Santa' Wayward Elf

by Paige Tyler

  “How the hell did Saldino manage to set us up?” Tony demanded.

  “He must have known we were listening in and fed us some bogus shit over the wiretap,” Nick said.

  Matt frowned. “I don’t know. I mean, he couldn’t have faked all that intel we got off the street.”

  “I agree,” Tony said. “Saldino was planning to pop the drug dealer tonight, I’m sure of it. Somehow he found out we were planning to bust him.”

  “What are you saying?” Aaron demanded. “That someone on the inside ratted us out?”

  “I don’t want to think one of our own might be dirty any more than anyone else, but I don’t have another explanation, do you?”

  The other detectives didn’t answer.

  Derek refused to go there. “The only people who knew we were moving on Saldino tonight were you guys, the captain and a couple of high-ranking personnel in the DA’s office—and I’m not going to label any of them a rat. There has to be some other explanation.”

  They were still trying to figure out what that other explanation might be when the captain walked out of the warehouse. He looked older than his years and tired as hell.

  “I need to talk to Derek,” he said. “The rest of you can go on home.”

  The other men looked reluctant to go, but after giving Derek a nod, they turned and walked down the street to their respective cars.

  The captain fixed him with a hard look. “I want you and your badge in my office first thing in the morning. And bring your department-issued sidearm.”

  Derek didn’t have to ask why. Most cops used their own privately owned weapons rather than the sidearms issued to them. The only time a cop ever brought it out of the lockbox he kept it in was when he was going to retire or be suspended. Derek had expected the captain to chew him out, maybe transfer him to another division. He hadn’t expected to get suspended. But someone had to take the fall for the fiasco that had happened tonight and as the lead detective on the investigation, it was going to be him.

  Aaron and Tony were waiting for Derek by his car. Both men wore grim expressions.

  “What did the captain say?” Tony asked.

  Derek clenched his jaw. “He wants me in his office tomorrow with my badge and my gun.”

  “Shit,” Tony muttered.

  Aaron cleared his throat. “Derek, there’s something I need to say to you and I don’t want you to get pissed off.”

  Derek swore silently. He wasn’t in the mood to be lectured by Aaron. Not after the day he’d had.

  “You said the only people who knew we were making a move on Saldino were us, the captain and the DA’s office, but that’s not true,” Aaron continued. “There was someone else who knew exactly what we were going to do.”

  “Who?”

  “Your new girlfriend, Sosie.”

  Derek stared at him incredulously. “You’re joking, right?”

  Aaron didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. The expression on his face said everything Derek needed to know.

  Derek shook his head. “Fuck you.”

  Aaron took a step forward. “Dammit, Derek, listen to me for a minute.”

  “The hell I will. Sosie doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

  “You sure about that?” Tony asked. “Aaron might be on to something.”

  Derek clenched his jaw. He should get in his car and leave them both standing there. But he didn’t.

  “What do you know about this girl, Derek?” Aaron asked. “Other than the fact that she comes from somewhere up north and makes great pasta? You don’t even know if Sosie is her real name.”

  He knew she was beautiful and sweet and that she could make him laugh. He also knew she was better with a toolbox than he could ever be. On top of all that, she was some kind of amazing in bed. He wasn’t about to tell Aaron any of those things, though.

  “I know that she came to New York with some friends and they abandoned her at the club where I work.”

  “She came to New York with friends and they abandoned her.” Aaron snorted. “Right. Let me guess, she came up to you and said she needed your help?”

  “No. I saw some lowlifes drag her into the men’s bathroom, so I followed and told them to get the hell away from her before I arrested their punk asses. I didn’t know she came to the club with anyone until I found her standing outside the place two hours later still waiting for her friends to come get her.”

