Bulletproof

by Maggie Cummings

  “I had already called Hollander and Nieves before Paul’s meeting with the two lackeys went off. And I texted Briana while I was talking to you.”

  “And you drove here.” Dylan smiled and shook her head. “Trying to show everyone up with four burners going at once.”

  “Multitasking, buddy.” He waved his phone and handheld radio for emphasis. “I just think with things being this hot, Briana is going to go for the UC op with you and Chris.”

  “She didn’t bite yesterday?” It suddenly occurred to her that she’d never followed up on the aggressive proposal.

  Trevor bobbled his head back and forth. “She wasn’t sold on it. But with this new info, it’s a lock. I can feel it.” He checked his watch. “We have a few minutes. Shawn, pull together everything we have on Rojas. Pedigree, intel reports, financials. Same for Paul, if you can.” He summoned Dylan with a finger. “You, me, and Chris need to iron out specifics for the new undercover plan. I want to present a well-oiled machine, so there’s no doubt we can pull this off.”

  It was that simple. By the time they went up to see the legal staff on the tenth floor, they were a united front. Dylan could tell that Nieves and Hollander were proud of their team’s ingenuity. Briana listened and asked a few questions, but she signed off on the operation without so much as a single protest.

  During the twenty-minute meeting, Dylan avoided direct eye contact with her for as long as possible. Not because she didn’t want to see Briana. The opposite was true. But she needed time with her girlfriend, not Briana Logan, AUSA. And if she was being honest, being in the same room as both Chris and Briana dredged up everything she hated about the whole situation. At least he’d brought his manners today. If not for his infantile comments the day before, no one would have a clue there was any history between him and Briana.

  As the briefing wrapped, she caught Briana looking at her. There was a quick flash of pain and confusion behind her eyes, and it hit her right in the gut. Dylan needed to fix this, like now.

  The second she was back in the plant, she pulled out her phone to send a text, but Briana had beaten her to it.

  Are you ghosting me?

  Dylan couldn’t help but chuckle at the terminology. Lol. No.

  Then are we fighting?

  What would we even be fighting about? As far as Dylan knew, Briana had no idea she was even aware of her past with Chris. Not that the knowledge would be grounds for an argument anyway.

  I don’t know what’s going on, Dylan. You blew me off last night. And you haven’t contacted me since. You wouldn’t even look at me in the meeting.

  I didn’t blow you off, she typed. I was just tired.

  You didn’t even say good night.

  Dylan blinked long and slow, knowing it was a valid point. They’d idly slipped into the habit somewhere along the way. If she and Briana didn’t spend the night together, they always texted before bed. Last night Dylan had drifted off mid-episode, and when she finally woke up, it was after one in the morning. She’d planned on explaining that fact this morning, but the day had taken on a life of its own.

  I’m sorry. We do need to talk. Not here, obvi. Dylan still had no idea what to say, but not talking was making it worse. My house after work?

  Ok. Briana’s message appeared, but there were bubbles until a second text came through. One thing.

  Yes?

  Are we okay?

  Dylan could sense the stress in Briana’s words, and it killed her to know she had any anxiety about their status. Despite the inane jealousy she felt over Briana and Chris, and the slight sucker-punch she felt over Briana’s omission, Dylan knew this would not break them. She didn’t even have to think about her response.

  I love you, Bri.

  * * *

  When her buzzer sounded at six fifteen, Dylan was totally thrown. It had to be Briana, but this was record time for someone who rarely left the office before six. In socked feet, Dylan padded down the hall and the stairs to the front door.

  “You did not have to rush here,” she said as she wrenched the door open. “Whoa, what’s all this?” She reached across the threshold and took two huge bags from Briana. She bent forward to drop a kiss on her lips.

  “That’s dinner.” Briana touched her back gently as she followed Dylan up the stairs to her apartment.

  Dylan placed the food on the counter, and she couldn’t help but feel warm everywhere when Briana’s arms wound around her waist. The simple touch seemed to melt all her negative thoughts right away. Briana kissed her shoulder. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it,” she said. “But I thought, Wilkie’s takeout never made anything worse.”

