by Kathryn Shay
“Obviously, a cop.” His voice was neutral. Controlled.
“Hmm. A captain in Vice. He wasn’t in my direct line of supervision but asked for me to do undercover work with him. Then the assignments became frequent. Our covers went over so well, we were paired up even more.”
“And you fell for him.”
“I did. How could I not? He was gorgeous, smart and super at his job. The danger we were in was like an aphrodisiac.”
“If he was so great, what happened?” A bit of anger laced his voice now. She was sorry for it.
“He was promoted to major.”
“How old is he?”
“Fifteen years my senior.”
“Ah. So he broke the relationship off.”
“No, I did. I couldn’t do it any longer.”
“For fear of being found out?”
“Not like you mean. I’m ashamed to admit this, but after tonight, you deserve to know. He was married, Ty, with two kids. Now, I can’t believe I had the affair. But I did, and I take responsibility for my actions.”
So there it was. Ty remained still, staring at the floor, digesting what she’d told him. He’d never respect her again. She stood.
He pulled her back to down, this time onto his lap. He tipped her chin. “You made a mistake. I’ve made my share in my personal life. You don’t have to punish yourself forever.”
“I am horrified at what I did. But I’m not punishing myself. I simply refuse to do the same thing again.”
“What do you mean? I’m not married, and we’re the same rank. You aren’t my partner.”
“But we do partner up, you, me, Deke and Mack. Imagine what those two would say about us.”
His brows knitted together.
“I’m not leaving a district again,” she said.
“I didn’t ask you to. What I’m asking is to see me until we can figure out what to do.”
“I’m done with sneaking around. I did it for two years.”
He sighed. “I could leave the district. Go to another one.”
“You’ve been at the same house for your whole career. You and Deke have been partners for ten years. You shouldn’t leave. It would jeopardize a promotion that you’ve got to be hoping to get.”
“I suppose.”
Leaning over, she kissed him on the mouth. A tender kiss, full of feeling. “Now let’s get our things together and drive back.”
“It’s past midnight.”
“If you don’t want to leave, I’ll call that Uber.”
“No, I’ll go. It’s too late to pick up your car. I’ll drive you home.”
“I appreciate it.”
Somber now, they both stood. There was nothing more to be said.
* * *
Ty awoke Saturday morning in a funk, something he was completely unaccustomed to. He laid in bed, thinking of Francesca and all that she’d revealed last night. Now her behavior toward the people on the task force made more sense. She’d cut everybody off after the debacle with the married bastard, and Ty didn’t blame her.
She’d totally bared herself to him, telling him her most mortifying secret. Funny, his body responded now to her willingness to trust him like that, though the way she felt under his hands, how smooth and silky she was all over had been hovering in his mind even while he slept.
He got up abruptly, refusing to lay there and relive his time with her. After taking care of business, he went into his kitchen and started the coffee. As the carafe filled, he took in the view of his backyard. His house backed up to land designated as forever wild. He saw a deer dart out from the trees and sniff the grass. That made him smile. There were things to smile about today. Ty wasn’t a whiner, nor did he dwell on past or negative events.
So he took his coffee out to the patio and watched the wildlife and tried to plan his day. He’d come home early from the training. Maybe he’d call Ash or Brolin. See what they were up to.
With that in mind, he showered. He still felt bad.
Booting up his computer, he checked his email for something from Francesca, which was stupid. He doubted she was even awake yet.
When he tried to wash some clothes and the damned machine wouldn’t turn on, he marched back to his bedroom, stripped and got back in bed. He wasn’t ready to face the day.
* * *
Frankie awoke from a dead sleep. She heard noise. She sat up in bed and realized someone was in the house. Quietly, she eased off the mattress, crossed to the safe in the wall, opened it and took out her gun and ammunition. She loaded the weapon and headed through the door.
The kitchen. Someone was in the kitchen. She crept out and at the entrance saw a figure bending over in the refrigerator, but she couldn’t see who. Either a thief was hungry, or one of her sisters, all who had keys, had come over.
“Don’t get scared,” she said and the person drew back quickly, bumped her head on the freezer. “Ouch.”
“Evvie, it’s me.”
Her sister stood and closed the door, rubbing her head. When she saw Frankie’s gun, her eyes widened. “Oh.”
“I heard noise.”
“You weren’t supposed to come home until today. I’m stocking your fridge with food.” She frowned. “Your car isn’t here.”
“Long story.” After removing the gun’s magazine, she set it down and crossed the room. As she hugged Evvie, she felt her eyes mist again. What on earth was going on with her?
Evvie clasped her tight. “I’m glad to see you, too, sis.” When Frankie held on longer, her sister whispered, “We’ll face whatever it is together.”
Frankie drew back and wiped her eyes.
Evvie sat her at the table. “I’ll get us coffee. I made some for me.” When mugs were filled, she brought them back to the table. “Drink some first so you can wake up.”
