“Don’t worry about me,” I say back. “Just keep your nose down and do your job. I don’t want you in trouble because of me.”
4
ELY
Jami, the absolutely stunning chestnut-haired goddess, is not here for long, but when she finally walks past me to leave, I find myself staring after the woman, curious, smitten. I want to call out to her, to ask her to stay so I can stare into her chocolate eyes dotted with flecks of gold, but I also don’t want to come off as a creep, so I say nothing, instead turning in my chair to look at Jake who is coming out of the lounge not far behind her. He looks rattled, and my concern escalates.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Jake looks at me, and the tense expression on his face just a moment ago vanishes, replaced with that regular, cocky grin. He’s hiding something.
“Great,” he says, waving at the woman as she walks out the door. “Never better.”
“Another girlfriend? What would Renee think?” I tease, and he laughs, shaking his head.
“College friend. Jami. She’s Renee’s best friend.”
“Ah.” I’m trying not to seem too desperately interested, but I can’t contain myself. Not after seeing that beautiful woman step into this precinct. “Is she single?”
“Um, yeah, I guess,” says Jake with a shrug. He plops down in his desk chair and taps a pen against the fingers of his free hand. “She was dating some lawyer guy for a while last year, but that ended pretty badly. I think she’s just been focusing on work. She’s never been real big on the dating scene.”
“What does she do?” I know I sound like a love-sick teenage boy, but I don’t give a shit. The girl’s smile alone makes a fire in the pit of my stomach ignite, and I can’t stop imagining how it would feel to place my hands all over her naked body. I haven’t been so drawn to a person in many, many years.
“She works in social services.” Jake tosses the pen aside and crosses his arms over his bulky chest, meeting my gaze. “Specifically child and family welfare.”
Of course, she does.
“Impressive.”
“Yeah,” says Jake, glancing over his shoulder as though Jami might be standing there. “She is impressive. Very impressive.” He chuckles like he remembers good days with her. “She always has been, honestly. A good friend, too.”
“So what was she doing visiting your ugly mug?” I ask, and Jake’s carefree expression drops suddenly, a storm cloud hovering above his head.
“She was … asking about a case,” he says slowly. I can tell he’s trying not to say too much, and at once, it piques my curiosity.
“What case?”
“Uh ….”
“What case, Denny?”
“Detective Hill’s wife, sir. Jami responded to the hospital call yesterday. Not for the first time, either, you know? I think she’s finally ready to get to the bottom of whatever the hell is going on over at that house.”
I catch my breath, glancing over my shoulder to make sure no eavesdroppers are around. Especially the very one we’re talking about, Detective Hill. He seems to always be lurking where he’s least expected, which is part of what makes the guy so fucking shady.
“Did you tell her to stay out of it?”
“Yeah, I did,” Jake says, but he doesn’t look convinced by his own words.
“Good.” I pinch the bridge of my nose between two fingers and close my eyes. “Will she listen?”
“Jami?” Jake says. “No. Nope, probably not. She’s angry, Sarge. Furious. She wants Kasper Hill to pay.”
“Christ almighty.” A migraine is coming on, and deep in my gut, a twinge of panic overtakes me. I don’t know this woman, not at all, but I do know that I don’t want to see her get hurt. Ever. “You better be keeping an eye on her, Denny. You know as well as I do that certain people aren’t to be messed with.”
“I know, Sarge. That’s what I told Jami.”
“If she comes around here again asking about the detective, you send her straight to me. Understood?”
