by Regan Black
She sat, fingers laced together while she fought for cool, professional detachment. “Working outside the system might be successful in the short-term, but it’s not sustainable. You were a cop. You know this.”
“I know that protocols and rules should bend occasionally.”
“This was such a mistake. I never should have come here,” she muttered. Why had she? Oh, yeah, Leo. Leaving him unattended didn’t seem to end well.
Leo reached over and covered her hands with his. The contact gave her a jolt that sent a sweet, enticing tingle through her body. His concern and commitment to his sister were admirable and gave her hope for people in general.
A voice in her head snorted. Right. Now she was lying to herself. Case or not, she didn’t want to be too far from this man. Calvin would be rolling with laughter if he could see her now. She was ready to toss aside common sense, just to indulge some fluttery, feminine attraction.
Leo seemed to be her professional kryptonite. She couldn’t maintain an appropriate distance. They hadn’t crossed any lines yet, though her body set off a proximity alert whenever he was near.
In training, she’d learned certain calls and cases would be emotional triggers. A cop needed to be self-aware and remain calm when that happened. No one was expected to be superhuman, but when feeling reactive, she should look for ways to deescalate the situation.
She caught Leo’s eye. “I know you need to find her through any means necessary.” She faced Grant. “I’ll go talk with Jason while the two of you work out the details.”
Aubrey walked out on shaking knees. All the talking and wishing in the world wouldn’t make the PPD’s approach and effort enough for Leo. She didn’t blame him for needing to explore every option. She just couldn’t endorse this choice.
* * *
“She doesn’t like you much,” Leo observed. He wished Aubrey had stayed, yet he admired the way she stuck to her principles.
“Officer Rawlins has a strict code of ethics. I respect that,” Grant said. “I’m sure she has an excellent record of service to the city.”
“She’s good at her job.” She’d been persistent with Lara’s case and her actions backed up her word. “And I appreciate her help. She could’ve arrested me for being a nuisance and disturbing the peace but didn’t.” A fact he appreciated more with every passing hour. Behind bars, with no hope of hearing from his sister, he would’ve lost his mind by now. “And she does have a connection with the people in her neighborhood.” Leo rolled his shoulders. “I’m just not sure Lara’s still in the neighborhood.”
“That would be my concern, as well.” Grant massaged the knuckles of one hand against the opposite palm.
Leo scooted to the edge of his seat, eager to hear Grant’s plan. “What do you need to get started? I brought along a picture and a list of her friends.”
Grant held up his hands in surrender. “Transparency,” he said. “I’ve met your sister.”
Leo couldn’t have heard him correctly. “What? When?” It wasn’t a stretch to think Lara had been to a nightclub. He knew she had a social life, though he didn’t let himself dwell on the potential minefield of her going out on dates.
“Lara came to the club a few weeks ago,” Grant began. “Just before she went home for the holiday break. We were getting underway with the rebuild and she introduced herself. She’d brought along two other men who needed work.”
“You know Lara.” He glanced to the door, wishing Aubrey was hearing this. “Did you hire the men? Can I talk with them?”
“I did hire them,” Grant replied. “They were down on their luck, but they had construction experience. Apparently, she’d met them while volunteering at the soup kitchen. I’ll speak with both of them.” His fingers flexed and curled into his palms. “Your sister’s commitment to helping others impressed me.”
“When she finds a cause, she sticks. That’s why I’m so worried.” Leo liked Grant already and felt real hope cool the hot streak of worry that had him by the throat. Here was a man who got things done.
“You think she got in over her head.”
Leo nodded.
Sympathy warmed Grant’s gaze. “I don’t know your sister well, but she struck me as confident, smart. Not a pushover.”
“That fits,” Leo said. “Still, she knows me, knows how I’d react to her ignoring my messages.”
“Is there anything you didn’t mention in front of Officer Rawlins?” Grant pressed.
“What do you mean?” Leo had been running a little too wide open, emotions too close to the surface with Aubrey.
“Anything you can think of, past or present, that would compel your sister to wander away from her life,” Grant clarified. “A new boyfriend. Or an old one. Trouble with a parent or a bad-news friend from high school? Maybe there are issues that came up in class and set her off.”
Leo shook his head. “I was the problem child at home,” he admitted. “Lara was everything good and right in our family. She has no history of mental illness, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Any family history of that kind of thing?”
“No.” Leo didn’t count his mother’s negligence as an illness. That was a choice. The grief he’d inflicted on her life had changed her, yes, but she was stable about her hatred of him and general “over it” attitude about motherhood.
“Lara has no ties to Philly beyond college?”
“No.” Leo dried his palms on his jeans. He was the one with the persistent guilt that bit him at the worst times. This was one of those times. He’d thought this through, talked this through, time and again. He wanted to give Grant something that would make a difference and help them locate his sister. “Frankly, I was surprised she chose this particular school. Our mom pushed for her alma mater, where she’d met our dad. I was the only one hoping Lara would stay closer to home.”
“What won her over?”
