Hearts of Blue

  As though reiterating his words, the van overtook us. The name of the gangster running the rave kept ringing in my head until I remembered where I’d heard of him before. This was the same guy my dad had been trying to put away, the one he hadn’t been able to pin down. Since Dad tended to work on the more hard-core cases, I was guessing this bloke really was serious business, like Tony said.

  Rolling down my window and letting the cold night air waft into the car, I heard thumping music echoing in the distance. We were close. Tony followed the van and turned into a fairly dilapidated area. Lights flashed glaringly from the windows of the warehouse, and I recognised Swedish House Mafia blaring from the building so loudly it was almost deafening.

  “Never mind the drugs and the underage drinking — this place looks like it’s ready to collapse,” I said.

  “Bloody disaster waiting to happen,” Tony agreed unhappily.

  He had two teenage daughters, and these were the sorts of places he tried his best to keep them away from. A number of other police vehicles had already arrived, and I noticed a stream of people, all dressed in club clothes, running out a back exit of the building. The girls wore tiny dresses and skirts that barely covered their backsides, while the guys were decked out in jeans and muscle Ts. Some of them were even going topless, with luminous bands around their arms and necks.

  “Hey, turn here and see if we can catch a few of them on their way out,” I said, and Tony swung the car around sharply. They were like ants scattering in all directions. Catching sight of two girls, I noticed they were pulling along a third and seemed to be crying out for help. The girl they were helping looked completely out of it, her head lolling to one side and her hair hanging across her face. I hopped out before telling Tony to go park and that I’d catch up to him.

  “What’s wrong with your friend?” I asked in an authoritative voice as I ran up to the girls and shone a flashlight on them.

  “She…she took something. I don’t know what, but she passed out a few minutes ago,” one of them answered, on the verge of tears. I felt a maternal sort of worry for them, because they couldn’t have been any older than sixteen or seventeen.

  “Both of you go stand over by the wall while I check her out,” I ordered them.

  “You’re not going to call our parents, are you?”

  “Your friend might need to be hospitalised, and you’re worried about your parents finding out? You should be glad you’re not in her boat.”

  They looked guilty and upset, but they did as I said. I knew they weren’t a bad sort, just misguided. A lot of girls would have abandoned their friend and run for the hills. I took hold of her and checked her vital signs. She was in a bad way. Settling her against my hip, I then led the girls to the front of the building, where a bunch of people had been rounded up. The paramedics were already on the scene, and I handed the girl off to them.

  “Her friends said she took something. More than likely it’s those new pills that are going around,” I told the medic before I was called away.

  “Sheehan, see if you can get that music turned off. It’s giving me a migraine,” a sergeant ordered me, and I hurried inside the building to see if I could cut the electrics somehow. It was dark inside, and there were still a number of members of the armed unit running around. I hadn’t heard any gunfire, which was a good sign. Maybe this would all be taken care of peacefully. I could understand the sergeant’s annoyance with the music, because it was even worse inside, and combined with the dim lighting, was a little disorienting.

  I saw some wiring running along the skirting boards and followed it up two floors, hoping it’d lead me to a power source. I was on the third floor when I sensed movement to my right. Turning, I saw three blokes, one of them heavyset, running down the stairs. They must have been on the top floor and were trying to get outside without bumping into any police.

  “Stop right there,” I shouted, but it was likely they couldn’t hear me over the music. And even if they could hear me, I doubt they’d have stopped. I chased after them, my booted feet pounding down the stairs. The two slim guys were fast, but I managed to catch up with the bigger one. We collided, and in his struggle to get away, I had to pin him to the ground, making quick work of cuffing him as I recited his rights. He swore loudly, and one of the guys he’d been with stopped running and turned around.

  Time moved in slow motion when I looked up and saw Lee Cross’s blue eyes staring back at me.

