Well, as casually as a woman could ask a loaded question like that, Alex thought. He and Remy had been in the surveillance van with the narcotics officer for the past three hours, staring at the bank of monitors that lined the interior wall.
Remy threw Alex a quick glance and a smile. Alex immediately knew that glint in his teammate’s eyes meant Remy was planning to tease the narcotics cop about something. Damn, that guy simply couldn’t stop himself, could he?
“Unfortunately, Corporal Brooks doesn’t have a lot of time for women,” Remy said grimly. “Not with the two young children he’s raising on his own.”
Vaughn’s eyes widened in shock, not to mention what looked a hell of a lot like panic.
“Remy’s messing with you,” Alex said, figuring he’d better step in before this got too out of hand. “Brooks doesn’t have any kids, and he isn’t seeing anyone at the moment.”
Vaughn relaxed in her chair. “Thank God. I slipped the shift scheduler twenty bucks to put me on late-night surveillance with him later in the week—alone. I’d hate to think I wasted a Jackson for nothing.”
Alex chuckled. They’d figured Brooks would need a woman who was bold and outgoing. That description seemed to fit Vaughn to a T. He only hoped his pack mate was able to handle her.
Remy looked like he was ready to complain about Alex putting a stop to his antics, but then he leaned forward and adjusted the controls on one of the monitors. “Pendergraff just showed up at the front gate. Maybe that means something interesting will happen tonight.”
“For a change,” Alex muttered.
This was the third different automotive location of Bensen’s that he’d worked since this surveillance job had started. This one was not only the largest, but the one where Bensen spent most of his time, and Alex was hoping they might catch a break here. Having both Bensen and Pendergraff in the building at the same time had to improve the odds.
“You’re recording, right?” he asked Remy.
His teammate nodded. They had half a dozen cameras set up around three sides of the junkyard, praying they might catch a glimpse of something that would tie Bensen to the manufacturing and distribution of fireball. But so far, other than recording the faces and license plates of a lot of visitors—most of whom had no connection to the illegal drug trade—they didn’t have much to show for their efforts.
After ten minutes, Alex sat back in his chair. Their chances of seeing anything interesting happen tonight were getting slimmer by the second. Unfortunately, that meant he was left with his own thoughts to keep him entertained, and they went back to the same place they had since last night—the murdered woman and dead dogs that he and Lacey had stumbled over.
The homicide cops, crime scene techs, and medical examiner had arrived shortly after he’d called it in. The detectives had taken his statement—multiple times—then marginalized him. He understood—he really did. He was the cop they called when it came time to kick in a door, rescue a hostage, or tackle a drugged-up suspect. He wasn’t the cop who combed a murder scene for evidence. Of course, he couldn’t tell them he’d already discovered a huge piece of evidence. They probably wouldn’t have believed him if he could.
He’d picked up two human scents off the dogs in that pile. The first one had only been on the five dogs who’d had their throats slit, which meant he was the asshole who’d killed them. The second scent had been on every one of the dogs, meaning it almost certainly belonged to the man who’d been responsible for dumping the animals after they were dead. Beyond that, things got strange. The second guy’s scent had also been on the woman’s body. Even stranger, the woman and the dogs had the scent of fireball on them too.
Alex couldn’t figure how dogfighting, drugs, and a murdered woman were all connected, but after the scent training with Khaki, he was sure he was right. He’d also used every trick Khaki had taught him so he could remember those two scents, just in case he ever ran across the dirtbags again. He knew that was unlikely, since he’d never be involved in the investigation into either the woman’s death or the dumping of the dogs’ bodies, but still, he wanted to remember those scents. Because if he ever ran into those two men out on the street, he would make damn sure they paid for what they’d done.
Lacey had been really torn up last night, of course, and understandably so. She’d been forced to sit in his truck at the crime scene for nearly two hours, telling the cops over and over what she’d seen. He hated she’d had to go through that.
Even after they’d finally left and gone back to her place, her heart had been pounding in her chest half the night. She wasn’t just upset by what she’d seen. She was furious. It was like she blamed herself for what had happened to the dogs and the woman. They had talked until nearly sunrise before Lacey had finally fallen asleep in his arms. He’d lain there in her bed, watching her twist and jerk in a fitful sleep that he would have given anything to make more restful.
At least she’d calmed down by the time they’d gotten out of bed around ten and had a late breakfast with Kelsey. He guessed she’d finally come to some sort of peace over what she’d seen.
“Everything going okay with Lacey?” Remy asked as if reading his mind. “You still think she’s The One for you?”
Alex threw a quick glance at Remy, wondering why his teammate would bring that up in front of Vaughn. It wasn’t like they could talk openly about it. But he could be honest about one part for sure.
“Yeah, she’s The One all right.” He grinned. “No doubt about it.”
Vaughn smiled as she swiveled back and forth in her chair. “That’s so cool that you’ve met someone who can put up with you not just being a cop, but in SWAT. I’m thinking it takes a certain kind of woman to handle a guy in your line of work. Make sure Corporal Brooks knows I’m that kind of woman.”
Alex was assuring the outgoing narcotics officer that he’d pass along that particular piece of information when Remy interrupted him.
“Is Lacey a spur-of-the-moment, just-go-crazy kind of girl?”
Alex chuckled. “Hell no. If anything, she’s the complete opposite. She thinks everything through to a fault.”
Well, there was that sex-up-against-the-wall thing, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to mention that to Remy.
“Then why did I just see her climb over the fence and go into the junkyard?” Remy asked.
Alex thought his friend was joking. It was the kind of dumbass thing Remy would say. But Remy looked completely serious.
“Holy shit,” Alex muttered. “You’re not kidding, are you?”
