A Case of Love (2 page)

"Monroe City Press?” Jimmy growled. Stalking over to Kenzie he grabbed a hold of her hair to drag her to her feet. “You're a fucking reporter?"

Kenzie grabbed hold of Jimmy's wrists to keep him from yanking every hair out of her head. “Let me go!” she cried, kicking at his leg as hard as she could.

"I don't think so, bitch. A reporter, a fucking reporter. How could you be so stupid as to let her in?"

"She don't look like no reporter, boss."

"She's probably wired,” Hawkins groused, grabbing the sheet off the table as he stood. He threw the bricks of cocaine into a satchel, closed it and took hold of the handles. “I'm getting out of here now, before the cops show up."

"Sit your ass down, Hawk. You ain't going anywhere until we finish with our business."

"We've finished, Tanelli. You can't keep it in your pants long enough to finish the deal, you invite reporters in while we're doing this and you expect me to stick around? Fuck you."

Jimmy kept his hold in Kenzie's hair, dragging her back to the table. “Your shit's first rate?” he asked Hawkins.

"The best, cut so smooth it makes you feel as if you can fly."

"You got a deal,” Jimmy said, leaning over and snorting the line on the table.

"Two hundred thousand cash, Jimmy. I can't take anything less for what I got."

"You'll get your money, Hawk. Now, to seal the deal, how about you come over here and help me with our little reporter?"

Kenzie felt his eyes roaming over her body and shivered. She was in a whole heap of trouble. “M...my editor knows where I am,” she said quickly. “He's probably got the cops coming right now."

Jimmy laughed, using Kenzie's hair to throw her off balance he sent her stumbling towards Hawkins. “Come, my friend,” he said in a courteous tone as if he were offering coffee to the man. “Take a taste of that sweetness and we can share her to celebrate our deal."

Hawkins caught her easily enough, using one arm to hold her against his body. She was soft and curved, slender with long legs and big amber colored eyes that were now wide with fear.

"Please, don't,” she cried, pushing against him with her hands. But he held her easily, as if she were a mere child. Kenzie felt a sob grow in her chest and tried to swallow it back, she had to keep her wits or else, well, she didn't want to think of the or else. “You don't want to do this."

Hawk dropped his satchel onto the chair he'd been sitting on when she'd arrived, his free hand going to the back of her neck. “You shouldn't have come in here, little girl,” he growled softly, just loud enough for her to hear. “It was incredibly stupid."

She stared up at him, her rapid breathing causing her breasts to heave against his chest. “Please,” she said again, watching his face as he slowly leaned down to her.

"Oh, I will,” he growled, right before his lips brushed against hers, hot and moist, clinging to the softness he found. He tugged on her hair, forcing her head back further, fusing his mouth to hers and twisting her lips apart.

Kenzie felt his tongue slip between her lips and she cringed, expecting to feel disgust and loathing. Instead, heat flared between them, surprising her. His mouth was sweet, tasting a bit like coffee. His tongue swept inside and caressed hers, causing a shiver of awareness to flood over her. She couldn't help the soft moan that escaped her, flushing as she heard coarse male laughter around her.

"I think she likes him,” Jimmy joked, his hand coming down hard on Kenzie's ass. “What do you say girl? Do you like him?"

She started to struggle, mortified by the feelings that were running through her. Tearing her mouth away from his, she panted, glaring up at him with a look of loathing that he couldn't help but understand. “Leave me alone,” she ordered harshly.

Jimmy grabbed her arm, dragging her out of Hawkins’ arms and back into his own. His mouth came down on hers, hard and hurting, cutting the inside of her lips on her teeth. Blood flooded her mouth, leaving the heavy metallic taste that combined with her fear, made her nauseous. Fingers touched her back, left bare by her dress, going up to the tie that held the top of her dress up and deftly unfastened it. Other hands went to the zipper at her waist and she felt it slide down, exposing a goodly amount of flesh left uncovered by the red satin thong she wore.

She struggled, trying to bite the tongue he thrust into her mouth. Jimmy pulled away, his hand slashing quickly toward her. Kenzie ducked her head, trying to avoid the slap but it never came. She glanced back up and was startled to see Hawkins, his hand wrapped around Jimmy's wrist, easily stopping him from hitting her.

