Some Like It in Handcuffs (3 page)

“But, what about—”

“Plus, I’ve only been at the bar a few weeks and Benny’s already confided in me. He trusts me.” Not that she was in the mood to share too much information, but someone had also left her a handwritten note attached to a picture of Benny and Karina on the front seat of her car. It didn’t thrill her someone knew what she was up to. But at the same time it gave her confidence that if she played her cards right she could eventually have an ally who could supply the final information she needed to close this case.

As for Benny, she wouldn’t reveal her suspicions yet, but she doubted his involvement in Karina’s death. Each night after they closed the bar they shared many long conversations while cleaning up. Sunny learned Benny’s most personal secret. Each week he visited Karina’s grave with flowers. He missed her and still loved her.

“You don’t have any other choice than to work your case the way I’m suggesting since your cover was blown,” Derek aimed his arrogant grin straight at her and crooned, “or handing it off to another PI.”

“Again, dear brother, you have it wrong. When the cuffs were snapped around my wrist there was no mention of who I was.”
Gotcha!
Her brother’s stance sagged.

“Either way you’re not to go back there. That’s final.” Her father kneeled at her side. “I’ll talk to Glen and set him straight.”

Sunny looked into the faded gingham blue of her father’s eyes. They were a replica of her own, the only feature from her dad she inherited. Everything else about her was her mother through and through.

She released a long sigh when her father stood. She’d give anything to have one more day with her mother. After all of these years she still missed her.

Her mother’s death was one of the driving forces in her desire to solve this for Glen DeVito. Sunny knew how her mother died, all the details. But Mr. DeVito only knew cold, hard facts of his daughter’s death. If Sunny could nail the murderer then he would hopefully learn the details he needed for his own closure.

“Enough is enough. You’ll have to either work this from another angle, or drop it and tell Glen sorry.” Derek’s smile betrayed his smug attitude.

Her brothers thought wrong if they felt a reprimand from Dad would change her mind. The only way to bring this conversation to an end was if she gave in, and she wouldn’t be doing that anytime soon.

Even though she hated being treated like a child, she indulged in a trick from her tween years. Sunny crossed her fingers underneath the table. She only hoped the lie about to pass between her lips didn’t come back to haunt her.

“All right…all right, you got me where you want me. I won’t give it up, but for your sakes I’ll work it exactly how each of you would.” She took her time and looked each and every one of them in the eye before she queried, “Okay?”

She’d be more than happy to work it in the same way, because she already was. The difference being she hadn’t taken one tenth of the risks they would’ve. She bit the inside of her cheek. A little play on words was okay, wasn’t it? There wasn’t any reason they needed to know she still planned to work at Benny’s. If it comforted them to think she’d given up bartending, far be it for her to spoil their vision.

Guilt tightened her abdomen, but she pushed it aside as she justified her cause. Of course part of her plan was based on the fact she wanted to gain her independence from her male dominated family. When she solved this case she’d finally have their respect and their belief in her abilities. But, Mr. DeVito was the main reason she needed to do this. She’d never wanted to help another person so much in her life. Sunny’s heart shattered at the vacant look in his eyes when he talked of his beloved Karina. She had to solve this for him.

The room stilled. All the men eyed Sunny thoughtfully, waiting for a condition to be dropped. Even Judson stood away from the wall with his hands on his hips, regarding her through narrowed eyes.

After a few tense moments Brent’s relieved voice ended the silence. “I’m glad to hear it.”

Dear Brent, she had always found him the easiest of her brothers to convince. A twinge of apprehension and guilt crept up her spine at the way she manipulated him so easily.

Her father rested his hands on his hips, his stance wide. He remained quiet and his face expressionless.

She glanced over at Derek. He’d be the challenge. His eyes penetrated straight through her with his super hero x-ray vision. Perspiration dotted her palms and she brushed them down the sides of her skimpy shorts.

“I’m surprised you’re giving in so quickly.” Derek zeroed in on her face. His voice dripped honey. “I have a condition before I join your fan club.”

The stern set of his face spoke volumes. He’d have no problem throwing a stipulation into the mix to get his way.

