The precinct was quiet for a Saturday morning, but far from inactive. Several officers Jasmine recognized from her time in the DA’s office were tapping away on their keyboards while a few others were busy comparing notes over fresh cups of coffee.

A woman sat sobbing in the corner next to another officer Jasmine recognized. The young woman’s slumped shoulders revealed far more about her circumstances than her skimpy skirt and mascara-coated eyes, and Jasmine nearly stepped in when she overheard the officer mention that one of her colleagues in the DA’s office was on his way.

The wheels of justice kept on turning, even if they moved a bit more slowly on the weekend.

Which made Cade’s hunt for information on Paul Barrow relatively easy a few moments later, once he’d taken a seat at his desk. The desk’s wooden top was scarred but pristinely clean, either a holdover from Giavanna’s rigorous expectations of cleanliness or Cade’s own way of working. Either way, Jasmine figured you could have eaten one of Giavanna’s meatballs straight off the surface.

“What’s that look for?” Cade glanced up from his screen, his eyebrows suspicious slashes over those coffee-colored eyes.

“You’re awfully neat, is all.”

A subtle pink crept up his neck, but it was the gruff edge to his voice that let her know she’d hit pay dirt. “Is that a crime?”

“It’s sweet.”

“Sweet?” The blush crept higher, and his voice took on a strangled quality. “I’m a cop. Cops aren’t sweet.”

“If you say so.”

“Why? You think I should be a slob like my sister? I don’t know if she’s ever filed a piece of paper in her entire career.”

While Daphne wasn’t quite that bad, she did have a reputation for a sort of mad scientist-like clutter over her desk and filing system. She made up for it with dedication and a solid record of closed cases. Few argued with her methods, but Jasmine did enjoy getting the occasional jab in on her best friend now and again.

Funny how adorable it was to see the exact opposite behavior with Cade. And just how much fun it was to poke at him as well.

Leaning over, she made a show of reaching for his top desk drawer.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Looking for where you hide the Clorox wipes.”

“I’m not that—”

“They’re in the bottom drawer, left side!” One of Cade’s colleagues, sat on the opposite side of the room, shouted out the confirmation.

Jasmine waved at the woman before hollering a triumphant thank-you in her direction.

“I’m not that bad.” Cade muttered it again before tapping even harder on his laptop.

“Being clean isn’t a crime. And it’s one more reason you can be your mother’s favorite.”

He glanced back up, those expressive eyes going wide. “I’m her favorite?”

“She wants you to think that.”

“But am I?”

As the younger of only two children, Jasmine had always envied Daphne the big family and general ruckus that came with it. It had only been in the last few years, with an adult’s perspective, that she’d begun to understand that the attention of that many pairs of eyes all at the same time could be overwhelming.

Obviously Cade wasn’t immune to the dynamics, either.

“Every one of you is her favorite. But I would comfortably wager big points to you on swelling her heart with pride, since you could eat food off this desk.”

“There’s no crime in being neat and clean.”

The urge to come around behind him and wrap her arms around his neck was strong, but Jasmine held back. They were in public, and seeing as how they weren’t dating, and were actually both dating others, a show of affection wasn’t the best idea.

But oh, how she wanted to.

Which was the wake-up call she needed for what to say to Gardner.

She’d already decided that he needed to hear about the incident at the End Zone from her, and had planned to call him after this trip to the precinct. But the fact that she’d already kissed Cade several times and hadn’t experienced a hint of remorse meant she needed to do the right and fair thing and break it off with Gardner.

No matter what came of these few crazy moments with Cade.

There was a reason things hadn’t moved forward with Gardner and it had everything to do with her. It was time to be honest with herself and with him. She considered how she might get away for an hour to go see her boyfriend and untangle what had become a sticky web.

“There it is.” Cade’s comment and tap on his screen pulled her from her thoughts,

“There what is?”

“Barrow. His parole officer is Emily Carmine. She started in May, which means she probably doesn’t have the whole history. Add on his paperwork was processed,” Cade leaned into the screen, “at four o’clock yesterday. Damn, the asshole wasted no time.”

Jasmine ignored the time component and took in the various elements on the screen, her gaze settling over the name of Barrow’s parole officer. “She’s got a good reputation.”

“She’s very good, which means this one was a lucky slip for Barrow. It likely won’t stay that way, especially once Carmine knows what he was up to last night.”

Cade was already dialing the parole officer when a light hum reverberated through the room. Jasmine stood up from where she still leaned over Cade’s screen and came face-to-face with Gardner Cross.

And finally accepted there was no more time to prep or prevaricate or find excuses.

It was time she faced her feelings, no matter how they might hurt her—or him—in the end.

