Deegan watched Kiersten with a new hunger that the pizza couldn’t touch.
He reached for the bottle of wine at the same time she wrapped her fingers around the glass. The second their skin met he felt a burst of appreciation. His breath came out in a hiss which caught the attention of the group of people sitting at the next table over. He hadn’t even noticed when they came in—of course he noted that they’d come in almost ten minutes ago, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off the amazing woman sitting across from him. She jerked her hand away, pretending that they hadn’t touched, but he could barely breathe through the electrical jolt still ping-ponging in his body. These sensations were unexpected. Uninvited. Damn terrifying.
Feeling an invisible cotton ball being wedged down his throat, he smiled—probably as goofy as a clown. His intention was to fool her into thinking she hadn’t just tilted his axis, but he’d done the opposite, he was certain.
“Okay. Let me get this straight.” She tore a piece of pizza off and popped it into her mouth. “Senator Kline wants you to find out who killed his lover because he says she didn’t shoot herself up with drugs? To top it off, he wants you to keep this completely private. Run while you can. You’ve been in this field long enough to know why we don’t get involved with cases that are personal.”
Deegan lifted his forefinger. “Hang on.” He got up and ordered a coffee, feeling like he needed to lay off the alcohol. Although a cheap wine wouldn’t get him drunk, his mind seemed to want to travel down places it didn’t belong. Every time she twirled a strand of her silken black hair around her finger, he wanted to pull the elastic band from the wavy mass and watch it tumble down her shoulders. “Can I get you coffee? Anything else?” he asked Kiersten.
She gave her head a quick shake.
Once he had his cup, he went back to the table and eased into the chair and stretched his legs, looking at her through the steam of his coffee. His heart had been pounding hard against his ribcage since he spotted her walking across the street toward him earlier, but she hadn’t seen him. He flicked a glance at her, then looked down before he gave too much away.
He’d done a damn good job not wanting her for two years, but the ache behind his zipper proved he was a liar. If she wasn’t one of the best investigators and was top notch when it came to crimes involving women, he wouldn’t have come here to see her. She’d treated him like the plague since they’d slept together. He had plenty of women who would gladly ease his tension, so then why in the hell did he want Kiersten? At work she was distant, professional, and firm, but his body recalled how soft and warm she felt in his arms. How giving of a lover she’d been.
Clearing his throat, he sipped from his cup, not caring that the heat burned its way down his throat.
Although her frustration was evident in her tight lips and narrowed gaze, he couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked. Her shiny dark hair that hung in soft coils in the pony tail. Those blue eyes that were glossy after her second glass of wine and were on him in curiosity while her plush lips stayed in that fixating frown. Those lips felt wonderful when they’d kissed, and when she’d wrapped them around his—
“Bronx?”
“Hmm?”
“Aren’t you going to answer me?”
He wasn’t sure what happened between them. They’d had a good night together. Hell, an amazing, world-tilting night that had left him wanting more, but he awoke to an empty bed. She’d given him the cold shoulder ever since which only made him want her more. Even now, sitting here while she looked at him as if he was Satan’s son, he had the strongest desire to bend her over his knee and spank her for treating him so coldly. He wondered if she still liked it a little kinky? “I don’t leave my friends in a lurch.” His throat was tight, just like his jeans. He shifted to make more room. “I believe she didn’t use drugs, at least not that night.”
“What is the Senator wanting from this? Does he understand that if the aide’s death is ruled a homicide, he’ll be the number one suspect?” She lifted a thin brow and reached for the bottle, pouring herself half a glass. When she brought it to her lips, one shoulder of the shirt slipped down to expose her smooth skin. He was a fool to want someone so badly—so badly that he could taste her without one lick or kiss. Maybe he’d made a mistake by coming here to speak to her…but he knew he could trust her above anyone. She was smart, skilled and fair.
Scratching his jaw, he blew out a breath from the corner of his mouth. “Max loved her and there’s something else…” He tapped his fingers on the rim of the cup.
“He’s afraid this will cause him to lose the next election? Yeah, I’m sure he’s squirming.”
“She was pregnant.”
She didn’t even flinch a muscle. Years of training had taught her how to hide her emotions. “By him?”
With a shrug, he pushed his cup aside. “He says it was his.”
“What is the real proof that she didn’t stick the needle in her arm of her own freewill? A young woman caught up in a love triangle, pregnant, scared…maybe she needed a fix.”
“There’s a video. I watched it myself. She was heading to bed, not the bath tub, where she was found by a neighbor the next morning. Detectives said she was sitting in that water for at least twelve hours.”
“Any evidence of a break in? Foul play? Someone in the apartment with her? Any witnesses?”
“No.”
She squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Maybe you should tell me why you’re speaking to me. Senator Kline isn’t my friend.”
“I need your help.”
