “My pimp will kick your ass.”
Luca laughed. “Not likely.” He moved off the girl.
Her eyes raked his form, stopping at his tented pants.
“I changed my mind. Get naked. You want fucked, I’ll fuck you.”
When she touched her neck and hesitated, he growled.
“Take ’em off, or I’ll rip ’em off. I only need your cunt.”
* * * *
“Someone reported a big black Hummer abandoned behind an empty rent house down the street from the trailer park.” Jared Manning jogged over from his work area in CID, a small piece of paper in hand.
“Oh yeah?” Lee asked.
“Just wait for the best part.”
“What’s that?” Pete reclined in his chair.
“Guess whose prints were all over it.”
Pete met Jared’s dark eyes. “Whose?”
“Billy Madden’s.”
“Not a shocker,” Lee said. “We knew he was the getaway driver.”
“Yeah, but now we have some physical evidence,” Pete put in.
Lee nodded.
“Anything else interesting inside?”
“Lieutenant Wells had it impounded. You want to process it? Or you want me to?”
Pete shrugged.
“What’d ya say, Petey, shall we go and check it out?” Lee winked.
Jared snorted.
Pete frowned, but let it slide. “Sure, why the hell not?” Pete looked at Jared. “Thanks, man.”
“Anytime.”
Although the impound yard wasn’t far, Pete didn’t want to be gone for an extended amount of time. He’d told Nikki not to move from the station. A part of him didn’t like leaving her, even though processing one vehicle shouldn’t take too long.
“So, how’s it going?” Lee asked as she strapped the seatbelt on in his Crown Vic.
“You’ve been with me all day…”
“Not talking about the case.”
Pete sighed. “Then what are you talking about?” He started the car, not looking in her direction.
“Right.”
“How’s my brother?” Pete fired back.
Lee fidgeted—actually fidgeted—and stayed silent for way too long.
“Ah, I see. You can pry, but I can’t.” He grinned. It wasn’t often he could make her feel uncomfortable.
“Not prying.”
“Right.” Pete smirked.
“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her breasts. “Let’s just say when I kissed you, I kissed the wrong Crane.”
Pete laughed. “Okay. I don’t want to know more.”
“Didn’t think so.”
He pulled out of the PD lot. Radio chatter was the only noise in the car.
“Your turn,” Lee said.
“For?”
“No, no. I share, you share. It’s only fair. And don’t say shit about me rhyming. It was an accident.”
One corner of his mouth shot up. His heart skipped a beat. Pete tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “It’s…complicated.”
Lee frowned. “As complicated as sixteen hundred miles?”
He glanced at her and couldn’t look away for a moment. Her expression was tight. Un-Lee-like. Did she care for his brother?
“Feels like it,” he muttered.
“It doesn’t matter, anyway.” Lee’s voice was low. Pained, even.
What the heck’s that about?
She looked out of the window and said nothing more. He didn’t push her.
By the time they’d parked and got out of the car, Lee had a smile back in place.
Something lurked below the surface, but what? His gut told him Lee was a deep, complex person, despite the constant humour and appearance of a perpetual light nature. He’d suspected she was a former alcoholic, but only because she never drank. Declined all offers at his parents’ and every evening they’d shared a meal at his place, or even at Dixie’s. But every time Pete or Nikki or even Nate had touched a beer, Lee’s eyes would dart to the bottle or can then away. Like even looking was too much temptation.
When curiosity had got the better of him, Pete had asked Cole, only to get nowhere. Lee’s former partner hadn’t a clue. Cole had just affirmed he’d never seen her drink, either.
If she wanted to open up to him, Pete would listen. He wouldn’t push her. He liked her too much to lose an argument about something that wasn’t his business.
He gestured for her to walk in front of him, watching her figure. If Lee wanted Nate, so be it. Good for his brother. Pete could see it. Nikki was right—they looked good together.
If they wanted a relationship, they’d make the distance work.
