Chapter Six
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Dean dialed Killian as he drove toward Rachel’s house. “Hey, I’m heading over to take Rachel out. Any suggestions on where to take her? I don’t want to go to the Mexican place down the block from my apartment. She needs something nicer. A date place. I had planned to take her to a movie, but that’s so lame.”
Killian was quiet for several long seconds. “I’ve got the perfect place for you to take her. It’s not very big but it’s a classy joint. It’s called the Pink Cactus.”
Frowning, Dean jotted down the address Killian gave him. “Okay, sounds interesting.”
“Great little Tex Mex place, but a little higher end. You’ll love it!”
“Okay, thanks buddy. We’ll try it.”
Dean glanced at himself in the rearview mirror as he parked the truck. Damn, he’d missed a spot shaving. He ran his thumb over the patch of bristles under his chin. Hopefully she would be too enthralled with his good looks to notice the little spot. Yeah, right…
Rachel opened the door almost immediately, as if she’d been waiting for him to knock. Dean tried to control his surprise, but every time he saw her she was more gorgeous. The bruising on her head had faded and she’d done something to her hair to make it curl around her face. Wow, no ponytail. She was wearing the prettiest shirt he’d ever seen her in and he wondered if she’d gone shopping for tonight. Rachel seemed most comfortable in BDUs and a T-shirt top.
But her expression was the most interesting. There was trepidation there but also true excitement. Unable to help himself he grinned at her and leaned in for a kiss.
Dean would have settled for just a peck right now, but she surprised him by leaning into his touch, just a bit. Damn, she felt good.
One of his hands drifted up to cup her cheek and she let him brush his thumb over her skin. “You taste better than my dreams,” he admitted.
Rachel leaned back enough to give him a sharp look, but her eyes drifted back down to his lips as if she couldn’t help herself. There was no way he could say no to that invitation, so he pressed his mouth to hers again. Sharp arousal slid down through his gut and into his groin, shocking him.
Dean had kissed a few girls, but probably not as many as people thought. Yeah, he knew he was a decent looking guy, but dating had never come easy to him. There had never been that one person that just did it for him.
Rachel was making him wonder, though.
When he pulled away she blinked up at him a little hazily, and he was gratified to know that he wasn’t the only one affected. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yes.” She paused to clear her throat. “Just surprised me, is all. Guys don’t usually…well, that was nice.”
What had she been about to say? Guys didn’t usually kiss her? Like her? Accept her? As he looked at her tentative gaze, he wondered what it had been like in the Marines for her; stories floated around, good and bad. He would ask her about it in a bit, if it felt appropriate.
“Are you ready? My buddy told me about this great place on the south side of the city.”
She nodded and grabbed a light jacket from beside the door. She grabbed her keys and cell phone wallet then pulled the door shut behind her. “I am.”
Dean walked her to the truck, very aware of the heat of her body beside him. He opened the truck door for her then waited till she slid inside. She reached up to grab the overhead handle and he caught himself staring at her lean, rounded bicep, revealed by the frilly sleeve of the shirt. Damn! The woman had some guns on her!
He circled the hood of his truck and slid behind the wheel. Dean started the engine and pulled out of her driveway. “So, you’ve got a great build. Where do you work out?”
“At work, actually, Lost and Found. All of the guys there are former military and very into physical fitness. We’re not real big, but we have a gym in the office.”
Dean was impressed. “I can tell you use it.”
Incredibly, her cheeks flushed with color. “Yeah, I do. I was very active but after the helicopter crash I had to immerse myself in rehab. I don’t have the range of motion I used to, so I can’t fly any more. I tried to rehab myself back into my job, but it didn’t work. I had to take a medical discharge.”
Glancing at her, he tried to read her flat expression. He had a feeling it hurt a hell of a lot to go through that, and not just physically. To have the military turn you out because you couldn’t do the job anymore, even though you were trying, had to hurt. “Being an investigator is cool, though, too. Maybe not as exciting as flying huge helicopters but it has to be interesting.”
A smile spread her mouth. “Oh, it’s definitely more interesting than I expected. I’ve only been here a few months and I’ve already been shot once and helped foil a kidnapping and attempted murder.”
Dean turned to her, trying to tell if she were telling the truth or not. “Are you serious?”
She nodded and tugged up the bottom of her shirt. Dean thought she was showing him the lean planes of her tan stomach but she pointed out a long white scar on her left side. He glanced up to the road, then back down to the scar. “Damn! That sucker is huge!”
Rachel grinned. “Yeah. Fucking burned like fire too. I was fighting a guy and he got off a shot. I didn’t even realize he’d hit me until I took him down and managed to catch my breath.”
Dean looked at her with fresh eyes, totally impressed. “I know I keep saying it, but damn!”
She shrugged and motioned ahead of them.
The car in front of him had slowed dramatically and he had to hit the brakes rather sharply. “Sorry,” he muttered. “You are a total badass. I already thought you were but the more I get to know you the more impressed I am.”
