He’d gotten carried away and missed another opportunity to pop the question.
Kathleen brushed a hand over his close-cropped hair, her eyes searching his face. “You love me so well, Callahan. I’m such a lucky lady.” She drew his lips to hers for a kiss. “But I think I need some food. Good sex burns a lot of calories, and I’m starving.”
He laughed. “Me too.”
He rolled off the bed and hiked his jeans back up. It was becoming a habit to make love partly clothed because it took too long to remove his prosthetic leg and then his pants. He needed to take more time next time. “Want to come back into the shower and clean up again?” he asked, offering his hand. His mind was already on the logistics of removing his prosthetic and balancing in the shower. But they’d done just fine before. Kathleen thought nothing of seeing his stump.
She slipped off the bed. “I’ll wash your back.”
Chapter 36
‡
In the tiny security office of the parking structure, Zach paced back and forth impatiently. How long did it take for Sherman and his forensic team to go over the car? They’d been at it nearly thirty-five minutes.
“Sit down and chill, bro.” Bowie said. He seemed to be dividing his time between toying with his phone and petting Gracie. The two of them stretched out on the small couch in the office. “Time’s not going to pass any faster just because you wear a ditch in the floor.”
“You always piss me off the way you can sit for hours screwing with your phone or just staring off into space. Especially when I’m about to crawl out of my skin.”
Bowie chuckled. “I’ll tell you my secret if you’ll sit your ass down and relax.”
Zach sank into the one of the chairs positioned in front of the desk in the room, straight-backed and uncomfortable. “All right, tell me.”
“I think about the wildest, kinkiest sex I’ve ever had, and time just gets away from me.”
Zach had to control the urge to roll his eyes. “You, my friend, are full of shit.”
Bowie laughed. “Got you to sit down though, didn’t I?”
Five minutes later Sherman joined them. “There are definite scratches where he used the lock bar to unlock the car and put the drugs in the car, and there’s a GPS tracker installed under the dash.” Detective Sherman did not look happy. “And there’s a small bag of cocaine under the front seat. Enough to suggest dealing. And someone’s broken the back right taillight.”
“Jesus!” Zach couldn’t help but voice his rage. He’d searched the vehicle but hadn’t thought to look for a GPS. “How much do you want to bet that as soon as the car moves there’ll be a patrol unit, waiting to pull me over and search the vehicle?”
“You’re probably right,” Sherman sounded tired. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but…I traced the call from the marina, and it came from a burner cell located in the parking lot, so it was untraceable. But there’s a security video of Lester making a call from the parking lot while he watches you come back into the marina. If we recover the phone and get the serial number, we’ll be able to trace it back to the store where it was sold. They may have cameras there which recorded the purchase. Or then again it might have been borrowed from a CI. But I got a copy of the tip that came into dispatch. It sounds like Detective Lester’s voice. We can have it analyzed and compared to make certain while we build a case.”
“And the convenient description of the subjects sent to the K-9 guys?”
“It was dictated to dispatch by the tipster, Lester, and put out on the call.”
He drew a deep breath. “I also viewed the footage of his behavior during the grocery store episode Dr. Bertinelli reported to me. She was right. He was pursuing her. He followed her into the store, and when she slipped away, continued to search for her. What he would have said or done had he caught up to her, we’ll never know.”
“And now this,” Bowie said. Gracie raised her head from his thigh for a moment, then lay it back down.
“We’ll need to pull the recording directly off your phone, Ensign Rivera, so we’ll have a direct chain of evidence. And we’ll be pulling security footage here at the parking lot as well. I’ve already forwarded what you sent me to one of our forensic guys, and he’s created a still and is searching the facial recognition database. And we’ve already sent out a BOLO on the guy as well. We’ll identify him, and when we find him, and put some pressure on him, he’ll crack and tell us who paid him to do this. He’ll be up on distribution charges if he doesn’t.”
“In the meantime?” Zach asked.
“I have a big favor to ask of you, Ensign O’Connor.”
Immediately wary, Zach eyed him for long moment. “What?”
“Let this play out.”
“No. I can’t be arrested for drugs or anything else. The brass will kick me out of the teams.” Zach shot Bowie a look, and Bowie immediately raised his cell phone and held it into position to tape Sherman.
“There won’t be any record of your arrest once we’ve reeled Lester in. Nothing will be recorded on paper.”
“Once a computer record is made of anything, we both know it’s impossible to delete. It’s always there. We have a friend who worked on an FBI investigation and got burned, Detective. His career will never advance. He damn near single-handedly brought down a dirty agent and a drug kingpin, and he’s still stuck at the starting line and will be for as long as he’s a SEAL.”
“I’ll have my CO put it in writing. I’ll call your top brass. Once you’re brought in, Lester won’t be able to resist coming down to the station to rub it in and say I told you so. I’ll make certain he gets word you’re there and sits in on the interview. It will be up to you to bait him into admitting something.”
“Why do you need that?” Bowie asked. “Find the fucking guy who planted the drugs and get him to talk.”
