by Amy Reece
“Did you always want to be a cop?”
She smiled and shook her head. “Don’t laugh, but I always planned to be a doctor.”
“And you changed your mind because…?”
“Because the science classes they make you take were too hard. I hated them! All I ever did was study. I really liked my criminology elective, though. So, I took another one. And then another. Pretty soon I was a criminology major. After I graduated, it seemed logical to apply for the police academy.”
“Finn said you hold the record for making detective at the youngest age.”
“Yeah, but he almost beat me. He’s a great partner. I’ve only had one other, but Finn is better.”
“He says you’re a great partner too.”
“We work well together. He charms the ladies and I can pull off the sympathy for the guys. Makes them spill their guts every time.”
“I’ve seen you do that. Yeah, Finn oozes charm. It pisses me off sometimes. It’s always tended to get him what he wants.”
She laughed at his grumpiness. “Oh, you’re plenty charming yourself, mister. It’s subtler than Finn’s, but it’s definitely there.”
“Good to know.” He flashed her one his charming smiles, making her stomach flip.
“So, what about you? Tell me about your childhood. What was it like being the oldest of six? I can’t begin to imagine the chaos.”
“Oh, it wasn’t too bad. I did a lot of babysitting, though. I was twelve when Tony was born and horribly embarrassed that my mother and father were apparently still having sex.”
She laughed, nearly snorting her wine. “You and Izzy are the oldest, right?”
He nodded. “She’s your age. Finn and I were the closest growing up, though. Poor Izzy; she was pretty lonely until Cara got big enough to play with.”
“Was she married? I’ve never heard anything about Janey’s father.”
He shook his head. “Nope. Cara’s the only one who has been married. Well, until Finn, of course. Izzy won’t tell anyone who Janey’s father is. It’s a big mystery.”
“I had no idea Cara was married. They’re divorced?”
“Yeah. His name was Aidan and they were high school sweethearts. He basically went nuts after they got married. She never said much about it but we could all tell she wasn’t happy. You’ve never been married, have you?”
She shook her head. “I lived with a guy, Greg, for two years. I always thought we’d eventually get married, but…”
“But?”
She smiled crookedly and sipped her wine. “He didn’t want to. I finally gave him an ultimatum: either we get married or the relationship was over. I was tired of spinning my wheels.” She set her glass down and grimaced. “He moved out the next day.”
“I’m sorry. His loss.”
“What about you? Finn said you had a long-term girlfriend, but it didn’t work out.”
“Lauren. We were together five years. We were engaged, briefly, at the very end. Finn doesn’t know that.”
“I won’t say anything.” She could tell from his closed expression he didn’t want to talk about it any longer. It was obviously still a sore subject and she wondered if he was still carrying a torch for his ex. “Dinner was delicious. Thanks, Hugh.”
“I’ve got another bottle of wine. It’s still pretty early.”
“No. I have to drive home and they frown on cops getting pulled over for DWI. This has been wonderful, though. I needed it after the day I had. It’s been a long time since anyone asked me out.” She winced as she realized how that sounded. She thought of this as a date, but she didn’t want him to think she assumed it was. “I mean, I know this wasn’t a date or anything, but—”
Hugh reached to cover her hand with his own. “Chrissy. I had every intention of this being a date. Unless you don’t want it to be a date?”
Her heart pounded so hard she was sure he would hear it. “I’m okay with a date.”
He smiled and stood, pulling her with him. “If I wasn’t clear about that, I apologize. This is a date, and I fervently hope there will be others.” He pushed her long bangs behind her ear, letting his hand cup her cheek. “And unless you stop me, I’m going to kiss you.”
She swallowed hard and licked her suddenly dry lips. “Okay.”
“Okay yes? Or okay no?”
She didn’t answer. Instead she stepped closer and angled her head, reaching up slightly to lay her lips on his. The kiss was soft and his lips remained still for a moment. She pulled back slightly and smiled. “Okay yes.”
He grinned and pulled her against him. Then his lips were back on hers, and this time they weren’t still. His mouth was warm and his tongue soon sought entrance between her lips.
