Kennedy nodded thoughtfully. “I like it, but we’ll have to see what the upper brass and the DA’s office thinks about that plan.”
Di wished they had a firm answer now but resigned herself to the fact that the wheels of justice moved slowly. Just having confirmation that Kiko is part of the gang certainly pointed the finger at Hernandez.
She glanced down at the small puddle of blood forming on the street beneath her left hand. Maybe she should find a restroom to clean up. She didn’t think the young boat attendant would appreciate them returning the boat stained with blood.
“This way.” Jarek must have read her thoughts. He tugged her toward the ambulance. The EMTs looked at her blood-stained arm, then opened the back to grab some first aid supplies.
“We can call for a second rig,” the EMT offered.
“No need. It’s just a scratch.” She didn’t like being fussed over. Where was Doc when she needed him? A no-nonsense approach to suturing her wound would be welcome about now. She’d do it herself, but the angle was awkward enough to make that difficult.
“Have a seat over here.” Jarek motioned for her to the open passenger door of the first police car that arrived on scene. Sitting in the seat reminded her of the way he’d made her ride in the back cage area the day before. That ride to the police station seemed like weeks ago instead of a mere twenty-eight hours.
Things had changed a lot between them since yesterday.
“It’s not a big deal,” she protested when he moistened a pack of gauze with some sterile saline and began gently washing the blood away. His closeness was driving her crazy. She swallowed hard. “Just slap some gauze and tape over it and be done.”
Jarek ignored her, his blue gaze intense on the task at hand. For some strange reason, his caring for her injury seemed more personal than when Doc had done the same thing. Granted, being in Afghanistan was different. But even then, she’d known Doc was just doing his job as their team medic. She’d been in shock after the fight with the Afghan soldier that she’d barely felt the stitches Doc had placed without the benefit of numbing medicine.
Here, she was far too aware of Jarek’s fingers on her skin. It didn’t make sense; they were sitting in the middle of a crime scene with cops milling about. There shouldn’t be a sense of intimacy in his ministrations.
She tried to look away, but her gaze was glued to Jarek’s face. It was so close she could brush his cheek with her lips.
He chose that moment to turn his head to look at her. Their gazes locked, and she couldn’t have broken the connection short of a flash-bang striking the ground at their feet. Then she lost her mind by closing the gap, brushing her mouth against his.
Jarek leaned in, kissing her back. For a nanosecond, she forgot where they were. Who he was. A cop. The last person on the planet she should be interested in.
Reality hit hard, and she quickly pulled back from her impulsive kiss. “Ah, sorry. I—don’t know what I was thinking. Just forget that happened.”
“Don’t apologize on my account,” Jarek’s voice was a low, husky rumble. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a while now. You won’t get any complaints from me if you want to kiss me again.”
He’d thought about kissing her? That was good. No, wait. That was not good. Not good!
“Dream on. Hurry up with that bandage so we can get out of here.” She was desperate to change the subject. “I still think Cargo Shorts is moving drugs, but he’s obviously not our shooter.”
Jarek held her gaze for another long heartbeat before turning his attention back to her wound. She was acutely aware of the warmth of his fingers as he smoothed a gauze pad over the gash in her arm and then wrapped it up with an elastic wrap. “This will give you mobility rather than using tape,” he explained when she looked surprised. “Unless it hurts too much to bend your arm.”
“No, it’s fine.” She hoped he didn’t notice her flushed cheeks as she experimentally flexed her arm. The pain was negligible. She’d dealt with far worse. “Thanks.”
“You could have been badly hurt, Di,” he murmured.
Her breath caught in her throat, but she pushed the sensation away. “Just as you were almost killed at your house.” She wished he’d back up a bit to get out of her personal space. “We knew the risk. It’s not a big deal.”
“Yeah.” He searched her gaze for a moment, then finally stood and took a few steps back.
She drew a deep breath and shot to her feet. She was so distracted by her unwelcome awareness of Jarek that she didn’t even notice that Detective Andrews had arrived.
As usual, he looked annoyed with being called to yet another crime scene. The guy was beyond useless in her humble opinion, but she didn’t comment. Instead, she stood back, watching as Jarek approached his colleague. Seeing them discuss the events that had taken place caused her to look away.
This partnership was wearing her down. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, to have access to information only given to the police. Yet somehow, it now felt as if she and Jarek were on one side, while the police were on the other.
All this forced togetherness had given Jarek the opportunity to infiltrate her defenses. He’d gotten way too close. So close that she’d kissed him.
She needed to build those walls back up around herself. Because if she wasn’t careful, she’d end up nursing a broken heart while she sat in jail awaiting trial after he arrested her for murder.
Di’s kiss was messing with his head, yet he couldn’t quite hold back the goofy grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. She had kissed him. Okay, maybe she had appeared to regret the impulse, but he was encouraged by the fact that she’d cared enough to kiss him in the first place.
Kissing her was incredible. Too brief, but still amazing. Maybe once the danger was over, they could get to know each other better. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her again. Maybe someplace with a tad more privacy than a street corner in the middle of gang turf. He made a silent promise not to pry into her past any more than he already had. To give her the time and space to open up to him when she was comfortable enough to do so.
