Crap. That sounded lame even to her.
Christine gave her a look. “First off, I’m not saying you have to have a deep, meaningful, long-term relationship with the guy. There’s nothing wrong with a roll in the hay to relieve a little stress. You’re both adults. You can do that, you know.”
Alyssa closed the folder, focusing all of her attention on her friend. “Okay, say Zane and I sleep together. What then?”
Her friend arched a brow. “Your love life must be really sad if you have to ask a question like that. But just in case you really are that socially challenged, let me lay out the two most likely possibilities when it comes to a man like Zane. One, the sex is amazing and you keep sleeping with him until the case is closed and you both go your separate ways. Or two, the sex is amazing, and you continue to see your hunky Brit long after the case is solved.”
Alyssa snorted. “And what if the sex is horrible?”
Christine looked at her like she was insane. “I’ve seen the man, honey. Horrible sex isn’t anything you have to worry about with him. I’m sure of that. It’s simply a matter of whether you’re looking for short-term pleasure or long-term gratification.”
Both options worked for her, but unfortunately, the first was unlikely and the second a complete pipe dream.
“Long-term wouldn’t work,” she said. “I’m always on the road, and Zane’s a cop in Dallas. Even if we worked at it, we’d never get to spend any time together. Why even bother?”
“I’ll give you a good reason to bother,” Christine said. “Having nothing in your life but your work sucks.”
“I like my work,” Alyssa insisted. “And I have friends.”
Christine let out an impatient sigh. “I like my work, too, but that doesn’t replace the human connection that comes with spending time with the person you’re meant to be with. And as much as I appreciate you as a friend, it doesn’t compare to my hunky husband serving me breakfast in bed after a night of serious lovemaking.”
Alyssa had met Christine’s husband—many times. While he was handsome, it was weird to think about him and her best friend having sex. “But you guys are married and work in the same field office. That’s not like my situation at all.”
“We weren’t always married.” Christine shrugged. “And we weren’t always in the same field office, either. We had a long-distance thing for the first four years of our relationship, but we made it work because having a chance to be with him—even if it was only now and then—made everything else worthwhile. I’m not saying that’s the way it would be with you and Zane. Heck, once you spend some time with him, you may discover that there’s absolutely zero chemistry between you regardless of how incredible the sex is.”
Alyssa let out a little snort. There was definitely some chemistry there.
“Look,” Christine said. “I’m just saying you shouldn’t let a few miles between the two of you deter you from even trying. You have to hang out with him anyway. Why not sit back and see where it leads? If there’s a spark, go with it and have some fun. If there’s more than a spark, maybe give that a chance, too.”
Alyssa didn’t mention the part where Zane might grow fangs and eat her for fun. Instead, she stood up. “Speaking of Zane, I have to get back to my hotel and clean up. We’re pulling stakeout duty together tonight. I’ll text you later. Give the hubby and kiddo a hug for me.”
Christine came around her desk to walk Alyssa out. “I will, but promise me you’ll give what I said about Zane some thought. And also promise me you’ll be careful. If you’re right and these disappearances are connected to Black Swan Enterprises, then this might be more dangerous than you think. They’re big enough to make people like you and your SWAT cop friends disappear without a peep.”
Alyssa had a sudden vision of Zane and his two friends dressed in Easter Peeps costumes calmly being led away to slaughter by Neanderthals in dark suits. The image didn’t fly with her. She was pretty sure they’d make one hell of a peep.
She was almost out the door when a thought struck her. She turned to look at Christine. “You know those hotels you said you have an arrangement with? Any chance you could swing three expensive rooms for Zane and the two SWAT cops with him? They’re staying in a fleabag with gigantic bedbugs. I was hoping to get them out of there.”
“Three rooms?” Christine asked with a smile. “Sure you don’t want to make that two, since Zane will be sleeping in your bed at the Westin?”
Alyssa didn’t dignify that with a response, but instead gave her friend the stink eye and walked out.
Chapter 6
It was 10:00 p.m. by the time she and Zane arrived at the office space across from the parking garage to take over for Rachel and Diego. Normally, Alyssa would have driven herself over for their nighttime stakeout shift, but they wanted to limit the number of vehicles sitting in front of what was supposed to be an empty office complex, so Zane had driven them over in his SUV. She hadn’t minded. Besides not having to deal with LA traffic—which sucked yellow lemon balls—he’d suggested stopping by In-N-Out Burger to pick up takeout for dinner. She’d never complain about eating more french fries. Besides, Zane made her laugh most of the drive over, telling her stories about growing up in London. She’d almost peed herself when he described the uniforms he’d worn for school. For some reason, she’d had visions of that guitar player from AC/DC. A young Zane must have looked so damn cute in his proper little shorts.
“Anything interesting happen today?” Zane asked his friends, motioning with his head toward the parking garage visible through the window.
The space they’d rented had a good view of the administrative offices and gated area where vehicles entered and exited the garage. Rachel and Diego had rearranged the furniture, placing a table and two chairs near the window, making it easy to keep an eye on the place. And since the building they were in had mirrored windows, no one outside would be able to see in, especially since they’d kept the lights low. There was also a comfy-looking couch that would come in handy if she or Zane needed to grab some shut-eye.
“Not really,” Rachel said. “Two men and a woman in fancy clothes went into the administrative offices around three this afternoon, then came out about an hour later looking pissed.”
“We got pictures of them.” Diego slung a backpack over one shoulder. “I sent everything to Becker to see if he can ID them. I’ll bet money they were from Black Swan Enterprises.”
Rachel and Diego were halfway to the door when Alyssa remembered the folded piece of notebook paper in her back pocket. “Wait up. I’ve got something for you guys.”
Rachel unfolded the paper, her brow furrowing as she read the address and two sets of numbers on it. “What’s this?”
“Your new hotel,” Alyssa said. “I couldn’t get you into the Westin where I’m staying, but the Fairfield Inn and Suites on Sepulveda is close by and a hell of a lot better than the place you’re in now. It’s where Zoe and Chloe are staying. With the discount I was able to get, you’ll have a two-room suite that’s actually cheaper than the no-name you’re in. Though I can still get you a separate room if you want.”