  Seven

  A number of emotions hit me all at once, first shock, then disappointment, followed by the third, anger. I was pissed that he was there, because somewhere in the back of my mind I’d been holding out hope that maybe he wasn’t a bad guy, that maybe he didn’t consort with criminals. But hope was often futile, and mine certainly was.

  This was a place for underage kids looking to party and criminals looking for a place to do business. Since Lee wasn’t an underage kid, I had to assume he was the latter. My anger rapidly transformed into determination as I stood and walked toward him, leaving the big guy cuffed on the ground. I half expected Lee to turn and run, but he didn’t. He stood in place. Perhaps he was just as shocked to see me there as I was to see him, or maybe he didn’t think I’d actually arrest him. Well, he was dead wrong on that account.

  Somebody must have found out how to cut the music, because it went off suddenly and a stark quiet fell.

  “Turn around,” I barked.

  “Karla,” Lee began, but I cut him off.

  “I said, turn around.”

  He must have seen something in my eyes that told him I wasn’t playing games, because his jaw firmed and he turned. I began searching him, my hands moving carefully down his body to check for drugs or weapons.

  “You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used….”

  “Snap, wait, will you listen to me for a second?”

  I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and shook my head.

  “Stay quiet,” I clipped out, and continued telling him his rights. He didn’t have anything on him other than a wallet, a set of car keys, a packet of cigarettes, and a lighter. I pulled out my second pair of cuffs. When I looked down, I found that my hands were shaking, and I knew Lee must have felt it, too. A moment elapsed as I tried to gather some calm. My head was swimming, and the noodles I’d eaten earlier were gurgling around in my stomach, waiting for a chance to resurface.

  Why did it have to be him? I could’ve handled arresting Lucifer himself, but not Lee.

  For the second time in a matter of minutes, time stood still. I stared at his broad, muscular back and quietly gasped when he captured my shaking fingers in his. Everything slowed down, the air around me growing electric and tense. Lee’s thumb slid soothingly down the centre of my palm, and I shivered.

  “Relax,” he whispered, and a string deep in my heart pulled tight. I swallowed, tried to steady my breathing, and abruptly shoved his fingers off mine. He made me feel so much, too much, and it was an intimidating task to assert my dominance over a man I desired. A man who was strong and virile, ever the alpha in any environment.

  Finally, I snapped the cuffs closed and stepped away, my pulse pounding in my ears. Lee stood in place as I went and helped the other guy to stand, but I could feel his eyes on me the entire time. His friend must have been about two hundred and fifty pounds, so I was surprised he’d managed to run as fast as he did before I caught him.

  As I led the two of them out of the building and lined them up next to the others who’d been arrested, I felt my throat grow dry with nerves. DI Jennings was there, barking orders at people, and for a second I had a nightmarish vision of Lee telling her he knew me, that I’d been to his house and that we’d kissed. None of these things were crimes, of course, but, knowing Jennings, she’d find some way to use it against me.

  Nerves coiled tight in my belly.

  Lee didn’t breathe a word, though. No, he wore a blank expression, hands behind his ba
ck, a stoic figure as he stood at the end of the line. I was just about to go and find Tony when Jennings spotted me, lips pinching tightly in my presence.

  “Don’t move a muscle, Sheehan. I want you to help keep an eye on this group. Make sure none of them think to do a runner.”

  “They don’t strike me as the type to sacrifice a thumb to get the cuffs off, Inspector,” a familiar voice butted in. It was Gavin. This night just kept getting better and better. He held his gun at chest level, his dark hair cropped short to his skull.

  “I just gave the constable an order, Matthews, so shut that hole you call a trap and do something productive,” Jennings snapped at him, and I sort of wished we were friends for a second so I could high-five her. Unfortunately, we weren’t, and a second later she was gone, off shouting orders to somebody else like the little Hitler that she was.

  “Karla,” said Gavin, giving me a quick sweep up and down. “How’ve you been?”

  I was overwhelmingly aware of Lee standing mere feet away, closely watching the exchange. “I was great until I clapped eyes on you,” I replied grumpily, and thought I saw the edges of Lee’s lips curve in smirk.