  Aaron exchanged looks with Tony. “And you don’t think the whole thing could have been staged for your benefit? You do have a habit of helping strays and damsels in distress, you know.” The older man swore under his breath. “Look, I’m not saying I’m right about her. I’m just saying it’s suspicious. This girl comes into your life out of nowhere and suddenly Saldino serves himself up on a silver platter right when Sosie happens to be in the wiretap van.”

  “Then when we move on him, we make complete asses of ourselves,” Tony added.

  Derek looked from one man to the other, his jaw tight. He wanted to clock both of them right there. But they weren’t worth the trouble. “You know what? Fuck both of you.”

  He jerked open the door of his car and got in, speeding off without a backward glance. He couldn’t believe Aaron and Tony would accuse Sosie of setting him up. The girl didn’t have a deceitful bone in her body. The idea that she worked for Saldino was ridiculous.

  Or was it?

  His grip tightened on the steering wheel. As much as he hated to admit it, Aaron had been right. He didn’t know anything about Sosie other than her name and where she came from. Which now that he thought about it, sounded fishy. He’d known something about her hadn’t added up right from the beginning, but he’d ignored his gut instinct. That wasn’t a good thing for a cop.

  The way he and Sosie had met was too convenient. She’d supposedly been with some friends at the dance club, but he hadn’t seen her with anyone. What kind of friends left and never came back? She’d made no attempt to get hold of them, either. That didn’t sound right. She’d had no money, no cell phone, not even a wallet or any form of ID he knew of. If she was here from out of the country, where the hell was her passport? Shouldn’t she at least be worried about losing it?

  The thing that really should have had his cop meter pegging was the fact that she didn’t nag him about what he did for a living. In fact, she didn’t act as if she was interested in his job at all, which was unusual. The women he’d gone out with had all thought his job was cool and sexy, but when it came to putting up with the crappy parts of the profession, they usually didn’t want any part of him. Sosie had taken it in stride when he’d to leave at o-dark-thirty in the morning or work late on a stakeout. That more than anything convinced him there was something going on with her.

  The thought that Saldino had put Sosie on him to set him up made his blood boil. The dirtbag was exactly the kind of chess-playing crime lord who’d come up with some scheme this complex. Not only would it get the NYPD off his back, but it’d also make the task force look completely incompetent. What better way to make sure he took the bait than slip a woman in his bed? Not any woman, either, but one so perfect there was no way Derek could resist her.

  It was difficult to believe Sosie could really be some kind of femme fatale vixen considering how sweet and naïve she seemed, but he was going to damn sure find out. He clenched his jaw as he pulled into his apartment’s parking garage. By the time he got done, he was going to know everything there was to know about her. And if she tried to keep any more secrets from him, he was going to toss her out on that pretty rear end of hers.

  Chapter Ten

  Sosie paced back and forth in front of the coffee table. Her nerves were completely frazzled. She’d almost gone to the precinct a dozen times since talking to Tracee and Linda that afternoon. The only thing that’d stopped her was the knowledge Derek wasn’t there but out on the raid, which meant she’d have to wait in that big, stone fortress of a building where he worked all alone. So, she’d stayed at his
apartment, hoping he’d call, but he hadn’t. That only worried her more.

  She was giving him ten more minutes, then she was going down to the precinct.

  Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait that long because a few minutes later Derek’s key rattled in the lock. Her heart leaped in her chest. Dear Santa, thank goodness he was home.

  The moment he stepped inside, she ran to the door and threw herself into his arms. “I was so worried about you,” she said, her words muffled against his chest and coming out in a rush. “Tracee and Linda told me how dangerous what you did tonight was, and what a SWAT team is, and about the automatic weapons they use, and how violent that man Saldino is, and…and… I was so afraid for you.”

  Sosie was so happy he was home and safe she didn’t realize Derek hadn’t put his arms around her in return. Fear surged through her anew.

  She stepped back to look up at him. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

  When he didn’t answer, she reached up, intending to cup his face in her hand, but he pulled away.

  “Oh dear, you are hurt, aren’t you? Let me see.”

