At the sound of the commanding voice, Kane lifted his gaze. Since he’d been pulled into the assignment last minute, he hadn’t had a chance to go over his cover with Reid. Kane was grateful. “She didn’t say no, if that’s what you’re asking. You get the tickets?”
Reid ran a hand over his balding head. “You’re a pain in the ass, McDermott. Yeah, I called my brother-in-law and told him my best detective was into bribery now.”
Kane shrugged. “Like I had a choice? Besides, you’re the one who insisted I take some R&R.”
Reid’s face grew somber. “Don’t try to con me. I’ve known you since you were a smartass in the academy. You watch a kid get killed, and you tell me you don’t need R&R?” Reid snorted. “I haven’t seen you so shaken since your first shot actually hit its target.”
Kane didn’t reply. The captain was right. When he’d been a rookie, Kane had killed a suspect when he’d closed a drug bust. The captain had picked Kane up and taken him home afterward, and, since then, the Reids had become the family Kane insisted he didn’t need.
The captain knew him well. More importantly, he accepted him. Despite Kane’s surly attitude and attempts to remain aloof, Reid pushed anyway, including him on holidays and in family gatherings. After a while, the older man’s persistence had paid off. Kane couldn’t bring himself to insult Reid or his wife by turning them down, though he squelched the small part of him that wanted to enjoy the sense of family they provided.
“At least these tickets will work to our advantage,” Reid said in his raspy voice.
“You really ought to lay off the smokes, Captain.”
Reid scowled at him. “Worried I won’t be around to annoy the shit out of you?” He laughed. “I’m too tough to die.”
“You got that right,” Kane muttered, refusing to admit he cared too much about his boss.
“Thanks to the predicted drop in temperature, the lady should be more than eager to share body heat,” he said, ignoring Kane as usual. “She seem interested?”
Kane folded his arms behind his head and leaned back to ponder the question. The old chair and springs creaked beneath his weight in a familiar song. Had Kayla Luck been interested?
“More after I told her I knew Fredericks.” Their tip regarding Charmed! had come from a reliable source who’d gotten caught with his pants down. He’d been more than willing to talk in exchange for keeping his escapade out of the headlines.
Reid had gotten a list of Charmed!’s legitimate clientele and it had taken more than a few interviews to find someone willing to help. Fredericks seemed squeaky-clean and nervous to have his name tainted by scandal. Kane hadn’t trusted the guy to keep quiet should Kayla contact him about his salesman friend, Kane McDermott, so he’d concocted the story about Fredericks being transferred overseas. Fredericks had been jumpy but sincere, and he’d sung Kayla Luck’s virtues, including her honesty.
“At least you landed a winner with the man.” Reid sounded pleased.
Kane nodded in agreement. If Kayla had reacted badly to the name, the plan would have been shot to hell. “I’m good at what I do.”
“Think she’ll take the bait?” Reid asked.
Kane recalled the sultry smile, the soft pout of her lips, and the coyly phrased question. Why don’t we see how things go? But she’d also been wary of him. “We’ll see.”
She’d been interested but he’d wanted to keep the fact to himself. The thought caused a steady, pulsing rhythm in his veins. He could deal with a sexual attraction. Her other qualities were another story. A naive innocence lurked beneath the seductive body. She lacked the hard edge he’d expected, the tough facade he’d been prepared to face. Instead, she’d been uncertain and unsure. She might have grown up on the wrong side of the tracks, but life hadn’t visibly hardened her—at least, not yet.
Lush curves on the outside and a gentleness on the inside. It was the softness that beckoned to him and that shook him up.
“Either the lady’s running more than a charm school or she isn’t,” the captain said.
Kane shrugged, recalling her uneasiness at dealing with compliments and her unwillingness to accept his initial invitation. An act? A game designed to bait a man, to entice him until they fell into a sweaty tangle between the sheets? Or the ultimate rarity on this planet, an honest soul with nothing to hide? Kane had no idea.
“We’ll see.”
Captain Reid smacked his hand on the metal desk. “No, you’ll see, McDermott. Just make sure you pay more attention to the woman than you do to the game.”
Kane didn’t take offense. The old man’s gruff ways had kept Kane going too many times, when he’d watched neighborhood friends overdose or go down on a bust. Read had had faith in a young kid even when no one else cared enough to bother. He knew Kane’s sense of duty was strong.
“After this one, I don’t want to see your sorry butt in here until the middle of next week.” Reid’s voice brooked no argument.
“A good weekend to you, too. Say hi to Marge.”
“Do it yourself,” Reid grumbled. “She says you don’t come by often enough.” He turned and strode back into his office.
Kane got his mind back on the case. He let the captain’s words about Kayla sink in. Paying attention to her wouldn’t be a hardship. In her silk top and pearl earrings, she was a sexy woman any guy would be lucky to claim as his own.
Except a cop whose job it was to take down a prostitution ring…if it existed. Her place could be a front, as his informant claimed. Maybe the sister knew more than Kayla, but according to his files, Catherine Luck had signed over ownership and was more concerned with her education than the school that paid for it.
He swiveled back and forth in his seat. He had a hard time believing the innocence in that green-eyed
