“Whoa, sorry,” she said, smiling. Her chestnut hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. She was tall and slender, and he liked what he saw. She was wearing a white button-down dress shirt and snug khaki pants, and the outfit was somehow incredibly sexy.
Cole almost missed the paddle holster at her waist, but when he saw it, he couldn’t help but admire her subtly rounded hips. Her badge was on a chain around her neck, swaying gently with her movements. A detective.
“No,
I’m
sorry. You all right?” he answered, trying to tear his eyes away.
“Sure. You?”
He nodded. Cole bent and helped her retrieve the scattered case file contents. He latched onto a crime scene photo. Not only was she a detective, she was working
his
case—the pictures were all-too-familiar evidence. No doubt the local case was tied to his. He bit back a cringe.
“Ah, I don’t think we’ve met.”
They both straightened and she thanked him for his help. He tried not to stare at the items in her arms.
“Oh, I guess not. Detective Andi MacLaren. Nice to meet you.” She held out her right hand, but he couldn’t help but glance at her left before accepting her shake. No wedding ring.
Good.
“Andi, huh?” He met her eyes.
“Well, it’s Andrea, but not even my mother calls me that.” She smiled.
Instinct told him she was a no muss, no fuss, hard-working kind of girl. Not overly feminine, but extremely appealing. A smattering of freckles spread across her high cheekbones and trailed over her nose. She wore little or no makeup—that drew him as well. Not his normal type at all, but gorgeous.
“And you are?” she prompted.
Cole jolted to attention. He’d been staring. And she looked as if she was oblivious. Should that bother him?
Yes.
Women
always
noticed him.
“Special Agent Cole Lucas, FBI.”
Her eyes widened, then she flashed a grin that could have only been called impish. It rivalled one he was known to give from time to time. “
You’re
Agent Lucas? You’ve had Chief in a tizzy all morning.” Was that admiration in her tone?
He smiled back. “Guilty,” he admitted, winking at her.
“Agent Lucas,” Chief Martin shouted from the doorway to his office.
Cole caught Detective MacLaren’s eye and shrugged. “Guess I’m being summoned.”
She chuckled.
“Hope to catch you later…Andi.” He flashed a grin, then trotted towards the angry police chief before she could answer.
Andi watched the FBI agent head towards certain doom and shook her head. He exuded cockiness. It took a great deal to rile Chief, but when Paul Martin lost it, look out. The whole force would avoid him for days.
She tried not to stare at Special Agent Cole Lucas’ fine form as he jogged down the hall, but found it hard to avert her eyes.
God, he’s hot.
Tight jeans and a black T-shirt that clung to every muscle—and he wasn’t lacking any. He was tall, probably three or four inches over six feet, and he had eyes the colour of steel. His hair was coal black and neatly trimmed. She grinned, remembering his name was Cole. And damn if he didn’t have dimples when he smiled. He’d destroyed her image of proper suit-wearing FBI agents.
Unfortunately, he reeked of bad boy and he
definitely
knew how good-looking he was.
A man to avoid.
She didn’t consider herself
available
anyway. Noticing him meant she wasn’t dead, right?
Glancing down at the fat case file, she sighed. She’d have to make sure it was all back in order. Andi headed to her desk. She had a few calls to make, and she was planning on stopping by the hospital to see Pete. Her partner had been shot twice a few weeks ago, but was recovering well and itching to go home.
They had no clue as to who had shot him…yet. But Andi was determined to catch the bastards. Working the case alone had been a challenge, though she was up to it. Pete would never blame her for the lack of progress, but
she
did. She couldn’t wait until he was back at her side. She missed him.
She scanned his too-empty desk, then her own. A picture of Iain and a tiny newborn Ethan caught her eye and she smiled, her heart thumping hard. She still ached for her husband, who’d been killed in the line of duty just over three years before. She’d loved him and always would. Their son Ethan had only been six weeks old. Now three, he got her through each day. Andi was looking forward to getting home to him that evening.
The case file caught her attention and she scowled.
Duty called
. She opened it, biting back another sigh.
After signing into her computer, she opened her confidential informant database and scrolled down, scrunching her nose even though she found the phone number she needed. Calling CIs was her least favourite thing—Pete usually handled it.
