at some mug shots from New York. I, uh, recognized their accents.” Nick had agreed not to tell anyone about Anthony’s involvement.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Great.”
“Thanks for your good work on both cases, Nick.”
“Don’t thank me yet. All I have are theories.”
“Damn good ones. More than anyone else has been able to come up with. If this one pans out, the chief will be glad we kept you as an important contact.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“You’d better hope it does. That’s a lot of costly equipment and man-hours, Nick.”
After the captain left, Nick finished his coffee and waved Brandee over.
“Another coffee?” she offered.
He rose and fished his wallet from his back pocket. “No. I have a couple leads to follow up on. When do you get off—and can I help with that?” He waggled his eyebrows.
Brandee rolled her eyes. “That was so bad, I’m tempted to pretend I didn’t know what you meant.”
“But you did.” He grinned.
“What makes you think I’m ready to just pick up where we left off?”
He hesitated. “I thought we were making up. Isn’t make-up sex the best part of having a fight?” He handed her a twenty and said, “Keep the change.”
“You’re incorrigible. But Angie isn’t planning to go out, as far as I know, so fooling around at my place is out of the question.”
“Then I’ll take you to mine.” He was surprised how easily that popped out. He rarely took a woman back to his place, and yet with Brandee, he didn’t even have to think twice about it.
She smiled. “I’d like to see it. I’ll bet you have mirrors on the ceiling.”
He laughed. “Nope. Not even close.”
“Seriously? I figured a horny bachelor would have all the bells and whistles.”
“You really do have a bad opinion of me.”
She shrugged. “You earned it.”
He slapped a hand over his heart. “Ouch. You wound me.”
“Hey, I’d be happy to be proved wrong. I get off at five.”
“And I’ll get you off at five thirty.”
She groaned. “I’m serious, Nick. That was really, really bad.”
“I’ll work on it.”
***
Good to his word, Nick returned at four fifty-five, ready to take her to his place. She made him wait in the bar while she ran upstairs to change. She brushed her teeth and hair, then freshened her makeup. Now, what to wear…
She stood in front of her crowded closet and started flipping through her clothes.
A red silk blouse slipped off its hanger and pooled at her feet, almost as if she’d had a little “help” deciding. She glanced around, then shook her head. “Oh, my paranoia. It’s just a coincidence.”
Even though the thought of supernatural “help” unnerved her, she had to agree with the choice. A pair of black slacks and her red top would work for pretty much whatever he had in mind. Although the only thing on Nick’s mind seemed to be getting her out of anything she put on as soon as possible.
She ran to the bathroom and shut the door. Brandee felt stupid, acting as if someone might be watching, but she dressed quickly. A pair of gold hoop earrings was in a dish on the counter so she grabbed them and put them in as she trotted down the stairs. Anything to get out of there. The place was giving her the heebie-jeebies.
When she reentered the bar, a wolf whistle greeted her. Nick quickly strode over. “Wow.”
He shrugged into his leather jacket. “Ready, gorgeous?”
“I think so. I didn’t know if we were going out before heading to your place, so…”
Tory must have overheard. “You’re taking her to your lair, Nick?”
He bristled. “It’s not a lair.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re a reformed man now.”
Nick leaned over and kissed her temple. “Pay no attention to my hard-up friend, sweetheart. He’s just jealous.”
“True,” Tory said and laughed.
Nick opened the door for her, then called over his shoulder, “Get your own hot date, Tory.”
Brandee liked being valued, but really. “Damn. Oh, look, now you made me curse. Do you have to act like you own me?”
Nick looked like he was about to put his arm around her but let it drop. “What did I do now?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s just…I don’t know.” She sighed.
“It’s a guy thing. We were just busting each other’s chops.”
He was right. She was probably being oversensitive. “Okay. Sorry. I’ll try not to pay attention to things like that, as long as you don’t start getting overly protective and possessive again.”
“I’ll do my best. Shall we?” He held out his hand to