Chapter 13
Warren walked out of Sergeant Moreno’s office feeling good about it. He’d worried that she would be upset or he really didn’t know what, but he’d been nervous about going in to talk to her. She’d been great and even seemed happy for him. He clocked out and headed home, knowing he would be back on patrol the next morning. He’d really wanted to finish this case, to find the person who had killed Tanalynn Snyder before he went back to patrol. But they were still waiting for content from several of the social media sites and that had them stalled. It was one of the few things he hated about investigations. Waiting for companies, or even some individuals, to turn over the information that had been requested. Usually there were other things to do while they waited, and there were now, but not enough to keep three of them busy, so Tolson had told him to go back to patrol and they’d let him know when things came in. Warren had wanted to protest but knew better. If he argued now they might decide he wasn’t right to be a detective and he didn’t want to lose that opportunity. No, it was better to keep his mouth shut and go along, do what he was told, without complaint, at least for now.
He checked his desk, making sure nothing was missing and everything he’d need the next day was in place, then called it a day. Tomorrow was soon enough to be back on the beat, he would barely make it out to his car before it was quitting time, and that was if he had a partner, which he didn’t. No, might as well call it a day and start fresh tomorrow.
“Hey, there you are, man,” Johnny said as he caught up with Warren on his way out of the squad house. “I haven’t seen you in more than a week, you ever coming back?”
“I’ll be back tomorrow.” Warren glanced at his partner and wished he could tell him his good news, or the possible news, but he knew, it was better to keep his mouth shut, just in case things didn’t work out. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course. The Sergeant has assigned me a different partner every day.” Johnny shook his head. “It’s been exhausting the same questions, getting to know each other all over again every single day. I need a break. Come on. Come to the Silver Spur with me. We need to celebrate your return.”
Warren bit back a sigh. The bar scene didn’t do things for him, especially on ladies night. Too many men looking to pick up impaired women. The whole place reeked of desperation and it left him feeling sad, almost depressed.
“I don’t know.”
“Come on. We can pick up a couple of ladies, have a good time.”
Warren remembered that Johnny had seen Tanalynn at the Silver Spur a couple of weeks ago, there was a chance that if the guy she’d been with that night had picked her up there, he might be there tonight.
“All right. I’ll go.” Warren wondered if Johnny would recognize the man if he saw him again, but he refrained from asking. He hoped Johnny would point the man, out but he didn’t want him making guesses and picking the wrong man out of the crowd. “Meet you there at what? Nine?”
“That’s about right.” Johnny slapped him on the back. “I’ll see you there.”
They went their separate ways, Warren not really looking forward to the evening but hoping they’d run across the guy who’d been with the murdered girl. It might give them a new lead. He was willing to take the chance.
Chapter 14
She was just walking into the house when her phone rang.
“Hello?” Hayley answered without checking who it was as she tried to unlock her front door.
“What are you doing tonight, sis?” Denni’s voice came across the line.
“I don’t know, I was thinking about ordering from Asian House and taking a long bath.” Hayley made it inside, locked the door behind her, set her duty belt on the table and headed for the bedroom.
“I guess I can’t talk you into going out with me and the Mannings then, can I?”
Hayley stopped in the hallway and closed her eyes. She fought the urge to snap at her sister about making plans sooner.
“Where do you want to go?”
“We were talking about maybe the Silver Spur.”
Hayley wanted to roll her eyes. Wednesday nights at the Silver Spur was ladies’ night. It meant cheap drinks, at least for the women, but it was a meat market. Women went to unwind and drink cheap, men went to pick them up and there were usually more men than women. But it was pretty much the only place in town that had music and dancing on a Wednesday. Since that was her Friday night, it was where she ended up when she wanted to have a little fun or celebrate something with her sister.
She let out a sigh. “When do you want to meet?”
“You’ll go?” Excitement was plain in Denni’s voice.
“I’ll go. If you’ll tell me when you plan to get there.” She was going to give Stacy another chance. It wasn’t that he’d bored her, he just hadn’t sparked her lust the way a certain smart-assed officer had. Instant lust wasn’t everything. And even if desire never developed between them, Tracy wasn’t bad company. She’d spent time with men who bored her, or worse, made her want to just smack them. At least Tracy was interesting and amusing.
“Is eight thirty too late?”
“I can do nine.” That still give her time to order dinner and have the hot bath she wanted before she had to get dressed. “Do I meet you there?”
“Stacy is going to pick me up, do you want Tracy to take you?”
Hayley didn’t even think about it. She didn’t want anyone to pick her up. She didn’t want to have to rely on any one else for a ride home. She would much rather have her own car and be able to leave when she was ready.
“I’ll meet you there.”
“I’ll let him know. We’ll see you there.” Denni sounded excited. “Thanks for this, really sis.”
