by Mia Taylor
“Oh…” Dan trailed off as if he was going to say something else but abruptly changed his mind. As Rhett pulled into the apartment lot, his eyes darted about, looking for Charlotte’s car. He saw it instantly and Rhett wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
She’s either still here or she’s off on assignment in another vehicle.
“You can wait here,” Rhett told him. “Pull up the address of the witness we’re going to see.”
“A-all right, but…”
Rhett stared at him stonily. “What?”
“No, nothing,” LaCroix said and Rhett slammed the driver’s door, hurrying into Charlotte’s building.
He knew he had no right to pop in on her like this but with her phone off, what choice did he really have? The irony of the turned tables was not lost on him when he unlocked the doors with the key he had to the building.
A few days ago, she was the one doing this to me. I wonder how she’ll like it.
He knew the circumstances were different, that Charlotte was away at work, but he couldn’t shake the terrible sense of foreboding which seemed to seize his gut when he thought about Charlotte going undercover.
Nothing is going to happen to her, he thought firmly. She is more than capable of taking care of herself.
Not like Mia, who had gotten into God knew what with God knew who.
And that’s the problem, isn’t it? You really have no idea who or what Mia got involved in.
He wished he wasn’t thinking about his ex-wife.
Letting himself into his partner’s apartment, he paused and exhaled in disappointment. It was clear she wasn’t coming back for a while, the unit in perfect order, the scent of pine floor cleaner still lingering in the air like he had only just missed her departure.
There wasn’t a piece of paper out of place, the bed made perfectly, and Rhett grimaced when he thought about the mess she had walked into at his place.
She’s gone. I was too late to talk her out of it. Now I’ll just have to wait until she gets back to give her a blast of shit.
But as he turned away to lock up the apartment again, the feeling of dread only seemed to mount.
If she comes back again. I have a habit of driving the ones closest to me away.
Rhett returned to the unmarked car where Dan was poring over the computer, his eyes alight with interest. He seemed startled when Rhett got back into the driver’s seat.
“The cat okay?” Dan asked and for a moment, Rhett could only look at him, perplexed.
“Oh!” he said, remembering his lie. “Yeah. She’s great. Did you find the address?”
“I found something better, actually,” Dan replied. “I think I know where our suspect is hanging out.”
Rhett paused, the keys dangling from the ignition.
“How the hell did you manage that? Did someone call it in?”
“No,” Dan chuckled. “I hacked our witness’ phone.”
“Wait, what?”
Dan rushed on, apparently sensing the disapproval on his partner’s face.
“Well, Tonya Charleston is one of our perp’s known affiliates, right?”
“Suspect’s known affiliates,” Rhett corrected. “Yes. She was dating Gray Jones on and off. They have a child together.”
“Well, it got me thinking that maybe she was only playing witness to that drive-by as an act of either revenge or a way to throw us off her trail when searching for Jones.”
“That’s quite a stretch, LaCroix,” Rhett muttered but he had to admit, he found the young man’s thinking sound.
Maybe he’s more schooled than I thought.
“So I hacked her phone records,” Dan continued and Rhett held up a hand to silence him.
“You what?”
“It’s no big deal,” Dan said impatiently. “We can just get TARU to pull the logs after but we don’t really have time to sit around and wait while a gangbanger is out shooting up streets where there are elementary schools, do we?”
“Still, LaCroix, that’s not how we do things—”
“You said yourself that things are done differently in Chicago. Here’s your chance to show me that.”
Rhett’s mouth firmed.
It wasn’t that he was opposed to the kid’s methods, not entirely, but he knew if they were caught, it would be Rhett’s neck on the line.
“Anyway,” Dan went on, “I found a number that she’s used many times and it belongs to a burner, but I can trace it—there’s a GPS chip in it.”
“Where is he?” Rhett demanded, excitement rising his voice an octave.
“Not far,” LaCroix replied, grinning. “And he’s staying put—for now.”
“Call in for the lugs,” Rhett instructed. “If Jones is there and we pick him up, we’re going to need a trail that got us there.”
“I already did.”
A slow smile formed on Rhett’s lips.
“All right, then. Let’s go find this son of a bitch.”
“Ten-four,” Dan chuckled.
~ ~ ~
Late that night, well after LaCroix had gone home, Rhett realized what had been nagging at him for hours.
Sergeant Kramer was still in his office, even though the squad room was almost empty, and Rhett knocked on the door.
“You’re still here?” Kramer asked. “Good work today with Jones. How the heck did you guys know where he was hiding?”
“The witness panned out,” Rhett replied.
True enough.
“I guess I’ll read all about it in the report I assume you’re finishing,” Kramer snickered. “I’m just about to head home. I have a sleuth meeting tonight.”
“I won’t keep you,” Rhett promised. “But I need to know where Charlotte went.”
Kramer’s smile faded.
“Even if I knew where she’d been sent, you know I couldn’t tell you. It could compromise the entire investigation.”
“Why did you send her? I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around this all day and—”
“Rhett, you’re overthinking as always. She was the best man for the job. That’s why she was chosen. Just sit tight. LaCroix’s not so bad, is he?”
