Chapter 6

• Ian tried to keep his eyes on the road in front of them as Alec moved around the backseat changing out of the short skirt, it wasn’t easy. “So, do you guys normally involve civilians in things?”
• A brief laugh came from behind him. “Pretty sure you involved yourself.” She had a point, so he kept quiet. “Why do you think Brent and Reid are in the basement with no designated department on their door?” She moved over behind the passenger seat and reached alongside, reclining the seat so she could crawl back into the front with him. “They get the job done and don’t openly break too many rules, so everyone looks the other way.” She popped the seat back into position.
• “Using me and my car to tail this guy is breaking rules, isn’t it?”
• She flashed him a smile. “So was taking you to the bar, but who is going to know?” The ringing of her phone had her digging through her bag. She glanced at the screen and then a serious look replaced the amused one. “Brent.” That purring noise came from her throat again. “Bonus. No, we’re still tailing him,” she paused and looked out the window, “into the burbs. This could get twisted.”
• Ian watched her out of the corner of his eye. The sexy leg revealing skirt was gone, she now wore jeans. He’d mourn the loss later; right now, he was determined to follow the taxi without being seen. Who uses a taxi to go to that kind of meeting? Ian wasn’t a criminal, but he did know a few things. Okay, he skimmed close to criminal tendencies with his work from time to time, but not on this scale.
• “Just tell them to head in the direction of the Villa’s off of Willard, I’ll call them with the exact location when we stop.” Alec closed her phone.
• The taxi slowed and turned onto a small crescent. Ian pulled past it and into a driveway on the corner that would allow them to see where it went.
• “You’re pretty good at this.”
• Ian smiled and rolled his head to glance at her. “It’s not rocket science.”
• “No, but some people just don’t have the logic that goes with it.”
• They silently watched the cab pull out of the driveway; the man remained standing there. He looked around and then went to the garage, his cell phone already against his ear. Stopping in front of the garage he looked around once more.
• “He seems a bit paranoid,” Alec said opening her cell phone.
• “Most people enter their home by the front door, not the garage,” Ian added. “He’s either got some fantastic set of wheels in there or something really important, that’s three locks he’s turned.”
• “I’m leaning towards really illegal.”
• Ian waited until she told the person on the other end of the phone the address. “So what now?”
• Tucking the phone into the back of her jeans, she reached around and pulled her boots out of the duffle bag. “We wait for back up then go see what he’s doing.”
• “He’s got company.”
• Alec’s head swung around to watch a man jog up to the garage door. He looked around like he was in some B-rated suspense movie and then tapped on the door the other man had gone in. “Oh, the more the merrier.” She reached back behind her again and pulled out a gun holster, taking the gun out she checked the clip and tucked it into the waist of her jeans. She twisted in her seat and looked around the neighborhood as she pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail. When her hand went to the door handle, Ian grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?”
• “Just going to take a look around. Stay here.”
• So many parts of that didn’t work for him. “I thought you were waiting for backup.”
• “They’ll be here in a minute.” She looked down at his hand on her arm.
• He didn’t let go. “Then wait for them.” Ian held her gaze with a determined one, hoping she at least had the sense to listen.
• A cruiser pulled up behind the car. “Stay put.”
• He watched her go talk to the two men in the cruiser. The car backed up and went over to block the end of the driveway as she jogged across the street and went right up to the door. Ian sat there in the dark car watching and wondering what exactly he was doing here. He’d gone to the station to report a possible attack on some detective and now he found himself sitting here watching that detective getting ready to kick some ass. There was no doubt in his mind she was hoping the two guys in that garage were going to try to resist so she would have to get physical. Ian didn’t have to read her mind to know that much about her.
• His cell phone buzzed in his pocket, startling him out of his thoughts. “Hello.” He was surprised to hear Brent on the other end. “She’s with the two uniforms right now checking it out.”
• “That’s why I didn’t call her. We’re pretty sure we’re sitting outside a low-scale lab right now.”
• “As in drug lab?” Ian had to wonder again what he was doing.
• “Yes. This is quite interesting what you stumbled on tonight. If the person behind it is who we think it is things might get messy.”
• Just what Ian needed in his life right now. His job required him to stay out of the spotlight at all times. “I see.”
• “I’ve got to go, our backup just arrived. Tell Alec we’ll see her back at the station.”
• “Okay.” Ian hung up and then stared at the phone for a second. What am I doing here? He looked up to see Alec dragging a guy in handcuffs to the cruiser. Getting out of the car, he walked around to the other side of it and leaned against it while she talked to the other two cops.
• When they pulled away, she turned and looked over at him. With a big smile on her face, she ate up the distance between them with those long legs. Legs that were going to haunt Ian in his sleep tonight, no doubt.
• She stopped a few feet from him. “I’m going to wait for the lab guys to get here and tell me what all that stuff in there is.”
• “Do you want me to wait?” He couldn’t believe he was offering to stay.
• “No. I’ll just get a ride back to the station later.”
• “Brent called; their guy led them to some sort of lab.”
• Her grin widened. “Really? That’s awesome.” She bit her bottom lip. “I wonder who’s behind it.”
• Ian tucked his hands into his jeans pockets. “So...”
• She closed the distance between them, a hopeful look flashing across her face briefly. “You up to bar hopping with me again tomorrow night? I’d still like to see if we can find out who has it in for me.”
• Ian couldn’t help but grin at that. “Anyone that you’ve gotten in the way of them completing their criminal dreams?”
• Alec shrugged. “Maybe.”
• He nodded. “Call me with the where for tomorrow. Brent has my number.”
• “Will do.” Opening the back door, she pulled out her duffle bag.
• Straightening away from the car, he allowed his eyes to wander down over her legs one more time before turning to go.
• “Ian?”
• He stopped and turned back only to have her right in his face, without a word, she reached up and yanked his head down to hers. Grasping her hips, he balanced himself as her mouth assaulted his own. Without hesitation, he returned her heated kiss like a man starving for her mouth.
• When she released his hair and leaned back, her face was flushed and she breathed as heavily as he did. “I owed you that.”
• Ian released her and let her retreat. “That you did.” He turned and got into the car, giving himself one last tease as he watched her walk back to the garage. It wasn’t fair that her ass looked just as good in jeans as it had in the skirt.