As she got ready for bed, she told herself that she was glad Ryan hadn’t come over, despite feeling disappointed that there had been no response from him. Maybe he was working or already asleep. She climbed into bed and tried to sleep, thoughts of her night with him making her restless and filling her with a longing she couldn’t deny, finally taking matters into her own hands and bringing herself to several orgasms that were some relief, but still paled in comparison to the ones he had given her.CHAPTER FOURRyan
Ryan glanced at his phone and smiled. He had thought she was ignoring him, but she was just out with friends. He thought about responding, but he was already in bed with an early work day tomorrow. Plus, didn’t it seem a bit desperate to jump on it and agree to a booty call? He left it to answer tomorrow and rolled over, sinking his head down into the pillow.
Still tired from having spent a rather acrobatic night with her last night and gotten up to work early this morning, he fell into a deep sleep, but soon found himself dreaming of her and what she felt like, tasted like, sounded like when she moaned and called his name. He awoke with her still on his mind as he dressed for work, this time in street clothes rather than his uniform.
“Wilson, get over here,” the police captain called out to him when he walked into the precinct through the back door entrance.
“What’s up, Captain?” he asked, stepping into his office.
“You ready for this?”
“Of course I am.”
“I hope so. We’re going to ease you in with some of the locals over on the east side. You’re not undercover, but you’re not flashing a badge either. They’ll know who you are and get used to you there. Some will talk, some won’t, some will want you gone. Watch your back and your partner’s back.”
“Who is my partner?”
“I’m putting you with Tate.”
“Tate? Really? Did I do something wrong, Cap?”
“Look, I know he’s a bit long in the tooth, but he knows his shit. He knows the people and he’ll put you on the right path over there. He’s gonna be retiring soon, so pay attention and learn everything he’s willing to teach you. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Alright. Go find him and get on the road. He’s probably having his third cup of coffee about now.”
“On it,” Ryan replied, turning to open the door.
“Oh, and Wilson?”
He stopped and turned back, waiting for whatever wisdom would come next.
“Don’t let him smoke in the car.”
“I won’t.”
Ryan could only imagine how much fun this was going to be, trying to keep a forty-five year veteran in line and learning from him at the same time. Ray Tate was known to be a bit of an outlaw in the department. He had a list of reprimands equal to the number of commendations he had received and both were long. It wasn’t that he didn’t know the job, but that he was likely to ruin Ryan’s stellar record with the department before it was all said and done.
Still, getting transferred from regular patrol to a plain clothes cop in one of the worst sections of town would be a lot more rewarding than handing out speeding tickets to horny housewives and taking reports on missing labradoodles. Those things were just a rite of passage. This reassignment was what he had come here for - to stop real criminals. The east side was rife with drugs and not just a little weed. It’s where you’d find the hardcore dealers and the people who employed them.
“Tate. Looks like I’m your new partner,” Ryan said, walking into the coffee room where the old man was getting a fresh cup of coffee.
“Yeah, Cap told me. Lucky me,” he groaned.
Ryan didn’t miss the dry tone. Tate was obviously as happy to have Ryan aboard as Ryan was to be partnered with him.
“Alright, let’s get going. The girls will be waiting for me.”
“The girls?”
“Hookers. Best assets in town.”
“I don’t think our job is to be over there checking out their assets,” Ryan said.
“Not those assets. What sort of dirty old man do you think I am? They are our best assets for getting information.”
Ryan looked at him. He wasn’t entirely sure if he had just baited him for fun, knowing what erroneous road such a comment might lead him down or if he had truly not thought about how it sounded. Tate shook his head at him and turned to leave. Ryan followed wordlessly behind until they arrived at the black Chrysler 300 parked on the black lot. Tate tossed him the keys.
“You drive.”
“Well, thank fuck for that,” Ryan muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Ryan replied.
The drive unfolded with Tate giving him a “run down” of the situation on the east side. It was a district rampant with crime and they weren’t the only cops on the streets there. In addition to them, there were two more sets of plain clothes cops, a dozen uniformed patrolmen and an uncertain number of undercover officers.