Bachelor Cop

“Uh-huh.” Randy sounded dubious.

“I have one of those S&W titanium five shots in the car,” said Sarah Beth. “It’s so light that after I shoot it three or four times, I wind up with a blister between my thumb and forefinger. What am I doing wrong?”

“Probably nothing. The lack of weight will cause the gun to wiggle around in your grip.”

“But I’ve heard that a really big gun, like a .357 Magnum, which is what Walter and I have, can break a woman’s wrist when she fires it,” Lauren commented.

“Nonsense,” said Ellen. “Try a heavy shotgun and forget to hold it hard against your shoulder if you want pain. That Magnum myth is a good ole boys’ tale to keep us in our places.”

“Which they sure figure is not the firing range,” said Francine. “Some of those guys act like it’s testosterone central.”

“How about you, Streak?” Randy asked.

“I can always use the practice.”

Always Miss Superior. Hell, maybe she was an expert. “Okay. How’s this Thursday? I’ll reserve some lanes and have Jessica call you if they’re available. Afterward, we can discuss finding cover. Doesn’t matter if you’re armed, if you’re standing out in the open like a doe. Now, remember what we worked on Tuesday? Line up, ladies, and let’s see if you can toss me out of your way.”

He noticed that the back of Helena’s sweatshirt was wet. When she turned to look at him, he realized the front was equally wet. He’d been right about her curves. He could see the outline of broad athletic bra straps under her wet shirt, but it couldn’t hide her nipples completely. Not exactly a wet T-shirt, but it got the point—or he should say points—across.

The hair around her face was damp, as well, and tendrils had escaped from the tight rubber band. Her moist face was no longer pale and lifeless. Beneath the sheen of perspiration her cheeks glowed, her eyes sparkled.

“I guess you came early,” he said.

Her chin lifted. Instantly, her eyes went flat and cold. “I enjoyed myself.” She sucked in a breath. “Thank you for recommending the exercise.”

That had probably cost her more than asking him to walk her to her car.

“In your head, who were you beating up on?” He grinned. “Me?”

She stiffened. “You’re merely the means to an end.” She turned on her heel and strode to the back of the room to join the others.

Oooo-kay.

Whenever the Cold Cases squad interviewed a female, either as a witness or possible perpetrator, Randy generally led the session. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred if he didn’t get a full confession, he gained enough information to find the real criminal, or enough evidence to prosecute. Women liked and trusted him. Most of the time he liked women.

Watching Streak make a point of ignoring him, he wished he could leave for Aruba tomorrow, before his curiosity about her got the better of him. He wanted to find out what made her so angry. He could run her name through the police database to see whether she came up as a victim of a crime. He’d be willing to bet she would, and that it had been a bad one.

What good would it do him to know? He was already close to burnout from listening to the gut-wrenching stories of desperate and angry people. He prayed he could hold out until he made it to Aruba for two weeks in the sun, with no responsibility except to choose the right wine with dinner.

And the beautiful woman to share it with. Someone new now that Paige was out of the picture.

Why should he care that Dr. Helena Norcross loathed him? Plenty of other women adored him. He vowed that before the sessions finished, she’d at least tolerate him. Call it an exercise to hone his skills. She was too loaded down with ex-husbands and kids to date, Sela Ward eyebrows or not. Streak and those kids needed somebody reliable. Responsible. That ain’t me.

She wore different sweats this time. Still too big, but sky-blue rather than gray. He spent the next hour and a half showing his class moves, practicing with them, being grabbed, slung and generally mauled. So far nobody had “accidentally” landed one in his groin, but that was bound to happen. He just hoped he was quick enough to take the blow on his thigh.

He taught them a new maneuver, then paired them up to practice on one another. He took Streak. He still didn’t trust her not to blow up and actually attack. He could handle her, but he might accidentally hurt her by reflex.

She piqued his interest, and, dammit, his libido.

Every time she tried to manhandle him, she couldn’t budge him, and snarled in frustration. Finally, he asked her to watch Sarah Beth, who had what he called “the touch.” Maybe if he could show Helena how this little old lady could manage him, she might begin to get it.

He reached for Sarah Beth’s throat with both hands. She smiled sweetly, stepped in, moved her arms up and sideways the way he had showed her, and sent him spinning away.

“Are you all right, dear?” Sarah Beth said.

“Absolutely. Now, Streak, how about you try it again?”

She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. “I can’t. I don’t get it.”

“Of course you can,” Sarah Beth said. “Put your palms flat on his chest.” The older woman laid her fragile hands against Randy’s torso. They rested there with all the weight of pigeon feathers. “You can feel when his breath comes up.” Suddenly she pushed off her back foot and shoved. He stumbled backward again. “See?”

Streak stared at her with something akin to awe. “How did you do that? He helped you, didn’t he?”

“Try it.”

Randy could tell she didn’t want to touch him at all, much less gently, the way Sarah Beth had. He watched Streak clench her fists. She was wishing he’d turn into that heavy bag, so she could let fly at him with all her strength, without being hit back. She had a real need to lash out. Maybe she’d had a bad experience with a cop. No, her anger went deeper than that. She resented his very maleness.

Maybe the ex-husband had mistreated her and still threatened her. A man, possibly more than one, had hurt her badly. Throughout his career, Randy had seen that victims of violence tended to gravitate from one such relationship to the next, so maybe hubby had come after an abusive family and abusive boyfriends.

He couldn’t fix damaged goods in one self-defense class. It would be nice if he could, but people seldom changed without time and hard work. He’d tried hard enough to change himself, without a lot of success.

If she’d finally decided to fight back against her demons, he had to teach her that the only chance she had lay in skill, not strength.

She unclenched her fists, but didn’t meet his gaze as she reached out and laid her palms carefully against his chest.

Uh-oh. He caught his breath. She opened her eyes very wide, whispered, “Oh!” and shoved.

For a second he thought he’d wind up on his ass.

Francine caught him and righted him. “You go, girl.” She tried to give Helena a high five, but her classmate didn’t see it.

She still had her hands in front of her, her mouth open. She held his gaze too long, then spun away with her arms crossed over her chest. She’d felt it, too.

Until this minute he’d never believed in that old saw about electricity jumping between a man and a woman. He knew she was blushing and her pupils were dilated. His own ears felt hot and probably blazed like stop-lights. He blessed his jockstrap. It felt damned uncomfortable, but kept his erection from becoming obvious. Sweatpants without a fly were pretty revealing.

For the duration of the class he paired her with Sarah Beth, who was not only a natural at self-defense, but a natural teacher, as well. They were all still going strong when Jessica stuck her head in the door. “Closing time, people.”

Amanda checked her fancy watch. He’d be willing to bet the diamonds were real. “I can’t believe it. We’ve been here over two hours.”

“See, Streak?” he said. “Told you I’d make up the time.”

She barely glanced at him as she hurried out. He called after her, “Jessica will phone you about meeting at the shooting range on Thursday.”

When he left the building, Streak’s car was already gone. If she’d waited for him to walk her out, he might have tried to kiss her. Plenty stupid that he actually wanted to kiss her, without getting his head handed to him for trying.

CHAPTER FOUR

“THIS IS INSANE,” Helena said, and struck her steering wheel. She slammed on her brakes as the light in front of her turned red. She hadn’t noticed the yellow. She had to slow down. The whole of Germantown was one big speed trap. She couldn’t afford a traffic ticket, and the cops were always stopping cars like her old BMW. She looked as though she was flying even when she was driving twenty.