Rachel winced and shook her head. “Don’t be impressed. I’m just doing my job.”
As much as she protested, he knew Rachel Searles was an incredible woman, and he couldn’t wait to learn more about her.
The GPS voice gave them directions to the Pink Cactus. It was only about ten miles away but far enough outside his district that he was fairly unfamiliar with the businesses.
As they neared their destination and he prepared to for the final turn, he glanced over at Rachel. For some reason she had her hand over her mouth. Her eyes glittered with laughter. “What?”
She pointed a long finger up through the windshield.
Dean looked up at the sign and could have choked. “What the hell is that?”
The sign said Pink Cactus, but it was the picture next to it that made him shake his head. He assumed it was a pink cactus, but it had two spikey cactus paddles and one large…paddle, in the middle. From a distance the sign had a very hairy, very phallic look to it.
Rachel was doubled over in her seat, tears streaking down her cheeks as she laughed. “I’m sorry,” she gasped, chuckling. “I just didn’t expect it to look so…male.”
Choking, Dean pulled into the lot and parked in front of the business, but something wasn’t right. “I don’t think this is even a restaurant.”
They climbed out of the truck and walked to the front, then along the sidewalk to the plate glass window decorated with the phallic cactus. Rachel leaned forward and cupped a hand over her eyes to peer into the depths of the store. “It’s women’s clothes,” she gasped, disintegrating into giggles again.
“What?”
Dean leaned in and looked for himself. Yes, indeed, it was a women’s clothing store. They definitely had a western flair, hence the cactus. He grimaced as he caught sight of one of the price tags on the rack of clothes inside the door. Even those were decorated with the phallic cactus.
It hit him suddenly. “Killian did this. He knew what it was. He just wanted to embarrass me.”
Dean pulled his cell from his pocket and hit the dial button when Killian’s name popped up. His partner answered with just a couple of rings, and he was already laughing.
“Dude, what the hell?”
Killian cracked up on the other end of the line, laughing uncontrollably. It got a little quieter as if he’d moved the phone away, but after a few seconds he came back. “Hey, buddy, what’s up?”
Dean knew it had been meant in fun, but it still grated on his pride. He was here trying to impress a woman, maybe the woman. “The Pink Cactus, really?”
Cackling on the other end of the line, Killian lost his shit again. Dean looked at his phone, frustrated. “Really?”
Then the acoustics of the phone call changed. Two Denver PD cruisers pulled into the lot and their drivers stepped out. Killian was one of them. He circled the hood of his car, hands held out placatingly. “It was just a joke, buddy.”
The other officer, Noah Burns, circled his car to pound Dean on the back. “We knew you hadn’t worked much in this district. Don’t be too mad at him, West. All the newbies get sent here eventually.”
Shaking his head, Dean turned to look at Rachel. Her skin was flushed with delight and her golden caramel eyes sparkled with fun. She seemed totally okay with the situation.
All of the aggravation he’d felt at having the joke played on him washed away. If it made her smile, it was totally worth it.
Then she reached out, resting a cool palm on his forearm. It sent a shock across his skin and drew his focus straight to her. “They’re just playing. I’m not offended at all. Actually, I think we need a picture.”
That was how he found himself in the middle of the parking lot with a giant, prickly, pink dick the backdrop to a selfie of the four of them.
He couldn’t resist dragging Killian into a headlock, though, and wrestling a little. “Just you wait, Buddy. You are so fried. I don’t know when or where, but you have retribution coming.”
Killian wiped tears from his eyes and pounded Dean on the back when he let him go. “I know, West. I can’t wait.” He turned to Rachel and held out a hand. She took it immediately. “I hope you know we were just yakkin’ it up with our boy. He’s a good man, putting up with all the ribbing we’ve given him since he hired on.”
Rachel grinned and shook his hand before releasing it. “No, you’re totally fine. I get it.”
Dean leaned in to catch his buddy’s eye. “She’s a former Marine and works at that detective agency on the East side, Lost and Found.”
Killian’s eyes widened. “Oh, hell. Well, you know all about the ribbing that goes on with the newbies then.”
Rachel nodded, her eyes shining.
“I’ve been a cop for years,” Dean groused.
“Not here, you haven’t,” Killian corrected. “Hey, one of the detectives were able to decipher the plate from the surveillance cam at the quickie mart. They picked up the guy today and impounded the truck. Thought you’d like to know that.”
Rachel appreciated that he’d remembered to tell them. The truck had been a loose end niggling at her mind. “Thanks, Killian. You just made my night that much better.”
He grinned, enjoying her praise.
Their radios came to life and both of the uniformed officers’ concentration sharpened, then they turned for their cars. Burns keyed his mic as he climbed behind the wheel and took off, siren screaming. Killian was right behind him.
“That was abrupt,” she commented.
“Domestic case, they had to go.”
Dean watched them disappear down the street, his own heart pounding with shared exhilaration. He loved his job.