“And what condition might that be?” Sunny tried to swallow, but her throat had suddenly turned into the Sahara Desert.

“Even though I’d like to, in all honesty, I don’t have time to play investigator with you. But, if someone agreed to help you, mentor you, would you accept?”

“I don’t need a mentor.”

“Humor me.”

“It would depend on who you wanted to saddle me with.” Sunny’s confidence slipped and hit the floor.

She dared a quick glance in her father’s direction. A smile tugged the edges of his mouth.

Names and faces of the many detectives in the precinct ran through her mind in alphabetical order. Gates, too close to her brother Derek, she’d never get away with a thing. Phil Karr, a friend of her fathers, too old. Landon Lloyd was young enough, but he’d been asking her out like forever. Moe was the king of gossip. Karen Phelps? Her crush on Craig was sure to cause a conflict. Russo? Too lazy. One by one she eliminated potential partners and reached a conclusion. She’d much rather work alone.

“Consider it a gift from me to you. You’ll get some training from a seasoned pro.” Derek’s eyes crinkled at the edges as he pulled his metal framed glasses from his inside pocket and fitted them across his nose.

“Why? I already said I’d work it your way.” Her heart skipped a beat, maybe two. Even through her narrowed gaze she witnessed the slight upturn at the corner of his lips. She could almost hear him saying
gotcha
.

“You’ve never worked on a murder investigation before.”

Her father folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on his heels. Derek had done it again. She could see it on the relaxed lines of her dad’s face. He liked her brother’s suggestion and would back him on it.

Before she could open her mouth to argue her point, her father spoke up, “Judson’s the perfect candidate. He’s an extra body in the precinct until he leaves for Montana.”

Her eyes widened and swung toward the impossible man she hadn’t even considered. “But, what—”

“Perfect.” Derek regarded her with a sickening flash of white teeth.

Sunny sneered at her older brother. His delight at her discomfort was obvious. She understood a sneaky maneuver from her brother, but her father had always been wrapped around her finger. This had obviously been planned before she arrived at the precinct.

Play it cool.

“I’m sure he’s just itching to make some more arrests. That way he can really break those cuffs in.” The ribbon of panic in Sunny’s stomach stretched out to cover her entire body.

“Thanks to you they’re already broken in.” Judson rested his hands on his hips. Hands she’d like to use to slap him with.

Sunny slid the heart pendant on her box chain necklace back and forth. “A case like this would be somewhat on the tame side from what you’re used to.”

“There’s nothing I’d like better than to see justice served for Glen. He’s a good guy and deserves closure. And I’ll be able to accomplish two things at one time if I can teach you a few things while I’m at it.” Judson’s deep voice wrapped around her and she shivered.

She’d been tricked. They all must be in on it. She blew a tendril of hair from her face and tapped her left foot underneath the table on the bare cement floor. Her gaze drilled into the only man in the room she wasn’t related to. The prospect of working with him didn’t thrill her.

“Well, there you go, he’s happy to help and you could use the support. It’s a win, win situation for all of us.” Derek gloated.

It would’ve pleasured her more than a chocolate cake dripping in hot fudge to smack the grin not only from Derek’s face, but Judson’s as well. She didn’t want—or need help, especially from the arrogant stranger across the narrow width of the room. Whenever she looked at him, or thought of him, her knees weakened, and a tremor, feeling suspiciously life altering, torpedoed straight through her bones.

Not only did her attraction to him chip away at her insides, but if they were forced to work together, her family would assume he’d led the investigation and she tagged along. She’d be in the same predicament as now.

“I’d rather work alone.” She attempted to rise from her seat.

The pressure of her dad’s hand on her shoulder pushed down until her butt hit the seat. She lifted her gaze to meet his. The look on his face was one she’d never seen him use on her before. His jaw clenched, his lips were two straight lines and his unblinking eyes looked right through her. In less than five seconds, she knew she wouldn’t be getting her way this time.

“Your brothers are right. Not only would it give me peace of mind to have Judson working with you, but his experience would be a great tool in solving this case.”

“You might even learn something.” Derek laughed. “And if your mind is working overtime to try and get out of this. Forget it.”

