Searching for Always (Searching For 4)

He ached to make her say it again, but it was already way too weird between them. "Good. Can I go?"

"Not yet. I need you to do me a favor."

He laughed. "Somehow, I'm not feeling too charitable." He turned away to dismiss her, but her voice cracked like a whip in the air, making him freeze.

"I'm not asking."

His brow shot up. Was she serious? Her jaw tightened in that stubborn gesture he was beginning to spot, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Are you blackmailing me?" he asked in a dark tone.

"Of course not! I need you to take a ride with me out to a property. I suspect a dog is being abused and I want to get an overview of the situation."

He didn't respond. Just studied her. Definitely defensive. Almost like she didn't like pushing him but was forced to, due to the circumstances. No way. She wasn't getting away with bullying him to do something in the name of his job. "As you like to point out, I'm suspended. I can't do anything in an official capacity."

She practically snarled. "Since we already called the police, who refused to do anything to help, that won't be a problem."

"That's what the animal protection groups are for," he shot back. "Unless we witness a crime being committed, we're not allowed to prowl through people's backyards 'cause we want to. We have what's called the Constitution and all."

"Right. So we're supposed to sit around while we know an animal is being abused, waiting for the proper paperwork."

He shrugged. She wasn't saying anything he hadn't seen and fought with on his own. "Some departments have an animal advocate they can call in, but the town can't afford it. Bureaucracy is a bitch. Sorry it's not like in the movies and all. Call the dog rescue people or something. Good luck."

"You're still going with me." She grabbed the giant cloth thing she called a purse and yanked it over one arm. "It's on Bluebird Avenue on the dead end. Do you know where that is?"

He spoke slowly. "I. Am. Not. Going. It's a crappy part of town, I'm not on duty, and I don't care about any animal not getting the luxury-hotel treatment you probably demand. What if the dog likes being outside? It's good for them."

Aww, great, now she looked like he had admitted to being a child molester. Pure horror carved out her features. "You can't mean that," she whispered. "You cannot be that cruel and . . . and . . . heartless!"

He wasn't about to tell her the real truth. He hated dogs. Stone rarely admitted his fear, but the image from his past had never left him. He still heard the snarling and remembered the sharp teeth rip into his flesh, drawing blood. He'd only been about eight, walking down the street, and the guy had sicced his pit bull on him as a twisted joke. Stone came home with a bad bite and even worse memory. His father, of course, had called him a pussy.

He made sure to hide his weakness from the other cops by pretending he was too cool for an animal, especially one to feed, care for, and clean up after. So far it had worked like a charm, and he wasn't about to let Arilyn Meadows screw up his ruse.

"Sorry to disappoint you, sweetness, but dogs are like rats. The world would be better off without them."

She lifted her nose up in the air, her eyes growing cold. "I should've known you'd be no help. Still, you're driving me out there to be my witness. We'll snap some pictures for documentation. I'm not expecting the police to do anything, but this may speed up the response time from the Humane Society or ASPCA. Plus, being a witness in law enforcement will hold up my story. Let's go."

She marched out the door and didn't even look back, ignoring his refusal. Did she ever give up? Stone had a gut instinct she'd be hell to deal with once she focused on saving something. Or someone. What a pain in the rear.

He followed her out. "You already kept me past my time. I have a date at the pool hall and I'm not gonna be late."

"My condolences to your date, Officer. But you are going with me. I control the sign-in sheets for the course. What a shame if I marked you down as absent one day. Or told your boss you've been uncooperative and I can't advise passing you. Why, you may need to repeat the entire session all over again!"

His mouth fell open. Her look of satisfaction steamrolled over him. "You are blackmailing me! Dammit, that's a crime!"

"Prove it. Where's your car?"

He cursed viciously, pulled out his keys, and marched down the street. "You're a hypocrite. The worst kind. Pretending to be all good and wholesome and kind, when underneath you're completely spiteful."

"You're delusional. I'm doing this for the good of a higher power."

"And you're a liar. Isn't that bad karma or something?"