  “I don’t know.” Dylan smiled even though Briana couldn’t see her. “Depends on whether or not you remembered corn bread.”

  “Double order.” Briana scooted between her and the counter and shrugged. “But since I really wasn’t sure what I was walking into, I picked up this.” She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a pint of ice cream. “Just in case.”

  “Haagen Dazs pistachio. Pulling out all the stops.” Dylan laughed at her own joke as she took the ice cream and put it in the freezer.

  On her way back she grabbed plates and utensils and reached for napkins. “Do you want wine, beer, seltzer? What are you feeling?”

  Briana covered her hand as she set everything down on the counter. “Dylan. I’m trying to be chill.” She let out a measured breath. “The truth is I’m freaking out.” Her brow creased and her eyes were heavy with doubt. “I know it’s only been twenty-four hours, but something’s off with us. I can feel it. What’s going on?”

  Fuck. There had been part of her that believed she could just move past it. Never bring up Chris Conroy ever again. Work it out on her own and get over it by herself. Because for all her analyzing over the past day and a half, Dylan had no idea what to say. There seemed no way to admit she felt both insecure about Briana’s past and betrayed by her lack of candor that didn’t make her sound possessive and overbearing.

  “I can see you thinking.” Briana squeezed her hand. “Please just talk to me.”

  Dylan took a deep breath, done searching for magic words. “It’s nothing,” she lied.

  “Obviously it’s something.” Briana’s tone was soft. Pleading almost. “In the whole time I’ve known you, it’s never been like this. You’re quiet. You won’t talk to me or look at me. You’re shutting down. And it makes me feel like we’re not okay.”

  “We’re okay,” Dylan said. It was possible her silence was making this worse. “Me and you are fine.” One look at Briana, and Dylan saw the uncertainty in her eyes. It rattled her. She’d better just come clean. She licked her lips and rolled her neck, feeling like a petty jerk that this was her hang-up. “It’s just…I heard about you and Chris Conroy.” Dylan unpacked the food mostly to avoid eye contact. “That you used to date.” She raised her eyebrows, qualifying her statement on the spot. “Or whatever.”

  “We didn’t date.”

  “That doesn’t really make it better, actually.”

  Briana was quiet, and she pursed her lips repeatedly. Even though Dylan had brought it up, she hated that Briana was in the hot seat.

  “Look, you don’t owe me an explanation,” Dylan said, hoping to cut the tension. “I have a past too.” She opened a container of Wilkie’s signature mac and cheese. “The thing is…” She gripped the edge of the counter and focused on the tin of corn bread. Why did it sting so much to talk about it? “I wish you would have told me about Chris. It’s stupid, but finding out from him kind of sucked.”

  “I’m sorry, Dylan.”

  The last thing she wanted was for Briana to think she needed justification for having a life before she was in the picture. “You don’t have to apologize. That’s not what I’m saying.”

  “I do.” Briana reached across the small distance and touched her face. “Will you look at me?”

  Dylan felt a twinge in her throat and tipped her head back to keep her
eyes from watering. She clenched her jaw and willed her emotions to regulate. It was no use. Briana could see she was losing it.

  “Baby, you’re hurt.” Briana got up from her seat and moved right into Dylan’s space. She caressed her face and kissed her cheeks. “I am so, so sorry for hurting you.” Dylan felt her full soft lips cover her neck as she whispered, “I love you. I never want to hurt you.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? That’s what bothers me. Does that make sense?”

  Briana took a long second, and Dylan wondered if she was trying to come up with an answer that wouldn’t upset her. “When he got transferred to the case along with Shawn Fisher, I was going to tell you. I almost did.”

  “But?”

  “I don’t know. It’s a combination of things, I suppose.” Briana’s touch was gentle as she smoothed over the pocket of her button up. She looked up, and Dylan saw nothing but honesty and love in her gorgeous hazel eyes. “I went out with Chris a few times. It was before he was in Major Case. We met through a mutual friend. God, years ago.” She was so serious and beautiful that Dylan almost wanted to stop her with a kiss, but she’d asked for an answer, and Briana was honoring the request. She owed it to her to listen.

