The older man snorted. “That’ll be the day.”
“No kidding. I’ve got myself my very own physical therapist. It’ll just take a while till I’m up to speed,” he said.
Thompson narrowed his eyes, his suspicion evident. “I won’t ask what changed your mind.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t tell you.”
Thompson turned his steely gaze toward Duke. “You’d better not be spilling department secrets.”
Duke shook his head. “It’s not like he’s an outsider.”
“He damn well is. At least until he aces his physical and gets his ass back in here.”
Jake laughed. “I think this is what they call talking about me like I’m not in the room.”
“Shut the hell up, Lowell.”
Jake shrugged and started for the door.
“Where are you going?” Thompson asked.
“Somewhere you won’t hear me talking, Lieutenant.” Jake infused his tone with the right amount of respect because he truly liked the older man and knew his superior had the department’s as well as Jake’s best interests at heart.
“I hear you in my sleep,” Lieutenant Thompson muttered, and Jake laughed, letting the door swing shut behind him.
In the stale-smelling hall, he slowed his steps, taking in what he knew so far. His perp was playing clean until he figured the cops were through with him. And though Lieutenant Thompson might know Jake was sniffing around, at least he now thought Jake was cooperating with therapy. He wouldn’t be too hard on him if he caught Jake looking into things behind the scenes. With his live-in therapist at work from nine to five, Jake had his daytime free to hunt around.
And he had his nights free for Brianne.
BRIANNE TRIPPED on her shoelace and paused in front of the high-rise building that housed Rina’s penthouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Jimmy had moved her in yesterday, and, to her surprise, Jake had made himself scarce. He’d shown her to her room, told her to make herself at home, and then left her to settle in, saying he had an appointment. She appreciated the respect and space he’d given her to acclimate alone to her new surroundings. When Jake was in there, the humongous apartment grew much smaller, and there seemed to be no air to breathe.
As she knelt down to tie her shoe, a humid breeze blew in the night, similar to the air that wafted through her window as she tried to sleep. Because the air-conditioning in the penthouse was cool and uncomfortable, and she’d hoped some familiarity would help her relax, she’d opened the window last night seeking the warmer air. But she’d tossed and turned, anyway, restless because of a heat that had nothing to do with Norton lying next to her or the outside temperature, and everything to do with the fire Jake ignited in her.
She double-knotted the lace, lingering over the simple task, avoiding going “home.” But eventually she had no choice. She stood, smoothing her dark green hospital scrubs and taking a deep breath for courage before facing Jake. She deliberately hadn’t changed after work, hoping the more professional she looked, the more professional she’d act. Even if Jake forced her to tease and cajole him into some form of cooperation, she planned to maintain distance.
It would take strength and fortitude not to succumb to her attraction to Jake, but she’d gathered that strength before, at the lowest point in her life. She’d just have to gather it again. Rina’s job gave her a means of achieving goals—the money to relocate to California and to continue to be close to the brother she’d raised.
Giving in to Jake’s seductive powers, succumbing to a man who valued danger and risk, couldn’t result in anything more than a short-term affair. Brianne didn’t indulge in meaningless relationships. She’d learned long ago that they failed to relieve the loneliness. And given the strength of the attraction between herself and Jake, by indulging she would only set herself up for a broken heart.
BRIANNE NELSON. Pretty name for a pretty lady, Louis thought. A name he’d had no trouble learning from the waitresses at the upscale bar Detective Lowell liked to frequent. Louis Ramirez wasn’t surprised a man like Lowell had developed an interest in the woman. Any red-blooded man would look twice. He had. And now she was bent over, tying her shoes, giving him a view of her slim waist and rounded ass. What a waste, her interest in the detective.
The damn cop thought he was so smart. Louis couldn’t stifle the snicker that escaped. He’d not only beaten the rap, he’d beaten Lowell. Lowell hadn’t been clever enough to recognize a setup. He’d gotten shot and hadn’t been strong enough to pull himself up and do the Miranda rights himself. And he hadn’t been able to keep Louis in jail. Louis loved the cop’s obvious frustration over the fact that no one could say Louis was anything but a clean citizen now. But talking to Louis’s girlfriend was taking things too far. Making things too personal.
Personal could go both ways, he thought, and watched as Brianne Nelson headed into Lowell’s building and checked in at the security desk out front. Fancy address for a cop to be hanging out. He took a drag on his cigarette, then stomped it into the ground. Lowell was a damn fool if he trusted money to keep him safe. Because if and when the time came, no doorman or security system would keep Louis out.
CHAPTER FOUR
JAKE SPENT THE AFTERNOON on the streets talking to old informants and even older friends. No one had any information on Ramirez, but Jake hadn’t expected them to. All he wanted was for the slime to know he was on the prowl, asking questions. That he hadn’t forgotten Ramirez had taken down a cop, was responsible for Jake’s injury. That they would meet up again.
When Jake got home, the apartment was quiet except for Norton. Though Jake wanted nothing more than to hit the shower and relax, he grabbed the leash and took the dog on a long walk—on the hot sidewalk. The pedigreed pooch dragged his heels, trying to run home or bolt into any open door he could find where the sun wasn’t baking the concrete. No mutt with a brain would want to roast in this heat, and Norton obviously agreed. Jake had to admit, the dog was smart, something the sharpei had proven when he’d rolled over and begged for a belly rub from Brianne. Figuring they had in common both their attraction to her and the fact that they both were male, he decided to give the dog a break.
Once Jake got Norton to his favorite patch of grass, he gave the order his sister had explained would take care of things fast. “Do business,” Jake muttered, hoping nobody saw him talking to the mutt.
Unbelievably, as usual, Norton finally did his thing. Jake rewarded him with a fast trip home and a huge bowl of cold water. Then he took a cool shower for himself, and by the time he heard the sounds of Brianne’s return, he’d washed away the grime of the day. He was ready to spar with Brianne, to keep her at a respectable enough distance to avoid therapy—among other physical entanglements he couldn’t afford.
Jake told himself that his moral code wouldn’t let him take advantage of their living situation. He reminded himself that putting Ramirez away had to come first. And he knew for certain that being both a cop and a gentleman who kept his hands off Brianne would require all his mental and physical energy.
He stepped back and greeted her in the large marble entryway. “Welcome home.”