  “Bloody hell, you on the rag or something?” said Gavin, annoyed.

  I narrowed my eyes to slits and shook my head. “Just piss off, yeah?”

  A couple members of his unit showed up then, alongside a few constables, including Steve. Christ, what was this, the flipping wankers’ convention or something?

  A woman who’d been arrested and who was wearing an indecently short sequined dress shivered, holding her arms around herself.

  “Would you look at this,” one of the armed police said, eyeing the woman lasciviously. “Didn’t think to bring a coat, did ya, darlin’?”

  She scowled at him and he laughed, as did the others. I made eye contact with Lee for a second, and yeah, he was still watching me. His stare was intense. I would have killed to know what he was thinking. His attention flicked to the men, and there was such loathing in his expression that it caught me off guard. He really didn’t like them, not at all. I guess it surprised me because they were cops, but so was I, yet he’d never acted like he hated me. Not once.

  “If she brought a coat, she wouldn’t be able to show off those legs, now, would she?” somebody else butted in. Surprise, surprise, it was Steve.

  “Or those tits. What are you, love, a D-cup?” said another. The woman looked like she was mentally decapitating each and every one of them, and I couldn’t blame her.

  “Oi, you lot,” I called out. “Put your dicks away and go do your jobs.”

  “Aw, don’t be jealous, Karla,” said Gavin. “You know I’ll give you a good seeing-to if you ask nicely.”

  The men laughed, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lee bristle, his shoulders tensing and his mouth drawing into a tight line.

  “Pity I never had a taste for cocktail sausages,” I threw back, and Gavin’s smile fell instantly, while his buddies let out “ooohs” of amusement. If I wasn’t mistaken, Lee’s chest shook with restrained laughter, and it felt good to get one over on my ex.

  Noticing the woman shiver once more, I turned and went over to the ambulance, nabbing a spare blanket for her. When I returned, I draped it around her shoulders, and she shot me a look of thanks.

  “If they start in on you again, you let me know, okay?” I said, eyeing her meaningfully. Just because she was at this party didn’t mean she deserved to be berated like that. I sensed Lee watching the exchange, and glanced at him just in time to see Steve recognise who he was. An evil grin graced my coworker’s mouth as he nudged the guy beside him before slinking to the end of the line. I was too far away to hear what they said to him, but Lee looked about ready to blow a gasket.

  A moment later DI Jennings was back, instructing us to lead those under arrest to police vehicles, where they were to be transported to back to the station. More than likely, most of them had a night in the cells to look forward to. They’d all been searched, so it was just a matter of paperwork now.

  I found myself at the end of the line, right behind Lee. Steve and his friend had cleared off, but for some reason my protective instincts were kicking in. I wanted to stick by Lee to make sure Steve couldn’t get another ego trip out of him.

  When we cleared the side of the building, I was vaguely aware of a small gap between two outer walls. Everything happened in rapid succession after that. One minute Lee was walking along in front of me, hands cuffed behind his back, and the next he was turning, using his broad shoulder to back me in between the walls. Since we were at the end of the line, nobody else was there to see what he’d done.

  I struggled to get by him, but he leaned his entire weight on me, pinning me to the bricks. His scent invaded my senses and my whole body trembled.

  “You have two seconds to let me go or I’m going to start screaming,” I threatened him, my heart rate picking up.

  “Don’t shout. Just listen to me. You have to uncuff me, Karla,” Lee said, his voice soft and pleading. There was a desperation in his eyes.

  “Why the hell would I do that? Do you know how much trouble I could find myself in?”

  Lee’s breath hit my cheeks as he looked at the ground, his posture slumping. “I know. And I’m sorry for asking, but I can’t spend a night in the bin. Believe me.” His blue eyes flickered between mine, pleading with me to do it. I stared back at him, quite literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Yes, he’d been at the rave. Yes, he was likely involved in some shady dealings. But he hadn’t had anything on him. Letting him go wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, would it?

