Page 27 of Craving Vengeance
What was she trying to do to him? He didn’t need this kind of pressure. He just wanted to help a few kids who’d been dealt a shitty hand.
Chapter Eleven
Spinelli parked Shannon’scar in the lot behind the building, next to his truck. She reached for her door handle, paused, and looked back at him. “Are you coming over tonight? I really need to talk to you, Nick.”
He glanced at his watch. It was already after 8:30 p.m. So much for his Valentine’s Day plans. A hint of sadness passed through her eyes at his hesitation.
“I can’t. We’re in the middle of something big here, and I really need you to come inside with me for a bit.”
A look of fear trailed the curiosity that rushed through her eyes. She climbed out of the vehicle and kept pace at his side as they entered the precinct.
Marsh looked up from behind a table full of laptops as they approached him. He gave Spinelli a once over and roared with laughter. “Walker described it to me but I gotta tell you he didn’t do it justice. Nice wings,” Marsh’s head bounced up and down like a bobblehead doll.
Spinelli wanted nothing more than to smack the smirk off his face. Before he could say anything, Walker’s heels pounded against the wood floor in their direction. All eyes shifted to Walker.
Shannon raised an eyebrow. “Brad, I thought you were going home to spend time with Jeana.”
Walker shifted his gaze to the floor. He looked like a puppy who’d been scolded for chewing on his master’s shoes.
Shannon shifted her gaze to Spinelli. “What’s going on here?”
“We need to talk, but first I need to get the hell out of this ridiculous outfit,” Spinelli replied as he reached toward Walker for his clothes. He was glad Walker remembered to grab them from the backseat of their unmarked squad car.
Spinelli returned from the restroom a moment later. He now wore his usual attire; a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved polo shirt. And most importantly, his shiny gold badge hung by a chain around his neck.
Shannon had taken a seat at the table across from Marsh. They were making small talk. The table abutted to Spinelli’s desk. A red heart-shaped box of chocolates sat on the center of his desk. It wasn’t there when he had left earlier. He glanced at Marsh. “Where did that come from?”
Marsh shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Spinelli looked at Shannon. She shrugged as well. He could see the frustration in her eyes. He imagined she wanted to know what in the hell was going on.
He returned his gaze to Marsh. “You didn’t see who put it there?”
“No, it isn’t like I sat here and stared at your desk the entire time you were gone.”
Spinelli thought about tearing into the chocolates. He hadn’t eaten all day, and he was starving.