What about Nikki? Him and Nikki…
No, don’t think about it. The sex was great. That was all he needed to know right now. Or ever. It wasn’t like they could actually be together long term.
She was young and vibrant. He was inappropriate for her all around.
And Chief… His boss was going to kick his ass if he found out they’d slept together. Were still sleeping together. God knew Pete wasn’t letting her out of his bed until he had to.
Until the case is over.
Then what? It wasn’t like he could go back to normal. He’d had her. He…cared…about her. Pete almost choked when another word came to mind, but he shut it down, put it in a vault and threw away the combination.
Of course he cared about her. She was his lover, his witness, but more than that, she was his friend. Sure, he’d known her for a few years, but she’d been a work acquaintance. The case had forced him to get to know her. She was strong, passionate in and out of the bedroom. She cared about her friends, her job. Loved her gram. She was funny, sexy and adorable. Gorgeous inside and out.
Nikki was…perfect.
Lee stopped to open the office door, and Pete came up short, almost bowling her over. He turned his body and ran into the side of the building instead. His forehead smacked the doorframe. His vision blurred and his temples throbbed.
“Shit!”
“Pete, crap. What happened? Are you okay?” Lee grabbed his arm. She steadied him when he wobbled on his feet, her grip surprisingly strong.
“I’m fine.” Jesus. He rubbed his head. No chance to even play it off.
What a fucking jackass.
“What happened?” His temporary partner stared at him, her gaze raking his face then his body. “Did you trip?”
Pretty bad when your knee-jerk is ‘I wish.’ “I must have.” Heat burned his neck and he fought the urge to tug at his collar.
“Hope you don’t end up with a shiner. You hit pretty hard.”
“Shit. No one will believe I actually walked into a door.”
“A building, actually.” Lee flashed a crooked smile.
“I’m glad I can entertain you.”
“Hey, we can always tell people Nikki beat you up. She does have a temper.”
Pete glared. “Let’s just get this done.”
“Here, let me open the door for you. I don’t want you to walk into it.”
He ignored her laugh at her own joke and followed her into the building.
They were able to bag some hair and collect some fibre particles that were a possible match for what had been found on Billy’s clothes and body, but the Hummer had been wiped clean by someone who’d known what they were doing.
Not one fingerprint on the leather seats, door handles or console. The only place that had prints was the steering wheel, and like Manning had told them, they were a match for Pete’s dead informant, Billy Madden.
They’d been left on purpose. Pete didn’t buy that Billy was the one who’d wiped the car down and accidentally left his prints on the wheel.
“What a fricking waste of time.” He sighed.
“Not really,” Lee said, hipping the door shut. “We got these.” She
held up the bags of fibre and the dark hair they’d found in the carpet on the driver’s side of the big SUV. “And we’ve learned that the prints on the steering wheel were left deliberately.”
“The hair is black. Could be any one of them.”
“Right. But it could actually place Marchetti or Donati in the car. Goes from circumstantial to physical.”
“True.”
She smiled and tucked the sealed bags into the black case.
Pete hefted the kit after trashing his latex gloves. Lee followed suit, and tossed hers into the trashcan in the garage.
“They got those plates in Texarkana.” He pointed to the stolen Texas plates on the Hummer.
“It sure as hell isn’t a 2004 Nissan.”
“Right. But knowing where they stole it and what car it belongs to doesn’t help much either.”
“Nope,” Lee agreed. “Just tells us they weren’t very far into the state when they jacked new plates.”
“Well, let’s go. We can swing by the lab and I need to get back to the station. I want to write all this up.” He needed to check on Nikki, too.
His temporary partner gave him a long look and arched a brow. “Sure. That’s why you want to get back.”
“Right.”
“You keep telling yourself that.” She smirked.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nikki shut the filing cabinet and paused. Voices from the corridor drew her attention. That in and of itself wasn’t odd—people walked by Chief’s office all day, every day, and the door was always open, as was the boss’s policy. But giggling? Kids?
“Nikki!”
