Maritzia's body trembled with laughter and her eyes beganto shine with tears as she tried to hold it at bay.
Shaking his head with a smile, he stepped away."Wait here, and watch my six as I go to the bar and get us moredrinks."
"Roger that." Giving him a cute salute, shesmiled at him.
Bold, strong, and way smarter than him, Cade remindedhimself not for the first time that Maritzia DeLeon was his friend, his sistereven. Yes, she was fucking gorgeous and every red-blooded man within hervicinity knew it and found themselves staring at her with barely disguisedwant. But not him, no. He was her best friend only, and pseudo brother that gotglomped into her family when she was a kid to the point that her mother, AlinaDeLeon, called to check up on him just as much as she did her own sons. He wasjustfamily, he repeated the mantra in his head. He simply noticedevery detail about the curvy, coppery skin woman he worked side by side withevery day because they were likefamilyand nothing more. Hewould just go on continuing to notice the way her long, dark curly hair shepainstakingly tried to press straight every day would curl back up to itsnatural waviness when it rained or after her workout in the gym because he wasa caringfriendwho noticed things like that.
He just simply wished he didn’t have to be thefuckingfriendthat escorted her home to another man thatnight.
Chapter2
"Baby, where have you been?" Victorasked as she pulled off her thick coat in the entryway.
Flakes of snow still dusted Maritzia’s hair andher face felt tingly from the apartment's warm heat.
"I was out at Flannegan's having drinks withCade after we got back from county processing," she explained with a tiredsmile, leaning in to give him a kiss. "I'm sorry for being late. I didn'twant to talk and drive."
Taking a left from the entry hallway, she walkedpast the guest bathroom and into the master bedroom. She could feel Victorfollowing close at her heels. Unclipping her badge and gun holster from herbelt, Maritzia placed them both on her nightstand before sitting at the edge ofthe bed to unlace her boots.
"You work with the guy all day. Why the helldo you guys need to have drinks afterward?" Victor grumbled as he reachedfor her other foot and braced it against his leg to undo the laces. His handspaused at her laces and he looked up at her in question. "Bad case?"
"No, not at all actually," sheanswered, relieved they were not going to go down the topic of Cade like theydid each and every time she spent an extra minute of her time with her partnerand friend. "The woman we questioned about the break-ins started to catcha major attitude. Probably because she knew that we knew who was behind bothbreak-ins at her cousin's bodegas and didn't want to cooperate. One missedpunch at me, and Cade and I had her on the floor with her hands cuffed behindher back a few minutes later. Stupid bitch," she murmured still littleincensed at the woman's actions. That could have gone down completelydifferently today. She could have just answered their damn questions, or hell,not answered the questions. But trying to punch her was a big goddamn mistake."No, I went out because Cade broke up with Bethany," she added,purposely standing up from the bed and grabbing her boots to ignore Victor'sinevitable reaction.
The room was silent around her and her stomachtightened with apprehension.
She had known Victor ever since she got out ofthe academy. With her uncle's influence as chief of the forty-eighth precinct,she had gotten assigned immediately to that station and met the cute officerworking the equipment room. With his arm in a sling, from breaking his wrist ina fight with a suspect, she had stopped by to tease the cute officer dailyabout how exactly was he handing out equipment with just one arm. A littletaller than herself, Victor Ortega was the perfect Dominican boy her motherprobably envisioned her being with. With a perfectly edged beard that gave hisboyish face a sexy scruff and his curly black hair, Victor reminded her of asweet-faced model for The GAP.
Ignoring the notable silence in the room, shewalked into the bathroom and began pulling off her clothes until she wasstanding in front of the sink in her underwear.
Finally, Victor found his words as he stepped upbehind her. "What do you mean broke up? A fight or…" he let the wordshang in the air.
Brushing out her hair, Maritzia took the hair-tieshe held between her lips and pulled her curling man into a ball at the top ofher head, meeting at his intent gaze in the mirror.
"Like a real break up, like as in he let herhave the apartment and he is moving in with Carlos or has already moved in withhim, actually," she corrected. She needed to text Carlos later, shereminded herself. She knew her serial dater brother was probably a littleannoyed by the new company taking up his guest room. "So, I took him outto celebrate."
"Why?! I thought they were goodtogether."
She gave him a questioning look, noting theseriousness on his face. "Where in the hell did you hear that? I know notfrom me." She raised her brows in a questioning look before stepping pasthim to reach into the large walk-in shower and turn on the hot water. "Itold you all they did was fight. God, how I hated her."
She was reaching for the clasp of her bra whenshe felt his presence closer at her back. Warm fingers brushed her fingers tothe side as he pulled and unhooked her clasp.
"Yes, well, your opinion is biased since youused to be in love with him."
His words stunned her like a sudden bolt ofelectricity through her system. Holding her bra in place, Maritzia whirledaround on her heel and stared at Victor, her eyes narrowed with anger.
"I was not inlove." The hotvehemence in her voice and warning look made Victor back up. She could see theregret in his eyes for going down this path, but that only made her angrier.She knew he truly believed his words and did not regret their meaning, onlythat he said them aloud. "I told you I had a crush on him when I wasthirteen, for god's sake. Why do you make me regret that I ever told you that?Every time, you bring that up as if—"
Wrapping his arms around her, Victor cut off herwords, pressing her tightly against his firm chest. "Shh I'm sorry, I'msorry. Ok, baby, I'm sorry. I'm just shocked, ok," his lips moved in herhair as he spoke, but Maritzia remained stiff in his hold, still too angry tojust let it go.
Victor continued. "I'm shocked to hear thatthe man my girlfriend used to have a crush on, who works with her every day foreight-plus hours, sometimes more, and who is accepted into your family morethan me—is now suddenly single. It's fucking frustrating."
Softening a little at his confession, Maritziatilted her head up in his hold and looked up at him. "I told you my familyloves you, though."
Nodding, Victor smiled. Maritzia could feel hishands move against her body. Sliding up her bare back, he caught hold of thestraps of her bra and stepped back, pulling them down her arms until he wasable to drop the bra on the floor. Bending to one knee, he hooked his thumbsinto the hem of her panties and pulled them down.
Feeling herself calm a little, she watched as hestood back up and met her eyes.
"Yes," he finally answered, guiding herby the shoulders to enter the shower. "I just wished they loved me as muchas they did that guy, I guess."