About five minutes later, Andi hung up the phone, frustrated because she’d got nowhere with a lousy CI. She jumped when it rang again, then groaned when the caller ID flashed Chief’s direct extension. She, like everyone else, was on avoidance mode with him.
“What’s up, Chief?” she asked, keeping her tone light.
“My office, MacLaren,” Chief Martin barked. Andi winced. What the hell? She’d done nothing to incur his wrath.
“Coming,” she said, cringing as she heard the click.
Andi slipped into Chief Martin’s office, smiling at his administrative assistant, Nikki. Her desk was right inside the door of the smaller room of the chief’s large, two-room executive space.
“You can go right in. Beware…” the redhead said in a conspiratorial tone.
“I know it,” Andi said, winking.
Nikki grinned, her brown eyes sparkling. Andi had liked her since she’d been hired about a year earlier. She was young and open, but she was skilled at keeping Chief Martin in line and everyone admired her ability to do so. But, evidently, the buck stopped at far-too-handsome-for-their-own-good FBI agents.
Swallowing hard, she headed into her boss’s office. A scowl marred Agent Lucas’ handsome face. What the heck? Their initial meeting had been light and friendly. What had she done to warrant that particular expression?
She looked away from him, meeting Chief’s hazel eyes. His moustache twitched. He ran a hand through his thick, greying brown hair, and motioned for her to sit with the other. Andi slid onto the chair next to the FBI agent.
“MacLaren, this is Special Agent Cole Lucas.”
“We’ve already met,” Agent Lucas cut in, earning a glare from Chief Martin.
She glanced between him and her boss, nodding.
“It just so happens that your case may coincide with his,” the chief continued.
The FBI agent made a low growling sound, and Andi ignored him as she met Chief Martin’s eyes for the second time. “The guy who shot Pete?”
“Tip of the iceberg,” Agent Lucas muttered.
Chief Martin scowled. “I want you to work with Agent Lucas.”
Agent Lucas leant forward, his fists clenched. “I work alone.”
“Not in my city, you don’t. And not according to Special Agent Barnes.” The two men stared at each other.
Andi had the urge to roll her eyes but forced herself to sit still. If it wouldn’t have pressed her luck with Chief Martin’s mood, she’d tell them both they could call her when their pissing contest was over. Although concerning her boss’s order, she was with Agent Lucas. She was better off without him.
“I have a partner,” Andi said.
“Detective Crane is unavailable, MacLaren. You’re sitting next to your new partner. So get acquainted.” Chief Martin intertwined his fingers and rested his hands on his desktop. “I have been
assured
that Special Agent Lucas will
fully
cooperate with your already on-going investigation.”
“We’ll see about that,” the FBI agent said under his breath, earning yet another glare from her boss.
Great,
not only did he
not
want to work with her, he was planning on being tight-lipped. Andi
really
didn’t want to be stuck with him. “Chief, I don’t think—”
“MacLaren, shut up. I didn’t
ask
what you thought. You’ll work with Lucas, no matter what either
of you say. He will
not
roam around my city unchecked.”
Agent Lucas rushed to his feet while Andi gaped. Chief Martin had never spoken to her in such a manner.
“Unchecked?” Agent Lucas growled, his fists tight to his sides.
Was he restraining himself from physically harming her boss? At another time, she might have been amused.
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“I’m not a babysitter, dammit.” Andi’s words were out of her mouth before she could censor the statement. She glared. Both men looked at her.
“Lucas, sit down. MacLaren, I meant no insult,” Chief Martin said. That was as close to an apology as she would ever get. “Lucas, MacLaren is my best detective. Second to her is her partner, Peter Crane, who is in the hospital recovering from his wounds. I am putting you with her because of her skills, not merely to keep you busy.”
Praise?
Wow.
It didn’t come often from her very
un
-touchy-feely boss. Andi flushed, taking a breath. But Cole Lucas didn’t sit, and he damn sure didn’t seem impressed by Chief Martin’s little speech. He didn’t even flinch. However, after several tense moments on his feet, he sighed heavily—insulting her a bit—and took his seat.
“There’s no other way, is there?” he whispered.
