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That last was rare. Women were always coming on to him, and it got tiresome. Deflecting it took energy away from his focus and, although it was flattering, it was also a pain in the ass.
He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, enjoying the feeling of her snuggled against him. This might never happen again, and he wanted to remember every moment of it.
***
Cal stopped for breakfastsandwiches on the way to the safe house, still surprised at the talk Vic had had with him upon awakening. As she’d made herself a cup of coffee, she’d said, “Cal, maybe we should cool—whatever this is—between us while we’re working the case. We can’t afford to be distracted. Don’t you agree?”
He could only nod. This was the type of talk thathehad with women, and it was a shock to have it come back at him. He’d bitten back a smile. “I completely agree, Vic.” He’d actually been a little embarrassed.
She’d smiled. “Good. I really like you, Cal. I hope you know that.”
He shook his head at the memory. So much for his ego. But he could afford to be taken down a peg or two. Good for Vic for looking out for herself.
He’d already been thinking something along those lines anyway. He’d known that they couldn’t disrupt the interrogations so that they could spend more time together. They needed to focus strictly on getting as much as possible out of Escareno.
And they sure didn’t need rumors flying. That could be bad, for Vic especially. It wasn’t fair, but female agents came under more scrutiny than their male counterparts. He didn’t want her great reputation tarnished because of anything going on between them.
And he now considered her a good friend. He didn’t want anything ruining that. If their sexual relationship came out, it might even mean one of them being kicked off the investigation.
So, yeah, Vic had the right idea.
However, he didn’t regret one moment of the time he’d spent with her. Making love with Vic had been a wonderful, fulfilling experience, and he was glad it had happened.
He pulled in front of the safe house and opened the garage door. After checking which side Banning was parked on, he drove into the other space. Just as he was lowering the door, Vic pulled up outside. He stopped and raised the door again as she parked behind him.
He held up a bag. “I brought breakfast sandwiches.”
She laughed and brought out a bag. “Oh, no. So did I.”
“Well, we’ll have plenty, then.”
Inside, they found that Banning had awakened a sleepy Hector a few minutes earlier. He was sitting in the living room drinking a cup of coffee.
Vic called from the kitchen, “Come and eat, Hector. We have breakfast sandwiches.”
Banning took two sandwiches out of the bag and leaned against the counter. “I’ll take these with me. It was a quiet night, but I’m bushed.”
Vic touched his arm. “Change of plan tomorrow. I’m going to spend the day working on my report and making phone calls.” She turned to Cal. “If you could take the afternoon shift, I’ll stay overnight.”
“Sounds good to me,” Banning said.
“I’ll be here at what? Four?” Cal said.
Vic nodded. “That works. I’ll spell you at midnight.”
Hector walked in and yawned.
Vic put two sandwiches on a paper plate and handed them to him. “Eat up. We need to get this show on the road.”
He grimaced and took his plate to the table.
Cal decided to have another sandwich while they waited for Escareno to finish.
Vic glanced at him and smiled.
Good. She didn’t seem uncomfortable after last night, and he didn’t feel that way either. He was ready to get to work. The good cop, bad cop approach had been working well for them so far.
When Hector finished eating, they gave him time to brush his teeth, then started the questioning. They went over old ground first, digging for more details, then began pushing for new information.