“This isn’t about LaCroix!” Rhett growled. “It’s about my partner.”
“Charlotte can take care of herself.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
He inhaled to stop himself from exploding.
“Sarge, are you hiding something from me?”
Kramer shuffled some papers on his desk and rose, skillfully avoiding Rhett’s pointed stare. “Hiding something?”
Rhett grunted in frustration. “Just tell me where she went!”
“I don’t know.”
Rhett was sure he was lying but there was no way to squeeze the information out of him if he was determined to remain silent.
“Who is she working with?” Rhett offered instead. “Narcotics?”
“Rhett, you can interrogate me all you want but don’t forget, I’m the one who taught you all my tricks.”
Kramer grabbed his briefcase, stuffing his laptop inside before brushing past Rhett on the way out the door.
“Don’t stay too late. You need your beauty rest.”
Rhett opened his mouth to respond but his boss was gone well before any words escaped his lips.
Shit.
He didn’t know what he’d hoped to accomplish by confronting Kramer. Obviously the sergeant wasn’t going to tell him anything, not when it came to a classified case.
Slowly, Rhett slunk back to his desk but his mind was still working, even though he knew he should call it a night.
I need to know where she went. I won’t relax until I at least speak with her.
Suddenly, Rhett knew exactly how he was going to find out what he needed to know.
He grabbed his cell and dialed out. LaCroix answered on the first ring.
“Detective Lewis?”
“Hey… you busy right now?” Rhett asked lightly. “Want to meet for a beer
or something?”
“Uh… sure. Yeah, sure, I’m just at home. Give me forty-five and I’ll meet you… uh, where?”
“Meet me at Sharkey’s. Corner of Hale and Prospect.”
“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great!” Dan mumbled and Rhett felt a smidgen of guilt.
He sounds like he’s in his flannel pajamas.
“See you soon,” Rhett said before he could change his mind. He grabbed his belongings and said goodnight to the officers working night shift before heading out of the 22nd.
It’s one thing to do this in pursuit of a suspect but quite another to do this for personal information, he thought grimly, but no matter how he tried to talk himself out of it, Rhett knew what he had to do.
Thirty-five minutes after they had hung up, Dan wandered into the half-filled cop bar and joined his partner at a table in the corner. There was no one else around to hear their conversation and when Dan sat, Rhett pushed a glass toward him, already filled with beer.
“I hope you’re not a light beer drinker, being from New York and all.”
Dan chuckled but Rhett could see the veil over his eyes.
He knows I didn’t ask him here for a social call.
“No piss for me, thanks,” Dan agreed, raising the glass in toast. “And thanks for the beer.”
“I need your help,” Rhett said without preamble and Dan exhaled, placing the beer back onto the table even before having a sip.
“Why do I not like the sound of this?”
“I wouldn’t be asking you if it wasn’t important,” Rhett told him. “And you kind of owe me.”
Dan blinked in disbelief. “I owe you? For what?”
“I didn’t rat you out about hacking the phone records,” Rhett reminded him, shame shifting through his stomach. He wouldn’t have sold out the kid anyway but Dan didn’t need to know that.
“I did that to find a perp!” Dan protested and Rhett shrugged, maintaining a stoic expression on his face.
“IA won’t care.”
For the first time since meeting him, Dan’s face turned dark, no hint of the almost boyish nervousness he’d kept over the past day.
“If you involve IA, I’ll take you down with me.” There was no threat, only a matter-of-fact tone which made Rhett respect the kid more.
He’s going to do well.
“Okay, enough with the threats,” Rhett sighed. “I’m going to lay all my cards on the table.”
“You could have started with that,” Dan muttered.
“I could have,” Rhett agreed. “But then I wouldn’t have seen that you’re not a pushover.”
“What do you want from me, Lewis?”
There was little patience in Dan’s tone.
“I need to find my partner,” he told LaCroix.
“I-I thought she’d been reassigned.”
“She’s doing an undercover assignment and I need to know where she’s gone.”
Dan’s face twisted into an expression of doubt. “I don’t know how I can help you,” he replied slowly. “I don’t know where she went and even if I did, I don’t think that undercover—”
“I don’t need a lecture on procedure, Dan,” Rhett interrupted.
“Well… what do you need?”
“I think you know,” Rhett said sweetly, almost batting his eyes. “A little use of your hacking talents?”
Dan balked. “W-what do you want me to hack?”
Rhett shot his eyes up and ensured that they weren’t being overheard.
“I need you to get into the CPD personnel files.”
“Oh, Lewis, I don’t know—”
“You don’t need to take anything or move anything,” Rhett insisted. “You just need to find out where Charlotte went. You’ll be in and out.”
“Oh, Rhett, it’s not that simple.”
Rhett scoffed and sat back, folding his arms over his chest.
“If you can hack into the telecom networks through a police dash computer in the ten minutes it took me to go up eight floors, without raising a red flag on either the police systems or the communication networks, you can definitely do this.”
Dan’s mouth opened but instead of arguing, he clamped his mouth back closed.
