“Lee,” I breathed, grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand from my pants. “Stop.”

“Why?” he asked, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. “You were almost there. I could feel you swelling for me.”

I blinked, bit harshly at my lip, and gathered all my courage. “Because it isn’t right. You’re drunk, and I’m taking advantage of you.”

He laughed loudly, his face so handsome when he smiled. “You can’t take advantage of someone who wants it.”

I looked at the floor. “Yeah, well, there are lots of different ways to take advantage. Whatever way you want to look at it, I’m a cop. I’m in a position of power over you, and just being here is reckless behaviour on my part.”

Lee leaned closer and tapped at my forehead. “You’re thinking too much.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “No, actually, I’m not thinking at all. If I was, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, not this shit again. Sometimes I feel like I just go around in circles with you.”

“That’s because we keep trying to ignore what’s right in front of us,” I argued.

At this he placed his hands on either side of my face, lifting my head so I was looking directly at him. “I’m ignoring nothing. I see what’s right in front of me, and it’s fucking perfect. You’re perfect. Come back to me, Karla.”

My eyes flickered between his, my mouth falling open as his terribly romantic statement washed over me. My heart pounded, my lungs filled with air, and all at once I wondered if I’d ever feel this way for any man ever again.

Before I could respond, the door to the ladies swung open, and I winced at the idea of being caught in a clinch by some random woman. It was only when I turned my head and saw Tony standing there that I wished that had been the case.

Seventeen

Tony’s eyes flared wide as he took in the scene: me with the front of my shirt splayed open, my bra exposed, the fly of my trousers undone, Lee’s hands cupping my face.

After just a second, his expression darkened, and he levelled me with a hard look. “Fix yourself up, Constable, and meet me outside. I’ll be waiting in the car.” With that he turned and left the bathroom, and I flew into a panic.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I swore, backing away from Lee and right up into the opposite wall.

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” he tried to reassure me. “I’ll go and talk to him.”

“You won’t do anything of the sort. This is my mess. I’ll fix it. Just…just help me set my uniform back to rights.”

Silently, he came forward, redoing my belt as I buttoned up my shirt and tried to straighten out my hair. Glancing in the mirror, I saw that my lips were red and swollen, my cheeks flushed. This was so, so bad. There was no way of convincing Tony that what he’d seen hadn’t been what it looked like.

“I have to go,” I told Lee, stepping away from him and heading toward the door.

“Wait,” he said, grabbing my wrist.

I turned back, our gazes locking, and a sense of despair washed over me. All my recklessness had finally reached its climax. Either Tony was going to report me for seeing a man currently under police investigation, or he was going to keep my secret, and I had no idea which option was for the better.

“I’ll come see you tomorrow,” Lee promised.

“Yes, fine,” I replied, flustered. “Right now I just need to go and deal with Tony.”

With that I yanked my wrist from his hold and walked out of the ladies’. When I climbed into the car beside Tony, I found him staring straight ahead, his mouth a firm line. A moment of quiet passed before he spoke.

“How long’s it been going on?”

Guilt and remorse roiled within me. We were supposed to be friends. Friends didn’t deceive each other like I’d deceived Tony. “I never meant for any of this to happen. You have to believe me when I say that.”

“How long, Karla?”

“Two months, maybe a little more. The first time I met him was six months ago, but nothing happened between us for a long while.”

Tony shook his head and let out a slow breath. “You know what? I should’ve seen this coming. Looking back, all the signs were there. I just never expected this from you. You’re supposed to be one of the good ones. Fuck knows there’s so little of us left as it is.”

“I am one of the good ones. My relationship with Lee is entirely personal. It’s never had anything to do with my work.”

Tony gave me his fatherly stare, the one that made me wither in place. “So you’re telling me the time we searched his garage and came up empty, it had nothing to do with you?”

I turned to him, my expression agonised. “Okay, yes, but that was the only time, I promise. He was with me when you called and overheard the conversation. I never told him anything. It was just bad timing.”

“Can you even hear yourself right now? You’re having a relationship with a known felon. Christ, your own father is working on the case that will put him behind bars. You’re one of my closest friends, Karla, so please listen to me when I say this. You need to get out now before everything implodes around you.”

My voice was barely a whisper when I replied, “I’ve tried to get out. It’s not that easy, especially when feelings are involved.”

Now he looked concerned. “Do you love him?”