"Don't bruise the merchandise,” Hawk said, the threat apparent even though his voice was soft.

"The bitch bit me,” Jimmy growled. “She needs to be taught who the master is around here."

Hawk's eyes sparkled for a moment. “Yeah, so do you,” he said, pushing the man back. “Let me show you how it's done."

"I thought you didn't want a piece."

"I changed my mind,” Hawk said, pulling Kenzie close to him. He grabbed the ties at her neck and let the bodice of the short dress fall to her waist, exposing full, rounded breasts tipped with red nipples. His hand came up, cupping one, his thumb brushing back and forth against the turgid tip, feeling it grow harder, either from his caress or from the coldness of the air in the warehouse, he wasn't sure.

The dress started to slip further, but Hawk stopped it, dragging her up against his chest so that her breasts were flattened into him. He leaned closer, his mouth finding hers for a short moment before sliding to her jaw and nibbling his way to her ear. “Play along,” he whispered, running his tongue around the whorl of her ear. “The cops will be here soon."

She turned her head, her eyes staring up into his, narrowing as she studied him. Then with a low moan, she moved closer to him, her hands moving up and over his chest, wrapping around his neck... Her mouth found his, this time by her own initiative, her soft lips clinging moistly.

Hawk groaned, pulling her even closer. She was responding to him wholeheartedly, her body moving against his, her lips and tongue tempting him to take her. He felt her stomach brush against the hard ridge of his cock and he felt the insane urge to lift her in his arms and take her somewhere they could finish this in private.

He could hear the men making lustful remarks and calling out encouragement, but it was a dull buzz of noise behind the taste of her mouth and the feel of her body. He was going up in flames and didn't care if he burned to the ground, not now.

"Police!” The front door of the office burst open, the battering ram that had done the deed thrown to the side as black garbed officers in heavy tactical armor flooded the room. “On the ground! Now!” was shouted.

Hawk lifted his head, breathing a sigh of relief as well as a sigh of disgust for the timely interruption. He quickly retied Kenzie's top, hearing her gasp as he zipped up the skirt as well.

Then he felt himself pushed to the ground, and he turned to lie on his stomach as he was instructed, his legs crossed and his arms behind his head. He was patted down and cuffed before being lifted to his knees. He saw the girl standing over by one of the officers, holding out her identification even as another cop handed her a blanket to wrap around herself.

She seemed to feel him staring and turned, meeting his eyes with the beautiful amber of her own. “Mackenzie Hunter,” he said softly, sending her a smile that she quickly turned away from.

Then he was led outside and put in a cruiser.

"Damn it, Hawk, next time I get to go undercover you get to sit in the van and listen to me kissing the babes."

Hawk grinned as his partner Detective Angelo Gutierrez stormed back and forth in front of his desk. “Yeah, sure, Ang, I'll make sure you get the undercover assignment with the babes. But what are you going to do when an anonymous envelope full of incriminating pictures, arrives at your door addressed to your wife?"

Angelo turned, grinning sheepishly. “You wouldn't...you would,” he answered himself, seeing the shit eating grin on Hawk's face. “Dammit all, Hawk!"

"Shut up, Ang, you know Carla is everything you ever wanted in a woman. You'd cut off your own dick before you'd hurt her.” He laughed as his partner got that lovesick puppy dog expression on his face as he thought of his own beautiful Carla.

"I got lucky, Hawk. Maybe someday, if you can quit playing the field long enough, you'll have a grown up relationship with a woman.” He patted his partner on the head as he passed his desk in the Narcotics bullpen, going to his own desk to sit down and finish his report.

"I've had relationships,” Hawk growled, glaring at Angelo. “Just because I don't want to walk down the aisle and subject some innocent woman to the life of a cop's wife doesn't mean that I don't have relationships."

"We work too many long hours, it's dangerous...” he began.

"...and the divorce rate for cops is out of this world,” they finished together, making Angelo laugh and Hawk grit his teeth.

"Yeah, buddy, so you keep saying. So how come Carla and I have been together so long?"

"She feels sorry for you. Pity is a huge inducement for women."

