“No promises.”
The phone died in her hand. She tried half-heartedly to get him back on the line, feeling the pain and loss she’d barely been keeping at bay assail her immediately at his departure, even if it was just on the phone.
Ellie lurched to her feet and made her way to the kitchen, returning to the couch with a large bourbon and a comparably sized bowl of vanilla ice cream covered with a liberal dusting of Nesquik. Reaching for the television remote, she sighed. Whatever would happen would happen, but at least there would always be ice cream.
* * *
Sean shut down his Xbox and changed the channel over to ESPN, because when in doubt, check the scores. He half listened as he went from the couch to the kitchen to get a couple pieces of pizza before returning to claim his spot from Guinness’s encroachment. One look at the Cubs score, though, sent him in search of something else to occupy his mind. Settling on a Battlestar Gallactica marathon, he nestled himself into the cushions.
His offer to tend to El in her time of convalescence had been sincere, even though she’d declined. They were similar in that way, too, he was mildly amused to discover. Still, he missed her. They’d fallen into a nice rhythm of spending the evening together after her shift, unwinding, watching movies, and his personal favorite, not watching movies.
He’d even taken to taking Guinness with him when he went to her place. The dog liked the walk from her house to the park next to the church rectory for some hardcore fetch. Overall, despite the occasional hiccups, his life felt normal for the first time in a long time. If he was feeling cheeky, he might even say more normal than before Pia.
Sean reached for his cell and decided against it, finishing his pizza. He’d been alone before Ellie, and a couple nights while she recuperated weren’t going to kill him.
Chapter 9
Trying to sleep while knowing she’d loosed Josh on Pia was a foolhardy affair. At least if she were at Sean’s, she could take Guinness for a walk at 4 a.m. with no questions. As it was, she sat on her bed with her laptop, reading romance novel blogs and fan fiction, things she didn’t normally have a lot of time for and had missed since she’d started seeing Sean.
When the sun finally saw fit to drag his lazy butt out of bed, she’d gone for a run on the Canal, showered, and had breakfast. In short, she was ready to face her day, however it went down. The gnawing fear in her gut never left her, and so she moved on with it, deciding that however today proceeded, she would be okay. It was a series of thoughts and meditations she hadn’t used in a long time, not since before she left foster care, but she was using them now, and found their familiarity somewhat calming.
By the time she’d gotten to work, however, Ellie found the fear had become an entity unto itself, clawing and scratching, trying to gain access to the world outside her. No matter what she did, it was there, weighing down her every step, making normal things like the sound of a door slamming in the parking garage at work a cause for flinching.
“I took care of it.”
Ellie stiffened at the low voice in her ear as she was sitting down at her desk. He was working on a grant assignment on her district for Weed and Seed and she’d completely spaced it. Her knees gave out from the fright, and her ass hit the chair with a thump. How he’d managed to sneak up on her in her hyperaware state, she had no idea, but when she turned to look at him, he appeared calm and disturbingly untroubled. “I want a full report.”
Josh grinned rakishly and kissed her cheek. “Of course, my dear, but after roll call.” He gave her a mock salute before hurrying down the hall to make sure he was on time for the start of his shift.
Now her fear had an enemy. Just seeing Josh had reignited the tiny ember of hope she’d thought had been all but extinguished. She analyzed everything as she worked at her desk, typing up reports and making calls. His stance, his eyes, hell, even his perfect jet black hair. He seemed completely okay and unscathed, which, while concerning, was enough of a reason for her to believe she might finally be free.
By the time Josh strolled back to her desk, Ellie just knew she’d sprouted three new grey hairs waiting on him. He dropped himself into the chair next to her and stared her down with a Cheshire Cat smile. “‘How cheerfully he seems to grin, how neatly spreads his claws…’” she muttered the Lewis Carroll line, determined not to look at him as she clicked through the accumulated messages for her on the system, lest he see how terrified she truly was.