She hummed something maddening under her breath, easily keeping up with his stride with those long legs. "You worry about your karma, and I'll worry about mine." He stopped at the curb and went to pull open the door. "Please tell me this is not your car."

He shoved his anger aside for a moment to puff up with male pride. His sweet baby was his pride and joy, and he didn't get to drive it half as much as he craved. "It is. A 1965 Pontiac GTO Tempest, 335 horsepower, 389-cubic-inch engine. Montero red." He waited for her long sigh, but she curled her lip in disdain, hitting him with one of those arctic gazes.

"This car should be a crime," she said primly. "We're on a mission to save the earth, and you're destroying it with this hunk of metal and dirt. Besides being a gas guzzler, it's completely inefficient. The emissions alone should be criminal."

Now she'd gone over the line. Mess with his job or his friends, but no one insulted his car. He lowered his voice to a warning. "Dirt? Careful. I restored this car and rebuilt it piece by piece. She's a classic you can't appreciate."

"A classic nightmare," she muttered. "Do you know they actually make cars that help the environment instead of harm it?"

"And you couldn't get up a hill. This one goes zero to sixty in record time. Bet you have one of those ridiculous Fusions or something." Her startled look made him laugh. "So predictable. Now get in."

She shivered with distaste and carefully slid onto the black leather seat. He sucked in a breath filled with that old car/new car smell and revved the engine. The loud growl still got him excited. He revved the engine, the loud noise a symphony to his ears, while she made all sorts of faces and talked to herself under her breath. Stone pulled onto the road and headed toward the far edge of town. The sheer dimensions of the car reminded him of a bully in school, taking up the entire hallway while the other kids shrunk away. Total badass.

She did not look as impressed.

"It's huge," she complained. "Almost indecent."

"Aww, now you're flattering me."

She stiffened her shoulders in that puritanical way of hers and gave him another look. His body roared to life, completely contradicting his mental state. She'd be smokin' if she had those librarian glasses she could peer over. With a Britney Spears Catholic school outfit. Oh, yeah, he so needed to get laid. He was losing it. Arilyn Meadows probably had sex with the lights off, in a proper bed, with her eyes closed. She didn't look like the wild screaming type.

"Very funny," she sniffed. "Again, I feel bad for your date."

"Trust me, I'd feel worse for yours." She glowered, and they were off and running again. If she was gonna force him to help with her ridiculous plan, he'd at least control the conversation. "Honestly, I'm curious. What type of men do you date?"

Her body language told him he'd hit a hot spot. She shut down, gazing out the window. "Men with morals," she finally said. "Men with ideals of what they want to give to the world. Men who serve a higher purpose."

Stone rolled his eyes. "No wonder you're so backed up. There's no such thing. Men like that simply don't exist."

She jerked in her seat and swiveled her gaze around. Her tone warmed to a molten lava heat of general pissiness. "That's ridiculous, of course they do. I've dated them!"

"They lied to you. Men are simple creatures. We're controlled by our id. Food, sex, work. More sex, and we're pretty damn happy. We're simple."

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; The shocked expression made him feel a bit bad for her. Did she really believe there were men who followed their higher morality over their dicks? Well, he was sure many tried but few succeeded. She needed a wake-up call or she'd spend the rest of her life chasing a dream that didn't exist.

"I disagree. The last man I dated focused on his spiritual work and craved to be a better man. He was sweet, giving, a great listener and supporter. He transcended the physical."

Stone groaned. "If he's so great, how come you're still not together?"

"It's none of your business," she snapped. "This is a stupid conversation anyway. I bet you think jumping into bed with anyone just to scratch an itch is acceptable."

"It's definitely fun. When was the last time you had real fun?"

"I have fun all the time. I go out with my friends on the weekends. I volunteer with charities I'm passionate about. I practice yoga, and take care of dogs, and spend time with my grandfather."

He laughed. "Yeah, I bet Grandpa is a barrel of laughs."

"He's more fun than you'd ever be. At least I have a ton of outside interests. What do you do when you're not buried in your all-important job?"

"Tons."