“Said what?” Hathaway stalks closer. Closer. “What did she say?”
“She said she killed the guy.” I glance away from Minka and stop on the killer sitting in prison orange. “She said she shot him twice with a .22, and when she was done, she left his body on the side of the highway.”
* * *
“You seemed awfully comfortable up on that stand, Detective Malone.” Minka strolls out of the courthouse on a brisk February morning, holding her emblazoned briefcase in her left hand and discreetly slapping mine away with her right when I try to link our fingers together as we walk.
I’m a cop. And she’s a prude in public.
I’m a man in love, waiting for her to accept my proposal. And she’s… claiming I asked in haste.
“I didn’t realize how naturally snitching would come to you.” Lifting her face to the warm sun, despite the chilly breeze, Minka grins for the vitamins, and when our eyes meet, she smirks. “I thought they train mafia kids not to narc?”
“Mm. Well, that part of my life is long behind me.” Reaching out, I snag the hem of her coat and yank her a little closer when she tries to step away.
The courthouse is on the same street as our work—mine, at the police precinct, and hers, at the George Stanley medical facility.
I had no clue I’d ever be attracted to a doctor for the dead, seeing as how morbid and ‘hangs out in the basement’ it all seems, but here I am anyway, trying to grab on and keep her close. “And the fact you keep bringing it up isn’t good for you.”
“So have me killed.” She merely shrugs. “Do to me whatever the mafia does to those who know too much.” Bringing her gaze across, her eyes flash with temper. “You picked that woman up in a bar?”
Surprised, I choke out a laugh and tug her close so I can throw an arm across her shoulders. “You’re mad I have other girlfriends when I’m undercover?”
“Ya think?” She tries to shove me off, but struggles, because I’m twice her size and close to a foot taller. “We weren’t even together on December twenty-third. In fact, I distinctly recall you ignoring me just before Christmas.”
“I was working. But you had other women,” she growls. “You do that often, Archer Malone? How do I know you’re not working undercover while with me?” Because she can’t escape me, she jams her elbow into my ribs and elicits a bark of laughter in response. “You gonna sit up there someday and testify against me?”
“You want me to tell ‘em how good you taste?”
Now that we’ve created distance between the courthouse and the people filing out, I take a sharp left and gently press her lithe body against the concrete wall on the corner of the block. The sun is at my back, warming me and unable to touch her. Still, I shade her face and look down at her supple lips. Her coloring cheeks, and her dancing eyes.
“I can sit in the stand and testify how tight you are, wrapped around me in bed.”
“Wildly inappropriate.”
“I could tell them about the cute little tattoo you have hidden.”
“Archer—”
“And to prove it…” I lean in and nuzzle the warm skin behind her ear, then slide my tongue along her flesh and nip until she drops a little of the tension she always carries, and instead, melts against the wall so the only thing holding her up is me. “I could tell them about how you hate tuna, but love sweet potato fries.”
“Mmm.” Resting her head against the wall, Minka surrenders to me, angling her neck and setting her hands on my shoulders.
We’re busy people, and when we’re not working the same case, the likelihood of us seeing each other during daylight hours is slim to none. So fuck it all, and fuck anyone who has a problem with me crowding her against a wall in the late afternoon sun.
“I could tell them you listen to crime podcasts at night when you think I’m not paying attention. And I can tell the judge that the inside of your elbows are ticklish.”
“You’re giving up all my secrets,” she breathes out, her heart thundering against mine. “How dare you?”
I snort and come around to take her bottom lip between my teeth. “How dare I love you?” I bite just hard enough to make her hiss. “How dare I know all I can about you?”
“Archer—”
“How dare I ask for more?”
“Archer!”
“How dare.” I bite her chin. “How could I?” I bite her jaw. “I’m such an asshole.”