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“That’s his partner,” I said under my breath, but Allie had already burst through the office door. By the time I arrived, she had someone on the ground.
I turned on my heel, back to the stairwell. Downstairs, the foyer filled as security ushered everyone outside. I scanned the area and stopped on the homeless man, leaning against a tree. He was watching the exits. I left through the side door and ran around the corner so I could come up behind him. The stretched hoodie over his wide shoulders was the same one as the attacker’s upstairs. I removed my gun and pointed at the man’s back.
“Hands up!”
His shoulders jerked as he startled.
“NYPD. Step away from the tree and put your hands up.”
He lifted his hands in slow motion, palms flat to the front and stance wide.
“Hurry up.”
“You’ve got the wrong man, officer.” His deep voice stirred fuzzy memories, but I pushed past the tingling at the back of my mind. I was going to cuff this co-conspirator, no matter what.
“Don’t fucking move.” I stepped closer. As his arms rose, his hoodie lifted above his belt, exposing a weapon. “Is that gun behind your back registered?”
I removed the gun from behind the belt, noting his ass looked even tighter than three years ago.
“You’re under arrest for breaking and entering. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
“Breaking and entering? At least make up something believable. I don’t break in.”
The cuffs clicked along with my memory.
Oh, my God. That voice.
The dread that someone wanted to complicate my life ran through my veins.
“Fox.” His name slipped from my tongue.
“Laura? Laura, is that you?”
His head turned with a snap of the neck and my body went limp. The one man I’d been avoiding for two years was now standing less than a breath away from me. And the best plan my brain could come up with was to take him to the station. If they locked him away for possession, I could kill two birds with one stone: score my bust and disappear. The plan flew through my mind like a stray bullet, until the smell of him invaded my lungs, and the bullet settled near my heart.
“Fox?” His name curled along my tongue. I hadn’t spoken his real name ever, but I certainly held it close to my heart. “I mean, James? Is that you? What the fuck?”
He stood still, as if he shared my shock.
“You’re reading my mind. Uncuff me.” He twisted sideways.
“I can’t. I already read your rights.”
“You mean, you mumbled my rights.”
“Shut up. You’re under arrest. What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“If I’m under arrest, I believe I get a phone call before I answer your questions, officer.”
He was right. And I already knew what he was doing here. My two-way radio confirmed that back-up had arrived for Allie. She was getting a ride with a colleague.
“Looks like we’re ready to go.”
“Laura, take off the cuffs. I’m not the guy you’re looking for.”
“I beg to differ.” He caught onto my hushed breath, and I’d realized my mistake. The spark in his eye lit my blood on fire, and I swallowed to clear the rushing heat. It didn’t work. I doubted anything would work when his smoldering eyes did their magic. Although the crazy morning we’d spent in Colorado seemed long ago, every minute had stayed fresh in my mind.
“If you run the number on the gun, it’s registered to Fox Silver. Take the damn cuffs off, Laura.”