She whirled around in time to see a familiar little redheaded boy as Ethan rushed into her office.
Grinning, she met him in front of her desk and ruffled his hair. He opened his arms, so she swept him up in a hug.
“Ethan, don’t yell.” Andi winced as she came into the office, baby carrier containing Micah in one hand.
A pretty dark-haired woman and two little girls were on her heels.
“Oh, he’s fine. Chief’s out this morning.” Nikki propped Ethan on her hip as Andi set the baby down.
“Bummer. I wanted him to meet Micah.” The detective gestured to her sleeping son.
Nikki smiled at the tiny gorgeous infant, then met Andi’s blue eyes. “Oh, no. He won’t be in until after lunch, said he had some things to take care of.”
“Well, I should have called. My fault. Just had to get out of the house, so I brought Cass and the kids to see where Cole and I work.” Andi gestured to the other woman and little girls. “Nikki, this is Cass, Cole’s sister. Her daughters, Kelsey and Lacey.”
The girls—who looked about eight and ten—waved when Andi said their names. The older one, Kelsey, looked just like her mother—and her uncle. They were adorable.
Actually, Cass looked like the female version of Cole, grey eyes, dark hair, high cheekbones. Her face was soft, feminine. Beautiful. She flashed dimples when she smiled. But her brother was very tall, and Cass was petite, probably only about five-three. Andi and Nikki both had five or six inches on her.
Nikki set Ethan to his feet and he rushed to his cousins, reaching for Kelsey’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, Nikki.” Cass put her hand out for a shake.
“Nice to meet you, too.” Nikki smiled.
“Where’s my partner gotten off to? He didn’t answer his cell,” Andi said.
“Pete poked his head in here about an hour ago and told me to stay put. He had to run out with Lee. Said he’d be back as soon as he can. He didn’t get specific.”
“Ah,” Andi said. “Guess I’ll catch him later.”
“Mommy, I’m hungry.” Lacey, the younger of Cass’ girls, tugged on her arm. Her light brown hair was in pigtails with pink ribbons to go with her pink and purple jumper.
Totally a girly girl, where her sister was not. Kelsey was dressed in jeans shorts and a printed T-shirt, her dark hair in a simple ponytail like Andi’s.
“We’ll go grab some lunch soon, baby. Aunt Andi wants to show us around.” Cass caressed her daughter’s cheek.
“Actually, if you don’t mind me saying, there’s a full breakfast in the break room. One of the guys’ wives brought food, pancakes, eggs, the works.”
Andi looked at Cass. “Wanna feed the kids here?”
Cass shrugged. “Sure.”
“I want pancakes!” Ethan jumped up and down.
“You’re more than welcome to it. I’m sure there’s a lot left,” Nikki said, grinning at the little boy.
Their voices faded as Andi led her family out of the office and down to the PD’s kitchen and break room area.
Nikki smiled as she slid back into her seat. The kids were adorable.
She couldn’t wait to have kids. A baby to hold in her arms and grow into a rambunctious little boy like Ethan, or a cute little girl who wanted her hair braided. Blond hair. Big green eyes.
Shivering, she shifted in her seat.
Kids…with Pete.
Nikki wanted that. More than anything.
Heart thundering, she chided herself and moved the mouse to wake up her computer.
Chief had asked her to type up a few memos, so she organised his notes and opened a new doc in Word. Wouldn’t take her long. He wrote neatly and she typed fast.
Yes, focus on work. Get your stuff done.
When she finished with the memos, she needed to look at his meeting schedule for the next two weeks.
“Nikki.”
She jumped in her chair, giving a yelp as heat ran up her neck and flamed her cheeks.
Andi stepped back into the room, her baby in her arms. Little Micah was awake. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay.” She cleared her throat, shifting on her mesh chair.
When the detective dragged one of the chairs over from the edge of the room where Nikki had people wait for Chief, she arched an eyebrow.
Andi plopped down at the edge of Nikki’s desk, settling the baby against her breasts.
“What’s up?” Nikki asked.