“I’ll remember it. You’ll owe me later.” She was only half joking and Denni knew it. Sometime Hayley would call in the favor, though it wouldn’t be something as simple as going out to a bar. Denni knew that too.
“I know. I promise, anything you want. I’ll see you when you get there.” Denni hung up, leaving Hayley a few hours until they were to meet. She took a deep breath and called in her order to Asian House then went to change. It wasn’t going to be the laid back evening she’d had in mind, but it wouldn’t be bad either.
Hayley stepped in the door of the Silver Spur and looked around. It took her a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, even after stepping in from the dark night, and a couple moments longer to find where Denni and the Manning brothers were seated in one corner of the room. Denni leaned close as Stacy said something close to her ear then she threw her head back as she laughed. Hayley shook her head as she made her way through the crowd to the table. She couldn’t be sure, she hadn’t heard what Stacy had said but from watching her sister, she would guess her sister was trying too hard. Laughing to make him feel good. As she got closer, she saw the light in her sister’s eyes and wondered if she’d been judging Denni too harshly. She looked like she really was having fun. Like she was enjoying every minute in Stacy’s company.
“Hey, guys, how’s things?” she had to shout her words as she reached the table and pulled out a chair.
“So far so good,” Tracy smiled as she took the seat beside him. “Let me get you something to drink.”
“Just a soda,” Hayley smiled at him, “I’m driving.”
“I can take you home, if you like.”
“Really, I’m good. A Coke would be great though.”
He frowned for a split second then wiped it away. “Sure, if a Coke is what you want, then a Coke is what I’ll get you.” He stood and headed for the bar. Hayley turned to Denni and Tracy.
“What are you two up to tonight?”
“Not much. We just wanted to do a little dancing, but it’s nice to not be just the two of us.” Denni smiled over at Stacy. “Thanks for coming out tonight.”
“No problem. I was just going to sit around the house by myself anyway. I might have picked up a book or found a movie on Netflix, but here I can s
pend a little time with my favorite sister.”
“Your only sister.” Denni blinked, unamused. She was used to the term of affection, Hayley had been using it since her sister was six or seven. Hayley waved a hand as if her sister’s reasoning was inconsequential. It was an old game, one that never failed to amuse Hayley and annoy Denni, which was part of why it had lasted so long.
“Go dance, have some fun.”
“Are you coming with me?”
“Not this song, take Stacy for now. I’ll stay here with Tracy.” The loud country music took her a few minutes to get used to. It always took her a couple songs to relax and get into the atmosphere.
Denni shot her a look with one brow lifted, but took Stacy’s hand and pulled him out on the dance floor. He didn’t seem to mind.
“Don’t care much for dancing?” Tracy asked beside her.
“No, I like to dance, I just need to get into it first.” She turned to smile at him. “You dance?”
“A little, but I’m not very good.”
“Give me a couple songs and I’ll see just how good you are.”
“Sounds like a challenge.” His eyes lit as he smiled back. She didn’t answer, just smiled. If he wanted to see it as a challenge who was she to argue?
Chapter 15
He walked into the only dance club around, well the only one that played music he didn’t mind listening to, and scanned the room. There was a good size crowd on the dance floor, but there generally was by this time, whether it was couples or groups of women dancing together. Warren wondered for a minute why women would get up and dance in groups, but men wouldn’t. Then again, he wasn’t about to get up with a bunch of other men and dance like that, so why would any other guy?
After making one sweep of the room with his gaze, he didn’t spot Reed so he went to the bar and ordered himself a drink. His partner would turn up eventually. Warren could only hope it was sooner rather than later. The bartender, an older but still pretty woman who Warren had recently discovered owned the place, set his drink in front of him and took the bill he’d set down to pay for it. When she turned back a moment later with his change, he waved one hand, letting her know to keep it as he picked up the bottle and turned away from the bar. He kept his back against the polished wood counter as he scanned the room again. He spotted several familiar faces, some he might talk to under different circumstances. Those being them not out on a date or trying to pick up someone, and anything lacking music blasting so loud it prevented normal conversation. Still no Johnny.
Warren pulled out his phone and sent his partner a quick text asking where he was, made sure the device was on vibrate because there was no way he’d hear it alert in here, then stuffed it back in his pocket. He didn’t mind people watching, but he’d been hoping to take advantage of Reed’s memory, maybe to pick up a lead before the case went completely cold.
He was scanning the room again, keep his eyes open for anything odd, anything out of place or anything that just caught his attention when he spotted a face that made him stop. A couple weeks earlier, the same face had taken him a few moments to place, but not tonight. Her face, as he saw it now, had been etched into his mind since then. It had popped up in his dreams and been featured prominently in a couple of fantasies. As he watched, Warren realized she wasn’t alone. She was dancing with a man, smiling at him and seeming to enjoy herself.