* * *

Cade paced the squad room. The edge of Gardner’s head was just visible in the small conference room Jasmine had pulled them both into about ten minutes before. Cade had an idea of what they discussed—or hoped he did—but in the end it was up to Jasmine to handle her boyfriend and the details she chose to share.

Would she tell him she’d spent the night at Cade’s? Would Gardner care?

Of course he’d care.

Cade would have cared. Even as he thought it, he wondered how he’d feel, if the situation were reversed and Sarah had spent the night in another man’s apartment. Would it have bothered him?

When a resounding silence settled in his thoughts Cade knew he owed Sarah the follow-up she’d requested the night before. She deserved better than a brush off if he wasn’t going to continue going out with her. And based on the lack of emotion he felt at the idea of her moving on, Cade supposed it was time.

“Why haven’t you texted me back?” Daphne’s voice penetrated his thoughts, the sharp edges of her words like spikes to his brain. She added to the demand by slamming a heavy tote, packed full of clothes and toiletries for Jaz, onto his desk.

“Be more specific. You texted me eight times.”

“I texted Jaz too, but she’s ignored me as well.”

Beneath the haranguing, Cade heard the worry. For all the ribbing he loved to send her way, he loved his baby sister to distraction. And he did have compassion for what she was dealing with.

He might have lived with the sight of Jaz being manhandled and on the verge of something even worse, but he’d also had the satisfaction of taking his anger out on her attacker.

Daphne hadn’t been so lucky.

Taking pity on her, he filled her in on what he knew so far. “I was going to text you as soon as I had answers. I wanted to know who Barrow’s parole officer is.”

“And?”

“It’s Carmine.”

The announcement of the parole officer assigned to the case had Daphne cooling her heels. “Em’s good. How’d she lose him like this?”

“That’s what I spent the last hour looking into. Seems there was some petition made on his behalf by an enterprising legal team. Asshole decided to play snitch on some local drug runner they were trying to bring down. He worked himself a deal in exchange for information.”

“And his file didn’t jingle? How does that happen? Jaz works in the damn public defender’s office. How is it she didn’t know?”

Raw fury had ridden Cade’s shoulders ever since he got the details on Barrow’s release, and his sister’s frustration only compounded his own. “Overworked staff and a rash of summer vacations is the only answer I’ve managed to find. No one I have contacted will own up to what a screwup this is.”

“That’s such a load of bullshit.” Daphne frowned. “Where’s Jasmine? I told her not to stay by herself today.”

“She’s here.”

“Where?”

Cade pointed toward the wall of conference rooms at the far edge of the squad room. “She’s over there. Gardner showed up about three minutes before you did. I’m surprised you didn’t pass each other.”

Daphne crossed her arms, the gesture he’d always thought of as her Ramona Quimby look. Part mulish and part calculating. The moment his fourth-grade teacher had read them a few stories of the troublesome younger sister in the Ramona series, he’d known the character fit Daphne to a T.

“I thought you were only bluffing last night when you left Mom and Dad’s.”

“About taking Jaz home?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s shaken and, for the time being, we have to assume in some danger. I’m not leaving her alone.”

“I know that part.” Daphne leaned against his desk, perching on a hip. “But I figured she’d shake you off the first moment she got.”

“I’m hard to shake.”

“She came back to your place?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

Heated images filled his mind’s eye, his hands itching to hold her once more. He could still feel her hips beneath his fingertips, the gentle slope and the softness of her flesh. Could still taste her on his lips, a combination of raspberries and something else. Something hard to define yet deeply intoxicating.

A special quality that was 100 percent Jasmine.

“And nothing. She’s in trouble. I gave her my bed and slept on the couch. We woke up and came here.”

Daphne looked like she was ready to argue, her gaze searching his with the same intensity she’d used when quizzing him on Santa Claus as an eight-year-old, and when she’d believed he held the results of her detective’s exam a few years before.

He’d known the answer to the Santa Claus question and had been as in the dark as she for the detective’s exam. But her fervent believe he held extra information was unwavering.

Between the crossed arms and the searching stare, he was surprised to realize all that his feelings for Jaz had churned up. Dating his sister’s friend would have an impact on his relationship with Daphne, whether he liked it or not.

“What’s that look for?” Daphne asked.

Cade waited, weighing the potential fallout of talking to his sister before familial love won out. “What happens if I fuck it up with Jasmine?”

“Why? How?”

“If we try something and it just doesn’t work out. What does that do? To us? To you and her?”

“She and I are rock solid. Always.”

“Then you and I won’t be.”

For all their teasing and mutual attitude toward each other, the thought of upsetting Daphne and damaging their relationship hurt. More than that, it left Cade with a layer of sadness that he couldn’t ignore. He might have been easygoing, but he wasn’t easy with the idea of giving up his baby sister.

“Why are you so convinced things won’t work out?”

“My track record isn’t exactly stellar.”

