Sworn to Be His (The Archer Family Book 3) (9 page)

Derrick glanced down at Jade and when she gave the slightest shake of her head, he closed his eyes, let out one long breath, and said, "I have reason to believe detective Flynn was involved in tampering with the evidence."

Sanders perked up, though his face was just as stern as ever. "On what grounds?"

"He's the newest to this unit. He's been asking questions. We've been working on this case for two years, why would anyone choose to act now?"

"Why would he implicate himself?" Sanders shot back and Jade nodded silently alongside him.

"There's something not right about Detective Flynn's interest in the case."

"In his interest in me, you mean," Jade murmured under her breath and Derrick looked down at her again.

"I won't deny there has been some personal entanglement between Detective Flynn, Detective Lockhart, and myself, but I swear to you that my interest in this case is purely professional. I recommend that we keep a close eye on Detective Flynn and investigate further. Possibly suspend him from investigation on this case until we have further evidence."

"Detective Flynn is also on call this weekend. Shall I call him in for questioning?" Sanders raised his eyebrows.

"I would recommend it, sir, yes."

Jade glowered at him.

"And Detective Lockhart? What do you have to say?"

"I'm not on the clock, sir. My opinion is meaningless here." She said the words through gritted teeth, and though Derrick wanted to argue with her, she was out the door before he got the chance.

He watched her go, and when Sanders at last dismissed him he followed her toward the closing elevator doors.

After waiting for the next lift, he ran into the parking lot and chased her down. She was just on the edge of the property, ready to walk out onto the street.

"Jade, stop. Let me drive you home. You can't—"

"I'm sick of being told what I can and can't do. I'm not fragile. You don't have to—"

"You don't understand. This is bigger than your problems with me. These people are likely after you. They want to kill you. Get some Kevlar. Get some protection. Please, just do anything."

She stared him down for a long moment. "You didn't even consider what a fool you were making of me."

"What do you mean?"

"Dragging me in there, ignoring what I said in front of the supervisor, all of it. You can't force me to do what you want or think what you want."

"I know that."

"No, I don't think you do." She shook her head. "I'm not yours to save."

"But you are. You're mine."

"No, Derrick. You don't respect me. I can't...I can't deal with that. Not now."

"Jade, at least let me drive you home."

"No." She didn't qualify her answer. Hell, she didn't even change her expression as she said it. She simply turned on her heel and headed off in the opposite direction.

He wanted to jump in his car and drive alongside her, follow her if only to make sure she got home safe and sound, but he knew that was the wrong move. He'd check on her later. Make sure she was okay.

For now?

He was going to make sure Zac paid for this. Every last bit of it.

"
S
hit
." Derrick ducked lower in his car seat, watching as Jade stalked onto her front porch, bent over, and then picked up her morning newspaper. It was Sunday already and though he hadn't seen any clues about whether or not someone was watching her, he still wasn't willing to give up his vigil.

Even if she didn't understand the severity of the situation, that was fine. Even if she'd boil over with rage if she knew what he was doing—that was fine too. Just so long as she was safe.

In his pocket, his cell phone began to buzz against the seat and he thumbed it on clumsily, careful to make sure Jade hadn't craned her neck to look down the street and notice his all-too-familiar car.

Frankly, he'd been shocked she hadn't caught him yet, but he supposed she had more important things on her mind. She did look weary, her blond hair hanging limply around her shoulders.

Probably the stress of the case.

Or the stress of what had happened between them...

He shook his head, and when Jade slipped back inside he held his phone to his ear and said, "Hello?"

"Oh, hey, geez. I thought there was a problem with your phone or something," his sister Andy said. "Long time no talk."

"I know, I'm sorry. Things have been...crazy at work." He opted for the safest answer, but given the pause on the other side of the line, he didn't think Andy was buying it.

"Everything okay? Nothing dangerous?"

"You know me."

"That's why I have to ask," She sighed. "Look, there's something I wanted to tell you and it's too important to say over e-mail."

"They're retiring Logan's number?" He guessed. His sister's husband was one of the biggest stars in the baseball industry, running neck-and-neck with their brother, Matt, who'd started in the majors again this season and was already breaking records.

"Not yet. Matter of time on that one." He could hear the smile in her voice and his heart squeezed inside his chest.

He loved that sound. The smile that was always implied when Andy was talking about her husband. It was almost the same tone that he had when he talked about Jade. Or when Jade was speaking about him.

"Okay then, shoot. What's the big news?" he asked.

"Logan and I are expecting!" Her voice hitched on the last word and Derrick smiled despite everything else blowing up around him.

"I'm so happy for you, sis."

"Thanks. I just wanted to kind of sort of tell you in person. E-mail didn't seem good enough."

