Chapter 13

"What the fuck is wrong with you tonight?" Chase huffs, blowing on his takeout box of steamy Chinese noodles.

As irresponsible as it is, we called for food delivery on a stakeout and had the owner bring it to us in the car. It's the little perks you get after you save someone's son from a heroin overdose and arrest the person that supplied the drugs to their kid. Mr. Lau now delivers noodles any time we call and has delivered in some pretty interesting locations, even waiving the delivery fee to creepy vans in creepy warehouse districts.

"Nothing," I growl, pushing a pork eggroll into my mouth and chewing with a little more force than usual.

Both of us stare straight ahead at Jacob Lambert's house. Actually, we stare at his driveway. Thankfully, the dickbag lives on a cul de sac that allows us to park where we can see his driveway, but we're not visible from the street. Even as I chew, a white sedan approaches the driveway, flashes its lights, and Jacob's younger brother, a fifteen-year-old kid named Carlton, comes out and hands the man a bag, receiving an envelope back. Carlton shoves it in his pocket as Chase adjusts the dash cam and takes pictures of the sedan's license plate.

"This is frustrating as all fuck."

"That you're in love with a pot baker?"

I cough out a piece of food and take a drink of the iced green tea Mr. Lau threw in for free. "I'm not in love with her."

"Sure, bro," Chase says, placing the camera back on the dash as the car drives away.

"It's frustrating that we can't chase that guy down and pull him over or get Carlton on selling."

Chase sighs and looks at his food like he suddenly finds it gross. "I know, but we're just gathering intel right now. Watching and building a case." He rubs his eyebrows and starts eating again. "You know as well as I do that Jacob sends his brother to make the trade because he'll only get juvie. You also know we need way more info than what we've got to make a case that sticks. We watch. That's it."

"What's up your ass, anyway? You've been in a bad mood since last week at the bar, and you weren't even there when I came back."

"You were gone a long time."

"I ran into baseball traffic."

"Sure, man. Baseball," Chase snorts.

I take another bite of food. "Kailee was gone when I went back to the bar."

"Sounds like she went home," he says. He cranes his neck and bends forward like he's very interested in what's going on outside the window.

"Did she go home with you?"

"Even if she did, I never kiss and tell."

"So, you kissed her?"

"What happened with you and Lorelei Rogers?" he asks, squinting.

"Don't change the subject."

He ignores me, and I can tell I'm not getting any information tonight. Honestly, I don't give a fuck. I'm too exhausted and uneasy to even argue with my partner or pump him for information. But I'd bet the deed to my house that he and Kailee fucked.

He goes back to eating, and I watch the house, taking tentative sips of my tea. Minutes feel like hours on a stakeout, and I swear I've been sitting in this car for a month.

I can't take it any longer. I grind the heels of my hands into both eye sockets until it hurts. "Fuck!"

Chase startles, jostling his drink and dropping a crab Rangoon between his legs. He utters a curse and wipes cream cheese off his pants. "What? What's wrong? Did Jacob make us?" He looks out the window and fumbles with his binoculars as he brings them to his face.

"Nothing," I sigh. I pick up my fork again and shove rice into my mouth. "I did something bad."

Chase drops the binoculars and turns to me. "Does this involve your baker?"

"She's not my baker."

"What happened? Don't tell me you confessed your undying love."

"Worse."

"What's worse than that?" he asks.

"I came on her butthole."

The silence in the car is deafening until Chase sputters food back into his container and laughs. It's a full belly laugh, and he clutches his chest, leans forward, and bangs his forehead on the steering wheel. "You did what? Jesus, Lane, I thought you were going to tell me you finally kissed her."

"I've never kissed her." I chew my food and stare straight ahead, not meeting his eyes.

Chase holds his hand up. "Wait a second. You didn't kiss her?"

"No."

"How do you come on a woman's brown eye and get away with not having to kiss her? Teach me your ways."

"Fuck off."

"You already did…on Lorelei's stink star."

"Stink star?" I look at him, disgusted.

"You know, her chocolate pocket. The brown starfish."

"I fucking hate you."

