She studied his face and then wearily said, “Do I even have to mention that using non-police methods can cause problems with a case, like maybe he could use a loophole to get out of prosecution?”
“I didn’t leave any bruises,” he said.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. Her shoulders slumped. “You think this is a dead end?”
“I think that it can wait until tomorrow.”
“Not if we can get another lead.”
“Parker, go home,” Raoul said firmly. “That’s an order.” He put a hand on her arm. “Two big busts in one week are enough for any cop. Even you.”
A.J. nodded to the captain in acknowledgment. At least she couldn’t argue with her boss.
“Captain, you told me to get those guns off the street. That’s what I’m doing.”
“You can’t track anything if you drop from exhaustion,” A.J. said quietly.
Sienna’s mouth thinned. “Looks like I’m outgunned and outranked. Hobart,” she called to one of the uniforms. “Get one of these guns to Kate Quinn in the lab. Have her call me at home.”
The uniform nodded his head. A.J. took the opportunity to usher Sienna toward the car, waiting for the explosion, waiting for her to tell him that he’d disobeyed her order to stay put.
He wondered how he was going to get out of this one. He’d rather make love to her instead of fighting with her.
All the way to her apartment, he pondered her hold over him. Every single moment he spent with her still didn’t seem enough. They’d been together almost twenty-four hours and he wanted more.
He wanted ties with her.
He shocked himself when he realized that he wanted commitment.
He didn’t want nonobligatory sex with a woman who didn’t need him for anything other than to reciprocate the nonobligatory part. He wanted honesty and intimacy. He was moving into a complicated zone, but he couldn’t seem to care. After realizing how close she had come to a fatal shooting, he understood how much he wanted to explore every multifaceted inch of her.
Then he thought about how demanding his job was and how special a person had to be to put up with a SEAL’s schedule. It was foolish to let his emotions take hold of him, but where Sienna was concerned, he found it hard to care.
She was definitely having second thoughts about him. Why else would she have left last night?
He was moving into hazardous territory filled with land mines dangerous to the heart. He had vowed from the beginning he would steer clear of any woman who needed more from a man than sex. But he couldn’t seem to help himself.
He felt much more for Sienna than he wanted to. He’d been moved by her simple offer of compassion, her interest in his training, and the importance of the SEALs to him. Sharing this deep stuff with her had changed his perception of being part of a relationship. The special give and take that a man and woman experienced while moving closer to something…permanent.
The Navy had been his life for a long time. The SEAL team he commanded was his family and it had been enough. Enough until the dark-haired vixen with the tight green dress had asked him for a dance.
He came around the car to help her out and she looked up at him with a whimsical look on her face that said she wasn’t an invalid. He studied her upturned face, trying to gauge her state of mind, but she was like a closed book, giving nothing away. He bet she was one hell of a poker player.
He followed her to the elevator, to her door, and then inside her apartment.
When he closed the door, she said very quietly, “You were supposed to stay put.”
“I know, but—”
She put her fingers over his lips to silence him. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, her fingers soft against his mouth.
“You never do anything you’re told. I wonder how you ever live a military life.”
“If you’re going to read me the riot act…” he said around her fingers.
“Thank you,” she whispered, cutting him off, “for saving my life.”
He looked down at her, surprised she acknowledged the fact.