He gave her a sidelong glance. They’d stopped by her place after going to the DCO complex, and she’d changed into a sleeveless dress that showed off her gorgeous legs.
Braden smiled. “Sorry. I’m thrilled to spend the day with you. I’m just exhausted. It’s your fault. You kept me up too late last night.”
“You sure that’s it?” She eyed him dubiously. “Because, if I didn’t know any better, I would say you’re a worried about me having lunch with your parents, especially since your father is a retired cop.”
He wasn’t concerned about that in the least, but since he didn’t want to get into what was actually bothering him, he went along with it.
He shrugged as he signaled to change lanes. “Maybe a little bit. It’s just that my dad doesn’t have a very good filter on his mouth. I’m worried he’s going to say something that pisses you off or offends you.”
Dreya laughed. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve spent my life around some pretty rough characters. You should be more concerned that I’ll end up saying something that offends your father.”
He couldn’t help smiling. “That would be funny to see.”
“There you go. Nothing to worry about then,” she promised. “I’ll handle your dad fine. Just don’t be shocked when I mention that you’ve used your cuffs on me already.”
Braden chuckled. He could only imagine how his parents would deal with that. His mom would laugh her butt off, but his very uptight dad would almost certainly have a cow.
While Dreya carried on a mostly one-sided conversation about messing with his dad, Braden thought about what had happened at the DCO complex that morning.
Since it was Saturday, the complex had been relatively quiet compared to what they were used to. There wasn’t a lot of gunfire to be heard in the distance, the parking lots were almost empty, and the main admin building was nearly deserted.
Braden had expected Clayne and Danica to meet them there, but instead, John met with him and Dreya in his big office in the main building. The director had told them again how impressed he was with the way they’d handled the situation in Miami and that he was ready to offer Dreya a job at the DCO if she was interested.
Braden could have told John she was. It was all she’d talked about on the drive from his apartment.
But instead of asking John where to sign right away, she said, “Only if Braden is my partner.”
John glanced at him. “That’s up to Braden. I don’t know if he mentioned it, but he’s already on long-term loan from the Metro Police Department. He can work here with you as long as the two of you want.”
When Dreya looked expectantly at him, he nodded. After she’d fallen asleep last night, he’d held her, thinking about that very thing. Deciding to work at the DCO with her hadn’t been difficult. They made a good team, and in all honesty, he couldn’t stomach the idea of her working with anyone else, especially a guy.
He’d fallen for her all right—hard.
While John had taken Dreya to HR to sign some paperwork, Braden had wandered over to the cafeteria to grab some coffee and ended up running into Coleman. He and the deputy director seemed to have an uncanny habit of meeting like that.
Coleman had immediately congratulated him for the amazing job he and Dreya had done in Florida.
“Where is Dreya, by the way?” Coleman asked.
Braden jerked his head at the admin building. “She’s with John, filling out HR forms so she can officially start working here.”
Coleman nodded. “That’s good. You two can do good things here.”
Something about the way he said the words made Braden’s hackles rise. “Meaning?”
The words came out a little sharper than he’d meant them to, but he couldn’t help it. If he was protective when it came to Dreya, so be it.
“Nothing,” Coleman said, then sighed. “I’m a bit worried, that’s all. You know Dreya better than I ever will, so maybe I’m off base here. To put it bluntly, you two went through the most exhilarating, euphoria-inducing mission that a new team at the DCO has ever gone through. And both of you did an outstanding job. But the problem is that Dreya is in there right now, signing up for a job in which she thinks she’s going to be doing stuff like that every day, or at least frequently. But the truth is, you two may never do anything that dramatic again the rest of the time you’re here.”
Braden folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t see how that’s a problem.”
Coleman regarded him thoughtfully. “Why do you think Dreya climbs high-rises and steals things? Do you think it’s because she needs the money?”
“No,” Braden admitted. “She makes enough from the legitimate jewelry business she runs. Plus, I’m pretty sure she didn’t fence most of the stuff she stole. It’s one of the biggest reasons I was never able to pin anything on her.”
“That’s what I thought,” Coleman said. “Simply put, I think Dreya is an adrenaline junkie. And the other night’s mission gave her the biggest shot of adrenaline she’s ever had. If it turns out that the two of you don’t go on another crazy mission for a long time to come, what do you think Dreya is going to do to get her next rush?”
Braden didn’t answer.
