Capturing the Cop

“Headed to work,” Olivia admitted. “I’m running late.”

Although, with him on the phone, she sure didn’t care when she arrived at the office. With him, she sought to be bad. Very bad. She turned off the radio. The only sounds now were the hum of the engine and the occasional passing car.

“I don’t want to make you late.” His bedroom voice sent a shiver through her.

Heck, she’d skip work if he asked her to. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, putting a pout in her voice. Talking like a seductress was easier when you couldn’t see the other person’s face. “You told me you work erratic shifts. If you’re calling now, this must be a perfect time to talk.”

“So are you perfect?”

Far from it, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. This man would be her one night, her one digression into forbidden territory. One taste—no more. Giddy with the moment, Olivia let her inner bad girl rule. “I’m perfect in some areas,” she said, congratulating herself on how teasing her voice sounded as she answered his question.

“So then tell me one thing,” he asked. “How come you’re still single? Shouldn’t a girl like you have been snatched up by now?”

Olivia’s stomach tightened. Though her previous answer had been heavy with innuendo, her words hadn’t been a lie. As for her string of failed relationships, she didn’t ever intend to tell him the full truth about those. But she hadn’t been raised to lie. “I’m still single because I don’t settle,” Olivia replied, this time making her voice a tad provocative.

She heard his chuckle. “I see.”

“Uh-huh,” Olivia said. Even though he couldn’t see her, she twirled a piece of her hair coquettishly so that her mood would flow through the phone. “And just so you know, I don’t proposition just anyone, either.” That was for certain. She’d never propositioned anyone before.

His tone turned serious. “Then I’m honored. So shall we set up our date? I’d like to continue this intriguing conversation in person. Phones just don’t work for me. You can’t see the person.”

Which in this case had been a good idea, Olivia thought. When it came to normal phone conversations with men, she was terrible. Heck, she was terrible with men, period. Her longest relationship had lasted fourteen months, her two engagements each less than that. Garrett Krause wasn’t her league. But she only needed one night….

“Let’s definitely get this date on the calendar. I’d like to see you again.”

“The sooner the better,” Garrett said, his sexy tone back.

Olivia’s forehead creased, but she reached for her day planner. This bad-girl stuff was new to her. Did all men respond this eagerly? She wasn’t sure if she liked it. She pushed her discomfort aside. “I’m ready with my planner now.”

“You have a planner?” His voice held surprise. Then he said, “Great. Have you ever been to Melanie’s?”

“Melanie’s?” She racked her brain but drew a blank. “I’m sorry. I’ve never even heard of it. I take it it’s good?”

“Despite being just a hole in the wall, Melanie’s has some of the best seafood on the South Side. It’s on Grand, south of 44, past Tower Grove Park. How about we meet there? Say, Thursday night at six? That’s only two nights from now.”

Olivia wrote the information in her planner. She circled July twenty-seventh. She couldn’t believe that July was almost over. Age thirty-one was getting ever closer. “I’m sure I can find it.”

“You can’t miss it. The name is on the awning.”

She decided she liked his voice. “Melanie’s at six,” she confirmed.

“It was good talking to you, Olivia. Until Thursday, bye.”

And with that, he hung up. Olivia hit the red end button on her cell phone and surveyed the call timer. Less than three minutes. But it didn’t matter that she’d never really held a phone conversation with a man for more than ten unless they’d been fighting. What mattered was that she had a date with the sexiest man she’d seen in a long time. “Sorry Sara,” Olivia said aloud, as if speaking to her pious stepmother. “But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. And I have to do this man.”

Anticipation shuddered through Olivia. He’d be the ultimate lover. Even though she had zero experience in that area, she just knew he would be. Call it female intuition. Olivia turned up the radio, and humming because Garrett had actually called, she headed to work.

GARRETT PRESSED the off button and set the cordless receiver on the table. He glared at the four men watching him. “Satisfied?”

Cliff grinned, and for a moment Garrett wished he could smack that knowing leer off his friend’s face. “More or less.”

“I am,” Mason said. “You handled that with sheer finesse, buddy boy.”

“I don’t know,” Ben replied, his skepticism obvious.

Garrett stood, glowering at Ben. “Come on, you just heard the whole call. I made silly small talk and asked her out, and she accepted. We have a date on Thursday. Until then I have two different murders to solve and a summer program at Matt’s child development center. So enough. It’s done. The date’s set.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t ask her,” Ben persisted, not at all intimidated by Garrett’s solid stance. His green eyes narrowed. “But how do we know that you’ll really follow through? That you won’t just wimp out, call her back and cancel. Worse, you might stand her up.”

“I would never stand her up. That’s Mason.”

Mason took a step back and raised his hands in protest. “Hey, don’t bring that blind date into this. That wasn’t funny. I had to run. Did you see her? Murder one ready to happen. I was concerned for my life. Didn’t want you guys to have to be rolling yellow tape around me.”

Ben flicked his eyes heavenward, then returned his focus to Garrett. “No one’s questioning your integrity, Garrett, or your principles. I want to make sure you go on this date. Cliff and Mason date all the time. I’m engaged. Pete’s married. But you…If nothing else, I want to see for myself that this woman exists, that she isn’t some friend of yours helping you get out of a fix.”

Garrett’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you’re insinuating I would do something like that.”

“No, but I would,” Cliff admitted with a grin as he warmed to Ben’s current thread. “And you know Mason would.”

“Maybe,” Mason said slowly. Then he laughed. “Okay, I would.”

“So you can understand our concern,” Ben added. “Since you didn’t place the ad, so we have no real proof of your serious intentions to fulfill the bet, a bet—I might add, that you lost to me.”

“I suggest we go along on the date,” Cliff suggested. “I agree with Ben. I’d like to see this woman for myself.” He paused and glanced over at Ben. “That is what you were thinking, wasn’t it?”

“Something along those lines,” Ben said.

“Count me out,” Pete said. “My wife will kill me. I spend too much time with you guys already. She’s starting to harp on me to retire.”

“Count me in,” Mason said with a shrug of his bony shoulders. “I got nothing to do Thursday night.”

“I thought you were hot and heavy with what’s-her-name. Did you break-up with the latest one?” Ben asked. “I thought you were getting serious.”

“Not anymore. Now we just get together for occasional sex,” Mason said. “So I’m free.”

“No, you’re not,” Garrett said. He spoke so forcefully that all the men froze. “This is my date. You are not going. None of you. It may have been a while, but I think I can handle a date all by myself. A date is not like a car accident. I don’t require witnesses.”

Cliff folded his arms across his chest, and at that moment Garrett knew everyone had fully united against him.

“Tagging along is an excellent idea. We’ll sit at a table in the corner, have some lobster and crab legs, sip some beer, talk about our current cases—and monitor your progress. We work while you work.”

Garrett turned, but his six-foot-three frame failed to intimidate anyone. He needed only one date, and he’d prefer it to be alone. He had principles, for goodness sake. “You all are not going.”

Cliff smiled, and Garrett knew before Cliff’s next words that he was stuck.

“Yes, we are,” Cliff said in a tone that closed the matter. “Now, let’s get back to work. As you said, we’ve got multiple murders to solve.”

MELANIE’S was a little storefront establishment that Olivia almost drove by, until at the last moment she saw its name emblazoned on the kelly-green awning.