Daphne’s light shrug was casual. “Maybe you’ve just been on the wrong track.”

“Right. Sure. Ask any of my ex-girlfriends.”

“Actually, I have. A few months ago one of the women you loved and left was at brunch at Landon’s mom’s. She was about eight months pregnant, glowing with happiness, and looked at her husband as if he hung the moon.”

Cade wasn’t sure where she was going but decided to play along. “Okay. So she has a good life.”

“Not just a good life. The right life. The way I remembered her, she was this airy bimbo who couldn’t string a few sentences together. With her new life she was fun and happy and ready to take on the world.”

“One more reason I’m a jerk.”

“One more reason the women who go out with you don’t see you.”

Wherever he’d expected the conversation to go—and he’d braced for pretty bad—Daphne’s proclamation hit him square on the jaw. “What?”

“It’s true. You’re the sexy cop with bedroom eyes.”

He held up a hand to stop her, but she beat him to the punch.

“I’m not deaf, Cade. I know what the entire borough whispers about you. But what I do know is that no one ever looks past it all. And you’re so damn easygoing, you don’t bother to correct anyone or make them see anything different.”

“And how would that be different with Jaz?”

As if he conjured her up, the door opened, Gardner extending a hand to allow Jasmine to pass out of the conference room.

“She already knows you and likes you anyway. For my money, that’s when things really start to get interesting.”

* * *

Jasmine walked Gardner to the elevators, surprised to feel a lightness in her steps even as her heart felt encased in cement.

She’d done the right thing. For Gardner and for herself. He deserved better than someone halfway into a relationship, and so did she.

But she couldn’t deny the sheer weight of ending a perfectly good relationship with a nearly perfect man wasn’t without its pressure. She was already bracing herself for the castigating stares of the swooners at work. The gossip would be all over the office by 9:05 on Monday; 9:10 if she was lucky.

And then there was her mother.

Her father would do his best to keep her mother in check but there was no way around it: Her mother was going to lose her shit when Jasmine told her she’d broken up with Gardner.

A part of her—the jaded, suspicious part—believed her mother saw them as some sort of young Obamas equivalent. The elegant, well-educated black couple on their way to great things. And if she loved Gardner with the same obvious affection and commitment that was evident between Barack and Michelle Obama, Jasmine might have been tempted to go along with the fantasy.

But she didn’t.

Nor could she pretend her way through it.

“Promise me you’ll be careful.” Gardner bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“I will.”

“I’ll move on this immediately. There’s no reason this man should be out on the streets, and I’ll use whatever I can to get him back in jail.”

“Thank you. I know Cade’s working the same angles through his contacts.”

She’d avoided saying much about Cade during their conversation, but at the mention of his name Gardner’s gaze narrowed. “I’m sure he will.”

“He and Daphne both. She’s already texted me a blue streak this morning.”

“I’m sure Cade will quickly have everything in hand. Just as he always does.”

Jasmine knew of Gardner’s prowess in the courtroom, but to date she’d not experienced his more pointed remarks. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Rossi’s good at his job. And there’s nothing he won’t do for you. This mess with Paul Barrow should resolve itself quickly.”

“This mess was an assault and attempted rape back in December.”

“I’m well aware of what it was, Jasmine. I’ve read the documents.”

Although she’d harbored no illusions that her colleagues had taken the time to understand what had happened to her, reading the public record of Barrow’s arrest and prosecution, it was a surprise to think that Gardner had read the documents as well. He’d never said anything. “You reviewed them?”

“How else was I supposed to understand what happened to you? You refuse to speak of it, and you’ve had no interest in expanding our relationship into the physical. I wanted to understand what took place that night.” He broke off, the confident veneer that never faltered cracking, leaving in its wake a quiet man with bent shoulders. “I wanted to help.”

“But that’s not why—”

She stopped, the words drying up in her throat. Was that the problem? Had she become scared of intimacy because of that night in December? Or had it become a handy excuse?

She’d been with men before. And while she hadn’t gone through men like water, she’d had relationships. Sexually satisfying ones at that.

Yet she’d held back with Gardner from the first.

Whatever had been behind her choices with Gardner, the answers weren’t to be found in the lobby of the police station. With the twin sensations of resignation and relief flooding her, she tilted her head and pressed a kiss to Gardner’s cheek. “You’re a wonderful man. And you deserve someone equally wonderful.”

His hand drifted lightly over her waist before moving firmly away. “I thought I had her.”

Jasmine said nothing in reply, unwilling to prolong the inevitable. Even with that firm dose of reality, she couldn’t deny the tightness in her throat or the hot prick of tears behind her eyes.

She loved Cade Rossi. Nothing and no one could change that. But as she watched Gardner walk away, she was unable to shake the feeling that she could all-too-soon find herself in the same position.