Cavanaugh on Duty - By Marie Ferrarella Page 0,7

was that the hood was still warm, but not hot. That meant that Esteban had driven it over sometime after he’d left the precinct.

That in turn meant that he was here.

“I come bearing gifts, Fernandez,” she informed him in a tone that was infinitely sweeter than the one she typically used day-to-day. “C’mon, open the door,” she coaxed, then added, “unless you want me to pick the lock, of course—because I do know how to do that.”

Of course she did, Esteban thought darkly. He’d intended to wait her out, but that course of action was quickly aborted when he saw the doorknob jiggling.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Esteban quickly released the locks and yanked open the door. His weapon was not only out, but ready, in case the woman the Chief of D’s was trying to push on him was here under duress.

But when he opened the door, he saw no one else but her. The shimmering moonlight, out in full force, had turned her skin almost a golden hue.

She belonged in someone’s dream, not on his doorstep, he thought in annoyance.

And it looked as though she was doing this of her own free will. It figured, he groused to himself. They weren’t even going to let him quit in peace.

Seeing a drawn weapon, Kari’s immediate reaction would normally have been to pull out her own service revolver, but she had no desire to exchange fire with the potently sexy man she’d come to coerce.

With effort, she managed to silently talk herself down and keep her own weapon holstered.

There was absolutely no light coming from inside the house. Had the streetlamp behind her been out and with a new moon in the sky, she wouldn’t have been able to see her unwilling partner at all.

“Are you raising bats or orchids in there?” she quipped, crossing the threshold. “Or did you just not pay your electric bill?”

From the surly look on his face, she could tell he wasn’t in the mood to exchange banter. He clearly wanted to be left alone.

“What are you doing here?” Esteban bit off, making no effort to hide his hostility. After all, the woman was invading his space, a space she wasn’t even supposed to know about.

Can’t trust anyone these days, the former undercover detective fumed.

“Not being welcomed for one,” she answered glibly.

His eyes narrowed. “Then go home. No one’s stopping you.”

“And turn my back on such a charming invitation?” she deadpanned. “No way.”

He had no idea what she was talking about. Somewhere, he was convinced, a village was searching for their idiot. Just his luck, she’d turned up here.

“What charming invitation?” he muttered.

Kari remained blissfully unfazed by the daggers his eyes were shooting at her.

“The one you silently extended to me back at the precinct. You know, indicating that you wanted me to share a drink with you,” she answered. As if to reinforce her point, she held up the bottle of expensive whiskey she’d thought to bring with her. “I even brought the bottle in case you didn’t have any—or started without me and ran out.”

That, she felt, was a pretty safe bet. Leaning slightly forward, she gave him her best, most innocent smile. “But I see that you did remember to pick up a bottle on your way home.”

He was not about to get sucked into this mindless babble. He just wanted to be left alone, to get drunk out of his mind, pass out and not think for a while. This highly annoying Pollyanna was interfering with his plans.

“Look,” he ground out, “I don’t have time for crazy women—”

“Good, neither do I,” she concurred. Feeling her way around the room, she found a light switch and turned it on. Illumination instantly flooded the room.

“Turn it off!” he ordered.

But she didn’t. Instead, she informed him blithely, “Just looking for another glass.” She opened one cabinet, then another. Both were empty. This man lived worse than a hermit. “You do have another one, right?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him. “Otherwise, one of us is going to have to drink out of the bottle.”

Esteban stared at the woman in his house, feeling like someone who had just been slammed by a runaway train that had come barreling out of nowhere. She still hadn’t answered his question.

“How the hell did you find out where I live?”

“I’m a very resourceful person,” Kari told him with a wide grin. “You’ll find that out when we start working together.”

“We’re not going to be working together,”