“‘And welcomes little fishies in with gently smiling jaws.’” He lay a hand over hers on her mouse, effectively stopping her incessant clicking masquerading as work. “Oh, sweetie, the only crocodile she’ll be dealing with is the one that made her purse.”
“Please,” she was on the ragged edge of whimpering, “just tell me. I don’t have the strength to drag it out of you, and I haven’t had nearly enough coffee in me to try.”
“She and I,” he started as he leaned back in the chair and crossed his ankles looking way too damn pleased with himself, “came to an understanding.”
“An understanding.” Her eyes fell to the trash can and noted that if she had to be sick, it was empty enough to accommodate her.
Josh shrugged. “Not unlike the one you and she had, only this one…well, this one left her spitting mad, but silent.”
“From the beginning, Josh.” Christ wept; she’d had tooth extractions that had taken less time.
He sighed delicately. “Well, when I was a young boy growing up in West Texas—”
“Joshua!” She looked around to see if anyone else besides them had heard her raise her voice. “Fast forward to last night. Where’d you go after we got off the phone?”
Josh pooched his lower lip out in a faux pout. “Take all the joy out of it, why don’t you.”
She eyed the Taser on his gun belt, figuring she might be able to grab it if she put some effort in. “I’ll take something out.”
He followed her line of sight and shifted so he was a little more out of her reach. “So hostile! Anyway, I went to Dane’s last night. Figured out how to implement my plan.”
“And?” She turned in her office chair to face him, eyes wide. The suspense was strangling her slowly.
“And…” he drew out the word as he leaned forward in the chair to take both her hands in his, “I went to the Junior League this morning.”
“You did what!” Ellie’s ears started ringing as the blood drained out of her head. This was so much worse than she’d feared. She knew Josh was pissed on her behalf, but she never expected him to take the fight to Pia and shut her down like that. Was it even possible to shut her down? Fuck. Josh was stroking her hand, murmuring soothing words as she tried to breathe deeply. “You went to her work.”
He nodded sharply. “She came to yours, it seemed only fair.”
“And?” Ellie knew she wasn’t going to calm down until she knew the extent of the damage.
“She was just leaving a meeting. I looked like a potential donor waiting in the lobby, and she was falling over herself trying to curry my favor.” He gave her his most innocent grin.
“Grey suit or black?” The black suit made his blue eyes look that much more mysterious and intense.
He narrowed his eyes in affront. “Grey, of course. It’s daytime. Anyway, she took me to her office, lovely place, pinks and greys and art glass. I sat down, and then I told her she was going to leave you alone.”
“Just like that,” Ellie scoffed. “As if she would even respond to such a thing.”
Josh shrugged and reached into his breast pocket. “She didn’t have a choice.” He set a small silver digital recorder on the corner of the desk and hit play for a moment. Pia’s voice was clear and mildly echo-y from the bathroom. It kind of sounded like she was talking from the Red October, but what she had to say was clear as a bell as she antagonized and provoked Ellie.
“You played that for her? What the hell is wrong with you!” Now, not only was she going to have to give up Sean, she might be going to
federal prison. As if the bottom could fall any farther out of her day.
Josh deposited the player in his pocket and crossed his arms defensively. “You’re acting like I did something wrong.”
Ellie’s eyes widened almost to the point of pain. Was he serious? “I’m not acting! O-M-sweet-baby-Jesus! What were you thinking! Prison!” She enunciated it slowly to emphasize exactly how bad this was. “I’m too cute to go to prison!”
“Keep your voice down. I’ll explain to you like I did to her: we were all recorded that night. You, Dane, me, everybody. Dane and I knew we were being recorded, and that’s all that needed to know. We did nothing illegal. Now her, well…she pursued you after you walked away. She chose to corner you in the bathroom, and those pictures she has? Yeah, those could have come from anywhere. There is no one at all to corroborate her story, and that tape is a fucklot more incriminating than any pictures she has. Especially since I told her I’d take it to Sean for him to hear for himself.”
She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until she exhaled. “And she believed you?”