Jealousy rose up in him. In the time he’d been biding his time, waiting for her to be ready to see him as more than one of her officers had she found someone else? Had she found another man to care for, to satisfy her every need? Warren’s fist’s clenched at his sides and he realized how foolish he was being. She wasn’t the kind to ever be commanded by anyone, she was in charge and if he gave in to the desire to stomp over there and punch the other man in the face for daring to touch the woman that Warren had tried not to think of as his, but failed, then he would lose her before he ever had a chance to win her over. He just needed to bide his time. If he could make detective, then he wouldn’t be one of her officers and off limits by department policy. Once that happened, he would begin courting her, and try to make her see how much heat there could be between them, if only she would allow it.
“Hey man, what’s got you looking so thunderous?” Johnny slapped him on the back and shouted near his ear as he tried to follow Warren’s gaze and figure out who he was looking at.
Warren blinked and gave his head a little shake. The last thing he needed was his partner figuring out how much he lusted after their sergeant.
“It’s nothing. I just thought I saw someone. A second look told me I was wrong.” He turned to look at the other man. “Where’ve you been?”
Johnny smiled, and Warren instantly knew he was up to something. There was something about that smile that he’d seen more than a few times. “I was dancing. I found this really hot babe, and so far, she seems interested.”
“In dancing or going home with you?”
“I’m up for either.” Johnny shrugged, “Whichever works for me. I’d love to get laid but I’m good with a little boogie for the evening.”
Warren shook his head. At least Reed wasn’t finding some innocent girl who was too young for him. One of the advantages to coming to the Silver Spur was that they ran a tight ship with the ID’s. No one got in unless they were at least 21. Which meant Warren never had to worry that Johnny had picked up someone underage, even one pretending to be legal. The whole thing wasn’t a concern for Warren. He’d never picked any one up for a one-night stand, at least here and not in the year since he’d moved to Blackjack. At first he’d been too busy with Nancy and the kids, then he’d spotted Sergeant Hayley Moreno, and even though he wasn’t on her shift, he’d set his sights. He had been careful, letting her know he’d be open to more than just a professional relationship without actually asking her out. He’d watched her enough to know she wouldn’t compromise her position for a date, or even for something more long term.
Warren didn’t know if, given half a chance, he and the Sargent could make things last more than a date or two. The only thing he was sure of was that in the months since he’d first seen her, no other woman had captured his attention or even his lust in the same way. Some instinct told him there was a reason and he’d learned long ago not to dismiss his instincts. Now he just needed to convince her. He glanced back to where he’d last seen her, but she was gone, along with the man she’d been dancing with. Warren could only hope he’d been a stranger, and not someone she was even half way serious about.
Turning back to Johnny, Warren tipped the bottle in his hand to his lips and tried to forget what he’d seen, the man she’d been with and the smile on her face. He had no claim on her, not yet, and brooding on it would do him no good.
Chapter 16
“You’re not that bad,” Hayley laughed as Tracy escorted her back to the table they were sharing with her sister and his brother. “You didn’t seem to have any problems keeping up with the steps or the beat.”
“Yeah, well that was an easy one. Don’t try to drag me out for the fast ones, or worse, the line dances.” He pulled her seat out and waited until she was seated before sitting in the chair beside hers.
Hayley watched him a moment, enjoying the smile on his face and the light in his eyes as she decided she was glad she’d come out tonight. The more time she spent with Tracy, the more she liked him. Maybe she’d been wrong with her first impression. He was a nice guy and she had definitely dated worse. She just didn’t know if she had room in her life to date right now.
Sure, it was nice to have someone to go out with, to unwind and have some fun with, but relationships were a lot of work and she was determined to focus on her career, at least for now. She was going to make Captain, and she wasn’t going to let anything get in her way. Especially not a man. Tracy seemed safe. He was easy to be around, fun when she wanted company but nothing serious. Hayley glanced out at the dance floor where her sister seemed totally absorbed with Stacy. It looke
d like they might be spending plenty of time together anyway, she might as well enjoy it.
“You ready for another dance?” Tracy asked.
She turned and looked at him. “No, but I’m ready for another drink.” She lifted her glass that held only ice.
“I’ll take care of that.” He stood and headed for the bar, leaving Hayley sitting at the table alone. She didn’t mind, there were plenty of people to watch and she knew her sister and Stacy would be back in a couple minutes.
Chapter 17
Warren watched as Johnny flirted with Monica, the girl he’d been dancing with off and on since before Warren had arrived. It was nothing new, Johnny made a habit of finding a girl and dancing, flirting and showering her with attention when he went out. Sometimes they went home together, but not always and once in a while, it had lasted more than a single night. Warren couldn’t blame him, Johnny was young and he had to admit, he’d done similar when he’d been the younger man’s age. The older he got, the less satisfied he was with one and done or someone only interested in him because of his badge. The older he got the more he wanted someone he could talk to, someone he could enjoy spending time with even out of bed.
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