  “The truth is…” Briana chewed her lower lip. She looked stressed as fuck. “At the risk of sounding completely cold, Chris didn’t have that monumental an impact on my life. Telling you seemed not worth the door it might open.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means…ugh.” Briana dropped her head against her chest. “This is hard.”

  “What is?”

  “This,” Briana muffled into her shirt.

  Dylan lifted her chin up and found her lips. She kissed her long and slow and soft. “I love you. Talk to me.”

  “Okay.” Briana sighed, clearly giving in. “I didn’t tell you about Chris because I was afraid if I brought it up, we’d start talking about the past. Yours and mine.” Briana toyed with a tiny button near her collar, and Dylan felt the imprint of her fingertips through her shirt. “I don’t like to think about you with anyone else. Which is a challenge, especially in this neighborhood. But I do my best to block things out in order to protect myself, my heart, my ego. Discussing Chris seemed to fly in the face of that strategy.”

  Dylan was blown away by this revelation. Her mind had gone in a thousand directions over why Briana had kept Chris a secret. A door to jealousy was not among them. “But you don’t get jealous—you even told me so when we met.”

  “Funny thing,” Briana pouted. “Turns out, I do.”

  “Bri—”

  Briana stopped her with one finger to her lips. “This is all new to me. Love, jealousy. What if I’m not wired that way? What if I screw it all up?”

  “Look, babe.” Dylan kissed her forehead and hugged her tight before ducking down a little, so they were eye to eye. “This is new to me too. I’ve only ever been in love with one person, and I’m looking at her.”

  “You don’t have to say that.”

  “I’m saying it because it’s the truth.” Dylan dotted a kiss on her nose. “You don’t want to know about my past. That’s fine.” She shrugged. “It’s kind of boring anyway. This. Us. That’s what matters.”

  Briana leaned in for a kiss. “You’re sweet.”

  “You are.” Dylan kissed her again. “Do you think we could agree to an open line of communication? Maybe one where we adjust the parameters as we go along?” Dylan was shooting from the hip, but it felt right.

  “So we talk about issues as they arise but only go full disclosure on a case-by-case basis?”

  “Look at you with the fancy legalese.” Dylan bit her lip and threw in an exaggerated nod to suggest she was down for the role-play. “It’s hot.”

  Briana rolled her eyes and whacked her biceps. “Jerk.”

  “All kidding aside, do you think that could work?”

  “I do.” Briana placed a tender kiss on her arm in the spot she’d just playfully punched before scooting over to her seat. “I really do.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Briana reached for Dylan’s shirt off the floor. It was barely nine thirty, but she knew the pattern by now. Dylan would be out cold for at least an hour. She headed to the kitchen and grabbed the ice cream and a spoon and slipped back into the bed next to Dylan, ready to shut off her mind and get lost in social media.

  “Is that ice cream? In bed?” Dylan’s voice was a mix of judgment and intrigue beneath the thin veil of slumber.

  “I thought you were asleep.” Briana scooched slightly lower. She loaded a spoon full of pistachio decadence. “Here, bae,” she said, delivering Dylan the first bite.

  “Mm. That’s good.” Dylan rolled onto her back, and Briana stole a glance at her perfect naked torso. She was all smooth skin and lean muscle. Briana leaned forward and kissed her chest before she indulged her own sweet tooth.

  “You can sleep,” she said as she ruffled Dylan’s sex hair. “You do not have to entertain me.”

  “I feel bad. I don’t want you to be bored.”

  “Baby, I have my phone. I have Haagen Dazs pistachio.” Briana gave Dylan another taste. “Close your eyes. It’s fine.” She anchored the spoon in the center of the ice cream and combed Dylan’s hair with her fingers.

  “That feels nice.”

  In the moonlit room half under the covers, spent and satiated and sleepy, Dylan looked so opposite the strong brave detective she witnessed in action on the daily. Briana was always acutely aware of the hazards of police work. But in this moment the reality of potential danger hit her right in the heart.

