Chapter 12
Lennox
Cecilia is in her car and turns off our street faster than we can regroup. For once, I wish I listened to Blake and didn’t bother parking in the garage.
Blake runs a hand through his hair, pacing on the lawn. “How fucked are we?”
I glance at the houses around us. What will the neighbors think? A woman half our age runs out of our house crying. Our mission could be blown. And yet, my biggest concern is that we lost Cecilia’s trust.
Heading inside, I fully understand that I’m putting Cecilia first. I want a relationship with Henry, but I need a relationship with her.
It’s not that Henry has shot me down at every turn. It’s that I can’t imagine a life without Cecilia by my side.
“I sent her a text, and I’m looking up her address in case she doesn’t reply.” Blake types on his phone.
“Wait, let’s try not to cross any more lines. Only public searches.”
He looks up, incredulously. “What are we going to do? Drive around and look for her car?”
If we had to, it might be possible in a town this size.
I grab our keys. “We’re going to the diner. See if her boss will help us out.”
In minutes, we’re walking into the diner.
Bev greets us. “Have a seat wherever you want, your waitress will be with you shortly.”
“Actually, we need to talk to you,” I say.
She lights up.
I keep my voice down. “We’re trying to get hold of Cecilia.”
She nods and smiles. “I saw you in here with her the other day. Aren’t you a little old for her?”
Blake and I do a combination of nodding and shaking our heads to try to get her to continue.
“Ceci’s a wild one, but she’s not as invincible as she thinks.” Bev sips her coffee and I sense a lecture coming on.
“I promise, we have good intentions, but it’s kind of urgent. Where can we find her?”
Bev raises a finger. “If there’s one thing I know about Ceci it’s that if she wants you to find her, you won’t have to look for long.”
Frustration grows inside of me. While I respect Bev’s stance, she has no idea how much is on the table. My hand reflexively goes to my badge, but it’s not there. We need to save that reveal anyway.
Bev continues, “Don’t you hurt that girl.”
I take a breath to keep from sounding irritated. “That’s part of what makes this urgent. We did, inadvertently, and we need to make it right.”
Blake’s on his phone.
“She’s not scheduled today. If I see her, I’ll be sure to let her know, you’re looking for her.”
I grimace. “Any chance you could give us her address?”
Bev purses her lips into a frown. “Can’t do that.” She walks away.
Is that it? We’re done? Life is so much easier with a badge. I drop my head into my hands.
A box slides in front of me, causing me to pull out of my funk.
“This one’s on me.” Bev has returned. “I don’t know what you did, but I have a good sense about you guys. And Ceci likes cinnamon rolls. Always eats them when she’s stressed.” She taps the box. “Be sure to give it to her when you apologize.”
“That sounds perfect. Thanks, ma’am.” Blake slides a hundred onto the counter then flashes his phone at me. He has an address for Cecilia.
Bev inspects the bill as we stand. “You come back any time you’re in the mood for a free cinnamon roll.”
I’m so focused on finding Cecilia, I don’t laugh at the joke until we’re out the door. I turn and wave through the glass.
Getting in the car, I ask Blake, “How did you find her address?”
“She had a post online about her No Panties Day parade. There was a planning meeting at her house.”
“Good detective work.” I playfully punch his shoulder, relieved that we can stay in motion. “What do we say if her parents answer?”
“Might have to wing that one.” Blake’s right. There’s no way to prepare for all of the unknowns.
Unfortunately, when we get to Cecilia’s house, no one’s home. “Now what?” I ask.
“Backup plan.” Blake opens social media. “She’s tagged in a picture this morning.”
Cecilia’s vibrant smile in the photo is the polar opposite from when she found out we hadn’t told her the truth. I’m a goddamn undercover cop. I have to lie. But if that’s how we start our relationship, how will she ever know when to trust me? Us?
I hate the timing of everything, except that it led me to Cecilia. I’ll make it work. There’s nothing in the picture to tell us where she is. Somewhere she can wear a bikini, but that doesn’t really narrow it down. She could be in a backyard.
Reading the post, I find a hint. “That hashtag. It’s got the name of an apartment complex we passed.”
#HiddenCreekHotties?” Blake questions.
“Not the hotties part. It was this way. Must be Trena’s place.” I point and Blake drives.
It’s a longshot since the picture was posted before she came to our house, but it’s something.
We pull into a parking space near the pool. Lots of kids. A damned pain streaks through me. My plans to put a baby in Cecilia are slipping through my fingers.
