hand when her body rolled over the summit and held him tight through his climax.
"You have to make some changes. Small things to make sure you're covered. Not because you need a babysitter, but because you're the most important thing in my life." His words were whispered. They were a plea.
She reached back and hugged him closer to her. "I'll make sure."
19
Brock stared sightlessly through the window of Casey's diner. Kallie was late, which given their profession wasn't unusual, but he worried. Rich had been conspicuously absent. No texts, no calls. He and Grant had talked and had worked out a system. The woman remained in one of their lines of vision. She didn't like it, but they didn't care. Since the top blew off the Treyson case, they'd both been busy working different cases. Grant Couch was a good partner for Kallie. They jelled, which fucking irritated him, but that was his baggage. The jealousy thing was new to him. The fucking little green monster trotted front and center whenever he thought of Kallie working late nights with Grant, but she didn't need or want that type of attitude. With her past, it wasn't welcome, and he'd shoved that little green monster into a box and shut the lid, for the most part keeping the gremlin at bay. But the specter of Rich never left him alone. The bastard was always around, distorting their normal actions, altering their lives in little ways. Irritating and offensive, but unavoidable.
After the break in at her apartment, Kallie finally started to open up to him about Rich. She'd given him her phone, and he'd scanned over four hundred of the most horrific texts he'd ever read. The man went into detail about how he was going to kill Kallie.
"Hey." Sean pushed into the seat across from him.
Brock blinked and sat up, pulling his foot off the banquette seat, giving his friend room. "Dude, what are you doing down here?"
"An apartment fire on Halstead around noon. The fire chief thought it went up too fast, so they called me in."
"Arson?"
"Nah, just a fuck-ton of code violations. I figured I'd grab some food to go while I was here. Where's Kallie?"
"Still out." Brock stopped talking when the waiter showed up to top off his coffee. Sean ordered two specials to go, and they were alone again.
"Saw both you and Kallie on television about a week ago, and every night since. That Treyson case is some serious shit, isn't it? That courthouse is a fucking zoo. Media everywhere. Sebastian Treyson has made the circuit on every talk show and then some."
"You don't know the half of it." He held up a hand, stilling the questions he knew Sean had. "When I can talk about it, I'll fill you in, suffice to say this is the case that keeps on giving."
"Fuck, no shit?"
"No shit." By not saying anything, he'd told Sean more than he'd told anyone else not directly connected to the case. Sean could read him like a fucking book, and he knew his best friend just as well.
"When's Jordan due back?" Sean leaned back in the booth.
"No idea. The feds lost Grappelli, again."
"So why is Jordan still gone?"
Brock drew in a long breath. He knew why, but it was classified. The feds were using Jordan. In order to smoke Grappelli out of the woodwork, they were milking information and instinct from Jordan. Instead of saying anything, he just shrugged.
Sean narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Can't say, huh?"
"Something like that. In the meantime, Bettis, Hansen, and I have a pretty good working relationship. I'm still the third wheel, but it works. The communication is heinous at times, but we get shit done."
"How long until your Lieutenant finds you a new partner, permanently?"
"Don't know. Davidson will keep me unattached as long as possible, but life happens, right?"
"Man, you got that right. On another subject, what do you have planned for Valentine’s Day?" Sean's smile told him his friend had plans, but for what woman?
Brock gave him the same shit eating grin right back. "It's only the middle of January."
"True, but you got to plan things like this, my friend."
"I'm prepared. Eagle Scout, remember?" The ring he bought Kallie was tucked in that black velvet box, tucked into the inside pocket of his coat. "What about you?"
"Working it." Sean winked at him as the waiter brought two Styrofoam containers to the table bundled up in a white plastic bag.
"Do you need another refill?" The waiter wiggled the