“I think the change of scenery. The dynamic urban landscape was a big piece of it. She wanted out of the suburbs,” he replied. “And the program here had better marks and more significance after graduation.”
“I see.” Grant made a few more notes, then drummed his pen against the desktop. “In this instance, I’m going to put out a blanket alert. Most of my employees are or have been first responders. They can keep an eye out for Lara and much like Officer Rawlins is doing, they can ask around when they’re out and about. A situation like this can take some time.”
Leo’s bubble of hope burst. “That’s almost verbatim what Aubrey said.”
Grant’s eyebrows arched as though he’d been smacked with an epiphany. “She isn’t wrong. We can’t arrange a citywide search, but you’ll have more eyes and ears out there. When we have a more definite location, we can get more aggressive. Will you stay in town or head back home?”
“I’m staying.” At least until his leave ran out. He wrote down his hotel and room number on the back of his business card. “You have my cell number.”
Grant nodded. “If we don’t have a lead or better answers in a week, I’ll reassess.” He came around the desk and shook Leo’s hand. “You’re not in this alone.”
“Thanks.” Leo walked out of the office, spotting Aubrey chatting with Jason at the other end of the hallway. Whatever he was saying agreed with her. Her eyes were bright and a smile curved her lovely mouth. For a moment she looked like a model playing a cop. She was beautiful, inside and out, in any setting.
Leo had no idea why that suddenly annoyed him. His attraction to her gave him a break from worrying about Lara, even as she was inexorably tied to his search for his sister. Aubrey had shown him remarkable kindness. It wasn’t her sibling that was missing, yet here she was, helping him explore all his options.
All that lovely brightness faded when she noticed his approach and a wary cloud came over her features. He owed her an apology, and not just for d
ragging her into a meeting she didn’t want. What a jerk he’d been. Grief and worry weren’t valid excuses for his outrageous behavior.
“Grant and I are done.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him and then gave Jason a warm farewell. Leo fell in behind her as she stalked through the construction zone and out to the car in stony silence.
“I’m really sorry for making you come out here,” he said as soon as they were driving away. “It was productive, if that helps.”
“So you got the search party you needed?”
“Not exactly.” Aubrey’s outright anger stung more than it should. They were acquaintances, nothing more. Two random people shoved together by an awkward turn of fate. “He has a network of people from all corners of the city who will be keeping an eye out for Lara.”
Aubrey folded her arms and stared straight ahead. “Good.” She relaxed. “I do want you to find your sister.”
He believed her. “He says if we don’t have a lead in a week, he’ll reassess.”
“That’s more than the PPD can offer you,” she admitted. “He really isn’t charging you a dime?”
“No.” Leo had assumed there would be a fee. “Hiring an investigator was my next step.”
“Last night I thought you already had,” she said. “Jason called me to the bar because someone was there asking about your sister.”
“Who was that?” He gripped the steering wheel, refusing to lose his temper. “I didn’t cross paths with anyone willing to speak her name.”
“I didn’t have a chance to find out before you arrived.”
Apparently, he’d botched up her search because he was too obsessed with his own. He really hadn’t given her enough credit for what she was doing to help him. She’d gone out on her own time to get a lead on Lara. “Sorry.”
“You’re worried.” She tugged the seat belt away from her shoulder. “I have a description and I’m working with that.”
Leo felt like a heel. He’d wedged himself into her work and in the process made an often-thankless job more difficult. “I don’t know you that well.”
She glanced at him while waiting for the stoplight overhead to turn green. “Same goes. What’s your point?”
“Would you like to have dinner?” he asked quickly, before he could rationalize his way out of it.
“That’s not a good idea,” she replied. “Thanks for the invitation.”
“You must think I’m irrevocably selfish,” he said.
“No.” She shifted to face him, sighing a little. “You’re hurting and baffled by the actions of someone you love. I understand that well enough.”
There was a wisp of old pain in her voice. Who’d put it there? The question he had no right to ask burned in the back of his throat. They weren’t friends, though if they’d met on equal footing it would’ve been harder to ignore whatever simmered between them.
At least from his side of the equation. He was definitely attracted to her from those honest eyes to her candor to her principles. Not to mention the mouth he kept fantasizing about. But he couldn’t act on that. Wouldn’t take the chance on insulting her just in case what he felt was some crazy stress-coping mechanism. Once they found Lara, and he had to believe they would, that would be the time to ask out Aubrey. Except they didn’t live in the same city.
“Are you saying that if you were in my shoes you’d sit back and let someone else handle it?” He pulled into the line for the valet in front of the hotel.
She took a deep breath. “No. I’m sure I wouldn’t. And I suppose it isn’t fair, me being a cop. If I had a sister and she went missing, my peers might be more willing to actively search.”
Might? Another red flag popped up in his mind. Who wouldn’t help Aubrey if she needed it?
“I understand desperate,” she continued. “Based on my experience and commitment to the job, I like to think I’d let the police handle the search properly.”
“But?”
“But what do I know?” Her blue eyes were full of compassion. “I’m an only child from a stable home. I haven’t taken a single step in your shoes.”
