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She heaved a sigh. “Can we just stop talking about this? We both need our heads focused on the bust that’s about to go down.”
“Okay, I’ll allow the talk to shift to work.” He widened his eyes at her to make a point. “For now.”
The city was almost in full dark. Streetlights painted golden stripes across the street. When she turned her head toward the window, she experienced a heavy melancholy, a dream of other places and other times.
She sometimes experienced this feeling, and always associated it with being homesick for India. But during her whirlwind affair with Apollo, the feeling had disappeared. Then when she got news that he was missing, it hit with double the force.
“Let’s go over the plan,” she said to Brown.
“Okay, we’ve got Sea’s Market, owned and operated by Darcy and Ferdinand DeLeon. Both US citizens, born in New Jersey.”
She nodded, the case clear in her mind. “He goes by the nickname of Shark because he runs the ‘Sea.’”
“Yup. A month ago, one of the employees at Sea’s Market was arrested for unpaid parking tickets and found to have no papers. When asked where he’s staying, the location he disclosed was the market. They asked if he also worked there, and things got sketchy. His English was poor and broken, but what the cops pieced together was that they were using him for labor.”
“Which is when we were called in.”
He nodded. “One undocumented worker isn’t so unusual. But we’ve been keeping an eye on this case, waiting for it to blow open. Now it’s time to raid the market and see what Shark’s really up to.”
She twitched her hand toward her side where her weapon was nestled. A cloud of heat swirled in her stomach at the memory of Apollo’s gaze lingering on her hip…and the hunger in those deep brown, almost black, eyes.
“Illegals working all day and night.”
Her brain tuned back into what Brown was saying. At least he was still on the topic of the bust and not her relationships. She really was done with Apollo. Three orgasms had gotten him out of her system.
Then why did merely thinking about his beautiful, muscled body and long, impressive cock heat her insides to lava? Not to mention the fact that he knew exactly where to order her favorite tacos fromandcalled her out on why she moved to the new apartment?
“Word is that we should go to the back of the building where the trucks unload supplies. We’ll flash the warrant and then it’s game on.” Brown was all business, and she felt a trickle of relief to have him as her partner and at her side.
“You’re a good friend, you know that?” she asked.
He whipped his head to look at her. “Oh no. You’re getting sappy on me? Now, when we’re about to break open this sweatshop?”
She shrugged. “Why not? It’s as good a time as any.”
“Now you’re sounding fatalistic. What’s really going on, Indika?”
“Nothing. Just glad you’re working this case with me. I know you’ve got my back.”
“And you’ve got mine.”
The sign on the front of the market came into view, the letters reminiscent of bygone days in America, when kids rode bikes in the streets and stayed out well past dark without their parents worrying about them.
Brown parked on the street toward the rear of the building. A small wooden unloading dock came into view.
“They’re getting a shipment?” She scanned the side of the big white box truck but didn’t see any writing on it as one might expect.
“Looks fishy.”
She grunted. “Well, they do sell fish. We’ve got impeccable timing for these things.”
He unfastened his seatbelt and reached for his door handle. “Which is why they send us.”
As they silently approached the steps leading to the dock, Brown whispered, “You have to make a choice about Robert, you know.”
Irritation made her pitch her voice even lower than necessary. “I’m notwithRobert, not officially. I don’t have to make any choices either. I told you—I got…that guy…out of my system. Besides, I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“No—you don’t want to hurt Robert. And you’re afraid Lazarus is going to hurt you.”
