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“Right. But still, you tried. Tell me about that.” Castillo tossed back her drink and wrinkled her nose. She was a bourbon girl, through and through.No to the barley, she would say.I’m American. I want corn in my fermented mash. Better yet, give me tequila.
“I don’t know.” Sean tried to shrug it off. He pounded his chest with his fist, clearing his throat from letting the whiskey go down the wrong pipe. “I’ve been inspired, I guess you could say.” No point in lying to his partner. She could see right through him. And for good reason. There was no difference, in Sean’s opinion, between brothers in arms in the corps and brothers in arms on the force. If you couldn’t trust your brothers and sisters, you were going to have a problem.
“Inspired by who?” Forgetting herself, Castillo grabbed a second airplane bottle of scotch and poured it into her glass.
“It’s really nothing.” It really wasn’t. Except it kind of was. Even though Sean had put Delaney behind him, there was no arguing that she’d brought out the best in his running today. Would he have chased down Richardson a month ago, before that race? “Just somebody at the gym who’s inspired me to get my butt back in shape.”
Sean didn’t leave his messes for other people to clean up and he always got his man. He would’ve busted Richardson one way or another, would’ve discovered the chop shop and recovered the parts and pieces to over a dozen vehicles, including the pivotal catalytic converter that started the chase.
But would he have run as hard as he had today? Probably not. Not that Delaney had created something inside of him that hadn’t been there before. She’d justremindedSean that he had that fifth gear. One he hadn’t used in ages. And since then Sean had been motivated to keep going, to get even faster, if he could. He’d even gone on a couple of jogs on his own, despite not having seen Delaney again.
“Holy shit.” Castillo slugged her second glass. She made theohmagawdface. “There’s a girl. You’ve met a girl.”
“Not a girl,” Sean countered. He pointed a finger and sipped at his drink, which was the proper way to drink scotch. Not throw it back like a defeated hero in an old Western. “A woman. A really strong, fast, wild...woman.”
“Gee-suz!” Castillo punched him in the shoulder. Sean didn’t even flinch, though his scotch sloshed in the glass. “I’ve never seen you act like this.” She narrowed her gaze. “Not about Kim anyway. And not with the rebound chick you dated last year, who was secretly in love with someone else.”
“Sunny,” Sean corrected. “Her name is Sunny. We’re still friends.”
“That’s nice.” Castillo smoothed out her lipstick. Somehow, that deep red color she wore never came off, no matter how long the day or how many arrests they made. It didn’t even leave an annoying ring on her favorite coffee cup, which was printed with Mr. Monk’s list of phobias, starting withFear of Germsand ending withFear of Elevators. “But tell me more about this other girl. I’m sorry, I mean—” Castillo fanned out her fingers “—woman.”
Sean shrugged and polished off his drink. “No more to tell. She’s been to my gym a couple times. I’ve made a fool of myself both times. Once, I knocked her over and the next she almost beat me in a 5K.”
“Almost?” Castillo plopped in her desk chair and woke up her computer, like she might actually be contemplating doing the paperwork for today’s mess right now.
“Jury’s out. In the end, our race was declared a tie.”
Castillo tapped on her keyboard, her fingers going light and fast. “Ties are bullshit.”
“You’re telling me.”
After a long moment of silent typing, Castillo looked up with a sly smile. “I’m going to trust my instincts and let it lie for now. But you keep me posted on this situation.”
“She’s not interested. Plus, I haven’t seen her in a few weeks. Case closed.” Sean pushed Castillo out of her chair. He grabbed her jacket from the desk and pressed it into her hands. “Go home to your man and kids. I’ll finish the report.”
“Nah, I can’t let you do that,” Castillo said, even as she pulled on her coat. “Just do it tomorrow. You’ve had enough today, chasing down that car thief like you’re some movie star or a badass onGrand Theft Auto.”
Sean laughed, leveled out on scotch, his anxiety from the day gone but his weary body not ready for sleep. “It’s no big deal. Go home, Castillo. I got nobody waiting for me right now, other than my cat.”
“Hey, don’t discount that pussy,” Castillo snorted as she rounded the corner. “She’s got needs, too.”
Sean smiled as he took over the report Castillo had started. He could do it on autopilot and still get home at a decent hour. “Go home.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s better.”
