“Don’t listen to her — she’s just crabby because she got into another catfight. Handbags at dawn, it was,” I said, grinning at my friend. “She needs to learn how to act like a lady.”
Tony let out a loud laugh, and Steve scowled. He kept quiet, though, which was out of character. Normally, the man had a mouth on him that Niagara Falls couldn’t shut up. This niggled at me, because if Steve had gotten into a fight on the job, he’d be bragging about it with endless talk of “you should see the other guy.” The fact he was keeping schtum was worrying, and it reminded me of Lee’s threats when we’d visited the garage. Maybe Steve tried to pay another visit, and Lee had made good on his promise.
Hmmm.
Tony and I had just finished eating, so we packed up our stuff and left Steve to sit out the rest of his break alone.
“Have you ever suspected he might be up to something dodgy?” I asked my friend once we were out of earshot.
Tony shot me a cynical look. “Is the sky blue?”
I sighed. “He needs to be dealt with.”
“You’re telling me. As soon I have even the slightest bit of evidence, I’m turning him in.”
I nodded, wondering how long it’d take Steve to slip up. A little while later, we were on the beat, walking down the high street, when I caught sight of a disturbance outside a greasy spoon.
“I’m not letting you spend time with Jonathan until you clean up your act!” a woman yelled, levelling her hands on some tall guy’s chest and pushing him away from her. A kid stood in the doorway to the café, his thumb in his mouth and tears running down his face. I’d only seen her once before, so it took me a second to recognise Lee’s cousin, Sophie. The guy she was arguing with was about her age. He was tall and thin, and, if I was being honest, sort of slimy-looking. I was guessing from the nature of the argument that he was her son’s father.
“Is everything all right here?” I asked, stepping up to them as Tony went and bent down in front of the boy. He spoke to him quietly, asking if he’d been hurt.
Sophie turned to see who was interrupting and frowned when she saw me. “You again.”
I nodded. “Is this man bothering you?”
It took her a second to answer, as she glanced between me and the man. “Yes, he is bothering me. I want him to go.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, I turned to the guy and gestured down the street. “Sir, I’ll have to ask you to leave now. You’re upsetting this young woman.”
“That’s only because she’s trying to keep my kid from me,” he spat.
“Yeah, and can you blame me when this is the kind of attitude I have to deal with?”
“Maybe if you’d quit being such a fucking bitch, I wouldn’t have an attitude.”
Tony stood and shot the man a hostile look.
He bristled, his posture stiffening, before he backed away a few steps. “This is bullshit. I’m outta here,” he said, and skulked off.
A moment passed before Sophie glanced up at me, her cheeks red with embarrassment. “Thanks for that. I promise I don’t normally go around having domestics out on the street, but David showed up unannounced and tried to take Jonathan.” She turned back to her son, who hurried to her side and buried his face behind her leg. For some reason, my eyes went to her left wrist, where she was tugging her sleeve down as far as it would go. A small bruise peeked out, and I knew she was trying to hide it.
I stepped closer and lowered my voice, speaking softly as I asked, “Has he ever tried to hurt you?”
She stared at me, unshed tears shining in her eyes, and I knew the answer was yes. She didn’t say anything, and a moment later she sucked in a deep breath. “We should get going.”
I stepped in front of her, blocking her exit. “I can help you, you know. All you have to do is file a report. We can have a barring order put in place so that he can’t approach you or your son.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to do that. Come on, honey, let’s go.” She took hold of Jonathan’s hand and walked away. I let out a breath, my eyes meeting Tony’s. We both knew there wasn’t much we could do if she wasn’t willing to cooperate.
For the rest of the day, my encounter with Sophie was stuck in my head. I wondered if Lee had any idea what was going on between her and this David character. I couldn’t imagine he did, judging by how fiercely he told me he’d do anything for his family. I doubted David would’ve gotten within ten feet of Sophie if Lee had known.