Blake and I stand on either side of the truck. It’s not a mega-complex like in the city, but it’s big enough we can’t see all of the apartments. He says, “I’ll show the picture around, see if anyone knows which one Trena lives in.”
“Are you hoping to look more like a cop or a stalker?”
“Right.” He keeps doing stuff on his phone. Maybe he’ll find a unit number.
Surveying the complex, I feel defeated, which is ridiculous since we know where Cecilia lives and works.
But patience doesn’t feel like a virtue when you hurt your soulmate.
It kills me to think of her feeling betrayed.
“I don’t think I can wait. Remind me how pissed she’ll be if she finds out we used our law enforcement resources to find her. ”
“Technically, we could do it to secure the undercover status, and ensure the success of our mission. Make sure she doesn’t tell anyone.”
“I don’t want it to be like that. I don’t even care about the fucking check-washing anymore.” I have no shame left in exposing my feelings for her and that we’re cops. I’ll do whatever it takes to find my sweet Cecilia.
“I get it, man, but this criminal ring hurts a lot of vulnerable people. This isn’t zero-sum.”
“Since when are you the logical one?” I feel the brunt of his reason holding me back. Or maybe what I’m feeling is my own inflexibility. I don’t go after things frivolously, so when I do—
“Wait!” Blake points.
Cecilia and Trena are coming out of a second-floor apartment. We rush over, flying up the steps, trapping the startled friends.
“How did you—you better not have used your spy stuff to find me. You need to leave.” Cecilia motions for Trena to open the door.
Trena doesn’t.
“We need to talk,” I say desperately.
Trena smiles. “That’s what I told her.”
Cecilia elbows her.
Trena rubs her side. “This is sort of my business since my bestie’s involved, so let me see if I understand the problem.”
Blake and I nod, finally able to breathe.
“Not here, Trena.” Cecilia tries the door but it’s locked.
Trena steps in front of Cecilia and squares up with us. “You lied to my bestie.” She wings the statement like we’re about to be skewered.
Blake and I stutter over each other, making no sense.
Trena waves a hand and discreetly says, “You lied because you’re undercover. Part of the job, right?”
I glance around, hoping no one heard. “Yeah, we never meant to hurt you, Cecilia.”
Trena redirects us. “Hey, I’m running this show. Talk to me.”
“Okay. We never meant to hurt her. If we step inside, we can explain, but we need discretion.”
She turns to Cecilia, who nods. Trena unlocks the door and we file into the living room of the small apartment. I’d like to ask her for privacy, but Trena made it clear who’s running the show.
Cecilia lets us sit on either side of her on the couch. Trena pulls a chair in front of us. It feels like I’m in high school all over again, explaining myself to the principal.
We lay out the situation, the check scam, and clarify that if we’d met her any other time, we would have been completely honest and that we asked her to move the parade because it coincides with our sting. “And to answer your question… Yes, I am Henry’s dad.”
Trena waits expectantly for Cecilia to say something. Under her scrutiny, Ceci finally relents. “It’s just hard to wrap my brain around you being someone entirely different than I thought. And you’re only here for the job.”
Trena speaks softly. “You’ve done crazier things than give decent guys a chance.”
Cecilia nods slowly, a small smile playing on her lips. My heart races. I breathe. Life feels possible again.
Trena jumps in. “This is wild. I can’t believe you have Ofelia under surveillance.” Cecilia’s hands fly to her mouth. “Sorry, I won’t let it slip again. I’ve just never been involved in something this exciting.”
Ofelia. I make a mental note that the courier may be female and we have her name. There’s a more urgent matter. “Yeah, this all needs to stay quiet. But Cecilia, what do you need from us?”
Blake wraps an arm around her. “We’re here for you, Firecracker. What’s your biggest concern?”
“I don’t know where the lies end.”
“Everything about you was real. We didn’t expect to fall for a local.” I kiss the side of her head, letting my nose linger in her citrusy scent. I wish there was a magical thing we could tell her that would convince her our feelings are honest.
“Or are you here because you need me to keep quiet?”
My heart sinks. Her accusation stings. Blake and I make eye contact over her head.
“Truth is, we could raid the stash house right now. We’d get some evidence, but not necessarily enough to implicate all of the players.
As much as I want to nail every one of those bastards, I have to know that you trust us. ”
Blake says, “We could take you in, ensure that you can’t interfere, but that’s not what we want. Lennox wouldn’t even let me look up your address in our database.”
Trena pipes in. “How did you find us?”
Blake explains while I hold Cecilia tight. She hasn’t relaxed yet, but I have hope.
The girls agree that we were clever.