“Nightstand drawer.” She locked her hands around his wrists when he started to set her away. “You aren’t the only one who planned ahead.”
He stood there, his hands deep in her hair, looking down at her in a way that made her heart skip a beat. “I love you, Tatum.”
“Because I bought condoms?” she teased.
“No.” Another kiss, one that all but melted her bones. “Because you’re you.”
“I also opened the box,” she prodded. “I didn’t want to waste time...” She’d barely uttered the words before he had the drawer open, the foil packet ripped and the condom in hand. She couldn’t tear her eyes away as he covered himself, yet another form of protection that had love swelling inside of her.
She sat on the edge of the mattress, moved back as he moved over her. Tatum lay back, reached up her arms to encircle his neck as he stretched out above her. She opened for him, her legs falling apart and he settled as if he’d been made for her. “Now,” she whispered and arched her back. She could feel him, hard, covered and ready, against the part of her that was waiting and wanting. “Cruz, please.”
She slipped her foot up the back of his leg, wrapped herself around him as he pressed into her, full, throbbing and thick. She moaned, absorbing both him and the sensations rippling through her as he joined their bodies. Her hips moved in time with his thrusts, slow at first, giving her time to adjust to him, adjust to them.
“Look at me, Tatum.” His rough order had her blinking through the stars in her eyes, and when she gazed into his eyes she knew that this was where she belonged. In this moment. With this man. “Tatum?”
She lifted her hand, touched his cheek. He was hers. All hers. “Take us over.” Her other leg came up, her thighs locked around him, pulling him in deeper as his breath moved out in a rush. “Take us over together.”
She wanted to keep them here, in this moment, but she could feel the pressure and passion building, her body igniting under his touch and invasion. She met him, move for move, thrust for thrust, and when he fused his mouth to hers and erupted inside of her, she crested that final edge and soared with him.
The orgasm tore through her, locking her around him as she hovered in that perfect moment of ecstasy. Her cries caught in his mouth as he held her and she rode it out. When she came down from the high, when he lay in her arms pressing light butterfly kisses along her jaw, she smiled. He was hers. This man was, and always would be hers.
“Cruz.” She murmured his name, drew her fingers through his hair. “I love you, too.”
“Yeah?” He shifted, keeping them linked as he drew the sheets over them.
“Yeah.” She snuggled into him, feeling herself begin to drift. “Most definitely yeah.”
* * *
Extricating himself from Tatum’s arms, Cruz reached over and lifted his vibrating and buzzing cell off her nightstand, careful not to wake her. The message from his LT acknowledging that he had enough to keep him moving forward with the case should have eased his mind.
Instead, he turned his phone over and lay there, in the dark silence, unable to sleep.
Tatum let out a sigh and shifted, her still damp hair spilling over her shoulders and across his chest. He dropped a hand down, took a moment to appreciate the feel of it sliding through his fingers.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Moonlight streamed through the skylight above, casting its gentle shadows at the sliding doors into the garden beyond her house that, growing up, was a dwelling he could barely have imagined.
He’d found paradise, a sanctuary he hadn’t known existed within the confines of the city he called home. He’d liked her condo, the practical, convenient space, but this place removed from their real lives felt almost like a mirage in the middle of a crazy, whirlwind desert. He’d known, well, he’d hoped they’d end up right where they were, wrapped up with and in each other to the point of distraction.
But falling in love?
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
He trailed his fingers up and down her arm and a surge of masculine pride shot through him when she moaned in her sleep and snuggled closer. He turned his head, closed his eyes and inhaled the floral fragrance of the shampoo she’d used only moments before he’d seen her standing at that window, glistening, beautiful and perfect. It was in that moment, before he’d touched her, before he’d made love to her, that he realized it fully.
He was in love with Tatum Colton.
Not only in love, but in serious like. She made him laugh. At life, at himself. She made him think. She drove him nuts. And she made him worry. He’d never been as afraid as he’d been last night when he’d gotten that call. He understood now why some people believed love made you weak. How could he function, how could he do his job knowing one wrong decision, one wrong step, could take him away from her? And he was bound to, wasn’t he? Something was bound to come between them, no matter how hard he worked to stop it.
Was it selfish to want this to last? To want to stay here, in this place, hidden from everything out there, where the two of them could live off her cooking and each other? Of course it was. But he could still dream it.
This moment couldn’t last. Not with what he had to do. But he’d draw it out as long as he could. He’d do whatever it took to keep her safe, sacrifice whatever he needed to. He had hours, maybe days before he confirmed who was behind True’s involvement with the drug cartel that had its hooks in the city. Until that time, until he had to do what needed doing, he’d take what he had now and embrace it. Enjoy it.
He’d love her.
And hope, when all this was over, that she’d forgive him.
CHAPTER 13
Tatum couldn’t remember the last time she slept so late. Or so well. When she opened her eyes and looked at the bedside clock, she had to take an extra beat to compute what she was seeing. And...she sniffed the air. Ahhh, coffee and...