"No, I'm glad you called."

"Good." Andy said, and then went on, "so you going to tell me what's going on? I've heard you when things are stressful at work, and you sound different than that."

"Maybe you should be the detective." He laughed.

"Maybe. I bet I'd be damned good."

"Me too."

"So, come on. Spill. What's going on? You finally make a move on Jade or something?"

He was silent and then his sister's gasp filled the line.

"Oh. My. God."

"Don't. Come on."

"This is huge. I had a bet going with Matt and I'm going to win so much money."

"You had a bet going?" Derrick raised his eyebrows.

"Of course. You think we didn't notice what was going on? One month you're sending sentence-long emails and then the next you're typing paragraphs about the new girl at work?"

"She's not new—"

"Not anymore. Jeez. Wow." Andy let out a long breath, and then said, "Okay, so what happened?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. She doesn't want anything to do with me."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"I called her out in front of our superior."

"Oh. Right." Andy sighed. "What would you do that?"

I was jealous.

"I don't know."

"Well, this is fixable. You need to do what I call the ol' bloom and beg."

"Bloom and beg?"

"Yeah, get her some flowers and beg on bended knee for her forgiveness. If she really likes you—and I think she does—she'll probably let you back into her good graces."

"Right. Bloom and beg." He considered for a moment, and then he remembered the look on her face as he'd spoken to their commanding officer. "I don't think that's going to work."

"Well, think about it."

"The thing is, I didn't do anything wrong. She was going to get herself in danger if I didn't—"

"Oh, here we go with the hero complex," Andy sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, no offense, but you sort of have this thing you do where you think you can save everyone no matter what the situation."

"You don't even
know
the situation."

"I don't have to. I know you."

"Right." Derrick scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Just, you know, think about it. Bloom and beg. Works every time."

"I'll think about it." Derrick hung up then slid back in his seat and waited for Jade to walk outside again.

W
hen Monday morning came around
, Jade could hardly tear herself from the bed. All weekend she'd been curled around a surprisingly snuggly Lisa and mentally banging her head against the wall.

Stupid.

She repeated the word to herself over and over again, and still she couldn't bring herself to call Derrick and apologize.

I've got nothing to apologize for.

After all, wasn't he the one who'd made everything about their relationship? All she'd said was that Zac couldn't possibly be the mole, and she still felt that way. What kind of idiot would waltz into the department as the new guy and start selling information from day one? Who wouldn't build trust first?

She knew Zac well enough to know that he was smarter than that. It was so much more likely that someone in the department had been waiting for a scapegoat and Zac had been the perfect target.

And if that conclusion hurts my pride less, then so much the better.

She cringed at the thought, but knew it was no small part of her decision making. What kind of woman would she be if she had been interested in a guy like that? What kind of detective?

Lisa purred beside her and Jade snuggled into her fur. It had been a long time since she'd taken a sick day. Maybe if she did that, she could avoid seeing Derrick and...

And then what? Stay in her bed forever? Good plan.

She yawned and reached for her phone. Then, after a quick glance at the time, she groaned. Time to meet her maker. Pay the piper. Make the doughnuts.

Making quick work of prepping for the day, she shoved her hair into a ponytail and petted Lisa before scooting out the door and speeding to work. When she rolled into the parking lot, she was only ten minutes late.

"Not bad," she muttered, then scanned the parking lot for Derrick's car.

"Not here," she mumbled, furrowing her brow and looking around again. "Odd."

Hitching her canvas tote on her shoulder, she hit the elevator, waiting for the ominous creaking of the pulley, and then closed her eyes when the lift finally halted.

"Here goes nothing." With a little ding, the doors opened and she stepped into a room full of bustling, buzzing detectives.

It was like everyone in the department had already been there for hours, all shuffling and chatting and waving papers in the air. Again she glanced around for Derrick, but when she caught no sign of him, she made her way to her desk, careful to listen in on conversations as she passed them by.

"They're saying it's a code orange. All officers are to be on the alert—"

"Babe, I need you to stay calm—"

"It could be anybody—"

Jade pursed her lips and sat her bag in her seat before heading straight for the captain's office. Supervisor Sanders was sitting behind the desk, his jowled face resting in the palm of his hand while he reviewed some paperwork.

"Sir," she said, and he glanced up at her, though he didn't seem to register her presence. "Is everything okay? Did I miss the morning meeting?"

"I'm holding the meeting later in the day. When we have more information." He said it slowly, almost gravely.

"Right, um. Anything I can do?"

"Just get back to work for now. And remain calm."

"Right. Okay." She nodded and headed from the office. In all her time moping this weekend, she hadn't even bothered to consider what this breech might look like in the grand scheme of things—what her coworkers would do in the face of such a massive crisis.