  He took another step back, a scowl on his face. “I’m not hurt.”

  She frowned. “Then what is it?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “No.” Her frown deepened. “Derek, what happened? Why are you so—”

  “So pissed? Because everything went all to hell tonight.”

  “What happened?”

  “We were set up, that’s what happened.” The muscle in his jaw flexed. “We busted into Saldino’s warehouse expecting to find him in the middle of an execution. Instead, he was hosting a birthday party for a bunch of kids, complete with balloons, cake and video cameras that captured the whole thing. It was a complete fiasco.”

  She lifted her hands to her mouth. “Oh no! None of the children got hurt, did they?”

  He didn’t answer right away, but only regarded her with an odd expression. Finally, he shook his head. “No.”

  That was a relief at least. “What about Saldino? Will you still be able to put him in jail?”

  Derek muttered something under his breath. “Dammit, Sosie. Cut the crap, okay?”

  Sosie jumped at the harsh tone in Derek’s normally soft voice. She knew he took his job seriously, but that didn’t mean he had to take his disappointing day out on her. She wanted to think it wasn’t like him to do such a thing, but she realized she didn’t know him long enough to say.

  “What crap are you talking about?” she asked in a small voice.

  He shook his head. “You don’t know when to quit, do you? Look, give it up. I know all about you.”

  Her heart seized in her chest. Oh, no. Somehow, he’d found out she was an elf and he was furious she’d lied to him.

  “Derek, I…” She swallowed hard. “I can explain.”

  “Is that so?” He folded his arms over his broad chest to glare down at her. “Go ahead. I can’t wait to hear what lie you come up with next. Let me guess, Saldino forced you to do it and you had no choice, right? He threatened you or your family or some crap like that, right? Or were you one of his girls and he told you he’d get you out of the life, maybe put you up in a nice cushy apartment if you helped set me up?”

  She stared at Derek in confusion. One of his girls? What did that mean? And what did any of this have to do with Derek finding out she was an elf? “What are you talking about?”

  “Dammit, stop it!” Derek ran his hand through his hair, his nostrils flaring. “I’m not buying your fucking innocent act anymore, Sosie. I know you’re working for Saldino.”

  “Saldino? I don’t work for Saldino.” That didn’t make any sense. Had Derek lost his mind? “Why would you think that?”

  “Because nothing you’ve told me adds up, and if I hadn’t been thinking with my dick, I would have seen through your lies from the beginning.”

  Sosie’s face flamed. She might not have lied to him about something as terrible as working with Saldino, but she’d lied to Derek all the same. Now, he thought everything they’d shared the past few days had been a complete fabrication. And it was all her fault. By not being honest with him earlier, she’d let him draw his own conclusions—and he’d drawn the very worst ones. Tears stung her eyes and she took a beseeching step toward him. She wanted to touch him, do something as simple as put her hand on his arm, but the hard look in his eyes stopped her.

  “Okay, I did lie to you,” she admitted. “But not about everything.”

  “Name one thing you’ve been honest about.”

  “I really do come from a place up north called Snow City.”

  “Sure you do.” Derek snorted. “God, you must think I’m stupid if you expect me to buy that.”

  “Of course I don’t think you’re stupid. Derek, please—”

  “Okay, let’s say I believe you and this place you come from does exist even though I’ve never heard of it. Let me see your passport.”

  “M-my passport?”

  “Yeah. You wouldn’t have been able to get through immigration without one. Unless you’re here illegally, of course.”

  “I…” She desperately wanted to tell him she was an elf, but she couldn’t get the words out. They hung there, stuck in her throat.

  “You want to know what tipped me off that something was completely off about you?” Derek continued. “When I realized you were too good to be true. Coming into my life and acting so perfect, as if you’d been made just for me. The reason you’re so perfect for me is because Saldino trained you to be that way, isn’t it? He knew once you had me all wrapped around your finger, it wouldn’t be hard to get me to fall for his trap. Well, it worked. I fell for all of it—including you. And now I’m not only humiliated, but I’m probably going to get fired, too.” He let out a harsh laugh. “I guess I should count myself lucky I figured out what you were all about before I did something really stupid like marry you.”

