Chapter 10 #2
Jarek leaned in, kissing her back. For a nanosecond, she forgot where they were. Who he was. A cop. The last person on the planet she should be interested in.
Reality hit hard, and she quickly pulled back from her impulsive kiss. “Ah, sorry. I—don’t know what I was thinking. Just forget that happened.”
“Don’t apologize on my account,” Jarek’s voice was a low, husky rumble. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a while now. You won’t get any complaints from me if you want to kiss me again.”
He’d thought about kissing her? That was good. No, wait. That was not good. Not good!
“Dream on. Hurry up with that bandage so we can get out of here.” She was desperate to change the subject. “I still think Cargo Shorts is moving drugs, but he’s obviously not our shooter.”
Jarek held her gaze for another long heartbeat before turning his attention back to her wound.
She was acutely aware of the warmth of his fingers as he smoothed a gauze pad over the gash in her arm and then wrapped it up with an elastic wrap.
“This will give you mobility rather than using tape,” he explained when she looked surprised.
“Unless it hurts too much to bend your arm.”
“No, it’s fine.” She hoped he didn’t notice her flushed cheeks as she experimentally flexed her arm. The pain was negligible. She’d dealt with far worse. “Thanks.”
“You could have been badly hurt, Di,” he murmured.
Her breath caught in her throat, but she pushed the sensation away. “Just as you were almost killed at your house.” She wished he’d back up a bit to get out of her personal space. “We knew the risk. It’s not a big deal.”
“Yeah.” He searched her gaze for a moment, then finally stood and took a few steps back.
She drew a deep breath and shot to her feet. She was so distracted by her unwelcome awareness of Jarek that she didn’t even notice that Detective Andrews had arrived.
As usual, he looked annoyed with being called to yet another crime scene. The guy was beyond useless in her humble opinion, but she didn’t comment. Instead, she stood back, watching as Jarek approached his colleague. Seeing them discuss the events that had taken place caused her to look away.
This partnership was wearing her down. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, to have access to information only given to the police. Yet somehow, it now felt as if she and Jarek were on one side, while the police were on the other.
All this forced togetherness had given Jarek the opportunity to infiltrate her defenses. He’d gotten way too close. So close that she’d kissed him.
She needed to build those walls back up around herself. Because if she wasn’t careful, she’d end up nursing a broken heart while she sat in jail awaiting trial after he arrested her for murder.
Di’s kiss was messing with his head, yet he couldn’t quite hold back the goofy grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. She had kissed him. Okay, maybe she had appeared to regret the impulse, but he was encouraged by the fact that she’d cared enough to kiss him in the first place.
Kissing her was incredible. Too brief, but still amazing.
Maybe once the danger was over, they could get to know each other better.
He wanted nothing more than to kiss her again.
Maybe someplace with a tad more privacy than a street corner in the middle of gang turf.
He made a silent promise not to pry into her past any more than he already had.
To give her the time and space to open up to him when she was comfortable enough to do so.
Hopefully that would be sooner rather than later.
“You’re a magnet for trouble,” Andrews groused. “Can’t you just stay home and out of the line of fire?”
He arched a brow. “I tried that, but the gunman broke into my house, remember? Does the name Kyle Dimitri, a.k.a. Kiko, mean anything to you?”
“No.” Andrews huffed and turned away. He called out to one of the officers. “Where’s the slug you found?”
Jarek curled his fingers into fists to keep himself from grabbing Andrews by the shoulders and shaking some sense into him.
That the detective hadn’t asked him even the most basic questions burned his butt.
Even though he and Di had provided their statements to the responding officers, Andrews should have gone over the chain of events with them again.
Instead, he’d decided to focus on the evidence.
The guy wasn’t worthy of his gold shield.
One he wouldn’t be carrying much longer, Jarek silently reminded himself.
“Let’s get out of here,” Di said in a low voice. “I feel naked without a weapon. We left our duffels in the boat. I’m hoping they’re still there.”
“Fine with me.” He turned away from the scene. “But we haven’t really learned much.”
“We know Kiko fired the shot, and that means Hernandez is likely the one sending gunmen after me.” She nodded toward the warehouse they’d intended to look at before the shooting had taken place.
The second warehouse was only a block away from their current location.
“Now that I think about it, Kiko’s goal may have been to keep us from checking the place out. ”
“Could be.” He glanced at her. “I don’t think it’s smart to head there now with all the cops around. We can check back later.”
She frowned, then nodded. “Okay.”
They walked around the block to head back to the boat. He was surprised to see the older boat that Cargo Shorts had arrived in earlier that day was now gone. Di noticed too. “I guess the shooting scared Cargo Shorts away.”
“We don’t know that he was the one who took the boat.” While he silently agreed that was a likely scenario, he didn’t want to encourage jumping to conclusions. “Could have been his buddy. Or someone else.”
She shot him a skeptical glance, then quickened her pace to reach the boat. She jumped into the vessel and opened the storage area where they’d stuck the duffel bags. After rummaging inside hers, she removed a Glock and tucked it into her empty holster.
“Much better,” she said, patting her hip.
“We shouldn’t have left the weapon unattended.” He’d forgotten her comment about having a backup weapon. He joined her in the boat, inserted the key in the ignition, and started the engine. “Good thing nobody stole it.”