Derrick's words rang in her ears as she headed back to her desk:

"Jade, we don't have time for this argument. My only concern is getting you someplace safe right now...You worked harder on this case than anyone else. If they're going after anyone, it's going to be you."

She could be in real danger right now. Greater than anything she'd ever been in before.

So why was it she felt so hollow?

"Hey," A deep voice sounded from behind her and she turned to find Zac leaning on the corner of her cubicle.

"Hey," she nodded. "Tough morning in the office."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Seems like I really stepped into things at a bad time." He offered her half a smile, but she couldn't find the energy to return it.

"Right." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was here over the weekend with Derrick. Heard about the trouble in paradise."

"Oh? You...did." She tried to keep her face as blank as possible, even despite the stab of panic in the pit of her stomach. Derrick had talked to people about their problems? Had talked to
Zac
of all people?

The panic twisted into something more sinister at the thought as she pursed her lips, considering. "Must have been a hell of a weekend with all this going on."

"It's looked a lot like this for the most part. Lots of running around. Let me tell you, Derrick wasn't much help. He was MIA most of the weekend."

"Oh?" She tried to sound disinterested, but had a feeling it was no use. The second she heard Derrick's name she knew her ears pricked up like a puppy whose owner had just come home from work. She just couldn't help it.

"Yeah, just like he is now apparently. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Everyone is freaking out about a mole in the department and this guy suddenly can't make it into work?"

"Are you saying Derrick is responsible for all this?" She knitted her brow and stared him down, trying to read his expression. Seriously, what was this dude's obsession with Derrick? If she didn't know better, she'd think Zac was just as interested in the guy as she was.

To her surprise, though, Zac looked taken aback by the question. "No, I would never say anything like that. No, no, I just meant you might want to call him and tell him it does look a little suspicious, you know?"

"Right, good tip, but like you said, I'm not really in a position to be calling him." She frowned.

"Right. I was hoping things might have changed since this weekend. But..." Zac speared a hand through his thick wave of hair. "So, you think you guys are definitely done?"

A cold chill went through her. "What?"

"I'm sorry, maybe that was indelicate. I just meant, you know, you and Derrick...you're cute together, but I think you could do better."

She raised her eyebrows. "Don't you think that's a little..." She couldn't find the word for it. Forward? Rude? Idiotic?

"Look, I'm doing this badly. It's been a while since I..." He smiled at her, losing the full power of his sterling white teeth. "I always sort of had a crush on you."

"You..." She stuttered.

"I know it sounds odd, but I always liked you. You were just always so much smarter than me. I never thought you'd go for a guy like me. But, you know, now that you and Derrick aren't together...Maybe we could give it a try?"

Her mind was reeling. Zac Flynn had been interested in her in high school? That couldn't have been. He'd never even noticed her. Barely spoken to her.

Worse, the feeling of exhilarated joy she thought she would have felt at his declaration was replaced instead by a creeping ache in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn't right here.

She studied his eyes, but there was nothing behind them. No desperation, no anxiety. There wasn't even a glint of hope. They were just blank.

Like the outcome didn't really matter.

"I had no idea you felt that way," she said slowly.

"I'm a little embarrassed to be honest with you. What kind of grown man can't just walk up to a woman and confess his feelings?"

"Right." She nodded. "I can understand that."

"So, what do you say? I know it's a little fast, but I'd love to see you tonight."

"Tonight...I, you know what, I'm not really finished seeing Derrick and—"

"From the way he made it sound, he was finished seeing you."

Ouch.

She wanted to touch her heart from the physical sting she'd felt that the words, but then her mind kicked up into overdrive. What exactly had this alleged conversation consisted of? And why would it have happened in the first place?

"What exactly did Derrick say to you?" She asked, but Zac held his hands up in a gesture of innocence.

"You know what, it probably wasn't my place. I don't want to get in the middle—"

"But you're already getting in the middle by trying to take me out tonight. Can't you just—"

"What does it matter what he said?" His words were a little too forceful and Jade took a step back, trying to get a better read on the situation. His blank eyes were strained now, like he was thinking hard about something.

He shoved one hand in his pocket, and then said, "I think you'd feel better if you didn't hear the particulars."

"Right," she said. "Well, I don't think I'm free tonight. Maybe another time."

"Are you going to make me chase you?" Zac reached out and clasped her wrist with one hand.

One clammy hand. She glanced down at his touch, all too aware of exactly how noxious it was compared to all the times she'd fantasized about it.

"I'm not in a place to—"

"Can you at least tell me what's so much more important than spending some time with me?"

She paused, her eyebrows furrowed. "Look, Zac, you're nice, but I need some space." She measured each word, watching his expression as he listened.