He kneeled at Julia’s feet. “Hey, can you look at me?”
She lifted her head and suddenly Max had no idea why he’d asked for her attention. Her irises were bright green, the brown ringing them so pale it was almost gold. Bambi eyes, drown-in-me eyes, eyes to kill for. Max coughed, forcibly breaking the connection. “Anyone know you’re here?” he asked, the words coming out more roughly than he intended.
“My sister but she’s going to a party. She might be there all weekend.”
Her lower lip trembled, the plushness of it drawing his gaze as effectively as cleavage. He’d give anything to have Julia look as bored as she usually did. Her vulnerability was stirring something in him. Something macho and unhelpful.
“I’m sorry,” he said, unsure what he was apologizing for. “What about your phone? Any chance it’s still working?”
Julia flushed. “It’s busted and even if I could fix it, the battery’s dead.”
Max stood, needing to put some distance between himself and her mouth. “This doesn’t look good.”
“What about your phone?”
“I don’t get reception in this area.”
“Our cars? Someone might see them?”
He shook his head. “That’s a long bow to draw.”
Most cops didn’t live where they worked, himself included. Too likely disgruntled crooks would egg your house or poison your dog. It also meant little chance a colleague would cruise past and spot his Ford Ranger or Julia’s beat-up Commodore still waiting side by side for their owners to return. He racked his brain for alternatives but it kept showing him hazel eyes and full lips. Unhelpful shit.
“I never should have agreed to work back.” Julia stood, tugging at the waistband of the black jeans she wore as often as he wore his uniform pants. They were so tight and sleek the material looked like leather. “This is what I get for being such a pushover.” Max was finding it increasingly hard to look away from her ass. “Uhh, it’s done now. No sense wondering ‘what if.’ Do you have any water?”
“Half a liter in my bag.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Food?”
“A couple of mints but that’s it.”
A slither of panic went down his spine. They had enough water to survive a forty-eight-hour stretch, but it wasn’t going to be pretty and come Monday, he’d be the laughing stock of the station. Cop locks himself in evidence room? That was almost as bad as getting stuck in your own handcuffs. No one was going to let him live this shit down. Bonnie would be furious he’d missed their appointment and God only knew what this would do for his career…Actually, he already knew what it was going to do for his career—nothing.
He turned to Julia. “You know computers. Can’t you…do something?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. I’ll lump together a teleportation device from a tin can and some shitty plastic jewelry, will I?”
She was funny, he’d forgotten that. She’d made him laugh the night they met, all those fast little jabs like a boxer. That soft, pretty mouth…Down, boy.“Good point. Sorry for assuming.”
Her expression softened. “I was wondering if I could do anything as well, but there’s nowhere to connect to the local server, no Wi-Fi or phone reception. Unless you’ve got a working radio we’re screwed.”
Max felt his stomach descend about a mile. “In that case, I think we might be screwed.”
“Oh God.” She slumped back against the wall and slid down, fingers clamped over her face. “This cannot be happening.”
Max winced. If they were going to be locked in for a weekend, he couldn’t afford for her to succumb to panic, especially not this early in the game. Things were only going to get worse.
He squatted down. “Hey, can you tell me how you’re feeling?”
She peered out at him from between her fingers. “Great. I feel great. Everything’s going really well.”
“Julia, look at me.”
She didn’t reply. He could smell her, a soft vanilla scent mixed with coconut shampoo. “Come on. I can’t have you freaking out on me.”
He reached forward and brushed her wrist and she jerked away like he was on fire.
Max groaned, feeling like a predatory idiot. “I’m sorry. I’m not declaring myself lord of the property office or anything, but you need to talk to me.”