Smitten

  I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration. There was no way to deflect her. “She’s my girlfriend, okay? You’re right, and it’s eating me alive to watch her with your brother.”

  I didn’t miss how her expression fell, but she quickly recovered. “How old is she?”

  “She’s eighteen.”

  She snorted in disgust. “You’re such a hypocrite. Ripper’s too old for her, but you aren’t?”

  “Look, it wasn’t like that. Things were different for us.”

  “Different how?”

  “We fell in love with each other when I was on another undercover assignment, posing as a high school student. I never meant to get involved with her—it just happened. I couldn’t stop it.”

  “How old was she then?”

  I grimaced. “Seventeen.”

  She gave a hard laugh. “You’re a friggin’ pedophile. I bet your department loved that.”

  “It nearly got me fired, but I keep trying to tell you it wasn’t like that. It still isn’t. We’ve never—”

  She chortled in disbelief. “You’re kidding me! You’ve never slept with her?”

  “Listen,” I said earnestly, wanting—no, needing—to make her understand. “I love her. I saved her life once when she nearly drowned, and I saved her from being raped. It formed a bond between us—a connection stronger than I could’ve ever imagined. Yes, she’s young, but she’s it for me. Don’t you see? I love her. I snuck away to meet her one night, and Ripper followed me. I had to make up something on the spot. The department helped me follow it through. They wanted to keep my cover and keep her safe too. No one counted on Ripper falling for her as well. This whole thing keeps getting more and more complicated. I had to tell Ripper about the attempted rape to try and keep him off of her. This has been really hard on both of us.

  “And before you go judging my choice, you might want to remember you’re only a year older than she is, and you’ve done nothing but throw yourself at me since I got here. This isn’t an age issue with you—it’s a jealousy one.”

  She clenched her jaw and raised her chin. “You’re awfully full of yourself, aren’t you?”

  I gave a sardonic laugh. “Have you met yourself? Come on. I’m not stupid, Roberta. I know you’re into me.” I could see she was starting to get upset. I needed to do something to calm her down and build a connection back between us. She could blow everything if she ran to Ripper in a bitter, angry, fit. I reached out and grabbed her hand. “You’re a beautiful, sexy, young woman. I’m flattered you feel this way about me. If things were different in my life—who knows what might have happened between us, but they aren’t. I can’t change that.” I hoped my words would be enough to appease her.

  Her face softened and she sighed. “I’ll get over it, I guess. You are turning your life upside down to help me.”

  “I want to find out the truth for you. I know you’re lonely and missing Manny.”

  Her gaze fell to our clasped hands, her free hand fidgeting with the blanket, before she looked up with tears in her big eyes. “I want to know what happened to him.”

  I gripped her tighter. “I’ll do everything in my power to find out for you if you promise to help me keep Cami safe. It’s been hard to concentrate knowing she could be in danger.”

  She nodded, agreeing easily. “I’ll help you.”

  “Thank you. It means a lot to me.” My phone buzzed, reminding me I hadn’t pulled it out of my pocket yet. I reached for it and saw I had a text from Chris.

  Wassup?

  How R U? I asked.

  Relaxed. And U? Relaxed was our code word for everything being okay.

  Uptight,I replied, letting him know something was up.Sis is spending the night here. R U sure U R OK?

  There were a few moments of silence before the phone buzzed again.

  Nah, feeling a little sick, actually. I need you to come get me. He was using our code to get me out of the house.

  Where?

  At the bar—Rusty’s, down the street from the house. Too drunk to drive. He wanted me to meet him. I need my baby sis.

  We’ll be there shortly.

  I couldn’t help the relief that coursed through me. “Chris is calling for Cami and me to come meet him. I need to go. Are you going to be okay?”

  Roberta nodded. “Be careful. Ripper’s not going to be happy about this. He’s been dying to have Cami stay here.”

  “I know, and I will be.” I gave in to the sudden impulsive urge to lean over and kiss her on the forehead. “Hang in there, Roberta. Everything will work out for the best—you’ll see.”