I was so preoccupied by these thoughts that I almost forgot I’d organised a girls night for Alexis. I’d invited Reya over, and Alexis’ friend, Bradley, who was an honorary girl. We were going to watch chick flicks, order pizza, and, well, try to make her feel better about being pregnant. She thought she was alone, but she really wasn’t. I planned to be by her side through all of it, but I was worried about her falling deeper into depression. It wouldn’t be good for her or the baby.
Everyone was already at the flat when I arrived, so I said some quick hellos and went to take a shower. I always liked to wash after a shift; it was almost a compulsion. Somehow the water felt like it cleaned away all the crap I’d seen that day, leaving me fresh and new.
Alexis was scribbling down a list of everyone’s pizza orders when I came out, my hair in a towel and wearing a pair of clean pyjamas.
“Can I have a meat-lover’s pizza, chicken tenders, potato wedges, and some coleslaw?” said Reya. “Oh, and a diet Coke.”
I couldn’t help teasing her. “Yeah, because that’ll undo all the damage.”
“Hey! I actually prefer diet,” she argued, and Bradley chuckled.
“Can’t get enough of that sexy chemical taste, huh?”
I laughed and leaned forward to give him a high-five.
“You two, stop ganging up on little Reya,” Alexis butted in, throwing her a sympathetic look. “Don’t mind them. They’re a pair of bullies.”
I found it funny how Alexis called Reya little, since she was more woman than us two put together. I guessed we considered her little because she was six or seven years younger than all of us. I didn’t know her exact heritage, but I thought I remembered her telling me once that her parents were Spanish, which was where she must’ve gotten her dark looks from. She was actually quite statuesque, with skin the colour of honey and curves that went on forever. I mean, Alexis did plus-size modelling, but she had nothing on Reya.
Once the food was ordered, Bradley hit play on the DVD. We were watching a movie called He’s Just Not That Into You. Needless to say, I hadn’t been a part of the selection process. The title was so fucking condescending it kind of made me want to hurt someone. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for our food to arrive, distracting me from my daydreams of grievous bodily harm.
It was later on, while Bradley and Reya were chatting in the living room, that I managed to corner Alexis in the kitchen. I knew she was going to give me endless amount of stick for this, but I had to put my pride aside for a minute. I just didn’t have it in me to ignore the fact that Lee’s cousin was being hounded by her ex. If he’d been violent with her in the past, then I had to do something to prevent it from happening again.
“Do you have Lee’s number?” I asked quietly as I washed dishes and she dried.
She gave me a shrewd look. “Maybe I do. And why, pray tell, are you looking for it?”
“It’s complicated. But I assure you, I have no romantic designs on him whatsoever, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I dunno, you’d make a good cougar.” She smirked. “They’d call you ‘racy red’.”
“Shut your face,” I whisper-hissed, trying not to laugh. “I’m way too young to be a cougar. And he’s way too old to be my boy toy. If I was going to go down that route, the guy would have to be in his, like, late teens or something.” Good grief, I was rambling.
Alexis full-on chuckled. “Ooooh, I didn’t know you were into the barely legal scene, Constable.”
I grew impatient. “Do you have hi
s number or not?”
She sighed. “Yes, I have it. And just so you know, if you were thinking of hitting that, I’d be in no position to judge, especially after the shit I pulled with Stu the other night. However, being in your line of work, it’s probably not the best idea.” Her brows rose meaningfully on the none-too-subtle hint.
“It’s a good thing I have no intentions of hitting anything,” I said, drying my hands and returning to the living area.
“Well, you’ve got to hit something every once in a while,” she called after me.
I turned back around long enough to give her an Italian chin flick that said something along the lines of, “piss off.”
***
For the next couple of days, Lee’s number burned a hole in my pocket. Alexis had given it to me and I’d programmed it into my phone, but I was hesitant to call him. Depending on the person you were talking to, a phone call could be kind of intimate, and I knew for a fact it’d be that way with Lee. He had this way of making me feel strange and tingly, and I couldn’t deny he had a sexy voice. It was all deep and rough around the edges.