She gladly obliged, enthralled by the silky feel of his mouth and the heady taste of him, a blend of wine and the dark chocolate he’d served for dessert. She wrapped her arms around him and held tightly while he swept her into a maelstrom of feeling. God, this man could kiss! She felt it all the way down to her toes and all the good parts in between. She answered as best she could, letting her tongue tangle with his and nibbling his full lower lip.
He pulled away far too soon and rested his forehead against hers. “You are a fantastic kisser, Chrissy. Wow.”
She grinned at him. “I was thinking the exact same thing about you.”
“Well, it seems like we should probably explore our talents a bit more.” He kissed her again, softly. “Go out with me. Tomorrow?”
She nodded. “It’s a date.”
Chapter Five
Hugh
He was absorbed in finishing the bid for the Kensington job when his intercom buzzed. He pressed the button absently with barely a glance. “Yeah, Malva?”
“Hugh, there’s a Detective Hart here to see you.”
The Kensington job was instantly forgotten. “Send her in, please.” He knew it would be cooler to wait for her at his desk, looking busy and professional, but he was too excited to see her. He reached the door just as Malva opened it and motioned Chrissy inside.
“Good morning, Mr. DeLuca. I was hoping you might have a few minutes to see me. I have some information on the bodies you found yesterday.” Chrissy held out her hand to shake his.
He raised his eyebrows, amused at her formal tone. Apparently, she was trying to keep their relationship a secret. Well, he’d play along, although he was ready to go public now that he’d finally decided to pursue the relationship and she seemed amenable. He had nothing to hide anymore and would gladly inform Finn as soon as he got back from his honeymoon. “I think I could squeeze you in…Detective Hark, was it?”
“Hart.” She flashed an annoyed look at him.
He ushered her into his office, grinning behind her back. He closed the door and contemplated pulling her into his arms and kissing her senseless. Or at least until she remembered his first name. It was probably way too early in their relationship to do that, though. Screw it. I need to kiss her. He grabbed her hand and spun her back around and into his arms.
“Wha—?”
He forestalled anything else she might have said by crushing his mouth against hers. He’d wondered if perhaps the kiss the night before had been a fluke. Surely it hadn’t been as amazing as he remembered. She caught up with him and softened her mouth under his, opening to his questing tongue. Nope. It definitely hadn’t been a fluke.
“Hugh,” she breathed.
He grinned against her lips. “Ah, so you do remember my first name. Good.” He kissed her again, sinking into the bliss of her incredible mouth. He finally groaned and pulled away reluctantly. Much more of this and he’d do something really stupid, like pushing her down on the sofa and taking her in the middle of his office. With his luck, Izzy would choose that exact moment to burst in unannounced. Since it wasn’t the way he would choose to announce their relationship, he guided her to sit and took a chair next to her. “So,” he said as he cleared his throat, “you have some info on the bodies?”
&
nbsp; “Um, bodies?” She had a gratifyingly dazed look on her face. Bob dragged himself away from his new chew toy and approached her, his entire body quivering with excitement. She took his head between her palms and leaned down to kiss him on the nose, laughing when his long tongue snaked out and slurped her chin.
Hugh felt a pang in his chest, somewhere in the region of his heart. I could fall in love with her. He waited for the panic to follow this realization, but it never came. All he felt was contentment. He stood and crossed to the coffeemaker, pouring them each a cup before he returned to her side. “Here. Sorry about attacking you the second you walked in. I missed you.”
She glanced up from the dog with a wry smile. “I don’t mind.” She sipped her coffee. “I missed you too. I could have called, but I wanted to see you.”
Izzy chose that moment to enter, without knocking, of course. “Chris! Malva said Hugh was with a Detective Hart, so I figured I’d join you so I can hear what’s new with the investigation. Hugh told me all about it yesterday.” She glanced between the two and seemed to pick up on the underlying current. “I feel like I’ve interrupted something.”
Chrissy laughed awkwardly. “No, of course not.”