“Yeah.” She grimaced. “That would not go over well since the weapon is registered in my name. It would be just my luck that the idiot who stole it would use it to commit a crime.”
“Do you have other weapons in there?” He glanced over as she unwrapped the line holding the boat in place. Then she brought the buoy in and pushed away from the pier. When they were far enough away, he put the boat in reverse to get back into open water.
“Just a knife.” She grinned, shoving a strand of hair away from her scarred cheek. “A KA-BAR knife to be exact.”
He should have known. “I’m surprised you don’t have flash-bangs or grenades in there.”
“I have some in a storage unit.” She came up to stand beside him. “We can head over if you think we’ll need them.”
“No, I think we’re good.” He should have figured she’d have other weapons stashed away.
It made him wonder why she’d gotten out of the army.
Well, other than the whole debacle of the exfiltration going sideways.
He glanced at his watch. The shooting incident had dug into their three-hour window of using the boat. “Any other stops before we head back?”
“Let’s just cruise the river for a while.” She gazed out at the other boats around them. “Maybe we’ll be able to spot a drug boat.”
“They won’t have neon signs,” he drawled as he did as she requested.
“Too bad, because that would really be helpful.” Her playful comeback made him grin. He increased their speed, and Di leaned into the wind as if she enjoyed going fast.
She was an intriguing mix. Shooting bad guys one minute and soaking up the sun the next.
He steered around other boats. The river was a little more crowded now, but from what he could tell, most of the boaters were tourists or locals enjoying the warm summer day.
“Hey, check that one out.” Di chinned toward a larger boat with two men wearing black ball caps low on their foreheads. The boat was heading south along the river, the direction from which they’d come. “I think they’re carrying.”
Noticing the bulge in the small of their back, he nodded.
People without carry permits tried to hide their weapons, but they mostly failed to keep them a secret.
Especially in the summertime. As their boats passed on the river, he tried to get a closer look at the men’s facial features.
They didn’t so much as glance at him or Di, their eyes focused on the water as they spoke in low tones.
He agreed that they didn’t look like a couple of guys enjoying the sunshine.
He glanced at Di, who watched them closely as well.
Soon, though, they were out of sight. She elbowed him in the side a moment later.
“The boat is slowing and edging closer to the shoreline. Turn around, we need to see where they’re going ashore. ”
“Okay. Give me a sec.” He slowed his speed, waiting for another boat loaded with teenagers zoom past. “I don’t want to make it too obvious.”
“I don’t want to lose them,” Di countered. She’d turned all the way around to watch the bow of the boat. Then she grabbed his arm. “I think they’re pulling up to the same pier.”
He swung the boat around in an arc to head back the way they’d come. He could see what she meant. “It would be funny to see the looks on their faces when they see the cops on the street.”
“We should have stayed back.” Di’s grip on his arm tightened. “Wait. They’re leaving! They didn’t even get off the boat! How much do you want to bet that one of their buddies put them on alert about the cops being camped out nearby?”
“I’m not taking that bet. I’m sure you’re right.” He pulled back on the throttle to slow down as the larger boat backed away from the pier. If he passed it again too soon, they might notice. After a moment the boat turned to head south.
He idled for a long moment, then glanced at her. “I don’t think following them is smart. They might recognize you and start shooting. Andrews might have a heart attack if he’s forced to show up to another crime scene.”
“He’s an idiot.” She sighed and nodded. “I think you’re right, though. We don’t want to tip our hand just yet. It’s enough to know that pier is the likely staging point for drugs coming into the city.”
She was making yet another assumption, but considering the way the men on the boat had bailed on going ashore, one he was inclined to agree with. “We’ll come back later tonight. Once it’s dark to watch without being seen.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Di’s smile lit up her face. “I’m sure one of those warehouses is the key to blowing this case wide open. All we need is a little proof. We’re close to uncovering the truth, Jarek. I can feel it.”
Only she would be excited about closing in on a drug bust. Even more so than the narcotics officers had appeared to be.
Maybe she was right about Bond and Schnor being involved.
That would explain a lot. “You have great instincts, Di. You noticed that boat before I did. You really should consider becoming a cop.”
Instantly, her smile vanished. “Nah, I like working for Grayson.” She turned to scan the shoreline. “It’s too bad the sun won’t set until late. We’ll have to kill a few hours before we can come back.”
He frowned, wondering what bothered her about becoming a cop. “A misdemeanor shoplifting record wouldn’t prevent you from joining the force. Just like it didn’t hold you back from joining the army. Especially not if the upper brass knew you were living on the streets at the time.”
“Not interested.” There was a definite edge to her tone.
“Drop it, Jarhead. The only reason I understand how cops think is because of the way I was forced to avoid them while living on the streets. Besides, why do you care what I do with the rest of my life? As soon as we have Pedro Hernandez in custody, we’ll be free to go our separate ways. ”
Jarhead? She hadn’t used his old nickname since their first unexpected meeting. He’d obviously hit a nerve. Too bad he didn’t understand her deep animosity toward his chosen career.
Had the cops she’d encountered while living on the streets given her a hard time? She’d indicated she’d done okay on her own, but there was obviously something holding her back. Or something that had caused her to intensely dislike law enforcement.
What bothered him the most, though, was the casual way she’d mentioned going their separate ways once they’d found the source of the danger.
Their brief kiss still burned in his memory. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Di had no intention of repeating their kiss.
Not now, not ever.