I nodded. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t visit anyone else about this case unless you tell me first.”
She lowered her eyebrows until they formed a V. “Why not?”
I sighed, not liking the feeling of explaining myself to anyone, but hell, for her, I’d do it. “If this case involves a murder, which we know it does … possibly two murders with the disappearance of the girl, you could be digging into shit that is way over your head.”
Her eyes widened, but then her expression turned angry. “And if we’re hunting down the person who killed my grandfather, then it’s not me who needs to be fucking careful.”
A swell of pride rose from the bottoms of my feet, but I held back the smile that threatened to escape.
“This is serious, Jodi. We don’t know what the hell we’re digging into. I will go the extra mile for this case, but you need to keep your ass safe.”
“Why?”
“Because you just do,” I blurted out, feeling frustrated because I didn’t know the answer to that question.
Hell, I didn’t understand why I had the urge to remain staked out in front of Jodi’s home the night before after she went inside. If Joel hadn’t called me when he did, I likely would’ve spent half the night out there, watching her place. And surely, I had no explanation for why I spent part of my morning looking up the best motion-activation lights for installation around her home. The ones I’d bought for my own house were sold out.
“Micah?”
I blinked and refocused on her eyes. “Yeah?”
“I’m only here for three months.”
I knew that already. It felt like she was telling me something more with that comment.
“Three months is all I’ll need,” I retorted before allowing my lips to come crashing down onto hers.
The kiss was so damned unprofessional.
The most unprofessional I’d ever gotten in my office. When I was in this building, it was all about work and focusing on getting the job done. I’d been the same throughout my career. It was why I had nearly a one hundred percent clearance record in every case I’d been lead on while working as a ranger.
Yet, only a handful of times of being in Jodi’s presence and all that shit about being professional went out the window. It was as if her lips beckoned me, and I had no other choice but to answer the call.
The only thing that separated my lips from hers was the ringing of the phone on my desk. I started to ignore it, but I remembered that I’d told Leona to notify me as soon as she was able to track down a guy I’d been looking to get in contact with.
“Hang on,” I said, against Jodi’s lips.
I grabbed my phone. “Leona.”
“Lee Richards still isn’t responding to my calls, but I got his address.”
“I’ll be up in a minute,” I told her before hanging up.
“You have to go,” Jodi stated.
“I’ll walk you out.”
As soon as I opened the door, there Hound was, staring at the two of us, looking hurt as if he was appalled I’d closed the door in his face.
“Odd.”
“What?” Jodi questioned.
I grinned at her. “I think he likes you. He’s rarely interested in new people in the office. He’s been following us around since you got here.”
