Ana
“We need to have eyes and ears on Ana at all times.” The tension in Justice’s voice set Ana’s teeth on edge. Never in all her life had she let a man keep her from what she wanted to do. Not her father when she announced her intention to become a police officer, not any of her other boyfriends, and she would be damned if she let this one-night stand gone wrong do it. Even if she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Before Ana’s response could roll off her tongue, Officer Coy chimed in with his own opinion. “Reilly, where do you suggest we get the surveillance equipment to do that? The town council won’t even approve enough money to properly test the explosion site from last month. No way will they approve the cash we would need to even rent that kind of hardware.”
Ana could tell all the guys were starting to get annoyed with Justice’s macho routine, which gave her a small amount of pleasure.
“I’ll pay for it.” Justice stood from his seat, whipped out his wallet, and slammed it down on the table. “Tell me what we need, and I’ll cover it. City council never needs to know.”
“Are you kidding me? This is ridiculous.” Ana shoved back from the table, knocking her chair over as she jumped to her feet and leveled Justice with a disbelieving glare. “We do not need surveillance equipment for me to walk into a bar and have a conversation with a guy.”
“Are you serious, Justice?” Luke just sat back with his hands folded over his stomach and a slight smirk on his face. He couldn’t possibly be taking this nonsense seriously, could he?
Justice folded his arms over his chest and never took his eyes off Ana. “I have some family money I’ve never touched and never plan to. We get a list together, and I’ll have everything here by the end of the week. My only condition is I am on the surveillance team every single time Ana has to be in the same building as that asshole.”
“Agreed.” Luke stood, gathered his folders, and strode across the room to the door.
Never had the word “flabbergasted” meant more to Ana than at that moment. “Are you fucking insane? You’re going to let this kid buy thousands of dollars of equipment for one conversation with a bar owner and bookie?”
“No. I’m going to let him buy the equipment for the station, and we’re going to use it for this conversation first. It will come in handy down the line as well, I’m sure.” Luke slapped Justice on the shoulder and leaned in to whisper something in his ear. Whatever it was he said, Justice’s lips quirked up into a slight smile, and he nodded firmly once.
This whole thing was nuts. Ana had been in far more dangerous situations both during her rookie years and in her detective position at the Pittsburgh Police. She’d been shot at, beat up, and almost run over. But it was her job to put her life on the line so that those in their community could be safer. No way in hell would she let these jagoffs take away her role in the department, let alone her mission in life.
Coy left the small conference room just behind Luke, and before she knew it, Justice and Ana stood on opposite sides of the table, alone and glaring daggers at each other.
“Let me tell you, I am the absolute wrong tree to be barking up if you think this alpha male protect-your-woman bullshit is going to get you anywhere.” Not breaking eye contact, Justice slowly stalked around the conference table, every step closer making her heart pound. She was pissed at him, livid even. And she would not give in to him just because the mere sight of him at that moment made her panties soaked. He needed to know that this type of behavior would never be accepted by her. “I have seen more action in my career than you can imagine. I do not need some guy who thinks getting into my pants once gives him the right to act like my father.”
Ana didn’t give an inch. She refused to back up into the table or wall behind her. If she showed any sign of weakness, Justice would keep chipping away until she was one of those women she loathed who needed to check in with their man before they did anything. Hell. No.
“Are you done now?” They stood almost eye to eye. Ana wished she had gone with a taller heel that day so he wouldn’t have even the extra inch or two on her.
She opened her mouth to give him a smart-ass reply, but he just talked over her, something that she absolutely hated.
“Nothing that happened in here today had anything to do with my doubting your abilities as a detective or officer of the law. I’m sure you are an amazing detective, and I can’t wait to see you at work.” He stepped closer, so much so that his minty breath with just a hint of coffee washed over her. “With that said, there will never be a time that I won’t want to protect you, whether you need protection or not. I have no doubt you could take me down before I knew what happened. But I also know that the people we are dealing with here have no problems operating in the most underhanded and disgusting ways to get what they want. If there is a way for me to make you even just a little bit safer while you are doing your job, then I’m going to take advantage of that. Every. Single. Time.”
“Justice, I’m not your woman. You have no obligation to protect me. We had sex once—”
“Twice. The phone sex counts.”
“That doesn’t make you my knight in shining armor. You need to cool it.” Huffing as if she had just gone nine rounds after a ten-mile run, Ana stood her ground, refusing to be the one to back down first.
Slowly, Justice’s features softened, and he shocked Ana when he leaned his forehead gently against hers. “Fuck. I don’t know what I’m doing, Ana. I know I’m acting like a shithead. But when I look at you and think about Shady putting his hands on you, it makes me want to break things.” He cupped her head in his big palms and brought her lips within a fraction of a centimeter from his own. “I know one thing. Until I sat next to you in that bar, I had a blueprint for my life set in stone. I was going to work here as a cop for five more years, take my detective’s test, transfer to a bigger city, work my way up the ranks, and ten years from now I’d be on track to being a commander of my own unit. Only after I had my career firmly established was I going to worry about things like a woman to share my life with and children to carry on my legacy. But since you, that has all flown out the window. I still want all those things in my life, but I want you there with me, for all of them. I don’t want to wait for you to realize the chemistry we have together almost never comes around. I want us to start a life together. Now.”