One corner of her plush lips twisted. “I understand your loyalty to your friend and wanting to help him, but he’s in deep shit. No matter which way you slice this, he slept with an aide who is now dead. His wife will probably divorce him and rightly so. My advice is to not get yourself wrapped up in this. Do him a favor and tell him to go to the locals and tell them everything he knows. Cooperation is important.”
“He didn’t have anything to do with this. He has an alibi.”
“Oh, and that means he’s guiltless? Ask his wife how she feels about that.” Kiersten slid out of the chair, pulled on her jacket and sighed. “Sex, lies, and politics. That leaves no room for either of us.”
He dropped down a twenty and hurried out of the shop to catch up to her as she reached the sidewalk. “You don’t even care to look into the case? Watch the video? And here I thought you prided yourself in helping women who can’t speak for themselves.”
Sure, he’d gone a step too far, but he didn’t feel the wrath until she stopped and turned to face him, her clear blue eyes on him.
“Wow, is that the level you plan to sink to? That’s a bit piggish.”
“Okay, I showed a little snout, but am I wrong? She was twenty-five years old, pregnant, and found dead in her bathtub. What if this isn’t what it appears to be? What if someone did kill her and the unborn child? Wouldn’t you want to find out what really happened?”
She smiled and took a step closer to him, so close he caught her scent—not from perfume, but a natural, alluring scent. “What if your politician friend was afraid the aide was going to tell his wife and he took care of her? Have you thought of that? What will you do then since you don’t like leaving a friend in a lurch?”
He hooked his thumbs into his front pockets. “Max and I were in the Marines together. We have a brotherhood, but if I thought for a second that he was involved in the woman’s death, and her child’s, I would be the first to say so. I’m a friend, but a cop first.”
“Good night, Bronx.”
This time he didn’t go after her.
There was nothing he could do to convince her.
Why had he come anyway? He should have expected he’d tweak the evil side in her. It was no secret that she couldn’t stand him so why would she be interested in helping? No doubt he could handle the case on his own, but he admired Kiersten’s instincts and eye for detail. She had a way of getting into someone’s head—a killer’s or victim’s—which helped solve crimes faster.
From where he stood on the sidewalk, he watched her walk across the street to the front entrance of her building. She looked over her shoulder and he waved, but she didn’t respond. She disappeared inside and he cursed under his breath. He had it bad and the quicker he got over it the better. Not only was she his superior, but she hated his guts. He gave a woman multiple orgasms and this was the thanks he got.
He chuckled and reached for his phone. He had a couple of links to check out. No sleep again tonight.
*
“Ms. Cade?”
Kiersten looked up from the computer screen and dragged off her glasses. Her assistant was standing in the doorway to the office. “Yes, Petra?”
“A messenger left this for you.” The blonde laid a large yellow envelope on the desk.
“Wait…who’s it from?” There was nothing written on the front or back.
Petra shrugged. “I have no clue.”
Once her assistant was gone, Kiersten put her glasses back on and shook out the contents. Inside had been a newspaper clipping and a sticky note with, “Just a coincidence, or is there a link?” The paper headline read, “Body found in alley. No identification.” Looking at the date, it was the same day that Kline’s aide, Annie Steele, was found dead and the location was near her apartment.
She sighed. This was a long shot for Deegan. She stuffed the paper back into the envelope and tossed it with the rest of the junk on the corner of her desk. Reaching for her pen she clicked it restlessly as she tried to go back to more important work. Her gaze naturally kept going to the envelope. Working her bottom lip, she thought she couldn’t be sucked into this for anyone, not even the man she’d slept with one weak moment at a party. Deegan wasn’t her type, if she had one. She didn’t date or sleep with lawmen, no matter how sexy or charming they were. It only caused trouble when two badges dated, especially when one was the other’s boss.
Then again…he wasn’t asking her on a date. Her mind seemed to travel down that road all on its own.
Kiersten wished she could wipe away that one night. It would certainly make life easier, especially at work.
No, that wasn’t the truth. When would she learn that lying to herself didn’t make anything fact. She didn’t regret that night except how he’d made her feel and knowing there could never be more between them, which was probably why she jumped into the “thing” with Brad. Looking for someone to take her mind off Deegan.
When she couldn’t hold back any longer, she reached for the envelope and took out the clipping, then read the article while writing down anything that stuck out to her as important. When she finished, she dialed a detective friend and asked for a favor. He faxed her over details of the case. The location of the body was two blocks from where Annie Steele lived. The man was shot in the head and in the chest. Although it was at night, and on a busy street, no one saw what happened. Nothing about the killing matched a mugging. The victim didn’t have a wallet or identification on him, but he had forty dollars in cash in his pocket.
On the computer, she typed in Annie Steele. A profile picture of the pretty woman filled the screen. “What happened that night, Annie?” Kiersten whispered, tapping the pen on the desk. “Were you into drugs? Did someone need you dead to keep you from talking?”