Anyhow, I was working the late shift, or the early morning one, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Keira and I were driving through town, keeping an eye on things. Sometimes it felt like I could wax lyrical about Camden at 2 a.m. on a Saturday. Litter covered the streets, blowing back and forth like waves in the ocean. People fell over drunk, scrambling for a connection they weren’t brave enough to seek sober.
Okay, so maybe not so lyrical.
The radio went off with a request from dispatch for us to go check out a violent disturbance outside a nightclub just a few minutes away. Keira hit the sirens, and within seconds we were on our way. When we got there, we found three men involved in a scuffle, two of whom were beating the crap out of the third. He lay on the ground, crouched in the foetal position as the other two laid into him. I didn’t hesitate to pull out my Taser, and the threat of incapacitation was enough to get them to back off. Before long, we had the attackers cuffed and sitting in the back seat of the patrol car, ready to take down to the station, while the bloke they’d beaten was being carted off in an ambulance.
I was exhausted beyond belief by the time I got home, dropping my keys on the coffee table and flopping down onto the couch. I could hear Alexis snoring lightly in her room as I closed my eyes and let out a weary sigh. I wanted to go to bed, but Lee’s number was still calling to me. I couldn’t sleep soundly until I’d let him know that his cousin might be in trouble.
Dialling his number, I waited tensely for him to pick up. It rang for so long that I began to wonder if he was going to answer. Then, just as I was about to hit “end,” his voice filled my ear, tired and sexy.
“Whoever this is, it better be important that you’re calling me at….” He paused, and I thought he must have been checking the time. “Five-ten on a Saturday morning.”
I cleared my throat. “Hi, uh, this is Karla. Alexis gave me your number.”
“Snap?” Lee asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes, I’m, eh, sorry for calling you so early. I wasn’t thinking. The late shift does weird things to my brain.”
There was a smile in his voice when he responded low, “You can call me whenever. Excuse the tone, thought you were Liam or Trevor looking for a lift home or something.”
“A lift home at five in the morning?”
“The young’uns like to party hard.”
I laughed involuntarily. “Oh, and what are you now, an old dog?”
“I’ve definitely got some city miles going on.”
I laughed, again. Man, he was charming even when he’d been woken up at an ungodly hour. “Pfft, you have zero city miles, and we both know it,” I blurted before I had a chance to think it through.
“Oh, yeah? You been checking out my miles?” he asked flirtatiously, and I heard the sound of sheets rustling. That reminded me he was more than likely in bed. I did not need to be visualising that.
I bet he sleeps naked, the dirty side of my mind mused, causing a tiny shiver to trickle down my spine.
“Anyway, I called you for a reason.”
He sounded amused. “My apologies. Go ahead.”
More rustling of sheets. God grief, what was he doing over there?
“Could you stop moving around for a second? The noise is distracting me.”
Lee let out a deep, raspy chuckle, and I swear it did me in. I found myself reaching for my shirt collar and undoing several buttons, feeling hotter by the second.
“Mm-hmm, easily distracted, are we?” His voice was pure sex, and I just knew that he was bare-arse nekkid. Nobody spoke like that when they were clothed.
I swallowed and tried to summon a steady tone. “Quit it with that voice.”
“What voice?”
“The distracting one,” I practically shouted and heard a gap in Alexis’ snore. It started up again a second later, and I exhaled heavily. For a second there, I thought I’d woken her up. Lee chuckled down the line, and the sound of it was so delicious that I felt it in my long-neglected lady parts.
“Again, I apologise. Now go on — tell me what’s on your mind, baby.”
I let the “baby” slide, because honestly, we’d be on the phone all night (or morning) if I didn’t get on with it. “Okay, so, the other day while I was working, I bumped into your cousin, Sophie. She had her little boy with her and his dad was there. They were arguing. I wouldn’t normally stick my nose in like this, but I think he’s been hitting her. When I asked if she wanted to report it, she brushed me off. I just thought you should know.”
