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"I hope you work it out." I leaned forward, watching him become animated with his talk of his work. It was the first time I’d had a glimpse into who Acton Cunningham really was.
And I liked it.
“The oddest thing is, the girl who OD’d... she'd never done drugs before. Family says she’s not a user, the best friend, even her ex-boyfriend agrees. And she doesn't know how they got into her system, especially by something that should've been injected, or internally taken."
“The coffee shop girls must have been shocked to find her there."
"I know the situation bothers Andy more than he lets on. Somebody on the outside of some social circle frequently gets hurt when drug channels get loose, and there's little we can do about it unless we get to the source of the problem faster.This one... Neither of us have any idea how the drug is being trafficked into Austin. Help me. You're down here on the street level. Maybe you’ll see something we don’t?”
I shrugged hopelessly."I can try. We’ve had odd boxes and a confused delivery driver, but that’s about all." Searching for drugs was so far out of my frame of reference, I wasn’t sure how much help I could be. The most I'd seen of drugs in my life was smoking pot at a friend’s place after a party one night. I hated the way it made me feel, and I’d never done it again.
His phone beeped. "Well, my time’s up, girls. Floss. Dolly." He doffed his hat to us, both me and the flower, that small smile curling his lips again as his gaze swept over me.
My skin zinged beneath his study, something heady developing between us in a short period of time. He stepped forward, catching my chin between his fingertips and brushed his lips over mine in a barely there kiss. My breath stalled, the world spinning too fast around me as he drew back, that same flare of desire evident in his eyes as he nodded once more.
I didn’t start breathing again until Acton left the shop and I was alone with Dolly.
For the rest of my afternoon, I made up orders and completed my sweep of the store as best I could, but I couldn’t help glancing over towards the Rangers HQ across the road from the shop.
But no matter how many hours I watched his office door, I didn’t see Acton again that day.
CHAPTER THREE
ACTON
“Oh look. Here comes Acton Man,” Jake called across the office, raising a few heads as I worked my way into the office door, my arms laden with full trays.
Ethan shook his head, ignoring the rest of the catcalls around the room as I delivered the coffee run for the day. It appeared to be Rhys Archer’s way of inducting new members to the unit: start at the bottom and work your way up. Humility hurt, and I hoped to hell my stint didn’t last long.
Forcing a smile on my face, I delivered Jake's coffee and flipped him off with my other hand. “Get some new lines, man. That one’s had its day.”
Andy laughed at his adjacent desk. “How’s things going with Floss?”
“Ah—” I swallowed hard, remembering that kiss, and tried not to let the wave of arousal at the thought of her take solid form inside my slacks. “She's good.”
“Mmhm.” Jake muttered. “That good, huh?”
I ignored him. “How's the investigation going?”
“’Bout as good as Floss.” Andy stretched his arm over his head. “Lot of loose ends, a lot of mangled ends and a shit ton of knotty bits. Sum it up?”
“Pretty well.” I remembered what Floss mentioned about the packages in the shop. “Did Ella mention that they’ve had some odd deliveries of their own at the flower shop?”
“Florist, dickwad. Grow some culture.” Jake added into the conversation like a Shakesperan aside.
“Is he always this cranky?” I threw a thumb over my shoulder raising my eyebrows at Andy.
“Nah. Probably not getting any at home.”
“Fuck off,” Jake grumbled. “I’ve got undercover to do again.”
“Ah, so you won’t be getting any at home, because you won't be there. Much better.” Andy gave his friend a wide grin.
A knot tugged inside my heart. I’d known Andy for a hell of a long time, and had plenty of good banerting moments with him, but here in the office it was like I was the toddler swimming out to the deep end, sans floating device.
Jake swiped his coffee off the desktop, scowling at both of us, and strode from the office. The doors whooshed closed behind him, letting in a blast of too-warm air from the outside into the chilly air conditioned space.
Andy propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “Man, have you thought about not trying so damn hard? I mean, it’s just sad.” He gave me an easy grin but the concern etched in his eyes bothered me on a deep level.