No one but Lara had aimed a look like that at him since his dad and grandpa died. Leo watched her climb out of the car when the valet opened her door.
Aubrey might not have dealt with a missing sibling, but she’d logged plenty of miles walking alongside those less fortunate in her neighborhood. She knew her beat and showed respect to all of the people in her pocket of the city, residents and tourists alike.
“You’re good at your job,” he said, joining her on the sidewalk. And he’d forcibly pushed her out of her comfort zone dragging her over to the Escape Club. “Please let me take you to dinner tonight. It’s the least I can do after...” He wasn’t quite sure how to put it.
“After making me do something completely against my principles?”
Right. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “When you put it like that, I feel even worse.” There had to be some way he could make it up to her.
“Good.” Her lips twitched and her teeth caught on her full lower lip. “It’s not as fun as I thought it would be, making you feel bad about going to see Sullivan.”
He laughed. Couldn’t help himself, she was sincerely contrite. “You are a special brand of cop, Officer Rawlins.”
“Thanks for noticing.” She stepped back and adjusted her scarf against the wind. “Stay in and stay warm tonight. That’s an order.”
“Hang on. I still don’t have a confirmation on dinner.”
“No, thank you.” The smile of a moment ago faded along with the humor in her eyes. “I really can’t,” she added. “You’re part of an active case. It’s frowned on.”
“Somewhere across town, then,” he suggested. “Away from your precinct. If you’re worried about being seen with me.” They’d been in the same bar last night and left together; someone might have drawn the wrong conclusions. “Did someone see us together last night and give you grief about it?”
“No,” she replied quickly.
He wasn’t sure whether or not to believe her. “Please, let me make up for being a problem child.”
“Best way to do that is to not be a problem child.”
“I may be too old to break the habit,” he admitted. “Aubrey, come on. It’s one meal.”
She was about to crack; he could see it. He closed the distance so his voice wouldn’t carry. “You choose the place and let me know where and when.”
“I’ll think about it.” Her gaze coasted over his face as warm as a touch. “If we split the check.”
“That’s not how an apology dinner works.” He followed as she started to walk away, pausing at the corner of the hotel. “I’ll be waiting for your call, Officer Rawlins,” he said, using her title since they weren’t alone out here on the street. With her face tilted up to his, all he could think of was stealing a kiss. No, he wouldn’t cross another line today. She was in uniform. He was part of an active case. He stepped back.
“Of course you will.”
She left him standing there on the corner wondering if that was a “yes.” He sure hoped so because case or not, he wanted to see Aubrey again. Soon.
Chapter 5
Aubrey stewed as she walked back to the precinct. She took a circuitous route, just keeping an eye out for Mary-Tea, Lara, or any trouble. Not even the idea of picking up a fruit smoothie calmed her racing thoughts. Leo had asked her out. Part of her danced around doing fist pumps, and another part of her bemoaned what could only end with more questions from IA.
Maybe he called it an apology dinner, but the vibe hadn’t matched up with something that innocuous. His gaze had been loaded. Intense and hot in a way that burned right through the cold winter weather and made her think of warm beaches and sunshine.
The idea of Leo Butler lounging on a beach was an image she didn’
t need in her head. Was he as hard and muscled under those layers as she thought? Bad enough she couldn’t stop thinking of kissing him here in Philly during the icy grip of winter. With sun-baked sand under her toes and the soft lap of the ocean against the shore, she’d be helpless against the lust pulsing through her.
She couldn’t go on a date with the man who’d reported his sister missing. Well, she shouldn’t. Even if they called it an apology, it would probably look like a date to any casual observer. Calvin’s voice sounded in her head like a gong, warning her off such a dumb move. Being recognized at the Escape Club by Councilman Keller was enough potential trouble for one week. One month, really, based on her scorecard.
Then again, Leo was temporary. He wouldn’t be in town long enough for anyone to get the wrong idea. Why was she so inclined to throw aside her principles to help him? She must be overthinking it. He hadn’t asked her to do anything outright illegal. Meeting with Sullivan, chatting with Jason in the middle of a construction zone, didn’t come close to the line of questionable behavior.
For most PPD officers.
For her, everything seemed questionable. IA had proven itself a serious thorn in her side, always eager to make her bleed a little more. Although none of her friends on the force held her ex’s crimes against her, she knew they saw her as the token softie. She was the one the managers of soup kitchens called whether they were dealing with a grief-stricken brother or a fistfight.
Since catching Neil dealing drugs, she’d learned there was a cycle to her moods and thought processes about her life and career. But now she was revisiting the point where she didn’t give a damn what IA or anyone else thought. She had a right to live her life—legally—on her own terms, pursuing her own interests, including one particularly interesting man.
Why shouldn’t she enjoy dinner out with Leo? Doing everything by the book hadn’t earned her any less scrutiny. It wasn’t as if they were planning to rob a bank. She’d done the background work on Leo Butler. He had a stable job and no priors in Cincinnati or anywhere else. No one with any common sense or compassion could blame him for losing his cool while searching for his sister.