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She asked a few more questions to tie up loose ends before heading out. Looks like she’d need to have another talk with Misty Swamp, this time down at the station house. She called the DA to get started on a warrant before switching gears once again. She still didn’t know where Bridgette fit into this whole mess, but she was sure there was a connection. She’d just climbed into the SUV and turned it one when her phone rang.
“Have you eaten, detective?” Why is he pissed again?
“I haven’t had time…”
“I’m almost at the station. Meet me there.”
“Riley, I’m in the middle of something.”
“Yeah, so am I. It’s your job to do whatever the hell you’re doing, and it’s mine to take care of you. I don’t care how important the shit is; nothing’s more important than fueling up after burning the midnight oil.”
He hung up before she could answer, and Celia was tempted to ignore him, but her poor brain was too tired to think or deal with the repercussions if she did such a thing. Riley wasn’t worried about her ignoring or disobeying him. He knew his woman knew better and was reassured of that fact when he saw her pulling into the parking lot outside the station just as he pulled up.
CHAPTER 16
“So, how’s it going? You getting anywhere?”
“I would be if someone would let me get to it.” Riley ignored her snark and pushed the straw through the hole in her cup and passed it to her. He’d already unwrapped her sandwich because she looked like she was on her last leg. “When do you get to take a break, Detective?”
Celia looked at him askance. Until he mentioned it, she hadn’t realized how tired she really was. It had been more than sixteen hours since she’d left the farm, and she’d been pushing herself until now. Had she not stopped to fuel up, she could’ve gone for another few hours easy, but the little break had put the brakes on. She chewed her food slowly as she thought of going home to bed for some much-needed rest.
“Why don’t I make that decision for you, babe?” Riley took the food from her hands and placed it on the dashboard in front of the passenger seat where he now sat, and before she knew what was happening, he was jumping down from the SUV and slamming the door with a muffled curse. Celia had no idea what was going on until he opened the driver’s side door and told her to scoot over.
“What’re you doing?” It was then she noticed how hard he was clenching his jaw, the way you would if you were biting your tongue so as not to say something harsh. The look he gave her had her scooting her butt over without another word, and he climbed in and once again slammed the door hard enough to take it off its hinges.
Celia found her voice when he peeled out of the parking lot. “Where are you taking me?”
“Home!” It would be comical if he weren’t so serious.
“Riley, are you nuts? I’m in the middle of a case or two here; I can’t go home.”
“You’ve been here since last night. Even I went home and got some rest, and I’m still dragging ass. You’re going on adrenaline, but once that gives way, you’re going to crash and crash hard. No can do detective.”
He was serious, and she didn’t know if to laugh or scream. Celia looked back at the station as it disappeared from view then grabbed her phone. Theoretically, he had a point, but this was her job; he couldn’t just… Pete answered on the third ring, and the tiredness in his voice brought her up short. “Hey, it’s me; why don’t we knock off for now and come back at this thing later. We’ve already questioned everyone involved, so let’s wait and see what tech has for us.”
His answer was much brighter, and she hung up feeling like a heel. She hadn’t given much thought to what she was putting him through, but she hated like hell to give Riley the point. The man is a damn dictator, and if she gives in to him now, he’ll be a tyrant for the rest of their days together.
“Good job!” He opined, and Celia barely held back the growl that was growing inside her.
“Riley, this is my job; you can’t interfere like this. I’ll let you get away with it this time, but make this the first and the last time you do something like this. I do not let anything come between me and my job, do you understand?”
There was a bit more force in her tone than she’d meant, but it seemed to work since he didn’t say anything. Good, I’ve got my point across, Celia thought as she realized that for the last little while since they’d started talking, he was the one calling the shots. She wasn’t sure if it was the tiredness or what, but it felt good to get some of her own back. The man was getting too big for his boots.