"Fuck you,” Ang laughed. “She just can't get enough of this sexy body of mine.” He glanced down at the soft flesh that ringed his middle, patting it with his hand.

Hawk snorted, kicking his feet up on the corner of his desk he leaned back in his chair. “I can't believe we got him, finally."

"Yeah, Jimmy Tanelli is going down, possession with the intent to sell, kidnapping, assault, and we found three pistols in the back of the warehouse. Ballistics has them now and they're going to see if they match the bullets found at the scene of the three murders we think he did. You did good, partner."

"It's going to be good to go home to my own bed tonight. That motel the captain set me up at was the worst ever. I swear the bed had bugs.” He leaned back a little further while stretching, and a yawn caught him by surprise, almost popping his jaw. “I think I'm going to get out of here, Ang. You can finish writing this up, can't you?"

"Yeah, I got it. Go home, get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Hawk grabbed his jacket and the roll bag he'd picked up from the motel before he'd been dropped off back here and headed out. Narcotics was on the fifth floor of the biggest precinct in Monroe City. They had the entire floor, a nice set up with conference rooms and offices as well as a room they called The Crib. It held cots, set up with blankets and pillows for anyone needing ten minutes. Hawk had spent his fair share of time trying to blank out the noise of the precinct to catch five minutes of sleep to keep him going when things got hairy.

Now he had a couple of days off. He'd been eating, sleeping, and breathing the Tanelli case since that bastard came to town two years before. No one had been able to get close enough to him, no one until Hawk. It had taken him months of careful planning to be able to infiltrate Tanelli's world and get close enough to him to be trusted.

Mackenzie Hunter came to mind. She'd almost blown it for him tonight, showing up at exactly the wrong time. How had the press gotten wind of the deal happening tonight? He'd been careful, well more than careful; he was almost obsessive-compulsive over his dealings with Tanelli.

Well, there was only one way to find out. He whistled as he got on the elevator, hitting the button for the basement parking lot. He glanced at his watch, it was only a little after two a.m. What could be a more perfect time to find out?

Mackenzie finished her story, sending it in by email to her editor. She rose, pulling the ties on the dress and yanking it off, leaving it on the floor as she went into the bathroom.

Minutes later, she emerged flushed from her shower, her hair still wet, curled riotously around her head. She pulled on a big soft tee shirt over her still damp body, grabbed a pair of boxers out of a drawer and slid them over her long legs before heading out to the kitchen. She hadn't been able to eat earlier today, too nervous about what she'd decided to do.

Opening the refrigerator, she groaned, realizing she'd forgotten once more to go to the grocery store this week. She pulled out a bottle of water and a box that contained leftover Chinese from two nights before, slipping it into her microwave and turning it on.

While she waited, she leaned against the counter, her mind on what had happened tonight. He'd saved her, Hawk or Hawkins, whatever his name was. He'd saved her from being raped right there in front of all those men. What was he, a criminal with a conscience?

There was a loud knocking on her front door and she sighed, setting down her water. It had to be Selena. Only she would be up this late at night and think that everybody else would be as well. She headed toward the door, picking up the dress from where it lay, wrinkled on the floor.

"Thanks, Selena,” she said, as she undid the four locks and the chain on her door. “I appreciate the loan. Let me know how much the dry cleaning...is...... What are you doing here?” she rasped harshly as she opened the door and saw who was on the other side.

"I thought you might be hungry,” Hawk said, holding up a pizza box that had a six pack of beer balanced on top of it. “I know I always am after closing a case."

He walked in, not waiting to be invited, hearing her gasp at his audacity. It made him smile, she was such a prickly little thing, and in that tee shirt and boxers, she'd have looked almost twelve if it weren't for the lush curves that rounded underneath that soft material.

"Who the hell are you?” she gasped, reaching over and grabbing her cell phone off the charger. She started to close the door, thought better of it and left it open a crack. “I thought you were arrested tonight along with your partner Tanelli?"

"Ah, darlin’ that's what you get for thinking too much.” He set the box down on her counter just as the microwave beeped. Opening it, he brought out the box that now steamed with heat, bringing it to his nose to sniff cautiously at the contents. “Eww, tell me you weren't planning on eating this.” Without waiting for an answer, he dropped it in her trash can.