His smile was all teeth and razor sharp. “She didn’t have a choice.”
Ellie was glad she was seated, because all that information left her elated, but wilted from the weight of the stress being lifted from her. “You…you did it.” She didn’t mean to sound so full of wonder, but damn. He’d slain the dragon, and that was pretty damn wondrous.
Josh’s grin broadened and he cupped her cheek in affection. “Oh yeah, baby. I told her if he heard even a whisper from you about her, anything at all, I would come down on her like she’d stolen my car and slapped my momma. She now understands the error of her ways.”
Without warning, she launched herself at him in the most exuberant hug she could muster. Free, finally free of the Pall of Pia, like the bubonic plague only less pleasant. Josh caught her in time and the force of her impact sent the two of them rolling in the chair to the middle of the room.
“I’m …pretty sure that’s not appropriate office behavior.”
They both looked up to see the shift lieutenant doing her level best to appear quite serious while containing her laughter simultaneously. The laughter was winning.
Ellie felt her cheeks blaze in a deep blush as she clambered off of him. “Yeah, Lt, about that. Sorry. I just got excited.”
The blonde woman nodded and edged her way to the fax machine, keeping them both in sight the whole time. “I can see that.”
“I’m taking her with me to see Dave Matthews Band,” Josh lied smoothly with a pirate’s grin.
They talked for a few minutes more, and then Josh left to go patrol the streets. For the first time in a long time, it was beautiful day. And she knew just how she wanted to celebrate.
* * *
Sean’s phone came to life in the passenger seat next to him, singing a Chris Young song, and he smiled. He touched his earpiece to answer it. “Afternoon, sunshine. Feeling better?”
“Oh yes, much. And I was thinking…” she trailed off with a hint of mischief in her voice.
“That’s always dangerous.” He was on his way to the staging location for the SWAT warrant he’d been working on the day before, but he had a moment to see how this played out. Ellie was definitely full of surprises.
“I know.” She giggled, and the sound travelled straight south through him. “I was thinking of showing up on your doorstep tonight after work.”
Interesting. He found it necessary to adjust his jeans as they were rapidly becoming tighter than was strictly comfortable. “You’re always welcome.” She knew that, and his curiosity was growing by the moment.
“I know. But I was thinking of a trench coat and heels. And very little else. Would that work for you?”
Oh god damn. Talk about swinging for the fences. Sean flexed his hands on the steering wheel and concentrated on keeping to his lane. Damn, but she’d completely jacked him all the way up with just one question. He opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t get the words to form.
She chuckled softly at the expanding silence on the phone. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
More like a ‘fuck yes, sooner if you can manage’, but her answer worked. “Definitely.” He turned off the interstate and pulled up to his destination, the parking lot of an abandoned Chicken Shack. The communications van was already on the scene and a couple SWAT operators were standing next to it, suiting up. His ability to speak was coming back online, but in fits and starts. “I—um, yeah. I have this thing…”
“Oh, I’m familiar with it,” she replied promptly, the devilish grin in her voice coloring her every word.
His eyes fell to his lap and then slid to the ballistic vest in his passenger seat. He needed to get it together and right now. Swallowing hard, he tried again. Damn, but she was distracting. “I…,” he trailed off chuckling, “I mean, yeah. I have to go take care of this thing.” He heard her snort of laughter at his phrasing, but he was hanging by a thread here. “We’ll talk later?”
“We’re gonna do more than talk. Bet on it.” Of that he was entirely sure. “Be safe,” she said in a way that made it clear it wasn’t a request.
“Will do.” He hung up and took a deep breath while resting his head against the seat. Then he turned the A/C up as high as it would go. It was gonna take a minute for him to recover from that. It was only reasonable.
* * *
Ellie was damn eager to get home, and even gave a passing thought to seeing if she could knock off a little early in order to get ready. Not that a trench coat and heels required much in the way of preparation, but still, she wanted to make sure all the important bits were shaved within an inch of their lives. This was a celebration, dammit, and she would prepare accordingly.
