Page 78 of Under Cover
But he could do all that, he thought almost desperately. He could do all that if he had Garcia’s house at the end of the pain rainbow. He could get that done.
Iliana nodded to Gambini and Barnes, her eyes sharp on his.
“Let me give you a ride to your flop and then to the train,” she said softly. “I don’t have to be in my dress blues for another two hours.”
“I’m not sure that’s safe,” Crosby said, frowning. “McEnany pops up there every so often. He actually knows what you look like.”
“I’ll keep an eye out,” she said, eyes still sharp. “I can do paperwork in my car for half an hour while you go get your shit in order, tell your guys you’re going to visit your girlfriend, whatever. I just….” She grimaced. “You’re in pain, you’re exhausted—I just don’t like you going in there without backup after this, you understand?”
Crosby nodded, appreciating it. “Yeah, but you’re gonna blow my cover. I gotta get to the precinct and change, then get to the flop and pack?”
“Let me put a new uniform in your locker,” she said. “It’s the least I can do. That way you can come straight from Gar… your girl’s place to work in three days.”
Her face turned tomato red, and he suddenly realized what she’d almost said, and thenhisface went tomato red, and he wondered if he was going to die right there, in the hospital, from a cut on his arm and mortal embarrassment.
And then he realized how close she’d been to painting a big target on Garcia’s back.
“You can’t tell anyone my girl’s name,” he growled, and she swallowed and nodded.
“Sorry Cr… fuck,Rick.Goddammit. I’vebeenwhere you are, and I know better.” She let out a sigh. “I just… you know. Gail texted me and said, you know, yourgirlis missing you, and, uhm, I knew who she was talking about and….” She scrubbed at her face. “Shoot me now.”
“I would, but they made me put my gun in a lockbox when I was admitted for stitches,” he said dryly. “But you can stop talking now.”
“Thanks, Rick,” she whispered, obviously mortified. Then she looked him in the eyes. “I’ve had to tell my friend that her friend, who stayed with her for six weeks when her leg was broken and I was too broken to function like a rational adult, has been looking like hell every day for the last month. Please let me pick you up and drop you off at the train station, just to make myself feel better.”
He smiled a little. “After your presser. Have Barnes drop me off. It’ll look legit.”
She nodded. “Fair. Let’s get you out of here.”
HE FIGUREDthat he had two hours after Barnes dropped him off, giving the building a look of profound distaste. “This place ain’t on my beat, thank fuck, but gods, somebody’s in hell watching this shithole.”
“I haven’t seen a lot of blue here,” Crosby told him, which was only half true. The fact was, his building was on the beat of a Son’s of the Blood precinct, which meant they ignored all the crime there and let their buddies take are of it.
God help anyone who wasn’t male or white. Crosby’s skin crawled more every day he walked up the fucking stairs.
“That’s ’cause the precinct that serves this place is crooked and full of white powder,” Barnes told him baldly. “You know that or you wouldn’t be in our place, helping to keep those guys from the Twenty Fourth.”
“Shh!” Crosby would have flailed if his arm didn’t ache so fiercely. “Do you want me dead before I hit my front door?”
Barnes grimaced. “Andthisis why I’ve been a beat cop for twenty years. If I was doing your shit, I would have died a long time ago.” He rolled his eyes and glared at Crosby like it was all his fault. “All I know is those goddamned Blood-fuckers haven’t moved in on our precinct, and a lot of that is Davies and her commitment to not hire them. Suddenly you show up, and you’re better than a good cop—you’re like super-cop—and Davies and Gambini treat you like you’re God’s gift, which is fine, and you livehere? Yeah. I’m old and I’m stupid, but I’m notthatstupid.”
Crosby’s stomach churned—worse than usual because it was pretty much a twenty-four seven acid volcano these days.
“We need to find the guys higher up,” he said after a moment. “My unit is working on that while I’m here pretending to be working for the bad guys.” He didn’t add that the bad guys had threatened his unit if he hadn’t gone undercover in the first place—it was one level too far for poor Rufus Barnes, he figured.
Barnes grunted. “You still want to go running when you get back?”
Crosby gave a slight smile. “I’ll be doing it anyway. Might as well drag you with me.”
“Yeah. You’re under enough stress, kid. It would be great if you could count on me to have your back when it’s time.”
“You’re a solid cop,” Crosby praised and then realized what he’d said. “I mean agoodcop—”
Barnes burst into a raucous round of guffaws. “You need to go rest and find your girl, Young. Call it a fucking day, right?”
“What about you?”
“I’m gonna go sit with the rookie for a bit.” Barnes let out a low whistle. “Poor kid. Helluva welcome to the force.”