She rolled over, stretched and let out a very satisfied sigh before she sat up. The bedroom doorway suddenly filled with a very sexy, very shirtless, and barefoot detective. No one man should ever look that good in a pair of unbuttoned jeans. Even as her cheeks warmed and she tugged the sheet up to cover herself, she smiled. “Good morning. What’s this?” She scooted back against the brass headboard as he approached with a tray. When she looked down, tears misted her eyes. “You made me waffles.” She inclined her head. “In the shape of a heart.”
“I did.” He sat on the other side of the tray, scooted it closer so she could get a look at the berry-laden syrup spilling over the crisp, golden cakes. “I heard somewhere they’re your comfort food. Which explains your fetish for waffle irons.”
She picked up a knife and fork, cut, and took a bite, her starved palate singing in response. “Oh, wow.” She took another bite, swallowed and sighed. “These are amazing. What’s this?” She scraped her fork over the white melted into the grooves. She tasted, frowned.
“The Medina special ingredient.” He leaned forward and kissed a drop of syrup off the corner of her mouth. “Marshmallow fluff.”
Tatum gaped. “I, um. Okay.” The laughter bubbled up from her toes. “I guess I’ve neglected to test that particular ingredient’s superpower. Consider me a convert.” The light, sweet, ultra-crispy texture definitely deserved closer inspection. “I need to eat quick and get going. I’m already late.”
“If you mean for the fish and farmers market, it’s already taken care of.” He nudged her coffee forward. “Ty and Sam have already headed over. You’re taking the day off.”
“I most certainly am not.” That she could declare that even as her body throbbed like one large bruise was a minor miracle. “Do you know what this week is?”
“I know about Friday and I know how important it is.” He sat back as if he’d mentally rehearsed this conversation. “I also know you were nearly killed the night before last and
are lucky to be alive. I think you can take one day off to recover.”
She shook her head, unable to stop shoveling waffles into her face. “Can’t. I don’t even know what I’m going to serve Friday night yet. I need time—”
“You need time to focus and create and make this the best dinner service True has ever offered. This seems the perfect place to do so.”
“I need my people around me. I need to tell them what’s going on.”
“You can do that on a video call later this afternoon, once everyone’s in. This isn’t a discussion, Tatum. You aren’t leaving here today. Tomorrow is another story, but for today, I need you safe and protected. And by protected, I’ve got two officers outside keeping an eye on things while I go to work.”
“You really think someone’s going to try to get at me again? Cruz, if I don’t turn up—”
“They’ll think they succeeded in putting you out of commission, which is precisely what they hoped to do. Just be grateful it wasn’t permanent. You’ve got the best people working for you, Tatum. If you can’t trust them for one day...”
That he trailed off and seemed to be waiting for her to finish the thought had her grumbling around her breakfast. Previous conversations pushed back on her, and as she swallowed, her mind cleared. “You’ve put your faith in Ty. That must mean you don’t think he’s a suspect anymore.”
“No, I don’t.” He quickly filled her in on Ty’s situation with his daughter and grandchildren.
“I knew he had a daughter, but he never talks about her. Or them.” Tatum sat back, coffee clasped in her palms. “I supposed I should have.” Maybe if she’d been paying attention to other people’s lives as much as she did her own, she would know a lot of things. “Are they okay?”
“Yeah, they’re fine. And Ty’s going to be our go-to until the case works itself out. I told him everything I could. And he won’t say anything until we’re on the other side of this. And we will be soon, Tatum.” He lifted a hand to her face and she leaned in to his touch. “I promise.”
“You’re making progress, then.” She turned and pressed her lips into his palm. “Tell me. Please.”
“The license plate you caught belongs to the same car I saw that night at the restaurant. We’ve traced it to a company here in town. A company we suspect is a shell company for the drug cartel. We have an all-points out for it, but I’m betting it’s been ditched.”
“Ditched?”
“I’d be surprised if we don’t find a burned-out shell in the next couple of days. They want you out of the way for some reason. We won’t get lucky a third time.”
“All right.” As much as she hated to surrender, the idea of spending the day alone in her kitchen, with her cookbooks, sounded more appealing by the minute. “Will you still be working at the restaurant?”
“I will. I’m going in around one. Ty’s going to have you call in on video chat around three. He’ll have told them you’re taking an inspiration day. His suggestion. He said they’d understand that once you let them know about Constance Swan’s reservation.”
“You two just thought of everything, didn’t you? Oh! We have a catering job tomorrow.” She snapped her fingers. “Sam and Quallis—”
“Sam’s on top of it.”
“He’ll need to get the final details from Richard—”
“Yep. He knows. They all know. You’ve trained them well, Tatum. Now let them do their jobs.”
Tatum flinched, his words hitting too close to a target she’d closed off months before. “I’m a control freak, I know.” She pulled her knees in as Cruz moved the tray, wrapped her arms tight and locked herself in. “Since you’ve been going through the files, you probably know about Daria.” Even now, all these months later, the thought of her friend could still make her heart weep. “She quit because I didn’t let up. It was a hard lesson to learn, losing her that way.”
“Then don’t learn it again.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “I need to go into the station, catch up on a few things before I head to True.”
“Okay.” She grabbed hold of him and hung on, deepening the kiss. “Did you already shower?”
