“How do I know if someone is undercover?”
“You don’t. You treat them like everyone else and let the department sort them out. Sometimes you’ll see people walk that you don’t think should. It might be that they are UC or it might be that our justice system is a load of bullshit sometimes. Just let it go and don’t let it get to you.”
“You mean like that crack dealer you bunged up last year?”
“That was a mistake. I wasn’t out to get him. He just crossed my path at the wrong time and I reacted. Don’t believe everything you hear. Trust your eyes and your gut. You’re gonna encounter a lot of misdirection out here. It’s just like what you get on the regular beat, except on steroids. You’re used to dealing with soccer moms. You’re about to meet women with soccer balls on ‘em.”
Ryan smiled at this. Tate might not be so bad after all. He hadn’t yet attempted to smoke in the car either. So far, so good.
“Alright, park it here,” Tate told him, motioning toward a spot on the curb in front of a rather run down looking hotel. It appeared to be closed, but more like it should be condemned altogether.
“What are we doing?”
“You didn’t think we were just going to drive through this hood all day did you? This is where we hit the sidewalks.”
“Great.”
The day past that was just a blur of street names and faces that Ryan would no doubt come to know better than he’d like to in the coming months. Right now, they all seemed like clones of one another in their caps and hoodies, designed to hide their faces, color, sex, everything. It didn’t matter what their differences were in this neighborhood, they all had one common enemy - the police. The more they could blend in with one another, the less likely they were to be singled out as the culprit for anything caught on security cameras or cell phones.
Ryan understood it. It wasn’t much different than life in his pack had been. In an attack, you couldn’t sort out one brown, black or grey wolf from the next. Their individual markings blended together and they became one large entity, attacking as one. Only a very rare Alpha or the Omegas displayed any unique colorings, sometimes white, red, beige or a whole variety of shades in between. He found himself wondering what color Lucy’s wolf might be and if he’d ever see it. She remained in his thoughts as they drove back to the station, the drone of Tate’s voice beside him fading into the background and going unheard.
As soon as he was home, he sent her a text. He’d let enough time pass so as not to seem too eager. He didn’t know who wrote the rules about how long you should wait before texting or calling someone you’d been out with. He’d already pushed the boundaries by sending her a message the morning after, but he’d used the earrings as an excuse. He thought it was ridiculous that men and women made up so many silly rules for dating, but he found himself following them, nonetheless.
She, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care about them at all, as he received an almost instant reply.
I’d love to see you tonight. Call me when you get a chance.
Fine. If she didn’t care about the rules, neither did he. He pushed the call button by her contact name and waited as the line rang on the other end.CHAPTER FIVELucy
“Hello?” Lucy replied, trying not to sound too giddy.
“Hey. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I was asleep last night and had to be in early at work today. Haven’t had much time to talk.”
“No apologies necessary.”
“I know. Just didn’t want you to think I was blowing you off or anything.”
“I didn’t.”
“So, have you had dinner yet?”
“Not yet.”
“How about I swing by and pick you up on the bike? We can go down to The Folly for a burger and maybe take a walk on the trail.”
“Trail is closed at night.”
“You gonna report me to the police?”
She laughed and accepted his invitation, giving him her address. It wasn’t something she would usually do so early on. She tended to be paranoid and meet people somewhere else rather than telling them where she lived, but Ryan was a cop and she knew where he lived, so she didn’t think twice about it.
“See you in about an hour then?” he said.
“See you then,” she replied.
The call ended from his end and she tossed her phone on the bed, grabbing a quick shower herself before changing into some jeans and a soft button down blouse. She pulled a heavy sweater over it to combat the cold out and pulled her hair up in a ponytail before dabbling on a light coat of makeup for what she hoped looked like a casual, not trying too hard look. Then, she proceeded to pace about the house while she waited. She should be doing something, but she felt jittery. Why he had that effect on her, she wasn’t certain, but he did.