  Swallowing, I asked, “What were you doing here tonight? Because seriously, Lee, from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look good.”

  He nodded, some relief shaping his features. “Yes, I know. It looks shitty, and it is shitty. I know this place has no licence, and I know alcohol and drugs were being sold to underage kids, but I was here for my friend. You remember when we spoke on the phone? I told you I was going to my mate’s birthday party. That’s why I was here. His party was inside.”

  “In that case, you might want to be a bit pickier when choosing your friends in future. But why is it so important that I let you go? This is hardly a first for you.”

  Lee swore under his breath and levelled me with a serious look. “The black eye your boy Steve had? I lied. It was me who gave it to him. I don’t have time to explain right now, but the fucker had it coming. And believe me, if you don’t let me go, sometime tonight that prick is going to round up his buddies and come find me. Let’s just say, I’ll be lucky if I’m not in a hospital bed come the morning.”

  As I listened to him speak, it all sank into place. Since Steve was dirty, I well believed he’d put a beating on Lee once he had him locked up. It was difficult to think straight, but in that moment, I knew what I had to do. I had to let Lee go.

  “Okay,” I said breathlessly. “Okay, turn around.”

  “Thank you,” Lee whispered gratefully, letting his mouth drop to my forehead as he placed a soft kiss on my temple. The contact made me shiver. Unfortunately, just as I was about to pull out the keys to his cuffs, I heard Jennings’ voice shouting loudly, “Where’s Constable Sheehan? She was here only a moment ago.”

  “Shit,” I cursed, and swiftly twirled Lee back around, grabbing his arm and pushing him forward.

  Jennings was just rounding the corner when we stepped out.

  “Sorry, ma’am, this one almost got away from me,” I said breathlessly, while internally I was freaking out. How on earth was I going to get Lee out of spending the night at the station now?

  “See that it doesn’t happen again,” she snapped before walking with us back to the patrol cars. Lee was silent as I opened the door, placed my hand on top of his head and gently guided him inside. Tony, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, studied Lee through his overhead mirror, his brow furrowing. I walked around and got in the passenger seat, and then we were off.
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  “Isn’t that the bloke whose house we visited a few weeks back?” he asked me curiously.

  “Yep,” I replied, a brick sinking in my gut.

  “Huh.”

  “You know, I’m right here. You don’t have to talk about me like I’m in another room,” Lee put in, the comment reflective of his usual cheeky personality. It was the tightness around his eyes that told me he wasn’t as relaxed as he was letting on.

  “Shut it,” said Tony, eyeing Lee again with a stern expression.

  Lee slumped back in his seat, and silence filled the car. All the way back to the station, I was tense and frazzled, especially since Lee wouldn’t take his eyes off me the whole time. They asked a question: Are you going to help me out of this?

  The problem was, now that Tony had recognised him, there was no letting him go. If Lee just so happened to disappear, Tony would come looking in my direction for answers. Since I was on shift for the rest of the night, I determined to keep an eye on Lee and make sure Steve didn’t get him alone.

  A couple of minutes later we reached the station, but it was almost three hours before we’d finishing booking everyone. Lee was taken to the cells with a number of other young men, and just as he was being escorted off, I shot him a look of apology. There was really nothing I could do for him, not here at the station where there so many watchful eyes.

  I was back on the front desk again when I saw a call come in about a home invasion, so I asked Steve to go check it out. He didn’t look too happy to be sent away, but he didn’t seem suspicious, either. He had no idea that I knew Lee in any capacity other than an official one. Once he was gone, I felt like I could relax, and lost myself in paperwork. By the time my shift came to an end, I was ready to spend the day in bed.

  However, as I was making my way outside, rummaging in my bag for my car keys, I spotted Lee and Stu leaving through the opposite door. Stu must have come to collect him, and other than appearing a little tired, Lee didn’t seem any different than usual. Steve hadn’t gotten to him, thank God.