“I did.” His mouth lingered, lightly trailed down the side of her throat. “But I can always scrub your back?”
“Now that—” she kissed him again “—sounds like the perfect start to the morning.”
* * *
It had taken him a while to form his plan of attack when it came to convincing Tatum to stay home for the day, but the time had been worth it. She was safely ensconced in her house, a pair of patrol officers securely in place and on watch, and a grocery delivery system on call should his shopping run last night not have provided her the appropriate supplies. He had a good four hours before he needed to get over to True and back up Ty during their video conference call between Tatum and the rest of the staff.
He’d barely taken a seat at his desk when his LT appeared. “Progress report?” She stirred a steaming cup of what could loosely be called coffee and blinked as if trying to stay awake.
“Ah, right. Here?”
“In my office.” Luce headed down the hall before Cruz could reply. He found his commanding officer slouched in her chair looking completely exhausted. “Took Sheryl to the hospital last night.” She smothered a yawn. “Braxton-Hicks contractions.”
“False labor?”
“Four hours’ worth. When your time comes, save up your vacation time because you’re going to need it.”
“Do you know something I don’t?”
Luce looked at him, gaze narrowed. “It looks like maybe I do. You and Tatum Colton seem to have set off some sparks from what I’ve heard. That going to be a problem?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Cut the ma’am crap, Cruz, and sit down. Don’t be snippy. If your relationship with Colton is going to complicate the case—”
“It won’t,” he repeated. “Did the warrant for Richard Kirkman’s financials come in?”
“Pending. Should be late tomorrow, Thursday morning at the latest.”
Cruz cursed. He needed that information now. “Why the delay?”
“The bank is playing hardball. Sicced their lawyers on the assistant DA assigned to the case. The woman’s already juggling four big cases, so her attention’s a bit divided. We’ll get it, don’t worry.”
“There’s a catering job being run tomorrow. I’m hoping that’ll give us the last of the evidence we’re looking for.”
“Pretty sneaky, using the catering service.”
“But it makes sense. Talking to Ty and Tatum, I found it was Kirkman who brought up the idea after Tatum had True cater her father’s funeral reception. The timing lines up. Distribution in the neighborhoods around True increased in the weeks following. They only have one continuous customer, so I’m going to check that out on my way in today. I was able to access the delivery schedule. They have a big one coming in right before this job. That has to be it.”
“Move carefully,” Luce advised. “I know you’re anxious to get this case behind you, but we need it closed clean with as many big fish in the net as we can catch.”
“That’s the plan.” He already had Ty working on a way to conceal his presence in the loading bay so he could observe the delivery. “Kirkman’s the inside guy. He’s been the point person from the jump. Whether he had Daria Naughton killed or not, he was certainly there to help pick up the pieces. Not that any of that will matter if we don’t get into his financials.”
“Agreed.” His LT nodded. “And what about Tatum Colton? How much have you told her?”
“About Kirkman? Nothing. She still thinks I’m looking.” He hated, no, he loathed lying to her, but he didn’t have a choice. “Whatever buttons we’ve pushed, they see Tatum as the threat, not me.” That was the only thing that still nudged at him. “I’ll know more tomorrow. Then once we
have what we need to use against Kirkman, we can bring him in, flip him on the cartel and finally shut them down.” And Johnny will be able to rest in peace.
“Draw up the arrest warrant so it’s ready to go the second you need it,” Lieutenant Graves said. “I’ll get you a backup team for when you need, and yes, before you ask, I put out the alert on his name. He tries to make a break for it, we’ll be ready. Surveillance on his residence will be in place by tonight. He makes some weird move at True, you phone it in, understood?”
“Yeah.” He let out a long breath. “The fallout from this, it’s going to be bad.” He hadn’t meant to voice it. Didn’t want to. “Even if everything goes right.”
“You knew that going in,” Luce reminded him. “It’s your call how much you think Ms. Colton needs to know. You sure you don’t want to fill her in?”
“I’m sure. She’s a terrible liar.” He managed a quick smile as if he’d made a joke. He’d do what he had to in order to protect her. As for protecting her business? He couldn’t let himself dwell on that. “I need to catch up on some stuff before I head in to the restaurant. Hope Sheryl has that baby pretty soon, LT. You look beat.”
“Spoken like a true man,” Luce said with a strained smile. “Just for that I’m putting you on the babysitting list. Go on. Get going.” She waved him out. “And Cruz?”
“Yeah?” He glanced over his shoulder.
“Be careful.”
He supposed she meant with the case, with his safety. But as he returned to his desk and dug into the mounting evidence against Richard Kirkman, he had to wonder if maybe she was referring to his heart.
* * *
Kirkman’s use of True’s catering service as a decoy was the inspiration for Cruz’s surreptitious visit to Belma Trade, located, according to their website, on the sixth floor of a high-rise half a mile from True. The small business district housed multiple financial investment and law firms, as well as one well-known hole-in-the-wall pizzeria.
Cruz called in and paid for an order for three large and loaded pies, gave Belma Trade as the delivery address, then parked across the street from the building and waited.
Harlequin Romantic Suspense March 2021 Page 19