“A confession would be better. Whatever we do, we need to do it fast. You’ve already been here two hours. We stall much longer, and Lester will be wondering what the hell you’re doing. Or we could call Dr. Bertinelli and have her come down and be the one to go through the process.”
Zach’s temper flared. “God damn you, Sherman. You know I’m not going to let anyone arrest Piper.”
Bowie cut into the conversation, his hand never stopping as he stroked Gracie’s ear. “There has to be at least a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of cocaine there. I saw the size of the bag. Would Lester have access to that kind of money? Or would he borrow something from the evidence room?”
“I’ve already got a call into IA about it,” Sherman replied. “They’re going down to evidence right now to see if he’s signed out anything.”
Zach raked his fingers through his hair. “He’ll try to get me to roll on Piper.”
“Yeah, and he’ll try to get to her by using you.”
“They’ll bring her in, too, because the car belongs to her. And Lester can say it was an arranged drop, unless you can get the guy to talk.”
“We’ll get him to talk.”
He wished to Christ he believed the man. “There’s something else. If I get Lester to talk, this is going to throw into question every arrest he’s been involved with. How’s the District Attorney going to feel about that?”
“Not my problem. I’m just interested in getting a dirty cop out of my division. Whatever goes down afterward is the DA’s problem.”
Bowie eased out from under Gracie’s head to stand. “You need to know I’ve already sent a copy of the video to a trusted friend on the San Diego paper, Detective. Zach’s already shared everything with her.”
Zach raised a brow. The only person he’d sent copies of the marina videos to was Detective Sherman. “You try to fuck Doc like the FBI did our other buddy, she’ll release stills and a story that will rain down shit on your department and Lester.”
Sherman’s Joe Friday act almost deflated. Color stormed his face, but he held it together.
Bowie continued, “And I’ve been recording
this conversation and sent that to her as well.”
Sherman’s eyes narrowed. “For the record, Ensign. It’s against the law to record a private conversation without all parties’ knowledge.”
Zach smiled at Bowie’s smug, don’t-give-a-shit expression as he glared back at Sherman. “You were just notified. I’m going to be covering my buddy’s six during this takedown. When they stop him, there better not be any provocation. I’ll be videoing the entire thing.”
Sherman’s phone rang and he stepped out of room. When he returned his demeanor had lightened. “We’ve picked up the guy. One of the other detectives in the office recognized him. He’s one of the CIs Lester cultivated when he was in the drug unit. The guy’s already singing.”
Zach breathed a sigh of relief.
“I still want to see what you can get from Lester, O’Connor.”
Fuck! When had he agreed to this? “You need to take Gracie with you, Bowie. The officers will call animal control, and she’d end up at the animal shelter.”
Bowie nodded. “I’ve got her covered.”
“You’ll need to pick up Piper for me, too. Keep her calm. Let her know what’s going down.” She’d be upset and he wouldn’t be there to reassure her.
“I will.”
He messaged an ache across his forehead and his heart rate rocketed. “You fucking better come through on your end, Sherman. If brass gets even a whiff of this, I can kiss my promotion good-bye and be stuck here twiddling my thumbs while the rest of my team goes wheels up. This isn’t just about Lester, this is about men’s lives at stake if I’m not where I’m supposed to be.”
Sherman’s enthusiasm dropped to his regular Joe Friday seriousness. “I’ll stand by my part of the deal. I’m calling my CO now, and he’ll get in touch with yours.”
“Hawk will have to take it up the chain of command. I’d better call him and give him a heads-up.”
“Okay.”
It was a difficult phone call. Hawk was no more pleased with the situation than Zach was. Hawk was even more pissed because Zach hadn’t bothered to share everything that had gone down in the past week.
“What would you have told me to do, Hawk?” Zach asked.
“Step the fuck away from this, from her.”
“And leave her completely vulnerable to this asshole cop. Would you have done it if it were Zoe?”
“You’re going to end up in jail in her place.”
“Maybe not. He wants her, not me, and it’s not my vehicle. I just have to play dumb while he tries to get me to turn on her.”
“Fuck, Doc!” Hawk’s voice was rough with frustration. “I’m coming down there.”
“Wait until after I’m interviewed. If it looks like things are going south, Bowie will call you.”
“I don’t like this.”
“I’m not real crazy about the situation either. But if there’s a chance I can get Lester to say something incriminating…well, there’s no telling how many innocent people he’s done this to, Hawk.”
“Do you care enough to risk your career for her Doc?”
Why was no one but he outraged about this travesty of justice? “She’s innocent.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
He’d been avoiding acknowledging the emotional aspect of being with Piper. Ignoring it. But with Hawk waiting on the other end of the line, he couldn’t dodge it any longer. “Yeah, it is. I care about her. She’s beautiful, and brave, and she might be the one.”
There—he’d left himself some wiggle room. Who the fuck was he kidding? There wasn’t enough wiggle room on the whole planet. He was crazy about her. But he didn’t have time to deal with his feelings right now. “I can’t turn away and leave her facing this alone.”
“I’m not going to call the brass unless this thing goes south. What they don’t know never happened. Damn it, you have a promotion coming down the pike, and this could fuck it up. Have this Detective Sherman call me as soon as you get to the station.”
