Four days had passed since that night at Harpoon’s—that night in my bed—and I only saw Scarlett for small snippets of time as one of us was going into work and the other was leaving. Our shifts weren’t lining up, and it was starting topiss me off. I had worked the day shift earlier, but Scarlett was on second shift tonight.
It was getting late. I shut off the TV and was getting ready to hit the mattress and knock out for the night when my phone buzzed from my nightstand.
I looked at the screen, and a weird mix of warmth and concern hit me at once.
Scarlett: Hey!
Me: Hi. How’s your night going?
I had spent all afternoon moping around my house. I didn’t think it was possible to miss someone so soon, but I was. Seeing Scarlett’s name on my phone settled me in a way I didn’t expect.
Scarlett: Fantastic. First, I can’t stop thinking about this guy I was with the other night.
Delight rolled through me.
Me: Oh, yeah? Tell me more.
Scarlett: He was incredible. Handsome, tall, strong. He said all the right things. Made me feel sexy, too.
Scarlett: And the things he could do with his tongue… WOW. Best night of my life.
Maybe it was the darkness that surrounded me or the fact that I could still see her laid out on my bed in my mind, but my dick twitched, already coming to attention.
Me: Fucking hell, woman.
Scarlett: But that’s not all, because I think I am about to make his day :)
Me: Are you coming by after work? I don’t think my day gets any better than that.
Scarlett: The Redmond case file was sitting out on Captain’s desk when I went to put a note for him. I made a copy of everypage. It’s in the bottom drawer of my desk.
My heart dropped. The threatening note that was left on her car slammed into the front of my mind. They were still out there, and they knew that Scarlett had been trying to help. I shouldn’t have said anything to her earlier. I was bitching about my day, about not giving Wes’s investigation enough of my attention, but I hadn’t meant for her to get involved. I didn’t want her anywhere near this case.
Me: Jesus, Letty. Did anyone see you? Did anyone say anything?
The seconds ticked by without a response from her. I was on my feet, ready to go down to the station and check that she was okay, when I felt my phone buzz with an incoming text notification.
Scarlett: No. No one was paying me any attention. Do you want me to leave it here and you can pick it up when you come in or do you want me to take it with me?
I wanted her to leave the whole damn thing alone, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. It was actually a huge help that she was able to pull the file and get a copy made. It was just too risky for my liking.
Me: Leave it where it is. I’ll get it later.
Me: And thank you, baby. You’re the best.
I lay back on my bed with my phone on my chest in case she texted again. My mind was racing. We had a copy of the case file; now, we just needed to get it out of the building so we could review each piece of evidence with a fine-tooth comb along with Wes. But if Scarlett had put herself in harm’s way to get it, I didn’t know what I would do. Keeping her safe was my number one priority, and I’d be damned if I let anything happen to her.
23
Scarlett
Andy Manchester was at the visitors’ window, waiting for Chief Williams. He scratched at his clean jaw, ducking his head as he asked, “What are you doing later? Do you want to grab drinks or something?”
He was a cute guy with a round baby face and dirty-blond hair. I couldn’t imagine it helped to look so young when he was standing in front of a judge, trying to defend someone.
“Oh, um, thanks, but…” I trailed off when I saw his gaze shift over my shoulder, and a look of panic crossed his face. Luke was standing behind me. My skin prickled with awareness whenever he was close by.
We were finally both working first shift after spending days circling around each other. He moved to stand at my back, and I could feel the restraint holding him back from touching me.