  She gave me a half smile. “Go. Get your girl.”

  I grinned and hurried to put my shoes and shirt back on. “See you later,” I said as I left the room. I paused before the closed door, lifting my hand to knock and then deciding better of it. I opened the door and stepped in.

  “What the hell, man? You can’t come barging in here like that when I’m with my girl!” Ripper shot me an annoyed glance over his shoulder.

  “Really?” I laughed, relieved to find Cami fully dressed and sitting on the opposite side of the bed from Ripper who was taking his shoes off. “You do it to Roberta and me all the time.” I silently praised Chris for his perfect timing.

  “What do you need?” Ripper grumbled.

  “Listen, dude. I’m sorry to interrupt whatever plans you had going here, but I heard from Chris. He’s drunk—or high, or whatever—at the bar again. I need to go pick him up, but he’s whining about wanting to see his baby sis, so I need to take Cami with me.”

  I didn’t miss the look of sheer relief on Cami’s face. Nor did I miss the one of pure irritation on Ripper’s. Extreme satisfaction flooded through me. “Are you okay about coming with me?” I asked Cami. “You know how he is when he gets like this. You’re the only one who can calm him down.”

  Cami sighed heavily, as if she were feeling very put out. “I know. Yes, I’ll come.” She stood and went to grab her books. “I might as well bring these along if I’m going to be awake with him. Maybe I’ll get a chance to work on my paper.” She turned to Ripper. “Thanks for offering to let me stay. I’ll come get my car tomorrow sometime.”

  He wasn’t happy at all. “I’ll walk you guys out. You seriously need to get that brother of yours into rehab or something.”

  I followed behind them, unable to keep a smile from creeping across my face. Ripper might not be aware that he and I were in the middle of a boxing match, but this round went to me.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Hunter-

  “So I got everything squared away with my contacts in Vegas.” Ripper hopped into the tow truck as I was getting ready to pull away from the curb. “The cars are all ready to roll. I just need to reserve the van for our return trip and wait for Cami to get out of class on Friday morning. Then we can take off for a weekend of drinking and partying-it-up with our latest cash flow.”

  “Are you coming with me on this run?” I asked, starting the truck. I was surprised to see him here on his day off.

  He grinned. “Yeah, I’m bored. Everything’s done at the shop, and Cami has class all day today. She’s practicing for some music concert.”

  Memories of listening to Cami sing on stage washed over me as I pulled onto the road. I missed hearing her perform. Her voice was honestly the most angelic sound I’d ever heard. “Don’t even try to get her to ditch out on her music classes, dude. You’ll lose every time. Singing is like breathing to her—essential.”

  “Is she any good at it?”

  “The best. I see her performing on stage for a living someday. She’s gifted.”

  “Hmmm. I may have to go see this concert after all.”

  I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel, feeling suddenly possessive of Cami’s voice. I didn’t want him to hear her sing. I knew he’d see how talented she was, and he’d want her even more. It was stupid, really. People everywhere were going to hear her sing, but somehow, when
she opened her mouth, it felt like she was singing just for me. I liked it that way.

  Ripper let out a snort. “Maybe I’ll hop on stage and throw down with her a little—get some gangsta rap going on. She can sing the awesome chorus for me—you know, like Eminem and Rhianna or MGK and Ester Dean.” He laughed.

  “You sing?” I found it hard to believe.

  “Yeah, but only to the stereo in my car.” He slapped his leg as he laughed hilariously. “Cami and I need to come up with a Rapper name.”

  I rolled my eyes. “They don’t sing those kinds of songs in college,” I said, seeing an opportunity to deter him.

  “What do they sing then?” he asked, leaning to search the radio.

  “A bunch of these religious type songs—in Latin. You know—like monks or something.”

  “Really?” He raised his eyebrows as if he were surprised. “I’m guessing I need to rethink attending this concert. That sounds brutal.”