“Will do. His CO should be calling you any minute.”
“Fuck!” Hawk breathed into the phone for a couple of seconds, his frustration palpable. “Okay. Watch yourself. If they take you in, don’t resist in any way. Don’t give them a reason to fuck you up. We need you on the plane when we go wheels up. And besides that, I don’t want you stuck stateside in a jail cell.”
“I know, Hawk.”
He hung up the phone and beckoned to Bowie. “You need to bring Piper to the station when you pick her up. I don’t want police coming to her place of business, or her house, and taking her away in handcuffs. You know that will be the first thing Lester does to fuck with her.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.”
Bowie extended a hand and they fist-bumped.
“There’s one more thing I need you to do, Bowie.” He took out his cell phone and shot Bowie the number he’d need to dial. “If they take Piper in for questioning, I want you to call Piper’s mom. Someone in her family has the money, or had it. Maybe the threat of having her arrested for something they’ve done will make them come forward. They’ve probably already spent it, but they may own up to taking it.”
Sherman ended his call and wandered over to join them. “We’re good to go.”
“I’ll be following you and taping everything,” Bowie said again.
“They may not stop me. Lester may bide his time.”
“Then we’ll put someone on you and Dr. Bertinelli until he makes his move.” After a pause, Sherman added, “My bet is that he’s waiting right now for you to move the car.”
The sooner Zach got this over with, the better. But in a way he was looking forward to sitting across the table from this guy and seeing what kind of game he planned to play.
Chapter 37
‡
The Citrus restaurant was beautiful, the service excellent, the salmon delicious, and the banana nut cheesecake they shared for desert melted in her mouth and was almost as good as Sondra’s chess pie. Almost.
“I think your mother could sell her pie recipe to the chef here and make a fortune,” Kathleen commented while they strolled down the winding sidewalk toward a tributary of the river walk.
“You couldn’t get her to part with that recipe from for a million bucks,” Cal commented.
“Wonder if she’d share it with me?”
“Only under very special circumstances.”
“Like what for instance?” Kathleen asked.
“If she were passing it down to the next generations of Crowes.”
Surprised by the comment Kathleen remained silent. Cal directed her to a bench set beneath one of the big trees next to the river. The light shone from one of the hotels in a dappled pattern across the concrete sidewalk and over them.
“I’ve been trying to find the perfect moment, the perfect place, all day, because I have something I want to say to you, Kathleen. Ask you.”
Her heart leapt against her breastbone as it took off like a flock of birds beating to get out.
“I think about you all the time when you’re not with me, and I can’t get enough of you when you are.” He kissed her gently. “I’m off the market to any other woman, and I know you feel the same about me. I love you. I want to be your partner, your lover, your husband. Will you marry me?”
Kathleen had sensed he was working up to something, but had expected a proposal to live together, not a proposal of marriage. Shock stole her ability to speak for several seconds.
All she could think of how much she loved and wanted him. But there were things he needed to be aware of. “I’m still having PTSD issues, Callahan.”
“I know, darlin’. I still have some issues too. I don’t mind being your support while you work through things. You were mine and still are. That’s what being a couple is all about, isn’t it?”
She struggled not to tear up, but it was a hopeless cause. “I want to be better before we get married.”
He kissed her again
with the same soft, tender emotion behind it. “You will be. You’re stronger than you know, Kathleen.”
She felt strong sitting here with him, being held in his arms. But if he were to walk away ten feet, twenty, what then?
With his gaze so expectant and filled with love, she had to say what was in her heart. “I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone but you. I’m so grateful we found each other. So, yes, I’ll marry you.”
The emotion in his face undid her. He pulled out his keys. “I’ve been carrying this around with me for a month. He worked something loose from his key ring.
“Oh, my God! Tell me you haven’t had that on your key ring for a month.”
Cal laughed. “No. I just put it on there before we left the room. I was afraid I’d lose it.” He slid the ring on her finger.
In the dull glow of the streetlight, Kathleen studied the princess cut diamond flanked by alternating smaller diamonds and rubies. It was a gorgeous ring, perfect for her. He knew her so well. “It’s beautiful.” Tears blurred her vision, and she rested her forehead against his shoulder. “Thank you, Callahan. I thought you were going to ask me to live with you. Possibly move here. You surprised me.”
His lips brushed her forehead. “You’re so good for me, Kathleen. No way would I leave you.”
“Want to go back to the room and celebrate?” she asked.
“You don’t have to twist my arm, sweetheart.” He rose and offered her a hand up. “I kind of jumped the gun earlier.”
“Is that what you call it?” Kathleen said with a laugh. They wound their way back the way they had just come.
He leaned forward to nuzzle her ear. “I almost popped the question while I was still inside you.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t. I’d have thought it was the sex talking.”
Cal laughed. “I don’t remember having enough breath left to talk.”
A figure stepped out of the shadows into their path. Kathleen caught her breath. The man’s face remained in shadow. Not so the thirty-eight revolver he held pointed at Cal. Cal eased in front of Kathleen, putting himself between her and the gun. Her breathing hitched and she gripped his arm hard.
Breaking Out (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 6) Page 33