“Dan, she’s my partner of seven years. She’s had my back through shit I can’t even explain. I just need to know she’s okay.”
A small gleam formed in Dan’s eyes and he leaned forward slightly with interest.
“Is she only your partner or…?”
“Of course!” Rhett choked, his face flushing red. “What else would she be?”
“I don’t know, Lewis,” Dan replied, folding his arms over his chest. “I’m not the cop breaking the law to find a woman who couldn’t be bothered to say goodbye to you.”
Rhett bristled. “Will you help me or not?”
Dan chewed on the insides of his cheeks and stared at the wood of the table. Rhett could almost see the wheels in his head turning.
“I’ll owe you one,” Rhett implored and Dan snorted.
“You’ll owe me a few if I agree,” he grumbled before looking up. “I’ll give you one address—her safehouse. No information on the job, the suspects—”
“Nothing else,” Rhett agreed, sighing with relief. “That’s all I need. To know where she is.”
“You know, you could be compromising her position.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Fine.”
Dan didn’t look happy and Rhett peered at him.
“Why are you agreeing now?” he asked and Dan frowned.
“Because if you tell anyone about the hacking I did earlier, I’ll be terminated.”
Rhett’s eyes widened. “Nah,” he replied. “They would reprimand you, maybe suspend you a couple days with pay.”
“No,” Dan sighed. “That’s what they do the first few times you do it. After that, they ship you out of state because you’re a commodity but you’re also a liability.”
Understanding swept through Rhett and he exhaled. “I see.”
“So, I’ll do it,” Dan said sullenly. “But if you tell on me, I’m bringing you with me.”
“Dan,” Rhett chuckled lightly, “even if you don’t do this, I won’t rat you out. I hope you will help me but I’m not blackmailing you, no matter how I came at you with this.”
He looked dubious but Rhett knew he had told the younger man the truth.
“What do you say?” Rhett asked. “Will you help me find Charlotte?”
Dan paused before nodding. “She better be worth this hassle,” he groaned.
“She is,” Rhett assured him. “And she would do the same for me.”
She really would. She’d hunt me down to the ends of the earth if I disappeared.
A warmth flowed through Rhett’s veins as he thought about her, her sparkling grey eyes glaring at him through a thick fringe of dark lashes.
I miss her when she’s not around, he realized. More than I ever missed Mia.
The realization made Rhett’s heart stop and he wondered why he’d never tried to kiss her. Over the years, there had been so many instances when they had been together, their heads inches away from one another and the look in Charlotte’s eyes unmistakable. He cursed himself in that moment, for not having seized the opportunity to plant his mouth on hers, to tell her that she was his best friend and more than likely his mate.
He wondered how he could have been so blind to the reality, shadowed by Mia’s ghost. Charlotte had always been there but he had been so busy chasing Mia, Mia who had broken his heart without the decency to do it to his face.
Because you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, he thought grimly.
But Charlotte’s not gone. She’s coming back, even if Mia never does.
He would see to it, even if it cost him his job.
Chapter Six
Beauty and the Bear
Charlotte was seething with anger as she paced around the apartment.
“You’re making me anxio
us,” Rand sang in a teasing voice. “Why don’t we order something to eat?”
“Why don’t you go back home!” Charlotte shot back.
“Now, now,” Rand said condescendingly. “You don’t need to take it out on me. I warned you that Kelly was going to tell you exactly what I did.”
“I don’t understand why you need to be here! This is a simple job! I have a mic, cameras everywhere—”
“Obviously, they think you need backup,” Rand growled, sounding sick of the same conversation. “I’m starving. I’m ordering a pizza.”
“Do whatever you want.”
She wanted to scream at him that they were both bears and she didn’t need his backup anymore than he needed hers, but she didn’t. Charlotte couldn’t be sure who was listening and Kelly certainly wasn’t one of them.
I hate this, she thought, flopping onto the couch as Rand called in his pizza order.
“You’re not a vegetarian or anything, are you?” he called and she gave him a scathing look.
“What do you think?” she snapped.
“Great.” He turned his attention back to the phone. “Two extra large meat pizzas with extra meat and extra cheese.”
She gritted her teeth together to keep from screaming.
When he got off the phone, she spun her head to look at him.
“I’m not wasting another day,” she told him. “I don’t know how much you’ve been briefed but tomorrow, I’m making contact with Mia and—”
Rand clucked his tongue rudely. “Stephanie,” he corrected and Charlotte’s face turned crimson.
“I know!” she howled. “But there’s no one around but us, is there?”
“I’m starting to see why Kelly sent me now,” Rand sighed, cupping the back of his head with folded hands as he stared at her lazily. He tipped back on his chair so that two legs were off the ground and Charlotte silently willed him to fall.
Maybe Kelly knew I’d flat out refuse to do it if I’d known. It’s not too late to bail. I haven’t started anything.
“Couples are always less suspicious in a mob sting,” Rand said unexpectedly.
“What?”
“That’s why Kelly sent me. A single girl hanging out with a bunch of mob guys is only asking for trouble.”
She blinked and considered his words. “Is that the sell, then?”
