Page 38 of Unhallowed Murder
Ronnie let her hair down and pulled a jacket from her wardrobe. She grabbed a chocolate bar from her desk, and sat and ate it, eyes closed. Two minutes of dark silence while eating chocolate gave her the strength to step back into her murder room. Carter and Myers were in there, sitting at their desks, typing — no doubt catching up on things they’d missed while watching her with Griffin.
The elevator dinged and everyone looked up. A uniformed deputy walked Josef into the room, both of them loaded down with boxes of food. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled.
“I brought Buffalo wings, cheese sticks, fried mushrooms, and a couple of pizzas with every kind of meat except anchovies. I assume you’re hungry, and figured your team would be, too.”
Ronnie smiled. He knew how to get cops to like him — feed them.
“Call everyone,” she told Myers.
The uniformed deputy looked at her, unsure, and she motioned to the boxes. “Take two plates with you, so whoever’s on the front desk gets some, too.”
She’d seen the stack of plates he’d brought. There was more than enough.
Josef put everything down and walked to her. “You look tired, Lieutenant.”
“Long day. Josef Romano, Deputy Gabriel Myers and Detective Jamison Carter. Myers, Carter, this is Josef, my… crap. I guess he’s my boyfriend.”
Both of her men looked dumbfounded.
Myers recovered first, and stepped forward to shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Josef. You know this is kind of like meetingallof the big brothers, yes?”
“I gathered. She thinks the world of her team, It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Finally? How long has she kept you under wraps?”
“Long enough,” Ronnie told them. The elevator dinged and the rest of her team arrived.
Ronnie made herself a plate and let the men do their thing, her exhaustion of earlier not so bad while she watched them gradually accept Josef.
After four plates of food, she stood and walked to him. Her men had grilled the vampire, and he’d graciously held his own. They were discussing college football now, and it was time for her to find a bed.
“Ya’ll polish off the food and clean up,” she told her team. “Josef and I are out of here. If we don’t get called out on a new case, I plan to sleep in. I’ll see ya’ll at ten.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Four days later, and Ronnie had been watching the clock all damned day. She’d told her Captain she needed to leave at four. She was never sick, never needed to go to the dentist, and didn’t even bother having her hair cut by a stylist because it just went back to long and wavy when shechangedback from the tiger.
So, leaving an hour early shouldn’t have been a problem, except for the fact it seemed to come out of left field.
“Are you okay?” he’d asked.
“I’m fine. Barring an all-out gang war or the murder of a prominent citizen, I’m hoping ya’ll can give me an uninterrupted evening.”
He sat back with a knowing smile. “Other than scheduled vacation days, I can’t remember you ever askingfor a personal day, a sick day, time to go to the doctor or dentist…” He shrugged. “You want the evening free to shag your new man, you have it. You come in early and leave late all the time. I’m not worried about a measly hour.”
“Shag? Seriously? How does that even work? I mean,screwat least makes sense. Shag is just ugly carpet.”
She’d left his office, secure in the knowledge they’d leave her alone unless something truly awful happened.
Some women might be offended at theshagcomment, but Ronnie understood he’d treated her exactly as he would’ve spoken to a male Lieutenant, and she appreciated the fact her department didn’t feel the need to treat her with kid gloves.
The night Josef had come to her office, after she’d been locked in the box with Griffin for so damned long, Josef had massaged her until she was one big limp noodle, and then fucked her unconscious. She’d offered her neck to him, but he’d told her he wouldn’t drink from her for the first time after such an emotional evening.
And now it was four days later, and he still hadn’t drank from her, despite her telling him she was ready. Every day, he’d already fed by the time she got to his house.
Today, she’d arrive before he awakened.
* * * *
