Page 31 of Zero
By the time I arrived home, Bailey was sleeping. I took a shower and disposed of my blood-covered clothes then checked on her. Placing a kiss to her forehead, I pulled the sheets up to her shoulders, turned up the A/C and closed the door behind me.
Patrick was asleep in the guestroom and Eton was snuggled up in the sofa.
I set to work hacking into the local police station to track the man’s rotation through the system and the tracker I’d placed on him. I figured he wouldn’t change his shirt until he arrived somewhere safe. The hospital would have to cut his pants off to treat his wound and I would lose the tracker then.
His name was Percy Hildergaard, a Jamaican national wanted for assault and attempted murder. I was pretty sure that was only a few of this idiot’s transgressions.
It seemed Percy started young—he was arrested for rape when he was sixteen. Those charges stuck but since he was a minor, he was released at eighteen. It was a string of arrests after that—drugs, rape, assault, burglary, more drugs.
How he got involved with a big-time organization like Hougan was beyond me. At this point, I didn’t care—all I needed was for him to lead me to where they were holding Justice. For the moment, the tracker was still at the hospital.
Exhausted, I rose, put away my gun and shield then entered the kitchen for a beer. Sure, it was late but my body needed something to slow it down so I could probably lay down for a few minutes.
I’d just taken a long drink from a cold Dragon Stout when footsteps moving across marble floors caught my attention. I glanced over my shoulder to find Bailey, dressed in one of my graphic t-shirts. No matter how tired I was, I couldn’t deny how good she looked, the red material falling to her mid-thigh.
Weak, I turned, lifted my stout to my lips and leaned my back to the counter.
“You okay?” Her voice was raspy from sleep.
I nodded.
“What happened?” She asked.
“Caught someone breaking into Justice’s place.” I took another long drink. “I shot him.”
She gasped.
“I didn’t kill him because he could be useful to us.”
“How do you figure?”
“I placed a tracking device on him.” I explained. “Tex designed it. I’m hoping once he breaks out of the hospital, he’ll lead us to Morena.”
“You should come get some sleep.” Bailey approached me. She gripped my bare waist, the heat of her hand singeing my flesh.
“I’m too wired to sleep.”
“You should rest.”
I sighed. “I can’t. I need to bring Justice home to you. How can I sleep?”
“Because you’re human.” She smiled. “Justice knows that you’re a good cop. And with that, he knows, wherever he is, you will find him. But you won’t be any good to any of us if you’re burnt out. When was the last time you ate?”
“I—um, I can’t remember.”
Bailey dragged her fingers through my hair. I moaned and closed my eyes.
Her closeness made my heart happy.
It made me forget the troubles sitting on my shoulders. There were so many times I wanted to give up, to hand the case over to the police but I knew me—and what I was capable of.
Besides, I just had to hold on until a few of the rods that had kept my backbone strong arrived. It was then I realized just how much my team meant to me—how strong they made me.
I drank from the bottle, feeling the coolness sliding down my throat. But Bailey was close, pressing into me, heating me from the outside in.
Bailey took the stout from my hand and placed it on the counter, then led me through the house back to the room I’d been using. Bracing her palms to my chest, she pushed me backward onto the bed. I looked up at her as she peeled the shirt over her head, discarding it somewhere on the floor.
The perfection of her breasts held me captive and I didn’t want to escape.