“Talk to me.”
“About?”
“Life. Gram. Pete. The case. Whatever. You haven’t called me in ages. Last time I saw you was at the house the day Cole set up the surveillance DVD.”
“You have been busy.”
“Yes, I have. But your phone works. We always talk, Nikki.” Andi rocked Micah when he whimpered.
“And you’re one of the few people I can talk about the case with.”
“Yup. So spill. How’re you doing?”
“Pete’s keeping me safe.”
Andi’s blue eyes zoned in on her face.
Shit. What about that statement is making Andi look at me that way?
“Right.”
Nikki nodded, squirming. “Right.”
Her friend laughed. “Repeating what I say isn’t going to tell me what I’m asking. How are you? Nikki Harper. My friend and fellow control freak. How are you coping with the whole witness thing?”
“’Coping’ is the right word.” Although living with Pete…sleeping in his bed, in his arms…it makes it better, doesn’t it? It wasn’t nearly as difficult as it had been when the whole thing had started.
Andi stared, head cocked to one side. “How’s my partner? He can be territorial about his house.”
“He’s great.”
When Andi’s eyebrows shot as high as they could go, Nikki bit back a wince. Even she’d heard the joy in her voice.
“Hmmm…”
“Hmmm?” Nikki asked, going for innocence.
“You have a thing for Pete.”
Heat crept into her cheeks and Nikki didn’t comment.
“Oh, my God. You’re blushing. You never blush.”
“Am not.” Nikki rubbed the back of her neck and looked away from her friend. But when Andi squeezed her wrist, they locked gazes.
“I think it’s great.”
“You do?”
&n
bsp; Micah made a noise and Andi shifted him, cooing, kissing his little forehead, stroking his dark hair.
His tiny hand opened and Nikki caressed his soft palm. “Can I hold him?”
“Sure, but he’s fussy. It doesn’t get you off the hook about Pete, either.”
Nikki ignored Andi as she settled the tiny baby in her arms. “God, he’s gorgeous.” She rocked him, patting his diapered bottom when he made a noise like he was going to wail.
Micah calmed and blinked big blue eyes.
“Thanks.” Andi beamed.
The baby yawned and flashed dimples.
“Ah, there they are. The Lucas dimples,” Nikki said.
Her friend laughed. “Yes, they all have them. Cole, Cass, both girls, too. It’s kinda funny.”
Nikki stared into the baby’s face as his eyes fluttered and he drifted off. He was beautiful. She could see both Andi and Cole in his little face.
“Wow, you’re a natural. He usually screams his head off when someone new to him holds him.”
“Thanks. I love the way babies smell.” Do not think of Pete, Nikki Harper. Don’t imagine the baby in your arms with much lighter hair. Brown or green eyes. “How’s round two of new motherhood treating you?”
“Oh, no. We’re talking about you, ma’am.”
Nikki cringed. “Don’t want to.”
Andi’s expression softened. “Is he being a jerk? Do I need to kick his ass?”
She shook her head. “No. He’s…great… Too great.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I love him.” Shit. Really? Blurting that again?
Her friend blinked. Opened her mouth, then shut it. “Wow,” Andi finally whispered.
“I didn’t see it coming, either. But I do.”
“And my partner?”
“Well…I don’t know. So far it’s been physical. We don’t talk much. At least about feelings.”
Andi smirked. “Physical, huh?”
Nikki looked everywhere but into her friend’s sapphire eyes. Like she was a kid talking about sex for the first time. Thank God she had the baby in her arms to keep her occupied.
“You know that’s a big deal, right? That says something about how Pete feels about you.”
“What?”
“My partner. Before Cole, everyone assumed we were sleeping together. You know it never was like that with me and Pete. But…he’s closer to me than anyone except Cole. Always was. When he dates, he’s discreet. Always has been. Sometimes he doesn’t even tell me. He’s immensely private. Do you know that not even Cole and I have been over to his house more than a dozen times? The man’s been my best friend for seven years.”