Frankie drank. Even the smell and flavor of the thick rich coffee from Casarina didn’t bring her pleasure.
Evvie drank too and watched her silently. After a few minutes, she said, “Okay, what happened to make you teary? Which, by the way, happens once in a blue moon.”
“Twice now, in twenty-four hours.”
Evvie’s face was full of love. And innocence. “Tell me.”
“You don’t know some things that I’ve kept from everybody. What happened won’t make sense without telling you.”
“We’re entitled to our secrets.”
“Thanks for that.”
“Want to tell me now? I might not be able to do anything about the situation, but I do know getting out all that pent-up emotion can be cathartic.”
“It won’t change anything.”
“What do you want to change?”
“How stupid I was for two years.”
“Two years? What did you do?”
“I fell in love with a married man and had a long affair with him.”
Across the table, Evvie took her hand. “Oh, honey, that must have been so hard. I wish you had told us. We could have helped you.”
“It was hard. I didn’t tell you all because I was ashamed of the affair.”
“Did you see him again at this training?”
“No, no, not that.”
“Then what?”
“I slept with another cop from my district.”
“Is he married too?”
“No. But we’re in the same district, on the same task force.”
She could practically see Evvie’s scientific mind working with the facts. “Is there a policy for fraternization?”
“Technically, we can date if we take certain actions. He’s not my partner, but I go on calls with him a lot. They’d never let us stay in the same squad. And I moved for one man. I’m not going to do it for another.”
“Would he move?”
“He said he could. But I wouldn’t ask him to.” She stood and began to pace. “It doesn’t matter, Evvie. I won’t make the same mistake again. Last night was a fluke. I’m going to forget about it.”
“Well, maybe you’
re just raw today and you’ll be able to put this man behind you. But, sweetie, I’ve been worried about you for a long time. About the lonely life you live.”
“I have six sisters who parade in and out of my life.”
Evvie laughed. “Which you love.”
“Of course I do. I’m not lonely.”
“I think you are. For a man, anyway.”
Chapter 10
On the balmy Monday morning following the training, Ty showed up for work, doing better than he had a right to. He’d spent Saturday moping about Francesca’s refusal to give their relationship a shot, then worked himself to exhaustion finishing every project around the house that he’d intended to do in the next month. But he was here, freshly showered and shaved, ready to face the day.
But not ready to face her, he thought as she also approached the entrance to the district. She stopped short two feet away, as he did. The bright sun wasn’t kind to her. Lines around her eyes and a blank expression in them indicated she’d had the same kind of weekend as he.
“Good morning, Ty.”
“You, too.” Damn her. Though she seemed tired, the rest of her was beautiful in a beige suit and a dark brown shirt beneath. “New duds?”
“My sisters took me shopping.”
Jamming his hands in his pockets, he asked, “Any reason for that?”
“They know what happened. Evvie’s a blabbermouth. I told her about us Saturday morning, and she called them all. They showed up at my house.”
“Ah. My brothers aren’t speaking to me because I was so rotten to them on the phone every time they called. Ash is like Evvie. They tell all.”
She nodded to the door. “We should go in.”
“Yeah.”
They both reached for the door and their hands touched. His eyes widened as hers did. Then she squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry, Ty, that this couldn’t be what we want.”
At least she said we. “Yeah, me too.”
A pall over both of them, they walked inside, took the stairs to the third floor like many of the cops in the unit did. When they entered the squad room, Mack was standing at the door to their office talking to someone. The guy left, and she and Ty approached him. He scowled. “You two look like shit. Bad week at training camp?”
“It was rigorous.” Ty shrugged and continued down to his own space.
“You okay?” Deke asked when Ty went inside. “I never seen you lookin’ this bad off.”
“We put in long days at the center.”
“You and Marcello get along?”
He averted his eyes. “At the training? Yeah, of course.”
Ty had started to wade through his email when Deke stood. “Come on, we gotta go to the morning meeting.”
They headed to the big conference room, and when everybody was settled and roll called, the captain asked Ty and Francesca to speak to the group about their training.
Moaning inside, he stood up front with her, her sexy scent filling his head. They bluffed their way through the description of some of the events.
“By the way,” Ty asked casually. “Any of you know Larry Gray or Bruce Metcalf?”
A female cop spoke up. “They’re both first-class assholes. They treat women like dirt and men not much better. Were they there?”
“In flying colors,” Frankie put in.
“You poor guys.”
“Did you have any fun?” another cop asked.
They didn’t even glance at each other. “Not much time for that,” Ty told them after clearing his throat first.
“What was most valuable to you?” another asked.
Ty spoke up again. “Dealing with school shootings. There’s some new research out there about immediate response and tactical thinking.”
Francesca added, “For me, it was assessing a situation. This was geared at miscalculation on the cops’ side.”
