Page 38 of American Sweethearts

I was about to get even louder when my lieutenant walked in. His face was grim and when I noticed Chase was trying to look everywhere but at us, my stomach sank.

As soon as the lieutenant was close enough, I opened my mouth. “He needs to be arrested, lieutenant, right now. He’s the one. He’sbeenthe one.”

The lieutenant also looked like he’d been in the same clothes all night. That’s when I knew they’d responded to this without notifying me at all. They’d shut me out, on purpose.

“Gutierrez, the only facts that we have right now are that the stepfather was admitted to the hospital with what seems to be a knife wound, and she’s missing. The mother said she ran out of the house, and we still can’t find her. He’s in the hospital and not going anywhere for a couple of days.” He’d shoved both his hands into his pant pockets, but he pulled them out to extend his hands in a “What are you gonna do?” gesture which had me seeing red. “He’s also not talking. At this point we’re not sure what happened.”

I thought I’d black out from holding in everything I wanted to say, but I knew it wouldn’t go well for me if I did. “Can I go talk to him?”

His expression told me what he’d say before he opened his mouth. “I put Chase on the case. He was on last night and I think he can handle it from here.”

Bri spoke up as I was still trying to figure out how to protest without getting myself even deeper in the hole.

“There’s the question of finding April, too. It’s best if Priscilla is involved. She knows her well. April likes her. Whatever is happening in that family, we need to think about mitigating the trauma this child has already experienced. Adding new people is never a good approach.” I loved Bri in that moment, but I knew ultimately, law enforcement decided who went out and whodidn’t. Bri was an advocate, a social worker—he advised, but the lieutenant and the DA called the shots.

The lieutenant didn’t seem too convinced, but to my surprise, he conceded with a shake of his head. “Fine. But you are not to interfere with the case once the child’s found.”

I gritted my teeth, wanting to scream that the case wasmine.That I’d been working it since day one. That I’d been saying this guy was suspect from day one. When I turned to look at Bri, his expression told me he was worried I’d do something to get me in trouble and fuck, I almost did. I wanted to unload on the lieutenant about how shitty it was to be passed over all the time. How tired I was about all of it. But then I remembered Bri’s words and that this wasn’t about me, it was about April.

“I always do my job,” I bit out, as Sanchez came over to talk to Bri and me. Lt. Dennis didn’t even respond, he just turned around and walked to where Chase was standing.

I took a couple of deep breaths and once again asked myself how much longer I could do this.

When my phone buzzed, my stomach turned. I’d been messing around with J while April was hiding somewhere, probably scared for her life.

I ignored it, and turned to Bri and Sanchez. I had work to do.

chapter twenty-five

juan pablo

As soon as Priscilla walked into my bedroom, I knew things were going to be intense. It was almost 1:00 a.m. and it was the first I’d heard from her since she’d cancelled on our plans to hang out a couple of nights before. She’d texted out of the blue asking if I was up, and now ten minutes later, she was here.

I’d given her a key to the apartment on her last visit, so she let herself in, and found me reading in bed…waiting for her.

“Hey.” She looked and sounded exhausted, and it was all I could do to keep the questions of what had been going on the last couple of days to myself.

“Hey, yourself. I’m glad you texted.” I put my reader on the table on top of the stacks of books I always had there and moved to get up, but she lifted a hand, shaking her head.

“No, stay there. I’m going to shower first. Is that okay?”

I kept the eye roll to myself and gestured to the door of the en suite bathroom. “Of course. Towels are on the shelf.”

I looked down and saw that she’d taken off her boots, but she was still wearing work clothes. She’d never done that before. She usually went home and changed into something more comfortable before coming over. Which meant that she’d been working until now, one in the morning on a Saturday.

Without saying anything, she lifted her arms and pulled a hair tie from her wrist to put her hair in a messy bun on top ofher head. Her mouth turned up as she walked into the room. “I don’t suppose you have a shower cap.”

I shook my head, smiling. “Nope, but I do have this,” I said, smoothing a hand over the pillow she’d been using which was covered in the white satin pillowcase I’d bought after she started staying over.

She nodded again as she started taking off clothes. I sat back on the bed, with the covers off, my dick hardening with every move she made. She slid out of her navy blue slacks, revealing a triangle of black lace barely covering her. The silence in the room was charged and I wanted to get up and touch her so bad I was shaking.

I sucked in a breath as she went to pull off her turtleneck instead of her panties. Once that was off, I had a full view of all that brown skin. Her bra matched her panties, and my mouth went dry when she walked up to the bed, her hands by her side, so I could get a good look at her.

“Take them off,” I demanded, practically sitting on my hands now.

She put both of hers on the edge of the bed and leaned in, without even acknowledging my request. “No. I’m giving orders tonight. I’m going to shower and when I come out,I’mgoing to fuckyou.”

My cock got so hard I was sure it would make a hole in my briefs. I licked my dry lips, looking over at the bottom drawer of my dresser where I kept my toys and her eyes veered in the same direction. Again I made an attempt to get up from the bed, but she shook her head.