Provocative Passion

Tigo took her parted lips to mean she craved another kiss, which she did. He obliged, but only for a sweet moment. Then, he stood and brushed his nose across hers once, twice...

“Be ready by seven.” His voice was a gruff whisper and then he was gone.

“Oh, boy...” Sophia groaned.

Chapter 4

“Hey, L.T.”

Sophia turned and smiled curiously at the tall uniformed man heading toward her. He was excessively tall; he towered over her own five-eleven height.

“Officer,” she greeted.

“Alvin Keele, ma’am,” the young man shared once he’d moved closer. “Kelly Fields is my girlfriend.”

Sophia nodded as she eyed the officer. “You seem to have a very good woman in your corner.”

“Yeah...” Alvin grinned sheepishly and studied his shiny black shoes. “We met the day I graduated from the academy. Kelly’s dad, Henry Fields, was one of my instructors.”

“I see.” Sophia nodded a bit more enthusiastically. “Well, she’s a smart girl to go after the best in the bunch.”

“She is,” Alvin agreed, but something dimmed in his smile. “She stuck by me even when it looked like I was on my way to being part of the worst of the bunch.”

“That sounds ominous.” Sophia crossed her arms over her chest. Her thoughts rested on Kelly, returning to the girl’s manner the day they had spoken in the break room at the station.

“She, uh, made a point of thanking me one day when we talked.” Sophia was relying on her cop’s intuition, which told her there was more to the young woman’s gratitude than met the eye. “Did that have something to do with you, by any chance?”

Again, Alvin cast his pale blue stare toward the floor and nodded. “Thank you for shutting it all down, ma’am.” His voice was almost inaudible. “I could’ve been caught up in it so fast if you hadn’t.”

Sophia blinked sharply, inwardly acknowledging that her intuition was dead-on. “The money laundering. Someone approached you about it? Who?”

“It was Mike Cana, ma’am.”

Sophia deflated a bit. Detective Mike Cana was already behind bars, where he’d hopefully remain for a long time given his part in the crime. She needed fresh intel and silently admitted that she was terribly anxious to close this down tight. The sooner she did, the sooner she could see what was in store for her with the new job and for her and Santigo.

“It’s not over, is it?” Alvin watched Sophia as though his own intuition was at work.

“You’ve got good cop instincts already, Officer.”

Alvin beamed over the compliment. “That’s what Sergeant Fields said at the academy. Am I right, ma’am?”

Sophia cast a casual look over her shoulder. “There could be more rotten apples needing to be shaken out of the tree.”

“My career could’ve been over before it started.” Alvin’s tone was firm, his expression set with a serious intensity. “All I’d have had to show for it would’ve been a jail cell.”

Sophia patted his arm. “We’re all glad it didn’t come to that.”

“Still doesn’t sit right with me, L.T. Other cops could get caught up in this, some before they even have a chance to learn how to be cops.”

“You’re right.” Sophia’s tone and demeanor were somber. “Alvin, please know that this means as much to me as it does to you. We’ve made a lot of headway. We’ll shut the rest of it down. You can count on that.”

“I want in, L.T.”

“Alvin—”

“I know what I’m saying, and I want in.” He stepped closer. “Whatever I can do to help you get the rest of them.”

That he was serious went without saying. She watched him through narrowed eyes. “Do you have a partner, Officer?”

“Elzbeta Croft.”

“You trust her?”

“Yes. Yes, very much, ma’am.”

Satisfied by the answers, Sophia looked over her shoulder again before she spoke. “Meet me tomorrow night at Mathers. You know it?” She asked.

Alvin nodded, recognizing the name of the bar and grill outside the city limits. The establishment was frequented by much of the city’s factory workers.