Grumbling.
“Really guys. It was helpful,” she told them. “I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we all want those kinds of calls to go better.”
The same woman spoke up. “Maybe you two could put together a presentation. Most of us aren’t going for the training any time soon.”
“Sure.” Ty swallowed hard. Fuck!
“Thanks, guys.” Captain Lincoln waited until they sat to begin. “Down to other business. The case with the kids that beat up the guy in the subway is progressing. The arraignment was a week ago. They all pleaded not guilty and were released on minimum bail.”
“Any word on plea bargaining?” Francesca asked.
“Nothing’s leaked out.” The captain sounded sympathetic.
Her brows furrowed. “I hope Danielle gets a fair shake.”
“Yeah, I hear you.”
After discussion of what was happening on the street and on any pending cases, Lincoln dismissed them, but asked, “Ty, could you stay back a minute?”
The cap waited until everybody left. “I wanted to talk to you about your promotion to lieutenant. It came through.”
A gasp from the doorway. They both startled.
“I, um, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I left my notebook.” Francesca rushed to the desk, grabbed the pad and bolted out.
“What was that all about?” Lincoln asked.
“I have no idea.”
But he did.
* * *
Right after the meeting, Frankie retreated to the break room and was sipping coffee when Tyrell walked in. His expression was bleak, and his body tense. Too bad. She didn’t want to see him. He poured himself coffee, so she stood, intending to leave. He blocked her way at the door. “Let’s go outside and have coffee at one of the picnic tables.”
“No thank you.”
“That wasn’t a request.”
“You’re not a lieutenant until you take the oath, so you can’t give me orders.”
“But I can make a scene in front of all these people.”
She arched a brow. She was, after all, a princess. “Go ahead.” When he did nothing, she walked out.
Later, Mack asked her to go down to the evidence room to check on a weapon in a case, and after she signed in, she entered through vault-like doors. She didn’t get a few feet inside before they opened and closed again. Without even checking she knew who had entered. She whirled around.
“Are you following me?”
“In a sense. I heard Mack ask you to come down here, so I came, too. Now we can talk.”
She propped her hands on her hips. He wanted a fight, he’d get one. “You never mentioned your promotion when you tried to talk me into a relationship with you.”
“Talk you into it? I thought we were having a mature conversation.”
“Fuck you, Collingsworth, if you can’t tell me the truth now.” She went to brush past him.
He grabbed her wrist and held it. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you wouldn’t give us a chance if you thought I was in line for the job.”
Her face got hot. “How was that going to work out? By the time your promotion was official, we’d be entrenched in a relationship and I wouldn’t want to leave?”
He backed off and leaned against a set of shelves. “Maybe. I went on gut instinct.”
“Well, your gut was wrong on this one, Tyrell.”
“It appears so. I’m sorry, Francesca.”
“Apology accepted, but I’m still mad at you.”
She could see temper rise in his fair cheeks. “Doesn’t it even affect you that we had the best sex I’ve ever had, at least, and we got close? That I wanted you in my life so much that I was willing to risk one omission?”
His candor made her stop and blow out a heavy breath. She truly didn’t want to fight with him. “It does.”
“Besides, telling you wouldn’t have even changed my point. Officers separated by two ranks aren’t allowed a relationship. We’d only be separated by one.”
“It would make a huge difference in perception.”
“I never got the impression you cared about
that so much.”
She didn’t before Lou. “All of this can damage a female cop’s reputation. We don’t know what the old boys’ club is saying about me already.”
“Does that stereotype still exist?”
Instead of answering, she moved in close but not in an intimate way. “I want to be civil, to have a professional relationship with you. But don’t ever confront me like this again or like you did in the break room. If you do, I’ll report you for sexual harassment.” She stormed out of the room, not knowing if she meant the threat or not, but was sure it would keep him away from her.
She viciously suppressed the regret welling inside her.
* * *
She wanted distance, he’d give her distance. But his pique seethed all week long like a mist surrounding them, and was spurred on big-time by her behavior.
She vehemently disagreed with him in a morning meeting, and he made a disparaging remark back, which bordered on offensive.
He took the lead on an advance into a suspected child abduction case, and she openly criticized him in front of the captain for being autocratic.
And in a one-day training on new guns they were getting, when the leader went to pair them as partners, she openly refused to be his.
By Thursday, after a call including all four of them, Deke and Mack cornered them both in the parking lot. Deke scowled. “What the fuck is going on with you two?”
She raised her brows at Mack.
“Don’t look at me. I agree. You and Collingsworth have been sniping at each other worse than before you went away.”
Now, Deke’s eyes narrowed. “You two didn’t, you know, you didn’t have a one-night stand, did you?”
“You gotta be kidding me.” Ty tried to sound convincing. “She’s the last woman I’d want in bed.”