.38 Caliber Cover-Up

dream from his mind. This was it. He had to say goodbye. He just couldn’t figure out how.

Joining her at the bottom of the stairs, he ignored the FBI and said, “They picked up Limpy Cop.”

“I’d love to read your reports one day—Beavis, Butthead, Limpy Cop. What’s your nickname for me?”

“Amazing.” He sidestepped making a fool of himself and changed the subject. “By the way, thanks for coming to my rescue.”

“Some rescue. I thought you’d be very, very angry I screwed up the entire operation.”

“Woman, you’ve got to work on your self-esteem. You saved me. Big time.” He shook his head, smiling—and liking that he didn’t have to calculate how to smile anymore. “Remember when I said to trust me, Darby?”

“Yeah, but who is it that I’m really trusting?” She arched that sexy eyebrow toward her forehead.

He tugged her into the circle of his arms and kissed her deep and much too short of a time. “Just a regular guy. Remember that, hon.”

She pushed back on his chest and lightly tapped his unbruised cheek. “No problem.”

He pulled her more tightly into his arms, not wanting her to leave. Taking an extra minute for one last goodbye kiss. When they broke apart, he still held on to her hand.

“You were awesome through this whole operation, Darby. Pike would have been proud. I had the right O’Malley all along.”

She smiled, nodded in the direction of the police officers calling to her and walked away.

He watched her go speak with the officers documenting the bust, the shots and evidence. The FBI agent waved to him again. It was time to leave Darby and disappear.

This is what he did. This was his life.

But it didn’t have to be…not any longer.

Chapter Eighteen

Darby sat at her academy desk working hard. Paper pushing. Brainless work that ironically allowed her mind to overthink everything.

There had been no contact or record of Erren Rhodes and she’d been forced to lie, accepting unsolicited congratulations each time she’d stepped out of her office. Her partner had been right about her—she hated the lies. She avoided as many fellow officers as she could. She’d been forced to take credit for the drug bust. So she stayed in her office.

Three weeks and Pike’s desk was still empty. He’d been credited for helping her and dying in the line of duty, when no one would have been caught without his investigation. The P.D. wanted the credit for the bust to save face with the community. Good cops put away bad cops.

So was Erren a bad cop only out for revenge? Or had everything between them been about the job? Had he been playing a role all along? Erren said to trust him. The real question was could she trust her instincts and just move on?

Today would be a good day to begin. She looked at the new clock, housed in a chunk of amber, sitting on her desk. “Pike’s replacement is already ten minutes late.”

She had the duty of showing him the ropes, introducing him around the department and taking him to lunch. All a direct order from her captain. Definitely something she didn’t want to do. There would be more lies and congratulations she didn’t deserve.

Erren had been right. Lying wasn’t her style, even though she’d become quite good at it to protect his cover.

She fingered the new amber paperweight sitting on the corner of her desk. She leaned forward and dropped her head into her hands. Get a grip, girl. You didn’t really know him. It was just a tense situation and you can’t expect him to feel close to you.

First thing was to get rid of some of this amber. She shoved the amber gel pen and the amber-colored worry stones into her top drawer. A terrific-looking amber-colored sweater hung in her closet at home. Not to mention the shade of dark amber she’d painted her bedroom or the new set of amber-tinted glasses she had in the kitchen—still sitting on the counter, wrapped in their plastic sack with the receipt inside ready to return.

Amber.

The glasses were the last straw. On the way home from the mall she’d realized her new favorite color was the same shade Erren’s eyes turned in passion. She’d known her Secret Agent Man for a few days, he’d disappeared and she’d missed him every minute since. She was so hopelessly over the top with feelings for the man.

It had been almost three weeks and she hadn’t received a single word from Erren. Her father’s car was left only a few blocks from the warehouse and had been found easily enough. Darby the cop understood her part in aiding in his disappearance. But Darby the woman remembered the way he’d looked at her when their lives had been in danger… Well, she had thought—and hoped—that he’d at least contact her.

Nothing was needed from Erren Rhodes to wrap up the case awaiting prosecution. Her statement had been taken by the new attorneys and the remnants of Thrumburt’s crew were sitting in jail. Including Limpy Cop who was also charged with first-degree burglary, several counts of aggravated assault and kidnapping and numerous counts of destruction of property for the damage to her house and Sean’s truck.

Even if Erren didn’t want to see her, she’d gone to the trouble of retrieving his motorcycle from impound. It sat in her garage waiting. Just like she sat at home…waiting. She’d asked about him at the DEA and had been told there were no agents by that name. She’d even tried to trace who owned the lake property. Just another dead end.

Where is this new guy? She looked at her watch and knew she wouldn’t be waiting much longer. She was missing Michael’s first day home. He’d been released from the hospital and her father had steaks, Coronas and a recorded Cowboys game. Captain’s orders or no, five more minutes and she was headed home.

A knock drew her attention to the open door. She stood, straightening the front of her shirt.

When she turned to introduce herself to Pike’s replacement, there he was. Agent Erren Rhodes. Full Dallas P.D. uniform—from the hat under his arm to his shiny black shoes.

“Hello, Darby.”

Whoa. Was that her heart dropping to her toes? She wanted to run to him, throw herself into his arms. But it had been three weeks without a peep. If he’d cared about her at all, wouldn’t he have at least said goodbye?

Nothing since the warehouse, and he chose now to appear in her office doorway. She took a step toward him. Wanting to kiss the smile off his lips. Restraining herself from doing that, too.

“You have the most incredibly bad timing. Why are you impersonating a police officer? You have to get out of here. Now. I’m expecting my new boss.”

She turned him toward the door, but he kept turning, making a three-sixty to face her again. A uniform was definitely a way to blend in, but she had to get him out of there. Pronto.

What if he were caught? Did he have any trustworthy contacts left in the DEA?

What am I thinking? He’s not a criminal. He’s one of Pike’s men. He’s the man I love…

Oh, God, I really do love him!

“I’m in uniform because I’m a cop, Darby. I always have been,” he said. “I really am a cop.” He walked to Pike’s desk, setting down his hat.

“I don’t believe you.” He was terrific liar.

Even his name tag said Rhodes. His hair was regulation-length short. She’d thought he’d been handsome with the bruises, but now with his clean-shaven face and deep tan he looked gorgeous. Hopefully, his dagger was still on a chain under his uniform.

“I quit the DEA and came back to the force. It took time to get all the paperwork approved and records in place that put my cover in jail. I put more than my share of people behind bars over the last six years. They didn’t want the drug lords in south Texas to know where I decided to settle.”