  Hearing Derek talk about marrying her as if it would have been the worst mistake of his life hurt her more than anything else he’d said since he’d started in on her with his verbal assault. Not only because the words were cruel, but because she’d spent the last two days hoping he’d do exactly that. Now everything was ruined. Unless she could find some way to make him believe her.

  “Derek, please listen—”

  “To more of your lies?” His lip curled mockingly. “I’ve heard enough of those to last me a lifetime.”

  Sosie reeled back as if he’d slapped her. The tears that had been threatening before flowed freely now, spilling down her cheeks unchecked. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, that she didn’t work for Saldino, but was an elf from the North Pole who’d gotten stranded in New York City. That she’d intended to leave once a rescue party showed up and had ended up falling in love with him instead. But she couldn’t stand there and listen to Derek yell at her anymore. Especially since she knew he’d never believe her now. Brushing past him, she jerked open the door and ran blindly down the hallway.

  As much as she wanted to get away from Derek, part of her still hoped he’d come after her, but he didn’t. That, more than anything, told her how little he cared for her now.

  Sosie didn’t know where she was going, but somehow she ended up at Tracee and Linda’s apartment. She choked back a sob and pounded on the door with her hand, praying they were home.

  Tracee opened the door, her eyes going wide when she saw Sosie. “Oh God, what’s wrong? Did something happen to Derek?”

  Sosie shook her head. “No, he’s f-fine. Can I c-come in?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  As soon as Sosie was inside, the redhead put her arm around her and led her over to the couch, gently pushing her down beside Linda.

  Tracee kneeled down on the floor in front of Sosie and took her hand. “Honey, what happened?”

  Sosie sniffed, willing the tears to stop long enough for her to explain, but relating the story to the two women only made her cry harder.

&nbs
p; “He didn’t believe you even after you told him who you are?” Tracee asked incredulously.

  Sosie wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I couldn’t tell him.”

  Linda frowned. “Why not?”

  “Because he wouldn’t have believed me. Not after all the lies I told him.”

  “Maybe not right now,” Linda agreed. “But when this whole thing blows over, he’ll figure out you weren’t involved.”

  “Unfortunately, that might not be for a very long time, and by then, it could be too late,” Tracee said.

  “What do you mean?” Sosie asked.

  “Honey, this thing with Saldino is bad,” the redhead explained. “It’s already all over the news. Saldino has made the entire police department look like a pack of incompetent idiots. Not only that, but the NYPD has already leaked Derek’s name to the press, saying he was the lead detective on the investigation and making him the scapegoat. He’ll be lucky if the only thing he loses is his job. He may have to face Saldino’s lawyers completely on his own. The city is going to do everything they can to make it look like Derek is the one to blame.”

  Fresh tears welled in Sosie’s eyes. “Oh, no. This is horrible. And it’s all my fault.”

  “No, it isn’t,” Tracee said.

  “Yes, it is. If I’d been honest with Derek from the beginning, none of this would have happened.” She sniffed. “I have to fix it. I have to make it right.”

  Ignoring the confused looks the two women gave her, Sosie got to her feet and hurried to the door, tears running down her face.

  “Where are you going?” Tracee asked.

  Sosie glanced over her shoulder as she yanked open the door. “I’m going to prove that Derek didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Sosie didn’t tell them any more than that. Tracee and Linda would only try to stop her if they what she intended to do. Instead, she dashed out of the apartment and ran down the hallway.

  Her plan was crazy and dangerous, and there was no guarantee Derek would forgive her regardless if she managed to prove he was a good cop and that Saldino was a bad man, but she had to try. She owed Derek that much.