“Of course. You’re the only woman for me.” I hesitate. “Hey, why don’t you join us? You know everyone and it’ll give you a chance to meet her too. We’re going to The Fox & The Kettle around 5:00 p.m.”
She perks up. “Yeah? You don’t mind if I come?”
I smirk. “Honey, I always enjoy it when youcome.”
She giggles and throws a decorative pillow at me. “You know I’m more than just a pretty face.”
“I know.” I move toward the bedroom door, grabbing my jacket off the chair. “You’re also a very nice set of tits.” I dodge another pillow and leave grinning.
The drive to the station takes me through the heart of Golden Peak. In daylight, the town looks charming, hemmed in by mountains that scrape the low winter clouds. Fresh snow blankets everything, softening edges and muffling sounds. I’ve lived here all my life and can’t imagine ever leaving.
The station is a red brick building just off Main Street, two stories with a row of patrol cars parked out front. There’s an American flag snapping in the wind, and the Montana state flag below it.
I pull into the lot behind the building. Inside, the station smells like coffee and some sort of cinnamon pastries. The front desk is manned by Diane, our civilian receptionist. She’s human, in her seventies, with reading glasses on a chain around her neck.
“Morning, Liam,” she says, looking up briefly from her crossword puzzle.
“Morning, Diane. Quiet night?”
“Yep. There were a couple of drunk and disorderlies, but nothing to write home about. Tommy Fletcher got into it with his brother again.”
I roll my eyes. “Well, of course he did. It was a day that ended in Y.”
She laughs. “True enough. Hey, your new partner’s here already. He’s in with the Chief.”
I frown. “Did you sayhe?”
She glances up. “Yep. I sure did.”
I scratch my jaw. “Uh, I thought my new partner was a woman.”
“Nope. This one is all male.” She winks. “Cute too.”
I ignore her comment about his looks, confused why the chief would have told me my new partner was a woman. As I head down the hallway, I pass the break room where Officer Tom Brown is refilling his coffee.
“Hey, Martinez,” he says, adding cream to his coffee. He looks a little hung over. He was at The Fox & The Kettle with us last night. I guess he overdid it.
“Morning,” I say, heading toward the main bullpen. The station is already stirring despite the early hour. A couple of desks are occupied, radios murmuring in the background. Sally Thompson sits at hers, brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, typing up a report from last night’s shift.
She looks up. “Your new partner is here.” She grins, looks around, and lowers her voice. “He’s adorable.”
“So I heard.” I stop beside her. I don’t give a damn howadorablemy new partner is, I want to know why things got switched up. If anyone will have the tea on what happened, it’sSally. She’s human and she knows everything that goes on in the station. “Didn’t Chief say my new partner was going to be a woman from Boise?”
“He did.” She nods. “But apparently that fell through. I believe that candidate got cold feet. She wasn’t sure life on a mountain was right for her after all. Chief found a replacement from Atlanta PD. This guy’s been on the force longer, so the swap is a good thing.”
“Sure, more experience is always good,” I murmur, heading toward the chief’s office to meet the new guy. But before I can even knock on the chief’s door, he opens it.
“There you are, Martinez.” Chief is a wolf with a solid presence. In his early fifties with steel-gray hair, he’s a good leader. We all respect him. He’s the sort of man who people listen to even though he’s soft-spoken. “How about you get your butt in here and meet your new partner?” His smile softens his words.
I laugh. “I was just about to do that, sir.” I follow him into his office, and I’m floored to find the blond wolf from last night standing near Chief’s desk. He’s dressed in a crisp GPPD uniform and it suddenly hits me that he must be my new partner. I blink at him in confusion and shock. I’d never in a million years have pegged the guy as a cop. His energy was so passive last night at the bar.
When we make eye contact, I see the flicker of surprised recognition in his expression as well. But then the disbelief smooths into something more neutral.
“Martinez, this is Officer Jude Collins. He’s transferring from Atlanta PD.” Chief gestures between us. “Collins, this is Liam Martinez. He’ll be your partner.”
“Good to meet you.” I extend my hand.
Jude hesitates but then shakes my hand. “Uh… yeah. Good to meet you too.”
