Might have to request a new partner. What about a wife?”
He shook his head.
“Girlfriend?”
He let his head drop back again and stared at the ceiling. “I’ve been looking.”
“No finding?”
“Nibbles, but sometimes women look at who they are dating.”
Kallie made a point of closing one eye to examine him. “Kinda fucking hard to miss you.” There wasn’t a single woman on the planet who wouldn’t want a chance with the detective.
“Yeah, all this is hard to miss, huh? But…” He chuckled and dropped his eyes before he shrugged.
“But what? You really need to finish that statement.” He picked up the cat. The orange hairball patted his face with his paw, and the giant of the man in front of her smiled down at the feline. He pet the cat, and it rubbed its head against Brock’s cheek. Her heart melted just a little bit. Okay, more than a little bit.
“I’m not a monk by any stretch of the imagination, but the women I’ve dated lately wanted to be on the arm of the big, bad cop. They got off on my badge, you know, the image and the thrill of dating a cop. Not that I didn’t take what they’re giving away, which kinda makes me a fucking dog, doesn’t it? But I want more than a random piece of ass or a chick with a badge fetish.” He lowered the cat and carefully tucked him into the cat carrier.
“Yeah? And what do you want, Mr. King?” She grabbed the bag of kitty kibble. He grabbed the bag of litter.
“What everyone else wants. I want the family thing, and I’m definitely looking for someone who isn’t chasing a badge.”
Kallie let him exit the utility room first and turned off the light before she followed him. “I get that. God knows I get that, but it’s kinda hard to meet that type of person doing the job. Unless you’re going to start dating witnesses or another cop.”
“Yeah, and wouldn’t that be a fucking mess? No, I want what my folks have. I want somebody who is willing to put up with the shit the job dishes out.”
She took that comment on the chin. Hell yeah, her relationship turned into a disaster. Dating a cop should be taboo. Should be. “You want a fucking unicorn.”
He laughed; the low rumble filled the small apartment. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“They're out there, man. They're real, a leprechaun told me.” She wanted to believe it, but it was easier to joke about it.
“Yeah, did you find the pot of gold?” Brock set the cat carrier down as he opened the front door for her and grabbed the keys from the ceramic bowl.
“Nah. I think I’d have better luck looking for that unicorn.”
“Let me know when you find one, until then I'll roll with the punches and keep hoping there is a woman for me. BTW, I’m taking you home and picking you up. You didn’t ask about parking, and I saw the keys you slid into your pocket. No car key on them.” He locked the door behind them.
“Damn detectives,” Kallie grumbled behind him as they walked down the stairs they’d just climbed not five minutes ago.
He grunted in response; fuck, he’d spewed more personal information to the woman behind him in five minutes than he had to Jordan over the course of their entire partnership. Yeah, from here on out, he was keeping it caveman. Grunts and single word responses. Why the fuck had he word-vomited that drivel? Probably because he hadn’t slept more than a couple hours in the last year or so. Maybe someone could just give him a lobotomy and then he wouldn’t have to worry about his new partner thinking he was fucking mental. Or God, worse, that he was emotional. Fuck, paint his nails black, because whatever had just gushed from his mouth in Jordan’s apartment reeked of Emo-itis. Keep your fucking mouth shut, King.
He’d never admit it to anyone, but part of the reason he worked so damn much was that he didn’t want to go back to his empty apartment. Making meals for one sucked. The walls didn’t ask him how his day went, and the drapes sure as fuck wouldn’t talk to him when the gore of murder scenes was all he could see. Pathetic, but true.
They settled Fester in the back seat and plopped the food and litter down on the floorboard. “Where do you live?”
“I have an apartment on South Martingale.”
“Well, welcome to the neighborhood.