An hour later, she was scrubbed and buffed to perfection and was picking out her shoes. Ellie left her hair to dry without intervention, and now it hung to her shoulders in thick corkscrews. She’d given a passing thought to just rolling out and going commando, but opted for something sheer and not quite there but almost. Kind of like putting a bow on a present.
Shoes on, she belted her black knee-length trench and grabbed her overnight bag. As she paused to lock the door, Ellie caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Key in the lock, she turned to see a silver Mercedes cruising down the street eastbound away from her. The sun hadn’t yet set beyond the skyline, so the rays lit up the paint and made it sparkle.
She laughed at herself, being distracted by shiny things like a damn cat, and got into her car. On the ride over to Sean’s she thought about the conversation today, the way his voice changed when she mentioned her plan. He would definitely appreciate what she had in mind.
Keeping her pace to a leisurely stroll as she approached his door was almost a fulltime job. All she wanted to do was run up and leap into his arms. The taste of freedom was sweet, and she wanted to indulge as soon as was possible. She raised a hand to knock, but the door opened in front of her.
Sean leaned against the doorframe. The pink light of sunset spilled into the room behind him, bathing him in an almost beatific glow. The black t-shirt and hair made his pale blue eyes shine even brighter than normal and the jeans…damn, what that man could do to a pair of jeans.
She licked her lips as she looked him over, coming back to his beautiful sapphire eyes that heated her blood like a fire on the coldest winter night. “Hello, stranger.”
* * *
“May I help you, miss?” Sean made sure to take his time as he looked her over from her loose jet black curls that his fingers itched to play in, to the way the black trench clung to each and every delectable curve before stopping just above her knees to reveal her bare legs and sky high heels. Oh yes, he could think of many ways she could help him. His imagination began to short circuit at the possibilities.
Her dark eyes glittered and her deep red lips twitched with mischief. “I don’t know, detective. Something on your mind?”
He stepped aside to allow her
in, and took her overnight bag from her hand, setting it on the breakfast bar. Last thing he wanted was his hands occupied with anything that wasn’t her flesh, and very, very soon. “I think you might be dangerous.”
Ellie paused at the kitchen table and turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Dangerous? Me?”
Her sexy purr coupled with her playfully innocent pout had him at her back and pressing her against the dark wood table. The sight of her hands gripping the edge tightly was almost enough to set him off. His fingers worked diligently on the viciously tight knot that held her coat closed. He’d have been lying if he hadn’t been thinking about just this scenario ever since she’d called him on her lunch break. “Very much so.” He sighed against her neck, loving the way she shuddered and trembled in his arms. “I might have to search you.”
Sean’s hands abandoned the belt and roamed over the soft canvas. He cupped her breasts, and she arched back against him as much as she could while leaving her hands on the table in front of her. Fingering each large button, he moved down the front placket of the coat to where it opened below the belt. His hand slipped inside the fabric folds, and she gasped and spread her legs a little. “You have a warrant to search that, detective?”
He chuckled and kissed the side of her neck while sliding his fingers over the delicate mesh of her panties. The way her stomach jumped at his touch had him so stiff he wondered if he was going to break. “Not if I think you’re hiding something dangerous that could hurt me. You wouldn’t hurt me, would you?”
Ellie opened her eyes and met his gaze with a scalding one of her own. Her hands went from the table to the knotted black belt at her waist, with a flick of the wrist, the black sash felt open and with it, the coat that had been clinging so tightly to her came free. “Only if you asked me nicely.”
Sean hadn’t felt a need this intense since high school, and that was probably being generous. He needed her now, and all the thoughts in his head that had been clamoring for his attention quieted down to just the two of them, together. He stepped back from her and slowly drew the coat down her arms, reveling in every inch of skin revealed. He kissed her shoulder and took his time removing each hand from its sleeve and placing her hands back on the table.
The Ex File (Behind the Blue Line Series Book 1) Page 13