Hugh rolled his eyes slightly, but held his tongue for the moment. He wouldn’t say anything until he knew Chrissy was okay with his family knowing they were dating. “So, what have you discovered?”
She flashed him a grateful glance and sat up, once again the professional detective. “There are a total of six bodies, all male, all shot point blank in the forehead. Preliminary autopsy results place them in the age range of 25-40. The bodies have been in the ground for at least thirty years.”
“How horrible! Who are—I mean were—they?” Izzy asked.
“We haven’t been able to make an ID on any of the bodies yet. That’s going to be tough, given how long ago they were killed.”
“Why is that?” Izzy continued her interrogation.
Chrissy smiled at her and answered patiently. “CODIS, the DNA database, wasn’t begun until the late 90s. We’ll still run their DNA, but it will be a miracle if we find anything. Unfortunately, we found no papers or any kind of identification on them.”
“So, there’s no way to figure out who they were?” Izzy looked upset at the thought.
“We have a few other tricks up our sleeves, but it will probably take quite a while.”
“How long until we can get back to building houses on the site?” Hugh was sympathetic to the police investigation, but he had a business to run.
Chrissy smiled sympathetically. “It will be a few weeks. I’m sorry, Hugh.”
He saw Izzy glance up quickly, frowning. She flashed him a questioning glance, which he pretended not to notice. “It’s not your fault. I’ll assign the crew to other sites for the time being.”
Izzy was still frowning, as if she couldn’t quite understand what was going on. “Hey, Chris, you want to get together tonight? I can see if Cara’s free and if Mom can watch Janey. We could go shopping and grab dinner somewhere. We haven’t had a chance to do that since before the wedding.”
The shocked look on Chrissy’s face was amusing. “Oh. I can’t tonight. Sorry. I have a uh, a date.”
“Really? How exciting! What’s his name?”
Chrissy glanced quickly at Hugh, a plea for help clearly written across her features.
He sighed inwardly. Well, what the hell? Tony already knew, and he’d never be able to keep his mouth shut, so it might as well come out now. “Hugh. His name is Hugh.” He reached for Chrissy’s hand as he spoke.
The shock on Izzy’s face was priceless. “Oh. My. God!” She finished on a small squeal, rather unusual for her. “How long has this been going on?”
“Calm down, Iz, okay? It’s pretty recent, and we haven’t exactly gone public yet. We would like to tell people ourselves, especially Finn, so if you could—” Hugh could see his sister bubbling with excitement.
“Of course. I won’t say a thing! Does Cara know?”
“Only Tony knows, because the idiot showed up at my house unexpectedly last night.” He stood, ready to end the mini-inquisition, as much for Chrissy’s sake as his own. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to say goodbye to Chrissy. Alone.”
Izzy grinned and stood, launching herself at him for a hug. “I’m so happy for you, Hugh.” She whispered the words.
“I know.” She’d been there to help pick up the pieces when his last relationship fell apart, understanding he was devastated, even though she didn’t know all the details. No one did, except him and Lauren. He’d chosen not to tell his family what had really happened; it was simply too painful. He felt his gut cramp as he remembered and banished the thoughts. They had no place in his very new relationship with Chrissy.
Izzy excused herself hastily, shutting the office door behind her.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t know what to say.” Chrissy looked adorably unsure of herself.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It would have been fun to keep you all to myself for a bit longer, but Tony already knew, which means Seamus probably knows. I doubt Izzy will be able to keep it from Cara.” He chuckled as he pulled her into his arms. “My family is a nightmare. You might want to run while you still can.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
He leaned in to kiss her softly, enjoying that he didn’t have to bend his head far to do it. She fit against him so well and he loved the feel of her strong body pressing against his. “Not even close.” He felt something vibrating from the region of her rear end.
She reached into her back pocket and retrieved her cell phone. “Sorry.” She mouthed the words as she answered. “This is Hart.”
He loosened his hold on her as she listened, but didn’t release her completely. He liked the feel of her in his arms and wondered why he hadn’t had the good sense to make his move months ago.