  “It really is,” I lied. Ripper was such a douche. He didn’t give a crap about Cami. She was only a conquest to him—some reserved girl for him to conquer. It made me wonder what he’d do with her if this whole situation were real. Would he wear her defenses down until he got her to sleep with him and then discard her? The very thought made me want to deck him.

  “I’ve got to say—I’m surprised you’re so into Cami. She doesn’t seem like your type at all.”

  He found a station he liked, and rap music filled the air. He leaned back and rolled the window down, beating out the rhythm of the song against the frame. “She isn’t really. I usually like my women fast and loose.” He laughed. “I mean, yeah, Cami’s gorgeous, but honestly I first acted into her because it seemed to annoy you so badly.”

  I looked over at him, wondering where he was headed with this.

  “I didn’t know you that well. You were some guy who showed up with my sister one night, and she claimed you were her new fling, so I decided to case things out a bit. I was surprised when I saw you meeting with this beautiful girl, and you seemed all nervous. I thought for a second you were hiding something—cheating on Roberta. It was clear you didn’t want me talking to Cami.”

  My knuckles were turning white against the steering wheel. “So you’re dating my sister to piss me off?”

  “Hell no! Once I got talking to her, I really liked her. She’s different—special.”

  “And she better stay that way,” I warned.

  He lifted his hands in a surrendering gesture. “You don’t have to worry about me. You’ve shown me the lengths you’ll go to protect her. So where we headed?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Ironically, one of the hotels called us out. They want us to haul off a car that’s been in a tow away zone for the last twenty-four hours.”

  Ripper grinned. “Can we keep it?”

  I laughed. “I seriously doubt that’s what they have in mind.”

  “It would be nice for us, though, wouldn’t it?” He lightly punched me in the shoulder as he chuckled at his own joke.

  “It sure would.”

  When we pulled up at the location, we found a nice BMW waiting for us.

  “Damn. I really wish we could keep it now. I could make some dough on the resale of this thing.”

  “Watching you around cars is like watching a kid in a candy shop. I swear you’d date one if you could,” I joked.

  He chuckled. “A car would be the perfect girlfriend, don’t you think?” He made a gesture with his hands. “She’s got the perfect curves, puts out whenever you want, and waits patiently until you’re ready to use her again. And this beauty?” he added pointing to the vehicle we were picking up. “Let’s just say I’d ride her hard.”

  “Wow. Pipe down, bro,” I replied, giving him a concerned look. “I was only kidding.” I liked cars, but he was really taking it to the extreme. “If you want, I can call the mental hospital. Maybe they have a ward for ‘special’ car guys, and you can get the help you need.”

  He laughed. “You’re such a pal. Let’s get this thing and go.”

  It didn’t take us long to hook the vehicle up and head out again toward the impound yard. My thoughts were wandering aimlessly about how much longer this case was going to drag on when, suddenly, I heard a siren click on behind us. I glanced in the rearview mirror to find a squad car tailing closely behind us.

  “Please pull to the right and stay in your vehicle,” a voice came over the loudspeaker.

  “What the hell?” Ripper asked as he glanced behind us. “We aren’t doing anything wrong. Are you speeding?”

  “No. Just play it cool, dude,” I replied as I pulled over. “Maybe we have a taillight out or something.” My heart was racing. What if it was an officer I knew? He could blow my cover. I dug my phone out of my pocket, quickly checking to see if I’d missed a message from Chris. There was nothing. Surely I’d be informed if something were going down right now.

  The door to the squad car opened, and an officer stepped out. “Turn off the vehicle, and step out with your hands up please.”

  My eyes widened as I turned to look at Ripper. “Do what he says, man. This is a legit haul. He’s got nothing on us, so don’t give anything away.”

  He nodded, and we both opened the doors and stepped out with our hands raised. That was when I saw the second officer standing on the passenger side of the squad car. He had his hand on his holster. What was going on? If these two idiots blew my case, I was going to be pissed.