Lee went deathly quiet on the other end of the line, and I could almost sense the anger radiating off him. A long moment passed before he spoke. “This was David, yeah? Tall skinny prick, hair like he dipped it in a deep fat fryer?”
“That’s the one.”
“They split up months ago. Sophie never mentioned he was back on the scene.”
“Well, from what I saw, he is.”
Lee let out a slow breath. “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll make sure he stays away from her.”
“Good,” I said, and a silence fell. I should have hung up then, but something prevented me. I didn’t want to end the call, because as much as I hated to admit it, I was a tiny bit addicted to interacting with him.
“Is that all you wanted to say?” Lee asked, his voice quiet, almost a whisper. I could imagine him inside me, talking to me like that, like I was the centre of his world.
“Um, yes. I mean, no.” I paused for a second before continuing, “Do you remember Steve? The guy who came with me to your garage the other week?”
“Hard to forget a prick like that.”
“Mm-hmm, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about the black eye he’s been sporting?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, well, I just thought I’d ask.”
Lee moved again, like he was trying to get into a comfortable position.
“You sound tired,” he commented.
“I am. I told you I was working tonight. Well, last night and this morning.”
“So what’ll you do today, just sleep and hang out?”
“Pretty much. Maybe head to the gym later.”
“I could come over and cook for you. A working woman should have a man to take care of her needs.”
I could just imagine his cheeky grin. And honestly, that sounded good, too good. I had to laugh at his brazenness. “Never took you for a feminist.”
“Oh, but I am. In fact, I think they should bring in a new law that says all women should receive several orgasms a week. I’d be more than happy to support that,” he said, and against my own will, I chuckled.
“I’m sure you would be.”
“Yep. Hey, did you know they had these doctors back in the day who women visited to be treated for hysteria? The doctor literally jilled them off to relieve the tension, then sent them home happy as clams. Excuse the pun. Saw that shit on a document
ary.”
I laughed loudly, unable to help it. “You’re crazy.”
“God’s honest truth. Google it if you don’t believe me. So, you gonna let me come over?” Lee purred.
“I don’t think so.”
“Aw, but I was going to bring my baked cheesecake. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried my baked cheesecake.”
I had to admit, I found it hilarious to imagine Lee baking, tattooed ne’er-do-well that he was. I shouldn’t have indulged him, but I couldn’t seem to help it. “What flavour cheesecake?”
His voice dipped low. “Whatever flavour gets you to say yes.”
“You’re such a flirt.”
He chuckled, and I got up from the couch, heading for my bedroom. “I’d better go. It’s been a long night.”
“Don’t go yet.”
I was yawning as I replied, “I have to. Otherwise, I’ll fall asleep while we’re talking.”
“I don’t mind. Stay on the line.”
I closed the door to my room. “Okay, well, I’m going to put you on speaker for a minute because I have to change out of my uniform.”
I heard him groan just as I hit “speaker” and placed the phone on my bedside dresser. “Forget talking on the phone. I should come over.”
I laughed. “Nice try.”
“No joke. I can be there in fifteen minutes, maybe less.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Oh, that’s fightin’ talk. Where’d you learn those fancy words, Constable?”
“Lee, you’re flirting again. Quit it or I’ll hang up.”
“Okay, no need for drastic measures. I’ll behave.”
A quiet fell as I pulled off my shirt and tie, then unbuckled my belt.
“So, are you naked yet?”
I huffed a breath. “I thought you just said you were going to behave.”
“I will, but at least give me something. I’m trying to visualise here.”
A second later my trousers were off, and I threw all my clothes in the laundry basket. I was too tired for my usual shower, so I just put on an old T-shirt and climbed into bed. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but nothing even remotely sexy is happening over here. I’ve been working for the past ten hours, and I stink. Go put that in your spank bank.”