  “Do you ever worry about getting shot?”

  “No.” Dylan didn’t even open her eyes.

  “Never?” she asked.

  Dylan’s smile was soft and her eyes opened to half-mast. “Are you worried about me getting hurt at work?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s not going to happen.” Dylan reached for her hand and kissed her fingertips. “I promise.”

  “You don’t know that,” Briana argued. She didn’t know why she was getting worked up, but Dylan’s nonchalance didn’t put her at ease.

  “Do you want to hear about how I got stabbed?” Dylan wore a wicked grin, and Briana wasn’t sure if she was kidding or not.

  “Are you serious?” Briana paused, leaving a spoonful of pistachio midair as she waited to find out if this was some kind of sick joke.

  Dylan laughed and nodded at the same time.

  “Why are you laughing? Getting stabbed is not funny.”

  “See, that’s where you’re wrong. It was hilarious.” Dylan seemed suddenly awake as she propped up on one elbow and hijacked a bite of ice cream.

  “Go ahead. Make fun of how you almost died, and watch my heart break. That’s nice.”

  “First of all…” Dylan leaned forward and kissed her. “I didn’t almost die.” Dylan scooped up more ice cream and offered it to her. “Second, it was really no big deal. Definitely not the hero moment you’re picturing.”

  “We’ll see.” Briana reclaimed the spoon and leveled off the pint as she feigned indifference. “I’m listening,” she said.

  She watched Dylan lean back into the pillow, lacing her fingers behind her head as she channeled the memory. Her mouth curled into a half smile, and her eyes sparkled. Briana could get lost just looking at her, and when she spoke in her sleepy, husky voice…forget it.

  “I was basically a rookie,” Dylan started. “Maybe I had a year on.” She shrugged as though that detail wasn’t important. “My partner and I responded to a radio call for a domestic.”

  “Okay.”

  “Thing is, domestic violence calls can be hairy sometimes. Those and traffic stops are probably the two most dangerous situations you can get involved in as a police officer. Because you never know what you’re stepping into.”

  “This.” Briana waved her spoon in a circle. “The preamble of harrowing stats…” She put on a syrupy smile. “Not helping
.”

  “It’s fine. Just listen.” Dylan reached into her open shirt and brushed a knuckle along her bare skin. It was such a subtle action, but it lowered her blood pressure immediately.

  “So we show up at the residence. I’m all geared up, ready to race in and save the day. Got my vest on, extra cuffs, pepper spray, you name it.”

  “Prepared.” Briana nodded in support. “That’s what I like to hear.”

  “I was buffed out for sure.” Briana felt Dylan’s finger trace the outline of her panties as she spoke, and it made her instantly wet. She tried to ignore it and focus on the story. “I was not ready for what I was about to walk into.”

  Briana’s mouth went dry, and her heart raced. Even Dylan’s soft touch couldn’t soothe her as she waited in anticipation to hear the outcome of an event that Dylan had clearly survived.

  “This couple was fighting. Typical for a domestic violence call. They were just arguing, though. Screaming at each other, but nothing physical. And it was all about their pets. They had something like six cats, if I’m remembering correctly.”

  “If you are about to tell me that any cats got hurt, stop right there.” She started to cover her ears, but Dylan stopped her and clasped her hands over her heart, clearly pretending to be affronted.

  “And here I was thinking you were concerned for my well-being. I see how it is.” Dylan laughed. “None of the animals got hurt. I promise.”

  “I’m sorry. I just can’t handle any kind of animal cruelty.”

  “You and me both. The lady at this call too.”

  Briana wondered what that meant, but instead of interrupting she took a bite of ice cream and let Dylan finish.

  “Anyway, we’re standing there with all these cats climbing around us, the couple yelling at each other, and out of nowhere a swarm of birds flies into the living room.”

  “Wait? They had cats and birds?”

  “Crazy, right?”

  “Bizarre and brave.”

  “Exactly.” Dylan licked her lips, and Briana could see her recalling the details. “These birds start flying all over the living room, and I’m freaking out and swatting at them because I’m, like, scared.”