He was musing to himself more than speaking to her or Chief, but it didn’t stop the brilliant, triumphant grin that could have split her boss’s face in two. He might have even looked handsome if he hadn’t been gloating so hard.
Andi gave a sigh of her own. She looked at Agent Lucas then at her boss, who was staring at them both expectantly.
No one said anything.
“Well?” Chief Martin prompted.
“Well, what?” Andi grumbled.
“The case won’t solve itself.”
Was she back in high school in the principal’s office? Though, at the moment, detention held some appeal. With a shake of her head, she rose.
Cole looked the female detective up and down again. Despite his irritation, he was drawn to her. Just gorgeous. He had liked her show of temper moments earlier, and had no doubt they would clash again. Andi MacLaren seemed like she needed to be in control. Well, he had news for her. He was
always
in control, and he’d have no issues making it clear, first thing.
He winked at the buxom redhead sitting at her desk in the chief’s front room on the way out, and she gave him a knowing smirk. Cole hadn’t caught her name, but she was stunning. Although, she was young—couldn’t even be twenty-five. He glanced back at Detective MacLaren. Why was he so intrigued by her? The chief’s secretary was much more his normal type, but he would prefer Andi MacLaren if he was forced to pick between the two.
That would be fun.
He bit back a grin.
“So, what do you have?” Detective MacLaren asked as he followed her down the hall.
“Meaning?” He quirked an eyebrow.
“Hmmm, I see you won’t be making this easy for me.”
She was already irritated with him. Should he answer her straight or push some more buttons? “What do you mean?” he asked, going for innocence.
Sighing, she shook her head. “Look, Agent Lucas, this will be a lot easier if we just cooperate with each other.”
“Cole,” he said.
“What?” Andi asked, eyebrows drawn tight.
“Call me Cole. And I will call you Andi,” he said it slowly on purpose, dragging each word out. Her cheeks reddened. He’d ticked her off even more. She didn’t speak, just turned away and headed down the wide hallway. Cole grinned and followed.
They passed through a door with a placard announcing ‘CID’, the Criminal Investigations Division, near the doorframe. He groaned when he observed the room. Though it was spacious, there were only seven cubicles, and one work area was empty save for the standard issue phone on the desk.
The only other person in the room was a man, probably in his forties, with dark hair and glasses. He sat at one of the desks, the phone to his ear, speaking in low tones. His workspace was neat and organised, and he wrote on a legal pad as he spoke.
Andi stopped at a cubicle on the far right against the wall. She leaned on her desk, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a long look. “Well?” she prompted.
Cole looked around again, wanting to come off as nonchalant. “Where is everyone?”
One eyebrow shot up. “Pete’s in the hospital. That’s Detective Kurt Jamison over there. His partner is Detective Sergeant Noah Sullivan—we call him Sully, naturally. No clue where he’s gotten off to. Last but not least is Detective Jared Manning. He’s on vacation, but he’ll be back next week. Right now he doesn’t have a partner. The department has an opening for a detective.”
“Oh?” Cole grinned.
“Yeah. You interested?” That eyebrow went even higher, her tone sarcastic. Good. Cole was getting her all hot and bothered.
“Hell, no. This is Podunkville. I don’t do small towns.”
Detective MacLaren snorted. “Nice.” Her lips pursed as if she was going to say something else, but she didn’t.
He had a feeling it wouldn’t take much more to make her really mad, and he didn’t want to push her too far.
“So, a one-woman show, huh?” he asked a moment later.
“Actually, we have a female lieutenant, a female sergeant and several female officers. Do you want to see my case file?”
Cole shrugged. Her expression tightened, her full lips a flat line. She shoved the fat maroon file folder at him. He suppressed a chuckle and nonchalantly peered over the crime scene photos.
“Maybe you could tell me how big the iceberg is…” Andi said. Her chest heaved as she took a deep breath.
“Nice wish,” Cole said. He skimmed her report. It was well written and informative, but didn’t answer all his questions. How the hell had Maldonado got away? She’d returned fire. Ah, she’d hit the bastard. The CSIers had recorded four blood types at the scene, including her partner’s outside the entrance of the warehouse where the two bodies were found. That might explain why Maldonado had gone into hiding. But Cole would find him.