“You’re insane.” Even as she said the words, Ana felt a pull deep within her chest to acknowledge the same desire, to build some unknown foundation with this man that would turn into something remarkable if she only let herself. But she also didn’t want to have to sacrifice everything she had worked for in her life.
“I might be. But I’d gladly go insane for a chance at having you in my bed every night for the rest of my life. Just the chance.” Slowly, Justice drew her lips to his, giving her plenty of time to stop him, to come to her senses and push him away.
She didn’t even bother. They both might be confused about what pulled them to each other, perhaps Ana more confused than Justice, but she knew that she wanted to taste him again more than she wanted anything else.
The moment his plump lips bracketed her own, all the bravado and attitude that she wore to protect herself slipped away. His kiss, his presence, had the ability to strip her down to her true self. Still strong, still a smart-ass, but also soft, vulnerable, emotional. All words that had been used against her as she rose the ranks in the police force. But with Justice, they weren’t negatives, they were simply part of her, and he accepted it and respected it all.
As they separated, Ana shook her head a little, mentally preparing herself to replace the masks and shrouds in order to do her job that she loved. But curiosity won over before she could fully protect herself. “What did Luke whisper in your ear?”
Justice dropped his eyes to the floor but not before she saw the laughter spark in them.
“What?”
“He said, ‘Only a woman who felt big things for a man could get that pissed at him. Just ask Sophie.’” A deep rumble reminiscent of thunder vibrated up Justice’s chest and spilled out in a laugh so genuine and sexy it made Ana want to climb in his lap and do dirty things to him.
Very, very dirty things.
***
The plan to send Ana in to meet Shady came together relatively smoothly, which worried her. In the past, the easier an operation came together, the more it went to shit when the time came. But the harder it was to get the pieces to come together beforehand, the operation itself would always go as expected.
So when the day finally came two weeks later for Ana to walk into Shady’s, her nerves were more than a little frayed. Not that anyone would be able to tell. She held herself with the same cool aloofness she strived for every day at the station.
Each night, she shed the false, cold personality and just let herself be with Justice. They hadn’t slept together again, but they had several hot make-out sessions on his couch after watching Game of Thrones. Each night he asked her to stay, and each night she insisted on going back to her shitty sublet apartment, no matter how much she wanted to stay at his house. Each morning he brought her coffee, each night he stuck around to walk her to her car. It was sweet, not because she needed protection in the dark parking lot but because the gesture symbolized his commitment.
Ana closed her eyes for just a moment, gathering her strength, pushing back the thoughts of being wrapped in Justice’s arms, and pulled in a deep breath. As she let it go, she steeled her spine, lifted her chin, and straightened her mouth into a stiff line.
The leather vest stretched across her chest whined as she unfolded herself from the tiny sports car they had borrowed just for the night. Her outfit left little to the imagination. Jeans so tight the seams puckered a little around her hips and ass, a low-backed leather vest that laced up the front and tied just below her chest, the V in the front barely covering her tits. She’d let her hair go wild for the night, tight ringlets springing out all over her head, bouncing as she strutted to the door of the shittiest looking bar she’d ever seen. The bouncer at the door gave her body a slow perusal down to her stiletto heels and back up to her over-makeupped face. He quirked one eyebrow in a question that didn’t need asking. What was a girl like her doing in a place like this?
“I’m here to see Shady. Name’s Gina. He’ll want to see me.”
The bouncer scoffed, his beer gut shaking with the reaction. “Everyone in there is gonna want to see you, princess.”
Ana sneered at the thug, not bothering to hide her contempt.
The guy typed a message into his phone, then sat back on his stool as they waited for a reply. Not a minute later a ding signaled the response.
“Boss says you’re welcome to join him in his regular booth. You’ll see him when you go in.” The bouncer kicked the door open without bothering to stand from his stool.
Ana didn’t bother giving the guy at the door a second glance, even though the roaming of his eyes over her ass made her crave a shower.
The dark interior of the bar helped to mask what Ana was sure were dozens of health code violations, but no amount of dim lighting could help the smell. Sour beer, sweat, and urine blended together to make a pungent welcome as she sashayed across the room to the little rat of a man smirking at her from a large booth in the corner.
“Shady, I presume?” Without waiting to be invited, Ana slid into the booth beside him, crossing her legs in his direction and laying one arm along the back of the bench. The position did two things to help her—it gave the bug implanted in her necklace a perfect line of vision and the best chance for clear audio, and gave her a number of options to defend herself if the time came. She’d much rather be next to a threat than with a table separating them. There would be no hiding a gun when she could see his whole body.
“You’ve found the man. Now the question is, What do you want to do with him?” Not even trying to hide his gaze focusing in on her nearly bare chest, Shady licked his lips.
Revulsion rippled through Ana, but she suppressed any outward sign that she was anything but flattered by his interest. “It’s not so much what I want to do with you, as what I can do for you. I understand you run some of the best fights in the state. You and I are in the same business, and I have a proposition that could bring in a huge influx of cash.”
Shady’s hand slid into her lap, resting on her knee. Ana smirked at him but let it remain. No need to put the guy on the defensive yet. She just hoped the camera’s field of view didn’t pick up the move, otherwise there would be one very pissed cop sitting in a van down the street.