  “Walk over, place your hands against the wall, and spread your legs.”

  “Did we do something wrong?” Ripper called out.

  The officers pulled their weapons. “Do it now!” The one on the loudspeaker shouted.

  “Don’t resist, man, go,” I urged Ripper as I walked around the vehicle. He followed me to the wall, and we leaned against it.

  The cops approached, and I couldn’t help wanting to laugh. So this was what it felt like to be on the other side of the gun.

  “Do either of you have any weapons on you?”

  “No,” we replied simultaneously.

  “We’re going to pat you both down real quick.” One kept his weapon trained on us while the other patted us down. He recited the Miranda rights while he handcuffed Ripper before doing the same to me.

  “Can you please tell us what’s going on?” I asked, trying to remain calm through my irritation.

  “The vehicle you’re hauling was reported stolen yesterday. Do you know anything about that?”

  I couldn’t help my laugh of irony as I glanced at his badge. “Look, Officer . . . Hartly, all I can tell you is we picked this vehicle up in a tow away zone. We have a legitimate haul order. My papers are in the truck. You’re welcome to contact the hotel that called us out and my boss to verify the order. As far as whatever was going on with the car before that, I have no idea. I’m just following the instructions I was given to pick up the car and take it to an impound yard.”

  “Let me see your identification please.”

  We clumsily dug our wallets from our pockets, handing them to him. He pulled our driver’s licenses and studied them. “Jack Rivera and Hunter Wilder? Is that correct?”

  “Yes, it is,” I replied.

  Stay here while we verify your story.” Officer Hartly stepped away, leaving us with other cop—Officer Mayhue, according to his badge. Hartly went to the truck and got out my clipboard, carefully looking over the information before carrying it to the squad car and getting inside. I could hear him talking on the radio as he called in the information he had.

  “Dispatch, this is Unit Seven, calling in a vehicle check—possibly matching a 10-29. License number 9, 8, 7, Henry, Adam, Lincoln. Driver’s license, Adam 00908853 to first name, Hunter, spelling, Henry, Union, Nora, Tom, Edward, Robert, last name, Wilder, spelling, William, Ida, Lincoln, David, Edward, Robert.”

  “10-4 Unit Seven, standby,” the radio unit crackled. He was telling dispatch to run a stolen vehicle check and see if I had any wa
rrants.

  “This is so friggin’ bogus,” Ripper mumbled, shaking his head.

  “If you haven’t done anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about. Do you?” Officer Mayhue stated.

  “Look, man, we didn’t try to run, we didn’t resist arrest, and we’ve completely cooperated with you. That should tell you something.” The anger showed on Ripper’s face. “You pigs go around all the time acting like you own the damn place.”

  “Hey, buddy. Take it easy. It’s all going to be okay,” I reminded him. There was no reason for him to be antagonizing this guy.

  “Better listen to your friend here,” Officer Mayhue warned. I was thankful when Ripper held his tongue.

  “Unit 7,” the radio crackled again. “10-21 dispatch for a Code 1.”

  Hartly looked surprised. “10-4. Standby.” He pulled out a cell phone, and I pretended I had no idea dispatch had told him to call them for a confidential message. He was going to feel stupid when he found out who I really was.

  Several minutes went by as we stood there waiting. I rocked back and forth on my heels, observing the cars driving by and the people staring at us. This wasn’t going to be very good publicity for our boss, Charlie, at the garage. The name was plastered in large letters down the side of the truck. I hoped people wouldn’t think something shady was going on and spread bad rumors about the business. There were several honest hard workers there.

  Finally, Officer Hartly exited the vehicle and came back over. “Let them go, Jeff,” he said to the other cop. “Their story checks out.”

  “I told you it would,” Ripper said, giving them both a hard stare. He rubbed his wrists when they released the handcuffs, handing us back our identification.

  “The vehicle is stolen,” Officer Hartly said. “It looks like someone took it for a joy ride and abandoned it.”