“Will do. Thanks for the update.” She clicked off and stuffed the phone back in her pocket. “I gotta go. The autopsies are under way and we’ve got some bullet fragments.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
She smiled. “It may help us ID the bodies. Maybe.” She kissed him quickly and turned to go. “See you tonight?”
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
***
Chris
She worked through lunch so she would be able to take off early enough to get home and shower and shave her legs before tonight’s date. Not that she was expecting to have any reason for shaved legs, but still. She hadn’t been on a date in more than six months and she was planning to enjoy this one. It helped that she was already half in love with the guy. God, when he’d pulled her into his arms earlier in his office you could have knocked her over with a feather! She’d never expected him to be so spontaneous. He’d always been so reserved and guarded around her, but she apparently had a lot to learn about him. She could hardly wait.
“What are you grinning about, Hart?” Darren Gonzales, one of the other detectives, swiveled his chair around and stared.
“None of your goddamn business, Gonzales. Don’t you have anything better to do than annoy me?” She would have to be more careful to keep her emotions hidden. It was hard enough being a woman in this field without running the risk of exposing her love life to her colleagues. They would be ruthless with their teasing.
“Jeez. How come you’re so cranky? You missing your partner?”
“I’m not cranky. And yes, I miss Finn. I’m sick to death of doing all the paperwork around here while he’s basking in the sun all day.”
“If he’s sunbathing all day on his honeymoon, he’s dumber than I thought.” He snickered and turned back to his desk.
Chris rolled her eyes and returned to her report. Her stomach growled and she took a moment to fish through her desk drawers to see if she had anything to nibble. She found a slightly stale packet of cheese crackers and munched absently while she finished the preliminary report on the bodies
found on Hugh’s job site. Her captain expected an update by three and she was running behind. She shouldn’t have taken the time to visit Hugh that morning, but the thought of seeing him had been irresistible. Focus, girl! She had stopped by afterward to talk with the medical examiner and pick up the bullet fragments he’d found in the bodies so she could send them to the lab for ballistic fingerprinting. With any luck, they’d get something to go on from them. She was keeping her fingers crossed, but the length of time the bodies had been in the ground made it doubtful they’d find anything.
She finally wrapped everything up around five-thirty and rushed to Finn’s house to get ready for her date. She’d stopped by her apartment earlier to pick up clothes, since she hadn’t taken anything dressy to Finn and Mel’s. She’d grabbed several possibilities and stowed them in the backseat of her car. She flew through the shower, making sure to use her cherry blossom shower gel and matching lotion afterward. She might work in a male-dominated field, but she enjoyed feminine clothes and scents in her off hours. She’d cut her hair short a few years ago, thinking people might take her more seriously, but found she liked it for the most part. She wondered if Hugh liked it, and then chastised herself for caring what any guy thought. But she wondered, all the same. She stood in front of the closet in the guest room, clad only in the matching lace bra and panty set she’d been saving for a special occasion—not that she expected Hugh to see it tonight—and agonized over what to wear. She had no idea where he would take her, and thus no clue how she should dress. Albuquerque was casual in the extreme, so she’d probably be okay pretty much anywhere with a nice dress. Plus, she wanted to make sure her legs were showing. She’d been told they were one of her best features, so she wanted to choose something that would show them off. After pulling three different dresses out and discarding them, she finally settled on her go-to little black dress she knew looked good. She added her favorite pair of strappy heels, glad Hugh was so tall. She loved wearing high heels, but usually felt conspicuous and enormous. She wore the diamond studs her parents had given her when she made detective, but no other jewelry. She checked the clock on her nightstand and realized she had ten minutes to spare. She’d hoped to take every spare second, but nerves must have made her rush. Crap. I didn’t want extra time to sit and get nervous. She left her bedroom and went to wait impatiently on Mel’s sofa. Fluff hopped up beside her, but CJ stayed where she was, curled up on a recliner. What if he arrives wearing jeans and a t-shirt? Do I look like I’m trying too hard? Maybe I should change into something more casual. The knock on the door saved her from freaking out about it further.