Seven

A number of emotions hit me all at once, first shock, then disappointment, followed by the third, anger. I was pissed that he was there, because somewhere in the back of my mind I’d been holding out hope that maybe he wasn’t a bad guy, that maybe he didn’t consort with criminals. But hope was often futile, and mine certainly was.

This was a place for underage kids looking to party and criminals looking for a place to do business. Since Lee wasn’t an underage kid, I had to assume he was the latter. My anger rapidly transformed into determination as I stood and walked toward him, leaving the big guy cuffed on the ground. I half expected Lee to turn and run, but he didn’t. He stood in place. Perhaps he was just as shocked to see me there as I was to see him, or maybe he didn’t think I’d actually arrest him. Well, he was dead wrong on that account.

Somebody must have found out how to cut the music, because it went off suddenly and a stark quiet fell.

“Turn around,” I barked.

“Karla,” Lee began, but I cut him off.

“I said, turn around.”

He must have seen something in my eyes that told him I wasn’t playing games, because his jaw firmed and he turned. I began searching him, my hands moving carefully down his body to check for drugs or weapons.

“You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used….”

“Snap, wait, will you listen to me for a second?”

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and shook my head.

“Stay quiet,” I clipped out, and continued telling him his rights. He didn’t have anything on him other than a wallet, a set of car keys, a packet of cigarettes, and a lighter. I pulled out my second pair of cuffs. When I looked down, I found that my hands were shaking, and I knew Lee must have felt it, too. A moment elapsed as I tried to gather some calm. My head was swimming, and the noodles I’d eaten earlier were gurgling around in my stomach, waiting for a chance to resurface.

Why did it have to be him? I could’ve handled arresting Lucifer himself, but not Lee.

For the second time in a matter of minutes, time stood still. I stared at his broad, muscular back and quietly gasped when he captured my shaking fingers in his. Everything slowed down, the air around me growing electric and tense. Lee’s thumb slid soothingly down the centre of my palm, and I shivered.

“Relax,” he whispered, and a string deep in my heart pulled tight. I swallowed, tried to steady my breathing, and abruptly shoved his fingers off mine. He made me feel so much, too much, and it was an intimidating task to assert my dominance over a man I desired. A man who was strong and virile, ever the alpha in any environment.

Finally, I snapped the cuffs closed and stepped away, my pulse pounding in my ears. Lee stood in place as I went and helped the other guy to stand, but I could feel his eyes on me the entire time. His friend must have been about two hundred and fifty pounds, so I was surprised he’d managed to run as fast as he did before I caught him.

As I led the two of them out of the building and lined them up next to the others who’d been arrested, I felt my throat grow dry with nerves. DI Jennings was there, barking orders at people, and for a second I had a nightmarish vision of Lee telling her he knew me, that I’d been to his house and that we’d kissed. None of these things were crimes, of course, but, knowing Jennings, she’d find some way to use it against me.

Nerves coiled tight in my belly.

Lee didn’t breathe a word, though. No, he wore a blank expression, hands behind his back, a stoic figure as he stood at the end of the line. I was just about to go and find Tony when Jennings spotted me, lips pinching tightly in my presence.

“Don’t move a muscle, Sheehan. I want you to help keep an eye on this group. Make sure none of them think to do a runner.”

“They don’t strike me as the type to sacrifice a thumb to get the cuffs off, Inspector,” a familiar voice butted in. It was Gavin. This night just kept getting better and better. He held his gun at chest level, his dark hair cropped short to his skull.

“I just gave the constable an order, Matthews, so shut that hole you call a trap and do something productive,” Jennings snapped at him, and I sort of wished we were friends for a second so I could high-five her. Unfortunately, we weren’t, and a second later she was gone, off shouting orders to somebody else like the little Hitler that she was.

“Karla,” said Gavin, giving me a quick sweep up and down. “How’ve you been?”

I was overwhelmingly aware of Lee standing mere feet away, closely watching the exchange. “I was great until I clapped eyes on you,” I replied grumpily, and thought I saw the edges of Lee’s lips curve in smirk.

“Bloody hell, you on the rag or something?” said Gavin, annoyed.

I narrowed my eyes to slits and shook my head. “Just piss off, yeah?”

A couple members of his unit showed up then, alongside a few constables, including Steve. Christ, what was this, the flipping wankers’ convention or something?

A woman who’d been arrested and who was wearing an indecently short sequined dress shivered, holding her arms around herself.

“Would you look at this,” one of the armed police said, eyeing the woman lasciviously. “Didn’t think to bring a coat, did ya, darlin’?”

She scowled at him and he laughed, as did the others. I made eye contact with Lee for a second, and yeah, he was still watching me. His stare was intense. I would have killed to know what he was thinking. His attention flicked to the men, and there was such loathing in his expression that it caught me off guard. He really didn’t like them, not at all. I guess it surprised me because they were cops, but so was I, yet he’d never acted like he hated me. Not once.

“If she brought a coat, she wouldn’t be able to show off those legs, now, would she?” somebody else butted in. Surprise, surprise, it was Steve.

“Or those tits. What are you, love, a D-cup?” said another. The woman looked like she was mentally decapitating each and every one of them, and I couldn’t blame her.

“Oi, you lot,” I called out. “Put your dicks away and go do your jobs.”

“Aw, don’t be jealous, Karla,” said Gavin. “You know I’ll give you a good seeing-to if you ask nicely.”

The men laughed, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lee bristle, his shoulders tensing and his mouth drawing into a tight line.

“Pity I never had a taste for cocktail sausages,” I threw back, and Gavin’s smile fell instantly, while his buddies let out “ooohs” of amusement. If I wasn’t mistaken, Lee’s chest shook with restrained laughter, and it felt good to get one over on my ex.

Noticing the woman shiver once more, I turned and went over to the ambulance, nabbing a spare blanket for her. When I returned, I draped it around her shoulders, and she shot me a look of thanks.

“If they start in on you again, you let me know, okay?” I said, eyeing her meaningfully. Just because she was at this party didn’t mean she deserved to be berated like that. I sensed Lee watching the exchange, and glanced at him just in time to see Steve recognise who he was. An evil grin graced my coworker’s mouth as he nudged the guy beside him before slinking to the end of the line. I was too far away to hear what they said to him, but Lee looked about ready to blow a gasket.

A moment later DI Jennings was back, instructing us to lead those under arrest to police vehicles, where they were to be transported to back to the station. More than likely, most of them had a night in the cells to look forward to. They’d all been searched, so it was just a matter of paperwork now.

I found myself at the end of the line, right behind Lee. Steve and his friend had cleared off, but for some reason my protective instincts were kicking in. I wanted to stick by Lee to make sure Steve couldn’t get another ego trip out of him.