Page 55 of Chasing Justice
Maya giggled and nudged his shoulder with her elbow. “No, seriously. Why?”
“I wanted to help people. I wanted to help keep communities safe. I thought I could do that by becoming a cop...and I could still antagonize my sister,” Josh said, with a laugh.
Maya’s heart beat faster. She’d never noticed the dimple on his right cheek when he smiled.I need to stop this. I should be careful. He could be the informant.
Maya reached down and petted Juniper, avoiding eye contact. A few seconds later, feeling Josh’s gaze on her, she looked back up.
“How about you, why do you want to do this job?” Josh asked.
“Because of Pops. I wanted to be like him. I loved going with him to work when I was a kid. I always knew I wanted to do something with law enforcement, and when the Marine recruiter came to our school and I found out I could join, become an MP and work a dog, I was all in. I loved the job, for the most part, except for losing my dog.”
“What happened, if it’s okay to ask?”
Maya shrugged. “I screwed up. That’s all that you need to know.”
“I doubt you screwed up,” Josh said.
He reached over and tucked a loose piece of hair behind Maya’s ear. His touch was tender. He reached down and picked up Maya’s hand, letting his thumb graze across her fingers. Maya’s stomach started to flip-flop in response.Why does he make me feel this way? I don’t know if I’m ready for this. It’s easier to not let myself feel anything.
She went to pull her hand away, but Josh held on. “You’re strong and smart, Maya. You’re a great K-9 handler. No one else could have bonded with Juniper the way you have. Don’t doubt yourself.”
“Thanks,” Maya said. She liked having someone who believed in her. It made her feel like she could come back from her trauma. That maybe someday she could move forward.
Josh let go of her hand, but he leaned in closer. Maya found herself doing the same.
He gently touched Maya’s cheek. She flushed at his caress. She hesitated for a second, but then Josh pulled her closer and she met his lips with hers.
The kiss started out slow and tender. Then Maya found herself tightening her arms around Josh, pulling him closer, wanting and needing him more than she realized. He made her feel safe and secure. Heat rose through her chest.
Josh responded by tightening his arms around Maya. His binoculars dropped out of his hand. Juniper, stuck between the two of them, whined indignantly and scooted back. Maya pulled away, her lips still tingling and her face flushed red.
“Is this how you do surveillance in Chicago?” she asked.
Josh grinned. “Nope. I think this might just be a Colorado thing.”
The breeze changed direction and Juniper stuck her nose up in the air. She took in a couple deep breaths and then whined. Maya, glad for a distraction, studied Juniper’s body language.
“I bet there are drugs down there,” Maya said, making sure she had a good hold of Juniper’s leash. “You stay, girl.”
“Maybe that’s what they’re loading into their truck.”
“I wish we could see better.”
“Me too,” Josh said.
She glanced over and saw that Josh wasn’t looking through the binoculars, but instead straight at her. “Helps to do surveillance if you actually look through those.”
“Good point.” He went back to watching the activity below. Maya picked up her spotting scope.
Carson kicked a rock with the point of his boot and spat some tobacco on the ground. Then he stared back at Lana.
“You’re early,” he said.
“I like to be on time.”
“You’re not on time, you’re early, and I don’t like surprises.”
A slow smile that seemed more like a grimace crept across Lana’s face. She squinted as the sun shone in her eyes. “I gave you a lot of codeine. I needed to make sure it was being used properly and nothing was taken for personal use.”