I dip my fork back into my food but leave it there. I'm too frustrated to eat. Why did I leave her like that? Fuck me, but I wanted to put my arms around her and bury myself in her. It took every ounce of control in my body not to push into that pussy that was so ready for me, her back arched so that her ass stuck in the air. Her body is the epitome of lush perfection, and my mouth waters at the thought, having nothing to do with the food in front of me.

Damn, I wanted to kiss her and explore every inch of her mouth with my tongue. How the hell did I manage to fuck up our first erotic moment? I wanted to stay, talk to her, and learn everything there is to know about her before kissing every inch of her body.

"Was the sex good?"

Chase's question pulls me out of my thoughts of running my tongue up her thigh. "What?" I ask, blinking at him like I just realized he's in the car. "I didn't say I fucked her."

He squints and wrinkles his nose. "How did you come on her butthole then? Don't tell me it was on accident."

I stare at him and blink. "How do you come on someone's butthole by accident?"

"You could fall and land on her funny while she was naked. Then, you could have come from the excitement of finding yourself between her crack flaps."

"It wasn't like that." I dip my head into my sweatshirt, wanting to hide. "I was punishing her, and it just happened."

"How exactly were you punishing her?" he asks, his eyebrows halfway up his forehead.

I sip my drink and sniff before answering. "She deserves a spanking for what she does. I spanked her."

Chase shakes his head and looks forward. "You're into some shit. You going to spank Jacob when we catch him, or are you just going to come on his chocolate faucet?"

I ignore him, even if I want to laugh at the bastard. We eat in silence for another minute as Chase shakes his head. "You like her, huh?" he finally asks when the silence gets to be unbearable.

I run my hand through my hair and crack the door open for some air. The keys in the ignition make the car door chime while it's open. "I don't know if I like her or want to strangle her. Most of the time, I experience both feelings in her presence."

"Sounds like love to me."

"Doesn't matter. I probably fucked up any chance I had with her." I stop myself and turn to Chase. "Not that I want a chance with her. She's into drugs and sells them, for fuck's sake."

He chuckles. "Want to know what I think?"

"Not particularly, but since we're stuck in this car, you're probably going to tell me."

"I think you like her, and I think she likes you. I've never seen your eyes look like they do when you look at her. She does something to you, man."

"Yeah, she gives me indigestion." I stare out the window for a few seconds. "I'm curious. What do my eyes look like when she's around?"

"They look like you're a lovesick fool who thinks the only way to get the girl to pay attention to him is to pop her bra between math and study hall." He puts his hand on the back of my headrest and turns to face me. "I have to know. Are you really that worried about pot brownies?"

"It's a threat to society."

He smirks. "Is it really? I mean, this guy is a threat to society." He nods at Jacob's house just as another light flashes and another vehicle, this one a pickup truck, rolls up to the house.

Chase and I both take our pictures and document the exchange, the time, and the vehicle's information. Chase runs the license plate through our computer system, and we document the owner's name and address. All of this is crucial to get the proper warrants and build a case. Even though the person in the truck is buying drugs, they're not our big fish to fry and can often provide us with information when they think that information can save their own ass. Sometimes, a visit from the police asking for information about the drug seller can scare someone into rehab or changing their ways. We need cause to get a warrant to enter the house, especially with a minor present.

Chase finishes the pictures, and I file an index card with time and info into Jacob's file, a failsafe in case our computer information disappears. It's happened before in our office, and my department has learned to save information in more than one place.

Chase is right about Lorelei. The dick munch we're staking out is the real deal. Lorelei is sweet, kind, beautiful, and a good dog owner. I had a real chance with her before I fucked it up by issuing her fines and putting handcuffs on her. To make matters worse, she has to go to a court hearing in a couple of weeks to discuss the case and receive the formal fine and strike against her record. It's not a real court case with a jury and everything, but she has to talk to the judge and bring a lawyer.

Fuck, I made the woman I'm obsessed with have to pay for a lawyer and take time to go to the courthouse.

"How do I make this up to her, man?"

Chase shrugs. "Take her out on a date."

"How? I can't just walk up to her door and ask her out. I could get her phone number from the system, but that would get me in trouble or look bad."

"You could also go to the truck at her next event."

I stare out the window. Can I eat shit enough to be vulnerable and ask her out like I haven't tried to ruin her business and happiness all at once?