Page 8 of Dirty Cops Next Door

David

I watchedthe first of the fallen leaves blow against the window, a storm brewing in the night sky. I could hear the rush of air, the tinkle of the dry leaves as they crashed against the glass, and thought about the stricken face of my neighbor as I barged in and accused her brother of being a drug runner.

She’d given away her every thought on that mobile face of hers. She was going to have to learn to control that if she planned on a career as a reporter. I’d seen the disbelief, the confusion, and the anger as I’d spoken to her roughly. She wasn’t what I’d accused her of, but my suspicions were still running high. Something about the brown-haired woman with such innocent blue eyes set me on edge. She’d made me nervous from the first moment I met her.

“You want any of this pizza?” Grant came in, delivery box in hand.

“No, I’m good, thanks.” I shook my head, a pounding headache making my stomach knot up at the sight of the food.

“What are we going to do about those two?” Grant asked, his voice drilling straight into my ear and through my brain. The headache wasn’t easing, despite the aspirin.

“Eric’s hanging around with that Mark kid. We both know who his dad is.” I rubbed at the space between my eyes, trying to get the headache to ease. “If he’s already found his way into that group, he may be lost before we even get started.”

“The old ‘telling me I can’t hang around with someone means that’s who I’ll go straight for’ game, huh?” Grant sounded amused but I could see the worry in his eyes.

We’d been mates for a long time, friends to born and raised Americans, not bedmates. Although we did have a penchant for sharing bed partners. Together.

“Exactly. She’s his sister so she isn’t going to have much control over him anyway. Hopefully, my little speech put the fear of God into him.” I sat back, propping my feet up on the long couch. Grant took a seat in a dark brown leather recliner and sighed as his muscles relaxed.

“You could be right. We could get him into that new program the chief has started.” Grant picked up another slice of cheese-covered pizza and I had to look away, nausea roiling in my stomach.

These headaches were getting worse, but they came with the job. Or so the doc had told me. Nothing to do but take anti-anxiety pills or wait them out. I’d have to exercise more, see if that eased the stress of being a detective in a town with a drug problem.

“I’m not sure that’ll work. It’s for offenders. Eric hasn’t been convicted yet.” I stressed the last word, letting Grant know I still thought the kid might be heading down a criminal path.

“It will work, David, I’m sure of it. Turn the game on, the Ravens are playing tonight.” He eased the recliner back and I turned the game on.

Usually, if we had time, we spent our Friday nights at the high school football stadium, watching our local boys play, but we’d had to miss that tonight.

“I’m going to head to the shower, then to bed, man. I’m beat. Let me know the score in the morning.” I eased off the couch and went to the bathroom, the warm spray already easing some of the tension that caused me so much pain.

I was letting the spray wash over my face when Toni’s anger-filled eyes entered my mind. I’d wanted nothing more than to pin that angry little body against the wall and kiss away the words she’d wanted to spew, but I had a job to do. My body reacted again and a fantasy of her legs wrapped around my waist as I pounded her into the shower wall filled my mind. That woman was trouble, so much damned trouble!

She was the marrying kind, not the kind you’d fuck and forget about. She needed a white knight. Not two men with a stash of money and white powder hidden in their attic.