them down. By the time that it was all said and done, I had long since fallen for her.”
“How on earth does that happen?” Jordan’s voice reverberated with disbelief.
Tony shrugged. “I was undercover. I probably took the case a little too personally. I ended up asking her out. Figured that was the only way to get close enough to find out how she was setting up the thefts.”
“She fell for your cover?”
“Fell for it and fell for me. In the end, my boss was worried I got too close. The only way to prove my loyalty was to take her down myself. Hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“Unbelievable.” Jordan shook her head. “You could have disappeared with her.”
“And done what?” Tony searched Jordan’s eyes. “As regimented as it was, this was the only life I had ever known, the only city I had ever lived in. I didn’t see myself hiding out in some remote island in the Caribbean for the rest of my life. I like people too much.”
“Wow.” Jordan downed her beer. “You never cease to amaze me. So, how did it end?”
He shook his head as his voice trailed off, a faraway look in his eyes. “She got fifteen years in a federal penitentiary, and I got a lifetime of memories. I poured myself into my work, and a couple of years later, I met the only person I ever loved more than myself.”
He didn’t say who it was, but Jordan could tell from the softening of his eyes and the fatherly smile he bestowed on her that she was that someone.
“I suddenly had someone to focus my energy on, someone who needed my undivided attention.”
“Hey!” Jordan took a playful swipe at his arm. “I wasn’t that bad.”
“Kiddo, when I found you, you were one arrest shy of juvie. I saved your ass, and you know it.” He patted her hand. “In a way, you saved mine. You stopped me from going off the deep end.”
He nodded at her empty bottle. “You want another?”
She shook her head. “Yeah, got more I need to talk to you about. Let’s call this a night of fatherly advice.”
Tony stood up with a chuckle. “Maybe I better get us a couple of shots too. Sounds like this could be a long night.”
When he returned, Jordan thanked him with her eyes. They tapped glasses and downed shots of half-decent tequila. She felt the heat go all the way down to her stomach and light a pleasant tingling from deep within. She met his questioning gaze and wrung her hands nervously.
“Come on, kiddo, spit it out. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.” Tony smiled the same warm smile she had seen a hundred times before. “Lay it on your old man.”
“I’m in love with Rebecca.” Jordan almost spit the words out for fear she wouldn’t have the courage to say them after all.
“The red-headed bird, right?” Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “She’s a looker alright. So, what’s the problem?”
“Well, as of this morning, she may not even like me.” The pain etched in Jordan’s features was evident, even to Tony. Somewhere between walking into Rebecca’s office and waking up with her this morning, Jordan had fallen in love with her. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment, but now, before she had even had a chance to tell Rebecca how she felt, she was seeing the end of their relationship.
“What’s not to like?” Tony wrinkled his brow in confusion. “You got a great job, stellar personality, and if I do say so myself, good looks like your old man. That broad is crazy if she isn’t half in love with you already.”
“Thanks, Woz.” Jordan smiled. “I wish it were that easy. The crazy thing is I didn’t even do anything to mess it up. She says I distract her. That she needs space. She can’t concentrate enough to do her job.”
Tony chuckled softly. “You distract her? Well, kiddo, that’s sign enough that she loves you. She wouldn’t have any trouble working if you meant nothing to her.”
A hint of a smile worked its way onto Jordan’s face. “You think so?”
“I know so.” Tony smiled cryptically. “I know, because that’s what nearly blew it for me. Love almost messed my life up, and at the time, I would have let it. Hell, looking back, there are times I think I made the wrong choice. However, you, you’re different. I always knew you were meant for more.”
“What do you mean?”
He pointed at her chest. “’Cause that’s too big.”
“My boob is too big?” Jordan laughed. “Woz, I don’t know if you need glasses or not, but 34A isn’t exactly big.”
Tony reddened slightly. “I meant your heart, kiddo. People like you need love. You long for it.” He saw her open her mouth to protest. “Oh I know, you have spent your life running because you thought love was bad, but all you really wanted was to find it.”
“And now that I have found it, I’m about to lose it.” Jordan’s head hung low. The effect of the alcohol was making her totally bummed out and feeling sorry for herself. “Now do you see why I avoided it like the plague? I was right all those years. Love does suck.”
Tony shook his head. He recognized the despondency he had seen in his own eyes all those years ago. He grabbed her chin in between his thumb and forefinger, and forced her eyes up to meet his. “Don’t go getting all girly on me. Don’t let that broad flip you inside out. That kind of thinking isn’t going to do you a damn bit of good. You need to find a way to remind her why she fell in love with you in the first place. Odds are she’s going to realize not being with you is more distracting than loving you ever could be.”
Jordan swallowed her beer and gave his words some silent thought. “You think so?”
“I know so. You want to do something good for yourself? Do whatever it takes to show this girl you love her. If you need to, be an ass. Show her how distracting you can be when it matters. I gave up on my chance, and this is what you get, a man who barely learns a broad’s name before I sleep with her. In this case, don’t try to follow in your old man’s footsteps. It’s a long, lonely road.”
Jordan searched his eyes. “Who knew? Somewhere inside your devil-may-care exterior, is a heart.”
Tony growled softly. “Don’t you dare let that out. I got a rep to protect.”
Jordan laughed. “So, you think she’ll fall for it?”
“If you’re anything like me, she won’t be able to forget you.” Tony wriggled his eyebrows. “One night with The Woz and the ladies always beg for more.”
“Did you seriously just call yourself The Woz?” Jordan punched Tony in the arm. “I don’t know why I thought I could get sane advice from you.” Her tone was light, and she knew her teasing would only egg him on. If anyone had an ego bigger than hers, it was Tony, and he thought he was God’s gift to women. No amount of razzing from Jordan was going to change that.
“Best advice you’re gonna get.” His smiling eyes turned serious. “Take it for what it’s worth, kiddo. Don’t fuck it up like me. Even a man with a warm body in his bed every night gets lonely.”
Jordan nodded. Unfortunately, the ache in her chest was telling her that the words he spoke were true, and if she didn’t do something to change it, she was going to end up walking down the same road he had walked before her.
Chapter 21
“What we’re interested in, Dr. Mercer, is why you chose to lie to us about the altercation between Dr. Stein and Richard Hudson?” Rebecca’s gaze bore into Meghan, daring her to lie again.
Meghan pulled her glasses off and set them on her desk. She didn’t like this line of questioning. She didn’t like that Detective Foxx was sitting in her office grilling her again. She felt anger well up inside her. She had been the director for three years now, ever since Dr. Stein had been forcibly retired, and it seemed like she was still cleaning up his messes. “It wasn’t an altercation per se, and I didn’t feel that it had a bearing on the case. It was Richard Hudson that was wronged, not Dr. Stein.”
“I’m confused, Dr. Mercer.” Rebecca leaned forward pinning her with her emerald-green eyes. “When we ask you if you knew of any issues between Dr. Stein and Richard Hudson, one would assume that this altercation, or whatever you want to call it, would have warranted at least a mention.”