Brent placed both of his hands on the table and looked her in the eyes with a grin. “If you don’t take our
suggestion
and work with Judson, you’ll have no access whatsoever to any of our case files, evidence logs, or software.”

“But, I need that. You know how much that’ll slow me down.” Her mouth hung open as she twisted her head to look at each man. By denying her all of those things it would limit her investigation, not only making it harder for her to solve, but damn near impossible. “The evidence box. You can’t do that.”

“Oh, but we can and we will,” Brent said with a hint of smugness she never witnessed from him.

“No, the evidence box makes all the difference in solving this.” Sunny’s gaze rested on her dad, her voice turned to silk. “Daddy, you’re not hurting just me, but Glen.”

Sunny turned toward her brothers. “Think about what you’re doing.”

She’d arrived nervous, but with the notion she had everything under control. Instead, they turned the tables on her. She couldn’t believe it. After all of these years they’d finally succeeded in duping her. She wanted to laugh at the irony of it all, but her present mood wouldn’t allow it.

She looked at her father and brothers. “There has to be someone else. I can’t work with him—I mean—I don’t even know him.” Her stalling tactics were lame, but she needed time to think of a way out. She stood, turning on her heel to inspect her unwanted helper. The mischievous light in Judson’s eyes propelled her heart beat into overdrive.

“I can remedy that.” Her father moved to Judson’s side, humor laced his voice. “Judson, this is my daughter, Sunny Kennedy. Sunny, this is Judson Blackwolf, one of the best detectives in the state. He’s worked a couple cases with us in the past when we were short staffed. Now he’s transferred here from his precinct until his release papers from the department clear for early retirement, then he’s on his way to Montana.”

“Thanks Captain.” Respect sounded in Judson’s voice. “I appreciate you letting me finish up my obligations here. After what happened to Rox, I couldn’t stay at my old precinct. Too many memories.”

“The department is losing a good man, Jud. Maybe you should reconsider and just take some time off,” Brent said.

Her father slapped Judson on his back in a jovial manner. “If I could talk you into staying on here, I would. You’re one of the best.”

“Sheesh, it sounds like a love fest. Maybe you should consider adopting him, Dad.” Sunny’s bitter concession sounded juvenile, even to her ears, but she didn’t care. But when Judson’s jaw tightened at the mention of his partner, guilt webbed through her core for not considering that he might have been forced into what she could only assume was a babysitting assignment for him.

Judson held out his hand. She extended hers with hesitation. His firm grip took command as he pulled her close to whisper in her ear, “Don’t flex your claws too often, Wildcat. You might regret it.”

Their eyes held for several long seconds. She looked away first. The shock of awareness she experienced earlier returned as his fingers tightened around her palm. One word came to mind…DANGER! A tremor ran up her arm. From the way his eyes darkened he felt it too, and the knowledge gave her the power to let her fingers glide from his grasp with feather-like pressure.

He licked his lips. She bit hers.

“Ditto.” Sunny locked her knees so they wouldn’t buckle.

She’d never reacted like this to a man she barely knew. Her whole game was thrown off, which only confirmed her limited experience when it came to dealing with men. In the past, her brothers always interfered with any attempt at a love life. Most of the men she dated were scared off after a few weeks of dealing with her family. She got more satisfaction from focusing on her job than a man. She accepted her fate, at this rate she’d be single the rest of her life.

“I need to get back to my paperwork.” Judson glanced at the watch on his left wrist and when he looked at her again his eyes were hooded, unrevealing. “I’ll be in touch.”

Her insides kicked at the thought of Judson paired with the word “touch.” Then reality reared its common sense head and her frustration returned. Yes, he was a hottie, but keeping her distance from him would be easy. There was no way on earth that she would get involved with a detective. Or any man in law enforcement for that matter.

They’d won the first round, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t find a way out of this situation if she thought about it hard enough.

****

Judson strolled from the room full of confidence, his mind on the perky little blonde. Not only had she gotten his attention when she returned his jacket, but his pulse jumped when he recalled the feel of her soft skin. The tips of his fingers throbbed. He wanted to touch more than her silken wrists when he removed her handcuffs.